A Study Is Looking For Montco & Bucks Residents Who May Have Had PFAS Exposure In Water

MONTGOMERY & BUCKS COUNTIES — A study is underway to examine area residents who may have been exposed over the years to PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals' in local drinking water supplies.

The study seeks 1,000 adults over the age of 18 as well as 300 children between the ages of 4 and 17 who live in a number of municipalities in both Montgomery and Bucks Counties.

Researchers from the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Temple University, Brown University and RTI International are conducting the study, according to information found about it online.

PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are chemicals that have been found in drinking water and which were used for decades in firefighting foam and other industrial materials.

Communities near military bases have traditionally seen higher levels of PFAS, also known as 'forever chemicals,' because they are said to stick around for thousands of years, and many local officials in these areas have taken measures to address the issue.

In a recent interview with CBS 3 Philly, study participant Renee Frugoli of Southampton, Bucks County, said she grew up her entire life drinking local well water, and is now concerned about those years of consuming water that may have been contaminated with PFAS.

The chemical has been linked to increased rates of certain types of cancers, such as kidney and testicular.

"Streets of people that we went to school with had kids that had cancer," Frugoli told CBS 3 Philly. "It touched almost everyone in this area, at least one family member."

Horsham Township in Montgomery County has also had a history with PFAS, being that it is the location of the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base.

A national news story, which Patch highlighted, recently mentioned the fact that the Pentagon has come out and admitted that concerning levels of PFAS had been discovered in communities surrounding various military bases across the country, and the Willow Grove base was one of those that were mentioned.

After Patch reported on the matter, Horsham officials reached out to clarify that the high levels tested in the area were not, in fact, from the public water supply, and actually came from a private well not even located in the township but rather a nearby community.

Patch also spoke with State Rep. Todd Stephens, a Montgomery County Republican who has worked on the PFAS issue for many years.

Horsham actually "led the way adopting a non-detect PFAS standard (the highest in the country) for their public drinking water system back in 2016 and Warrington and Warminster [townships in Bucks County] followed suit shortly thereafter," Stephens told Patch in an email.

Stephens also noted the creation of the Military Installation Remediation and Infrastructure Authority in Horsham Township, which is a municipal entity that was created under Act 101, legislation that was sponsored by Stephens, and subsequently signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf in late 2019, that allows state taxes generated on specific parcels to be directed toward helping communities with remediation costs on former military installations.

According to Stephens, the MIRIA provides grants to local water suppliers — Horsham Water and Sewer, North Wales Water Authority, Warminster Municipal Authority — in helping to connect private well owners to clean, safe public drinking water systems so anyone in those communities affected by PFAS can get help from local water providers.

Stephens said by the end of 2022, officials expect to have the area covered with more than 25,000 feet of new water mains and connect more than 500 local homes that have private wells contaminated with PFAS to "clean, safe public drinking water."

The PFAS issue has become a hotbed one, especially with the recent Pentagon disclosure and other reports about the 'forever chemicals.'

Just this week, the Associated Press reported that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now saying that the PFAS issue is more serious than previously thought, since it is now being discovered that the chemicals pose serious health risks at even undetectable levels.

"The EPA on Wednesday issued nonbinding health advisories that set health risk thresholds for PFOA and PFOS to near zero, replacing 2016 guidelines that had set them at 70 parts per trillion," the Associated Press report reads.

The report says that the EPA is inviting states to apply for $1 billion in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law to help address PFAS and other contaminants in drinking water.

Meanwhile, back here in southeastern Pennsylvania, the study being conducted on area residents said that it continues to seek participants.

The study is open to the following communities:

Montgomery County — Abington, Upper Dublin, Horsham, Hatboro and Upper Moreland.

Bucks County — Ivyland, Warminster, Warrington, Northampton, Upper Southampton and Warwick.

Visit this website to learn more about the study and to find out how to sign up.