You might have seen recent news reports about per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (together abbreviated as PFAS). These are a class of human-made chemicals typically associated with manufacturing of non-stick coatings, water-proofing and stain-proofing treatments. They have also been associated with certain fire-fighting foams.
EPA issued PFAS drinking water standards on April 10, 2024, which will be effective in April of 2029 – MWRA meets them already.
On April 10, 2024 EPA released Final National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for six PFAS compounds. Based on current and historic sampling results, MWRA will easily meet these standards.
MWRA has tested for all six of the compounds included in the new EPA rule, as required by current state regulations. Our results are either not-detectable or at trace levels so low they can’t be quantified. All MWRA PFAS results are posted on MWRA’s web site.
All fully-supplied MWRA communities will meet the standards. Communities which receive only part of their supply from MWRA will need to individually review their data, and some communities may need to make source or treatment changes to meet the new EPA standards.
|
Current MassDEP DW Standard |
New EPA Standard |
MWRA Result (1) |
MWRA Meets New EPA Standard |
PFOA |
Combined 20 ppt |
4 ppt |
Trace |
YES |
PFOS |
Combined 20 ppt |
4 ppt |
Trace |
YES |
PFNA |
Combined 20 ppt |
10 ppt* |
Non Detect |
YES |
PFHxS |
Combined 20 ppt |
10 ppt* |
Non Detect |
YES |
PFHpA |
Combined 20 ppt |
No EPA standard |
Trace |
YES |
PFDA |
Combined 20 ppt |
No EPA standard |
Non Detect |
YES |
HFPO-DA (GenX) |
No state standard |
10 ppt* |
Non Detect |
YES |
PFBS |
No state standard |
2,000 ppt*# |
Trace |
YES |
(1) - Based on most recent testing for MassDEP regulations. These results would all be classified as zero or non-detectable under the new federal standard
* - These 4 to be regulated as a combined Hazard Index based on Health Based Water Concentration ratios
# - The Health Based Water Concentration value for PFBS to be used in the Hazard Index is 2,000 ppt.
Trace = present, but at concentrations too low to be reliably quantitated with current analytical technology.
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) had previously set a standard of 20 parts per trillion in October 2020 for the sum of these six PFAS compounds (called PFAS6)
- Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA)
- Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS)
- Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
- Perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS)
- Perfluoroheptanoic acid (PFHpA)
- Perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA)
As expected, given MWRA’s well-protected watersheds and reservoirs, MWRA easily meets the current Massachusetts standard, and will easily meet the new EPA standards. The sum of sampling results for the six Massachusetts regulated PFAS compounds has been zero, below the MassDEP PFAS6 standard of 20 parts per trillion. No more than trace amounts, too low to be reliably quantified, have been detected during multiple sampling rounds.
MWRA will also easily met the new EPA standards for each of the six PFAS compounds EPA will be regulating.
MWRA PFAS testing results under both state and federal requirements are regularly posted on MWRA’s web site.
Results are posted below.
If you live in a partially supplied MWRA water community, please click here to find the results for your community's testing.
These compounds are persistent in the environment and have been used for decades in a number of everyday products. MWRA will continue to perform testing and closely monitor developments in the science around this issue.
MWRA tests the water supply each year for over 120 contaminants to ensure the water supplied is of the highest quality. For more information about PFAS and all other drinking water tests or if you have any questions about water quality, please visit MWRA's Water Testing page, which includes all of our annual and monthly test results, or contact us at 617-242-5323.
