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Nantucket beach water testing: surface water below DPH screening but foam shows high PFAS; foam advisory issued
Summary
Town and consultants reported surface water PFAS results below Massachusetts DPH beach screening values in July samples, while seafoam samples contained much higher concentrations and were flagged by the lab; the health department will issue a foam advisory and collect a second round of samples.
Nantucket health officials on Aug. 21 reported preliminary results from an island‑wide PFAS sampling effort at 21 coastal and inland locations. The first round of surface‑water samples showed no individual PFAS above the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) screening value used for bathing beaches, while foam samples at two locations produced markedly higher PFAS concentrations and laboratory qualifiers that limit precise interpretation.
Rebecca DeVries, a consultant from Eastern Research Group who designed and led the sampling, told the Board of Health that samples followed DPH operational guidance and were analyzed by an accredited commercial laboratory using EPA method 1633a. “The good news is that no individual PFAS result was detected above DPH’s screening value for these eight compounds,” DeVries said, referring to DPH’s conservative 20 nanograms per liter (ng/L)…
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