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Board of Health: new PFAS detection near Hammock Pond triggers abutter outreach, MassDEP follow-up
Summary
Town health staff said MassDEP detected PFAS above the state's imminent-hazard level near Hammock Pond and Burnt Swamp; the health department mailed notices to about 66 abutters and is urging private-well testing and filters where town water is unavailable.
NANTUCKET ' MassDEP field sampling identified per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) above the state's imminent-hazard threshold near the intersection of Hammock Pond and Burnt Swamp, the Nantucket Board of Health was told Tuesday.
The board's environmental contamination administrator, Andrew Shapiro, said the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) made the finding on April 9 and that MassDEP's investigators have told the town they will do step-out sampling but had not yet scheduled a site visit. Shapiro said the health department mailed notifications to about 66 abutters within 500 feet of the detection and urged residents to contact MassDEP to arrange sampling.
The discovery matters because the town's private wells and public bathing beaches are potentially exposed to PFAS contamination carried by groundwater and surface-water flow. "We got a detection above the imminent hazard threshold near the intersection of Hammock Pond and Burnt Swamp," Shapiro told the board. He added that MassDEP and town staff have offered help to residents and that some affected homes can hook to town water; others cannot.
Shapiro provided a broader update on recent drinking-water testing: MassDEP and town sampling produced a second exceedance of the state's 20 nanograms-per-liter (ng/L) standard at a Nobscussett-area well and two additional detects below that level; the town's voluntary sampling program added 22 private-well results, including two more results above 20 ng/L (Old South Road near the airport and a Surfside address) and multiple detects below that threshold.
The health department said it has reached out to every private-well owner whose results included any PFAS detect, both to explain health and filtration options and to offer assistance. Shapiro emphasized short-term steps residents can take: compare results to the EPA and state guidance and consider point-of-entry or point-of-use filtration when town water is not an available alternative.
Shapiro also described new town contracts. The health department hired Eastern Research Group to design surface-water sampling at public bathing beaches and to produce a communications plan; the department also continues work with TRC for data analysis and fingerprinting of PFAS sources. The town plans public briefings and fact sheets describing the findings and what residents can do.
The health director said MassDEP will be asked to coordinate abutter access and sampling. Board members asked how the town will assist homeowners with detections; Shapiro said MassDEP provides bottled water only in limited circumstances and that filtration or connection to town water are the main remedies. "If town water is not available, filtration is going to be the way to go," he said.
The board asked staff to continue outreach and to present follow-up sampling and analysis when MassDEP's step-out results are available. Shapiro urged anyone who received a mailed notice or who has questions to contact the health department for guidance or help connecting to MassDEP.
Ending: The health department said additional sampling and reporting are underway and that results and guidance will be posted on the town website and distributed through the department's PFAS newsletter and Twitter account. The board scheduled ongoing updates; residents with private wells were urged to test and to contact the department for assistance.
