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Board of Health: Second round of beach sampling finds PFAS concentrated in seafoam; residents advised to avoid contact
Summary
Eastern Research Group presented results from a second round of PFAS sampling at Nantucket bathing beaches and associated seafoam. Surface-water PFAS results were below the Massachusetts screening value; foam samples showed elevated PFAS and remain a contact hazard. The board announced two public briefings and a fuller report in January.
The Nantucket Board of Health heard an update Oct. 16 on the town's second round of bathing-beach sampling for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), with consultants reporting that surface-water measurements were below state screening levels but foam samples contained higher PFAS concentrations.
Rebecca DeVries, a scientist with Eastern Research Group (ERG), told the board the team collected surface-water samples at 18 locations and foam where enough material was present. "All of the surface water results from August fall below that screening value [20 nanograms per liter], indicating that no additional action is needed," DeVries said. She added that laboratory flags and small sample volumes limited some foam analyses, but that foam concentrations remained elevated compared with surface water.
The board's environmental contamination administrator,…
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