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Nantucket residents press town on turf fields, landfill and well testing after PFAS findings
Summary
Residents raised concerns about proposed artificial turf, an unlined landfill and private well contamination after local PFAS detections; town staff said monitoring is ongoing and Dr. Todd offered resources for testing and clinical follow-up.
Nantucket residents used a public information session to press town officials about local sources of PFAS contamination and what residents should do next. Concerns focused on a proposed artificial turf installation, legacy disposal at an unlined landfill, and private-well contamination near the airport and Madaket.
A resident said the planned turf project would add "80,000 pounds of plastic" to island fields and asked whether any parts-per-trillion level of PFAS is acceptable. Dr. Tamara James Todd, the session's keynote speaker, said she was not aware of epidemiologic studies directly linking turf installations to community-level health outcomes and recommended weighing alternatives, studying exposure pathways and seeking lower-exposure options where possible.
Several residents pressed the town about an unlined landfill they said contains PFAS-bearing materials from decades of disposal. One resident, Bruce Mandel, said MassDEP previously gave the town deadlines to remediate the unlined landfill and that cleanup obligations had not been completed; he said Madaket monitoring wells exist but had not been tested. Town moderator Andrew said the wastewater facility and landfill have been receiving PFAS for years, that the town has been measuring PFAS on and off-site, and that further sampling and data analysis are underway; he provided an email (ashapiro@nantucket-ma.gov) for follow-up.
Community members also asked about private-well results and school concerns. A school nurse said a tested household well near the airport registered about 36–42 parts per trillion (ppt) over a year and asked whether childhood vaccine protection could be compromised by early-life exposure. Dr. Todd suggested discussing antibody-titer testing with pediatricians and recommended involving the region's Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit for guidance on children in high-exposure communities.
Town staff did not announce remediation timelines or specific new monitoring results at the session but said a surface-water sampling presentation is planned for January. Residents urged faster testing of pre-dug monitoring wells in Madaket and clearer town communication on landfill and wastewater PFAS flows.
The session closed with a commitment to continue community engagement and a reminder that public resources and research centers (PFAS STEEP, PFAS REACH and regional pediatric units) are available to help guide local testing and clinician responses.
