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County lab expands testing, offers free PFAS well screens and local courier service
Summary
Barnstable County's public laboratory described new state certification for PFAS analysis, a county-funded free-well-screen program run with Tetra Tech, a courier service for private-well kits, beach-monitoring volume, and sample turnaround times.
Dan White, laboratory director for Barnstable County, briefed commissioners on the laboratory's services and recent upgrades. The lab runs beach-monitoring, private-well testing, wastewater analysis and supports the Massachusetts Alternative Septic System Test Center. "We got certified to analyze PFAS in 2025, thanks to an instrument provided by the commissioners," White said, noting the lab is doing PFAS analysis for a county-sponsored free-well-screening program run with Tetra Tech.
White described logistics: the courier service collects samples at town halls twice weekly, turnaround is about 10 business days for routine well kits and about 15 days for PFAS; so far the county has received hundreds of kits under the free program and expects a report when Tetra Tech completes analysis. He also noted the lab processes thousands of beach and freshwater samples each summer and has added mapping and data tools to make results more accessible.
Commissioners and residents asked for trend data and public access to aggregated results. White and health staff said they are working with county epidemiology and with Tetra Tech to release trend reports and to make datasets more accessible once analysis and reporting are complete.
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