More Delaware drinking water sources found to have 'forever chemicals' known as PFAS

CORRECTION: A spokeswoman with Dover Air Force Base clarified Wednesday that two businesses, served by two wells, were impacted by the PFAS contamination.

Two businesses in the Dover area were recently told to stop drinking their tap water after "forever chemicals" were found in preliminary samples taken as part of an ongoing investigation into pollution at the Dover Air Force Base.

PFOS and PFOA, which are among thousands of manmade chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), were first discovered in groundwater and wells at the Dover Air Force Base in 2014.

State environmental regulators alerted the public Tuesday afternoon that preliminary results found the chemicals in two more wells near the base, at levels higher than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "lifetime health advisory" of 70 parts per trillion.

State and federal officials tested for the contaminants first in 2014 after identifying the site as potentially polluted due to the historical use of firefighting foam. Officials then found contamination had reached a private well beyond the base in 2016 and another four wells near the base last summer.

The chemicals have also been found contaminating drinking water sources in the New Castle area and in the western Sussex County town of Blades as well as at military bases, airports and industrialized areas across the country.

PFAS IN DELAWARE: Where they have been found, what officials are doing

It will take another 30 days to validate the findings of "possible elevated levels" of PFOA and PFOS announced Tuesday, officials said in a press release.

The owners of the two additional wells have been notified, and the Dover Air Force Base has provided them with bottled water, according to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.

Lt. Lorraine Cho with Dover Air Force Base said she could not provide the name of the business, but that it did not serve food. She clarified Wednesday morning that two businesses were impacted by the two contaminated wells.

The U.S. Air Force is providing an "alternative water supply" to those impacted by the other contaminated wells announced in July, DNREC said.

DNREC said in its release that PFOS and PFOA were not found in five nearby municipal wells, which were tested by the base's water provider, Tidewater Utilities, and are in a deeper aquifer than the ones found with contamination.

But the agency also said samples taken from shallow groundwater monitoring wells on the base showed levels of the two PFAS compounds above the 70-ppt health advisory limit.

IN BLADES: What's hidden in this Delaware town's groundwater? PFAS and heavy metals

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Public health officials encourage people with impacted wells to use bottled water provided by the base "until a permanent solution is in place," according to DNREC's release.

The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have been working with DNREC and the Division of Public Health "to determine the impacts of PFOS and PFOA on private wells in proximity to the base," DNREC said.

PFAS compounds like the ones found in wells near the Dover Air Force Base and other places in Delaware have been used for decades in nonstick or water-resistant products such as Teflon cookware, industrial operations and firefighting foam. They are widespread in the environment, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that most Americans have been exposed to the chemicals or have PFOA or PFOS in their blood.

PFAS are not regulated by the Safe Drinking Water Act and are not included in the usual suite of contaminants like lead and bacteria that water providers look for during routine testing. Private wells are not subject to any testing requirements, and it's up to their owners to test them for any type of contamination. PFOA and PFOS are considered hazardous substances in Delaware.

The EPA announced last week that it is seeking public comment on a plan to regulate those two PFAS compounds, which could set legal limits for the contaminant in drinking water and trigger mandatory monitoring and treatment.

Though scientists are still studying the health effects of PFAS pollution in drinking water, a court-appointed panel of scientists that studied the health of thousands of residents exposed to the chemical PFOA in the Mid-Ohio Valley found probable links between exposure to that PFAS compound and kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis and pregnancy-induced hypertension.

Have you been impacted by PFAS contamination on or near the Dover Air Force Base? Contact environmental reporter Maddy Lauria at (302) 345-0608, mlauria@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @MaddyinMilford.