The specter of ‘forever chemicals’ looms over Pennsylvania’s rural communities

by

By Ben Seal of Inside Climate News

When Nicole Williams moved into her house in Pennsylvania’s North Centre Township in 2011, it was a homecoming. Fifteen years later, her family relies on an in-line filtration system to remove PFAS — so-called “forever chemicals” — from their well water.

spotlight pa

The contamination has been linked to sewage sludge spread as fertilizer on nearby farmland. Pennsylvania environmental regulators are investigating groundwater contamination in Columbia County, while researchers and advocates warn the problem could extend much more widely across rural Pennsylvania.

A 2023 U.S. Geological Survey study found at least one PFAS chemical in 76% of Pennsylvania streams tested. Pennsylvania still permits sewage sludge to be applied to farmland, and the state estimates roughly 400,000 tons are land-applied annually.

Read the full story at Spotlight PA.

This story was originally published by Inside Climate News and appeared on Spotlight PA. Gettysburg Connection is sharing it as part of its coverage of issues affecting Pennsylvania communities.

Spotlight PA

Spotlight PA is dedicated to producing non­partisan investigative journalism about Pennsylvania government and urgent statewide issues. We are an independent watchdog unafraid to dig deep, fight for the truth and take on the powerful to expose wrongdoing and spur meaningful reform. We connect Pennsylvanians to their state, and to each other, through public service journalism that matters to their lives and is creatively told in the many modern, digital ways they consume their news.

>