The metropolis of Cambridge is quickly switching the supply of its consuming water after discovering elevated ranges of poisonous “forever chemicals” in its water provide, the town mentioned in a press release.
The PFAS ranges within the water are above what state requirements enable, Friday’s assertion mentioned.
The metropolis throughout the Charles River from Boston and residential to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will get water for its practically 120,000 residents from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s system beginning Tuesday till November, when it’s anticipated to put in a brand new filter at its water remedy facility.
“Replacing the filter media will ensure that our PFAS levels will be reliably and consistently below the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection regulatory standard in the short and long term,” water division Director Sam Corda mentioned.
PFAS, which stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been linked to most cancers and different well being issues in people. They are known as “forever chemicals” as a result of they don’t degrade within the surroundings and stay within the bloodstream. They have been used for years in firefighting foams, nonstick frying pans, water-repellent materials, stain-resistant rugs and different merchandise.
Cambridge, the state’s fourth-largest metropolis, will get its water from the Stony Brook Watershed within the Charles River Basin. MWRA water is from the Quabbin and Wachusett reservoirs.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency moved Friday to designate two PFAS chemical compounds present in Cambridge’s water as hazardous substances.
Massachusetts in May sued greater than a dozen firms concerned within the manufacture or advertising and marketing of perpetually chemical compounds, alleging they knowingly polluted the surroundings and endangered public well being. The chemical compounds have polluted greater than 126 public consuming water programs in 86 Massachusetts communities, the swimsuit mentioned.
City Councilor Quinton Zondervan desires the town to modify to MWRA water completely due to Cambridge’s elevated PFAS ranges.
“We just don’t know what is, or is not, a safe level. And that’s a huge problem,” he advised The Boston Globe.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”