By Michael Sol Warren, NJ Spotlight News
A private well at the heart of a pollution hot spot in Warren County has levels of toxic “forever chemicals” that appear to be the highest recorded in New Jersey and among the highest ever seen in the nation.
Records from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection show that a drinking water sample from a private well at a self-storage facility in the area of South Lincoln Avenue in Washington Township had a total concentration of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — PFAS — of 18,997 parts per trillion. The sample was pulled from the well on June 13, 2023.
PFAS, often called forever chemicals, are a family of thousands of chemicals used for decades in a variety of applications and are now a widespread pollution problem around the world. The chemicals are incredibly durable, which makes them very useful but also means they are very difficult to break down. PFAS have been linked to serious health problems, including cancer and birth defects.
New Jersey has drinking water standards for three of the most common PFAS: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA). Those regulations set a maximum level of 14 parts per trillion for PFOA and 13 parts per trillion for both PFOS and PFNA.
Well contamination at the storage facility dwarfed those standards, with PFOS at 8,350 parts per trillion, PFOA at 5,950 parts per trillion and PFNA at 354 parts per trillion. Other PFAS, which remain unregulated, were also found in the well.
What sparked the investigation
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