Correction: An earlier version of this story said residents had been advised not to use affected water for brushing teeth or washing dishes. The Rhode Island Department of Health says those are not routes of PFAS exposure and that residents can continue both.
Rhode Island’s congressional delegation is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to step in and help residents whose private wells have been contaminated with PFAS, the class of chemicals known as forever chemicals.
Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Rep. Gabe Amo wrote to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Tuesday, calling it an urgent public health matter and asking the agency to help families get safe drinking water and determine the source and extent of the contamination.
“Tiverton residents should not have to wait for the next round of testing, the next funding cycle, or another agency to determine responsibility before they can have safe water in their homes,” the lawmakers wrote.
As of Sept. 16, 87 of 157 private wells sampled had tested above Rhode Island’s standard of 20 parts per trillion for six common PFAS compounds, according to the delegation. Results for more than two dozen homes were still pending.
Seven homes have come back above 1,600 parts per trillion, a level at which home filtration systems are ineffective. One reached roughly 4,000 parts per trillion, the highest ever recorded in a private well in the state.
The Department of Environmental Management began sampling in the area in May, as part of a statewide program checking wells near sites at risk of contamination. The Crandall Road neighborhood was selected because of its proximity to Tiverton Fire Station 3. DEM has said the potential source is the historic use of firefighting foam containing PFAS, though state officials have not confirmed the station as the source and have said the contamination could date back decades.
Testing covers private wells on Crandall Road and side roads between Bulgarmarsh Road and Pershing Avenue, Bulgarmarsh Road and side roads between Indian Hill Road and Luke Drive, and Stafford Road between Bulgarmarsh Road and the Bliss Four Corners church. The town’s public water supply is not affected.
Residents whose wells exceed the standard have been told not to use the water for drinking or cooking. The Department of Health says brushing teeth and washing dishes are not routes of exposure to PFAS and that affected residents can continue doing both as usual. Boiling does not remove PFAS and concentrates them.
Town Manager Patrick Jones has said Tiverton is working to speed up a project connecting affected properties to town water, which had not been scheduled for completion until spring. The delegation also asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to move quickly on federal funding for a new water line.
The full letter is posted on Amo’s House website, and town updates are at tiverton.ri.gov.
