January 14, 2022
Contact: Clint Richmond
Mass. Sierra Club Toxics Policy Chair
New Report reveals widespread PFAS Contamination in Rhode Island Waters
BOSTON - A recently completed Sierra Club study released today raises new concerns regarding PFAS contamination in Rhode Island’s ground and surface waters. The Sierra Club analysis of public data gathered by the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) highlights widespread PFAS contamination throughout the state in drinking water sources.
The study released today highlights the fact that 85% of Rhode Island communities have water sources with detectable levels of PFAS. Clint Richmond, the lead author says, “The existing data demonstrates the need for Rhode Island to protect the public from contamination through additional research, legislation, and state regulation.”
James Crowley, Staff Attorney at Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), agrees that “Rhode Islanders deserve to know that their drinking water is safe when they turn on their taps. But as the Sierra Club report highlights, some Rhode Islanders are drinking water with levels of toxic PFAS chemicals that neighboring states have already declared unsafe. As CLF has been saying for years, it’s time for the state to regulate these toxic chemicals in our water.”
The Sierra Club analyzed the RIDOH testing data released to date. The Sierra Club is concerned that 15 out of the 87 public water systems tested have exceeded the proposed Rhode Island quality limits of 20 parts per trillion for the six PFAS compounds currently being regulated in Massachusetts and Maine. Several drinking water systems in Rhode Island have measured total PFAS many times more than that level. There are thousands of PFAS chemicals so the total burden of these harmful, synthetic chemicals is likely drastically underestimated.
Sonya Lunder, Senior Toxics Policy Advisor at the Sierra Club, warned, “Rhode Island needs to regulate these chemicals because they do not break down naturally, persist in ecosystems, and are linked to cancer, thyroid disease, weakened immunity and other health impacts even in extremely small amounts.”
The expected toll of water contamination will grow because PFAS chemicals are used to produce a vast array of products including fire-fighting foams. Foam accounts for high levels in parts of Burrillville and Charlestown, but the problem is much larger than foam.
Richmond concluded, “RIDOH and water systems have been taking measures to protect drinking water. This study reveals the underlying conditions that we are facing to access clean water. Chemical companies have completely contaminated the state with PFAS over the course of decades and are continuing to do so in the absence of Federal action. Just a handful of companies have developed thousands of these exotic chemicals and are liable for their impacts. The Sierra Club urges the Legislature to take action to begin to end the unnecessary use of these toxic chemicals.”
For a one-page summary of the data and full report see:
https://www.sierraclub.org/pfas-rhode-island-water