{"id":283,"date":"2024-09-09T10:38:21","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T14:38:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo-draft\/?page_id=283"},"modified":"2026-06-18T12:02:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T16:02:09","slug":"pfas","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo\/emerging-contaminants\/pfas\/","title":{"rendered":"PFAS in Rhode Island Homes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The University of Rhode Island\u2019s Cooperative Extension Water Quality Program<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0testing private well water and wastewater at selected households to better understand\u00a0the presence of\u00a0PFAS\u00a0(per\u2011\u00a0and polyfluoroalkyl substances)\u00a0in Rhode Island\u00a0homes.\u00a0PFAS, which is a group of chemicals widely used in both industrial processes and consumer products,\u00a0have been detected in drinking water across the\u00a0United States, and exposure to PFAS is linked to\u00a0potentially adverse health effects.\u00a0This University of Rhode Island Institutional Review Board-approved study\u00a0will\u00a0provide residents with information to help reduce PFAS exposure in the home and contribute to a better\u00a0understanding of PFAS exposure and contamination\u00a0in local drinking water supplies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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PFAS are often referred to as “forever chemicals” due to their ability to persist in the environment. Because PFAS are commonly used in everyday products, such as non-stick cookware, stain-resistant fabrics, food packaging, and firefighting foam, they have ben detected in surface water, groundwater, drinking water, and soil throughout the United States. PFAS exposure can occur through drinking water, eating food, or breathing air containing PFAS. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Public water systems are\u00a0required\u00a0to\u00a0monitor for\u00a0PFAS\u00a0under\u00a0the\u00a0Safe Drinking Water\u00a0Act<\/a>\u00a0(SDWA) in order to meet federal regulations protecting human health, and\u00a0the\u202fRhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH)<\/a>\u202fregularly\u202foversees\u202f public\u00a0water systems\u202fto ensure compliance with state and federal\u202fregulatory\u202frequirements.\u00a0However,\u00a0little information is available about PFAS in drinking water from private wells, which\u00a0are not\u00a0required\u00a0to complete routine testing for PFAS or any other contaminants.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In coordination with the RIDOH, we selected the towns of Charlestown and Exeter to begin our sampling efforts. Both communities fall within a\u00a0RIDOH Health Equity Zone<\/a>\u00a0and have documented PFAS detections in one or more public water systems within their municipal boundaries.\u00a0Households\u00a0located\u00a0within a 1\/2-mile radius of a public water system with a PFAS detection will be chosen to sample private wells and wastewater for PFAS at no cost to the homeowner.\u00a0No public water system within our study area exceeded the current \u00a0Rhode Island Interim Drinking Water Standard\u00a0<\/a>of 20 parts per trillion (ppt). All samples will be analyzed by a state\u2011certified laboratory to\u00a0determine\u00a0the presence and concentration of PFAS, if detected. Participation in this University of Rhode Island Institutional Review Board\u2013approved study is voluntary.\u00a0Some\u00a0funding is available to\u00a0assist\u00a0homeowners with treatment costs if private well results show PFAS levels above 20 ppt- the level at which public water systems are required to take action to lower the level of PFAS under state regulatory requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information about the project, the signup link for eligible homeowners, and resources on PFAS, visit the PFAS in Rhode Island Homes project website<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Rhode Island\u2019s Cooperative Extension Water Quality Program\u00a0is\u00a0testing private well water and wastewater at selected households to better understand\u00a0the presence of\u00a0PFAS\u00a0(per\u2011\u00a0and polyfluoroalkyl substances)\u00a0in Rhode Island\u00a0homes.\u00a0PFAS, which is a group of chemicals widely used in both industrial processes and consumer products,\u00a0have been detected in drinking water across the\u00a0United States, and exposure to PFAS is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5144,"featured_media":0,"parent":15,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-283","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5144"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=283"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":846,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/283\/revisions\/846"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/15"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/nemo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}