Part of Harford County Public Schools’ upcoming capital budget request to the county will include money for remediation of PFAS-contaminated school wells, according to Manager of Communications Jillian Lader.
Most of Harford County’s public schools are supplied water from their wells. Recent drinking water tests of these systems revealed high levels of PFAS chemicals in the water systems at Fallston High School, Harford Technical High School, Harford Academy, Norrisville Elementary School and Prospect Mill Elementary School.
Lader said that each school will continue to prohibit students from consuming water from the school facilities until the systems test at an acceptable level. Additionally, she said the process of remediation and supplying water to the schools will be “lengthy and costly.”
“That said, we are aware of potential grant funding for this specific issue and are hopeful that when grants become available, that HCPS can secure that funding,” Lader said. “Potential long-term remediation is still under evaluation.”
The PFAS levels found at these schools warranted a recommendation from the Maryland Department of the Environment for the school system to seek alternative drinking water sources. Students at each of the five schools will be supplied with bottled water. Signs will be posted to ensure students are using school water only for handwashing. School kitchens will use water dispensers for onsite food preparation.
Since Harford schools own these water systems, they are tasked with ensuring the water quality complies with the Maryland Department of the Environment, which enforces federal regulations such as the National Drinking Water Regulation.
The regulation was issued in April and sets a maximum contamination level for six PFAS chemicals commonly found in drinking water. The levels are:
- PFOA: 4 parts per trillion
- PFOS: 4 parts per trillion
- PFHxS: 10 parts per trillion
- PFNA: 10 parts per trillion
- HFPO-DA: 10 parts per trillion
- Mixtures containing two or more PFHxS, PFNA, HFPO-DA and PFBS: Hazard index
PFAS chemicals— short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are human-made chemicals that have been used since the 1940s in a range of products including stain and water-resistant fabrics and carpeting, cleaning products, paints, cookware, food packaging and fire-fighting foams.
These chemicals are commonly referred to as “microplastics” and “forever chemicals” as they do not naturally break down in nature.
Current research from the Maryland Department of the Environment suggests that high levels of PFAS may lead to high cholesterol; changes in liver enzymes; decreased infant birth weight; decreased vaccine effectiveness in children; increased risk of high blood pressure in pregnant women and increased risk of kidney or testicular cancer.
The regulation mandates that public water systems must implement solutions to reduce PFAS chemicals to meet the regulation standards by 2029.
Contamination at the five schools exceeds the regulations as follows:
Fallston High School
- PFOA: Sample 1 found 16.90 parts per trillion and Sample 2 found 4.52 parts per trillion
- PFOS: Sample 1 found 100 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 58.50 parts per trillion
- PFHxS: Sample 1 found 129 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 19 parts per trillion
- PFNA: Sample 1 found 27.80 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 16.20 parts per trillion
Harford Technical High School
- PFOA: Sample 1 found 19.90 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 26.70 parts per trillion
- PFOS: 5.51 parts per trillion
Harford Academy
- PFOA: Sample 1 found 77.3 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 33.8 parts per trillion
- PFOS: Sample 1 found 31.5 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 17.2 parts per trillion
- PFHxS: Sample 1 found 45 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 25.6 parts per trillion
- PFNA: 33.8 parts per trillion
Norrisville Elementary School
- PFOA: 52.8 parts per trillion
Prospect Mill Elementary School
- PFOA: Sample 1 found 12.30 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 36.90 parts per trillion
- PFOS: Sample 1 found 7.19 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 7.93 parts per trillion
- PFHxS: 11.40 parts per trillion
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Fallston High School serves a population of 1,113; Harford Technical High School serves a population of 1,187; Harford Academy serves a population of 292; Norrisville Elementary School serves a population of 231 and Prospect Mill Elementary School serves a population of 691.
In addition, students, parents and staff at Churchville Elementary, Dublin Elementary, Fallston Middle, Forest Hill Elementary and Jarrettsville Elementary schools were notified by Harford school officials due to the presence of PFAS chemicals in their drinking water.
These schools — unlike the five with high contamination levels — do not prohibit consuming school water by the Maryland Department of the Environment, but were advised to notify potential consumers due to the contamination levels being over regulation.
The levels found at the notified schools are:
Churchville Elementary School
- PFOA: 6.48 parts per trillion
- PFOS: 4.93 parts per trillion
Dublin Elementary School
- PFOA: Sample 1 found 9.02 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 5.33 parts per trillion
- PFOS: Sample 1 found 7.12 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 6.56 parts per trillion
Fallston Middle School
- PFOA: 6.27 parts per trillion
Forest Hill Elementary School
- PFOA: Sample 1 found 7.66 parts per trillion and sample 2 found 7.05 parts per trillion
Jarrettsville Elementary School
- PFOA: 4.48 parts per trillion
Schools that were not notified of PFAS contamination are either not serviced by a well or did not receive qualifying test results, Lader said in an email to parents, students and staff.
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