Officials in Williamstown, Massachusetts, are testing the municipal water supply for the possible carcinogen PFOA. The substance has been found in water samples taken in two nearby Vermont towns.
PFOA is a substance that was used in the making of teflon and was phased out by manufacturers last year.
In Williamstown, town manager Jason Hoch says there hasn’t been a public outcry for testing and that he’s only heard from about a half-dozen concerned individuals. Still, Hoch says it’s important to reassure residents that the water is safe.
“This is not something we normally test for,” Hoch says. “All of the sites that have been found are downstream from us, so the basic laws of nature should imply it doesn’t roll upstream.”
Across the state line in Vermont, PFOA has turned up in private wells in North Bennington, and this week in the public water supply in Pownal, directly north of Williamstown.