On Friday, MassDEP proposed a number of revisions to the
Massachusetts Contingency Plan, including reporting and cleanup standards for PFAS. The
proposed GW-1 standard, applicable to current and potential
drinking water source areas, would be 20 parts per trillion for the
sum of six PFAS compounds (PFDA, PFHpA, PFHxS, PFOA, PFOS, and
PFNA) – significantly more stringent than the 70 ppt
guideline for the sum of five PFAS compounds currently in
effect.
Of course, the standards are less stringent where drinking water
is not affected, but even some of those numbers are pretty low. For
example, the standard for S-3 soils, those that can be subject to
activity and use limitations and would be unlikely to present
significant exposures, would be 400 parts per billion. How many
sites in Massachusetts have soil concentrations of the six PFAS
above 400 ppb? Every landfill? Every airport? It's got to be
quite a number. If these regulations are finalized, such facilities
are
