The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation will continue testing drinking water near the Rutland-Southern Vermont Regional Airport in Clarendon.In a release issued Wednesday, it was noted that state scientists tested 35 water supplies near the airport and found traces of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at 17 sites.
Five of those water supplies had samples exceeding the Vermont Department of Health Drinking Water Health Advisory of 20 parts per trillion.
PFAS include the chemical PFOA, which has turned up in more than 200 wells in Bennington.
The Department of Environmental Conservation now says it will extend its area of concern around the airport to determine how far the contamination has spread.
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The state doesn’t know how the wells in Clarendon were contaminated. But PFAS was used in firefighting foam and communities across the country are now finding the dangerous chemical in water supplies near airports.
According to the release, bottled water is being offered to anyone who has contaminated water, and if water supplies exceed the health advisory, users can have a filter system installed to remove the PFAS from the water.
The state has already installed two residential Point Of Entry Treatment (POET) filter systems.
