The University of Rhode Island has been awarded $10 million from the Biden-Harris administration to investigate and treat the PFAS contamination in the school’s water supply.
PFAS are a group of manufactured chemicals, known as polyfluoroalkyl substances, widely used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. PFAS is commonly found in drinking water close to manufacturing sites, as well as in fish and livestock exposed to contaminated water.
The Biden-Harris administration passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in November 2021, which allocated $50 billion into improving the nation’s water, wastewater and stormwater infrastructure and quality, according to the EPA’s website. This allocated money will additionally be used to address PFAS and other contaminants.
Karl Clavo, assistant vice president of the URI PFAS Project, said the contamination was found two years ago. The URI community was made aware of the contamination in a Sept. 5, 2023 press release.
“While there is not an immediate risk, as members of our community, you have a right to know what happened and what we’re doing to correct the situation,” according to the press release.
The release also said URI’s water tests in June and July of 2023 reported an average 29 parts per trillion of PFAS, nine parts per trillion above the state’s drinking water standard of 20 parts per trillion. The Rhode Island Department of Health published data results from July 2023 that reported the highest concentration was 43 parts per trillion in URI water.
A press release from URI published on Nov. 29, 2023 reported that water samples taken in November 2023 came back with PFAS contamination levels of 27 parts per trillion.
URI’s water supply comes from Thirty Acre Pond, Calvo said.
“We have three wells down there that provide 100% of the water for URI,” Calvo said. “Anything that uses water uses those wells.”
The $10 million given to URI is being used to build a water filtration plant, with the goal of completion in November 2024.
“The first phase will provide PFAS free water if all goes to plan,” Calvo said.
The money was awarded in October 2023, and the system has been in development before then, Calvo said.
“We’ve been planning and designing the filtration system long before we got the money,” Calvo said.
The plant is being built by outside contractors, and will have additional filtration components completed in 2026, Calvo said.
Water contaminated with PFAS has potential health risks including decreased fertility and high blood pressure in women, developmental delays in children, increased risk of testicular, kidney and prostate cancer, as well as decreased immune system function, according to the EPA.
They have also said on their website that pregnant women, infants and young children are particularly at risk for PFAS negatively affecting their health. The “do not drink” order was given to three Rhode Island water supply systems, two in Exeter and one in Glendale, following the July 2023 tests.
PFAS builds up in the body and begins to negatively affect health, but that being said, it poses no immediate risk at URI, according to the RIDOH.