KENNEBUNKPORT – Testing of well water at nine residential homes around the watershed near the closed landfill at 105 Beachwood Ave. has turned up one well that exceeded Maine’s interim limits for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances – referred to as PFAS – in drinking water.

Of nine available test results taken from drinking water wells near the closed Kennebunkport landfill, one has exceeded the limits for PFAS chemicals, and the town is awaiting results on five other tests. Above, a closed landfill in Maine. Courtesy photo/Maine DEP

Kennebunkport Director of Public Works Chris Simeoni told the board of selectmen on Thursday, March 24, that testing on five additional properties had been completed but as of that meeting, the results of those were not yet available.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection contacted the town in November in response to growing concern about the so-called forever chemicals in Maine and across the nation.

“Maine DEP reached out to us to perform some PFAS testing at our landfill in response to ongoing concern about the PFAS chemicals that we’re seeing popping up nationwide,” Simeoni told the board. “The results of those tests came back and our monitoring wells as all as our drinking water well at the highway garage and showed there were exceedances in the interim drinking water limits for PFAS,” which is 20 nanograms per liter or 20 parts per trillion. “After those results came back, they required us to test houses within 1,000 feet of the landfill in that watershed area.”

Tests results of the water samples taken upstream of any water treatment system within the residences show all but one of the nine were below the interim state limit, according to R. G. Gillespie and Associates, the company that conducted the water sample testing. One property tested above the limits.

Simeoni said the homeowner of the affected property will be supplied with a water filtration system – DEP is poised to pay 90 percent of the remediation costs if  homes were built before 1999 and 50 percent if built after that date. He said Maine DEP funded 100 percent of the cost of the investigation.

“Only one so far, that’s good news,” said chair Sheila Matthews-Bull.

Selectman Allen Daggett asked if the filtration system would take care of the PFAS problem at the one residence above the limits.

Simeoni said the water in the home where the limit was exceeded would be tested quarterly to make sure the filtration system is running properly.

He said once all of tests are back, the state geologist will look at the characteristics of the watershed and decide if there would be continued testing for the 13 other homes.

According to information posted on the Maine DEP website, as early as the 1940s, PFAS became widely used in household products and industrial settings and were also historically used in firefighting foams due to their effectiveness at quickly extinguishing petroleum-based fires.

“Because they have a unique ability to repel oil, grease, water and heat, PFAS are used in many common products that we use regularly,” according to the DEP website. “They have been used to make non-stick cookware, stain-resistant carpets and furniture, water-resistant clothing, heat-resistant paper/cardboard food packaging (like microwave popcorn and pizza boxes), and some personal care products. PFAS break down very slowly and are persistent in the environment. This means that PFAS may build up in people, animals, and the environment over time. Health agencies are working to understand more about the health effects of low level, long-term exposure.”

Information at the DEP website indicates that the old Kennebunkport landfill was listed as closed as of 1993.