A dire situation involving PFAS contamination in school drinking water has prompted numerous classrooms across the country to make the switch to bottled water. In Aroostook County, Maine, the school year will begin with a prohibition on water fountains until at least late November due to recent tests revealing the presence of PFAS chemicals. Cumberland County, North Carolina has also been affected, as several schools have been forced to exclusively provide bottled drinking water after discovering PFAS contamination in their water. This area has seen a rise in cancer diagnoses, blood disorders, and infant deaths, which locals suspect are connected to a nearby chemical plant.
Schools in at least six states have had their drinking water tested and subsequently banned the use of tap water and fountains. The lack of legal requirements for water testing means many children may unknowingly be exposed to dangerous chemicals, thus prompting districts to take matters into their own hands. This issue is of particular concern since PFAS has been linked to developmental delays in children, as these chemicals disrupt crucial hormone pathways necessary for human growth and development. Some schools have only recently become aware of the extent of PFAS contamination in their drinking water, leading officials to block off water fountains and provide students with bottled water. In certain cases, schools have even requested that parents send their children to school with bottled water.
PFAS chemicals are man-made substances found in food packaging, clothing, and numerous household products throughout the United States. Due to their widespread use, they leach into the soil, drinking water, air, and food. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not break down in the human body and can cause DNA damage, raising the risk of cancer, infertility, and other diseases. In the absence of government action, states and individual school districts have established their own water surveillance systems to assess the extent of PFAS contamination. Disturbingly, many of these systems have discovered alarmingly high concentrations of PFAS in the water.
Miscoe Hill Middle School in Mendon, Massachusetts faced concerning levels of PFAS contamination in their drinking water. Water testing conducted from April to June 2022 revealed PFAS levels exceeding the state’s maximum contamination level. Further testing by the Energy and Environmental Affairs department confirmed elevated levels of PFAS on multiple occasions. As a result, the school has been purchasing bottled water for its students since at least 2022.
Although many schools have resorted to blocking water fountains and distributing bottled water, this is merely a temporary solution to the ongoing issue of overexposure to industrial chemicals with severe health risks. PFAS contamination is a relatively recent concern, as scientists have only started studying the long-term effects of consuming contaminated water and breathing polluted air over the past decade. The impact on schools is particularly worrisome due to the connection between PFAS and developmental delays in children. A February study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives highlighted the harm that PFAS contamination poses to hormonal and metabolic pathways critical for human growth and development.
Two schools in northern Maine recently made headlines when officials announced that students would be provided with bottled water due to PFAS levels exceeding the safe limit set by the state. However, these are not the only schools in Maine taking such measures. Hermon High School has been exclusively using bottled drinking water since February 2023 after tests revealed PFAS contamination in faucets and fountains. Similarly, one school in Westchester County, New York adopted a bottled-water-only policy in 2018, while Pequenakonck Elementary School was directed by the state in 2021 to cease using tap and fountain water due to PFAS contamination.
In Cumberland County, North Carolina, where a manufacturing plant has been releasing PFAS into the Cape Fear River for decades, Gray’s Creek Elementary and Alderman Road Elementary schools have exclusively used bottled water since 2020, following state testing. The Mendon-Upton Regional School district, where Miscoe Hill school is located, received million-dollar grants from the state to install two new water treatment systems to remove PFAS, a significant achievement for officials and school administrators.
Water contamination with high concentrations of PFAS is not limited to a few specific areas. Numerous cities across the country have been identified as having elevated levels of PFAS in public water supplies and private wells. The Environmental Working Group provides information on these locations, and cancer diagnoses in many of these towns exceed the national average rate. State-initiated water testing programs are beneficial for local communities and schools, especially since funding for such projects is often a challenge. However, support for these statewide efforts is not consistent across the country, leaving some counties and school boards to address the issue themselves.
The Wausau School Board in Wisconsin took action after city testing revealed PFAS contamination in water fountains in 17 out of 20 schools. The proposed limits from the state’s Department of Natural Resources recommend concentrations not exceeding 20 parts per trillion. Once the extent of the contamination became apparent, parents were instructed to send their children to school with bottled water instead of relying on water fountains. The issue was only resolved earlier this year when the school district received notification from the city’s public works department stating that PFAS levels in the water facilities were undetectable. However, school officials recognized that some concerned parents would still prefer to have their children consume bottled water.
Drinking water in schools can come from municipal water systems or their own water systems, such as wells. Approximately 8,000 schools and daycares rely on their own water systems, which are not consistently tested. Testing private well water often falls on the individual owner, although some state or local health and environmental departments may offer guidance. Nearly 100,000 public schools and approximately 500,000 childcare facilities obtain water from local community water systems but are not required to conduct additional testing for contaminants like PFAS.
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