In Palmerton, Pennsylvania, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reported that a long-term Superfund cleanup may have contributed to water contamination in the area. The cleanup began after a zinc smelting factory closed in 1981, leaving about 3,000 acres with heavy metal pollution.
To restore vegetation and limit further pollution, municipal sewage sludge was applied as fertilizer in the 1990s and early 2000s. The EPA now states that this method has led to the presence of PFAS chemicals in the soil and water. This affects the community of about 5,600 residents and has raised new environmental and health questions…