Federal environmental officials are moving to address drinking water contamination in Palmerton, where a decades-old industrial site has been identified as a likely source of harmful chemical compounds in the local water supply.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to install a temporary water treatment system after discovering elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water from the Palmerton Municipal Authority.
Testing indicates the contamination originates from the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund site, where zinc smelting operations ran from 1898 to 1981…