The Weir River from Hull looking East
In Part 3, we reviewed the state and federal limits on PFAS in our water. Let’s backtrack a bit and do a level set: PFAS “forever chemicals” in Hingham? We’ve never had a Dupont plant here. Why does the WRWS have a PFAS problem? How did PFAS get here?
While Hingham does not have a history of industrial firms depositing PFAS residue, we are still vulnerable to the “global reservoir” of these substances. Because PFAS does not break down, the millions of tons emitted by industry over the last 50 years are still trapped in the global atmospheric water cycle. Even without new factory emissions, previously generated PFAS is constantly evaporating out of contaminated ocean spray and landfill vapors, entering the clouds and falling back down in the rain…