High levels of 'forever chemicals' found in wells of 9 Hazelbrook homes

The provincial government is supplying nine households in Hazelbrook, P.E.I., with bottled water after the wells belonging to them tested significantly above interim Health Canada benchmarks for a class of chemicals known as PFAS.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS are man-made chemicals used for their water- and heat-resistant properties.

The so-called "forever chemicals" are widely used in everyday products such as packaging and cosmetics, as well as in industrial products like firefighting foam, furniture and construction materials.  

Health Canada has set a benchmark of 30 nanograms per litre for 25 specific PFAS in drinking water, as a precautionary measure aimed at showing what a safe level of risk to health might look like.  

But multiple wells around Hazelbrook in central P.E.I. showed PFAS levels in the hundreds, including two that tested at over 700 nanograms per litre.

For the last six months, Hazelbrook resident Donnie Gallant has been drinking out of water jugs the province has provided him, saying: "It's a precaution right now."  

Gallant said his water has been tested multiple times and he believes it's safe, but there's no timeline for when he will be able to drink from the tap again.

"I don't really know. They were supposed to put a different system in. I don't know when and I don't know how long it's supposed to be."

Gallant said workers who tested his water told him it's possible an abandoned dump nearby is to blame. A construction and demolition site in the community was decommissioned over a decade ago and the property is now owned by the province. 

Groundwater samples taken around the site show PFAS levels measuring over 2,000 nanograms per litre. 

Simon Micklethwaite has also heard from workers that the decommissioned site might be behind the contaminated water in his community. His well has been tested multiple times, but he's been told it's still okay to drink from the tap. 

"Whether it's safe or not, I've been drinking it for 10 years, so what difference is it going to make now?" he said.

But Micklethwaite does want more answers.

"I've got a lot of medical issues myself, and whether or not any of this is from the water, I have no idea — but it kind of makes me nervous," he said.