Rensselaer County Dept. of Health Press Release
A sixth round of sampling of properties in Poestenkill for PFOA has been concluded, but no new properties were found to have levels of PFOA above the State-permitted levels, the Department announced on Wednesday, November 24.
The results were finalized Tuesday and prepared for public release. Testing is continuing on additional properties in Poestenkill on a voluntary basis by both the County and the State.
Twenty properties were sampled during this sixth round. Samples were largely collected from sites located to the west of Algonquin Middle School. The twenty sites surveyed registered samples that show eight non-detect and twelve detections of PFOA/PFOS below the State maximum contaminant level standards of 10 parts per trillion (ppt) for public drinking water.
With the conclusion of the sixth round of testing, a source for the contamination was not discovered. The County and State have been investigating the possibility of multiple, unrelated sources for the contamination. The State recently started expanded testing in the area around the middle school.
“We are obviously happy to see no new cases for PFOA in Poestenkill following this round of testing, but recognize no source has been determined. We continue to work with the State to find the source or sources for the PFOA contamination and to get more answers,” said County Public Health Director Mary Fran Wachunas.
Testing started after PFOA/PFOS was discovered during State-mandated sampling at the Algonquin Middle School earlier this year.
The County has to date collected samples for 77 private wells, with ten wells tested at or above the drinking water standard of 10 ppt for either PFOA/PFOS. There are five samples still pending.