When: Coatesville Area school board meeting, July 23. Board member Elgin Bailey was absent.
What happened: The board ratified agreements with Suburban Water to install filters to reduce toxic forever chemicals known as PFAS on the kitchen sink, cold water supply at East Fallowfield and Kings Highway elementary schools — two district schools that rely on well water.
Background: The Environmental Protection Agency instituted testing for PFAS at schools using well water. Pennsylvania’s regulations focus on two PFAS: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS). According to the state Department of Environmental Protection website, the EPA set a maximum contaminant level of 4 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS, while state standards are a maximum of 14 parts per trillion for PFOA and 18 parts per trillion for PFOS.
Why it is important: In two tests this year, Kings Highway showed a range from 6.34 parts per trillion to 22.6 parts per trillion PFOA/PFOS. East Fallowfield showed a range of 4.58 parts per trillion to 11.5 parts per trillion. Jeffrey Brazil, director of operations and facilities, said water fountains in the schools have already been equipped with filtration. The new filters address kitchen water.
The cost: The filtration at East Fallowfield Elementary kitchen sink costs $3,800 while the cost was $4,600 at Kings Highway.
Quotable: “We want to be ahead of the curve,” Brazil said. “After this system is installed, we’ll probably be testing twice a year.”
What happens next: Brazil said that the water filtration will be addressed as part of the planned renovations at Kings Highway. East Fallowfield will be demolished as part of the overall facilities improvement plan.
