By Frank Carini / ecoRI News columnist

August 10, 2026

Forever chemicals in drinking water are an invisible health threat. (istock)

TIVERTON, R.I. — Rhode Island has 890 waterbodies that state agencies and their partners monitor for quality. About 40% are stressed by pollution, invasive species, and/or compounds of concern, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

There are many other water resources that don’t receive this attention, such as the estimated 120,000 people — about 11% of the state’s population — who rely on wells for drinking, cooking, and bathing.

Our persistent spraying of poisons and relentless unleashing of chemicals puts these private water sources at risk. This contamination is threatening public health and costing taxpayers money.

Residents in eastern Tiverton recently discovered firsthand the damage per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS or forever chemicals, can cause. This spring state officials urged homeowners in the Crandall Road, Bulgarmarsh Road, and Stafford Road areas to have their wells tested after elevated levels of PFAS were found.

Since testing began, PFAS concentrations range from not detected to just over 4,000 parts per trillion (ppt), according to Kimberly Keough, chief of public affairs for the Department of Environmental Management. Rhode Island’s drinking water standard is 20 ppt for the combined total of six PFAS compounds — 4,000-plus ppt is 19,900% higher than what the state believes is safe.

“Sampling results to date show exceedances of the Rhode Island drinking water standard on Crandall Rd and associated side streets between Bulgarmarsh Rd and Bolducs Lane,” Keough wrote in an email. “Concentrations south of Bolducs Lane are below the applicable standard.”

DEM offers free private well testing to homeowners through funding provided by the federal (taxpayers) Emerging Contaminants in Small or Disadvantaged Communities grant program. Since available funding is limited, DEM has prioritized testing in areas near potential PFAS sources identified in the agency’s 2023 Statewide PFAS Source Investigation Report.

Everyone with a private well in Tiverton, or anywhere else in Rhode Island, should have their wells routinely tested. Besides forever chemicals, pesticides, fertilizers, sewage, and saltwater intrusion threaten well health.

In Tiverton, a small section of the town relies on public water from the North Tiverton Fire District Water Department. Most of the town’s homes, however, depend on bedrock wells.

Michelle and Joe Reffelt were among the homeowners who volunteered to have their private well tested after receiving a letter from DEM this spring. Michelle Reffelt told WPRI that her well water PFAS level measured 108 ppt, or 440% higher than what the state recommends.

While Rhode Island’s drinking water standard is 20 ppt, the federal standard for PFAS in drinking water is — or was, as the toddler tyrant keeps trying to dismantle public health protections to reward Big Industry — considerably lower, from 4 to 10 ppt depending on the forever chemical.

Residents whose wells exceed the state’s 20 ppt threshold have been advised not to use the water for drinking, cooking, washing dishes, or brushing teeth. State officials say the water is safe for showering and washing. Don’t boil the water for drinking or cooking, as that makes PFAS contamination more toxic.

Forever chemicals are an alphabet soup of about 15,000 manufactured compounds, many of which are toxic. Some have been linked to cancer. These nasty substances join the long list of profitable poisons that have been allowed to sicken us and damage the environment long after their dangers were first known.

PFAS compounds, manufactured and utilized in a variety of industries worldwide since the 1940s, are used or have been used to protect carpets from spills, to make cookware nonstick, and to formulate firefighting foams. The latter is the suspected culprit here.

DEM has said the potential source of the contamination is the historic use of PFAS-containing aqueous film-forming foam at Fire Department Station 3. The highest levels of PFAS detected in nearby private wells are in the vicinity of this station, according to DEM.

The Reffelts’ home is down the street from the Crandall Road fire station.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, Rhode Island’s Consumer PFAS Ban Act of 2024 banned firefighting foams containing intentionally added PFAS. Elected officials, including here in Rhode Island, were slow to address PFAS health risks, however.

This government delay — the free market has proven time and again that it can’t police itself — allowed these toxic substances to spread.

In Tiverton, the state — taxpayers, that is — is paying to install activated-carbon filters or reverse-osmosis systems in homes with contaminated wells. Pushing problems into the future always costs more. Politicians are elected to address problems; not ignore them.

Forever chemicals can be found in polishes, waxes, paints, and cleaning products. They coat pizza boxes and microwave popcorn bags. They waterproof jackets and boots, and are used in personal-care products. In fact, they are used ubiquitously throughout our economy.

Unfortunately, forever chemicals don’t break down and can accumulate over time. They are now commonly found in drinking water, food, soil, human and animal tissue, and waterways, including the Pawcatuck River and Spring Green Pond in Warwick.

PFAS contamination of soil and water has been found to be a problem across the state. Last year, five wells on a Glocester farm tested above the maximum PFAS contaminant level set by the state. In 2023, the Rhode Island Department of Health issued “do not drink” orders to a trio of water systems. The three systems had an average of 220 ppt of PFAS pollution.

Researchers at the University of Rhode Island’s Sources, Transport, Exposure & Effects of PFAS have linked these substances to thyroid disease, low birth weight, kidney and testicular cancer, cardiovascular disease, and weight gain. These human-made chemicals have also been associated with impaired liver function, chronic intestinal inflammation, and elevated blood pressure during pregnancy.

Sadly, politicians and their industry buddies allowed the PFAS threat to escalate before finally taking measures — often of a less-than-robust variety — to try and contain their mess. It will take years and millions, if not billions, of taxpayer dollars to remediate this nationwide problem.

It’s the same irresponsible, greedy way the powers that be handled concerns about lead, asbestos, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT), and secondhand smoke. Profits first, then we can deal with the public and environmental health consequences.

This same corporate-friendly system continues to protect the burning of fossil fuels, the manufacturing of single-use plastics, and the use of glyphosate. In this poisonous scheme, boardrooms are more important than living rooms.

Frank Carini can be reached at [email protected]. His opinions don’t reflect those of ecoRI News.

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