Illinois EPA Notifies Elburn Water System of PFOA Detection

Febru ary 11, 202 6 K im Biggs, Illinois EP A FOR IMMEDIA TE RELEASE 217 -558- 1 536 kim.bigg s@illinois.gov Illinois EP A Notifies Elburn Com munity W ater Sys tem of Right- to -Know Requirements T rig ger ed by Recent S ampling PF AS Chemic al Detect ed in Gr oundwa t er; System Owner/ Oper ator, Priva te W ell Owners, and all Residents ar e Encour aged to be P ro active in Reducin g PF AS Expos ur e Springfield – The Illinois Environmental Prot ection Agency (Illinois EP A) is notifying the owner and oper ato r of the Elburn Community W ater System (CWS) that ther e has been a detection of perfluoroocta noic acid (PFOA), a P er - and P olyfluoroalkyl Substanc es (PF AS) compound, in the water s ample collect ed on December 2, 2025 by the CWS and required by the U.S. Environm ental Pr otection Agency (U.S. EP A) under the Fifth Unregula ted Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 5). The sample identified PFO A a t 7.5 parts per tril lion (ppt), which is above the f eder al Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) and the Il linois Class I ground water qu ality standar d of 4 ppt. The Illinois Envir onmental Pr otection Act requires t he owner s or oper ators of CWSs to notif y their customer s when gr oundwater cont amination poses a thr eat of e xposur e to the public abov e the Clas s I ground water qu ality standards. Notifica tion may be made by mail, email, post car d, te xt mes sage, or telephone within fiv e business days o f official r eceipt of the Illinois EP A ’ s not ice. Within sev en days of sending the notices, the owner s or oper ator s of the CWS must pro vide the Illinois EP A with written pr oof that the notice s have been sent. “Many drinking water systems r outinely sample for PF AS, and thr ough Right- to -Know laws, we are committed t o informing the public when PF AS levels pose a thr eat of exp osure, ” said Illinois EP A Acting Director James Jennin g s. “Due to the pr evalence of PF AS chemicals in the environment, w e encourag e all re sidents to tak e steps t o r educe expos ure to PF AS compounds. ” Since the 1940s, PF AS have been used in a wide r ange of consumer pr oducts, industrial proc ess es, and in some fir e-fighting foams (cal led aqueous film-forming f oam or AFFF). This has r esulted in PF AS being released into the air, water, and s oil. PF AS do not easily break do wn under natur al conditions and are often ref erred to as “for ever c hemicals. ” Attached is a copy of the P ublic Health Notice being pr ovided to the CWS and customer s, which inc ludes informa tion on potential health effects, home wa ter filter treatm ent options, and ways to minimiz e PF AS e xposur e from other sour ces. - mor e -

Right to Kno w/Elburn /2 The Illinois EP A has issued PF AS Health Advisories to pr ovide guidance to loc al officials and CWS owners and oper ator s in pr otecting the health of wa ter consumers, and calculate s health based guidance lev els (HBGLs) which r epre sent the concentr ations in drinking wa ter at which no adv erse health effects ar e expect ed to occur. In 20 25, Illinois als o adopted groundwa ter quality standa rds for six PF AS, based on the most r ecent scientific inf ormation available. Those include perfluor oocta noic acid (PFO A), PFOS, hexa fluoropr opylene o xide dimer acid, also known as GenX (HFPO-DA), perfluorohe xanes ulfonic ac id (PFHxS), pefluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorobutanesulf onic acid (PFBS). U. S. EP A recent ly set MCLs, whic h are feder al drinking water s tandards, for c ertain PF AS, r equiring CWSs to s ample for and comply with the feder al MCLs for PF AS by April 2029. All residents may be at risk from PFAS exposure. PFAS are stable, persistent chemicals and will bioaccumulate in blood and organs over time. Current scientific literature indicates that people are primarily exposed to PFAS through the ingestion of food and water. Everyone is encouraged to be proactive in addressing potential PFAS contamination, not only in drinking water, but through the other common routes of exposure. Ways to reduce exposure include: • Choose stainless steel, cast iron, or non-stick cookware that does not contain PFAS. • Avoid water repellents on clothing. • Use personal care products without “PTFE” or “Fluoro” ingredients. • Use water filters designed to remove PFAS (NSF/ANSI 53 or 58 standards). In addition, the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) encourages private well owners near the impacted water system to test their water for PFAS or consider installing treatment, such as activated carbon filters, on drinking water faucets. "When elevated levels of contaminants are found in drinking water supplies, it is important for nearby private well owners to take appropriate precautions," said IDPH Director Dr. Sameer Vohra. "IDPH's Division of Environmental Health is available to assist private well owners in finding an accredited laboratory and evaluating test results." Priva te well owner s who have health-rela ted questions or require tech nical as sistance can contact IDPH by phone at (217) 782-5830 or by email at dph. tox@Illinois. gov. The notice provided to CWS will be posted on the Illinois EPA website at: https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/drinking-water/public-water-users/notices.html. More information regarding PFAS, including health effects and additional ways to reduce exposure, is available on the Illinois EPA PFAS webpage at https://epa.illinois.gov/topics/water-quality/pfas.html. Additional information can be found on the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry website at: https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/. The IDPH provides additional information on PFAS in drinking water at: https://dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/environmental-health-protection/private-wa ter/fact-sheets/pfas- drinking-water.html. ### Attachment: P ublic Health Notice

PUBLI C H EA L T H N OTICE – IMPO RT AN T I NFOR M A TIO N ABO UT Y OUR D RIN KIN G WA T ER Why Y ou ’ re Receiving This Notice P erfluor ooctanoic acid (PFO A), a P er - and P oly fluoroalkyl Substanc es (PF AS) compound, has been detected in the Elburn Co mmunity W ater System a t a level that e xceeds the groundwater quality standar d esta blished by the State o f Illinois. This notice is r equired by law under the Illinois Environmental Prot ection Act and the Groundwa ter Pr otection Act. The information is summar ized below: • PF AS Compound: PFO A • Detected Lev el: 7.5 parts p er trillion • Illinois Standard: 4 par ts per trillion What Are PF AS? PF AS are hum an-made chemicals used since the 1940s. Because they r epel oil and wa ter and re sist heat, they are commonly f ound in products s uch as non-stick cookware, foo d packaging, waterpr oof clot hing, stain -re sistant furnitur e, and fir efighting foam. P FA S p o ll u t e w a t e r t h ro u g h s p i l l s, l e a ks, a n d d i s po s a l o f p r o d u c t s. They ar e often called “forev er chemicals ” because they remain in t he environment f or decades. H e a lt h R i s k s L o n g - te r m e x p os u r e t o P FAS ma y i n cr e a s e t h e r i s k of: • Fe rt i l i ty p r o b l e m s a n d h i g h b l o o d p r e ss u re d u r in g p r e g n a n c y • D e ve lo p me nt a l i m p a ct s i n ch i l d re n • C e r t a i n c a n c e rs, i n c l u d i n g k i d n e y, p ros t a t e, a n d t es t i c u l a r • A we ake n e d i m mu ne sy st e m • Disruption to k ey horm onal s ystems, such as thyroid function, r eproductiv e hormones, str es s respons e, and metabolic r egulation Exposur e does not guar antee health problems. Risk depends on the PF AS level and ho w long you’v e been expos ed. Consult y our healthcar e pro vider for h ealth concerns.

Reducing PF AS in Y our Drinking W ater Boiling wa ter does not remo ve PF AS, but cert ain water filter s can r educe or remo ve them. With many filter s on the mark et, it’ s important to choose one tha t is specifically c ertified to remove or reduce PF AS. Filter s vary by type, br and, and installa tion method—suc h as pitcher filt ers, f aucet-mounted units, or w hole-home systems. Below ar e types of filter s shown to effectively reduce or remov e PF AS levels: • Charcoal (Gr anul ar Activate d Carbon or GA C) – tr aps chemicals as water flow s through • Rev erse Osmo sis (RO) Sy stems – filter s out pol lutants using a thin membr ane • Ion Ex change Re sins –tiny beads that attr act and hold contaminants Check for Certifica tion Use filter s that meet National Sanitation F oundation/ A merican National Standar ds Institute (NSF / ANSI) standar ds, specific ally NSF / ANS I 53 (f or reducing health-related contaminants, including PF AS) or NSF / ANSI 58 (for r evers e osmosis sys tems). Y ou can v erify certification at: https://info.nsf. or g/Certified/ dw tu/. Be sure to r eplace filters as direct ed by the manuf actur er; f ailure to do so can increase PF AS exposur e. Ques tions? Contact Jeff Guy, Illinois EP A Office of Community Relations:  (217) 785-8724 or 󹷝 󹷞 󹷟 󹷠 󹷡 󹷣 󹷢 Jeff. Guy@illinois.go v Learn More Scan the QR code below to visit the Il linois EP A PFAS inf ormatio n page: https:// epa.illinois.go v/to pics/water - quality/ pf as.html