The U.S. House passed the PFAS Action Act of 2021 earlier this summer, which is now working its way through the Senate. The act requires the creation of a school drinking water testing and grant program. Section 18 of the PFAS Action Act states that, no later than 1 year after the date of enactment, a program be implemented to enact grants for testing for PFAS in drinking water at schools. The testing should be conducted by an entity approved by the Administrator (EPA) or the applicable state for the testing, installation, maintenance, and repair of water filtration systems effective for reducing PFAS in drinking water at schools.
In accordance with the grant, testing results will be made publicly available to the maximum extent practicable, on the website of the eligible entity, a copy of the results of any testing carried out with grant funds received under this section; and notify parent, teacher, and employee organizations of the availability of the results.
The State of Michigan performed a PFAS testing program in 2018 for 460 schools and daycares. PFAS concentrations were detected in drinking water at 58 schools and 60 public water systems, leading the state regulatory agency (EGLE) to conduct quarterly monitoring. One Michigan school, Robinson Elementary in the Grand Haven Area Public Schools, was found to have significantly high levels of PFAS in the drinking water from a well water source. As a result, the drinking water fountains were turned off at Robinson Elementary in Grand Haven and bottled water was brought in for staff and students. In February, a new water filtration system was installed at the elementary school.
Merit Laboratories is a leading national PFAS environmental laboratory, analyzing drinking water, soil, wastewater, groundwater, and other sample matrices, including biosolids and sludge. Analytical methods performed by Merit for PFAS include drinking water by EPA 533, EPA 537.1, and EPA 537 rev. 1.1, biosolids by ASTM D7968-17 with Isotopic Dilution, and soil, wastewater, groundwater, and surface water by ASTM D7979-19 with Isotopic Dilution and ASTM D7968-17.