NH property-buyers to be notified about potential PFAS contamination under new law

Most people in the United States have some level of PFAS in their blood, according to the CDC. (Getty Images)

Starting next year, people will be notified about the possibility of PFAS contamination before buying property in New Hampshire.

Gov. Chris Sununu signed House Bill 398 on Wednesday, a measure to include PFAS – or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – along with radon and arsenic in the notification about common contaminants in New Hampshire provided to property-buyers.

PFAS are man-made chemicals commonly used in consumer and industrial products. They are linked to harmful health effects such as high cholesterol, weakened immune systems, decreased fertility, increased blood pressure in pregnant women, developmental problems in children, and prostate, kidney, and testicular cancers.

PFAS pollution has been found throughout the state but has been especially acute in southern New Hampshire, where hundreds of private wells were contaminated by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, a French manufacturer that recently ceased its operations in Merrimack.

Rep. Wendy Thomas, a Merrimack Democrat who sponsored the bill, told the Bulletin in June that she knows people who moved into her town and had no idea about the water contamination.

“To me, that’s just criminal,” Thomas said, “because, again, you’re not allowing them to protect themselves.”

The notice will say that PFAS “have been detected at levels that exceed federal and/or state advisories or standards in wells throughout New Hampshire,” especially in the southern part of the state.

“Testing of the water by an accredited laboratory can measure PFAS levels and inform a buyer’s decision regarding the need to install water treatment systems,” the notice will read.

Other PFAS bills passed by the Legislature await approval from the governor. One would put limits on selling products with the chemicals intentionally added, and another would create liability for PFAS-producing facilities.

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