A monitoring well drilled near a former landfill in East Quogue has detected a perfluorinated compound in a concentration more than 150 times the level at which federal officials say exposure in drinking water can cause health problems, including impaired fetal growth, certain cancers and immune system conditions.
State Department of Environmental Conservation officials said the result — the highest concentration detected on Long Island of the compound, used in some firefighting foams — came from groundwater samples, not a drinking-water well.
Nevertheless, Southampton Town began delivering bottled water Wednesday afternoon to 107 homes in the surrounding area with private wells.
“Hopefully the test results will show no contamination.” If test results are above a federal health advisory level, the state will decide whether a home should have a treatment system installed or be hooked up to public-water supplies, which, unlike private wells, must comply with drinking water standards.
The compound is not regulated in drinking water, but the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has a health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion for PFOS alone or in combination with a related compound, perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA.
In both cases, homes were connected to public water supplies.
DEC officials said they were considering adding the East Quogue parcel as a possible Superfund site.
“We can’t be addressing this on an ad hoc basis one site at a time.” Last year, a state Drinking Water Quality Council was charged with recommending a safe level of the compounds to the health commissioner to help in crafting a state drinking-water standard.
For homes with private wells Free well testing and bottled water are available to people living in the affected area.
Well testing: Suffolk County Office of Water Resources, 631-852-5810 Bottled water: Southampton Town, 631-283-6055 or 631-287-5745.