PFAS in Westminster, MA
In March 2022, water test results showed that a dozen of private water wells in Westminster had PFAS levels 50 times what state regulations consider safe to drink. They also discovered at least 261 homes to be affected by high levels of PFAS. PFAS, (Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of toxic chemicals often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they persist and do not break down in the environment.
A group of residents in Westminster are organizing their community to take on multiple major adversaries, Kraft Group, Powell Gravel and Massachusetts Natural Fertilizer, who are proposing development projects in Westminster that will increase PFAS exposure to residents by drilling into PFAS contaminated wells. They are also mining on the shore of Crocker Pond and dispersing and dumping PFAS contaminated soil and fertilizer in their community.
You can hear their stories in this video created by our summer interns Audrey Brenhouse and Jordan Cutler below.
