DNREC and the DHSS Division of Public Health are working with federal agencies to protect the environment and public health in Delaware from the effects of a group of synthetic chemicals known as PFAS.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) include thousands of synthetic chemicals including PFOA, PFOS, and GenX. They have been used throughout the world in manufacturing, firefighting, and consumer products since the 1940s.

Delaware state agencies are working together and with partners to study PFAS in drinking water, PFAS in surface waters of the state and PFAS in wastewater systems in Delaware.

The state maintains a list of sites being investigated by DNREC for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, groundwater or surface water in Delaware.

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PFAS Contacts in Delaware State Government

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About PFAS

PFAS do not readily break down in the environment and can accumulate in living things. Some toxicological studies have found that exposure to these substances can cause serious health effects.

PFAS are considered “emerging contaminants” by federal environmental and public health regulators. A group of state and federal agencies are investigating PFAS, their sources, and their presence in the environment. This group includes DNREC, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS), the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.

In 2018, the DNREC Division of Waste and Hazardous Substances adopted a policy to define where sampling for PFAS may occur in groundwater and surface water within the state. In 2023, this policy was updated to include other media and add select PFAS as hazardous substances regulated under the Hazardous Substance Cleanup Act (HSCA), pertinent aspects of the addition, as well as expectations related to sampling and characterization of these emerging contaminants. (Learn more about the update)

In April of 2024, the EPA adopted a rule to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) known as Superfund. The designation allows the EPA to investigate and clean up releases of these substances into the environment. A companion policy also directs the EPA to focus on parties that have manufactured PFAS or used PFAS in their manufacturing process. Learn more about the EPA final PFAS Cleanup rule.

DNREC also lists PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances as well as six other PFAS compounds including:

• Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA)
• Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA)
• Perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS)
• Perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA)
• Perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS)
• Hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA, or GenX chemicals)

Related Topics:  drinking water, EPA, GenX, groundwater, Health and Safety, HSCA, PFAS, PFOA, superfund, waste and hazardous substances, water filtration, well