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Brooklawn Water Works Department 305 Town Center. (image courtesy of Google Street Maps)

BROOKLAWN NJ (January 29, 2023)(CNBNewsnet)Brooklawn residents received the following notice about a serious problem with their drinking water on January 24. According to the alert, the Brooklawn drinking water has levels of Perfluorononanoic Acid (PFNA) that are above a drinking water standard. People who drink water containing PFNA over the MCL over time could experience problems with their liver, kidney; immune system; or, in males, reproductive system. For females, drinking water containing PFNA over the MCL over time may cause developmental delays in a fetus and/or an infant. 

* For specific health information, see 

https://www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/documents/pfas drinking%20water.pdf. 

Our water system violated a New Jersey drinking water standard, and as our customers, you have a right to know what happened, what you should do, and what we are doing to correct this situation. 

"Contact Mr. Ryan Gilles at 856-456-0750 ext 106 or 301 Christiana St Brooklawn NJ 08030 for questions or to obtain a translated copy of this public notice." 

Brooklawn Water Department routinely monitors for the presence of federal and state regulated drinking water contaminants. New Jersey adopted a standard, or Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL), for PFNA in 2018 and monitoring began for our system in 2021. The MCL for PFNA is 013 parts per billion (ppb) and is based on a running annual average (RAA), in which the four most recent quarters of monitoring data are averaged. On January 12, 2023, we received notice that the sample collected on December 7, 2022, showed that our system exceeds the PFNA MCL at TP001002. The RAA for PFNA based on samples collected over the last year is .014 ppb. 

What is PFNA? 

Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) is a member of the group of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), that are man-made and used in industrial and commercial applications. PFNA has been historically used as a processing aid in the manufacturing of high- performance plastics that are resistant to harsh chemicals and high temperatures. Major sources of PFNA in drinking water include discharge from industrial facilities where it was made or used. Although the use of PFNA has decreased substantially, contamination is expected to continue indefinitely because it is extremely persistent in the environment and is soluble and mobile in water. 

What does this mean? 

*People who drink water containing PFNA in excess of the MCL over time could experience problems with their liver, kidney; immune system; or, in males, reproductive system. For females, drinking water containing PFNA in excess of the MCL over time may cause developmental delays in a fetus and/or an infant. 

* For specific health information, see 

https://www.nj.gov/health/ceohs/documents/pfas drinking%20water.pdf. 

What should I do?