Our community has learned that four of our wells that supply municipal drinking water have tested positively for significant levels of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). These four wells draw drinking water from the Barnes aquifer, from which the communities of Southampton, Easthampton, and Holyoke also draw drinking water. The contaminants are believed to have entered the aquifer as a result of fire training exercises held between 1950 and 1987 at Barnes Air National Guard Base, which is located above a portion of the aquifer.

This petition is to request accurate characterization of our Community's exposure to perfluoroalkyl substances through blood testing (specifically PFOA, PFOS, PFBuS, and PFHxS). We would like to know if and how the concentrations of these chemicals in our bodies are decreasing over time. As a community, we do not know the dosage or duration of our exposure or what, if any, related health outcomes we could be experiencing now or in the future.

We ask that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's Bureau of Environmental Health agree to take on this project under the cooperative agreement with the Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, and help our City's residents understand what their level of exposure has been, and whether or not any significant patterns in health outcomes exist.

We cannot undo our exposure, but we can approach the situation directly, scientifically, and with public health as our first priority.

Please help the residents of Westfield, Massachusetts accurately characterize their exposure and their risk with blood testing for PFAS.