Shutesbury well tests show excess forever chemicals
Published: 6/1/2021 11:46:09 AM
SHUTESBURY Two wells, one in the neighborhood around the fire station on Montague Road and the other near the intersection of Locks Pond and Wendell roads, have high levels of a chemical contaminant, according to letters sent to residents by the Board of Health.
The notices, which went out Friday and Saturday, advise that the results are based on preliminary tests by the Department of Environmental Protection and that additional testing is needed to confirm the presence of elevated levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Still, the letters caution pregnant and nursing mothers, and people with compromised immune systems, to avoid consuming the well water at this time.
AP
Natural gas prices in Pennsylvania shot up in the first three months of 2021, a sign that the industry may be rebounding as the COVID-19 pandemic eases.
The latest
production report from the commonwealth’s Independent Fiscal Office shows the state’s average natural gas price from January to March was 64 percent higher than the same time last year.
Because of cold temperatures and strong energy demand in February, including the disaster in Texas, the commonwealth’s average price hit $2.53 per million British thermal units (MMBtu).
Prices had been falling since the most recent peak of $3.25 per MMBtu in late 2018.