About 40 homes in the Mississippi Mills area are being offered bottled water due to the potential contamination of groundwater.
Charles Drouin, a spokesperson with the National Research Council, says they discovered low-levels of chemicals known as PFAS in the water supply near their National Fire Research Lab in the area on Concession Road 8.
PFAS is common in firefighter foam, but it’s used in multiple manufactured items.
The fire research lab was one of 150 federal sites identified for a federal environmental assessment.
Drouin said that discovery was made in 2013. Levels of the chemicals they came across at that time were not deemed to be a health risk, as they were found to be below the hazardous limits set by Health Canada.
But their existence in the groundwater prompted further investigation.
The NRC decided to test the groundwater wells at about 40 homes in the area.
The results of those tests, which came in last month, found that more than half of the tested homes did not turn up any levels of PFAS.
The remainder of the homes showed slight levels that were under the screening values, and therefore not deemed to be a health risk.
“One home showed very slight level over the screening value established by Health Canada," Drouin said.
The NRC will continue testing groundwater for the homes in that area for at least a year, hoping to find the source of the contamination.
As of January, the Council has been providing bottled water to residents affected by the testing. They will continue to do so until the testing is completed.
