The Indian River Neighborhood Association wants to know what chemicals are lurking in island wells.

If your home or business gets its drinking water from a private well, the environmental nonprofit would like you to participate in a free program to test your drinking water for the presence of so-called “forever chemicals,” which have been linked to numerous health problems, including cancer, immune system disruption, and developmental defects in children.

IRNA has purchased 100 easy-to-use kits that test for 55 different per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a family of chemical compounds that has been used for more than 80 years in products such as fire-fighting foam, nonstick cookware and water-resistant packaging and fabrics. Colorless and odorless, they are hard to detect and are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they resist breaking down in the environment or in the human body.

In January, Vero Beach 32963 reported that the Environmental Protection Agency found more than twice the allowed limit of one forever chemical, PFOA, in water distributed to thousands of homes by the City of Vero Beach. IRNA now wants to find out if residents are ingesting PFAS in water drawn from private wells, which are not regulated under the federal Safe Water Drinking Act, originally enacted in 1974.

“We all deserve clean, healthy drinking water, but it is the responsibility of homeowners and business owners to test their well water, not the city or the county,” says Missy Weiss, IRNA’s chief science officer. “We want to help collect the data to provide a piece of the information that can help guide some of the next steps for our community.”

Barrier island homes and businesses within the Vero Beach Utilities service area get their drinking water from the city, while another 2,500 island residences are supplied by Indian River County, but more than 1,000 homes in the 32963 area draw their drinking water from private wells.

IRNA’s initiative focuses on those homes, as well as homes and businesses on the mainland that have private wells.

The idea is to collect water from a representative sample of private wells across the county to better understand exposure patterns and potential risk, by area, and help inform future outreach and education, says Weiss, who holds degrees in marine science and biological oceanography and has been active in applied science research related to the Indian River Lagoon.

After the first 100 wells are tested and the data is analyzed, IRNA hopes to expand its initiative to additional wells, seeking grants or other funding to support the efforts, Weiss says. IRNA is also seeking donations and funding partners.

Testing is not complicated, according to Weiss. Participants will receive detailed instructions with their testing kits and can watch a short instructional video. They will need to document the chain of custody for the samples and send them to a testing lab in provided packaging with prepaid postage.

Once analyzed, the results will be sent to IRNA and then shared with participants, who will get a detailed data sheet listing any chemicals that were detected and their concentration, along with an explanation of what the data means and the best methods for filtering or treating the water, if necessary.

IRNA pays around $100 each for test kits, including analysis and reporting. The lab is CycloPure, a well-known national company that works with the U.S. Navy and state and federal health departments, Weiss says. In the future, she would like to expand program to help people obtain affordable countertop filtration systems.

The EPA used to test municipal water supplies for six PFAS compounds, but the current administration reduced that number to just two compounds – PFOA and PFOS. The federal agency also extended the deadline for municipalities to meet the standards from 2029 to 2031. The EPA found 8.4 parts per trillion of one PFAS compound in Vero Beach’s drinking water, more than twice the agency’s limit of 4 PPT.

“This is timely as municipalities are having conversations about what they will do to meet the deadline,” Weiss says. “This data will be invaluable to them as they try to determine the best way to manage the levels of these chemicals in our water.”

To learn more about the program or sign up to participate, you can visit indianriverna.com/pfas-testing.