ALLENTOWN, Pa. — The city is set to receive millions of dollars from some of the world’s largest chemical makers over “forever chemicals” in one of its main water sources.
3M in 2023 agreed to pay $10.3 billion to settle lawsuits from hundreds of public water systems contaminated by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Allentown stands to get more than $2.6 million from the Minnesota-based industrial giant.
The money represents just two of 10 expected payments for Allentown.Memo from Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk’s office to City Council
That money represents just two of 10 expected payments for Allentown, according to a memo from Mayor Matt Tuerk’s office to City Council.
Annual payments are scheduled to continue through 2033, the memo states.
And DuPont and spinoffs Chemours and Corteva, as part of a cost-sharing agreement, will pay the city almost a half-million dollars.
Council this month introduced a measure to accept the money. Members are likely to pass that bill at their next meeting Wednesday.
New treatment facility in the works
The funding is earmarked to help pay for a $20 million facility to treat water from Crystal Spring, one of Allentown’s four major water sources, according to Tuerk’s memo.
Sampling results from the spring exceed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s strict limits for PFAS in drinking water — four parts per trillion.
One part per trillion is equivalent to one drop of water in 20 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
The Lehigh County Authority said its tests found 3.1-4.6 parts per trillion of perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA) in Allentown’s water, as well as up to 3.1 parts per trillion of perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA).
The same forever chemicals — and three others — were detected in drinking water in the LCA’s Central Lehigh Division, according to the authority.
The Lehigh County Authority’s draft five-year capital plan for 2026-30 says the organization’s “next step is to design and construct a treatment facility for Crystal Spring.”
The project should be done by the end of 2027, according to the draft plan.
A 2019 survey of the prevalence and distribution of PFAS in Pennsylvania found about three-quarters of the 161 streams studied contained at least one form of “forever chemicals.”
PFAS have been dubbed “forever chemicals” because they are incredibly slow to break down. They have been linked to a variety of health problems, including liver and immune-system damage and some cancers.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article said DuPont was now known as Chemours/Corteva. Those two companies were spun off from DuPont over the past decade.
