Vermont is offering free bottled water, private well testing, and other support to residents in southern Bennington and Shaftsbury after research last year indicated that PFAS contamination in the Bennington area had spread farther and worsened over time.
What's happening?
As VTDigger reported, the discovery is the latest chapter in a pollution crisis tied to the now-closed ChemFab factory, where Teflon-coated fiberglass fabrics were once made with PFOA — a toxic "forever chemical" that can linger in soil and groundwater for decades.
State officials are collecting samples from private wells in newly affected parts of southern Bennington and southeast Shaftsbury after PFOA was detected beyond the original contamination zone.
According to Vermont regulators, the newly affected zone includes about 250 wells in southern Bennington and 50 in Shaftsbury that need testing. In late January, the state lowered its allowable PFOA level in groundwater to four parts per trillion. Some wells have tested as high as 60 parts per trillion — about 15 times that limit.
Researchers from Bennington College and the state also found that the level of contamination has not stayed put. Their work, according to VTDigger, found PFAS levels increased in roughly three-quarters of the private wells sampled from 2016 through 2024.
For families on private wells, drinking water has become a source of fear and uncertainty. The state says it is distributing bottled water or installing filtration systems where contamination exceeds the new standard.
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David Bond, a Bennington College professor involved in the research, described the crisis, saying: "PFAS is a generational disaster, and we're only now starting to figure out what it means to respond to an environmental crisis of this scale and this durability."
The contamination has been linked to the former ChemFab plant in Bennington, later owned by Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics Corporation. Vermont reached a settlement with Saint-Gobain in 2019 to help fund municipal water connections for affected households, and the state says it is now in negotiations with the company over the newly impacted areas.
Some residents are also exploring legal action. Attorneys have reportedly met with about 100 residents in southern Bennington and southeast Shaftsbury, according to the source report, to discuss a possible class-action lawsuit.
Why is PFAS contamination concerning?
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are often called "forever chemicals" because they do not easily break down in the environment. PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) is a type of PFAS used in industrial processes and products, such as nonstick coatings.
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That persistence is what makes the situation so alarming. Even though the Bennington factory shut down more than two decades ago, the chemicals are still moving through the ground and showing up in household wells.
The Environmental Protection Agency has identified PFOA as a probable human carcinogen, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified it as carcinogenic to humans, citing evidence tied to kidney cancer.
Residents and local officials in Shaftsbury have been pushing for free blood testing, arguing it could help document health risks and support future medical monitoring. The state denied that request in March, and VTDigger said officials argued that blood testing is not part of current state programs, while noting that PFAS are found in most Americans' blood. But town officials pushed back, arguing that the explanation does not reflect the seriousness of elevated exposure in their community.
What's being done about PFAS contamination?
Vermont is testing wells in the newly affected areas and providing support where contamination is found, including bottled water and filtration systems. Officials say there are plans to connect the Southshire neighborhood to municipal water and eventually link all affected communities to public systems free of PFAS contamination, according to VTDigger.
The state is also negotiating with Saint-Gobain over additional cleanup and response work in the new contamination zone, though those talks are confidential.
On the legal front, residents may seek compensation and medical monitoring through class-action litigation. Earlier lawsuits tied to PFAS contamination in Bennington and nearby Hoosick Falls, New York, led to multimillion-dollar settlements and monitoring programs, offering a roadmap for newly affected households.
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