PEI only province openly following Health Canada guidelines for toxic ‘forever chemicals'

Globe and Mail

29-05-2025

The old landfill 150 metres from Doug Jenkins's front door in Hazelbrook, PEI, has been closed for a few years now, its contents concealed under a stubble of grass and trees. But he and his neighbours had long wondered what lies beneath that tranquil surface, where layers of construction and demolition debris rot alongside the groundwater flowing to local taps.
Recently, a provincial testing program – the only one of its kind in Canada – confirmed Mr. Jenkins's worst fears: His water contains 20 times the level of toxic 'forever chemicals' than is recommended by Health Canada. He and several neighbouring households in this rural municipality, located 10 kilometres east of Charlottetown, are now consuming and cooking with bottled water supplied by the province.
They join a growing list of Islanders finding out their drinking water no longer meets federal standards for a family of synthetic compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are found in myriad consumer products.
'For us, this is catastrophic event,' Mr. Jenkins said from his home on a 100-acre farm that has been in his family for at least four generations. 'It's a lost legacy. If the water is poisoned, the land is tainted.'
With mounting research identifying links between the compounds and a constellation of adverse health effects, Health Canada issued new guidance last summer for PFAS in drinking water. Eight months later, The Globe asked all the provinces whether they are following it.
Only PEI said yes.
The province's initiative has earned praise while raising tough questions about why others have yet to follow suit.
'Everyone should be testing, all the time,' said Brian Gallant, the former mayor of Hazelbrook, whose PFAS readings came back low. 'I don't think people realize the threat this PFAS stuff can pose. We kind of just woke up when it turned up in our own backyard.'
PFAS first appeared in the labs of chemical giant DuPont in the 1930s. Today there are more than 12,000 types of PFAS and they can be found in the blood of virtually every human on the planet. Prized for repelling oil, water and resisting heat, the compounds have been added to an endless list of products over the decades, including non-stick pans, stain-resistant carpets, fast-food containers, waterproof clothing and firefighting foam.
At the heart of PFAS is one of strongest bonds in organic chemistry, the carbon-flourine bond. The hardy chemistry is ideal for commercial applications, but its resistance to environmental breakdown also helps the compounds accumulate in living things. Research has linked PFAS to developmental delays in children, hormonal interference, immune suppression and some cancers. The fallout has led to billions in U.S. lawsuit settlements against manufacturers such as DuPont and 3M.
Toxic 'forever chemicals' found in PEI community's drinking water
Mr. Jenkins didn't know much about the compounds when the province asked whether they could test his water late last year. On Jan. 14, he received a letter stating that for every litre of water coming out of his taps, technicians had found 606.6 nanograms of PFAS.
That level of contamination is vanishingly small – equivalent to roughly 30 raindrops in an Olympic-sized swimming pool. And until August of last year, it would have fallen within existing guidelines.
Last summer, however, Health Canada introduced a new approach. Instead of setting limits on individual PFAS, it set a total limit – 30 nanograms per litre (ng/L) – for 25 of the most common.
But the new federal benchmark has one giant caveat. Health Canada calls it an 'objective value,' meaning it's a goal, not an enforceable limit.
When the Globe queried the provinces about the guidance, neither Alberta nor Nova Scotia sent a response. Of the rest, most say they're still reviewing the new standards. Some have tested municipal systems for PFAS, but not as widely or transparently as PEI. Manitoba, for example, won't release its results, calling them proprietary.
In Ontario, the Ministry of Environment has maintained its own PFAS drinking water threshold of 70 ng/L since 2017. A spokesman cited cost as a barrier to more widespread testing.
Quebec, which has sampled water in more than 40 municipalities, suffered some embarrassment in 2023 when Sébastien Sauvé, an environmental chemistry professor at Université de Montréal, turned up elevated PFAS contamination in several communities. One of them was La Baie, situated next to CFB Bagotville, where PFAS-laden firefighting foams were used extensively. He suggests more widespread government testing is needed.
'Why is it a chemistry professor's work that identifies a drinking water system contaminated by a military base?' he said in an interview.
PEI's drinking water comes entirely from underground sources, where natural filtration means little treatment is needed. Last year, Charlottetown earned the American Water Works Association's trophy for best-tasting water, beating out jurisdictions from all over North America.
'Islanders are very passionate about their drinking water, and they're very proud of it,' said Morley Foy, PEI's manager of drinking water and waste water management.
Canadian scientists have found a way to trap 'forever chemicals'
Mr. Foy said that pride is why the province moved so quickly on PFAS. Health Canada alerted the provinces and territories of its imminent guidance change in 2023. Before the year was up, PEI had launched an ambitious testing program, starting with municipal water systems, expanding to schools, seniors homes, selected residential sites, airports, firefighting schools, landfills and demolition sites.
The approach carried huge financial risks. After Sauvé's discovery in La Baie, Ottawa pledged $15.5-million for a temporary fix. The price tag for a permanent solution has been pegged at up to $100-million.
Still, PEI persisted. Since 2023, it has conducted roughly 4,500 analyses at around 100 sites and posted the results online – a level of transparency rare in Canada.
Outside of a few anomalies (Hazelbrook and a former Canadian Forces base called Slemon Park among them), the island's water sources show low – and in many cases, undetectable – levels of PFAS.
Ottawa to designate 'forever chemicals,' linked to cancer, liver damage, as toxic
Elsewhere in the country, some water experts argue the cost-benefit calculus behind Health Canada's guidance doesn't add up.
'When I look at the justifications that were provided by Health Canada for us doing this, they weren't very compelling,' said Steve Hrudey, professor emeritus of the University of Alberta's medicine faculty, who has served on numerous expert panels on drinking water quality, including the 2000 Walkerton inquiry in Ontario.
Curbing PFAS use and production has yielded far more promising results for limiting human exposure, he said. Health Canada has found that blood concentrations of two common PFAS – PFOA and PFOS – declined by more than 50 per cent between 2009 and 2019, owing largely to restrictions on their use. 'Clearly there's evidence to have some concern,' he said. 'But if you're trying to limit population exposure to these chemicals, is regulation of drinking water your best bet? I would say no.'
PEI is undeterred. The province is looking for more sites to test and working closely with contaminated communities on options for cleaning the water. 'When people become aware of this issue, they become very passionate about,' Mr. Foy said. 'It's important to be pro-active and share the results – it's their water.'