PFAS have moved from a technical term to a household one, and private-well owners are reasonably asking whether they should be concerned. It is a fair question, and it deserves a more careful answer than either reassurance or alarm.
This guide, for private-well households in Chatfield Drilling’s Pennsylvania and Ohio service area, explains what PFAS are, why a standard water test does not cover them, and what treatment actually requires. It does not assess any particular well, interpret a result, or make a health determination. Those require your actual test results and appropriate professional and medical guidance.
What PFAS are
PFAS — per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a group of human-made chemicals used in industrial and consumer products since the 1940s. They resist heat, water, and oil, which is why they appear in things like non-stick cookware, waterproof clothing, and firefighting foams.
That same durability is the problem. These compounds do not break down readily in the environment, which is where the informal name “forever chemicals” comes from. Once present in a water source, they tend to persist.
How they reach water
PFAS can enter water sources through several routes: industrial discharges, wastewater treatment plant effluents, and the use of firefighting foams. They can also migrate over time from products containing them.
For a private-well owner, the practical implication is that proximity to certain activities or sites raises the question, while distance from them lowers it without settling it. This is not something a household can determine by looking at the water, because PFAS are not visible, and they do not announce themselves through taste or odor the way iron, sulfur, or sediment can.
Why your existing test probably did not cover this
This is the point most worth understanding: a standard private-well test does not typically include PFAS.
Common well testing panels focus on things like coliform bacteria, nitrates, pH, hardness, iron, and manganese. Those are the right things to test for in most circumstances, and they cover the issues that affect the majority of households. PFAS analysis is a separate, specialized test that has to be requested deliberately.
Public water systems in the United States are required to monitor and report PFAS levels as part of Safe Drinking Water Act compliance. Private wells carry no equivalent requirement — testing is the well owner’s decision. Some private wells are tested where there is specific concern about contamination.
So a clean water report is genuine information about what it measured. It is not evidence about a contaminant it never looked for.
Why ordinary filtration is not the answer
The second thing worth understanding is that removing PFAS is genuinely difficult, and conventional treatment does not do it.
Chlorine disinfection and standard filtration are generally not effective against PFAS. Neither is a softener, a sediment filter, or an iron system — those address entirely different problems. A household that already has whole-home treatment should not assume that equipment is doing anything about PFAS.
Advanced treatment approaches such as activated carbon adsorption and ion exchange may be used to reduce PFAS levels. Chatfield addresses PFAS through its custom water treatment work, alongside other contaminants including VOCs, arsenic, chlorine, and bacteria — but any such system is designed around confirmed results rather than a general concern.
Health context, handled carefully
Prolonged exposure to certain PFAS, particularly PFOA and PFOS, has been associated with adverse health effects in research, including developmental and reproductive problems, liver and kidney damage, immune system effects, and increased risk of certain cancers.
The Environmental Protection Agency has issued health advisories for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water, providing guidance on exposure levels and recommended actions where levels exceed them. Regulatory activity in this area has been active and continues to develop across federal, state, and local authorities.
What none of that establishes is what any individual household should conclude. That depends on your actual results and your own circumstances, and health questions belong with a medical professional and the appropriate health authority rather than a water treatment article.
Deciding whether to test
Testing for PFAS is a deliberate choice with a cost attached, and not every household needs to make it. Reasonable prompts include known contamination in your area, proximity to industrial sites, airports or military installations where firefighting foams have been used, landfills, or land where sludge was applied, or a local advisory. Persistent household concern is also a legitimate reason.
If you decide to test, ask specifically for PFAS analysis and confirm the laboratory is equipped for it. Follow the collection instructions precisely, since sampling for these compounds has particular requirements and a compromised sample wastes the effort.
Whatever you do, avoid the two failure modes: assuming a routine test already covered it, and assuming existing treatment equipment is handling it.
If a result comes back
Take the same orderly approach that any water result deserves. Ask the laboratory or a qualified professional what the numbers mean and what confirmation is appropriate. Ask the relevant health authority about interim precautions for your household. Then discuss treatment options against the confirmed results rather than the initial reading.
Chatfield’s process for any treatment question runs in the same order: test the water, assess the installation area, review the results and provide a clear quote, then install and verify. For a contaminant this specific, that sequence matters more rather than less.
The practical takeaway
PFAS are not covered by a standard well test, not detectable by taste, smell, or appearance, and not removed by ordinary filtration or softening. Whether they warrant testing on your property depends on local conditions and history rather than on general worry.
If you have reason to test, request PFAS analysis specifically and use a laboratory equipped for it. If a result comes back, work from confirmed numbers and appropriate guidance before selecting equipment. Chatfield Drilling can discuss water testing and treatment for a specific property — call (724) 588-2652.
