Overview

Approximately 8,000 people work at or frequent the Pease International Tradeport. There are also two daycare centers located on the site. In May 2014, drinking water wells that supply the Pease International Tradeport were sampled. The Haven Well, one of three wells that serves the Pease International Tradeport and the New Hampshire Air National Guard base at Pease, showed elevated levels of the unregulated contaminant perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). How long PFOS may have been present in this well is not clear.

Because the level of PFOS exceeded the "provisional health advisory" set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the well was shut down by the City of Portsmouth on May 12, 2014, and since that time it has been physically disconnected from the system.

PFOS is one of a class of chemicals known as PFAS or Perfluoroalkyl Substances. PFAS are a large group of man-made chemicals that have been used in industry and consumer products worldwide since the 1950s. In the United States, making and using these chemicals in consumer products has greatly decreased during the last 10 years, but people can still be exposed to PFAS because they are still present in the environment. Scientists have studied how PFAS affect animals’ health but are still trying to understand how exposure to PFAS affects human health. To find out more information about PFAS, please click the link below:

More information about PFAS.