November 18, 2010
By Molly A.K. Connors
Excerpt: Silent Spring Institute, a Newton-based nonprofit collaborative that researches links between the environment and women's health issues, is scheduled to begin screening 50 privately owned drinking water wells on Cape Cod next month.
The study, which will eventually narrow to 20 wells, will examine concentrations of chemicals, including pharmaceuticals, hormones and personal-care products, that are often referred to as "emerging contaminants" because researchers only recently have been able to detect them in water supplies.
Testing and analysis, which are expected to be completed by spring, follow similar research released by Silent Spring Institute earlier this year on public water supplies in nine areas, including Barnstable, Brewster, Buzzards Bay, Chatham and Dennis.