Atlantic City, NJ Water Quality (ZIP 08401)

Quick Answers

Is ZIP 08401 tap water safe to drink? Water for ZIP 08401 shows high PFAS contamination. EPA testing found a peak of 94 ppt, above the EPA's 4 ppt enforceable limit. A reverse osmosis or certified PFAS filter is strongly recommended.

What filter should I use in 08401? Match the filter to the data: reverse osmosis handles PFAS, lead, and arsenic together; NSF-53 pitchers cover the taps you drink from. A basic Brita pitcher will not remove PFAS.

ZIP 08401 Water Quality Summary

EPA testing has detected PFAS "forever chemicals" in the water system serving ZIP 08401 (Atlantic City, NJ). Monitoring found a peak of 94 ppt across 1 system, averaging 16.34 ppt over 6 detected compounds.

Contamination Level: HIGH – High contamination – multiple PFAS compounds detected at levels significantly above EPA safety thresholds.

Top Detected Compounds in ZIP 08401

• PFHXS: 94 ppt (exceeds the EPA 10 ppt limit)
• PFOS: 48 ppt (exceeds the EPA 4 ppt limit)
• PFOA: 43 ppt (exceeds the EPA 4 ppt limit)
• PFHPA: 11 ppt (exceeds the EPA 10 ppt limit)
• PFHXA: 0.01 ppt

Lead in ZIP 08401 Water

EPA Lead and Copper Rule testing recorded 45 lead samples for the system serving 08401, with a 90th-percentile high of 0.438 mg/L (above the EPA 0.015 mg/L action level). There is no safe level of lead for children; homes built before 1986 should use a certified NSF/ANSI 53 lead filter.

EPA Violations Affecting ZIP 08401

The water system serving 08401 have 4 health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violations on record, including 5000, Nitrate. A health-based violation means a contaminant exceeded its federal limit or required treatment was not applied.

About the Data

These figures come from EPA UCMR5 (2023-2025) plus Lead and Copper Rule and SDWIS records for the public water system serving ZIP 08401. UCMR5 is the most comprehensive national drinking water survey in US history.

Beyond water: other exposures in Atlantic City, NJ

Drinking water is one exposure route. These are the other federal datasets that cover ZIP 08401 and Atlantic County, NJ.

Radon risk in Atlantic County, NJ

The EPA places Atlantic County, NJ in Zone 3 - the EPA's lowest-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level below 2 pCi/L. Zone maps predict the radon potential of an area from geology and existing indoor readings - they do not describe any individual home. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among people who have never smoked, and the only way to know your own level is a test kit.

Lead paint risk in Atlantic County, NJ

Census figures show 55% of homes in Atlantic County, NJ were built before 1980, and 20% before 1950. Lead-based paint was banned for residential use in 1978, so older housing stock is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This is a statistic about the county's housing, not a test of any particular property - if your home predates 1980, a lead swab test is the way to check.

Air quality in Atlantic County, NJ

Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) for Atlantic County, NJ averages 6.1 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual PM2.5 standard of 9 µg/m³. PM2.5 is the pollution fraction small enough to reach deep into the lungs. These are CDC modelled estimates for the county as a whole, not a reading taken at this ZIP code.

Superfund sites near 08401

There is 1 EPA Superfund (National Priorities List) site within about five miles of 08401: Price Landfill (about 4.4 miles). Distances are measured from the ZIP code's geographic centre, so the distance from a specific address will differ. Proximity to a listed site is a fact about location - it is not itself evidence of exposure.