A Long Fight Against PFCs In Colorado Ahead
By Peak Johnson
Since January, officials in the cities of Security, Widefield, and Fountain, CO, have worked tirelessly to remove higher than normal concentrations of perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, from the water supply.
The cities are three of 194 drinking water supplies across the country that have been found to have high PFC levels, caused by manufacturing facilities, in their drinking water, Colorado Public Radio reported.
“Almost every American has been exposed to these chemicals through consumer products, and for most people that’s probably their largest exposure,” Joel Beauvais, deputy assistant administrator for The Office of Water at the U.S. EPA told Colorado Public Radio. “But in some communities around the country there’s exposure through drinking water as well where there’s been a localized contamination event.”
The U.S. Air Force is in the process of changing the substance that it uses to combat fires. In a press release, the Air Force labelled the replacement foam as “environmentally responsible.”
The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that other branches of the military, unfortunately, are not following the Air Force’s example.
It was late this winter when officials from the Colorado Department of Public Health (CDPHE) and the Environment became aware that higher-than-normal PFCs were in the water supplies of Security, Fountain, and Widefield according to Colorado Public Radio.
"This is a complicated problem. It involves both public water systems and private well owners,” Warren Smith, spokesman for CDPHE told Colorado Public Radio.
Smith said that the problem originates from contaminated groundwater. The CDPHE has asked the Air Force to expedite its investigation into possible contamination of groundwater near the Peterson Air Force Base, reported Colorado Public Radio.
An assessment completed this July identified six spots on the base where the firefighting foam was used.
"Because we know that PFCs are associated with firefighting foam that is used for fuel fires, it’s highly likely that Peterson Air Force Base is at least one source of the PFC contamination in El Paso County,” Smith said.