Study Finds Millions Of Americans Had Water Contaminated With Firefighting Foam

Contamination in water by firefighting foam is an issue that is affecting millions of Americans across the country.

For example, the cities of Security, Widefield, and Fountain, CO, experienced higher than normal concentrations of perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, in their water supply.

Health officials in Colorado stated that nearby Peterson Air Force Base was one likely source, according to The New York Times. 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.”

According to accuweather.com, a study that was published by Environmental Science and Technology Letters stated that the combination of toxic chemicals found in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) has been located in public water supplies from California to Rhode Island.

According to the report, “the study suggests at least six million people across the U.S. in 2016 had drinking water that exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency's lifetime health advisory for certain acids associated with the foams.”

Researchers from UC Berkeley and Harvard University report that these “highly fluorinated chemicals are linked to cancer, obesity, high cholesterol and endocrine problems, among other concerns,” per AccuWeather.

Often, firefighters use specially-formulated foams that can take away the oxygen content in a fire. However, the study outlined environmental contamination across the country with these potentially hazardous materials.

The study’s co-author Dr. Arlene Blum, stated that the major sources for contamination are “near military bases and airports where firefighter training occurs, industrial sites where the chemicals are made and wastewater treatment plants.”

"During the practice drills, large volumes of these toxic chemicals are washed into lakes, rivers, streams and they end up in groundwater and in drinking water," Blum told AccuWeather. "We think that chemicals that are this persistent and potentially toxic should only be used when they are essential, not just for training."

194 drinking water supplies across the country have been found to have high PFC levels, 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.”

Because PFCs have been used for decades, experts have said that the toxic chemicals are only affecting humans but wildlife as well.

"If that foam gets into the water system, it can choke fish gills or coat amphibians and that is a problem for aquatic life," Evan Duffey, an AccuWeather long-range meteorologist and Pennsylvania certified wildland firefighter, said.

Duffey added that AFFF is used on a regular basis for house and car fires after the fire has been contained, to eliminate any possibility for flare-ups. Though firefighters attempt to maintain distance from other water sources when using the chemicals so that they do not contaminate, Duffy said that “it's possible foamy water will end up in ditches or nearby streams and ponds.”

"If the foam is in static water like a lake or a pond, it could throw off the pH or create a layer on the surface that can cause environmental issues," he said.