Well water users warned, Air Force Academy finds toxic level of firefighting chemical

Air Force Academy firefighters training a quarter century ago released a torrent of toxic perfluorinated chemicals that seeped into groundwater and flowed into Monument Creek, a 15,000-page Air Force report released Friday shows.

A series of tests by Air Force researchers showed groundwater had 1,000 times the level of perfluorinated compounds considered safe by state and federal regulators. Records on the training that used firefighting foam loaded with the chemicals are spotty to nonexistent at the academy, the report said, but hazy recollections of the training, which ran from the late 1980s to the early 1990s at the pit, less than 100 yards from the creek, led to the recent tests.

Colorado’s health department on Friday recommended that anyone who uses groundwater south of the academy who hasn’t had their well tested should switch to bottled water. The same holds true for anyone whose wells exceed the EPA’s health advisory of 70 parts per trillion after testing.

About 30 domestic or household wells exist within one mile downstream of the Air Force Academy, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The Air Force plans to go door to door in the affected area to determine if […]

Full article: Well water users warned after Air Force Academy finds toxic level of firefighting chemical

More about: forever chemicals (PFAS, etc.), pollution, and public health

More about: water and the U.S. Military

More about: forever chemicals (PFAS, etc.), pollution, and public health