Water news in 2019 has been dominated in many ways by talk about PFOA and PFOS water contamination, the potential health problems these chemicals cause, and what can and should be done about it. Though the EPA recently released an action plan to address PFAS contamination in groundwater and exposure in drinking water, the agency still does not set enforceable limits for PFOA or PFOS in water under the Safe Water Drinking Act.
Across the United States, stories of PFAS water contamination continue to come to light—many of them related to areas where the chemicals were used in fire-fighting foams at U.S. military bases. Here’s a pair of recent stories reported by Water Quality Products where that was the case:
In New Mexico, the state has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Air Force regarding the groundwater surrounding two bases found to be contaminated with PFAS. The state argues that because the contamination came from the bases the federal government should be responsible for paying to clean it up.
In Wisconsin, a drinking water well in the city of Madison was recently shut down after PFAS contamination was discovered. The water contamination is said to have come from a nearby Air National Guard Base. The city said in this press release they did not believe the PFAS levels were a threat to public health but they were still closing the well as a precaution to further examine the issue.
