PFAS Contamination Found in Residents Near Cannon Air Force Base
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – It’s a name many people have trouble pronouncing,but these synthetic chemicals have been used in everything from fast-food packaging to nonstick cookware,clothing,household cleaning products and even firefighting foam.
PFAS – or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – resist breaking down and as a result have found their way into drinking water, soil, air and the bloodstreams of 99% of Americans.
This is certainly true for people who live or work near a plume of contamination that has seeped beyond the boundaries of Cannon Air Force Base, where PFAS-laden firefighting foam was used for years.
new Mexico health and environmental officials conducted a $1.2 million testing project, drawing blood from nearly 630 people. They shared the results Thursday night during a public meeting.
What did they find?
The research shows 99.7% of participants had one or more PFAS in their blood, with the most common being associated with firefighting foams.
While the percentage isn’t surprising given the overall prevalence of so-called forever chemicals in the environment, officials said some residents living in the plume area showed dramatically higher concentrations than the broader testing group. About one-quarter of them had levels reaching the highest concentration tier used in national guidelines.
The findings suggest a correlation with groundwater contamination migrating from the base, state officials said.
new Mexico Environment Secretary James Kenney said during the meeting that his agency will help the community in any way that it can but that the state is still locked in litigation with the U.S. Defense Department over the damage caused by the contamination.
At Cannon Air Force Base, state officials have reported that PFAS has been detected in groundwater at concentrations of 26,200 parts per trillion, exceeding state and federal drinking water standards by over 650,000%.
Cannon reported earlier this year that it has spent more than $73 million so far on investigating the problem and installing pilot projects to treat contaminated groundwater.
Kenney said it’s time for the federal government to move ahead with extensive remediation efforts.