Toxic PFAS Chemical Found In Tucson — Here’s Where

TUCSON, AZ — A new report shows that hundreds of sites nationwide — including in Tucson and Oro Valley — have been contaminated with highly toxic chemicals, including drinking water systems that serve an estimated 19 million people.

Researchers at the Environmental Working Group, an activist nonprofit group, said Monday that at least 610 places in 43 states are now known to be contaminated with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS. That’s up from the 172 the organization had identified in July 2018.

Should you worry? Lawmakers on Capitol Hill have called the presence of the chemicals in drinking water supplies a widespread public health crisis, and states and local communities are calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to set legally allowable limits — which currently don't exist — for the substances.

Closer to home, 3 wells just north of Davis-Monthan and a half-dozen wells serving customers on the northwest side, including the Continental Ranch area of Marana, have been shut down, according to reports from the Arizona Daily Star.

In August, Tucson Water temporarily shut down a treatment plant after discovering it was sending water to thousands of customers containing unexpectedly high levels of PFAs. Levels reached 29 to 30 parts per trillion in samples taken Aug. 1 at three sampling points.

The new sites, discovered using different data sources, include public water systems, military bases, airports, industrial plants, dumps and firefighter training sites, EWG said.

PFAS are man-made chemicals found in industry and consumer products across the globe dating to the 1950s. They were used in nonstick cookware, water-repellent clothing and stain resistant fabrics and carpets, as well as certain cosmetics and firefighting foams. Additionally, PFAS were found in products that resist grease, water and oil, the federal agency said.

PFAS contamination is a public health concern that federal and state health officials are interested in studying further, according to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. The agency cited studies linking PFAS contamination to liver problems, low birth weight, some cancers and other health issues. While more research is needed to determine just how toxic the chemicals are to humans and animals, the “forever chemical,” as it’s often called, has lawmakers on both sides of the aisle concerned.

Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, co-chairman of a congressional PFAS task force, has called PFAS “one of the most widespread public health crises” that Americans face today. Democratic Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan has said veterans and their families have become increasingly alarmed about the chemical around bases.

“The Defense Department in particular has so far failed to act with the required urgency to address this growing problem,” he said earlier this year.

EWG lists two contaminated sites in the Tucson metro area:

• System name: Tucson Water
  • Population served: 675,686
  • Testing dates: April 16, 2013 - Nov. 20, 2013
  • PFAS detected: PFHxS, PFOS
  • PFAS min - max: 0 - 476 ppt
• System name: Metropolitan DWID
  • Population served: 43,433
  • Testing dates: Aug. 20, 2014 - March 23, 2015
  • PFAS detected: PFOS
  • PFAS min - max: 0 - 53 ppt

The most commonly studied PFAS are perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS. Both have been phased out of production in America, but PFAS can seep into soil, water and air, and take thousands of years to break down. They remain in the environment and can even “build up in people and animals with repeated exposure over time,” federal health officials said.

Phil Brown, a professor of sociology and health sciences at Northeastern University and director of the Social Science Environmental Health Research Institute, said the EWG’s updated map shows PFAS contamination is “truly a nationwide problem.”

“Leaders in many communities and states are doing great work to raise awareness about PFAS and push for cleanup, but this is a national crisis demanding national action,’ said Brown.
The map shows contamination at 117 military sites. More than 190 sites were contaminated in Michigan — a reflection of the state’s robust testing program — while 47 and 43 sites were contaminated in California and New Jersey.

There are no legally enforceable limits for PFAS under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, EWG said. The Environmental Protection Agency’s non-binding health advisory level for drinking water is 70 parts per trillion for PFOA and PFOS, separately or in combination. The nonprofit is calling on the EPA to establish what it calls a “truly health-protective legal limit” for all PFAS chemicals.

EPA chief Andrew Wheeler said in March that his agency was taking steps toward establishing federal limits for some kinds of the contaminant in drinking water, according to The Associated Press.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.