Alaska lakes’ levels of ‘forever chemicals’ revealed as officials ponder actions to reduce risks

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The study comes at a time when legislators and state leaders are seeking ways to address the substances. A bill introduced in the Legislature by Sen. Jesse Kiehl addresses the most common source of PFAS contamination – fire-suppressing foam.

Use of PFAS compounds began in the 1950s, and there are thousands of them. Most famously, they are found in flame-suppressants. Most of the environmental PFAS contamination in Alaska and many other places is believed to have been caused by use of those firefighting foams at airports, where their use is mandated by the Federal Aviation Administration. Military sites are also known for using such foams.

After Lake Spenard and Lake Hood, the Fairbanks area had the sites with the third- and fourth-highest levels in the study, with Airport Lake coming in at 179.4 parts per trillion and the Nordale Gravel Pit in North Pole at 167.7 parts per trillion. That points to another need, she said: better monitoring of PFAS contamination of fish. “Our next step is to test fish, because the state is not doing enough of that,” she said.introduced in the Legislature addresses the most common source of PFAS contamination – fire-suppressing foam.

His bill, Senate Bill 67, anticipates that alternative, non-PFAS-containing firefighting foams will be available in the near future. Those alternatives are already in development – though Kiehl said the FAA is far overdue in changing its rules about PFAS-substance use.

 

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