SPOKANE, Wash. — Local researchers are taking a comprehensive approach to water sampling to better understand the impact of PFAS in our area.
PFAS, also known as ‘the forever chemical’, is a toxic contaminant that comes from everyday objects like clothing, furniture, food packaging and dental floss.
The chemical was first identified in the Airway Heights Aquifer in 2017. The source of the PFAS was reported by the Washington Department of Ecology to be firefighting foam.
Since then, the contaminated water has affected hundreds of homes in the West Plains area, forcing many to install filtration systems and some to survive off bottled water.
Now, researchers at Eastern Washington University are mapping the flow of these chemicals to find out where safe water runs and where more filtration is needed to clean the toxic water.
“This project goes way over what people have done in the past, as far as sampling,” said Dr. Chad Pritchard, EWU Geoscience Professor.
Dr. Pritchard and his team of students received a $450,000 grant from Washington Ecology for their study.
“Issues like this make you realize how important water is,” said student, Jerusha Hampson.
The funding will cover the cost of testing both public and private wells.
“This project will develop a whole groundwater model and we’ll know where groundwater is,” Dr. Pritchard said.
For his research team, the project has been eye-opening.
“Being able to help [residents] and come in and test their water for them and help them understand some of these things, it’s been a really rewarding experience,” Hampson said.
For more information on the project, visit www.ewu.edu.
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