AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. – After years of concern, a new research study will test whether water filtration systems installed in Airway Heights homes are effectively removing dangerous PFAS chemicals from drinking water.
About 4,000 homes in Airway Heights are dealing with these dangerous chemicals in their water. The contamination comes from firefighting foam used at Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane International Airport.
Homeowners near the Spokane International Airport and Fairchild Air Force Base are at risk of PFAS, the man-made synthetic chemicals that have seeped into their water supply. If not filtered properly, the chemicals could become a problem.
The Department of Defense installed more than 100 filters in homes aimed at making the water safe to drink. But several years later, residents formed the West Plains Water Coalition, which raised concerns about those filters.
John Hancock, president of the West Plains Water Coalition, lives in the affected area. He said the contamination issue became personal when tragedy struck close to home.
“I didn’t pay much attention to it until a close friend neighbor from down the street said that her husband and her mother had died of cancer. And the Air Force told her not to drink her water anymore,” Hancock said.
The need for scientific testing stems from the invisible nature of PFAS contamination. Homeowners cannot detect whether their filters are working properly.
“PFAS is odorless, colorless, tasteless in parts per trillion. So there’s no way for a homeowner to test whether the water coming out of the filter is actually pure. It takes a big science report to do that,” Hancock said.
Now, residents are partnering with a professor from the University of Colorado who will lead a research project that involves testing 60 homes with existing filters to see if they are actually producing clean water.
Hancock believes the government should pay for studies like this and to clean up the contamination. He pointed out the financial burden on residents who want to test their water independently.
“The cost of testing home water can be as much as $400. Not everyone in my neighborhood can afford that, so there’s still a gap of people who don’t know about the water because they can’t buy their own test. There’s no general free testing yet available,” Hancock said.
For residents who qualify under the Fairchild study area and need clean water, water delivery and filter sheds are available upon request.
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