Colorado ramps up response to toxic "forever chemicals" after discovery of hot spots across metro

Colorado ramps up response to toxic “forever chemicals” after discovery of hot spots across metro Denver


Groundwater tests over the past year have detected high levels of toxic “forever chemicals” across the Denver metro area, contamination that’s both wider and more severe than previously known.

The discovery of these fluorochemicals, known as PFAS, at Buckley Air Force Base, along Sand Creek and at the Suncor oil refinery — as well as at new sites west of Boulder and around Colorado Springs — compelled state health officials this month to ramp up Colorado’s response.

Tests have measured PFAS contamination of groundwater in metro Denver at levels up to 2,928 times higher than a federal health advisory limit, officials at the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment told The Denver Post.

Beyond Denver, recent tests detected elevated levels of PFAS — often linked to the use of firefighting foam — at a second firehouse west of Boulder and at three more military facilities near Colorado Springs, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, where contamination up to 1,000 times higher than the health limit has been measured in the Monument Creek watershed upslope of the city.

Read more: https://www.denverpost.com/2019/09/10/pfas-chemical-contamination-denver-colorado/