Read the full article by Michael Booth (The Colorado Sun)

“A new Colorado study found toxic PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ in 100% of the fish it sampled from previously known contaminated waterbodies in El Paso, Jefferson and Adams counties, adding to a growing series of reports on damage from the waterproofing materials’ spread in the environment.

Staff from the Colorado health department, the Colorado School of Mines, and Colorado Parks and Wildlife collected 49 fish across 10 species in the summer and fall of 2020, according to a new summary of the study. They sampled fish from Willow Springs Pond in Fountain, in El Paso County; Mann-Nyholt Lake in Henderson, in Adams County; and Tabor Lake in Wheatridge, in Jefferson County. 

The sites were chosen in part because they are popular fishing spots where anglers often eat their catch.

All of the fish contained a form of PFAS, used to make non stick utensils, firefighting foam and countless consumer products, though state officials say there is as yet no federal or local standard warning at what level of PFAS that fish should not be eaten. 

‘Because of the limitations of this project, it is not possible to draw conclusions about whether the levels of PFOS found in fish at these waterbodies are high enough to harm human health,’ the state study says.

The highest concentrations of the forever chemicals were in fish from Willow Springs Pond, fed by Fountain Creek, up to 241 nanograms per gram. The draft study says that ‘In states that have fish consumption guidelines . . .  the ‘Do not consume’ level ranges from 50 ng/g to 300 ng/g, with most advisories set at around 200 ng/g.’

…’The project has a number of limitations and was too small to determine whether PFAS in the fish sampled are high enough to harm human health,’ according to the study summary from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. ‘CDPHE will continue to share information and take action to protect and notify the public as we work with federal, state, and local partners to conduct additional testing of PFAS in fish and find innovative solutions to protect Coloradans.'”…