Read the full article by Jordan Smith (KXLY)
“SPOKANE, Wash. — ‘Forever chemicals’ (PFOS and PFOA) have been discovered in well systems near Garfield Road and 7 Mile Road after numerous waves of testing by the Air Force.
4 News Now spoke with one resident, whose water was contaminated beyond the thresh hold of 70 parts per trillion liters of water.
‘I didn’t trust the water before they even came out here,’ says Shirley Whipple, a 25-year resident on Garfield Road. These chemicals are known to cause reproductive problems, developmental issues, and certain cancers.
Whipple’s family has lived in this part of the region for years; many of them have passed away to cancer.
‘My husband was stationed at Fairchild several years ago; he [moved] down here [in] 1978,’ said Whipple. ‘Then he got cancer. Then he got cancer again, then he got it again. His mother lived here, she died of cancer.’
She believes there’s a direct correlation between these cancer diagnoses in her family and the water they had been drinking.
For decades, these chemicals were used in foam to extinguish fires on military bases across the country. Including from the Fairchild Air Force Base. They seeped into the soil, and from there into the groundwater.
After the EPA determined them to be hazardous in 2016, military bases stepped away from this chemical. They soon began making reparations with the communities that were impacted.
For those with contaminated water, Fairchild has installed water filtration systems that purify well water of any contaminants. It’s a $55,000 expenditure completely paid for by Fairchild.
So far, 88 have been constructed.
‘We continue to study that so we can learn more about it and provide safe, clean drinking water to affected residents in our area,’ said Jason Murley, Commander of the 92nd Civil Engineering Squadron.
The Fairchild Air Force Base released a map of the area they’re monitoring for water contamination. 4 News asked how they determine which residents get their water tested.” …