Read the full article by Clara Migoya (Tucson.com).
“From Prescott to the border town of Nogales, ‘forever chemicals’ contaminate the water of nearly 2 million people in Arizona. Some affected utilities have shut down wells and connected to clean sources of water or paid millions for treatment, but dealing with contamination will be a multi-generational problem.
‘We will be working with PFAS for the rest of our careers,’ said Chris Avery, Tucson’s chief water counsel, at the opening of the National 2026 PFAS Conference last week at the University of Arizona. It was the first time leading experts on PFAS met in Arizona for the conference and heard from impacted residents.
Over the past half century per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, a class of 15,000 manufactured chemicals, have been widely used in many industries and have polluted soil, water and air across the globe. Well studied PFAS like PFOS and PFOA are the only ones that would be regulated on U.S. drinking water in three to five years, if proposed rules from the Trump administration go through.
A growing body of scientific research links long-term exposure, even to low traces of these chemicals, to severe health issues like cancer, developmental effects, reproductive disorders and lower immune response.”…