Nov. 19—EAU CLAIRE — Chippewa Valley Regional Airport intends to sample groundwater and soil on its property early next year as part of an investigation into PFAS chemical contamination in nearby city wells.
The Eau Claire airport's hired consultant, AECOM Technical Services, submitted its recommended plan for investigating suspected PFAS contamination on Friday to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
That plan was required by the state agency after the DNR sent a letter in early August to the airport, stating that firefighting foam used there is a suspected contributor to PFAS found in Eau Claire's municipal wellfield.
Upon receipt of AECOM's site investigation work plan, the DNR has 60 days to review and respond with suggested changes or approval to it.
Charity Zich, airport manager, said the work plan includes locations at the airport property where firefighting foam, which is known to contain PFAS chemicals, was used or suspected to be used. Those spots are located just off the main runway, and the plan recommends analyzing soil samples from there and drilling small wells to collect groundwater for testing.
A news release sent Friday by the airport noted there is only one type of firefighting foam approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and it contains PFAS chemicals.
Federal mandates require that foam to remain in use at the airport in the event of a fire, but it is no longer used during training drills.
"The airport has already limited its use of firefighting foam to emergency use only and invested in equipment to eliminate the need to use foam during FAA required annual testing," Zich said in the news release.
In 2019, the local airport purchased equipment so water — not foam — is used in those training exercises, Zich said.
The only incident in the airport's records where foam has been used for an emergency happened earlier this year, Zich said. Foam was used as a precautionary measure when an aircraft went off the runway in April, but did not catch fire.
Known as "forever chemicals" because they don't break down in the environment, PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals used in a variety of products since the 1950s. They are found in non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays and firefighting foam.
The city first announced in July that slightly elevated levels of PFAS had been found in some of the wells located in the wellfield that provides all of Eau Claire's drinking water. Four wells were shut off in early July, followed by three more between mid-July and mid-August.
As of Friday, half of the city's 16 wells were not being used to supply drinking water.
Water from two of the contaminated wells is currently being sent into man-made ponds to draw PFAS out of the groundwater and prevent it from spreading farther.
"It appears it's working what we're doing — dumping the PFAS into our absorption ponds," said Lane Berg, city utilities manager.
PFAS levels have been showing improvement in recent tests, he said.
Scientists are still studying health effects of various PFAS on humans, the state Department of Health Services states on its website. Not all PFAS have the same health effects, but research suggests that high levels of certain chemicals may raise cholesterol levels, decrease how well bodies respond to vaccines, increase risk of thyroid disease, lower fertility in women, increase risk of conditions including high blood pressure in pregnant women, and result in slightly lower infant birth weights.
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