"Sixty percent of California’s public water supply wells that were tested for so-called forever chemicals contain those compounds, according to research that the State Water Resources Control Board released Wednesday.
That same investigation into contamination from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) also found that groundwater and surface water sampled at airports far exceeded the concentrations detected in water near landfills and public supply wells.
The findings, which detail an ongoing sampling effort launched in 2019, shed new light on the presence of PFAS contamination and areas that could be vulnerable based on proximity to known sources like airports and landfills.
The PFAS sampling as part of the investigation, for instance, found concentrations of up to 1 million parts per trillion at airports, compared to 10,000 parts per trillion at landfills and 100 parts per trillion at public wells, according to the survey."
Emily C. Dooley reports for Bloomberg Environment October 7, 2020.