Perfluorochemicals linked to military bases, airports

The U.S. Air Force says it will replace firefighting foams containing certain perfluorinated compounds with a new formulation by the end of the year. The announcement, made last week, comes on the heels of a study that points to military bases and airports as sources of these persistent drinking water contaminants. Drinking water contaminated with perfluorinated chemicals is a concern for communities near industrial sites in the U.S. where these substances were produced. But military bases, civilian airports, and wastewater treatment facilities are also sources of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in water, experts say. Xindi C. Hu of Harvard University and colleagues report drinking water supplies of some 6 million U.S. residents exceed the lifetime health advisory levels for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) set by EPA in May (Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2016, DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00260). Hu and colleagues examined the agency’s national drinking water contaminant data