PHOENIX (AP) — The U.S. Air Force says it will be distributing bottled water to thousands of residents and business owners near its base in suburban Phoenix until at least April, marking the latest case of chemicals from military firefighting efforts contaminating the water supply in a nearby community.
A contractor is
scheduling deliveries of drinking water to the homes of people who picked up
their first bottles this week, said Sean Clements, chief of public affairs for
the 56th Fighter Wing at the base. Those deliveries will go on until a
long-term filtration facility can be set up in April, Clements said Thursday.
The base has
recommended people use bottled water for drinking and cooking but deemed tap
water safe for bathing and laundry.
Similar
contamination tied to the use of firefighting foam has been found in water
supplies near dozens of military sites in Arizona, Colorado and other states
and has triggered hundreds of lawsuits. Growing evidence that it's dangerous to
be exposed to the chemicals found in the foam has prompted the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency to consider setting a maximum level for those
chemicals in drinking water nationwide.
But they aren’t
regulated now, meaning the base can't be punished even though the EPA says the
chemicals stay in the body for long periods and may cause adverse health
effects.
The Arizona
Corporation Commission, which regulates utilities, is scheduling an emergency
meeting next week with five water companies to discuss concerns about the
contamination, said Caroline Oppleman, spokeswoman for the Arizona Department
of Environmental Quality.
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