Six years after Fairchild Air Force Base announced that the release of toxic firefighting foams had contaminated the groundwater in Spokane County, families continue to find tainted water. Some have seen illness and deaths in their families, leaving them to wonder if it was the chemicals.
Those whose wells were not tested by the Air Force know little about the safety of their drinking water, as the potential scope and number of sources contamination in rural parts of the county grows.
Documents obtained by a resident through a public records request revealed that Spokane International Airport detected the chemicals in its groundwater, also in 2017. Airport officials began cleanup negotiations with the state earlier this month.
A coalition of residents has worked to spread awareness of the contamination, answer neighbors’ questions, coordinate testing of their wells and press local and military authorities for action.
Correction: An earlier headline on this post misidentified the area of contamination. It is west of Spokane.
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