Residents who have wells that tested above the limits are being supplied bottled water by the Navy.

originally posted on December 24, 2016

The Navy, in preliminary test results, has found chemical contamination in seven of 83 drinking-water wells surrounding two Whidbey Island air fields.

The testing is for chemicals — known as PFAs — present in firefighting foam that was used at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

The initial results indicated that six of 47 wells tested near Outlying Field Coupeville are above the lifetime exposure limits advised by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and one of 36 wells tested near Ault Field are above those limits.

Residents who have wells that tested above the limits are being supplied bottled water by the Navy, according to Mike Welding, a public-affairs officer at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island.

The testing, which is continuing, will eventually encompass more than 300 wells, according to Welding.

The Navy, in a statement, said the higher levels involved two of the PFAs — perfluorooctane sulfonate and perfluorooctanoic acid

These chemicals, now being phased out, are present in a wide range of products, and most people have been exposed to them. Contaminated drinking water can be an additional source of the chemicals.

At high concentrations, they have been linked in laboratory animals to health problems that include low birth weight, delayed puberty and elevated cholesterol levels, according to the EPA.