A letter sent this week from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to the city of Dayton sheds more light on how the two parties are addressing potential water contamination emanating from the base and a city-owned site.
To date, the Air Force has spent more than $4 million in remediation efforts that included hundreds of sampling analyses on the monitoring wells.
PFOS and PFOA are components of many industrial and commercial products, including a legacy firefighting foam used by the Air Force and civilian airports to combat petroleum-based fires associated with aircraft fires.
"We continue to share your concerns with water contaminated by legacy firefighting foam," McDonald wrote to Dayton City Manager Shelley Dickstein.
According to McDonald, test results showed contaminant levels ranging from 3.7 to 1,285 parts per trillion were detected at the site, which is well above the EPA limit of 70 ppt.
At the base, the city’s monitoring network samples indicated low levels of PFAS — less than 10 ppt — well below what the EPA considers to be a health issue.
were previously identified at two drinking water wells at the base.
"In as much as the Air Force has conducted preliminary assessment at all our installations, accessing your own use of Aqueous Film Forming Foam will be valuable in understanding your future actions."
Based on these results, the EPA determined Wright-Patt and the fire training center may be a source of contamination.
Despite the possible threat of contamination, the EPA, the city and the Air Force have all said Dayton’s drinking water remains safe for consumption.

DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) – Following Wednesday’s Dayton City Commission meeting, the city manager praised Wright Patterson’s response to prevent drinking water contamination from previous firefighting activity on the base.
“We’re very pleased to see Colonel McDonald’s response with regards to they share our sense of urgency.
They do have some plans moving forward,” said City Manager Shelley Dickstein.
In part, Col. McDonald said, “The Air Force is committed to protecting human health and the environment and we are working aggressively to ensure our installation and surrounding communities have access to safe drinking water.” In 2015, inspectors found traces of toxic chemicals linked to foam previously used as a firefighting technique on the base.
As a precaution to prevent contamination into groundwater through the nearby Huffman Dam, the city shut down seven underground wells.
The base detailed its ongoing inspections and efforts to replace any remaining extinguishers and response vehicles using AFFF.
Col. McDonald also said the Air Force is planning a more thorough inspection this summer to determine whether more actions are necessary.
“We know well in advance if there’s some issue,” Dickstein said.
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