Inspectors have identified 19 private drinking water wells and one public water well at the base with levels of perfluorinated compounds deemed to be at or above the health advisory levels set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Inspectors have identified 19 private drinking water wells and one public water well with levels of perfluorinated compounds deemed to be at or above the health advisory levels set forth by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to a statement from the U.S. Air Force.
“It’s not a regulation.” Kinkade said the levels of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), which are present in Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), were detected during an enterprisewide effort to detect those levels.
More than 200 installations, including the former Reese Air Force Base, were inspected, according to a news release from the Air Force.
According to an Air Force Response to PFOS and PFOA webpage through the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Center website, which Kinkade referred to, AFFF has been used since the 1970s.
Inspections of the water wells around the former Reese Air Force Base began in November, according to a news release from the U.S. Air Force.
“We purchase our water from the city of Lubbock — we have since the Air Force left,” Musa said.
The former base has had water contamination issues before.
The PFOA and PFOS contamination is unrelated, Musa said.
Drinking water wells within a mile and in the direction of groundwater flow of the former base were tested, according to the news release.