JH Airport proactively, aggressively controlling groundwater contamination
JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. — At a special meeting of the board held this week, Jackson Hole Airport adopted for one of the most stringent threshold levels for contaminants that could pollute drinking water.
The airport board voted to set a 10 parts-per-trillion threshold for whole-house water systems—one of the lowest in the country—and offer whole-house filtration systems, which are certified to remove PFAS compounds, for interested parties located within the eligibility area.
PFAS comprises more than 5,000 compounds. Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), two compounds included in PFAS, are the only two PFAS compounds in which the US EPA has issued a drinking water health advisory. They are also the compounds most closely associated with airport firefighting foam.
Based on projections, eligible homes are estimated to test at or above about 10 ppt for PFOS+PFOA. This projected area would be based on scientific data including water well testing results that have been collected to date. An “allowance for variability” concept would be used to develop the eligibility boundary, which will account for future testing variability over time. Residents that fall within the eligibility boundary will be eligible to receive, at no cost to them, a whole-house water filtration system that is certified to remove PFOS/PFOA.
The Environmental Protection Agency has not yet classified PFOS/PFOA as a hazardous substance, but it has set a Lifetime Health Advisory Level (LHA) of 70 ppt. The airport board has facilitated PFOS/PFOA testing at 137 residential locations. Of those residences, 136 samples resulted in either non-detects or values below the EPA’s LHA of 70 ppt. One domestic water well tested at 70.3 ppt.
Jackson Hole Airport staff will be contacting all eligible homeowners to confirm in the next few weeks to confirm their interest in receiving a filtration system.
Questions can be directed to Meg Jenkins, Jackson Hole Airport’s communications manager, via email or by calling (307) 699-4387.
