Military Reverses Account Of Colorado PFC Spill

Following an investigation, military officials are changing their account of an alleged perfluorinated compound (PFC) spill into the wastewater treatment system in Colorado.

The U.S. Air Force had said in October that "some 150,000 gallons of polluted water leaked from a Peterson Air Force Base retention tank into the local sewer system in Colorado Springs and found its way into a creek that is used by local farmers," ABC News reported.

But military officials say an investigation yielded a different account of what occurred.

“Officials are now saying the discharge didn’t happen as they thought,” KRCC reported.

“Some water tainted with the chemicals — which are used in firefighting foam — did disappear at Peterson Air Force Base, but it was likely due to evaporation during hot weather,” the Associated Press reported, citing Col. Douglas Schiess.

“The Air Force launched a criminal investigation after firefighters reported on Oct. 12 that 150,000 gallons of water used in firefighting exercises apparently drained from a storage tank into the city sewer system,” the report said.

Investigators cited by the military found that only 20,000 gallons disappeared, not 150,000, the report said, citing Schiess.

“The evaporation apparently occurred from an open pit where the water is pumped for firefighting exercises,” the report said.

That means the contents were not dumped into the sewer system, according to KRCC.

Here is a comment from Schiess on the contradictory messages from the military, per KRCC:

"In an effort to be transparent to our community, we may have released information on the possible water discharge before evaluating all of the possibilities," said Schiess. He explained that "a miscommunication between two parts of [Peterson Air Force Base's] civil engineering squadron" accounted for the error.

Colorado is not new to PFC concerns, which trouble industrial areas nationwide. Nearly 200 public water supplies across the country are estimated to have higher-than-normal levels of PFCs, according to Environmental Science & Technology Letters.

In the Colorado cities of Security, Fountain, and Widefield, “officials have worked overtime since January to remove higher-than-normal concentrations of perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, from the water supply. While the city of Fountain is now 100 percent PFC free, Security and Widefield still have work to do,” Colorado Public Radio reported.

The U.S. EPA issued a health advisory in May about PFC exposure as various cities wage high-profile battles against the compounds. The EPA links high levels of PFC exposure “to low birth weights, forms of cancer and other health problems,” Colorado Public Radio reported.