West Plains hosting PFAS event going over cancer cluster analysis [Video]

AIRWAY HEIGHTS, Wash. — The West Plains Water Coalition will hold an event on Monday evening to update the PFAS situation in West Plains. Environmental Epidemiology Section Manager Jennifer Sabel will present the results of a West Plains Cancer Cluster analysis.

In March, the state of Washington started testing hundreds of private wells for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination. That testing revealed more than half of the wells contain higher levels of PFAS than the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard.

In 2017, Fairchild Air Force Base announced the discovery of PFAS, sometimes referred to as “forever chemicals,” in the public and private drinking water for thousands of residents in Airway Heights, Medical Lake and surrounding areas.

Now, seven years later, the contamination remains, and the city of Airway Heights is still buying clean drinking water from the city of Spokane, which …