Spokane Riverkeepers, EWU researcher find PFAS in Spokane River, other nearby waterways

PFAS have been detected in the Spokane River north of downtown.

The dangerous chemical is at levels far below what is found in the ground water on the West Plains. But both the Spokane Riverkeeper and an Eastern Washington University researcher found PFAS at detectable levels in the river.

“We know that PFAS isn’t an invisible problem on our river. It’s here, and we have the scientific and the regulatory tools to take care of it,” said Spokane Riverkeeper Water Protector Katelyn Scott at a West Plains Water Coalition meeting Monday night.

Known as “forever chemicals,” perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a set of human-made chemicals used in thousands of products over the decades. High levels have since been linked to cancers, heart disease, high cholesterol, thyroid disease, low birth weight and other diseases.

High levels of the chemical have been detected throughout the West Plains – likely originating from Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane International Airport. Both have used a firefighting foam linked to PFAS, which washes away into the West Plains groundwater.

At sampling sites below Spokane’s wastewater treatment plant, Spokane Riverkeeper found PFAS at 1.7 parts per trillion. PFAS levels in drinking water cannot be above 4 parts per trillion, according to federal regulation. Surface water has a much higher limit of 8.4 parts per billion.

Still, Spokane Riverkeeper representatives are concerned.

“That is about 2,000 times less protective than the drinking water standard,” Scott said. “This aquifer is at some points above our river, and it feeds water right into the river and other parts our river dumps water into the aquifer. So this really isn’t an abstract concept here. What affects our river is potentially going to affect our drinking water as well.”

The nonprofit is waiting to get results on further testing across the Spokane River.

In his study on PFAS contamination among the paleochannels and groundwater of the West Plains, EWU researcher Chad Pritchard has not found detectible levels of PFAS as the river goes through the heart of Spokane. But as the river turns north, PFAS has somewhere entered the river.

“By the time we get up through Bowl and Pitcher, and then once we finally get up to Nine Mile, we’ll start picking up on some PFAS, and that’s in detectable levels,” Pritchard said.

Detectable levels is anything higher than one part per trillion. Pritchard believes PFAS is flowing into the river as it nears the West Plains.

“We think that’s probably going to be downstream of where the paleochannels come out and potentially put PFAS into the Spokane River at low amounts.”

Pritchard has found much higher levels of PFAS in creeks and smaller tributaries that flow into the Spokane River.

Scott is also concerned that fish with high levels of PFAS could travel through the area’s water systems.

“We need to understand what people are actually eating out of our river in terms of PFAS. One fish is the same as drinking contaminated water for a month,” Scott said. “So it’s really important that we understand that fish consumption and that fish tissue is studied, so that we can protect human health.”