Local

PFOS found in testing well near Eastside Fire and Rescue

The city of Issaquah is trying to find out how the contaminant PFOS, perfluorooctane sulfonate, is getting into the groundwater.

A new report points to the property where Eastside Fire and Rescue's headquarters is located as a likely source.

Eastside Fire and Rescue says it is working as quickly as possible to address the concern but thinks there are likely other sources in the community as well.

PFOS was once an ingredient in firefighting foam used on petroleum fires. It was the industry standard but was phased out more than a decade ago.

The presence of PFOS 31 times above the EPA's advisory benchmark made the city temporarily shut down one of its wells and then add an extensive filtration system.

The water has been monitored and is safe.

The city hired Geosyntec Consultants to investigate the source and the company issued a report to the city. The results will be shared with the City Council on Dec. 19.

KIRO-7 obtained that 158 page report from the city of Issaquah. According to the study by Geosyntec Consultants, the level of PFOS found in a testing well not far from Eastside Fire and Rescue headquarters had a level of PFOS that was 31 times higher than the EPA advisory limit.

>> Related: Traces of hazardous chemical PFOS found underground at Eastside fire headquarters

According to the report, it was 2,200 parts per trillion when the advisory amount from the EPA is 70 parts per trillion.

Eastside Fire and Rescue hired its own consultants after PFOS was found in soil samples on the property at 175 NW Newport Way.

Eastside Fire and Rescue says it likely did training years ago on the property using the firefighting foam that contained PFOS. The product was phased out more than 10 years ago, long before it was found to be harmful.

Deputy Chief Richard Burke says they are working with the Department of Ecology on the best way to address the presence of PFOS and to clean it up.

"The water coming out of your faucet is absolutely safe and the product we're talking about, the PFOS, hasn't been on our premises for over 10 years," said Burke.

Burke said it is uncharted territory - there is not a protocol for cleaning up PFOS.

"We're really at the point of the spear as a small town fire department trying to deal with this," said Deputy Chief Burke who expects other fire departments and cities across the country to face a similar situation as testing for PFOS becomes more common.

While the department is eager to clean it up, it wants to do it properly and effectively. It needs to get the proper approval from the cities served by Eastside Fire and Rescue and make sure it is done right.

"The trust of our community members is very important to us," added Burke.

The city of Issaquah wasn’t ready to comment on the report by Geosyntec Consultants but a spokesperson did send a statement.

"Safety is our top priority," said Autumn Monahan with the city of Issaquah.  "Issaquah meets all standards set for safe drinking water. We are currently treating water from Well 4 to remove PFCs.  Moving forward, the City of Issaquah will continue to partner with both Sammamish Plateau Water and Eastside Fire & Rescue (EFR) on next steps."