Tucson and its utility have invested in testing and treatment, but there is no regulation or remediation plan in place to deal with PFAS.
TUCSON — Linda Shosie drove down the streets of southside Tucson pointing out, across several blocks, what she’s determined are “clusters” of disease.
Over two decades ago, water testing revealed the presence of 1,4-dioxane in wells near the Superfund site, and an additional treatment facility was built 12 years later. The EPA declared the companies, acquired in 1997 by Raytheon and Boeing respectively, responsible for the environmental contamination. The U.S. Air Force, the city, and the Tucson Airport Authority were also added to that list and forced to establish a trust fund to pay for the remediation. In 1994, Tucson Water began operating the Tucson Airport Remediation Project or TARP, initially built to treat TCE exclusively.
A doctor’s note from Southwest Pediatrics El Rio, viewed by The Arizona Republic, said her granddaughter’s illness “may be associated with some chemicals she has been exposed to in her environment.” “You can imagine I'm crying with every mom that I've interviewed because many mothers like myself witnessed the death of their child,” she said.
“Back then, we had the horse in front of the cart,” Gonzales said. They had an extensive amount of evidence, national attention, and a scientific and medical team working by their side. They were also arguing for damages from TCE contamination. “This was the serendipity,” said Tucson Water Director Jon Kmiec. The utility had installed the granular activated carbon filters as part of the process to “quench” hydrogen peroxide used to remove dioxane from water.
For about five months, from mid to late 2021, the city and the utility temporarily closed the plant. Water testing indicated that PFAS levels in wells south of the TARP plant had jumped dramatically. GAC filters that were already sequestering PFAS would not handle the increase. This new level of contamination could “overwhelm the facility,” officials said.
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