SIOUX CITY — Sioux City’s drinking water has exceeded health advisory levels, in recent months, for man-made compounds that have been used in products that are resistant to heat and repel oil and water, according to documents from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.
Sioux City Utilities Director Brad Puetz was slated to give a presentation during Monday’s City Council meeting about the updated health advisory levels for per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and their effect on the city’s drinking water.
“The EPA has recently updated the health advisory levels for PFAS compounds as they relate to drinking water. PFAS compounds have been detected in the source water and finished water at Sioux City’s Southbridge water plant,” council meeting information states.
Clean drinking water is no luxury; it’s crucial to our health. But the infrastructure that provides us with this resource is out of sight, out of mind.
In a DNR notice dated Oct. 10, sample results from Sioux City Water Supply detected perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in a concentration of 5.4 parts per trillion and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in a concentration of 4 per trillion. The new EPA health advisory levels are 0.004 parts per trillion for PFOA and 0.02 parts per trillion for PFOS.
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Before June 15, the interim health advisory levels consisted of the combined results of PFOS and PFOA set as 70 parts per trillion.
Anne Westra, a communications and public engagement specialist for the city, told The Journal Thursday that there is “no cause for alarm” and that residents can keep drinking the water.
According to information posted to the city’s website, the city began participating in an Iowa DNR program in August to proactively determine the prevalence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, often called “forever chemicals,” in its drinking water. A water sample collected that month indicated 4.4 parts per trillion of one PFOS compound.
PFOA and PFOS-related chemicals have been used to make carpets, clothing, fabrics for furniture, paper packaging for food and other materials that are resistant to water, grease or stains. They are also used for firefighting at airfields and in a number of industrial processes, according to the EPA.
The information on the city’s website states that the source of Sioux City’s contamination is the use of fire-fighting foams at the 185th Air Refueling Wing.
According to the EPA, the new health advisory levels were calculated to offer a margin of protection against adverse health effects and also take into account other potential sources of exposure to PFAS beyond drinking water.
Studies have found associations between PFOA and/or PFOS exposure and effects on the immune system, cardiovascular system, human development and cancer.
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