By admin 
TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The country’s leading experts on PFAS are gathering in Tucson for the first time ever.
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The compounds, also known as forever chemicals, have contaminated Tucson’s water supply for four decades.
“It’s a really big deal to be able to bring the voices that we hear, the stories we hear locally, to a national audience, to talk about what’s happening in the rest of America,” said Paloma Beamer, National PFAS Conference co-chair and the Associate Dean for Community Engagement in the College of Public Health at the University of Arizona.
Conference brings national attention to local crisis
This is the first time the conference has been held in the southwest and one of the few times in a community directly affected by PFAS contamination. Conference leaders say that it’s important for attending researchers to hear and learn from those at the forefront of this issue.
The forever chemicals, found in things like common household cleaners and fire retardants, have contaminated Tucson’s water supply for decades. One of the biggest sources of PFAS contamination is the foam used to fight aircraft fires at airports and military bases, including Davis-Monthan, across the country for decades.
Beamer says 100% of Arizonans have some level of PFAS in their blood, higher than the national average of 98%. She said it’s critical to learn how harmful PFAS chemicals can be and how to reduce exposure to them.
“So, they’re all around us; they’re everywhere. We’re trying to understand how to reduce exposure and what level of exposure is hazardous,” Beamer said.
Federal regulations in jeopardy
Beamer said understanding PFAS exposure is especially important as the federal government attempts to rescind water regulation standards that limited the amount of PFAS in drinking water.
“They have not been rolled back yet, but they are in danger of being rolled back unless we hear from community members and scientists advocating for why they’re important,” Beamer said.
Community members like Linda Robles are speaking out. Robles lost her child to cancer in 2007 and believes their death was caused by PFAS in their water, which has been linked to cancer and immune system disorders.
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“I decided to establish the environmental justice task force, try to figure out what’s happening in our community, reached out to the University of Arizona, and asked them for help,” Robles said.
Progress on treatment facilities
Beamer credits Robles for bringing the national conference to Tucson and for pushing the federal government to build and expand PFAS treatment facilities in the area.
In April, after years of delay, the federal government published its proposed settlement with the city to help construct a PFAS treatment system at the Tucson Area Remediation Plan, which was previously recognized as a Superfund site.
Despite this milestone, Robles said she’d like to see a greater focus on victims of PFAS contamination and hopes this week’s conference can help experts achieve that goal.
“To raise awareness, to educate, and also to try to draw in and build relationships with other scientists, people who are interested and who know about these, and are willing to bring that work to our community,” Robles said.
The conference will continue through Wednesday and includes several sessions that are open to the public.
More information on PFAS and additional resources for providers and community members can be found on the U of A’s Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center website.
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