Lawmakers in Arizona are renewing calls to the federal government to help clean up contaminated groundwater in Tucson.
It’s part of a long process in the region to address groundwater contamination from PFAS — a group of chemicals found in an array of consumer products that has been linked to cancer and other health conditions.
Tucson’s contamination has been traced back to activities at the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and Morris Air National Guard base.
In a letter sent to Air Force leadership, congressional members Raúl Grijalva, Ann Kirkpatrick, Greg Stanton, Tom O'Halleran and Mark Kelly say PFAS levels in certain areas of Tucson are above the threshold deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The city has already spent millions on a pilot project to clean the water on its own. The lawmakers say especially as drought and climate change create more water supply issues for Arizonans, the Department of Defense should accelerate efforts to step in to help.
