Dillingham Airport Firefighting Foam Contamination, Central Region, Transportation & Public Facilities, State of Alaska

Dillingham Airport Firefighting Foam Contamination

Page updated 04/24/2024 Go to PFAS Home Page

Community Outreach

Background

Above: Dillingham Water Sampling Results as of April 2024
(click image for larger view)

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) was alerted to concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exceeding the former state action level for drinking water in the Holy Rosary Church well near the Dillingham Airport. The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) began initial sampling of private water wells near airport property in December 2018. They sampled nine wells on or near airport property, the others had concentrations well below the former action level of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for the sum of five PFAS compounds.
DOT&PF has contracted with third-party independent contractor, Shannon & Wilson, Inc. to continue DEC’s preliminary investigation, which has included an in-depth well search.

PFAS are commonly used in products for fire suppression, resistance to wear, and repelling oil, stains, grease, and water. PFAS can be found in apparel, some consumer products, and firefighting aqueous film forming foams (AFFF). The use of AFFF during firefighting equipment testing at the Dillingham Airport is the presumed source of PFAS contamination in the affected wells. PFAS are considered emerging contaminants and the health effects are not yet well characterized.

To date, Shannon & Wilson, Inc. has sampled 102 drinking-water wells at residences and businesses near the airport for PFAS since Feb 26, 2019. PFAS were found in several wells, seven of which had concentrations above the DEC action level(s), including the Holy Rosary Church. DOT&PF and Shannon & Wilson, Inc. began contacting community members to notify them of their results April 4, 2019.

On February 14, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a PFAS action plan. This plan includes a commitment to propose a national drinking water regulatory determination for PFOS and PFOA for public comment in 2019, this is a critical step under the Safe Drinking Water Act for EPA to determine whether it will establish maximum contaminant levels. EPA also proposed to finalize toxicity assessments for five other PFAS. In order to align state actions to the recently announced EPA action plan, DEC will use the EPA lifetime health advisory (LHA) level of 70 ppt for the sum of two PFAS compounds, PFOS and PFOA, as the action level. Any new testing for PFAS will be for PFOS and PFOA only.

DOT&PF’s priority in Dillingham is to identify and provide safe drinking water to those locations exceeding the DEC drinking water limit. Together with Shannon & Wilson, DEC, and engineering consultants, DOT&PF started assessing options for a long-term solution to provide clean drinking water. Shannon & Wilson has provided a feasibility study to DOT&PF outlining several options for permanent long-term alternative water.

Those who participated in the sampling events received a copy of their results at the provided mailing address. If you have questions regarding sample results please email airportwater@alaska.gov.

Drinking Water

Community members who utilized the Holy Rosary Church as a drinking water source may visit the Dillingham Senior Center, water is available on the north side of the building, between the hours of 7 a.m. – 7 p.m. to refill their jugs until an alternative permanent water solution has been established at the church.

Community members whose private wells exceeded the DEC action level have been provided an alternate water solution.

PFAS Fact Sheets

Private Well Inventory Survey Form

Related Reports

All reports are available at Alaska PFAS Information

Contacts

For more information, please contact us.

For questions about testing & study:

Shannon & Wilson, Inc.
Adam Wyborny, P.E., Project Manager
907-479-0600
adam.wyborny@shanwil.com

For regulatory questions:

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation,
Contaminated Site Program
Bill O’Connell, Environmental Program Manager
907-269-3057
bill.oconnell@alaska.gov

Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation,
Contaminated Site Program
Robert Burgess, Environmental Program Specialist III
907-451-2153
robert.burgess@alaska.gov

Division of Spill Prevention and Response website:
dec.alaska.gov/spar/csp/sites.aspx

For questions about PFAS health effects:

Alaska Department of Health
Allison Natcher, Env. Public Health Program Manager
907-269-8054
allison.natcher@alaska.gov

Department of Health PFAS Website:
https://health.alaska.gov/dph/Epi/eph/Pages/PFAS.aspx

For claim filing instructions:

Alaska Department of Administration
Division of Risk Management
Marie Lam, Claims Administrator
PO Box 110218
Juneau, AK 99811-0218
907-465-2183
907-465-3690
marie.lam@alaska.gov

For questions about Dillingham Airport Firefighting Foam and all other inquiries:

Melanie Bray
DOT&PF - Statewide Aviation
907-451-5385
melanie.bray@alaska.gov

PER- and POLYFLUOROALKYL SUBSTANCES