SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane Riverkeeper, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and restoring the Spokane River, collected water samples as a part of a recent study with Waterkeeper Alliance and reported that PFAS are 5,000% higher at biosolid land application sites.
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are synthetic chemicals linked to public health outcomes and negative impacts on ecosystems, according to the Waterkeeper Alliance. They are used often in industrial and common consumer products like nonstick pans, microwave popcorn bags and paint.
Spokane Riverkeeper took samples at locations where biosolids meet the river, like at the Riverfront Park Water Reclamation Facility and waterways next to biosolid application sites. The purpose of this was to understand how present PFAS is in spaces where it could be absorbed by aquatic life and into the environment.
They reported finding PFAS concentrations 5000% higher downstream of these sites as opposed to further upstream.
They said that this represents a significant and ongoing source of PFAS entering local waterways.
“Unmonitored and unregulated PFAS compounds in biosolids used for fertilizer are poisoning our creeks,” said Jule Schultz, Waterkeeper for Spokane Riverkeeper. “These forever chemicals don’t break down. They accumulate in the environment, in our fish, and in our bodies. It’s time for the state to take a hard look at the biosolids program and take action to protect our waterways from this toxic legacy.”
PFAS do not have to be routinely tested or regulated in land-applied biosolids in Washington State. Spokane Riverkeeper pushed for federal, state and local officials to prioritize funding for PFAS monitoring, as well as for the deployment of treatment technologies.
They also called for state agencies to halt the land application of biosolids constraining PFAS until safety can be ensured and to require monitoring of wastewater effluent and biosolids.
This comes in the wake of Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin’s decision to keep maximum contaminant levels for PFAS.
“The work to protect Americans from PFAS in drinking water started under the first Trump Administration and will continue under my leadership,” said Zeldin in his May announcement. “We are on a path to uphold the agency’s nationwide standards to protect Americans from PFOA and PFOS in their water. At the same time, we will work to provide common-sense flexibility in the form of additional time for compliance.”
