[CPEO-MEF] PFAS: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania airport.

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

PFAS contamination is likely at Pittsburgh airport. Airports may face legal challenges by doing nothing.
Airport officials say they're doing everything the law requires regarding PFAS. Experts say the law doesn't go far enough.

By Oliver Morrison  
Public Source
August 12, 2019

Reports from former firefighters, airport records, expert scientists and a military study indicate that the Pittsburgh International Airport is likely the source of a PFAS chemical plume. Airport officials say they are doing everything the law requires but declined to say if they are taking additional steps experts say are needed to protect the health of nearby residents.

If the Allegheny County Airport Authority doesn’t investigate the possibility of PFAS contamination released through firefighting foam, some lawyers say it could find itself in legal jeopardy. Airports are not required by law to investigate PFAS contamination. Still, there are more than 75 lawsuits across the country against entities that have discharged the foam containing PFAS, and the number is growing.

Some airport industry officials hope that, because the Federal Aviation Administration [FAA] requires airports to use firefighting foam that contains PFAS, the airports won’t be held liable for letting it contaminate their properties. Not every lawyer thinks this argument will hold up, and a lobbying group for the airport industry is pushing Congress to pass a law that will limit their financial exposure. As the legal questions get sorted out, airports across the country are deciding whether and how to respond to the potential health consequences for residents who live nearby.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.publicsource.org/pittsburgh-international-airport-pfas-contamination-concern/

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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org





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