ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — They are in everything from non-stick cookware, water-repellant clothing to firefighting foam: they're manmade chemicals called PFAS. They have been found in the soil around Holloman Air Force Base and in Santa Fe. Now, scientists in Albuquerque are measuring how much of it is in the Rio Grande.
News 13 spoke with state environment officials to find out more.
"When we look for PFAS, typically guess what? We find it. And that's the nature of the chemical: it does not break down in the environment, it does accumulate in our bodies, so the less we ingest the better off we are," says James Kenney, cabinet secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED).
Unfortunately, state environment officials say PFAS is becoming more and more difficult to avoid.
"It's in virtually everything that we use in society," says John Rhoderick, director of the Water Protection Division at the NMED; which is why, when the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published a study this year about the levels of PFAS found in the Rio Grande, the NMED wasn't particularly surprised.
"It's valuable information it confirmed much of what we anticipated would be going on," Rhoderick says.
Two recent studies by the U.S. Geological Survey, done in cooperation with the New Mexico Environment Department, found the Albuquerque urban area "significantly contributes PFAS to Rio Grande."
Kimberly Beisner, one of the researchers who measured the levels of these forever chemicals in the river, says they did a survey of all the major rivers in the state and then focused on the Rio Grande.
USGS said their initial statewide study sampled 117 groundwater wells and 18 surface water sites across New Mexico between August 2020 and October 2021. PFAS were detected in all major rivers in New Mexico, with the highest concentrations at sites downstream of urban areas. Total PFAS concentrations from surface water samples ranged from 1.0 to 155.4 nanograms per liter. PFAS were detected at 27 groundwater sites, though no results exceeded the EPA's 2016 health advisory limit.
"We found PFAS in all the major rivers of New Mexico with concentrations generally increasing as rivers flow downstream through the state," Beisner says.
The USGS conducted a follow-up study to examine the water quality in the Rio Grande as it flows through Albuquerque. Scientists found that the urban area significantly contributes to the levels of PFAS in the Rio Grande.
USGS scientists collected water samples from upstream and downstream of the urban area of Albuquerque, as well as treated water released from the wastewater treatment plant.
"It increased almost tenfold sometimes," Beisner says, "but it was highly variable as mentioned."
Researchers also noted that the PFAS levels changed over the 24 hours the team took samples from the Rio Grande. Some of the changes seemed to be from treated wastewater being released into the river. Other changes may have been from storm water washing PFAS off streets and other surfaces in the Albuquerque area when it rained.
"Our study highlights the complex nature of chemicals associated with urban areas and their impact on river systems," Beisner says.
The study shows that concentrations of PFAS increased in the river as it flowed past the city. But what does this mean for wildlife, and humans for that matter?
"With the levels that we're seeing in this sampling, it's a little bit unknown what those direct impacts are gonna be and how much of a health risk they pose," Rhoderick says.
The chemicals are found in many places across the nation and can stay in the environment for a long time, according to USGS. PFAS are known to cause cancer and developmental, reproductive, immune system, and endocrine problems in animals and people.
"Essentially, EPA is saying that any exposure to PFAS is a health risk," Rhoderick says.
And as for the crops that rely on this water downstream, like New Mexico's iconic green chiles? They're still studying that, too. The levels of PFAS in this study are lower than the state's enforcement levels, but: "we definitely would suggest that they don't want to drink the water," Rhoderick says.
"The comprehensive survey of New Mexico's major rivers and evaluation of groundwater quality across the state is critical in helping NMED protect these valuable resources," Andy Jochems, source water protection team lead from the New Mexico Environment Department, stated in a news release. "The science provided by the USGS helps us make informed decisions about our drinking water resources into the future."
Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set it's first-ever official limit on PFAS in drinking water.
Officials say communities that pull water from the Rio Grande to drink do treat it first before it is consumed by people.