USGS study finds PFAS levels increase in Rio Grande as it flows past Albuquerque

By Fallon Fischer and Natalie Wadas | KRQE News | April 10, 2024

Read the full article by Fallon Fischer and Natalie Wadas (KRQE News)

"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)."

Location:

• North AmericaUSNew Mexico

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• Products
• Environment
• Wildlife
• Affected community
• Health
• Measurement Techniques
• Monitoring Data
• PFAS Uses