LPFD Training Center Under Investigation For PFAS Contamination

PLEASANTON, CA — The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board plans to investigate whether PFAS from a Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Department training facility have discharged into surface water or groundwater, according to the LPFD.

The LPFD said Monday in a news release that the Water Board is pursuing investigations at fire facilities across the Bay Area, since PFAS are known to have been used in the manufacturing of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), a firefighting foam used in training facilities, airports, and military bases. The Water Board has already investigated the LPFD Fire Training Station in Pleasanton and Fire Station 10 in Livermore. The investigations revealed that Fire Station 10 is not a significant source of PFAS, but PFAs have been detected at the LPFD Fire Training Center at concentrations that warrant further investigation.

“LPFD takes this matter seriously and is working with regulators to determine the next steps,” the department said in a statement. “LPFD is committed to working with all appropriate environmental and regulatory agencies to identify and implement solutions.”

Zone 7 General Manager Valerie Pryor said that while the training site may be a “significant source of PFAS in the area,” it is not the only source.

“Since PFAS are in many consumer products and contamination comes from both point sources and non-point sources, it’ll be very challenging to eliminate both point and non-point sources until all consumer products are free of PFAS compounds,” Pryor said in an email.

Zone 7 currently has two PFAS treatment facilities that are cleaning up contamination and providing PFAS-clean water to customers. Pryor said that the newest report on PFAS at the LPFD does not change Zone 7’s PFAS management plan, which includes “monitoring, blending and treating, managing plumes, and diversifying groundwater sources.”

Patch reached out to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board for more information.

See here for more information on how to keep your water safe from PFAS, and here for more information on Zone 7’s policies toward PFAS.