BOISE, ID – Contamination from so-called “forever chemicals” in water is raising concerns across the country, including in rural Idaho.

The industrial chemicals commonly known as PFAS have been dubbed “forever chemicals” because of their ability to persist in the environment and body and have been linked to health problems. PFAS use dates back to the 1940s in a variety of industries, from nonstick cookware to food packaging and firefighting foam.

Tyler Fortunati, drinking water bureau chief for the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality, said the chemicals could pose a unique threat in rural Idaho, where private water wells are more common.

“Private wells aren’t regulated like public water systems are but they do draw often from the same aquifers that a public water system may draw from,” Fortunati pointed out. “If we are detecting or seeing PFAS at public water systems in rural communities, then private wells in those areas could also be affected.”

Fortunati noted Idaho has not seen widespread contamination like other states so far but it has been detected in some ground and surface waters in the state. The Environmental Working Group has identified 15 PFAS-contaminated sites in Idaho.

Fortunati added testing is available for private well owners, although it can be expensive. He stressed testing should be a higher priority in areas near military bases, airports, landfills and some industrial sites where the chemicals are more likely to be present. He emphasized there are ways for private well owners to mitigate PFAS risks, including treatment units which can filter the chemicals at individual connections in their homes.

“Those are typically what we refer to as a point-of-use treatment system,” Fortunati explained. “It would be a treatment system you’d install under the sink in your home and that would be the sink that you would use for culinary and drinking water, to ensure that you are removing the PFAS from water that you may be ingesting.”

Fortunati acknowledged well owners can take more drastic measures, such as taking a system offline if it is contaminated, extending a well into a deeper aquifer or drilling a new well.

Efforts are underway across the country to address PFAS, including the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s PFAS Strategic Roadmap.