ROBINSON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — About two years ago, Three Rivers Waterkeeper, a nonprofit environmental group of researchers, began sampling for PFAs contamination across Southwestern Pennsylvania.
That area includes Montour Run, a waterway along parts of the Montour Trail where people fish, boat, and swim and have done so for years.
What researchers found there was alarming: one of the highest levels of PFAs throughout their testing area, and they want people who use that stream to be aware.
Michael Karkalla is no stranger to the Montour Run Watershed. He grew up in Robinson Township, near Groveton Park and the Montour Trail, spending much of his childhood and adolescence in the water.
“We would canoe down the creek, we would swim in the creek…” Karkalla said. “As a youth, you’re not really thinking about what is it and is it harmful?”
Karkalla is talking about PFAs, a suite of synthetic chemicals used in consumer and industry products since the 1930s, which can accumulate in the environment. In the last year, Three Rivers Waterkeeper collected samples from dozens of rivers and streams across the region, including those in the Montour Run watershed, which runs through five different municipalities.
“We just really wanted to document and understand where we have contamination levels, if any, in our southwestern regional space. We found one of our highest levels here on the Montour Run where it meets the Ohio River,” said Heather Hulton VanTassel, executive director of Three Rivers Waterkeeper.
Three Rivers Waterkeeper said it identified 15 types of PFAs chemicals in parts of the Montour Run watershed.
“We went to McLaren’s Run, and we sampled that region and that’s where we’re starting to see over 400 parts per trillion and that was alarming we have never had a sample that high,” Hulton VanTassel said.
The waterway’s basin includes the Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) and the 171st Air Refueling Wing, a unit of the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. In its report, Three Rivers Waterkeeper identifies PIT and the 171st as potential sources of PFAs contamination due to a prior mandate from the FAA to use a firefighting foam containing PFAs.
A spokesperson for Pittsburgh International Airport/Allegheny Airport Authority issued this statement to Channel 11:
“Public Safety is the top priority at the Allegheny County Airport Authority. Previously, the Federal Aviation Administration mandated that U.S. airports utilize AFFF. Following the recent change in federal mandates that allow for Fluorine Free Foam, the Airport Authority implemented Fluorine Free Foam nearly a year ago. AFFF is no longer utilized by the Airport Authority. Additionally, ACAA firefighters are recognized experts and teach courses to regional fire departments and other airports that include tactics to utilize Fluorine Free Foam during an emergency response.”
A spokesperson with the 171st Air Refueling Wing issued this statement to Channel 11:
“PFAS, the forever chemicals, has been a topic of conversation here for several years. It’s not something we take lightly and we are just as concerned about it as our neighbors in this community. The Guardsmen who serve at this base and their families are part of that same community.
“The 171st no longer uses AFFF foam. However, the remaining AFFF is still present on the installation, but is not in use and is being properly stored and awaiting removal from the installation in accordance with regulations and EPA guidance.
“We are just as concerned as our neighbors as we are part of this community as well. We have an obligation to be good stewards of the environment. We continue to work with the National Guard and applicable agencies to follow guidance addressing detection, mitigation, and restoration.”
Hulton VanTassel said no levels of PFAs are considered safe for human consumption, but believes there are still safe ways to enjoy Montour Run.
“It is a beautiful place. I don’t want anyone to think that just because we did find high levels of PFAS contamination that it is no longer worthy of recreation because it absolutely is, and if we don’t continue to recreate in it then we’re not going to be able to fight for it to get even better,” Hulton VanTassel said.
As for Karkalla, he’s planning to undergo medical testing for PFAS exposure by the end of this year, something he says he’s willing to pay out of pocket for in order to get answers.
“Nobody really knows what the long-term effects of this is because it’s so new,” Karkalla said.
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission says Montour Run was stocked with trout three times last spring.
In an email to Channel 11, DEP officials said fish tissue data show concentrations below the current statewide fish consumption advisory threshold, but are using Three Rivers Waterkeeper’s findings to prioritize additional sampling.
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