YELLOW BAY — Understanding impacts of forever chemicals like PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) and PPCPs (pharmaceutical and personal care products) are on the minds of many nationwide, as they are used in thousands of items and processes.
Recently, the Flathead Lake Biological Station (FLBS) confirmed both PFAS and PPCPs in all their testing sites.
"We needed to start to get a sense of some of these emerging contaminants, PFAS being one of them, pharmaceuticals, and personal care product residues," FLBS director Jim Elser said.
(WATCH: Analysis finds PFAS, PPCPs in Flathead watershed)
For nearly five decades, the University of Montana/FLBS’s monitoring programs have been keeping a watchful eye on Flathead Lake and surrounding waterbodies.
This past year, through philanthropic funding, the Flathead Lake Biological Station took water samples to look for forever chemicals since they’re present in all sorts of products, including nonstick cookware and can cause adverse health effects.
"There's 15,000 PFAS compounds known. We only looked for 40 of them. We only found detectable amounts of 10 of them," Elser said.
PFAS were found in Flathead Lake, the Swan River, the Flathead River, and Stoner Creek.
Analysis showed levels of three known compounds, however, they were low amounts compared to the threshold set for safe drinking water.
"I don't think there's reason to be too concerned about them right now, at least at the water concentrations we're seeing. I think what we don't know is what they're doing in the food web because many contaminants bio-magnify in the food web," Elser detailed.
In another study, compounds from PPCPs were found in Ashley Creek, Flathead Lake, and Whitefish Lake.
FLBS reports that neither safe concentrations for drinking water nor ecological impacts have been established.
Studying these forever chemicals and the impacts they have on organisms throughout the watershed is an expensive task. Yet, it's one that Elser says is important for understanding effects on the ecosystem.
"We do our routine monitoring program because that is what we're funded to do. And to the extent that we could ever go beyond that will require resources. So, our fellow scientists here, I hope are thinking about writing proposals, research proposals to gather such funding," Elser said.
