Spokane International Airport PFAS

The Spokane International Airport (SIA) submitted the final Initial PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) Investigation Work Plan, Sampling and Analysis Plan, Health and Safety Plan, and Inadvertent Discovery Plan on December 13. Ecology reviewed and commented on a draft submitted September 19. Following SIA's revision, we approved it noting a few of our comments were not fully incorporated in a cover letter attached to the work plan.

Work plan summary

The Initial PFAS Investigation Work Plan explains where and how preliminary groundwater and soil samples will be collected on SIA's property, focusing on areas with potential or known PFAS releases (click image above to enlarge and view the areas). The field work detailed in this work plan is required to be completed by February 4, 2025. The results will be used to develop a Remedial Investigation Work Plan.

Groundwater samples will be collected from 52 monitoring wells. Soil samples will be collected from 57 locations, which will result in more than 57 samples because they will be taken at multiple depths.

The investigation results will be summarized in an Initial PFAS Investigation Report, including maps and preliminary analyses of soil and groundwater data. The report is due 30 days after SIA receives all validated laboratory data associated with this work.

March 2024 groundwater sampling results

Appendix A of the work plan is the results of groundwater samples taken in March 2024. The results are generally consistent with sampling SIA did in 2017 and 2019, and indicate several areas within the airport property contain groundwater with significantly elevated levels of PFAS.

Learn more

• Download the Initial PFAS Investigation Work Plan, includes Ecology's conditional approval letter and figures showing March 2024 and planned sampling locations
• Download the work plan appendices, which are as follows:
  • A. Preliminary Groundwater Sampling (March 2024) Data
  • B. Quality Assurance Project Plan / Sampling and Analysis Plan
  • C. Health and Safety Plan
  • D. Inadvertent Discovery Plan (for if historical artifacts are found during the investigation)
  • E. Groundwater Monitoring Well Boring Logs

After Ecology review and comment, SIA made revisions and the Site Assessment Report for PFAS was approved as final in August. The report includes the following sections:

• SIA description (current and past operations and land use, geology and hydrogeology, groundwater and surface water) 
• Records review (personnel interviews, incident records)
• Fire emergency training response system information
• Waste related to SIA operations
• Other potential sources of PFAS
• SIA's historical PFAS data

The report lists areas that could be PFAS sources where firefighting foam was stored or used, and areas where PFAS was previously found in groundwater:

• Airplane crash that resulted in a fire – 1994
• Joint Fire Training Area and Military Burn Pit, Air Force, SIA, and Air National Guard training with firefighting foam
• Triangle Ramp training area
• Historical SIA Fire House, previous firefighting foam storage and firefighting training area
• Current SIA Fire House, firefighting foam storage and firefighting training area
• FAA inspections and testing (Taxiway K)
• Hanger 725, firefighting foam storage
• Field Maintenance Building, firefighting foam storage and equipment maintenance
• Air National Guard Operations Area, previous firefighting foam training
• Park Drive waste disposal area and Waste-to-Energy Plant borrow pit, unknown source
• Stormwater recovery area, collects stormwater that may contain PFAS
• Southeast area of business park, no known firefighting foam activities in the area, further investigation needed

In addition to reading the report, you can learn more in Ecology's summary Focus on: Spokane International Airport PFAS investigation.

The Enforcement Order and Public Participation Plan were open for public comment March 29 through May 27, 2024. We held a public meeting May 6 (download the slides) that was attended by more than 100 people. We appreciate the community’s input and interest and thank the 21 people who submitted comments. We considered and responded to all the comments we received. 

The order requires SIA to complete a remedial investigation and feasibility study. The remedial investigation will determine the full extent PFAS and other contamination in soil and groundwater, and the feasibility study will assess cleanup options. The order includes a scope of work and schedule for completing the investigation and study. The Public Participation Plan describes how you will be informed and can comment during the cleanup process. You can learn more in the public notice that was mailed to the community and by reviewing the order and plan.

If you would like to be added to the postal mailing list, please send your mailing address to Erika Beresovoy at erika.beresovoy@ecy.wa.gov or call her at 509-385-2290. The postal mailing list will notify you about open public comment periods for the Spokane International Airport PFAS site.

To join the West Plains PFAS updates email list, you can subscribe online, or email or call Erika to request to be added. The email list will notify you about open public comment periods for the Spokane International Airport PFAS site, as well as other PFAS-related topics relevant to the West Plains, including the Area-wide Groundwater Investigation we're funding. You can also find more information on our PFAS in West Plains private wells webpage.

In October 2017, SIA hired an environmental consultant to drill two new groundwater monitoring wells in the northeast part of the airport property. In November, these wells and an existing well were sampled to determine if PFAS were in groundwater. Sample results for all three wells had levels of PFAS above Washington’s recommended health safety levels.

PFAS contamination had been identified in wells in and around the nearby Fairchild Air Force Base earlier in 2017. PFAS, a known human health hazard, are in firefighting foam used to control petroleum fires at airports and military installations.

In March 2019, SIA hired another consultant to sample groundwater monitoring wells for PFAS in an area that had been used for fire training drills in the southwest portion of the airport property. Sample results for three wells had levels of PFAS above Washington’s recommended health safety levels.

Ecology received the 2017 and 2019 sampling results in early 2023 from a third party who had obtained them through a public records request. Ecology completed an initial investigation, and then added the airport to the Contaminated Sites List.

PFAS are known as “emerging” contaminants. State and federal health and environmental agencies are learning more about this class of chemicals and setting health limits for them. EPA accepted comments on their proposed PFAS rulemaking through August 11, 2023.

PFAS are a group of industrial chemicals used in fire suppression foam, furniture, carpet, clothing, electronics, and building insulation.

PFAS can easily contaminate groundwater and can be hard to filter out. While people don’t eat these products, we breathe in tiny bits of them that have entered the air. PFAS are found in the blood or urine of over 90 percent of Americans.

In November 2021, Ecology and the Washington Department of Health published our PFAS Chemical Action Plan. The plan identifies the potential health and environmental effects of PFAS chemicals and recommends strategies to reduce or eliminate those impacts in Washington. 

Read Keeping your home and family healthy: Reduce exposure to PFAS (Ecology Publication 20-04-043) for changes you can make in your daily life.