A bipartisan group of state lawmakers has introduced a bill to ban firefighting foam that contains certain toxic, man-made chemicals: those classified as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, better known as PFAS.
El Paso County Democrats Rep. Tony Exum and Sen. Pete Lee joined forces with their Republican counterparts, Rep. Lois Landgraf and Sen. Dennis Hisey, on House Bill 1279, which was introduced March 27. It would prohibit the sale of firefighting foam that contains PFAS for use in Colorado.
The U.S. military used firefighting foam containing long-chain PFAS for decades, and contaminated the drinking water supplies of communities near military installations around the world — including Fountain, Security-Widefield and Stratmoor, outside Peterson Air Force Base. (Those water districts have changed sources or added filtration systems since 2015, when evidence of the contamination began to emerge.)