Study: Thousands May Have Been Exposed To Toxic Chemicals
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (CBS4) - Some residents in Colorado Springs say the drinking water made them sick.
They're now speaking out after the Environmental Protection Agency found toxic chemicals may have contaminated the water supply.
CBS4 first reported on the toxic perflourinated chemicals, also known as PFC's, found in the Widefield aquifer in 2016.
The chemicals came from firefighting foam used for decades at Peterson Air Force Base.
Dan Cruz has carried mail in the area for 25 years. He's since been diagnosed with thyroid, prostate and testicular cancer.
He says it's something never seen before in his family.
"I'm the only one that's been diagnosed with cancer not once, not twice, but three times. People on my route that I have spoken to... cancer has come upon them and sometimes it's stage four," said Cruz.
Researchers at University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and the Colorado School of Mines received a grant to investigate contamination of the drinking water in Fountain, Security and Widefield.
It found nearly 60,000 people living near the base may have been exposed.
Peterson is one of 190 bases around the country where PFC's may have seeped into the groundwater.
A proposed class action lawsuit against the foam manufacturers says the foam has caused serious medical conditions in hundreds of residents.
The Air Force has spent more than $4 million to provide bottled water and filtration systems.