Military officials tracked the spread of the chemicals from Peterson Air Force Base south to the communities, where public drinking water wells were contaminated.
Lunder said before work by Physicians for Social Responsibility and the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, the issue of PFAS chemicals used in drilling was “really flying under our radar.”
“We have this long list of places where we’ve seen PFAS contamination, industries that we know discharge PFAS,” Lunder said. “But this idea that the most potent and toxic chemicals that we’re dealing with nationally are used potentially in the oil and gas industry was actually quite a surprise.”