By JEFF STITT
[email protected]
A do-not-use advisory in McKeesport’s Lower 10th Ward was adjusted to a do-not-drink advisory this week.
Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County spokesman Matt Junker announced the change, saying, “following receipt of a fourth round of test results that show contaminant levels dropping, MAWC Wednesday changed its do-not-use notice to a do-not-drink notice” for a portion of the area.
The advisories were put in place after a devastating fire July 16 at McKeesport Auto Body on Rebecca Avenue. Allegheny County fire marshals ruled that the fire was accidental and blaze as a result of downed power lines.
Emergency officials reported to MAWC that chemicals used in firefighting foam containing PFAS may have been sucked into a fire hydrant while battling the blaze.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. PFAS have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States since the 1940s.
PFOA and PFOS have been the most extensively produced and studied of these chemicals. Both chemicals are very persistent in the environment and in the human body — meaning they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time.
PFAS are used in many products, including some firefighting foam.
There is evidence that exposure to PFAS can lead to adverse human health effects, according to the EPA.
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