Alaska Community Water Quality Report: PFAS Contamination of Municipality of Anchorage and Fairbanks North Star Borough Waters

Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) conducted independent water quality
testing in 2022 that showed PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination in Anchorage lakes
as well as in Ship Creek. These results show contamination in lakes used for swimming and fishing. The
results also show contamination in Ship Creek downstream from Joint Base Elmendorf and Fort Richardson
(JBER), an important urban ecosystem for fish, wildlife, as well as fishing. The samples from 2021 and
2022 revealed the presence of toxic PFAS chemicals in all the water bodies we tested in both Anchorage
and the Fairbanks North Star Borough.

These data emphasize the need for urgent action to protect public health as well as wildlife. The data
concerning PFAS in our local lakes are of concern to environmental and public health. The information is
a public right-to-know issue.