LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Las Vegas-based researchers have found so-called “permanent chemicals” in water sources across the West and illicit drugs such as methamphetamine in the snow, scientists said. compounds can affect our lives. health and environment.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, colloquially known as PFAS, are a group of chemicals found in industrial products.
“You wouldn’t be able to remove it. It’s there. It’s floating in the water,” said Dr. Doug Sims, dean of the University of Southern Nevada’s School of Science, Engineering and Mathematics.
“Suppose the first humans to come here conduct an experiment. Will it all go back to zero, zero, zero, zero?” 8 News Now Agent David Charns asked Sims.
“All of these chemicals are man-made or synthetic, so they won’t be detected,” Sims said.
In the early 1940s, humans introduced PFAS into the environment with products such as non-stick pots and pans and certain plastics. 3M, which uses PFAS in some of its products, last week agreed to pay more than $10 billion over the next 10 years to water suppliers where the chemical was found.
Sims and his students, as well as other CSN researchers and teams across the West, collected samples from rivers and other water sources in 11 states. The study included the Las Vegas Wash, a 19-mile-long channel that transfers treated wastewater from the Las Vegas Valley to Lake Mead.
“We found all kinds of drugs that people use,” Sims said of the study.
In May 2022, 8 News Now Investigators reported how Sims and CSN students participated in a global study investigating the impact of pharmaceuticals on the world’s waterways. As part of the project, the team took samples before and after cleaning.
The Sims study found 28 compounds in the wash solution, including drugs for antidepressants, opioids, acid reflux, allergies, coughs, diabetes, high blood pressure, muscle spasms, neuralgia, and shingles. .
The researchers also focused on changes in the detection of certain compounds during last year’s NFL Draft and that year’s Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC).
During and in the days following EDC, there was a notable surge of MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, in Las Vegas wastewater. A Sims study found that the amount of MDMA flowing through the Las Vegas Wash on the Monday after EDC 2022 was 300 times higher than levels recorded before the festival started.
During the 2022 NFL Draft, Sims noted a massive influx of antidepressants and drugs to reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol. Sims said the increases in these compounds were statistically significant compared to other data aggregated weekly.
EPA is developing a national standard for PFAS in drinking water. Quantities found in some water systems are in parts per trillion. Scientists don’t yet know how PFASs enter the water table and what effects they have on humans, officials said.
CSN research found that some PFAS exist in remote, largely untouched areas, so the chemical is believed to be permanently transported through precipitation cycles.
“Why is it important to know if these chemicals are in these water sources?” Cherns asked Andrea Seifert, director of the Nevada Safe Drinking Water Authority.
“It’s important to know about PFAS in the Nevada environment to address any concerns and protect the public,” Seifert said.
Seifert said state researchers have been monitoring PFAS in Nevada for 10 years and are working toward passage of legislation in 2021 that would create a working group for the study. Seifert said the state is conducting its own investigation and awaiting guidance from the EPA, as everything from waterproof clothing to firefighting foam contains chemicals.
“We want to know what the concentrations are and what we need to do to protect the public and inform them so they can make decisions about the water they are drinking.” she said.
“At what point does that number actually say, ‘This is a problem,'” Mr. Cherns asked Mr. Sims.
“Drugs can be biologically amplified through systems that eventually enter the food web we depend on,” Sims said. If the Colorado River continues to dwindle, drought will exacerbate the multiplier, he said.
“Despite this year, the amount of water in Colorado today is significantly less than it was five or six years ago. ,” Sims said of the inorganic material. Compound.
Synthetic chemicals altering the environment CSN researchers have found some of the most suspicious places.
“We are discovering that PFAS, methamphetamine and other drugs are actually being carried on the wind through the snow,” Sims said of future studies on Mount Charleston.
Nevada received about $20 million from President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Act specifically to protect drinking water sources from PFAS.
Democratic Nevada Senator Jackie Rosen said in the announcement, “We must act aggressively to ensure that all Nevadans have access to clean, safe drinking water that is free of PFAS and other harmful chemicals. won’t,” he said. “This funding, which I helped secure through the bipartisan infrastructure act, will be used to protect the state’s public water system and the health and well-being of our communities.”
The Nevada legislature passed a bill to regulate PFAS in this legislature, but Republican Governor Joe Lombardo vetoed it, citing future regulation of the EPA.
“Although protecting consumers from potential hazards associated with perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances is an important goal, [Senate Bill 76] We’re trying to accomplish too many things too quickly,” the governor said in a veto message. “By waiting for the EPA’s decision, we will avoid unnecessary burdens, especially for doing business in Nevada.”
The EPA was expected to release PFAS guidelines later this year. The Southern Nevada Water Authority has been waiting for these guidelines as well.
“PFAS compounds have been a hot topic in public lately, but the Southern Nevada Water Authority has been monitoring and studying these potential contaminants for over a decade,” said spokesperson Bronson Mack. said. “Based on analysis from SNWA’s Research and Development Laboratory, Southern Nevada water supplies are expected to meet the EPA’s proposed PFAS regulation. We will continue to sample, test and monitor.”
