Santa Cruz County
David Quanrud leads team investigating perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) in Tucson ground water
The trace organic contaminant perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was detected in several groundwater production wells in 2009 by the Tucson Water Department in their Microconstituent Sentinel Program . The origin of PFOS contamination in Tucson Basin ground water is unknown although it is strongly suspected that municipal wastewater effluent that recharges the local aquifer via the Santa Cruz River is an important source. PFOS, the key ingredient in Scotchgard up until 2003, is a perfluorinated anthropogenic chemical that is very persistent and a sus
