Transport Canada documents raise concerns over forever chemicals as far back as 1984

Transport Canada was concerned about forever chemicals, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as far back as the 1980s, files obtained through an access-to-information request confirm.

Thousands of chemicals fall within the PFAS family, and some have been linked to liver and prostate cancer, pregnancy-induced hypertension, fatty liver disease and to affecting lipid function, which is linked to Type 2 diabetes.

For decades, Transport Canada — along with the Department of National Defence (DND) and the National Research Council of Canada — conducted firefighter training exercises at airports across Canada with aqueous film-forming foams that contain PFAS.

The foams were seen as an effective way to fight jet fuel fires, but their use at sites across the country contaminated groundwater with the forever chemicals.

Alex Templeton, a partner with the McInnes Cooper law firm in St. John’s, is leading a propopsed class-action lawsuit over the contamination of drinking water wells located near several airports in Newfoundland. In order to proceed, the class action must be certified by a judge.

The class action's lead plaintiffs are Eddie and Susan Sheerr, "homeowners who one day had Transport Canada knock on their door asking if they would consent to a well test being done,” Templeton told CBC News.

It turned out their wells were “significantly in exceedance" of new drinking water guidelines set by Health Canada that say the total sum of several types of PFAS should next exceed 30 nanograms per litre.

Transport Canada managed the firefighter training exercises at airports near the Newfoundland and Labrador towns of Torbay and Logy Bay–Middle Cove–Outer Cove where the contaminated wells were located.

Through access-to-information requests, Templeton obtained several Transport Canada documents, including a 1984 report that determined toxicity of the effluent at the firefighter training sites could be extremely high.

Surfactants, a catch-all term at the time for what are now known as PFAS, were identified as one of the most significant sources of pollution in that effluent.

“So while the firefighter training exercises were ongoing at airports across Canada, they were concerned about the environmental impacts of the effluent that was being produced by these exercises,” Templeton said.

“And Transport Canada had evidence, again, as far back as 1984 that while these firefighter training exercises could be useful, they also could result in effluents that were extremely high in toxicity.”

The 1984 report, a "Preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment of Fire Fighting Training Area Effluents and Transport Canada Facilities," concluded that typical "effluents may be toxic at concentrations as low as 88 ppm, and that surfactants and fuel residuals may be persistent."

A 1990 report showed that Transport Canada had concerns at that time about the risk of contamination of groundwater from run-off at those firefighter training areas.