Lang
12/10/23
The Eastern Iowa Airport commission will meet Monday night to determine whether it should purchase a rural Swisher property affected by chemicals used to fight runway fires.
Since February, airport officials have been in talks with Paul and Nikki Hynek of Walford Road to either purchase their land or provide the family with a new well. The property, valued at $770,000, sits just south of the airport.
Testing done by the University of Iowa came back positive for per- and polyfluorinated substances — or PFAS. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says no level of PFAS is safe, and the levels found in the Hynek well were three times the previous safety limit set by the EPA.
PFAS has been used to fight airport fires since the 1960’s.
The UI began offering free testing for residents living near the Eastern Iowa Airport in 2020 after the university’s Center for Health Effects of Environmental Contamination realized PFAS could be a danger to the airport’s neighbors. Another 20 nearby properties are currently being tested, with results expected to be released in April.
According to The Cedar Rapids Gazette, the agreement being considered by the airport commission Monday night would allow the Hyneks to continue living at the property for the next three years with a mutual release and hold harmless agreement. The UI provided the family with a reverse osmosis system after testing their well in 2020.