Traces of potentially harmful chemicals have shown up in three Colorado water systems, prompting officials to shut down three wells and start looking for the source.
Tests required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency detected compounds called PFOS and PFOA in utilities that serve about 69,000 people in Fountain and the unincorporated community of Security-Widefield.
The chemicals were once widely used in nonstick cookware coatings, firefighting foam, stain-resistant fabrics and other materials. The EPA says they've been linked to health problems in animals and could be bad for people, too.
The water utilities say they use multiple sources of water, and the chemicals would be highly diluted by the time they arrived at anyone's faucet.
State officials are helping track down the source. More tests are planned.
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