"This is going to only improve over time. Its estimated that, given the widespread use of PFAS and the ubiquitous presence of some of them in the environment, almost everyone on the planet has PFAS in their blood at some level. TCE levels were found at a high of 46,800 parts per billion at one on-base monitoring well in the late 1970s. Davis-Monthan Air Force Base (DMAFB) is located within the Tucson basin, a northwest trending alluvial valley. The OU 1 plant treated the highest levels of groundwater contamination, what was then a so-called "hot spot," an area that initially . It has also released the full list of installations, reported in a lengthy chart attached toward the end of the congressional report, and will be working with the Centers for Disease Control next year on a study of the potential long-term effects of exposure. Tests of the soil revealed PFAS levels at 98,000 parts per billion. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set an advisory health standard of 70 ppt for PFOS and PFOA, two types of PFAS used in the foam, though that may soon be lowered, and some states have already set much lower standards. Creators of Skin Deep Database Tapwater Database EWG Verified Search. So far toxicity can only be applied to PFOS and PFOA, but PFOS has also earned itself an additional letter: uPBT, with the u standing for ubiquitous a clue as to how widespread the contamination has become. I will tell you up front, we know there's probably holes in the data," he said. The services are also phasing out the firefighting foam they use and working on replacements that do not contain perfluorinated compounds, Sullivan said. Immune system effects. We found PFAS detections at 14 installations that were above 1 million parts per trillion, or ppt, far above the 70 ppt advisory level recommended by the EPA. They have also been linked to low birthweight, birth defects, delayed development and newborn deaths in laboratory animals. Air Force Civil Engineer Center conducts drinking water sampling at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan. Next Steps If you lived on a military base and developed cancer or thyroid disease, its possible that your illnessmay have been caused by toxic chemicals in your drinking water. In 2001, ATSDRs look at Wurtsmith concluded that past exposures to groundwater may have posed an increased risk of developing adverse health effects, but that it was unknown whether the (volatile organic compounds) concentrations persisted at high enough levels for long enough durations to actually pose a public health hazard.. Someindependent studiessuggest 1 ppt or lower as a safe level of exposure, which is endorsed by EWG. PFAS foam gathers at the the Van Etten Creek dam in Oscoda township, Michigan, near Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Originally from Guam, she spent more than 30 years at KITV, covering beats from government to education. These are simply the specific bases attorneys working with ClassAction.org are looking into. In more than a dozen other states, the Air Force has acknowledged contaminating drinking water in communities close to its bases. But Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Environment Maureen Sullivan said Thursday that was "really a wild guess" based on rough calculations during congressional testimony. You can learn more about the difference between class action and individual lawsuits here. Using Freedom of Information Act requests, he said he found records of multiple firefighting foam spills. The ensuing lawsuit, which led to DuPont settling 3,500 personal injury cases for $670.1m (555m), was made famous by the Mark Ruffalo film Dark Waters. If your base is not on the map or list above, this does not mean you were not exposed to PFAS chemicals from firefighting foam. DuPonts Teflon changed our lives, but also polluted our bodies. Now, the community is thriving. . He or she will ask you a few questions and answer any of yours and help determine whether a lawsuit is a viable option for you. (Airman 1st Class Greg Erwin/U.S. In the absence of a Congressional order, they would continue to be a bad neighbor, he said. Because AFFF contains PFAS, contamination was inevitable. It's 450,000 people. Eielson Air Force Base ( AFB) is an active installation established in 1944. In January - March 2020, DHEC sampled and analyzed community drinking water wells near Shaw Air Force Base (AFB) in Sumter, South Carolina for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). He insisted, however, that no military personnel or family members whose drinking water comes from Defense Department-managed water sources are consuming levels of PFAS higher than the lifetime health advisory limit. The couples son, with whom Arvos wife was pregnant while living at Wurtsmith, was born with significant hearing loss. In 2018, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that activities at 126 military bases had contaminated groundwater with PFAS. Along with the details of your situation, if possible please include when you lived at/near each military base. EWG officials noted, however, that the DoD has not only been slow to recognize the problem of PFAS, it has fought cleaning up the contamination for years. The toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS are now confirmed or suspected at 678 military installations, according to EWGs updated analysis of Defense Department records. Ian Ross, PFAS practice lead at engineering company CDM Smith, said: It was known that PFAS are extremely persistent in the environment since at least 1950 but they have been widely used in highly dispersive applications such as in firefighting foams since 1962.. But Faber said the military has known about the threat for decades, and they are only alerting neighbors because Congress ordered them to do so. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. He added, however, that the DoD is not the sole source of widespread PFAS and the response to eliminating these substances from wells and groundwater must be done by communities and corporations that caused the problems, as well as the federal government. The two bases merged in 2010. Defense Department officials reported last year that nearly 400 Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force bases could be contaminated around the globe. The harmful, hard-to-eliminate toxins. Attorneys working with ClassAction.org are handling these cases on a contingency-fee basis. ClassAction.org is a group of online professionals (designers, programmers and writers) with years of experience in the legal industry. For example, at Peterson Air Force Base, in some water sources the PFAS/PFOA count is as high as 7,910 ppt. The DoD began widespread testing for contamination in drinking water at its facilities in 2016, followed by testing of groundwater on and near military installations. In 2003-04, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Oklahoma Water Resources Board and the U.S. Air Force, conducted an investigation to determine the age of ground water in the shallow, contaminated part of the aquifer and in the deep production zone beneath the Base. The Maj. Richard Star Act would eliminate the dollar-for-dollar offset on retirement pay that combat-disabled vets with less Capt. McClellan Air Force Base (Ground Water Contamination) Norton Air Force Base (Landfill 2) March Air Force Base; Travis Air Force Base; Fort Ord; . The former england air force base in alexandria, louisiana was the most severely contaminated place we visited, with 10,970,000 parts per trillion of pfas in the groundwater. The Marine Corps is eliminating the scout sniper program as part of the service's big Force Design 2030 overhaul. In South Carolina, groundwater contamination has been found at Shaw, as well as at the old Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, the Charleston joint military base and the the National Guard's McEntire air base southeast of Columbia, according to Department of Defense reports. All rights reserved. It occupies a portion of what was once Pease Air Force Base, a former Strategic Air Command facility with a base-related population of 10,000 and which was home to the 509th Bomb Wing (509 BW) flying the General Dynamics FB-111A. Thyroid disease (hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism), Joint Base San Antonio, Lackland, Randolph, Fort Sam Houston and Camp Bullis, Texas, Seymour Johnson Air Force base, North Carolina, Wurtsmith Air Force base (Oscoda), Michigan, Past and future medical expenses, including prescription costs, surgery, medical treatments and doctors visits, Loss of marital benefits (care, comfort, sex, etc. Today, Teflon-like compounds called PFAS are found in the blood of almost all Americans. Sullivan estimates the groundwater perfluorinate cleanup will add about $2 billion to the $27 billion previously identified cleanup projects for which the department is responsible. All rights reserved. Both . Eielson AFB is located approximately 25 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. For decades, military bases used a type of firefighting foam, known as aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), to put out fires in training exercises. Some Defense officials have argued for cleanup and screening levels that are less protective of service members and their families than those proposed by EPA. The Defense Department identified 401 active and Base Closure and Realignment installations in the United States with at least one area where there was a known or suspected release of perfluorinated compounds. Wurtsmith veterans, or their family members, who have questions about potential exposures to TCE and benzene in base drinking water in the 1970s can call District Health Department No. For the groundwater sources, both on-base and off-base, however, cleanup will take years to address, Sullivan said. Two Wars. At least 12 military bases contaminating water supply with toxic PFAS Testing by the Department of Defense revealed dangerous levels of the contaminants, drawing concern from public health. EWG has found 28 bases with PFAS in drinking water at levels above those set by some state regulators. Two years later in 1990 the base was declared a superfund site by the EPA, noting contaminants such as jet fuel, trichloroethylene, and PFOS/PFOA, which all contaminate the base's water supply. The American Legion identified limits on attorneys fees related to Camp Lejeune Justice Act claims as one of its top goals. I do think its great that the ATSDR did this, saidRoger Arvo, aBeavertonresident who was aU.S. Air Forcesergeant on the Wurtsmith base from 1974 to 1977. Some states have set limits ranging from 11 ppt to 20 ppt. He was 101. The National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2020 included important bipartisan reforms, including a provision to phase out AFFF by 2024. EWG is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, EIN 52-2148600. You may not realise it but you have an intimate relationship with PFAS. Later groundwater testing revealed volatile organic and other hazardous compounds in eight contaminated plumes at the military base. The mission of the base is to train and equip soldiers for close air support of ground troops in an arctic environment (Eielson AFB, 2005). DoD was only able to do that quickly at the 24 locations where it manages the water supply. On Wednesday, environmental advocates from the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG) revealed that 90 more current and former Army and Army National Guard installations had levels of ground or drinking water contamination than previously indicated. PFAS biomagnify up food chains too, supplying apex predators such as orcas with hefty doses at mealtimes. The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. The growth of Hawaiian language immersion schools has exploded in recent years. We work closely with class action and mass tort attorneys across the country and help with investigations into corporate wrongdoing. The only way to tackle this ballooning contamination crisis impacting our military personnel and millions of others in Washington and across the country is for Congress to step up and take action.. And I know there are many people throughout the Air Force and our other military installations who share that concern.. DMAFB is located in the Sonoran Desert which has an arid climate . 2, which includesOscoda County, applauded the new ATSDR conclusions. The detections occurred during tests conducted in 2017 and 2018. I will continue to work with my colleagues inCongressto protect service members from VOC chemical contamination at military bases.. PFAS chemicals are linked to birth defects, infertility, developmental delays and some cancers. A specialized substance designed to extinguish fires caused by petroleum and other flammable liquids, AFFF is known to contain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a group of toxic chemicals. The contamination affected about 85,000 residents . During a hearing earlier this year, DoD officials said the cost of the cleanup may be as high as $2 billion. I dont think any of us vets will still be here when they finally do something.. The sprawling installation is home to much of the 2nd Infantry Division, the 7th Infantry Division and the 1st Special Forces Group. This means you only pay if they win your case. For the other 12 drinking water sources, provided either by a contracted vendor or through the local utility, its a harder fix, because the EPAs guidelines are not enforceable. The water was contaminated by firefighting foam used at the former Pease Air Force Base. Each base should have its water information posted, Sullivan said. Though AFFF is effective, it has led to widespread contamination around bases and airports, and Congress just mandated the military check for PFAS pollution at 700 facilities while earmarking $571m for cleanup, though observers say the cost will likely be much higher. Remedial investigations also discovered benzene, a fuels-related compound, in the base and surrounding areas groundwater, presumed to have leaked from a petroleum, oil and lubricant bulk storage area on the base. Flint, Michigan is no longer the only American city synonymous with contaminated drinking . They sit at the interfaces between water and particles, water and biota, they can transfer to the atmosphere and theyre so abundant they cycle around the wider environment, and thats the problem weve got.. But he promised that the task force's goals would focus on health concerns, funding and methodology for cleanup and finding new solutions for fighting fires on military installations and ships. By submitting this form, I agree to the Terms, Disclaimer and Privacy Notice. "We really hope by screening this documentary in Hawaii, that people here will be able to understand that they are not alone, that this contamination has occurred in Okinawa, and hopefully, people will be able to draw some similarities. Drinking water laced with high levels of poisonous chemicals may be to blame for cancer and other chronic disease among veterans and families who lived at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in northern Michigan, according to a new federal health report draft. TheAgency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry(ATSDR), a federal public health agency within theU.S. Department of Health and Human Services, this week released new conclusions about the impact of Wurtsmith veterans exposures to unsafe levels of the degreasing solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) and the fuel byproduct benzene in the bases water supply in the 1970s. 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