Veterans of the formerWurtsmith Air Force BaseinOscodafrom the 1970s, and their families who lived with them on the base, face increased risks of leukemia and other harmful effects from prolonged exposures to toxic volatile organic compounds that were in the now-shuttered bases water supply at the time, a federal health agency has found. Two Wars. The Environmental Working Group is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. EWG is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, EIN 52-2148600. It was DuPont that introduced PFAS to the world in the 1940s as Teflon and it was DuPont that revealed how harmful they could be. They are used in a huge range of consumer products, including waterproof clothing, furniture, cookware, electronics, food packaging and firefighting foams and are employed in a wide array of industrial processes. However, two widely used problematic substances perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) have been scrutinised following a number of major pollution incidents in the US, Australia and Europe, linked to chemicals manufacturing plants and contamination from PFAS-laden firefighting foams. I like to remind us all that we are a kind of animal there are now hundreds of epidemiology studies showing associations with a wide variety of effects, including cancer, liver effects, kidney effects, effects on development and reproduction, growing evidence for effects on neurodevelopment, growing evidence for effects on type 2 diabetes Its kind of like the more you look, the more you begin to find associations with this very broad class of chemicals., Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. In June, theSenate passedthe National Defense Authorization Act of 2020, which contains a number of critical PFAS monitoring and cleanup amendments. Through Freedom of Information Act requests, EWG has so far confirmed PFAS in the tap water or groundwater at 328 of these military installations. Meanwhile, the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act mandates that the defense department phase out AFFF and use safer alternatives already on the market. Though the compounds are highly effective, they are also linked to cancer, kidney disease, birth defects, decreased immunity, liver problems and a range of other serious diseases. Luke Air Force Base said in February that studies showed high levels of contaminants had affected drinking water for about 6,000 people in roughly 1,600 homes plus several neighboring businesses. Catherine Cruz is the host of The Conversation. They raise the number of Army installations with known PFAS contamination of drinking water or groundwater from 18 to 108, and the total number of military installations with known contamination from 207 to 297. 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. Today, Teflon-like compounds called PFAS are found in the blood of almost all Americans. EWG has found 28 bases with PFAS in drinking water at levels above those set by some state regulators. Pentagon officials have understood the risks of AFFF since the early 1970s, when Navy and Air Force studies first showed it was toxic to fish. Further, it has been established that PFAS can pass through breast milk and cross the placenta from mother to fetus during pregnancy. Peterson Air Force Base (PAFB) is in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Denise Bryan, health officer with District Health Department No. RAFB is on that PFAS contamination map and so WGXA News of Macon made an inquiry. 2, which includesOscoda County, applauded the new ATSDR conclusions. Air Force Civil Engineer Center conducts drinking water sampling at the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Michigan. 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). The reality, as you all know, is PFAS compounds are used in a myriad of things," he said. For the past seven years, Mitchell has been investigating increased PFAS levels near Kadena Air Base, a key military hub in the Asia-Pacific. This document will also lay out why the manufacturers of toxic firefighting foam are responsible for the harm you suffered. The Santa Cruz River flows northwesterly and provides the main drainage for the Tucson basin and is located approximately 4.6 miles west of the base. 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 do not break down in the environment. Defense Department officials reported last year that nearly 400 Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force bases could be contaminated around the globe. 1:36. Eielson AFB is located approximately 25 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. The Air Force settled the case in 1980 and installed groundwater extraction and treatment systems to capture TCE and spilled jet fuel. 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. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. 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. In 1997, the base, amid redevelopment, connected to. Included was one that requires the Pentagon to phase out, by 2023, the use of PFAS-based firefighting foam and require military facilities to meet state cleanup standards. may have been caused by toxic chemicals in your drinking water. It also is tasked with finding a PFAS-free firefighting foam or funding the development of one. The plume affected the bases water well. The human-made chemicals are in your blood, your clothes, your cosmetics. PFAS gained particular attention in the early 2000s when DuPont came under public scrutiny for using PFOA in its Teflon pans and contaminating the drinking water of 70,000 West Virginia residents. 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.. Several Oklahomans living near Tinker Air Force Base are having health issues . "We're really, really happy to be bringing this documentary to Hawaii because the water here is at risk, the water here has been contaminated," he said, referring to the Navy Red Hill fuel leak in November 2021. In the early 1980s, the Air Force conducted its own animal studies on AFFF, and in the early 2000s, the maker of the fluorinated chemical PFOS, the main ingredient in AFFF, exited the market. Little is known about most PFAS because, as The Environment Agencys former chief scientist put it, few PFAS have been subject to extensive testing so information about their hazardous properties is sparse. PFAS can be readily absorbed through ingestion, (e.g., by drinking contaminated groundwater or eating fish exposed to the chemicals) and inhalation and can even enter the body through the skin. There are also presumptive conditions for veterans known as "Atomic Vets," who meet certain criteria for radiation exposure. In March, the USAF promised to conduct tests for PFOS contamination on 664 bases . Two kinds of toxic "forever chemicals" widely found in drinking water after decades of use in consumer products and certain industries are more dangerous than . The man-made chemicals, which can be used to make items heat or water resistant, are found in everyday household, food and clothing items, even take-out food wrappers. WASHINGTON Drinking water supplies at two Washington state Army installations are contaminated with extremely high levels of the toxic fluorinated chemicals called PFAS, according to Department of Defense data obtained by EWG under the Freedom of Information Act. Service members who work at these facilities and the people who live nearby are likely drinking water contaminated with PFAS chemicals at concentrations that raise serious health concerns. Arvo said theVAhas rejected his medical problems as being service-related four or five times., If you think about it rationally, (theU.S. Department of Defense) doesnt want to do a study, he said. ), Failed to adequately warn the public of the certain health risks associated with AFFF, Sold an unreasonably dangerous product when safer alternatives existed, Failed to provide reasonable instructions on the safe use, storage and disposal of AFFF, Repeatedly represented that the levels of PFAS being found in U.S. residents bodies presented no risk of harm or toxicity and were not medically significant, Had the resources and ability to fund and/or sponsor studies to confirm their representations that PFAS in the body present no health risk, yet failed to carry out such research, Knew the compounds in their AFFF products were carcinogenic and could enter the water supply, yet withheld this information from the public and government entities, Attacked, challenged and tried to discredit studies that alleged, suggested or even implied that adverse health effects were linked to their firefighting foams, Did not recall their products or instruct the public they should not be used upon phasing out production of the toxic firefighting foams and changing their formulas, File motions, briefs and other paperwork with the court. Cardiff University analysed the livers of otters across England and Wales and found PFAS in all 50 otters sampled, with 12 different types of PFAS found in 80% of the animals. For Wurtsmith veterans who have long contended their health problems were likely tied to their toxic exposures on the base, the new findings provide some validation. "This is an integral part of taking care of our people. 1250 I Street NW But DOD waited until 2011 to warn service members about the risks posed by PFAS. Click on a marker for base information. Now we have the technology, and we have the expertise to understand more about the health impacts of long-ago contaminant exposures. For instance, your attorney may allege that the companies: Once your attorney files the complaint with the court, your lawsuit officially begins. . "These chemicals build up. In addition, the ground soil was noted to be contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons, dioxins, construction debris, medical wastes, pesticides . Kirtland Air Force Base jet fuel leak, USA A decades-old jet fuel spill contaminated soil and groundwater beneath Kirtland Air Force Base, moving towards wells supplying drinking water to Albuquerque. The community drinking water in Nellis Air Force Base may be contaminated with many toxins like Monochlorobenzene (chlorobenzene), Trichloroethylene and Bromate, and may battle rising scales of water hardness. Cancer. In total, 401 active and former installations had at least one. Flint, Michigan is no longer the only American city synonymous with contaminated drinking . This persistence means the PFAS burden is ever growing, so much so that a group of scientists have concluded that the global spread of just four PFAS in the atmosphere has led to the planetary boundary for chemical pollution being exceeded, raising risks to the stability of the Earth system. 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