Forever Chemicals From Military Bases May Be Lurking In Agricultural Water Supplies

Forever Chemicals From Military Bases May Be Lurking In Agricultural Water Supplies
Nov 01, 2021

Farmers near military bases may be unknowingly using water contaminated by the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, an EWG analysis finds.

The Department of Defense may have failed to notify some of these farmers, as required by federal law, that toxic plumes of PFAS flowing from bases around the U.S. could be contaminating irrigation water, according to our review of DOD records. Studies show that irrigating crops and watering livestock with PFAS-contaminated water may contaminate the plants and animals.

DOD has alerted 2,100 farms near 95 of these bases that their irrigation water may be contaminated with PFAS. But EWG’s analysis of DOD data finds that 36 Army, Air Force and Navy bases with some of the highest levels of PFAS contamination have not notified nearby farmers about potential pollution of their water.

DOD installation

Maximum PFAS detections in groundwater (in parts per trillion, or ppt)

 

Alaska

Eielson Air Force Base

334,200 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

California

Vandenberg Air Force Base

158,200 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Colorado

Buckley Air Force Base

205,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Delaware

New Castle Airport

47,900 (PFHxS)

 

Florida

Jacksonville International Airport

337,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Georgia

Moody Air Force Base

375,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

Robins Air Force Base

276,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Illinois

Chanute Air Force Base

806,000 (PFHxS)

 

Maryland

Annapolis (BRAC)

70,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Massachusetts

Westover Air Reserve Base

360,000 (6:2 FTS)

Michigan

K.I. Sawyer Air Force Base

110,000 (PFHxS)

Alpena County Regional Airport

82,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

W.K. Kellogg Airport

76,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Mississippi

Columbus Air Force Base

810,700 (PFOS and PFOA)

Key Field Air National Guard Base

71,100 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Missouri

Whiteman Air Force Base

89,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

Rosecrans Memorial Airport

39,100 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Nevada

Reno Tahoe International Airport

119,700 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

New York

Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station

1,310,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

Seneca Army Ammunition Plant

89,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

North Carolina

Seymour Johnson Air Force Base

312,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

North Dakota

Minot Air Force Base

453,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

Hector Field International Airport

79,000 (PFHxS)

 

Oklahoma

Vance Air Force Base

329,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Pennsylvania

Horsham Air Guard Station

329,500 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

South Carolina

Shaw Air Force Base

6:2 FTS at 210,000 ppt

 

South Dakota

Ellsworth Air Force Base

551,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

Joe Foss Field Air National Guard Base

255,100 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Texas

Randolph Air Force Base

182,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

Kelly Air Force Base

77,200 (PFHxS)

 

Utah

Salt Lake City International Airport

139,000 PFOS and PFOA

 

Vermont

Chittenden County National Guard Base

38,000 (PFOS)

 

Virginia

Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress

52,900 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Wisconsin

U.S. Army Reserve Fort McCoy

120,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

 

Wyoming

F.E. Warren Air Force Base

136,000 (PFOS and PFOA)

Cheyenne Municipal Airport

94,400 (PFOS and PFOA)

The DOD has not published enough detailed local information to determine the risk posed to nearby farms from PFAS contamination at these 36 sites. DOD may be violating the federal notification requirement, unless DOD can confirm there’s no risk to agricultural water used by nearby farms. Congress has ordered DOD to notify farmers within a mile downstream of a contaminated base when there may be PFAS contamination.

The contamination largely stems from a long-running DOD requirement that the bases use a specific type of firefighting foam containing PFAS, despite DOD’s knowledge the chemicals are harmful.

PFAS levels detected at seven of these bases are among the highest detected by the DOD, according to its own records, and they are surrounded by farms. PFAS levels at the bases range from hundreds of thousands to more than a million parts per trillion, or ppt.

These bases include Vance Air Force Base in Oklahoma, with 329,000 ppt of the two notorious PFAS known as PFOA and PFOS, Ellsworth Air Force Base in South Dakota, with 551,000 ppt of PFOA and PFOS, Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, with 453,000 ppt of PFOA and PFOS, and Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station in New York, with 1,310,000 ppt PFOA and PFOS.

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