Groundwater At About Fifty US Military Airfields May Have Been Contaminated With Firefighting Foam

Military firefighters throughout the country that has developed cancer should look to their exposure to firefighting foam as the cause

Sunday, June 25, 2023 - Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) has been in use at more than 50 US military airfields by firefighters to fight petroleum, chemical, and jet fuel fires since the 1970s. The scope of the water contamination problem plaguing the US military can not be underestimated as millions of military and civilian personnel stationed or working at military air stations are in danger of having ingested deadly PFAS forever chemicals through the local tap drinking water. There are currently about 52 military airfields in operation throughout the United States, and most are required to use AFFF firefighting foam, a deadly carcinogen, to extinguish petroleum and jet fuel fires. Ten of the most heavily populated US military installations with active airfields and the state in which they are located are Andrews Air Force Base (Maryland), Lackland Air Force Base (Texas), Nellis Air Force Base (Nevada), Eglin Air Force Base (Florida), Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (Hawaii), Fort Bragg Simmons Army Airfield (North Carolina), Camp Lejeune MCAS, New River (North Carolina), Naval Air Station Pensacola (Florida), Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (California), and Joint Base Lewis-McChord (Washington). Water contamination from AFFF firefighting foam may have caused one of a long list of types of AFFF cancer. Most drinking water cancers begin in the kidneys, where all water must pass. Kidney disease and kidney cancer are two of the most common types of AFFF firefighting foam cancer. Other diseases likely caused by exposure to AFFF firefighting foam include prostate, testicular, bladder, thyroid or liver cancer, and lymphoma or leukaemia.

The water at Camp Lejeune North Carolina was found to be contaminated with volatile organic compounds trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), vinyl chloride (VC), and benzene found in tests of the water wells on the base. A more insidious problem, if there could be one, that could be destroying the health of people currently drinking the water at Camp Lejeune and other military installations throughout the country is the pollution caused by AFFF firefighting foam in use at the local airport. AFFF firefighting foam is being directly addressed by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein, who has filed a lawsuit accusing DuPont, Chemours, 3M corporation, and several other entities of recklessly selling firefighting foam made from carcinogenic PFAS forever chemicals to US military airbases that have caused cancer and other diseases to firefighters. It is also probable that the local water near the airfields where firefighting foam is used is contaminated. According to the Department of Justice, "Samples from Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Station New River showed PFOA contamination over 25,000 ppt," thousands of times greater than the amount that may be presumed to be safe. According to the Attorney General, "In our filing with the court, we allege that these companies that made firefighting foam knew well how dangerous it was to our first responders and our natural resources," said Attorney General Josh Stein. "But they continued to sell this product to line their pockets at the expense of our health and our drinking water. It's wrong and unlawful, so I'm taking them to court and will fight to make sure they clean up the mess they made."

Information provided by AFFFLawsuitCenter.com, a website devoted to providing news about AFFF and PFAS cancer, lymphoma and leukaemia claims, including a free no-cost, no-obligation AFFF Lawsuit Claim.