80% of U.S. Military Bases Linked to High Levels of PFAS Contamination: Defense Department

Military plans to prioritize private, off-base drinking water wells and systems to address problems with high levels of PFAS contamination at 600 bases nationwide.

A Department of Defense memo published earlier this month indicates the vast majority of U.S. military bases have contaminated water, with high levels of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which may also impact nearby municipal and private drinking water sources.

The memo (PDF) was issued on September 3 by Assistant Secretary of Defense Brendan Owens, detailing the Department’s plans to incorporate recent PFAS drinking water standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as part of the military’s own PFAS water remediation plans.

In April, the EPA announced new rules that established the first legally enforceable PFAS drinking water limits, indicating that some of the chemicals are a threat to public health and carry serious cancer risks.

The new rule set enforceable drinking water limits for five different types of PFAS: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), and C3 Dimer Acid (HFPO-DA), also known as GenX, as well as any combination of two or more of these chemicals. The new rule sets a Maximum Containment Level (MCL) for PFOA and PFOS at 4 parts per trillion, and 10 parts per trillion for PFNA, PFHxS and GenX chemicals.

Military Base PFAS Water Contamination Health Concerns

PFAS include a group of over 9,000 man-made substances, which are widely used to resist grease, oil and water. However, they are known to persist in the environment and build up in the human body, and researchers have identified myriad adverse health effects linked to the chemicals, including testicular cancer, kidney cancer, ulcerative colitis and other side effects.

Most of the PFAS health concerns have stemmed from water contamination problems, caused by the large volumes of the chemicals in aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), which have been used by the military and firefighters for decades to fight fuel-based fires.

During training and response exercises, these PFAS chemicals have been dumped into the environment and local water supplies, particularly around military bases, airports and firefighter training locations, causing many communities to have dangerous levels of the chemicals in their drinking water.

3M Company, DuPont, Chemguard Inc., Tyco Fire Products and other manufacturers of PFAS chemicals and fire safety products now face thousands of PFAS water contamination lawsuits brought by local water providers and individuals diagnosed with various types of cancer. The companies also face hundreds of firefighter cancer lawsuits over PFAS exposure, and evidence uncovered during litigation has further heightened concerns about the long-term risks associated with use of the chemicals.

Owens’ memo indicates that the Defense Department will utilize the EPA’s standards for its cleanup efforts at 578 out of 710 U.S. military bases, which accounts for about 80%, of the bases across the country. The commitment is part of the agency’s requirements under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), which Owens indicates will probably be a long process.

“The CERCLA process can take time to complete, but also provides a consistent, science-based approach across the Nation for cleanup and includes federal and state environmental regulator review and public participation,” Owens wrote. “This memorandum describes DoD’s plans to incorporate the drinking water rule into DoD’s ongoing PFAS cleanups and prioritize actions to address private drinking water wells with the highest levels of PFAS from DoD activities.”

The memorandum notes that the Defense Department has already begun remedial investigations at more than 350 installations, and plans to begin the process at more than 150 additional bases within the next two fiscal years.

Owens indicates the DoD will start by addressing private wells most impacted by U.S. military activities. The department will first focus on those private wells that have three or more times the EPA’s new PFAS limits, as part of interim actions while the base cleanup process is underway.

“As DoD works to complete actions to address off-base drinking water at the 55 installations with the highest known levels of PFAS, the Department will continue to identify and address private drinking water with PFAS above three times the MCLs from DoD releases at additional locations,” he states. “DoD will then initiate remedial actions to address drinking water wells and public water systems with concentrations below three times the MCL value as described in the remedial action section of this guidance.”

September 2024 PFAS Lawsuit Updates

The memorandum comes as litigation continues to move forward in more than 8,000 PFAS lawsuits over use of the toxic chemicals in AFFF firefighting foam, which allege that a number of private chemical and safety equipment manufacturers failed to disclose the serious health risks they knew about from the PFAS chemicals contained in the foam.

To manage the rapidly growing litigation, all lawsuits over PFAS brought in U.S. District Courts nationwide are currently centralized and consolidated for pretrial proceedings before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel in the District of South Carolina, due to common questions of fact and law that have been presented in all of the claims.

As part of the coordinated management of the litigation, a small group of early PFAS trial dates are expected to start in 2025, involving claims that individuals developed testicular cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, thyroid cancer, thyroid disease and ulcerative colitis, after drinking water known to be contaminated with high levels of the chemicals.

While the outcome of these early trial dates will not have any binding impact on other claims being pursued throughout the federal court system, they are designed to help gauge how juries may respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.