Defense and military communities across the country face exposure every day to the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. Decades of use of these hemicals by the Department of Defense has contaminated the drinking water, ground water and soil at hundreds of military installations. On-base and off-base communities will likely face the health and cleanup harm for decades.
Timeline
For decades, the Department of Defense knew firefighting foams with 'forever chemicals' were dangerous but continued their use.
Featured video
A PFAS Story: Hope Grosse and Joanne Stanton
Hope Grosse and Joanne Stanton are lifelong residents of the Philadelphia suburbs. In 2014, they learned that their community's drinking water had been contaminated by toxic PFAS chemicals. Now, they are raising awareness of PFAS chemicals around the country and fighting to get them out of our environment.
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Explore PFAS impact stories in Defense Communities
‘Forever chemicals’ contamination at Gulf of Mexico Defense Department sites threatens fish, residents
Groundwater from at least 13 Defense Department sites in the Gulf of Mexico region is contaminated with high levels of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to DOD records obtained by...
Five ways a hidden Pentagon health study undercounts ‘forever chemicals’ risks
The Defense Department may be underestimating by hundreds of thousands the number of people at military installations drinking water contaminated with the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. The DOD’s...
‘Forever chemicals’ contamination at Defense Department sites threatens Great Lakes fish and residents
Groundwater from at least six Defense Department sites in the Great Lakes region is contaminated with high levels of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to DOD records obtained by...
Decades later, plumes of ‘forever chemicals’ from Defense installations still contaminate nearby wells
Decades after polluting their well water, the Defense Department is still providing water filters and bottled water to at least 47 communities it contaminated with the “forever chemicals” known as...
‘Forever chemicals’ contamination at Defense Department sites threatens Chesapeake Bay fish
The groundwater of at least nine military installations close to the Chesapeake Bay is contaminated with high levels of the toxic fluorinated “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to Department...
PFAS: What the Defense Department’s inspector general found, ignored and obscured
The Senate’s homeland security panel will hold a critical hearing this Thursday on a shocking inspector general report that found the Defense Department failed to protect service members and their...
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DoD cleanup response
The Pentagon’s contamination time bomb: Cleanup backlog outpaces funding
The Department of Defense is failing to confront an almost $4 billion increase in the cost of cleaning up contaminated sites, many polluted by the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. And its cleanup...
Five ways a hidden Pentagon health study undercounts ‘forever chemicals’ risks
The Defense Department may be underestimating by hundreds of thousands the number of people at military installations drinking water contaminated with the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. The DOD’s...
PFAS: What the Defense Department’s inspector general found, ignored and obscured
The Senate’s homeland security panel will hold a critical hearing this Thursday on a shocking inspector general report that found the Defense Department failed to protect service members and their...
Tell Congress: Stop the PFAS Contamination Crisis
We need your help to protect our environment from toxic PFAS chemicals.
News & Research
Stay informed. Stay healthy.
News
Abandoned: Unsafe ‘forever chemicals’ levels in thousands of drinking water samples near 63 military bases
Across the U.S., the Defense Department has contaminated potentially thousands of private drinking water wells with dangerous amounts of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS. But the DOD has...
Research
Federal PFAS Report Card
EWG has researched actions the federal government is committed to taking, or for which it faces congressionally mandated deadlines, to tackle the “forever chemicals” known as PFAS.