More than 600,000 service members given ‘forever chemicals’ in drinking water

WASHINGTON – More than 600,000 service members at 116 military installations were annually served water with potentially unsafe levels of the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS, according to an Environmental Working Group analysis.

An internal study by the Department of Defense from April concluded the Pentagon served unsafe water containing PFOA and PFOS – the two most notorious PFAS – to 175,000 members a year at 24 installations. That study only counted service members at installations served water with levels of PFOA and PFOS greater than 70 parts per trillion, or ppt, an advisory level set by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2016. But the agency in June tightened that level, to less than 1 ppt.

The DOD’s analysis also did not include service members’ drinking water purchased from local water utilities or from privatized on-base water systems, which may also have been contaminated with the chemicals.

The DOD has not published the assessment, dated April 18, 2022, to its public PFAS website, making it effectively unavailable to the public or service members, except by request. The report was mandated by Congress in the 2019 defense budget.

The number of service members served contaminated water may be even greater than EWG’s estimate, which relies on a review of publicly reported water system tests and DOD records.

DOD-identified installations with PFOS/PFOS in drinking water	State
Belmont Armory	Mich.
Camp Carroll	Korea
Camp Red Cloud	Korea
Camp Stanley	Korea
Camp Walker	Korea
El Campo	Texas
Fort Hunter Liggett	Calif.
Joint Base Lewis McChord	Wash.
Sierra Army Depot	Calif.
Soto Cano Air Base	Honduras
Mountain Home AFB	Idaho
Horsham Air National Guard Base	Pa.
Eielson AFB	Alaska
New Boston AFS	N.H.
Wright-Patterson AFB	Ohio
Kunsan Air Base	Korea
Naval Air Station Oceana, Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress	Va.
Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia I	Indian Ocean
Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia Cantonment	Indian Ocean
Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia Sub Site	Indian Ocean
Naval Radio Transmitter Facility – Dixon	Calif.
Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton (South)	Calif.
Naval Air Station – Lakehurst	N.J.
Chievres Air Base/Caserne Daumerie	Belgium

Additional installations with PFOA/PFOS in drinking water	State	PFOA/PFOS in ppt
Eareckson AFBe	Alaska	62.1
Fort Wainwright	Alaska	5.6
Fort Rucker	Ala.	6.2
Camp Navajo	Ariz.	17.1
Silver Bell Army Heliport	Ariz.	10.1
Joint Force Training Base – Los Alamitos	Calif.	26.7
Marine Corps Logistics Base – Barstow	Calif.	67
Military Ocean Terminal Concord	Calif.	3.1
Parks Reserve Forces Training Area	Calif.	18.5
Sharpe Army Depot	Calif.	15
Corry Station	Fl.	15.1
Marianna Readiness Center	Fl.	9.56
Ocala Readiness Center	Fl.	16
Fort Benning	Ga.	17.7
Fort Gordon	Ga.	12.5
Gillem Annex	Ga.	12.5
Guam U.S. Naval Activities	Guam	59
Iowa Army Ammunition Plant	Iowa	6
Rock Island Arsenal	Ill.	13.6
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane	Ind.	1.4
Terre Haute National Guard Site	Ind.	5.8
Fort Leavenworth	Kan.`	649
Fort Campbell	Kan.	15.8
Fort Knox	Ky.	4
Natick Soldier Systems Center	Mass.	11.8
Rehoboth National Guard Site	Mass.	2.1
Brigadier General Thomas B. Baker Training Site	Md.	3.9
Camp Fretterd Readiness Center	Md.	1.66
Fort Detrick	Md.	6.9
Frederick Readiness Center	Md.	2.9
Gunpowder Military Reservation	Md.	5.5
La Plata Readiness Center	Md.	2.2
Queen Anne Readiness Center	Md.	1.04
Bangor Training Site	Maine	16.3
Camp Grayling	Mich.	13.2
Grand Ledge Hangar	Mich.	1.78
Jackson Readiness Center	Mich.	0.687
Camp Ripley	Minn.	1.79
Fort Leonard Wood	Mo.	5.1
Camp McCain	Miss.	0.907
Billings Field Maintenance Shop 6	Mont.	1.69
Fort Bragg	N.C.	98
Military Ocean Terminal Sunny Point	N.C.	21.2
Seymour Johnson AFB	N.C.	11.53
Camp Davis	N.D.	0.92
Camp Grafton	N.D.	5.85
Camp Ashland	Neb.	2.3
Norfolk Field Maintenance Shop 7	Neb.	3.4
New Hampshire National Guard Training Site –Strafford	N.H.	10
Flemington Armory	N.J.	1.67
Franklin Armory	N.J.	2.73
Picatinny Arsenal	N.J.	100.3
Camp Smith	N.Y.	51
Fort Drum	N.Y.	53
Seneca Lake	N.Y.	1.8
Watervliet Arsenal	N.Y.	4
West Point U.S. Military Academy	N.Y.	3
Camp Gruber Training Center	Okla.	1.02
Mcalester Army Ammunition Plant	Okla	3.1
Midwest City Readiness Center	Okla	4.42
Camp Rilea	Ore.	0.719
Christmas Valley Radar Site	Ore.	1.2
Lane County Air Force Readiness Center Facility Monitoring System 5	Ore.	1.68
Ontario Readiness Center	Ore.	1.2
Salem Anderson Readiness Center	Ore.	1.8
Carlisle Barracks	Pa.	2
Fort Indiantown Gap	Pa.	1.42
Tobyhanna Army Depot	Pa.	4.78
Camp Santiago Training Center	Puerto	2.9
Fort Allen Training Area	Puerto	2.11
Muñiz Air National Guard Base	Puerto	7.1
Coventry Training Site	R.I.	10.6
North Smithfield	R.I.	27.6
Fort Jackson	S.C.	18.2
McCrady Training Site	S.C.	1.19
Custer Training Site	S.D.	0.1
Holston Army Ammunition Plant	Tenn.	6.1
Camp Bowie-Musgrave	Texas	0.8
Fort Hood	Texas	2.4
Camp Williams	Utah	3.39
Fort Lee	Va.	1.5
Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads Northwest	Va.	1.2
Vint Hills	Va.	410
Bethlehem Military Compound (St. Croix)	VI	1.23
Blair Hangar AAOF (St. Croix)	VI	0.903
Francis Armory Nazareth (St. Thomas)	VI	3.6
North Hyde Park	Vt.	1.97
Camp Ethan Allen Training Site	Vt.	40.8
Westminster Training Site	Vt.	0.869
Fairchild AFB	Wash.	4.5
Yakima Training Center	Wash.	103
Camp Guernsey	Wyo.	0.836

EWG has identified more than 400 DOD sites with known PFAS contamination in ground or drinking water. The use of firefighting foam made with PFAS is the primary source of this contamination. PFAS can migrate to wells the DOD uses for drinking water, depending on site-specific conditions.

PFAS are known as “forever chemicals” because once released into the environment they do not break down and can build up in our blood and organs. Exposure to PFAS increases the risk of cancer, harms the development of the fetus and reduces the effectiveness of vaccines. The blood of nearly all Americans is contaminated with PFAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The internal DOD assessment recognizes many of these harms, but it ignores the increased risk of kidney and testicular cancer from PFAS exposure, which is well documented by other federal agencies.

The DOD also excluded the effect of PFAS on maternal and fetal health because its review “focused on military members and veterans.” Studies show that about 13,000 service members give birth every year, and many family members live on DOD installations.

“PFAS exposure during pregnancy and childhood is linked to numerous health harms, including pregnancy-induced hypertension, low birth weight, shorter duration of breastfeeding, thyroid disruption, reduced vaccine effectiveness and harm to reproductive systems,” said EWG Toxicologist Alexis Temkin, Ph.D.

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The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization that empowers people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment. Through research, advocacy and unique education tools, EWG drives consumer choice and civic action

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