Military bases flagged for high PFAS while EPA status remains unchanged

By Liz McLaughlin | WRAL News | August 1, 2025

Read the full article by Liz McLaughlin (WRAL News)

"Two years after groundwater tests found “forever chemicals” at more than a dozen times the federal limit, the Environmental Protection Agency still lists Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point as having “human exposure under control.”

Records released by the Marine Corps show that on July 13, 2023, an off-base drinking-water well contained 50.2 parts per trillion of PFOS and 12.6 parts per trillion of PFOA. Both substances are part of a toxic family of compounds known as PFAS and, under a rule the EPA finalized last year, should not exceed 4 parts per trillion in finished drinking water.

A fresh analysis by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) says Cherry Point is not alone: 14 other military Superfund sites around the country carry the same “under control” label even though nearby wells exceed federal limits."