Troops at two dozen bases exposed to toxic chemicals in drinking water

By Meghann Myers | MilitaryTimes | December 19, 2022

Read the full article by Meghann Myers (MilitaryTimes)

"An internal Defense Department study completed this year found that the drinking water at 24 installations exposes about 175,000 service members a year to dangerous levels of chemicals linked to cancer and other illnesses.

The report, made public by the Environmental Working Group on Thursday, found that water tested from each of the bases contained more than 70 parts-per-trillion of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known collectively as PFAS, the Environmental Protection Agency’s previous cut-off for safe drinking water.

In June, the group noted, the agency revised its standard to 1 part-per-trillion.

“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,” according to an EWG release."

Location:

• North AmericaUS

Topics:

• ChemicalsPFAS
• SourcesMilitary bases
• Environment
• Wildlife
• ImpactDrinking water
• ImpactDrinking waterPrivate wells
• Health
• AgenciesEPA
• Measurement Techniques
• Monitoring Data