A pair of hazardous chemicals used for decades in firefighting at
Joint Base McGuire/Dix/Lakehurst have contaminated ground, surface, and
drinking water on and near the base, a spokesman said last week, with
tests showing levels 20 to thousands of times higher in some samples
than federally recommended standards.
Three of 131 private wells tested at homes off the base show evidence
of the fluorinated chemicals known as PFOS and PFOA, Staff Sgt. Dustin
Roberts said Friday, with one home’s drinking water containing 1,392
parts per trillion. The Environmental Protection Agency’s health
advisory for these chemicals has set 70 parts per trillion as its
recommended level.
Roberts said the base was providing the affected homes with bottled
water and was studying ways to remediate the problem. None of the
affected private wells serve schools or other public institutions, he
said.
Two shallow wells that provide drinking water to the base showed
levels as high as 215 parts per trillion, according to Roberts. He said
he did not know how much of the base’s drinking water comes from the two
wells.
The base spreads over 42,000 acres and straddles parts of eight
municipalities in Burlington and Ocean Counties. About 3,700 military
and civilian personnel work on the base.
PFOS and PFOA are ingredients in firefighting foam used for decades
on military bases. To date, the Air Force has not conducted or paid for
blood tests of those who might be affected by the chemicals, Roberts
said. The base provided the sampling data after a request from the
Inquirer. The samples were analyzed by Maxxam Analytics of Ontario,
Canada.
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