The chemicals, which can be used to make items heat or water resistant, are found in everyday household, food and clothing items, even take-out food wrappers.
“It’s an issue not just in New Hampshire, but at military installations across this country,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-New Hampshire.
“We have 1,500 people who have been tested with elevated levels in the Portsmouth area, who are anxious about their future and their children’s future.
And I know there are many people throughout the Air Force and our other military installations who share that concern.” In all, 25 Army bases; 50 Air Force bases, 49 Navy or Marine Corps bases and two Defense Logistics Agency sites have tested at higher than acceptable levels for the compounds in either their drinking water or groundwater sources.
While the EPA did not make the PFOS/PFOA guidelines enforceable, DoD decided to test all of its locations and work toward complying with the new guidelines.
DoD was only able to do that quickly at the 24 locations where it manages the water supply.
At those locations it has installed filters at the water source or inside base housing, relocated water usage to another well, or provided alternate drinking water, such as water bottles, for personnel, Sullivan said.
“It’s up to the owner of that system to make a decision on what they’re going to do,” Sullivan “So we’re on a fine line of trying to provide drinking water to our folks when we’re buying it from somebody else.” In those cases the department is working with the vendors or utilities on a solution, and providing bottled water or filters as needed, Sullivan said.
DoD has already spent $200 million studying and testing its water supply, and also providing either filters, alternate wells or bottled water to address contamination.
For the groundwater sources, both on-base and off-base, however, cleanup will take years to address, Sullivan said.