Families on edge over water contamination at US air base
The Pease International Tradeport, which features an airport, hundreds of businesses and several day care centers, has been called a textbook example of how to redevelop an air base. But many who worked or had their children looked after there are coming to terms with a hidden risk: Drinking water contaminated by military firefighting foam that contained perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs.
Exposure to the chemicals, found in scores of everyday products like nonstick cookware and stain-resistant carpet and probably occurring at low levels in most people, have been linked in animal studies to low birth weight, accelerated puberty, cancer and thyroid problems, among other maladies, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. But it’s far from clear how much those problems also manifest in humans. And the uncertainty isn’t sitting well with the Pease parents whose children were found to have elevated levels of PFCs in their blood.
Many, like Andrea Amico, Alayna Davis and Michelle Dalton, who formed the advocacy group Testing for Pease in 2015, said they have struggled to find doctors who can interpret the test results. None of the three women can definitely say the exposure has been linked to health problems. Still, they wonder whether their children’s frequent fevers and infection might suggest the chemicals are affecting their immune systems. “My son looks like a normal 4-year-old boy. He’s active. He loves everything that 4-year-old boys love,” Dalton said. “But on the inside, it’s a different story. His body is constantly fighting.” More worrisome, they said, is what the future holds for their children, since the chemicals can remain in the body for years.
“My concern is that their long-term health will be impacted by this significant exposure that they had as small children,” said Amico, whose two children attend a Pease day care and have elevated PFC levels. “I’ll never stop worrying about their health.” Prompted by an EPA advisory issued last year, the Air Force has investigated 190 bases for foam contamination and is treating groundwater or bringing in water at 20 bases, including Pease - a number that could grow. It is also changing the type of foam it uses. —AP