Wired magazine has just run a major exposé on ground water contamination with PFAS on military bases and its likely connection to a significant rise in Parkinson’s Disease. This is a story I would highly recommend reading and subscribing to Wired to support their journalism efforts.
“New ideas about chronic illness could revolutionize treatment, if we take the research seriously.“
https://www.wired.com/story/scientists-thought-parkinsons-was-in-our-genes-it-might-be-in-the-water
Back in 2016, we carried an article about the contamination of groundwater at the Navy base on Whidbey Island.
The Navy did publish the work on testing wells in the areas around the bases.
From the information copied from the links below, it is clear that the Navy was trying to find the level of exposure to PFAS in drinking wells, but it’s important to note that they were not looking for Parkinson’s Disease, only three kinds of cancers: testicular, kidney and prostate.. They do list a comprehensive list of bases where they were testing here: https://media.defense.gov/2020/Mar/17/2002265607/-1/-1/1/SPREADSHEET_OF_INSTALLATIONS_WHERE_DOD_PERFORMING_ASSESSMENT_OF_PFAS_USE_OR_POTENTIAL_RELEASE.PDF
Follow the story:
From the web: https://www.hillandponton.com/toxic-exposure/naval-air-station-whidbey-island/
Whidbey Island Water Contamination
Naval Air Station Whidbey Island has been identified as a significant source of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination in the surrounding communities. These “forever chemicals,” which have been used in industry and consumer products since the 1940s due to their resistance to grease, oil, water, and heat, were present in the Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) used for firefighting and training purposes at the base.
Beyond PFAS contamination, Whidbey Island’s groundwater faces other threats including potential saltwater intrusion and nitrate runoff from fertilizers, animal waste, and septic systems, prompting increased focus on testing the island’s wells.
PFAS Contamination
In early 2017, testing by the U.S. Navy near NAS Whidbey Island revealed PFAS levels above the EPA’s lifetime health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) PFOA/PFOS. One well showed contamination as high as 2,516 ppt, more than 35 times the advisory level. A more recent Navy sample taken in 2022 showed a certain cancer-causing particulate in drinking water at levels 30,000 times higher than what the EPA considered safe.
The Navy is currently conducting investigations at multiple locations including the Area 6 Landfill, Ault Field, OLF Coupeville, and Seaplane Base.
291 wells have already been tested near Ault Field, Area 6, and Coupeville. The Navy reported 18 contaminated wells, though it’s unclear how many homes these wells served and there may be many other drinking water sources likely to be contaminated.
To-date, the Navy has sampled over 360 private drinking water wells near NAS Whidbey Island Area 6 Landfill, Ault Field, and OLF Coupeville. Of these, certain PFAS have been detected at or above the DoD PFAS interim action levels for PFAS in private drinking water wells in over thirty drinking water wells.
PFAS exposure has been linked to various types of cancers and serious health issues, raising significant public health concerns for residents in the affected areas. If you developed a medical condition after living or working at or near NAS Whidbey Island, you may be eligible for compensation. Get a free case evaluation here to explore your legal options.
Wired story documents the first major study that showed that bases without PFAS in their water supply had dramatically lower case’s of Parkinson’s than those that did.
“Camp Pendleton, in Southern California, is the Marine Corps’ West Coast equivalent to Lejeune. Thousands of young, healthy Marines shuffle through its barbed-wired gates each year. But Pendleton has one thing Lejeune does not: uncontaminated drinking water.When Goldman compared both populations, the results were shocking: Marines exposed to TCE at Lejeune were 70 percent more likely to have Parkinson’s than those stationed at Pendleton. And in a follow-up study last year, he showed that disease progression in Lejeune vets with the highest exposure to TCE was faster than those with low or no exposure, too. In the world of Parkinson’s research, Goldman’s study was a blockbuster.”
The military has been downplaying and lying to us for decades about health issues. Was it that they knew how harmful above ground nuclear testing was, or agent orange, or the burning of toxic wastes in the field in both Gulf Wars, and now PFAS that could be the root cause of a massive increase in Parkinson’s especially among members of the military who lived on some bases.
We may never know how widespread the plume on Whidbey was, nor how many people who lived near the base or in the Oak Harbor area and were exposed to PFAS and developed Parkinson’s Disease. Read the article in Wired to learn the whole story.
If you subscribe to Apple News you can read it as part of your subscription. Also your local library probably has an issue. Or you can buy it on a newsstand, like at airports.
Filed under: Environmental Protection, Environmental Science, Whidbey Island | Tagged: Cancer, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, Navy, parkinson’s, PFAS, Pollution |
