Drinking Water Near U.S. Army Bases Will Be Tested for PFAS Contamination

Federal environmental regulators are launching a new project to test waters near U.S. Army installations for contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often referred to as “forever chemicals”, which have been linked to increased risks of cancer and other adverse health problems.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a press release last week, announcing a joint effort with the Army to conduct water sampling near nine facilities. The agency indicates that the results will inform the Army on where to focus efforts to undo PFAS water contamination; much of it caused by the military’s use of aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) to fight petroleum fires.

PFAS Water Contamination Concerns

PFAS include a group of more than 9,000 man-made substances, which are widely used to resist grease, oil and water. However, they are known to persist in the environment and build up in the human body, and researchers have identified a myriad of adverse health effects linked to the chemicals, including testicular cancer, kidney cancer, ulcerative colitis and other side effects.

AFFF has been widely used by the U.S. military and local fire departments for decades to combat fuel-based fires. However, the manufacturers of the fire fighting foam now face product liability claims alleging that they failed to adequate warn about the risks posed by toxic PFAS, which can contaminated water supplies.

While many of the AFFF cancer lawsuits have been filed by former firefighters directly exposed to the chemicals during training and response exercises, the manufacturers also face a number of PFAS water contamination lawsuits, alleging that individuals living near military bases, airports and firefighting training centers developed various injuries, including testicular cancer, kidney cancer, liver cancer, thyroid cancer, ulcerative colitis and other thyroid-related injuries.

The EPA indicates that the new joint sampling project will be implemented on a national scale. The initial sampling will involve nine military bases out of 235 locations the agency plans to eventually test. The first nine bases targeted by the PFAS testing program include:

• Fort Novosel (Alabama)
• Fort Hunter Liggett – Parks Reserve Forces Training Area (California)
• Fort Stewart (Georgia)
• Fort Stewart – Hunter Army Airfield (Georgia)
• Blue Grass Army Depot (Kentucky)
• Fort Campbell (Kentucky & Tennessee)
• Fort Liberty (North Carolina)
• Fort Sill (Oklahoma)
• McAlester Army Ammunition Plant (Oklahoma)

“PFAS pose significant risks to drinking water supplies and public health, which is why the EPA and the Army are testing water from wells in communities near Army installations to determine if these dangerous forever chemicals are polluting drinking water,” David M. Uhlmann, EPA’s Assistant Administrator for Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in the press release. “Members of the military, their families, and surrounding communities deserve access to clean, safe drinking water. EPA welcomes the opportunity to share our expertise and work with the Army on this important project, which will help advance EPA’s PFAS National Enforcement and Compliance Initiative.”

Earlier this year, the EPA announced new rules that establish legally enforceable drinking water limits for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which are toxic chemicals that have been deemed a threat to human health.

This new sampling effort will look at whether the amount of PFAS in groundwater or drinking water near the affected bases exceed the new Maximum Containment Levels for PFAS established in the new rules, according to the EPA statement. The Army and environmental regulators will then work with state officials to determine what additional actions are needed to bring the waters into compliance.

The Army and EPA indicate they will release information on the test results on their respective websites as data becomes available.

August 2024 PFAS Lawsuit Update

Given common questions of fact and law presented in claims fled throughout the federal court system, all AFFF lawsuits over PFAS water contamination are currently centralized before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Gergel in the District of South Carolina, for coordinated discovery, pretrial proceedings and a series of early bellwether trials.

Last year, Judge Gergel established a bellwether process where a small group of lawsuits are going through case-specific discovery and pretrial motions in preparation for a series of early AFFF trial dates expected to begin in 2025, which will be used to help gauge how juries are likely to respond to certain evidence and testimony that will be repeated throughout the litigation.

While the outcome of these early bellwether trials will not have any binding impact on other claims, it is expected that the amount of any AFFF lawsuit payout awarded by juries may influence future firefighter cancer settlement negotiations to resolve the litigation.

In June 2023, 3M Company agreed to pay over $12.5 billion in an AFFF water contamination settlement, to resolve claims brought by local water suppliers. However, there have not been any reported settlements in AFFF injury lawsuits, and none of those individual claims have yet gone before a jury.