[CPEO-MEF] PFAS, REUSE: "Lethal contamination at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California threatens human health 35 years after the base closed."

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Once an Air Force Base…
Lethal contamination at Norton Air Force Base in San Bernardino, California threatens human health 35 years after the base closed.

By Pat Elder
LA Progressive (CA)
October 19, 2019

Norton Air Force Base was a logistics depot and heavy-lift transport facility, something like a massive Amazon warehouse to shuttle weapons of war around the globe. When the base shut down in 1994, the Air Force knew how poisoned the surrounding environment was, although few others were thinking that way. Norton began in 1940 as an Army Air Corps base. 79 years later, the base leaves a legacy of severely contaminated soil, groundwater, and surface water.

Arguably, the most lethal contamination left behind by the Air Force are Per- and Poly Fluoroalkyl Substances, or PFAS, used in the foam during firefighting exercises.

…

The groundwater under the former base was found to be contaminated with PFOS at levels of 18.8 parts per trillion. Harvard scientists say 1 ppt is potentially dangerous. The samples were taken from deep below the ground – 229.48 to 249.4 feet below ground surface.  The discovery of these carcinogens 249.4 feet down suggests how far the chemicals have leached into the deeper aquifers since their presumed first use in 1970. The “forever chemicals” have flushed into the earth at the rate of 5 feet per year.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.laprogressive.com/norton-air-force-base/

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org





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