[CPEO-MEF] PFAS, GLOBAL: South Korea

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

PFAS contaminates South Korea
Drinking water, rivers, fish, crabs, breastmilk, babies, teenagers are poisoned.
U.S. military secretive but shares responsibility

By Pat Elder 
Military Poisons
July 10, 2023

United States Forces Korea would like the South Korean public to believe that the threat to public health posed by its use of per-and poly fluoroalkyl substances, (PFAS) since the 1970’s is not much of a problem anymore. The military command is making a compelling case that drinking water on bases is no longer a threat. They say the toxic firefighting foams, which they admit caused the contamination, will be completely phased out next year.  

The drinking water is still a threat, according to test results made public, although there has been a tremendous reduction in PFAS concentrations. Also, the Pentagon has stopped using the foam in routine training exercises, but it is still present in airplane hangar suppression systems, Navy ships, and submarines.

Sadly, the military also uses PFAS in engine cleaning, wire coating, chrome plating, and other applications. The deadly toxins are often allowed to drain into the soil or the closest river, or they are sent to wastewater treatment plants where they flow into rivers without being treated. Consequently, marine life is poisoned, and so are people. 

The sludge produced by the military’s wastewater treatment plants contains high levels of PFAS. It is applied to agricultural fields, a process that contaminates crops, soil, groundwater, surface water, and the fish - again. The sea becomes a chemical toilet.

…

For the entire article, see
https://www.militarypoisons.org/latest-news/pfas-contaminates-south-korea

—

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
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)

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