Link to the project and tour schedule: www.militarypoisons.org
“Father and daughter team, Pat and Holly Elder will hold press briefings in front of the main gates of eight military bases with the most contaminated groundwater in the country. The duo will first visit China Lake Naval Air Weapons Station, CA. on February 23rd and wind up at Langley AFB, VA. On March 1st. See the schedule below.
The bases continue to poison groundwater in surrounding communities with carcinogenic Per and Poly Fluoroalkyl Substances, (PFAS).
Pat Elder has written extensively on military contamination and says he hopes mass media outlets will pick up the story. “People don’t know how bad this stuff is,” said Elder. Holly will film her dad while he stands at the main gate of each base and briefly addresses the contamination.
The source of the deadly chemical contamination comes from the aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) used in routine fire-training on military bases. The military lights massive blazes and then extinguishes them using a foam containing the cancer-causing agents. Bases typically allow the foams to leach into the soil, poisoning the groundwater. Often the foam mixes with sewerage and contaminates municipal sewage systems. PFAS compounds are known as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in nature. Exposure to PFAS causes cancer and developmental effects in fetuses.
The EPA continues to allow deadly PFAS contaminants to be used while Harvard scientists say 1 part per trillion (ppt) is likely to be harmful to human health. The EPA’s combined Lifetime Health Advisory (LHA) limit for both chemicals is 70 ppt while the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has set lifetime drinking water levels of 11 ppt for PFOA and 7 ppt for PFOS. Former England Air Force Base, Louisiana, the most contaminated base in the U.S., has 10,970,000 ppt of PFAS in its groundwater.
About 43 percent of U.S. residents get their drinking water from groundwater.
The EPA’s leniency is shaped in part by the Department of Defense, which faces billions and perhaps, trillions of dollars in liability for the sickened people and contaminated sites it is responsible for across the country. The DOD generally refuses to clean up the contamination it has caused or pay for municipal water systems to provide clean water for citizens.
In Michigan, where the Air Force has contaminated drinking water wells, lakes, a river, and is causing toxic lake foam buildup, officials are demanding the military stop the flow of contaminants and clean up the mess they’ve caused. Michigan law limits the carcinogens to 12 ppt. The Air Force told the state it would not take any new actions to stem the flow of contamination. The Air Force said it did not have to comply with the state regulation because of the federal government’s “sovereign immunity” from state or local laws.
Few across the country are aware of the issues of contamination and tyranny. Please broadcast the Million PPT Tour! See below for brief articles on each of the sites Pat and Holly are visiting.”