Read the full article by Sarah Rahal (The Detroit News)
“The Air Force Civil Engineer Center announced it is awarding a contract in July that will expand capture zones to better control migration of PFAS contaminants from a former air force base in Oscoda following pushes from politicians.
The Air Force announced the contract Friday with plans to expand capture fields already in place at a former fire training site and the Central Treatment System located on the former Wurtsmith Air Force Base.
The military is allocating $13.5 million to remedy the site. Funding was part of $60 million that Congress provided last year to the U.S. Department of Defense to address contamination by certain perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS at decommissioned military bases.
‘The Air Force has heard the community’s concerns,’ said Stephen TerMaath, chief of the Air Force’s Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Division. ‘We are eager to begin taking action at these specific locations.’
Two well-known PFAS compounds, PFOS and PFOA, have been used in firefighting foam deployed for emergency response and training at military and civilian airfields. The Air Force began using them in the 1970s as a firefighting agent to extinguish petroleum fires. At the time, the Air Force used the product as directed by the manufacturer…”