Read the full article by Jared Hayes (EWG)
“A toxic ‘forever chemical‘ detected in the blood of West Virginia residents is also commonly found at almost 250 Department of Defense sites in groundwater or drinking water or both.
At 30 of those DOD sites, the chemical, PFHxS, was found at even greater levels in groundwater than at Shepherd Field Air National Guard Base, the base linked to high PFHxS levels in the blood of Berkeley County, W.Va., residents. The higher levels of PFHxS were detected in monitoring wells located on DOD installations. It is unknown whether residents of communities near these 30 sites have been exposed to PFHxS in their drinking water.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in a January 20 report detailed the high levels of PFHxS in the blood of Berkeley County residents. Residents had levels nearly three times higher than those of the general U.S. population, whom the CDC has been regularly testing for PFHxS for more than two decades.
PFHxS is one of the most common of the forever chemicals known as PFAS found at military installations and was an ingredient in firefighting foams used at these sites. Exposure to very low amounts of PFAS has been linked to suppression of the immune system, elevated cancer risks, increased cholesterol, reproductive harms and other health concerns.”…