Read the full article by Matthew Mondschein (Source NM)
“While previous testing showed plants and wildlife near Holloman Lake in the south-central part of New Mexico contain some of the highest levels of toxic contamination ever recorded, some samples remain untested due to lack of funding, a state university researcher told lawmakers on Tuesday.
Experts believe the leading cause of contamination at Lake Holloman — a man-made, wastewater lake outside of Holloman Air Force Base — comes from firefighting foam containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, PFAS, being used on base from the 1970s until 2019. PFAS exposure is linked to kidney and reproductive cancers, decreased fertility, fetal developmental delays, disruption of immune responses and liver functions in people.
Last year, the New Mexico Environment Department released a report that revealed levels of PFAS wildlife at Holloman Lake. Samples taken from the carcass of dead animals had toxic concentrations of PFAS 2.5 million times greater than the federal standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency. These so-called ‘forever chemicals’ bind to other molecules in the body and build up over time, a process called bioaccumulation, and can move through the food chain when the animal is consumed by a predator. “…