Toxic ‘forever chemicals’ were found at a level 10 times higher than people who did not work in contaminated zone
New research shows alarming levels of Pfas in the blood of people living or working near a US air force base responsible for polluting drinking water with high levels of the dangerous “forever chemicals”, a new state regulatory report has found.
The levels are high enough in those who lived and worked near the Cannon air force base in Curry county to raise health concerns – about 10 times above the levels of those in the region who did not work in the contaminated zone. The pollution stems from a type of Pfas-laden firefighting foam the military has used across the nation, and the types of compounds found at high levels in participants’ blood were also commonly used in foam.
“The results put heartbreak into hard facts,” said James Kenney, the New Mexico environment department secretary. “This evidence of the harm the US air force has done to its neighbors is a call to action to immediately address its longstanding, neglected, toxic Pfas plume that continues to expose the families of Curry county.”
Pfas are a class of about 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products water-, stain- and grease-resistant. The chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects, decreased immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down in the environment.
