The Pentagon has estimated that the cleanup costs for PFAS chemicals on active and former military bases, as well as in local communities, could exceed $31 billion, yet the Defense Department’s budget for the job is falling behind, according to an advocacy group pressing for broader funding.
The Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group issued a report Monday charging that, although the costs for cleaning up what are known as “forever chemicals” are soaring, the Pentagon consistently has requested just a fraction of the amount needed to remove these contaminants from the ground and groundwater at hundreds of sites.
In fact, the DoD has asked for less cleanup funding in recent years than it received in 2016, according to the group.
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“The DoD is facing a ticking cleanup time bomb as funding falls dramatically behind cleanup costs,” Jared Hayes, a senior policy analyst at EWG, said in a press release Monday. “It’s clear that funding at current levels cannot possibly catch up to rising cleanup obligations.”
PFAS chemicals are known as forever chemicals because they don’t break down in the environment and can build up in the human body. They have been linked to certain types of cancer, thyroid disease, birth defects, low birth weight and decreased vaccine response in children.
The Defense Department estimated in 2021 that cleanup costs would…
