The Department of Defense is investigating six sites in Minnesota for contamination from PFAS chemicals — and the toxic contaminants have been found in drinking water wells near military installations in Duluth and Little Falls.
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of thousands of industrial chemicals that don't break down in the environment and can build up in human bodies over time. The chemicals have been linked to reproductive problems and some cancers.
In the case of military sites and airports, the chemicals were used in firefighting foams that were often repeatedly sprayed during training exercises. The military announced this year it would stop using PFAS foams in all situations by 2024.
Now, DoD is gradually testing every military site where the foams have been used. In a report to Congress last month, the department wrote that underground PFAS plumes are close to drinking water supplies in 245 of the 275 locations where it has active investigations. The report did not specify which sites.
Jared Hayes, a senior policy analyst with the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, said the defense department has only just begun to model how groundwater is moving under those 245 locations.
For those nearby waiting for definitive answers on whether the military tainted their wells, “it could be some time. It could be a couple years in some cases,” he said.
The sites targeted for…
