A research team has found “unexpectedly high” levels of cancer-causing chemicals in birds and rodents around the artificial lake and wetlands near Holloman Air Force Base, which had discharged contaminated wastewater into that area for decades.
University of New Mexico researchers detected what they call extraordinary amounts of PFAS in 20 out of 23 bird species and in dozens of rodents that scurry around Lake Holloman, as well as ponds and wetlands, which the Air Force created as catchments for treated effluent and together form a desert oasis within the Tularosa Basin.
The team tested a mixture of ducks, songbirds and shore birds along with a blend of recently caught rodents and those whose carcasses were preserved for 30 years. The average PFAS reading both for birds and rodents was more than 10,000 parts per billion.
To put that in context, a Clovis dairy farmer had to euthanize 3,665 cows because they had 6 parts per billion of PFAS in their milk, said Christopher Witt, a UNM biology professor and lead author of the study.
“Our findings are extremely concerning for people who care about wildlife and for people who consume wildlife as hunters,” Witt said.
The team’s findings were published in the journal Environmental Research.
PFAS is short for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances. They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they take thousands of years to break down and last indefinitely in the bloodstream.
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