Pentagon Reports High Levels Of 'Forever Chemicals' Near Base Communities

Editor's Note: Patch has updated this story with new information about PFAS levels in water near the former Willow Grove military base. The numbers originally reported in the article referred to a PFAS sample taken from a private well and not the public water supply. Patch regrets the misinformation. We strive to be as accurate as possible in our reporting.

HORSHAM, PA — Officials with the Defense Department have released a report saying that concerning levels of PFAS have been found in drinking water supplies near military bases at a number of states including Pennsylvania, according to reports.

The high levels of toxic perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS and "forever chemicals," were reported in late May after newly released data by the Pentagon.

One of those bases that was mentioned was the former Willow Grove Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Horsham Township.

The chemicals are known to build up in people's bodies and in the environment, hence the name "forever chemicals." They have been linked to cancers of the kidneys and testicles and other problems, according to media reports.

The PFAS chemicals are believed to have been used in products such as firefighting foams, which were often found in use at military bases.

According to an article in The Hill, which cited the newly released data, a sample of drinking water taken from near the former Willow Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base in Horsham was found to have 864 parts per trillion (ppt) of PFOS, which is one type of PFAS.

The article says that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has stated that levels of the chemical should not exceed 70 ppt.

Patch was informed by Horsham Township officials that the numbers were actually misrepresented, since the water sample that tested so highly actually originally from a private well and not the public water supply.

"The sample was not obtained from Horsham Township public drinking water," Mary Marass, public relations clerk for Horsham, told Patch in an email.

Marass said Horsham has actually been incredibly proactive in addressing PFAS contamination and reached non-detect levels, which are between 2-5 ppt, in April 2017, and below-detect levels, or less than 2 ppt, by October 2019.

"Horsham Township has some of the highest water standards in the nation and continues to achieve more stringent water quality standards than those set by the EPA and DEP," Marass wrote.

Anyone from the Horsham area who would like more information was told they can visit this link to a summary about PFAS from the Horsham Water and Sewer Authority.

In The Hill article, Jared Hayes, a policy analyst at the Environmental Working Group, was quoted as saying that the levels being discovered near these military bases across the country are "too high," and that service members and those living in communities that host military installations have been the "victims of the Pentagon's failure to act."

On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's office put out a news release saying that the governor is committed to ensuring safer drinking water throughout the commonwealth by announcing that the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Investment Authority's board of directors has just approved a second annual funding award designed to assist communities in the remediation of PFAS throughout the commonwealth.

"For a second year, I have maintained by commitment to providing dedicated resources to keep our drinking water safe from harmful legacy chemicals like PFAS," Wolf said in a statement. Through the hard work of our PFAS Action Team and continued financial commitments like this one, we can ensure the health and welfare of countless Pennsylvanians."

In Horsham, local residents were warned about the problems linked to PFAS in the community back in 2016, when the federal government first admitted that public well water in the area had exceeded acceptable levels of PFAS contaminants, according to information provided by the office of State Rep. Todd Stephens, a Montgomery County Republican who has worked on the issue for years now.

Back in March, the Bucks County District Attorney announced a lawsuit he filed against the manufacturers of products containing PFAS.

And state officials announced that some money in the 2021-22 state budget was earmarked to study the harmful health effects of the "forever chemicals."

More about the Pentagon's recently revealed report on PFAS can be found here.