EPA: Toxic chemicals from Scott base may pollute local water – STLtoday.com

The state’s EPA says an expanded site inspection is set to begin this summer for signs of the class of substances known collectively as PFAS, which are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they take thousands of years to degrade, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. The newspaper obtained the agency’s report through the Freedom of Information Act.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said the Air Force contacted his office this month with preliminary details on the contamination at the base and his office has reached out to local elected officials to determine next steps.

In recent days, officials started contacting those potentially affected.

There is no reason for concern if a person uses tap water from a municipal supply, according to Col. Joseph R. Meyer, vice commander of the 375th Air Mobility Wing at Scott Air Force Base.

However, people should worry if they live near the base and drink from a private well. The Air Force Civil Engineer Center is locating and contacting anyone who uses a well within one mile southeast of the base. The center’s officials already have identified five people who do so.

The Air Force will test well water for PFAS levels, Meyer said. The EPA considers levels below 70 parts per trillion, which equates to roughly a drop of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool, to be safe for consumption.

If tests of well water reveal PFAS levels above EPA standards, individuals who use those wells should immediately stop drinking the water. High levels can cause cancer and birth defects, among other health problems, the EPA said.

The Air Force will provide free bottles of water as it develops a long-term solution, Meyer said.

Durbin said he will push for federal regulation of PFAS.

At Scott AFB and other military installations, PFAS are the primary active ingredient in “aqueous film forming foam” that is effective in extinguishing aviation fuel fires.

The base’s emergency vehicles are now equipped with a more “environmentally responsible” formula, according to Meyer.

“If we know something, we will say something,” Meyer said in a statement. “We owe it to our neighbors and surrounding communities to be open to discussion based on the facts at hand.”