Fears that UK military bases may be leaking toxic ‘forever chemicals’ into drinking water | PFAS

Three military bases in the UK have been marked to investigate concerns that “chemicals forever” may leak toxic in drinking water sources and important environmental sites.

the Ministry of Defense (Mod) will be achieved in RAF Marham in Norfolk, RM Chivenor in Devon and Aac Middle Wallop in Hampsheer after their concerns may be toxic Pfas chemicals In their surroundings. Sites were identified using a new PFAS test tool developed by the Environmental Agency (EA) designed to determine the determination of pollution threats and determine their priorities.

Track Rav Marham and AAC Middle Break in Drinking Water Protection areas. RM chivenor boundaries are oyster water protected, which is a special area for preservation, and the Tau River – Salmon River is important.

PFAS, or Materials for all and polyfluoroalkylIt is a group of artificial chemicals used widely in foam firefighting and industrial processes as well as in AConsumer products including water -resistant fabrics, non -sticky cooking tools, cosmetics and food packaging. Known as Chemicals forever Because it does not collapse easily in the environment, and it has been found soil and water pollution all over the world. Some PFAs accumulate in the human body over time and are linked to a set of serious health problems including cancer, disruption of the immune system and reproductive disorders.

Military bases were used with foam fireplaces to fight fires with PFAs for decades. Some chemicals have been linked to foams including PFOS, PFOA and PFHXs with diseases and prohibitions, but they remain in the environment.

Professor Hans Peter Arab, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said that pollution at military sites in the UK will not be surprising. “Most of the military bases, if not all, use huge quantities of firefighting foams that contain PfasHe said: “They now have great concentrations in PFAs in the soil and groundwater below it, as well as drowning in the concrete of their buildings.”

He warned that PFAS pollution would continue in “decades to centuries” unless immediate local cleaning measures are taken. “It is now possible that this PFAS now takes several contracts to get there. There is more PFAS to come.”

The Environmental Auditing Committee this month launched an official investigation of PFAS pollution and organization throughout the United Kingdom. Activists and scientists warn that until the full volume of PFAS pollution is understood and treated, the threat to human health and the environment will continue to grow.

“EA has now identified thousands of high-risk sites around the United Kingdom with high concentrations of PFAs. These chemicals are discovered forever in soil, rivers, groundwater, wildlife-and the United States,” said Alex Ford, Professor of Biology at the University of Portsmouth.

“It is extremely concerned that we hear that PFAS is discovered … near drinking water sources. The sooner we are to ban this large family of chemicals, the more their heritage exceeds everyone alive today.”

He added that the cost of cleaning these pollutants can coincide with billions – he said, the chemical industry must be cut.

Not all water treatment work can remove PFAS, and the promotions will be expensive. Spokesman water The UK, which represents the water industry, said: “PFAS pollution represents a major global challenge. We want to see PFAS prohibited and develop a national plan to remove from the environment, which the manufacturers must pay,” said the UK, which represents the water industry.

Professor Crespin Halsal, an environmental chemist at Lancaster University, called for more transparency and cooperation. He said, “The Ministry of Defense should not try to hide things. It should be clean and prepare the monitoring.”

The UK monitoring of PFAs is behind the United States, as pollution on military sites was the focus of billions of dollars in federal spending on testing and cleaning.

In July, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the American army launched a joint project to try drinking water wells near the army facilities. The UK authorities recently started to investigate the problem.

Brad Chrisi, a former US Air Force firefighter, has spent decades in training with fire fighting foam on military bases throughout the United States and Europe. During extinguishing exercises, Creacey and his colleagues ignited contaminated jet fuel and extinguished them using AFFF (water foams that form movies)-often wearing old suits that were soaked and have never been cleaned. On one occasion, he was bored with foam for fun.

Twenty years after he stopped working with foams, a blood test revealed that Creacey still has high levels of PFOS in his blood. He was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and now suffers from Hashemoto disease, high cholesterol in the blood and continuous fatigue.

He said: “We have taken a lot of indirect position on this pollution.” “Unless this is taken seriously, we are governed by us.”

Creacey follows compensation through the US Old Warriors Affairs and a separate lawsuit Against 3M Dubont.

Beit Thompson is a former firefighting man who has served in many air elements in the UK, including the British Royal Air Force Conversby in Lincolnchy. During his service, he used regularly foaming fire in training exercises and equipment tests, and he said they usually spray them directly to the grass fields without containing.

“We used the foam in the back of what was called TACR 1- Basically Rover Land with a 450-liter tank of pre-foam on his back. Every six months we had to do a production test to prove that the system is working. This is the production test that we just produced to the grass … there was no way to stop it anywhere other than just draining the Earth.”

The Ministry of Defense works with EA to evaluate its sites, and work began to investigate whether PFAS will be restricted in firefighting foams. Military sites are not the only sources of PFAS pollution – commercial airports, fire control training lands, manufacturers, waste shrines, paper mills, and metal coating factories can create pollution problems.

“The global flag in PFAs is developing quickly,” said an EA spokesman.

A government spokesman said: “There is no evidence that drinking water from our taps exceeds the safe levels of PFAS, as shown by the drinking water inspector,” a government spokesman said.

“Our quick review of the environmental improvement plan in the risks posed by PFAS and the best way to address it to provide our legally binding goals to provide nature.”

The guidelines of 48 species of PFAs in drinking water are 0.1 micrograms per liter (100 ng per liter).

Earlier this year, Water gatherings investigations Documents of the Ministry of Defense exposed that raises fears that some of the rules of the royal weapon Hot points for chemical pollution forever. In 2022, the Guardian newspaper reported that the Doxford Airport – a previous base of the British Royal Air Force now owned by the imperial warfare – may have been a source Drinking water contaminated with pfos In southern Cambridgers. The site is now under investigation by EA.

Patrick Bern, a professor of water science at the University of Liverpool John Morris, said the current monitoring efforts scratching the surface only. “We are on the tip of the ice. We are just watching a handful of PFAs. There are many others who we haven’t understood or discovered completely.

))

Even when the test is under implementation, the laboratories are sunk. “The Environmental Agency laboratory is mired. Special laboratories cannot keep up with it,” he said. “Analytical technology is improving quickly – but we are racing to keep up with.”