Maryland’s Capital News Service gets it wrong on PFAS contamination from military bases
Mistruths mirror propaganda worldwide
Pat Elder
December 10, 2023
Maryland is contaminated with PFAS from military bases.
The recent news article, “Maryland military facilities probing groundwater for “forever chemicals” by Capital News Service (Dec. 6, 2023), reads like state-sponsored propaganda. And yet, the writers and the news agency aren’t culpable. They report what the authorities tell them.
The art of national propaganda is wicked. The specific mistruths conveyed below about PFAS contamination from US installations in Maryland are also prevalent in the for-profit press in Germany, South Korea, Japan, Hawaii, California, Vermont, and lots of places in between.
Governmental disinformation is a powerful device, and we can see it clearly here in Maryland, the Old Line State. Maryland is very small - defined by the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. This little state that borders Washington, D.C. is home to at least 21 contaminated military installations, most on the water. It’s not a good mix.
Maryland is a PFAS loser.
There are many things wrong with this Capital News Service article. Segments from the piece appear in bold followed by commentary.
WASHINGTON – Maryland military facilities are in the early stages of remedial investigations into “forever chemicals” that jeopardize drinking water supplies in groundwater after a September report by the Department of Defense identified hundreds of military sites across the country as at risk for such chemicals.
This leads the reader to believe that we’re in the early stages of investigating PFAS on bases when the DOD published alarming data nearly 6 years ago on several Maryland installations.
Drinking water accounts for a very small amount of the PFAS in our bodies, especially in Maryland where many are served by the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission and other water providers that have been doing an excellent job largely ridding the carcinogens from the water.
The food we eat, especially the fish, is the greatest threat to human health. The press in Maryland has done a lousy job reporting on the widespread threat posed by contaminated surface waters and poisoned fish from military activities.
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The facilities include high-profile Joint Base Andrews, home to Air Force One, as well as Aberdeen Proving Ground, Fort Meade, Fort Detrick, Patuxent River Naval Air Station, and the Naval Research Laboratory-Chesapeake Bay Detachment in Calvert County.
The EPA says drinking water and ground water ought to be under .004 part per trillion for PFOA and under .02 ppt for PFOS. Here’s what we know about PFAS contamination of groundwater at these facilities. The levels are often millions of times over what is considered safe. The severe contamination poisons our streams, rivers, and the Chesapeake Bay. All of these bases are in the Chesapeake watershed. They are poisoning the fish, the crabs, and the oysters, despite what you may hear from the state.
Joint Base Andrews PFOA - 435,000 ppt; PFOS 33,000. The PFOA in the groundwater in Prince Georges County is 108.785 million times over the EPA threshold.
The EPA is a farce. Sure, they can take credit for publishing excellent studies, but they allow the military to do whatever it wants. The DOD dictates environmental policy while the Maryland Department of the Environment is a non-actor. The same truths apply in U.S. vassal states around the world. Maryland is no different than, say, Okinawa. We have no rights, no access to bases, and no redress, while the military has poisoned the life of this beautiful part of the world.
Aberdeen Proving Ground (Table 7-1) PFOS 64,000; PFOA 4,200; PFBS 5,000; PFHxS 42,000; PFNA 650. (115,850 ppt total for 5)
Fort Meade PFOA/PFOS – 87,000 ppt.
Fort Detrick PFOS - 43 ppt; PFOA - 41 ppt. This well sample was taken from 56 to 71 feet below the surface where firefighting foams were tested. Results may greatly vary at different depths.
Patuxent River NAS 37,000 ppt total PFAS
Naval Research Laboratory – Chesapeake Bay Detachment 234,000 ppt.
Patuxent River NAS – Webster Field 87,847 ppt total PFAS
PFAS contamination at the Webster Field Annex of the Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland, (in ppt).
Although the Navy limits its reporting to three compounds, the foam sampled on the beach about 2,000 feet across the creek from the firehouse shown here contains 23 different compounds: PFBA, PFPeA, PFHxA, PFHpA, PFOA, PFNA, PFDA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFOS, 5:3 FTCA, 6:2 FTS, 8:2 FTS, 8Cl-PFOS, FBSA, FHxSA, PFECHS, PFHpS, PFNS, PFOSA, PFPeS, PFPrS, PFUnA. The foam, which arrives pretty much every day, had a total concentration of 6,449.2 ppt of PFAS in July, 2023. (No coverage here, but see this Japanese news story at 1:09.)
The oysters and crabs have thousands of parts per trillion in their meat here. Would you eat them?
The Maryland Department of the Environment’s top enforcement officer in these matters says the source of PFAS probably came from a municipal firehouse or landfill. The closest firehouse is 5 miles away, while the closest landfill is 11 miles away and neither are near the water. Why is the state covering for the Navy?
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The potential contamination involves chemicals known as per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, which are a family of thousands of chemicals used in firefighting foams, heat-resistant products, and many other items.
“The potential contamination..”
Potential? Seriously? We know it exists! We have known for years.
California considers PFOS and PFOA to be carcinogens. Read what they have to say. Go to Pub Chem, a publication of the National Institute of Health, Search for a certain PFAS compound Scroll down to “Associated diseases and disorders.” Look up the chemicals found across the creek from Webster Field.
They’ll repeat this “potential” word as long as they can get away with it. It sows doubt. It is brilliant propaganda!
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The Pentagon has been under fire for years from communities, environmental organizations, and Congress for failing to recognize the dangers of hazardous chemicals used in military operations and for being slow to clean up facilities.
It’s worse than this. The Pentagon recognizes the dangers! They claim “sovereign immunity” in federal court, meaning they reserve the right to poison communities in the name of national security.
Contaminated bases in Maryland
Joint Base Andrews
Fort Meade
Fort Detrick
Aberdeen Proving Ground
Patuxent River NAS
Patuxent River NAS – Webster Field Annex
Naval Research Laboratory Chesapeake Bay Detachment
Aberdeen Proving Ground - Adelphi Laboratory Center
Fort Detrick - Forest Glen Annex Fort Meade (BRAC) Fort Meade - Phoenix Military Reservation
Annapolis N S
Annapolis Weapons – Bay Head
Annapolis NSWC Carderock Division
Bainbridge NTC
Indian Head Naval Surface Warfare Center
Solomons Rec. Center
Walter Reed
White Oak NSWC
Martin State
The DOD follows the CERCLA process in these matters. That’s the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. This process involves many steps. The first is the Preliminary Assessment. The second is the Site Inspection. The third is the Remedial Investigation. Different bases are at different stages of investigation. Very often, bases are given a cursory look in the preliminary investigation, and even though PFAS is found or suspected, the facility may not proceed to the next phase and further investigations are shut down. We’re seeing this with Army bases across the country.
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Some of these sites are part of aquifers that serve as primary or secondary drinking water sources. Robin Broder, deputy director of Waterkeepers Chesapeake, said PFAS is a known issue around military bases and is more likely to become a human health issue by contaminating water and crops.
There has always been too much emphasis placed on drinking water over the contaminated food – especially the fish. When the Army says the drinking water at Aberdeen is safe to drink and when the Air Force says the same thing about JB Andrews, or when the Navy claims the same at Chesapeake Beach, they’re likely telling the truth. Generally, the drinking water is not the problem.
Highest concentrations of PFOS in 15 species of fish from 48 states.
N = 3,262 See our fish database here.
The DOD does not address poisoned seafood, eggs, milk, and meat as a result of their activities. Agricultural crops are also contaminated. Green leafy vegetables are the most contaminated while grains are the least. Still, these sources cannot match the PFAS consumed from fish at certain locations.
The state of Maryland has done a lousy job testing food for PFAS.
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Military bases often use firefighting foam in emergencies and training exercises. Foam that still contains PFAS can seep into soil, evaporate into the air or run off into waterways.
The DOD has done the right thing by stopping the use of foam containing PFAS in training exercises, at least that is what they claim.
We seldom hear about the many dozens of ways the military uses PFAS – from chrome plating to engine cleaning to circuit boards. Much of these materials are dumped into our surface waters, either directly or through wastewater treatment plants. Sometimes the materials are landfilled, causing deadly leachate to run off. The DOD is fond of incinerating items laden with these carcinogens. The process often fails to destroy the compounds. It just sprinkles a silent death.
Criminality is inherent in the manufacture of these chemicals in the first place, although the DOD claims continued use of the carcinogens is a matter of national security.
It’s good to see the mention of PFAS in the air! The CDC reported that dust particles containing 16.4 million ppt of PFHxS and 13.9 million ppt of PFOS were found in the dust of the homes of people in Martinsburg, West Virginia very close to the Shephard Field Air National Guard base. The two compounds topped the list of PFAS contaminants in surface water draining from nearby Shephard Field Air National Guard base. The sediment along the banks of the creeks is lifted into the air to settle in our lungs and homes. Toddlers are at risk, while changing the vacuum cleaner bag presents a dangerous source of contamination.
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PFAS run-off can also contaminate fish and harm people who eat the contaminated seafood.
It’s good to see this, although it is buried in the article. It ought to be the thrust of the piece.
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In 2021, the Maryland Department of the Environment found elevated concentrations of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, or PFOS, a chemical in the PFAS family, in redbreast sunfish, yellow bullhead catfish, and largemouth bass in Piscataway Creek, a tributary of the Potomac River.
A lot of us pushed them to act! They felt like they had to do something, but the contamination is all over the state.
MDE reported 94,200 ppt of PFOS in the filet of Largemouth Bass, a concentration that is 4.71 million times higher than the EPA’s advisory for drinking water. The MDE says that comparing PFAS levels in fish to the levels in drinking water is like comparing apples to oranges, but they’re dead wrong, while subordinates in the agency know it. The MDE says it’s OK for pregnant women to have three 8-ounce meals of these commercially popular fish monthly. It is not!
(See next article on new MDE fish advisories which fail to protect human health.)
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The Aberdeen Proving Ground, an Army facility, states on its website that tests of its drinking water showed PFAS contaminants below the Environmental Protection Agency’s advisory level of 70 parts per trillion.
It’s not about the drinking water. You won’t find the Army mentioning on its website that groundwater was found to contain 115,850 ppt of total PFAS for five compounds. The DOD prefers to keep the conversation about PFAS contamination to just a few compounds while there are more than 15,000 known to exist and they’re unregulated. It’s the wild west. Many commercial labs test for 55 compounds.
The Army also won’t test or address the suspected contamination of Swan Creek or Romney Creek or Sod Run or Back Creek and a whole bunch of other unnamed streams trickling out of the Aberdeen Proving Ground, one of the most severely contaminated places on earth.
Listing the deadly toxins in the environment at Aberdeen would fill a dozen pages. In this sense, PFAS is stifling discussion of other deadly contaminants.
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“The Army is committed to ensuring quality drinking water is provided to its soldiers, family members, and civilians,” the website says. “We continue to work with our state and federal partners and will ensure the community is kept updated on the status of our investigation.”
The Army doesn’t want its soldiers or their dependents to be sickened, although this is not just about the drinking water! The DOD dictates environmental policy in these matters while the federal government and the state of Maryland wield rubber stamps.
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Similarly, Joint Base Andrews emphasized that its drinking water, which comes from the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, is unaffected by PFAS.
Activists tested drinking water provided by WSSC in an apartment building near the base and found the total of 55 compounds to be under 2 ppt. Somebody is doing something right at WSSC.
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According to a statement by the Air Force Civil Engineer Center at the Joint Base Andrews Field Office, the extent of PFAS impacts on groundwater at the site is unknown, but groundwater samples have indicated the presence of these chemicals. Further samples are being collected to determine the degree of contamination.
The Air Force is lying to us here in Maryland and everywhere else on earth. Look at the numbers provided by the DOD above! PFOA is more than 100 million times above what the EPA says is safe at Joint Base Andrews. This is the United States of Amnesia. The DOD feeds daily pablum to the masses through the fawning media. Few are connecting the dots and when they do, relatively few are paying attention. Mass and social media outlets are systematically closing down alternative avenues of information.
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“This is a slow process complicated by the fact that we are sampling at an active airfield on an active military installation with active missions critical to national security,” the statement said. “At JBA, it takes months to collect samples and get back results.”
It only takes activists a week to ten days to sample surface waters draining out of Andrews and obtain results on 55 compounds. We found almost 3,000 ppt of total PFAS in Piscataway Creek and so did the Maryland Department of the Environment, while it takes them years.
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Two sites at the Naval Research Laboratory – Chesapeake Bay Detachment will be investigated by the Navy’s Environmental Restoration Program for PFAS: a fire testing area and a former firehouse, according to a statement from the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic.
The fire testing area is already under investigation, and the firehouse will be studied in 2024 to “investigate the nature and extent of the PFAS and assess potential human health and ecological risks,” the statement said.
They’re counting on the amnesia and the fawning press while kicking the can down the road. Aqueous film-forming foam has been regularly used here since 1968, longer than anywhere on earth. The Navy said three and a half years ago that subsurface soil in Chesapeake Beach has a concentration of 7,950,000 ppt (See Site 10 ). All of the major media outlets in the region declined to run the story. This may be the greatest concentration of PFAS in soil anywhere on earth. The Navy will not confirm or deny this.
The people in the heart of Maryland will be dealing with this forever. There’s no way to clean it up. It is a massive malignant tumor in the breast of Mother Earth on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay 35 miles from Washington. It is a great environmental crime.
The press must do a better job if we are to survive this poisoning.
Financial support from the Downs Law Group makes it possible for us to research and write about PFAS contamination in Maryland and around the world.
The firm is working to provide legal representation to individuals in the U.S. and abroad with a high likelihood of exposure to trichloroethylene, PFAS, and other contaminants.
The Downs Law Group employs attorneys accredited by the Department of Veterans Affairs to assist those who have served in obtaining VA Compensation and Pension Benefits they are rightly owed.
If you spent time in the military and you think you may be sick as a result of your service, think about joining this group to learn from others with similar issues. Are you interested in joining a multi-base class action lawsuit pertaining to illnesses stemming from various kinds of environmental contamination?
Join the Veterans & Civilians Clean Water Alliance Facebook group. (2.5 K members and growing rapidly.)