‘It’s scary as hell’ — PFAS exposure a ‘widespread’ problem for troops, families nationwide

LTC Eugene Chu Troubling to Hear!

PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."“We need some help”
The Air Force has spent at least $65 million cleaning up the water at Pease Air Force Base. Last year, the local well that had been contaminated by PFAS from the base reopened, seven years after authorities shut it down.

But for Doris Brock, there are still battles to fight. She wants veterans like her husband who fall ill after being exposed to PFAS and other toxic chemicals to receive medical care and benefits.

“The COST of War Act is a wonderful bill,” Brock says, referring to one of several pieces of legislation attempting to establish a presumptive service connection for veterans exposed to burn pits and other toxins. “The only thing is it falls short of any of the people who have served at domestic bases.”

In March, U.S. Rep. Dan Kildee, a Michigan Democrat whose district includes Oscoda, introduced the Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act, which would require Veterans Affairs to cover certain illnesses in veterans exposed to the chemicals. For advocates like Brock, securing benefits like these would be one step in the right direction.

“We need some help for the men and women who served here locally,” Brock says."

Still waiting for the Fed's to step up and start the compensation process for Military Families that resided on Massachusetts' Otis ANG Base (now JB Cape Cod), designated a superfund site in '89. All three surrounding Counties have regular and exotic cancer rates many times the national average. I was there in '84-'87 with a wife, toddler and a newborn infant. Stories were fluctuating about drinking the well water on the Base, but Command said there was nothing wrong with the water so shut up and drink it or else, even though they had warnings posted about eating the fish caught in any of the numerous ponds on the Base. As it turned out, my wife suffered from breast cancer at age 47 requiring a bi-lateral mastectomy (God, I miss the twins!), and my oldest son suffered some sort of brain damage (that's my guess anyway) and turned into a Dallas Cowboys fan & a hardcore Left-winger. Tell me something wasn't "in the water".