julieturkewitzVerified account

Over the last two decades, a growing body of research has shown that PFAS compounds meant to help us are likely hurting us.

The best data, based on a study of 69,000 people living near in a West Virginia DuPont plant, say exposure is associated with kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol and ulcerative colitis, among other problems.

So where does the military come in?

The real problem for humans, the science is telling us, is repeated exposure to PFAS.

In recent years, companies like DuPont have come under fire for leaching PFAS into water systems in places across the country: West Virginia, North Carolina, and more.

But the military has used PFAS extensively at bases around the nation and globe. For decades. Specifically, the chemicals are present in a firefighting foam it uses to extinguish fuel-based fires.

Servicemen and women would spray the toxic foam in copious amounts during trainings, year after year, sometimes into unlined pits.

It's not difficult to see how the toxic chemicals made their way into the drinking water systems by the bases.