Holloman AFB Groundwater 18,000 Times Over Limit

The groundwater below Holloman Air Force Base near Altap dancerordo tested positive for hazardous chemicals—and the contamination levels are more than 18,000 times higher than what the federal government says is safe.


February 2, 2019AIR FORCE
2018 report shows off-the-charts contamination in Holloman AFB water
By Laura Paskus
Email

The groundwater below Holloman Air Force Base near Altap dancerordo tested positive for hazardous chemicals—and the contamination levels are more than 18,000 times higher than what the federal government says is safe.

A November 2018 site inspection report provided to the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), and obtained by NM Political Report this week, details the contamination. Currently, the state is trying to understand the extent of the problem and what might be done.

According to the report, in 2016, the U.S. Air Force identified 31 potential release sites at Holloman. Two years later, in 2018, contractors tested five areas to determine if PFAS were present in soil, sediment, ground or surface water. PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a class of human-made chemicals, and include perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS).

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), health impacts from exposure to PFAS can include thyroid disorders, pregnancy-induced hypertension and preeclampsia, cancers, high cholesterol, increased liver enzymes, decreased vaccination response and reproductive and developmental complications.

The human health advisory—for a lifetime drinking water exposure to PFAS—is 70 parts per trillion, or 70 nanograms per liter.

Samples at Holloman were as high as 1.294 million parts per trillion.

[link to nmpoliticalreport.com]

Last Edited by Timur2020 on 02/04/2019 10:29 PM