New Mexico Officials Report High Rate Of ‘Forever Chemicals’ In Residents Near Air Base

Authored by Michael Clements via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

New Mexico state officials on Oct. 23 presented the results of a $1.2 million project to test the blood of people living near Cannon Air Force Base for forever chemicals during a public meeting in Clovis, New Mexico.

The tests found one or more forever chemicals—perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—in the blood of 99.7 percent of people tested. At least one of 16 PFAS chemicals was found across all 628 samples tested, and the most common were those found in firefighting foam.

According to the report, the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force did not participate in the testing program.

For more than 80 years, PFAS have been ubiquitous in the United States and around the world.

The family of more than 14,000 chemicals is used in stain- and water-repellent fabrics, nonstick cookware, food packaging, and firefighting foams because they resist heat, oils, stains, and water.

However, they are also almost impossible to destroy and have contaminated the water, soil, and air where they have been manufactured and used. As a result, they are now present in the bloodstreams of 99 percent of Americans, according to government officials.

A 2016 study from the Department of Health and Human Services found evidence that the PFAS family could disrupt the immune system.

Among the PFAS, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate) have received special mention.

“The evidence that these chemicals affect multiple aspects of the immune system supports the overall conclusion that both PFOA and PFOS alter immune functions in humans,” the department’s website states.

Exposure to PFAS has also been linked to increased cholesterol, small decreases in birth weight, kidney and testicular cancer, and changes in liver enzymes.

According to state health officials, some of the chemicals can linger in the blood for several years after exposure. Research from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has found that it can take weeks to years for levels of many PFAS to decrease by half in human blood, assuming exposure isn’t ongoing.

Contamination at Cannon Air Force Base

Because of the military use of firefighting foam, areas around places such as Cannon Air Force Base in Clovis, New Mexico, are heavily contaminated.

At Cannon Air Force Base, state officials reported that PFAS have been detected in groundwater at concentrations of 26,200 parts per trillion.

In a 2024 white paper, the Environmental Council of States reported that the EPA set enforceable drinking water standards for only five PFAS chemicals.

“At this time, the U.S. has no federally enforceable PFAS standards for other PFAS or for these PFAS in other environmental media, leaving individual states to navigate various avenues for addressing contamination,” the paper said.

The EPA’s legally enforceable levels for PFOA and PFOS are 4 parts per trillion.

James Kenney, secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department, said that the state has sued the federal government to pay the long-term cleanup costs. He called on those present at the meeting to speak up as well.

John Wilhelmi, vice president of the Eastern Research Group, which carried out the blood testing program, told those at the Clovis meeting that the presence of PFAS doesn’t guarantee health problems.

“It doesn’t mean you will automatically get these diseases or conditions,” he said. “It just means that, out of an abundance of caution, you are recommended to be screened for this.”

The blood tests showed that PFAS levels tend to increase with age, that males have higher levels, and that those who have military or aviation careers have higher concentrations—all issues consistent with national data, according to information presented on Oct. 23.

Watchdog groups that track PFAS nationwide use EPA and state data to compile maps showing spots across the country where drinking water systems report levels above what’s recommended. Contamination has also been confirmed at hundreds of military bases across the country.

State Support

Kenney, secretary of the New Mexico Environment Department, told those gathered in Clovis that blood testing was only a first step in the state’s plan to address PFAS. He said the state has dedicated $12 million to EPCOR, a Canadian utilities company that provides services to Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, to pay to connect residents of rural Curry County to its water lines.

Kenney said the funds should cover all costs of transferring rural residents from contaminated private water wells to a new public drinking water supply that will not be in contact with the contaminated lands.

“We hope it turns out to be a zero-cost proposition to you,” Kenney said at the gathering.

Earlier this week, New Mexico hosted a webinar on HB 212, a new law meant to eventually ban products made with PFAS from the state.

New Mexico is among hundreds of plaintiffs that are part of multi-district litigation in a South Carolina federal court that aims to hold producers and users of PFAS-laden firefighting foam accountable for contamination at sites across the country.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.