BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - Cancer-causing chemicals used over the years at Scott Air Force Base in southern Illinois may have leaked into local water supplies, according to a report from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
The state’s EPA says an expanded site inspection is set to begin this summer for signs of the class of substances known collectively as PFAS, which are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they take thousands of years to degrade, the Belleville News-Democrat reported. The newspaper obtained the agency’s report through requesting records under the Freedom of Information Act.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said the Air Force contacted his office this month with preliminary details on the contamination at the base and his office has reached out to local elected officials to determine next steps.
In recent days, officials started contacting those potentially affected.
There is no reason for concern if a person uses tap water from a municipal supply, according to Col. Joseph R. Meyer, vice commander of the 375th Air Mobility Wing at Scott AFB.
However, people should worry if they live near the base and drink from a private well. The Air Force Civil Engineer Center is locating and contacting anyone who uses a well within one mile southeast of the base. The center’s officials have already identified five people who do so.
The Air Force will test well water for PFAS levels, Meyer said. The EPA considers levels below 70 parts per trillion, which equates to roughly a drop of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool, to be safe for consumption.
If tests of well water reveal PFAS levels above EPA standards, individuals who use those wells should immediately stop drinking the water. High levels can cause cancer and birth defects, among other health problems, the EPA said.
The Air Force will provide free bottles of water as it develops a long-term solution, Meyer said.
Durbin said he will push for federal regulation of PFAS. Scott officials plan to locate and contact individuals with private wells near the base.
The Air Force will send a survey to those individuals to inquire about how they use their wells. Depending on the response, the Air Force could test well water and pay for a permanent solution if it’s contaminated.
The base’s emergency vehicles are now equipped with a more “environmentally responsible” formula, according to Meyer.
“If we know something, we will say something,” Meyer said in a statement. “We owe it to our neighbors and surrounding communities to be open to discussion based on the facts at hand.”
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