Alarming levels of Pfas in blood of those living near US air force base, study finds | New Mexico
New research shows that alarming levels of PFAS in the blood of people living or working near an American air base responsible for drinking water pollution with high levels of dangerous “chemicals”, has revealed a new regulatory report of the state.
The levels are sufficiently high in those who lived and worked near the base of Cannon Air Force in the County of Curry to raise health problems – about 10 times above the levels of those of the region which did not work in the contaminated area. Pollution comes from a type of fire fighting foam loaded with PFAS that soldiers used across the country, and the types of compounds found at high levels in the participants were also commonly used in foam.
“The results have put sorrow in hard acts,” said James Kenney, secretary of the New Mexico environment department. “This proof of the damage that the Air Force has made to its neighbors is a call to action to immediately tackle its plume of toxic and long -neglected PFAS which continues to exhibit the families of County Curry.”
PFAs are a class of around 15,000 compounds most frequently used to make products with water, coloring and fat. Chemicals have been linked to cancer, congenital malformations, a decrease in immunity, high cholesterol, kidney disease and a range of other serious health problems. They are nicknamed “forever chemicals” because they do not decompose naturally in the environment.
APFs are a common ingredient in fire fighting foam, and the army is soaring it because the highly toxic substance has largely contaminated water and the environment around more than 700 bases on a national scale. However, the blood rates of neighboring residents are not regularly monitored.
The state of the New Mexico continues the Air Force to force it to tackle more quickly and carefully to tackle its pollution in the region. He poisoned at least 100 private wells and a public well for Clovis, a neighboring city of nearly 40,000 people.
The levels found in surface waters were approximately 27,000 times higher than the drinking water limits of the Environmental Protection Agency, and polluted water is used on cultivated land, which raises questions about the safety of these products. Local dairy producers in 2018 were forced to euthanize about 3,500 cows that had contaminated milk.
“What happened here in the county of Curry, in New Mexico, can happen in any city in the United States, so we should all be careful because it is your water and your family then,” said Kenney.
About 99% of the 628 blood samples tested had PFAs, but the four most frequently detected compounds were those commonly used in fire fighting foam.
Although the US government estimates that around 99% of people have APFs in their blood, those who live and working in the panache area have shown much higher levels in general. About 26% were in the highest level for the PFAS blood rates on a national scale.
People who lived or worked in the panache area showed PFHX levels, a common PFAS compound used in foam, at more than three times the estimated American average.
The Air Force said that it had not examined the data, but stressed that it was taking several measures to deal with pollution, including the installation of a water treatment system.
Blood levels are similar to several other areas contaminated by fire -fighting foam, said David Andrews, director of sciences for the non -profit environmental working group, which follows foam and military pollution. Blood levels are worrying, he added.
“Certainly with higher concentrations, there is greater concern for health impacts,” said Andrews. Those who have higher levels should speak with their doctor and consult the US National Academies advice on high PFAS level health risks, Andrews added.
