Blood tests show highest levels of forever chemicals in those living near New Mexico plume

It’s a name that many people have trouble pronouncing, but these synthetic chemicals have been used in everything from fast food packaging to nonstick cookware, clothing, household cleaning products, and even firefighting foam.

PFAS – or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – resist decomposition and are therefore found in the drinking water, soil, air and bloodstreams of 99% of Americans.

This is certainly true for people who live or work near a plume of contamination that has seeped beyond the boundaries of Cannon Air Force Base, where PFAS-laden firefighting foam has been used for years.

New Mexico health and environmental officials conducted a $1.2 million testing project, drawing blood from nearly 630 people. They shared the results Thursday evening at a public meeting.

What did they find?

Research shows that 99.7% of participants had one or more PFAS in their blood, the most common being associated with firefighting foams.

While the percentage is not surprising given the overall prevalence of so-called perennial chemicals in the environment, officials said some residents living in the plume area had significantly higher concentrations than the broader testing group. About a quarter of them had levels reaching the highest concentration level used in national guidelines.

The findings suggest a correlation with groundwater contamination migrating from the base, state officials said.

New Mexico Environmental Secretary James Kenney said during the meeting that his agency would help the community in any way possible, but that the state was still locked in litigation with the U.S. Department of Defense over damage caused by the contamination.

At Cannon Air Force Base, state officials reported that PFAS had been detected in groundwater at concentrations of 26,200 parts per trillion, exceeding state and federal drinking water standards by more than 650,000 percent.

Cannon announced earlier this year that it has spent more than $73 million so far to investigate the problem and set up pilot projects to treat contaminated groundwater.

Kenney said it’s time for the federal government to move forward with cleanup outside the base.

“We need all of New Mexico to stand up and say we are done with this,” he said.

Health problems

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

In a report released in August, state officials said some chemicals can linger in the blood for several years after exposure. Research by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency also found that it can take weeks or even years for levels of many PFAS to drop by half in human blood, assuming exposure is not continuous.

It’s not easy to draw a clear line between exposure and health effects, said Tasha Stoiber, senior scientist for the Washington, D.C.-based Environmental Working Group.

“There are so many different factors that affect individual health outcomes and also affect the levels you’ll see in your blood,” she said, explaining that a person’s age, where they live, what they eat and drink, and where they work can all play a role.

According to slides shared with the public, testing in Curry County showed that PFAS levels tend to increase with age, that men had higher levels, and that those who had military or aviation careers had higher concentrations — all of which is consistent with national data.

A growing problem

Monitoring groups that track PFAS nationwide say contamination is more widespread than previously thought. They use data released by the EPA and states to compile maps showing locations across the country where drinking water systems are reporting levels higher than recommended. Contaminations have also been confirmed at hundreds of military bases across the country.

That includes a base in southern New Mexico, where state officials are embarking on another health survey to assess exposure in a nearby lake, where scientists have documented some of the highest levels of PFAS in the world’s wildlife and plants.

In Clovis, the crowd on Thursday was sparse but frank. They expressed frustration at the devaluation of properties and the threat to rural livelihoods due to contamination.

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

Regardless of the legal plan, some states have adopted their own PFAS rules while the scope of federal regulations has been narrowed. New Mexico hosted a webinar this week on a new state law that calls for phasing out and ultimately banning the sale of products containing intentionally added PFAS.

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