Hanscom Air Force Base is an Air Force base located in Bedford, Massachusetts, and is the headquarters for the Massachusetts National Guard. Hanscom AFB also hosts non-military activities, including firefighting training that may use aqueous film-forming foams (AFFFs), which have been mentioned earlier to contain PFAS [1].
To summarize what has been presented in previous posts, Air Force bases are commonly a source of PFAS pollution, because they host firefighting training that uses AFFFs, a type of firefighting agent that ends up seeping into the ground and polluting groundwater. [2]
Because governments do not understand where PFAS comes from, especially in environments hundreds of miles away from chemical plants, it is important that we investigate where PFAS can potentially come from.
From personal investigation, it seems that Hanscom AFB could be a major source of PFAS pollution in Massachusetts, aside from chemical manufacturing factories. PFAS levels near military facilities can reach micrograms per liter, which are a thousand times above safe levels. Further worrying is the lack of evidence surrounding PFAS pollution in Hanscom AFB, especially when they may use AFFFs. Their 2020 Water Quality Report does not feature coverage of PFAS [3].
If PFAS pollution is not being investigated around Hanscom, even if they have phased out the use of AFFFs, then it poses a serious risk to the health of people in New England. It is a horrible oversight to ignore a major potential source of so-called “forever chemicals” that are increasingly being perceived as a threat to public health.
Sources
[1] https://www.hanscom.af.mil/News/Photos/igphoto/2002734894/
[2] https://www.mass.gov/info-details/per-and-polyfluoroalkyl-substances-pfas
[3] https://www.hanscom.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/2676576/2020-annual-drinking-water-quality-report/
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