Pentagon watchdog to examine the military’s PFAS use

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Among the questions the inspector general’s office may address are what the Pentagon knew about the dangers posed by the chemicals, how well the military has communicated those risks to service members and how quickly it plans to phase out their use.

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon’s inspector general is examining the military’s use of a dangerous but ubiquitous class of man-made chemicals that has leached into the drinking water of millions of Americans, including many living near military bases across the country.

The compounds — known as polyfluoroalkyl and perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS — have for years been used in specialized firefighting foams on military bases, including Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.

Now the military’s watchdog agency will assess the legacy of using those chemicals. Among the questions the inspector general’s office may address are what the Pentagon knew about the dangers posed by the chemicals, how well the military has communicated those risks to service members and how quickly it plans to phase out their use.

“There may have been an awareness of the dangers of PFAS as threatening to human health long before the Department of Defense decided to do anything about it, and I think that’s fundamentally problematic,” Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said in an interview. “The mission of the Defense Department is to protect Americans.”