New Mexico sues US air force over PFAS pollution from military base
The state of New Mexico is suing the US air force over its refusal to comply with orders to address extremely high levels of Pfas pollution stemming from its base, which has tainted drinking water for tens of thousands of people, damaged crops and poisoned dairy cows. Though the military acknowledges Pfas-laden firefighting foam from Cannon air force base is the source of a four mile chemical plume in the aquifer below Clovis, New Mexico, it has refused to comply with most state orders to address the issue. … In 2018, Cannon’s Pfas was found to have poisoned drinking water for over 100 private wells, and has so far taken out one municipal well that serves Clovis, a city of 40,000 people. Levels found in surface water were about 27,000 times higher than US Environmental Protection Agency drinking water limits. … The air force has refused to pay a $70,000 state fine.
Other PFAS and microplastics news:
- The Colorado Sun (Denver): Photos: Deconstructing “forever chemicals” at Colorado’s Space Force base
- The New York Times: Tons of invisible plastic pieces lurk in ocean water
- The Engineer: Coastal sewage may be hidden source of airborne microplastics