Across the nation, communities are scrambling to reduce chemicals in their water distribution systems linked to health problems — Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
Many sources of these chemicals have developed over the years, from manufacturing to firefighter training. Some of the most highly concentrated sources of PFAS in the U.S. can be found on military installations.
In the Dayton region, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base is working to mitigate PFAS exposure in and around the base. Here's what WYSO has learned about what progress is being made there.
What are PFAS, and why does Wright-Patterson have it on its base?
PFAS are manmade compounds that persist in the environment for a long time, earning them the nickname “forever chemicals.” After decades of industrial applications, research now links them to certain cancers, increased infertility and other health risks.
Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, finalized a regulation that sets enforceable Maximum Contaminant Levels allowed in public drinking water systems. Water distributors have until 2029 to bring PFAS levels into compliance.
Soon after, the U.S. EPA added two PFAS chemicals to the list of hazardous substances under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, also known as CERCLA or the Superfund law. This action helps to integrate some PFAS remediation into long-term contamination cleanup across the country and ensure polluters bear the cost of remediation efforts.
The concern is people living on or around the base, like the city of Dayton, could be affected by PFAS contamination if it’s not removed from the environment or water.
The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit focused on environmental health, found PFAS contamination in over 600 military installations across the country.
“The primary source of PFAS (on military bases) is going to be from the decades of use of a firefighting foam known as AFFF (aqueous film forming foam) that is made with PFAS chemicals and has been used to put out jet fuel and airplane fires since the 1970s, (and) was required to be used on base,” Jared Hayes with EWG explained. “This was sprayed on tarmacs in training exercises. And has leached into the groundwater and the soil over that time.”
The base no longer uses PFAS-containing AFFF, but it has to deal with the consequences of its historic use of this foam.
Wright-Patterson has been on the U.S. EPA’s National Priorities List — also referred to as Superfund sites — since the 1980s in order to identify long-term cleanup plans. But Hayes said not one of the more than 600 bases with PFAS contamination have entered the formal cleanup stage of the Superfund process.
“Even though the Pentagon has known about this contamination crisis for years, we're still in some of the early stages of the cleanup process,” Hayes said. “And community members aren't always aware of how the cleanup process works, what the contamination looks like, where the contamination is flowing to.”
U.S. EPA deemed Wright-Patt’s contaminated groundwater no longer 'under control'
In December 2024, the U.S. EPA’s remedial project manager overseeing work at Wright Patterson, Syed Quadri, sent a letter to the base remedial project manager John Crocker, informing him that the EPA changed the base’s environmental indicator statuses, no longer considering human health exposure and groundwater migration “under control.”
“This is due to the presence of measured perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS) concentrations in groundwater, currently being provided to the Area B public water systems,” the December 2024 letter reads. “These concentrations are above the newly enforceable Final Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (NPDWR) Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs).”
The letter also states that groundwater monitoring wells beyond the base boundary are above drinking water MCLs. In an emailed response from an EPA spokesperson, the groundwater is used to evaluate current or future risks to human health or the environment.
“Even if current drinking water is safe due to treatment or alternative water sources, untreated groundwater can still be a risk if used for private wells, irrigation, or if it discharges to surface water or ecological receptors. The EI is a tool for evaluating whether groundwater plume migration is ‘under control,’ which requires assessing the groundwater directly, regardless of current treatment outcomes,” wrote an EPA spokesperson in an email.
Officials from Wright-Patterson declined an interview request with WYSO, but they responded to questions over email. In a statement, they said the change in environmental indicator status is due to stricter limits for PFAS in drinking water, not because the base has changed its cleanup efforts.
“The stricter regulations highlighted the need for continued and potentially accelerated cleanup efforts but didn't fundamentally change the existing plan,” the base’s statement says.
Recent results show PFAS levels above upcoming drinking water standards
In January, the base posted PFAS test results of its finished drinking water from samples taken in 2023, some of which indicate ongoing exposure to service members.
Two of its three water treatment plants, one in Area A and one in Area B, had levels exceeding upcoming maximum contaminant levels. The plant in Area A exceeded levels for one chemical, PFOS. The Area B plant exceeded levels for three of the six regulated PFAS compounds.
Hayes said this means that the base will need to take steps to lower levels by the time the regulations go into effect in 2029 — but there are other implications, too.
“What it also means is that for a long time, service members and their families living on base have been exposed to these high levels of PFAS in their drinking water that are being consumed every day. And we don't know how long they've been in the drinking water,” he said.
Area A houses spaces like the military family housing areas, the medical center and the 88th Air Base wing headquarters. Area B consists of the National Museum of the Air Force, Air Force Research laboratory and other research, development and education spaces.
What to expect from PFAS remediation on WPAFB moving forward
Over the past decade, the base has taken steps to reduce PFAS pollution, and soon, measures of the effectiveness of these efforts will be available.
In December of this year, the U.S. EPA will publish a five-year environmental review of active remedial efforts on the base. The last review was published in 2020.
“The goal of the review is to ensure that the selected remedies remain protective of human health and the environment,” an EPA spokesperson says in an email. ”Issues identified during the technical assessment and other five-year review activities (e.g., site inspection) will be utilized to determine whether additional actions or modifications to the remedy may be recommended to ensure long-term protectiveness.”
To date, base officials say Wright-Patt has spent $61.9 million to respond to its PFAS contamination. In addition to quarterly PFAS testing on groundwater and monthly on drinking water, the base has installed 291 monitoring wells to track the contamination over time.
According to a Department of Defense report acquired by WYSO, the remedial investigation at Wright-Patterson is expected to be completed by 2026. But there are still several years before a design and remedial approach will be reached.
Most recently, the base has installed two treatment systems to reduce migration of PFAS off base, wrote a Wright-Patterson spokesperson in an email.
“In Area B of the base, the AFFF Area 1 treatment system has been treating water since January 2024. The system intercepts shallow contaminated groundwater and surface water and treats it before it is released off base at outfall 1 near the Mad River. To date the system has treated 13.5 million gallons of contaminated water,” the statement says.
A similar system in Area A was recently constructed, with full-time automated operations expected in the coming weeks.
Wright-Patt continues to comply with EPA clean-up requirements
An EPA spokesperson wrote in an email that Wright-Patterson complies with Superfund program requirements, but also “has taken several steps that go beyond standard requirements in certain areas including PFAS investigation and mitigation.”
“…between 2015 and 2024, the Air Force spent more than $61 million on PFAS investigation related projects, highlighting WPAFB as a priority site for the Department of Defense and Air Force,” an agency spokesperson says.
Representatives from the U.S. EPA, Air Force, Ohio EPA and the city of Dayton hold monthly meetings, which “have resulted in the Air Force and the city developing plans to address PFAS contamination migrating from WPAFB toward the city’s public water treatment system,” the spokesperson wrote.
In an emailed statement, an Wright-Patterson spokesperson says: “The Air Force is committed to protecting our Airmen, Guardians, their families and the communities we serve. We will:1) incorporate the new limits into the cleanup plan, 2) review existing data and conduct additional sampling, and 3) continue ongoing and planned projects to treat and contain PFAS.”
But the future of current PFAS MCL’s is uncertain
On Wednesday, the U.S. EPA, under new Administrator Lee Zeldin, shared a statement that the agency plans to rescind maximum contaminant levels for four of the six regulated PFAS compounds while keeping limits for two of them, PFOA and PFOS.
The agency explained in its statement that it’s still “committed to addressing Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water while following the law and ensuring that regulatory compliance is achievable for drinking water systems.”
The agency also plans to push back the compliance deadline from 2029 to 2031. The repeal of these limits is not yet official; the earliest this new rule can go into effect is 2026.
