Cost to get chemical out of groundwater on and near military bases will likely surpass original $2 billion estimate

"Military leaders said Thursday that 'forever chemical' contamination costs are likely to surpass their original $2 billion estimate as Congress works to push the Department of Defense to clean up contaminated water across the country," Rebecca Beitsch reports for The Hill.

PFAs (the collective name for per- and poly-fluoroalkyls) have been found in hundreds of drinking-water sources in 43 states, especially near military bases and other places that use fire-fighting foam. The chemicals, which are used in everything from nonstick cookware to raincoats, have been linked to serious health problems including birth defects, cancers, infertility and weakened immune systems in children, and they've been dubbed 'forever chemicals' because it likes to stick around in the environment and in the human body, Beitsch reports. According to a recent estimate, more than 19 million Americans have been exposed to water contaminated with PFAs.

The Pentagon has provided filters or bottled water to 24 military sites where PFA levels were higher than 70 parts per trillion, which is the Environmental Protection Agency's recommended maximum exposure level, but there are still 401 other military sites with lower levels of PFAs in the water. The amount of PFA exposure one can safely face is under debate; the pro-regulation Environmental Working Group argues that even one part per trillion could be harmful.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are concerned about "how DOD will take responsibility for nearby communities whose water supply has been tainted at least in part by the military’s use of products containing PFAS," Beitsch reports. "The House and Senate are preparing for a conference committee on the National Defense Authorization Act this month, and both versions of the bill push for greater military response to clean up PFAs that spread from military installations to nearby communities."