The federal government has approved a pilot study at a former military base to look at the health implications for those who may have been exposed to potentially toxic chemical in the drinking water.
The Air Force has agreed to reimburse $4.9 million to the city of Martinsburg, West Virginia, for expenses related to the 2016 cleanup of hazardous chemicals from the city’s water supply.
Cleaning up and protecting U.S. drinking water from a class of toxic chemicals used in many household items could cost in the tens of billions of dollars nationally, including $2 billion for the Department of Defense alone, witnesses testified Wednesday before a House panel urging the federal government to move more quickly on the cleanup.
Chemicals associated with firefighting foam once used at a U.S. Air Force base in eastern New Mexico have been detected in groundwater on and near the military installation, prompting requests by state officials for more tests and a study to determine the extent of the toxic plume.
Tests performed by environmental regulators show contamination flowing from Selfridge Air National Guard Base into the Clinton River and Lake St. Clair.
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