Mark Favors was born and raised in Colorado Springs in what he describes as a “big, loving, and close-knit family.” Over the years, at least 10 family members, including his father, died of cancer. Favors believes their deaths resulted from years of exposure to hazardous chemical compounds called PFAS, which the nearby Peterson Air Force Base dumped into Fountain Creek, the community’s drinking water source, for decades.
“What made them think that this was OK is beyond me,” Favors said. “People have a right to clean water, and they shouldn’t be poisoned against their knowledge.”
Now living in New York, Favors says he didn’t “put two and two together” until last year, when he started doing research on the United States Air Force and PFAS contamination. While learning that his family’s high incidence of cancer, including breast cancer and kidney cancer, is likely linked to ingesting toxic chemicals was shocking, he felt some relief as well. “It finally makes sense,” he said.
Now Favors is speaking out in an attempt to hold the Air Force accountable. In March, he testified before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
While his family story is extreme, Favors isn’t alone. Across the West, the Air Force has been contaminating community drinking water since it began using PFAS in firefighting foams in the 1960s. According to the Environmental Working Group, PFAS contamination is present at dozens of Air Force installations across the West, including Cannon Air Force Base in New Mexico, Hill Air Force Base in Utah, Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, and Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington.
PFAS, short for polyfluoroalkyl substances, constitute a group of more than 4,000 industrial chemicals. Recent studies have linked certain PFAS compounds with immune system suppression, and liver and kidney problems. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, exposure to PFAS can cause an increased risk of cancer, fertility problems in women, interference with the body’s natural hormones, and increased cholesterol.
Although PFAS compounds have been produced for more than 60 years, information about their adverse health effects have only popped up in the last decade or so. Moreover, a 2018 study in Environmental Health states that early studies on human exposure and toxicity were not released to the public until after 2000, and the first PFAS risk assessments ignored these reports.
Peterson Air Force Base admitted to dumping PFAS chemicals into Fountain Creek from at least 1990 until 2016. This came after several Air Force studies in the 1980s found that the chemicals were toxic.
In March 2016, the Air Force released a fact sheet pledging to assess sites across the country and to “take immediate action to ensure people have water to drink … and begin action to address the contamination sources.” The same fact sheet states: “When missions have an adverse impact on communities, our priority is to restore health and safety. The Air Force has a proven track record of resolving contamination issues at active and closed bases.”
An Air Force representative did not respond to requests for comment.
Public health advocates and some politicians believe the Air Force is not doing enough to make good on its promises. In May, New Mexico Attorney General Hector Balderas demanded the Air Force shut down a public lake near Holloman Air Force Base, where he said water sampling showed PFAS presence at “dozens of times higher than federal health advisory levels,” according to a letter obtained by the Associated Press. The state followed up with a preliminary injunction in federal court this July for the Air Force to provide emergency relief on and around Holloman and Cannon Air Force bases.
Meanwhile, in Albuquerque, Kirtland Air Force Base is receiving criticism — and threats of legal action — from several local groups for another type of water contamination. Here, a decades-old jet fuel leak is slowly making its way toward neighboring community drinking wells. In late May, the Southwest Organizing Project, New Mexico Environmental Law Center, and New Mexico Voices for Children sent Kirtland an intent to sue, demanding more transparency and a clear timeline for the cleanup.
Though the leak was discovered in 1999, and is not believed to have contaminated any city drinking water thus far, the plume of contamination extends about a mile and is difficult to track exactly, according to Charles de Saillan, staff attorney at the New Mexico Environmental Law Center. The Environmental Protection Agency says ethylene dibromide found in jet fuel is toxic to the liver, kidney, and reproductive organs.
De Saillan said while PFAS and jet fuel are different examples of contamination, there is a consistent source. “I think there has been a problem with the Air Force in that environmental issues and cleanup has not been a priority,” he said. “Certainly, at Kirtland, the Air Force has been dragging its feet for years.”
Eva Blaylock, a spokesperson for Kirtland Air Force Base, disputed that claim. “Kirtland is very much dedicated to this cleanup,” she said. To date, the Air Force has devoted $125 million to soil and water cleanup around the site, and in 2015 installed a pump and treat system to prevent contamination from spreading outside of the base and into Albuquerque’s drinking wells.
According to a July article in the Albuquerque Journal, the Air Force reported 668 million gallons of groundwater have passed through the pump and treat system as of June 30, reducing approximately 86 percent of the mass of EDB in the contaminated groundwater plume. “While this may appear to be a very small amount of EDB, it reflects the low concentrations in the plume,” the Air Force told the Journal.
Still, the Albuquerque Water Authority expressed concern about an apparent “slow down” in activities and the lack of a cleanup timeline. One of the demands in the environmental groups’ intent-to-sue letter is that Kirtland offer “more opportunity for public involvement in the cleanup process.”
Baylock noted the opportunity for community members to attend stakeholder meetings and view quarterly reports online. “Keep in mind, we are going above and beyond what is required,” she said.
However, Douglas Meiklejohn, executive director of New Mexico Environmental Law Center, said those meetings aren’t as engaging as they should be. “Our impression is that these meetings don’t involve any meaningful give and take. There’s no real dialogue with this community.”
Lawyers with the environmental groups would like to see a consent decree or other court order that would establish a schedule with clear deadlines for the Air Force to follow. “There’s no accountability,” de Saillan said. “It’s not structured at all.”
Favors, who feels the effects of the contamination personally, hopes that the Air Force will be subject to Congressional supervision, and would like to see an independent investigation into PFAS contamination. “I think the message is, they’re not above the law,” he said. “They do have to have oversight.”
