Blood tests will be made available to hundreds of residents and employees at a U.S. Air Force base in eastern New Mexico as state officials expand their investigation into contamination with a group of compounds known as “forever chemicals.” become.
The New Mexico Department of Environment announced Tuesday that it is seeking a contractor to conduct testing in the spring. The idea is to host two events in which up to 500 adult volunteers living within a few miles of Cannon Air Force Base will have a small amount of blood drawn and tested for PFAS.
Studies will also be conducted to determine the potential exposure of people living near the base.
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PFAS stands for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and has been linked to cancer and other health problems in humans. These are called “eternal chemicals” because they do not break down in the environment and remain in the bloodstream.
The chemicals have been detected at hundreds of military installations across the United States, and cleanup costs will run into the billions of dollars. New Mexico officials say contamination at Cannon Air Force Base and Holloman Air Force Base in southern New Mexico has already cost the state more than $8 million in site inspection, cleanup and litigation costs. .
The Air Force has spent more than $67 million to date in response to Cannon's PFAS contamination.
Amid growing concerns about PFAS contamination, an Air Force base in eastern New Mexico will make blood tests available to residents and employees.
State Environment Secretary James Kenney said PFAS chemicals are used in so many consumer products that most New Mexicans likely have some amount in their blood. People living near military bases may be at higher risk, he said.
“This data will help us quantify whether there is a greater risk and inform how we can better protect New Mexicans,” Kenney said in a statement.
In early 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency proposed the first federal regulations for permanent chemicals in drinking water, limiting them to the lowest levels that can be detected by testing. New Mexico previously petitioned authorities to treat PFAS as a hazardous substance.
New Mexico and the U.S. Department of Defense are at odds over responsibility for mitigating PFAS contamination at facilities including Cannon Air Force Base and Holloman Air Force Base.
Highland Dairy in Clovis near Cannon euthanized more than 3,000 cows in 2022 after PFAS contamination was confirmed in the herd and the milk it produced.
Canon officials held a meeting in November to update the public on the company's efforts. They are in the process of determining the nature and extent of contamination on and off base. The work includes soil and water samples as well as the installation of monitoring wells. There are also plans to eventually build a treatment facility.
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Last year, the New Mexico Department of the Environment also proposed testing private wells in the state for PFAS. Results from a sampling effort conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey showed that PFAS compounds were not detected in the majority of wells tested.
