Editor’s Note:
Pat Elder (Elder), an investigative reporter and director of the website Military Poisons, told the Global Times (GT) that toxic “forever chemicals,” known as PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are flowing from US military bases across the US and in other countries where US bases are stationed and that they are contaminating the local environment and putting people’s lives at risk. Elder has been investigating US military base contamination domestically and internationally for years. In an interview with GT reporter Wang Wenwen in her I-Talk show, Elder shared his findings.
GT: In recent years, you have dedicated yourself to investigating contamination at US military bases, both domestically and internationally. What prompted you to start looking into this issue? What harm does it cause?
Elder: In 2017, I attended a conference in Kaiserslautern, Germany, about military contamination. One of the panelists spoke about firefighting foam containing PFAS, a class of chemicals, that are probably carcinogenic and never break down. After the conference, I read a story in Military Times. The article was about why women were told “Don’t get pregnant at George Air Force Base.” Three hundred woman reported horrible problems like, “I was at George Air Force Base. I drank the water. I had a miscarriage, a stillbirth, and my child is mentally retarded.” They think it was because of the PFAS. Since then, I’ve just been reading and writing about PFAS.
The harm caused by this contaminant is terrible. PFAS exposure lowers your ability to fight disease. It affects different people in different ways. This is a global issue.
We use social media to reach out to people, asking if they were involved in certain military occupational specialties (MOS). Certain MOS roles are known to increase cancer risks. If you served in the military and did specific tasks, you’re likely to develop cancer or become seriously ill. We’re talking about tens of thousands of people.
GT: You have particularly looked into the military contamination at US bases in Japan. What did you find? What has been the reaction of the locals?
Elder: In Misawa, we found a pond that drains runoff from the Misawa Air Base. When we tested the water, we found 1,400 parts per trillion (ppt) of PFOS, a type of PFAS. In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommends drinking water has no more than 4 ppt of PFOS. In Japan, the limit is 50 ppt for both drinking water and river water. PFOS are especially significant because it bioaccumulates in aquatic life.
According to the EPA, fish can bioaccumulate PFOS at levels up to 4,000 times the concentration found in the water. For example, if a water sample shows 10 ppt of PFOS, the fish in that area might have 40,000 ppt in their flesh. In Misawa, the stream we tested leads to a fishing lake where locals fish. With 1,400 ppt of PFOS in the water, the fish are clearly at risk, even without testing them directly. That’s the reality we’re dealing with.
In Japan, people say, “It’s just not fair. We’re not allowed on the bases, and they’re picking on us. We’re like colonial subjects here in Japan, and the Americans are contaminating our water, poisoning us. There’s nothing we can do.”
GT: When you did your investigations, what obstacles did you face?
Elder: In Japan, the obstacles were numerous. I carried out testing and gave talks in 14 cities, and my message was clear: The US military is poisoning your water, your fish and your food. When I was getting ready to leave and head back to the US, I was at Osaka airport. As I was waiting to board, they called my name and I had to go to a special room. They told me they needed to examine me for explosives. This had also happened to me in Ireland seven years ago, after I had been speaking in Germany about the same issues. The airport security told me it was a random check, but it didn’t feel random.
Another thing is, when I go to these bases, I talk to farmers, and get permission to access their property. I walk through the woods, and then I’d come across a large fence with barbed wire, electric wiring, and signs that say, “If you come inside this fence, we can shoot you.” I just wanted to take environmental samples and test the water. It’s not really worth getting shot, so I stayed outside the bases. It was threatening in that regard.
Also, after I published a story about the Navy in August, I was no longer able to access Navy environmental sites, and I still can’t today. They are apparently reading my IP address and blocking me.
GT: In a recent article, you said the US Navy has contaminated your blood. Could you provide more details? We rarely see reports on PFAS in the mainstream media in the US and Japan. Why?
Elder: Almost five years ago, I tested the water in my backyard. I live by the beach on Chesapeake Bay, and about 600 meters across the water is a Navy base where they use firefighting foam. The foam washes up on my beach every day, but at the time, I didn’t know it was carcinogenic. I ate a lot of oysters, crabs and fish. That’s how I ended up with high levels of PFAS in my blood.
I sent the story to the Washington Post, the New York Times and the Baltimore Sun. No one paid attention. I even gave them the scientific report. Only one outlet, Bay Journal, picked it up, and the reporter interviewed an official from Maryland’s Department of the Environment. The quote from the Maryland official was: “If there is any PFAS in the water, it’s probably from a landfill or a municipal firehouse.”
Well, the landfill is 11 miles away, nowhere near the water. The firehouse is 5 miles away, also nowhere near the water. The US Navy, however, is only 600 meters away, and it’s well-documented that they used firefighting foam there for years. So, the state was clearly covering for the Navy.
I see the same thing in every nation: Japan, South Korea, Germany. Two years ago, very few people outside of experts with PhDs in universities had even heard of PFAS in Japan. The US has absolute control over Japan – not just militarily, but culturally as well. It seems that the US government has been able to control the thought by controlling the media. The media doesn’t report on it, so people remain unaware.
GT: Victims of PFAS in the US and abroad are struggling to seek compensation from the US military. Why do you think it is that difficult to get justice?
Elder: The US military is deeply concerned with liability. An F-35 fighter jet costs about $90 million to $100 million. Many of the ballistic missiles they’re setting up in Japan, pointed at China, also cost millions of dollars, and the stockpiling of those missiles costs billions.
If they start seriously addressing all the issues – liver cancer, kidney cancer, uterine cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid cancer – and begin to earnestly care for all the service members in the US military and the communities they’ve poisoned, then they won’t have enough money left to build the missiles they are setting up which are pointed at China. Do you think it’s any more difficult or complicated than that? They don’t want to maximize the issue. They want to save face. These guys are masters of propaganda.
Ma Ruiqian and Wang Zixuan contributed to this story
