Brown study finds young US military veterans have 13-24% higher PFAS blood levels than civilians
Researchers link elevated forever chemicals in younger veterans to firefighting foam, munitions, and contaminated groundwater at military bases.
What to know
- Young US military veterans (ages 20-39) have PFAS blood levels 13-24% higher than non-veterans, with 18% more exceeding health monitoring thresholds; about 13 million veterans in this age group are above recommended screening levels.
- PFAS exposure sources include firefighting foams used at military bases, munitions, and contaminated groundwater—chemical compounds that take years for the body to excrete and are linked to cancer, kidney disease, and immune disorders.
- Despite widespread PFAS contamination at over 720 military bases, service members' blood levels are not regularly tracked; researchers recommend male veterans aged 20-39 seek PFAS testing and government-provided monitoring for all veterans.
Military base PFAS contamination levels are exceptionally high compared to other industrial sources.
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“I rarely if ever see PFAS levels from industrial contamination in groundwater that are comparable to the levels around military bases.”
Carbonatite · Reddit ↗
Christian Hoover Lead study author, Brown University epidemiology fellowJoseph Braun Study co-author, Brown University epidemiology professorBrown University School of Public Health Research institution
How it unfolded 2 developments, newest first · click a bar or a number to jump articlespostscomments
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Guardian reports military bases show among highest PFAS pollution levels in US
The Guardian reports that groundwater, surface water, and soil around military bases contain among the highest PFAS pollution levels in the US, with detected levels as high as 1.1 million parts per trillion. About 13 million (58%) of all US veterans aged 20-39 currently exceed the health monitoring threshold, despite service members' blood levels not being regularly tracked.
“There is some amount of urgency here, and my hope is that this might accelerate the conversations that the government might have about providing [Pfas health monitoring] to all veterans.”
— Christian Hoover -
first by The Guardian, 5d ago · also Guardian
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Many US military veterans have much higher levels of Pfas “forever chemicals” in their blood than non-veterans, new peer-reviewed research finds, raising more questions about health risks the nation’s service members face after serving at polluted bases. https://www. theguardian.com/environment/20 26/sep/18/pfas-veterans-blood-forever-chemicals
1 more of the top 2 · 2 posts in this stretch
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Yeah, it's a very strong correlation. I'm an environmental chemist who has worked on PFAS sites and I rarely if ever see PFAS levels from industrial contamination in groundwater that are comparable to the levels around military bases.
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- 3 days quiet
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Study identifies PFAS sources: firefighting foam, munitions, groundwater contamination
Researchers identified potential PFAS exposure sources including firefighting foams deployed during military training and emergencies, munitions, and contaminated groundwater at military bases. The age concentration among younger veterans is attributed to recent acute exposure during active service, as PFAS compounds like PFOA have half-lives of 1.5-2 years and require 10 years for the body to fully excrete them.
“If someone drank a jar of PFOA today, it would take 10 years for their body to get rid of it.”
— Joseph Braun -
background
Brown University researchers find elevated PFAS in younger veterans — A Brown University-led analysis of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 2003-2018 identifies that US military veterans aged 20-39 have PFAS levels 13-24% higher than non-veterans, with 18% more likely to exceed the 20 ng/mL monitoring threshold. The study examined an estimated 22.8 million veterans and is the first to directly compare blood PFAS levels between veterans and civilians.