NAVFAC Pacific announced nearly a billion dollars in new project awards today, mostly for Guam. The $990 million in multiple award construction contracts is funded by the government of Japan as part o
Are California Wildfires Worsening The Water Contamination At Military Bases?
By Miguel Leyva
Sixty-two. This is the number of California military facilities with a known or suspected per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) release, according to the California State Water Resources Control Board.
Among the PFAS chemical family that includes thousands of substances PFOS and PFOA are the two most notorious members. These substances have been linked to several types of cancer, thyroid disease, and weakened childhood immunity at fairly low doses (measured in parts per trillion). PFOS and PFOA were traced to the firefighting foam (AFFF) that was used for tens of years at military facilities and contaminated the water resources on the bases and in surrounding communities. The chemicals from firefighting foam stay and spread in the environment for decades, even centuries, and have become a major contributor to drinking water contamination across the country.
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif.
Camp Pendleton Fire Department and Cal Fire worked together to fight the Creek Fire that blazed in Fallbrook and the installation beginning Thursday, December 24.
By Saturday evening, the fire was 90 percent contained and over 4,200 acres. The fire initially posed a threat to eastern areas of base. However, through firefighting strategies of back burns and control lines, by 5 p.m. on December 24, the fire no longer posed any threat to structures.
Residents living in the Lake O’Neill Campground, O’Neill Heights, Wounded Warrior Battalion, and De Luz base housing areas were ordered to evacuate early Thursday morning. They gathered at Paige Fieldhouse where they awaited updates and heard from Brig. Gen. Dan Conley, commanding general of Marine Corps Installations West, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
Editor’s note: This story is No. 5 in a series looking at the top 10 stories of 2020 for The Daily News, counting down from 10 to 1 from Dec. 23 to Jan. 1.
In September a team of four law firms filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina suing eight limited liability companies involved in owning and managing privatized base housing on Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
Lendlease, Atlantic Marine Corps Communities (AMCC) and Winn Management Group are among the companies involved in the lawsuit filed on behalf of three Marine families, all of which have young children and claim to have been adversely affected by housing conditions on base.