Add Wurtsmith Air Force Base to contaminated military bases?

Michigan Air Force base water may have caused cancer
By: The Associated Press
August 12, 2018

The chemical was first found in the base's water in 1977, but drinking water wells could've been contaminated for many years before the discovery, according to the report. The Air Force installed a groundwater treatment system to clean up the trichloroethylene in the 1980s after being sued by Michigan.

The Wurtsmith Air Force Base grounds in Oscoda Township, Mich., two years ago. (Garret Ellison/MLive.com via AP)

OSCODA, Mich. — A federal health agency says contaminated drinking water might have caused cancer and other chronic disease among veterans and families who lived at a former northern Michigan military base.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry released last month a draft report about the Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda, Michigan, MLive.com reported. The report concluded that people who consumed or had skin contact with Wurtsmith water may be at an increased risk for cancer.

Extremely high levels of benzene and trichloroethylene were documented in the former B-52 bomber base’s water before its 1993 closure.

The report is based on long-term exposure over a period of years. The findings also note that even short-term exposure to trichloroethylene for pregnant mothers during the first trimester could lead to heart birth defects in their children.
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