For years testing has shown water underneath Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in the Pinelands contains toxic cancer-causing chemicals sometimes hundreds of times higher than state standards and federal health warnings it's the result of contamination from firefighting Foams used for decades during emergencies and drills on the base but the forever chemicals also spread to groundwater in the surrounding communities last week those neighbors were invited to an open house to share concerns ask questions about what's being done and how it could affect their health Ted Goldberg reports it's nice to be feel safe living next to the bases always makes a person feel safe but at the same time something like this it's kind of uh it's a catch 22 isn't it that catch 22 being people who live near Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst may have been exposed to cancer-causing chemicals for decades an open house hosted by the Air Force civil engineer Center in Pemberton last week try to answer questions from people ranging from Curious to concerned do I have people that I love that are very nearer to me that are sick right now with big illnesses yes do we know why I don't know yeah nobody seems to know but I saw some things on the boards today that were concerning what what stood out to you um thyroid cancer kidney cancer my husband had has uh had run-ins with them I have a dog um he's 12 years old he has a large tumor I mean he's been drinking the the tap water you know since he was a puppy you know can't say that that contributed to it but you know obviously you know if something like that happens you know who knows what's going to happen to us for decades the military has used a special foam to fight fires on base and that foam contained two types of peas or forever chemicals which leeched into the public water supply the CDC has connected those chemicals to cancers birth defects and other health problems the Air Force began testing wellwater for people who live close to the base in 2016 and more recently they've started tracking posos levels in nearby creeks and streams then they will possibly expand based off of what information they find into the uh into the residents Wells and such uh in those areas so it looks like it's going to be a very long process at this point before uh get to to knowing anything unless I decide to to have something done uh on my own it is a national issue in fact I would imagine there are very few bases that aren't dealing with this is a national issue state standards for drinking water say anything more than 13 or 14 parts per trillion is dangerous while recently announced Federal rules are a stricter four parts per trillion when the Air Force tested off- base Wells 7 years ago the results were up to a 100 times those levels that's led to pressing questions from the 45,000 people who live or work around the base I'm listening for their concerns where do they live what issues do they have and then it's hard to explain to them what pest is moving it around how ises it Migrate how is it how it could be affecting them I think it's a bit unique this is an emerging contaminant that is just starting into the remedial investigation phase this event here is really to address people's drinking water wells the military and EPA are still working on a plan to clean up the contamin ation at the Joint Base pias have emerged as a big concern in recent years only after proliferating so many parts of our daily lives it's all around you yeah rugs carpets have it everything has it and it's it's in so many areas that the regulation hasn't caught up with it yet it's not just the Joint Base multiple bases in New Jersey and hundreds Nationwide are now cleaning up paa's pollution the Murphy Administration sued the military over the problem in 2021 and that case is ongoing in pton I'm Ted Goldberg NJ Spotlight news support for the medical report is provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey an independent lensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association [Music]