OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KERO) — Concerns about chemicals in the water at Camp Pendleton have been well-documented for some time and that includes hundreds of Marines and their families that live at the base.
Turning on the faucet just got a little riskier for Marines that work and live on the north side of Camp Pendleton. High levels of PFAS were found in their water supply and some Marines have sounded the alarm.
"I just think it kinda goes to show how Marines are treated and their living conditions," said one Marine.
"S" is a marine who we aren't naming because she is still on active duty. She says she found out about the high levels of Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) when a copy of a letter was posted on social media.
PFAS are synthetic substances that can be found in several of the products we use every day like food packaging and firefighting foams. The letter says a concentration of 23.5 parts per trillion was detected on February 14. The EPA's recent interim lifetime health advisory shows acceptable levels of PFAS throughout one's life range from .004 to .02 parts per trillion.
"I don't know if there is anything they could've done to prevent it, but how they handled it was not in a timely manner, which I think is super irresponsible and just clear neglect of the people living here and stationed here. If at the very least, they could've told everybody way faster than they did," continued S.
Only the northern water plant treatment was impacted by high levels of the chemical. Back in 2020, the Department of Defense began testing drinking water systems on base for PFAS.
"It's concerning because people have babies and they didn't even release a letter until more than a month after they found out about it."
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says PFAS can be measured in people's blood. It says exposure to PFAS can have potential lasting impacts on our service members and their families: a decreased immune response to vaccines for children, increased risk of kidney and testicular cancer, and changes in liver enzymes to name a few.
Camp Pendleton says it is important to ensure it's providing safe drinking water. To reduce PFAS, Camp Pendleton says it's been installing new treatment methods and is working to install a pipeline that will blend drinking water.
