Drinking Water: Status of DOD Efforts to Address Drinking Water Contaminants Used in Firefighting Foam

Abstract

The firefighting foam DOD has used for decades contains chemicals that, at elevated exposure levels, can increase risks of cancer or other health issues. As a result, DOD: 1) spent about $200 million on investigations and response (as of December 2016); 2) identified 401 installations with known or potential releases of these chemicals; and 3) took actions, like providing alternative drinking water, at 32 locations (as of August 2017). This testimony is largely based on our report on DOD's response to such contamination in drinking water, and is a part of our body of work on the federal government's environmental liabilities, an issue on our High Risk list.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 26, 2018
Accession Number
AD1156896

Entities

People

  • Amie Lesser
  • Brian J. Lepore
  • Diane B. Raynes
  • Felicia Lopez
  • Geoffrey Peck
  • J. A. Gomez
  • Karen Howard
  • Mae Jones
  • Maria Storts
  • Michele C. Fejfar
  • Richard P. Johnson
  • Summer Lingard-smith

Organizations

  • United States Government Accountability Office

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Congress
  • Department Of Defense
  • Drinking Water
  • Emergencies
  • Emergency Response
  • Environment
  • Environmental Protection
  • Environmental Restoration And Remediation
  • Governments
  • Health
  • Monitoring
  • Natural Resources
  • Public Health
  • Test Methods
  • United States
  • United States Government

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Gender and Food Studies
  • Groundwater Contamination Remediation.
  • Public Financial Management and Budgeting