Defense Secretary Mark Esper announced on his first full day in office Wednesday that he has signed a Pentagon directive creating a task force to deal with the problem of PFAS contamination on military bases, Military Times reported.
Esper, who had been sworn in only hours earlier on Tuesday evening, told Pentagon reporters that the task force would “address all the key areas” of DOD’s response to the presence of the toxic contaminants used in military firefighting foam.
He also pledged the new task force will address a wide range of issues resulting stemming from PFAS contamination on military installations and in surrounding communities.
“Whether it’s cleanup, whether it’s finding an alternative for the current firefighting, you name it,” Esper said. “It will include the military department and our health affairs folks.”
Esper has also asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be involved, as well as other government agencies, according to the report.
He emphasized the effort is “to make sure we go after this problem very aggressively, very holistically and get in front of it, stay in front of it and take care of our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines and the outlying communities that are affected by it.”
The chemicals, perfluorooctanoic acid and perfluorooctane sulfonate, referred to as PFAS, have been detected in contamination levels at many military installations nationwide, as On Base has reported.
DoD photo by U.S. Army Sgt. Amber Smith