Dangerous substances that cause cancer – perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOC) – were found in wastewater discharged into the port of Yokosuka from the US Naval Base. This is reported by the Mainichi newspaper.
According to the publication, water tests were carried out after foam was found off the coast in the eastern part of the naval base. The cause of the chemical leak has not yet been clarified, however, it is reported that there is a fire station near the treatment facilities at the Yokosuka base (PFOS and PFOC are components of foam for extinguishing fire).
“The Yokosuka Municipal Government has asked Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi for the national government to clarify whether the US Naval base in Yokosuka owns dangerous chemicals and uses them to find out how safe it is to fish in the area,” the newspaper notes.
Earlier it was reported that fuel got into the water intake of the US naval base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, which led to the resettlement of about 4 thousand military families and the sealing of underground wells that supplied water to about 400 thousand people.
In addition, testing of drinking water near military bases in the states of Washington, Pennsylvania, Florida and Michigan showed that it is unsuitable for drinking, since the level of dangerous perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals in it significantly exceeds the safe for health level set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
According to EPA standards, the level of PFOS and PFOC should not exceed 70 parts per trillion (ppt), while 4720 ppt of PFOS was recorded in a sample of drinking water near the Naval air base on Whidbey Island in Washington State.
