We Love Our Troops. We Forget Out Veterans.

There are plenty of examples of how the United States lets veterans slip through the cracks. From access to health care, housing, employment, and other crucial support structures on the homefront, we’ve dropped the ball. PFAs exposure is just another shortfall on a long list.

We’ve known that military sites have been linked to elevated PFAs levels for decades, but the full scope of the problem is just being discovered. Every time the Department of Defense releases another list of potential or proven contamination sites, the number of exposed soldiers, sailors, and airmen grows exponentially bigger. Earlier this week, the DoD confirmed that it will be adding to the existing 401 military bases or properties linked to perfluorooctane sulfonate or perfluorooctanoic acids.

The chemicals have been leached into water supplies and soil deposits across the country, with service members being especially vulnerable to exposure. Even with chemical corporations like 3M and Dupont knowing about the harmful effects of these carcinogens for decades, they chose not to share that information with the public or the various branches of the military.

The study is expected to release its findings before the end of the year, but there isn’t much insight about what the next steps will be. For now, the DoD seems contented to offer its information campaign to support potentially endangered service members as the best tool.

We need to do better. Supporting organizations like LessCancer.org can help hold polluters accountable and do right by our selfless veterans. Let’s prevent contamination, clean-up PFAs, and prevent cancer for all Americans.