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Veterans Worry Polluted California Base To Blame for Illnesses

Since it closed in 1994, veterans who worked at California’s Fort Ord have wondered if the base’s pollution caused their illnesses.

For about 80 years, recruits came to the central part of the state to work and live right on the ocean. But the base used many toxic chemicals and dumped them on the grounds. Ammunition remnants, burn pits and other harmful substances made their way into the groundwater.

The Associated Press said soldiers and civilians never questioned if the tap water in that area was safe to drink. 

Sadly, Fort Ord became one of America’s most polluted places. The Environmental Protection Agency found cancer-causing chemicals in the base’s drinking water and soil.

Fort Ord is a two-hour drive south of San Francisco, and it’s now a growing community for many who are unaware of the base’s past.

Veterans Make Connection Despite Contracting Reports

Recently, several Fort Ord veterans wondered if their cancers and rare blood disorders were connected. That group is now up to hundreds of people. 

The Associated Press has documented close to two dozen of these veterans and identified even more. However, there’s no way to directly connect toxic exposure to a specific medical condition.  

On the other hand, local utilities, the Defense Department, and some in the Department of Veterans Affairs insist Fort Ord’s water is safe and always has been.

But the Veterans Administration, scientists, and doctors say that dangers exist for military personnel.

Fort Ord is not alone. Hundreds of other closed military bases have exposed people to toxic pollution. They required a massive cleanup, too.  

The Associated Press said Fort Ord’s superfund site is 25 years into a cleanup with many years to go.

For the record, the military has only admitted to one base where troops could have been affected by drinking bad water. Camp Lejeune in North Carolina had contaminated water from 1953 to 1987. That base noted higher death rates for numerous cancers.

Veterans Over The Years Told Stories

Some Fort Ord veterans recall their work at the base and life during those times. It was not uncommon for workers to spill solvents into base drains or discard chemical sludge in underground storage tanks.  

Curt Gandy, a former airplane mechanic, recalls getting hosed with toxic chemicals from the 1970s to the 1990s. He said he used solvents on aircraft, cleaned engine parts, and stripped paint off fuselages without any protection.

“It gets on your body, it gets in your face, you get splashed with it, and we’re using pumps to spray this stuff,” he told the Associated Press. 

Scientific studies over the years have come and gone with different results. Testing standards have changed while new science has identified additional cancers and chemicals.

The Army conducted early tests on Fort Ord wells from 1985 to 1994, and officials said the contamination was within acceptable limits. But, according to the Associated Press, one chemical, TCE, exceeded legal safety limits.  

The federal government has struggled to correct environmental abuses. Some bills have worked to compensate veterans, but nothing notable has changed.  

These days, Fort Ord is a growing community. The old base area is a place of mountain biking and trails, but new neighborhoods with million-dollar homes are growing across the street from the Superfund landfill cleanup. Water, however, is transported from other areas and cleaned for area residents.