The Pentagon’s search for toxic chemicals behind a slate of cancers among airmen came up short at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, the second of three bases the Air Force is testing, the service said Tuesday.
No harmful levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PBCs), man-made chemicals banned in the 1970s for their ability to cause cancer and other maladies, were detected at the Wyoming nuclear missile base, U.S. Air Force’s Global Strike Command said in a statement. Earlier in August, Global Strike Command and a team of bioenvironmental experts from the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine discovered potentially dangerous PCB levels at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana.
Warren, Malmstrom and the third installation, Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, all house Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in the underground silos. Results from the testing of nuclear bunkers at Minot are still pending, and the Air Force is also in the midst of conducting water quality reviews at each location, according to Global Strike Command. (RELATED: ‘No Interest In Escalating Tensions’: US Delays Missile Test As China Fumes)
Investigators at Malmstrom collected PCB samples from two bunker sites, where pairs of missile manners stand watch for 24-hour periods ready to launch the nuclear warheads as soon as the president gives the order, The Associated Press reported. Missileers have raised concerns about poor ventilation and water quality of the centers as well as potential exposure to toxins.
At least 268 missileers or surviving family members have come forward with reports of cancers, blood diseases and other illnesses in 2023, according to the AP. The military said in January it had “indications” nine cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma among troops who manned missile sites may be linked to their military service.
Reports of clusters of cancers first emerged from Malmstrom, the oldest of the three installations, according to the AP.
The Air Force constructed the Minuteman bunkers at different times more than 60 years ago, before PCBs were banned from use, with materials and electronics supplied by multiple different contractors, the AP reported. The disparity in construction could make it more difficult to find a common cause of the mysterious cancers.
391774 02: A MX or “Peacekeeper” missile, left, and two versions of the Minuteman missile sit at the entrance of Warren Air Force base July 11, 2001 near Cheyenne, WY. (Photo by Michael Smith/Getty Images)
U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine also took air and swipe samples from the silos at F.E. Warren. While the air samples turned up negative for PCBs, 17 of the 300 surface samples did display levels of PCBs. However, the samples showed a PCB concentration of 4 micrograms per 100 square centimeters, below the danger threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Gen. Thomas A. Bussiere, Air Force Global Strike Commander, directed the Twentieth Air Force at F.E. Warren to take mitigating steps “where even trace amounts” of PCBs were found, according to the statement.
Bussiere promised to continue holding town halls to facilitate communication between medical and scientific experts and Air Force servicemembers regarding the ongoing missile community cancer study.
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