A report from the Pentagon issued earlier this year claims that regulating potentially toxic chemicals collectively known as “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, could hamper national security and arms manufacturing.
Known as “forever chemicals” for their ability to persist in the environment for decades, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, are linked to a variety of health problems, including cancer.
In March, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a proposed regulation for six PFAS substances — there are thousands in use — found in drinking water. The rule, which the EPA expects to finalize by the end of this year, “will prevent thousands of deaths and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable illnesses.”
But the Pentagon report pushes back on environmental regulations around PFAS, saying regulation can have “unintended impacts.”
“Losing access to PFAS due to overly broad regulations or severe market contractions would greatly impact national security and DoD’s ability to fulfill its mission, and impact domestic defense industrial base manufacturing and supply,” the report said.
PFAS are found in a myriad of items critical to America’s defense infrastructure, including weapons systems, semiconductors and cleaning fluids, the Pentagon said. However, the report acknowledges that eliminating these chemicals from “non-essential uses” is important for both human health and the environment.
A mountain of research demonstrates the links between PFAS and various health problems, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains that the specific impacts are “uncertain.” There is, however, evidence specifically of health harms in the military: A study published in July showed that exposure to PFAS is linked to increased rates of testicular cancer in Air Force servicemen.
The Pentagon report notes that the sheer scale of PFAS used in products makes actual accounting of their use in the military difficult. “The information presented represents a fraction of the mission critical PFAS uses due to a lack of transparency in the chemical composition in consumables and articles,” it said.
