Records obtained from the US Navy via the US Freedom of Information Act reveal extremely high levels of PFAS “Forever Chemicals” at three facilities in Kanagawa Prefecture: NAF Atsugi (Ayase and Yamato City), a military fire station in Isogo Ward (Yokohama City), and Tsurumi POL Depot (Yokohama City).
In November and December 2018, the US Navy conducted 33 tests on the tanks holding firefighting foam at hangars, fuel farms, and fire trucks. The highest levels of PFOA – recorded at a fuel farm at NAF Atsugi – measured 185 million ng/L; the highest PFOS levels – recorded at the Isogo Ward fire station – measured 12.1 billion ng/L. (See table for details)
All the samples far surpassed Japan’s guidelines for combined PFOA and PFOS levels in environmental water which are 50 ng/L.
|
Facility |
PFOA |
PFOS |
PFHxS |
|
NAF Atsugi |
56,000 ~ 185,000,000 |
184,000 ~ 11,300,000,000 |
245,000 ~ 1,030,000,000 |
|
US Navy Regional Fire Department, Negishi |
2,560,000 ~ 126,000,000 |
82,800,000 ~ 12,100,000,000 |
10,500,000 ~ 2,140,000,000 |
|
Tsurumi POL Depot |
474,000 ~ 2,990,000 |
4,000,000 ~ 89,200,000 |
277,000 ~ 15,500,000 |
All data in ng/L
In November 2020, the US Navy also tested NAF Atsugi’s drinking water supply, which is sourced from groundwater beneath the base, detecting total PFOA/PFOS levels of 24 ng/L. The level is 1000 times new guidelines the US Environmental Protection Agency introduced in June 2022.
As well as causing contamination within NAF Atsugi, FOIA-released reports suggest the off-base environment may also have been affected. Between 2009 and 2016, at the base there were at least five large accidents involving firefighting foams, some of which may have contained PFOS and similar chemicals. Notably, in November 2009, there was a large fire in one of the base’s hangars. Efforts to extinguish the blaze created approximately 15,000 liters of waste water which, according to the accident report, was released via the base’s sewage plant. Sampling conducted by the Navy in the same hangar’s fire extinguishing system in 2018 revealed PFOS levels of 4 million ng/L and PFOA levels 3.45 million ng/L.
These FOIA-released documents reinforce suspicions NAF Atsugi is responsible for PFAS contamination recently detected by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment near the base. In June 2020, the ministry announced the discovery of PFOS levels of 239 ng/L – more than four times guidelines – in Hikichi River, which flows alongside NAF Atsugi. In June 2021, the ministry announced groundwater in Ayase City was contaminated with PFOS at 1300 ng/L, the highest such levels recorded in its national survey.
Responding to a request for comment on the issues raised in this article, Commander, Naval Forces Japan, declined to answer specific questions but wrote, “Naval Air Facility Atsugi (NAFA) follows the requirements of the bi-lateral Japan Environmental Governing Standards (JEGS), as required by the Status of Forces Agreement, and when appropriate notifies relevant Government of Japan agencies when our operations have the potential for environment impacts on surrounding areas."
