PFAS Community Library

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals. PFAS have been manufactured and used in a variety of industries around the globe, including in the United States since the 1940s. PFAS are very persistent in the environment and in the human body – meaning they don’t break down and they can accumulate over time. Research has shown probable links between PFAS exposure and cancer, thyroid disease, high cholesterol, ulcerative colitis, and pregnancy-induced hypertension.

New Report!

The incineration of AFFF is very controversial and environmentally risky.  This presentation from USEPA raises many of the same concerns that advocacy groups have raised about the safety of AFFF incineration.  As well, incinerating PFAS chemicals has come under increasing concern due to the finding of the nation’s atmospheric deposition network that PFAS chemicals are coming down in the rain.  Some observers think that the combustion of PFAS chemicals is contributing to PFAS levels in rainwater. Read more here:
PFAS Incineration Field Testing Phelps ECOS EPA Update 27 April 2020

Department of Defense Documents & Policies

Air Force PFAS at Closed Sites 2018
NEW! Air Force Guidance Foam PFAS Waste Management and Regs Sept 2019
Army Ammunition Plants Fire Fighting Foam Guide 1980
Army Guidance Memo PFC PFAS Contamination 29 Aug 2016
Army Final PFAS Guidance Memo Adhere to 70 ppt Aug 2016
Army Memo Limiting Use of AFFF PFAS Foam June 2016
Army Memo PFAS (PFC) Assesssment Policy 10 June 2016
Army PFAS Contamination Assessment Policy 10 June 2016
Army PFOA PFOS Investigations Will Follow CERCLA PFAS 2018
DOD DOE Quality Systems Manual 5.1 includes PFAS Testing Jan 2017
DOD Firefighting Foams Mass Spec PFAS Test Method 2013
DOD Inventory of Fire and Crash Training Area Sites 2014

NEW DOD Inspector General Memo Initiating PFAS Investigation 3 Feb 2020
DoD PFAS Presentation to Congress March 2018
DOD Letter Challenging Colorado State Standards for PFAS 10 June 2016
DOD Report to Congress Aqueous Film Forming Foam 2017

DoD Memo Testing Drinking Water to Services June 2016
DOD Request for Proposals to Incinerate PFAS AFFF Work Statement 29 Aug 2018
Example No UCMR but Other PFAS Detected Fayetteville NC 2017
GAO Report DOD Emerging Contaminants PFAS Oct 2017
Military Firefighting Foam PFAS Fate in Groundwater SERDP 2017
Military Specs Aqueous Film Forming Foam MIL-F-24385A
Novel Fluorochemicals in Military AFF Foams 2013
Novel Fluorochemicals in Military AFF Foams 2013 Addendum
PFAS in Drinking Water from Military Training Areas and Other Hu 2016
PFAS Detections in DOD DW compiled by EWG March 2020
U.S. Military PFAS Sites ESTCP Report August 2017

Firefighters & First Responders (inc military)

NEW! Blood Testing Firefighter PFAS Exposures Vicki Quint International Firefighters Magazine Sept 2021
Code PFAS Firefighter Exposures Position Statement December 2019

Colorado Bill Prohibiting PFAS Foam for Training 2019
Defense Memo PFAS Blood Testing for DOD Firefighters Fact Sheets Transmittal 29 Sept 2020
PFAS Blood Testing for Military Firefighters FDSA Code PFAS Feb 2021

FDSA Bulletin #50 Airports Twist 11 Feb 2022
FDSA Bulletin #51 AFFF Incidents 25 Feb 2022
FDSA Bulletin #52 Endocrine Disrupting PFAS 11 March 2022
FDSA Bulletin #53 Heart Health 25 March 2022
FDSA Bulletin #54 AFFF Shortcomings 8 April 2022
FDSA Bulletin #55 Houston 22 April 2022
FDSA Bulletin #73 State Right to Know 17 March 2023
NEW! FDSA Bulletins are posted HERE
Firefighters Cancer Risk Study LeMasters 2006
Firefighter Gear PFAS Correspondence Peaslee 2018
Firefighter Gear PFAS Laboratory Test Results – Station Pride 2018
Firefighters PFAS Personal Protection Equipment PPE Peaslee June 2020
NEW! Firefighters PFAS Questions and Answers Foam Exposure Committee Sept 2022
Firefighter Registry Act 2018
Industrial Fire Journal Six-year PFOA Reprieve for Gear 2015 
International Association of Fire Fighters Putnam Testimony Sept 2018
Military Firefighter Exposures to PFAS and Adverse Reproductive Outcomes
PFAS in Firefighting Foam New York State Pollution Prevention Institute Dec 2018
Senators Seek Inclusion of Firefighters in Future PFAS Studies Pease 13 Dec 2018
The REAL Cancer in Your Gear Station Pride Article 2017

PFAS in Munitions Explosives

CRANE APE 1236 Incinerator Permit Attachment IV Flares 82935248
Crane Haz Waste Permit Renewal Table C-1 thru I-3 68150823 2013
Crane Naval EPA Concurrence RCRA Permit N00164_000154
Crane Naval RCRA OB OD Permit Tables & Exhibits V.A to V.C 2013
Crane Naval RCRA Permit Attachment IV APE 1236 Rotary Kiln Incinerator Issued Indiana IDEM 2013
Crane Naval RCRA Permit Conditions 2013 Doc No 68194325
Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center Indiana DEM RCRA permit OB OD Attachment V 68117621 2013
Crane Naval Surface Warfare RCRA Haz Waste Renewal Application IDEM 2012
Crane NSA Preliminary PFAS Investigation 2019
Crane NSWC Air Permit Indiana Magnesium Teflon Viton Flares MTV May 2001-2006
Crane OB OD Attachment V PBX Viton IDEM 2013
Crane Quarterly Magazine Newsletter Jan 2017
Indian Head Joint Land Use Study Charles County 2016
Indian Head Naval NPL Superfund Site History Summary Fact Sheet MD064 undated
Indian Head Naval Warfare Detailed Facility Report _ ECHO _ US EPA
Indian Head NSWC Hazardous Wastes Sites 1982
Indian Head NSWC Ordnance Disposal Study 1983
Indian Head NSWC RCRA Application MTV Viton Additional Volumes 1996
Indian Head NSWC RCRA Part B Part A application 1998
Indian Head NSWC RCRA Subpart X PFAS Sections A-J Maryland 1996
Indian Head RCRA Tons Received Treated Maryland State
PFAS Application and Key Characteristics of Carcinogens EWG Temkin et al 2020
PFAS Energetics of Fluorinated Species Kunkel 1993
PFAS Evalution Polymer Bonded Explosives HNS HMX Kaur 2013
PFAS Explosives Engineering Paul W Cooper 1996
PFAS Fluorine Containing Oxidizers Metals Energetics Valluri 2019
PFAS Fluoropolymer Binders Insensitive Explosive TATB Yeager 2010
PFAS Metal Fluorocarbon Based Bnergetic Materials Koch 2012
PFAS Polymers as Binders and Plasticizers Explosives Propellants Chapter 1 Ang et al 2011
PFAS US Patent Flare Composition US3152935 1964
PFAS US Patent Infra-red Tracking Flare US5679921 1997
PFAS Plastic Bonded Explosives RDX Zhu 2009
PFAS Thermal Stability Elastic Explosives Elbeih 2010
PFAS Ullmanns Encyclopedia Industrial Chemistry 2012

Reference Documents

ADHD, Childhood Autism, and Prenatal Exposure to PFAS 2015
ATSDR PFAS Exposure Assessment Technical Tools Blood Serum Adult Child July 2018
Activated Carbons Comparison for Removal of PFAS in Drinking Water McNamara 2018
Airport Seattle Washington Asks FAA for Alternatives to PFAS Elwell 2018
Airport Use Potential Impacts PFAS Foams National Academies 2017
Aquatic Food PFAS Risks River Estuary Sea Wang et al 2020
Atmospheric Nontarget Discovery New PFAS in PM Yu et al 2020
Bald Eagles Mississippi River PFAS Study March 2012
Bi-Partisan Letter Calling for Enforceable PFOA PFOS Drinking Water Standards 1 Feb 2019
Bioconcentration of Perfluorinated Alkyl Acids Ng 2013
Chromium Plating PFOS Study EPA Region 5 Sept 2009
Community Perspectives Challenges Strategies PFAS Guelfo June 2018
Cost of Inaction Socioeconomic Analysis PFAS Exposures Goldenman 2019

Cumulative Health Risk PFAS Daniel Borg Sweden 2013
Developmental Outcomes Exposures to PFAS Liewetal 2018
Developmental Toxicity Research Intervention Paper Grandjean 2018
Drinking Water Guidelines US Summary PFOA PFOS Cordner Schaider April 2019 PFAS

DuPont EPA Consent Agreement PFAS December 2015
Developmental Exposures to PFAS Update on Associated Health Outcomes Liew et al 2018
EPA PFAS Community Summit Presentations Washington DC May 2018
EPA Headquarters PFAS Update Gillespie June 2018
EPA Notice of Objection PFAS Shipment from Chemours Netherlands Dec 2018
EPA Region 4 PFAS Presentation 2016
EPA Wheeler Directive on Ag Impacts and Rural Economies 27 Feb 2019
Emerging Technologies for Remediation of PFAS Ross 2018
European Strategy for Persistent Chemicals 2017
Fate Biotransformation AFFF Fire Crash Sites SERDP Field 2017
Fayetteville EPA Research Development PFAS Presentations August 2018
Fire Fighting Foams with PFAS Env Review June 2013 (Australia)
Firefighting Foams Chemical Analysis Swedish Market 2014
Firefighting PFAA Impacted Soil Leaching Bioavailability Worms Braunig 2018
Fish Consumption and PFAS Christenson et al 2017
Fish Consumption Childhood Learning Behavior Disorders Carwile 2016
Fish PFCs in Major Wisconsin Rivers and Great Lakes 2016
Fish Surface Water Sediments New Jersey Investigation June 2018
Fluorinated Chemicals CA Communities Against Toxics Powerpoint 2018
Fluorine Free Foams IPEN Paper POPRC-14 Sept 2018 FINAL
GenX and other Recently Detected Drinking Water Contaminants Hopkins 2018
GenX Toxicity of New Next Generation PFAS GenX Toxic Free Future Jan 2018
Great Lakes Food Chain PFAS in Aquatic Organisms Kannan 2004
Immunotoxicity PFAS Delayed Intervention Environmental Health Grandjean 2018
Incinerator Waste Investigation Fluorotelomer polymers Taylor 2014
NEW! Incineration of PFAS by DoD Violating NDAA Earth Justice 10 Jan 2020
Kidney Disease Tied to PFAS Exposure MedPage article Sept 2018
Key Scientific Issues in Developing Drinking Water Guidelines PFAAs Dec 2017
Landfill Emissions Gases California site Yesiller June 2018
Landfills PFAS Fate and Transport Hamid 2018
Lettuce and Strawberries PFAS Uptake Blain 2014 small file
Madrid Statement on Limiting Use and Production PFAS 2015
Mobility Toxicity Substitutions Trends PFAS Kotthoff April 2018
NRDC Comments on ATSDR Draft Tox Profile PFAS September 2018
NRDC request for PFAS rulemaking under MI SDWA Dec 2018
New Mexico vs Air Force PFAS March 2019
Non-Firetraining AFFF Release Sites Air Force Anderson 2016
Peer-Reviewed Articles Summary Numbers Health Hazard PFAS 2018
Occupational and Environmental Health Study PFAS Taylor Francis preview 2019
PFAS in the Rain Japan US Others Kwok Paper 2010
PFAS Compost Summary Sheet March 2018
PFAS Regulations RCRA Clean Water Air Act ITRC 2017
PFAS Removal Water Treatment Practices Appleman 2012
PFAS Substitutes Should Be Withheld Until First Scrutinized Grandjean 2018
PFAS Usage and Sources Draft EPA Gaines May 2017
PFHxS POPs Review Committee Risk Profile Draft April 2018
NEW! Processes Considerations PFAS State Standards ECOS 2022
Pease Air Force Base EPA Region 1 Administrative Order 2015
Rainwater Transport PFAS Powerpoint Mead UNC
Remedial Options for PFC Contaminated Sites Canada POPS Yoa 2018
Remediation Tech PFC Hawley 2012
YES! Scientific Basis for Managing PFAS as a Chemical Class Kwiakowski et al 2020
Short-chain PFAS literature review Danish EPA 2015
Solutions for Addressing PFAS Kernen Powerpoint May 2018
Southern Env Law PFAS Clean Water Act Intent to Sue May 2018
UCMR3 Examples of Deficiencies in Drinking Water Quality Sampling

Taylor PFAS 3M Study Incineration PFAS Degradation2000 Degrees Fahrenheit 40 seconds 2003
NEW! Technologies for PFAS Assessment Detection and Treatment GAO July 2022
Understanding Controlling Preventing PFAS Exposures National Academies 2020
Uses of PFAS Summary Document EPA May 2017
US Water Infrastructure Act 2018 Testing Small Public Water Systems PFAS Relevant Text
Vapor Intrusion PFAS Air Geosyntec Webinar Slides May 2020
NEW! Whidbey Island PFAS Contamination from Navy Operations Complaint to Navy 2022
Wildlife Michigan Public Health Advisory Clarks Marsh Dec 2019
Wisconsin Division of Health Comments ATSDR Tox Profile PFAS August 2018
Wisconsin Health Memo PFAS and Watering Gardens July 2018

Wurtsmith Air Force Base PFOS in Fish Michigan 2017
Zurich Statement on Future Actions for PFAS August 2018

Wisconsin PFAS Military Sites

Badger Ammo Fire Training Areas Investigation 2004
Map – Badger Ammo Fire Training Areas
Fort McCoy Pit #1 WDNR Responsible Party letter May 2018
Fort McCoy Pit #2 WDNR Responsible Party letter May 2018
Fort McCoy Pit #3 WDNR Responsible Party letter Jan 2017
Fort McCoy FIre Training Pit PFC Study Round 3 August 2017
Fort McCoy WDNR Comments on Draft EPA Permit Mod PFAS via FOIA 2018
Fort McCoy WDNR EPA Emails re PFAS via FOIA 2018
General Mitchell PFAS Final Site Investigation 2015
General Mitchell PFAS Cover Letter to WDNR July 2017
Madison Mayor Paul Soglin PFAS Letter to WI Air National Guard Nov 2018
NEW! Milwaukee 128th PFAS Investigation WDNR to WI ANG January 2019
NEW! Milwaukee Air Reserve Station WDNR letter to Air Force PFAS Exceedances March 2019
Truax PFAS Closed Kickoff Meeting Feb 2017
Truax Air National Guard Phase Site Inspection Plan May 2017 (large file)
Truax Air National Guard Phase 1 PFAS Inspection Report March 2018
Truax Open Records FOIA WDNR CCF05152018
Truax Transmittal Cover Letter Feb 2015
Truax Final PFAS Preliminary Assessment December 2015
Truax Transmittal Letter to WDNR July 2017
Truax Final Work Plan PFAS Site Investigation August 2017
Truax WDNR Letter to Air Natl Guard Consultant May 2018
Truax PFAS Midwest Environmental Justice Organization Letter to WDNR June 2018
Truax WDNR Comments on Draft EIS for F35s PFAS 30 Oct 2019
Truax Starkweather Creek PFAS Sampling Results Due to Foam Sightings 19 Dec 2019

Volk Field Air National Guard PFAS Firefighting Foam Release Report 2017
Volk Field Camp Douglas PFAS Preliminary Assessment June 2015
Volk Field PFAS WDNR Responsible Party Letter May 2018
Volk Field PFAS Quality Assurance Project Plan QAPP August 2016
Volk Field Review of PFAS Preliminary Assessment June 2016
Volk Field Two Year Wait for FOIA Air National Guard June 2018
Wisconsin DNR Defense State Memorandum of Agreement DSMOA for Multiple MIlitary Sites

Voices for CSWAB

“CSWAB has been on the forefront of the struggle to decontaminate our communities from the legacy of military toxics and engage in a collective effort for clean, healthy communities globally.”

Jill Johnston
Program Coordinator, Southwest Workers Union