Study looks at potential link between ‘forever chemicals' and disease at former Naval Air Station

Air Force veteran Joe McGrath served on Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove for 34 years.

“I started as a reservist in 1973,” McGrath told NBC10. “The writing was on the wall that the base was going to close.”

Most of the base ceased operations in 2011. That same year, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed toxic chemicals were in the site’s groundwater and eventually in the drinking water supply for the base and surrounding neighborhoods.

Those chemicals – per and polyfluoroalkyl substances – are commonly known as PFAS or "forever chemicals" because they take a long time to break down.

The chemicals can be found in everyday items including clothing and cookware. They’re also in firefighting foam. It’s believed the use of the foam for training caused contamination at the base.

According to the EPA, PFAS has been “linked to harmful health effects in humans and animals.”

The U.S. Department of Defense has been addressing the base’s PFAS issues since 2014. A Department of Defense spokesperson told NBC10 they remain “committed to fulfilling our PFAS-related cleanup responsibilities.”

McGrath, meanwhile, is wondering if his symptoms of eczema have anything to do with the water he used for decades at the base.

“And I’ve been to a sixth dermatologist and everything’s inconclusive,” he said.

McGrath enrolled in a CDC study where researchers are analyzing which diseases correlate to PFAS levels in a person’s blood. McGrath’s PFAS levels are 384 nanograms per milliliter. To put that in perspective, the National Institute of Health has said “there is an increased risk of adverse effects above 20 nanograms.”

“I want an answer,” McGrath said. “And whether or not, you know, it’s a mind thing. Everything that crops up, you think, is that PFAS? Is that a result of 34 years?”

Dr. Resa Jones is running the study. Dr. Jones is also the CDC’s principal investigator and Temple University’s chair of epidemiology and biostatistics.

Dr. Jones told McGrath they won’t know for a while if his disease was caused by PFAS exposure.

“We have about 30 percent of our adults in a high-risk group,” she said. “And four percent of children.”

The ongoing study has already found that 375 of the 1250 adults whose blood they drew – and five of the 90 children tested – who lived near Willow Grove during a certain period had high levels of PFAS.

Dr. Jones is also involved in a Pennsylvania state study looking at cancer cases from 2000 to 2020 in 12 different Pennsylvania counties, including Bucks and Montgomery.

“We actually already have preliminary evidence where we’re finding that the highest concentrations of PFAS are actually correlated with cancer,” Dr. Jones said.

Dr. Jones told NBC10 that of the 11 cancers they’ve studied so far, thyroid, kidney, ovarian, endometrial and female breast cancers are all showing correlation with high levels of PFAS in drinking water.

“If we can have good evidence to make the connection that something is really related or associated with disease, then it would make sense to hold the groups that produced it or exposed people to it accountable,” Dr. Jones said.

That’s one reason why U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-153) reintroduced the PFAS water bill.

“I want people who have been harmed to be compensated,” she said.

Dean wants those affected by PFAS to be able to sue the manufacturer of the chemicals and products where they are found.

‘They knew of the hazards,” she said. “They knew of the health consequences.”

In a statement, the PFAS manufacturer 3M says they "will continue to work to address legacy PFAS" and said it will stop making PFAS by the end of 2025.

Other PFAS manufacturers that NBC10 reached out to either have no comment or have not yet replied.

As for McGrath, he told NBC10 the VA isn’t covering his PFAS exposure. He showed NBC10 letters denying coverage for his case.

“And the VA is not covering anything at this point,” he said. “There are proposals. There are house rules going in but there’s nothing that I can say. I can go over to the VA here and say, I got PFAS in my blood. What are you gonna do for me?”

NBC10 asked VA Secretary Denis McDonough what veterans exposed to PFAS should do.

“While there is not currently a presumption of service connection for PFAS, a presumption is not at all required to receive VA benefits,” he said. “So, we encourage every veteran who is concerned that their military service may have impacted their health and/or be associated with a medical condition that they’re currently suffering from, to please submit a claim and let us do that work before there’s a presumption of service-connection.”

McGrath said he’ll keep trying, however. He’s also hoping politicians will keep trying as well.

“You know, it’s been that way with the Lejeune,” he said. “It’s been that way with the Mesothelioma. And now those guys are being covered. I may be dead and gone by the time anything is resolved.”