By Pat Elder, World BEYOND War, June 14, 2024
The Dutch Ministry of Defense has poisoned the soil, the sea, the fish, and the air with PFAS from the daily use of many products and applications, including fire fighting foams. It’s likely they’ve known these compounds are toxic for two generations. There was a Dutch military report from 2013 saying much of this, but they didn’t tell the Dutch people.
Leeuwarden Air Base is the most contaminated spot in the Netherlands.
F-35s are stationed at Leeuwarden Air Base. They are under the command of NATO Air Operations Control Station, Nieuw Milligen. Wherever there are F-35’s or other NATO fighter jets there is eternally poisoned land, water, food and people. The chemicals never go away, and we don’t know how to dispose of them.
These are deadly carcinogens, measured in parts per trillion. Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should not consume PFAS and neither should anyone else. The Pentagon says PFAS is necessary for national security.
Today’s story in the Dutch news magazine Pointer gets a lot of things wrong. https://pointer.kro-ncrv.nl/vliegbasis-gilze-rijen-en-11-andere-defensieterreinen-ernstig-verontreinigd-met-giftig-pfas
It’s worse than anyone can imagine, especially if you haven’t been following this issue. In addition to Leeuwarden Air Base, these military bases are also contaminated in the Naetherlands: Gilze Rijen, Artillery Shooting Camp ‘t Harde, Infantry Shooting Camp Harskamp, Deelen Air Base and Complex, Groot Heidekamp in Arnhem, Eindhoven, Volkel, Woensdrecht, De Kooy air base in Den Helder, the former Bathmen military training area in Overijssel, and the former De Peel air base in Limburg. The chemicals may travel 30 km in water so huge areas of the entire country may be poisoned forever. Chickens, deer, cows, milk – are all contaminated. Let’s learn this and use it to tame NATO.
Generally, the municipal drinking water is not too bad. It is the food, especially the seafood that is the primary pathway to human ingestion. When the tides in the sea lower, the PFAS in the sediment becomes airborne and settles in the lungs and the homes as dust and the Dutch, generally, don’t have clue.
Wastewater treatment plants deliver PFAS to the rivers and the sea. Often, the solid waste, known as sludge, is spread on agricultural fields, poisoning crops. If the sludge or other trash is incinerated that contains PFAS, the incinerators often don’t get hot enough to break down the carbon-flourine bond that characterizes PFAS. They just sprinkle death over the land and water.
Imagine the political earthquake if we used this No to NATO movement to organize the collection of water samples, and had them tested for PFAS at 48 NATO bases.
