Formerly known as Homestead Air Force Base, this military base was founded in 1942 and is located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, to the northeast of the city of Homestead, hence the name of the installation. In 1992, it was torn down by Hurricane Andrew, but it was subsequently rebuilt. Homestead Air Reserve Base was originally set up as a base for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II. It was reopened during the Cold War as a Strategic Air Command installation, and today, it remains operational.
However, this military base is contaminated with PFAS, a group of toxic chemicals that can lead to the development of numerous harrowing diseases. At the moment, Homestead Air Reserve Base is a Superfund site, as numerous other contaminants of concern than PFAS were found lurking in the environment of the installation by the Environmental Protection Agency. Consequently, there are relentless cleanup activities ongoing at the military base, whose purpose is to mitigate the presence of all the toxic agents polluting Homestead Air Reserve Base.
PFAS are the main contaminants present on Homestead Air Reserve Base, and the source of these chemicals is the use of AFFF by military firefighters and trainees to extinguish petroleum and jet fuel fires. This is a fire suppressant that, interestingly, was invented by the U.S. Navy together with the 3M company in 1966. Since then, it has been widely employed by both civilian and military firefighters. The problem with AFFF is that it contains a high concentration of PFAS, which are "forever chemicals". As soon as they spread throughout the environment, they persist and do not break down. For this reason, the cleanup efforts of organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency are necessary to remediate the issue.
In addition to PFAS, the Environmental Protection Agency found the following toxic agents polluting Homestead Air Reserve Base:
Naturally, the presence of so many toxic agents on the premises of Homestead Air Reserve Base endangers the health of military members stationed there to a tremendous extent. Exposure to most of these contaminants is associated with cancer, among other serious health issues. If you were stationed at this military installation, please keep a close eye on your health, as you are at high risk of developing health problems. Periodical visits to the doctor are highly recommended for people who were stationed at Homestead Air Reserve Base for more than a couple of months.
Plenty of diseases have a strong link to PFAS exposure, the most terrible being cancer, which can affect a wide range of body parts, depending on where the largest amount of these chemicals is inside you. These are the diseases and health issues that can occur as a consequence of prolonged exposure to PFAS:
It is very important to know that these are also the diagnoses that qualify you for filing a toxic exposure claim.
If you had the misfortune of receiving a linkable diagnosis as a consequence of heavy exposure to PFAS in the military, we encourage you to contact us, as we specialize in toxic exposure and we have been dedicating our endeavors to offering quality legal assistance to people in your situation for over 35 years.
We will evaluate your case to establish whether you are eligible to file a toxic exposure claim. If we find that you are, a skilled PFAS lawyer will quickly begin preparing your claim for submission. Eventually, you will receive the largest sum of money available for your diagnosis from the responsible parties.
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