George AFB’s Vapor Intrusion of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)

Vapor Intrusion

GAFB VOC Groundwater Contamination Plumes with Schools
GAFB VOC Groundwater Contamination Plumes with Schools

The Air Force has acknowledged that large amounts of trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE/PERC), benzene, and petroleum hydrocarbons (Free Product) were improperly disposed of at the former George Air Force Base, CA, “EPA Superfund ID: CA2570024453.”  See map

This illegal dumping, spilling, and leaking of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), has resulted in the widespread contamination of the soil, vadose zone, groundwater, and the probable contamination of the indoor air (Vapor Intrusion) of the offices, shops, schools, and housing, located over/near these toxic plumes.

The location of the former Harry Shepard Middle School/current Excelsior Aviation Medicine Academy was obscured on the new GAFB groundwater and soil contamination map. archived copy
AFCEC link: http://www.afcec.af.mil/Portals/17/documents/BRAC/George/AFD-160211-052.pdf 

The EPA rule adding a subsurface intrusion component (SsI), including vapor intrusion, to the Hazard Ranking Score for adding sites to the “Superfund” National Priorities List took effect on 5/22/2017.
https://www.epa.gov/superfund/hrs-subsurface-intrusion

Schools/Recreational Centers Located Above/Near the VOC Contamination Plumes

Former George Air Force Base School
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/N4e3VPRCaWD2

former Harry Shepard Middle School
Address: 18000 McCoy Cir, Victorville, CA 92394
Phone: (760) 246-6881
Bing Maps https://binged.it/2reBqgW

Excelsior Aviation Medicine and Engineering – AME Academy
Address: 18000 McCoy Cir, Victorville, CA 92394
Phone: (760) 245-4448
Website: https://excelsior.com/north-victorville/
Bing Maps: https://binged.it/2reLrdT

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical
Address: 18499 Phantom St Ste 11, Victorville, CA 92394
Phone: (760) 530-0875
Website: http://worldwide.erau.edu/locations/high-desert-victorville/Bing Maps: https://binged.it/2reOiUe

Victor Valley College
SCLA School of Aviation Technology
Address: 18368 Phantom West Drive
Building #717B, Victorville, CA 92394
Phone: (760) 246-9794
Website: http://www.vvc.edu/academic/aviation-tech/index.shtml
Google Maps: http://www.vvc.edu/academic/aviation-tech/location-directions.shtml

—–

former George Air Force Base Youth Center / Westwinds Activity Center
18040 George Blvd, Victorville, CA 92394
ci.victorville.ca.us
(760) 955-5000
Google Street View: https://goo.gl/maps/zqGAH9LEqQM2
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/jB1FQXpH3D62

Westwinds Sports Center
18241 George Blvd, Victorville, CA 92394
ci.victorville.ca.us
(760) 243-1965
Google Street View: https://goo.gl/maps/KjssrGeKxz12
Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/NZETFFpL5Yp

Jack and Jill Preschool
Building 1163
missing street number – Ohio Street

If anyone has the addresses or photos of the former GAFB Children’s World Daycare, Jack n Jill Preschool, or Youth Center please post them.

Businesses Located Above/Near the VOC Contamination Plumes

The following actions should occur because of the well-documented health problems associated with the exposure to VOCs, their daughter products, and metabolites:

  1. The Air Force needs to acknowledge that this potential contamination of the indoor air (the Vapor Intrusion of VOCs) posed/poses serious health risks to former and current occupants of the base, and notify the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of this potential Completed Exposure Pathway (CEP).
  2. The ATSDR needs to conduct a Vapor Intrusion threat assessment and health survey for the former George AFB personnel and current occupants of the base.
    1. IF the ATSDR determines that a VOC Completed Exposure Pathway existed, the former George AFB personnel need to be notified of their potential exposure.
    2. IF the ATSDR concludes that there is a VOC Completed Exposure Pathway for the new occupants of the old AF buildings and/or the newly constructed buildings above the existing VOC contamination plumes, the occupants need to be notified of their potential exposure, and steps need to be taken to prevent further exposure.
    3. IF the ATSDR concludes that there was/is a VOC CEP, the Air Force will need to update the transferred property’s Quitclaim Deed’s CERCLA 120(h) Notices Covenants and Environmental Restrictions to reflect this new information.

If you lived, worked, or went to school on George Air Force Base, click on the map to determine if there was a VOC contamination plume within 100ft the building where you were.  On this map, the Air Force has identified two classes of soil and groundwater VOC contamination at the former George AFB: 

Free Product – Petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) such as gasoline, diesel, Avgas, and jet fuel (JP-4 & JP-7)
Chlorinated solvents – tetrachloroethylene (PCE/PERC), trichloroethylene (TCE), and Benzene
US Centers for Disease Control Toxicological Profile for Jet Fuels #4 and #7 (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/tp76.pdf )

  • GAFB Schools

    In 2008, DOD knew that the extremely toxic VOC vapors could pose a health risk to the occupants of buildings located above or near the VOC contamination plumes at George AFB. This includes the schools on GAFB that are located above the benzene and near the “Free Product” contamination plumes.

  • The Air Force failed to install VOC ventilation systems or other mitigation measures in the existing buildings.
  • The Air Force failed to disclose this material defect in the Quitclaim Deed, CERCLA 120(h) Notices, Covenants, and Environmental Restrictions.
  • The Air Force failed to protect or notify the building occupants of this potential health hazard.

See: Vapor Intrusion – DOD – In The News

ATSDR - Reported health effects linked with trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), benzene, and vinyl chloride (VC) exposure

Q: What have other studies found about the persistent health effects of TCE, PCE, benzene, and VC?

A: The effects of exposure to any chemical depend on—

  • When you are exposed (during pregnancy, in infancy),
  • How much you are exposed to,
  • How long you are exposed,
  • How you are exposed (breathing [Vapor Intrusion], drinking), and
  • What your personal traits and habits are.

Therefore, not everyone who is exposed to TCE, PCE, benzene, or VC will develop a health problem.

A limited number of studies have been done that looked at the health problems in children and adults related to drinking water contaminated with TCE and PCE. Only one study (in New Jersey) has looked at the health problems in children related to drinking water contaminated with benzene or VC. However, too few children were exposed to benzene or VC in that study to reach any conclusion about health problems. No studies have looked at the health problems in adults related to drinking water contaminated with benzene and VC.

A much larger number of studies have looked at health problems among workers exposed to TCE, PCE, benzene, and VC. Below is a list of the types of health outcomes that have been found to be linked to TCE, PCE, benzene, and VC. The numbers in parentheses indicate the reference for the study. All of the references are listed at the end.

Reported health problems in children who were exposed in the womb from their mother drinking water contaminated with TCE and/or PCE include—

  • Leukemia (1-3)
  • Small for gestational age (4-6)
  • Low birth weight (6-8)
  • Fetal death (4, 7, 9)
  • Major heart defects (7, 10)
  • Neural tube defects (4, 7, 9)
  • Oral cleft defects (including cleft lip) (4, 7, 9)
  • Chonal atresia (nasal passages blocked with bone or tissue) (4, 9)
  • Eye defects (4, 9)

Reported health problems in children who were exposed in the womb from their mother working with TCE and/or PCE include—

  • Low birth weight (11)
  • Miscarriage (12, 13)
  • Major malformations (11)

Reported health problems in people of all ages from drinking water contaminated with TCE and/or PCE include—

  • Non-Hodgkins lymphoma (1, 12)
  • Leukemia (1, 17)
  • Rectal cancer (14)
  • Bladder cancer (17)
  • Breast cancer (18)
  • Lung cancer (14)
  • Neurobehavioral performance deficits (i.e., delayed recall and deficits in visual perception), decreased blink reflex, and mood effects (i.e., confusion, depression, and tension) (33, 34)

Reported health problems in people of all ages from working with TCE and/or PCE include—

  • Hodgkins disease (15)
  • Non-Hodgkins lymphoma (15)
  • Cervical cancer (15)
  • Esophageal cancer (15, 30, 31)
  • Impaired immune system function (35)
  • Kidney cancer (15)
  • Liver/biliary cancer (15)
  • Ovarian cancer (15)
  • Parkinson’s disease (36)
  • Prostate cancer (15)
  • End-stage renal disease (29)
  • Neurological effects (delayed reaction times problems with short-term memory, visual perception, attention, and color vision) (13)
  • Severe, generalized hypersensitivity skin disorder (an autoimmune-related disease) (32)
  • Scleroderma (32)

Reported health problems in people of all ages from working with benzene include—

  • Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (19, 20)
  • Leukemias (21, 22)
  • Multiple myelomas (23)
  • Aplastic anemia (24)
  • Miscarriage (24)

Reported health problems in people of all ages from working with VC include—

  • Liver cancer (25, 26)
  • Soft tissue sarcoma (26)
  • Brain cancer (26)
  • Lung cancer (27)
  • Liver cirrhosis (28)

Workers are exposed to much higher levels of TCE, PCE, benzene, and VC than are people who drink contaminated water. Therefore, the health problems are seen in people who worked with TCE, PCE, benzene, and VC may not be seen in people who drank contaminated water.

For health problems not listed in the tables—

  • Studies, so far, do not support a link with the particular health outcome and TCE, PCE, benzene, or VC exposure, or
  • There is not enough information to see if the outcome is linked to TCE, PCE, benzene, or VC exposure.

Q: How are studies in animals and people different?

A: In studies done in laboratory animals, such as mice, the animals are exposed to much higher levels of chemicals than are people. Animals are also exposed in different ways than are people. In animal studies, we know the exact types and levels of chemicals the animals are exposed to. We can’t tell for certain the exact levels people are exposed to. Also, people are usually exposed to multiple chemicals. Medications, alcohol intake, and lifestyle factors also play a role in how these chemicals affect people.

Source 4/7/2017: ATSDR

US EPA - What is Vapor Intrusion?
Migration of Soil Vapors to Indoor Air This figure depicts the migration of vapors in soil gas from contaminated soil and groundwater into buildings. Vapors in soil gas are shown to enter buildings through cracks in the foundation and openings for utility lines. Atmospheric conditions and building ventilation are shown to influence soil gas intrusion.

Vapor intrusion occurs when there is a migration of vapor-forming chemicals from any subsurface source into an overlying building. Recognition of soil vapor intrusion to buildings and other enclosed spaces occurred in the 1980s with concerns over radon intrusion. Subsequently, there was an increasing awareness that anthropogenic chemicals (e.g., petroleum hydrocarbons and chlorinated solvents) in the soil, ground water, and sewers and drain lines could also pose threats to indoor air quality via the vapor intrusion pathway.

Vapor-forming chemicals may include:

  • volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as trichloroethylene and benzene.
  • select semivolatile organic compounds, such as naphthalene.
  • elemental mercury.
  • some polychlorinated biphenyls and pesticides.

In extreme cases, the vapors may accumulate in dwellings or occupied buildings to levels that may pose:

  • near-term safety hazards (e.g., explosion)
  • acute health effects

In buildings with lower concentrations of vapor-forming chemicals arising from vapor intrusion, the main concern is whether the chemicals may pose an unacceptable risk of health effects due to long-term (i.e., chronic) exposure to these lower levels.

A complicating factor in evaluating the potential chronic risk from vapor intrusion is the potential presence of some of the same chemicals from emission sources in the building that may pose, separately or in combination with vapor intrusion, a significant human health risk.

  • household solvents
  • gasoline
  • cleaners

Source 4/7/2017: US EPA

I am not a doctor, Veterans Service Officer (VSO), or attorney; therefore, I cannot provide medical or legal advice.

If you, a friend, or a loved one have been injured or have passed away due to exposure to contamination at a DOD Superfund Site, please follow the steps outlined on the "Get Help" page.

The views and opinions expressed on this website belong solely to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency of the U.S. government.

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