Everyone makes mistakes; the real crime is the attempt to cover them up.
Did the Department of Defense (DoD) conceal a critical defect in its residential structures built before 1980 (barracks, dorms, and housing), potentially exposing millions to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) that may have endangered the health of military personnel, their families, and nearby residents? Yes. Did they then fail to inform them about their potential exposure? Yes. Because the DoD hid the nature and extent of the contamination and has not notified the Department of Veterans Affairs and the veterans, these veterans and their families are being denied medical care and compensation for their service-connected injuries. Many military personnel and their families had to live in this contaminated housing due to low pay, high rent, and a shortage of off-base housing.
Exposure to organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) is associated with severe health problems, including cancers, neurological and endocrine disorders, congenital disabilities, miscarriages, stillbirths, infant mortality, preterm births, low birth weights, and childhood cancers. In developing fetuses, this connection occurs because OCPs can cross both the placental barrier and the blood-brain barrier. The developing fetus is especially vulnerable during the first trimester, when all major organs and body systems are forming, and can be significantly impacted by exposure to these contaminants.
When the DoD suspected its residential structures were contaminated with OCPs, it had a moral and legal obligation to test these structures for hazardous substances. If any building tested positive for unsafe levels of toxins, federal law required the DoD to relocate occupants, remediate the issue if feasible, or condemn the building if remediation was not possible. Additionally, the DoD was obligated to notify current and former residents about their potential exposure. Evidence suggests it failed to take these required actions.
The OCPs used by the Department of Defense (DoD) are highly toxic, persistent, and bioaccumulative, leading to their prohibition or restriction under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (2001). OCPs have created environmental, safety, and legal challenges for the DoD. Chlordane and other OCPs were used as pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, termiticides, and rodenticides at nearly every military installation in the U.S. Historically, OCPs were utilized so extensively to protect DoD structures and infrastructure that they should be considered present in all structures and infrastructure built before the late 1980s, when the DoD banned their use.
Webb Air Force Base, TX
As early as 1970, the DoD and Air Force recognized that family housing units at Webb Air Force Base in Big Spring, Texas, had exposed occupants to significant levels of chlordane, an organochlorine pesticide. Flawed pesticide application methods and defects in building design contributed to the presence of a completed exposure pathway (CEP) in a large percentage of the DoD’s housing units.
- Source: USAF Environmental Health Laboratory, “Chlordane Contamination of Government Quarters and Personal Property,” March 12, 1970
- Source: PubMed, “Living area contamination by chlordane used for termite treatment,” September 27, 1981
OCPs contamination at military housing
In the news:
- The Palm Beach Post, “Pesticide May Pollute Military Base Housing,” April 27, 1981
- New York Times article, “Chlordane Problem in Houses on Slabs,” September 30, 1982
Scientific studies:
In 1978, the Air Force requested that the National Academy of Sciences review the toxicity data on chlordane. The Committee on Toxicology concluded that it “could not determine a level of exposure to chlordane below which there would be no biologic effect under conditions of prolonged exposure of families in military housing.”
In 1982, the Committee stated “Given the available data and the fact that under conditions of prolonged exposure of families in military housing there may be persons, such as [developing fetuses and] young children, who in general are more susceptible to environmental insults, the Committee concluded that it could not determine a level of exposure to any of the termiticides [OCPs] below which there would be no biologic effects.”
- Source: National Academy of Sciences, “An Assessment of the Health Risks of Seven Pesticides Used for Termite Control,” August 1982
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – chlordane contamination
In 2004, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers conducted a study on chlordane contamination at Department of Defense (DoD) bases.
“High concentrations of chlordane may be found around military housing as a result of lawful application for termite control. To control termites, the chlordane was initially applied to soil prior to construction beneath building foundations. Then it was PWTB 200-1-31 DoD’s pest management practice to routinely reapply chlordane every three to five years thereafter by methods such as treating the perimeter of the foundation by spraying with a rod inserted into the soil, by applying via a small trench dug along the foundation, or by injecting the chlordane through holes drilled in flooring at the periphery of walls. Thus relatively high concentrations of chlordane may have accumulated in these areas over time.”
- Source: S. Army Corps of Engineers “Guidance for Addressing Chlordane Contamination at Department Of Defense Sites.” September 30, 2004
George Air Force Base, CA
CERCLA §120(h) Deed Restrictions
In 2007, the Air Force transferred a section of George Air Force Base, including the former base housing, to the city of Victorville. The government imposed the following CERCLA §120(h) Deed Restrictions on the property.
“(e) Grantee covenants and agrees that it will not use, or allow others to use, the Property for residential purposes (including mobile or modular homes), hospitals for human care, public or private schools for persons under 18 years of age, nursery schools, or day care centers for children.”
“C. Pesticides. The Grantee is warned of the presence of Dieldrin or other possible pesticide-related constituents (“Pesticides”) on the Property in certain portions of the soil and in the upper aquifer [and lower aquifer] of the groundwater, which may have resulted from past applications of pesticides. The Grantee is cautioned to use due care during use, occupancy, and Property development activities that may involve soils containing Pesticides.”
- Source: Quitclaim Deed Parcels: D-7, D-8, D-9, F-1, G-2, J-1, J-2, J-3, J-A, J-5, J-6, J-7, Central and Southeastern Portion of D-5, October 1, 2007
Epidemiological, Environmental, and Health Surveys
The Air Force conducted epidemiological, environmental, and health surveys at George AFB but has failed to release them.
- Source: National Archives and Records Administration Files “Maintenance And Disposition Plan,” November 9, 1991. See page 21
The Department of Defense refused to notify military personnel and veterans.
In 2013, “The cost of attempting to identify all these individuals, including the cost of media advertising, would be a significant burden on the Army’s budget and at a time when the Army is furloughing personnel due to a shortage of funds,” Elizabeth King, the Pentagon’s top liaison to Congress, wrote in an internal email to a House staffer in 2013.
- Source: The Washington Times, “Pentagon puts budget concerns ahead of Fort McClellan troops’ welfare,” January 11, 2015
The DoD/Navy’s suppression of information regarding the contamination at Camp Lejeune and abuse of FOIA:
- POGO, “Another Member of Congress Raises Concerns about Secrecy and Camp Lejeune,” February 24, 2012
- POGO, “Camp Lejeune Report Author Says Redactions Compromise the Science, Sen. Burr Calls for IG Investigation,” March 8, 2012
- POGO, “Senate Judiciary Committee Talks FOIA and the Public’s Right to Know,” March 21, 2012
- POGO, “Members of Congress Pressure Panetta to Release Information on Camp Lejeune,” March 30, 2012
- POGO, “Navy Avoids Giving Members of Congress Camp Lejeune Water Contamination Doc,” June 29, 2012
- POGO, “Senator Leahy Publishes Secret Camp Lejeune Documents,” July 19, 2012
As of June 4, 2025, the DoD has not informed base personnel or the Department of Veterans Affairs about their toxic exposure, leading to veterans being denied medical care and compensation for their service-connected injuries.
Justice Denied
Feres doctrine: The Feres doctrine acts as a legal shield that protects the federal government from liability for certain tort claims made by active-duty service members, particularly those related to their military service.
Discretionary Function Exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA):
On December 7, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit denied the families of George AFB their claim for medical monitoring related to their exposure to toxins, citing the Discretionary Function Exception of the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA).
- Gomez Trial Attorneys, “An open letter to Senators Padilla and Feinstein regarding Robert Anderson, et al. v. The United States of America 2:21-cv-09102-VAP-PD,” June 9, 2020
- United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit, YouTube the court’s decision to dismiss the Federal Tort Claims Act action against the United States alleging negligence arising from the plaintiffs’ alleged exposure to toxic, hazardous, and radioactive waste at George Air Force Base,” December 7, 2023
National Library of Medicine – Biochemical Effects of Organochlorine Pesticides on Humans
| Chemical name | Biochemical effects in humans | References |
| Aldrin and Dieldrin | Neurotoxic, reproductive, developmental, immunological, genotoxic, tumorigenic effects, nausea, vomiting, muscle twitching, and aplastic anemia | USEPA, 2003 |
| Chlordane | Convulsions, tremor, mental confusion, and incoordination | ATSDR, 1997 |
| BHC/ DDE | Cysts in hands, itching, psoriasis, eczema, leucoderma, skin rashes | Subramaniam & Solomon, 2006 |
| DDT | Prickling sensation of the mouth, nausea, dizziness, confusion, headache, lethargy, incoordination, vomiting, fatigue, tremors in the extremities, anorexia, anemia, muscular weakness, hyperexcitability, anxiety, and nervous tension | Klaassen et al., 1996 |
| Diazion | Dark or blurred vision, anxiety and restlessness, as well as psychiatric symptoms such as depression, memory loss, and confusion, and acute pancreatitis. | Reigert & Roberts, 1999 |
| Endosulfan | Decreases the white blood cell count and macrophage migration, adverse effects on humoral and cell-mediated immune system. Affects semen quality, sperm count, spermatogonial cells, sperm morphology, and other defects in male sex hormones, DNA damage, and mutation | Pandey et al., 1990 |
| Lindane | Damage human liver, kidney, neural, and immune systems, and induces birth defects, cancer, cause neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity and hepatotoxicity | Sahoo et al., 2008, |
| Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) | Neurological disorders and short-term memory | |
| Pentachlorophenol | Inflammation of the upper respiratory tract and bronchitis, blood effects such as aplastic anemia, effects on the kidney and liver, immunological effects, and irritation of the eyes, nose, and skin | ATSDR, 1999 |
| https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5464684/table/T0003/ | ||
- Source: National Library of Medicine, “Organochlorine pesticides, their toxic effects on living organisms,” May 17, 2017
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