(C) Daily Montanan This story was originally published by Daily Montanan and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Testing at Malmstrom AFB missile sites finds elevated carcinogen levels amid cancer study – Daily Montanan [1] ['Blair Miller', 'More From Author', '- August'] Date: 2023-08-08 Initial results from Missile Community Cancer Study testing performed in June at Malmstrom Air Force Base for a likely carcinogen banned for decades found some areas had levels of the chemical that exceed federal cleanup regulations, according to the U.S. Air Force. In response, the commander of the Air Force Global Strike Command said Monday it was taking immediate cleanup measures and working with airmen and missileers to try to limit their exposure to what he called “potentially hazardous conditions.” Initial results were reported late last week. “These measures will stay in place until I am satisfied that we are providing our missile community with a safe and clean work environment,” Gen. Thomas Bussiere, the commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, said in a statement. The Associated Press reported on a U.S. Space Force briefing it obtained in January showing there were concerns about a disproportionate number of former missileers at Malmstrom being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Missileers sit for up to two days at a time in underground silos constructed decades ago during the Cold War and are in charge of launching nuclear weapons if ordered by the president. The Torchlight Initiative, a group of current and former missileers and their families focused on sounding the alarm about above-average rates of cancers and other disorders in ICBM workers, is developing a registry of former missileers who have developed various cancers. Out of 268 people who have registered so far, 123 of them were from Malmstrom AFB. Two-hundred seventeen of the 268 reported cases involve varying cancers. Twenty of the 33 people who reported non-Hodgkin lymphoma worked at Malmstrom, according to the organization. A spokesperson for the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom AFB said the public affairs office was coordinating a statement but it would not be ready for release on Tuesday. In late January, the global strike command held two town hall meetings with its leadership teams and other airmen about the briefing slides reported by the Associated Press. In late February, Bussiere announced the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine would investigate possible links between cancers and people who work in the missile community. The school did initial visits at missile bases including Malmstrom in March and another round in April. In May, the groups reported primary findings that there were no immediate factors identified that would be immediate concerns for elevated cancer risk, and Bussiere ordered quarterly sampling at the facilities. A team of bioenvironmental experts from the School of Aerospace Medicine and the Defense Centers for Public Health then performed air and surface-swipe testing at Malmstrom between June 22 and 29, testing for contaminants and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs were used in electrical, hydraulic and heat transferring equipment from 1929 until 1979, when they were banned in the U.S., according to the EPA. They can keep cycling through the ground and air for many years, according to the agency, which has been studying their link to cancer for decades and found they are likely carcinogens for humans. Some studies found a possible increase in various types of cancer among animals and humans. The global strike command said on Monday the results reported from the June testing found that 19 out of 300 surface swipes taken across Malmstrom launch control centers showed levels of PCBs above federal mitigation levels, and two more swipes with detectable results below mitigation levels. The report found there were no detectable levels of PCBs or other contaminants in air samples from launch control centers and the Launch Control Support Building, according to the global strike command. The group of experts also performed similar testing at the Air Force’s other two intercontinental ballistic missile bases, F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming and Minot AFB in North Dakota, whose results are still pending. They also tested ground and water at all three bases whose results are also still pending. Montana’s Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, and other Air Force leadership met at Malmstrom in April to discuss the cancer study, among other things. On Tuesday, Tester wrote a letter to Department of Defense Under Secretary for Personal and Readiness Gilbert Cisneros saying he was “deeply alarmed” by the latest testing results at the base and calling on the DoD to take immediate action and transparently share information with service members and others working at the base. “Given the troubling results from samples taken at Malmstrom, airmen who serve there are their families are understandably concerned about their health and safety, and are looking to the Air Force for prompt notification and a swift investigation,” Tester wrote in the letter. “To that end, it is critical the Department share with my office and these airmen a detailed schedule of planned activities regarding the ongoing missile cancer study.” Tester said service members, contractors and civilians need to know what potential risks they face in certain locations on the base and what resources they might have to ensure their safety. He called on the department to coordinate its findings of the cancer studies with the Department of Veterans Affairs so it can be prepared to support people affected by the potential carcinogens. Republican Montana U.S. Sen. Steve Daines said in a statement he was “deeply concerned” about the carcinogens discovered in the initial testing at Malmstrom. “I’ve been in contact with the Air Force and believe the Department of Defense needs to take immediate action to clean up the affected facilities and ensure all missileers who were exposed receive proper care,” Daines said. “This is unacceptable and I will be pushing for full transparency from the administration throughout this process.” The Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine reviewed Malmstrom cancer data in 2001 and at the time found “no increased rates” of non-Hodgkin lymphoma among missileers from 1991-2000, but the global strike command says it still has the responsibility to investigate service-related risk. The global strike command said while the 2001 study considered PCB exposure, it “did not identify a significant exposure pathway history that would have indicated specific testing was required.” There are approximately 4,000 people – primarily active duty air men and women – in the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom and around 400 in its operations group spread across missile squadrons, according to the Air Force. According to the National Cancer Institute, there are about 18.7 new cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosed in Americans each year, and a 5.1 per 100,000 annual death rate. It accounts for about 4% of all new cancer cases. There are 442 new cases of all cancers per 100,000 Americans, according to the institute. The global strike command said the teams will analyze all the results together to come up with a “comprehensive and holistic response” and future actions. And it said Bussiere would be holding another series of town hall events “to provide an opportunity for two-way communication between medical experts and the missile community.” “I am committed to remaining transparent during this process, and I pledge to continue an open dialogue with Airmen, Guardians, their families and all other stakeholders as the Missile Community Cancer Study continues,” Bussiere said in a statement. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailymontanan.com/2023/08/08/testing-at-malmstrom-afb-missile-sites-finds-elevated-carcinogen-levels-amid-cancer-study/ Published and (C) by Daily Montanan Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/montanan/