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"Air Force Global Strike Command reports initial PCB clean-up results"

  • 02 Nov 2023 22:14
    Reply # 13274963 on 13272297

    Good Question regarding instances at closed bases -- here's a summary so far:

    Quote:

    https://torchlightinitiative.org/registry-summary/

    SUMMARY (CAO 25 Sep 2023)
    (Total Cases) The Torchlight Initiative cancer registry has 339 self-registered cases
    – (Data Point 1) Of the 339 total cases, 304 of have been identified as missileer, security forces, maintenance, or military family member; the other 35 are “unknown” due to
        insufficient information; of the 304 identified/known cases, 236 or 77.6% are missileers 
    – (Data Point 2) Of the 339 total cases, 269 are registered as “cancer”; the remaining 70 cases are registered as “pre-cancerous and
        other than cancer” (diagnoses include but are not limited to blood/autoimmune disorders and tumors)
    – (Data Point 3) Of the 314 total cases, 151 or 48.1% served at Malmstrom AFB.
    – (NHL) There are 35 total NHL cases from all bases; 21 are from Malmstrom and 18 of these are missileers.  
    – (NHL Malmstrom Case Stat) Of the 21 NHL cases from Malmstrom, 12 cases
        overlap service years 1972-1996 and 
    13 cases overlap service years 1997-2007.
    – (NHL Malmstrom Missileer Case Stat) Of the 18 missileer cases of NHL from Malmstrom, 12 cases overlap service years 1997-2007
        (median age at diagnosis; 
    42) and 8 cases overlap service years 2004-2007 (median age at diagnosis; 42).
    – (Data Point 4) Of the 269 cancer cases, 18 (6.7%) are thyroid cancer
    – (Where) Cases are from Ellsworth, Vandenberg, Kadena, McConnell, FE Warren, Grand Forks, Whiteman, Malmstrom, Minot,
        Davis Monthan, Chanute, Offutt, Patrick, and Little Rock Air Force/Air Bases; also RAF Molesworth.


    Last modified: 02 Nov 2023 22:26 | Anonymous member
  • 02 Nov 2023 16:00
    Reply # 13274811 on 13272297

    Throughout all of these investigations, there has been no mention of possible issues related to other MM wings that have been closed. I strongly suspect (and know of one case of cancer in a crew dog at Whiteman) that a deep dig would reveal several other crewmembers at closed bases have experienced early cancer diagnosis and deaths. 

    Just saying....

  • 27 Oct 2023 07:27
    Message # 13272297

    https://www.airforcemedicine.af.mil/News/Display/Article/3565602/air-force-global-strike-command-reports-initial-pcb-clean-up-results/

    Quote:

    Published Oct. 23, 2023

    BARKSDALE AIR FORCE BASE, La. --  

    Initial efforts to clean polychlorinated biphenyls from launch facilities at Malmstrom AFB are ongoing but seeing success, Air Force Global Strike Command announced today.

    The clean-up effort was ordered by AFGSC commander Gen. Thomas Bussiere after PCBs were detected on surfaces in launch facilities at all three of the command’s missile wings during a survey by the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine.

    Quote:

    Cleaning the PCBs is a difficult process that entails much more than a simple wipe-down, according to Col. Gregory Coleman, AFGSC Command Surgeon.

    “PCBs are undetectable to human senses at the quantities we’re finding in these facilities,” Coleman said. “We know they’re present on what appear to be otherwise pristine surfaces due to the survey results, but the only way to know our cleaning process was a success is by retesting each surface and sending the samples away to the lab. Then we wait two weeks to see if the cleaning was a success.”

    The cleaning teams also must be wary of spreading PCBs during the cleaning process, Col. Coleman said. Some cleaning methods risk dispersing the contaminants rather than removing them.

    The successful cleaning came after bioenvironmental teams at Malmstrom AFB consulted with engineers and medical experts on the cleaning processes and agents most likely to effectively remove the chemicals in the unique environment presented by active launch facilities. After some experimentation, the team settled on a mineral oil wash followed by a solvent scrub, which successfully reduced PCB surface contaminants, in some cases to non-detectable levels.

    ________________________________________________________________________________

    Comment:  Deeper explanation of the difficulties in surface sampling and new guidance on same.  Kudos to the Air Force team coming up with an effective PCB detection and clean-up procedure!

    https://synergist.aiha.org/202310-niosh-surface-sampling

    Quote:

    Letting Surfaces Tell a Story

    New Guidance from NIOSH on Surface Sampling
    By Kendra Broadwater

    Quote:  [Red text added for emphasis]

    The NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM) includes chapters on specific areas of interest. Last year, the chapter “Surface Sampling Guidance, Considerations, and Methods in Occupational Hygiene” was added to NMAM. This chapter compiles available resources and provides additional guidance on surface sampling methods and strategies, drawing upon the history of surface sampling research at NIOSH, available consensus standards, and regulatory requirements for surface sampling and the research underpinning them.

    Quote:

    SURFACE SAMPLING CHALLENGES
    Surface sampling campaigns can have many different objectives and target agents. For this reason, it’s unlikely that a single overarching resource can aid in the development of surface sampling plans for all scenarios. But some considerations apply to all surface sampling campaigns, and certain decisions need to be made and documented before samples are taken and the resulting data interpreted. The new NMAM chapter outlines these basic considerations and brings together the myriad resources available on sampling methods for individual agents or classes of agents.

    The New Chapter in the Manual: 

    NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods (NMAM), 5th Edition,
    Surface Sampling Guidance, Considerations, and Methods in Occupational Hygiene

    Letting Surfaces Tell a Story

    New Guidance from NIOSH on Surface Sampling

    Last modified: 27 Oct 2023 21:02 | Anonymous member

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