Name:   MartiniMan - Subject:   MM Date:   2/10/2023 9:54:10 AM

When did I say it wasn't real?  I said there was apparently groundwater contamination at the base.  As I understand it the contamination is primarily chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs), i.e., PCE, TCE and degradation products.  ATSDR studied the water systems and found that three of the eight or so were contaminated.  These supplied drinking water to base housing.

The issue of actual harm is not just the presence of CVOCs in drinking water but at what concentration and the length and quantity of exposure.  Given it is a military base the population was likely transitory although there may be on-site workers with longer exposure periods.  But the reality is that exposure does not equal harm.  CVOCs have been heavily studied and the kinds of medical conditions that they can cause are well documented.  Bear in mind that MCLs are predicated on pretty substantial and long term exposure and are also based on an excess risk of one in a million.  MCLs are based on drinking 30 liters per day for 30 years and if you do so it increases your risk of cancer or systemic toxicology by one in a million.  In comparison, smoking increases your risk by 1 in 3.  I seriously doubt there is even one person that had that kind of exposure.

So plaintiff lawyers are looking for anyone that may have been exposed and then they will try to tie any health issues with this exposure.  Frankly, they are counting on the Federal government to just pay rather than litigate.  So there will be a lot of lucky people that got exposed, experienced no harm and will get some cash.  Then there are going to be unlucky people that were exposed, had some health issues (regardless of causation) that will get paid.  And then there's the lucky lawyers that will make a ton of money simply by casting their net far and wide to find clients that fit the bill.  Trust me, after 35 years in the environmental business I know how this game is played.