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PFAS Contamination from US Military Facilities in Mainland Japan and Okinawa
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 March 2025
Abstract
Persistent in the environment, bio accumulative in animals and humans, and toxic at low levels, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are associated with serious health problems including cancers, hormone imbalance and harm to the immune system. One of the most widespread uses of PFAS has been in aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), a firefighting product linked to extensive contamination at Department of Defense (DoD) installations in the United States. Whereas the DoD has investigated – and in some cases remediated – this problem within the United States, in Japan, host to 78 US military facilities, there has been no such transparency. Civilian checks near DoD bases, notably in Okinawa Prefecture, have detected elevated PFAS levels in waterways, soil, residents' blood and the drinking water supplied to 450,000 people. But US military officials insist there is no proof that its bases are responsible for the environmental problems and they have denied requests from local authorities to conduct on-base checks. This article assesses the most serious environmental threats to Japan and Okinawa associated with PFAS and other chemicals originating at US bases. One method to overcome these obstacles to understanding the threat is the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Internal reports obtained by the author under FOIA reveal that US military operations have been polluting Okinawa and mainland Japan with PFAS via three principal pathways: (1) firefighter training; (2) accidental leaks of AFFF; and (3) disposal of AFFF. Contamination dates from the 1970s and is ongoing; PFAS has spread into neighboring communities, impacting drinking water supplies, and the problem has been exacerbated by negligent handling and disposal of AFFF stocks. This paper concludes with a discussion of how the problem can be further researched and ways to remediate both the contamination and the opacity of US-Japan environmental agreements which allow the US military to suppress information about incessant environmental damage.
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References
Notes
1 For an overview of the history of DoD AFFF usage see “Mapping PFAS Chemical Contamination At 206 U.S. Military Sites: The Pentagon's 50-Year History With PFAS Chemicals,” Environmental Working Group (EWG), March 6, 2019.
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9 Philippe Grandjean, “Delayed Discovery, Dissemination, and Decisions on Intervention in Environmental Health: A Case Study on Immunotoxicity of Perfluorinated Alkylate Substances,” Environmental Health (2018) 17:62
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18 “Agreement Under Article VI of The Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security Between Japan and the United States of America, Regarding Facilities and Areas and the Status of United States Armed Forces in Japan,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
19 Shimabukuro Natsuko, “Kyuu beigun youchi no genjou kaifuku ni sosogareta nihon no 129 oku en,” Webronza, November 18, 2018.
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22 “A Master Narratives Approach to Understanding Base Politics in Okinawa,” Central Intelligence Agency, January 5, 2012. See also Jon Mitchell, “CIA: How to Shape Okinawan Public Opinion on the US Military Presence,” Asia-Pacific Journal 16, issue 13, no. 5 (July 1, 2018): 1–10.
23 “Cooperation Concerning Environmental Matters,” Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, September 28, 2015.
24 “Okinawa kara tsutaetai: beigun kichi no hanashi,” Okinawa Prefecture, May 2018.
25 All data sourced from Okinawa Prefecture. On tourism: “Heisei 29 nendo niokeru ryokou kankou keizai hakyukouka” and “Keizai jousei: Heisei 30-nendo.”
26 “Kadenakichi ga genin ka, Chatan jousuijou kara osen busshitsu,” Okinawa Times, January 19, 2016.
27 Data related to PFOA, PFOS and PFHxS contamination near Kadena Air Base can be found at the homepage of Okinawa Prefecture Enterprise Bureau.
28 Japan has set no consumption advisories for PFOS levels in fish; as a comparison, the Minnesota Department of Health recommends fish contaminated with PFOS at 50 – 200 ppb only be eaten once a month. “Suigen ni seisoku suru gyorui kara yukifusso kagoubutsu PFOS 710-bai,” Ryukyu Shimpo, September 5, 2019.
29 Survey of Perfluorinated Compounds in the Environmental Water in Okinawa (Result of Summer Survey in Fiscal Year 2018), Okinawa Prefectural Government, November 22, 2018.
30 One of the springs near Kadena Air Base is called Azayara Ubuga. For centuries, the local community worshipped there by drawing water on New Year's Day and using it to give newborn babies their first baths; combined PFOA/PFOS levels have reached 2120 ppt.
31 “PFOS/Taimo wa anzen/Okinawa ginowan de kyoudai chousa,” Ryukyu Shimpo, May 27, 2019 (accessed May 20, 2020).
32 “Kecchuu ni yuugaibusshitsu PFHxS,” Okinawa Times, May 18, 2019.
33 Unpublished research provided to author by Koizumi Akio.
34 “Kin chou de kounoudo no PFOS o kenshutsu,” Ryukyu Shimpo, March 12, 2020.
35 “Regarding: PFOS/PFOA Testing,” Master Sgt. Andrew Miller, Marine Corps Installations Pacific USMC, Okinawa Communication Strategy and Operations August 29, 2018. Statement from 18th Wing Public Affairs, Kadena Air Base, June 28, 2018.
36 Matthew M. Burke and Ichihashi Aya, “Okinawa residents warned about pollutants in spring water outside Kadena Air Base,” Stars And Stripes, May 10, 2019.
37 The statement was revealed during investigations by Okinawa-based environmental organization, Informed-Public Project, which has been at the forefront of researching PFAS contamination in the prefecture. As IPP's director, Kawamura Masami, points out, the claim contradicts the DoD's recognition of PFOA and PFOS as “emerging contaminants” and is out of step with the measures the DoD is taking to remediate contamination within the United States.
38 The 2015 data is available at the Okinawa Enterprise Bureau's homepage here:; the 2019 data can be accessed via the Bureau here.
39 Jon Mitchell, “FOIA Documents Reveal Agent Orange Dioxin, Toxic Dumps, Fish Kills on Okinawa Base. Two Veterans Win Compensation, Many More Denied,” Asia-Pacific Journal, October 5, 2015, Volume 13 | Issue 40 | Number 1,; Jon Mitchell, “Contamination at Largest US Air Force Base in Asia: Kadena, Okinawa,” Asia-Pacific Journal, 14, issue 9, no. 1 (May 1, 2016): 1–15; Jon Mitchell, “Beigun houshaseibusshitsu o gesui ni nagasu,” Okinawa Times, July 30, 2018.
40 “Michigan PFAS Action Response Team: Former Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Iosco County,” Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy,“ Michigan State,. ”Environmental Fate and Transport for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,“ Interstate Technology Regulatory Council, April 2020.
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42 “Kadena AB Spill Prevention and Response Plan – Annex A,” USAF, July 9, 2012.
43 “Okinawa shi no dakujakugawa ga zenkoku wa-suto,” Okinawa Times, June 12, 2020.
44 “Kadenakichinai oyobi shuui no PFAS osen joukyou mappu,” IPP, September 9, 2019.
45 “Consultative Letter, AL-CL-1992-0110, Evaluation of Water Sampling Site 4, Kadena AB, JA,” United States Air Force, August 14, 1992.
46 “Re: PFOA/PFOS”, Letter from 18 AMDS Theater Preventive Medicine Flight, November 13, 2017.
47 Data available via Okinawa Prefecture.
48 “Certificate of Test Results,” USMC, February 18, 2016.
49 “Regarding: PFOS/PFOA Testing,” Miller.
50 The data is available from Okinawa Prefecture.
51 “Re: Environmental Compliance,” (Email) 18 AMDS Theater Preventive Medicine Flight (PACAF), March 17, 2016.
52 Reporting is often complicated by how the military calculates the volume of AFFF involved in a release; some reports catalog the amount of AFFF concentrate while others record the amount of foam.
53 According to the report, the cost of shipping the waste to mainland Japan for disposal was estimated at $500,000. One expert concluded the accident was “completely preventable”; the report's authors surmised “multiple personnel did not know how fire detection system worked.” “Command Investigation into the Incident Involving the Discharge of Aqueous Film Forming Foam inside a Hanger (sic) Building,” USMC 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, February 12, 2020.
54 “USFJ Spill Report,” USMC, October 12, 2017. According to a USMC whistleblower I interviewed who had attended the scene, PFAS contamination there posed a more serious health risk than the other hazardous substances – benzene and strontium-90 - detected.
55 Multiple records obtained via FOIA from USMC, released August 2018. For further discussion, see: Jon Mitchell, “Awa shoukazai 142 ton, Kurashiki ni,” Okinawa Times, June 26, 2019.
56 Jon Mitchell, “PFOS no yuugaisei, beigun wa 1997 nen ni ninshiki ka,” Okinawa Times, May 17, 2018.
57 Jon Mitchell, “Kichi kara osui 30 man ittoru,” Okinawa Times, February 20, 2019.
58 “Misawa AB, Japan, Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) 2017,” USAF, 2018. “Misawa AB, Japan, Drinking Water Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) 2018,” USAF, 2019.
59 “USFJ Spill Report,” USAF, November 29, 2012. Another FOIA request to Yokota Air Base seeking its contamination checks came back with no data related to the fire training pit suggesting no tests have been done there or the installation is concealing the records.
60 “Drinking Water Quality Annual Report for Calendar Year 2016: Yokota Air Base & Tama Hills,” USAF, 2017.
61 Koizumi Akio et al., “Distributions of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) in Japan and their Toxicities,” Environmental Sciences, 12, 6 (2005) 293-313.
62 “High level of unsafe chemicals found in well near Yokota base,” The Asahi Shimbun, January 6, 2020.
63 “Yuukifusso kagoubutsu chika mizu nado - 37 chiten de kuni mokuhyouchi koe,” Mainichi Shimbun, June 11, 2020.
64 “Jieitai 21 nendo made ni PFOS shori e,” Okinawa Times February 7, 2020.
65 “Protest: Firefighting Foam leakage at MCAS Futenma,” Letter from Masanori Matsugawa Mayor Ginowan City to Robert T. Koepcke Consul General American Consulate, April 14, 2020.
66 “Press Release 20-011 AFFF Release 200410,” USMC, April 10, 2020.
67 “Japanese officials work with U.S. Marines at MCAS Futenma,” USFJ, April 24, 2020.
68 “Awa shoukazai shigaichi ni kakusan,” Ryukyu Shimpo, April 12, 2020.
69 “Yuugaina busshitsu fukumu awa shoukazai no ryuushutsu ni Amerika shireikan ‘ame fureba osamaru’,” Ryukyu Shimpo, April 12, 2020. Colonel David Steele was quoted in translation in Ryukyu Shimpo as having said “ame fureba osamaru” – “osamaru” can be translated as “subside”, “settle” or “die down.”
70 “Futenma ryushutsu no awa, kaiiki ni mo kounoudo yuugaimono,” April 30, 2020, Ryukyu Shimpo.
71 “Japan finally allowed inside U.S. base to check harmful leak,” Asahi Shimbun, April 18, 2020.
72 “Marine General Apologizes for Massive Firefighting Foam Leak on Okinawa,” Stars and Stripes, April 17, 2020.
73 “Tainted Soil Dug up at US Base, but not Handed to Japan Officials,” Asahi Shimbun, April 24, 2020.
74 “US Base Finally Provides Samples of Potentially Toxic Soil,” Asahi Shimbun, May 12, 2020.
75 “Fluorine-free firefighting foams (3F) – Viable alternatives to fluorinated aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF),” IPEN, 2018.