Veterans and their families were exposed to perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) in their tap water at Wurtsmith Air Force Base. Firefighting crews at the base trained with PFCs, which are used to extinguish flames. The toxic chemicals are linked to cancer as well as kidney, liver, thyroid, gastrointestinal, heart and reproductive problems.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) analyzed water found in decades-old fire hydrants at the base. According to the results of the department’s pending report, the water contained high levels of PFCs. Catch basins inside the hydrants were previously connected to the base water system. The water samples were gathered in 2015 from 22 hydrants and a water softener tank.

Veterans advocates believe the data collected from the hydrants could be the key to proving their arguments and urging the VA to be more responsive to their claims. They are hoping for a study of their chronic health problems which could potentially be connected to the contaminated tap water at the base.

“The contamination that we’re seeing in the hydrants indicates to us that the people on the base were at times drinking levels of PFC contamination that were above the health advisory that EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] has put out for these chemicals,” said Bob Delaney, MDEQ’s Wurtsmith site manager.

Although it is unknown exactly how many veterans and family members may have been affected by the contaminated water, the number could potentially be large. In 1985, the base’s payroll comprised 3,600 service members and civilians. The base closed in 1993.

Copper is necessary for bone and tissue growth, hormone secretion and nerve conduction, but the new research from the University of Rochester Medical Center suggests that too much copper has negative effects on human health. The research was published in the journal PNAS.

The research found that copper, even in amounts that are common and allowable by the FDA, can affect the barrier that keeps toxins from entering the brain. Copper can also fuel the production of beta-amyloid in the brain and keep proteins from clearing it out. Beta-amyloid is a component of amyloid plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

In addition, copper buildup in the brain can cause inflammation. In the short term, inflammation is a sign that brain tissues are responding to excess proteins and attempting to expel them, but in the long term inflammation can damage brain cells.

Copper is found in a wide range of foods, including shellfish, nuts, red meat, and many vegetables and fruits. It is also found in vitamin supplements, and it seeps into drinking water from copper pipes. Suspended in water, copper is in its free form and is more readily absorbed into the body than when it is consumed in food.

Researchers said that the findings could suggest a way to prevent or slow Alzheimer’s disease. A drug currently in trials binds with copper molecules and removes them from the body. However, researchers said that even if such a drug is successful, a balance will have to be found between too much copper in the body and too little.

The research was done with mice and with human brain cells to find ways that copper might initiate or worsen Alzheimer’s disease. They found that the blood-brain barrier breaks down in the elderly, allowing larger toxin molecules to enter the brain. They also found that the concentration of copper in the small blood vessels in the brain increases with age.

The researchers fed mice a normal diet but gave half of them double-distilled water with a very low copper content and half of them water with higher levels of copper, equal to one-tenth of the maximum allowed by the EPA. The mice with a higher copper intake had a level four times lower of a protein that removes beta-amyloid from the brain.

The Hale Law Firm believe the right solution to your estate planning, elder law, or probate needs can be identified in a free initial consultation with one of our attorneys and counselors at law. To learn more or to contact a Dallas estate planning lawyer, visit http://www.thehalelawfirm.com/ or call 972.351.0000