Military to study past chemical use at former Pease Air Force Base

Veterans and families who lived and worked at the former Pease Air Force Base want the government to begin collecting data about their disease rates and possible ties to chemical exposures on the installation.

At a forum in an aircraft hangar Friday, dozens of people stood at a microphone and told an Air National Guard colonel about their health problems and their experiences at the base.

Veterans recalled routine, unprotected interactions with chemicals now known or suspected to be toxic, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.

They said they'd wash their hands in jet fuel, pour used hydraulic fluid directly into storm drains, and douse each other in firefighting foams to celebrate retirements.

Those foams are now known to contain PFAS chemicals, which are suspected to cause cancer and myriad other health conditions. High levels of PFAS turned up in the drinking water at Pease in 2014.