We want to help you

We developed this website based on the Cancer and Illness from Fort Ord Facebook group as a place to organize and share the most important documents and news related to the contamination on the former Fort Ord, California.

We are sick Veterans, family members who lived on Fort Ord, civilian employees on Fort Ord, new residents, community members, and concerned citizens. We are all volunteers. Who we are.

We have been gathering anonymous information from people who are sick and have a connection to Fort Ord. You can check out our anonymous database here. We now have detailed information on 1,544 people! Can we add your info to the anonymous database? Email us at: fortordcontamination@gmail.com

It is shocking to see the concentrations of cancer and disease in the neighborhoods where we once lived and worked.

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In the News The VA rejects evidence Agent Orange was used at Fort Ord, leaving ill veterans without aid.
Monterey County Now, July 18, 2024 Read more. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fort Ord Superfund Site

We are concerned about the high rate of cancers and illnesses associated with Fort Ord, an Army base in California that trained 1.5 million soldiers for battle during the 20th century. We lived and worked there. It’s a beautiful place but it has killed many of us and made more very sick. In 1990, due to its high levels of contamination, Fort Ord was declared a Superfund site and placed on the National Priorities List, a list of the worst of the worst. Read more about the EPA profile of Fort Ord here.

In 1991 Fort Ord was selected for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure Act, and in 1994 it was “closed”. Despite it being “closed”, many of us continued to live and work on the base, and due to redevelopment, thousands live and work on the former Fort Ord today.

The US Army has been “cleaning up” the area for the past 40 years. Much of the land has been redeveloped and large portions were given to the neighboring towns of Seaside and Marina.

Here are the official documents related to the clean up. Make sure to visit the “Document Search” page.

Here is a good summary, with cited links and research, of the contamination and resulting illnesses found on Fort Ord.

The main contaminants found in the water on Fort Ord have been linked to many cancers and illnesses to include kidney, liver, and blood cancers (Multiple Myeloma, lymphoma, leukemia). Here is a summary of some of these diseases. Note that Multiple Myeloma comprises only 2% of all cancer diagnoses, yet we are tracking more cases than either prostate or breast cancer (the two most common cancers).

Multiple Myeloma 138
Kidney cancer and disease 123
Prostate cancer 108
Leukemia 105
Lymphoma 78
Other blood diseases 77
Breast cancer 81
Liver cancer and disease 46

Can we add your info to the anonymous database? Email us at: fortordcontamination@gmail.com

We think these are the deadliest contaminants of those found on the EPA’s Fort Ord Contamination list and we believe many of our diseases can be traced to these toxins. Of particular concern is trichloroethylene, (TCE), and the persistent TCE plume. Clicking on the links below will bring you to the Pub Chem site of the National Institutes of Health. See “Associated Diseases and Disorders.” Note, we recently discovered documented proof that Agent Orange was used on Fort Ord but it was not included in EPA’s original assessment. Additionally, PFAS (PFOA and PFOS) were not included since there was no awareness of PFAS at the time EPA published their findings.

See Virtual Triage to find your diseases and identify the chemicals at Fort Ord that may have caused them.

Benzene
Carbon Tetrachloride (aka CT)
Hexavalent Chromium
Methylene Chloride (aka DCM and Dichloromethane)
PFOS (type of PFAS)
PFOA (type of PFAS)
Tetrachloroethylene (aka PCE, PERC, and Perchloroethylene)
Toluene (aka Methylbenzene)
Trichloroethylene (aka TCE and Trichloroethene)
Trichloroethane (aka TCA and methyl chloroform)
Vinyl Chloride (aka Chloroethene)
Agent Orange (aka 2,4-D plus 2,4,5-T)

OUR MISSION STATMENT AND GOALS

• Acknowledgement from the VA and the federal government that all types of military contamination, not solely burn pits, have sickened people.

• Comprehensive blood testing for toxins, including PFAS (as recommended by the National Academy of Sciences), of all veterans, family members, and civilians who lived on/near a military base known to be contaminated.

• Hospital and medical care for affected veterans, family members, and civilians, in addition to veteran’s disability benefits for sick veterans or surviving family members.

• Creation of a Health Registry to follow those affected by all the contamination on Fort Ord.

• Requiring periodic review of the registry as well as reassessment by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of emerging epidemiological evidence that would substantiate adding conditions to the presumptive list for VA benefits coverage.

• Establishing a Medical Monitoring program for anyone who lived or worked on/near each SuperFund-designated base.

ATSDR

Due to our efforts, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), part of the Centers for Disease Control, (CDC), agreed to re-evaluate the contamination of Fort Ord. Here is the most recent update from them:

"The ATSDR team is working toward a Winter 2024 or Spring 2025 report release. Recently, analysis has focused on the ATSDR SHOWER Model which allows for evaluation of breathing and skin exposures from volatile chemicals in household water. In addition to the report release, the team has also been participating in various meetings to be aware of the current cleanup activities. So far in 2024, one of our team members participated in a Technical Review Board meeting organized by the Army. ATSDR also participated in the Army’s virtual Community Involvement Workshop—which was released as an interactive, online website launched February 10, 2024. ATSDR’s re-evaluation of drinking water exposures is listed at the bottom of section 2. Here is The Groundwater Cleanup Update factsheet.