Is the former Fort Ord Safe?
Our Recent Test Results
Our volunteers will be back on Fort Ord for more testing in September 2026. Stay tuned for the results.
December 5, 2025 - Our team spent three days in September 2025 testing water and air on the former Fort Ord for volatile organic compounds. In general, the water and air meet federal standards. However, there were concerning levels of trihalomethanes (THMs) in drinking water samples. We used VOC air testing kits by the firm Chemical Badges and Tap Score’s VOC Water Test Kits. See the results here. Denise Trabbic-Pointer, a Certified Hazardous Material Manager Emeritus, explains the results here.
We also took water samples at 18 locations that were intended to measure the concentrations of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, (PFAS) but unfortunately they were “lost in the mail.”
A Recent Analysis of Residential Areas
Residential Areas of Concern at the Former Fort Ord site:an investigative report that describes how residents on and near the former Fort Ord military base are at risk of exposure to hazardous chemicals.
Summary of recent water reports on Fort Ord: In short, the official FOST determination that the property “does not present an unacceptable risk to human health and the environment” is based on incomplete data and outdated risk-based criteria.
Our Mission
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, civilian employees, 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 2,013 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 where we once lived and worked.
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The Pentagon denies using Agent Orange at Fort Ord
April 18, 2025
Fundraising for Fort Ord
Please help us!
April 15, 2025
Campus Town is contaminated
New development in Seaside, California at the former Fort Ord likely to threaten public health
April 3, 2025
PFAS at the former Fort Ord
52-page report
March 27, 2025
Developing the former Fort Ord remains a tricky proposition, as Seaside has long realized.
Monterey County Now, Dec 4, 2024
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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 given to the neighboring towns of Seaside and Marina.
Here are the official documents related to the clean up. 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.
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The main contaminants found in the water on Fort Ord have been linked to 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 197
Kidney cancer and disease 157
Prostate cancer 192
Leukemia 127
Lymphoma 101
Other blood diseases 77
Breast cancer 105
Liver cancer and disease 61
Can we add your info to the anonymous database? Email us at: fortordcontamination@gmail.com
Virtual Triage
The most common toxic chemicals found on military bases, including Fort Ord:
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)
Then, we matched them with the diseases and cancers they are believed to cause. See Virtual Triage to find your disease(s) and identify the chemicals at Fort Ord that may have caused them. Source NIH Pub Chem https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
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.
We support the Medical Patriot project in conjunction with the non-profit On Your Side Health, to protect the health of our military, veterans, and defense communities, including the Fort Ord community. Follow our project and share the resources with your medical providers and contacts in the medical community.
ATSDR
The Agency for Toxic Substances andDisease Registry’s (part of the CDC) recent re-evaluation of Fort Ord missed the mark in several ways: the report does not evaluate all the contaminants found by the EPA at Ord, it doesn’t evaluate possible exposure pathways, and it doesn’t cover a complete time frame.
Here is our response published as a Guest Commentary in the Monterey Herald.
ATSDR 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.
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Can you help us pay for air and water testing on Fort Ord? We need financial help to continue our advocacy.
GoFundMe PayPal: FortOrdContamination Venmo: @FortOrdContamination
