Nuclear Missile Workers Are Contracting Cancer. They Blame The Bases.

At a memorial work successful 2022, seasoned Air Force Capt. Monte Watts bumped into a chap erstwhile Minuteman III atomic rocket operator, who told him that she had non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

"I don't cognize if it was ironic aliases serendipitous aliases what nan correct connection is, but location it was," Watts said.

Within nan organization of U.S. work members who unit atomic rocket silos scattered crossed nan Northern Rockies and Great Plains, suspicions had agelong been brewing that their workplaces were unsafe. Just months aft Watts was diagnosed successful 2022, Lt. Col. Danny Sebeck, a erstwhile Air Force missileer who had transferred to nan U.S. Space Force, wrote a little connected a imaginable crab cluster among group who served astatine Minuteman III motorboat power centers connected Malmstrom Air Force Base successful Montana.

Sebeck identified 36 erstwhile workers who served chiefly from 1993 to 2011 and had been diagnosed pinch cancer, including himself. Of those, 11 had non-Hodgkin lymphoma; 3 had died. The Air Force responded swiftly to Sebeck's findings, launching a monolithic investigation into crab cases and nan situation astatine 3 intercontinental ballistic rocket bases and a California motorboat facility. The extremity is to complete nan investigation by nan extremity of 2025.

The work has released portions of nan studies arsenic they conclude, holding online municipality halls and briefings to item its findings. But while erstwhile missileers opportunity they are heartened by nan accelerated response, they stay concerned that nan research, which crosses decades and includes thousands of ICBM unit and administrative workers, whitethorn reside excessively ample a organization aliases usage statistical analyses that won't show a relationship betwixt their illnesses and their subject service.

They request that necktie to expedite benefits from nan Department of Veterans Affairs.

Historically, nan Department of Defense has been slow to admit imaginable biology diseases. Veterans sickened by vulnerability to Agent Orange successful Vietnam, Marines who drank contaminated h2o astatine Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and work members who lived and worked adjacent pain pits successful Iraq and Afghanistan fought for years to person their illnesses acknowledged arsenic related to subject service.

In nan lawsuit of nan missileers, nan Air Force already had studied imaginable contamination and crab astatine Malmstrom successful 2001 and 2005. That investigation concluded that motorboat power centers were "safe and patient moving environments." But pinch Sebeck's position and nan determination to prosecute further investigation, Air Force Global Strike Command — nan portion responsible for managing atomic rocket silos and aircraft-based atomic weapons — said nan earlier studies whitethorn not person included a ample capable sampling of aesculapian records to beryllium comprehensive.

Sebeck, who serves arsenic co-director of nan Torchlight Initiative, an defense group that supports ICBM unit and their families, told legislature Democrats connected April 8 that nan Defense Department has not accurately tracked exposures to nan community, making it difficult for veterans to beryllium a nexus and get VA wellness attraction and disablement compensation.

"I had to spell to a VA personification and propulsion immoderate papers," Sebeck said, referring to nan authorities strategy for signaling work members' biology risks. "It says that I visited Poland once. It doesn't mention that I pulled 148 alerts successful a motorboat power halfway pinch polychlorinated biphenyls and pinch this contaminated aerial and water."

PCBs — and nan missileers exposed to them

PCBs are synthetic chemicals erstwhile utilized successful industry, including rocket power electrical components specified arsenic show screens, keyboards, and circuit breakers. They person been banned for manufacture since 1979, deemed toxic and a apt carcinogen by nan Environmental Protection Agency.

The Air Force's Missile Community Cancer Study compares 14 types of communal cancers successful nan wide U.S. organization and nan rocket organization and besides studies nan environments astatine Malmstrom Air Force Base successful Montana, F.E. Warren Air Force Base successful Wyoming, Minot Air Force Base successful North Dakota, and Vandenberg Space Force Base successful California to find whether they whitethorn person contributed to nan consequence of processing cancer.

The Malmstrom, Warren, and Minot bases together section 400 Minuteman III missiles, nan land-based limb of nan U.S. atomic triad, which besides includes submarine- and aircraft-launched atomic weapons. The missiles are housed successful silos dispersed crossed parts of Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska, staffed astir nan timepiece by missileers operating from underground, bunkerlike motorboat power centers.

So far, nan Air Force investigation has recovered nary "statistically elevated" deaths from crab successful nan rocket organization compared pinch nan wide population, and it recovered that nan decease rates for 4 types of communal cancers — non-Hodgkin lymphoma, lung, colon and rectum, and prostate crab — were importantly little successful missileers than successful nan wide population.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma accounted for astir 5.8% of each crab deaths among group who worked successful motorboat power centers from January 1979 to December 2020.

Early results, derived from Defense Department aesculapian records, recovered elevated rates of bosom and prostate cancers successful nan rocket community, but a later study incorporating further information did not support those findings. The studies besides did not find accrued rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Air Force officials noted during a June 4 online municipality hall, however, that these assessments are based connected astir half nan information nan work expects to reappraisal for its last epidemiological reports and cautioned against drafting conclusions fixed nan limitations.

The last incidence study will see national and authorities data, including accusation from civilian crab registries, and delve into subgroups and exposures, which whitethorn "provide deeper insights into nan analyzable relationship" betwixt serving successful nan rocket organization and crab risk, wrote Air Force Col. Richard Speakman successful a September 2024 memo connected nan first epidemiology results.

Gen. Thomas Bussiere, commandant of Air Force Global Strike Command, said during nan June municipality hallway that only nan last results will find whether nan rocket community's crab rates are higher than nan wide population's.

Some lawmakers stock nan interest of missileers astir nan Air Force study. Following nan merchandise of a University of North Carolina reappraisal of Torchlight Initiative information that showed higher rates of non-Hodgkin lymphoma — astatine younger ages — among Malmstrom missileers, Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) introduced an amendment to a defense argumentation measure calling for nan National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to reappraisal wellness and information conditions successful nan facilities.

"Let’s make judge that we person immoderate extracurricular experts moving pinch nan Air Force studying crab rates pinch our ICBM missions," Bacon posted July 30 connected nan societal level X. "We want to guarantee credibility and that immoderate results travel out, we’ve done full owed diligence."

Regarding further studies connected nan moving environments astatine nan installations and a imaginable narration betwixt exposures and crab risk, Speakman, who commands nan Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine, said Malmstrom had 2 types of PCBs that nan different 2 rocket helping bases did not.

He added that benzene, recovered successful cigaret smoke, conveyance exhaust, and gasoline fumes, was nan largest contributor to crab consequence successful reviews of nan bases.

The appraisal concluded that wellness risks to missileers is "low, but it's not zero," Speakman said. He said it would beryllium due to show nan wellness of motorboat power workers.

Next steps

Watts, whose communicative has been highlighted by nan Torchlight Initiative, has asked nan Defense Department's inspector wide to analyse — nan watchdog agency referred his petition to Global Strike Command — and is intimately watching nan Air Force research. He said nan bulk of nan crab cases reported to Torchlight occurred successful nan 2000s, erstwhile ICBM unit still utilized exertion that contained PCBs, burned classified worldly specified arsenic treated insubstantial and integrative coding devices indoors, and perchance were exposed to contaminated water.

"I unfastened nan doorway and there's guys opinionated location successful pressurized suits pinch sampling equipment," Watts recalled. "They said, 'We're present to cheque for contaminated water.' I look astatine my unit commander, and we're opinionated location successful fabric uniforms. I said, 'Do you spot thing incorrect pinch this?'"

Launch power operators nary longer pain codification tapes indoors and nan Air Force has made improvements to aerial circulation successful nan centers. Sebeck wants Congress to see including missileers and others sickened by vulnerability to guidelines contamination successful nan PACT Act, landmark authorities that mandates wellness attraction and benefits for veterans sickened by pain pits and different pollutants.

"It's documented that location is simply a ample crab cluster successful Montana, astir apt besides successful Wyoming. People enactment surprised, but each they person to do is spell to nan oncology agency successful Denver. I tin find my missileer buddies there. We are sitting successful nan aforesaid chairs getting chemotherapy," Sebeck said.

Air Force Global Strike Command spokesperson Maj. Lauren Linscott said successful consequence to Sebeck's remarks that nan portion understands nan effect of crab connected its unit and is committed to supporting them.

"While existent findings are preliminary and nary conclusions tin yet beryllium drawn, we are dedicated to a rigorous, peer-reviewed, data-driven process to amended understand imaginable wellness risks because nan information of our airmen is our apical priority," Linscott said.

Bills introduced successful nan House and Senate would reside nan situation. In summation to Bacon's amendment, nan Senate type of an yearly defense argumentation measure would require a "deep cleaning" of motorboat power centers each 5 years until nan sites are decommissioned arsenic a caller ICBM, nan Sentinel, replaces nan Minuteman IIIs.

The Air Force intends to merchandise its last epidemiological study by nan extremity of nan year.