The U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine and Air Force Global Strike Command released the complete results of the first round of environmental sampling at the three missile bases on Dec. 20.

Those bases are Malmstrom Air Force Base, F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming and Minot AFB in North Dakota, .

The environmental sampling effort is part of the missile community cancer study, looking for a broad range of known or suspected toxic chemicals in missile facilities.

Two more rounds of environmental sampling are ongoing or planned to capture possible seasonal variations, according to AFGSC.

Air Force continuing missileer cancer study

The sampling plan includes nitrates, nitrites, pesticides, semi-volatile organic compounds, diquat, paraquat, dioxin, volatile organic compounds, organophosphates and polychlorinated biphenyls.

The other half of the study is an epidemiology review analyzing data across multiple government health databases and cancer incidence registries.

Military researchers are using those databases to determine if a link exists between prior service members, dating back to the 1970s, service in the missile fields, and elevated risks of cancer. That review is expected to be complete in June of 2024, according to AFGSC.

PCB cleanup at Malmstrom continuing

Early in the first round of sampling, PCBs were detected on some surfaces in facilities at all three bases. Most were below the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s threshold for remediation, but four surface samples detected PCB levels above the remediation threshold.

Based on those results, AFGSC Commander Gen. Thomas Bussiere ordered a thorough cleaning effort in all facilities where any level of PCBs was detected, whether or not they were above the EPA’s standard for remediation.

All other test results, including air, drinking water, surfaces and soil samples, found no contaminants above the levels established by regulatory agencies for remediation, according to AFGSC.

Air Force continuing mitigation, PCBs found at another missile site

The 135-page reports outlining the PCB, air, water, and soil samples for Malmstrom, F.E. Warren and Minot are located on the MCCS website.

Radon sampling is ongoing and will be conducted quarterly to account for seasonal variations. The first round of radon test results is undergoing the final stage of analysis and will be released when complete, according to AFGSC.