Military bases, including the Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and Naval Weapons Station Earle, used a firefighting foam rife with dangerous chemicals for decades after being warned of the risks, according to a new report by the Environmental Working Group.

That head-in-the-sand strategy resulted in pockets of contaminated groundwater across the nation, including here in New Jersey, the EWG's report concludes. EWG is a nonprofit environmental research and advocacy group.

The firefighting foam contained PFAS chemicals, which have been linked to developmental problems in children and higher rates of cancer. Watch the video at the top to see how pervasive these chemicals are.

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PFAS are a family of chemicals that includes PFOA, an ingredient in Teflon, and PFOS, which can be found in products like Scotchguard.

Because the use of PFAS has been so widespread since the 1940s and because these manmade chemicals never breakdown, there is very likely some level of PFAS in your body right now.

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Research into the adverse effects of PFAS is inconclusive, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, but studies suggest the chemicals could be linked to:

Developmental problems in children

Fertility issues

Interference with hormones

High cholestrerol

Weakened immune system

Increased risk of prostate, kidney and testicular cancer

Manufacturers began phasing the use of PFAS out of consumer goods in 2000.

The federal government has a guideline for PFAS in drinking water, but nothing in the rule requires cooperation or forces polluters to pay for cleaning up their messes.

New Jersey vaulted ahead of other states last year when it declared an enforceable limit on PFNA, another fluorinated chemical under the PFAS umbrella. The state is also close to cementing regulations on PFOA and PFOS that will require compliance.

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In a statement accompanying the report, the EWG notes that there were warning signs as far back as the 1970s that should have persuaded the U.S. Department of Defense to pivot away from aqueous film-forming foam, a fire suppressing agent that coats liquid fuel and prevents it from mixing with the oxygen necessary for combustion.

“Members of the military and their families share an outsize burden from exposure to PFAS contamination,” said Melanie Benesh, EWG legislative attorney and co-author of the report. “The Pentagon must finally own up to its responsibility and clean up this mess it not only helped create but perpetuated for decades.”

Find out what was uncovered at the Joint Base and Earle below the timeline.

Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst

Samples from three of 175 private wells surrounding the Joint Base were found to be beyond the federal government's recommended limit on PFAS in drinking water, according to a presentation from the defense department last year.

The tests returned results as high as 24 times the threshold. The Defense Department pledged to pay for the extension of water service to two properties and to continue monitoring elsewhere for the next year, reads the summary document from 2017.

A spokeswoman for the Joint Base could not immediately respond to questions.

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Naval Weapons Station Earle

At Earle, 13 of 18 on-base water monitoring wells returned samples above the federal guideline, at least one of which was more than three times the advisory level, according to the 2018 presentation.

Two off-base samples tested above the threshold, indicating an elevated risk to private well water in the immediate area. Residents at those locations were provided bottle water before their homes were tied into the nearest public drinking water system.

In February 2016, the Navy offered to test the well water for homeowners near Earle's fire training center next to the Monmouth County Fire Academy in Howell.

The firefighting foam in question is no longer used at Earle's training center, said Bill Addison, spokesman for the station. Neighbors have nothing to fear, he added.

"At this time, the Navy has found no reason to be concerned," Addison told the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey. "NWS Earle's environmental team continues to monitor and test the groundwater in the area of the Military Sealift Fire Fighting School and have found no reason for further (action) at this time."

You can explore EWG's map by clicking or tapping here.

Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com, @russzimmer