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Tests on three private water wells off base are contaminated with chemicals from firefighting foam used on Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, the base says. (Michael Mancuso file photo)

Tests on several water sources on and off Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst show contamination from two chemicals contained in firefighting foam used on the base for decades, the base said.

On base, some of the tests show levels thousands of times higher than the federal government's health advisory level for drinking water.

Off base, three private well were found with high levels of the compounds - perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

The testing is ongoing and being completed as part of a comprehensive environmental effort by the U.S. Air Force to ferret out contamination after prior tests in ground and surface waters on base found elevated levels of PFOS and PFOA, the base said.

Off base, the program has tested municipal drinking water sources in six locations, and found no contamination, and Jackson, Manchester and Pemberton townships also tested their public water sources as part of the program and results were negative, or "non detect," base spokesman Air Force Sgt. Dustin Roberts said.

Of 131 off-base private drinking water wells tested, three were contaminated, and one had combined PFOS/PFOA levels of 1,392 parts per trillion, Roberts said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's health advisory level - or HAL - for PFOS and PFOA is 70 parts per trillion.

Any affected residents will be assisted in getting access to clean water, with the Air Force picking up the costs.

"If private drinking water wells are identified with concentrations exceeding the EPA drinking water HALs, the (Air Force) will provide bottled water in the short-term until a longer-term treatment solution is identified and implemented for the resident," Roberts said in a statement.

On base, the program has tested approximately 165 groundwater monitoring wells and 28 drinking water sources - 27 of them wells and one surface intake that is off- base.

Of those, 124 of the monitoring wells were contaminated and two base drinking water sources, two shallow wells on the Lakehurst part of the base, were contaminated, Roberts said.

In the monitoring wells, levels varied, but the combined presence of PFOS/PFOA detected were as high as 264,300 parts per trillion. In the Lakehurst wells, the highest level was 215 parts per trillion, Robert said.

On base, the testing took samples from 30 surface waters, like lakes streams and ponds and 19 of them were contaminated. The levels ranged from 12.5 to 8,830 parts per trillion.

The base has not conducted any off-base sampling of irrigation wells or surface water, Roberts said.

PFOS and PFOA are used in clothing, carpeting, furniture and food packaging to repel oil and water, but the main source on base is from aqueous film forming foam (AFFF), commonly known as firefighting foam.

The Air Force's firefighting operations used it for decades - as did civilian companies and firefighters - but the entire Air Force is no longer using it in firetrucks, and Roberts said the base is in the process of replacing any fire suppression systems that use the foam.

Such systems were commonly installed in aircraft hangars, he said.

Roberts said the Air Force at the base is concerned with the contamination overall, but is focusing on impacts off base. He said the EPA's health advisory levels are non-enforceable, non-regulatory levels, "but current science indicates that there may be a concern from consumption."

Therefore, the Air Force is will be aggressive in responding and informing the community, Roberts said. The military recently held an open house in Jackson and has hand-delivered informational packages and sampling request forms to 271 property owners, he said.

A draft report on all the testing is scheduled for completion in April, and a final report is expected in the summer, Roberts said.

Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.