Naval Base Kitsap - Bangor

Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) Bangor

NBK Bangor is on the Kitsap Peninsula in Kitsap County, Washington. The base is located on Hood Canal, approximately 6 miles north of Silverdale, Washington. Naval activities began at NBK Bangor in June 1944, when the U.S. Naval Magazine, Bangor, was established to provide a deep-water shipment facility for ordnance. From 1944 into the early 1970s, the Navy facility at Bangor was primarily used for shipment and storage of ordnance and demilitarization of unserviceable and dangerous ammunition. In February 1977, NBK Bangor was commissioned as the West Coast homeport for the Trident Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile System. The current mission of the base is to provide administrative and personnel support for submarine force operations and logistical support for other Navy activities.

Emergency Response Action

The Navy is taking an emergency response action at NBK Bangor to mitigate potential public exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), specifically perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluoroocatonoic acid (PFOA), in off-base drinking water wells near NBK Bangor, Silverdale, Washington. 
Please send all comments to PAO_Feedback@navy.mil

Property owners in the designated sampling area near NBK Bangor whose drinking water has not been tested may request sampling by calling

1-844-NBKBNGR (1-844-625-2647)

Since February 2020, the Navy has sampled drinking water wells within designated areas near NBK Bangor for certain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly known as PFAS.
 

PFAS are a family of thousands of different chemicals which have been widely used in industrial and consumer products since the 1950s. The Navy developed a proactive policy to address past releases of PFAS at installations nationwide, as several PFAS are now of emerging public health concern to the Navy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), state regulatory agencies, and the general public. The EPA has issued a drinking water lifetime health advisory for two commonly used and studied PFAS, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA).

The most common Navy activity that could have resulted in the historical release of PFOS, PFOA, and other PFAS to the environment is the use of firefighting foam (specifically certain types of aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF) for testing, training, firefighting, and other lifesaving emergency responses. Because of this historical use, there is potential for PFOS, PFOA, and other PFAS to be in the groundwater at the base, and also be present in nearby off-base drinking water wells  located in the direction that the groundwater flows away from the base withinthe sampling areas,  Figure 1 . In addition, because there were results above the EPA’s lifetime health advisory in two private drinking water wells sampled in the initial sampling effort, the Navy expanded the designated sampling area. The expanded sampling area, also shown in Figure 1, was selected because of general groundwater flow direction away from the two private drinking water wells above the EPA lifetime health advisory. (Out of respect for owner privacy, location-specific results will only be released by the Navy to the owners).

Fig. 1. Designated Sampling Area near NBK Bangor

NBK Bangor Actions Based on Drinking Water Sampling Results

Since historical operations at NBK Bangor included the use of AFFF, the Navy began drinking water sampling for certain PFAS in drinking water wells in the initial sampling area in February 2020. PFOS/PFOA were found above the EPA lifetime health advisory level of 70 ppt in two drinking water samples, so the Navy expanded the sampling area. The Navy provided bottled water for drinking and cooking for the two private drinking water wells with PFOS/PFOA above the EPA lifetime health advisory and will continue to do so until a long-term solution can be put in place. Table 1 summarizes the drinking water sampling results to date.

¹ Includes developed and undeveloped/vacant lots and lots served by public water

Identification of PFAS at NBK Bangor

The Navy’s priority with PFAS investigations is to identify and eliminate drinking water exposures above the EPA’s lifetime health advisory level.

Across the country, the Navy has been conducting base-wide evaluations to identify additional potential PFAS releases. These evaluations are being conducted under the federal cleanup program which meets the requirements of, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Following CERCLA, the Navy’s installation-wide assessments are called preliminary assessments/site inspections, and their purpose is to verify, validate, and update the inventory of PFAS release sites aboard the installation for further investigation and cleanup.  The recent preliminary assessment conducted at NBK Bangor identified 22 on-base areas where PFAS-related releases potentially occurred, and additional investigation is needed. These are listed below in Table 2.

Posters Displayed at Open House Meetings & Supporting Documents

Homeowner/Resident Contact Information 
Phone: 844-NBKBNGR (844-625-2647)
email:   PAO_Feedback@navy.mil

Media Contact
Phone: 360-627-4046
email:   pao.nbk.cnrnw@navy.mil

News Release: Navy to sample private drinking water wells near NBK-Bangor for PFAS