Overview
- Citizen groups applied on Oct. 27 for a public-pollution conciliation seeking on-base investigations, government funding for PFAS removal, and blood tests and medical support for residents.
- The prefectural panel will decide on acceptance within about a month, and the application could be rejected because defense facilities are excluded by law, which the groups say would likely push them to file public-nuisance litigation.
- Tests at Camp Kuwae’s treatment facility found PFOS at 18 ng/L and PFOA at 6.5 ng/L in December 2023, remaining above the U.S. EPA’s 4 ng/L per-compound standard in later checks.
- The U.S. Marine Corps asked in May–June 2024 to boost external water deliveries to Camp Kuwae from roughly 50,000 to about 190,000 cubic meters per year, with fees covered under Japan’s burden-sharing, and the town plans to increase supply by fiscal 2028.
- Okinawa officials continue to seek on-base access to identify sources, but the U.S. military generally refuses entry absent a clear leak, and nearby rivers and springs around Kadena and Futenma have tested above Japan’s 50 ng/L provisional guideline for PFOS+PFOA.