Toxic Risks in Air Force Nuclear Missile Capsules Linked to Cancer Cases

Documents reveal discrepancy between recorded hazards and what was communicated to crews; modernization plan to replace old capsules with new control center.

Air Force nuclear missile crews have been working in underground capsules and silos since the 1960s, which have been found to have numerous toxic risks, including a large pool of dark liquid, no fresh air, overheating computer displays that ooze a nauseating gel, and asbestos readings 50 times higher than the Environmental Protection Agency’s safety standards.
Documents dating back to the 1980s, obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests, reveal a discrepancy between the recorded toxic risks and what Air Force leadership communicated to missile crews.
In January 2024, at least nine nuclear missile officers were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, prompting the Air Force to conduct extensive testing. Four current samples have come back with unsafe levels of polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, a known carcinogen used in electrical wiring.
Some current missileers believe the Air Force is being transparent in its current search for toxins, while others worry the dangers will again be downplayed.
All of the capsules will be closed down in a few years, as the military’s new ICBM, the Sentinel, comes online. As part of the modernization, the old capsules will be demolished and a new, modern underground control center will be built on top of them.