Based on an updated and expanded data set, the Air Force now says the preliminary statistics show no significant difference in cancer rates between Airmen who worked on nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles and the rest of the Air Force or the general population.
The latest round of environmental sampling for the Air Force’s Missile Community Cancer Study found trace amounts of potentially harmful chemicals called volatile organic compounds in the service’s ICBM facilities, but not at levels that would pose a health hazard, Air Force Global Strike Command ...
Air Force Global Strike Command’s sweeping study of cancer cases in the intercontinental ballistic missile community will expand this summer to include environmental samples from the launch facilities themselves, one of several next steps officials detailed during a virtual town hall June 5.
Certain harmful chemicals were likely present at decommissioned intercontinental ballistic missile bases, the Air Force said in a memorandum published May 20. The Air Force has found evidence of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)—which are possible carcinogens, at active Minuteman III ICBM bases as part of its ...
The Air Force general who oversees the nation’s land-based nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile fleet said he is strongly committed to an ongoing study of cancer cases among crews who worked around ICBMs. “I'm the commander of this mission, and if I don't care, who does?” ...
The Air Force found no significant evidence of harmful chemicals at Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., as part of its ongoing Missile Community Cancer Study, the service said on April 22. Samples collected in February found “no instances of contamination above regulatory action level.” The sampling ...
The Air Force found increased rates of breast and prostate cancers in service members who worked on nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles compared to the general population, according to a preliminary study of data publicly released on March 13. “What we don’t know is whether these ...
The Air Force has found residue of a harmful and possibly carcinogenic substance at intercontinental ballistic missile facilities at Minot Air Force Base, N.D., it announced Aug. 24. According to service officials, military bioenvironmental experts found elevated levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in an underground ...
Air Force experts found trace amounts of hazardous chemicals at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyo., but even though the hazards fell within an acceptable threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency, Air Force Global Strike Command ordered a complete cleanup, the command announced Aug. ...
The Air Force has found hazardous chemicals exceeding acceptable levels at two launch control centers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Mont., and has ordered an immediate cleanup, according to an Air Force memo obtained by Air & Space Forces Magazine.
The Air Force’s study into possible cancer risks associated with work on intercontinental ballistic missiles will be a comprehensive review—and will not favor the service over evidence, medical officials leading the effort insisted. “We need our solutions to be driven by science and data,” Col. ...
The Air Force is pressing to find out why some Airmen and former Airmen who worked wth the nation's intercontinental continental ballistic missile fleet are being diagnosed with blood cancer—years after the service dismissed such concerns in the early 2000s.