McAlester Army Ammunition Plant
DRINKING WATER
The Army is committed to ensuring quality drinking water is provided to its Soldiers, family members, and civilians. Proactive sampling is performed by the Army on its drinking water systems and coordination with other purveyors of drinking water to installations occurs to ensure PFOS/PFOA remains below the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2016 lifetime health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion (ppt) for PFOS and PFOA (individually or combined). While not an enforceable regulatory standard, a lifetime health advisory represents a concentration in drinking water that is not expected to produce adverse health effects if the water is consumed over an entire lifetime.
Status: Finished drinking water, which is the treated water people drink at McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, does not contain PFOS/PFOA in exceedance of the EPA 2016 lifetime health advisory levels. Army-provided drinking water complies with the standards contained in the Safe Drinking Water Act, a federal law designed to protect the quality of drinking water supplied to the American public. The Army will continue to test and monitor on-base drinking water.
PFOA + PFOS Results: 3.1 parts per trillion (ppt) in finished drinking water
Test results date: November 2021
Testing Frequency: quarterly
Future Testing Event: June 2023
Type of drinking water systems: Army-owned
For questions contact: Public Affairs
Office phone number: (918) 420-6591
Office e-mail address: gideon.s.rogers.civ@army.mil
Water Quality Reports are not required for this installation
CLEANUP ACTIONS
The Army follows the federal cleanup law, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980 (also known as “Superfund”), and long-standing Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations for all chemicals in its cleanup program, including PFAS. In collaboration with federal and state regulatory agencies and interested stakeholders, the Army follows the CERCLA process to investigate a release resulting from Army activities and to assess the appropriate cleanup actions based on risk to human health and the environment.
When the Army identifies that it has impacted drinking water above the EPA’s health advisory levels for PFOS/PFOA on or off an installation, it takes appropriate actions to provide alternate water and ensure drinking water levels are promptly reduced below the health advisory levels (for example, by providing bottled water, shutting down wells, installing treatment systems or connecting to municipal water).
Final reports, points of contact, and/or site specific web links will be updated on this page as cleanup actions progress.
CERCLA is a complex, multi-phase process that provides a consistent, science-based approach across the nation for cleanup and may take years to complete. Read more about CERCLA and the phased approach here
CERCLA INFORMATION
Current CERCLA Phase: Remedial Investigation Scheduled.
Estimated Phase Completion: December 2027
Off-installation drinking water and on-installation groundwater test results:
| Sample Type | Highest PFOS/PFOA levels (ppt) |
Testing Date | Response Action* |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
173,300 |
|
Remedial Investigation |
|
|
|
|
N/A |
* The Army takes immediate, short-term actions to address drinking water that tests above the EPA’s
health advisory levels. After taking action to stop the drinking water exposure to PFOS and PFOA,
the Army pursues more permanent, long-term drinking water solutions.
DOCUMENTS
-
Final Preliminary Assessment and Site Inspection of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances, McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, OK (appendices available upon request)
CONTACT INFORMATION
For more information, contact: Public Affairs
Office phone number: (918) 420-6591
Office e-mail address: gideon.s.rogers.civ@army.mil