Water crisis: Illnesses mount for families living on military bases

WASHINGTON – Birth defects. Stage IV cancer. Thyroid disease.

This is a sample of the wide array of illnesses reported in recent years by families battling contaminated water at military bases.

Some members of those families have said the health conditions were caused by a toxic chemical used in firefighting foam that found its way into water supplies at military bases throughout the country.

A comprehensive accounting of the families impacted has yet to be seen, but they have increasingly spoken out at legislative hearings and through activist groups such as Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Environmental Working Group. On Wednesday, four families accompanied the group in the audience of a House panel, and were recognized repeatedly by lawmakers.

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