The legacy of Naval Station Great Lakes: Navigating firefighter toxic exposure claims

As part of boot camp, Navy recruits at Great Lakes completed hands-on firefighting training designed to prepare them for emergencies at sea. A core component of that training involved damage control, the Navy rating responsible for containing fires, flooding, and other onboard threats. These drills used live fuel fires and required trainees to apply firefighting foam directly, the same way they would during a real shipboard emergency.

For decades, that foam was AFFF. It was the Navy's standard for suppressing Class B liquid fires because of how quickly it spreads across a fuel surface and cuts off oxygen to the flame. The foam was practical, effective, and deeply embedded in Navy training protocols. Thousands of recruits passed through Great Lakes annually, and damage control trainees worked with AFFF repeatedly across the length of their training.

PFAS in AFFF foam: health risks and the federal phase-out

AFFF contains per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly called PFAS or "forever chemicals." These compounds do not break down naturally in the body or the environment. They build up in the blood and organs over time. Long-term PFAS exposure has been linked to an increased risk of developing:

• Kidney cancer
• Testicular cancer
• Liver cancer
• Thyroid cancer

The health concerns tied to PFAS have prompted federal action. Under the National Defense Authorization Act, the Department of Defense was required to stop using fluorinated AFFF at all land-based military installations no later than October 1, 2024. Because Naval Station Great Lakes is a land-based site, it falls under that ban. The phase-out itself confirms what researchers and regulators have been documenting for years: the chemicals in AFFF posed a real risk to the people who worked with them.

Navy boot camp recruits and damage control sailors at risk of PFAS exposure

If you attended Navy boot camp at Great Lakes at any point over the past several decades, you may have had direct contact with AFFF during firefighting drills. The recruits most likely to have had repeated, hands-on exposure include those who trained in damage control, the Navy rating that handles onboard firefighting, flooding, and emergency response.

Base firefighters stationed at Great Lakes may also have encountered AFFF in the course of their regular duties, both during training exercises and in responding to actual fire incidents on or near the installation.

Because Great Lakes processed such a large volume of recruits each year over such a long period, the pool of potentially exposed individuals is significant. This was not an isolated incident at one base during one training cycle. It was standard practice, repeated year after year, at the Navy's primary training hub.

File your Naval Station Great Lakes AFFF claim with ELG Law

ELG Law has spent over three decades representing individuals who developed cancer after exposure to toxic substances. If you trained at Naval Station Great Lakes and have since been diagnosed with any of the conditions listed above, you may be eligible to file an AFFF claim.

To evaluate your case, our attorneys will review your military service records showing where and when you trained, along with your medical documentation confirming the diagnosis. Contact ELG Law for a free case evaluation. The sooner we can review your case, the sooner we can determine whether you have a claim.