Established in 1917 as Chanute Field, Chanute Air Force Base served for more than 75 years as one of the Air Force's premier technical training installations, training aircraft mechanics, civil engineers, fire protection specialists, missile maintenance personnel, and other technical career fields before closing in 1993 through the Base Realignment and Closure process. Because of its long history and extensive training mission, Chanute featured older buildings constructed with asbestos-containing materials and maintained an active firefighter training program that historically used AFFF.
Chanute Air Force Base was one of the Air Force's principal technical training installations and hosted the Air Force Fire Protection School for many years, where the base trained military firefighters in aircraft rescue and structural firefighting before the school relocated to Goodfellow Air Force Base following Chanute's closure in 1993. Firefighter training commonly included live-fire exercises, aircraft fire simulations, structural firefighting drills, fuel fire scenarios, fire suppression equipment training, and emergency response exercises.
Beginning around 1970, the Air Force adopted AFFF as its standard firefighting agent for petroleum-based fires. Older versions of AFFF used PFAS chemicals like PFOS and PFOA and were used extensively in firefighter training for decades. Historical Air Force records identify firefighter training areas at Chanute where flammable materials and fuels were burned as part of fire protection instruction, consistent with the training methods used throughout the school's history.
Firefighters could have been exposed to AFFF while mixing foam concentrate, operating foam nozzles during live-fire exercises, extinguishing simulated aircraft fuel fires, conducting crash rescue training, cleaning firefighting equipment after exercises, and servicing foam proportioning systems. This repeated hands-on training often resulted in direct skin contact and inhalation of aerosolized foam.
Personnel who may have faced AFFF exposure at Chanute include:
- Air Force Fire Protection Specialists
- aircraft rescue and firefighting personnel
- fire academy instructors
- firefighter trainees
- civilian firefighters assigned to the installation
- personnel who maintained firefighting equipment
Because Chanute served as a major Air Force technical training center, many firefighters from across the Air Force completed portions of their professional training there before the school moved to Goodfellow. AFFF exposure has been linked to an increased risk of kidney cancer and testicular cancer. If you trained or worked as a firefighter at Chanute and developed one of these cancers, you may be eligible for compensation.
Like many installations built during the early and mid-20th century, Chanute relied on asbestos-containing materials for their fire resistance and insulation. Common asbestos-containing materials at the base included:
- pipe insulation
- boiler insulation
- steam distribution systems
- HVAC insulation
- roofing materials
- vinyl floor tiles
- ceiling tiles
- fire-resistant wallboard
- mechanical equipment insulation
- gaskets and packing materials
Following the base's closure, the Air Force completed extensive asbestos abatement projects in numerous former base buildings, including the removal of asbestos-insulated steam lines, reflecting the widespread presence of asbestos-containing materials throughout the installation. Personnel whose duties involved maintaining or renovating older facilities generally faced the greatest exposure risk, including:
- civil engineers
- construction personnel
- electricians
- plumbers & pipefitters
- boiler technicians
- HVAC mechanics
- welders
- building maintenance personnel
- demolition crews
- civilian contractors
Mesothelioma and lung cancer are the most serious diseases linked to asbestos exposure, with mesothelioma developing in the lining of the lungs, abdomen, heart, or testes, and lung cancer forming in the lungs themselves. Because these diseases often take 20 to 50 years to surface after exposure, many veterans and civilian workers who spent time at Chanute won't see symptoms until long after their service or employment there ended. If you were diagnosed with lung cancer or mesothelioma after working at Chanute Air Force Base, you may be entitled to compensation.