Originally established as Shemya Army Airfield in 1943 during World War II, Eareckson Air Station sits on Shemya Island in Alaska's Aleutian Islands. It served as a strategic refueling and staging base during the war, and throughout the Cold War it grew into an important installation supporting air defense, surveillance, and intelligence missions. Today it continues operating as a military airfield and radar site backing trans-Pacific aircraft diversions and missile warning operations, and more than 80 years of continuous use have left both AFFF and asbestos exposure as relevant concerns for those who served there.
As an emergency divert airfield for trans-Pacific flights, Eareckson has maintained Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting capabilities for decades. Air Force historical records indicate that AFFF entered service around 1970 and became the standard agent for suppressing Class B fuel fires during military firefighter training. Air Force environmental records identify multiple dedicated training locations at Eareckson, including a Fire Department Foam Training Area, an Aircraft Mock-Up Area/Fire Training Area, and a Lightning Strike/Burn Area, where firefighters practiced live-fire drills, aircraft crash rescue simulations, fuel fire scenarios, emergency response drills, foam application exercises, and fire suppression equipment training.
Firefighters at these sites were exposed to AFFF while mixing foam concentrate, operating hoses during live-fire drills, extinguishing simulated aircraft fuel fires, testing proportioning systems, cleaning firefighting vehicles and equipment, servicing foam storage systems, and running repeated aircraft emergency response drills as part of routine readiness training.
Roles at Eareckson with the greatest likelihood of AFFF exposure include:
- Air Force Fire Protection Specialist
- Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting technician
- fire instructor
- firefighter trainee
- civilian firefighter assigned to Eareckson
- personnel who maintained firefighting vehicles and foam systems
Because ARFF personnel routinely took part in practical training exercises, many firefighters at Eareckson handled AFFF repeatedly throughout their careers. Studies have connected PFAS chemicals in legacy AFFF to kidney cancer and testicular cancer among firefighters with this kind of repeated exposure. If you trained or served as a firefighter at Eareckson and were later diagnosed with one of these cancers, you may be entitled to compensation.
Like many installations built during World War II and expanded through the Cold War, Eareckson relied on asbestos-containing materials for their fire resistance and durability in harsh Arctic conditions. A 2016 renovation of the station's firehouse specifically cited asbestos as one of the reasons extensive restoration work was required, confirming the presence of asbestos in the installation's legacy infrastructure. Materials commonly found at Eareckson included:
- pipe insulation
- boiler insulation
- steam distribution system insulation
- roofing materials
- floor tile
- ceiling tile
- fire-resistant wallboard
- mechanical equipment insulation
- gasket
- packing material
Occupations most likely to have disturbed these materials while working at the remote station included:
- civil engineer
- pipefitter
- boiler technician
- HVAC mechanic
- electrician
- welder
- building maintenance worker
- civilian contractor
Mesothelioma and lung cancer are the two conditions most closely tied to this kind of exposure. Mesothelioma develops in the lining around the lungs, abdomen, heart, or testes, while lung cancer forms directly in lung tissue, and both can take 20 to 50 years to appear after asbestos fibers are inhaled. Because of that delay, many who served at Eareckson decades ago are only now facing a diagnosis tied back to their time on the island. If you developed lung cancer or mesothelioma after asbestos exposure at Eareckson Air Station, our team can help you with the claim process.