Activated in 1941, Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S. Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence, including the Engineer School, Military Police School, and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School. The installation has trained millions of soldiers since World War II and contains numerous facilities built during the wartime expansion era. The environmental restoration activities at Fort Leonard Wood are related to legacy contamination from decades of military operations, including historic use of firefighting foams.
The Army has identified Fort Leonard Wood as an installation where AFFF was historically used in firefighting operations. AFFF was used during firefighter training, fuel fire suppression, emergency response drills, fire suppression system testing, equipment maintenance, and fire protection operations. Older formulations of AFFF contained PFAS chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, which were valued for their ability to fight petroleum-based fires and ensured AFFF was a standard tool for fire protection operations at installations like Fort Leonard Wood for decades.
Firefighters and emergency responders who used this foam or who were in the vicinity of the foam had regular direct contact with the foam as part of their job duties, through skin contact, inhalation of fumes during use, and handling of saturated equipment and gear.
Personnel who may have faced AFFF exposure at Fort Leonard Wood include:
- military firefighters
- civilian firefighters
- fire protection specialists
- emergency response personnel
- firefighting instructors and trainees
- fire department crew chiefs and captains
- hazardous materials teams working alongside fire crews
Scientific studies have linked certain PFAS compounds found in AFFF to an increased risk of kidney cancer and testicular cancer. Firefighters, given the frequency and directness of their contact with AFFF, are considered among those with the highest occupational exposure risk to these compounds.
Because Fort Leonard Wood was rapidly constructed during World War II, many of its original buildings were built when asbestos was a standard construction material for its fire resistance, durability, and insulating properties. Common asbestos-containing materials historically used at the installation included:
- pipe insulation
- boiler insulation
- steam distribution systems
- HVAC insulation
- vinyl floor tiles
- ceiling tiles
- roofing materials
- cement siding
- fireproof wallboard
- mechanical equipment insulation
- gaskets and packing materials
Fort Leonard Wood is a documented asbestos worksite, appearing in legal and historical records tied to confirmed exposure claims from veterans who served there. A federal historic building assessment of the installation's Building 2101 specifically noted asbestos tile flooring among its original materials, reflecting the broader presence of asbestos across the base's World War II-era structures. Personnel most likely to have faced occupational exposure included:
- Army engineers
- construction personnel
- electricians
- plumbers & pipefitters
- boiler operators
- HVAC technicians
- welders
- maintenance personnel
- demolition crews
- Public Works employees
- civilian contractors
Veterans assigned to aging barracks, warehouses, maintenance shops, motor pools, and utility plants may also have encountered asbestos-containing materials during routine work. Veterans who developed lung cancer or mesothelioma from asbestos exposure at Fort Leonard Wood may be eligible for compensation. Conditions such as asbestosis, pulmonary fibrosis, pleural plaques, pleural effusion, or diffuse pleural thickening carry a high rate of misdiagnosis, so a second opinion is strongly advised if you've received one of these diagnoses.