Established in 1869, Fort Sill is one of the oldest continuously operating Army installations in the United States. Located near Lawton, Oklahoma, it serves as the home of the U.S. Army Field Artillery School and the Fires Center of Excellence. Because the installation has operated for more than 150 years, many of its older facilities were built using asbestos-containing materials, and decades of firefighting training and emergency response activities have prompted Army investigations into PFAS contamination linked to AFFF.
The Army has identified Fort Sill as an installation where aqueous film-forming foam was historically used. AFFF was commonly used for firefighter training exercises, aircraft and fuel fire response, emergency response drills, fire suppression system testing, and equipment testing and certification. Legacy AFFF formulations contained PFAS chemicals such as PFOS and PFOA that remain in the body long after exposure.
Personnel who may have faced exposure at Fort Sill include:
- military firefighters
- civilian firefighters
- fire protection specialists
- aircraft rescue and firefighting personnel
- fire department hazardous materials technicians
- firefighting instructors and training personnel
- firefighters who maintained or tested AFFF suppression systems
Research has tied certain PFAS chemicals to increased risks of kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, ulcerative colitis, elevated cholesterol, liver damage, and immune system effects. Fort Sill firefighters who worked with or around AFFF faced repeated exposure throughout their careers, through skin contact during foam use, inhalation during training exercises, and contact with contaminated gear. Since PFAS chemicals stay in the body for years, a diagnosis may not come until well after service ended.
Like many historic Army installations, Fort Sill was built and expanded during periods when asbestos was widely used in military construction due to its heat resistance, fireproofing qualities, and durability. Buildings constructed before the late 1970s frequently incorporated asbestos into the following materials:
- pipe insulation
- boiler insulation
- steam distribution systems
- roofing materials
- vinyl floor tiles
- ceiling tiles
- fireproof wall panels
- cement siding
- HVAC duct insulation
- mechanical equipment insulation
- gaskets and packing materials
Many of these materials have since been removed or managed through abatement programs, but asbestos may have been disturbed during decades of maintenance, renovation, and demolition work. Personnel whose duties involved maintaining or renovating older buildings generally faced the greatest risk of exposure. Occupations with potentially elevated risk include:
- Army engineers
- construction crews
- electricians
- plumbers and pipefitters
- boiler operators
- HVAC technicians
- welders
- maintenance personnel
- demolition crews
- civilian contractors
- building maintenance staff
Veterans assigned to older barracks, maintenance shops, warehouses, motor pools, and industrial buildings may also have encountered deteriorating asbestos-containing materials. Lung cancer and mesothelioma linked to asbestos exposure at Fort Sill may qualify you for compensation. If your diagnosis is instead a non-cancerous condition such as asbestosis, pulmonary fibrosis, pleural plaques, pleural effusion, or diffuse pleural thickening, we recommend a second opinion, since these conditions are frequently misdiagnosed in asbestos exposure cases.