Dugway Proving Ground

Dugway Proving Ground is a U.S. Army installation in Tooele County, Utah, in the Great Salt Lake Desert about 85 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. Established in 1942, the roughly 800,000-acre installation has long served as a testing and evaluation center for the Army, and today it is a center for chemical and biological defense testing, where the focus is on detection, protection, and decontamination. Its remote, high-desert setting was chosen for the isolation that large-scale outdoor testing required. Over more than eight decades of operations, a range of industrial, fueling, firefighting, and waste-handling activities took place across the site, and some of those activities left a legacy of soil and groundwater contamination that the Army is now investigating and addressing.

There are concerns about potential carcinogenic health hazards at Dugway Proving Ground, due to exposure to environmental contaminants documented in soil and groundwater at the installation:

1. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances): The Army Environmental Command maintains an active PFAS investigation at Dugway, where the use of firefighting foam led to PFAS reaching groundwater. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals," and exposure has been associated in some studies with certain cancers, thyroid disease, and other health effects.
2. PFOS and PFOA: These specific PFAS compounds are commonly found where firefighting foam was used, and they are among the substances the Army tracks in its Dugway groundwater investigation. Both have been associated with potential health concerns, and PFOA has been classified as carcinogenic to humans by international health agencies, although individual risk depends on the level and length of exposure.
3. AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam): AFFF is a PFAS-containing firefighting foam that was used for decades in fire training and emergency response at military airfields and facilities. Its use at Dugway is considered the likely source of the PFAS detected in groundwater there.
4. Solvents and other waste residues: Like many long-operating installations, Dugway has documented solid waste management units and cleanup areas addressed under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), including a Record of Decision for one such unit. Long-term exposure to certain solvents and industrial residues has been associated with potential health effects, which is part of why these areas remain under investigation and monitoring.

Rather than being on the EPA National Priorities List, environmental cleanup at Dugway is managed through the Army's environmental restoration program and RCRA corrective action, with oversight from Utah state environmental regulators. The PFAS investigation is ongoing, and the Army's PFAS program publishes updates on sampling and response actions at the installation.

Veterans, family members, and civilian workers who served or worked at Dugway Proving Ground and have questions about possible exposure are encouraged to stay informed about the ongoing investigations and to discuss any health concerns with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which maintains resources on military environmental exposures and can explain available screening and benefits.