Fort Gillem

Fort Gillem was a United States Army installation in Forest Park, Georgia, on the southeastern edge of Atlanta in Clayton County. The Army established the post in the early 1940s, originally as the Atlanta General Depot (also known as the Atlanta Quartermaster Depot), and it later operated as a satellite of nearby Fort McPherson. The installation was named for Lieutenant General Alvan Cullom Gillem Jr. and for decades served as a logistics, supply, and support facility. As a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round, most of the post was closed, with roughly 1,168 acres surplused in 2011 and a smaller Army enclave of about 259 acres retained for continuing operations.

Decades of industrial, maintenance, and disposal activities at the post left behind contamination in soil and groundwater. Investigators have documented multiple groundwater plumes that originated on the installation and have migrated beneath neighboring residential and commercial areas, raising concerns about potential exposure through drinking water and vapor intrusion into nearby buildings.

1. Trichloroethylene (TCE): TCE is a chlorinated solvent historically used for degreasing metal parts and equipment. At Fort Gillem it has been associated with groundwater plumes that moved off-post, and the Army has detected TCE in indoor air at some off-installation locations. Exposure to TCE has been associated with concerns about effects on the liver, kidneys, immune system, and developing fetuses, and it is considered a potential human carcinogen.
2. Tetrachloroethylene (PCE): PCE, also called perchloroethylene, is a solvent commonly used in dry cleaning and metal degreasing. It has been identified among the contaminants of concern in groundwater at the former post. Concerns about PCE exposure include potential effects on the nervous system, kidneys, and liver.
3. Solvents and petroleum hydrocarbons: Additional volatile organic compounds, including 1,1,2,2-tetrachloroethane, along with petroleum hydrocarbons, have been documented in site investigations. These constituents have contributed to the off-post plumes and to vapor-intrusion concerns. Long-term exposure to such compounds has been associated with a range of potential health effects depending on the chemical and level of exposure.
4. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): PFAS are a large group of synthetic chemicals once widely present in firefighting foam such as AFFF and in many industrial products. The Department of Defense has identified the former Fort Gillem among Georgia sites where PFAS has been detected in groundwater, and the Army is investigating the source and extent of this contamination. PFAS exposure has been associated with concerns about effects on cholesterol, the immune system, and certain cancers.

Fort Gillem is not listed on the National Priorities List (Superfund). Cleanup has been managed under the Army's environmental restoration and BRAC programs with oversight from federal and Georgia regulators. The Army installed pump-and-treat systems to capture contaminated groundwater, and in 2014 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an order under Section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) directing further corrective measures, including identifying private wells and evaluating vapor intrusion. The Army has installed indoor air mitigation and subslab depressurization at affected off-post locations, and investigation and remediation work, including the PFAS investigation, remains ongoing.

Veterans, civilian workers, and family members who spent time at Fort Gillem may wish to stay informed as cleanup and PFAS investigations continue. Anyone with questions about possible exposure or related health concerns is encouraged to speak with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a personal health care provider, who can offer guidance based on individual circumstances.