Fort Knox

Fort Knox is an active U.S. Army installation in north central Kentucky, located south of Louisville. It was established in 1918 as Camp Knox, a training camp named for Major General Henry Knox, the first U.S. Secretary of War, and it became a permanent military post in 1932. For much of the twentieth century the installation was the home of armored warfare training and the U.S. Army Armor School, a role it held until the Armor School relocated under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. Today Fort Knox hosts the Army Human Resources Command, the U.S. Army Cadet Command, and the U.S. Army Recruiting Command, and it remains widely known to the public as the site of the United States Bullion Depository. Decades of vehicle maintenance, industrial operations, and firefighting activity at the installation have prompted ongoing environmental study.

As with many long-operating military installations, Fort Knox has been associated with several environmental contaminants, and there have been concerns about potential exposure through soil and groundwater. The documented contaminants below reflect findings reported by the Army and related sources.

1. Trichloroethylene (TCE): TCE is an industrial solvent that the military historically used as a degreaser for metal parts and equipment. At Fort Knox it has been identified as part of long-standing groundwater contamination tied to past maintenance and industrial activities. TCE has been associated in health research with effects on the liver and kidneys and with certain cancers, which has raised concerns about potential exposure.
2. Tetrachloroethylene (PCE): PCE is a related chlorinated solvent used for degreasing, stripping, and cleaning. It has been documented alongside TCE in the groundwater contamination at Fort Knox. Studies have associated PCE exposure with various health concerns, and cleanup of these solvents at the installation has continued over time.
3. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS): PFAS are a large family of persistent synthetic chemicals. At Fort Knox, PFAS were studied in connection with the fire department's past use of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) in training and firefighting, including PFOS and PFOA. Seven sites were tested in 2020, with several near Godman Army Airfield, and slightly elevated PFAS levels were reported in soil and surface water in some drainage areas. The installation's finished drinking water was sampled in 2013 and again in 2019 with no PFOS or PFOA detected, and the Army reported PFAS below detection limits in 2024 sampling. PFAS have been associated with a range of health concerns in ongoing research.
4. Solvents: In addition to TCE and PCE, other industrial solvents have been documented in connection with cleanup activities at Fort Knox. Such solvents were commonly used in degreasing and equipment maintenance, and concerns about potential exposure relate primarily to groundwater pathways.

Fort Knox is not listed on the National Priorities List as a federal Superfund site. Environmental work has instead been carried out through the Army's installation cleanup and restoration efforts, in coordination with state environmental authorities in Kentucky and consistent with Department of Defense testing programs. The Army has reported that AFFF training was discontinued in 2016 and that solvent cleanup tied to TCE and PCE has continued, alongside drinking water and PFAS sampling.

Veterans, family members, and others who lived or worked at Fort Knox may wish to stay informed as monitoring and cleanup continue. Anyone with questions about possible exposure and related health matters is encouraged to speak with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a personal healthcare provider, who can offer guidance based on individual circumstances.