Rock Island Arsenal

Rock Island Arsenal is an active United States Army installation located on Arsenal Island in the Mississippi River, between Davenport, Iowa, and Rock Island, Illinois. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1862 during the Civil War to serve as an ordnance manufacturing and storage site for the Union Army. Over the following decades it grew into a major manufacturing center, producing equipment, weapons, and ammunition for American and Allied forces through both World Wars. Today it is recognized as the largest government-owned weapons manufacturing arsenal in the United States, and the historic portion of the island was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1988. More than a century and a half of industrial and military activity has left a footprint that the Army continues to investigate and address.

Because of its long history of metalworking, foundry operations, ordnance production, and firefighting activity, Rock Island Arsenal has been associated with several environmental contaminants. The concerns below reflect documented investigation and cleanup work at the installation.

1. PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are persistent industrial chemicals once widely used in electrical equipment and lubricants common at manufacturing facilities. At Rock Island Arsenal, PCBs such as Aroclor 1254 have been documented in soil, sediment, and groundwater, and the installation manages a dedicated PCB program. PCB exposure has been associated in scientific literature with a range of potential health effects, which is part of why such material is investigated and managed.
2. PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a large family of manufactured chemicals known for their persistence in the environment. At the arsenal, testing by the Illinois EPA and the Army detected PFAS, including PFOS and PFOA, in the installation water system, with PFOA reported above the state guidance level. The arsenal samples its water supply for PFAS on a regular cycle under Army policy, and these substances remain an area of active study at military installations nationwide.
3. AFFF (aqueous film-forming foam) is a firefighting agent used at many military sites for fire suppression and training and is a recognized source of PFAS. Firefighting activity has occurred at the arsenal, and such foam is a commonly cited PFAS source at military installations, although the specific origin of the PFAS detected at Rock Island Arsenal has not been definitively established in the sources reviewed. Concerns about exposure relate primarily to the PFAS compounds these foams can leave behind.
4. Heavy metals, such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, and chromium associated with foundry work, metal plating, and ordnance manufacturing, have been documented among the contaminants of concern at the installation. Certain metals have been associated with health concerns at sufficient levels of exposure, and they are among the substances addressed through the Army's environmental work.
5. Solvents and related industrial compounds, typical of large manufacturing and degreasing operations, are also among the documented contaminants at Rock Island Arsenal. Some solvents have been associated with potential health effects, and their presence is considered as part of soil and groundwater investigation and remediation.

Rock Island Arsenal is not listed on the federal National Priorities List, so it is not a Superfund site in the NPL sense. Instead, environmental work is conducted as a federal facility-lead cleanup under the Army's environmental restoration program. PCB-impacted material has been investigated and managed, while PFAS detected in the water supply remains part of regular monitoring and continuing study.

Veterans and others who served or worked at Rock Island Arsenal may wish to stay informed as efforts continue. Anyone with questions about possible exposure or related health matters is encouraged to speak with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and a personal healthcare provider.