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Toxic Mold, Lead Paint, Asbestos, and Rodents in JBLM Housing

by PNW Street Medics
For years military personnel and their families at Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM) have lived with toxic mold, lead paint, asbestos, and rodents in their homes. Families that exposed these danger health conditions had their concerns ignored and faced retaliation from the JBLM leadership.
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In a December 9, 2023, letter to the Secretary of Defense, "Senator Patty Murray pushed the Pentagon to address housing concerns for service members at JBLM." (https://news.yahoo.com/sen-murray-pushes-pentagon-address-004646934.html) This included toxic mold, lead paint, asbestos, and rodents. These poor living conditions have existed at JBLM for years. In 2021, families in 51 on-base houses filed a lawsuit over the military's refusal to address serious health conditions in their homes. (https://mynorthwest.com/2892655/jblm-lawsuit-toxic-mold-housing-units/)

The CDC provides information about the health effects of mold (https://www.cdc.gov/mold/default.htm), as does the Cleveland Clinic (https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24862-black-mold). Street medics should be aware of the symptoms of things like toxic mold. Individuals living in substandard conditions may be more likely to encounter toxic mold, lead paint, asbestos, and rodents; but as we have seen with the reports about the JBLM military base, these dangerous conditions may be present in areas where one might not normally expect to find them.
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