Eaker Air Force Base PFAS Lawsuit: Claims, MDL 2873, and Settlements

Anyone harmed by PFAS contamination tied to the former Eaker Air Force Base in Blytheville, Arkansas can pursue a claim through the national Aqueous Film-Forming Foams Products Liability Litigation, known as MDL 2873, which now holds more than 15,200 individual personal injury lawsuits against 3M, DuPont, and other foam manufacturers. No individual plaintiff settlements have been reached as of mid-2026, but bellwether trials expected in 2026 should shape whether a global settlement follows. Arkansas has also filed its own state lawsuit against the manufacturers, on behalf of the state itself rather than individual residents.¹²

Why Eaker Is at the Center of a Lawsuit

Firefighting crews at Eaker used aqueous film-forming foam, or AFFF, for training and emergency response beginning in the 1970s. The foam contained high concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the “forever chemicals” that don’t break down and accumulate in the human body.³

Environmental Working Group data shows peak on-site readings that are extraordinary. PFHxS reached 359,000 parts per trillion. PFOS reached 164,000 ppt and PFOA 116,000 ppt, with the two combined hitting 280,000 ppt. PFHxA measured 100,000 ppt and PFBS 25,900 ppt. The EPA’s enforceable drinking water limit for PFOA and for PFOS, finalized in April 2024, is 4 ppt each. The combined PFOS and PFOA level at Eaker exceeds that federal standard by a factor of 70,000.⁴³

An important distinction for anyone drinking Blytheville tap water today: those extreme readings are from the base property itself. Testing of the Blytheville Waterworks system, which serves about 13,000 people, found no detectable levels of PFOA, PFOS, or any other PFAS compound surveyed, and the city’s water was in compliance with federal standards as of the most recent assessment period. Whether PFAS has migrated into private wells near the former base is a separate question the available research does not fully resolve.⁵

Which Health Conditions Support a Claim

Personal injury claims consolidated in MDL 2873 focus on six priority conditions: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, thyroid disease, thyroid cancer, ulcerative colitis, and liver cancer.²

The epidemiology behind those categories is strongest for kidney and testicular cancer. Research from the National Cancer Institute found increased kidney cancer risk associated with rising PFOA exposure, and elevated testicular cancer risk among U.S. Air Force servicemen with higher serum PFOS levels. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified PFOA as “carcinogenic to humans” in 2023 and PFOS as a “possible human carcinogen.”⁶ Mount Sinai researchers have also reported a 56 percent increase in thyroid cancer diagnosis rates per doubling of PFOS exposure intensity.⁷ The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry lists additional associated conditions, including increased cholesterol, changes in liver enzymes, reduced vaccine antibody response, pregnancy-induced hypertension, and small decreases in birth weight.⁸

How the MDL 2873 Lawsuit Works

MDL 2873 is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina before Judge Richard M. Gergel. The multi-district litigation consolidates thousands of individual cases filed by military personnel, firefighters, and community members exposed to PFAS in AFFF-contaminated water. Each plaintiff keeps a separate case; the MDL simply coordinates pretrial proceedings across all of them.⁹

Twenty-eight active bellwether cases are in the discovery phase. These are test cases meant to gauge the strength of both sides’ evidence and inform any settlement talks. Judge Gergel held a “Science Day” hearing in June 2025 where experts presented evidence linking PFAS to liver and thyroid cancers. First bellwether trials were originally scheduled for October 2025 but were postponed to address a backlog of unfiled claims. They are now expected in 2026.²

Eaker is not one of the exposure sites in the current bellwether pool. A May 2023 case management order limited initial bellwether discovery to plaintiffs claiming exposure at Peterson Air Force Base (with Colorado Springs Municipal Airport) and Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove (with Naval Air Warfare Center Warminster). That does not block Eaker-related cases from being filed and pending in the MDL. It simply means those cases are not the ones being tried first.¹⁰

Arkansas’s Separate State Lawsuit

Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a state-level suit on June 5, 2023, in Washington County, Arkansas, naming 3M, DuPont, and other manufacturers as defendants. The claims include product liability, deceptive trade practices, public nuisance, and negligence, and allege the defendants knew their PFAS products were harmful but kept selling them without adequate warnings. Arkansas seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief for injuries to state-maintained property and natural resources.¹¹

This is not a vehicle for individual recovery. The state is the plaintiff, and any damages recovered would go to Arkansas, not to residents exposed at Eaker. Arkansas is also home to Little Rock Air Force Base, where PFOS and PFOA levels reached 390,000 ppt, and the readings at both installations helped prompt the state’s action.³

Settlements So Far and What Individuals Can Expect

Large PFAS settlements have already been announced, but every dollar paid so far has gone to public water systems. Not to individuals with cancer or other injuries. In 2023, 3M agreed to pay up to $12.5 billion, with a present value of roughly $10.3 billion, over 13 years, and DuPont, Chemours, and Corteva collectively agreed to pay $1.185 billion. Both deals fund PFAS testing and remediation for U.S. public water suppliers. The 3M settlement received final court approval on March 29, 2024.¹²² Additional water-system settlements include $750 million from Tyco Fire Products and over $300 million from BASF, both approved in November 2024.¹

For individual plaintiffs, no global settlement has been reached. Attorneys involved in the litigation have suggested individual payouts could eventually range from $200,000 to over $1,000,000, depending on the severity of the diagnosis, though those are projections rather than commitments. The bellwether trial outcomes expected in 2026 or 2027 will likely determine whether a global individual settlement materializes.²

A Note for Veterans Who Served at Eaker

Filing in MDL 2873 is not the only path, and for veterans it may not be the fastest. But the VA route also has limits. As of late 2025, no PFAS-related conditions have been added to the VA’s presumptive service-connection lists. The VA is running a formal scientific assessment of PFAS exposure and kidney cancer, which is the only condition currently under review, and the PACT Act process requires peer-reviewed literature review and an interagency expert panel before any presumption can be established.¹³

Without a presumptive connection, a veteran seeking VA benefits must pursue direct service connection, meaning a medical opinion linking the specific disability to their military service and PFAS exposure. That’s a harder case to build. Proposed federal legislation, the Veterans Exposed to Toxic PFAS Act, would direct the VA to expand health care and disability compensation for veterans exposed at military installations, including several cancers, high cholesterol, and pregnancy-induced hypertension. The bill had not been enacted as of mid-2026.¹⁴

1
Drugwatch. PFAS Water Contamination Settlements
2
MDL Update. MDL 2873 Aqueous Film-Forming Foams
3
Arkansas Advocate. The Honoring Our PACT Act: A Game-Changer for Arkansas Veterans Affected by Toxic Exposure
4
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS)
5
Environmental Working Group. Blytheville Waterworks
6
National Cancer Institute. PFAS
7
Mount Sinai. PFAS and Thyroid Cancer
8
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. PFAS Health Effects
9
U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. MDL 2873
10
U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina. Case Management Order No. 26
11
Office of the Arkansas Attorney General. Attorney General Griffin Files Lawsuit Holding Companies Accountable for Spread of PFAS Forever Chemicals
12
3M. 3M Settlement With Public Water Suppliers to Address PFAS
13
Federal Register. VA PFAS Presumptive Conditions
14
Disabled American Veterans. Beyond Burn Pits: DAV Closing the Gaps in Toxic Exposure Benefits