The EPA announced a pilot program in nine locations across the country, and two are in Oklahoma. Federal officials will sample private water wells around Fort Sill in Lawton and the Army Ammunition Plant in McAlester.

They’re checking for PFAS, also known as forever chemicals because of their long lifespans in the environment. At high concentrations, they’re known to increase cancer risks.

There’s particular interest in PFAS around military facilities, because they’re heavily used in fire extinguishing foam and many other materials. The Army already conducted a larger program to identify PFAS sources across the country in 2017. This new program further investigates potential PFAS contamination at a handful of them.

“The Army welcomes EPA’s collaboration as it continues to evaluate whether PFAS from past Army activities has impacted our neighboring communities and if so, takes steps to mitigate those impacts,” said Rachel Jacobson, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy, and Environment, in a statement.

If PFAS are found to have seeped into the groundwater around the facilities, the Army and EPA will work with the state Department of Environmental Quality to figure out how best to protect Oklahomans’ health.