Survey results released in October by the University of Alaska show that Unalaskans are changing their subsistence practices due to contamination from old military sites.
The U.S. military built bases and installations across Unalaska and throughout the Aleutians during World War II, then abandoned structures and equipment when forces left — including insulation with asbestos, transformers with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and drums of brake fluid and antifreeze.
Over the past 80 years, those materials have leaked into the surrounding soil and water. Today, Unalaska has about 30 formerly used defense sites, known as FUDS. That's the most of any island in the Aleutian Archipelago.
Faith Green, a project manager for the UA survey conducted in 2024, said researchers asked 45 Unalaska residents about FUDS contamination.
“Anything that is in the environment, we have to assume, can potentially impact the things that we gather from the rest of the environment,” she said.
Most Unalaskans surveyed – 77% – said they’ve changed what they harvest because of FUD sites, and 58% said they’ve changed their consumption of subsistence foods.
Residents reported changing where they pick berries and plants, and where they hunt birds and fish. Some have stopped harvesting salmon and marine invertebrates entirely.
“We know that this is impacting people's behavior significantly,” Green said.
Scientific testing supports residents’ concerns. A 2024 study by the University of Alaska – separate from the survey – found that some of Unalaska’s most contaminated sites are within the city limits. Researchers call it a hotspot where toxic materials are especially concentrated.
They tested soil at 18 sites in Unalaska, Amaknak, and nearby islands, and found widespread contamination.
“If there’s any contaminant leaching from the physical litter of FUD sites, we are testing to see if these have been imparted in any significant or dangerous amount in the subsistence foods that are being gathered,” Green said. “So far, we've tested soil primarily, and right now we have those results.”
Diesel and arsenic contamination was widespread across most sites, often at levels more than 10 times higher than what’s considered safe. Researchers said these sites may continue to pose health risks to residents and local wildlife.
However, despite high arsenic levels in soil, researchers found the risk from drinking water is low. They said even if groundwater beneath contaminated sites were used for drinking water, municipal treatment would reduce arsenic to safe levels.
Researchers also examined PCB contamination, harmful synthetic chemicals that were banned in 1979. PCB levels in soil were generally below state cleanup thresholds across Unalaska. But researchers said the testing method likely underestimates the true amount of PCBs present. It also can’t identify which specific types are in the soil, which they said is crucial for effective cleanup.
A 2019 study from Northern Arizona University specifically examined PCBs and subsistence foods. It found that fish from military sites had higher PCB levels than fish from non-military areas. Mussels from military sites showed nearly double the contamination.
PCBs can affect immune function, reproduction, and cognitive development, which are effects that can’t be reversed. Researchers also said PCBs increase the risk of cancer.
At a FUDS meeting in Unalaska last year, resident Denise Rankin linked military contamination to serious health conditions on the island.
“It's been 82 years, we have had so many people die from cancer in this community,” she said. “My grandpa had Parkinson's. My aunt had multiple sclerosis. Now I'm starting to have balance issues. Can't we get these places cleaned up soon?”
So who’s responsible for cleaning up the contamination? The UA study points to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the federal agency in charge of military cleanup. Researchers found the Army Corps has failed in key ways.
The agency hasn’t tested contaminant levels in subsistence foods at Unalaska FUD sites. Researchers found the Army Corps has also concluded no further action was necessary at several sites, despite reporting contaminants that exceeded cleanup criteria. The UA study said nearly half of Unalaska’s FUD sites have no active or planned cleanup projects.
In an email to KUCB, the Army Corps did not directly address these findings. Instead, the federal agency said it is “committed to addressing potential risks to human health in accordance with applicable Federal and State laws” and uses “a risk-based approach, including evaluating sites for potential risks related to subsistence use.”
But residents had been calling out these failures long before researchers documented them. Last fall, they raised concerns directly to Corps officials at a FUDS meeting in Unalaska. Rankin challenged the agency’s reliance on decades-old data.
“These studies were done in the 80s, which is what you're using now to both determine cleanup areas,” she said. “But we obviously can tell that those assessments weren't accurate or 100%.”
Another community member, Piama Oleyer, noted the Corps has known about contamination at the Delta Western Fuel Dock area since the late 1990s, yet cleanup hasn’t happened.
“You keep doing the studies, and then you keep doing another study and another study,” said Oleyer.
Researchers in the UA study are calling for change at the federal level, including greater involvement of tribal governments in cleanup decisions — changes that could take years to implement.
The study also revealed another dilemma for residents. Avoid subsistence foods and you lose their high nutritional value. Switch to imported processed foods and you're eating a lower-quality Western diet.
“We're not trying to scare people from using subsistence foods,” Green said. “It's such a beautiful privilege to have that here, and we want people to feel comfortable harvesting. We just want them to be informed as well.”
In the meantime, scientists with the University of Alaska will continue sampling subsistence foods for FUDS contamination through 2026. And Unalaskans who harvest subsistence foods will keep navigating contaminated land — deciding which berries are safe to pick and which streams are safe to fish.
