Category: Contaminated West Coast Marine Bases

The Marine Corps Air Station El Toro is a former military base. MCAS El Toro was established in 1942 and operated until 1999 on the West Coast. Back in the 1960s, a large gaggle of US Marines departed for and returned from Vietnam via El Toro MCAS. This base, which supported Pacific Fleet Marine Forces was formerly a US Marine Corps Air Station. It was located close to the town of El Toro and not far from Irvine, California. It encompassed about 4,682 acres and housed Marine Corps aviation until being decommissioned. Marine Corps Air Station El Toro is just one of the many military facilities in the nation that are seriously polluted by spilled PFAS for many years, some of which are quite dangerous. The military base was built as a Master Jet Station, meaning that thanks to its fo…

Spanning about 4,700 acres, the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro came into operation in 1943 near Irvine, California, becoming home to Marine Corps Aviation – West Coast. The base soon became the largest jet fighter facility on the West Coast, supporting the Fleet Marine Forces in the Pacific Ocean. The runways at the base were large enough to cater to the largest aircraft in the US arsenal. El Toro also became a base for the military to send and receive their forces during the Vietnam War. Unfortunately, the site had to close down in 1999. Let’s go over why the site closed down and the legacy it left behind. Leaving a Toxic Exposure Legacy Behind After the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro closed down, preliminary investigations revealed a seriously high PFAS concentration a…