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This song was written from the perspective of a veteran's wife — not as autobiography, but as witness. The science that informed it, however, is not abstract. PFAS crosses the placenta. It transfers through breastmilk. The research connecting military base contamination to preeclampsia, low birth weight, and neurodevelopmental outcomes in children is documented, peer-reviewed, and published. The families living it are real. The pattern is not coincidence.
The PFAS Contamination Cycle · Military installations → groundwater → potable water → food chain → human exposure
The song follows a documented biological chain. Each step is published.
The Swedish SELMA study measured PFAS in 1,773 women at week 10 of pregnancy. Women with PFOS in the highest quartile had the same odds ratio for preeclampsia as nulliparity — one of the strongest known risk factors. A doubling of PFOS or PFNA exposure was associated with a 38–53% increased risk. A separate Israeli study found PFOA in every placenta tested, with higher PFOA concentrations independently associated with preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and small-for-gestational age. These are not correlations. They are documented associations in peer-reviewed prospective cohort studies.
PFAS crosses the placental barrier through interactions with serum carrier proteins and placental transport mechanisms. It has been detected in fetal organs from first, second, and third trimester pregnancies. It accumulates in the placenta during pregnancy — and is then transferred through breastmilk for a second exposure window after birth. An ATSDR systematic review confirmed the pathway: longer breastfeeding duration directly correlates with higher infant PFAS serum concentrations. The infant's exposure is not a single event at contaminated water. It is two sustained doses delivered through the two most natural acts of motherhood.
A review of 61 studies published 2008–2024 links early-life PFAS exposure to reduced cognitive, motor, and language development in infancy; behavioral problems including hyperactivity in childhood; and associations with ADHD and ASD. Large studies (n=1,000+) found PFAS linked to subtle but population-significant delays in cognition, motor skills, language, executive function, and behavioral problems. Studies of ASD found PFOA associated with increased odds of diagnosis; PFOS and PFHxS showed borderline associations. Research on ADHD found that exposure at age 2 was associated with ADHD development by age 8. Sex-specific patterns were noted, with some studies finding greater vulnerability in girls. The effects measured were often subtle — but small shifts in population distribution of neuropsychological function are not small for the families on the tail end of that distribution.
The developing fetal and infant brain has a more permeable blood-brain barrier and lower capacity to metabolize chemicals than the adult brain. PFAS have been found concentrated in the brain stem, hippocampus, hypothalamus, pons/medulla, and thalamus. They disrupt calcium homeostasis, dopamine and glutamate signaling, and thyroid hormone synthesis — all critical to normal neurodevelopment. They alter gene transcription through epigenetic mechanisms, including sex-specific methylation of genes governing nervous system development. In males, PFOS has been shown to influence methylation of genes specifically important for nervous system development. The developing child is not a small adult. The exposure that a parent's body navigates is not the same exposure a developing brain encounters.
The contamination cycle the song describes — from military base AFFF use through groundwater to drinking water and food — mapped in full.
Pregnancy → placental transfer → breastmilk exposure → developmental risk. And the action plan for mothers who want to know their actual burden.
The song ends with anger. The science doesn't have to.
PFAS body burden can be tested — the NASEM 7-analyte serum panel is available direct-to-consumer through Quest Diagnostics. Cholestyramine, an existing approved medication, has been shown in clinical trial to reduce PFOS serum levels by 60% in 12 weeks. Emerging research on ovalbumin (egg white protein) and okra mucilage shows promise for environmental filtration. The EPA's 2024 drinking water rule established the first enforceable PFAS limits in U.S. history. H.R. 3639 — the VET PFAS Act — is moving through Congress. The water is contaminated, but "forever" is not the same as "hopeless."
Read the PFAS Plan — Testing, Treatment & LegislationThe song ends in rage. The work doesn't have to.
The 2024 EPA MCL regulations. H.R. 3639 — the VET PFAS Act. Cholestyramine treatment shown to reduce PFAS serum levels by up to 60% in 12 weeks. Ovalbumin and okra-based filtration. The NASEM 7-Analyte Panel through Quest Diagnostics for anyone who wants to know their actual body burden. The science of remediation — at the water source, in the gut, in the blood — is advancing. The contamination is not the last word.
My daughter plays where I used to before
The same swing set, the same dusty ground
But now I'm scared of what can't be seen or found
The doctors keep asking what we've been drinking
My baby's blood work has got me thinking↑ PFAS detected in infant serum
Three miscarriages, my sister's gone↑ preeclampsia, pregnancy complications
We never questioned what we built our lives upon
But the pattern's getting clearer with each hospital bed
Something wrong beneath our feet
It's in my milk, it's in my daughter↑ breastmilk transfer · ATSDR 2023
Making families incomplete
There's something icky in the water
And they don't want us to speak
At four years old, it's like he's never heard
The sounds we make, the way we try to reach him
While his mother cries, nobody wants to teach him
I count the cancers on my block by name
Twelve houses down, they're all the same
Young fathers falling, mothers getting sick
And still they say there's nothing to predict
Saying correlation doesn't prove the case we make
Something wrong beneath our feet
It's in my milk, it's in my daughter
Making families incomplete
There's something icky in the water
And they don't want us to speak
(Something icky) it's killing all of us
(Something icky) they knew and didn't care
(Something icky) it's poison in the air
My child deserves to know what for
The sickness came, the babies died
While brass and suits just lied and lied
Something wrong beneath our feet
It's in my milk, it's in my daughter
Making families incomplete
There's something icky in the water
And now we're gonna speak
Now we're gonna speak
Now we're gonna speak
And it's killing you and me