Azores begins cattle testing over health fears surrounding heavy metal pollution around Lajes Air Base – Portugal Resident

The Azores Regional Government is launching an independent scientific investigation into decades of pollution linked to the U.S. Air Force’s use of Lajes Base on Terceira Island.

According to an exclusive report by Expresso (and after the United States has said the equivalent of ‘there is nothing to see here’), the regional government is to commission a foreign laboratory to reassess contamination studies. It has also ordered urgent testing of cattle grazing near polluted areas.

The measures mark the most significant escalation yet in the long-running controversy surrounding environmental contamination at the strategic NATO air base, where fuel spills and military activities over several decades have polluted soil and groundwater.

They also come amid growing concern following recent reports that lead was found in the skeletal remains of former Praia da Vitória residents and that toxic chemicals have been detected in areas where dairy cattle continue to graze.

Independent commission approved

According to Expresso, almost every party represented in the Azores Legislative Assembly—except CHEGA—has backed the creation of an Independent Technical Commission (CTI) to examine the environmental and public health legacy of the United States’ use of Lajes Air Base.

The nine-member commission is expected to begin work in January 2027 and will spend two years reviewing existing scientific studies, commissioning additional analyses where necessary and issuing six-monthly reports.

Its remit will include recommending environmental measures, proposing epidemiological studies and advising both the Azores Regional Government and Portugal’s national government on how to address the contamination.

The initiative follows longstanding concerns among local residents and health professionals about what they believe is an unusually high incidence of cancer in the municipality of Praia da Vitória, as well as anecdotal reports of elevated rates of autism. However, Expresso admits that neither concern has yet been scientifically established – despite a cancer study remaining unpublished for six years.

Foreign laboratory to replace LNEC

In one of the most significant developments, Azores Vice-President Artur Lima announced that the regional government is hiring an independent foreign research institute to replace Portugal’s National Laboratory for Civil Engineering (LNEC) as the main body assessing contamination around the base.

LNEC has overseen environmental monitoring since 2009.

“I want to hire a credible foreign institute,” Lima told Expresso, arguing that LNEC simultaneously works for the United States, Portugal’s central government and the Azores Regional Government, raising questions about the independence of its assessments.

The decision follows mounting criticism of LNEC’s long-standing role in monitoring contamination around the base.

Portugal-U.S. meetings cancelled

Expresso also reports that two scheduled meetings of the Portugal-U.S. bilateral technical commission overseeing environmental remediation at Lajes were cancelled last week.

The meetings had been due to discuss LNEC’s latest reports on contaminated land and groundwater – but were postponed despite growing public attention over recent scientific findings and renewed questions about environmental risks.

Last September, during one of the commission’s meetings, representatives of the U.S. Air Force in Europe informed LNEC they would not continue environmental remediation work, arguing that existing contamination posed no threat to human health.

Although Portuguese Defence Minister Nuno Melo subsequently insisted the United States should “assume its responsibilities”, Expresso reports that the U.S. decision to halt further remediation held firm.

Portugal legally responsible

Expresso’s report also highlights a little-known provision of Portugal’s Regional Finance Law that places ultimate responsibility for environmental clean-up on the Portuguese State rather than on the polluter.

The legislation states that Portugal must restore environmental damage caused either by itself or by other countries operating in the autonomous regions under international agreements.

The clause was introduced in 2013 during negotiations over the future of the Lajes Base, when the United States significantly reduced its military presence on Terceira.

As a result, although the contamination originates from decades of U.S. military activity, Washington is not legally obliged under Portuguese law to finance clean-up operations, unless it chooses to do so, stresses Expresso.

Urgent testing of cattle and dairy products

The Regional Directorate for Agriculture, Veterinary Affairs and Food will begin an intensive environmental monitoring programme over the next 30 days.

According to documents cited by Expresso and the Terceira newspaper Diário Insular, authorities will produce updated maps showing underground fuel contamination plumes around the base before cross-referencing them with livestock farms, water sources and grazing land.

Officials will then begin systematic sampling of cattle, pasture and water supplies.

The decision follows warnings from biologists at the Universities of Lisbon and Coimbra, quoted previously by Expresso, who argued that cattle grazing on contaminated land should undergo urgent testing and that affected grazing areas should be isolated from animals entering the food chain.

Testing will be expanded beyond hydrocarbons and heavy metals to include PFAS—known as “forever chemicals”—used in firefighting foams at military installations, as well as carcinogenic BTEX compounds including benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene.

Because Terceira is one of Portugal’s leading dairy-producing islands, milk will also undergo separate analysis. Scientists believe some contaminants, particularly hydrocarbons, may accumulate in animal fat and potentially enter dairy products.

Laboratory testing will include blood, liver, kidney, muscle and fat samples.

Regional Agriculture Secretary António Ventura has also announced plans to introduce preventive action thresholds for contaminated soils and pastures, allowing authorities to impose precautionary restrictions before legal food safety limits are exceeded.

Officials say all environmental monitoring results will be made public to safeguard consumer confidence in agricultural products from Terceira and ensure decisions on environmental risk are based on scientific evidence.

This is a hugely sensitive subject, particularly from the central government’s point of view which has appeared keen to remain in the United States’ ‘good books’ (defence minister Nuno Melo actually sought to dismiss the recent doctoral research project finding lead in skeletons, saying government policy “should rely on assessments by certified public institutions rather than academic theses”. It had to be pointed out to him that the research was funded by the Azorean government, and assessed by the University of Coimbra).

Source material: Expresso