South Weymouth Naval Air Station

Base Background

Naval Air Station South Weymouth was commissioned on March 1, 1942, in Weymouth, Massachusetts, and operated through World War II as a base for lighter-than-air blimp patrol squadrons flying anti-submarine and convoy-escort missions over Massachusetts Bay and the Gulf of Maine. The Navy continued using the site for reserve air training after the war. Under the 1995 Base Realignment and Closure round, flight operations at South Weymouth ended on September 30, 1996, and the Navy’s full departure was effective September 30, 1997. Much of the roughly 1,444-acre former base, spanning Weymouth, Abington, and Rockland, is now a mixed-use redevelopment known as Union Point, though the Navy retains responsibility for ongoing environmental cleanup.

Toxic Exposure at South Weymouth NAS

The Environmental Protection Agency proposed South Weymouth for the National Priorities List in June 1993 and formally listed it in May 1994, after investigators traced contamination to a landfill, solvent handling, pesticide application, and firefighting-foam use spread across more than a dozen distinct areas of the former base. Several of those sites are still being cleaned up and monitored today.

TCE, PCE, benzene, toluene and other Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) contaminated groundwater and surface water at multiple points on the former base. Multiple PCB formulations, including Aroclor 1016, Aroclor 1248, and Aroclor 1260, were documented in soil, sediment, and surface water. Other toxins include TCDD, pesticides and heavy metals.

PFAS Contamination

Aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) used in firefighting training left per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including PFOS and PFOA, in groundwater at the former Fire Fighting Training Area and near Hangar 1, where a documented 1987 incident released as much as 10,000 gallons of AFFF. The Navy completed a time-critical removal of PFAS-contaminated soil near the former Building 96 Fire Station and Hangar 1 in January 2025, and land use controls with annual compliance inspections remain in place while investigation continues. A June 2026 update from the Department of Defense sets the projected completion of the remediation at 2032.

Anyone who served at or worked near South Weymouth before its 1997 closure may have been exposed to more than one of these chemicals without ever knowing it, and the resulting health conditions frequently take years or decades to show up. If you developed a disability related to toxic exposure, our VA disability lawyers may be able to help you obtain compensation. Get a free case evaluation to explore your options.