These bases include Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, and Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota. The total number of missileers since the Minuteman operations began in the early 1960s is approximately 21,000, according to the Torchlight Initiative. To put these numbers into context, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that there are about 403 new cancer cases reported per 100,000 people in the general US population each year. Additionally, the American Cancer Society estimates that non-Hodgkin lymphoma affects around 19 out of every 100,000 people annually.

Missileers are male and female military officers who serve in underground launch control centers, where they are responsible for monitoring and, if necessary, launching silo-based nuclear weapons. These officers spend days at a time on watch in underground bunkers, poised to fire Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles if ordered to do so by the president. The silos and control centers were constructed over 60 years ago, and much of the infrastructure and electronics are decades old.

Over the years, missileers have raised concerns about their health due to issues such as ventilation, water quality, and potential exposure to toxins during their 24 to 48-hour shifts underground. In response to these concerns, the Air Force conducted site visits from June 22 to June 29, during which a health assessment team collected water, soil, air, and surface samples from each missile launch facility. At Malmstrom Air Force Base, out of 300 surface swipe samples, 21 detected PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). Of these, 19 were below the levels requiring mitigation set by the EPA, while two were higher than recommended. No PCBs were found in the 30 air samples. The Air Force is still awaiting test results from F.E. Warren and Minot for surface and air samples, as well as results from all bases for water and soil samples.

The discovery of elevated PCB levels at Malmstrom Air Force Base is significant as it is the first time such findings have been made in an extensive sampling of active intercontinental ballistic missile bases in the US. The Air Force Global Strike Command has ordered a new cleanup effort to address the issue and reduce exposure to potentially hazardous conditions for airmen and Guardians at the affected facilities.

The concern over cancer among the missile community has been growing. In January, the AP obtained a military briefing that revealed at least nine current or former missileers at Malmstrom were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. In response, the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine initiated a study to investigate cancers among the entire missile community and identify possible clusters of the disease. The Torchlight Initiative, a grassroots group of former missile launch officers and their surviving family members, has provided additional data indicating that at least 268 troops who served at nuclear missile sites, or their surviving family members, have self-reported being diagnosed with cancer, blood diseases, or other illnesses over the past several decades. Out of these reported cases, at least 217 are cancers, with at least 33 being non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

The discovery of higher PCB levels at Malmstrom Air Force Base raises concerns about the potential health risks faced by missileers and their exposure to hazardous substances. The Air Force's ongoing investigation into the number of reported cancers among the missile community aims to address these concerns and ensure the well-being of those serving in these critical roles.