BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) —  An Illinois Environmental Protection Agency report shows that cancer-causing chemicals used over the years at Scott Air Force Base in southern Illinois may have leaked into local water supplies.

The Belleville News-Democrat reports that the state’s EPA says an expanded site inspection is set to begin this summer for signs of the class of substances known collectively as PFAS.

They’re dubbed “forever chemicals” because they take thousands of years to degrade. U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin said the Air Force provided his office with preliminary details regarding the base’s contamination and they have contacted local elected officials to determine next steps.