Campaigners calling for action on chemical contamination at a former RAF base said they have spent more than £10,000 on independent testing.
Gallos Brook Community Group said it has carried out more than 14 tests near RAF Upper Heyford, which show unsafe levels of polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), referred to as forever chemicals.
Group member Helen Christie said the testing was done by “a group of mums”, adding: “The authorities should be taking responsibility for it.”
The Environment Agency (EA) has previously stated there was a risk of contamination at the site from historic fire fighting activities and has conducted its own testing as part of an England-wide PFAS monitoring programme.
It has said military sites and airports are hotspots for PFAS, which were used extensively in firefighting foams for decades.
At RAF Upper Heyford, firefighters would practice putting out an aeroplane set on fire above a “pond” of fuel.
According to Ministry of Defence documents dating back to 1997, the list of potential contaminants from the “fire practice pond” include petrol, oil, lubricants, solvents and firefighting chemicals, which were “drained into storm water drainage”.
The EA’s testing of Gallos Brook – one of the streams near the base – concluded that while its overall ecological status is classed as “moderate”, the waterway fails specific chemical targets in relation to PFOS and other persistent PFAS compounds.
The agency has set a target to improve it to “good” by 2039, adding that it is “technically infeasible: no known technical solution is available”.
Christie said: “My concerns are that serious, significant pollution is happening to all the streams in the area and potentially the groundwater and no-one is taking it seriously.