Abrahm Lustgarten / ProPublica & CSWAB – 2017-08-05 17:58:11
https://www.propublica.org/article/heath-threat-of-militarys-open-burns-greater-than-thought-tests-indicate
Dangerous Pollutants in Military’s
Open Burns Greater Than Thought, Tests Indicate
Abrahm Lustgarten / ProPublica
A cloud of smoke rises as the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in southwest Virginia conducts an open burn of munitions waste.
(August 2, 2017) — The federal government appears to have significantly underestimated the amount of lead, arsenic and other dangerous pollutants that are sent into the air from uncontrolled burning of hazardous waste at the Radford Army Ammunition Plant in Virginia, according to a draft of a long-awaited report compiled by researchers at the Environmental Protection Agency.
The report details results from air sampling done last September and October at the Radford plant above an open field where piles of waste from the manufacture of weapons explosives are set afire daily.
The plumes drift directly towards an elementary school and residents a little more than a mile away, but the Army and regulators have long maintained that the pollution level is safe, based on its computer-modeled estimates.
Now, it turns out, some of those estimates were wrong.
The data shows that five substances were found at levels greater than the EPA’s models had predicted, meaning that previous health-risk analyses completed by regulators for the burns at Radford did not fully take into account the potential exposure of the surrounding population.
Arsenic, a chemical element known to cause cancer and skin lesions, was found to be emitted at rates 37 times what the previous Radford burn permit estimated. Lead — which can disrupt children’s brain development — was emitted at five times the level previously thought. Cadmium and silver were also present at levels higher than historical models had assumed.
The tests also detected levels of methyl chloride, a chemical used in refrigeration and manufacturing that is known to cause severe neurological effects, high heart rates and high blood pressure, at more than twice the levels previously thought.
The Radford tests are part of a national program to verify the mathematical emissions factors that are used in the permitting dozens of sites that burn similar materials, and so the findings could mean that pollution from the practice of open burning military waste has been underestimated across the country.
The EPA declined to make the researcher responsible for the data available for an interview, but sent a statement pointing out that the research was still in draft form and under active review. ProPublica was given the draft report by a person concerned about the health implications at Radford and other military sites where such burns are conducted.
The Army did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
ProPublica reported on the burn practices at Radford in July as part of an investigation into the environmental implications of the Department of Defense’s handling of munitions and the hazardous waste associated with them.
Our investigation showed that the Defense Department and its contractors continue to burn explosives waste with no emissions controls at more than 50 sites across the country, utilizing a loophole in US hazardous waste regulations created on what was supposed to be a temporary basis for the Pentagon in the 1980s.
The burns are allowed by the EPA and state environment regulators based on permits that use computer models to estimate the rate of pollutant released and to calculate whether those emissions are going to make people sick. The burns at Radford, the single largest polluter in Virginia, have long been permitted based on analyses that showed they were safe.
But the actual emissions from the burns at Radford had never been previously measured. For the new research, the EPA, in cooperation with NASA and the Department of Defense, sampled the smoke plumes at Radford last year, gathering the first air samples of toxins released at the site since burning there began in the 1940s.
The report details chemicals measured by a drone flown through the smoke clouds directly above the burn site over the course of two weeks last fall, and provides the first ever confirmation that significant levels of volatile organic chemicals, including acetone, benzene and toluene — all substances known to cause cancer — are widely prevalent.
EPA officials stressed the good news in their draft findings: that the majority of pollutants measured, including aluminum and selenium, dioxin-like chemicals and volatile chemicals like benzene, were detected at levels less than what the computer models used for historical permits had estimated. The agency described the drone technology used to measure the plumes as “a significant advancement.”
While the research is the first of its kind to take direct measurements of the pollutant plume at the burn grounds in Radford, it still does not attempt to measure exposure to those pollutants in the surrounding community, something that state regulators tell ProPublica would be accomplished by placing ambient air monitors at schools and other public places near the burn site.
People living near the plant have unusually high rates of cancer, thyroid disease and other health problems and have raised questions about a link to open burns, but so far there’s little evidence to prove or disprove this.
Perchlorate, a rocket fuel which has been recently detected in groundwater samples taken in the community surrounding the Radford plant, and which the Radford plant’s former commander had told the Roanoke Times was detected in the new round of samples, is not listed as a detected pollutant in the draft report.
In July, Virginia environment regulators, who are charged with overseeing the plants’ day-to-day operations, told ProPublica they were awaiting the sampling results to make a new risk assessment for the burn site as part of the process of renewing the Army’s burn permit there, which expired in 2015.
Virginia officials told ProPublica that they are evaluating the information and “have not reached any conclusions.”
Abrahm Lustgarten covers energy, water, climate change and anything else having to do with the environment for ProPublica.
Active Open Burning/Open Detonation
Hazardous Waste Sites — United States and Territories
US ARMY
Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland Anniston Army Depot, Alabama
Blue Grass Army Depot, Kentucky Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah
Fort Carson, Colorado
Fort Polk, Louisiana
Hawthorne Army Depot, Nevada Holston Army Ammunition Plant, Tennessee Iowa Army Ammunition Plant, Iowa Letterkenny Army Depot, Pennsylvania McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, Oklahoma Milan Army Ammunition Plant, Tennessee Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey
Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas (emergency permits) Radford Army Ammunition Plant, Virginia Redstone US Army Garrison, Alabama Tooele Army Depot, Utah
Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona
US NAVY
ATK Launch Systems, Naval Industrial Reserve Ordnance Plant (NIROP), Utah
Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California
Naval Submarine Base — Kings Bay, Georgia
Naval Surface Warfare Center Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technology Division, Maryland Naval Surface Warfare Center Indian Head, Maryland
Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane, Indiana
Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren, Virginia
US AIR FORCE
Andersen Air Force Base, Guam
Camp Bullis Training Site, Texas
Cape Canaveral Air Force Base, Florida Edwards Air Force Base, California
Eglin Air Force Base, Florida
Hawthorne Army Depot, Nevada
Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico
Naval Weapons Station Charleston, South Carolina Utah Test and Training Range (Hill Air Force Base), Utah Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
US MARINE CORPS
Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona
US DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Pantex Plant, Texas
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, California Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico Nevada National Security Site, Nevada Sandia National Laboratory, New Mexico
OTHER
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops Flight Facility, Virginia Marpi Point Explosives Demolition Site, Northern Mariana Islands
PRIVATE FACILITIES
Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc., Arkansas
Alliant Techsystems Operations (ATK Tactical Systems), West Virginia ATK Launch Systems Inc. — Promontory, Utah
Austin Powder Company, Arkansas
Chemring Ordnance, Inc. (Kilgore Flares Co. LLC), Florida
Clean Harbors Colfax, Louisiana
Copperhead Chemical Company, Pennsylvania
Daicel Safety Systems America, LLC, Kentucky
Day and Zimmerman Kansas LLC (Explo Systems, Inc.), Kansas Esterline Armtec Countermeasures Company, Arkansas Federal Cartridge Company, Minnesota
Kilgore Flares Company, Tennessee
Orbital ATK (formerly: Alliant Techsystems Operations LLC), Maryland Pacific Scientific Energetic Materials Company, California
R Stresau Laboratory, Wisconsin
St. Marks Powder, Florida
Principal sources for this fact sheet: DOD communications FairWarning.org, US EPA and state regulators
Also online at https://cswab.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Fact-Sheet-Active-OB-OD-Sites-US-and-Territories.pdf
Groundwater Meeting Follow-up, Maps, and More
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB) Update
On July 26, US Army representatives affirmed that the military will not build the proposed public water system for Sauk County residents who live near the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant. Pentagon officials took questions from more than 80 people at the Sauk City Public Library meeting.
“The construction of the water system is not within our authority . . . I acknowledge that’s unfortunate,” said Mike Kelly, representing the Army’s assistant chief of staff for installation management. “That’s part of the reason why I wanted to come here today to tell you that in person.”
Following the meeting, CSWAB received a number of requests for more information, which is posted here:
Who were all the governmental representatives at the meeting?
It took a bunch of emails and phone calls, but CSWAB has assembled a complete contact list for government officials at the July 26 meeting.
Where can I find maps showing well testing results and frequency?
CSWAB regularly publishes and posts maps showing recent groundwater and private well test results. Our maps highlight contaminants of concern and where they have been detected by Army testing. Click on “News and Action” at the top of the CSWAB home page – then click on “Fact Sheets and Maps” in the drop-down menu. Then scroll down to the Maps section.
Here are some of our most recent posts:
Sampled Wells Map April 2017
Groundwater and Private Well Testing Frequency Map 2016
Groundwater Monitoring Summary Map Nov 2016
Abandoned Groundwater Wells Map May 2016
Why hasn’t CSWAB taken a position on the municipal water system?
CSWAB does not have a position and has not weighed in on the proposed municipal water system as we believe this decision should be made by affected residents who will ultimately be responsible for this system. Large landholders, particularly those who will not be utilizing municipal water, should not influence this decision-making process.
The WDNR affirmed in its 2012 decision document that a municipal water system is not a remedy for groundwater contamination. Even if built, the municipal water system does not relieve the Army of its responsibility to restore groundwater quality and meet enforceable groundwater standards in a reasonable time frame.
CSWAB’s role is to assure that the Army fulfills this responsibility and that affected communities are empowered and engaged in the decision-making process.
Click here for a complete copy of our formal recommendations and comments to WDNR and the Army at the July 26 meeting.
How can I help support CSWAB?
Your donation is tax-deductible and every gift is appreciated and invested here in OUR community.
Laura Olah | Executive Director | CSWAB.org
National Coordinator | Cease Fire Campaign
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