Starting in the 1980s, citizen awareness and demands grew to
know the extent of pollution, which then lead to the creation of the Superfund
program in 1980. During the beginning stages, it was found that the Pentagon
was generating more toxic waste than the 5 largest US chemical companies
combined, resulting in being the largest polluter in the United States. During
this time, the Army Corps of Engineers labeled the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near
Denver as the Earth’s most toxic square mile.
Today, nearly 900 of EPA’s 1,300 Superfund sites (waste
sites classified as those most hazardous to human and ecological health) are
abandoned military bases/facilities, manufacturing, and testing sites. The most
common contaminants include metal cleaning solvents, pesticides, machine oils,
metals, metal working fluids, and chemical ingredients used in explosives. Waste oil, fuel, solvents, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), heavy
metals, radioactive materials and pesticides were dumped into pits,
leaked from containers, buried in landfills, left in test ranges contaminating
soil and drinking water.
Perchlorate has spread from military bases and
defense and aerospace contractor plants into drinking water systems, and has
also accumulated in leafy food crops and fruit irrigated with contaminated
water. A recent study of
powdered baby formula found that all types of both soy- and milk-based formula
are contaminated with perchlorate, and that it has also been detected in breast
milk and human urine throughout the United States. Over half the foods tested by the Food and Drug (FDA) administration contained
perchlorate.
Since the early 1990s, the Air force has been
attempting a major cleanup of Lowry AFB, and recently signed a $30 million
contract for soil cleanup. This is only for one specific contaminated abandoned
base, and does not include the other 899 contaminated areas from Military
Bases. What changes could be done when closing the military bases, or should
the process begin with how these chemicals are treated and disposed of while
the base is still open?
Tessa Millhollin
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