The Pentagon says it found contamination from a toxic chemical,
perchlorate, at 14 abandoned or scheduled to be closed military bases
nationwide. But a Democratic senator said Friday more facilities should
have been examined.
In the report sent to lawmakers, the Pentagon said it found the
chemical in ground water and soil samples at closed sites in 10 states.
Perchlorate, a toxic chemical from rocket fuel and weapons production, has been linked to thyroid damage.
The
amounts found ranged from 1.2 parts per billion in ground water at Fort
McClellan in Alabama, to as high as 2,890 parts per billion in some
samples of ground water at Fort Wingate Depot in New Mexico.
There
is debate about what constitutes dangerous levels of perchlorate, but
the Environmental Protection Agency's draft proposal for drinking water
is one part per billion. Some but not all drinking water supplies draw
on ground water.
Perchlorate has been found in drinking water supplies in 29 states and has also been found in vegetables.
The
eight-page report, issued in response to a congressional mandate, was
more than two months overdue. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., released a
letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld Friday saying it didn't
meet congressional demands.
Feinstein said the report should have
addressed 74 potentially contaminated closed bases - a number contained
in a General Accounting Office report from 2003.
She also
complained that the Pentagon shouldn't wait for the EPA to issue a final
national standard for perchlorate to develop clean-up plans. The final
standard isn't expected until 2006 and the report indicates clean-up at
most bases will wait until then.
Fort McClellan in Alabama; Fort Ord, El Toro Marine Corps Base,
McClellan Air Force Base and Mather Air Force Base in California; Pueblo
Chemical Depot in Colorado; Savanna Army Depot and Chanute Air Force
Base in Illinois; Jefferson Proving Ground in Indiana; Fort
Wingate Depot in New Mexico; Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon; Red
River Army Depot in Texas, which is open, but scheduled to be closed;
Camp Bonneville in Washington; and White Oak Naval Special Warfare Group
in Maryland.
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