News Coverage
JPG contamination report expected in August
Published July 29, 2003
A new Army study of whether soil, sediments and water at Jefferson Proving Ground are contaminated is expected to be made public at the end of August, the Army's environmental coordinator for JPG said last night.
The study report is in draft form, but Paul Cloud of the Army wouldn't reveal any of the findings at the quarterly meeting of the JPG Restoration Advisory Board. Cloud is the co-chairman of the board with citizen representative Richard Hill, president of Save the Valley environmental organization.
A part of the Army that is involved in health and prevention conducted the study at JPG and other Army bases where depleted uranium was used.
Underground water, surface water, soil and sediment were tested for the presence of metals and explosives, Cloud said.
The Army is doing the studies to document whether contaminants have spread and whether there is any impact on active bases where training and testing take place, Cloud said.
In answer to a question, Cloud said the study looked for evidence of perchlorate, a chemical that is gaining increasing national attention because it causes thyroid malfunction, which can result in developmental problems and learning disabilities in children and to a host of adult problems including depression, anxiety and weight gain.
Perchlorate is soluble in water and enters people's bodies primarily in drinking water.
According to the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit research organization, the level of perchlorate that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says is safe in drinking water is actually 10 times higher than what is safe. The EPA has not set a standard for perchlorate in drinking water but is studying it, and might not have a standard in place for several years.
Perchlorate is a main ingredient of rocket and missile fuel and also is found in fireworks and automobile air bags.
Hill, with the help of the executive director of the Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger in Merrimac, Wisc., and a database of perchlorate-containing munitions, compiled a list of 80 types of munitions and components that were tested at JPG that might contain perchlorate.
The items include fuzes, cartridges, grenades, projectiles, mines, rockets, signal illumination and simulators - not the real thing, but a substitute - of such things as atomic explosives, booby traps and hand grenades.
The Environmental Working Group lists both JPG and the still-active Jefferson Range as likely places where perchlorate contamination could be found, along with the former ammunition plant in Charlestown and the Crane Naval weapons center southwest of Bloomington.
JPG tested munitions and components from 1941 to 1995. The last 10 years the proving ground was open, it also tested munitions containing depleted uranium, which is left over after uranium is enriched for use as nuclear fuel. It is far less radioactive than natural uranium. The U.S. and British militaries use depleted uranium for tank armor and for armor-piercing weapons.
The Army contends that removing depleted uranium from JPG would be dangerous for work crews because it is in the same area as tons of unexploded ordnance that could blow up at any time. The Army estimates there are 77 tons of depleted uranium at JPG.
In addition to the brief discussion of the new study, Cloud updated the advisory board and small audience at the Madison-Jefferson County Public Library on all aspects of disposing of JPG. Madison businessman Dean Ford's Ford Lumber and Building Supply Co. was the high bidder to buy most of the land the Army is selling, and is leasing it in the meantime. The Army has sold or will sell about 3,400 acres.
The bulk of JPG, about 51,000 of its 55,265 acres, is the Big Oaks National Wildlife Refuge. Much of the refuge is where the unexploded ordnance and depleted uranium are in and on the ground, enclosed by fencing, blocked by locks and posted with warning signs.
Cloud's update included: