thedrifter
07-10-07, 07:50 PM
Is radioactive waste buried at Lejeune?
EPA investigates whether material was moved to South Carolina disposal site
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 10, 2007 19:40:41 EDT
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency has started an investigation into whether cancer-causing radioactive material is still buried near a rifle range at Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps’ primary base on the Atlantic Ocean.
A Navy document dated May 22, 1981, said the material included 160 pounds of soil and two animal carcasses laced with strontium-90, an isotope that causes cancer of the bone and soft tissue and leukemia.
“We are looking into this information to determine if we need to sample and where,” said Dawn Harris-Young, a spokeswoman for the EPA’s regional office in Atlanta. “It’s really early.”
The document said the dirt, carcasses and 518 “beta buttons” containing strontium-90 were cleaned up at a research lab near the main part of the base and buried in a remote area. The document also said the buried material was later recovered, “safely stored” and was awaiting shipment to an approved disposal site in South Carolina.
But Jerry Ensminger, a respected former Marine master sergeant who found the 1981 document while researching the base’s history of contaminated water, said he has been unable to find further documentation that the material was shipped off-base. While hunting on the base near the rifle range in 1986, he said, he saw a sign warning of hazardous waste.
“I guarantee you the waste material from that lab is sitting over there” at the range, Ensminger said.
Base spokesman 2nd Lt. Craig Thomas said because of record-keeping practices in the early 1980s, the Corps can’t find proof that the material was shipped to South Carolina. He said the Corps informed the EPA about the past contamination while discussing the possible construction of a building nearby, adding that recent testing found “no harmful materials” at the site.
Ensminger said he came across the Navy document, as well as others referring to “radiation pools,” while seeking information on chemical contamination of water wells at the base. He said he also found a water testing report from 1984 that showed radioactivity levels of more than twice the allowed amounts.
Over the course of three decades, tens of thousands of Marines based at Camp Lejeune and their families drank and bathed in water contaminated with toxins as much as 40 times over today’s safety standard. The Corps shut off the wells containing industrial solvents in the mid-1980s, and the base’s water now meets federal standards.
At least 850 former residents of the base have filed administrative claims, seeking nearly $4 billion, for exposure to the tainted water.
Ensminger, 55, served in the Marine Corps for 24 1/2 years, living for part of that time at Camp Lejeune. His 9-year-old daughter, Janey, died from cancer in 1985.
Today, Ensminger is a member of the Restoration Advisory Board, a panel of military and civilian representatives formed in 1996 to discuss the water contamination issues. He said he planned to bring up the radioactivity report at a quarterly board meeting scheduled for tonight.
“Mr. Ensminger — who has unfortunately suffered a direct family loss from earlier contamination at Camp Lejeune and who I’ve found to be more accurate than anyone describing events at Camp Lejeune — has raised serious concerns about radiological testing and contamination,” said Joe McLaughlin, a retired Army major and member of the Onslow County Board of Commissioners.
“There was evidence of contamination at some point. What is it now? It’s all the more pertinent because we’ve had this problem before at Camp Lejeune with chemical contamination.”
Ellie
EPA investigates whether material was moved to South Carolina disposal site
The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 10, 2007 19:40:41 EDT
RALEIGH, N.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency has started an investigation into whether cancer-causing radioactive material is still buried near a rifle range at Camp Lejeune, the Marine Corps’ primary base on the Atlantic Ocean.
A Navy document dated May 22, 1981, said the material included 160 pounds of soil and two animal carcasses laced with strontium-90, an isotope that causes cancer of the bone and soft tissue and leukemia.
“We are looking into this information to determine if we need to sample and where,” said Dawn Harris-Young, a spokeswoman for the EPA’s regional office in Atlanta. “It’s really early.”
The document said the dirt, carcasses and 518 “beta buttons” containing strontium-90 were cleaned up at a research lab near the main part of the base and buried in a remote area. The document also said the buried material was later recovered, “safely stored” and was awaiting shipment to an approved disposal site in South Carolina.
But Jerry Ensminger, a respected former Marine master sergeant who found the 1981 document while researching the base’s history of contaminated water, said he has been unable to find further documentation that the material was shipped off-base. While hunting on the base near the rifle range in 1986, he said, he saw a sign warning of hazardous waste.
“I guarantee you the waste material from that lab is sitting over there” at the range, Ensminger said.
Base spokesman 2nd Lt. Craig Thomas said because of record-keeping practices in the early 1980s, the Corps can’t find proof that the material was shipped to South Carolina. He said the Corps informed the EPA about the past contamination while discussing the possible construction of a building nearby, adding that recent testing found “no harmful materials” at the site.
Ensminger said he came across the Navy document, as well as others referring to “radiation pools,” while seeking information on chemical contamination of water wells at the base. He said he also found a water testing report from 1984 that showed radioactivity levels of more than twice the allowed amounts.
Over the course of three decades, tens of thousands of Marines based at Camp Lejeune and their families drank and bathed in water contaminated with toxins as much as 40 times over today’s safety standard. The Corps shut off the wells containing industrial solvents in the mid-1980s, and the base’s water now meets federal standards.
At least 850 former residents of the base have filed administrative claims, seeking nearly $4 billion, for exposure to the tainted water.
Ensminger, 55, served in the Marine Corps for 24 1/2 years, living for part of that time at Camp Lejeune. His 9-year-old daughter, Janey, died from cancer in 1985.
Today, Ensminger is a member of the Restoration Advisory Board, a panel of military and civilian representatives formed in 1996 to discuss the water contamination issues. He said he planned to bring up the radioactivity report at a quarterly board meeting scheduled for tonight.
“Mr. Ensminger — who has unfortunately suffered a direct family loss from earlier contamination at Camp Lejeune and who I’ve found to be more accurate than anyone describing events at Camp Lejeune — has raised serious concerns about radiological testing and contamination,” said Joe McLaughlin, a retired Army major and member of the Onslow County Board of Commissioners.
“There was evidence of contamination at some point. What is it now? It’s all the more pertinent because we’ve had this problem before at Camp Lejeune with chemical contamination.”
Ellie