dod tactical herbicide sites - United States Department of Defense

More documents

Recommendations

Info

would require about 1,000 steel cylinders, each 10 feet long and 30 inches in diameter,642 tons of activated charcoal. In a series of tests, ACI processed 354 gallons (6.5 drums)of Herbicide Orange (taken from the NCBC Inventory). On 7 July 1976 ACI submittedits report to EPA, the Defense Supply Agency, Under Secretary of Defense forInstallations and Environment, Air Force Logistics Command, and to the Occupationaland Environmental Health Laboratory. ACI’s process was judged successful, and theDefense Supply Agency began negotiating a contract. Complications subsequentlyemerged related to disposal of the TCDD-loaded steel cartridges, and with concerns bythe Navy over the construction of a major facility at NCBC, and from EnvironmentalGroups over the reprocessing of the 2,4,5-T herbicide. In March 1977, the Department ofDefense recommended that all reprocessing efforts be discontinued in favor ofincineration at sea. Since the incinerator ship MT Vulcanus was expected to be availablein April 1977, DoD requested EPA immediately grant the permit for the at-seaincineration of the entire Herbicide Inventories at NCBC and Johnston Island.Active duty Air Force personnel with the Occupational and Environmental HealthLaboratory, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas were intimately involved in all phases of thepilot plant construction, the handling of the Herbicide Orange, the on-site environmentalmonitoring, the oversight of the pilot plant operations, and the health and environmentalsafety programs. In addition, active duty Navy personnel with the Naval ConstructionBattalion Center provided additional oversight of the activities occurring on the Navalinstallation.Sources: Department of the Air Force (1974): Final Environmental Statement on theDisposition of Orange Herbicide by Incineration. November 1974, Department of the AirForce, Washington, DC. Unclassified, available for public distribution.Air Force Logistics Command (1976): Historical Records – Project on the Disposition ofHerbicide Orange. Office of History, Air Force Logistics Command Archives, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.Hightower D (1976): Report of Plant Operation and Proposed Reprocessing of HerbicideOrange, 24 May—8 July 1976. Agent Chemical Company, Houstong, Texas.Miller RA, Shafts PA, Stieritz SF, Termena BJ (1980): The Disposal of HerbicideOrange, 1971-1979. Office of History, Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-PattersonAir Force Base, Ohio.70
DOD TACTICAL HERBICIDE SITESSite 31Location: Storage and Operation PACER HO, NavalConstruction Battalion Center, Gulfport, MississippiDate → December 1968 – February 1989Activity Description: After August 1966, the Port of Embarkation for the“Tactical Herbicides Orange, White, and Blue” was the Port of Mobile, Mobile,Alabama. As the tactical herbicide inventory began to build up in Vietnam in 1968, theSan Antonio Air Materiel Area (SAAMA), a component of the Air Force LogisticsCommand (AFLC), temporarily discontinued shipment from the Port of Mobile Outportin order “to avoid exposing large quantities of herbicides to possible damage by enemyaction.” Since the Port of Mobile was routinely used as the port of embarkation,SAAMA arranged for the excess tactical herbicides to be temporarily placed in storage atthe Naval Construction Battalion Center (NCBC), Gulfport, Mississippi. About 10 out ofevery 10,000 drums received at the Outports during 1968 were damaged or defective.Most of the leakage occurred as a result of punctures (from forklifts) or split seams. Thus,when NCBC agreed to temporarily store the herbicide, it required SAAMA to providefunds and 17 personnel (civilian, contract) to perform storage and warehousing functionsassociated with the herbicide program.The NCBC outside storage area was about two miles from the Gulfport Outport Docks,with convenient access to the railroad. It was fenced and isolated from public traffic. TheNCBC provided surveillance as well as controlled access. The outside storage wasplanned and set up for long-term storage. To provide good drainage, 2 x 6-inch dunnage(creosoted lumber) was laid on a hard surface and drums, positioned horizontally with thebung closure point outward, were stacked in double rows, three high, in pyramidalfashion. With the decrease use of tactical herbicides in Vietnam in 1969, the inventory ofHerbicide Orange at NCBC began to increase. On 4 November 1969, the AssistantSecretary of Defense placed a restriction on the use of Herbicide Orange in Vietnam.However, all Herbicide Blue and Herbicide White continued to be sent to Vietnam. On15 April 1970, the Department of Defense issued a total suspension of the use ofHerbicide Orange in all military operations in Southeast Asia. These actions leftapproximately 832,000 gallons of Herbicide Orange in storage at the NCBC that had to71
Page 1 and 2:
The History of the USDepartment of
Page 3 and 4:
INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING SF 298B
Page 5 and 6:
Table of ContentsPage/sAbstract 3Th
Page 7 and 8:
The History of the US Department of
Page 9 and 10:
eing evaluated, i.e. potential expo
Page 11 and 12:
The Distinction Between Tactical an
Page 13 and 14:
highly trained air and ground-suppo
Page 15 and 16:
Administration (Tactical Herbicides
Page 17 and 18:
Buckingham WA (1982): The Air Force
Page 19 and 20:
Tactical Herbicides Deployed in Vie
Page 21 and 22:
Search Strategy for Historical Docu
Page 23 and 24: DOD TACTICAL HERBICIDE SITESSite 2L
Page 31 and 32: In support of the test and evaluati
Page 33 and 34: aspen, and vaccinium. The 1963 test
Page 35 and 36: DOD TACTICAL HERBICIDE SITESSite 12
Page 43 and 44: extended to a height of 50 feet wit
Page 45 and 46: DOD TACTICAL HERBICIDE SITESSites 1
Page 49 and 50: Seven tests were also conducted at
Page 51 and 52: species found on the north side of
Page 57: Sources: Buckner JE (2 January 1969
Page 62 and 63: Majka JT, Cheng HH, McNeal BL (1982
Page 64 and 65: discussion, the United States Air F
Page 66 and 67: (TCDD) was complete, and preliminar
Page 68 and 69: No records could be found of how th
Page 70 and 71: Assessment: A total of 358 acres of
Page 72 and 73: Assessment: On 8 October 1973, test
Page 76 and 77: e continually maintained while the
Page 80 and 81: Sources: Department of the Air Forc
Page 82 and 83: and those who participated in Opera
show all

dod tactical herbicide sites - United States Department of Defense

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?