dod tactical herbicide sites - United States Department of Defense

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