dod tactical herbicide sites - United States Department of Defense

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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.Young AL, Calcagni JA, Thalken CE, Tremblay JW (1978): The Toxicology,Environmental Fate, and Human Risk of Herbicide Orange and Its Associated Dioxin.Technical Report OEHL-TR-92, USAF Occupational and Environmental HealthLaboratory, Aerospace Medical Division, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas. Approved forpublic release, distribution unlimited.Thomas TJ, Brown DP, Harrington J, Stanford T, Taft L, Vigon BW (1978): Land BasedEnvironmental Monitoring at Johnston Island – Disposal of Herbicide Orange. TechnicalReport USAF OEHL TR-78-87. Prepared by Battelle Columbus for the US Air ForceOccupational and Environmental Health Laboratory, Brooks AFB, Texas. DistributionUnlimited.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.Channel RE, Stoddart TL (1984): Herbicide Orange Monitoring Program. TechnicalReport ESL-TR-83-56, Engineering & Services Laboratory, Air Engineering & ServicesCenter, Tyndall AFB, Florida. Approved for public release, distribution unlimited.CH2M HILL Constructors Inc. (2004): Final Corrective Measures ImplementationReport, Solid Waste Management Unit No.2, Johnston Atoll. Prepared for the UnitedStates Air Force 15 th Airlift Wing Environmental Restoration Program. Available at thefollowing web site: http://projects.ch2m.com/johnston_atoll/JA17_Public.htm76
Summary of Assessment of Site ExposureThe issue of “meaningful exposure” to Tactical Herbicides is a subject of debate in thescientific literature. The most reliable information has shown that the esters of theherbicides, 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T, that made up Herbicide Orange, and its associated dioxincontaminant (2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, TCDD) rapidly dried within minutesof being sprayed on vegetation, rendering them unavailable for absorption. The processof drying involved the chemicals being absorbed within the waxy layer of the plantcuticle, where they were not readily dislodged [1]. Studies of Herbicide Orange and theassociated TCDD on both leaf and soil surface demonstrated that photolysis rapidlydecreased the concentration of TCDD (within hours), and this process even continued inshade [2]. Studies of ‘dislodgeable foliar residues’ (the fraction of a substance that isavailable for cutaneous uptake from the plant leaves) showed that only 8% of werepresent 1 hour after application. This dropped to 1% 24 hours after application [3].Moreover, studies in human volunteers confirmed that after 2 hours of saturated contactwith bare skin, only 0.15-0.46% of 2,4,5-T entered the body and was eliminated in theurine [4]. The implications of these studies and observations are that individuals whoentered a sprayed area one day after application of Herbicide Purple, Herbicide Green,Herbicide Pink and Herbicide Orange received essentially no “meaningful exposure.”These are important findings because military and civilian personnel from Fort Detrick,United States Department of Agriculture (in Puerto Rico and Texas), and the Air ForceLogistics Command that participated in the evaluation of the spray and monitoringoperations were not likely to have been exposed. Certainly, any local civilians whoentered the spray area days after spraying were at no risk of exposure.What is meant by a “measurable” human exposure to Tactical Herbicides is difficult toestimate for personnel who were not monitored by non-evasive blood or urine techniques.In the years before and during Vietnam, these techniques were not available [5]. Thecomponents of the Tactical Herbicides, 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, cacodylic acid and picloram cannow be measured in the urine. The excellent studies by Lavy [5] and Hood [6] haveprovided convincing evidence that in forestry and brush control programs mixers andapplicators of the phenoxy herbicides, picloram or cacodylic acid would have had“measurable”, albeit generally very low, levels in their urine. However, these studies alsoindicated that individuals who walked through the sprayed areas even 2 hours afterapplication did NOT have measurable levels of herbicides in their urine. Thus, it wasunlikely that either short term or prolonged time spent in sprayed areas 24 hours afterspraying would have resulted in any “measurable” levels of exposure.Testing of serum dioxin levels has been widely regarded as the gold standard forepidemiological studies of TCDD from Herbicide Orange since its development in thelate 1980s [7]. Studies conducted on the men that actually handled the liquid HerbicideOrange showed measurable levels of TCDD in their blood serum [8,9]. Moreover, themajor industrial studies since the 1980’s have relied upon it to validate estimation ofexposure [7]. The significance of these studies and observations is that those ActiveDuty military personnel who mixed, loaded, and participated in the actual spray programsduring the development of the tactical phenoxy-related herbicides and spray equipment,77
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The History of the USDepartment of
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INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING SF 298B
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Table of ContentsPage/sAbstract 3Th
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The History of the US Department of
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eing evaluated, i.e. potential expo
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The Distinction Between Tactical an
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highly trained air and ground-suppo
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Administration (Tactical Herbicides
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Buckingham WA (1982): The Air Force
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Tactical Herbicides Deployed in Vie
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Search Strategy for Historical Docu
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DOD TACTICAL HERBICIDE SITESSite 2L
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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
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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
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Page 70 and 71: Assessment: A total of 358 acres of
Page 72 and 73: Assessment: On 8 October 1973, test
Page 74 and 75: would require about 1,000 steel cyl
Page 76 and 77: e continually maintained while the
Page 82 and 83: and those who participated in Opera
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