- Contract workers unearthed World War II-era drums on
Fort Greely Monday while preparing the National Missile Defense System
site.
Some of the drum lids were marked with "U.S. CWS," the abbreviation
for the U.S. Chemical Warfare Service, an organization dating back to 1946,
U.S. Alaska Army officials said.
But what the "greenish and yellow," frozen, crystallized material
seen in some of the 24 rusty barrels has yet to be determined, said Chuck
Canterbury, spokesperson for U.S. Army Alaska.
"We're kind of in the early stages of finding out what was buried
there from the yesteryears," Canterbury said. "I don't believe
they're moving anything around until they can identify what's already unearthed."
Canterbury said contractors excavating land during site preparation for
the National Missile Defense System first discovered the barrels Monday,
but didn't report the discovery to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers until
Wednesday when they went back to do more work at the site. That's when
they noticed the chemical warfare markings on the drums.
Work was immediately stopped and the newly certified 103rd Civil Support
Team, which specializes in hazardous materials, from the Alaska National
Guard at Fort Richardson was sent out Wednesday night to determine the
contents of the barrels.
Meanwhile, three contract workers sought medical attention for rashes.
One worker went to Bassett Army Community Hospital on Fort Wainwright,
and the other two were examined at Fort Greely. One worker complained of
a red rash on his chest and another had what looked like insect bites around
his neck and waist, Canterbury said. Medical personal ruled none of the
rashes came from exposure to chemicals, Canterbury said.
Two people from Aglaq Corp. and 12 from a Fairbanks subcontractor, Brice
Inc. were exposed to the site on Monday, Canterbury said. On Wednesday
four workers from Aglaq and 18 from Brice were at the site. The workers
were setting up construction equipment in preparation for construction
of the Missile Defense System scheduled to begin this summer.
All work on the system has been halted and a half-acre parcel of land has
been cordoned off until the chemical can be identified. The Department
of Environmental Conservation and a rapid response contractor from Anchorage
are in Fort Greely to help with the situation.
"It's not clear what the impact is right now, but construction will
resume at some point," said Maj. Ben Danner, spokesman for Army Alaska.
"I don't know when it will continue again, but it won't be tomorrow
(Friday)."
It just so happens a contingent of people from the Missile Defense System
were in Delta Junction this week meeting with civic leaders about what
to expect as plans proceed, city officials said. They only briefly mentioned
the discovery of the barrels during a meeting Thursday.
The barrels are located within a half-acre about 758 feet south of where
the heart of the post buildings stand and about 9900 feet from the Richardson
Highway, Canterbury said. They were uncovered just below the ground surface,
some with obvious holes where the chemical had leaked out, Canterbury said.
The area is not located near any surface water such as rivers or creeks.
Fort Greely which encompasses about 650,000 acres and is about 100 miles
southeast of Fairbanks has had problems with dangerous materials disposal
in the past. The Alaska Community Action of Toxics did a study of an experimental
nuclear reactor built by the Army in 1962. The study, released in 1999,
reported the Army used the nearby Jarvis Creek as a radioactive waste dump.
The Army encased the reactor in concrete after it was decommissioned in
1971.
The organization has also studied the Gerstle River Test Site, a 19,000-acre
area near Fort Greely used by the Army to test chemical and biological
weapons from 1952-1967. The group's study was conducted through Freedom
of Information Act requests, document searches and field studies after
community members contacted the group with concerns about military contamination
issues, according to director Pam Miller.
But it's what the organization couldn't find that Miller said could cause
problems for the National Missile Defense Systems' development.
The Department of Defense's documentation of radioactive and chemical toxins
disposal is so poor, she said, there's no telling what contract workers
will find at Fort Greely. And those workers will be the only ones to pay
for past military secrets, Miller said.
"It's completely irresponsible of the military to go forth with the
National Missile Defense until a comprehensive study is done to find where
this hazardous stuff is buried," Miller said.
She said work should be suspended until classified documents are released
pinpointing known sites and qualified people can test for unknown disposal
sites to prevent accidents as a result of new excavation.
"The workers on site are not trained to handle these kind of situations,"
Miller said.
Canterbury admits there's a possibility that more contaminated areas will
be excavated as work continues on Fort Greely, but said the only other
way to detect unknown areas would be an exhausting task.
He added the state and country is littered with unknown sites where chemicals
and garbage were disposed of by simply digging a hole and covering the
trash with dirt.
"That's the way everybody did things back then," Canterbury said.
"Generations change and you forget what's buried where and someone
backs into it with a backhoe."
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