MMR Buried Munitions Uncovered

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.org>]

CAMP EDWARDS: BURIED SHELLS UNCOVERED

According to the Cape Cod Times, the Army National Guard has found
hundreds of old, buried mortar shells at Camp Edwards (Massachusetts
Military Reservation), a mile from a school and several residential
neighborhoods. A local resident volunteer on the oversight group for the
study of groundwater contamination at the Camp Edwards impact range had
identified the site, as well as several others, as potential munitions
burial areas. 

"500 81 mm mortar shells and three 105 mm shells were discovered in a
pit 8 feet around and 10 feet deep. The pit was covered by heavy
brush.... All the mortar shells were rusty and corroded." They munitions
appear to have been buried there 25 to 30 years ago.

The National Guard expects to dispose of the shells by open detonation,
either in the center of the impact area or, if they are too unstable to
move, in place. After removal or destruction the Army will sample the
soil and water at the site for chemicals released through decomposition.
The Army is also searching for old Camp Edwards records, which were
shipped elsewhere when the regular Army turned over the base to the
National Guard.

For more information, see: 
http://www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/bomb19.htm

Lenny Siegel
Director, SFSU CAREER/PRO (and Pacific Studies Center)
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@igc.org