OPEN DETONATION

[Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@cpeo.org>]

Dear Senator Kennedy, Senator Kerry and Congressman Delahunt:

 I am writing to you today in support of Citizens of Cape Cod who
are trying to work with the Military Massachusetts Reservation to
find
an alternative to open detonation. It is clear that 1) open
detonation is
simply a form of uncontrolled incineration, 2) it is a process that,
by its
nature, is open to accidental releases and exposures, and 3) it is a
process
that undisputedly releases heavy metals to the environment. While
there
is controversy between the different parties on what other
contaminants
are released, a complicated issue beyond the scope of this letter, I
am
confident that our current knowledge on the open detonation process
shows
that alternatives to open detonation must be pursued with great
vigor.

 As toxicologists at the University of Maryland, and have spent the
last 5 years as technical advisors to Aberdeen Proving Ground
Superfund Citizens Coalition (APGSCC), as well as other community
groups with various military concerns. In our time on such projects,

we have seen numerous examples of open detonation accidents,
including
rounds being misidentified which resulted in the release of chemical
warfare agent to the environment. Additionally, just last April,
citizens
of Maryland were told that the current open detonation process of
over
packing chemical rounds with explosives would destroy the chemical
agent inside, only to find that it did not (mustard and nerve agent
were
detected in 3/4 of APG's monitors surrounding the open detonation
area).
Other examples exist at other bases involving chemical-filled and
high
explosive munitions, and such examples clearly indicate the need to
develop
better approaches.

 Such errors have pushed Aberdeen Proving Ground and the Army toward

the development of better technology and projects to find
alternatives to
open detonation. Technologies available for identifying the contents
of
munitions (such as PINS and powerful field x-ray units) are now
available,
and help in one aspect of this complicated issue. At APG, we are also
pursuing
other efforts to address chemical rounds, one being the development
of a
detonation test facility to test alternative technologies for open
detonation,
including the use of a "kevlar tent and foam" system and the
Non-Stockpile's Emergency Destruction System (EDS). While we have
made progress in
this arena, it is still APG's standard operating procedure to open
detonate
high-explosive rounds which releases toxic materials, such as lead
and
mercury, to the environment.

 This is where the efforts of citizens in Massachusetts are so
important.
We need to put a stop the automatic thought that "we found a round so
lets
blow it up". Much of the progress we have seen on various issues,
including
this one, has been the result of accidents. We must become more
pro-active
and find better solutions, without the burden of showing that someone
has
become ill or waiting for valuable resources such as drinking water
supplies
to become contaminated - various degrees of evidence for both exist
at MMR
and APG. We urge you to support the citizens' efforts to have MMR
officials
both 1) explore alternatives to open detonation and 2) show the logic
and
evidence for their decisions. Too often this does not happen.

 Your support of this local effort is also important to other local
sites as well
as to national issues. At APG, there is still no active program for
cleaning up
the millions of chemical-filled and high explosive rounds that exist
on APG
land and in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. While the Range
Rule that
will take effect later this year may address some of these problems,
it is likely
that many site-specific problems will go unaddressed for years to
come. For
those areas that will be cleaned-up under DoD's current plans, we
certainly
can not afford to open detonate all the rounds that will be
recovered.

 In closing, it is our opinion that we are entering a critical
juncture regarding
1) how we deal with recovered rounds, and 2) the clarity and
transparency
with which DoD presents the logic and scientific basis for their
decisions
which affect local citizens. Even after alternative technology is
field ready,
there may well be times where emergency open detonation is the only
option,
but it should be a last resort. If we are to reach the point where we
do have
other options, active communities must have support from their
elected
officials as well as the state environmental agency and the U.S. EPA.

 If we can provide any other information that may be helpful to you,

please do not hesitate to call.

Sincerely

Theodore J. Henry, MS
Katherine S. Squibb, Ph.D.
Community Health Assessment & Public Participation (CHAPP) Center

Program in Toxicology
University of Maryland, Baltimore
737 West Lombard Street, Room 540
Baltimore, MD 21201

(410) 706-1767
(410) 706-6203 fax
thenry@umaryland.edu
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