[CPEO-MEF] Sierra Open Burning

[Pauline Simon <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

The Sierra Army Depot, in Herlong, California, is one of the U.S.
military's largest and most efficient sites for the demilitarization of
old munitions. Located near the Nevada border north of Lake Tahoe, the
Depot openly burns 24,000 to 28,000 tons of munitions per year,
including bullets, bombs, artillery shells, and solid rocket motors. The
Army is seeking an extension of its burning permit from the State of
California. According to the Reno Gazette Journal (October 31, 1999),
the draft Environmental Impact Report, just released, "indicates
California will approve the permit as long as the depot continues to
follow all environmental regulations."

Some local residents - including a former Chamber of Commerce president
- blame Depot emissions for the area's high rate of cancer - twice that
of surrounding counties. The newspaper reports, "Lassen County officials
this week will ask the state of California to investigate the effects of
toxic emissions from more than 30 years of open burning of munitions at
Sierra Army Depot."

For more information, see http://www.rama-usa.org/new.htm.

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org


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