[CPEO-MEF] Cape Cod Times: Hazard in "green bullets."

[joelf@cape.com]

CAPE COD TIMES 3/29/01

Hazard found in 'green' bullets
    Propellant used with the ammunition has left deposits of a probable
carcinogen on the firing range; training halted.

By KEVIN DENNEHY
STAFF WRITER
CAMP EDWARDS - A few years ago, so-called "green" ammunition
seemed to be a promising cure to an ominous environmental
problem.

With newly developed ammunition that is tungsten-based, the
Army saw the potential to continue training without leaving its
ranges saturated with toxic chemicals and metals such as lead
for years to come.

And some of the first troops to train with the new ammo did so
at Camp Edwards on the Upper Cape, where the military
concedes years of training has polluted the soil and groundwater.

But even then, the military knew there was a catch. The guns
still required explosive propellants, to force the "green" bullets
through the gun barrel toward their target.

A new National Guard study reveals that concern over the
propellants was apparently valid.

And the Guard has agreed to cease firing on its small arms
ranges near the base border until the study findings can be
investigated further.

Samples taken from the soil and air near three ranges deeper in
the base after a training session last fall yielded levels of heavy
metal contaminants, and has left some questioning the
effectiveness of the lauded green ammunition.

In the soil, investigators found traces of five propellant-related
compounds including lead and manganese. Ingesting or breathing
lead can cause brain damage.

Of particular concern is the presence of 2,4 dinitrotoluene, a
probable carcinogenic component of propellants used in M-16
firing, which was detected at levels nearly five times the state
health standard in places on the small arms ranges.

Air testing yielded downwind detections greater than upwind
detections for five metals, including arsenic and chromium, a
probable carcinogen.

The next steps Health officials are already debating how meaningful
the air sampling is, and just how much risk the firing poses to public
health.

But most involved in the massive cleanup at the Massachusetts
Military Reservation agree that the latest data points to the
need for more investigation of the one type of firing range
training still allowed on the Upper Cape base.

"It indicates that small arms firing over time deposits high levels
of those propellants," said Bill Walsh-Rogalski an attorney for the
federal Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. "That's not a
very good sign."

For entire article go to:
www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/archives/2001/mar/29/hazardfound29.htm

____________________________________________________
--
Joel Feigenbaum
24 Pond View Drive
E. Sandwich MA 02537
(508)-833-0144


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