[CPEO-MEF] Badger AAP - Part 1

[olah@speagle.com]

July 25, 2001

PRESS RELEASE
For immediate release

For more information, contact:
Laura Olah, Executive Director (608) 643-3124

ARMY WILL TEST PRIVATE WELLS NEAR BADGER

MERRIMAC, WI -- The U.S. Army has responded favorably to community
concerns and has announced that it will offer free well testing to
private residents near the Northeast boundary of Badger Army Ammunition
Plant, reports Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB).

=93We are pleased with the Army=92s decision to set aside their plan to
develop a narrower sampling pattern which would have delayed testing,=94
said Laura Olah, CSWAB=92s executive director.

Unsafe levels of the explosive dinitrotoluene (DNT) and
n-nitrosodiphenylamine (NNDPA), a chemical used in the manufacture of
munitions, were found in boundary wells near the Deterrent Burning
Ground earlier this year in March.  One test detected DNT levels at 6
micrograms per liter which is 120 times the safe standard of 0.05
micrograms per liter.  Months later, the June round of sampling
confirmed DNT levels still exceeded safe drinking water standards.

While CSWAB is pleased that private wells testing will soon begin, the
group has serious concerns about the delay in responding to initial test
results.  =93When groundwater tests suggest a possible threat to nearby
wells, follow-up testing and public notice should be immediate,=94 Olah
said.  =93The initial findings were in March =AD the public wasn=92t=
 informed
until July.=94

The Deterrent Burning Ground area is located in the Northeast corner of
Badger and consists of three former disposal pits.  DNT is classified by
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a probable carcinogen.

The testing will be offered to people living in the area bounded by
Halweg Road on the North, Goette Road on the East, and Spear Drive on
the South; and also to people from Spear Drive on the North, Highway 78
on the East, and the Groth driveway on the South.

Army officials said past testing has not detected any DNT=92s in off-site
monitoring wells or private wells and that their decision to test nearby
residential wells is intended to =93assure the safety of the public and to
provide peace of mind.=94   The Army will review the boundaries of this
offer with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources as more
information is gathered.

The Army has already awarded funding to Stone & Webster, Inc. to begin
to evaluate the site and solutions, as well as authorized Olin
Corporation to gather samples and to do the analyses.  Residents that
would like their water tested should contact Badger at (608) 643-3361
and ask for Mr. Dave Edwards or Mr. Dennis Thurow.

The public is invited to attend regular monthly meetings involving the
Army, its contractors and state and federal regulators, Badger officials
said.  The next meeting will be at 1 p.m. Monday, August 6, 2001 at
Badger Army Ammunition Plant, Building 207.

CSWAB is waiting to hear exactly what the Army will be testing for and
how often.  =93We still haven=92t seen all the data,=94 Olah said.

*   *   *

--
Laura Olah, Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigand's Bay South
Merrimac, WI  53561
phone (608)643-3124
fax (608)643-0005 alt fax (608)643-2682
Email: olah@speagle.com
Website: http://www.cswab.com

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