[CPEO-MEF] BAAP - Part 2

[olah@speagle.com]

August 1, 2001

Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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


CSWAB Asks Army to Expand Private Well Testing

MERRIMAC -- Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB) is asking the
Army to test private wells near Badger Army Ammunition Plant for more
contaminants.

CSWAB has learned that in addition to the explosive DNT, low levels of
other contaminants including nitrosodiphenylamine (NNDPA),
diphenylamine, 2-nitroaniline, 3- nitroaniline, and aniline were found
in boundary wells at Badger.  =93Testing for only one compound assumes the
co-location of all contaminants,=94 said Laura Olah, CSWAB=92s executive
director. =93There is no data to show that these chemicals all move at the
same rate and in the same direction offsite.=94

The group=92s request follows the Army=92s July 30 announcement that=
 private
drinking water wells will only be tested for dinitrotoluene (DNT).  =93If
anything shows up in that testing,=94 Army officials said, =93then we will
investigate it further.=94

CSWAB objects to further delays and is asking the Army to test private
drinking water wells for any and all contaminants that have been
detected at elevated levels in boundary and near-boundary wells.  =93The
Army=92s plan is to wait and see if DNT=92s are detected, which may take as
long as six weeks, and then decide if additional testing is warranted,=94
Olah said. =93Comprehensive testing should be first -- not more studies.=94

The Army said limiting testing to DNT=92s is preferable because this is a
contaminant unique to Badger.  CSWAB argues other contaminants leaching
from the Deterrent Burning Ground, a disposal site inside Badger, are
common constituents of single base propellants.  =93Diphenylamine and
n-nitrosodiphenylamine (NNDPA) are both used as stabilizers for
nitrocellulose,=94 Olah said.

CSWAB says the current plan also falls short of achieving the Army=92s
publicly stated goal for testing: =93to protect (human) health and ensure
peace of mind.=94  =93WDNR officials said that the proposed testing will=
 not
necessarily guarantee drinking water is safe,=94 Olah said. =93This testing
will only show whether or not DNT is present.=94

The groundwater contamination is coming from an area known as the
Deterrent Burning Grounds.  Located in the northeast corner of the
plant, it was used for the open burning of deterrents, structural
timbers, asphalt shingles, and office waste during Badger's active
years.  According to Army reports, the volume of contaminated subsurface
soils is around 38,000 cubic yards and extends to a depth of 120 feet.
Expected cleanup costs may be as high as $65 million.

In March 2001, Army contractors reported levels of NNDPA in boundary
wells ranging from 2.9 micrograms per liter (ug/l) to 6.0 ug/l ,
exceeding Wisconsin=92s Preventative Action Limit of only 0.7 ug/l =AD an
enforceable level stipulated in the WDNR=92s permit for Badger.   In July,
reported levels were lower but still above safe standards.
Diphenylamine levels were also elevated however Army contractors report
the two contaminants are =93difficult to tell apart in the lab.=94

Inside Badger, there is evidence that levels of another chemical may
also be increasing.  Levels of 2-nitroaniline were detected in one
monitoring well at 7.2 ug/l in June of 1999; levels rose to 19.2 ug/l in
March 2000, and then to 32.4 ug/l in June 2000.  Although Wisconsin does
not have a groundwater Enforcement Standard (ES) for 2-nitroaniline,
Florida's ES is 7.5 ug/l and New York's ES is 5.0 ug/l suggesting the
levels in groundwater at Badger are significant.

=93For residents that test their own drinking water, these chemicals are
not included in a typical groundwater test,=94 Olah said.  =93Nearby
residents should not burdened with the cost of specific testing for
chemicals from Badger.=94

In the meantime, the offsite testing is only a stopgap measure.
=93Private drinking water wells must never be used in lieu of monitoring
wells,=94 Olah said.  =93By law, monitoring wells serve as sentinels,
intended to pick up contamination before it ever reaches a private
 well,=94 Olah said.  =93In this case, there are no clean wells between the
source and private wells.=94

According to the WDNR, additional work is needed to define both
groundwater flow and water quality in and around the Deterrent Burning
Grounds.  Stone and Webster, a consulting firm working for the Army, is
working on a review of all the data and past geologic/hydrogeologic work
that has been completed in the northeast corner of the plant.   Army
officials admit there is no =93good list=94 of monitoring wells offsite,
making it difficult to know the extent of the potential groundwater
problems outside the plant.

CSWAB was organized by neighbors of the Badger Army Ammunition Plant in
1990.  The group is working to ensure community members are empowered in
decisions affecting the cleanup and future use of the closing base.  For
more information, contact CSWAB at (608) 643-3124.


*  *  *


--
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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