[CPEO-MEF] Standardized UXO Site

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

[POSTED BY Ted Henry <ted@theodorejhenry.com>]

Today, I attended the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Standardized UXO
Technology Demonstration Site at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG) in
Maryland. This site is the first of two, the sister site to be
established at Yuma Proving Ground.  These sites will be integral in
field testing and advancing the detection and discrimination
technologies needed for the cleanup of UXO. It will help ensure that
performance results, including the evaluation of false positive rates,
are accurate and repeatable. This site should in the long run bring the
best technologies to the field where soldiers and communities alike need

UXO cleanup. (The lead entity for this project is the Army Environmental

Center and the person leading the project is Mr. George Robitaille)

Having seen my share of situations at APG and elsewhere where different
military organizations have serious trouble communicating with each
other, let alone with non-military and non-government stakeholders, it
was good to see that so many entities had a hand in this project,
including
the Army Environmental Center, the Environmental Security Technology
Certification Program, the Strategic Environmental Research and
Development Program, Environmental Quality Team, US Army Corps of
Engineers and Aberdeen Test Center.  I hope as this effort evolves, it
will stay open to the thoughts and concerns of the many non-military
stakeholders that are happy to see this project exist, and equally so,
open to those who may question it (as with any new program, there will
be ways to improve as it grows).

While I sat on the tour through the pouring rain, I thought about when I

first got involved in military cleanup in 1993, the APG Superfund
Citizens Coalition, its EPA Technical Assistance Grant (a true gem of a
program), the APG RAB, the Massachusetts Military Reservation cleanup,
the National Policy Dialogue on Munitions and the UXO issues plaguing so

many communities from Vieques, Puerto Rico to Benicia, CA. Many
volunteer people have put in a great deal of time to help ensure we move

forward in addressing UXO issues in this country. While the
environmental cleanup of military sites can be a slow, frustrating
process, and did I mention slow, I realized that the ship is moving.
With projects such as the mobile Explosive Destruction System (EDS) by
the Non-Stockpile Program, the Donovan Chamber, the Munition Assessment
and Processing System (MAPS) at APG, the Proto-type Detonation Test and
Destruction Facility (PDTDF) - to test up and coming UXO destruction
technologies, and now the Standardized UXO Technology Demonstration
Site, we are increasing the tool box necessary to improve environmental
homeland security in the field of unexploded ordnance.  It is long
overdue and still long from being adequately addressed, but we are
moving.

And, in challenging times, it is sometimes good to acknowledge some of
the progress that has been made and it certainly would not have been
possible without the commitment of the people who truly care about the
issue.

Peace

Ted Henry

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