[CPEO-MEF] Castle detox clears $300M

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California
THE SACRAMENTO BEE
Castle detox clears $300M
By MIKE CONWAY
Published: June 6, 2003, 05:51:24 AM PDT

ATWATER -- The Air Force has spent $177 million to clean up
environmental hazards at the former Castle Air Force Base here, and
expects to spend $127 million more before the job is finished.

And that does not include the cleanup costs if radioactive materials are
found at the former Strategic Air Command base. The military confirmed
this week that it kept nuclear weapons at Castle, and said radioactive
waste associated with those weapons might be buried in the vicinity of
what used to be Castle's weapons storage area.

A new prison, with 1,445 inmates, sits near the old weapons storage
area, on land turned over to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

The Air Force leased the rest of the base to the county, which operates
the property as Castle Airport Aviation and Development Center.

Dan Dunne, a spokesman for the Bureau of Pri-sons in Washington, D.C.,
said the revelation of possible radioactive waste "had no effect on our
operations."

Prison officials are scheduled to meet next week with Air Force
representatives to discuss the situation. Dunne said the meeting is
"something the bureau is eagerly awaiting so we can identify what the
problem is."

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.modbee.com/local/story/6911306p-7847021c.html

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