[CPEO-MEF] Fort Bliss begins ordnance cleanup

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Texas
EL PASO TIMES
Fort Bliss begins ordnance cleanup
Louie Gilot
July 1, 2003

Fort Bliss contractors began the tedious and possibly dangerous job of
removing about a thousand unexploded bombs and other ordnance from
Castner Range on Monday.

"We are not certain about everything that we'll find," said David Dodge,
Fort Bliss restoration program manager. "We train troops from many
countries, and they bring their own ammo. There may be British ammo,
French."

Last July, Fort Bliss received $1.8 million for the first major cleanup
of the former military firing range in Northeast El Paso. But officials
put the project on hold because of the war in Iraq.

On Monday, employees of contractor USA Environmental Inc., of Tampa,
Fla., divided 1,291 acres out of Castner's 7,084 acres into lanes
they'll sweep with swordlike metal detectors during the next seven
months. They can detect signals up to 24 inches deep in the ground.
Dug-up live ordnance will be covered with sandbags and detonated,
officials said.

The following article can be viewed at:
http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20030701-131287.shtml

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