Badger Burning Will Set Dangerous Precedent

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

CSWAB
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigand's Bay South - Merrimac, WI  53561
Phone (608) 643-3124 - Fax (608) 643-0005
Email: info@cswab.org - Website: www.cswab.org
February 20, 2004

Badger Burning Will Set Dangerous Precedent

It took weeks of phone calls, but CSWAB has finally learned one of the
reasons why we haven't seen any burning at Badger Army Ammunition
Plant.  The Army is seeking an exemption to a federal law that prohibits
open burning of wastes containing more than 50 parts per million of
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs). PCB concentrations in paint in certain
buildings at Badger have been detected as high as 22,000 parts per
million ? more than 400 times the permissible limit set by the EPA.

No other military installation in the nation that has been allowed to
open burn PCB-contaminated wastes exceeding the federal limit of 50
parts per million (ppm).  If approved by EPA, the exemption will open
the door for open burning of extraordinary levels of PCBs at Badger and
other U.S. military bases here and abroad.

EPA set the 50 ppm limit for good reason.  Open burning results in the
uncontrolled release of PCBs, dioxins, and other products of combustion
to the environment including polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs).
These compounds are probable human carcinogens and their toxicity can be
up to 100 times higher than the toxicity of some PCBs.

According to the Wisconsin Division of Health, the developing fetus,
infants, and children are the population groups most vulnerable to PCB
exposure.  While an adult may experience symptoms such as rash or acne
as a result of PCB exposure, exposure of fetuses and children may impede
the very development of their brains, reproductive, immune, and
endocrine systems.

Officials at EPA headquarters in Washington, DC said that while open
burning of old buildings has occurred at a number of other bases
including the Joliet Arsenal in Illinois, Indiana Army Ammunition Plant,
and the Ravenna Army Ammunition Plant in Ohio, none of these facilities
burned any materials with PCBs concentrations greater than 50 ppm.  In
fact, the EPA is not aware of any facility in the nation that has been
allowed to open burn wastes containing PCB levels above 50, much less
22,000 ppm.

EPA readily acknowledges that the Army's request is significant at a
national level because if approved at Badger, it is very likely that the
Agency will see many more similar proposals, both civilian and military,
for open burning extraordinary levels of PCBs.

The only good news is that EPA officials are still at the
information-gathering stage and that the Army has not submitted a formal
application for the exemption.

Our goal is to stop the exemption from being granted and prevent the
uncontrolled release of PCBs, dioxins, and other toxins to the
environment.  At least 100 buildings, and perhaps many more, are
targeted for open burning at Badger. The burning, once given this final
approval, will continue for approximately 10 years.

It will take all of us working together to stop a proposal that will
impact the health of so many and for generations to come.  For more
information, including a more detailed fact sheet, contact CSWAB at
(608) 643-3124 or visit our website at www.cswab.org.

-END-

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