Gun range shot full of danger

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Washington
THE SUN LINK
Gun range shot full of danger
Christopher Dunagan
March 17, 2004

? Lead from bullets fired into berms puts the Navy's Camp Wesley Harris
on the Hazardous Sites List.


Camp Wesley Harris, the Navy's 387-acre shooting range west of
Bremerton, has landed on the state's Hazardous Sites List due to lead
and chromium contamination, presumably from spent ammunition.

The Navy funded a $3 million cleanup of the range during 1987 and 1988,
but recent testing has shown that more cleanup is needed.

The camp -- which once operated five rifle, shotgun and pistol ranges --
is approaching the end of its useful life and will be replaced by a
future small arms training center at Bangor. That center is coming under
construction and might be completed by the end of the year.

Under the Washington Department of Ecology's hazardous ranking system,
Camp Wesley Harris was rated a 2 on a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 being
the worst.

An assessment of the site found that lead and chromium contamination was
lodged in soils and shallow groundwater, according to John Kiess of the
Kitsap County Health District, who conducted the assessment for the
state.

Kiess relied on information supplied by a Navy consultant who performed
tests in 1999.

Four historical garbage dumps were identified on the site, Kiess said.
He had no specific information about those dumps, which need further
investigation.

When the Navy no longer needs the shooting ranges -- possibly by the end
of the year -- funding will be requested to finish the cleanup,
according to Pat Callender of the Navy's Engineering Field Activity
Northwest.

So far, future use or disposition has not been determined.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.thesunlink.com/redesign/2004-03-17/local/427116.shtml

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