Tungten munitions

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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Unfriendly fire
Army's new 'green' ammunition, may pose health hazards too 

By AMANDA LEHMERT
Cape Cod Times (MA)
June 27, 2004

CAMP EDWARDS - In 1997 when the Environmental Protection Agency called a
cease-fire at Camp Edwards, it marked the first time in U.S. military
history that training was halted because lead and other chemicals from
munitions threatened public health.

Anxious to make sure similar cease-fire orders were not issued across
the country, the National Guard switched to rubber bullets until the
Army developed a "green ammunition" - a tungsten-based bullet that was
thought to be environmentally friendly because it did not break down in
soil. 

Now, four years later, the tungsten bullets may not be as green as
everyone had hoped. And federal health officials are studying whether
exposure to large amounts of tungsten causes childhood leukemia.

A recently published study found that tungsten can break down in soil
just like its lead predecessor. In the Cape's environment, once the
tungsten breaks down, water from rain and snow could potentially carry
it into the aquifer. The aquifer is the primary source of the Cape's
drinking water.

...

for the entire article, see
http://www.capecodonline.com/archives/7days/sun/unfriendlyfire27.htm

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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