Blumenauer wide-area UXO demo approved

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

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Office of Congressman Earl Blumenauer
For Immediate Release
July 23, 2004

HOUSE APPROVES CONGRESSMAN BLUMENAUER'S UXO CLEANUP APPROPRIATIONS
REQUEST 

Washington, DC - Last night, the House of Representatives passed the
fiscal year 2005 Department of Defense (DoD) Appropriations bill
conference report including $5 million requested by Congressman Earl
Blumenauer (D-Ore.). This funding will create a pilot program that could
help the Department of Defense clear 80 percent of the lands potentially
contaminated with unexploded ordnance (UXO) on military sites throughout
the country. UXO includes bombs, missiles, and landmines that have been
used for combat or training but did not explode or which have been
buried for disposal.

"The presence of ordnance and explosives on former military sites limits
our use of millions of acres, whether it's prime real estate or scenic
open space," Blumenauer said. "By approving this additional funding,
Congress has taken a step towards addressing our toxic legacy."

The extra $5 million requested by Blumenauer was added by the conferees
of the DoD Appropriations bill last week. This funding, which was
included in the Research and Development Account, will fund a "Wide Area
Site Assessment Pilot Program for UXO Cleanup." The Defense Science
Board estimates that of the known 10 million acres of formerly used
defense sites (there may be as much as 50 million contaminated acres)
that are potentially contaminated with UXO, a wide area assessment could
free up about 8 million acres of land for public use in a short amount
of time. It will also provide data for the detailed planning of a
wholesale approach to UXO contamination. The assessment will involve
archival searches of existing records, visual site inspections, and
airborne wide area screening to determine where the presence of UXO is
concentrated. This pilot program will enable the Department of Defense
to test the effectiveness of the new technology before implementing it nation-wide.

During debate earlier this year, Blumenauer highlighted the dangers from
UXO to our troops. One of Blumenauer's constituents, Travis
Bradach-Nall, a 21-year-old Marine, was killed by a land mine in Iraq
almost a year ago. Fifteen U.S. soldiers have been killed in or wounded
by landmines since military operations in Afghanistan began in 2001. 

Blumenauer also argued that UXO threatens civilians around the world,
including here in the U.S. A longtime champion of the cleanup of UXO and
military toxics, Blumenauer has argued that Congress and the Department
of Defense have been too slow in responding to this enormous problem.
Last year, Blumenauer successfully inserted language in the DoD
Authorization bill requiring the agency to release an inventory of UXO
sites around the U.S. The GAO has estimated that cleaning up formerly
used defense sites will cost between $8 billion to $35 billion. At the
current rate of spending, this could take up to 300 years.

"Our troops face the dangers caused by UXO every day, not only overseas
but here at home," Blumenauer said. "Unexploded ordnance, which can kill
our military personnel and civilians alike, is not just a remote danger
in some far off land. This bill provides the funds to start the clean up
that's long overdue." 

-- 


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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