[CPEO-MEF] Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet (CA)

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Danger lies in cleaning ships

By Thomas Peele
CONTRA COSTA TIMES (CA)
August 9, 2006

The Coast Guard has ordered the U.S. Maritime Administration to clean 
the hulls of aging ships leaving the Suisun Bay Reserve Fleet, even 
while acknowledging that the work could pollute local waters or damage 
the decrepit vessels before they are towed out to sea.

The ships, mostly World War II- and Cold War-era relics, contain 
hazardous materials such as polychlorinated biphenyls, asbestos and fuel 
oil. Most haven't been maintained for decades. The cleaning, to prepare 
the ships for transport to Texas for scrapping, "is now mandatory," 
Coast Guard spokeswoman Angela McArdle said.

A World War II cargo ship, the Hannibal Victory, its hull flaking paint 
and its decks laden with rust, was towed Tuesday from Suisun Bay to a 
Richmond shipyard where workers will begin today to clean below its 
waterline with nonmetallic brushes. Another ship, the Sioux Falls 
Victory, was towed to the same location last week.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/community/15232044.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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