[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS, BIOTA: NOAA study of Vieques (PR) sediments and corals

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

News Release
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
June 4, 2010


NOAA Study: Vieques Marine Environment Contamination Levels Similar to 
Rest of Region

NOAA scientists are reporting in a newly published study that the health 
of the marine environment of Vieques, Puerto Rico - the site of military 
training activities from 1941 to 2003 which included live bombing 
exercises on the eastern side of the island, is comparable to the rest 
of the region.

Scientists are reporting that contamination of coastal sediments and 
corals is generally low and the condition of fish populations, coral 
reef ecosystem conditions, and contaminant levels around Vieques are 
comparable to those for other coral reef ecosystems in Puerto Rico and 
the U.S. Virgin Islands. Their condition appears to be shaped primarily 
by regional-scale processes such as nutrient enrichment and overfishing 
rather than local factors.

The majority of the affected land on Vieques, an island seven miles 
southeast of the main island of Puerto Rico, is now the Vieques National 
Wildlife Refuge operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The land 
was formerly owned by the U.S. Navy.


...

For the entire press release, see
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100604_study.html

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
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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