[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS, LEAD: "National Guard halts public events in all lead-contaminated armories"

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

National Guard halts public events in all lead-contaminated armories

By Rob Davis 
Oregonian
December 14, 2016 

The National Guard is halting all community events in toxic armories across the country, taking significant steps to prevent lead exposure just a week after an investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive revealed that lead from indoor firing ranges contaminated hundreds of the buildings.

The Guard issued an order setting imminent deadlines, pledging federal money for cleanups and launching a coordinated effort to gather details about contaminated buildings nationwide. Earlier cleanup efforts were sidetracked partly because the Guard required states to bear most of the cost.

The Dec. 6 order, which the Oregon Guard received late Friday, immediately closed nine Oregon armories to community events, a
spokesman said.

The national price tag of the new initiative isn't clear, but cleaning toxic armories could cost federal taxpayers tens of millions. Oregon National Guard officials estimate that removing lead from the state's armories and repurposing the firing ranges will cost $21.6 million. Oregon spent $2 million on one armory cleaning alone. Ohio spent $3 million decontaminating armories last year.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2016/12/national_guard_halts_public_ev.html

See also http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2016/12/national_guard_armories_hearings.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/Fax: 650/961-8918 
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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