[CPEO-MEF] CSWAB Efforts Lead to Better Testing at Badger Ammo

CSWAB Efforts Lead to Better Testing at Badger Ammo

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) is requiring the Army to analyze drinking water and groundwater at the former Badger Army Ammunition Plant for contaminants resulting from the breakdown of explosives in the environment. Toxicologists with the Department of Health Services recently issued Health Advisory Levels (HALs) that are the first federal or state drinking water guidelines in the U.S. for four (4) currently unregulated breakdown products of the explosive DNT.

Of the four new HALs, the lowest is for 2,4-Diaminotoluene at 0.01 parts per billion (ppb) based on cancer risk. By comparison, Wisconsin’s drinking water standard for DNT is five times higher at 0.05 ppb, indicating that the degradation product (2,4-Diaminotoluene) is more toxic than the original parent compound (DNT).