Radiation risksU.S. Army seeking to end environmental testing at Indiana nuclear firing range
The U.S. Army wants to end its Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license at the Jefferson Proving Ground in southern Indiana. The Army’s appeal comes after years of water and soil testing at the site. Currently, an estimated 162,040 pounds of depleted uranium projectiles and shows are still on the firing range. The site was last used in 1995. Uranium munitions, specifically the kind used to penetrate armor during Operation Desert Shield, were used there throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
The U.S. Army wants to end its Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) license at the Jefferson Proving Ground in southern Indiana. The Army’s appeal comes after years of water and soil testing at the site. Currently, an estimated 162,040 pounds of depleted uranium projectiles and shows are still on the firing range.
As TheCourier-Journal reports, if permission is granted, the Army can stop environmental testing at the facility, including the 2,080-acre hot zone. It was last used in 1995. Uranium munitions, specifically the kind used to penetrate armor during Operation Desert Shield, were used there throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
“The Army never thought much about the future,” said Mike Moore, a member of the Jefferson Proving Ground Heritage Partnership, who also worked at the site until 1994. “They just wanted to test the ammunition…No thought was given that you’ve ruined this land forever.”
Moore and others are concerned that the creeks that run through the fire range could swell during heavy rains and carry shells and projectiles off site.
According to the Army’s decommissioning plan, however, it would simply be too costly and dangerous to clean up the entire firing line. The Army presented plans which include signs to be posted which warn people away, and notices that there is radioactive material in the area.
The commission for the project has announced plans to document residents’ comments and concerns as part of an environmental-impact study that will seek to address any possible alternatives to the Army’s plan.
“We hope the resident will participate in this meeting to provide comments about the environmental issues they consider significant,” said Stephen Lemont, a senior project manager for the commission.
Experts report that radioactive levels of the nuclear byproduct at the site are relatively low in comparison to many other nuclear weapon facilities, but an energy study by the Material and Chemistry Laboratory, Inc. for the Army last year concluded that it will still take “many decades” for the material in the shells to corrode.
Additionally, according to a 2013 Al Jazeera article, Iraqi government studies found that when similar projectiles were used in that country that the number of birth defects, cancers, and other health problems rose significantly.
“It’s not right to leave something radioactive here,” said Tim Maloney, the senior policy director of the Hoosier Environmental Council. He said he was unaware of any other military installation in Indiana where radioactive materials had been abandoned without continual monitoring.
Additionally, Kristine Michalson, a spokeswoman for Senator Dan Coats (R-Indiana) said that he “believes the federal government should ensure a proper and efficient plan is in place that will not jeopardize the health and safety of our local community.”
Parts of the site have been sold to the Indiana Department of Transportation, Jefferson County, and a local farmer.
