Unsafe Levels of Explosives Detected in Groundwater Near Prairie du Sac

[Yon_Yonson]

Submitted by staff on Thu, 09/15/2011 - 1:36pm Environment/EnergyIn the News

Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger, a WNPJ member group, reports: Badger Army Ammunition Plant officials have reported that sampling conducted in June detected unsafe levels of explosives in a groundwater monitoring well in a rural neighborhood north of Prairie du Sac. At the regular meeting of the local Restoration Advisory Board on Monday, Army officials said that concentrations of the carcinogenic explosive DNT (dinitrotoluene) were detected at the groundwater Enforcement Standard (ES) which is 0.05 parts per billion. Health officials do not recommend using well water that contains levels higher than the ES.

The Army currently tests seven residential wells in the Dam Heights and Windings neighborhoods on a regular basis (every three months). In the June round of tests, low levels of DNT were detected in two residential wells in the Windings neighborhood, the Army said. The reported levels were below the ES at 0.015 and 0.016 parts per billion.

The Wisconsin Division of Health said that these residential wells are safe to use. Following the announcement, board member and CSWAB representative Laura Olah called on the Army to immediately re-test the groundwater monitoring well to confirm the findings and recommended the expansion of residential well testing to include dozens of nearby homes that are not part of the military’s quarterly testing program. Army representatives said that they will be testing the monitoring well shortly as part of their routine testing requirements but did not commit to the expanded private well testing.

http://wnpj.org/node/5905

[midnight]

1. I'm not sure what is in that area, but are there any thoughts about how this is getting into the H2O

[postulater]

2. Badger Army Ammunition Plant was

used during the VietNam war (at least) to make ammunition. It was a target for antiwar protests.

I think it was shut down a long time ago.

http://www.egr.msu.edu/tosc/Summaries/BAAP.shtml

[midnight]

3. Thanks.... The link gave another link to press coverage that when it is clicked on

says info. is missing...

[sybylla]

4. It was there during WWII as well

I have great-aunts who took buses to Badger to make ammo during WWII. Shut down was late 80's or early 90's, though I don't think they made a lot of munitions in the final years. I remember when it shut down as we used to drive past it regularly on the way to visit relatives. Seemed odd to see it become a tumbleweed ghost town.

Unfortunately, you can't have this kind of facility in the same place for so long and not have contamination.

[Yon_Yonson]

5. The mere fact that they are at a location and in operations

The wasteful residue seeps into the underground water table via rainwater. I heard this a while ago but military bases are the biggest contributors to environmental contamination. I can tell you horror stories about the US Navy at Newport, Rhode Island. Massive ocean clamp beds, dead fish and vegetation all contaminated by old seeping from underground cast iron fuel tanks lying on the western side of the island (the whole length of the island about 15 miles). They were afraid to dig them up because the tanks had become so brittle they might break open if touched. All I can say is don't live near a military installation it's the price we pay for having the largest unnecessary military in the world.

:banghead: