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EPA PROPOSES PERMIT TO COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF WEAPONS AT JACADS

Release Date: 7/15/1997
Contact Information: Lois Grunwald, U.S. EPA, (415) 744-1588

     (San Francisco)--Seeking to complete destruction of all remaining chemical weapons on Johnston Atoll in the South Pacific, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) is proposing approval of a new permit for the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS), about 800 miles southwest of Hawaii.

     "We want the Army to finish off these weapons of mass destruction so there will be one less stockpile of its kind on the face of the earth," said Julie Anderson, U.S. EPA's Waste Management Division director.

     "It's the Army's final lap at JACADS, and we want to reach the finish line in the safest manner possible for the people and marine life near this facility," added Anderson.

     U.S. EPA strengthened the proposed permit from the existing permit to include more monitoring and reporting of emissions from JACADS' stacks, and to add new permit conditions limiting dioxin and certain metals emissions.

     The dioxin and metals requirements in the proposed permit are consistent with national policy recently adopted by U.S. EPA. The new reporting and monitoring requirements were added to make the already stringent requirements at the facility even tighter and more comprehensive, a result of what the agency has learned about JACADS since it began operating in 1990. U.S. EPA will review public comments on the proposed permit before making a final decision.

     The current permit at JACADS has proven to be protective of human health and the environment on the atoll. In the seven years that the facility has operated, there has been no documented harm to people or wildlife. Detailed sampling during test burns at JACADS has shown that the emissions meet U.S. EPA standards. And, studies done by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ornithologists, and marine biologists have shown no adverse effects from the facility.

     However, the facility has experienced operational problems in its seven year history. In March 1994, U.S. EPA cited the Army for releasing a nerve agent above allowable levels and for improper storage of hazardous wastes. The U.S. EPA fined the Army $91,700 for the violations, and ordered changes in operating procedures to prevent another release. The proposed permit would tighten some operating procedures based on EPA's review of the facility.

     The Army anticipates it will take about three more years to complete the destruction of all remaining weapons on the island. U.S. EPA is proposing a ten-year permit to make sure there is enough time for the Army to destroy all the remaining weapons, and cleanup and close the facility once all the weapons are destroyed. Under the new permit, U.S. EPA would review and control all the cleanup work.

     Since 1990, the Army has destroyed all of the rockets and bombs -- and in the process more than two-thirds of the four million pounds of agent originally stored on the island. There are still over 160,000 projectiles and 13,000 land mines left to destroy. The JACADS facility is designed to disassemble and incinerate chemical weapons containing nerve agent, and blister agent, known as mustard. Nerve agent is lethal in small quantities.

     The weapons stored on the island were moved there from Okinawa, the Solomon Islands, and Germany. Federal law prohibits transportation of additional chemical weapons to the atoll.  

     The draft permit is a proposal only, not a final decision. A public hearing to discuss the new permit and receive public comment will be held in Honolulu on August 27, 1997. U.S. EPA will accept comments on the proposed permit until August 30, 1997. Written comments should be sent to: Vern Christianson; U.S. EPA; 75 Hawthorne St.; San Francisco, Calif. 94703, or faxed to his attention at 415-744-1044.

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