Cleanup of US military dumpsites pushed

With the scheduled emergency removal of polychlorinated biphenyl contamination in Cemetery no. 2 next month, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should begin planning for the cleanup of other military dumpsites in Tanapag, according to Rep. Dino M. Jones, chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Judiciary and Governmental Affairs.

The abandoned military dumpsite in Upper Tanapag needs immediate attention because it is near a water tank in the village. Mr. Jones said more than 50 oil tanks which were used during the war were believed to have contaminated the water system in Tanapag.

The legislator also wants a copy of the cleanup report conducted by the Army Corps in New Jersey using the same technology, the low indirect thermal desorption process.

“We just want to read the report on how the equipment that will be imported from the US mainland really helped in the previous cleanup. We want to know what was the status of the place before and after the cleanup,” said Mr. Jones.

A Guam-based contractor to be hired by the Army Corps will start digging the cemetery next month to remove the PCB-contaminated soil in time for All Soul’s Day.

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has given the go signal for the cleanup during a meeting with the Army Corps., Division of Environmental Quality, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Tanapag Action Group.

Processing of the soil to remove the toxic chemical will begin in March 2001 because the equipment will still be shipped from the US mainland to Saipan in January 2000.

More testings will have to be conducted before the actual cleanup to find out which areas have high levels of PCB contamination. The US EPA will be in the area to supervise the cleanup operation.

The workplan to be submitted by the contractor will specify how the materials will be stored in a secured manner to prevent contamination of other areas.

In pushing for the low indirect thermal desorption process, the Army Corps said it is the best technology developed and tested in the mainland and other areas to deal with PCB contamination problem.
The Army Corps has encountered difficulties in carrying out on-site treatment in the cemetery during its previous cleanup specifically in looking for the best technology that will be used to remove the toxic chemical.