2003-06-12_REVISION - M1999034 (2)

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® ~« $~ Tri-Conn /Health De artm~ent f~[7~ /~~ senAr~g r+doms. Aropar,oe and ~«,glas counties Hugh IZahrer. MAt. MPH. [hector AN OVERVIEW OF TRI-COUNTY HEALTH'S ROLE WITH THE UNITED STATES ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSENAL THE UNITED STATES ROCKY MOUNTADY ARSENAL'S HISTORY The Rocky Mountain Arsenal, established in 1942, was one of the U.S. Army's last chemical weapons manufacturing facilities to be built during Worid War A. The Arsenal operated in that capacity anvil the1960's, producing chemical weapons such as: GB and Sarin nerve agern, Levinstein Mustard Gas, Phosgene, and Lewisite Gas. After the 1960's, RMA was used primarily for the neutralvation and incineration of obsolete GB, Mu~ard, and other chemical munitions. Following World War II, Congress encowaged the Army to lease war manufacturing facilities for private industrial use. This was done in efforts to help the national and local economy, oft'set costs, and maintain the facilities for national security. Shell Chemical Comparry was the Arsenal's primary lessee from 1952 to 1982_ During this time Shill produced pesticides and agricultural chemicals. During the more than 50 years of chemical manufacturing, the disposal practices used by the Army and Shell included treatment, burial, incineration, deep well injection, and evaporative basins. These pracices were used for the disposal of aU waste types, including hazardous wastes. Although these methods were widely accepted practices at the time, in retrospect, they were not environmentally sound. Comamination of groundwater and soils resulted from those practices, as well as from leaks in sewer lines, wind dispersion, and accidental spills. Today, the Arsenal's only mission is of environmental cleanup and the development of the land for a National Wildlife Refuge. CONTAMINATION AT THE ARSENAL Arsenal related contamination can be found both onpost and in an offpost area which borders the Arsenal on the North and Northwest. The onpost contamination, limited to the areas around the production and disposal sites, is found in the soil, ground water, lake sediment, and in surface water. Offpost contamination can be found in soil, but the majority is found in the shallow, unconfined aquifer. The main Arsenal-related contaminants in the groundwater are: volatile organic chemicals, such as Benzene, Chloroform, Toluene, and Trichloroethylene (TCE); pesticides and other related chemicals, such as Aldrin, Atrazine, Chlordane, Dibromochloropropane (DBCP), Diddtin, AdmlNshative Otfl~e [J 7000 East Bellevlew Avenue O Sulfa 301 ^ Er>0lewood, Cobrado 80111-1628 ' 303/220-9200 t7 FAX 303/220-9208