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March 31, 2004
DEPLETED URANIUM Nellis ponders range cleanup
By MARK WAITE A sparse crowd attending an open house at the Pahrump Community Center Thursday evening heard U.S. Air Force representatives talk about 68,000 pounds of depleted uranium that have accumulated in 130 tanks used at a test range near Indian Springs by pilots training at Nellis Air Force Base. Air force officials are conducting an environmental assessment at the request of the State of Nevada to determine how to dispose of the depleted uranium. The depleted uranium - so-called because it's 40 percent less radioactive than normal uranium - is touted for its strength, being twice as dense as lead. However the radioactivity is weak enough it can't pass through paper or skin, according to a fact sheet provided at the open house. Nellis AFB spokesman Mike Estrada said depleted uranium was first introduced by the Air Force in 1975. "A tank killer is what it's originally designed for," Estrada said. "We think it'll be used in the force another 20 years. It was scheduled to be retired after the first Iraq war." The famous television footage of the "Highway of Death" leading out of Kuwait after the Gulf War in 1991 showed tanks destroyed by rounds of depleted uranium fired from A-10 aircraft, he said. "We stopped testing it for several years at the request of the Fish and Wildlife Service because there just wasn't a lot of studies out there. We resumed testing a few years ago," Estrada said. "We think there's about 68,000 pounds of depleted uranium out there. Each round is about six-tenths of a pound," he said. The U.S. Air Force fact sheet on depleted uranium notes a study conducted by the Air Force from 1994-2001 showed there was no detectable migration of depleted uranium in the soil after the rain; the particles remained concentrated in the target strike zone. U.S. Air Force Capt. Tony Dao said the first environmental assessment limited the Air Force to firing 7,900 rounds of depleted uranium per year. He said the hazards of heavy metals like lead and tungsten are probably more hazardous than the uranium. Depleted uranium is also used in the armor plating in tanks, X-ray shielding and drill bits, Dao said. Jim Campe, program manager for Nellis AFB compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, said contractors clean the projectiles on the ground. Brooks Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas will be in charge of disposing of the depleted uranium in a licensed facility, he said. One of the options for a disposal site is at the Nevada Test Site, which already accepts low level nuclear waste. There were published news reports veterans in the Gulf War were suffering health effects from the depleted uranium. "There hasn't been a direct relation between exposure to DU and what they call Gulf War Syndrome," U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Mike Flynn said. But he added, "People exposed to friendly fire incidents are being monitored." "That's been studied, there's lots of studies by the Department of Defense," Estrada said when asked the same question. "To my knowledge there haven't been any health effects." The training range, target 63-10, is located past the Point Bravo entrance to Nellis AFB off U.S. Highway 95, about 12 miles southeast of Indian Springs, Flynn said. Cameras focus on the site to see if pilots hit the tank targets, which take up the size of two football fields, he said. Flynn said with only 7,900 rounds permitted per year, only a small number of sorties carry the depleted uranium payloads. "That's more than 24 trigger pulls on an A-10," he said. If a plane crashes, Flynn said the first question that is asked is if the pilot is OK, the second question is what was on the aircraft. "For the most part, every airplane that leaves we know what's on it," Flynn said. When asked if the depleted uranium was in a safe storage container in case of a crash, he said, "For the most part it's all self-contained." The environmental assessment is due out in June. The fact sheet handed out at the hearing noted the Nevada Test and Training Range is the only air-to-ground gunnery range in the U.S. cleared to use depleted uranium munitions. The air force is debating whether to cut out the uranium from the tanks, dispose of the contaminated tanks entirely or take no action at all. Written comments may be addressed to Mike Estrada, Air Warfare Center/Public Affairs Office, 4370 N. Washington Blvd. Suite 223, Nellis AFB 89191. The comment deadline is April 20. |
