The threat at home: Confronting the toxic legacy of the U. S. Military

Book · Wed Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1992

OSTI ID:6223648

Shulman, S

The environmental problems that confront the military--and the communities where military facilities are located--are as varied and diverse as the military itself. Past waste management and mismanagement practices have led to large-scale contamination of soil and groundwater with toxic or hazardous fuels, solvents, trace metals, pesticides, explosives, and propellants. Nuclear production facilities generate mixed wastes, which contain both radioactive and toxic contaminants. Test sites and proving grounds are known to contain a large number of unexploded munitions buried in the soil, and a number of arsenals and ammunition plants store chemical weapons agents, which are no longer needed, such as mustard gas and nerve agents. The book is divided into three parts--[open quotes]The Threat[close quotes], [open quotes]Secret Legacies[close quotes], and [open quotes]Facing the Future[close quotes]. Shulman devotes separate chapters to individual facilities and sites, describing the environmental degradation and damage that has occurred. Through interviews with private citizens, the author portrays the anger and suspicion that exist in surrounding communities. The author describes the frustration of Congressional committees as well as military and contract personnel involved in cleanup, who decry the lack of guidance from the Pentagon.

• OSTI ID: 6223648
• Resource Relation: Other Information: From review by William E. Kastenberg, in Chemical and Engineering News (8 Mar 1993)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES
GROUND WATER
CONTAMINATION
MILITARY FACILITIES
WASTE MANAGEMENT
SOILS
ATTITUDES
CHEMICAL WARFARE AGENTS
EXPLOSIVES
FUELS
METALS
PESTICIDES
PROPELLANTS
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS
REMEDIAL ACTION
SOLVENTS
TOXIC MATERIALS
ELEMENTS
HAZARDOUS MATERIALS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
MANAGEMENT
MATERIALS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
WATER
WEAPONS
540220* - Environment
Terrestrial- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (1990-)
052000 - Nuclear Fuels- Waste Management