VA ANNOUNCES POTENTIAL EXPOSURES AT FORT MCCLELLAN ARMY INSTALLATION

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Potential Exposure at Fort McClellan

Fort McClellan was an Army installation in Alabama that opened in 1917.
Some members of the U.S. Army Chemical Corp School, Army Combat Development Command Chemical/Biological/Radiological Agency, Army Military Police School and Women's Army Corps, among others, may have been exposed to one or more of several hazardous materials, likely at low levels, during their service at Fort McClellan. Potential exposures could have included, but are not limited to, the following:

Radioactive compounds (cesium-137 and cobalt-60) used in decontamination training activities in isolated locations on base.

Chemical warfare agents (mustard gas and nerve agents) used in decontamination testing activities in isolated locations on base.

Airborne polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the Monsanto plant in the neighboring town.

Although exposures to high levels of these compounds have been shown to cause a variety of adverse health effects in humans and laboratory animals, there is no evidence of exposures of this magnitude having occurred at Fort McClellan.
PCBs and the Monsanto chemical plant

From 1929 to 1971, an off-post Monsanto chemical plant operated south of Fort McClellan in Anniston. PCBs from the plant entered into the environment, and the surrounding community was exposed.

In 2013, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) completed an assessment of the potential health risks caused by airborne PCBs in Anniston and concluded that the concentrations found were "not expected to result in an increased cancer risk or other harmful health effects in people living in the neighborhoods outside the perimeter of the former PCB manufacturing facility."

Fort McClellan today

Fort McClellan closed in 1999 as part of the Army Base Closure and Realignment Committee (BRAC) program. The BRAC legislation required the environmental cleanup of Fort McClellan prior to its transfer to the public domain. Oversight of parts of the base have since been transferred to the Alabama Army National Guard, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, and the Department of the Interior, as well as to the community of Anniston, where the re-development and re-use of the land is overseen by the McClellan Development Authority.

Veteran health care and compensation benefits

Veterans who are experiencing health issues that they associate with their service while at Fort McClellan should see their primary care provider or contact their local Environmental Health Coordinator.

CLEANING UP THE CALUMET RIVER WITH $52 MILLION PROJECT

Photo:  Water Runoff.  Credit:  Wikipedia.
FROM:  U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Great Lakes Initiative Cleanup Helps Restore Grand Calumet River
CHICAGO (June 11, 2012) - The recent completion of a $52 million project to rid Roxana Marsh of contaminated sediment will speed the recovery of Indiana’s Grand Calumet River, marking a step forward for one of the Great Lakes’ most complex Area of Concern cleanups. Representatives from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State of Indiana were joined by Congressman Pete Visclosky to discuss the project's impact at an event today in East Chicago, Indiana.

More than 575,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with PCBs and PAHs (polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), heavy metals and pesticides were removed or isolated from the marsh and the river.  Fish consumption advisories, loss of habitat and other environmental problems in the Grand Calumet have largely been caused by contaminated sediment.  

"The work by federal, state, county, city and other partners over the years has helped deliver real results under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative," said Cameron Davis, Senior Advisor to the EPA Administrator.  “The work we’re talking about today will help give the Grand Cal a fighting chance to be grand again. But we can’t stop here. We’re looking for new partners to match funds to accelerate cleanups in other Areas of Concern around the Great Lakes."

The federal government contributed 65 percent or $33.8 million to this GLRI Legacy Act project.  Indiana used $18.2 million from its Natural Resources Damage Assessment Fund for the required 35 percent match.  In the 1980s, the U.S. and Canada identified 43 highly degraded shoreline areas along the Great Lakes. Today there are 30 AOCs wholly in the U.S. or shared with Canada.

"The Fish and Wildlife Service is dedicated to restoring fish, wildlife and habitat in places where contaminants have impacted those resources,” said Charlie Wooley, Deputy Regional Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-Midwest Region.  “Here, the contaminants are gone and Roxana Marsh is alive again, making it a haven not only for birds, fish and plants, but for the people of this community."

The Grand Calumet River originates in the east end of Gary, Indiana, and flows through the heavily industrialized cities of Gary, East Chicago and Hammond. The majority of the river's flow drains into Lake Michigan via the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal, sending about one billion gallons of water into the lake per day. The Area of Concern begins 15 miles south of downtown Chicago and includes the east branch of the river, a small segment of the west branch and the Indiana Harbor and Ship Canal.

“I am pleased by the progress that has been made to address the environmental degradation associated with the Grand Calumet River,” said Congressman Pete Visclosky. “Investments made in restoration projects along the river, such as the work completed at Roxana Marsh in East Chicago and in the City of Hammond, are investments in the health and safety of our local communities and a commitment to the betterment of Northwest Indiana.”

The Great Lakes provide more than 30 million Americans with drinking water and underpin a multi-billion dollar economy.  In February 2009, President Obama proposed the GLRI, the largest investment in the Great Lakes in two decades.

The GLRI Action Plan, which covers FY 2010 through 2014, was developed by a task force of 16 federal agencies to implement the president’s historic initiative.  It calls for aggressive efforts to address five urgent priority focus areas:

    Cleaning up toxics and toxic hot spot areas of concern.
    Combating invasive species.
    Promoting near-shore health by protecting watersheds from polluted runoff.
    Restoring wetlands and other habitats.
    Raising public awareness, tracking progress and working with partners.

The plan also ensures accountability by establishing measures of progress and benchmarks for success.