ÁREAS PROGRAMÁTICAS Y PROGRAMAS DE LOS QUE PARTICIPA EL INCISO Y SUS UNIDADES EJECUTORAS
AREA PROGRAMÁTICA: INFRAESTRUCTURA, TRANSPORTE Y COMUNICACIONES
Activity Description:
One method selected for the potential disposal of the surplus 2.3 million gallons of Herbicide Orange remaining after the Vietnam War was subsurface injection or soil incorporation of the herbicide at massive concentrations. The premise for such studies was that high concentrations of the herbicides and TCDD would be degraded to innocuous products by the combined action of soil microorganism and soil hydrolysis. In order to field test this concept, biodegradation plots were established in five climatically and environmentally different areas of the United States: Northwest Florida at Eglin Air Force Base (AFB); Western Kansas at the Kansas State University Experimental Station, Garden City; Northwestern Utah on the Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC) Test Range Complex near the Dugway Proving Grounds; A Pesticide Waste Disposal Site established by the Department of Entomology, Oregon State University in Eastern Oregon; and the Agronomy Farm, Washington State University, Pullman, Washington. The project was initiated in April 1972. Drums of Herbicide Orange were available at Eglin AFB for the plots established on Test Area C-52A of the Eglin Reservation. However for the other locations drums of Herbicide Orange were shipped from the Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport, Mississippi to Garden City, Kansas (one 55-gallon drum), Dugway Proving Ground, Utah (two 55-gallon drums), Department of Entomology, Oregon State University (one 55-gallon drum), and Department of Agronomy and Soils, Washington State University (one 55-gallon drum).Assessment:
The amount of Herbicide Orange incorporated into field plots varied by location. On Test Area C-52A, Eglin AFB, Florida, the herbicide was placed (simulated subsurface injection) in 5 replicated 10 x 10-foot plots, 6 inches below the soil surface at concentrations of 4,000 pounds per acre (initial concentration in 6-inch profile was 5,000 parts-per-million). The 10 plots were periodically samples over a period of six years (Apirl 1972 – April 1978). At the Garden City Kansas Experiment Station, Herbicide Orange was pre-plant incorporated into one-acre plots via a rototiller at concentrations of 2,000 and 4,000 pounds per acre. The site was sampled and monitored for three years (June 1972 – June 1975). At the AFLC Test Range Complex, Herbicide Orange was placed (simulated subsurface injection) into replicated 10 x 15-foot plots, 6 inches below the soil surface at concentrations of 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 pounds per acre. The site wassampled and monitored for six years (May 1972 – May 1977). At the Pesticide Waste Disposal Site in Eastern Oregon, herbicide was subsurface injected at 1,000 pounds per area (on one acre). At the Agronomy Farm at Washington State University, Herbicide Orange was incorporated into 42 field lysimeters at concentrations of either 1,000 or 5,000 pounds per acre. The lysimeters were established in December 1976 and were terminated in March 1979.
At Eglin AFB, Florida, 2 civilians and 2 military officers were involved in the treatment and monitoring of the plots. At Garden City Kansas, one civilian with the Kansas State Experiment Station was involved in the sampling and monitoring of the plots. At the AFLC Test Range, 2 military officers were involved in the sampling and monitoring of the plots. At the Pesticide Waste Disposal site in Eastern Oregon, personnel from the Department of Entomology were involved in sampling and monitoring. At Washington State University, the research was the focus of a Ph.D. Thesis, and thus a graduate student and his Major Professor were involved in the project.
The United States Air Force Scientific Advisory Board’s Ad Hoc Committee for the Disposal of Herbicide Orange felt that this method was promising, but that more data and evidence were needed to ensure environmental safety. Moreover, the permission to use Federal lands for this disposal option would require not only an appropriate Environmental Impact Statement, but also the approval of State and Federal Authorities, with likely many legal challenges.
Sources:
Young AL, Thalken CE, Arnold EL, Cupello JM, Cockerham LG (1976): Fate of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) in the Environment: Summary and Decontamination Recommendations. Technical Report USAFA-TR-76-18, Department of Chemistry and Biological Sciences, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado.Stark HE, McBride JK, Orr GF (1975): Soil Incorporation/Biodegradation of Herbicide Orange. Volume I. Microbial and Baseline Ecological Study of the US Air Force Logistics Command Test Range, Hill AFB, Utah. Document No. DPG-FR-C615, US Army Dugway Proving Ground, Dugway, Utah. Unclassified, limited to US Government Agencies only.
Tanigughi G (1975): Soil Incorporation/Biodegradation of Herbicide Orange. Volume II. Meteorological and Chemical Studies of a Proposed Test Site on the AFLC Test Range, Hill AFB, Utah. Document No. TECOM-5-CO-213-000-015, US Army Dugway Proving Ground, Dugway, Utah. Unclassified, limited to US Government Agencies only.
Goulding RL (1973): Waste Pesticide Management. Final Narrative Report. US Environmental Protection Agency Demonstration Grant No. 5-G06-EC-00222, Department of Entomology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon.
Majka JT, Cheng HH, Muzik TJ (1982): Dissipation of Massive Quantities of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T n-Butyl Esters in Field Mini-Lysimeters. J Environ Qual 11 (4): 645-649.
Majka JT, Cheng HH, McNeal BL (1982): Mobility of 2,4-D and 2,4,5-T n-Butyl Esters in Soils Following Massive Applications to Field Mini-Lysimeters. J Environ Qual 11 (4): 650-655.
SAIC (1989): Final Decision Document for Herbicide Orange Test Area, Utah Test and Training Range, North Range, Utah. US Air Force Installation Restoration Program, Hill Air Force Base, Utah. Prepared Under Interagency Agreement No 40-1760-86 by Science Applications International Corporation, McLean, Virginia. Submitted to US Air Force Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. Unclassified, available for public distribution.