[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS: Guam EPA "demands US Air Force Revise Open Burn, Open Detonation Policies"

[Lenny Siegel]

GUAM ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY DEMANDS US AIR FORCE REVISE OPEN BURN, OPEN DETONATION POLICIES

by Bryce Leiberman 
Pasquines
October 7, 2024

The practice of Open Burn (OB) and Open Detonation (OD) on the Andersen Air Force Base in Guam has received federal backlash in recent months. On August 6, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Guam Environmental Protection Agency (GEPA) sent a joint letter to Air Force officials to address the deficiencies of their current OB/OD permit renewal application. 

The practice of OB/OD is used primarily by military institutions to destroy toxic military waste that is outdated or unable to be used. However, the practice has yielded widespread concern from environmental groups such as Earthjustice, who believe that the detrimental impact on the climate makes OB/OD a harmful procedure. Citing the release of toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the atmosphere and the consequent contamination of soil and water, Earthjustice senior associate Thien Chau takes a strong stance against OB/OD, saying to readers, “The law prohibits OB/OD of waste explosives when there are safe alternatives…It’s long past time for Guam EPA to deny the permit and put an end to open detonations on Tarague Beach.”


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For the entire article, see
https://pasquines.us/2024/10/07/guam-environmental-protection-agency-demands-us-air-force-revise-open-burn-open-detonation-policies/

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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel at cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)