WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says unexploded ordnance, such as bombs and artillery shells, could be buried or scattered at 14 Utah sites — ranging from Salt Lake City International Airport and Fort Douglas to desert lands used by campers and off-road vehicles.

That is according to a new Defense Department inventory that identified 2,307 such areas nationwide, an increase of 553 since an interim report it issued last year.

Members of Congress who helped order the inventory said cleanup of such sites would take hundreds of years with current levels of funding. They called Tuesday for more money for cleanup — and for assessment as to which areas truly have ordnance.

"Dangerous unexploded ordnance, which can kill our military personnel and civilians alike, is not a remote danger in some far-off land. Every day in America, in every state, Americans are at risk," Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said Tuesday.

Many of the sites identified were formerly used by the military as bases or test ranges — where some ordnance failed to explode during tests or training. Ordnance was also buried at many sites for disposal but sometimes works it way to the surface over time or is dug up during construction.

In Utah, sites with suspected unexploded ordnance are both in heavily populated metro areas and in remote deserts. Some have no security, not even fences, while others are within guarded military installations. Cleanup costs are estimated at $200 million.

The inventory also includes a "risk assessment code" for most Utah sites to rank how urgent the military feels action is needed. That provides a numeric ranking from 1 to 5, with a 1 meaning action is most urgent.

Only one Utah site was given that top risk assessment code of 1: the Hurricane Mesa Test Site near Virgin, Washington County. It had been used as an impact area for grenades and mortars. Several campers were injured there in 1986 when one of them found an old 40 mm artillery shell and threw it into a campfire, where it exploded.

Four other Utah sites have a risk code of 2 (including Fort Douglas at the University of Utah); two have a risk code of 3; six have codes of 4; none have a 5; and two sites have not yet been evaluated.

Many of the sites had been publicly identified previously from data obtained by the Deseret News through the Freedom of Information Act and from other government reports.

The Utah sites included in the new inventory are:

Salt Lake City International Airport. A one-acre spot used by the military has a relatively low risk assessment code of 4 and has study and cleanup-related costs estimated at $444,000. That work has yet to begin. The area has fencing and security patrols.

Fort Douglas. The military gave 8,100 acres there a relatively high risk assessment code of 2. It estimates study and cleanup costs at $23.3 million. It says a site investigation is planned there over the next two years.

Hill Air Force Base and its Utah Test and Training Range. One 18,550-acre range area is given a risk assessment code of 2. The area has no public access, with fencing and locked gates. Another 270-acre area has a risk assessment of 4 and has tight security. Cleanup and assessment costs are estimated at a combined $8 million.

Hurricane Mesa Test Site. The 700-acre area has no security or fences, according to the inventory. Cleanup and evaluation costs there are projected to be $3.6 million, but so far nothing has been spent.

Dugway South Triangle. The 6,586-acre site is on public U.S. Bureau of Land Management ground south of Dugway Proving Ground. It was used as a mortar impact range in the 1950s and '60s, including chemical and biological rounds. It has some fencing but has unrestricted public access. Cleanup costs are estimated at $48.5 million, and its risk assessment code is 3. A site investigation is planned for this year and next.

Yellow Jacket Ranges. The 23,085 acres were used as a test area for chemical arms, fire bombs, rockets and smoke and mortar rounds during the 1950s. It is on public BLM land, also near Dugway Proving Ground. Public access is unrestricted. Other government studies have noted the area is used for mining and recreational vehicles. Its risk assessment code is 2. Cleanup-related costs are estimated at $48.4 million.

Carrington Island Precision Bomb Range. The 2,262-acre site on the island in the Great Salt Lake has not received a risk assessment code. Cleanup-related costs there are estimated at $11.2 million, but no activities have been funded.

Wendover Air Force Auxiliary Field. The 3,616-acre area has a risk assessment score of 4. Estimated cleanup-related costs are $9.4 million. A site inspection is expected to be completed soon, then a remediation study should begin, if needed.

Wendover Special Weapons Bombing Range. The 4,518 site has not been evaluated for a risk assessment code. Estimated cleanup-related costs are $11 million. If funds are available, the military said it hopes to begin site investigations, draft a community relations plan and begin remediation activities over the next two years.

Wendover Bombing and Gun Range. The 32,897-acre area also has not been evaluated for a risk assessment code. Estimated study and cleanup costs are $27 million.

"Abandoned Gravel Pit" near Wendover. No other description was available for the 1,920-acre site with a risk code of 4. Cleanup-related costs are estimated at $3.5 million. The inventory said public access is restricted, but the site has no security or fences.

Buckhorn WA UG EXP Site 8, near Castle Dale. No other description was available for the 10-acre site with a risk assessment code of 4, and cleanup costs estimated at $1.9 million. Public access is not restricted.

Salt Lake City AAB Gun Range. No other description was available for the 3,069-acre site with a risk assessment code of 3. It has limited public access. Estimated cleanup-related costs are $5.22 million. A site investigation is planned over the next two years. The inventory also said five Utah sites listed previously as possibly containing unexploded ordnance had been investigated, and no ordnance or other significant toxins were found on them.

Those sites are: the Naval Supply Depot in Tooele; the Utah Ordnance Plant in Salt Lake City; the Skull Valley burial site for 6,000 sheep killed in a nerve gas accident in 1968; South Mountain Ranches; and the Ogden Nature Center.

The military also said it is continuing to search records to identify other sites that might have unexploded ordnance.

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In the new inventory, Raymond F. DuBois, deputy undersecretary of Defense for installations and environment, wrote that the military "fully acknowledges its obligation to effectively respond to the hazards associated with unexploded ordnance."

He added, "Our continued focus is to protect the health and safety of our citizens, sustain our environmental stewardship, continue effective communication with our stakeholders, and gain a thorough understanding of the gaps in our knowledge."


E-mail: lee@desnews.com

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