Kuwaiti sand bound for Longview has high levels of lead; extended stay likely
Thursday, April 24, 2008 11:31 PM PDT
By Erik Olson
Printable version
E-mail this articleThe U.S. Army has found a potentially hazardous amount of lead in Kuwaiti sand already bound for the Port of Longview, the company disposing the material said Thursday.
The discovery could mean the BBC Alabama, which is hauling the 6,700 tons of sand from a U.S. Army base in Kuwait, now must likely wait in port a month under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notification regulations, said Chad Hyslop, project manager for the Idaho-based American Ecology.
The sand, which also contains trace amounts of depleted uranium, is bound for a landfill in Idaho. The BBC Alabama is due to arrive at Longview Friday, three days later than originally scheduled.
In one preliminary sample, the concentration of lead in the sand was nearly four times higher than the EPA standard that triggers a hazardous-material designation, Hyslop said. The sample contained 19 milligrams of lead per liter, and the EPA requires a 30-day notice of transport of anything higher than 5 milligrams per liter, according to Hyslop.
Hyslop said he learned of the lead contamination Monday, and he doesn’t know when the Army will make a final determination whether the waste qualifies as hazardous material.
No information was immediately available about whether the Army knew about the lead contamination prior to the sand being shipped from Kuwait. The cleanup stems from a 1991 fire at Camp Doha during the first Gulf War, which left depleted uranium from an ammunition truck in the ground.
The lead contamination likely resulted from spilled battery acid and small arms ammunition, Hyslop said.
The lead will change nothing about the unloading or ultimate disposal of the 306 containers of sand arriving Friday, Hyslop said. The sand is already placed in bags made safe for transport of hazardous materials, he said.
“We handle hazardous amounts of lead all the time,” Hyslop said.
Mike Wilcox, vice president of the International Longshoremen’s and Warehousemen’s Union local 21, said he was informed of the lead contamination at a meeting at the port Thursday morning.
The procedures for unloading the ship will be the same as with any other cargo, Wilcox said. A cleanup crew will be on hand in case any of the material is spilled, he said.
Longshoremen are concerned about the safety of the community because of the hazardous material, but they’re not worried about unloading it, Wilcox said.
“Most of the local is pretty satisfied,” he said. “It’s just cargo.”
The Daily News has tried to a week, so far without success, to get the Army to disclose the cost of the cleanup effort, and who is funding it. Hyslop said he understands the Kuwait government is funding the cleanup, but that has not been confirmed.
The first Gulf War, known as Operation Desert Storm, chased Iraqi forces out after they had overrun Kuwait.
Why wrote on Apr 24, 2008 11:46 PM:
agghh wrote on Apr 25, 2008 5:37 AM:
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