WW2 airfields - chemicals

[Liberator]

Interesting discussion on post ww2 airfield and chemicals they were left behind with - http://www.network54.com/Forum/149674/m ... oxic+waste

Anyone agree or disagree or want to add to the above issues?

[The Inspector]

Locally, when the Tulalip Indian Tribe wanted to expand their casino in Marysville North of Everett, the feds (DoD, EPA, ATF) had to do a lot of digging to see what might have been left from a chemical weapons dump on reservation lands during WW1 and WW2 (not an uncommon 'appropriation' of tribal lands during both wars). When the city of Seattle wanted to move the Summer cruise ship pier to the old Navy Pier 91 it took a lot of divers to remove old shells that had been dumped overboard off the pier and ships in the previous century. When Snohomish County started doing landscape work @ the old Paine AFB they discovered that when the Air Force left, they left aircraft fuels in the underground transfer lines that ran all over the field and most old military structures on the field are/were sheathed in wonderful asbestos shingles which covers the asbestos insulation on old pipes.

[CoastieJohn]

The USCG Air Station here in Traverse City, MI used to be a Navy base back in the war. Fast forward.....the story goes some of the local resident surrounding the airport started to get contaminated water. The EPA types came in and determined it was from the petroleum products that came from the Navy base years before. A contractor came in and installed a PVC pipe delivery system throughout the base property that allowed petroleum eating microbes to be put into the ground to eat at the petroleum. I guess it worked because we don't hear too much about it anymore.