SBCT Final EIS - Govsupport.us

Appendix D ⎯ Responses to Comments on the Draft Environmental Impact StatementThe state will be a partner in the planning and execution of a mutually agreedupon response.The Army will provide any necessary training to state participants.The range impact areas at SBMR and PTA where DU was determined to bepresent must now be further investigated. Although the DU present at theseimpact areas does not present a hazard to the public, it is a topic of significantinterest to the public.The chance of coming into contact with this DU is extremely remote.Radiation exposure rates from these rounds and the DU fragments found areextremely low.DU must be inhaled or swallowed at high levels to be a health hazard, and thisis extremely unlikely.Studies by many independent agencies have concluded that radiation from DUdoes not pose a significant health or environmental risk. Studies have shownthat DU is not likely to move significant distances from where it may be deposited.Fragments from the spotting rounds are limited to range impact areasthat are located well inside the perimeter of the range. The potential for DU tomove is dependent on a variety of factors, such as ground cover (e.g., trees,grass), soil content, distance to water both on top and under the ground,steepness of terrain, etc. However, it is expected to remain within the rangeboundary.Results of sampling (e.g., soil, air, water) at those sites in Hawaii where DUhas been found indicate that possible adverse impacts to the surrounding environmentare also extremely unlikely.Our sampling data indicate that the DU remains within the impact area of therange.In the form it was found in the impact areas, there would be little or no risk toeither local residents or employees who work on the installation. There areseveral reasons that this is true. First, the fragments from the spotting roundsare well inside controlled areas (impact ranges) of garrison property wherecontact with the material would be unlikely. Second, DU is only slightly radioactive,producing mostly alpha radiation that cannot penetrate skin or clothing.Third, even if there were a risk of inhalation of DU, most inhaled DU israpidly cleared from the body. DU’s properties have been studied for decades,and are well understood by scientists and health experts. Many non-militaryagencies, to include the World Health Organization (WHO) and RAND Corporation,have found that possible impacts to health from DU at impact sitesare extremely unlikely.The Army has no evidence to indicate that DU rounds have been used or evenissued at Fort Carson, PCMS or at Alaska training sites.The Army uses a training “cluster round” at PTA. This round does not containDU.176. The Army has not cleaned up contamination of the Hawaiian Islands from past activities. Explosivesused in training are filled with toxics like RDX, HMX, TNT, arsenic, and lead.February 2008 D–60 2/25th SBCT Final EIS