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Vintage ordnance up for detonation
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Posted on Aug 10 2004
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued an emergency permit allowing the detonation of close to 500 pounds of vintage ordnance on Saipan.
The detonation would take place at the foot of the Marpi cliff on Aug. 14, the Emergency Management Office said yesterday.
The permit allows the disposal of the wastes within 90 days. The EPA issued it pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
The wastes include projectiles, grenades, mortars, and a blasting cap, the EPA said.
Based on an inventory by the EMO, up for detonation are 276 pieces of U.S. military ordnance, with a total weight of 418 lbs. Six Japanese ordnance weighing approximately 45.83 lbs. will also be exploded.
“The wastes will be disposed via open detonation and/or open burning at the temporary emergency disposal range established in Marpi,” the EPA said.
“[The] U.S. EPA has determined that these wastes present an imminent and substantial endangerment to human health and the environment, and has therefore issued this emergency permit to allow these wastes to be safely disposed,” it added.
The explosives were remnants of World War II, as Saipan was a major battle ground between American and Japanese troops.
The EMO and the U.S. Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team occasionally team up to detonate scores of unexploded vintage ordnance that are found on different portions of the islands. Last March 12, the Navy detonated over 1,000 lbs. of World War II ordnance in Marpi.
