Contamination assessment at fuel farm begins

The initial cleanup process for the Tanapag fuel farm, a former military site, has begun.

Representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Division of Environmental Quality and the Tanapag Action Group went to the site last week. EPA’s Ramon Mendoza said groundwater and soil samples were collected from the site.

The EPA has also allotted $100,000 for the DEQ to conduct an assessment of the contamination, so it could come up with a report for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ remediation work.

Last week’s activities virtually began the initial cleanup process at the site, which has been waiting for remediation for more than a decade.

Actual remediation work, however, would have to be done by the Army Corps.

After the completion of more than $20-million treatment of contaminated Tanapag soil from carcinogenic substance polychlorinated biphenyls, the DEQ disclosed that 15 other formerly used defense sites or FUDS remain active for future cleanup.

Active FUDS are those sites that the U.S. military or the Department of Defense used for whatever operations, excluding active battlefields.

According to DEQ’s Ray Masga, FUDS are not necessarily contaminated with hazardous substances and chemicals, but are those with building installations that need to be demolished and the debris of which has to be removed. However, Many of the active FUDS on the islands are classified as such due to contamination of hazardous substances.

Besides the Tanapag Fuel Farm, the Army Corps classified the following sites as active for future cleanup: Garapan Fuel Pipeline, the Far East Broadcasting in Marpi, the so-called hospital dumpsite in Talofofo during the Second World War, and the Kagman Airfield that was contaminated with aviation fuel.

The rest are the Naftan bomb storage and ordnance disposal sites, the Marpi Point Field, the Kobler Naval Supply Center, the North Field and ordnance plant on Saipan, the Surplus Area West Field on Tinian, and the island of Rota.

The sites also include the American Memorial Park in Garapan, where the U.S. military reportedly built fuel pipeline facilities during the World War II. According to Masga, while the park has been cleaned up for fuel contamination, full remediation work needs to be done. High concentrations of PCBs contaminated I-Denni, which was earlier proposed for a homestead site. (John Ravelo)