{"id":351393,"date":"2021-09-09T06:00:38","date_gmt":"2021-09-08T20:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=351393"},"modified":"2021-09-09T06:00:38","modified_gmt":"2021-09-08T20:00:38","slug":"usace-urged-to-do-the-right-thing-on-former-hospital-dump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/usace-urged-to-do-the-right-thing-on-former-hospital-dump\/","title":{"rendered":"USACE urged to \u2018do the right thing\u2019 on former hospital dump"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"A
A map of the former Talafofo hospital dump site is on display at the public information meeting organized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers last week at the Legislature\u2019s parking lot on Capital Hill. (IVA MAURIN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Do you know of any site in the CNMI that might have been complicated by the presence\u2014even potential or perceived\u2014of a hazardous substance? Do you know of any possible formerly-used defense sites that could be investigated, and cleaned up?<\/p>\n

These popped up at the public information meeting held last week on Capital Hill, organized by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, regarding the findings and proposed actions on the dump site of what used to be back in June 1945, a 2,000-bed surgical hospital in Talafofo.<\/p>\n

The proposed plan of the USACE is to take no further action. The public has until the end of this month, on Sept. 30, Thursday, to comment on this plan\u2014if they are for or against it.<\/p>\n

During the meeting last week, the USACE, through project manager Scott Moncrief, presented the results of several investigations that were performed at the site, where, accordingly, several metals in the soil where found, including arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, selenium, and silver.<\/p>\n

The 2011 report stated that heavy metals arsenic, chromium, lead, mercury, and silver exceeded the Pacific Basin environmental screening levels, and were referred to as \u201ccontaminants of potential concern.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the World Health Organization, small amounts of water-soluble barium and lead cause kidney damage and increased risk of high blood pressure, among others. Cadmium is classified as a carcinogen, along with chromium. Mercury is associated with neurological and behavioral disorders. Long-term exposure to arsenic from drinking water and food can cause cancer and skin lesions. It is also linked to diabetes and cardiovascular disease.<\/p>\n

The USACE completed its Remedial Investigation report in October 2020 as a follow-up, which stated that, except for arsenic, the metals found in the site soil did not exceed the Tropical Pacific Environmental Screening Levels. On arsenic, they said that \u201cthe 95% upper confidence limit was less than the site-specific background value.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was then concluded that the metals in the soil do not pose an \u201cunacceptable risk\u201d to human health, and that \u201cpotential risk to ecological receptors from exposure to the metals reduced to an acceptable level.\u201d The USACE\u2019s recommendation? \u201cNo Action for chemical contamination in site soil.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cNo Action\u201d recommendation basically means that there will be no additional investigation or remediation on the site.<\/p>\n

\u2018Please do the right thing\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Compared to the public information meeting last June at the Hyatt Regency Saipan, more community members participated in the meeting last Sept. 1 at the Legislature\u2019s parking lot on Capital Hill.<\/p>\n

Many, if not all, expressed concern and rallied behind the need for further investigations on the site, as well as on many other possible former defense dump sites on island.<\/p>\n

Former Tanapag Action Group president Juan Tenorio called on USACE to \u201cdo the right thing,\u201d and urged it to dig deeper beyond 12 inches, stressing that the chemicals harm agriculture, and are all health hazards affecting pregnant women and the unborn child.<\/p>\n

\"Project
Project manager Scott Moncrief presents the \u201cNo further action\u201d recommendation of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Talafofo Hospital dump site, now Kingfisher Golf Course, at the public information meeting last week at the Legislature\u2019s parking lot on Capital Hill. (IVA MAURIN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWhat you\u2019re telling us now\u2014that is exactly what the federal government told me back in 1982. I got some samples already sent to Australia and Japan. When they came back, we found that they were lying, and they ended up spending $46 million cleaning Tanapag,\u201d Tenorio said. \u201cThey brought in CDC [U.S. Centers for Disease Control] to do an entire physical health checkup in Tanapag, and we\u2019re not done. So here you are, telling us that after 77 years, nothing\u2019s [going to] happen? I disagree with you, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tenorio was referring to the fuel farm on the Tanapag Settlement, and the ceramic capacitors the U.S. Forces brought to the island that contained oil saturated with PCB [polychlorinated biphenyls], a toxic chemical that causes cancer, the production of which was banned in the United States in the \u201970s.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease, please do the right thing,\u201d Tenorio said. \u201cAll of these chemicals are health hazards, so don\u2019t have the audacity to come and tell us that these will not cause any or pose any health problem. Please, we are not as dumb as people think we are.\u201d
\nMoncrief assured that the USACE took no shortcuts in investigating the Talafofo dump site, and that they did not see anything that would have led to PCB contamination. \u201cWe followed the scientific, best methodology for implementing the study, and we did adhere to very, very high quality controls when we planned the study, and when we sent the samples to the laboratory. We didn\u2019t cut corners. These results are representative of the conditions at the site.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moncrief also clarified that their presentation is focused on the former Talafofo hospital dump site, and not the other sites on the island.<\/p>\n

Reporting formerly-used defense sites<\/strong><\/p>\n

Not far from the former hospital dump is another site where drum cans appear to just have been pushed in, according to Fred Camacho, another community member present at the USACE-organized meeting.<\/p>\n

Camacho also said the drums happen to be on their property, and expressed concern that, given that the hospital is \u201cright next door,\u201d the site might have been used as another dump.<\/p>\n

\"Former
Former Tanapag Action Group president Juan Tenorio calls on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to do the right thing, adding that the chemicals found at the former hospital dump are all health hazards and are harmful to agriculture. The USACE report stated that the metals in the soil do not pose an \u201cunacceptable risk\u201d to human health. (IVA MAURIN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

He also added that that it is his understanding that there has been a lot of bulldozing that happened in the golf course, that the Talafofo dump site is not the only site that was used as a dumpster, and that a lot of \u201cstuff\u201d were just pushed over the cliff.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re concentrating on this site. Yes, you have sample sites within the golf course area but\u2026there are a few military dumpsites on island that haven\u2019t been looked at. I don\u2019t know how you\u2019re going to go about finding out where all the debris are,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

In response, Moncrief informed the community that information laid out by Camacho could be responded to by the Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality.<\/p>\n

BECQ\u2019s Division of Environmental Quality has a Storage Tanks, Site Assessment and Remediation branch that ensures the assessment and cleanup of sites contaminated by hazardous substances, through the Brownfields Program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the FUDS program of the USACE.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there is some way to identify that there\u2019s an addition to the FUDS program, there\u2019s also an EPA Brownfields Program that can address things that are not captured in the FUDS Program. EPA provides money for investigations and cleanup of those sites,\u201d Moncrief said.<\/p>\n

Moncrief also added that in addition to military dumps, there were also municipal dumps around the island that had a mixture of military and municipal waste, which are potential Brownfield sites and possibly FUD sites.<\/p>\n

\"Community
Community member Fred Camacho talks about drums located not far from the former Talafofo hospital dump site, suggesting that the site may have also been used as another dump. Camacho\u2019s comment led to other community members talking about the many other possible locations on island that could be hazardous, including the very parking lot where the meeting was being held, and the now Department of Finance Building on Capital Hill. (IVA MAURIN)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThe CNMI Bureau of Environmental and Coastal Quality would be a good place to start with that. They have boots on the ground here. They could go out if somebody sees debris that might be wartime area debris, and they can help identify that and bring that to the attention of EPA or Army Corps, or both,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

USEPA defines Brownfield land as a property where its expansion, redevelopment, or reuse may be complicated by the presence (or potential presence) of hazardous materials. These can be abandoned gas stations, dry cleaning establishments, factories, mills, or foundries; or at a smaller scale, can be dry cleaners, vacant lots, or gas stations.<\/p>\n

Acting DEQ director Robert B. Deleon Guerrero said at the meeting that the program is not just limited to Saipan, but extends to Tinian and Rota, and that there is a process involved\u2014which includes coordinating with the land owners\u2014once the site is deemed eligible for the Brownfield or FUDS programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cCurrently under the Storage Tanks program, we are working on closing a legacy underground storage tank [site] which was in Puerto Rico. It was formerly known as the former WWII service station,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Deleon Guerrero said they are also looking for sites that were used as service stations, and for anyone who may have information to reach out to BECQ so the sites can be discussed and investigated.<\/p>\n

For any information regarding Brownfields and FUDS sites, contact BECQ\u2019s Storage Tanks, Site Assessment & Remediation (ST\/AR) Branch at 664-8534 or 664-8506.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Do you know of any site in the CNMI that might have been complicated by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":351394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[1020],"class_list":["post-351393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-environment","tag-usace"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351394"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}