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Old 03-22-2014, 09:42 AM
 
57 posts, read 86,591 times
Reputation: 45

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Deadly chemical weapons, buried and lost, lurk under U.S. soil - latimes.com

Deadly chemical weapons, buried and lost, lurk under U.S. soil

(excerpts below)

Redstone Arsenal, in the swampy lowlands of northern Alabama, is the largest of the 249 sites in 40 states and territories where chemical weapons remain buried and await cleanup at a cost of billions of dollars. Just outside the Redstone gates is Huntsville, a city of nearly 200,000 residents.

Today a toxic stew of some of the most lethal weapons ever devised rests beneath the surface: Nazi mustard, a liquid blister agent. Lewisite, another blister agent. Adamsite, a vomiting agent. And possibly Nazi tabun, a nerve agent. Also buried are containers of white phosphorus, chlorine, smoke bombs, tear gas and incendiary bombs.

The cleanup team at Redstone is scheduled to start work in the trenches next year, but it won't actually start digging up the material until about 2019. Disposal is due to be completed in 2042, and that's a conservative target. Experts estimate that only about six munitions a day can be safely removed.

Last edited by Keeper; 03-22-2014 at 01:24 PM.. Reason: post only a snippet
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Old 03-22-2014, 11:20 AM
 
Location: Madison, AL
1,782 posts, read 3,283,670 times
Reputation: 686
Hmmmm, interesting.

I guess I am glad I got that water filter for the whole house!

lol
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Old 03-22-2014, 12:01 PM
 
Location: BNA -> HSV
1,977 posts, read 4,212,295 times
Reputation: 1523
Pretty common knowledge around the area...
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Old 03-22-2014, 01:17 PM
 
1,268 posts, read 2,060,560 times
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Have you seen the feral cats in the sewers? Not sure if you can call them cats anymore...
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Old 03-22-2014, 05:54 PM
 
185 posts, read 242,293 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Maya Blue View Post
Have you seen the feral cats in the sewers? Not sure if you can call them cats anymore...
Haha, a part of me really hopes you're serious
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Old 03-23-2014, 06:09 AM
 
Location: Boonies of N. Alabama
3,881 posts, read 4,135,401 times
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Like bmrisko said... fairly common knowledge that stuff was there, just not the details but, there's a big part of me that says let sleeping dogs lie... I don't like the idea of them digging the stuff up and messing around with it and then saying.... "oops".....
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Old 03-23-2014, 06:13 AM
 
947 posts, read 1,466,004 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by writerwife View Post
Like bmrisko said... fairly common knowledge that stuff was there, just not the details but, there's a big part of me that says let sleeping dogs lie... I don't like the idea of them digging the stuff up and messing around with it and then saying.... "oops".....
Letting sleeping dogs lie is the reason we have this problem today. Instead of the sites being marked off and recorded properly the stuff was just buried haphazardly hence why it's often uncovered by building crews, farmers etc.
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Old 03-23-2014, 02:53 PM
 
7 posts, read 11,682 times
Reputation: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by dan25678 View Post
Deadly chemical weapons, buried and lost, lurk under U.S. soil - latimes.com

Deadly chemical weapons, buried and lost, lurk under U.S. soil

(excerpts below)

Redstone Arsenal, in the swampy lowlands of northern Alabama, is the largest of the 249 sites in 40 states and territories where chemical weapons remain buried and await cleanup at a cost of billions of dollars. Just outside the Redstone gates is Huntsville, a city of nearly 200,000 residents.

Today a toxic stew of some of the most lethal weapons ever devised rests beneath the surface: Nazi mustard, a liquid blister agent. Lewisite, another blister agent. Adamsite, a vomiting agent. And possibly Nazi tabun, a nerve agent. Also buried are containers of white phosphorus, chlorine, smoke bombs, tear gas and incendiary bombs.

The cleanup team at Redstone is scheduled to start work in the trenches next year, but it won't actually start digging up the material until about 2019. Disposal is due to be completed in 2042, and that's a conservative target. Experts estimate that only about six munitions a day can be safely removed.
I've heard the rumors but never actually read a decent article about it. Thanks for posting!
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Old 03-23-2014, 02:57 PM
 
7 posts, read 11,682 times
Reputation: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmrisko View Post
Pretty common knowledge around the area...

"Few residents of Huntsville are aware that tons of chemical weapons are buried underground nearby, Watson said. De la Paz said that when they are told, "the first question people ask is, 'Is it near my house?' When the answer is no, they lose interest."

Deadly chemical weapons, buried and lost, lurk under U.S. soil - latimes.com
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Old 03-23-2014, 07:28 PM
 
Location: Boonies of N. Alabama
3,881 posts, read 4,135,401 times
Reputation: 8157
Quote:
Originally Posted by d from birmingham View Post
Letting sleeping dogs lie is the reason we have this problem today. Instead of the sites being marked off and recorded properly the stuff was just buried haphazardly hence why it's often uncovered by building crews, farmers etc.

Yeah... I know. To me it seems like a damned if you do, damned if you don't type of situation. Never should have been dealt with as it was in the first place.. but them messing with it too.....is bothersome.. I don't know that they really know what/how to do it without causing damage also. Kinda like hiding nuclear waste... I don't know that any method can be fully trusted (by me anyway).
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