User:Cst4500/LakeSuperiorBarrels

New article name is Lake Superior Barrels

History

In 1959 the U.S. Army was in charge of contracting munitions production with the Honeywell corporation. They were also then responsible for the disposal of the waste products that resulted from the munitions production. Up until 1959, smelting was a common method of disposal of industrial waste, but this method was discontinued in 1959 for obscure reasons. Other disposal methodologies were noted including disposal by explosives and pulverization. The ridding of the waste by explosion resulted in a failure, and the process of pulverizing the waste was viewed to be too expensive. It seemed that the best form of disposal at the time was to dump the waste into Lake Superior because it was financially convenient and it was secure. In the 1959 records, it is stated that none of the waste was radiologic or explosive in nature. The dumping went on from 1959-1962 in which about 1437 55 gallon drums of waste were dumped into Lake Superior.

The above report is contradicted by other data and records which state that the beginning of the barrel dumping began in 1958. Also besides the barrels dumped, 400 tons of crates were also dumped into Lake Superior. The dump sites consist of an area of about 75 square miles.

The first barrel that was discovered was brought up in a fishing net by a local fisherman in 1968. The fisherman, Stanley Sivertson, picked up several barrels while trawling in about 150 feet of water. After he examined the container, he dumped it back into Lake Superior. When the news of the discovery of a barrel of waste was brought up from Lake Superior, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency(MPCA) started pressuring the Army for an investigation. The Honeywell corporation has been insistent that none of the materials dumped were radioactive or hazardous in any way.

"From the historical records available, which are limited due to required record destruction and the sinking of one tugboat and the burning of another, both with log books, the following is the dump dates and depths of the six known dumps into Lake Superior:

A. Dump No. 1: 27 Oct 1959 in no less than 100 feet of water.

B. Dump No. 2: 25 Sep 1960 in no less than 100 feet of water.

C. Dump No. 3: 15 Jun 1961 in no less than 100 feet of water.

D. Dump No. 4: 14 Oct 1961 in no less than 200 feet of water.

E. Dump No. 5: 26 May 1962 in no less than 300 feet of water.

F. Dump No. 6: 26 Sep 1962 in no less than 300 feet of water.

In addition to water depth, the dumping instructions specified dumping to be done not less than 3 miles from shore.

Actual dump sites are not known except for the one which was located with the help of a commercial fisherman who unintentionally caught some barrels in his fishing net and with a sonar device that gives a bottom profile of an area of the lake. The St. Paul District Engineer's Office stated that without a starting point, such as given by the fisherman, the remaining dump sites would be nearly impossible to locate."

Some of the barrels that were dumped were not heavy enough to sink to the bottom of the lake, so after the barrels were dumped, they were shot to allow water to fill them and sink them. About 400 barrels have been located.

Contents of Barrels

Due to the sampling of only a number of barrels that were recovered by the Corps of Engineers (COE), this information does not extend to all barrels that were dumped in Lake Superior. The data collected was reported in prescore file in 1995. Some of the contents contained in the barrels are as follows.

Sample hazardous substance

Acetone, Arsenic, Benzene, Cadmium, Ethyl benzene, Lead, Methyl Ethyl Ketone, Naphthalene, Toluene, Xylene m-, Xylene o- Xylene p-.

There are some compounds that were found that were over the recommended level. Some were:

Xylene m- was found to be at 0.4 the recommended level is 0.2.

Xylene p- was found to be at 0.4, the recommended level is 0.2.

Xylene o- is at the limit of 0.2 and should not increase.

Another sampling of barrels found similar results for chemicals over the recommended limit. Inorganic analysis-units in mg/L

Barium recommended at 0.01 found at 0.02.

Cadmium recommended at 0.0005 found at 0.002.

Chromium recommended at 0.005 found at 0.011.

Copper recommended at 0.005 found at 0.03.

Lead recommended at 0.005 found at 0.028.

Organic analysis-units in ug/L Acetone recommended at 10 found at 12.

Many of the records from the logs and many of the people who handled the barrels state that the contents within the barrels were grenade parts, parts of batteries, and scrap metal. Most of the barrels came from the Honeywell plant in Arden Hills, but about six of the barrels that were dumped were from the Hopkins plant. No records exist that differentiate the contents of these six barrels from the others. Most of these barrels had holes in them, so their contents have been in the the water of Lake Superior for decades. Most barrels appear to contain the munitions parts, battery parts, and a variety of chemicals associated with the munitions and batteries.

Activism

A few attempts to remove the barrels have been made by several activist groups. University of Minnesota's MPIRG chapter attempted a campaign to pursue legislative action for the removal of the barrels, but was unsuccessful. Nukewatch's John LaForge regularly writes articles on the subject and also urges their removal. Current activism focuses on the Red Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa who are staging an investigation of the barrels with a grant of $1.2 million from the Department of Defense. Their goal is to dredge up 70 barrels and examine the contents to determine if they are a threat to the health of the fish habitat and drinking water of Lake Superior The Red Cliff Band is also asking for another $365,000 for sediement testing for fear of further contamination by the barrels. Lake Superior Socialist Action held its third annual protest march on July 19, 2009 in an attempt to call public attention to the barrels. The protest was a two mile hike through Canal Park and along the waterfront.

Media Coverage

Two primary newspapers that covered some of the earliest searching efforts were the Duluth News Tribune and The Duluth Herald (now out of print). Between June 8th and June 20th, 1977, the following information of the nuclear barrels was declassified by the government at this point in publishing.

After a man caught a barrel in his fishing net in 1968, the Army Corps of Engineers launched an official investigation of Lake Superior waters beginning June 1977. The search was headed by the 86th Engineer Department at Fort Belvoir Virginia with Col. William T. Green chief of staff at of the U.S. Army Material Readiness Command, Rock Island Illinois. Although difficult to pinpoint, the search location took place 10 miles ahead of Duluth Ship canal and a half mile off the North Shore, just between Duluth and Two Harbors, Minnesota. Six divers were commissioned to search the Lake's shallow waters, with Sgt. Herbert Buchite leading the diving crew. TV cameras were used to search the bottom at 40 foot intervals.

Before the search, people believed that only scrap metal was dumped. The Duluth Tribune mentioned the disposal in the Lake took place when melting at U.S. Steel works ceased in 1962. Demolition with explosives was also used to destroy the waste at the time. The search showed tracks on the surface of the Lake's sediment, but no tangible evidence was found, the Duluth News Tribune stated. However, the Duluth Herald said that fragments of grenades manufactured by Honeywell for the military were uncovered. The Herald urged that the fragments had no polluting effects on the water, and concluded that the search ended in failure. The Duluth News Tribune ran another concluding article that stated that after between thirteen and three days of searching, no sightings of barrels had occurred.

An illegible article that ran on the 20th of June 1977 drew attention to the fact that fourteen to twenty barrels that were resurfaced disappeared during the investigation period. A Corps. spokesperson said that the resurfacing effort was proven unsuccessful. Jim Brautz likened the search to "looking for Moby Dick or Bigfoot. The chances of finding them are very slight."

Both Wisconsin and Michigan Departments of Natural Resources, along with SLSA (Save Lake Superior Association) demanded further testing.

A total of nine barrels were uncovered in a search period from 1990-1994, which Nukewatch Quarterly and The Duluth News Tribune go into greater detail about the manufacturing history, transporting and people's stories behind the original dumping. A fact sheet from the MN Pollution Control Agency sites two barrels brought to the surface using side scan solar technology during a trial search before another official search brought up the barrels themselves. Three weeks later, radiation testing had shown the barrels nonreactive.

A week long effort was initiated in June 1994 to look for more waste on the bottom of Lake Superior by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The submarine contracted for the dive featured a clamp to grab onto objects, motion and still cameras, sonar and radiation measuring instruments. Capable of going doen as deep as 190 feet, this mission included 15 divers, including a doctor. Seven barrels were uncovered in this effort as well as sights of scrap metal, buckets and other waste. Three barrels included a mixture of ash and slag, while five others included completed timer parts encased in cardboard boxes. Seventeen contaminants including metals, volatiles, semi-volatiles and polychlorinated biphenyls were found in the slag barrels. These barrels were tested for radiation levels a year later, to find out that they had no significant amount of radiation higher that background radiation.

The Duluth News Tribune ran an in-depth article featuring the recovery of the barrels on November 20, 1994. This article clearly states of the close to 1500 barrels that were dumped during the Cold War years. The source goes so far to state that both Honeywell and 3M were both licensed to use radioactive materials to make munitions for the military and experiment with enriched uranium carbide fuels for nuclear reactors. Unlike the articles of earlier coverage, this article has more of and investigative stance and better layout to draw attention to side panels which topics include "At-a-glance", "History of Lake Superior Barrels", "A Perspective on radioactive waste." A map of the dump sights is at the beginning along with a 3M radioactive waste site located a few miles east of Kerrick, Minnesota. The Duluth News Tribune also referenced a Nov. 2, 1976 article which told the story of a captain dying of cancer due to the dumping that took place in 1961. He claimed that someone told him during the operation that the barrels they were dumping did contain radioactive waste from Twin Cities manufacturing plants. To quote from the article on what should be done with the barrels, "...an expert on radioactivity said the barrels should be investigated because of possible ties to abnormalities in native fish populations."

A news story from KBJR, and NBC affiliate, in Duluth, Minnesota covered the 1990 search for barrel radiation. Featuring Harold Manyard of New York as captain of his own submarine, he went down by himself, and found radiation coming from the barrels with the Geiger counter the Army Corps. of Engineers provided him with. When he went back to land, the radiation instruments went off at the tethers attached to the submarine that went near the barrels. Jack Dempsey of the Corps went with him to the sight, and claimed that after an hour of waiting for radiation signals, found nothing. Manyard wanted to go back to the actual sight, they wouldn't let him go to the exact spot, yet permitted him access a ways northeast of where he was searching. Chuck Williams, M.P.C.A (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) Director expressed his thoughts as to the whole search, saying he was tired of hearing the story and wanted Manyard to provide proper documentation of the Geiger counter readings, which Manyard did. Manyard's last words concluded with his anger towards the Corps for denying his readings, saying one of the parties is a liar, which he had no reason to lie about the Geiger counter readings. The story itself concluded that to clean up the 1400 barrels would cost roughly $12 million.

The most recent barrel recovery efforts have been granted to the Red Cliff Band of Chippewa due to their concerns that the barrels contents might be contaminating fish populations. Adding to the five year search already underway, the band signed the largest contract with the Department of Defense to grant $1.2 million to be used between 2009-2011. With this grant, the band is planning on removing up to seventy of the barrels to test their contents.

Fair Treatment of Common Resources

Lake Superior is the world's largest fresh water lake and contains 10% of the world's fresh water. This giant resource is shared by Canada(Ontario), Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

The fact that this shared resource was polluted by the U.S. military poses new questions to ask. Should the barrels be removed? Does the presence of the barrels within Lake Superior pose a health concern? If the barrels are removed, who should be held accountable for the cost of removal? Though the removal of the barrels may in fact benefit the public and future generations, does the government have a right to use tax funds for the removal of the barrels?

Lake Superior is shared; it is not owned by one entity.

References

1. LaForge, John. “Questions, Rather than Barrels, Raised by Lake Superior Investigators.” Nukewatch Quarterly. Fall 2009.

2. http://www.nukewatch.com/quarterly/200809winter/page7.pdf

3. Health Consultation. “Barrels Disposed in Lake Superior by U.S. Army.” Duluth, St. Louis County, Minnesota, EPA Facility ID:MND980679344. March 14, 2008.

4. http://redcliff-nsn.gov/departments/EPA/nalemp/EMR_barrels_FSP_FINAL_reduced%20size.pdf

5. http://www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/c-w2-01.pdf

6. "PCA calls for analysis of dumped waste barrels." St. Paul District, Corps of Engineers Lake Superior Area, Canal Park, Duluth, Minnesota 55807. Duluth Herald. August 20, 1977.

7. "Those elusive barrels." Duluth Herald. June 20, 1977.

8. "SLSA raps Corps 'excuses' for not finding sunken barrels." Duluth News-Tribune. June 19, 1977.

9. Pomeroy, Richard. "A search not like shooting fish in barrel." Duluth News-Tribune. June 11, 1977.

10. "Barrel hunt nearly over." Duluth Herald. June 10, 1977.

11. http://redcliff-nsn.gov/Departments/EPA/barrels.htm

12. "Barrels playing hard to get yet." Duluth News-Tribune. June 10, 1977.

13. "No barrels sighted." Duluth News-Tribune. June 9, 1977.

14. Pomeroy, Richard L. "Divers see 'tracks' but...no barrels." Duluth News-Tribune. June 9, 1977.

15. "Lake Superior mystery barrels." Business Week. January 24, 1977.

16. http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/superior/superiorfacts.html

17. "Environmental Hazards of Waste Disposal in Lake Superior." Department of Defense. USA Armament Material Readiness Office, Rock Island, Illinois 61201. June 30, 1977.

18. "Classified Scrap in Lake Superior." Department of Defense. USA Armament Material Readiness Office, Rock Island, Illinois 61201. April 28, 1977.

19. "Chemical Laboratory Volatile Hydrocarbons." Minnesota Department of Health. January 8, 1991.

20. "Report of Laboratory Analysis." Pace Inc. December 31, 1990.

21. "Danger in the Depths? Fears resurface over lake barrels." Duluth News Tribune. November 20, 1994.

22. "Facts about the Lake Superior Barrels." Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Pub. October 2008. www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/c-w2-01.pdf

23. "Lake Superior Barrel Dumps". KBJR April 12, 1995. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUk9jcmEv_Y

24. "Tribe to begin removing barrels from Lake Superior near Duluth." Duluth News Tribune. May 2, 2009.

External links

http://www.pca.state.mn.us/water/basins/superior/lsbarrels.html

http://www.nukewatch.com/quarterly/2009%20fall/page4%5B1%5D.pdf

http://www.nukewatch.com/quarterly/200809winter/page7.pdf

http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/eh/hazardous/sites/stlouis/lakesupbarrels.html

http://redcliff-nsn.gov/departments/EPA/nalemp/EMR_barrels_FSP_FINAL_reduced%20size.pdf

http://www.pca.state.mn.us/publications/c-w2-01.pdf