136th Year... and still on the job!	Tuesday July 13, 2004

Clean-up moving ahead at Pueblo Chemical Depot

By PETER ROPER
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

While the economic news hasn't been good, the environmental clean-up of contaminated water and soils at the Pueblo Chemical Depot is staying on pace, the depot's Restoration Advisory Board was told Monday night.

Meeting in Avondale, the board was given an overview of all the clean-up efforts at 59 sites on the depot grounds where contaminated solid wastes have been found. Depot environmental specialists focused on those areas where contaminants have invaded the groundwater in the past and caused problems in private wells in Avondale.

One response was the Army set up treatment systems on 20 private wells in Avondale to clean the water for the well owners.

The environmental teams are using a variety of technologies, including pumping contaminated water up out of wells for cleaning. Other techniques include injecting microbes into the ground that break down the contaminants.

Of course, the depot covers hundreds of acres and the environmental assessment of the contamination problem is continuing, even as corrective work is under way. For example, one trouble spot was discussed Monday night where PCB pollutants were discovered in various locations along a culvert.

Many of the pollutants found at the depot were the result of decades of munitions work there, starting in World War II. TNT and other explosives were discharged onto the ground, along with solvents, paints, fuels and other toxic materials. In the case of the PCBs, the depot environmental project engineers said they have not been able to determine the original source.

Chuck Finley, director of the depot's reuse authority, also briefed the advisory board on the impact of Boeing closing its rocket manufacturing plant at the airport industrial park. He said Boeing will keep 20 workers at the depot for the time being because it will continue to store Delta rocket motors in depot igloos.

"I know the folks in Wichita, (Kan.), are walking on pins and needles, too, because there has been talk that Boeing might close its huge plant there," he said.