The Defense Department needs to do a better
job cleaning up its “formerly used defense sites,”
according to a report to Congress from the General Accounting
Office (HCN, 3/31/03: While the nation goes to war, the Pentagon
lobs bombs at environmental laws). The study, requested by Rep.
John Dingell, D-Mich., points out a variety of problems, including
a lack of cooperation between the Environmental Protection Agency
and the Army Corps of Engineers, the agency in charge of cleaning
up the sites.
It’s more than just
a bunch of guys who like to hunt elk: From its modest
beginnings in 1984, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation has become a
group of political movers and money-raising shakers (HCN, 5/27/02:
Elk conservation group sharpens its ax). In April, the foundation
sent a letter to President Bush, asking him to remove “ubiquitous”
gray wolves from protection under the Endangered Species Act. Then
in May, the group selected a new CEO: Peter Dart, the former
executive director of the Safari Club International, a hunter
advocacy group with 45 million members worldwide.
The proof is in the lettuce,
but don’t ask the Environmental Protection Agency
about it: In April, the nonprofit Environmental Working Group
released the results of a study of perchlorate levels in winter
lettuce (HCN, 4/28/03: Cold War toxin seeps into Western water).
The chemical’s levels in lettuce averaged four times that
which the EPA recommends as safe for drinking water. The EPA has
responded to the study by imposing a gag order on its scientists,
preventing them from talking to the press or the public about
perchlorate contamination.
The Energy
Department is getting ready to lay off more than half the
security staff at Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant, just outside
of Denver (HCN, 1/15/01: Hot property: A former nuclear bomb
factory gets caught in suburban turf wars). The department has been
shipping plutonium off the site since it was shut down for safety
violations in 1989. Officials say the layoffs — which will
affect about 100 workers — will save the federal government
$20 million a year.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline The Latest Bounce.
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