Toxic mercury headed to state

Saturday, Feb. 4, 2006 | 12:32 p.m.

CARSON CITY - Despite protests by state officials, an estimated 4,000 metric tons of toxic mercury is headed for storage in Nevada at the ammunition depot at Hawthorne.

This mercury has been stockpiled around the country since the height of the Cold War, and residents near where it is stored have raised protests about their health and safety.

The Defense Department wanted to consolidate the mercury stockpile in one place and picked Nevada over five other proposed sites across the country.

Lt. Col. John Summers, commander of the Army Ammunition Depot at Hawthorne, said Friday that Nevada was selected for its security, its record in handling hazardous materials in the past and its isolation.

But the state doesn't see it that way. In July 2003, the state Division of Environmental Protection told the Defense Department, the state "is opposed to the consolidation and storage of the strategic mercury stockpile anywhere in Nevada."

Allen Biaggi, then head of the division and now administrator of the state Conservation and Natural Resources Department, said the federal government's policy "appears to be that Nevada is a wasteland for disposal and other undesirable activities."

He pointed to the proposed high-level nuclear dump at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas; to disposal of low-level nuclear waste at the Nevada Test Site; the detonation of 900 nuclear bombs that have contaminated the soil and groundwater at the Test Site; the restriction of Nevada air space by the military and the storage of munitions at Hawthorne.

Biaggi said Friday the state's opposition still stands and "we will see what our options our in the next week" to stop the shipments to Nevada.

Biaggi said Nevada officials are concerned about the health of fish in Walker Lake that close to Hawthorne.

"Placing a national strategic mercury stockpile in close proximity to this unique resource presents a very real environmental and public health threat," he said.

Mercury exposure at high levels can do serious harm to the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system of people, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. High levels of mercury may also harm the developing nervous systems of unborn babies and young children.

Mercury in the air settles into water and is absorbed into fish. The EPA advises pregnant women and young mothers to limit their intake of certain types of commercially caught fish and shellfish.

There is about 2,617 metric tons of mercury stockpiled near Hillsborough, N.J., a town of about 38,000 people. And there has been opposition to the continued storage because of health and safety concerns.

Rep. Mike Ferguson, R-N.J., said in a statement that it was a "great victory" in the decision to move the mercury out of Hillsborough.

"Storing highly toxic substances in residential areas made very little sense before Sept. 11 and it certainly made no sense after Sept. 11," he said.

In addition to New Jersey, the mercury is also stored in Ohio, Indiana and Tennessee.

Transportation plans are still being developed.

Glenn Miller, director of the center for environmental sciences and engineering at UNR, said he was "chagrined" that Nevada was chosen for the storage.

"If there is something they want to throw away, they send it to Nevada," Miller said Friday.

But he said if the mercury is stored properly, there should not be any danger to humans or the environment.

Lt. Col Summers said that based on the way it will be stored, "it will resist most man-made or natural disasters without any contamination to the environment."

There are 14 vacant buildings at the depot that were used for storing ammunition that will be used for stockpiling the mercury, said Summers. There will be an impermeable barrier installed to stop possible spills from getting into the ground, he said.

The mercury will come in stainless steel flasks and stored in 55-gallon weatherproof and air-tight drums with epoxy lining. They will be stored on pallets on the floor of the buildings.

There has been a complete environmental impact statement conducted toward protection of citizens and the environmental, Summers said.

Summers doesn't expect the first shipments until the spring of 2007. Extreme precautions are being taken, he said.

Miller said the mercury could probably be stockpiled in other locations in the United States. But this probably means that Hawthorne will never be closed unless the mercury is transferred to other places, he said.

Ironically, the Defense Department recommended closing Hawthorne, but that was overturned last year.

Cy Ryan can be reached at (775) 687-5032 or at cy@lasvegassun.com.