To escalate our concerns to a higher level
Fourth District U.S. Rep. John Fleming, R-Shreveport, 5th District U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham, R-Alto, and U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La., turned up the heat on the Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday to produce data proving the open burn method is safe.
“We need to see the science behind it, especially now,” said Fleming, who said he and Vitter sent separate letters to the EPA asking for answers. “We have experts like (LSU-Shreveport chemistry Professor Brian A. Salvatore) who have described in detail the potential dangers, so we as a delegation have agreed to escalate our concerns to a higher level.”
The Shreveport Times recently published a guest column from Salvatore, who said the disposal through open burning would cause “an enormous public health risk” across northern Louisiana.
The M6 was abandoned on site by Explo Systems Inc. after it went bankrupt in 2013. An explosion in October 2012 in one of Explo’s leased bunkers rattled homes in Doyline, shattered windows 4 miles away in Minden and created a 7,000-foot mushroom cloud.
A subsequent Louisiana State Police investigation led to the discovery of the millions of pounds propellant now stored in 98 bunkers scattered at Camp Minden. M6 is used as an explosive propellant for launching artillery shells.
The EPA in August ordered the Army, which sold the M6 to Explo for demilitarization, to get rid of the material, and an agreement was signed last fall with the Louisiana Military Department. Burning is scheduled to begin this spring.