MISSOURI VALLEY, Iowa (KMTV) — Atlas missiles were housed outside Missouri Valley between 1961 and 1964, but in those few years a lot of environment damages was done. Solvents used to clean equipment seeped into the ground. To this day, the contaminants are affected well water in the area but the problem wasn't discovered until 2013.
- Scott Sawyer, project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: "It's a top ten national project because it's a serious problem."
- The corps said one of the chemicals — TCE — is a known carcinogen.
- With recent federal budget cuts, a neighbor wanted to know if money for the clean-up is still available. "We have not seen a decline in that so far this fiscal year," said Col. Robert Newbauer, the commander of the Omaha district for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
- Related |COLD WAR CONTAMINANTS: 60-year-old missile siloes near Missouri Valley still affecting well water
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BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Atlas missiles were only located outside Missouri Valley for a few years in the early '60s. But the toxic chemicals used to de-grease equipment are still seeping into groundwater.
Scott Sawyer, USACE project manager: "It's a top ten national project because it's a serious problem."
The Army Corps of Engineers is tasked with cleaning up the site and provided updates to affected landowners this week.
Sawyer: "I wish there were things we could do to make it quicker."
The contamination wasn't identified for 50 years. That's frustrating for one neighbor who told me — off camera — an affected relative developed health problems a few years before that.
Another asked about high cancer rates in Harrison County: "I think there's already individuals here in attendance that have already had that problem."
The corps said one of the chemicals — TCE — is a known carcinogen.
Injecting iron into the groundwater is one potential remedy for TCE contamination. Test results, said engineer Mike Perlmutter, are promising.
Neighbor: "How does that impact the water quality?"
Perlmutter: "So, one of the things about the iron that we like is that it doesn't have any downgrading impacts."
Landowners also said drilling test wells makes affected farmland unusable.
"If you have to tear someone's house down or move someone's building or tear up their driveway, you can compensate for that, so why do you not compensate for the damage to the crop?" asked Jason James, whose father owns land in the affected area.
With recent federal budget cuts, a neighbor wanted to know if money for the clean-up is still available.
"We have not seen a decline in that so far this fiscal year," said Col. Robert Newbauer, the commander of the Omaha district for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Off-camera neighbors told me they are frustrated with the pace of the clean-up but are willing to give the new, local commander a chance to address their concerns.
