Old bombs, shells lurking in Utah

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon says unexploded ordnance, such as bombs and artillery shells, could be buried or scattered at 14 Utah sites — ranging from Salt Lake City International Airport and Fort Douglas to desert lands used by campers and off-road vehicles.

That is according to a new Defense Department inventory that identified 2,307 such areas nationwide, an increase of 553 since an interim report it issued last year.

BORDER="0">

BORDER="1"> FACE="Verdana,Helvetica,Arial" SIZE="2">Additional information: FACE="Verdana,Helvetica,Arial" SIZE="2"> Deseret News graphicUnexploded ordinance in UtahRequires Adobe Acrobat. Web site: Defense Environmental Restoration Program Annual Report to Congress Related story: March 6, 1999: Dugway finds old germ-war bomblets

Members of Congress who helped order the inventory said cleanup of such sites would take hundreds of years with current levels of funding. They called Tuesday for more money for cleanup — and for assessment as to which areas truly have ordnance.

"Dangerous unexploded ordnance, which can kill our military personnel and civilians alike, is not a remote danger in some far-off land. Every day in America, in every state, Americans are at risk," Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., said Tuesday.

Many of the sites identified were formerly used by the military as bases or test ranges — where some ordnance failed to explode during tests or training. Ordnance was also buried at many sites for disposal but sometimes works it way to the surface over time or is dug up during construction.

In Utah, sites with suspected unexploded ordnance are both in heavily populated metro areas and in remote deserts. Some have no security, not even fences, while others are within guarded military installations. Cleanup costs are estimated at $200 million.

The inventory also includes a "risk assessment code" for most Utah sites to rank how urgent the military feels action is needed. That provides a numeric ranking from 1 to 5, with a 1 meaning action is most urgent.