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Re-entry vehicles on missiles launched from Vandenberg Air Force base in California re-enter at the Western Test Range, the Regan Test Site (RTS) at Kwajalein Atoll. An Environmental Assessment (EA) was written at the beginning of the program to assess potential impact of DU and Be, the major RV materials of interest from a health and environmental perspective, for both ocean and land impacts. The chemical and structural form of Be and DU in RVs is such that they are insoluble in soil water and seawater. Thus, they are not toxic to plant life on the isalnd (no soil to plant uptake.) Similarly, due to their insolubility in sea water there is no uptake of either element by fish, mollusks, shellfish, sea mammals, etc. No increase in either element has been observed in sea life around Illeginnin Island where deposition of DU and Be has occured. The critical terrestrial exposure pathway for U and Be is inhalation. Concentration of both elements in air over the test period (1989 to 2006) is lower by a factor of nearly 10,000 than the most restrictive U.S. guideline for the general public. Uranium concentrations in air are also lower by factors of 10 to more » 100 than concentrations of U in air in the U.S. measured by the EPA (Keith et al., 1999). U and Be concentrations in air downwind of deposition areas on Illeginni Island are essentially indistinguishable from natural background concentrations of U in air at the atolls. Thus, there are no health related issues associated with people using the island. « less |
