GC toxic military sites

According to a new report from ProPublica, a non-profit news gathering group, multiple Gulf Coast current and former military bases contain toxic hazards from chemical spills, unexploded ordnance and other issues that date back as far as 100 years. The report, based on data from the Defense Department's Defense Environmental Restoration Program, documents toxic hazards at military sites across the U.S. Researchers found 215 hazardous locations in Florida with ties to military operations. In Northwest Florida, there were 68 hazardous sites at Naval Air Station Pensacola; additional sites (and numbers) were found at Saufley Field (8); Naval Technical Training Center Corry Station (5); and Fort Pickens all in the Pensacola area; and NAS Whiting Field (49). Eglin AFB, the largest military installation, has 185 hazardous sites; and Hurlburt Field (42). Some of the report's findings date back more than a century, according to Mike Spaits, spokesman for Eglin AFB. (Source: Pensacola News Journal 12/05/17) Other “high risk” areas along the Gulf Coast, included in DOD’s environment restoration program, are Naval Construction Battalion Center Gulfport, Miss.; Van Dorn Army Training Camp in Centerville, Miss.; and Tyndall AFB, Fla.