EPA approves
Army’s closure plan
for Johnston Atoll

Approval depended on the Army
raising its cleanup standards

---

By Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.com

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the U.S. Army's closure plan for Johnston Atoll incinerators which were used to destroy chemical weapons such as nerve and blister agents.

Yesterday's approval hinged on the Army agreeing to raise the standard to which it will clean up the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agency Disposal System facility, said EPA environmental engineer Stacy Braye.

The Army's earlier plan was not complete and was only partially approved by the EPA in April 2001, Braye said.

"We believe that this Closure Plan, which is now complete, will make the JACADS area safe for wildlife and people, including children, that live on or around Johnston Atoll," said an EPA report.

"That's good news," said Barbara Maxfield, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which will take over jurisdiction of the atoll when a 600-person military presence ends Our only remaining concern at this point is the JACADS building itself," Maxfield said of long-term work to detoxify the atoll 800 miles southwest of Hawaii.

The EPA's position is that "the building (and the equipment inside it) needs to be decontaminated whether it is razed or not," Braye said.

The closure is to begin in November and is expected to be completed within a year, Braye said.

During its 10 years of operation, the Army destroyed four million pounds of chemical agent and chemical weapons originally stored on Johnston Island.

The Army and its contractor for the work, Maryland-based Washington Demilitarization, could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The 625-acre Johnston Island is the largest of the four islands that with 50 square miles of shallow coral reef comprise Johnston Atoll. The atoll has been a National Wildlife Refuge since 1926 and has hosted various military missions since 1936. It is home to a wide variety of birds and fish, as well as threatened green sea turtles and endangered monk seals.

Part of the Army's plan will be to assess whether traces of metal, chemical or organic byproducts of the destroyed weapons could pose any risk to the animals that live there, Braye said.

Braye said the atoll is a study in contrasts. "Johnston Island looks more like a military base, but away from the fenced areas you can see herds of little juvenile plovers running all over the island," she said. "There are tropic birds and their little chicks and on the smaller islands, thousands of birds doing their nesting and resting and fishing. It's a very cool place."