by mitchelldeacon9 on 10/8/19, 1:07 PM with 140 comments
by ubertoop on 10/8/19, 4:18 PM
They totally polluted the water tables in the area with by-products of rocket fuel and other industrial chemicals used to clean engines.
They were fined in the 90s and supposedly worked with local water authorities to setup a filtration system... but decades later, they're still finding the pollutants are actually SPREADING to adjacent water tables in communities miles from the original location.
Even worse... many women from the community I grew up in have developed strange autoimmune disorders in their 40s and 50s. Like, a truly abnormal number of them. Many of these women are upper middle class, health conscious, non-smokers, including many athletes. Among those disorders, one of the common ones is issues with their thyroid.
Turns out that one of the major byproducts of rocket combustion - if consumed - is known to fuck up your thyroid.
Am I saying that I know for sure that the pollution of the water tables caused all these women to develop these strange disorders? I can't say for sure. I respect the scientific process and I certainly don't want to jump to any unfair or drastic conclusions, but it seems likely.
As recently as 2011 the area was again hit with a $60 million fine for cleanup. A slap on the wrists for the level of ecological damage they've caused. The water basin in this area is permanently damaged, and seems (even after decades or rain fail) to still be seeping into surrounding areas.
EDIT: For those wanting more specifics...
Aerojet / Rocketdyne is the company. Rancho Cordova is the city.
by rhacker on 10/8/19, 4:11 PM
by jen_h on 10/8/19, 2:57 PM
In Satellite Beach, Florida, the contamination from Patrick AFB was discovered after a group of Satellite Beach High alumni realized they all developed cancer around the same time and decided to start digging. [https://pfasproject.com/2018/08/08/satellite-beach-florida-f...]
They dumped everything in a trench...not realizing there was an underground waterflow there. :/
by inlined on 10/8/19, 3:51 PM
by jayess on 10/8/19, 4:26 PM
by lorenzhs on 10/8/19, 2:04 PM
by philips on 10/8/19, 4:04 PM
by aledalgrande on 10/8/19, 6:03 PM
by ChuckMcM on 10/8/19, 6:11 PM
Can be filtered out of your drinking water with a reverse osmosis filter. If you live in the Bay Area its a useful thing to have, and if you're concerned about your tap water you can send a sample here: https://torrentlab.com/drinking-and-storm-water-quality-test...
by isthispermanent on 10/8/19, 3:52 PM
It would be incredibly naive to think dumping all these chemicals on the ground wouldn't cause some type of negative externality.
by xioxox on 10/8/19, 5:32 PM
by semerda on 10/9/19, 2:25 AM
I just recently found out the Shoreline Park in Mountain View used to be a landfill for most of bay area and SF. Today it is open to enjoy like it's some natural bird sanctuary.. yet there are pipes underground extracting methane 24x7 and I think I found a methane release valve last weekend right next to a jogging path... Can anyone confirm plz? => https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kq3CnXU5OtU
by hanniabu on 10/8/19, 3:04 PM
by hanniabu on 10/8/19, 1:56 PM
by ralphosphorous on 10/8/19, 6:01 PM
by JoblessWonder on 10/8/19, 6:11 PM
Slightly related, but there is a big issue with new aircraft hangar fire suppression systems because of the regulation of foam now. Regulators don't want anyone to use foam but there isn't a better solution out there yet.
by jug on 10/8/19, 7:55 PM
by jcrawfordor on 10/8/19, 5:28 PM
Active sites generally fall under the purview of an environmental permitting program, so there are dual problems that the level of rigor to which the operation is held varies by the permitting authority (state environment department or EPA depending) and that the military branches in general and it seems Air Force in particular have drug their feet and, in general, gotten away with the least effort possible to satisfy their permit obligations (which are virtually always negotiable with the permitting authority, a negotiating process in which the Air Force holds a large portion of the power).
Other common groundwater contamination concerns around Air Force installations include jet fuel (often leaked from underground tanks and piping and may have gone undetected for decades) and residues of high explosives resulting from munitions testing and disposal. Smaller groundwater plumes may result from photographic processing chemicals and solvents used in cleaning aircraft parts. Generally all of these will be grouped into one or more "operable units" or OUs for administrative purposes and a series of reports issued as the contamination is characterized and a remediation program is designed and implemented. Depending on the regulating agency, these reports may be more or less difficult to find. For DERP FUDS it usually requires a FOIA to the correct USACE HQ wih a lot of followup as they frankly don't seem to have their records in order internally and take a while to find them - the FOIA officers are generally helpful but will keep coming back to you needing more info/clarification as they try to track down the right OU and reports. Fortunately I have never had them ask for a fee, even when their "secure file transfer" solution was broken for months and they had to mail me burned CDs.
Permitting processes and the DERP program both require public information meetings and a (modest) public outreach program. If you live near a military site, pay attention to notices in the newspapers and posted around the community for these meetings, and contact the public information office of the relevant military branch to inquire. The public meetings often include a surprising amount of technical detail on the concern and remediation plans, and because they are also attended by permitting officials represent an opportunity to put some city council meeting-style public pressure on the process.
by neonate on 10/8/19, 11:29 PM
by Apocryphon on 10/8/19, 6:13 PM
by mschuster91 on 10/8/19, 1:45 PM
Sorry, what? 100$ a month for residential water? Either this guy is running a farm operation or something is seriously broken.