In the community around Camp Minden, a former army ammunitions plant just 30 miles east of Shreveport-Bossier, concern is growing over a substance called “M6 propellant.” 15 million pounds of this compound, normally the explosive used to launch 75mm projectiles in war planes and tanks, was stored unsafely at the government facility by Explo Systems Inc. after the company went bankrupt in 2013.
This particular flavor of propellant has the ability to spontaneously combust. The EPA says that if the propellant is not taken care of in 2015, the risk of an explosion will increase. But, residents surrounding Camp Minden have already seen it happen. On October 15, 2012, an explosion of just 40,000 pounds of M6 blew out the windows of several homes nearby, prompted an evacuation of the town of Doyline, and produced 7,000-foot mushroom cloud.
Carla Anderson, a working mother of two young children, resides in Doyline just one mile from the back entrance of Camp Minden. Her family was a part of that evacuation and life hasn’t been the same sense. Her son, who was born blind, keeps asking about loud noises emanating from across the road. Carla reports hearing explosions every other day during some months. Though she wants to see the material disposed of, her principal concern is the EPA’s plan to destroy the propellant by means of what is called an “open tray burn.”
An open tray burn is a process by which the M6 propellant would be taken from its current storage state, spread in a thin layer onto a metal tray and burned in small increments to avoid an explosive reaction. While it is clear that this increasingly unstable chemical compound must be dealt with in a timely fashion, the burning of approximately 60,000 pounds per day of M6 raises concern with some local scientists and a growing number of citizens.
Brian Salvatore, a chemistry professor at LSU Shreveport, is trying to educate the public on the potential toxic byproducts, dinitrotoluene (DNT), and dibutyl phthalene (DBP), which could become airborne if this burn occurs. According to the CDC these toxins are harmful to the respiratory, cardiovascular, and reproductive systems. DNT is known to cause cancer in animals, but has not been tested on a scale that would produce carcinogenicity in humans.
The Environmental Protection Agency maintains that an open tray burn of M6 can be done safely, and have committed to conducting air, water, and soil testing during the burn and a safety document for disposal of the compound is available on their website. However, Professor Salvatore and local environmental toxicologist Dr. Robert Flournoy report that, at a recent meeting, the EPA provided no data for the the long-term effects of an open tray burn of this scale on the local environment and human communities.
Although safer methods of neutralizing, recycling (which has been proposed for similar disposal issues before), and incinerating the propellant have been proposed by local experts and private contractors, the EPA has not budged from their decision on open tray burning. Madden Contracting, who previously proposed an incineration method, decided against submitting a proposal for open tray burning to the Louisiana Military Department, citing concern for public health.
Mayor Davis of Minden, Congressmen Fleming and Vitter, and Representative Gene Reynolds, all express opposition to the open tray burn. At a recent event at the Pamoja Art Society, John Bel Edwards, Democratic candidate for Louisiana governor says the EPA needs to “call a timeout” to assess alternatives, such as recycling the M6. He was also grieved at the inaction of the governor’s office.
Momentum is building among north Louisiana residents. There is an active petition calling upon local, state, and national legislators to consider alternative options for the handling and disposal of the 15 million pounds of M6 propellant housed at Camp Minden.
Carla, Delores, and countless others invite you to join the movement for the EPA to delay the burn until concerns are addressed.
For more information on the opposition to the burn, visit stoptheburnla.org.
Additional contributions by Shelby Blaise.
Pictured: Carla Anderson, resident of Doyline and mother of two/Photo by Chris Rebouche