EXPERTS TO AIR DIG PLANS CHEMICAL STORAGE SITE TRENCHES TO BE EXPLORED.Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer ROSAMOND - Air Force environmental officials will be on hand Tuesday to discuss plans at Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base, U.S. military installation, 301,000 acres (121,805 hectares), S Calif., NE of Lancaster; est. 1933. It is one of the largest air force bases in the United States and has the world's longest runway. to excavate four trenches that were once part of a chemical warfare chemical warfare, employment in war of incendiaries, poison gases, and other chemical substances. Ancient armies attacking or defending fortified cities threw burning oil and fireballs. A primitive type of flamethrower was employed as early as the 5th cent. B.C. storage yard. Base officials do not known what is buried in the trenches. It is suspected they were used to dispose of To determine the fate of; to exercise the power of control over; to fix the condition, application, employment, etc. of; to direct or assign for a use. See also: Dispose empty containers and unusable or unneeded chemicals. ``This is a public availability session for anyone with concerns or questions,'' said base spokesman Gary Hatch. Air Force staff will be available to answer questions about the project - expected to cost $6.3 million to $8.4 million - from 1 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Wanda Kirk Library, 3611 Rosamond Blvd., Rosamond. The trenches are 150 to 160 feet long, 15 feet wide and 10 feet deep. They are spaced about 35 feet apart. One end of the trenches is within a few feet of a $10.6 million, 136-person dormitory that opened in 1998. The trenches are also within walking distance of where 800 airmen live, officials said. The 1.6-acre site was used as part of a chemical warfare material storage yard that was operated in the 1940s. The storage yard was closed in September 1946. There are no records of materials being removed from the site. A memo issued by the commanding officer at the time indicated that the chemical warfare section was short-handed in the effort to destroy all excess chemicals on hand. ``This lack of personnel at the end of the war suggests that proper procedures may not always have been followed in destroying the chemicals,'' according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. an engineering evaluation and cost analysis prepared for the excavation project. Records show that mustard gas mustard gas, chemical compound used as a poison gas in World War I. The burning sensation it causes on contact with the skin is similar to that caused by oil from black mustard seeds. , a chemical agent called lewisite lewisite (l  `əsīt'), liquid chemical compound used as a poison gas. Like mustard gas and nitrogen mustard, it is a blistering agent; when inhaled, it is a powerful respiratory and tear gas tear gas, gas that causes temporary blindness through the excessive flow of tears resulting from irritation of the eyes. The gas is used in chemical warfare and as a means for dispersing mobs. were sent to Edwards during the years the yard was in operation. During the excavation, cleanup crews will erect a metal-frame building over the digging to help contain any contaminates that might be in the soil. The building will be about 80 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 23 feet high. A crane will be used to reposition the building as digging progresses along the trenches. As much as 2,000 cubic yards of soil and debris will be removed from the trenches. |
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