- Radioactive waste buried at Biggs Airfield/Fort Bliss, TX stemming from Air Force maintenance activities involving nuclear weapons from the 1950s and 1960s.
- The specific quantity of maintenance waste buried is not known due to incomplete records.
- Bases with first generation nuclear weapon systems used the waste disposal methods that were in accordance with the Atomic Energy Commission and Air Force procedures at the time.
- The Air Force transferred the bunker to the Army in 1966 but did not warn officials about a potential radiation risk.
- The Airman worked at Biggs Airfield from 1953 to 1959, when the field was an Air Force installation. Nuclear weapons were stored and maintained there at the time, and into the 1960s. Radioactive materials were buried in sealed containers 12 to 18 inches below ground, but well above the water table, the Airman reported.
Initial testing at Fort Bliss bunker indicates ‘safe’ levels of radiation
Bayonet-Jul 25, 2013
No harmful levels of radiation were found inside the bunker, with the … a retired Airman brought his concerns to the Air Force Safety Office, Buccino said. … Nuclear weapons were stored and maintained there at the time, and into the 1960s. Radioactive materials were buried in sealed containers 12 to 18 …
Cold War relic: LANL reveals tunnel to nuke storage site
ABQ Journal-Jul 24, 2013
Trucks from Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque once pulled up to this 230-foot-long tunnel to unload components for nuclear weapons, …
Fort Bliss officials: Biggs bunker radiation not a threat
El Paso Times-Jul 23, 2013
The radiation levels in a weapons storage bunker at Biggs Airfield pose no threat … said the U.S. Air Force had used epoxy paint to seal the radioactive … Air Force Safety Office he had worked with unsealed nuclear weapons.
The Fallout from Nuclear Secrecy
Consortium News-Jul 23, 2013
… the U.S. government conducted 66 nuclear weapons tests from and near the two … The U.S. gave to RMI officials a report focusing on U.S. Air Force … Today Bikini and parts of Enewetak are still too radioactive to be safely inhabited. As the Redwing tests continued, radiation badges were handed out, …
Many who were part of atomic testing are eligible for benefits
Norman Transcript-Jul 23, 2013
He is a veteran of both the Marines and the Air Force, serving honorably … They also filed two radiation claims with the Justice Department for …
Army Plays Down Danger of Nuke Leak
Yahoo! News-Jul 22, 2013
Stray radioactive particles are confined to the ground of a single … in an effort to locate radiation-tainted materials said to have been interred nearby, … the El Paso Times quoted an Air Force Safety Center spokeswoman as …
Fort Bliss bunker a relic of race for nuclear supremacy
El Paso Times-Jul 21, 2013
Yes, I’m glad the radiation levels seem not to be a threat. No, I think more investigation is needed into radioactive residue buried at Biggs Airfield. … secret,” said Hollis Skipper, a retired Air Force veteran who used to maintain … Safety Office that he worked with unsealed nuclear weapons while at Biggs.
Radiation Exposure Could Have Caused Parkinson’s
Rocklin and Roseville Today-Jul 20, 2013
In the late 1970s at a Nevada air force base, a technician accidentally exposed airman Dan Hott to a great deal of radiation, perhaps the …
Radioactive Material Discovered on Army Base
KCEN-TV-Jul 19, 2013
Nuclear weapons were assembled and stored in the bunker in the 1950’s and 60’s when it belonged to the Air Force. Officials say there was no …
Fort Bliss to reveal more on radiation leak
Sacramento Bee-Jul 19, 2013
The bunker was used to store and assemble nuclear bombs decades ago and was recently found to be radioactive. The Air Force used the …
Fort Bliss official says more radiation possible
Las Cruces Sun-News-Jul 19, 2013
Fort Bliss official says more radiation possible … been found, there may be more radioactive waste buried at Biggs Airfield stemming from Air Force maintenance activities involving nuclear weapons from the 1950s and 1960s, …
Fort Bliss: Radiation problem contained
Tribune-Review-Jul 19, 2013
Nuclear weapons were assembled and stored in the bunker in the 1950s and 1960s when the facility belonged to the Air Force. … buried sealed containers with radioactive residues near the bunkers prompted an investigation …
Fort Bliss leaders seek tips on contaminated sites
News & Observer-Jul 18, 2013
The Air Force applied an epoxy paint to seal off the radiation and turned … called the hotline said they didn’t know the bunker was radioactive.
Radiation fallout: 40 people so far report contact with Fort Bliss bunker
El Paso Times-Jul 18, 2013
Fort Bliss officials believe the bunker was used to store nuclear weapons in the 1950s and 1960s, when the Air Force was in charge of Biggs …
Radiation detected at Fort Bliss
WOAI-Jul 18, 2013
… when the base was an Air Force installation. The radiation was traced to a former nuclear weapons bunker at Biggs Army Airfield on post.
Fort Bliss Radiation Discovered, Investigation Underway in Texas
Newsmax.com-Jul 17, 2013
The radiation is the result of contaminated residue buried at the West Texas post during the Cold War era, when the Air Force manned the facility, Post … involving nuclear weapons waste that occurred during maintenance.
Contamination found: Hazardous material safety concern at BAAF …
Fort Bliss monitor-Jul 17, 2013
Fort Bliss officials are working closely with the U.S. Air Force Safety Center and other Army agencies after a recent examination of a former Air …
Here is the latest Texas news from The Associated Press
KRGV-Jul 17, 2013
FORT BLISS, Texas (AP) Army leaders at Fort Bliss say radiation has been detected at a former nuclear weapons bunker and they’re …
Army Scours Texas Base for Leaked Nuke Contaminants
National Journal-Jul 17, 2013
Radioactive material detected in a 2-month-old probe might have … The substance might be uranium from “old unsealed nuclear weapons,” according to the official. … at Fort Bliss in the 1950s, when the base was under Air Force control. The Army will search for radiation-tainted materials said to have been …
Update: Fort Bliss announces investigation into possible radioactive …
KFOX El Paso-Jul 17, 2013
Buccino said it is not clear what impact the radiation levels might … which took over the Biggs land when the Air Force closed the base in 1966.
Radioactive Material Found at Army Base After Tip
Wall Street Journal (blog)-by Julian Barnes-Jul 16, 2013
The Air Force also apparently buried radioactive material in sealed … turned over to the Army and the Air Force, and its nuclear weapons, left.
Military investigating possible radiation hazard at Fort Bliss
Alamogordo Daily News-Jul 16, 2013
The testing was ordered after an Air Force veteran who served at … He said the bunker floor was painted over to mitigate possible radioactive particles. … used to store nuclear weapons at Biggs in the 1950s, Buccino said.
Army investigates radiation in ex-nuclear weapons bunker at Fort …
Washington Post-Jul 16, 2013
Army investigates radiation in ex-nuclear weapons bunker at Fort Bliss in … The Air Force transferred the area to the Army in 1966. … years the paint has become chipped, allowing the radioactive surface to become exposed.
Fort Bliss investigating possible radioactive materials on post
KFOX El Paso-Jul 16, 2013
“It has come to our attention that the Air Force stored radioactive material during the 1950s and 1960s at a remote limited access building,” said …
Army investigates radiation exposure at Fort Bliss
Yahoo! News-Jul 16, 2013
… detected radiation at a former nuclear weapons bunker at Fort Bliss and they’re … in the 1950s and 1960s, when the base was operated by the Air Force. … They found levels of radiation in a bunker at Biggs Army Airfield that, along … that any radiation transferred to the equipment used by the soldiers.
Army Probes Radiation in Bunker at Fort Bliss
KRIS Corpus Christi News-Jul 16, 2013
… have detected radiation in a former nuclear weapons bunker at Fort Bliss … paint has become chipped, allowing the radioactive surface to become exposed. … at Fort Bliss in the 1950s when it was operated by the Air Force.
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