Documents

Headquarters, Air Force Safety Center, Weapons Safety Division, has the responsibility to permit Air Force organizations possessing Section 91b of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954 radioactive materials. The primary radioactive materials involved are residuals from: a) nuclear weapons accidents, b) buried nuclear weapons wastes, c) interior surfaces of nuclear weapon storage and maintenance structures, d) AF nuclear reactors, and e) airborne sampling [Read More…]

Air Force Base for closure primarily due to degraded training effectiveness, air traffic congestion, and because of excess capacity within the category. The net cost of closure and relocation will be paid back immediately. The Commission expects annual savings to be $70.2 million. The military value of George AFB is lower than other tactical-fighter installations due to its distance to specialized training ranges [Read More…]

George AFB was proposed as a Superfund site on 07/14/89

According to the following documents, (Vera , 2015) (Vera , 2016) (Headquarters Field Command, Armed Force Speical Weapons Project, March ‐ June 1953), there were several instances where aircraft had flown around and through surface nuclear weapons testing zones for imagery and sample collection, and then returned back to George Air Force Base for decontamination. We could not find any documentary evidence that [Read More…]

WASHINGTON – The Department of Defense is unable to clean up radioactive contamination on military bases because it doesn’t have accurate records of where the waste is, according to congressional investigators. The services have reported 420 sites with low levels of radioactive waste. But investigators from the General Accounting Office said the lists are outdated, inaccurate and incomplete because some sites have been [Read More…]

The U.S. Air Force is investigating whether radioactive waste is buried at more than 80 former and current air bases across the country, including the site of a new federal prison in central California. Air Force health experts believe the radioactive material, generated by nuclear-weapons maintenance in the 1950s and 1960s, [Read More…]

a. Disposition of Solid Wastes. Solid radioactive wastes may be disposed of by burial in the ground, or at sea. In addition, certain items which contain radium such as luminous instrument dials, may be returned to a radium refining company such as the Canadian Uranium and Radium Corporation or the U. S. Radium Corporation, however, if the amounts of such dials do not [Read More…]

In 1971, George AFB was notified by HQ USAF that its radioactive waste burial sites were to be accounted for, fenced off, and clearly marked. They were not. 1. The disposition of solid radioactive waste is strictly controlled in accordance with Technical Order 00-110N-2, “Radioactive Waste Disposal.” The Technical Order provides for the San Antonio Air Material Area to act as the coordinating [Read More…]

A. In the early 1950’s, it was common practice in the United States Air Force to bury radioactive waste. This was merely a reflection of the AEC policy of those times. A technical order (T.O. 00-110A-1) specified procedures to be followed, including identification of the burial site location on appropriate maps and fencing to prevent entry of unauthorized personnel (reference Appendix A). Although [Read More…]