EPA document says government knew about contamination at Louisiana’s Camp Minden decades ago

Government officials knew as far back as 1989 that explosive material stored at Camp Minden had already contaminated soil, surface water and groundwater around the plant, according to a memo written last summer.

As reported, Environmental Protection Agency officials plan to burn 15 million pounds of M6 propellant explosives at the plant, originally designed for military use, into the northern Louisiana atmosphere.

People exposed to it might develop cancer or blood pressure problems or even pass on birth defects to their children, experts warn.

According to the EPA document, as of last year, Camp Minden had  1.8 million pounds of an aluminum/TNT mixture.  In addition to the M6, the memo lists the camp as having other explosives and propellants.

As the EPA memo goes on, an unknown amount of TNT contaminated the camp 26 years ago.

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