[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 120 (Monday, October 2, 2000)]
[House]
[Page H8598]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     GUAM'S ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Guam (Mr. Underwood) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. UNDERWOOD. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to express some concerns 
about environmental conditions on Guam as a result of problems with 
PCBs and as a result of some recently discovered mustard gas vials left 
over from the military. I am very concerned about the safety of my 
constituents in light of these recent discoveries of chemical weapons 
testing kits containing measurable amounts of mustard gas and other 
toxic chemicals on Guam. Given the public health dangers associated 
with exposure to these substances, I have requested the Department of 
Defense to perform a historical record survey to determine the final 
disposition of chemical weaponry that was brought to Guam. This survey 
should be comprehensive and include identifying former military dump 
sites as well as other potential disposal sites used by the military.
  Guam has been a significant area for U.S. military activity for more 
than 50 years. First used as a major staging area during World War II, 
the military presence in Guam increased correspondingly with the Korean 
and Vietnam Wars.

                              {time}  1945

  Its full value as an area to forward deploy American military forces 
continues to be strong, even in today's post-Cold War era. At the time, 
Guam was home to a fully operational Naval Base, Naval Air Station, 
Naval Communications, Submarine Base, Air Force Strategic Air Command 
and Naval Weapons Depot, and today still has the largest weapons 
storage area in the entire Pacific.
  But over these many years it has become clear that it was military 
activities during World War II that posed the greatest threat to the 
people of Guam. During World War II, Guam was used as a staging area 
for the invasion of the Philippines, Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and eventually, 
as contemplated, the invasion of the Japanese homeland.
  Over time, several instances of mustard gas have been discovered; and 
a few months ago, officials from the University of Guam presented 
documents to military officials that a huge shipment of mustard gas was 
brought to Guam in 1945. But there has been no documentation of these 
weapons leaving the island.
  In a September 5, 2000, Pacific Daily News article, a spokesman for 
the Army Corps of Engineers surmised that the shipment had been likely 
dumped at sea. It is illogical, because the shipment was brought to 
Guam. How could it be taken off and dumped at sea? He went on to say 
that lacking evidence of a definitive area that should be searched, the 
Army Corps could not conduct a comprehensive search. ``Otherwise, it is 
almost like a needle in a haystack.''
  However, just last week, additional chemical weapon cannisters were 
found with a pile of unexploded ordnance at Anderson Air Force Base, 
and these cannisters resemble the testing kits that had been earlier 
found in the central part of Guam, in Mongmong, an area that used to be 
a military base. With these two discoveries of toxic chemicals in less 
than 2 years, I believe that we have in fact found just the beginning 
of countless needles in the haystack.
  I would have hoped that the first discovery of mustard gas would have 
spurred the Department of Defense to engage in this exhaustive survey, 
historical survey, of what chemical weapons and what general ordnance 
was stored on Guam left over from World War II.
  In addition, this is combined with another issue concerning the 
environmental condition of Guam, and that is the inability to take PCBs 
out of Guam. Guam and other territories are outside the customs zone, 
and as laws regarding the disposal of PCBs, PCBs can be brought to Guam 
from the U.S. mainland, but they cannot be brought back into the U.S. 
mainland for proper disposal. I remain in strong conversation with EPA 
officials and have received a strong commitment to resolve this problem 
administratively in the upcoming months.
  However, in a neighboring island to the north, Saipan, there were 
recently discovered PCB materials, but the EPA has already issued an 
administrative order releasing those PCB items to be moved back into 
the U.S. mainland. I think it is a situation that cries out for 
solution and fair and balanced treatment for all the territories.
  It is important to understand that the Toxic Substances Control Act 
prohibits Guam from importing PCBs inside the U.S. customs zone, even 
though the PCBs originated inside the U.S. customs zone. The U.S. Court 
of Appeals Ninth Circuit's 1997 ruling of Sierra Club v. EPA overturned 
an attempt by EPA to solve this problem administratively, which would 
have dealt with PCBs in a more rational manner.
  Parenthetically, PCBs that are on military bases are easily moved 
back into the U.S. This disparate treatment between military bases and 
the civilian community of Guam, composed of U.S. citizens, just like 
everywhere else, is simply intolerable and must be resolved by EPA.
  In general, we have a very difficult situation with PCBs and their 
disposal in Guam. We have this issue with chemical toxic weapons. I 
certainly call upon the Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of 
Defense to conduct an exhaustive search. We first called for this 
exhaustive search in July of 1999. We continue to press the issue, and 
certainly I hope that the Department of Defense will see fit to finally 
review all of the weapons which have been brought into Guam and through 
which two or three generations of people from Guam have been raised in 
the shadow of these weapons.

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