Good summer camps never truly end at the closing ceremony. At least this is what I learned last year. While attending a summer camp at the University of Iowa, I met and spoke with Kristina Venzke, who works with the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant's Former Worker Program. The program was developed to help former workers of the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP) get compensation for their exposure to the IAAAP and its contamination. This led me to probe deeper into this issue. Even before I left, I was researching the history of the plant and how the issue concerning contamination from the IAAAP developed.
IAAAP restricted area
It began more than 60 years ago, in 1941, when the IAAAP was built for the purpose of producing munitions and, later, nuclear weaponry. The IAAAP, located in Middletown, Iowa, created nuclear weaponry until 1975, when this part of the plant was moved to the Pantex weapons facility near Amarillo, Texas. Then, in 1988, an environmental survey stated that the IAAAP was a "horror story" of improper hazardous waste disposal (Mansfield). In 1989, the IAAAP was placed on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund list. Cleanup of the contamination left from years of weapons production began in 1992. In 1993, as a result of the EPA's water tests, it was found that the water supply of many homes near the IAAAP was contaminated with RDX (1,3,5 - trinitro - 1,3,5 - triazine). After this contamination was found, these homes were provided with a different water supply.
Up until the 1990's the public was unaware of the fact that the IAAAP had produced nuclear weapons, or that there could be possible health or environmental impacts due to exposure to these explosives. This situation was brought to the public's attention in 1997 when Robert Anderson, a former security guard at the IAAAP, wrote Senator Tom Harkin about his diagnosis of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He believed that he had gotten this disease because of his exposure to explosives during his employment at the IAAAP. It was not long before more reports of cancer surfaced from both present and former workers of the IAAAP. In 1998 an employee revealed that the IAAAP actually did produce nuclear weapons. Even then, the Department of Energy (DOE) did not acknowledge the truth of this report until later. Over the course of the next few years, endless tests were conducted, not only on employees but also on local waterways, for possible contamination. Contamination by TNT (2,4,6 - Trinitrotoluene) and RDX were detected, along with high phosphate levels. Radiation levels were within the legal limits. Currently, remediation of the plant and its waterways is underway, and contamination levels have been reduced significantly, which leads to the beginnings of my research on the IAAAP and its effect on local waterways.
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Figure 1: Map of study area (Click to enlarge)
The IAAAP covers 19,127 acres of land. Within the IAAAP are three creeks: Brush Creek, Spring Creek, and Long Creek. Two of the creeks, Spring Creek and Long Creek, run through the plant; however, Brush Creek originates on the IAAAP. To begin my research, I contacted Rodger Allison, an installation restoration project manager at the IAAAP. He led me to information about the plant and the findings from the remediation project. After examining the books of information, I decided to talk with some people living in the area about their water supplies. It was incredible how much information I discovered talking to the locals, information that I could not find documented in the IAAAP books. I found out from a local farmer that Brush Creek, a creek that the remediation project had determined was the most contaminated, had at one time run a red, rusty color. After accumulating this useful firsthand information, I began my experiments.
Mauree taking a sample in the field
Over the past three years, I have tested water quality by using both traditional and non-traditional methods. The traditional method consisted of testing the water for parameters that the EPA also uses. For the non-traditional method I used Daphnia magna. Daphnia magna are freshwater invertebrate crustaceans that are frequently used in water-toxicology research because of their ability to signal stressful levels of pollution; however, methods of usage vary. For instance, the Iowa Hygienic Laboratory uses the LC50 method. This method examines at what concentration levels 50% of the Daphnia magna die. They are also a key link in the lower food chain, being the main source of food for many smaller fish (i.e. minnows), Hydra, and also many small insects (i.e. water skidders). In my previous research, the effects of different water conditions (i.e. seasons and runoff) on Daphnia magna were examined. I examined standard measurements of heart rate and birthrate and documented this data. Along the way I developed a new measurement—reflex. Daphnia magna has a light-sensitive eye, meaning that the eye will track a moving light source. This knowledge helped me to establish a measurement of reflex, providing a measurement of the effect of environmental stress on the nervous system. In my previous research, it was also found that forms of nitrate have detrimental effects on Daphnia magna. They cause high heart rates, low populations, and impaired reflexes. In addition, one form of nitrate, urea, caused the Daphnia magna to form small growths on their midguts, or intestines.
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