04/02/2022 Stati Uniti, Massachusetts, Dukes, Chilmark, Nomans Land
“If you ever come across anything suspicious like this item, please do not pick it up, contact your local law enforcement agency for assistance”
The U.S. Navy has made a determination on which of three Nomans Land management and environmental mitigation efforts it will pursue. Back in 2020, as part of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) process, the Navy provided a public webinar and comment period on the three options: a $31 million cleanup, an $11 million monitoring and awareness program, or a $0 do-nothing stance. The Navy has opted for the $11 million program for Nomans Land. The island is just under three miles off the Vineyard, and has an area of a little over 600 acres. Nomans Land is part of the town of Chilmark, but is owned by the federal government. It has no human inhabitants. For roughly a half-century, the Navy, and reportedly also the Air Force, pulverized the tiny island for target practice. The Navy has made prior efforts to clean up munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) and unexploded ordnance (UXO) on the island, its shores, and nearby waters. The danger posed by UXO appears to be the core reason the island is a no-go area. The option the Navy chose is titled “Alternative S-2, Institutional Controls/Public Awareness and Enforcement.” Alternative S-2 includes an operations and maintenance plan to keep an eye on MEC and UXO that may become exposed, and to keep people from trespassing on the island. This plan will include upkeep of existing signage on the island and adding more signs, monitoring by partner agencies, adoption of a violations and fines system, creation of an information pamphlet, and a public awareness campaign regarding UXO. The determination concludes the benefits of digging up the island to further recover MEC and UXO are outweighed by the ecological impacts such activity will create. In addition to its military mantle, Nomans Land is a wildlife refuge, most notably for birds and rabbits. In that capacity it is under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Navy states in its determination that UXO have the potential to move or become exposed due to “human activity, precipitation runoff, erosion, frost heave, storm surge, and tidal action.” In the determination, the Navy says it believes a lot of MEC and UXO were disposed of by its own SeaBees through onsite detonation; it states there is a possibility of a “burial pit or trench” on the island where UXO was dumped. However, the Navy states, it has found no evidence of such a pit or trench. In a 1998 cleanup of the island, the Navy removed 551,780 pounds of ordnance debris from rockets, bombs, shells, and bullets.
If you find anything that appears to be an explosive device, do not touch it, leave it where it is and call the police. We will contact the appropriate agencies to properly dispose of the item.
Dear editors, Biography of a bomb is aimed at highlighting the danger caused by unexploded bombs. Moreover, the most important aspect is that we work completely non profit, raising awerness about this topic is what drives us. We apologize if we make use of pictures in yours articles, but we need them to put a context in how findings are done. We will (and we always do) cite source and author of the picture. We thank you for your comprehension.
