Carcinogenic PCBs Absent in F.E. Warren Air Force Base: The missile launch facilities at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming had no cancer-causing PCBs, according to the US Air Force. This was in reaction to mounting worries about nuclear missile community cancer instances. The base is in Wyoming, hence this statement was made. The Air Force is investigating three nuclear plants because troops at those bases have health issues.
Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles are at F.E. Warren, Malmstrom, and Minot Air Force Bases. From silos, missiles are fired. These station workers are always alert and ready to fire missiles if the President orders.
A recent US Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine research detected no PCBs in the air or on F.E. Warren underground center samples. Different depths were employed to collect these samples. Even though some surface swipe samples included PCBs, the results were substantially below the US Environmental Protection Agency’s essential mitigation limit. The chemicals PCBs cause cancer. They are waxy or greasy.
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In light of these discoveries, Air Force Global Strike Commander General Thomas A. Bussiere has ordered the cleanup of all areas with trace PCBs, even if they are below the EPA standard. This safety measure indicates the Air Force’s commitment to member health.
More than sixty years after the Minuteman missile silos and underground control centers were established, much of the design and technology have not altered. Missileers worry about underground sites’ ventilation, water quality, and hazardous exposure.
Even though they were designed similarly, different contractors erected underground buildings at different eras. This may make it harder to determine if the health issues are related. Malmstrom was the first to report employee malignancies. The Minuteman was initially used there, and its buildings are the oldest.
268 nuclear missile workers have reported cancer, blood disorders, and other illnesses in the last few decades. The independent Torchlight Initiative, made up of former missileers and their families, says this proves how essential the current investigations are. Former missileers and their families founded Torchlight Initiative.
Our Reader’s Queries
What is Fe Warren AFB known for?
F.E. Warren AFB, initially dedicated to Civil War Brigadier General David A. Russell, holds the distinction of being the Air Force’s longest-running active military base. It is the base for the 90th Missile Wing and Headquarters, 20th Air Force, of Air Force Global Strike Command.
What Air Force finds elevated levels of toxic chemicals at Minot?
Military bioenvironmental experts have discovered high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in an underground launch support building at the base, as reported by service officials. The Air Force has now disclosed the results of PCB levels at all three of its ICBM bases.