Toxic cleanup 75 percent done at former George Air Force Base

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http://www.vvdailypress.com/articles/toxic-45291-done-victorville.html



Project won't fully be completed for hundreds of years

Toxic cleanup 75 percent done at former George Air Force Base
February 27, 2014 11:19 AM
Shea Johnson, Staff Writer

VICTORVILLE • Ongoing since the early 1980s, an expected $150 million-plus cleanup of contaminated soil and groundwater at the former George Air Force Base is roughly 75 percent complete, an Air Force Civil Engineer Center spokeswoman said Wednesday. However, she said remnants of some chemicals may stick around for five centuries.

During the base’s active years between 1941 and 1992, routine aircraft maintenance tasks spilled or leaked contaminants such as jet fuel, gasoline, paints and solvents into the ground and water. Pesticides used in the base’s housing area also polluted the environment. George was placed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List in 1990.

Of 213 problem sites at the 5,062-acre facility, now Southern California Logistics Airport, 171 sites have so far been remedied, according to AFCEC spokeswoman Linda Geissinger.

After a site is deemed to be far enough along or fully rid of contamination, Air Force officials can transfer the property for several uses, including public benefit, economic development or a “federal-to-federal” swap, Geissinger said. Such shifts can provide a big-picture benchmark for how progress is materializing.