Crews moving contaminated sand from ship

to rail

Monday, April 28, 2008 11:34 PM PDT

By Erik Olson

Longshoremen
should finish unloading 6,700 tons of sand contaminated with depleted
uranium and lead Tuesday afternoon, said Chad Hyslop, spokesman for the
disposal company American Ecology.

The BBC Alabama arrived at
the port Saturday afternoon with the 306 containers carrying the
contaminated sand from Camp Doha, a U.S. Army base in Kuwait. The sand
was packaged in bags designed to transport hazardous waste.

Longshoremen
unloaded the containers in two shifts Sunday, then two more Monday,
Hyslop said. They wore standard safety gear, and dust protection
equipment and respirators were available, he said.

However, no one has opted to wear the respirators, he said.

“It’s gone real smooth,” Hyslop said.

Half
of the containers will be loaded onto 76 rail cars and transported to
an American Ecology disposal site in Idaho. The other half will remain
at the port until the trains return to haul them to Idaho. The
containers all will be at the disposal site in Idaho within 15 to 30
days, Hyslop said.

State Department of Health personnel are at
the port to test radiation levels and to ensure none of the sand
spills, Hyslop said. U.S. Customs agents also were on hand to inspect
the cargo, he said.

The sand became contaminated with low levels
of depleted uranium following a fire at Camp Doha during the first Gulf
War in 1991, according to Hyslop and Army sources. The Army then
discovered potentially hazardous levels of lead in the shipment.

Hyslop
said he’s been happy with the job the port and other government
agencies have done in helping with the transport of the material.

“We’re extremely pleased and impressed with the outstanding professionalism of the Port of Longview,” he said.