Military Ordnance

Until World War II, accidental explosions at the Raritan Arsenal--a 3,200-acre Army facility operating in Edison, New Jersey, from 1917 to 1963--rained ordnance fragments on the surrounding area. In addition, personnel at the arsenal fumigated with an assortment of chemicals, which were later disposed of by burial. Efforts to clean up ordnance at Raritan were expected to be finished by mid-1993. Due to funding constraints, however, the Army Corps of Engineers now anticipates that the work will continue into fiscal year 1995. Hazardous waste cleanup is also ongoing at Raritan but is still in the early stages and will take much longer than the ordnance cleanup. Neither the Corps nor the Environmental Protection Agency is required to formally certify that cleanups have met specific standards. GAO identified no detrimental effects of the lack of such a requirement.

GAO found that: (1) the Army Corps of Engineers has awarded contracts to find and dispose of ordnance at the Raritan Arsenal, which are expected to be completed in mid-1993, but funding contraints may cause work to continue until 1995; (2) hazardous waste cleanup, which will take longer than the ordnance cleanup, is at a preliminary stage and must meet established standards; and (3) no standards exist for ordnance cleanup, and no agency is required to certify that the cleanup is complete.