"Cold War Missile Site Targeted"

"Though the weapons have long since been removed and the collective eyes of the world no longer concern themselves with the day-to-day operations, missile sites in Kansas from the Cold War continue to elicit careful attention from the Army Corps of Engineers.

This is because more than bygone flashes of history can be found at some of the sites.

A chemical agent called trichloroethylene was used as a degreasing agent to clean fuel lines to ensure missiles at the sites were operationally ready and able to fire on cue. Workers didn't think twice about dumping the chemical on-site. However, since that time it has been discovered the chemical can have dangerous health effects at high levels.

There are 21 former Atlas missile sites and five former Nike missile sites in Kansas that are part of the Formerly Utilized Defense Sites program sponsored by the Department of Defense to evaluate and remediate contamination at FUDS. The primary contamination is TCE in groundwater and soil. The corps is responsible for management and execution of the FUDS program."

Corey Jones reports for the Topeka Capitol-Journal November 14, 2009.