Last December ProPublica used the data to publish an interactive news application called Bombs in Your Backyard.
(See post below from this blog site in December 2017)
Please Note: All images have been selected and inserted by the publisher of this blog site
The data, which has never been released before, comes from the Defense Environmental Restoration Program, which the DOD administers to measure and document cleanup efforts at current and former military locations.
There are a lot of great local investigative stories waiting to be done with the data. This reporting recipe is meant to help you find and report ones near you.
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“Bombs in Our Backyard” Wins SEJ’s Nina Mason Pulliam Award for Outstanding Environmental Reporting
"The Society of Environmental Journalists announced today that the ProPublica project “Bombs in Our Backyard” is the inaugural winner of its Nina Mason Pulliam Award for Outstanding Environmental Reporting. The new award, which was announced in January and comes with a $10,000 cash prize, recognizes the “best of the best” in environmental journalism and was selected from among the first-place winners of SEJ’s seven award categories.“Bombs in Our Backyard,” by senior reporter Abrahm Lustgarten, revealed for the first time how the Pentagon’s development and testing of weapons has polluted millions of acres of land and drinking water resources across 40,000 U.S. sites — and how the Pentagon has systematically ignored or downplayed its cleanup responsibilities. The project exposed the open burning of old munitions, the use of contractors to dump hazardous waste into residential neighborhoods, and a decades-long effort to downplay the cancer risks of a common explosive called RDX.Learn more about the Nina Mason Pulliam Award for Outstanding Environmental Reporting
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Bombs in Your Backyard
How States Compare:The number of military installations with ongoing “high” and “medium risk” hazardous sites, by state
Calif. 131
Fla. 66
Alaska 65
Texas 62
Hawaii 43
N.Y. 32
Ariz. 29
N.M. 25
Va. 25
Kan. 24
Arizona
> 117 Military Installations with Hazardous Sites in Arizona
Installations117 Military installations with at least one hazardous site.
High & Medium Risk Installations 29
(Military installations with at least one high or medium risk hazardous site).
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AIR FORCE INSTALLATION ID: AZ957002858200
LINK > CLICK HERE
Land Controls & Restrictions
Many sites have been declared “clean” by the DOD but are still not safe for people. This military installation is safe only with the following conditions in place: fences, signs. see more »
5 Active Sites
Sites where military cleanup actions are still ongoing. The risk level of a site refers to a relative risk assessment made by the DOD, which prioritizes the cleanup of sites that pose greatest threat to safety, human health, and the environment.
77 Inactive Sites
Sites where military cleanup actions are complete, according to the DOD. Note that this status does not necessarily mean the site is no longer hazardous, as many of these sites are put under long-term monitoring or other restrictions
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Note: The risk level of a site refers to a relative risk assessment made by the DOD to prioritize the cleanup of sites.
Data: All data comes from
Defense Environmental Restoration Program
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,
and will be released soon at the ProPublica Data Store.
Read our methodology »
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Cost So Far: $122M
Money already spent on the evaluation and cleanup of hazardous sites.
Expected Additional Cost $15.9M
The estimated amount of money needed for evaluation and cleanup of hazardous sites at this installation.
Expected Completion Date: 2050
The date by which the DOD estimates cleanup of all sites will be complete. Long term monitoring may continue after this date.
82 Hazardous Sites
Below are the locations of hazardous sites associated with this military installation, according to the DOD. A site’s contamination may affect a much larger area, including public and private lands and the water supplies beneath them.
High Risk
Medium Risk
Low Risk
Risk Not Evaluated or Not Required
Response Complete
Use two fingers to move the map
Map data ©2018 Google Imagery ©2018 TerraMetrics
We haven't independently confirmed the location of every site. If you notice a site placed at the incorrect location, please contact us.
Not all sites in the DOD data include location information, so there may be sites listed below that are missing from the map.
The risk level of a site refers to a relative risk assessment made by the DOD to prioritize the cleanup of sites.
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02 December 2017
Bombs in Your Backyard
The military spends more than a billion dollars a year to clean up sites its operations have contaminated with toxic waste and explosives. These sites exist in every state in the country. Some are located near schools, residential neighborhoods, rivers and lakes.
A full map of these sites has never been made public – until now. Enter your address to see the hazardous sites near you, or select a state
Link > Projects/ProPublica
> Many of these sites have extensive groundwater and soil pollution, or present a risk of exploding bombs and munitions, even if they are open to the public. Some have been converted to parks and wildlife reserves and even housing developments.> Many sites were part of old defense facilities that have long since shut down, and may not be known locally, even though a risk of exposure to contaminants may still be present.
> Even sites where the DOD says it has already completed its response can present an ongoing threat or risk to the public.
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> While the data pinpoints a precise location, contamination from that location may well affect a much larger area, including public and private lands
