Study says dioxin levels at Atsugi have
fallen to within acceptable standards
By Rick Chernitzer,
Stars and Stripes
ATSUGI NAVAL AIR FACILITY, Japan — Air dioxin levels fall within acceptable
standards, according to a joint U.S.-Japan study released by the Environmental Ministry on
Tuesday.
Samples taken from April 2000 to March at two locations on base reveal acceptable
annual levels, the study reported.
The standard is 0.6 picograms per cubic meter of air. A picogram is one-trillionth of a
gram.
For years, environmental officials have been measuring dioxin levels because of the
presence of an incinerator just outside the base fenceline.
The samples were taken at the ground electronics maintenance building and in a
residential area on the base, said Bryan Murphy, Atsugi’s program manager for dealing
with the incinerator company, Envirotech.
The incinerators were shut down in May.
A third location south of the base — near the site of the incinerators —
registered 0.63 picograms on average, according to media reports.
While the ministry report does not name the incinerator as the source of the higher
dioxin levels, Murphy said he believes the results show the incinerators’ impact.
"They had a big effect. There’s a good correlation between wind direction
over the incinerators and dioxin concentration [in the sampler units]," he said.
The government of Japan continues air monitoring, according to Takeshi Okuda, of the
ministry’s Air Quality Management Division.
Results of readings since the incinerators’ closure were unavailable.
While the two sites surveyed at Atsugi did exceed dioxin standards on occasion, the
annual average was within tolerance, the report stated.
No activities on the base significantly affect dioxin levels, Murphy said.
"There’s nothing on the base which produces dioxin," Murphy said.
Murphy said the United States pulled out of the study after the incinerators’ were
closed, but they continue to allow a private company to take readings on base for the
Japanese government.
The U.S. military has long complained about the incinerators’ impact on the
environment, eventually leading to the Japanese government buying out the site to have it
dismantled.
Envirotech is expecting to complete disassembling the three incinerators by the end of
the year.
Naoko Sekioka contributed to this report.
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