European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 14, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday november 14, 1993 the stars and stripes Page s on from Page 1 pentachlorophenol is a Wood pre Active that was once widely used in the keep the crates out of the hands of German nationals according to . Environmental officials. A German environmental group claims that at least 20 German workers at the huge Sta Fenohr training area have died of can cer after years of handling the contaminated crates. The group also claims that Many other local people Are at risk because for decades they have used the empty crates for firewood and for remodelling Homes. Army officials in Europe however say they moved quickly to dispose of the Chemi Calfy treated cases safely when German of ii dais notified them of the danger in Early 1993. Environmental authorities in the United states told the stars and stripes last week that the army was aware or the danger posed by pentachlorophenol treated wooden boxes in the Early 1980s, and perhaps earlier. A a a Reserve. United states. Don Oberacker a technical Sui titlist with the environmental Protection Agency s risk reduction engineering lab oratory in Cincinnati said Nis office was contacted by the army in the Quot late 70s or Early �?T80s&Quot about disposal of wooden ammunition boxes. Oberacker said that army offi dals in South Korea had observed local it Zens taking these discarded boxes and using them for cooking fires. A the army was quite concerned about that because of the known potential for generating such compounds As dioxins when such materials Are burned at Low Tern Pera turns a Oberacker said. The army asked Oberacker a office to conduct an Experiment to determine How to dispose of treated Wood so that it would not Emit hazardous materials. The Epa conducted the Experiment using an incinerator at los Alamos nation Al Laboratory in new Mexico he said. Quot we burned the Wood at High tempera Tures and were not Able to measure any toxic substances in the emissions Quot Obe Racke said. Quot we demonstrated How to do it right but we did nol investigate a because we weren to asked to a what would happen if the treated Wood was burned at lower Tern Pera Tures such As in a cooking  army officials at the Pentagon have not responded to a stars and stapes request submitted earlier last week for information on the korean incident and the army a policies on pentachlorophenol treated materials. Richard Brown spokesman for the defense re utilization and marketing Redon Europe in Wiesbaden said his Agency Nan Dies the disposal of the empty crates from the Grafe Wohr training area. Quot we initially sold the cases to the. Bur Stein company in nearby pres Sath which in turn sold them to private customers Brown said. Abrown said that on Jan. 5 his Agency was told by the German Industrial inspection Board in Regensburg to Stop Selling the cases because they had tested positive for pentachlorophenol. Since then. Brown said a these boxes were disposed of through High temperature incineration at the authorized bavarian disposal facility Quot in Obenhausen. Local environmentalists claim the ammunition Box problem became Public in 1992 As the result of a customs inspection. Josef or Winbauer chief of the main customs office in Weiden near Grafe Wohr said his office discovered the problem in october 1991 a we found ammunition boxes at the Weiden train station destined for the . Army at Grafe Wohr which were marked a pc treated a a or Winbauer said. A we notified the office for environmental Protection in Weiden which in turn called the Industrial inspection Board which after. S4s photos try Ken 0�org� debris is piled High in the new Landfill at the . Army training site in Grafe Wohr while the old Landfill background appears More like a freshly seeded Lawn in a City Park. A. Grafen dhru a town Hall dates from 1462, Ike . Military moved into the nearby training area in 1945. Seepage drains collect waste water from the old Landfill area in Grafe Wohr and direct it to a holding tank where it is cleaned and recycled. Running tests asked the americans to Stop Selling . Hildebrand Roder assistant chief of the Industrial inspection Board said Friday that his Laboratory ran tests at Burstein a storage Yard but they weren to finished or conclusive until August. A the americans made it easy for us by telling us the cases marked with a a pm were treated those with a a pay untreated a he said. Roder said that although the German Law forbids the use Sale and production of the chemical the amounts found in existing Wood products had to be assessed for proper disposal. Quot any Wood found with 5 milligrams or less per kilogram May be treated As regular trash. Amounts exceeding the 5 milligrams must be treated As hazardous waste Quot Roder said. The Issue of contaminated american cases has been resolved Roder said but the Industrial inspection Board faces another serious problem. A a we be got All those ammunition cases on the Burstein property from the former East German army Quot Roder said. A your tests so far have shown that. They exceed the allowable amount of pentachlorophenol by at least 10  Roder said his staff must run tests for other chemicals made More difficult because no one knows what kind of munitions were kept in the boxes used by various countries in the former Warsaw pact. Burstein bought 50,000 cases from the former East German army in mid-1992, said Angelika Hoh Reuther whose father owns the company. But since the news of contamination surfaced nobody wants them. Hoh Reuther said her fathers company is in court trying to defend itself against numerous damage claims filed by former customers who bought the chemically treated boxes. The Burstein Yard is still covered with thousands of stacked Green East German munitions cases. ,