The Oregon Military Department is asking the federal government for $21.6 million to clean the state's toxic armories.
The money would pay for cleanings at 10 lead-contaminated armories across the state, in Portland, Ashland, Baker City, Bend, Coos Bay, Eugene, McMinnville, Ontario, Pendleton and Salem.
The state's request to the National Guard Bureau follows an 18-month investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive that revealed widespread lead dust problems in armories nationwide. The investigation found Oregon's armories among the dirtiest in the country, polluted by high levels of lead from years of poor maintenance in the buildings' indoor firing ranges.
Inspectors routinely told the state that lead dust was spreading throughout the buildings, which are used by community groups and soldiers alike. Yet military leaders frequently did not heed those warnings, allowing children to hold sleepovers on floors where lead dust was repeatedly found.
The 2016 investigation by The Oregonian/OregonLive showed that state military leaders tried to cover up how long they knew about the problem and downplay its severity. Even after the agency became aware of extensive contamination in Forest Grove, the state official in charge of maintenance, Roy Swafford, said he hesitated to call it a problem. "I struggle with saying 'problem,'" he said.
Yet when they made a budget request for the cleanup money, state military leaders were unequivocal. The military department initially sought half the money from Oregon lawmakers, calling the levels of lead contamination "dangerously high."
"This is a critical life-safety issue that must be addressed," the agency's budget said.
Toxic Armories Every time a soldier pulled the trigger inside a National Guard gun range, a bullet cast off bits of lead. The Guard's neglect allowed the toxic dust to spread outside the range, endangering families who attended weddings, school sleepovers and Cub Scout meetings in America's armories.READ THE SERIES
The National Guard Bureau, the central agency overseeing state units, said in December that it would pay for armory cleanups, the first time it has made such a commitment. An Oregon Military Department spokesman said his agency subsequently pulled its request for state funding and has since asked the bureau to cover the full $21.6 million cleanup cost. That request is pending.
The Oregon military has also vastly increased disclosure about its toxic armories. Under orders from Gov. Kate Brown, the agency has posted recent inspections online, allowing the public to see the status of the cleanup and contamination in their local armory.
It's a pioneering step. No other state's National Guard has taken such a transparent posture about the status of its armories.
Seven states -- Arizona, Florida, Kentucky, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Virginia and Tennessee -- still have not released lead inspection reports for their armories. The Oregonian/OregonLive asked those states to release the documents nearly two years ago.
a Rob Davis
rdavis@oregonian.com
503.294.7657
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