The US Navy and the US Marine Corps bombed an area on the island of Vieques for training exercises. In 1999, there were protests to get them to stop, clean, an

The US Navy and the US Marine Corps bombed an area on the island of Vieques for training exercises. In 1999, there were protests to get them to stop, clean, and leave. This is part of what the EPA has identified as contaminants, > After the base was closed, Puerto Rico Governor Sila Calderon requested Vieques be placed on the U.S. National Priorities List as a designated superfund clean-up site. As of 2014 the EPA has listed the following contaminants and ordnances at the western portion of the naval station: unexploded ordnance UXO, remnants of exploded ordnance, mercury, lead, copper, magnesium, lithium, napalm, depleted uranium along with other unspecified materials. In addition to these, the eastern portion of the site "may also include" polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB), solvents and pesticides. And to give an idea on the level, > As of 2014, the Navy has spent about $220 million since 2003, to investigate and clean contaminated lands on Vieques. Since 2007, about half of the money budgeted for munitions removal has been awarded to 23 local companies in Puerto Rico.[6] As of 2014, "the Navy spends more money each year to clean up Vieques than it is spending to clean up any other former Navy installation in the US".[6] Quotes above from here, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_in_Vieques,_Puerto_Rico https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Navy_in_Vieques,... From this article, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/30/vieques-puerto-rico-us-navy-base-training https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/30/vieques-puerto... > Though no official cause has been determined, studies have found unusually high concentrations of toxic metals like mercury, uranium, and arsenic in viequenses’ hair and urine. and > Shortly before the navy’s departure, Carmen Ortiz Roque, a Puerto Rico epidemiologist who studied Vieques for years, found residents there were 30% likelier to die from cancer than other Puerto Ricans, with significantly higher rates of heart disease, liver disease, diabetes, and infant mortality. Another analysis found Vieques islanders over 50 are as much as 280% more likely to have lung cancer than other Puerto Ricans. “The human population of Vieques is by far the sickest human population that I’ve ever worked with,” Ortiz Roque said. This was over 23 years ago and still isn't clean. Trainings were done with live munitions. The whole area is still contaminated. It's a beautiful island. The people are great. But they're living in this mess that the government still hasn't cleaned up.