UXO Site selected: Fort Pierce Amphibious Training Base, FL |
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General Area: Fort Pierce and Vero Beach, FL Site Type/Program: FUDS Location: The Fort Pierce United States Naval Amphibious Training Base (USNATB) was 19,280.49 acres (includes 9,936.04 acres in submerged lands) located along the barrier islands running from Vero Beach to near Port St. Lucie along the east coast of Florida. The base operations were located on North and South Hutchinson Islands. These low-lying, sandy islands, bounded on the west by the Indian River and on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, rise only 10 to 15 feet above sea level. Narrow beaches are backed by sand dunes which give way to marshes along the Indian River. Brief History: During World War II the Navy established a complete base near the center of this reach at the Fort Pierce Inlet to train crews in amphibious landing techniques. In anticipation of operations on heavily fortified beaches in both Europe and the South Pacific, the Army and Navy formed the Joint Army Navy Experimental and Testing (JANET) Board. The JANET Board was responsible for the construction and destruction of beach fortifications which replicated those found in the theaters of the war. The concern over chemical warfare agents possibly being used during the beach landings necessitated a program to test the effectiveness of agents dispersed on the sand beaches. A separate program under the Chemical Warfare Service (CWS) was set up to test dispersal and decontamination methods. The program initiated at Fort Pierce was only the first step in a larger testing operation. Mustard agent was spread in limited quantities over small areas of the beach and dune areas and then checked for its residual effect. Decontamination methods were also developed to neutralize the mustard agent on the sand. The CWS remained at the Fort Pierce site for only a few months before undertaking full-scale testing in the Dry Tortugas Keys of southern Florida. |
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Range / Site Description: Associated Munitions: Activities Completed: Approximately 15 miles of beach have been mapped using the MTADS system. Intrusive investigation of about 70 of the anomalies mapped has been completed. No OE items were found. Issues: Since closure by the Navy in 1946, several bombs have been found in the Fort Pierce USNATB area. These bombs have been found embedded in the marshy areas, buried in the sand dunes, and washed up along the beaches. Additionally detonation cord attached to bundles of explosives have been found by county work crews in these areas. During the 1960's U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Jacksonville District had recommended that additional ordnance searches be undertaken. No records could be found of any recent ordnance investigations. During 1993, a scuba diver reported an unusual bomb-like object entangled in one of the remaining underwater beach obstacles off North Hutchinson Island. Identification of this object has not yet been determined. A contract was issued to Environmental Science Engineering, June 1994, to conduct an Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis. Other Information: Surface sweep and EE/CA |
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