Economic opportunities from military remediation sites in California

The number of base closures occurring nationwide has created an urgent need to develop new and innovative technologies for cleaning up toxic contamination. Traditional methods for characterizing and remediating contamination at military installations, and elsewhere, have not resulted in timely, efficient and cost-effective cleanups. Past industrial and waste management practices conducted at California bases have resulted in contamination of the soil and ground water by a variety of chemical contaminants. Cleaning solvents and fuel wastes are the most prevalent contamination found at military installations. However, other less common types of contamination may also be present in significant quantities at specific bases. Environmental contamination resulting from leaking underground fuel tanks is also prevalent at California military installations. Common fuels present at military bases include gasoline diesel, bunker fuel, and JP-4 and JP-5 jet fuels. The California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal/EPA) is actively involved in efforts to encourage the development of new environmental technologies, especially at closing military installations