Hidden Dangers: Environmental Consequences of Preparing for War.

• Author: Renner, Michael

When the Iron Curtain was torn away, a curtain of secrecy was parted in the United States as well - exposing the accumulated toxic and radioactive waste that remains after four decades of obsessive weapons production. Containing this mess - as these three books suggest - may take longer than overcoming Communism. All three take a hard look at the problems that lie ahead, both in cleaning up and in safeguarding against future abuses of public health and the environment by the military.

Seth Shulman's The Threat at Home takes the reader on the road, crisscrossing the country to visit countless contaminated, fenced-off areas such as Indiana's Jefferson Proving Ground, Nebraska's Cornhusker Ammunition Plant, and California's McClellan Air Force Base. He describes in gripping detail the containment effort at Colorado's Rocky Mountain Arsenal, often called "the Earth's most toxic square mile":

"The materials in Basin F were so highly toxic that the workers wore two layers of impermeable suits; filtering gas masks were not sufficient, so they breathed oxygen from scuba tanks. After each shift, the entire outside layer of the workers' suits had to be disposed of in a licensed hazardous waste facility."

Shulman's personal impressions, together with information sifted from government and watchdog agency documents, and interviews with military officers, local elected officials, and residents, provide a chilling account of massive pollution perpetrated in the name of national security. Though fragmented disclosures about the U.S. military's toxic waste stream appeared in the mainstream media from time to time, The Threat at Home is the first book to cover the subject comprehensively. The world, Shulman stresses, still has much to learn about toxic waste.

By and large, the defense establishment continues to resist congressional and grass-roots attempts to part the veil of secrecy still further. At least until recently, the White House and the Justice Department have thwarted all efforts by the states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to enforce Pentagon compliance with environmental laws.

Recounting the struggles of local communities, Shulman gives voice to the anger and frustration of citizens who for years have been unknowingly exposed to air and water pollution by the military. "If any theme emerges throughout," he concludes, "it is the importance of public accountability and local oversight of the military's environmental cleanup and...