Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environmental Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Researchers detail history and contamination of former Nike missile site on land later used for schools
Summary
Local researchers presented evidence that a former S-92 Nike missile site near Kingston opened around 1954, was later sold to the North Kitsap School District, and that 1987 EPA and Washington State Department of Health testing found soil contaminants (including antimony, arsenic and trichloroethylene) that were removed before school construction.
A group of local researchers told a community presentation that a former Nike missile site near Kingston opened in the mid-1950s, was later acquired by the North Kitsap School District for school use, and that state and federal testing in 1987 identified soil contaminants that were removed before new school facilities were built.
“1954 is when we assume the site was opened. That's when the missiles are brought to Kingston,” said Patrick Saeed, who said he focused on the timeline and site locations. Saeed and other presenters described a transition from Ajax missiles in the 1950s to Hercules missiles in the late 1950s and early 1970s, and said the site closed in 1974 as Cold War operations scaled down.
Ada Fritz summarized environmental testing she reviewed: “In 1987, they did conduct reports from the EPA and the Washington State Department of Health and they found a few carcinogens in the soil which were antimony, arsenic, manganese, and trichloroethylene,” and she added that petroleum showed up at two of 10 tested spots. Fritz said soil removal work was performed and “they made sure that everything was cleared out before the school was built and everything was safe.”
Presenters said the decommissioned military land was repurposed. According to the group, Spectrum Community Schools opened on a portion of the site in 1984, and construction on Kingston High School began in 2005 and opened in 2007 after the North Kitsap School District acquired the property.
The team described efforts to document the site using blueprints, old satellite imagery and on-site observations. Grace Langland described matching blueprints to aerial photos and on-the-ground features, noting places that correspond to former launch areas and below-grade living quarters.
Several presenters also described community responses from the Cold War era, including protests and mistrust over secrecy and wartime operations. The group said they interviewed former workers and local residents and examined archival photographs and training footage to build the history.
The presentation concluded with the team saying they had shared their findings with the school board; the transcript contains no record of any formal action, vote or new policy recorded at that meeting.
