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US tries to calm Iraqis over hazardous waste
American commanders in Iraq are working to demonstrate that they are clearing the country of tens of millions of pounds of U.S.-made hazardous waste in an effort to rebut claims that U.S. troops are leaving behind a toxic legacy as they withdraw.
Hundreds of barrels of all types and all colors–filled with everything from discarded lithium batteries and oil filters to powerful chemicals such as hydrochloric acid–are stacked in a dusty compound on a U.S. base at Tikrit, north of Baghdad.
This and a sister facility on another base have so far processed 32 million pounds of "regulated" waste–more than half of it soil contaminated with petroleum products. The material has been decontaminated, crushed or shredded, and then sold as scrap in Iraq, or recycled and shipped abroad.
"We don't use the word 'hazardous,' because in Arabic that translates into chemical, biological, and nuclear waste," U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. Stephen Lanza said during a tour of the site.