US Military Base Pollution Unresolved: Greenland Residents Unite in Condemnation

(Central News Agency reporter Wu Qilin, Helsinki, 14th exclusive) Greenland’s political figures and residents are united in condemnation over the United States’ 85-year establishment of 36 military bases and facilities on the island, which have left behind up to 100,000 rusted oil drums, large quantities of asbestos, and radioactive wastewater hidden beneath ice layers—none of which have been cleaned up. Now, as the U.S. military plans to return to two of these bases to expand its Arctic military presence, locals are questioning how they are expected to bear the consequences.

Denmark’s newspaper Politiken, after analyzing thousands of environmental investigation documents, reports that the scale of pollution left by the U.S. military in Greenland far exceeds previous public knowledge.

Over 400,000 liters of diesel have contaminated soil and marine areas. Additionally, up to 24 million liters of low-level radioactive wastewater remain buried beneath the ice at Camp Century, a facility built in northern Greenland in 1959, and have never been removed. As global temperatures rise, there is growing concern that this could lead to a serious leakage crisis in the future.

At just one site, Marraq, south of Nuuk, at least 8,000 rusted oil drums remain. At another site, Ikkatteq, as many as 100,000 oil drums are scattered across an area exceeding 25,000 square meters.

Virtually all investigated former U.S. military sites have tested positive for asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and heavy metals such as lead and cadmium. Locally harvested mussels, consumed by residents, have also been found to contain oil residue.

Narsarsuaq, the U.S. military’s largest base in Greenland during World War II, once housed a 250-bed military hospital. After it burned down in 1972, the site was abandoned for decades, with asbestos panels never removed. Fragments still lie scattered across the valley. Local residents say they allowed their children to play nearby for decades, unaware that the broken white flakes were asbestos. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), has classified all forms of asbestos as Group 1 carcinogens.

“All of this was left behind by the Americans,” said Storch Lund, a resident who has lived in Narsarsuaq for over 50 years, pointing to piles of rusted oil drums along the coast. He described the scene as “a complete mess” and expressed concern that oil contamination seeping into the fjord over the years may have already damaged the marine ecosystem.

Aleqa Hammond, former Prime Minister of the Greenlandic Self-Government and current chair of the Siumut party, criticized the visible pollution left by the U.S., stating, “This is how they treat us.”

Naaja Nathanielsen, a Greenlandic member of the Danish Parliament, added that Greenland adheres to the principle of “polluter pays,” which “applies to everyone, including the United States.” She emphasized that Denmark has repeatedly conveyed to the U.S. that leaving behind waste is disrespectful: “You were allowed to come, to stay, and to benefit—cleaning up afterward is the bare minimum responsibility.”

Mikkel Myrup, manager of the Greenland National Museum, pointed out that Greenlanders had no say in how these bases were originally built or abandoned.

The reason the U.S. military has not been required to clean up its pollution stems from a 1951 defense agreement between the U.S. and Denmark. Article 11 explicitly states that land returned by the U.S. after use “does not need to be restored to its original condition.” As a result, most U.S. military bases were hastily abandoned, leaving behind thousands of tons of hazardous materials.

The U.S. was not entirely without commitment initially. In 1991, the two countries signed another agreement promising to remove hazardous substances left by military facilities, but this commitment was later abandoned.

A Pentagon spokesperson even argued that the bases were built to defend the “free world,” and other allied nations should share the cost of cleanup.

In 2002, during negotiations over the return of the Dundas area near Pituffik, the U.S. refused to clean up, arguing that agreeing to do so would set a precedent requiring cleanup at all U.S. military bases worldwide.

In 2017, Greenland filed a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Council over the issue. Subsequently, a UN special rapporteur determined that Denmark must remove all military waste from Greenland. In 2018, the Danish government decided to allocate a budget of 180 million Danish kroner (approximately NT$880 million) over six years to clean up some former U.S. military sites on its own.

U.S. military spokespersons have recently stated clearly their desire to return to the former bases at Narsarsuaq and Kangerlussuaq. Politiken requested an interview with the U.S. Department of Defense, but had not received a response by the time of publication. (Editor: Tian Ruihua) 1150714

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