Mapping the Military's Pollution

The military are one of America's biggest and most prolific polluters of the environment. The United States military and its contractors are the only people in the United States still allowed to dispose of hazardous waste using highly polluting 'open burn' sites. It makes full use of this exemption.

ProPublica has been investigating the military's use of open burn sites and the potentially lethal pollution that they cause. In Open Burns, Ill Winds they examine how the military gets rid of hazardous material at a potentially huge cost to the health of people living nearby.

ProPublica has for the first time mapped all of the military's 'high' and 'medium risk' hazardous sites across the country. Bombs in Your Backyard is an interactive map which shows the location of current and former military locations which contain toxic pollutants and contaminants in the soil or water. It also shows military sites that contain explosives or discarded military munitions.

If you select a state from the drop-down menu you can view a list of the military installations in the state with the most high & medium risk sites. The map sidebar also includes a list of the number of military installations in each state with high & medium risk hazardous sites.