Thursday, August 30, 2007

El Toro Base Commissary: Checkin' Out (Part 1)


30 Aug. 2007: Construction crews have been preparing the demolition of the base commissary and exchange in the past months. First the weed and overgrown shrubbery in the surrounding parking lot were mowed. Next, the main entrance of the commissary was knocked open and large appliances were taken out. Although the commissary is being razed as I type this, I thought I'd share the last photographs taken of the building when it was standing.

The base commissary and the exchange were the first sights of MCAS El Toro that greeted incoming Marines, their families, and visitors approaching the El Toro main gate. After the base closed in 1999, there was a brief initiative by local veterans to re-open the commissary to help provide discounted goods and services to nearby veterans. The plan failed to gain support from county and state politicians and now the commissary makes its last stand before succumbing to its inevitable fate.



MCAS El Toro Commissary - 8/30/07 - 01


MCAS El Toro Commissary - 8/30/07 - 02

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

lot of information on sites below:

A trichloroethylene (TCE) toxic plume was discovered in 1985 off of Marine Corps
Air Station (MCAS) El Toro, California. El Toro was placed on the EPA Superfund
list in 1990, closed in July 1999, and most of the land sold at a public auction
in 2005. MWSG-37 (EPA Site 24) was the source of the toxic plume spreading off
the base. Multiple contaminants were found on base near landfills, including
radionuclides (Uranium 235, Radium 226 and Radium 228).

also includes:

Please take a few minutes to read and sign the petition at
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/cdr-melissa-mohon-usn.html. Please include
comments relating to your service at El Toro which may be helpful to the
evaluation.

also includes: A legal review and evaluation of possible injuries and deaths
related to exposure to TCE/PCE at former MCAS El Toro is underway by a Southern
California law firm. Veterans, dependents, and civilian workers with injuries
possibly related to exposure to TCE/PCE at former MCAS El Toro can contact Mr.
Michael E. Gates, CARROLL, KELLY, TROTTER, FRANZEN & McKENNA, 111 W. Ocean
Boulevard, 14th Floor, Long Beach, California 90802-4646, Telephone: (562)
432-5855. Facsimile: (562) 432-8785. megates@....

http://www.mwsg37.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------

other very informative sites:

TCE Blog
Trichloroethylene is everywhere. It causes cancer and other serious health
problems. People deserve better protection

http://www.tceblog.com/tetrachloroethylene_a.k.a._perchloroethylene_(pce)/

Salem-News articles

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/february032009/marines_ask_navy_2-1-09.php

in a nutshell, either contaminates can cause miscarriages, birth defects and
illness in children, (even sprem can carry the contaminate to wife); affects the
heart, brain, skin, autoimmune (such as Lupus, MS or MS type health problems,
nerve damage, blood, bone, cancer of any major organs, and so on. I hope that
this is helpful and also that you may help others by passing information along
to others who may have been exposed.

Thank you,
Lynda Koleena Dokken
USMC 1966-67