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The destruction being revealed by the pullout of Soviet forces 

 clearly will take nany years and billions of dollars to repair. 

 Corroded petroleum, oil, lubricants, pipelines and storage tanks 

 as well as poor fuel-handling practices make contamination of 

 soil and groundwater the most ubiquitous pollution problem at 

 former Soviet facilities. Lax safety standards combined with 

 poor storage and accounting practices at ammunition depots have 

 led to soil and water contamination with a variety of heavy 

 metal, acids, and other toxic— and often explosive — wastes. 

 Solvents, paints;, coatings, and plating materials have been 

 poorly stored and carelessly dumped. Troop maneuvers involving 

 heavy tracked vehicles and live-firing exercises have destroyed 

 terrain, worsened erosion and water pollution, and contsu&inated 

 the soil with lead and other substances. Unexploded ordnance 

 presents a safety hazard in and around training areas. East 

 European governments are assessing the dimensions of the 

 pollution problem they have inherited from the Soviet military, 

 but it probably will be many years before these areas can be 

 cleaned up and returned to productive use. 



Another Region struggling with the residue of Soviet actions 

 is Central Asia's Aral Sea basin. Over the past 30 years, Soviet 



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