Cold War legacy not a post-dismantlement environmental concern

Abstract

Standing ready to defend our country or to assure mutual destruction, the mid-west’s contribution to nuclear proliferation of the 60s and 70s resided innocuously beneath concrete slabs in Missouri’s cornfields. In June 1961, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) implemented a plan to place 150 intercontinental ballistic missiles in west-central Missouri. The missile was the solid propellant Minuteman series rocket capable of accurately delivering three nuclear warheads to targets halfway around the world. Cold war tensions at the time necessitated quick deployment of this national defense system. Construction of the missile launch facilities in Missouri began in April 1962 and within 26 months the entire system was completed and on full-alert status.