Overview

Isla de Vieques is part of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, located about 7 miles east-southeast of the main island of Puerto Rico.  Until May 2003, the U.S. Navy owned approximately half of the island and conducted military exercises that included live bombing.  The live bombing exercises were conducted until April 1999 in a 900-acre area known as the Live Impact Area.  The Navy conducted exercises with practice bombs from May 2000 to May 2003. 

In May 1999, an island resident asked ATSDR to evaluate whether any health problems in Vieques residents might be associated with potential releases of hazardous substances from military training activities on the island.  Residents also voiced concern that contaminants from the bombing could travel from the Live Impact Area to the areas where they live, about 8 miles west of the Live Impact Area. 

ATSDR evaluated the pathways most likely to result in exposure to the residents of Vieques, including

• drinking groundwater,
• touching or swallowing soil,
• eating fish and shellfish, and
• breathing air. 

ATSDR prepared a separate public health assessment describing what investigators found for each of these pathways. 

Based on a thorough review and evaluation of all relevant information pertaining to the pathways, ATSDR concluded that, overall, residents of Vieques might have been exposed to very low levels of environmental contamination.  While people were most likely exposed to contaminants, the levels were so low that harmful health effects would be unlikely.  At that time, ATSDR categorized exposure to environmental contaminants at Vieques as “no apparent public health hazard.”  In 2009, ATSDR introduced new categories for sites that more clearly describe scientists’ findings.  Today the pathways for Vieques would be classified “Exposure: no harm expected.”  This category is used for sites where human exposure is occurring or has occurred in the past, but no harm to people’s health is expected.