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Second Facility Will be Set Up to Receive Debris
Aired February 03, 2003 - 13:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We heard just a little while ago in that news conference out of Washington that in addition to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, there is a second facility that will be set up to receive some of the debris, Carswell Air Force Base, Ft. Worth, Texas, and it's indicative of this huge debris field. We're told it's 2,000 square miles. That's hard to get a handle on something that large, and that gives you a sense of the challenge that lies ahead as NASA tries to pull as many pieces together as it can, with the hope that there might be something very conclusive in there, something that would give them a sense of what went wrong.
CNN's Mike Brooks joins us at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana -- Mike.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Miles.
It's ironic, the other Air Force Base you were just speaking of is also a B-52 base, or a former B-52 base, most likely being used because of the large size of their hangars, such as here at Barksdale.
Also here at Barksdale, Miles, are two teams involved in this investigation. The first is the Columbia Accident Investigation Team being headed up by Admiral Gahmen (ph). Now that is the independent board that is going to look at all of the evidence and come up with their final findings. And the other one is the NASA Mishap Investigation Team. Now that is the all-NASA being team made up of -- being run by NASA, but it's made up of about 150 different people from other government agencies, such as the NSTB, FEMA, all of the folks involved in the collection and securing of the debris. In fact, their main responsibility of that team is locating, preserving and making sure, secure and tagging the debris before if comes here or comes to the other base -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Mike Brooks, I know there was a lot of concern about touching it. We don't want to encourage anybody to touch this stuff. But the authorities are anxious to get this moved. And apparently, the Environmental Protection Agency is making it possible now to begin the process of gathering up and moving it?
BROOKS: Yes, they are. In fact, talking to a NASA spokesman, they said they could start bringing debris here as early as today, depending on the weather and mode of transportation, how they want to bring it here.
But again, I want to stress to our viewers that if you find any debris strewn across any property, anywhere at all, don't touch it. It could contain toxic substance. Earlier today, during the press conference, Bill Readdy, the NASA associate administrator said that none of the debris would be hazard does from a radiological standpoint. However, it could be very, very sharp, could contain toxic residue.
If you do find residue, if you do find debris on your property, you can still call the Johnson Space Center. They're kind of overseeing all of the debris collection, at least dispatching teams to that. That number is 281-483-3388.
I also want to point out, Miles, that included in this debris is human remains.
Now we learned from a source of mine in the federal law enforcement agency that the FBI evidence response teams from Dallas, Houston and New Orleans had the responsibility for collecting these human remains, and just yesterday, human remains started to arrive here at Barksdale Air Force base, where they will be examined by pathologist to hopefully bring some closure to some of the astronauts' family.
KAGAN: CNN's Mike Brooks, I have been told by my sources as well that they have been able to narrow down the field where those human remains might be, which should aid in recovering those remains. It's obviously very important for the families in particular.
CNN's Mike Brooks in Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired February 3, 2003 - 13:39 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: We heard just a little while ago in that news conference out of Washington that in addition to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, there is a second facility that will be set up to receive some of the debris, Carswell Air Force Base, Ft. Worth, Texas, and it's indicative of this huge debris field. We're told it's 2,000 square miles. That's hard to get a handle on something that large, and that gives you a sense of the challenge that lies ahead as NASA tries to pull as many pieces together as it can, with the hope that there might be something very conclusive in there, something that would give them a sense of what went wrong.
CNN's Mike Brooks joins us at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana -- Mike.
MIKE BROOKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Miles.
It's ironic, the other Air Force Base you were just speaking of is also a B-52 base, or a former B-52 base, most likely being used because of the large size of their hangars, such as here at Barksdale.
Also here at Barksdale, Miles, are two teams involved in this investigation. The first is the Columbia Accident Investigation Team being headed up by Admiral Gahmen (ph). Now that is the independent board that is going to look at all of the evidence and come up with their final findings. And the other one is the NASA Mishap Investigation Team. Now that is the all-NASA being team made up of -- being run by NASA, but it's made up of about 150 different people from other government agencies, such as the NSTB, FEMA, all of the folks involved in the collection and securing of the debris. In fact, their main responsibility of that team is locating, preserving and making sure, secure and tagging the debris before if comes here or comes to the other base -- Miles.
O'BRIEN: CNN's Mike Brooks, I know there was a lot of concern about touching it. We don't want to encourage anybody to touch this stuff. But the authorities are anxious to get this moved. And apparently, the Environmental Protection Agency is making it possible now to begin the process of gathering up and moving it?
BROOKS: Yes, they are. In fact, talking to a NASA spokesman, they said they could start bringing debris here as early as today, depending on the weather and mode of transportation, how they want to bring it here.
But again, I want to stress to our viewers that if you find any debris strewn across any property, anywhere at all, don't touch it. It could contain toxic substance. Earlier today, during the press conference, Bill Readdy, the NASA associate administrator said that none of the debris would be hazard does from a radiological standpoint. However, it could be very, very sharp, could contain toxic residue.
If you do find residue, if you do find debris on your property, you can still call the Johnson Space Center. They're kind of overseeing all of the debris collection, at least dispatching teams to that. That number is 281-483-3388.
I also want to point out, Miles, that included in this debris is human remains.
Now we learned from a source of mine in the federal law enforcement agency that the FBI evidence response teams from Dallas, Houston and New Orleans had the responsibility for collecting these human remains, and just yesterday, human remains started to arrive here at Barksdale Air Force base, where they will be examined by pathologist to hopefully bring some closure to some of the astronauts' family.
KAGAN: CNN's Mike Brooks, I have been told by my sources as well that they have been able to narrow down the field where those human remains might be, which should aid in recovering those remains. It's obviously very important for the families in particular.
CNN's Mike Brooks in Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, thank you very much.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
