For years the Badger Army Ammunition Plant was known as a hot spot for area hunters, but an environmental group has raised questions about whether people who ate deer harvested in the area may have unknowingly exposed themselves to dangerous chemicals.

"It used to be that you'd go in there and make a two-man drive and push out 100-plus deer," said Sherman Raschein of Prairie du Sac, who hunted on the 7,354-acre plant until the early 1990s.

Though the harvest might not be as bountiful as it once was, deer shot on and around the decommissioned plant south of Baraboo still make their way from the forests and fields to the family dinner table.

And an environmental watchdog group is now questioning whether those deer are truly safe to eat, taking aim at a 1991 Army study that reassured hunters.

An Army official admits the study is outdated, but points to more recent data that she says indicates mammals living at the plant are not a threat.

The '91 study analyzed organ tissue taken from deer shot by hunters at Badger. It found that the levels of a chemical known as DNT — used to make explosives — found in those animals did not threaten human health.

But the study was poorly conceived and is inconclusive at best, said Dr. Peter deFur, president of the consulting firm Environmental Stewardship Concepts.

"The problem is that the (study's) design provides results of limited use and applicability," deFur said.

His firm reviewed the Army's deer study at the request of Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger, a non-profit group organized by ammo plant neighbors in 1990 that pushes for a stringent cleanup.

DeFur's review found the Army only looked at certain forms of DNT, although there are a total of six forms in existence at the plant. He also said the Army only measured DNT levels in several deer organs, and never explained why levels in other organs affected by the chemical were not measured.

DeFur's review also said the Army study assumed the tested deer were held captive at the plant, but in fact they were not.

Raschein said new concerns about the safety of deer harvested at Badger don't worry him.

"I hunted there numerous times and I ate deer from there, my brother did, my friends did, you didn't even think about it," Raschein said. "None of us ever got sick ... I didn't see any diseased deer or anything that would scare me off."

Joan Kenney, installation director for the U.S. Army, said the deer used in the study were not confined there. But deer tend to stay within a 1� mile radius, Kenney said, so the ones studied by the Army represented a good sample.

Kenney said technology used to measure DNT levels has advanced since 1991, and she admits the study was limited in that sense. But she said a more recent ecological risk assessment has examined DNT levels in smaller animals and found no problems.

"Everything that we know right now indicates that we do not have a problem with any mammals," Kenney said.

The Army also began a new review last year that will examine levels of each of the six DNT forms in rats, and will help determine the toxicity of each form, Kenney said.

The Army still allows deer hunting on the ammunitions plant property, and Kenney said she believes the meat is safe.

CSWAB Executive Director Laura Olah said that while the more recent animal studies cited by Kenney looked at DNT levels in small mammals, they did not measure the threat to the human food chain.

Olah said there should be a more conclusive study of animal DNT levels that considers their safety for human consumption. She said CSWAB decided to hire the environmental consulting firm to review the '91 study because Army officials continually referenced its findings during discussions, and the results have been cited by various government agencies nationwide.

"They kept bringing it up," Olah said. "So we felt we should have somebody look at it and determine whether this was a good study."

      Additional information

• A 1991 Army study of organ tissue from deer killed at the Badger Army Ammunition Plant said levels of a chemical found in the animals are safe and humans can eat the deer.
• A recent report from an environmental consulting firm questions the conclusions of that study for several reasons: Certain forms of the chemical were never tested; certain organs affected by the chemical were never tested; and deer used in the study were not confined to the plant.
• The Army still allows hunting on the 7,354-acre plant.