evidence of pollution.

The work by RT Environmental Services of Pennsylvania is the Bermuda Government's effort to make sure the land is environmentally sound.

Drilling activities on Friday took place near Clearwater Beach. But Mr. Peter Allman, RT's vice-president and project manager, said RT planned to drill all over the St. David's base as well as US Naval Annex in Southampton.

RT's crew of nine is supported by local contractors Woodbourne Associates, Atlantic Water Development and Pembroke Associates.

The main targets of their investigations will be underground storage tanks, underground pipelines, landfills at both the Air Station and Annex and above ground storage tanks.

RT's main tool to explore the base lands is a geo-probe, a motorised device which drills into the ground to remove a plug of it.

The US Navy has supplied Bermuda with its own environmental studies but the Government hired RT to allow it to draw its own conclusions about the land.

Dr. Tom Sleeter, the Environment Ministry officer overseeing the work, said it was too early to draw any conclusions about the samples already taken.

Samples taken from the ground are screened in the field by RT and "if they show some activity they are sent for testing in the States''.

Dr. Sleeter declined to say what he meant in using the word "activity''. He added that samples have not been sent yet to the States for further analysis.

Capt. Tim Brian, the base commander, has dismissed a US Defence Department report that it would cost $33.5 million to clean up the base.

GROUND VIEWS -- Mr. Louis Bartoli (left) and Mr. Rick Hammel of RT Environmental Services collect core samples from land at the US Naval Air Station using a geo-probe.