Small portions of unidentified remains of some victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks were accidentally disposed of in a landfill, according to a Pentagon report Tuesday.

The remains of a number of victims from the terrorist attack at the Pentagon and plane crash site in Shanksville, Penn., were unknowingly disposed of in a landfill, a report by an independent review subcommittee of the Defense Health Board found. The findings were sent to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Monday and made public on Tuesday.

Prior to 2008, portions of human remains that could not be tested or identified were cremated at a civilian crematory before being returned to the Dover Air Force Base mortuary, the report said. The cremated portions were then placed in sealed containers before being incinerated.

“The assumption on the part of DPM [Dover Port Mortuary] was that after final incineration nothing remained,” but closer examination found that there was “some residual material following incineration” that was being disposed of in a landfill, the report said.

The practice, according to the probe, stopped in 2008, and current rules mandate that the small portions of remains are now cremated and retired at sea.

The report did not offer any details on how many Sept. 11 victims’ remains were unknowingly dumped in a landfill.

The Air Force had previously admitted that the partial remains of hundreds of American service members were disposed of in a Virginia landfill between 2003 and 2008 in accordance with standard procedures at the time, resulting in outrage among military families and the launch of a full-scale investigation into how remains are handled at the Dover mortuary.

A separate investigation conducted by the U.S. Office of Special Counsel also alleged last month that the Air Force had illegally retaliated against four whistleblowers who had spoken out against incidents of misconduct at the mortuary.

In a statement Tuesday, Panetta made no specific mention of the new findings about the victims of Sept. 11 detailed in the report.

“My continuing promise to all the families of our fallen heroes is that every step will be taken to protect the honor and respect that their loved ones richly deserve,” the defense secretary said. “Having been to Dover, I consider this a sacred place with a sacred responsibility. We will ensure that we continue to meet our responsibility to deliver the greatest respect and reverence to our fallen heroes. We can do no less.”

The “gross mismanagement” and mishandling of bodies at the mortuary is the result of supervision and oversight problems, along with a host of other issues, the 86-page report said, offering a number of recommendations aimed at fixing the the problems.

(Source: Politico)