Study: No clear link between Lejeune water, disease
Monday, June 15, 2009
JACKSONVILLE, NC — A new National Research Council report has concluded that although evidence exists that people who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune Marine Base in North Carolina between the 1950s and 1985 were exposed to industrial solvents in their water supply, “strong scientific evidence is not available to determine whether health problems among those exposed are due to the contaminants.”
A National Research Council committee, headed by David A. Savitz of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City, wrote the 341-page report, Contaminated Water Supplies at Camp Lejeune — Assessing Potential Health Effects. The report, sponsored by the US Department of the Navy, was presented during a June 13 briefing at the USO of North Carolina in Jacksonville. The National Research Council operates under the auspices of The National Academies.
The report also states that further research is unlikely to provide “definitive information on whether exposure resulted in adverse health effects in most cases.” As a result, the committee recommended the Navy and Marine Corps pursue policy changes or administrative actions to address and resolve the concerns associated with the exposures.
go here for more
http://www.watertechonline.com/news.asp?N_ID=72074
Showing posts with label contaminated military base. Show all posts
Showing posts with label contaminated military base. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Saturday, July 12, 2008
KBR:"The military is none of our f---king concern"
"The military is none of our f---king concern"
My Boss at KBR: "The military is none of our fucking concern."
Posted by Brave New Films, Brave New Films at 9:47 AM on July 12, 2008.
Ben Carter sheds light on KBR's atrocities.
From Ben Carter:
I had been operating my own company in the fall of 2004, when my 20-year-old son suddenly died from a bad combination of prescription medication. This tragedy caused my marriage to end only a month later. With little reason to stay in Utah, I pursued the opportunity of going to work for Halliburton, because I had gotten word that Halliburton was looking for people with expertise in water purification to operate their reverse osmosis water purification units (ROWPU). I had extensive experience with a wide range of water purification technologies, and I was attracted to the idea of providing a valuable service to our soldiers serving in Iraq.
At the time, I was very excited at the prospect of being an employee once again, doing great things with providing clean safe water to U.S. troops and seeing some exciting places around the world. This was before I learned anything about Halliburton and their business practices.
If you recall, in late 2004 the war in Iraq was thought to be over after the declaration of "mission accomplished" by President George W. Bush. This impression was clearly wrong once I arrived, and I was sent to the base at Ar Ramadi. The talk around the water coolers was that the KBR camp there was getting hit on a regular schedule with rocket and mortar fire. This was a surprise to me since my recruiter had told me that I would be sent to the green zone in Baghdad. When I arrived in Ar Ramadi I was anxious to get to work right away. It was at the air base, Al Asad, that I got my first indication that things were askew with their water treatment plants.
While waiting to finish up with orientation, I saw the first of many serious deficiencies regarding the water purification for U.S. troops. We were instructed to have the managers in our job field sign off on our time sheet to indicate we had worked 12 hours each day. The fact of the matter was we were actually just making an appearance in order to obtain the necessary signature for the time sheets. While this weighed a little on my conscience, I concluded that this is just a transitional problem and surely when I got to my permanent station I would have more work than I could handle every day. So, while I was at the ROWPU water plant for Al Asad air base, I was given a tour of the facility by a KBR ROWPU operator and was surprised that they were using the rejected drainage water from the ROWPU process and using it for the production of potable and non-potable water. I questioned him about this problem. He answered by saying I had a lot to learn about working here, and that replacement cost was not an issue.
click post title for more then think of what this really means.
My Boss at KBR: "The military is none of our fucking concern."
Posted by Brave New Films, Brave New Films at 9:47 AM on July 12, 2008.
Ben Carter sheds light on KBR's atrocities.
From Ben Carter:
I had been operating my own company in the fall of 2004, when my 20-year-old son suddenly died from a bad combination of prescription medication. This tragedy caused my marriage to end only a month later. With little reason to stay in Utah, I pursued the opportunity of going to work for Halliburton, because I had gotten word that Halliburton was looking for people with expertise in water purification to operate their reverse osmosis water purification units (ROWPU). I had extensive experience with a wide range of water purification technologies, and I was attracted to the idea of providing a valuable service to our soldiers serving in Iraq.
At the time, I was very excited at the prospect of being an employee once again, doing great things with providing clean safe water to U.S. troops and seeing some exciting places around the world. This was before I learned anything about Halliburton and their business practices.
If you recall, in late 2004 the war in Iraq was thought to be over after the declaration of "mission accomplished" by President George W. Bush. This impression was clearly wrong once I arrived, and I was sent to the base at Ar Ramadi. The talk around the water coolers was that the KBR camp there was getting hit on a regular schedule with rocket and mortar fire. This was a surprise to me since my recruiter had told me that I would be sent to the green zone in Baghdad. When I arrived in Ar Ramadi I was anxious to get to work right away. It was at the air base, Al Asad, that I got my first indication that things were askew with their water treatment plants.
While waiting to finish up with orientation, I saw the first of many serious deficiencies regarding the water purification for U.S. troops. We were instructed to have the managers in our job field sign off on our time sheet to indicate we had worked 12 hours each day. The fact of the matter was we were actually just making an appearance in order to obtain the necessary signature for the time sheets. While this weighed a little on my conscience, I concluded that this is just a transitional problem and surely when I got to my permanent station I would have more work than I could handle every day. So, while I was at the ROWPU water plant for Al Asad air base, I was given a tour of the facility by a KBR ROWPU operator and was surprised that they were using the rejected drainage water from the ROWPU process and using it for the production of potable and non-potable water. I questioned him about this problem. He answered by saying I had a lot to learn about working here, and that replacement cost was not an issue.
click post title for more then think of what this really means.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Fort Wainwright Family housing is toxic dump site
Army Knew Alaska Base Family Housing Site was Toxic
Carol Goldberg
Public Employees for Environmenal Responsibility
Jul 09, 2008
July 7, 2008, Washington, DC - The U.S. Army knew that the site chosen to build a family housing complex at Fort Wainwright was a toxic dump but proceeded anyway, in violation of federal laws and service policies, according to an audit by the Army’s own Office of Staff Judge Advocate that was released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Despite creating a hugely expensive debacle, sickening workers, spreading pollution and retaliating against whistleblowers, the base command has absolved itself and issued an "outstanding" rating to the official who green-lighted the project.
The January 2007 Army audit questioned "the wisdom of building a family housing complex on top of a known 1950s-era military landfill" and concluded that "the situation with the Taku construction project is the direct result of multiple individuals failing to adhere to Army and federal regulations and guidance."
Nonetheless, the Army command excused the failures at Fort Wainwright by issuing a report just six months later which dismissed any major concerns but skipped over most of the audit findings, including –
Construction workers became ill at both Taku Gardens and another toxic hotspot because the projects were not slowed to properly analyze the sites. As with the illnesses, worker safety in digging through unexploded ordnance was dismissed with one base official stating "if a bulldozer did encounter a live artillery shell, it would simply scare the driver."
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10603
Carol Goldberg
Public Employees for Environmenal Responsibility
Jul 09, 2008
July 7, 2008, Washington, DC - The U.S. Army knew that the site chosen to build a family housing complex at Fort Wainwright was a toxic dump but proceeded anyway, in violation of federal laws and service policies, according to an audit by the Army’s own Office of Staff Judge Advocate that was released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). Despite creating a hugely expensive debacle, sickening workers, spreading pollution and retaliating against whistleblowers, the base command has absolved itself and issued an "outstanding" rating to the official who green-lighted the project.
The January 2007 Army audit questioned "the wisdom of building a family housing complex on top of a known 1950s-era military landfill" and concluded that "the situation with the Taku construction project is the direct result of multiple individuals failing to adhere to Army and federal regulations and guidance."
Nonetheless, the Army command excused the failures at Fort Wainwright by issuing a report just six months later which dismissed any major concerns but skipped over most of the audit findings, including –
Construction workers became ill at both Taku Gardens and another toxic hotspot because the projects were not slowed to properly analyze the sites. As with the illnesses, worker safety in digging through unexploded ordnance was dismissed with one base official stating "if a bulldozer did encounter a live artillery shell, it would simply scare the driver."
go here for more
http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/ArticleID/10603
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Florida Base on list DOD doesn't want to clean up
DoD fights EPA on hazardous waste cleanups
By Dina Cappiello - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 6:50:32 EDT
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department is refusing to comply with orders or sign contracts to clean up 11 hazardous waste sites, and has asked the White House and Justice Department to intervene on its behalf.
The dispute between the Pentagon and the Environmental Protection Agency has simmered over the last year since the EPA began issuing orders compelling the Air Force and Army to clean up four properties where contamination poses an “imminent and substantial” risk to public health and the environment. To date, the Pentagon has agreed to comply with only one of those orders, at an Air Force missile plant near Tucson, Ariz.
In separate letters in May to the White House budget office and the Justice Department, Pentagon officials challenged the EPA’s authority to issue orders under other environmental laws to force Superfund cleanups at Air Force bases in New Jersey and Florida and at the Army’s Fort Meade in Maryland. The Defense Department dismissed the EPA’s claim that soil and groundwater pollution at the three bases was dangerous enough to warrant such action.
Senate Environment Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., agreed Monday with a request by Maryland’s two Democratic senators, Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, to hold a hearing on the Pentagon’s noncompliance with the EPA’s orders.
At eight other Superfund sites, the Pentagon is objecting to “additional provisions” that it says the EPA added to proposed cleanup contracts. Those eight facilities are in Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, New Jersey, Florida and Hawaii.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_hazardous_waste_063008/
By Dina Cappiello - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 1, 2008 6:50:32 EDT
WASHINGTON — The Defense Department is refusing to comply with orders or sign contracts to clean up 11 hazardous waste sites, and has asked the White House and Justice Department to intervene on its behalf.
The dispute between the Pentagon and the Environmental Protection Agency has simmered over the last year since the EPA began issuing orders compelling the Air Force and Army to clean up four properties where contamination poses an “imminent and substantial” risk to public health and the environment. To date, the Pentagon has agreed to comply with only one of those orders, at an Air Force missile plant near Tucson, Ariz.
In separate letters in May to the White House budget office and the Justice Department, Pentagon officials challenged the EPA’s authority to issue orders under other environmental laws to force Superfund cleanups at Air Force bases in New Jersey and Florida and at the Army’s Fort Meade in Maryland. The Defense Department dismissed the EPA’s claim that soil and groundwater pollution at the three bases was dangerous enough to warrant such action.
Senate Environment Committee Chairwoman Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., agreed Monday with a request by Maryland’s two Democratic senators, Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, to hold a hearing on the Pentagon’s noncompliance with the EPA’s orders.
At eight other Superfund sites, the Pentagon is objecting to “additional provisions” that it says the EPA added to proposed cleanup contracts. Those eight facilities are in Massachusetts, Virginia, Maryland, Alabama, New Jersey, Florida and Hawaii.
go here for more
http://www.armytimes.com/news/2008/06/ap_hazardous_waste_063008/
Monday, May 12, 2008
Utah's Fort Douglas veterans may get justice
Bill would benefit vets hurt by chemicals
Published: May 12, 2008 at 7:08 PM
WASHINGTON, May 12 (UPI) -- Bipartisan legislation in Congress would provide healthcare benefits to veterans exposed to chemical and germ warfare tests in Utah.
The bill introduced by Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., would require the Veterans Affairs Department to assume that toxins in the tests known as Project 112 and Project SHAD caused injury to the veterans, The Desert Morning News reported Monday.
The designation would make them eligible for medical benefits and/or compensation for illnesses, the newspaper said.
The tests were performed at Utah's Fort Douglas and Dugway Proving Ground.
go here for more
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/05/12/bill_would_benefit_vets_hurt_by_chemicals/9713/
Published: May 12, 2008 at 7:08 PM
WASHINGTON, May 12 (UPI) -- Bipartisan legislation in Congress would provide healthcare benefits to veterans exposed to chemical and germ warfare tests in Utah.
The bill introduced by Reps. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., would require the Veterans Affairs Department to assume that toxins in the tests known as Project 112 and Project SHAD caused injury to the veterans, The Desert Morning News reported Monday.
The designation would make them eligible for medical benefits and/or compensation for illnesses, the newspaper said.
The tests were performed at Utah's Fort Douglas and Dugway Proving Ground.
go here for more
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/05/12/bill_would_benefit_vets_hurt_by_chemicals/9713/
Report Date : MAR 1994
Pagination or Media Count : 10
Abstract : This Remedial Action Plan (RAP), issued by the U.S. Army (Army), identifies the preferred alternatives for cleaning up electrical utility transformers and residential structures containing lead-based paint at Fort Douglas. These contaminated areas are within areas of Fort Douglas that have been transferred to the University of Utah. This transferred property is known as the excessed area. This document explains the rationale for choosing the preferred alternatives and summarizes other alternatives. The Army will select a final remedy for the site only after the information submitted during the public comment period has been reviewed and considered.
Descriptors : *ARMY FACILITIES, *CONTAMINATION, *RISK ANALYSIS, *POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS, POLICIES, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT, SITE INVESTIGATIONS, LEGISLATION, ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT, HAZARDOUS MATERIALS, HOUSING(DWELLINGS), RESIDENTIAL SECTION, PUBLIC HEALTH, GROUND WATER, POLLUTANTS, WASTE DISPOSAL
Subject Categories :
PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY
LOGISTICS, MILITARY FACILITIES AND SUPPLIES
SOLID WASTES POLLUTION AND CONTROL
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA461127
Secrets at sea: Cloud of secrecy lifting on Dugway Navy's tests of germ and chemical agents in the Pacific during Vietnam War (reprint)
By Lee Davidson
Deseret Morning News
Published: February 29, 2008
Editor's note: This story, originally published on Sunday, Oct. 22, 1995, is being reprinted online as reference to today's story by Lee Davidson regarding exposure to chemical and germ warfare testing.
· · · · ·
While the 1960s movie and TV series "The Wackiest Ship in the Army" poked fun at the idea of the Army sailing ships, the Army's Dugway Proving Ground and Fort Douglas actually had a secret navy to test germ and chemical arms in the Pacific.
Unlike the Hollywood comedies about World War II, Dugway's Vietnam War era work was deadly serious: — Their ships sailed through clouds of germ and chemical agents, and some sailors now blame cancer and other diseases they suffer on it — or on the mix of chemicals used for decontamination.
• While germ and chemical tests usually occurred in remote areas of the Pacific for safety and secrecy, at least one test was conducted in San Francisco Bay.
• Some of the ships had already been contaminated by radiation when used earlier as test ships during ocean nuclear bomb tests — which sailors also say may have sickened them.
• The ships also conducted tests designed to see if migratory birds could be infected far from an enemy's shores to later fly in and spread diseases — or whether examining birds from afar could show if enemies were working with deadly germs.
• One of the sailors says he was even sent into Laos and Cambodia to discharge germ and chemical weapons for tests — which, if true, likely violated treaties.
The story about Dugway's navy emerges from once-secret documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the Deseret News and from interviews with sailors involved.
More documents, including some from a request specifically for data about any U.S. chemical and germ arms work in Cambodia and Laos, have not yet been released. The Pentagon has been reviewing them for months to determine if they will be declassified after they were identified by Dugway.
go here for more
http://deseretnews.com/article/content/mobile/0,5223,695257503,00.html
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)