08-05-2006, 02:37 AM
Military Waste In Our Drinking Water
By Sunaura Taylor and Astra Taylor, AlterNet. Posted August 4, 2006.
Here is an evocative perspective on the sheer idiocy of ever expecting the truth or justice from the hypocritical American military. It was written for Alternet by Sunaura Taylor, (a figurative painter, who has written on disability for various publications. View her paintings online at http://www.sunnytaylor.org. ) and Astra Taylor, who is a writer and documentary filmmaker. Her first book, "Shadow of the Sixties," is forthcoming from the New Press in 2007.
By Sunaura Taylor and Astra Taylor, AlterNet. Posted August 4, 2006.
Here is an evocative perspective on the sheer idiocy of ever expecting the truth or justice from the hypocritical American military. It was written for Alternet by Sunaura Taylor, (a figurative painter, who has written on disability for various publications. View her paintings online at http://www.sunnytaylor.org. ) and Astra Taylor, who is a writer and documentary filmmaker. Her first book, "Shadow of the Sixties," is forthcoming from the New Press in 2007.
Quote:
Most of us are vaguely aware that war devastates the environment abroad. The Vietnamese Red Cross counts 150,000 children whose birth defects were caused by their parents' exposure to Agent Orange. Cancer rates in Iraq are soaring as a result of depleted uranium left from the Gulf War. But what about closer to home?
Today the U.S. military generates over one-third of our nation's toxic waste, which it disposes of very poorly. The military is one of the most widespread violators of environmental laws. People made ill by this toxic waste are, in effect, victims of war. But they are rarely acknowledged as such.
...
But people who have lived on the southside of Tucson don't need experts to verify that TCE is deadly. Some estimate that up to 20,000 individuals have died, become ill, or been born with birth defects. Providing further proof, the Tucson International Airport area is one of the EPA's top Superfund sites. Arizona state guidelines also assert that TCE is toxic; they say one gallon of TCE is enough to render undrinkable the amount of water used by 3,800 people over an entire year. Over 4,000 gallons drained into Tucson aquifers. As a result of this week's report, Arizona's environmental quality chief says the state is independently and immediately going to adopt stricter TCE soil standards.
It's an ugly truth that manufacturing weaponry to kill abroad also kills at home. The process involves toxic chemicals, metals and radioactive materials. As a consequence, the U.S. military produces more hazardous waste annually than the five largest international chemical companies combined. The Pentagon is responsible for over 1,400 properties contaminated with TCE.
Citizens, who pay for the military budget with their tax dollars, are also paying with their health and sometimes their lives.
Today the U.S. military generates over one-third of our nation's toxic waste, which it disposes of very poorly. The military is one of the most widespread violators of environmental laws. People made ill by this toxic waste are, in effect, victims of war. But they are rarely acknowledged as such.
...
But people who have lived on the southside of Tucson don't need experts to verify that TCE is deadly. Some estimate that up to 20,000 individuals have died, become ill, or been born with birth defects. Providing further proof, the Tucson International Airport area is one of the EPA's top Superfund sites. Arizona state guidelines also assert that TCE is toxic; they say one gallon of TCE is enough to render undrinkable the amount of water used by 3,800 people over an entire year. Over 4,000 gallons drained into Tucson aquifers. As a result of this week's report, Arizona's environmental quality chief says the state is independently and immediately going to adopt stricter TCE soil standards.
It's an ugly truth that manufacturing weaponry to kill abroad also kills at home. The process involves toxic chemicals, metals and radioactive materials. As a consequence, the U.S. military produces more hazardous waste annually than the five largest international chemical companies combined. The Pentagon is responsible for over 1,400 properties contaminated with TCE.
Citizens, who pay for the military budget with their tax dollars, are also paying with their health and sometimes their lives.
Here is an interesting related article found by following an internal link in the above story. It's about a 'toxic-sites' tour offered in the Los Angeles area.
http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id...sueNum=165