Military Toxics Project
Networking for Environmental Justice
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Military Toxics Project |
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Healthy Communities Campaign Military neighbors, active duty personnel, and civilian employees are all harmed by military contamination and pollution. Our health is being sacrificed in the name of national security. It’s time for that to change. The U.S. Military — Above the Law The U.S. military operates largely above the law. It is specifically exempted from many federal environmental, worker, and public safety laws. In other cases, while the language in federal laws states that they should apply to the military, courts have found that the legislative intent was not clear enough to allow full enforcement. To make matters worse, EPA, other agencies, and some states are often unwilling to aggressively enforce laws against the military because of its political clout, even when there is clear enforcement authority. Too often, our military answers to no one for the environmental and human health damage that it causes. MTP's national campaign - the Healthy Communities Campaign - was chosen by community leaders convened at a national gathering in November 2000, developed by a grassroots planning committee, and adopted by MTP's Grassroots Board of Directors. MTP’s Healthy Communities Campaign seeks to make our military accountable for its environmental practices that harm communities, active duty personnel, and civilian employees. We hope you will join us in making sure that our health is protected and that our military is subject to the same laws and standards as the rest of us. Our campaign includes four areas. Protecting Our Health In San Antonio, TX, a plume of toxic contamination extends over four miles beyond Kelly Air Force Base under 20,000 homes, including the largely Latino communities of North Kelly Gardens and East Kelly. Military-industrial facilities on the base release over 1 million pounds of air pollutants each year. When a Community Health Team surveyed residents of North Kelly Gardens, they found that 91% of adults and 79% of children suffered from multiple illnesses, including high incidences of neurological disorders and respiratory problems. Many other communities face similar health problems. MTP is working with communities to help them document the human cost of military toxics, challenge military and elected officials to take action, and work toward treatment of health problems. You can help by documenting health problems in your neighborhood and by participating in campaign actions to draw attention to the health effects of military contamination. Click here for more information and resources about military environmental health issues. Defending Our Right to Know In the fall of 2000, the Defense Depot Memphis, Tennessee released a toxic chemical weapons gas during cleanup, sending three workers to the hospital. Residents were not notified for 25 days. In countless other communities, the military has withheld critical health and safety information, and has taken advantage of concerns about terrorism to roll back public access to information. MTP is working to document the military’s “right to hide” and the human cost of secrecy, and support local organizations struggling to access information. You can help by submitting your experience trying to access military environmental information, or by teaching others how to get information. Click here for more information and resources about access to information. Enforcing the Law In Fiscal Year 2000, U.S. EPA took only 32 enforcement actions against federal agencies (including the Department of Defense) out of a total of 6,027 enforcement actions. Only 1/2 of 1% of enforcement actions were taken against the sector (federal government) that includes the nation’s largest polluter (the military). We need to motivate all EPA regions to show the courage demonstrated by Region 1, which has used its power under the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act to protect communities. We are networking with communities to protect groundwater and drinking water from military contamination. Communities are using the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act to win cleanup of military pollution and pressure EPA regions for better enforcement. You can participate by organizing an enforcement campaign in your community, or by sharing your experience trying to get laws enforced against the military. Click here for more information about enforcement of laws against the military. Ensuring Equal Protection In San Diego, CA, the Navy was responsible for 80% of the oil spilled in to coastal waters in 1998, including one spill of over 6,000 gallons. Despite this record, the Navy is exempt from the federal Oil Pollution Act. The military enjoys similar exemptions from many laws that private companies and citizens must follow. Despite these exemptions, the Pentagon has repeatedly asked Congress for new blanket exemptions covering tens of millions of acres of military lands and broad categories of military activities. MTP and our allies are working to block the Pentagon’s new exemption proposals and pass legislation to remove current exemptions that allow military facilities to poison their neighbors and workers. You can help by contacting your elected representatives and urging them to oppose new military exemptions and support legislation to make the military accountable to the same laws and standards as the rest of us. Click here for more information about laws, regulations, and exemptions. If your community is struggling with military or defense-related contamination, join with others to strengthen everyone’s voice. Join MTP and become part of our campaign. If you'd like more information, visit the
Health, Information, Enforcement, or Legislation pages linked above, or request
a campaign packet from our office. |
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Military Toxics Project -
mtp@miltoxproj.org Full contact information is
available here. |
