http://times-news.com/opinion/x1139580445/Watch-out-for-Agent-Orange-corn-coming-to-the-stores
To the Editor: Cumberland Times-News
It’s time to start listening to our weeds and cooperating with Mother Nature.
Thanks to her blessings and good farmers many of us can relish delicious delights like soon-to-be-harvested locally grown and farmers market-sold corn on the cob, popcorn, and several other variations on the great grain corn.
Thanks to certain chemical corporations and unscrupulous federal regulators we can tastily anticipate “Agent Orange corn.” It’s anticipated that approval is awaiting for putting a genetically modified corn kernel in our markets (not our farmers market) that produces corn plants that won’t die when sprayed w/copious amounts of 2,4D.
Any Vietnam vets out there who remember that awful stuff? That potent pesticide was in the mixture of Agent Orange defoliant which exposed our troops and innocent Vietnamese civilians to horribly debilitating physiological damage in that Asian war. The side effects are still with us today.
Certain agribusinesses and their feds do claim that 2,4D was not the deadliest chemical of the killer defoliant, which they use as a deceptive justifier for permission since “according to them” it hasn’t been exclusively proven to cause cancer in humans. That’s why we may see it Love Canalled across America.
So, for consumers worried about the untested long-term consequences of the modified corn and the carcinogenic dangers of digesting more 2,4D, tough! 2,4D is used to help kill various weeds, but the herbicide is so strong that it also kills nature’s own version of corn plants.
Hence, genetic engineers went into their corporate lab and created a new corn that’s immune to the weed killer. This allows the chemical maker to profit from selling the patented seed kernel, plus loving a gigantic increase in sales of its 2,4D herbicide.
Also, when sprayed, this herbicide vaporizes and spreads for miles, killing crops that are not immune, poisoning the surrounding environment and endangering the health of innocent farmers and townspeople throughout the area.
We’re downwind from Moorefield. PROBLEM!
Mother Nature is rebellious. So much poison was spread across America in the past decade that weeds naturally developed a resistance to it bringing America’s agribusiness giants to practice their usual approach when confronted with similar dilemmas of overpowering nature.
All I want to say is that they can take their genetically modified corn kernel and shuck it.
We need non-chemical, non-GMO, sustainable systems that work with nature. For more info go to Organic Consumers Association at www.OrganicConsumers.org.
Bill Arnold
Romney, W.Va.
Friday, June 22, 2012
"Agent Orange corn" and herbicide spark concern
http://peoplesworld.org/agent-orange-corn-and-herbicide-spark-concern/There's a main ingredient in Agent Orange called 2,4-D, and it's one of the latest toxic chemicals being pushed as an herbicide by Dow Chemical, CREDO Action reports. As the U.S. Food & Drug Administration decides whether to approve genetically modified corn that will be resistant to the chemical, the Environmental Protection Agency is considering stepping forward to restrict use of 2,4-D.
Agent Orange was used by the U.S. military as a defoliant during the Vietnam War, and was responsible for the deaths or injuries of an estimated 400,000 Vietnamese people during that time. Now one of its major ingredients - 2,4-D - is marketed by Dow Chemical to be used on fields by farmers.
Perhaps just as worrying is Dow's marketing of special modified "2,4-D-resistant corn." Nicknamed "Agent Orange corn," the genetically modified corn was created by Dow AgroScience, a division of Dow Chemical. It is engineered to be impervious to 2,4-D, but environmental activists and critics are not convinced of its safety.
READ MORE: http://peoplesworld.org/agent-orange-corn-and-herbicide-spark-concern/
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Sen. Bernie Sanders - Label Genetically Engineered Food
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/label-genetically-enginee_b_1609814.html
In 49 countries around the world, including all of Europe, people have the opportunity of knowing whether or not they are eating food which contains genetically engineered ingredients. In the United States, we don't. That is why I have introduced, along with Sen. Barbara Boxer, an amendment to the agriculture bill which will give states the right to require labels on food products which are genetically engineered.
All over this country people are becoming more conscious about the foods they eat and serve their kids. When a mother goes to the store and purchases food for her child, she has the right to know what she is feeding her family.
Poll after poll during the past decade showed that nine out of 10 Americans agree that food with genetically engineered ingredients should say so on the label.
Almost 1 million Californians signed a petition to get labeling of genetically engineered food on this November's ballot. They want the right to know what is in their foods.
MORE: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/media/view/?id=ac2744bb-41dc-4d36-935b-d8154b6ea94a
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/LabelingSupport.pdf
In 49 countries around the world, including all of Europe, people have the opportunity of knowing whether or not they are eating food which contains genetically engineered ingredients. In the United States, we don't. That is why I have introduced, along with Sen. Barbara Boxer, an amendment to the agriculture bill which will give states the right to require labels on food products which are genetically engineered.
All over this country people are becoming more conscious about the foods they eat and serve their kids. When a mother goes to the store and purchases food for her child, she has the right to know what she is feeding her family.
Poll after poll during the past decade showed that nine out of 10 Americans agree that food with genetically engineered ingredients should say so on the label.
Almost 1 million Californians signed a petition to get labeling of genetically engineered food on this November's ballot. They want the right to know what is in their foods.
MORE: http://www.sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/media/view/?id=ac2744bb-41dc-4d36-935b-d8154b6ea94a
http://www.sanders.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/LabelingSupport.pdf
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Brazil court ruling will cost Monsanto $billions
http://redgreenandblue.org/2012/06/19/brazil-court-ruling-will-cost-monsanto-billions/Monsanto wins lawsuit, farmers will fight on Monsanto, the multinational agribusiness giant that brought us genetically modified (GMO) corn, soy, and cotton (as well as Agent Orange, dioxin, and other nasties), broke the rules in Brazil, and it’s going to cost them.
While US courts have been pretty tolerant of Monsanto (Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is a former Monsanto employee), the Brazillian courts aren’t putting up with their bullshit. They ruled that a lawsuit from a group of farmers in one region should apply to all farmers across the country – which means Monsanto will end up owing between $2 billion and $7.5 billion.
What happened? The case was pretty straightforward.
Monsanto makes money off of patented seeds (something that didn’t even exist until just a few years ago; the notion that companies could patent life-forms would have appalled the founding fathers). It collects royalty payments from farmers.
But that wasn’t enough for Monsanto. I continued to collect royalties on their GMO soy seeds even after their patents had expired in Brazil. Why not? Farmers would have to sue them to get the money back, and Monsanto has had a pretty good track record beating farmers in court, and dragging cases out for years.
But a group of 5 million Brazilian farmers sued, and won.
Monsanto tried to argue that the ruling should only apply to the farmers in a single state, but the Supreme Court said “Don’t be ridiculous”.
Now the GMO giant will have to pay the $7.5 billion back.
Jane Berwanger, a lawyer for the farmers, attacked the very idea that Monsanto should be able to collect a royalty for every generation of their GMO seeds:
“Monsanto gets paid when it sells the seeds. The law gives producers the right to multiply the seeds they buy and nowhere in the world is there a requirement to pay (again).”
Monsanto has appealed the decision, and it make take years before the final ruling comes down.
Source: Red Green & Blue (http://s.tt/1f2UV)
Processing of Retroactive Agent Orange Claims Nearly Complete
Milestone Allows VA to Refocus 1,200 Decision Makers on Claims Backlog
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/processing-of-retroactive-agent-orange-claims-nearly-complete-2012-06-19
WASHINGTON, Jun 19, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that nearly 230,000 claims have already been processed for the three newest Agent-Orange related conditions through June 2012, including over 150,000 claims required to be adjudicated under the order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Nehmer v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The near completion of these complex Nehmer claims enables VA to redirect 1,200 employees who were dedicated to reviewing the Agent Orange cases toward addressing the current backlog of disability claims.
"I am proud of our VA employees who worked hard to complete these Agent Orange claims, putting over $3.6 billion into the hands of our Vietnam Veterans and their survivors," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "We completed all of the Agent Orange Nehmer claims for living Veterans, and are now focusing on the fewer than 500 remaining that will benefit survivors."
The Agent Orange claims stemmed from VA's 2010 amendment of its regulations to add ischemic heart disease, hairy cell and other chronic B-cell leukemias, and Parkinson's disease to the list of diseases presumed to be related to exposure to the herbicide used in Southeast Asia.
"While we work to transform how we do business through new processes and technology, at the end of the day it's about taking care of our Veterans and their loved ones on the issues affecting their lives," said Secretary Shinseki.
Given the complexity of the historical casework, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) allocated its most experienced decision makers, about 37 percent of its rating staff, to processing Agent Orange claims. VBA's 13 resource centers were exclusively dedicated to re-adjudicating these claims.
READ MORE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/processing-of-retroactive-agent-orange-claims-nearly-complete-2012-06-19
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/processing-of-retroactive-agent-orange-claims-nearly-complete-2012-06-19
WASHINGTON, Jun 19, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- The Department of Veterans Affairs announced that nearly 230,000 claims have already been processed for the three newest Agent-Orange related conditions through June 2012, including over 150,000 claims required to be adjudicated under the order of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in Nehmer v. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The near completion of these complex Nehmer claims enables VA to redirect 1,200 employees who were dedicated to reviewing the Agent Orange cases toward addressing the current backlog of disability claims.
"I am proud of our VA employees who worked hard to complete these Agent Orange claims, putting over $3.6 billion into the hands of our Vietnam Veterans and their survivors," said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. "We completed all of the Agent Orange Nehmer claims for living Veterans, and are now focusing on the fewer than 500 remaining that will benefit survivors."
The Agent Orange claims stemmed from VA's 2010 amendment of its regulations to add ischemic heart disease, hairy cell and other chronic B-cell leukemias, and Parkinson's disease to the list of diseases presumed to be related to exposure to the herbicide used in Southeast Asia.
"While we work to transform how we do business through new processes and technology, at the end of the day it's about taking care of our Veterans and their loved ones on the issues affecting their lives," said Secretary Shinseki.
Given the complexity of the historical casework, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) allocated its most experienced decision makers, about 37 percent of its rating staff, to processing Agent Orange claims. VBA's 13 resource centers were exclusively dedicated to re-adjudicating these claims.
READ MORE: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/processing-of-retroactive-agent-orange-claims-nearly-complete-2012-06-19
Skeptics doubt VA's claim of breakthrough on claims backlog
http://www.stripes.com/news/skeptics-doubt-va-s-claim-of-breakthrough-on-claims-backlog-1.180811
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs officials say they’re poised to make a major breakthrough on the department’s massive claims backlog, but skeptical lawmakers and veterans advocates say they’ve heard such proclamations before.
VA officials announced Tuesday that they have all but wrapped up work on Agent Orange disability claims that overwhelmed the processing system over the last two years. Nearly 230,000 of those cases have been reviewed and finalized, and officials said fewer than 500 open cases remain.
The VA had set aside 37 percent of the department’s rating staff and 13 resource centers to deal solely with the Agent Orange cases. With the work finished, officials said, those centers and about 1,200 claims processors will begin dealing with the overall disability and pensions backlog.
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More than 911,000 claims remain unprocessed, down from more than 1.4 million last year but still up 60 percent from when the Agent Orange claims push started two years ago. About two-thirds of those cases have been pending for more than 125 days, despite department promises to deal with them quickly.
Members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee called that embarrassing.
“VA continues to struggle with unconscionable backlogs and unacceptable delays in getting our nation’s veterans the benefits they need,” said Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. “It is time for VA to break this cycle of unproductivity and deliver the benefits that the agency was created to provide.”
READ MORE: http://www.stripes.com/news/skeptics-doubt-va-s-claim-of-breakthrough-on-claims-backlog-1.180811
WASHINGTON — Veterans Affairs officials say they’re poised to make a major breakthrough on the department’s massive claims backlog, but skeptical lawmakers and veterans advocates say they’ve heard such proclamations before.
VA officials announced Tuesday that they have all but wrapped up work on Agent Orange disability claims that overwhelmed the processing system over the last two years. Nearly 230,000 of those cases have been reviewed and finalized, and officials said fewer than 500 open cases remain.
The VA had set aside 37 percent of the department’s rating staff and 13 resource centers to deal solely with the Agent Orange cases. With the work finished, officials said, those centers and about 1,200 claims processors will begin dealing with the overall disability and pensions backlog.
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More than 911,000 claims remain unprocessed, down from more than 1.4 million last year but still up 60 percent from when the Agent Orange claims push started two years ago. About two-thirds of those cases have been pending for more than 125 days, despite department promises to deal with them quickly.
Members of the House Veterans Affairs Committee called that embarrassing.
“VA continues to struggle with unconscionable backlogs and unacceptable delays in getting our nation’s veterans the benefits they need,” said Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla. “It is time for VA to break this cycle of unproductivity and deliver the benefits that the agency was created to provide.”
READ MORE: http://www.stripes.com/news/skeptics-doubt-va-s-claim-of-breakthrough-on-claims-backlog-1.180811
Monday, June 18, 2012
Hearing on Monsanto lawsuit deal begins Monday - Judge must decide if settlement is fair
http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201206150173
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A hearing begins Monday to determine whether a multimillion-dollar settlement in the huge class-action Monsanto dioxin lawsuit should be approved.
The judge must decide if the settlement reached Feb. 24, after nearly a decade of litigation, is fair, reasonable and adequate.
Under the tentative agreement, chemical giant Monsanto will provide class-members up to $93 million. The company has agreed to a 30-year medical monitoring program with a primary fund of $21 million for testing, and up to $63 million in additional funding, if necessary. It also has agreed to spend $9 million cleaning 4,500 homes.
The settlement also would allow residents to retain their right to file personal-injury lawsuits against Monsanto if medical tests turn up illnesses potentially related to dioxin exposure.
Word of the settlement emerged on the eve of an expected six-month trial in a case in which Nitro-area residents sought medical monitoring for dioxin-related illnesses and a cleanup of what they argue is a contaminated community.
READ MORE: http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201206150173
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A hearing begins Monday to determine whether a multimillion-dollar settlement in the huge class-action Monsanto dioxin lawsuit should be approved.
The judge must decide if the settlement reached Feb. 24, after nearly a decade of litigation, is fair, reasonable and adequate.
Under the tentative agreement, chemical giant Monsanto will provide class-members up to $93 million. The company has agreed to a 30-year medical monitoring program with a primary fund of $21 million for testing, and up to $63 million in additional funding, if necessary. It also has agreed to spend $9 million cleaning 4,500 homes.
The settlement also would allow residents to retain their right to file personal-injury lawsuits against Monsanto if medical tests turn up illnesses potentially related to dioxin exposure.
Word of the settlement emerged on the eve of an expected six-month trial in a case in which Nitro-area residents sought medical monitoring for dioxin-related illnesses and a cleanup of what they argue is a contaminated community.
READ MORE: http://sundaygazettemail.com/News/201206150173
Friday, June 15, 2012
Agent Orange’s deadly legacy spreads to Japan
http://www.rt.com/news/agent-orange-buried-okinawa-932/
The fallout from the US military’s use of Agent Orange may have spread from Vietnam to Japan. Massive caches of the toxic herbicide were buried on Futenma, “the world’s most dangerous base,” potentially poisoning the island, a Japanese daily reports.
The US military presence has long been a point of contention for locals on the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa, a cluster of islands located some 400 miles south of Japan.
A slew of violent crimes committed over the last 40 years by US servicemen has led 85 per cent of locals to oppose the presence of American bases on Okinawa. However, the military’s most deadly mark on the islands may be a far less visible killer: Agent Orange.
Scores of barrels of the defoliating chemical were clandestinely buried at Futenma Air Base on Okinawa Island following the Vietnam War, the Japan Times reports.
The Pentagon allegedly ignored repeated requests from soldiers serving on the island in the 70s and 80s to safely dispose of a pesticide a million times more toxic than any naturally occurring poison.
In the Summer of 1981, “unacceptably high readings” of chemicals in the wastewater flowing out of the installation prompted Lt. Col. Kris Roberts, the former head of maintenance projects on Futenma, to start digging up the ground near the end of the base’s runway.
"We unearthed over 100 barrels buried in rows. They were rusty and leaking and we could see orange markings around some of their middles," Roberts, now a state representative in New Hampshire, told the Japan Times in a recent interview.
READ MORE: http://www.rt.com/news/agent-orange-buried-okinawa-932/
Controversy grows over 'Agent Orange corn'
http://www.myfoxal.com/story/18788754/controversy-grows-over-agent-orange-cornINDIANAPOLIS (WISH/FOX) - Food safety advocates are raising a red alert over what they call Agent Orange corn.
The problem surrounds a popular farming herbicide known as 2,4-D - one of the chemicals used to make Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.
Critics fear farmers will use the herbicide in greater concentrations because of a new breed of corn that is resistant to the chemical.
"2,4-D has to go on a fairly young crop. It's a growth regulator," said farmer Ken Edmondson. "My take on it is it's nonsense. 2,4-D has been around forever. I do not buy into this theory that it's an Agent Orange kind of a compound."
Experts also believe the health risks linked to Agent Orange were caused by a different chemical, not 2,4-D.
The company that developed the new corn also insists the chemical is safe.
"You know, there are something like 4,500 studies and reports that are used to support ongoing uses of the product," said Garry Hamlin of Dow Agro Sciences.
The Environmental Protection Agency rejected a petition to ban 2,4-D in April.
A group of Vietnam vets has now teamed up with environmentalists to ask President Obama to look into the dangers of the herbicide.
WATCH VIDEO: http://www.myfoxal.com/story/18788754/controversy-grows-over-agent-orange-corn#
‘Agent Orange corn’ thrills farmers, worries critics
http://wtvr.com/2012/06/14/agent-orange-corn-thrills-farmers-worries-critics/
Sharyl Attkisson, CBS News
SEAFORD, Delaware (CBS News) – There is a controversy in the food industry over so-called “Agent Orange corn.”
The genetically modified vegetable is protected from a herbicide that kills so-called super weeds, but is linked to the notorious “Agent Orange” used in Vietnam.
Many farmers are thrilled with the corn, but many critics think it will lead to more use of toxic chemicals.
Seventy-two-year-old Irvin Handy has been farming in Delaware his whole life. And that’s meant a lifelong battle to kill enemy weeds, without killing his corn and soy crops. Handy has a consultant who advises him on an ever-changing chemical arsenal to keep the weeds at bay.
“Yeah, they’ve been terrible this year. They’ve been the worst I’ve ever seen this year,” said Handy.
But like a lot of farmers, Handy has seen an incredible uptick in super weeds that just won’t die since they are resistant to the chemical herbicides that used to work on them, like Roundup.
READ & WATCH: http://wtvr.com/2012/06/14/agent-orange-corn-thrills-farmers-worries-critics/
Sharyl Attkisson, CBS News
SEAFORD, Delaware (CBS News) – There is a controversy in the food industry over so-called “Agent Orange corn.”
The genetically modified vegetable is protected from a herbicide that kills so-called super weeds, but is linked to the notorious “Agent Orange” used in Vietnam.
Many farmers are thrilled with the corn, but many critics think it will lead to more use of toxic chemicals.
Seventy-two-year-old Irvin Handy has been farming in Delaware his whole life. And that’s meant a lifelong battle to kill enemy weeds, without killing his corn and soy crops. Handy has a consultant who advises him on an ever-changing chemical arsenal to keep the weeds at bay.
“Yeah, they’ve been terrible this year. They’ve been the worst I’ve ever seen this year,” said Handy.
But like a lot of farmers, Handy has seen an incredible uptick in super weeds that just won’t die since they are resistant to the chemical herbicides that used to work on them, like Roundup.
READ & WATCH: http://wtvr.com/2012/06/14/agent-orange-corn-thrills-farmers-worries-critics/
Agent Orange at base in '80s: U.S. vet Nearby residents of Futenma possibly tainted by leaking barrels
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120615a1.html
The U.S. Marine Corps buried a massive stockpile of Agent Orange at the Futenma air http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifstation in Okinawa, possibly poisoning the base's former head of maintenance and potentially contaminating nearby residents and the ground beneath the base, The Japan Times recently learned from interviews with U.S. veterans
READ MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120615a1.html
The U.S. Marine Corps buried a massive stockpile of Agent Orange at the Futenma air http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifstation in Okinawa, possibly poisoning the base's former head of maintenance and potentially contaminating nearby residents and the ground beneath the base, The Japan Times recently learned from interviews with U.S. veterans
READ MORE: http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20120615a1.html
Wal-Mart says dioxin concern by Auburn group is delay tactic - APACE wants to reopen environmental review at Placer County level
http://auburnjournal.com/detail/210781.html?content_source=&categoryhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif_id=2&search_filter=&user_id=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&event_ts_to=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=1&sub_type=&town_id="
AUBURN CA - Wal-Mart attorneys are blasting an Auburn activist group’s attempts to reopen Placer County’s environmental process on the North Auburn project as error-filled and obstructionist.
Citing a state Department of Toxic Substance Control request for Wal-Mart to conduct soil-sampling for dioxins at the store site, the Alliance for the Protection of the Auburn Community Environment (APACE) has called on the county to reopen the environmental impact process.
But Wal-Mart attorneys Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton of San Francisco, has responded that the store project does not require any further environmental review.
Judy Davidoff, a land-use attorney with the firm, said that APACE’s contentions on dioxin and furan levels have previously been considered and the state toxic substance control department has issued a “no further action” letter.
“After the no further action letter was issued, APACE began lobbying to revisit the soil-contamination issue and mandate additional testing and cleanup at the project site,” Davidoff said. “The department has consistently refused to do so.”
APACE member Victoria Connolly, said Wednesday that Wal-Mart is taking a lackadaisical approach to the group’s effort to revisit environmental issues at the site.
“We are attempting to get the Board of Supervisors to be concerned about the health and safety of residents in the area and reopen the EIR to allow public comment on the section that deals with hazards and toxins,” Connolly said. “What is true is that the state is requesting further action and requesting Wal-Mart to enter into a voluntary cleanup-up agreement.”
Davidoff said that, at APACE’s request, the department did agree to ask Wal-Mart to voluntarily conduct soil testing at the project site.
READ MORE: http://auburnjournal.com/detail/210781.html?content_source=&category_id=2&search_filter=&user_id=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&event_ts_to=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=1&sub_type=&town_id=
AUBURN CA - Wal-Mart attorneys are blasting an Auburn activist group’s attempts to reopen Placer County’s environmental process on the North Auburn project as error-filled and obstructionist.
Citing a state Department of Toxic Substance Control request for Wal-Mart to conduct soil-sampling for dioxins at the store site, the Alliance for the Protection of the Auburn Community Environment (APACE) has called on the county to reopen the environmental impact process.
But Wal-Mart attorneys Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton of San Francisco, has responded that the store project does not require any further environmental review.
Judy Davidoff, a land-use attorney with the firm, said that APACE’s contentions on dioxin and furan levels have previously been considered and the state toxic substance control department has issued a “no further action” letter.
“After the no further action letter was issued, APACE began lobbying to revisit the soil-contamination issue and mandate additional testing and cleanup at the project site,” Davidoff said. “The department has consistently refused to do so.”
APACE member Victoria Connolly, said Wednesday that Wal-Mart is taking a lackadaisical approach to the group’s effort to revisit environmental issues at the site.
“We are attempting to get the Board of Supervisors to be concerned about the health and safety of residents in the area and reopen the EIR to allow public comment on the section that deals with hazards and toxins,” Connolly said. “What is true is that the state is requesting further action and requesting Wal-Mart to enter into a voluntary cleanup-up agreement.”
Davidoff said that, at APACE’s request, the department did agree to ask Wal-Mart to voluntarily conduct soil testing at the project site.
READ MORE: http://auburnjournal.com/detail/210781.html?content_source=&category_id=2&search_filter=&user_id=&event_mode=&event_ts_from=&event_ts_to=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=1&sub_type=&town_id=
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
CBS Charlie Rose investigates "Agent Orange Corn"
http://www.examiner.com/review/cbs-charlie-rose-investigates-agent-orange-cornhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Farmers, executive chefs, the food industry and even Vietnam Veterans are speaking out about a farming chemical called 2,4-D, which has gained the name "Agent Orange Corn" by critics. CBS This Morning's anchor Charlie Rose and Sharyl Attkinson, a CBS investigative journalist, looked at the issue from crop to table today and found that although Dow Chemical, the maker of 2, 4-D, says the herbicide is safe and thoroughly tested, there are concerns from all sides of the issue. The moniker, Agent Orange Corn and even the official name of the herbicide, "Enlist," gives some indication of the level of controversy.
Over the years, genetically modified corn fields have become increasingly resistant to weeds after repeated use of herbicides, hence the introduction of a new weed killer, 2, 4-D. The chemical is a component once used in the chemical Agent Orange that was sprayed as a jungle defoliant in Vietnam. Repeated studies show that those exposed to the chemical have increased risk of cancer and numerous other health problems.
Farmers, executive chefs, the food industry and even Vietnam Veterans are speaking out about a farming chemical called 2,4-D, which has gained the name "Agent Orange Corn" by critics. CBS This Morning's anchor Charlie Rose and Sharyl Attkinson, a CBS investigative journalist, looked at the issue from crop to table today and found that although Dow Chemical, the maker of 2, 4-D, says the herbicide is safe and thoroughly tested, there are concerns from all sides of the issue. The moniker, Agent Orange Corn and even the official name of the herbicide, "Enlist," gives some indication of the level of controversy.
Over the years, genetically modified corn fields have become increasingly resistant to weeds after repeated use of herbicides, hence the introduction of a new weed killer, 2, 4-D. The chemical is a component once used in the chemical Agent Orange that was sprayed as a jungle defoliant in Vietnam. Repeated studies show that those exposed to the chemical have increased risk of cancer and numerous other health problems.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Outrage over Olympic corporate sponsors erupting around the world
http://peoplesworld.org/outrage-over-olympic-corporate-sponsors-erupting-around-the-world/
Corporatization of the coming Olympic games in London is under attack from all corners of the world, it seems.
While the American AFL-CIO has joined a movement to stop the alliance between the International Olympic Committee and Rio Tinto - which is to make the Olympic gold medals - and Vietnam and India are up in arms over sponsorship by the notorious Dow Chemical Company.
Both India and Vietnam are united in their desire to remove Dow, which signed a 10-year sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee, from the games, but their reasons are different. For India, the problem is that Dow purchased the company responsible for the infamous Bhopal disaster, while for Vietnam the issue is the corporation's production of Agent Orange used to maim its people and defoliate its countryside during the war in the 1960's and 70's.
The chemical, dropped and sprayed from U.S. planes to kill vegetation and make it harder for Vietnamese resistance fighters to hide, brought major devastation to the country.
READ MORE: http://peoplesworld.org/outrage-over-olympic-corporate-sponsors-erupting-around-the-world/
Corporatization of the coming Olympic games in London is under attack from all corners of the world, it seems.
While the American AFL-CIO has joined a movement to stop the alliance between the International Olympic Committee and Rio Tinto - which is to make the Olympic gold medals - and Vietnam and India are up in arms over sponsorship by the notorious Dow Chemical Company.
Both India and Vietnam are united in their desire to remove Dow, which signed a 10-year sponsorship agreement with the International Olympic Committee, from the games, but their reasons are different. For India, the problem is that Dow purchased the company responsible for the infamous Bhopal disaster, while for Vietnam the issue is the corporation's production of Agent Orange used to maim its people and defoliate its countryside during the war in the 1960's and 70's.
The chemical, dropped and sprayed from U.S. planes to kill vegetation and make it harder for Vietnamese resistance fighters to hide, brought major devastation to the country.
READ MORE: http://peoplesworld.org/outrage-over-olympic-corporate-sponsors-erupting-around-the-world/
US scientists urged to research deeper in AO effects
http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/society/us-scientists-urged-to-research-deeper-in-ao-effects-1.75357
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has suggested US scientists conduct deeper research to establish concrete data which can be used as a basis to ask for assistance in environmental detoxification and rehabilitation treatment for Agent Orange victims.
Nhan made the proposal at a meeting in Hanoi on June 8 with a delegation of the American public health association under the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC), led by Susan M. Schnall.
He stressed that millions of Vietnamese people were exposed to the Agent Orange sprayed by the US troop during the war in Vietnam and the toxic chemical continues to affect younger generations of the victims.
After the Vietnamese Government and people presented clear evidence on the AO consequences, the US Government has become aware of their responsibility and has taken the first step in overcoming the aftermath of the chemical warfare, but it is not enough, the Deputy PM said.
He went on to say that the Vietnamese Government is implementing community-based rehabilitation projects for AO victims with the aim of improving their living conditions and helping them integrate into the community. However, the work is hindered by limited financial resource while the victims’ need is huge.
For her part, Susan Schnall, who is VAORRC coordinator, said her delegation came to Vietnam to meet AO victims and inspect AO-infected sites.
According to Schnall, the delegation has also got together with a number of US congressmen to draw up a draft bill requiring the US government to pay compensation to Vietnamese AO victims, and deal with consequences on the environment.
READ MORE: http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/society/us-scientists-urged-to-research-deeper-in-ao-effects-1.75357
Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien Nhan has suggested US scientists conduct deeper research to establish concrete data which can be used as a basis to ask for assistance in environmental detoxification and rehabilitation treatment for Agent Orange victims.
Nhan made the proposal at a meeting in Hanoi on June 8 with a delegation of the American public health association under the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign (VAORRC), led by Susan M. Schnall.
He stressed that millions of Vietnamese people were exposed to the Agent Orange sprayed by the US troop during the war in Vietnam and the toxic chemical continues to affect younger generations of the victims.
After the Vietnamese Government and people presented clear evidence on the AO consequences, the US Government has become aware of their responsibility and has taken the first step in overcoming the aftermath of the chemical warfare, but it is not enough, the Deputy PM said.
He went on to say that the Vietnamese Government is implementing community-based rehabilitation projects for AO victims with the aim of improving their living conditions and helping them integrate into the community. However, the work is hindered by limited financial resource while the victims’ need is huge.
For her part, Susan Schnall, who is VAORRC coordinator, said her delegation came to Vietnam to meet AO victims and inspect AO-infected sites.
According to Schnall, the delegation has also got together with a number of US congressmen to draw up a draft bill requiring the US government to pay compensation to Vietnamese AO victims, and deal with consequences on the environment.
READ MORE: http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/society/us-scientists-urged-to-research-deeper-in-ao-effects-1.75357
Dioxin suspected as possible cause of bizarre skin disease
http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Health/2012/6/101606/
Doctors in the Children Hospital No.2 in Ho Chi Minh City are now suspecting exposure to dioxin as a possible cause of the bizarre skin disease in patients arriving from Ba To District in the central province of Quang Ngai.
Medical workers take samples of water from a stream where residents of Ba Dien Commune draw water for daily use
More than a week back, the hospital had received three patients suffering from the unidentified skin disease, from Reu Village of Ba Dien Commune in Ba To District. Doctors took a biopsy of skin lesions from all the three patients, Pham Thi Tren, 14, Pham Dinh Hieu, 6, and Pham Quoc Bao, 5.
According to the doctors, the skin disease may be reoccurring due to exposure to toxic and harmful substances like dioxin, which can penetrate air, soil, sediments, food and water.
Dr. Ho Thi Kim Thoa, who is directly treating the above cases, said the children all suffered from severe damage to liver, kidney, heart and hearing, and their cohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifndition had not improved, despite blood filtering many times.
The hospital said it had not yet identified the cause of the disease but thinks a possible cause to be dioxin or arsenic poisoning, as hair samples taken from a boy who died at Children Hospital No.1 in HCMC showed high levels of arsenic content. One hair sample contained arsenic levels more than 100 times above normal.
Parents of Pham Dinh Hieu and Pham Quoc Bao said they live in a mountainous region where most of the residents collect stream water for daily use and for growing agricultural produce. Hence, the stream water might be polluted with dangerous toxic substances.
READ MORE: http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Health/2012/6/101606/
Doctors in the Children Hospital No.2 in Ho Chi Minh City are now suspecting exposure to dioxin as a possible cause of the bizarre skin disease in patients arriving from Ba To District in the central province of Quang Ngai.
Medical workers take samples of water from a stream where residents of Ba Dien Commune draw water for daily use
More than a week back, the hospital had received three patients suffering from the unidentified skin disease, from Reu Village of Ba Dien Commune in Ba To District. Doctors took a biopsy of skin lesions from all the three patients, Pham Thi Tren, 14, Pham Dinh Hieu, 6, and Pham Quoc Bao, 5.
According to the doctors, the skin disease may be reoccurring due to exposure to toxic and harmful substances like dioxin, which can penetrate air, soil, sediments, food and water.
Dr. Ho Thi Kim Thoa, who is directly treating the above cases, said the children all suffered from severe damage to liver, kidney, heart and hearing, and their cohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifndition had not improved, despite blood filtering many times.
The hospital said it had not yet identified the cause of the disease but thinks a possible cause to be dioxin or arsenic poisoning, as hair samples taken from a boy who died at Children Hospital No.1 in HCMC showed high levels of arsenic content. One hair sample contained arsenic levels more than 100 times above normal.
Parents of Pham Dinh Hieu and Pham Quoc Bao said they live in a mountainous region where most of the residents collect stream water for daily use and for growing agricultural produce. Hence, the stream water might be polluted with dangerous toxic substances.
READ MORE: http://www.saigon-gpdaily.com.vn/Health/2012/6/101606/
Thursday, June 7, 2012
US scientists visit Agent Orange victims
http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/politics-laws/225715/us-scientists-visit-agent-orange-victims.html
HA NOI — Staff from the American Public Health Association Policy Office on Agent Orange yesterday visited the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.
The US visitors included medical and chemical researchers and care-givers to people with disability, who wish to learn more about Viet Nam's effort to deal with aftermath of the toxin.
They also plan to work with the Health Ministry and visited dioxin-affected people in several cities including Da Nang, HCM City and Hue.
In other developments, PetroVietnam's Veterans Association has donated VND2 billion (US$95,000) to build a boarding school for AO/dioxin victims in central Quang Binh Province.
The Association also presented gifts worth a total of VND120 million ($5,700) to the relatives of revolutionary martyrs who protected the Truong Sa (Spratlys) Islands. — VNS
HA NOI — Staff from the American Public Health Association Policy Office on Agent Orange yesterday visited the Viet Nam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin.
The US visitors included medical and chemical researchers and care-givers to people with disability, who wish to learn more about Viet Nam's effort to deal with aftermath of the toxin.
They also plan to work with the Health Ministry and visited dioxin-affected people in several cities including Da Nang, HCM City and Hue.
In other developments, PetroVietnam's Veterans Association has donated VND2 billion (US$95,000) to build a boarding school for AO/dioxin victims in central Quang Binh Province.
The Association also presented gifts worth a total of VND120 million ($5,700) to the relatives of revolutionary martyrs who protected the Truong Sa (Spratlys) Islands. — VNS
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
US scientists support claim from AO victims
http://www.tuoitrenews.vn/cmlink/tuoitrenews/society/us-scientists-support-claim-from-ao-victims-1.74856
Vietnam ’s victims of agent orange/dioxin (AO) are hoping to receive more spiritual and material support from US scientists in their fight for justice.
Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA), Tran Xuan Thu, made this remarks during a meeting with a delegation from the American Public Health Association, part of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign, in Hanoi on June 5.
He applauded the active efforts made by the association in the past to help Vietnamese AO victims.
The delegation, led by Susan M. Schnall, who played an active part in the peace movement that protested against the war in Vietnam , is made up of several specialists with backgrounds in medicine, chemicals or public health.
Some of them have written articles in US newspapers on the impacts of toxic chemicals, particularly agent orange/dioxin. They have also got together with a number of US members of Congress to draw up a draft bill for compensation for Vietnamese AO victims, as well as calling for more support from the American public.
During their stay in Vietnam, the US delegates will also meet with representatives from the Ministry of Health and VAVA branches in Da Nang, Thua Thien-Hue and Ho Chi Minh City as well as visit a number of beauty spots around the country.
Vietnam ’s victims of agent orange/dioxin (AO) are hoping to receive more spiritual and material support from US scientists in their fight for justice.
Vice President and General Secretary of the Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange/Dioxin (VAVA), Tran Xuan Thu, made this remarks during a meeting with a delegation from the American Public Health Association, part of the Vietnam Agent Orange Relief and Responsibility Campaign, in Hanoi on June 5.
He applauded the active efforts made by the association in the past to help Vietnamese AO victims.
The delegation, led by Susan M. Schnall, who played an active part in the peace movement that protested against the war in Vietnam , is made up of several specialists with backgrounds in medicine, chemicals or public health.
Some of them have written articles in US newspapers on the impacts of toxic chemicals, particularly agent orange/dioxin. They have also got together with a number of US members of Congress to draw up a draft bill for compensation for Vietnamese AO victims, as well as calling for more support from the American public.During their stay in Vietnam, the US delegates will also meet with representatives from the Ministry of Health and VAVA branches in Da Nang, Thua Thien-Hue and Ho Chi Minh City as well as visit a number of beauty spots around the country.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Vietnam Women's Union Speaks Out Over Dow Chemical Sponsorship of Olympics
"...the Vietnam Women's Union would like to call upon IOC to reconsider your decision to accept Dow Chemical Corporation as a sponsor of the Olympic events"
(HANOI, Viet Nam) - We received hot off the press, the following letter from the Vietnam Women's Union, courtesy of Agent Orange Advocate Len Aldis in London. The women of Vietnam are raising a voice in objection to the inclusion of Dow Chemical as a sponsor in the upcoming Olympic games.
Long story short, Dow was a primary manufacturer of Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant sprayed over the jungles of Vietnam during the US war there. To this day, Dow has never answered to what amounts in the minds of many, to a decades-long war crime that continues to cripple children today, in the fourth generation since the war. This not only takes place in Vietnam, but also in the US and Australia, and in other places related to Agent Orange use and storage.
Attention: International Olympic Committee (IOC)
On behalf of the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU), I would like to extend my best compliments to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)!
We got to know that Dow Chemical has been made a sponsor of the Olympic Games from 2012 until 2010. Dow Chemical is one of the major producers and suppliers of the Agent Orange which was used by the American Army during the war time in the South of Vietnam for over 10 years from 1961 to 1971. There is no doubt about the horrific damages the dioxin has done to the environment and millions of people from generation to generation in Vietnam, including many women and children who are suffering illnesses, diseases and living in poverty. The Agency Orange has had negative effects on hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese children of the 4th generation who were born with severe congenital deformities.
For decades, international public opinions have denounced Dow's immoral actions and its violations of international laws, demanding it and other companies to compensate the victims of Agent Orange in different countries including Vietnam. However, Dow refuses to accept responsibility or makes compensation to tragic victims.
The Olympic Games are the symbols of the friendship & solidarity between the continents, the fairness, progress and peace in the world. We are concerned that the acceptance of Dow sponsorship will negatively influence the image and reputation of the Olympic Games. With the functions of representing and protecting rights and interests of women in Vietnam, the Vietnam Women's Union would like to call upon IOC to reconsider your decision to accept Dow Chemical Corporation as a sponsor of the Olympic events, thus preserving the good images and reputation of the Olympics.
Success to London Olympic Games 2012!
With kind regards,
Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa
President, Vietnam Women's Union
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june022012/vietnam-women-dow-la.php
(HANOI, Viet Nam) - We received hot off the press, the following letter from the Vietnam Women's Union, courtesy of Agent Orange Advocate Len Aldis in London. The women of Vietnam are raising a voice in objection to the inclusion of Dow Chemical as a sponsor in the upcoming Olympic games.Long story short, Dow was a primary manufacturer of Agent Orange, a chemical defoliant sprayed over the jungles of Vietnam during the US war there. To this day, Dow has never answered to what amounts in the minds of many, to a decades-long war crime that continues to cripple children today, in the fourth generation since the war. This not only takes place in Vietnam, but also in the US and Australia, and in other places related to Agent Orange use and storage.
Attention: International Olympic Committee (IOC)
On behalf of the Vietnam Women's Union (VWU), I would like to extend my best compliments to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)!
We got to know that Dow Chemical has been made a sponsor of the Olympic Games from 2012 until 2010. Dow Chemical is one of the major producers and suppliers of the Agent Orange which was used by the American Army during the war time in the South of Vietnam for over 10 years from 1961 to 1971. There is no doubt about the horrific damages the dioxin has done to the environment and millions of people from generation to generation in Vietnam, including many women and children who are suffering illnesses, diseases and living in poverty. The Agency Orange has had negative effects on hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese children of the 4th generation who were born with severe congenital deformities.
For decades, international public opinions have denounced Dow's immoral actions and its violations of international laws, demanding it and other companies to compensate the victims of Agent Orange in different countries including Vietnam. However, Dow refuses to accept responsibility or makes compensation to tragic victims.
The Olympic Games are the symbols of the friendship & solidarity between the continents, the fairness, progress and peace in the world. We are concerned that the acceptance of Dow sponsorship will negatively influence the image and reputation of the Olympic Games. With the functions of representing and protecting rights and interests of women in Vietnam, the Vietnam Women's Union would like to call upon IOC to reconsider your decision to accept Dow Chemical Corporation as a sponsor of the Olympic events, thus preserving the good images and reputation of the Olympics.
Success to London Olympic Games 2012!
With kind regards,
Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa
President, Vietnam Women's Union
http://www.salem-news.com/articles/june022012/vietnam-women-dow-la.php
Friday, June 1, 2012
AP 'napalm girl' photo from Vietnam War turns 40
http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/05/31/2856680/shocking-ap-napalm-girl-photo.html#storylink=misearch
MARGIE MASON - Associated Press
Thursday, May. 31, 2012
TRANG BANG, Vietnam -- In the picture, the girl will always be 9 years old and wailing "Too hot! Too hot!" as she runs down the road away from her burning Vietnamese village.
She will always be naked after blobs of sticky napalm melted through her clothes and layers of skin like jellied lava.
She will always be a victim without a name.
It only took a second for Associated Press photographer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut to snap the iconic black-and-white image 40 years ago. It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words could never describe, helping to end one of America's darkest eras.
But beneath the photo lies a lesser-known story. It's the tale of a dying child brought together by chance with a young photographer. A moment captured in the chaos of war that would serve as both her savior and her curse on a journey to understand life's plan for her.
"I really wanted to escape from that little girl," says Kim Phuc, now 49. "But it seems to me that the picture didn't let me go."
----
It was June 8, 1972, when Phuc heard the soldier's scream: "We have to run out of this place! They will bomb here, and we will be dead!"
Seconds later, she saw the tails of yellow and purple smoke bombs curling around the Cao Dai temple where her family had sheltered for three days, as north and south Vietnamese forces fought for control of their village.
The little girl heard a roar overhead and twisted her neck to look up. As the South Vietnamese Skyraider plane grew fatter and louder, it swooped down toward her, dropping canisters like tumbling eggs flipping end over end.
"Ba-boom! Ba-boom!"
READ MORE: http://www.fresnobee.com/2012/05/31/2856680/shocking-ap-napalm-girl-photo.html#storylink=misearch
Follow Margie Mason on TWITTER: http://twitter.com/#!/margiemasonap