Dioxin spike raises fears of local health risks
From Dr. Wayne Dwernychuk, who seems to be the only
other reader who picked up on the "expert opinion" of our "dear friend"
(beloved by all veterans!) Al Young the PhD botanist that VA, DoD and
the courts all believe Al's "expert opinions" are the only one that
count, despite a plethora of scientific data to the contrary.
The recent discovery of 22 barrels buried on former U.S. military
land in the city of Okinawa could be posing the same level of risks to
local residents as dioxin hot spots in Vietnam where the American
military stored toxic defoliants during the 1960s and 1970s, according
to two leading Agent Orange specialists.
Richard Clapp, professor emeritus at Boston University School of
Public Health, and Wayne Dwernychuk, the scientist previously in charge
of identifying defoliant contamination in Southeast Asia, recently cited
the risks to Okinawa residents and urged the immediate cleanup of the
land to limit the threat to human health.
Dwernychuk also ventured that the discovery of the barrels may disprove the Pentagon’s repeated denials that military defoliants were ever present on Okinawa Island.
The scientists’ comments came in response to the July 31 release of independent tests undertaken at the request of the city of Okinawa by Ehime University — one of the nation’s top institutes for dioxin testing. The study revealed that all 22 barrels found beneath the city’s soccer pitch contained traces of the herbicide 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T), and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), the most lethal form of dioxin.
One barrel contained dioxin levels 840 percent above the safe standard, while samples of water taken nearby revealed levels 280 times the legal limits. Both 2,4,5-T and TCDD are two of the substances found in Agent Orange and other Vietnam War-era defoliants.
At least three of the barrels were labeled with markings from Dow Chemical Co. — one of the primary manufacturers of Agent Orange.
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