CAMP FOSTER, Okinawa — Workers began excavation Friday on an additional
66 spots at the Okinawa City soccer field where barrels containing
toxic herbicides were found last year.
The announcement to investigate the magnetic anomalies — thought to be
more barrels or other metal objects — was made Thursday by the Okinawa
Defense Bureau. Should any barrels or substances that indicate the
presence of defoliants be found, the bureau plans to notify the city and
prefectural governments immediately.
The excavation comes on the heels of a report released by the Japanese
government in July that found while 83 barrels already unearthed in the
reclaimed land adjacent to the Kadena Air Base fence line contained
ingredients used in Agent Orange, they were of the incorrect consistency
and quantities however, leading officials to instead believe they were
used in a common herbicide.
The barrels caused a stir amongst both locals and U.S. military
personnel and dependents when they were found. Veterans who have claimed
exposure to Agent Orange while stationed on Okinawa said it confirmed
what they had been saying all along. Parents of students at the nearby
Amelia Earhart Intermediate School, Bob Hope Primary School and the
Kadena middle and high schools expressed concern. Activists and local
media also seized on the issue.
The U.S. military’s position has been that Agent Orange — which
defoliated jungles during the Vietnam War and has been blamed for a slew
of health problems in veterans — was never stored, shipped through or
used on Okinawa. A study commissioned by the DOD has backed that
assertion. The military discontinued use of Agent Orange in the early
1970s.
The defense bureau has said it was unlikely the barrels posed a health
risk. Tests have shown the air and water, on and off base, are safe.
The excavation report will be released by the end of March, a bureau spokesman said.
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