Many farmers ignorant of herbicide dangers as calls for banning glyphosate intensify

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Monsanto, a global agro-giant acquired by German company Bayer for about $63 billion in June this year, is soiled in a renew call globally for the ban of the glyphosate, a major ingredient in its Roundupweed-killer.

This started few weeks ago when a landmark US court ruling in San Francisco  awarded $289 million to a man they declared got cancer from Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide.

According to Reuters, “Monsanto faces 8,000 lawsuits’ over its product glyphosate (Roundup weedkiller) adding that the company could face difficult years ahead.

Radio France International (rfi) has quoted the French Environment Minister Nicolas Hulot saying that the verdict marked “the beginning of a war” noting that banning glyphosate within the next three years is one of its “clear engagements.”

The government of Vietnam is renewing call for Monsanto to pay damages to over one million victims of Monsanto and Dow Chemical, which produced the deadly herbicide Agent Orange for the U.S. military during the Vietnam War.

Also, Brazil, one of the largest consumers of Monsanto herbicides is also having a running legal battle over the acceptability of glyphosate.

Wheeler to shape massive cleanup linked to ex-clients

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Hidden beneath the Passaic River and Newark Bay near New York City is a notorious toxic dump that EPA believes was polluted by more than 100 companies.

One of those polluters is bankrolling a yearslong study to implement the cleanup plan approved by the Obama EPA for the so-called Diamond Alkali Superfund site.

But two corporations with ties to acting EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler are strongly disputing their responsibilities for the nearly $1.4 billion effort, according to financial reports and lobbying disclosures.

Thanks to new powers granted to EPA chiefs by ex-Administrator Scott Pruitt, Superfund experts say Wheeler is now in a strong position to pressure polluters fighting about their shares of the cleanup costs to go easy on his former clients — meat-processing company Darling Ingredients Inc. and chemical maker Celanese Corp. Or he could potentially cut the overall price tag of the massive cleanup, which could benefit all of the companies' bottom lines but lessen protections for the millions of people who live around the Diamond Alkali site.

"If Andrew Wheeler represented clients who are expected to pick up part of the bill of the Passaic River cleanup, that's extremely problematic," said Judith Enck, who oversaw the Diamond Alkali site for seven years as the Obama administration's administrator of the EPA region that includes New York and New Jersey.

"Even if he is fair and objective, it's going to create an opportunity for the other companies that are on the hook for Passaic River pollution to question the EPA decisionmaking and slow down the process even further," she warned.

Any delay would leave more fish and crabs — as well as the animals and people who eat them — vulnerable to the dangers posed by dioxins, PCBs, DDT, mercury, lead and other harmful substances found in the poisoned waters.

Efforts to turn around the Diamond Alkali site have been protracted, even for a program infamous for its drawn-out cleanups.

Veteran demands action on Agent Orange

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A United States veteran called for more testing to determine if toxic chemical Agent Orange was burnt at the Kindley Field Air Force Base, Bermuda.

Ronald Slater, from Washington, said outcry in the United States about the use of “burn pits” has given him hope that his claims will be investigated further.

Mr Slater, 75, said: “I’m asking for the sake of the people of Bermuda, particularly the people in St David’s who were exposed to and braved that smoke.

“The smoke was so black and thick I could barely find my way from the truck to the machinery. We are not talking about burning trees and landscaping debris.

“Someone needs to take the initiative and take a drill sample at least 20 feet, and they need to know where the pits actually were. I would be happy to put together a map.”

Mr Slater, a former US Air Force serviceman, first went public with his claims in 2007 that about 200 barrels of waste — including dangerous defoliant Agent Orange — were burnt on the Kindley Field Air Force Base and bulldozed into the sea between 1965 and 1967.

He has said the chemicals, together with the toxic smoke caused by the fires, caused him and fellow veterans serious medical problems.

City of Otsego anxiously waits for new water test results amid dioxin fears

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OTSEGO, Mich. — Just one week after tests revealed the presence of dioxins in 16 private wells just outside of the city of Otsego, city officials are in the process of conducting new water tests looking for dioxins in the water supply.

Initial tests performed back in April indicated the city's water supply was in the clear in terms of dioxins, but shortly after more sophisticated tests showed the presence of dioxins in water wells just outside the city, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recommended new tests for the city's water supply.

"They [DEQ] said 'here's a standard dioxin drinking water test,'" recalled Otsego City Manager Aaron Mitchell, referring to the initial tests recommended by the DEQ. "I thought we were good because we tested and it came back negative...but then I was informed that it was for a different type of dioxin not tested for," he added, referring to the latest test results done on water outside the city.

According to the Allegan County Health Department, wells outside city limits tested positive for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran. A news release from the health department indicated those chemicals may have been created during paper manufacturing, once a main industry in and around Otsego.

Dioxins are chemical compounds that are widely known to be linked to disease and several cancers.Although much of West Michigan is rightfully concerned about the presence of PFAs in water supplies, environmental engineer Michael Pinto says there's plenty of evidence to suggest the presence of dioxins could prove to be even more damaging to humans.

Protesters want director at Bay Pines gone, not transferred

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BAY PINES, Fla. (WFLA) - With her husband Lonnie's flag box in her arms, Sheila Kilpatrick joined a small group protesting the VA appointing Bay Pines Director Suzanne Klinker as a Regional Deputy Director for an area that extends from south Georgia to the U.S. Virgin Islands.

"She doesn't deserve it, she needs to be fired," said Kilpatrick.

For several years, Bay Pines treated veteran Lonnie Kilpatrick.

"Lonnie was given terrible treatment here," explained Kilpatrick.

His severe back pain, VA doctors claimed was caused by osteoarthritis.

"We begged and begged to see oncologists and better doctors," stated Kilpatrick.

Rushed to a civilian hospital in agony, doctors in February discovered Lonnie Kilpatrick had stage 4 kidney cancer.

"I went from having osteoarthritis to having metastasized bone cancer all over my body," Lonnie Kilpatrick said in a February interview. "How the hell do you do that, you know?"

Lonnie Kilpatrick's health issues began in the 70s on Guam, where he was stationed during the Vietnam war and exposed to the toxic weed killer Agent Orange.

The VA initially denied him Agent Orange benefits.

As 8 On Your Side worked with Congressman Gus Bilirakis to secure those benefits, we also chronicled Lonnie's steady decline. 

His daughter Kassie recorded some of her father's last words about his struggle with the VA and his impending death.

"Make something out of it," he whispered. "Make it count."

"This place killed Lonnie Kilpatrick as far as I'm concerned," Marine veteran and protester Brian Moyer said, pointing at Bay Pines.

September is Prostate Cancer Awareness Month

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Prostate cancer is the second most common form of cancer in men, lung cancer being first, striking approximately 165,000 men each year with about 30,000 dying of the disease.

Caught early, prostate cancer can be treated, usually successfully. But remember, in early stages, prostate cancer has no symptoms, so don't wait for "something bad" to happen to Get It Checked.

Compared with other men, African-American men and men with a family history of the disease are at higher risk of developing prostate cancer. A man with a father or brother who had prostate cancer is twice as likely to develop the disease.

For almost 30 years, doctors have had a powerful weapon in their arsenal for detecting prostate cancer. In addition to the digital rectal exam (DRE) patients can have a simple blood test called a prostate-specific antigen (PSA), that will detect a majority of prostate problems early. Since the PSA has been used, prostate cancer deaths have declined and the number of successfully treated prostate cancer cases has risen.

During September—Prostate Cancer Awareness Month—Men’s Health Network is urging men to talk to their healthcare providers about prostate cancer. They also encourage women to get involved and urge their husbands, fathers, brothers, and other loved ones to talk to their healthcare provider about prostate screening, including the PSA and DRE tests.

AGENT ORANGE TOWN HALL MEETING SCHEDULE

We update our meetings regularly on the Town Hall Meeting Calendar:

https://vva.org/AOTownHall.html

September 22, 2018

Chillicothe, Ohio

Contact: Thomas Estes

740- 279-8717

thomasestes1776@outlook.com

October 13, 2018

Oxford, Michigan

Contact: Richard Lash

rd_lash@hotmail.com

248-394-0141

October 28,  2018

Fargo, North Dakota

Contact: Becky Bergman 701-200-7193

Maynard Kaderlik 507-581-6402

Dan Stenvold 701-331-2104

VA to Add Medical Staff After 'Rust and Blood' Found on Surgical Instruments

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At the Manchester, New Hampshire, VA Medical Center last year, surgeries were canceled when debris that appeared to be "rust and blood" was found on instruments doctors were about to use.

At the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center last year, the staff ran out of sterilized instruments, and even bone marrow, and had to borrow them from neighboring hospitals.

At the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center, 83 surgeries were cancelled in 2016 because of fly infestations in operating rooms.

Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tennessee, a medical doctor and chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said he found it amazing that the Veterans Health Administration within the VA was struggling to fulfill the "most basic function" of its hospitals: "to make sure you have sterile equipment."

"It's astonishing to me," Roe said at a hearing Wednesday before the Subcommittee On Oversight and Investigations.

Roe, who served two years in the Army Medical Corps, said he had performed or assisted in thousands of surgeries.

"I never even thought about it, was the equipment going to be sterile that I'm using today?" he said.

In response, Dr. Teresa Boyd, the VA's assistant under secretary for Health for Clinical Operations, acknowledged the problem but pointed to mitigating data on the surgical site infection rate.

Japan, Vietnam to launch dioxin cleanup project

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A Japanese engineering firm and Vietnam's Defense Ministry will start a project to decontaminate soil tainted with the defoliant Agent Orange, which the US military used during the Vietnam War.

Representatives from Shimizu Corporation and the ministry held a ceremony in Hanoi on Tuesday.

A ministry official said resolving the issues deriving from Agent Orange is an urgent task for the country, and the project will be highly significant.

The project will begin in November at an airport in the southern city of Bien Hoa. 850,000 tons of soil at this site are believed to be polluted.

Shimizu will use its technology to clean up the soil.

The company says its method is more environmentally friendly and is cheaper than the conventional method of incinerating tainted soil.

More than 3 million people are still suffering from health problems caused by Agent Orange, which the US began using in 1961.

More than 4 decades after the war ended, high concentrations of dioxin are still being detected at nearly 30 locations where the US military stored the agent.

The project is attracting attention because the high cost of removing the pollutant has hampered the efforts to clean up contaminated soil across Vietnam.

Vallejo wins Defense Department contract to make Mare Island Naval Cemetery repairs

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Mare Island Naval Shipyard closed in 1998, the Navy transferred the property to the City of Vallejo, with no plan to maintain the cemetery. Over the years it fell into disrepair. The cemetery contains the remains of Francis Scott Key's daughter, and three Medal of Honor recipients.

The Department of Defense has approved an application by the City of Vallejo to begin planning initial repairs to the Mare Island Naval Cemetery, U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson announced Thursday.

Work will include repairing or replacing fencing, installing a flagpole, and repairing the damaged drainage system, according to the announcement.

These improvements will be done through the DOD’s Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) program, which is designed to provide training for reserve forces while also bettering local communities through medical or engineering support, Thompson’s office said.

“This is an exciting announcement that provides a plan to begin repairs on the Mare Island Cemetery and an important step toward giving our fallen heroes the final resting place they deserve,” Thompson (D-St. Helena) said. “It also highlights the work still to be done to fully restore the cemetery and I will continue fighting for every possible avenue that will allow us to complete this important task.”

The City of Vallejo applied for assistance with these engineering projects through the IRT program and was approved through support by Thompson, who has been championing restoration of the cemetery, including with a bill to transfer the cemetery’s control to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Thompson’s bill to help restore the cemetery has more than 70 Democrat and Republican cosponsors and is supported by five major veterans service organizations, his staff says.

A companion bill by Sen. Dianne Feinstein is also working its way through the senate.

The IRT work wouldn’t likely begin until late 2019, subject to the availability of the IRT unit, further cost negotiations with the city, and other necessary advance work, including environmental reviews, Thompson’s office said.

Those months during which the cemetery can further deteriorate is the bad news portion of this announcement, said Ralph Parrott, the retired Virginia-based retired Navy captain whose chance day trip to the island sparked the effort to get it restored and maintained.

AGENT ORANGE TOWN HALL MEETING SCHEDULE

We update our meetings regularly on the Town Hall Meeting Calendar:

https://vva.org/AOTownHall.html

September 22, 2018

Chillicothe, Ohio

Contact: Thomas Estes

740- 279-8717

thomasestes1776@outlook.com

October 13, 2018

Oxford, Michigan

Contact: Richard Lash, President

rd_lash@hotmail.com

248-394-0141

Monsanto court ruling bolsters the hope for millions of Vietnamese Agent Orange victims

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HÀ NỘI — Vietnamese victims of Agent Orange have once again had their hopes for justice rekindled. But despite the recent landmark ruling against Monsanto in a San Francisco court, major obstacles remain on the path towards justice.

On August 11, the US court ruled that the multinational agrochemical corporation was liable for the health issues of a former groundskeeper, Dewayne Johnson, who claims that Monsato’s weed-killer product (Roundup) contains carcinogens that cause his cancers.

The company was ordered to pay US$289 million as compensation for past and future economic losses and punitive damages to the American citizen, in a closely watched case that bears many similarities to the legal battle waged on behalf of Vietnamese victims.

The US chemical group Monsanto has long been associated with the Agent Orange devastation in Việt Nam.