Committee on Risk Assessment of the Medical Countermeasures Test and
Evaluation (MCMT&E) Facility at Fort Detrick, Maryland; National
Research Council
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13265
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
Veterans keep waiting for their just rewards
http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/oct/01/anthony-westbury-veterans-keep-waiting-for-their/
Cathryn Currie of St. Lucie West is sick of waiting.
She has spent the past two years going back and forth with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs over disability payments for her Vietnam veteran husband's service-related illnesses.
Sadly, her husband, Tech. Sgt. William C. Currie, couldn't wait anymore.
He died in January, suffering from dementia, prostate cancer and Parkinson's Disease that the VA agreed in 2010 were a result of his exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange during two tours in Vietnam.
Over the past two years, his widow has amassed a mountain of paperwork relating to the claim, and the VA keeps asking for the same information over and over, she said.
"Are they waiting for me to die, too?," Currie, 77, wonders. She calls the VA's Pension Maintenance Center in Philadelphia "a broken-down business."
READ MORE: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/oct/01/anthony-westbury-veterans-keep-waiting-for-their/
Cathryn Currie of St. Lucie West is sick of waiting.
She has spent the past two years going back and forth with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs over disability payments for her Vietnam veteran husband's service-related illnesses.
Sadly, her husband, Tech. Sgt. William C. Currie, couldn't wait anymore.
He died in January, suffering from dementia, prostate cancer and Parkinson's Disease that the VA agreed in 2010 were a result of his exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange during two tours in Vietnam.
Over the past two years, his widow has amassed a mountain of paperwork relating to the claim, and the VA keeps asking for the same information over and over, she said.
"Are they waiting for me to die, too?," Currie, 77, wonders. She calls the VA's Pension Maintenance Center in Philadelphia "a broken-down business."
READ MORE: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/oct/01/anthony-westbury-veterans-keep-waiting-for-their/
Judge Lets Agent Orange Case Against Monsanto Proceed
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2011/09/29/217902.htm
Monsanto Co. has lost a bid to close part of a lawsuit alleging the company caused health injuries to residents living near a plant that made the Vietnam War-era U.S. military defoliant “Agent Orange.”
Monsanto, which operated a Nitro, West Virginia, chemical plant from 1934 to 2000, argued it was working as a government contractor and therefore protected from certain claims related to its waste disposal at that facility.
But U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in New York on Wednesday rejected the company’s request for partial summary judgment based on its “government contractor defense” and said the suit, filed in 2009 by West Virginia residents, could proceed.
Monsanto spokesman Thomas Helscher said the case related to “the former Monsanto company from over 40 years ago.”
“Although the motion has been denied at this time, we remain confident that we will prevail on the merits at the trial of this case,” Helscher said.
In his written ruling, Gardephe cited the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upholding a trial court’s finding in signature Agent Orange litigation.
“Here, there is no evidence that the U.S. government was ever aware of the alleged open pit burning practice, much less that it had evaluated the hazard posed by such a practice,” Gardephe said.
“Because defendants have not demonstrated that the complained-of activity — the open pit burning of dioxin waste at the Nitro plant — was conducted ‘pursuant to reasonably precise government specifications,’ their motion for summary judgment based on the government contractor defense must be denied,” the judge said.
Monsanto manufactured a herbicide — 2,4,5- trichlorophenoxyacacidic acid (“2,4,5-T”) — a compound used in “Agent Orange,” so-called in the Vietnam War because of the orange color of the barrels in which it was stored.
Plaintiffs Mary Spaulding and Sandy Spaulding lived in the Nitro area during the period of Monsanto’s activities and said they suffered injuries from being exposed to the harmful chemicals, which are also known as dioxins, due to negligence disposal practices by Monsanto.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs allege Monsanto disposed of the dangerous dioxin waste by burning the materials in open pits. They said the dioxin also contaminated soils.
In 1984, seven chemical companies, including Dow Chemical and Monsanto, agreed to a $180 million settlement with U.S. veterans who claimed that agent orange caused health problems.
The case is Mary Spaulding and Sandy Spaulding v. Monsanto Company, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 09-09470.
Monsanto Co. has lost a bid to close part of a lawsuit alleging the company caused health injuries to residents living near a plant that made the Vietnam War-era U.S. military defoliant “Agent Orange.”
Monsanto, which operated a Nitro, West Virginia, chemical plant from 1934 to 2000, argued it was working as a government contractor and therefore protected from certain claims related to its waste disposal at that facility.
But U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe in New York on Wednesday rejected the company’s request for partial summary judgment based on its “government contractor defense” and said the suit, filed in 2009 by West Virginia residents, could proceed.
Monsanto spokesman Thomas Helscher said the case related to “the former Monsanto company from over 40 years ago.”
“Although the motion has been denied at this time, we remain confident that we will prevail on the merits at the trial of this case,” Helscher said.
In his written ruling, Gardephe cited the 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upholding a trial court’s finding in signature Agent Orange litigation.
“Here, there is no evidence that the U.S. government was ever aware of the alleged open pit burning practice, much less that it had evaluated the hazard posed by such a practice,” Gardephe said.
“Because defendants have not demonstrated that the complained-of activity — the open pit burning of dioxin waste at the Nitro plant — was conducted ‘pursuant to reasonably precise government specifications,’ their motion for summary judgment based on the government contractor defense must be denied,” the judge said.
Monsanto manufactured a herbicide — 2,4,5- trichlorophenoxyacacidic acid (“2,4,5-T”) — a compound used in “Agent Orange,” so-called in the Vietnam War because of the orange color of the barrels in which it was stored.
Plaintiffs Mary Spaulding and Sandy Spaulding lived in the Nitro area during the period of Monsanto’s activities and said they suffered injuries from being exposed to the harmful chemicals, which are also known as dioxins, due to negligence disposal practices by Monsanto.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs allege Monsanto disposed of the dangerous dioxin waste by burning the materials in open pits. They said the dioxin also contaminated soils.
In 1984, seven chemical companies, including Dow Chemical and Monsanto, agreed to a $180 million settlement with U.S. veterans who claimed that agent orange caused health problems.
The case is Mary Spaulding and Sandy Spaulding v. Monsanto Company, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, No. 09-09470.
Children of Agent Orange - How a group of US veterans in Vietnam are trying to atone for the mistakes of the past
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/peopleandpower/2011/09/2011928111920665336.html
Fifty years ago this month, in the early stages of the Vietnam War, the US military began spraying rural areas of the country with the herbicide, Agent Orange. The programme's goal was to defoliate forested land, depriving the enemy Viet Cong of cover and driving peasants to the cities, thus destroying the Viet Cong's support base and food supply.
Over the next 10 years more than 80 million litres were deployed across 7.4 million hectares of Vietnam, eastern Laos and parts of Cambodia. They were an effective defoliant, but there is strong evidence that the deadly dioxins contained in Agent Orange also had a catastrophic effect on the health of millions of Vietnamese – killing hundreds of thousands and causing dreadful diseases and birth defects in subsequent generations right up to this day.
Thousands of US servicemen - men who handled the herbicide and who operated in areas where it was deployed - were affected too, and they and their families eventually won compensation through the courts. But attempts to get similar US financial aid for the Vietnamese victims, or even much help with a clean up of polluted land, have been less successful.
With many areas of Vietnam still poisoned by the dioxin and the country's hard pressed health and welfare services struggling to support those suffering, this film by Risto Vuorinen tells the remarkable story of the children of Agent Orange and a group of US veterans in Vietnam who are trying to atone for the mistakes of the past.
Fifty years ago this month, in the early stages of the Vietnam War, the US military began spraying rural areas of the country with the herbicide, Agent Orange. The programme's goal was to defoliate forested land, depriving the enemy Viet Cong of cover and driving peasants to the cities, thus destroying the Viet Cong's support base and food supply.
Over the next 10 years more than 80 million litres were deployed across 7.4 million hectares of Vietnam, eastern Laos and parts of Cambodia. They were an effective defoliant, but there is strong evidence that the deadly dioxins contained in Agent Orange also had a catastrophic effect on the health of millions of Vietnamese – killing hundreds of thousands and causing dreadful diseases and birth defects in subsequent generations right up to this day.
Thousands of US servicemen - men who handled the herbicide and who operated in areas where it was deployed - were affected too, and they and their families eventually won compensation through the courts. But attempts to get similar US financial aid for the Vietnamese victims, or even much help with a clean up of polluted land, have been less successful.
With many areas of Vietnam still poisoned by the dioxin and the country's hard pressed health and welfare services struggling to support those suffering, this film by Risto Vuorinen tells the remarkable story of the children of Agent Orange and a group of US veterans in Vietnam who are trying to atone for the mistakes of the past.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Gillibrand, Graham To Help 250,000 Vietnam Vets Harmed By Agent Orange, But Ignored By Feds Due To Technicality In The Law
http://gillibrand.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=ba519e08-57cc-4d7d-8fde-d56fd7a967b0
Current Law Would Require VA to Provide Benefits for Service Members Exposed to Agent Orange On Dry Ground, But Ignores Vets In the Water
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced legislation to ensure that more than 250,000 Navy veterans from the Vietnam War exposed to the powerful toxin Agent Orange will be eligible to receive the disability and health care benefits they have earned for diseases linked to Agent Orange exposure. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military sprayed approximately 20 million gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam to remove jungle foliage. This toxic chemical had devastating effects for millions serving in Vietnam. In 1991, Congress passed a law requiring the Veterans Administration (VA) to provide presumptive coverage to Vietnam veterans with illnesses that the Institute of Medicine has directly linked to Agent Orange exposure. However, in 2002 the VA determined that it would only cover Veterans who could prove that they had orders for “boots on the ground” during the Vietnam War. This exclusion affects as many as 250,000 sailors who may have still received significant Agent Orange exposure from receiving VA benefits.
“Because of technicality in the law, hundreds of thousands of American veterans are being denied the benefits they need and deserve,” Senator Gillibrand said. “Our government must fulfill its commitment to the service members who have fallen victim to Agent Orange-related disease and enact new legislation that will provide our vets with the disability compensation and healthcare benefits they have earned. Agent Orange is a very difficult chapter in our nation’s history. It is time that we correct the errors of the past.”
“This is a legacy issue that needs to be dealt with,” said Senator Graham. “There are Vietnam vets who are suffering from Agent-Orange related illnesses and we need to ensure they are getting the care they need. It’s now time to ensure the government takes care of their needs which were incurred during their defense of our nation.”
READ MORE: http://gillibrand.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=ba519e08-57cc-4d7d-8fde-d56fd7a967b0
Current Law Would Require VA to Provide Benefits for Service Members Exposed to Agent Orange On Dry Ground, But Ignores Vets In the Water
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) introduced legislation to ensure that more than 250,000 Navy veterans from the Vietnam War exposed to the powerful toxin Agent Orange will be eligible to receive the disability and health care benefits they have earned for diseases linked to Agent Orange exposure. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. military sprayed approximately 20 million gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam to remove jungle foliage. This toxic chemical had devastating effects for millions serving in Vietnam. In 1991, Congress passed a law requiring the Veterans Administration (VA) to provide presumptive coverage to Vietnam veterans with illnesses that the Institute of Medicine has directly linked to Agent Orange exposure. However, in 2002 the VA determined that it would only cover Veterans who could prove that they had orders for “boots on the ground” during the Vietnam War. This exclusion affects as many as 250,000 sailors who may have still received significant Agent Orange exposure from receiving VA benefits.
“Because of technicality in the law, hundreds of thousands of American veterans are being denied the benefits they need and deserve,” Senator Gillibrand said. “Our government must fulfill its commitment to the service members who have fallen victim to Agent Orange-related disease and enact new legislation that will provide our vets with the disability compensation and healthcare benefits they have earned. Agent Orange is a very difficult chapter in our nation’s history. It is time that we correct the errors of the past.”
“This is a legacy issue that needs to be dealt with,” said Senator Graham. “There are Vietnam vets who are suffering from Agent-Orange related illnesses and we need to ensure they are getting the care they need. It’s now time to ensure the government takes care of their needs which were incurred during their defense of our nation.”
READ MORE: http://gillibrand.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/?id=ba519e08-57cc-4d7d-8fde-d56fd7a967b0
Vitenam Navy Vets Deserve Better Than Second-Class Treatment
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dc/2011/09/vitenam-navy-vets-deserve-better-than-second-class-treatment
By ALISON GENDAR
New York’s junior senator is leading a bi-partisan push to make sure thousands of Naval vets exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War get the health benefits they are entitled to.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) teamed up with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R—N.C.) on legislation that would enable Naval veterans exposed to the toxin to get disability and health care benefits.
The Veterans Administration decided in 2002 it would only provide Agent Orange benefits to veterans who could prove they had orders for “boots on the ground,” a definition that excluded some 250,000 sailors who may have still received significant Agent Orange exposure.
“Because of technicality in the law, hundreds of thousands of American veterans are being denied the benefits they need and deserve,” Gillibrand said.
“Agent Orange is a very difficult chapter in our nation’s history. It is time that we correct the errors of the past," she said.
The U.S. military sprayed approximately 20 million gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam to remove jungle foliage.
Blue Water Navy Vets – veterans who were on duty in the waters around Vietnam, but did not have “boots on the ground” – were often exposed to Agent Orange on a daily basis, Gillibrand noted.
In 2005, the VA’s former director of Environmental Agents Service publicly acknowledged that there was no scientific basis for the exclusion of Blue Water Vietnam veterans, but the VA has continued to refuse these veterans the benefits.
By ALISON GENDAR
New York’s junior senator is leading a bi-partisan push to make sure thousands of Naval vets exposed to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War get the health benefits they are entitled to.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) teamed up with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R—N.C.) on legislation that would enable Naval veterans exposed to the toxin to get disability and health care benefits.
The Veterans Administration decided in 2002 it would only provide Agent Orange benefits to veterans who could prove they had orders for “boots on the ground,” a definition that excluded some 250,000 sailors who may have still received significant Agent Orange exposure.
“Because of technicality in the law, hundreds of thousands of American veterans are being denied the benefits they need and deserve,” Gillibrand said.
“Agent Orange is a very difficult chapter in our nation’s history. It is time that we correct the errors of the past," she said.
The U.S. military sprayed approximately 20 million gallons of Agent Orange in Vietnam to remove jungle foliage.
Blue Water Navy Vets – veterans who were on duty in the waters around Vietnam, but did not have “boots on the ground” – were often exposed to Agent Orange on a daily basis, Gillibrand noted.
In 2005, the VA’s former director of Environmental Agents Service publicly acknowledged that there was no scientific basis for the exclusion of Blue Water Vietnam veterans, but the VA has continued to refuse these veterans the benefits.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Loose Cannons Inc. invites you & friends to an
Open House
with Noam Chomsky & Fred Wilcox, author of
Scorched Earth: Legacies of Chemical Warfare in Vietnam &
Waiting for an Army to Die: The Tragedy of Agent Orange
Monday, October 17, 2011
2 to 3:30 pm
at
Loose Cannons Inc.
471 West End Avenue (near 82nd Street) NY NY 10024
followed by a
Colloquy and Book-signing
with Noam Chomsky & Fred Wilcox
4 pm
at the
Housing Works Thrift Store
2569 Broadway (near 96th Street) NY NY 10025
Vietnamese food will be served at the Open House.
Photo enlargements & books will be on sale.
Raising Awareness in Memory of Dad
http://www.vetsfirst.org/raising-awareness-in-memory-of-dad/
“This month is Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. My father-in-law was a Vietnam veteran who was diagnosed with a form of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He passed away in 4 months. We never put it together that he was a veteran and that his condition was presumptively related to his service. Below, my husband Jonathan shares his story. We hope you also take a moment to watch the video we put together in his memory.” ––Heather Ansley, Esq., MSW, VetsFirst director of Veterans Policy.
My dad, James Ansley, was a Vietnam veteran. He died on January 4, 2008. Four months earlier, he had been diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Anytime something like this happens it is difficult at best.
Unfortunately, my dad’s fortunes crashed with the real estate market in Florida. When he got sick, he had no health insurance and few other resources.
My family did not have time to process the emotions of the situation. We spent our time applying for Medicaid, Social Security disability, and food stamps for my dad. We also moved him from Florida to live with my sister in Arkansas.
It wasn’t until after he passed away that we realized his cancer was presumptively related to his military service in Vietnam. If we had understood VA benefits, we would have known that he most likely would have been eligible for VA disability compensation and health care.
My dad liked to help people. This month is Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. It is in his memory that my wife Heather and I pass along his story in hopes of helping another family.
If you or someone you know served in Vietnam and has cancer or another serious disease, please check here to see if you may be eligible for VA benefits.
“This month is Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. My father-in-law was a Vietnam veteran who was diagnosed with a form of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He passed away in 4 months. We never put it together that he was a veteran and that his condition was presumptively related to his service. Below, my husband Jonathan shares his story. We hope you also take a moment to watch the video we put together in his memory.” ––Heather Ansley, Esq., MSW, VetsFirst director of Veterans Policy.
My dad, James Ansley, was a Vietnam veteran. He died on January 4, 2008. Four months earlier, he had been diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Anytime something like this happens it is difficult at best.
Unfortunately, my dad’s fortunes crashed with the real estate market in Florida. When he got sick, he had no health insurance and few other resources.
My family did not have time to process the emotions of the situation. We spent our time applying for Medicaid, Social Security disability, and food stamps for my dad. We also moved him from Florida to live with my sister in Arkansas.
It wasn’t until after he passed away that we realized his cancer was presumptively related to his military service in Vietnam. If we had understood VA benefits, we would have known that he most likely would have been eligible for VA disability compensation and health care.
My dad liked to help people. This month is Leukemia and Lymphoma Awareness Month. It is in his memory that my wife Heather and I pass along his story in hopes of helping another family.
If you or someone you know served in Vietnam and has cancer or another serious disease, please check here to see if you may be eligible for VA benefits.
Agent Orange Woes Draw Attention From Blumenthal, National Vets Group
http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/health/entry/agent_orange_woes_draw_attention_from_blumenthal_national_vets_group/
by Lisa Chedekel
Over the years, Andy Gow of Wallingford didn’t know what to make of word that more and more of his former Air Force buddies were being diagnosed with prostate cancer or diabetes.
Then, in 2003, he got the news firsthand—he had both diseases – and began to connect the dots.
“I never had boots on the ground in Vietnam, but I know for a fact that they were spraying Agent Orange” at Udorn base in Thailand, about 10 miles from where Gow was stationed from 1967 to 1969. “A lot of the guys who are sick have filed claims with the VA, but they’ve all been rejected. It doesn’t seem right.”
Gow was among about a dozen veterans who met Tuesday in Rocky Hill for an informal discussion of Agent Orange exposure with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., state veterans affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz, and Rick Weidman, executive director for policy & government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America. Blumenthal and Schwartz convened the meeting to begin forming an action plan to help Vietnam veterans suffering from health problems connected to Agent Orange exposure get compensation from the VA.
“The health problems of our veterans who were exposed to substances used in Vietnam, without any real knowledge, are something we should not ignore,” Blumenthal told the group. “This is a step towards educating us to see what we can do.”
The group said that while the VA has taken steps to expand the list of illnesses linked to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, the agency has yet to recognize claims from veterans who did not serve in-country, but were exposed to residual toxins in the U.S. and other countries. That issue is of special interest in New England, where many Air Force reservists from Connecticut and Massachusetts flew out of Westover Air Force Base on planes that had been used to spray the herbicides.
READ MORE: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/health/entry/agent_orange_woes_draw_attention_from_blumenthal_national_vets_group/
by Lisa Chedekel
Over the years, Andy Gow of Wallingford didn’t know what to make of word that more and more of his former Air Force buddies were being diagnosed with prostate cancer or diabetes.
Then, in 2003, he got the news firsthand—he had both diseases – and began to connect the dots.
“I never had boots on the ground in Vietnam, but I know for a fact that they were spraying Agent Orange” at Udorn base in Thailand, about 10 miles from where Gow was stationed from 1967 to 1969. “A lot of the guys who are sick have filed claims with the VA, but they’ve all been rejected. It doesn’t seem right.”
Gow was among about a dozen veterans who met Tuesday in Rocky Hill for an informal discussion of Agent Orange exposure with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., state veterans affairs Commissioner Linda Schwartz, and Rick Weidman, executive director for policy & government affairs for Vietnam Veterans of America. Blumenthal and Schwartz convened the meeting to begin forming an action plan to help Vietnam veterans suffering from health problems connected to Agent Orange exposure get compensation from the VA.
“The health problems of our veterans who were exposed to substances used in Vietnam, without any real knowledge, are something we should not ignore,” Blumenthal told the group. “This is a step towards educating us to see what we can do.”
The group said that while the VA has taken steps to expand the list of illnesses linked to Agent Orange exposure in Vietnam, the agency has yet to recognize claims from veterans who did not serve in-country, but were exposed to residual toxins in the U.S. and other countries. That issue is of special interest in New England, where many Air Force reservists from Connecticut and Massachusetts flew out of Westover Air Force Base on planes that had been used to spray the herbicides.
READ MORE: http://www.newhavenindependent.org/index.php/health/entry/agent_orange_woes_draw_attention_from_blumenthal_national_vets_group/
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
The Toxic Chemical Dioxin
http://www.ttcdd.org/2011/09/22/the-toxic-chemical-dioxin/
The question seemed simple.
“In human medicine, most people would agree that a person becomes sick with a cold or flu when their immune system is depressed. Has anyone thought about what that suppress the immune system of humans and chickens inVietnam, making them? more sensitive to the lethal H5N1 Has anyone looked into that suppress the immune system of migratory birds “The question was posed to Dr. Alex Thiermann, President of the Organization of the OIE, World Organization Animal Health at its summit bird flu first in Washington, DC, February 27? – 28, 2006. His answer: “Nobody looks at it in reality, no one has even thought about it” was repeated by journalists and academics during the coffee break that followed.
An investigation into the immunosuppressive effects of chemicals in the environment – with particular emphasis on dioxins – can shed light on the houses scattered and disconnected, apparently of avian flu around the world. The association between dioxin and the flu can still explain the increased number of deaths in China,Vietnam,Indonesia and in particular.
READ MORE: http://www.ttcdd.org/2011/09/22/the-toxic-chemical-dioxin/
The question seemed simple.
“In human medicine, most people would agree that a person becomes sick with a cold or flu when their immune system is depressed. Has anyone thought about what that suppress the immune system of humans and chickens inVietnam, making them? more sensitive to the lethal H5N1 Has anyone looked into that suppress the immune system of migratory birds “The question was posed to Dr. Alex Thiermann, President of the Organization of the OIE, World Organization Animal Health at its summit bird flu first in Washington, DC, February 27? – 28, 2006. His answer: “Nobody looks at it in reality, no one has even thought about it” was repeated by journalists and academics during the coffee break that followed.
An investigation into the immunosuppressive effects of chemicals in the environment – with particular emphasis on dioxins – can shed light on the houses scattered and disconnected, apparently of avian flu around the world. The association between dioxin and the flu can still explain the increased number of deaths in China,Vietnam,Indonesia and in particular.
READ MORE: http://www.ttcdd.org/2011/09/22/the-toxic-chemical-dioxin/
Dioxins present at Parker Street Waste Site
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110926/NEWS/109260318/-1/NEWS10
By Dan McDonald
September 26, 2011 12:00 AM
NEW BEDFORD — A recent environmental consultant memo affirms that dioxins are present in soil around the high school, according to a scientist, while CLEAN, a local environmental advocacy group, is calling for more assessment at the site.
In June, city consultants took soil samples from around the high school and proceeded to test the samples for dioxins and dioxin-like compounds.
The consultants, Lowell-based TRC, released a memo last week regarding the sampling.
The school sits atop the Parker Street Waste Site, which formerly was an industrial burn dump for decades during the last century.
While acknowledging that "it is difficult to assess what the data from the June sampling means in the big picture," Ian Phillips, a scientist who is working pro bono for CLEAN, did say the memo indicates "they need to consider dioxins as a contaminant of concern at the site."
Polychlorinated biphenyls, organic compounds considered to be carcinogenic by the Department of Health and Human Services, were used in lubricating agents in the manufacture of electrolytic capacitors at New Bedford factories, and were among the substances dumped at Parker Street. They were not known to cause cancer at the time.
Dioxins are toxic compounds that result from the burning of PCBs and other organic materials.
Tom Derosier, CLEAN vice president, said based on "the dioxin sampling that has been done to date, it only validates that more investigation has to be done."
READ MORE: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110926/NEWS/109260318/-1/NEWS10
By Dan McDonald
September 26, 2011 12:00 AM
NEW BEDFORD — A recent environmental consultant memo affirms that dioxins are present in soil around the high school, according to a scientist, while CLEAN, a local environmental advocacy group, is calling for more assessment at the site.
In June, city consultants took soil samples from around the high school and proceeded to test the samples for dioxins and dioxin-like compounds.
The consultants, Lowell-based TRC, released a memo last week regarding the sampling.
The school sits atop the Parker Street Waste Site, which formerly was an industrial burn dump for decades during the last century.
While acknowledging that "it is difficult to assess what the data from the June sampling means in the big picture," Ian Phillips, a scientist who is working pro bono for CLEAN, did say the memo indicates "they need to consider dioxins as a contaminant of concern at the site."
Polychlorinated biphenyls, organic compounds considered to be carcinogenic by the Department of Health and Human Services, were used in lubricating agents in the manufacture of electrolytic capacitors at New Bedford factories, and were among the substances dumped at Parker Street. They were not known to cause cancer at the time.
Dioxins are toxic compounds that result from the burning of PCBs and other organic materials.
Tom Derosier, CLEAN vice president, said based on "the dioxin sampling that has been done to date, it only validates that more investigation has to be done."
READ MORE: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110926/NEWS/109260318/-1/NEWS10
THE ASPEN INSTITUTE, USAID AND PUBLIC AND PRIVATE PARTNERS COMMIT TO HELP DISABLED IN VIETNAM AT THE CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE
The Rockefeller Foundation, Children of Vietnam , IBM and Hyatt among private donors
New York, NY, September 22, 2011 –– At the 2011 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the Aspen Institute, the Rockefeller Foundation, IBM, Hyatt Hotels and many other private sector donors, committed to provide assistance to address the challenges of the disabled in Vietnam, without regard to cause.
The announcement at the CGI, valued at over $3.5 million, represents a unique opportunity for governments, foundations and the private sector to coordinate efforts to improve the lives of people with disabilities.
In the 40 years since the end of the war in Vietnam , the country has become a regional economic and commercial leader, and its relations with the United States have steadily improved. But high rates of physical and mental disabilities have continued to afflict the Vietnamese, causing heartache to countless families and a major economic burden to the country.
The CGI commitment includes $3 million from USAID. “In Vietnam , the U.S. Government has provided over $48 million in assistance since 1989 to people with disabilities. USAID’s assistance addresses the health, education, livelihood and social needs and promotes equal opportunities for and social integration of people with disabilities to enable them to contribute to Vietnam ’s growing economy,” said Frank Donovan, USAID Mission Director in Vietnam .
The US-Vietnam Dialogue Group on Agent Orange/Dioxin, has created a comprehensive ten-year strategic Plan of Action that includes practical steps to expand humanitarian services to people with disabilities and their families, without regard to cause. The Dialogue Group is co-chaired by Aspen Institute president Walter Isaacson, who remarked that the Dialogue Group “has helped move both countries towards a common understanding of how to address the challenge of meeting the needs of people with disabilities. We are delighted to see the Plan of Action’s recommendations gain real momentum with help from so many partners.”
Dr. Charles Bailey heads Aspen’s program, which seeks financial contributions and in-kind technical assistance from US corporations, foundations and private individuals, as well as governments, in an unusual alliance of public and private partners in the two countries. The program will support projects which pilot and expand models for comprehensive services benefiting people with disabilities and their families, in collaboration with local governments and agencies in Vietnam . This program will demonstrate ways that alliances of public and private partners can contribute to improving the lives of people with disabilities.
Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) convenes global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI Annual Meetings have brought together nearly 150 current and former heads of state, 18 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, along with heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective nongovernmental organizations, and prominent members of the media. These CGI members have made nearly 2,000 commitments, which have already improved the lives of 300 million people in more than 180 countries. When fully funded and implemented, these commitments will be valued in excess of $63 billion. The CGI community also includes CGI University (CGI U), a forum to engage college students in global citizenship, MyCommitment.org, an online portal where anybody can make a Commitment to Action, and CGI Lead, which engages a select group of young CGI members for leadership development and collective commitment-making. CGI America is the newest addition to this community. For more information, visit www.clintonglobalinitiative.org.
The Aspen Institute mission is twofold: to foster values-based leadership, encouraging individuals to reflect on the ideals and ideas that define a good society, and to provide a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues. The Aspen Institute does this primarily in four ways: seminars, young-leader fellowships around the globe, policy programs, and public conferences and events. The Institute is based in Washington , DC ; Aspen , Colorado ; and on the Wye River on Maryland 's Eastern Shore . It also has offices in New York City and an international network of partners. For more information, visit http://www.aspeninstitute.org/
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