Co-Sponsorrs added to H.R. 1769 and S.901 the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015

Congressman Dan Benishek, (MI-1) has introduced H.R.1769 the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015 co-sponsored by Congressman Mike Honda (CA-17th). Joining their House colleagues in support of H.R. 1769 are:

Representative Paul Cook (CA-8)
Representative Elizabeth H. Esty (CT-5)
Representative Gus Bilirakis (FL-12)
Representative David Jolly (FL-13)
Representative Dennis Ross (FL-15)
Representative Sandford Bishop (GA-2)
Representative Mike Quigley (IL-5)
Representative Tammy Duckworth (IL-8)
Representative Cheri Bustos (IL-17)
Representative Kevin Yoder (KS-3)
Representative Chellie Pingree (ME-1)
Representative James P. McGovern (MA-2)
Representative John Conyers (MI-13)
Representative Ann Kuster (NH-2)
Representative Lee M. Zeldin (NY-1)
Representative Steve Israel (NY-3)
Representative Robert E. Latta (OH-5)
Representative Bill Johnson (OH-6)
Representative Ryan Costello (PA-6)
Representative Gerald Connolly (VA-11)

If your member is not on the list go to http://capwiz.com/vva/home/ and enter your Zip Code and send the prepared letter to your Representative asking them to join their colleagues and co-sponsor H.R. 1769 the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015. Please follow-up your letter with a call or visit to their offices.

Senator Jerry Moran (KS), has introduced S.901 the Toxic Exposure Research Act of 2015 co-sponsored by Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT), companion bill to H.R. 1769.

Joining their Senate colleagues in support of S.901 are Senators:

Steven Daines, (MT)
Kirsten E. Gillibrand (NY)
Jon Tester (MT)

It’s official: Vietnam licenses genetically modified organisms

http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/its-official-vietnam-licenses-genetically-modified-organisms-30220.html

Vietnam has approved the importation of several genetically-modified (GM) corn varieties and left it to the environment ministry to decide whether to plant the controversial crops on a massive scale.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on August 11 authorized four corn varieties for food and animal feed processing—namely, MON 89034 and NK603 , produced by Dekalb Vietnam (a subsidiary of US mega-corporation Monsanto) and Bt 11 and MIR 162 from the Swiss firm Syngenta.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment must issue a bio-safety certificate before farmers can start commercially cultivating the crops, which are banned in Europe and China.

It remains unclear when that decision will be made. But given the current political landscape, it seems unlikely that the ministry will do anything but give the approval.

The quick push toward GMO

In 2006, the government drafted an ambitious plan to develop GM crops as part of a “major program for the development and application of biotechnology in agriculture and rural development.”

The plan aimed to cultivate Vietnam's first GM crops by 2015 and have 30-50 percent of the country’s farmland covered with genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by 2020.

An increasing number of Vietnamese officials and scientists have touted the need to grow GM corn to reduce Vietnam’s dependence on imports. The country currently imports 1.5 million tons of corn for animal feed every year from Brazil, Argentina, and the US, including GM varieties, according to the agriculture ministry.

Le Huy Ham, director of the Institute of Agricultural Genetics, was quoted by Nong Nghiep Vietnam (Vietnam Agriculture) newspaper as saying that the license to use the four aforesaid GM maize varieties would pave the way for the mass cultivation of GM crops in Vietnam.

“The agriculture ministry is increasingly determined to realize its [GM crop-growing] plan soon,” Ham said.

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What are these people thinking?

Trade wars: Monsanto’s return to Vietnam

This past week, as activists gathered in Washington, D.C. for the conference on “Vietnam: the Power of Protest,” in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, a delegation led by Veterans for Peace (VFP) Chapter 160 was quietly wrapping up a two week tour. The tour was timed to coincide the VFP’s national “Full Disclosure Campaign”.

The VFP initiative, like the D.C.-based conference over the weekend, is geared to counter a Department of Defense (DOD) campaign, funded by the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), to produce commemorative events and historical accounts, including school curriculum, to mark the 50thanniversary of the Vietnam War.

Set against the backdrop of the Obama administration’s push for fast track authority to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), this year’s VFP 160 tour raised troubling questions not only about the ongoing effects of the war on Vietnam, but about Monsanto’s introduction of genetically modified (GMO) seeds onto the Vietnamese market.

The text of the TPP, which would be the largest trade deal in history, impacting 40 percent of the world’s economy, remains shrouded in secrecy. But leaked passages indicate that the TPP will heighten the growing income inequality in both Vietnam and the US and override local and national laws and policies geared toward protecting the environment and public health.

Monsanto, one of the single largest producers of the estimated 20 million gallons of Agent Orange sprayed in Vietnam between 1961 and 1971, is among the corporations that stand to garner windfall profits if the TPP is passed.

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It's Time to Get Rid of RoundUp!

http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/its-time-to-get-rid-of?source=mo&id=115195-14086292-ZvHz1dx
SIGN THE PETITION
The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer found that glyphosate, commonly sold as RoundUp, is a “probable human carcinogen." This is serious, as hundreds of millions of pounds of this herbicide are used on farmland across America every year, and the U.S. Geological Survey has detected glyphosate in rain, streams and air near agricultural areas. Americans are exposed to this “probable human carcinogen” in their food, air and water every day, and the EPA and FDA are not doing enough to protect us from these exposures and potential health problems.  It's time for the EPA to suspend the use of glyphosate until a meaningful evaluation of the herbicide's carcinogenicity is done as a part of the EPA's ongoing registration review.
The FDA should also begin monitoring and enforcing tolerance levels for glyphosate residues set by the EPA immediately.
SIGN THE PETITION

Exposure to toxic ‘burn pits’ the new Agent Orange

http://wtnh.com/2015/05/08/exposure-to-toxic-burn-pits-the-new-agent-orange/
WATERBURY, Conn. (WTNH) — Some are calling toxic “burn pits” near military installations in Iraq and Afghanistan the “new Agent Orange.” Veterans at an event in Waterbury Friday say they had to live and breath contaminated air from the burn pits for extended periods of time, and now they’re worried about their health.
This appears to be emerging as a new health problem for veterans coming home from the recent wars. It’s now being reported that some active duty personnel have complained about respiratory difficulties and headaches, and now disability claims are staring to show up.
Some veterans say the pits burn constantly and fumes are spread through sandstorms. They say the military puts everything from batteries to munitions and plastics in the burn pits because it’s easier than packing the stuff up for proper disposal.
“I’ve heard from individual service men and women pretty much every time I have a veterans’ event that involves Iraq and Afghanistan veterans,” said Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty, D-Conn. “I hear from them, ‘oh and by the way, there were these burning pits of tires and munition, batteries and human waste,’ and it’s appalling.”
The V.A. has admitted some veterans could have long-term aftereffects, especially those with preexisting conditions like asthma or other heart or lung conditions.  They have established a burn pit exposure registry and are conducting research into it. For more information, click here.

U.S. veteran suspects Agent Orange stored at Futenma air station

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/behind_news/politics/AJ201505080070
Kris Roberts believes his chronic health problems can be traced back to the summer of 1981, when he was a U.S. Marine at the Futenma air station in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.
A superior officer ordered Roberts, other Marines and Japanese workers to remove more than 100 steel drums buried near the edge of the runway at the Marine Corps Air Station Futenma. Liquid spilled from some of the damaged containers, and a recent typhoon had flooded the area near where the men worked. Roberts and his co-workers not only had to remove the drums, but they also went neck-deep in the water.
Roberts served at Futenma from December 1980 to November 1981. After he was transferred to a base in the United States, he developed various symptoms, such as asthma, heart problems and prostate cancer. He retired from the Marines in 2002.
Now 60, Roberts serves as a member of the state House of Representatives in New Hampshire.
In 2009, Roberts asked for compensation for health damage from the Veterans Affairs Department. He said his health problems were likely caused by some chemical he came in contact with at a military base.
Three years ago, a doctor at the Veteran Affairs Department told Roberts he had all the symptoms of someone who has been exposed to Agent Orange.
Roberts believes that the drum containers he helped remove at Futenma contained the defoliant that was used extensively in the Vietnam War.
The U.S. government continues to argue that Agent Orange and other defoliants were never stored, buried or used at Futenma, a major base of operations during the war in Southeast Asia.
Roberts never saw combat in the Vietnam War, so he was initially surprised by the doctor’s assessment. But he began thinking about his experience at Futenma. He had taken a photo of the removal of the steel drums.
“I had that feeling something was seriously wrong,” Roberts said.
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Veterans hit roadblocks despite new VA program

http://www.svherald.com/content/local-news/2015/05/05/395901

Vietnam veteran Rick Alliman suffers from neuropathy in his legs, Type 2 diabetes, memory loss and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Like many veterans with illnesses stemming from exposure to chemicals, the Tucson resident has had trouble getting timely medical care from the Veterans Affairs health care system. These veterans have found themselves in a hamster wheel of phone calls and an ever-growing pile of paperwork.

To help veterans like Alliman access the specialized care they need more quickly, the U.S. Congress created the Veterans Choice Program last August.

Yet nine months after the act was signed, Alliman still can’t obtain timely medical care to treat his PTSD and other ailments caused by exposure to Agent Orange.

“The VA isn’t helping me,” Alliman said. “They’re going to ask you questions, and if you don’t say the right words and give the right answers, then you’re just dismissed right off the bat.”

Early Troubles with the Veteran’s Choice Card

The Veterans Choice Program is part of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act. The program gives veterans the option of seeking medical care at approved private practices if they can’t find treatment for an ailment within 30 days at a VA health facility or if they have to travel more than 40 miles from the nearest VA facility. This straight-line interpretation means that some veterans who lived within 40 miles “as the crow flies” actually had to drive more than 40 miles because of geographic barriers or convoluted routes.

Nine months into the program, however, eligible veterans are still confused and skeptical about the new law. It also drew sharp criticism from politicians and political satirist Jon Stewart on his popular Daily Show.

On March 25 public and political rebuke prompted the VA to change its interpretation of the program, saying that veterans can seek care outside of the VA if the actual distance they have to drive to the nearest VA health facility is more than 40 miles “as the crow flies.”

Understanding Agent Orange

Alliman said his medical issues stem from exposure to Agent Orange, a chemical agent used during the Vietnam War. The United States and South Vietnam sprayed the defoliant to destroy crops and kill bushes and trees where the Viet Cong took cover, according to the VA website.

Agent Orange contains a toxic dioxin called tetrachlorodibenzodioxin, according to the World Health Organization website.

“Once dioxins get into the body, then the dioxins go to a part of the cell called a dioxin receptor and combine with it,” said Arnold Schecter, an adjunct professor at the University of Louisville who researches public health issues connected with Agent Orange. “Then, by a series of other steps, which are not very well understood, sometimes that will lead to cancer or a heart attack.”

The VA has identified 14 diseases that it presumes are connected to Agent Orange exposure (see the information box). Veterans who served in Vietnam and can prove they have one of these diseases are eligible for benefits through the VA system.

Two of the most common ailments are Type 2 diabetes and peripheral neuropathy. Alliman suffers from both. Six of the other diseases listed are cancers.

“A certain number of American Vietnam veterans do have elevated dioxin levels from Agent Orange in their body,” Schecter said. “Three million American Vietnam veterans may have been exposed to Agent Orange, but not all of them are going to develop cancer. It’s the same with smoking cigarettes. The majority of people who smoke cigarettes will probably not get lung cancer.”

Schecter’s research focuses on finding out whether dioxins from Agent Orange, electronic waste recycling or fires affect people such as Vietnam veterans and firefighters. He also studies whether the dioxins remain in their bodies for long periods of time.

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Bill to ensure veterans harmed by Agent Orange receive benefits

http://www.upmatters.com/1fulltext-news/d/story/bill-to-ensure-veterans-harmed-by-agent-orange-rec/17835/iz41iHusL0Ca2k580Z7GXg

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today announced he is cosponsoring the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2015, bipartisan legislation that would ensure Vietnam veterans who served aboard deep-water naval vessels, known as “Blue Water” veterans, are eligible to receive the disability and health care benefits they earned for diseases linked to exposure to Agent Orange. Under current law, only veterans who served on Vietnamese soil or aboard a craft in its rivers receive presumptive coverage of illnesses linked directly to Agent Orange exposure.

“Agent Orange has affected the health of thousands of servicemembers who fought in the Vietnam War, and it is unacceptable that some are being denied health care and disability benefits for diseases resulting from their military service,” said Senator Peters. “My office has heard from Michigan veterans affected by this issue, and I am proud to cosponsor this bipartisan, commonsense bill that will ensure Navy veterans who have fallen victim to Agent Orange-related conditions receive the long overdue care they have earned through their service.”

In 1991, Congress passed a law requiring the 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, excluding thousands of sailors who may have been exposed to Agent Orange while serving aboard Navy ships. The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2015 would clarify existing law so that Blue Water veterans would be fully covered by the VA if they served within the “territorial seas,” or approximately 12 miles offshore of Vietnam. The bill would make it easier for VA to process Vietnam War veterans’ claims for service-connected conditions and alleviate a portion of the VA’s backlog by extending presumptive coverage of Agent Orange benefits to these veterans.

A May 2011 report by the Institute of Medicine established several “plausible routes” for Agent Orange exposure through the water distillation process aboard Navy ships and through the air. In 2010, a study by the Institute of Medicine cited exposure to Agent Orange resulted in an increased chance of developing serious heart problems and Parkinson’s disease. A 1990 study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showed Vietnam veterans had a rate of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 50 percent higher than the general population. Agent Orange is linked to a range of other diseases, including several blood and respiratory cancers, type II diabetes, prostate cancer and more.

In 2005, the VA’s former Director of Environmental Agents Service Dr. Mark Brown 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 presumptive benefits Congress initially intended. In his article in the Journal of Law and Policy, Dr. Brown wrote, “Science does not back up the VA’s policy on the Navy.”

Peters, a former Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, previously co-sponsored similar legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, and has been a strong voice for Michigan service members and veterans in Congress. Earlier this year, Peters cosponsored the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act, bipartisan legislation that was signed into law by the President earlier this year to provide additional resources to improve mental health care and suicide prevention programs for veterans.

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Agent Orange report comes after years of VA denials

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/benefits/veterans/2015/01/17/va-agent-orange-c-123s/21754067/
A new Institute of Medicine report that found veterans were exposed to Agent Orange while flying in C-123 aircraft after the Vietnam War came three years after another federal agency reached a similar conclusion.
But despite a pronouncement in January 2012 by the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry that these crews' levels of exposure to dioxin were 182 times higher than acceptable amounts, representing a 200-fold risk for cancer, the Veterans Affairs Department refused to acknowledge any link between the veterans' current illnesses and a history of serving on that aircraft.
Instead, VA public health officials insisted that trace amounts of dioxin on internal aircraft surfaces were not "biologically available for skin absorption or inhalation because dioxin is not water- or sweat-soluble and does not give off airborne particles."
Meanwhile, since veterans found out in 2011 they may have been exposed, at least 10 with diseases associated with Agent Orange have had VA disability claims denied and some have died — although just how many have passed away as a result of exposure-related illnesses is difficult to pin down, said retired Air Force Maj. Wes Carter, founder of the C-123 Veterans Association.
Carter said that between 1,500 and 2,100 veterans flew the aircraft, used during the Vietnam War to spray the highly toxic defoliant and then kept in service for almost a decade after the conflict. He said his association knows of fewer than a handful of veterans whose claims have been approved, including just one who triumphed without having to file an appeal.
"[The numbers] are terribly vague. We scattered decades ago, and unlike many Navy folks, had no ship's association to keep us in touch. ... We want to simply say that there has been death and suffering," said Carter, a C-123 medical services officer who is among those whose claims were denied.
VA's fight to deny health treatment and claims to what may amount to a small number of former service members comes as no surprise to veterans organizations and lawmakers who have pushed VA for years to recognize certain environmental exposures.
Related: Report: C-123 fliers exposed to Agent Orange
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The UK’s use of Agent Orange in Malaysia

http://www.toxicremnantsofwar.info/uk-agent-orange-malaysia/ 
The use of Agent Orange in Viet Nam during the 1960s and 1970s is a notorious example of widespread and purposeful environmental damage that has subsequently impacted the health of troops and civilians. Less well known is the role that the UK played in developing Agent Orange based herbicides, which included deploying them in Malaysia in the 1950s. Andy Garrity investigates.
The use of Agent Orange (AO) in Viet Nam by the US military in the 1960s and 70s is a well documented case of deliberate environmental destruction. The use of AO herbicides was intended to remove forest cover but resulted in unintended health impacts. Its use eventually helped lead to the creation of the Environmental Modification Techniques Convention (ENMOD). It has also resulted in the payment of compensation to US veterans whose health was affected by exposure to dioxin from the contaminated defoliants.
AO use continues to be closely associated with the US but the role of Britain’s scientists and military in developing, testing and deploying 2,4,5-Trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T) in a mixture identical to Agent Orange is less well known. 
Agent Orange: A British invention
Britain was the first country to use 2,4,5-T in a military capacity, helping establish a precedent for the US to use the same potently toxic substance in Viet Nam, albeit on a much larger scale. The British government assisted the US’s development of AO amid the rush for effective defoliants and herbicides for use in tropical environments, sharing research and expertise following WWII.

British colonial forces spray Trioxone herbicide from modified fire engines in Malaysia.

The contamination of 2,4,5-T with 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzodioxin (TCDD – a dangerous form of dioxin) came about from the lack of temperature control in the production process. This was not understood for many years after its initial production by the British company Imperial Chemicals Industries (ICI).

TCDD, a persistent organic pollutant is a known carcinogen (IARC Group 1) and teratogen; it can cause liver damage, induce miscarriages and exposure can cause learning difficulties and the skin complaint chloracne[1].

In 1942, ICI developed a herbicide known as Trioxone, which was similar to AO as it was made up of 2,4,5-T (the dioxin contaminated constituent) and 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D). Trioxone was brought to the attention of the UK Ministry of Agriculture for consideration for field use in 1947. 

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The information posted today comes from our good friend and resident Agent Orange guru, George Claxton

Important Agent Orange links from George Claxton

Agent Orange Links May 4, 2015

*Submitted by George Claxton

Environmental exposure to hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and risk of female breast cancer in Connecticut.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10350435

Preparation of insolubilized-DNA film with three-dimensional network and removal of endocrine disruptors.

http://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/12903365/Preparation_of_insolubilized_DNA_film_with_three_dimensional_network_and_removal_of_endocrine_disruptors_

Impact of endocrine disruptor chemicals in gynaecology.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18070835

The Corporate Crimes of Dow Chemical and the Failure to Regulate Environmental Pollution

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10612-010-9117-5

Pollutants in pet dogs: a model for environmental links to breast cancer.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25646150

Consumption of organic meat does not diminish the carcinogenic potential associated with the intake of persistent organic pollutants (POPs).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25893622

Health risks and economic costs of exposure to PCDD/Fs from open burning: a case study in Nairobi, Kenya

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11869-015-0325-8

Urinary amino acid alterations in 3-year-old children with neurodevelopmental effects due to perinatal dioxin exposure in Vietnam: a nested case-control study for neurobiomarker discovery.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25584822

Dioxin emissions from a municipal solid waste incinerator and risk of invasive breast cancer: a population-based case-control study with GIS-derived exposure

http://www.ij-healthgeographics.com/content/7/1/4

Dioxins and cancer – another piece of the chemical puzzle

http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2015/03/17/dioxins-and-cancer-another-piece-of-the-chemical-puzzle/

Association of Prenatal Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants with Obesity and Cardiometabolic Traits in Early Childhood: The Rhea Mother-Child Cohort (Crete, Greece).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25910281

Polychlorinated biphenyls and links to cardiovascular disease.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25877901

Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Type 2 Diabetes: Common Pathophysiologic Mechanisms

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11892-015-0607-4

Nuclear Receptor Coregulators in Metabolism and Disease.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25903414

Birth defects in Iraq and the plausibility of environmental exposure: A review.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22839108

The toxicological effects of halogenated naphthalenes: a review of aryl hydrocarbon receptor-mediated (dioxin-like) relative potency factors.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25226220

Reproductive success of three passerine species exposed to dioxin-like compounds near Midland, Michigan, USA.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22392542

Dioxins and Nonortho PCBs in Breast Milk of Vietnamese Mothers Living in the Largest Hot Spot of Dioxin Contamination

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es506211p?journalCode=esthag

Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and dioxin concentrations in residential dust of pregnant women.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25343442

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals in ovarian function: effects on steroidogenesis, metabolism and nuclear receptor signaling.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21862696

Dioxin and Effects on Human Reproductive System: Data from Seveso Accident.

http://www.biolreprod.org/cgi/content/meeting_abstract/78/1_MeetingAbstracts/277-a

Quercetin ameliorates polychlorinated biphenyls-induced testicular DNA damage in rats.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25892208

Long-term health effects of early life exposure to tetrachloroethylene (PCE)-contaminated drinking water: a retrospective cohort study

http://www.ehjournal.net/content/14/1/36

Effect of Organic Diet Intervention on Pesticide Exposures in Young Children Living in Low-Income Urban and Agricultural Communities

http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1408660/

Arsenic Exposure and Glucose Intolerance/Insulin Resistance in Estrogen-Deficient Female Mice.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25859628

Select Prenatal Environmental Exposures and Subsequent Alterations of Gene-Specific and Repetitive Element DNA Methylation in Fetal Tissues

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs40572-015-0045-0

Maternal Polybrominated Diphenyl Ether (PBDE) Exposure and Thyroid Hormones in Maternal and Cord Sera: The HOME Study, Cincinnati, USA

http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/1408996/

Tell Bill Gates to Protect St. Louis Families from Pollution

https://www.credomobilize.com/petitions/tell-bill-gates-to-protect-st-louis-families-from-pollution

To: Bill & Melinda Gates, majority shareholders of Republic Services

Bill Gates is the dominant shareholder of Republic Services. He has the power of the vote and financial holdings to convince Republic Services to evacuate families living next to a burning landfill. Families in this community cannot open their windows – not Gates’ software program – but their actual windows because of the odors and toxic air pollution.

Why is this important?

Why are we asking for Bill and Melinda Gates to act? Because they have the power to make Republic take action and protect the children. No other child should be made sick and die. State health investigators found a high rate of brain and nervous system cancers among children 17 and younger in the area near the landfill, in a report just released (9-23-14). There were seven such cancers in that age group compared to an expected 2.5 cases..
Parents of children at Rose Acres Elementary school believe the number of cancers among students and staff members has recently increased, and have asked the health department for a separate study at the school.
A fire is moving toward from one Republic Services dumpsite to an adjacent dumpsite which contains radioactive wastes. No one knows what will happen when the fire reaches the radioactive wastes and no one knows how to put the fire out.
12 years old child died of brain cancer and now her sisters are sick.Republic Services earned $8.4 billion in revenues and $589 million in profits and is the second largest trash collection and disposal company in North America. They can afford to move families and fully clean up the burning, polluting dumpsites. But they refuse.
Bill and Melinda Gates can use their influence to protect the children who live in surrounding communities, like Spanish Village which is closest to the burning dump. Gates’ owns 27% of the company’s share through his investment company, Cascade Investment (worth about $3.7 billion). Additionally, Michael Larson, chief investment officer at Cascade Investment, sits on Republic Services Board of Directors since 2009.
Bill and Melinda have the power, we are asking them to use it. Yes, the stock value may temporarily go down but Gates’ doesn’t live from pay check to pay check, his net worth is about $72 billion, he can take the loss.
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