From: | Center for Public Environmental Oversight <cpeo@cpeo.org> |
Date: | 20 Mar 1998 18:55:50 |
Reply: | cpeo-military |
Subject: | Living in Arms' Way article |
Living in Arms' Way Near this New Mexico Missile Range Evacuations Come With the Territory By Sue Anne Pressley Washington Post---March 18, 1998 Summary In Engle, New Mexico, 80 families routinely leave home once or twice a month while a missile goes off at White Sands Missile Range. The Sands Missile Range is roughly 3200 square miles, which is equivalent to the area of Rhode Island and the District of Columbia combined. Base officials are allowed to evacuate residents for 12 hour periods usually beginning at 5 am. The facility has been the test site for the Viking, Nike, Lance missiles and other bombs. Between 1945 and 1996 there were 41,593 missiles fired. The residents have learned to live with the dangers of missiles and bombs since the first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945. People living around the Range have no choice but to abandon their daily routine and evacuate the area when a test is conducted. White Sands employs about 6700 people which makes it a major employer in Southern New Mexico. The state depends heavily on the presence of the federal government because there are no other significant industries in New Mexico. 'We have no logging, we have no oil and gas drilling, and the cattle industry is dying--that makes us entirely dependent on defense' said Jim Catron, the county attorney for Catron, Sierra and Socorro counties. For many people it may seem like a great nuisance but to the residents of Engle, the evacuations have become a part of their life and they think 'It's only a little trouble,...' | |
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