From: | Elizabeth Crowe <kefcrowe@ACS.EKU.EDU> |
Date: | Wed, 31 Mar 1999 14:35:24 -0800 (PST) |
Reply: | cpeo-military |
Subject: | Information on a new grassroots non-stockpile coalition |
CPEO listserv subscribers, The Non-Stockpile Chemical Weapons Citizens Coalition is a grassroots network of people living in communities directly affected by the existence of, or activities around, non-stockpile chemical weapons and of regional and national organizations concerned with non-stockpile chemical weapons and other military/ industrial toxics issues. The Coalition is a "sister" to the Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG), a national coalition working for the safe disposal of chemical weapons stored in eight U.S. communities and in the Pacific. In brief, non-stockpile chemical weapons are broad categories of junk leftover from chemical agent production and testing by the U.S. Army and other military branches. Non-stockpile weapons, some of which date back to the early 1900s, are buried in the ground, in oceans and inland waterways, or are being stored at military bases. This materiel may exist at over 100 locations in more than 30 states. The mission of the Coalition is to foster environmental justice around all non-stockpile chemical weapons activities, by: 1. encouraging the full disclosure of information; 2. promoting the fair and equitable decision-making processes of affected community members at the local, state and national levels; 3. advocating the use of technologies for non-stockpile chemical material and weapons retrieval, treatment and destruction which protect the environment and public health to the highest degree possible; and 4. developing and disseminating educational and advocacy tools and resources for community members and grassroots organizations. The primary concerns of Coalition members are around policies and technologies regarding the transportation and disposal of non-stockpile materiel. So far the Army has developed two technology for treatment of this materiel. One, the Rapid Response System, will undergo test treatment of chemical agent identification sets (sets of glass vials containing small amounts of chemical agents, used for training soldiers) at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah. The Munitions Management Device (MMD) series technologies, developed to treat non-explosive and explosive munitions, may soon be permitted for testing at the Dugway Proving Grounds, also in Utah. Both technologies are transportable, non-incineration systems, two qualities which generally appeal to the public. Officials in the Army's non-stockpile program are making links to other non-incineration technology programs. The Coalition seeks to cooperate with the Army, regulatory agencies and elected officials to ensure that remediation and disposal of non-stockpile materiel can continue safely and with the involvement of affected citizens. We are also interested in increasing the Coalition support base by involving citizens from non-stockpile sites and organizations working for public health, environmental justice and military accountability in shaping our own policies If you would like to hook up with the Coalition, or want additional information on the Coalition or the non-stockpile issue please contact me by phone at (606) 986-0868; email at kefcrowe@acs.eku.edu. Thanks for your attention! Elizabeth Crowe Chemical Weapons Working Group Non-Stockpile Citizens Coalition (606) 986-0868 (work) (606) 986-2695 (fax) (606) 985-0641 (home) kefcrowe@acs.eku.edu | |
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