1999 CPEO Military List Archive

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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