[CPEO-MEF] GROUPS OPPOSE AIR NATIONAL GUARD PROPOSAL TO DROP CHAFF &

[rama@accutek.com]

FLARES IN TEN STATES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Grace Potorti - Rural Alliance for Military Accountability (RAMA)
Reno, NV    Phone:  775-677-9751

Contact:  Dale Alquist -National Airspace Coalition - Bloomington, MN
Phone:  (612) 831-3096

Contact:  Patricia Conway - Coalition for Peaceful Skies - Ontario,
Wisconsin  Phone: 608-1435-6743

Contact: Dick Smith - Military Toxics Project -Sparta, WI
Phone:  (608) 269-2694

Contact: Sophie Sheperd - Lake City -California Phone:  (530) 279-6260

Contact: Laura Olah - Safe Water Around Badger - Merrimac, MN
Phone:  (608) 643-3124

Contact: Dan L. Alstott, President, AMAC The AuSable Manistee Action Council
- Grayling, MI  Phone:(517) 348-8294

GROUPS OPPOSE AIR NATIONAL GUARD PROPOSAL TO DROP CHAFF AND FLARES IN TEN
STATES

In what the Air National Guard is describing as "Phase I" they have
proposed dropping chaff and flares in 32 Military Operation Areas across the
nation. States included in the proposal are Nevada, California, Oregon,
Oklahoma, Arkansas, Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The use of Chaff at military installations across the country is an emerging
issue for rural residents, federal land managers, recreation
users, and others concerned about threats to human health and the quality of
the environment. 

Chaff is ejected from warplanes to decoy enemy missiles from aircraft. The
chaff, made of fiberglass covered aluminum thinner than a human hair,
confuses enemy radar.  To date there have been no studies on the extent of
break-up and abrasion of chaff, the resulting shapes and resuspension chaff
particles which could potential be inhaled by humans and animals. Likewise,
the DOD has not conducted studies of the quantities of inhalable chaff
found in communities near training facilities where chaff is released.

Flares are magnesium pellets, that when ignited, burn for short periods of
time at 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.  The burn is hotter than the exhaust of an
aircraft and therefore attracts and decoys heat seeking weapons targeted on
the aircraft.  Flares have been responsible for fires the "Seal" fire on
September 10,1996 was started at Naval Air Station Fallon was during
helicopter training.  The Meadow Valley fire in 1993 burned 21,686 acres at
the Nellis Range Complex in southern Nevada and costs $300,000 to suppress.

Resources that would be impacted by the proposal include the Sheldon
National Wildlife Refuge in NV, the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota,
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon and the Upper Mississippi
National Wildlife and Fish Refuge.   The initial proposal notes 44
wilderness and natural areas that would be impacted by the proposal and over
one hundred bodies of water Lake Superior and Lake Huron of Michigan and the
Arkansas River.

Patricia Conway, Director of the Coalition for Peaceful Skies, said "We
intend to mount a statewide campaign opposing the use of chaff in Wisconsin.
We will demand a full EIS on the plan, and fight the proposal tooth and
nail."

Dale Alquist, Director, National Airspace Coalition stated, "We commissioned
a lab test on a sample of chaff and learned that it biodegrades about as
quickly as an aluminum can."

Dan L. Alstott, President of AMAC  AuSable Manistee Action Council stated,
"Until the residuals from self protection chaff and flare deployment can be
proven safe for the population, fish and animals residing below the involved
MOAs, this practice should be discontinued."

Grace Potorti, Director of the Rural Alliance for Military Accountability
stated, "It is unclear whether the National Guard is attempting to cover
their tracks.  They have apparently been using chaff and flares prior to
completion of National Environmental Policy Act environmental
documentation."  Potorti added, "This is not the end of it, they intend to
add additional areas in the future,  anyone living under or adjacent to
military airspace needs to be concerned."

Sophie Sheppard, spokesperson for the Northwest Great Basin Association
stated,  "To subject the wild heart of this country to such risks is a
reckless disregard for all that the military is supposedly organized to
protect."

Laura Olah,  Executive Director for Citizens for Safe Water around Badger
stated,  "With all of the streams, wetlands and surface water in our region
we are very concerned about the potential economic impacts to businesses
which rely on these resources like  hunting, fishing and recreation."

Dick Smith spokesperson for the Military Toxics Project, stated "As an
organic farmer we have very serious concerns about how this might affect our
operations and our ability to grow safe and healthy food."

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CHAFF SEE:
http://www.rama-usa.org/chaff.htm


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