sign-on letter: March 20 deadline

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Organizational & Tribal Co-Signators Sought to Help STOP a National
Precedent to Open Burn PCBs!

The U.S. Army at Wisconsin's Badger Army Ammunition Plant is seeking an
exemption to federal law that prohibits open burning of PCBs greater
than 50 ppm ? Badger has levels as high as 22,000 ppm ? more than 400
times the federal limit.  If approved, this proposal will set a national
precedent, opening the door for similar proposals from industry and
military sites everywhere!

Please join us in OPPOSING this exemption and add your organization or
tribe to the following letter to the EPA.  The sign-on deadline is MARCH
20!

Thomas V. Skinner, Regional Administrator
US EPA Region 5
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604
March 20, 2004

Dear Administrator Skinner,

           We are writing to collectively oppose open burning of PCBs at
Badger Army Ammunition Plant ? a proposal that will impact the health of
so many and for generations to come.

The U.S. Army at Badger Army Ammunition Plant is seeking an exemption to
a federal law that prohibits open burning of wastes containing more than
50 parts per million of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs).  PCB
concentrations in paint in certain buildings at Badger have been
detected as high as 22,000 parts per million ? more than 400 times the
permissible limit set by the EPA.  If approved, this proposal will set a
national precedent, opening the door for similar proposals in
communities across the nation.

            EPA set the 50 ppm limit for good reason.  Open burning
results in the uncontrolled release of PCBs, dioxins, and other products
of combustion to the environment including polychlorinated dibenzofurans
(PCDFs).  These compounds are probable human carcinogens and their
toxicity can be up to 100 times higher than the toxicity of some PCBs.

            According to the Wisconsin Division of Health, the
developing fetus, infants, and children are the population groups most
vulnerable to PCB exposure.  While an adult may experience symptoms such
as rash or acne as a result of PCB exposure, exposure of fetuses and
children may impede the very development of their brains, reproductive,
immune, and endocrine systems.

            Emissions also threaten the ecological and cultural health
of the Sauk Prairie which stretches across14,000 acres from the
Wisconsin River to the Baraboo Range and nearby Devil's Lake State
Park.  The Badger property is home to nearly 600 species of plants,
butterflies, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, aquatic species, and birds.
Grassland birds, in particular, have been able to thrive at the plant,
making it one of the most critical habitat areas in the Midwest for this
rapidly declining group.

            Non-thermal technologies, including biological deactivation,
mechanical demolition and disposal, hydroblasting, inerting, and many
others, have been successfully implemented at military bases across the
country.  There are viable solutions that will set a different precedent
? one that ensures a safe and healthy future for our children and our
environment.

Sincerely,

Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger

  REMINDER: The sign-on deadline is MARCH 20!


--
Laura Olah, Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger
E12629 Weigands Bay S
Merrimac, WI 53561
phone: (608)643-3124
fax: (608)643-0005
email: info@cswab.org
website: www.cswab.org

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