[CPEO-MEF] Death of former Kelly AFB worker

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Work-Related (Or: How many lives can a carcinogen touch?)

By Keli Dailey
San Antonio Current (TX)
September 13, 2006

Los Dos Gilbertos sing a conjunto farewell to accompany a photo 
slideshow projected near the closed, silver casket. "Hija Mia Nunca Te 
Olvidare" reads a banner draped over one of the floral arrangements; 
from the family viewing area, 80-year-old Janie Saenz sobs her 
daughter's name. "I remember that," someone in the Palm Heights Mortuary 
memorial room says when the constant in the photos, a composed 
middle-aged woman in oversized, blush-tinted glasses, appears with a 
young bride and groom.

From the slideshow alone, Mary Lou Ornelas's life would appear to have 
been one of celebrations, family milestones, leisure - various
snapshots feature smiling guests sitting beside her on a couch in a 
wood-paneled living room. But the 59-year-old's life was also one of 
work; as a single mother of four, she'd often work two jobs, sometimes 
cleaning houses. And in 1978, she got a job at Kelly Air Force Base. Her 
family says working there killed her.

The Defense Department disputes the toxicity of chemicals used at its 
military bases, and had blocked public disclosure of the Environmental 
Protection Agency's 2001 findings about their carcinogenic risks. In 
July, a report affiliated with the National Academies of Sciences 
reaffirmed some of the EPA's risk assessments [see "Blinded With 
Science," August 9-15, 2006], which may contribute to discussions about 
the cause of Ornelas's liver cancer and the San Antonio native's death 
on September 3.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=17187506&BRD=2318&PAG=461&dept_id=484045&rfi=6

--
Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
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