January 8, 2007
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
For more
information contact:
Laura Olah, CSWAB (608)643-3124
Lori McCoy (608)643-0609
Dr. Ann Behrmann, Wisconsin Environmental Health Network,
(608)831-1766
Dr. Peter L. deFur, Environmental Stewardship Concepts,
(804) 741-2922
Children
at Greatest Risk from Army’s Pollution
Frustrated with the lack of
response from the Wisconsin DNR, rural neighbors of the Badger Army Ammunition
Plant are asking the Governor to help them get clean water. Recent
testing by the Army has confirmed that as many as 23 residential wells are
contaminated with low levels of explosives, solvents, and other toxins that are
especially dangerous to infants and children.
“No child should be
exposed daily to these contaminants through drinking the water or bathing.
There are solutions to finding a clean, chemical free water source,” said
Lori McCoy, one of the affected homeowners and mother of three. “The DNR
should be very actively involved in working toward solutions for this well
documented problem versus ignoring the potential health risks for all the
children in our area.”
Experts agree that
the best way to protect children from potential health risks is to eliminate
exposure to groundwater contaminants associated with the Badger plant.
“Children are more vulnerable than adults to environmental
risks because of a number of factors: Children are constantly growing. They
breathe more air, consume more food, and drink more water than adults do, in
proportion to their weight,” emphasized Dr. Ann Behrmann,
an area pediatrician and member of the Wisconsin Environmental Health Network.
“Children's central nervous, immune, reproductive and digestive systems
are still developing. At certain early stages of development, exposure to
environmental toxicants can lead to irreversible damage.”
Dr. Peter deFur, a
technical advisor working with Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger, agrees
that avoiding exposure to the explosive dinitrotoluene (DNT) and other site
contaminants is in the best interest of children’s health.
“Exposure to even
low levels of DNT to children is not advised given the generally increased
vulnerability of children to the effects of environmental contaminants,”
said deFur. “An increased vulnerability to methemoglobinemia (blue baby
syndrome), for example, is a great concern for both acute effects and long term
developmental consequences.”
“Whenever possible,
the goal to protect children should be to avoid exposure all together,”
deFur concluded.
“The Army first
reported low levels of explosives in residential wells almost 3 years ago. Some
homes are nearly 2 miles from Badger,” said Laura Olah, a neighbor of the
closing military base and director of Citizens for Safe Water Around
Badger. “DNR officials told us that until contaminant levels go
higher, they are not going to help us. In the meantime, our children are
being unnecessarily exposed.”
In addition to DNT,
carbon tetrachloride, chloromethane, chloroform, nitrate, and
bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate have been detected above Wisconsin’s
Preventative Action Limits in drinking water wells near Badger. State law
requires the DNR to maintain compliance with these limits and safeguard
groundwater resources.
According to the U.S.
EPA, chemicals such as DNT are absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract,
respiratory tract, and skin. Potential health impacts associated with
DNTs and other toxins include cancer, cardiovascular or blood toxicity,
gastrointestinal or liver toxicity, kidney toxicity, neurotoxicity, and
reproductive toxicity.
A public meeting of the
Badger Restoration Advisory Board is scheduled for Wednesday, January 10 at
6:30 pm at Badger Army Ammunition Plant. More information, including an action
alert message to Governor Doyle, is available online at www.cswab.org or by calling
(608)643-3124.
-END-
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Laura Olah, Executive Director
Citizens for Safe Water Around Badger (CSWAB)
E12629 Weigand's Bay South
Merrimac, WI 53561
Phone: (608)643-3124
Email: info@cswab.org
Website: www.cswab.org