[CPEO-MEF] GLOBAL: "Pentagon blocks report on ‘toxic contamination’ at base outside Okinawa [Japan] capital"

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Pentagon blocks report on ‘toxic contamination’ at base outside Okinawa capital

by Jon Mitchell
Japan Times 
September 16, 2015


The U.S. military is refusing to release a report detailing environmental contamination at Camp Kinser, a 2.7-sq.-km U.S. Marine Corps supply base near Okinawa’s capital, Naha, that is scheduled for return to civilian use.

Since April 2014, U.S. Pacific Command has repeatedly stonewalled a Freedom of Information Act request for the 1993 report, titled “USFJ Talking Paper on Possible Toxic Contamination at Camp Kinser, Okinawa.” Initially, in October 2014, the U.S. authorities acknowledged they possessed the report but refused to release it, citing, among other reasons, a need “to protect against public confusion.” Following an FOIA appeal and further demands for the document, officials appeared to backtrack in August by suggesting that they did not have the report and they required more time to locate it.

Although the full text of the discussion paper remains under wraps, excerpts have been previously quoted in documents prepared for the U.S. military that are publicly available. These excerpts suggest extensive pollution on Camp Kinser.

…

For the entire article, see
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2015/09/16/issues/pentagon-blocks-report-toxic-contamination-base-outside-okinawa-capital/

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope Street
Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650-961-8918 or 650-969-1545
Fax: 650-961-8918
LSiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org

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