The United States has built the most powerful military in the world. That fact has come at a largely unknown cost. The testing and disposal of the nation's weapons here in the US have poisoned drinking water supplies, rendered millions of acres of land unsafe or unusable, and jeopardized the health of Americans.
The Department of Defense has catalogued more than 40,000 contaminated sites across US states and territories. No other single entity -- corporation, government agency or individual -- has been responsible for so much environmental degradation. The total amount of land contaminated by the military is larger than the state of Florida. The Pentagon has routinely sought to minimize its responsibility for fixing its environmental problems.
Thousands of sites remain dangerously polluted and fenced off, awaiting the government's attention. Thousands of others have already been returned to public use -- for parks, housing, and schools -- in some instances without thorough cleanups.
It burns hazardous waste and explosives because it's the cheapest way to dispose of them, even though the burning process has been outlawed for most American industries since the 1980s. It employs contractors to dispose of hazardous waste and clean up toxic sites, then claims it is not responsible when some of those contractors commit fraud, improperly handle toxic material, or cut corners on cleanups. It has in some cases explicitly refused to cooperate with the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The explosive RDX was developed by the US military during World War II. It is now believed by many to cause cancer, and is increasingly turning up in drinking water supplies near military sites across the country. As the human health and environmental dangers of RDX have become known, ProPublica's investigation found that the Pentagon has resisted scientific evidence that it causes cancer, interfered with federal and state efforts to clean up RDX-contaminated lands, and even pressed Congress to re-write American environmental laws so as to not apply to RDX contamination.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/43102-the-explosive-compound-rdx-may-be-the-greatest-threat-to-the-us-s-health
The Department of Defense has catalogued more than 40,000 contaminated sites across US states and territories. No other single entity -- corporation, government agency or individual -- has been responsible for so much environmental degradation. The total amount of land contaminated by the military is larger than the state of Florida. The Pentagon has routinely sought to minimize its responsibility for fixing its environmental problems.
Thousands of sites remain dangerously polluted and fenced off, awaiting the government's attention. Thousands of others have already been returned to public use -- for parks, housing, and schools -- in some instances without thorough cleanups.
It burns hazardous waste and explosives because it's the cheapest way to dispose of them, even though the burning process has been outlawed for most American industries since the 1980s. It employs contractors to dispose of hazardous waste and clean up toxic sites, then claims it is not responsible when some of those contractors commit fraud, improperly handle toxic material, or cut corners on cleanups. It has in some cases explicitly refused to cooperate with the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The explosive RDX was developed by the US military during World War II. It is now believed by many to cause cancer, and is increasingly turning up in drinking water supplies near military sites across the country. As the human health and environmental dangers of RDX have become known, ProPublica's investigation found that the Pentagon has resisted scientific evidence that it causes cancer, interfered with federal and state efforts to clean up RDX-contaminated lands, and even pressed Congress to re-write American environmental laws so as to not apply to RDX contamination.
http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/43102-the-explosive-compound-rdx-may-be-the-greatest-threat-to-the-us-s-health
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