(The following is excerpted from "Chemical Weapons Disposal and
Environmental Justice" written by Suzanne Marshall PhD. and published by
the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, November, 1996, with funding from the
Educational Foundation of America.)
"We'd like to ask President Clinton to take a look at the discriminatory way his military
is dealing with hazardous waste in his own backyard. Toxic chemicals, unlike
government agencies, recognize no color lines. The burning of chemical weapons in
central Arkansas will affect people of all colors."
--Brainard Bivens
African-American resident of Pine Bluff
1995
Pine Bluff, Jefferson County, Arkansas, is located in another economically depressed
southern state; a region once marked by plantation slavery and now a rice and poultry
producing and processing area. Most of Jefferson County's 85,487 people--43% African-
American, reside in the city of Pine Bluff--53% African-American. The Pine Bluff
percentage of African Americans is 341% higher than the national average. Jefferson
County is also very poor, with 24% of its population living below the poverty level. In
Pine Bluff, 28% of the residents live below the poverty level (Bureau of the Census,
1990). Institutional racism, a history of discrimination, class inequities and multiple and
cumulative exposures to toxics exist here as in Alabama.
The Pine Bluff Arsenal, built in 1942 during World War II, was designed to make smoke
and incendiary weapons. It also operated as a storage facility. During the Korean War,
biological weapons were built until the late 1960s when the Nixon administration halted
production. In 1987, Pine Bluff arsenal began to produce binary chemical weapons briefly
until the US-Russia treaty on chemical weapons reduction prohibited their production.
Moreover, incineration of another chemical--BZ--was carried out at the arsenal between
1988 and 1990. Pine Bluff, Arkansas is now faced with the prospect of an incinerator
meant to destroy 12% of the nation's chemical weapons, the second largest stockpile in the
country (Bradbury, et al. 1994, Appendix E).
Although the Army presented its plans to the Pine Bluff community for BZ disposal and for
incineration of the remaining stockpile, most residents, especially African Americans, do
not believe they were seriously included in the planning despite the Army's public relations
efforts. In fact, during Scoping Meetings, Army officials primarily dealt with leaders of
White Hall, Arkansas, a smaller community near the Arsenal which is 94% white. African-
American residents in Pine Bluff, such as Dr. Abdullah Mohammad, Brainard Bivens,
Evelyn Yates and Angela Dooley, believe the decision was made primarily by outsiders
with the cooperation of a few white officials and the public relations effort was designed to
give the false impression of democratic participation (Bradbury, et al. 1994, Appendix E).
As in Anniston, Pine Bluff is mired in an economically dependent relationship to the
military. To oppose the Army's incineration plans is to risk threats of potential job loss and
accusations of lack of patriotism.
"In the past it has been hard to get people to talk about the chemical weapons in Pine
Bluff. Many people in this area are employed by the Pine Bluff Arsenal and fear that
without
incineration there will be no jobs...Our community has already suffered
enough
from contamination and environmental injustice."
--Evelyn Yates
African-American resident of Pine Bluff
1995
The Toxics Release Inventory advance report lists Pine Bluff Arsenal as releasing 721,364
pounds of chemicals into the air, water and land. The Pine Bluff Arsenal is listed as the top
polluter in the DOD report. Other regional polluters include International Paper which in
1993 released 1,000 pounds of chlorine, 21,005 pounds of chlorine dioxide and 69,000
pounds of chloroform, to name just a few. Central Moloney Transformer Division released
10,263 pounds of ethylbenzene, 25,196 pounds of toluene and 110, 259 pounds of
tetrachloroethylene in 1993. Century Tube released 500 pounds of zinc, 22,250 pounds of
xylene and 32,250 pounds of toluene in 1993 (DOD, 1996).
Cumulative toxics are detrimental to the health of the people and to the agricultural industry
in the area. Russia recently halted imports of US poultry due to concerns about heavy
metals and salmonella (Democrat-Gazette,1996). Further pollution due to incineration of
nerve gas will only compound existing problems.
Pine Bluff has a disproportionate share of lethal military materiel produced, stored and
destroyed there. And the pattern continues. Recently, the Army announced that it would
transport old, deteriorating World War II-era mustard gas bombs from Raritan, New Jersey
to Pine Bluff by-passing closer depots, despite previous promises by the Army not to ship
chemical weapons.
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