at the Annual Press Conference of the
Chemical Weapons Working Group
Washington, D.C.
April 21, 1997
As a Utah native, I can tell you it is not coincidental my home state has
43% of this country's chemical weapons stockpile. It is not a
coincidence that Utah now has the first chemical weapons incinerator in
the continental United States under the current disposal program.
As a "downwinder" myself, who has been exposed to the nuclear testing
in the 50s and 60s, as well as the Dugway Proving Ground, I'm here to
tell you the Army has once again taken advantage of Utah's patriotic
culture of "ask no questions," and look at how we've been rewarded:
A chemical weapons incinerator that has been shut down seven times
since August of '96 due to technical malfunctions, including nerve agent
leaks that we know about.
When you consider two whistleblowers, one a former safety officer and
the other a general manager, who gave up their careers because they
wouldn't sign off on safety issues at Tooele, people like m living in Salt
Lake City sit up and take notice.
If the reality of living in the 50 kilometer, 1% kill zone or the idea that
my children could become sick or even die prematurely due to low-level
agent and dioxin exposure isn't enough motivation to push for
alternative technologies, then what will it take? I don't want my
children to be a health study for the Pentagon ten years from now.
Today, my son, Brooks, is in Utah celebrating his 10th birthday. Just
before I left to come here Brooks told me he understands why I need to be
in Washington, but what he doesn't understand is why our Army, who
should be protecting kids, burn chemical weapons when they don't have
to do that anymore. At age ten, my son recognizes incineration is a dirty
business.
The Army is spending $30 million of taxpayers money on a public
relations firm just to promote the safety of incineration nation wide.
What is the rush to burn?
The Army's own evaluation of stockpile stability presented in a recent
General Accounting Office (GAO) report states that our stockpile nation
wide are secure until at least 2013...that's 16 years.
The incineration of this nation's chemical weapons is not just an issue
for Utah. Incineration of chemical weapons affects every state in the
union, and the strength of this country will weaken if it is used. If an
alternative technology replaces Utah's incineration, the Army will never
build another.
On behalf of the 350 members of our group, Families Against Incinerator
Risks, I want to make it very clear to the general public, our politicians,
and to the Army, that just because the chemical weapons incinerator in
Tooele, Utah is up and burning, we are not going to throw in the towel
and watch...we are not going to be "downwinders" again.
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