for immediate release: October 7, 1997
Chemical Weapons Working Group Receives Environmental Award at National Conference in Virginia
The Chemical Weapons Working Group Project of the Kentucky Environmental Foundation was inducted into the "Grassroots Hall of Fame" by the organization, Center for Health, Environment and Justice at their national conference held in Arlington, Virginia this weekend.
The Center, formally known as the Citizens Clearinghouse on Hazardous Waste, led by Lois Gibbs, renowned for her activities surrounding the Love Canal superfund site, presented CWWG spokesperson Craig Williams with the award on Sunday.
The Center is a network of hundreds of grassroots groups who work together to prevent ecologically unsound activities from polluting their communities. It is the largest grassroots environmental networking organization in the United States.
The Award states that, " The CWWG has achieved the honor of being inducted into the Grassroots Hall of Fame for their Distinguished Effort to attain Environmental Justice in their communities." The CWWG, started in 1990 in Kentucky, is a world wide network of citizens groups who are working to ensure the safe and environmentally sound disposal of chemical weapons.
Williams was honored to accept the award on behalf of the more than 150 group who are now a part of the CWWG in the Pacific, the U.S. and Russia. WIlliams, in accepting the award said, "We have made great strides in moving towards acceptable and safe methods to rid ourselves of these weapons, methods that prioritize the health and well-being of the communities and put the profit of the defense contractors and images of bureaucrats second. This is the way a democracy is supposed to work."
Over the past four years, the CWWG has been instrumental in stopping incineration in Kentucky and Colorado while alternatives are demonstrated and having the Army switch to neutralization as a treatment process in Maryland and Indiana. At the same time the CWWG is active in the Dialogue on Alternatives Technologies currently mandated by Congress, while also engaged in legal action in Utah where the Army is currently burning such weapons. Suits have also been brought by CWWG affiliate groups in Oregon and Alabama, where the Army is trying to construct additional incinerators. The CWWG is actively engaged in the permitting process underway at the Kalama Island facility in the Pacific and monitoring activities at the Pine Bluff site in Arkansas. In addition, CWWG representatives have been pushing forward to ensure public involvement in the Russian disposal program.
"The bottom line," said Williams. "is that where citizens have participated in developing agreement on the way to dispose of these chemicals, there has been success in moving forward. Where the Government has insisted on leaving the citizens out of the process there has been confrontation. The CWWG will continue to work towards solutions, and together as a coalition of communities, I believe we will prevail."
The first announcement on which alternative technologies passed the first
screening review under the current Alternative Technologies Assessment is due
to be announced sometime this week.
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