Opinions
Environment at risk
Administration backsliding in protecting our health and safety
11/04/03
By Paul PerretOn Aug. 9, the U.S. Army started burning chemical weapons -- mustard gas, sarin and other agents -- in Anniston, a highly populated area. To prepare residents for potential leaks or accidents at the incinerator, the Federal Emergency Management Agency distributed 25,000 plastic hoods and home security kits, which consist of plastic sheeting and duct tape.
While the Army burns these deadly relics of the Cold War for at least the next decade, it's no wonder that the people of Anniston are making some tough decisions and asking some terrifying questions. Should families move way? Will a gas mask help if there's an accident at the chemical weapons incineration plant? Will the schools be prepared to protect children in case poisonous gas escapes into Anniston's air? These are not questions that Alabamians should have to ask. The Bush administration should not impose such choices on its own citizens. The residents of Anniston deserve better.
It's true that we need to eliminate our chemical weapons stockpile; in fact, we're under treaty obligation to do so. But there is a better way to destroy chemical weapons than burning them. The Army and the Bush administration know that. That's why they've opted to use a safer method called neutralization in Kentucky, Colorado, Maryland and Indiana. Not only is this method safer and cleaner, but it's likely to be faster, and cheaper.
So why would the administration put Alabamians at risk? Of the various chemical weapons stockpiles around the country, Anniston is the most highly populated. Wouldn't it make more sense to use the safest technology at such a site? Yet as is often the case when safeguards are ignored, the community that's closest to the Anniston incinerator is low-income. It begs the question: Are their lives worth less than the lives of those who can afford to fight incineration with money?
Unfortunately, Anniston isn't the only place where Americans are at risk. Throughout Alabama and the country, the Bush administration is putting our air, water, health and safety in danger.
Last month, money from polluting corporations for Superfund cleanup of abandoned toxic sites ran out -- the Bush administration was the first presidency in the history of the Superfund program not to renew Pullutut funding Now, cozens of communities will be left with toxic messes and serious health problems, while cleanup is delayed indefinitely. Instead of holding polluters accountable, the administration is sticking taxpayers with the bill for cleanup. They're asking us to pay twice: first with our health and then with our hard-earned tax dollars.
Our air and water are also at risk. The Bush administration wants to weaken the Clean Air Act through a program ironically called "Clear Skies." The program would, over the next several decades, allow more asthma- and lung disease-causing pollution into Alabama's air.
Right here in Birmingham, the air is dirtier than it should be. The air quality here has failed to meet standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, yet powerful industry lobbyists are working with the Bush administration to get out of their responsibility for cleaning up the air and the dangerous ozone in it.
Higher levels of mercury, another pollutant from power plants, would end up in our water if the Bush administration's "Clear Skies" initiative passes. Once in the water, mercury starts to accumulate in the tissue of fish, making it dangerous to eat. Mercury is especially dangerous for pregnant women and their babies, causing a variety of neurological problems during development.
It doesn't have to be this way. A recent study from the White House Office of Management and Budget shows that tile health and safety costs of pollution far outweigh the cost of implementing and enforcing laws that are meant to protect us. Through innovative use of technology and by enforcing existing environmental laws, we can save money and ensure our communities' health and safety,
That's why environmental, labor and civil rights groups rallied for our air, water, health and safety when President Bush visited Birmingham on Monday. We're calling on the president to protect our communities that are at risk right now. There is a better way.
Paul Perret is chairman of the Sierra Club's Cahaba Group.