Chemical Weapons Working Group
P.O. Box 467 Berea, Kentucky
(606)986-7565 (2695-Fax)
kefwilli@acs.eku.edu www.cwwg.org
for more information contact:
Sheila Witherington (501) 350-3795
Craig Williams (606)986-7565
for immediate release: Thursday, July 30, 1998
ARKANSAS WOMEN CALL FOR STUDY ON CHEMICAL WEAPONS
INCINERATION IMPACTS ON CHILDREN'S HEALTH
THEY CALL THE PROPOSED INCINERATOR A "THREAT TO OUR SECURITY AND FUTURE"
At an Afternoon Tea at the Woman's City Club in Little Rock today, Sheila Witherington, President of the Arkansas Chapter of Women's Action for New Directions (WAND) called on the Army to support a study they wish to undertake to assess the cognitive limitations that could result from low level nerve gas exposure on Arkansas' children.
Witherington unveiled a proposal WAND will submit to the Army in early August requesting funds ($15,000) to support "an extensive assessment of research to address the problem of the effects of chemical agents on the cognitive abilities of infants and children who are exposed to such toxins during childhood or in utero." The proposal notes that, "Infants and children who live in neighborhoods near the U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal may be exposed to minuscule or significant amounts of chemical agents emitted from the stacks of incinerators burning in the community."
In the assessment proposal the costs are split evenly between the Army and WAND with the principal investigators donating their time to the study.
In her presentation, Witherington stated that, "As mothers, we cannot accept the assumption that low levels of nerve agents are harmless to their (children) tiny minds and bodies...we must understand the consequences of incineration."
Five study outcomes were proposed:
1) a review of the current literature available about studies on the cognitive
abilities of humans who have been exposed to nerve agents of various types;
2) a review of the on-going studies of Gulf War soldiers who were exposed to
nerve agents;
3) a review of the current state of education and economic stability in the
region;
4) a proposed fund to establish and monitor educational baseline test scores,
learning abilities, general health and welfare of students in the proposed
incineration zone; and
5) recommendations for investments in education and health for Arkansas
children.
In her speech, Witherington stated that, "We believe that this research will substantiate what others have found, i.e. low levels of nerve agents create cognitive limitations."
Calling for "balance in society," she pointed to three expectations of the WAND group: first, equity between military expenditures and human and environmental needs; second, reasonable assistance to obtain information needed to make good and moral decisions; and third, reasonable time lines when it comes to making critical and broadsweeping decisions.
Addressing the third point, WAND called on the Army and the Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology (PC&E) to extent the comment period on the draft permit, now scheduled to end September 8, 1998 to April 1999. "It is unreasonable to expect that a good decision can be made by September 8, which is the current deadline for citizens like you and me to read and comment on such a technical permit to burn chemical weapons," she said.
A petition was filed by fourteen Arkansas organizations earlier this month calling for a year to comment on the permit based on, among other reasons, its' having taken PC&E 11 years to review it just to a draft status.
Chemical Weapons Working Group Spokesperson, Craig Williams said, "We fully support the WAND initiative and urge the Army and PC&E to put the welfare of Arkansas' children ahead of any schedule or permit period." Williams noted, "Last year the House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight held a series of investigative hearings concerning low-level nerve gas impacts on Gulf War Veterans, with startling results. The conclusion reached by the Committee was that, 'Exposures to low levels of chemical warfare agents and other toxins can cause delayed, chronic health effects.'
The National Gulf War Resource Center, a coalition of dozens of Veterans groups from around the country has called for an immediate halt to incineration of chemical weapons and a concerted effort by the Defense Department to move to technologies which do not emit agents into the environment as part of the disposal process.
A story in today's Oregonian newspaper entitled "Study Says Nerve Gas Danger Underestimated," states that, according to a National Research Council Report, "For many years the U.S. Army has seriously underestimated the lethality of nerve gases." The story quotes the assistant administrator for the Oregon Health Department as saying that, "...the new findings have raised his concern about the risk to nearby communities..." The article goes on to say that, "All in all, the Council describes the Army's data as a grab-bag of miscellaneous information, 'based on experiments...using various animal species in often poorly controlled studies with vastly different protocols.'"
"The need for the WAND study in context of these circumstances certainly appears wise, appropriate and timely," said Williams.While it was clear that this called for assessment is being proposed in, "the spirit of collaboration and cooperation, " Witherington stated in her presentation that, "We, as Arkansas women, are ready to protect the children. Ready and willing -- WAND stands as a human shield between our children and the host of international diplomats, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Army, and even the President, if necessary."
-30-
 CWWG Home Page |
Contact us: |