FOIA

The following video features a press conference and conversation with Jon Mitchell about the extent of military contamination in Japan and tools used to uncover and shed light on the story. Jon Mitchell is a Special Correspondent for Okinawa Times and an Award Winner of FCCJ’s Freedom of the Press Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also chief contributor to our Okinawa section and esteemed member of the Civilian Exposure Journalist Advisory Board.

As promised, we recently received the results of this FOIA inquiry from one of our subscribers.  At their request, we have redacted their name and contact information from the first page of this document. Any redaction after page 1 was already part of the document received from the DOD IG.

At Civilian Exposure, we’re always on the lookout for relevant information to compile for you regarding a variety of aspects to contamination issues, government transparency and policies that affect you.  As we scoured the internet recently, we found this particular article of interest.

Want to know more about VHA guidance on Camp Lejeune water contamination? Take a closer look at the January 2014 Release of the latest “Guidance for Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Staff – Covered Clinical Conditions – Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012, Section 102”:

In the past 30 days, Gavin launched a FOIA request on behalf of civilians of Camp Lejeune to gain insights into the claims process, operations and data for those seeking civilian DOD worker claims for Camp Lejeune toxic water contamination.  While many are focused on the process for veterans regarding the VA, the civilian workforce must make their claims through a different agency, the US Department of Labor/Department of Defense Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) and the Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation (DFEC).

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a Federal law that establishes the public’s right to request existing records from Federal government agencies.  Any ‘person’ can file a request.  This includes citizens, organizations, colleges, businesses and more.  Requests can only be made for existing records.