civilian exposure

Enewetak is a large coral atoll of 40 islands in the Pacific Ocean and with its 850 people forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its land area totals less than 5.85 square kilometres (2.26 sq mi), not higher than 5 metres and surrounding a deep central lagoon, 80 kilometres (50 mi) in circumference. It is the second-westernmost atoll of the Ralik Chain and is 305 kilometres (190 mi) west from Bikini Atoll. A total of 67 nuclear and atmospheric bombs were detonated on Enewetak and Bikini between 1946 and 1958. To put this in perspective, you would have to detonate 1.6 Hiroshima bombs every day for 12 years to match the explosive yield derived from these tests. The radioactivity left behind is palpable.

The primary mission of the 4,198-acre Luke Air Force Base (LAFB) site was to provide advanced flight training to fighter pilots. Discharges and waste disposal practices at LAFB resulted in soil and possible groundwater contamination. Thirty-two areas of the base were subject to further investigation. Soil was contaminated with waste oils and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) resulting from the diverse processes that have taken place at the site. Groundwater was potentially contaminated with waste oils and VOCs. Potential human health hazards include accidental ingestion or direct contact with contaminated materials.

The following is a personal story submitted to Civilian Exposure and published as part of our new series: “Contamination Chronicles: Personal Stories of Exposure”. If you would like to submit your story, you may fill out our form here or send directly via email to share-@-civilianexposure.org. – I tried to tell the doctors and the Army about the poisoning. They wouldn’t listen to me. I was medically discharged and tried to tell the VA doctors and administration. They wouldn’t listen to me. I have made phone calls, sent emails, and left messages with newspapers, Congressmen, even the President of the United States. No one answers.

The following is a personal story submitted to Civilian Exposure and published as part of our new series: “Contamination Chronicles: Personal Stories of Exposure”. If you would like to submit your story, you may fill out our form here or send directly via email to share-@-civilianexposure.org. – I have a serious physical disability caused by toxic exposure and unsafe working conditions at my former workplace. Other employees are also experiencing similar physical impairments. I’m seeking recourse regarding my suspected exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC’s).

From 1985 to 2001, personnel at Naval Air Facility (NAF) Atsugi in Atsugi, Japan may have been exposed to environmental contaminants from off-base waste incinerators. The incinerators were shut down in May 2001.

This 1,200 acre site is comprised of the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove (NASJRB/WG) and the Willow Grove Air Reserve Station (WGARS), which are operating U.S. Navy and U.S. Air Force installations, respectively, located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Activities that generate, store, or dispose of hazardous waste at the facilities fall into four general categories: (1) aircraft maintenance; (2) base civil engineering; (3) fuel operation and (4) personnel training.

The following is a personal story submitted to Civilian Exposure and published as part of our series: “Contamination Chronicles: Personal Stories of Exposure”. The author currently resides in Ohio and has shared a news video covering his burn pits exposure.

The 13,000-acre Aberdeen Proving Ground (Edgewood Area Site) site is located in Edgewood, Maryland and includes Gunpowder Neck, Pooles Island, Carroll Island and Graces Quarters. Development and testing of chemical agent munitions took place at this federal facility site. From 1917 to the present, site activities have included conducting chemical research programs, manufacturing chemical agents, and testing, storage and disposal of toxic materials. Site activities contaminated soil, sediment, ground water and surface water with hazardous chemicals. EPA placed the site on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List (NPL) in 1990.

The following is a personal story submitted to Civilian Exposure and published as part of our new series: “Contamination Chronicles: Personal Stories of Exposure”. If you would like to submit your story, you may fill out our form here or send directly via email to share-@-civilianexposure.org. – I was born at Camp Lejeune in 1953. I believe my dad was exposed and poisoned there and died an awful (but thankfully short) death at the age of 56. 

As an infant in the early 1980s, Brent Wilson lived with his family at Camp Lejeune, a U.S. Marine base in North Carolina. His father, GI Wilson, a retired colonel who had a decorated 37-year military career, was stationed on the base for several years between combat assignments. Little did the Wilson family know, simply being on that military base and drinking the water there could cause cancer.