military contamination

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 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).

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 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.

Donaldson Air Force Base in Greenville, South Carolina, was closed in 1963. The property was transferred to the City and County of Greenville, South Carolina in 1964. It is currently owned 50/50 by the city and county, with some private industrial ownership of the peripheral areas. Now known as the South Carolina Technology and Aviation Center (SCTAC), the 2,600-acre industrial park that is home to various high-profile companies such as Lockheed Martin, Michelin, IBM, 3M, and others. It is one of six bases in the state that continue to be a problem for toxic military contamination and potential exposure impacts.

Three U.S. Army veterans of a nuclear weapons base in Okinawa have filed claims with the Veterans Administration for cancers associated with radiation exposure. Since January, 2020, the Japanese Defense Ministry has been removing a large swath of soil from the former nuclear weapons storage area in Henoko Village, but has refused a request from the local Diet representative from Okinawa to test it for radioactive contamination. This threatens the safety of local residents, and denies important information to the veterans filing VA claims.

Whidbey Island Naval Air Station, located in Oak Harbor, Washington, has a history of contamination issues that goes back decades. One of the latest and most prevalent sources of contamination is firefighting foams (PFAS). Learn more about Whidbey Island NAS.

It has been a while since I have taken the time to sit down…