Navy dumped two million pounds of military waste on Vieques, contaminating people and soil
Evidence
On Vieques, the Navy dumped almost two million pounds of military waste in mangrove swamps and other sensitive wetland areas. Research has shown elevated levels of cadmium, lead and other heavy metals, mercury, nitrates, uranium, and other toxic chemicals in the food chain and locals’ bodies as well as in the water and soil. In 2005, the EPA included Vieques on its National Priorities List of the most hazardous contaminated sites requiring cleanup. The Navy’s estimated total cleanup costs were just
30 million in 2004 but have climbed to around350 million. — David Vine, Base Nation_ How U.S. Military Bases…, 415
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
Related
- Navy bombing in Vieques contaminated food, water, and bodies with heavy metals. (similarity 0.92)
- U.S. bases created 28,538 toxic waste sites needing $50 billion in cleanup (similarity 0.86)
- Nearly every military base contains toxic chemicals and hazardous waste. (similarity 0.83)
- Unexploded ordnance contaminates thousands of U.S. military sites worldwide. (similarity 0.79)
- Military bases magnify environmental harm beyond what any civilian concentration causes (similarity 0.79)
- The Navy released millions of gallons of radioactive waste into Pearl Harbor (similarity 0.79)
- Fourteen of thirty-four returned U.S. bases in South Korea exceed local cancer-chemical standards (similarity 0.78)