US Navy families lived next to Japanese trash incinerator complex
America’s ABC News reports on how the families of US Navy personnel in Japan were exposed to dangerous chemicals from a nearby Japanese garbage incinerator:
The Shinkampo Incinerator Complex was known to release volatile organic compounds, poly-chlorinated biphenyls, pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydro-carbons, dioxins, furans, particulates and heavy metals into the air. Dioxin is also a key toxin in Agent Orange, a defoliant widely used by the U.S. military in Vietnam.
The Department of the Navy warned Atsugi residents of the risks of the incinerator in 1997 and instructed people to stay indoors when the plume blew toward the base. In 2001, the incinerator was closed.
Since that time, at least 61 cases of cancer from former residents — many children — have emerged, along with occurrences of other toxic-related disorders.
“We trusted the Navy to provide a safe environment for our family members. But they failed to do so by knowingly housing our families in a toxic waste zone,” Paganelli said.
A video about the story can be viewed here.
[hat tip to faerielfire]
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