US, Japan agree on access to bases following environmental incidents

Lack of acceptable protocol over environmental issues has long been a point of contention in Okinawa, the strategic island where about half of all U.S. military personnel in Japan are stationed.

Concerns rose after empty chemical drums excavated on former U.S. military property this year were suspected to contain Agent Orange, a Vietnam War-era defoliant associated with severe health hazards and birth defects. A Japanese government report found no evidence of Agent Orange or local health risk, though it did find common herbicide compounds in the soil.

Source:  http://www.stripes.com/news/us-japan-agree-on-access-to-bases-following-environmental-incidents-1.309198

Japanese report: No evidence of Agent Orange in barrels on Okinawa

There is no evidence that dozens of empty chemical drums, unearthed last year on former U.S. military property, contained the toxic defoliant Agent Orange, according to a Japanese government report.

The Okinawa Defense Bureau of the Ministry of Defense tested the final 61 of 83 barrels that were unearthed from land adjacent to the Kadena Air Base fence line. While it found they contained ingredients used in Agent Orange, they were of the incorrect consistency and quantities, leading officials to believe they were to be used as a common herbicide.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.stripes.com/news/japanese-report-no-evidence-of-agent-orange-in-barrels-on-okinawa-1.294966

Agent Orange ingredients found at Okinawa military dumpsite

Agent Orange Okinawa Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Agent-Orange-Okinawa/205895316098692

Dozens of rusting barrels unearthed on former U.S. military land in Okinawa City have been identified as containing chemical precursors to defoliant Agent Orange, a toxic compound used widely in the Vietnam War and blamed for poisoning that has resulted in birth defects and other health problems.

It is the first time that all three ingredients have been identified on former U.S. military property on Okinawa.

Continue Learning>>>http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/07/11/national/agent-orange-ingredients-found-okinawa-military-dumpsite/#.U8HlNZRdUs1

Dioxins unearthed at U.S. base in Okinawa stir furor

Compliments of Agent Orange Okinawa

"In our small organization of otherwise healthy young people, an unbelievable rate of cancers exists. Multiple breast cancers, brain cancer, brain tumors," said the service member, who did not want his name used.

"Many children living on the air base have developed childhood cancers, tumors, and other diseases," he said.

On Jan. 28, the Kadena commander held a meeting with military parents to assure them that their children's schools at the base were safe from dioxin contamination. The meeting came as a growing number of parents affiliated with the base expressed anger that they had not been notified of the problem promptly, and said their children's serious illnesses may have been caused by dioxin exposure, or voiced fears about the likelihood of future illnesses. A Facebook group called "Bob Hope/AEIS - Protect Our Kids" currently has more than 830 member
Continue learning: http://peoplesworld.org/dioxins-unearthed-at-u-s-base-in-okinawa-stir-furor/

Ailing U.S. veteran wins payout over Agent Orange exposure in Okinawa

According to the ruling of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (BVA), the unnamed marine alleges he came into contact with Agent Orange while transporting it in barrels and rubber bladders between U.S. military ports at Naha and White Beach — a navy installation on the island’s east coast — and a warehouse on Kadena Air Base. He also claims to have sprayed the defoliant in the Northern Training Area, in the Yanbaru jungles, to keep back foliage and reduce the risk of forest fires.

The former marine was able to identify the barrels he helped to transport as the infamous Vietnam War defoliant due to the tell-tale orange stripes painted around their middles.

Continue Learning:  http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/03/17/issues/ailing-u-s-veteran-wins-payout-over-agent-orange-exposure-in-okinawa/#.Uyt1l6Kpb5-

More drums dug up near Kadena schools amid pollution scare

The Japan Ministry of Defense on Tuesday began unearthing at least 11 more containers from a soccer field adjacent to Kadena Air Base schools where 22 buried dioxin- and herbicide-tainted drums were discovered last summer.

The ministry will test to determine whether the additional drums also contain traces of pollutants.

Continue Learning:  http://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/okinawa/more-drums-dug-up-near-kadena-schools-amid-pollution-scare-1.264344

Okinawa Dumpsite Offers Proof of Agent Orange: Experts Say

Two leading Agent Orange specialists have weighed in on the recent discovery of 22 barrels buried on former military land in Okinawa City.1 Richard Clapp, professor emeritus at Boston University School of Public Health, and Wayne Dwernychuk, the scientist previously in charge of identifying defoliant contamination in southeast Asia, likened the levels of dioxin contamination in Okinawa City to dangerous hot-spots in Vietnam where the U.S. military had stored toxic defoliants during the 1960s and ‘70s.2

Both scientists cited the risks to Okinawa residents and urged immediate clean-up of the land to limit the threat to human health. Dwernychuk also noted that the discovery of the barrels may disprove the Pentagon’s repeated denials that military defoliants were ever present on Okinawa.

Continue Learning:   http://japanfocus.org/-Jon-Mitchell/3998

Denials of defoliant at former U.S. base site in Okinawa fly in the face of science

Realistically, at this historical juncture, the contents of the Kadena drums, whether Agent Orange, Pink, Green or whatever, is almost irrelevant. The inescapable fact is that the U.S. military, on land then part of Kadena Air Base on Okinawa, disposed of “unknown” materials in drums containing 2,4,5-T , a wartime herbicide/defoliant, and the most toxic component of the dioxin family, TCDD, known to be associated with the manufacture of such herbicides. There have been other allegations of the disposal of U.S. military herbicides on Okinawa, these being in 2011 at Chatan and in 2012 at Futenma, as reported in The Japan Times and The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus.

The general public inhabiting areas in close proximity to Kadena Air Base, and frequenting the area for recreational purposes, should demand from local authorities a geographical and chemical breakdown of the burial field, and rapid implementation of remedial measures where applicable. In addition, locals should be properly informed about potential health concerns resulting from possible contaminant exposure.

Continue Learning:   http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2013/08/26/voices/denials-of-defoliant-at-former-u-s-base-site-in-okinawa-fly-in-the-face-of-science/#.Uh_pgX-t1Rz

NEWS: AGENT ORANGE OKINAWA

U.S. consultant: No agent orange on Okinawa

Young said Agent Orange, the defoliant used as a weapon during the Vietnam War, was shipped there under tightly controlled conditions. He said none was stored on Okinawa.

Japanese news media have reported stories by U.S. veterans of burying Agent Orange on Okinawa decades ago. Tests appeared to show the presence of dioxin but Young said the tests probably detected plastic residue from burning waste at low temperatures.



Expert: Chemicals found on Okinawa likely not Agent Orange

Chemical barrels recently unearthed on former U.S. military land on Okinawa most likely contained military maintenance shop and hospital waste, not Agent Orange as many feared, according to an American expert on the herbicide.

However, Japan’s Ministry of Defense said Wednesday that it still believes test results from last month showing the presence of a key Agent Orange ingredient are correct despite Young’s opinion. The ministry and Okinawa City say the tests prove a type of herbicide is present, but have stopped short of saying that it is U.S. military tactical defoliants.

"It is difficult to say anything decisive at this time. What is for certain is that the sampling tests detected 2,4,5-T"” said a spokesman for the ministry’s Okinawa Defense Bureau.

Okinawa dump site may be proof of Agent Orange: experts:  Dioxin spike raises fears of local health risks

The recent discovery of 22 barrels buried on former U.S. military land in the city of Okinawa could be posing the same level of risks to local residents as dioxin hot spots in Vietnam where the American military stored toxic defoliants during the 1960s and 1970s, according to two leading Agent Orange specialists.

Richard Clapp, professor emeritus at Boston University School of Public Health, and Wayne Dwernychuk, the scientist previously in charge of identifying defoliant contamination in Southeast Asia, recently cited the risks to Okinawa residents and urged the immediate cleanup of the land to limit the threat to human health.

Levels of Agent Orange ingredients found in Okinawa City exceed Environmental Quality Standard

The Okinawa Defense Bureau detected dioxin and other harmful ingredients inside the barrels found at a soccer ground on land returned by the U.S. military in Okinawa City. The levels found exceeded the Environmental Quality Standard set by the Japanese government.

The Okinawa City Government released the results of their investigation on July 31.

They detected dioxin in fouling material at a level 8.4 times the normal standard for soil, and in the water it was 280 times the standard for groundwater. They found the key ingredient of Agent Orange in the barrels. The city government asked Nansei Environment Laboratory Co. to carry out the investigation.

AGENT ORANGE NEWS

Fred Wilcox on the Legacy of Agent Orange

August 10th is the official Day to Commemorate Agent Orange Victims. In honor, Fred Wilcox, author of Scorched Earth and Waiting for an Army to Die, spoke on radio program Making Contact. 

Click here to listen!

 

Operation Red Hat: Chemical Weapons and the Pentagon Smokescreen on Okinawa 
 
For more than four decades, details of that project have been kept firmly under wraps. But now, newly disclosed scientific studies — and accounts from U.S. veterans who participated in Operation Red Hat — are casting light on the mission and exposing what truly occurred. These revelations include the alleged dumping of chemical weapons off the coast of Okinawa, the presence of the potent blister agent, lewisite, and the inclusion of Agent Orange – the Vietnam War defoliant which the Pentagon denies was ever present on the island.

The dangers of Agent Orange

The Department of Veterans Affairs has concluded presumptive exposure to Agent Orange can cause health hazards that may be crippling and life threatening. The Institute of Medicine reports Agent Orange can cause serious diseases. This undermines previous statements by the Department of Defense stating Agent Orange is relatively non-toxic to man, a deliberate conclusion, therefore took no precautions to prevent exposure as stated by the U.S. Comptroller General in November 1979.


Ailing veterans point to Vietnam-era cargo planes, Agent Orange contamination

But after the war, some of the planes were used on cargo missions in the United States. Now a bitter fight has sprung up over whether those in the military who worked, ate and slept in the planes after the war should also be compensated. Two U.S. senators are now questioning the Department of Veterans Affairs’ assertions that any postwar contamination on the planes was not high enough to be linked to disease.