Toxic American Wastes at Subic and Clark

NARINIG n'yo na ba ang tungkol sa TOXIC WASTE sa dating mga base ng Kano sa SUBIC/CLARK???? Alam n'yo rin ba na mahigit ISANGDAAN ang namatay dahil sa nakakalasong basurang iyon, at ang kalusugan ng ilang mga bata ay naapektuhan ng labis?

When the U.S. military closed down its bases in the Philippines in 1992, they left behind toxic contamination that is now seeping into the environment, threatening the lives of thousands of people in surrounding communities. Today, more than one hundred people have died from illnesses believed to be linked to the toxic waste. Despite calls by community and environmental groups for U.S. accountability, the United States refuses to take responsibility for this environmental tragedy.

http://facessolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=3&limitstart=3

In 1992, the U.S. General Accounting Office reported contaminated sites in Clark and Subic but claimed "no responsibility for environmental damage." The report, however, triggered investigation by other concerned agencies. Among them are:

World Health Organization (WHO) Mission Report, which identified the pollutants present in the former bases;

Department of Health (DOH) Review, which found oil and grease in water samples taken from water wells in Clark;

Health for All Study" by Canadian Epidemiologist Rosalie Bertell, which noted "startingly high" levels of kidney diseases;

Woodward Clyde Environmental Baseline Survey and Environmental Quality Survey of Subic;
Weston International Environmental Baseline Study and Soil & Water Baseline Study at Clark;

The investigation conducted by the Commission on Human Rights, which confirmed all other earlier studies.

All the above studies revealed that heavy metals and contaminants ranging from oil and petroleum lubricants, pesticides such as aldrin, dieldrin and DDT to PCBs, lead, mercury, arsenic and others were found in various levels exceeding Philippine National Standards.

http://www.yonip.com/index/-Toxic.html

The 1991 base closing agreement gave the Philippines billions of dollars in military infrastructure and real estate at the bases and in return cleared the United States of any responsibility for the pollution. The Department of Defense told Stars and Stripes it has no authority to undertake or pay for environmental cleanup at the closed bases.

Philippine government efforts never gained traction. Philippine President Joseph Estrada formed a task force in 2000 to take on the issue, but it fell dormant and unfunded after he left office a year later. Efforts by private groups and environmentalists to force a cleanup have largely fizzled.

http://www.dmzhawaii.org/?tag=clark-air-force-base


The Bald Eagle nation has a Superfund law or CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act) dealing with the cleanup of contamination by hazardous waste contamination. Supposedly, anyone affected by the contaminants may petition Washington to conduct a "Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection" of a site suspected to be affected. In 2000, residents around Subic and Clark did submit petitions to U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy to identify the toxic "hot spots" at the former U.S. bases there for the determination of the extent of toxic waste contamination so as to permit affected communities and entities to carry out appropriate public health and environmental protection measures. Unfortunately, the North American military rejected the petitions WITHOUT STUDY.

http://www.webofcreation.org/LENS/cfcdavislecture.html


In Dec. 2002, 36 Filipinos, Arc Ecology & FACES filed a lawsuit asking the US Department of Defense to carry out a Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection at the former U.S. bases sites at Clark & Subic under CERCLA/Superfund provisions.

On December 8, 2003, the lawsuit was dismissed by a San Jose federal judge, saying that laws argued in the petition is based are not applicable to former American bases in the Philippines. That same month an appeal was filed at the U.S. Ninth District Court of Appeals, with Attorney Scott Allen citing case law and DERP (Defense Environmental Restoration Program) statute provisions to show that the Superfund Law applies to former overseas military bases, Clark & Subic having been “owned by, leased to, or otherwise possessed by the United States” during the period of the toxic waste contamination. The ruling denying the appeal re the assessment came out in July 2005, with the Ninth Circuit judged ruling that the CERCLA is not applicable on grounds that the filing of the claim was made only after the bases have been closed.

(Appeal Case Decision here: http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/411/411.F3d.1092.04-15031.html)

It is unconscionable that the US, with full knowledge of the danger of military contamination and while willing to protect those in developed countries, is unwilling to help the Philippines, a country with few financial and technical resources to conduct a comprehensive cleanup. This US refusal to protect health violates international law.

http://facessolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=3&limitstart=3


Meron nga palang dalawang class suit na isinampa laban sa imperyalistang pamahalaan ng Estados Unidos at sa pamahalaan ng Pilipinas ukol sa nakakalasong basura na naiwan sa dating Subic Base at Clark Air Base noong bandang 2001. Hindi ko alam kung may nangyari.

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References:

Case No. 04-15031. U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted January 11, 2005. http://ftp.resource.org/courts.gov/c/F3/411/411.F3d.1092.04-15031.html

Environmental Oppression. http://www.webofcreation.org/LENS/cfcdavislecture.html

Filipino American Coalition for Environmental Solidarity. Bases Clean Up. http://facessolidarity.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=3&limitstart=3

Travis J. Tritten. Decades later, U.S. military pollution in Philippines linked to deaths. 2 Feb. 2010. http://www.dmzhawaii.org/?tag=clark-air-force-base

U.S. TOXIC WASTE IN THE PHILIPPINES. http://www.yonip.com/index/-Toxic.html


Photo credits:

http://www.yonip.com/index/-Toxic.html

http://reference.findtarget.com/search/U.S.%20Naval%20Base%20Subic%20Bay/

http://reference.findtarget.com/search/List%20of%20military%20units%20of%20Clark%20Air%20Base/


Resources:

Statistical data of victims of toxic waste contamination in Clark, as of August 31, 2002 classified by type of ailment (Partial). http://www.yonip.com/archives/PTFBC/PTFBC-000016.html

Admiral Eugene Carroll (ret.). US MILITARY BASES AND THE ENVIRONMENT: A TIME FOR RESPONSIBILITY. eynote Speech before the 1997 First International Conference on "US Military Toxics and Bases Clean-up, Nov. 23-26, 1997, Asian Social Institute, Manila, Philippines. http://www.yonip.com/archives/PTFBC/PTFBC-000001.html

Dangerous Ground, Leftover bombs, Chemicals Wreak Havoc at Former U.S. Bases in Philippines. http://www.mindfully.org/Pesticide/Bombs-Chemicals-US-Leftovers.htm

ZELDA DT SORIANO. America’s Toxic Waste Legacy in the Philippines. http://attyzelda.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/america_s-toxic-waste-legacy-in-the-philippines.pdf.

PHILIPPINE TOXIC WASTE VICTIMS GET U.S. SUPPORT. http://www.ban.org/ban_news/philippine.html

Class Action Suits against the U.S. and the Philippine Governments re former U.S. Subic Base. http://www.yonip.com/archives/toxic/toxic-000001.html

Class Action Suits against the U.S. and the Philippine Governments re former U.S. Clark Air Base. http://www.yonip.com/archives/toxic/toxic-000002.html

People's Task Force for Bases Clean-up (PTFBC) Photo Gallery. http://www.yonip.com/archives/PTFBC/PTFBC-Gallery-01.html

Case Title: Toxic Waste and a U.S. Base at Subic, Philippines. http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/subic.htm