Danville officials react to Kennedy’s death

Comment: Keep the Kennedy's in your prayers!

By Catherine Amos
Published: August 27, 2009

Revered by die-hard liberals and spurned by staunch conservatives, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was a polarizing force in United States politics — with nearly everyone recognizing his passion.

Known as the liberal lion of the Senate, Kennedy died early Wednesday morning after battling a brain tumor. He was 77, and the last surviving son of the Kennedy family — once the America’s political dy-nasty.

In the Dan River Region, local political leaders from both sides of the aisle weighed in on Kennedy’s influence and what will likely be his legacy of working toward health care reform.

Sheila Baynes, chairwoman of the Danville Democratic Committee, had the chance to meet Kennedy, albeit briefly, at a political function years ago in northern Virginia. She, along with many other local Democrats, support his fight for health care reform.

“I’m very saddened,” Baynes said. “He’s been a longtime supporter of the people … He’s done so much. Right now he had a passion for health care and trying to get that (legislation) through. I hope that that will be met. I’m sorry he’s not around to see what happens one way or another.”

Nick Fowler, chairman of the Danville Republican Committee, acknowledged Kennedy’s accomplishments. And although Fowler agreed that the country may need to reform health care policies, he does not support the public option.

“Anytime you lose a leader it’s just a sad time for everybody,” Fowler said. “(Kennedy) was very suc-cessful with what he did. We (Republicans) didn’t always agree with his policies, but we respected him.”

Statewide politicians issued statements throughout the day Wednesday, some mourning the loss and others extending condolences to the remaining members of the Kennedy family. Sen. Mark Warner commented on Twitter on Wednesday morning, calling Kennedy an “inspiration for all of us in the Senate.”

Gubernatorial candidates Bob McDonnell and Creigh Deeds both issued statements as well. McDonnell said he respected Kennedy for his “passion and commitment” to public service, despite dis-agreeing with the longtime senator on many issues. Deeds lauded Kennedy’s “legacy of working in a bipartisan manner to get things done … espe-cially in areas of health care and public education.”

In Pittsylvania County, party leaders echoed the sen-timents of others.

“Although I didn’t agree with many of Sen. Kennedy’s policies,” said Ronnie Mayhew, chairman of the county’s Republican Party, “I do greatly respect his over five decades of public service to the citizens of Massachusetts and the United States.”

Robert Neals, chairman of the county’s Democratic Party, said he hoped that when the health care reform bill is passed, it will be named after Kennedy.

“We have certainly lost a great statesman,” Neals said, “one who fought for the equal rights of everyone in this country.”

Former Danville mayor Seward Anderson, a democrat running for delegate of the 14th District, recognized Kennedy’s extensive political career and contributions.

“Sen. Kennedy gave 42 years of his life in service to his nation,” Anderson said in a statement. “Virginians throughout our commonwealth have always honored service to their country; I join them in honoring the life and service of Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts.”

Delegate Danny Marshall, R-14th District, could not be reached for comment

http://www2.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/danville_news/article/danville_officials_react_to_kennedys_death/13489/

Toxins take a toll on troops

When he was in Iraq, National Guard Sgt. David L. Moore helped protect workers rebuilding a water treatment plant. The area turned out to be contaminated with hexavalent chromium. After his tour, Moore suffered nosebleeds and other breathing problems that kept him from working. In 2008, he died of lung disease. He was 42 years old. This undated photo of Moore was provided by his brother Steve.

Comment: Corporate and Federal Government greed and they do not care about her citizens or our families!

IRAQ POSTWAR ILLNESSES
Toxins take a toll on troops
Guard members' claims against KBR raise questions about war zone contractors.

By Sharon Cohen
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, July 12, 2009

Larry Roberta's every breath is a painful reminder of his time in Iraq. He can't walk a block without gasping for air. His chest hurts, his migraines sometimes persist for days and he needs pills to help him sleep.

James Gentry came home with rashes, ear troubles and a shortness of breath. Later, he developed lung cancer.

David Moore's postwar life turned into a harrowing medical mystery: nosebleeds and labored breathing that made it impossible to work, much less speak. His search for answers ended last year when he died of lung disease at age 42.

What these three men — one sick, one dying, one dead — had in common is they were National Guard soldiers on the same stretch of wind-swept desert in Iraq during the early months of the war in 2003. They and hundreds of other Guard members from Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia were protecting workers hired by a subsidiary of the giant contractor, KBR Inc., to rebuild an Iraqi water treatment plant.

The area, as it turned out, was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a potent, sometimes deadly chemical linked to cancer and other devastating diseases. No one disputes that, but that's where the agreement ends. Among the issues now rippling from the courthouse to Capitol Hill are whether the chemical made people sick, when KBR knew it was there and how the company responded.

The case has raised broader questions about private contractors and health risks in war zones, says Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., who plans hearings on the matter: "How should we treat exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals as a threat to our soldiers? How seriously should that threat be taken? What is the role of private contractors? What about the potential conflict between their profit motives and taking all steps necessary to protect our soldiers?"

Dozens of National Guard veterans have sued KBR and two subsidiaries, accusing them of minimizing and concealing the chemical's dangers, then downplaying nosebleeds and breathing problems as nothing more than sand allergies or a reaction to desert air.

KBR denies wrongdoing. In a statement, the company said it found the chemical at the Qarmat Ali plant, restricted access, cleaned it up and "did not knowingly harm troops."

This isn't the first claim that toxins have harmed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan; there have been allegations involving lead, depleted uranium and sarin gas.

It also isn't the first challenge to KBR, whose billions of dollars of war-related contracts have been the subject of congressional scrutiny and legal claims. Suits recently filed in several states against KBR and Halliburton Co. — KBR's parent company until 2007 — assert open-air pits used to burn refuse in Iraq and Afghanistan caused illnesses and death. KBR says it's reviewing the charges. Halliburton maintains it was improperly named and expects to be dismissed from the case.

This case stems from the chaotic start of the war in 2003 when a KBR subsidiary was hired to restart the treatment plant, which had been looted and virtually stripped bare. The Iraqis had used hexavalent chromium to prevent pipe corrosion at the plant, which produced industrial water used in oil production. It's the same chemical linked to poisonings in California in a case made famous in the movie "Erin Brockovich."

Hexavalent chromium — a toxic component of sodium dichromate — can cause severe liver and kidney damage. It is also "one of the most potent carcinogens known to man," said Max Costa, chairman of New York University's Department of Environmental Medicine. Costa provided a deposition for 10 civilian workers who settled an arbitration case over the poison at the water plant.

KBR says studies show only that industrial workers exposed to the chemical for more than two years have an increased risk of cancer — and in this case, soldiers were at the plant just days or months. The company also notes air-quality studies concluded the Indiana Guard soldiers were not exposed to high levels of hexavalent chromium.

Costa says those tests were done when the wind was not blowing. Both soldiers and former workers say there were days when strong gusts kicked up ripped-open bags of the chemical, creating a yellow-orange haze.

"I was spitting blood, and I was not the only one doing that," recalls Danny Langford, who worked for the KBR subsidiary.

Larry Roberta, a 44-year-old former Oregon National Guard member, remembers 137-degree heat and dust everywhere. He sat on a bag of the chemical, unaware it was dangerous. "This orange crud blew up in your face, your eyes and on our food," he says.

Roberta says he immediately felt sick to his stomach. He also reported coughing spells and agonizing chest pains that "went all the way through my back. ... Every day I went there, I had something weird going on."

Russell Kimberling, a former Indiana National Guard captain, had severe sinus troubles that forced his medical evacuation to Germany. After returning, he became alarmed one August day in 2003 while escorting some officials to the plant in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.

"I jumped out of the truck and I turned around and they (KBR staff) had full chemical gear on," he says. "I looked at some of my soldiers and said, 'This can't be very good.' ''

Ed Blacke, hired as plant health, safety and environmental coordinator, says he became worried after workers started having breathing problems and a former colleague sent him an internal KBR memo outlining the chemical's dangers. Blacke says he complained, was labeled a troublemaker and resigned under pressure.

Kimberling is among nearly 50 current or former Guard members — most from Indiana, a smaller number from Oregon and West Virginia — who've sued.

Mike Doyle, a Houston lawyer representing the soldiers and civilians, maintains KBR knew as early as May 2003 the chemical was there, but didn't close the site until that September. The lawsuit cites minutes of an August 2003 KBR meeting that mentions "serious health problems at the water treatment plant" and notes "almost 60 percent of the people now exhibit the symptoms."

In a recent Associated Press interview, KBR chairman William Utt said the company has been unfairly targeted for its military work.

As for the water plant, KBR says once it learned of the chemical, it took precautions to protect workers, notified the Army Corps of Engineers and led the cleanup. It says the Corps had previously deemed the area safe.

KBR also points to Army tests of Indiana Guard soldiers that showed no medical problems that could be linked to exposure, as well as a military board review that found it unlikely anyone would suffer long-term medical consequences.

But Bayh and Doyle say those tests were done too late to be valid and note that soil tests were taken after the contaminated area was covered.

The Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon National Guards have sent hundreds of letters to soldiers notifying them of possible contamination and urging them to seek medical attention.

Bayh has introduced a bill calling for a medical registry that would require the Department of Defense to notify all military members of exposure to potential toxins and ensure their medical care. A similar measure that only mandates only notification was approved last month in the U.S. House as an amendment to the defense authorization bill.

http://www.statesman.com/insight/content/editorial/stories/insight/2009/07/12/0712toxic.html

Backlash emerges against S. Africa's mining industry

Rise and fall of Canadian uranium venture draws fury of local population


GEOFFREY YORK
Globe and Mail Update
April 1, 2009 at 9:47 PM EDT

DOMINIONVILLE, SOUTH AFRICA — The tattered yellow sign on the barbed-wire fence is riddled with holes. Children with slingshots use it for target practice.

But if you look closely, you can make out the ominous words: “Radiation Area. No Unauthorized Entrance.”

Nobody seems to notice the warning sign. A big hole has been slashed in the fence, and people walk through to dump their garbage at an abandoned mine building, where a water-filled pit creates a potentially lethal hazard for local children.

Nearby, a 10-year-old boy drowned last fall in a tailings reclamation pit that had been flooded with rainwater. His mother mourns in her tin shack, still hoping for compensation from the Canadian uranium company that controls the mine property on the edge of town.

“They should have come to help me bury him,” says the grieving mother, Kedibone Mabango.

“They have never even come to me to express condolences.”

Dominionville, a ramshackle mining village about 200 kilometres south of Johannesburg, is the latest hotbed of revolt against Africa's mining industry.

Many people here are furious at the Canadian mining company for opening the uranium mine and then shutting it a year later.

It's a symbol of the boom-and-bust commodity cycle that is wreaking havoc in mining communities all over Africa.

Jacob Zuma, leader of the African National Congress and the front-runner to be South Africa's next president, has blasted mining companies for grabbing wealth and doing little in return for these impoverished communities.

He has threatened to strip the companies of their licences if they fail to build schools, roads and hospitals.

“We can't just stand and look while people take our wealth away from us,” Mr. Zuma told an election rally as he campaigned for the April 22 national vote.

With the global economic crisis deepening, a backlash against the mining companies is emerging.

A new study, by a coalition of development agencies, says African countries are losing hundreds of millions of dollars each year because of low royalties and tax concessions given to mining companies, including Canadian companies – often in secretly negotiated deals.

South Africa alone is losing up to $499-million (U.S.) every year as a result of its low royalties, the study says.

“Tax subsidies, together with tax avoidance and alleged tax evasion practices by mining companies, have robbed African treasuries of millions of dollars of foregone tax revenue from the mining industry,” says the study.

“As a result, the citizens of mineral-rich countries continue to live in poverty.”

Dominionville, in the heart of South Africa's vast mining territory, is a haphazard collection of dilapidated shacks and abandoned buildings around the Dominion Reefs uranium deposit, where a mine had operated briefly in the 1950s.

The site was acquired in 2005 by a new Canadian company, Uranium One Inc., which touted it as one of the greatest deposits in the world.

When the company began ramping up production in 2007, the people of Dominionville hoped they would soon have electricity, running water and steady jobs.

The company billed itself as a future rival to Cameco Corp., the biggest giant in uranium.

But the mine was plagued with worker discontent. The company fired 11 workers that some saw as agitators, then faced a strike by most of the remaining employees.

When uranium prices fell and the mine proved more costly than expected, it was abruptly shut down last October, shattering the dream of a renaissance at Dominionville.

“We saw we got nothing from it,” says Talita Diphoko, a 36-year-old woman in Dominionville who still has no electricity or running water.

Instead of long-term jobs, the villagers have been left with worries about their health and safety.

They say they choked on dust from the mine's trucks and tailings, and now they are worried their children will be injured or killed in the debris of the old mine.

Rob Buchanan, manager of investor relations at Uranium One, said the site of the drowning was filled with sand and surrounded with a barbed-wire fence and regular security patrols after Mrs. Mabango's son died last fall.

He said the company has not given compensation to the boy's mother because it is waiting for the results of a police investigation.

The mine gave jobs to 4,500 people at its peak and provided a range of social benefits to the community, he said.

A visit to the site, however, showed that the barbed-wire fence has been torn down. There was no sign of security patrols. Parents such as Ms. Diphoko are afraid their children's lives could be in danger again.