[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS; NBC's "Tropical Disconnect" - report on Vieques (PR)

[Lenny Siegel <lennysiegel@gmail.com>]

Tropical Disconnect

By Mark Potter
NBC News
April 24, 2008

Arriving on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico recently, it was clear we 
had come to an extraordinarily beautiful place. The beaches are 
gorgeous, the water is crystal clear, the tourist hotels and restaurants 
are laid-back and the tropical vegetation and terrain are stunning, 
especially in the fiery light of sundown.

Looking below the surface here, though, we found a lingering and ugly 
controversy involving allegations of environmental contamination by the 
U.S. military and elevated health risks to long-time residents. In the 
words of a lawsuit filed by more than 7,000 plaintiffs against the U.S. 
government, "residents of Vieques experience a 30% higher rate of 
cancer, a 381% higher rate of hypertension, a 99% higher rate of 
cirrhosis of the liver and a 41% higher rate of diabetes than the rest 
of Puerto Rico."

...

For the entire story, see
http://dailynightly.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/04/24/943396.aspx

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org