NATO’s nuclear bases poison water and fish

I’ve been writing and speaking about this for six years with faint interest from the antiwar community in the US and Europe, but things are different in Japan where many are outraged to learn they have been poisoned by US facilities like Yokota Air Base and US Fleet Facilities Yokosuka. The soil, water, sediment, rivers, the sea, and fish are fantastically contaminated by the US military by chemicals that never go away and people are angry about it. Peace activists have joined with environmentalists to educate and organize thousands to confront the imperial presence of the U.S. in this manner.

The key to slowing the worldwide use of PFAS and developing technologies to replace the chemicals and eradicate them from the environment rests with the Japanese. Our speaking and environmental testing tour last year helped to arouse Japan from its slumber. Municipalities, prefectures, and NGO’s across the country are testing human blood and various environmental media for these carcinogenic compounds. They have reported deeply distressing results and linkages to disease and cancer. Amazing progress has been made in a very short period of time.  

 I hope to have 40 sets of PFAS test results from 20 locations in Japan along with 24 sets of results from locations in Germany, Ireland and UK in a few weeks. Please contact me off-list if you’d like to receive my occasional newsletters.

Pat Elder
St. Mary’s City, MD
www.militarypoisons.org