The 7,000-acre Radford Army Ammunition Plant spans both sides of the New River. (Image from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
VIRGINIA – Researchers at Cancer Control and Population Health Research at the University of Virginia are warning that all Virginians should be “gravely concerned” about the health risks posed by air emissions from the Radford Army Ammunition Plant – the same site that the Army has targeted for a massive hazardous waste incinerator complex and recently received state approval to continue burning toxic waste in the open air for another decade.
“The most concerning of the plants in Virginia is located near Radford. The Radford Army Ammunition Plant is one of the nation’s largest hotspots, and it dwarfs the other two plants’ emissions in the commonwealth,” researchers concluded.
“At the plant itself, there is an excess cancer risk of 1 in 44. That means that people working and living immediately surrounding the plant are exposed to about 230 times the EPA’s acceptable risk for exposure to carcinogenic emissions,” scientists said.
Large areas of those towns have been exposed to the plant’s emissions since it was established in the 1940s by the U.S. Department of Defense.
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HOW TO HELP:
- Sign the PETITION to all ten EPA Regional Administrators and EPA headquarters opposing open burning, detonation and incineration of hazardous waste by the military and industry.
- Support Citizens for Arsenal Accountability (based in Virginia) by following them at https://www.facebook.com/NRVCAA/