Reading Room


Stand against explosive tests

Friday, April 26, 2019
Source:
Tracy Press

EDITOR,

Earlier this year I was hired by Tri Valley CAREs to conduct outreach in English and Spanish, and I began learning about the nuclear weapons development occurring at Site 300.

Site 300 is currently allowed to detonate up to 100 pounds of toxic high explosives daily in the open-air, and 1,000 pounds annually. Site 300 has proposed to increase the size of open-air blasts to 1,000 pounds (10 times) a day and 7,500 a year (7.5 times)!

These explosions are harmful to human health due to the release of toxic substances (beryllium, vinyl chloride, hydrogen cyanide, etc.) that can lead to illnesses including cancer.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed Site 300 on its Superfund list of most contaminated locations in the country in 1990. Due to the extensive contamination of soils, surface water and groundwater aquifers, the cleanup is expected to last more than 80 years.

Tri-Valley CAREs asks you to join forces to alert the public to this new danger. You can reach out to real estate brokers, talk to the City Council, and communicate with the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors. All of them have written letters stating their opposition to the project, yet Site 300 is moving forward by trying to get a permit for these much bigger bomb blasts. You can ask these brokers and your elected officials to write and tell the Valley Air District to deny the permit. You can also make a difference by participating in our meetings, signing our online petition, speaking to your neighbors and friends, and more. Together, all of us in the community have the right to decide how clean is clean.

Contact Raiza Bettis at [email protected] for more information.

Raiza Bettis,

Tracy

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