Toxic Service-Please Support Ft. McCllellan Soldier's

• Next to Ft. McClellan is a small town called Anniston, Alabama. Even if you never heard of the base, the name of the community may ring a bell. In 2003, chemical giant Monsanto settled a case with more than 20,000 residents of the town for $700 million dollars. The suit alleged the company, now operating locally as Solutia, contaminated the water, soil and air so thoroughly and so recklessly with PCB’s and other toxins for decades, 60 Minutes and others have called the area the most toxic place on the planet. One of the others making that claim is the EPA, which has listed the community at the top of its Superfund Sites in need of cleanup.
  
  Toxins along with Agent Orange, the less well-known but even more toxic Agent Blue and Agent White (Part of the "Rainbow" used in Vietnam); Sarin, VX, Mustard Gas and a host of other man-made chemical killers were all stored at Ft. McClellan while they awaited their turn in the incinerator.
  
  The U.S. Institute of Medicine’s July 2009 report cited sufficient evidence of association between exposure to Agent Orange/dioxin and five illnesses: soft-tissue sarcoma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (including hairy-cell leukemia), Hodgkin’s disease, and chloracne. The report also found evidence suggesting an association with prostate cancer, multiple myeloma, amyloidosis (abnormal protein deposits), Parkinson’s disease, porphyria cutanea tarda (a blood and skin disorder), ischemic heart disease, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, and cancer of the larynx, lung, bronchea or trachea, and spina bifida in exposed people’s offspring.
  
  There is evidence to indicate that exposure to Methylene blue (Agent Blue) during pregnancy may have a teratogenic effect on the fetus. A teratogen is a substance that can cause birth defects. The likelihood and severity of defects may be affected by the level of exposure and the stage of pregnancy that the exposure occurred at.
  
  The immediate effects of Sarin Gas include death by suffocation. Sarin is 26 times more deadly than cyanide gas. Just a pinprick-sized droplet will kill a human. Exposure symptoms include nausea and violent headaches, blurred vision, drooling, muscle convulsions, respiratory arrest and loss of consciousness. Sarin can contaminate food or water supplies.
  
  VX gas is one of the most dangerous human-made chemicals. VX stimulates the generation of the action potential (A.P.) in the nervous system of the body. This action is taken place at the synapse, which is the site where the presynaptic terminal of one neuron transmits a signal to another neuron (or muscle). (how the left side of the brain communicates with the right side of the brain). It hen causes a release of acetylcholine from the presynaptic nerve cell to the receptors on the postsynaptic muscle cell. This is where it acts as a neurontransmitter and binds to its receptors on the postsynaptic membrane, causing the muscle cell to contract or extends, (yes the brain contracts or extends). Because there is nothing to get rid of VX, the nerve is unable to return to its resting state so it fires continuously. The continuous firing causes the muscles to contract uncontrollably, which results in convulsions and the inability to breath
  
  Mustard Gas is almost odourless and took twelve hours to take effect. It was so powerful that only small amounts had to be added to high explosive shells to be effective. Once in the soil, mustard gas remained active for several weeks.
  The skin of victims of mustard gas blistered, the eyes became very sore and they began to vomit. Mustard gas caused internal and external bleeding and attacked the bronchial tubes, stripping off the mucous membrane. This was extremely painful and most soldiers had to be strapped to their beds. It usually took a person four or five weeks to die of mustard gas poisoning.
  
  Most of these chemicals spent their time sitting patiently in their containers waiting for destruction, but many of these substances foiled attempts at containment and leaked into the soil, creeks, streams and ultimately the aquifers that fed the wells of Ft. McClellan. Now add in the depleted uranium that is the shell of warheads and missiles and our old friend PCB’s from neighboring Monsanto. This might start to paint a fuller picture of the contents of the toxic soup that comprise the ground and water in and surrounding Ft. McClellan.
  
  Like the others depleted uranium has nasty effects. including respiratory and kidney problems, bowel conditions and painful joints. Medical tests reveal mutations to DNA and damage to chromosomes. This dust does more than wreak havoc on the immune systems of those who breathe it or touch it; the substance also alters one’s genetic code.
  
  Do I really need to get into Monsanto and PCB's?
  
  It would be realistic to say that not even the maddest scientists operating in the darkest days of Nazi death camps ever conceived of exposing the human body to ALL of these toxins at once
  
  The status Ft. McClellan veterans seek through HR 411 is what is required to receive treatment from the Veterans Administration. It must be acknowledged that we may have, or develop a range of illness, diseases and disorders. This is the same status that Vietnam Era veterans fought for decades to get in regard to Agent Orange exposure. It is also what was just granted to the hundreds of thousands who were exposed to the open-air burn pits in Iraq, Afghanistan and at bases around the wo

   

  I have been asked by family why I cannot let it go.

   

  I would love to let it go  but you see I can't because I have health issues I can trace to being stationed at Fort McClellan. There is a high probability my ex-husband has (or will have) from being stationed there also. Our children and our grandchildren are in direct danger also. Some of these toxins are known to effect three or more generations so yes, even my great-grandchildren are in danger.
  
  Of the 195 friends I have on Facebook the majority are men and women I had the pleasure of serving with. Here is the kicker, we ALL were at Ft. McClellan and we ALL were exposed. My case is actually mild to many others.
  
  I have bones that look like I am 80 instead of 40 and are continuing to deteriorate at a higher than normal rate. I have had multiple surgeries in order to keep them functioning. Doctor says I am too young for replacements but he fears when I am old enough I will not have a strong enough bone structure to support it. I am currently in a cast for hairline fractures that happened while I was walking the dog!! Living in a wheelchair is a possibility that could be very realistic in the future.
  
  I have bones in my jaw that are deteriorating-and I never had any problems with me teeth until after being there (i mean no problems...cavities, filling braces) now I am fighting to keep what I have because they eventually may not even be able to fit me for dentures. I have already had to have two teeth pulled because the jawbone was unable to hold them. I have others just hanging on, and one where the gum will not survive over a tooth even after thousands of dollars of grafting so the bone remains exposed creating multiple problems.
  
  I have kidney problems that doctors believe started after drinking contaminated water, showering in contaminated water, eating food prepared in contaminated water and being in contaminated soil while being stationed there. They failed several years ago and I was very lucky it was caught in time, Doc says another 24 hours and I would have been dead.
  
  Our rates of particular illnesses having to do with bones, blood, respiratory, tissue, heart and reproductive abilities are many and all appear to be much higher than the national averages.
  
  The women who served there between 1935 and 1992 (when the base closed to the Military Police and Chemical Weapons schools) have a higher percentage, almost double the national average, of women suffered from mind numbing, soul crushing six, eight, ten or more miscarriages. The children they were able to bear full term, or at least to a live birth, often suffer a horrifying, yet predictable range of abnormalities, disabilities and medical conditions.
  
  Because many of these toxins work on the chromosomal level, nearly as many men fathered children who went on to bear children of their own with abnormalities, disabilities and medical conditions known to be caused by exposure to these chemical agents.
  
  I consider myself very lucky that I had two very healthy daughters. But the day I woke up in the recovery room after having a hysterectomy (at a very young age I might add) he told me he had no idea how I carried two healthy children to term, there was so much damage I should be thankful for that blessing with every breath I take.
  
  I took an oath "To Protect and Defend the Constitution of America From All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic". Myself and thousands others who trained, lived, and worked at Ft McClellan did also. We did our jobs with pride and we would all do it again. I don't think it is too much to ask we be acknowledged for what we were exposed to.
  
  So NO!!!!..ABSOLUTELY NOT..WILL I LET IT GO!!!!!

   

  I would encourage anyone who is willing to donate to please find the "Toxic Service" page on Facebook.  Help us raise the awareness of this problem by donating to our voice to speak to the world.