Exploding the Explosives in Vieques
The US Navy is cleaning up the unexploded bombs and other
ordnance left behind after decades of using the island as
a target and weapons testing area. It is believed that the
bombings and the presence of heavy metals and toxic materials
including depleted uranium has caused Vieques to have a much
higher cancer rate than anywhere else in Puerto Rico, despite
Vieques’s
lack of traffic congestion and heavy industry.
The way the Navy is effecting the cleanup, however flies in
the face of common sense. They are piling up the bombs and
explosive devices and then exploding them in the open air,
while the population centers of Isabel Segunda and Esperanza
lie just several miles downwind.
In the following communiqué Robert Rabin speaking for
the Comite Pro Rescate y Desarrollo de Vieques (CDRDV) reports:
“In spite of consistent denunciations against the open
air detonation of bombs in the military practice zones of Vieques,
the US Navy continues tons of bombs and explosive devices,
thereby further spreading toxic materials and contaminating
the environment on Vieques.
The CDRDV demands the use closed detonations for the cleanup
process, as they are doing on several closed military bases
within the United States.”
COMITE
PRO RESCATE Y DESARROLLO DE VIEQUES
If this seems unbelievable following is an aircraft hazard
warning from the FAA
---------------------------------------------
NOTAM Number : FDC 7/1413
Issue Date : October 24, 2007 at 1216 UTC
Type : Hazards
FDC 7/1413 ZSU PR.. FLIGHT RESTRICTIONS EASTERN SIDE OF VIEQUES
ISLAND. EFFECTIVE: 0710261200 UTC UNTIL 0710262000 UTC.PURSUANT
TO 14 CFR SECTION 91.137(A)(1) TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTIONSARE
IN EFFECT FOR ORDNANCE DISPOSAL ONLY RELIEF AIRCRAFT OPERATIONS
UNDER DIRECTION OF CH2MHILL & FURA ARE AUTHORIZEDIN THE
AIRSPACE AT AND BELOW 5000 FEET MSL WITHIN A 3.5 NAUTICAL MILE
RADIUS OF 180808N/0651755W OR THE ST CROIX /COY/ VOR/DME 315
DEGREE RADIAL AT 41.7 NAUTICAL MILES CH2MHILL & FURA TELEPHONE
214-205-4582 IS IN CHARGE OF ON SCENE EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIVITY.
SAN JUAN /ZSU/ CERAP TELEPHONE 787-253-8664 IS THE FAA COORDINATION
FACILITY.
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A combination coffee table book and guide
containing more than 150 color photographs described by
Roberto Rabin, curator of the Vieques Museum, Conde de
Mirasol, as “graphic, mysterious and beautiful.” It
is also a guide to the beaches, towns and places of interest
on the island including the famous Bioluminescent Bay. Click
for more information |
|
Before Vieques became a cause celebre
for Al Sharpton, Edward James Olmos, Bobby Kennedy Jr,
et el, there was USMAÍL...Now for the first time
USMAÍL is appearing in an English-language edition
making what is considered a Puerto Rican literary classic
available to a wider audience of English readers...San
Juan Star. Click
for more information |
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