From: | psychospy@aol.com |
Title: | A SECRET AIR BASE BROKE THE LAW ON WASTE |
Source: | Wall Street Journal |
Date: | Feburary 08, 1996 |
Lawsuit Alleges; Government Stonewalls
By MARGARET A. JACOBS
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
LAS VEGAS -- One day two years before he died, Helen Frost says, her
husband,
Robert, returned from his sheet-metal job at a top-secret Air Force base
with flaming-red
skin that soon began peeling off his face.
''He was a pretty tough guy, but he burst through the door yelling in
fear,'' she recalls.
''Every hour, I'd have to take a washcloth'' and take off some more skin.
Mrs. Frost is one of two widows who, along with four former civilian
workers, are
suing the Defense Department in a so-called citizen's lawsuit (rather than
a claim for tort
damages). They contend that it violated federal hazardous-waste law by
repeatedly
burning ordinary chemicals and highly toxic classified materials in open
pits at the base,
which is located 125 miles northwest of Las Vegas and is commonly called
Area 51.
The workers, who say their exposure to toxic fumes throughout the 1980s
caused health
problems ranging from skin lesions to cancer, are seeking information to
facilitate
medical treatment and help with medical bills but no other monetary
damages. As
employees of government subcontractors, which aren't named in the lawsuit,
some of
the plaintiffs say they have no medical insurance. They also want a court
order requiring
the government to follow the law and dispose of such waste safely. They
themselves
can't bring criminal charges.
So far, the government refuses to confirm or deny their allegations or to
respond to their
request for criminal prosecution. Instead, it asked U.S. District Judge
Philip Pro, who
is overseeing the case in Las Vegas, to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that
almost any
disclosure about Area 51 could pose a ''serious risk'' to national
security.