The CPT will hold a public educational forum at 1 p.m. July 27 at the Jonesborough Visitors Center.
Protesters cite study that reveals depleted uranium near Jonesborough’s Aerojet Ordnance Johnson City Press, July 16th, 2013 by GARY B. GRAY A moral and educational crusade?Sure, that’s a fair description of the Chicago-based Christian Peacemakers Teams’ demonstration and pronouncement Monday that Jonesborough’s Aerojet Ordnance Tennessee’s use of depleted uranium has contaminated surrounding soil and water supplies.
In 2011, members of the organization spoke at East Tennessee State University and warned that tests would confirm that fact. About one dozen members, including members of Appalachia Peace Education Aerojet Action Project, gathered Monday across the street from the facility.
A table held pipes used for gathering soil and test tubes to show methods used in a Northern Arizona University study that revealed that “results clearly indicate the presence of DU (depleted uranium), evidently originating from Aerojet Ordinance Tennessee in water, soil and sediment samples.”
The study, headed by Michael Ketterer, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry and dated April 18, revealed that DU was found in water in Little Limestone Creek downstream from the facility, sediments in the creek, and from soils from off-site locations near the facility, located at 1367 Old State Route 34.
“The extent of physical damage cannot yet be nailed down,” said John Mueller a CPT delegation member and former chemist. “But the fact is that contamination has been found. The problem of uranium contamination is a world problem, not just a Jonesborough problem.”DU is a heavy metal that is both radioactive and chemically toxic, according to the Institute for Energy & Environmental Research. Depleted uranium is a by-product of the enrichment process. It has been used by the U.S. Military to make armor-piercing weapons and tank armor plating……….
CPT members believe prayer vigils and public witness brings the search for truth into the public arena — a tradition inspired by the word of God, practiced by Jesus and carried on by Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.
“We believe we must take our Christian faith from the pews to the public space,” CPT’s website announces.
Though Mueller, and the study’s author, call it an “interim report,” 25 samples taken over the past 2 years within a 2-mile radius of the plant showed the 17 samples closest to the plant showed contamination from processed uranium; samples further away did not……..
CPT member Rosemarie Milazzo, an 81-year-old nun from New York City, said the group believes all weapons are immoral and their use is incompatible with the most basic principles of humanity and environmental health protection.
“How can we, as a civilized society, continue to harm others by disregarding our responsibility to care for and protect our land?” she asked.
CPT member and Amarillo, Texas, resident Rusty Tomlinson said uranium weapons have been used in a number of nations and they each exhibit high rates of severe health problems. …..
The CPT will hold a public educational forum at 1 p.m. July 27 at the Jonesborough Visitors Center.http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/article/109500/protesters-cite-study-that-reveals-depleted-uranium-near-jonesboroughs-aerojet-ordnance
