New Website Informs Ft. McClellan Veterans of Possible Toxic Exposure
For decades Anniston’s now closed Ft. McClellan was home to the Army Chemical School and housed substances including sarin gas and nerve agent. The company Monsanto also released toxic chemicals into the environment around the area. Some veterans say exposure to these substances while at Ft. McClellan caused them an array of health problems and have called for compensation from the federal government.
Those activists can now claim a small victory.
Ft. McClellan veteran Sue Frasier has been working on this issue for 12 years. Back in February she met with Veterans Affairs Department administrators and they asked what they could do to help. She told them she wanted a way to notify veterans.
“One way to start that would be to have an official government webpage that spoke directly to this situation,” said Frasier.
As of April, they got their website.
“[It’s] just exactly what I had envisioned for and hoped for at the meeting,” said Frasier.
The website lists the chemicals service members may have been exposed to at Ft. McClellan, although it notes there’s no evidence they were exposed at a high enough level to cause health problems. It also includes a link for veterans to file individual compensation claims. The VA’s acting chief consultant for post-deployment health, Dr. Ralph Erickson, says they don’t do this in every case, but with Ft. McClellan it made sense.
“This would be a very effective way of reaching in a short period of time a rather large group of people and their families with good information,” said Erickson.
New York Democratic Congressman Paul Tonko believes the website is a good first step but more should be done. He plans to reintroduce a bill mandating the VA create a registry of every veteran who served at Ft. McClellan from 1935 to its closure in 1999, potentially tens of thousands of people. The department would reach out to veterans about the effects of the toxic exposure and offer health exams.
“If we can put this language into law, then we know that we have a response that will be predictable and full in scope,” said Tonko.
Sue Frasier’s activism spurred that proposed legislation but she says she no longer supports it. She says negotiating directly with the VA is more fruitful. While individual compensation claims are possible, Frasier wants the Ft. McClellan veterans to be treated as a group. She’ll meet with Veterans Affairs leaders again this week.
Who is Lachlan Murdoch, the anointed media tycoon?
His position in leading News Corp. and Fox is now secure, as his father ends a dramatic succession battle. Lachlan grew up in New York City but has lived in Australia for much of his adult life.
Poland says it shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace
Poland said Wednesday that it and its NATO allies had shot down Russian drones that violated Polish airspace in what it called an "act of aggression" as Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine.
What to know about the mass Gen Z protests in Nepal
At least 19 people have been killed in the protests and more than 200 others were admitted to the hospital due to injuries, according to Nepal's Civil Service Hospital.
Hollywood stars boycott Israeli film companies in response to Gaza crisis
Emma Stone, Ava DuVernay and Gael Garcia Bernal are among more than 2,000 who signed the petition.
What will happen to dance, with a major grant program changing?
Twenty dance projects from around the country won grants totaling $100,000 dollars each today. These grants are among the most coveted in the dance world, but this round of winners is the last of its kind due to a funding shortage.
Supreme Court will weigh in on Trump’s tariffs. Here’s what to know about the case
Two lower courts have said some of President Trump's tariffs are unlawful. Now the Supreme Court has agreed to examine the issue.
