By Ann Suellentrop
Five from the KC area, met on April 24 with Angelica Duque, US Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s legislative assistant for military issues, democracy reform and voting rights. Ms. Duque also referred us to follow up later with the staff member who deals with environmental issues, Harden Spencer. A happy coincidence was that she was originally from Colombia so she and Luisa Olarte connected!
Ms. Duque had no or very little awareness of the Bannister Federal Complex history or issues, but she was very cordial and took notes on each issue. (The KC Plant at BFC made parts for nuclear weapons from 1949 to 2014, when the new plant opened, the KC National Security Campus.) We said we were in favor of increased funding for cleanup of nuclear waste nationwide and we asked for Rep. Cleaver to cosponsor H. Res. 77 in support of the TPNW, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Ms. Duque told us Rep. Cleaver was supporting a bill regarding Superfund sites (which we need to look up).
Here are the questions we asked, and we covered nearly every aspect brilliantly!
What toxic substances are currently being used at the Nuclear Security Campus (NSC)? Are there any radioactive substances at the site? Are any toxins or radioactive substances transported on the trains that go through the NSC site or on Highway 150 and other roads leading into and out of the NSC site?
How many nuclear weapons parts workers from the former Kansas City Plant have been compensated for illnesses through the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA)? How many from the NSC?
The sick workers from the General Services Administration side of the Bannister Federal Complex (BFC) are not covered by the EEOICPA or by the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, RECA. They were exposed to the toxins from the nuclear weapons parts side of the building. What can be done to compensate them and provide medical care for them?
There were about 2,400 toxic substances used at the Bannister Federal Complex (BFC). Where was the waste from this recently dismantled BFC site taken to be stored?
There is a large underground plume of contaminated water below the BFC site continuously treated by pump and treat wells to prevent it from migrating to adjacent rivers which flow into the Missouri River–our drinking water source. What is the current status on the location of this toxic plume?
The BFC site is now being developed for industrial use; how do we know these new workers will be safe?
Is Honeywell, the corporation in charge of running the NSC, donating any funds to politicians in the Kansas City area?
There have been scientific studies showing the catastrophic nuclear winter that would result from even a “small” nuclear war that threatens all life on earth. What solutions to this threat do our local politicians support?
The five of us from KC met later in the day with an aide to Sen. Jerry Moran and posed some of the above questions. We expect to meet with US Rep. Sharice Davids. DC Days–a mighty effort!