FALL 1998

"The military treats us as if we were the enemy. I asked, 'Why do you keep this a secret?'"
–Annie Alowa

Savoonga Elder Urges Cleanup of Military Toxic Waste Site on Saint Lawrence Island

Annie Alowa, a Yu’pik elder in the community of Savoonga, served as a health aide in her village for 25 years. She wants the military to clean up the extensively contaminated area they produced at Northeast Cape along the coast of the Bering Sea on Saint Lawrence Island. Ms. Alowa says: "I want this to be cleaned up before it is too late. It used to be a good hunting place–now people are scared to pick anything from there. The military treats us as if we were the enemy. I asked them, ‘Why do you keep this secret?’" Ms. Alowa observes that there have been 13 deaths from cancers among the people who spent a great deal of time at Northeast Cape. She notes that others have been diagnosed with cancers, as well as birth defects and premature births, which may be connected to the contamination problems at Northeast Cape. She says: "There are some nights I do not sleep because I worry about this."

From the slopes of the Kinipaghulghat Mountains above Northeast Cape, a stream flows northward through the coastal tundra into the Bering Sea at Kitnagak Point. Elders from the village of Savoonga say that fish have not returned to this stream for over 30 years since the military has poisoned it. They say that the stream was once one of the richest fish streams on Saint Lawrence Island. Before the military occupied Northeast Cape, people lived there year round or maintained fishing and hunting camps there. The waters of the Bering Sea around the island support an abundance of wildlife, including many species of seabirds, as well as seals, sea lions, and whales. The elders say that the area used to be a good place for gathering greens and berries, catching fish, and hunting. But as Jimmy Toolie, the eldest person in Savoonga, says: "We are too scared now to harvest food from Northeast Cape. People who have spent time there–too many of them have died from cancer."

The Air Force acquired the strategically-located Northeast Cape site in 1952 and operated it as a surveillance station as part of the cold war from 1952-1972. Beginning in 1982, the Navy used the area as a White Alice communications site, as it is located in the western part of the Bering Sea, approximately 135 air miles southwest of Nome, Alaska. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has assumed responsibility for the cleanup of the formerly used defense site at Northeast Cape.

Within an area that encompasses approximately 9 square miles, the Army Corps of Engineers contractors have identified at least 23 contaminated sites that require environmental investigation and cleanup. Contamination includes fuel spills totaling over 220,000 gallons, solvents, heavy metals, asbestos, and PCB’s. A military contractor estimates that one of the barrel dumps contains over 29,500 buried drums. The military left several other large barrel dumps, landfills, and a building complex with extensive fuel and other chemical contamination. Large bales of copper wire left on the tundra have trapped reindeer causing them to starve to death. Thus far, the military has removed only a few transformers known to contain PCB-laden oils.

In a recent meeting arranged by Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Colonel Sheldon Jahn, District Engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Alaska said: "We will not leave the site until it is safe." Annie Alowa, remaining skeptical of the colonel’s assurances replied: "If I see it with my own eyes, I will believe it." Later, she says: "His voice is ringing in my ears. How can he say that there is no risk to the people’s health? Maybe he is trying to hide the problem."

Please write a letter to the Corps of Engineers Alaska District to ensure that the military protects the health of the people and the coastal environment of Saint Lawrence Island. Write to Colonel Jahn and ask him to: 1) Involve the community of Savoonga in the sampling design and cleanup decisions at Northeast Cape; 2) Respect tribal authority by cooperating on a government-to-government basis; 3) Conduct a timely and responsible investigation and cleanup that is protective of health and the environment. Address: Colonel Sheldon Jahn, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alaska District, CEPOA-DE, P.O. Box 898, Anchorage, Alaska 99506-0898