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Mark Rankin / U.S. Army file
A bulldozer dumps a load of trash into a burn pit just 300 yards from the runway at Bagram Airfield. A law signed by President Barack Obama will create a registry of U.S. service members who may have been sickened or killed by burn pits used throughout Iraq and Afghanistan.
An American flag dangles from the Torres home, the sign of a long battle won: a new law — signed Thursday by President Barack Obama — creating a registry of U.S. service members perhaps sickened or killed by burn pits used throughout Iraq and Afghanistan to destroy waste ranging from batteries to body parts.
But amid occasional smiles over the first step to formally identify the toxic effects of what’s called “this generation’s Agent Orange,” there were tears, too, in that house near Corpus Christi, Texas. Resident Le RoyTorres, 40, a former Army captain, is one of the ill veterans who will land on that list.
“It was a big victory. It justifies the need for health care. And now we know we’re not alone,” said Rosie Lopez-Torres, Le Roy’s wife, who said she “knocked on a lot of doors” in Congressional hallways to push the bill, which passed Dec. 30. The law requires the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to assemble the registry and report back to Congress.
“But because of (our) finances, because my husband can’t work, today was also one of the toughest days for us,” Lopez-Torres said Wednesday. “Today, he was in tears. I’m not going to sugar coat that. How do I convince this once-strong, 6-foot-tall man who never missed a day of work: ‘You are the same man.’ But as the head of the household, he said: ‘You don’t understand what this has done to me.’ So it’s hard. But we still hang that flag on our porch. This has nothing to do with the military. This has to do with the contractors.”
After a lung biopsy, Le Roy Torres was diagnosed in 2010 with constrictive bronchiolitis, an irreversible disease that squeezes off airways. In 2007 and 2008, he was stationed in Balad, Iraq — home to what may have been largest military burn pit — the size of 10 football fields. Torres, for a time, performed his daily calisthenics near the dark plumes emitted by the smoldering crater.
Forced by breathing problems to later retire from his post-Army job as a highway patrolman, Torres is one of thousands of veterans who have filed more than 50 lawsuits against defense contractors hired to handle waste management in the war zones. The Motley Rice law firm is representing Torres and other veterans and their survivors in one of those class-action suits.
Attorneys allege the contractors — including KBR, Inc. and its former parent company, Halliburton — mismanaged the burns and exposed American troops to poison fumes. Last July, KBR’s lawyers argued that 55 such cases should be dismissed, in part because employees from the Houston-based company served “shoulder-to-shoulder” with service members, which should grant KBR the same immunity given to government entities and personnel, such as soldiers.
Service members, however, have complained for a decade that burn pits scattered across Iraq and Afghanistan were making them sick with cancers and other diseases, and were killing some young troops. In 2007, Army and Air Force health inspectors went to Balad and measured airborne, cancer-causing dioxins at 51 times the “acceptable levels.” They determined the cancer risk for people serving at the base for more than one year was eight times higher than normal. In 2008, the Military Times reported that single burn pit might have exposed tens of thousands of troops to dioxins and toxins such as arsenic.
What has been the health toll on U.S. troops? That’s what the new registry is designed to calculate, said Paul Rieckhoff, founder and chief executive officer of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a group representing more than 200,000 former service members.
“This is something we’ve been fighting for, for years. It will be one database where doctors can go and look at the common symptoms. It also will help verify the problem quicker so vets can get the care they need,” said Rieckhoff, who served as a first lieutenant and infantry rifle platoon leader in Iraq during 2003 and 2004. He has experienced respiratory problems, although he cannot pinpoint the cause. “I don’t know too many people who weren’t exposed to a burn pit sometime during their deployment. They were constant.”
The smoking landfills typically contained damaged Humvees, unexploded ordnance, gas cans, mattresses, rocket pods, plastics, medical waste and amputated body parts, and they often were ignited by jet fuel.
The act does not mandate new VA benefits for veterans who chronically inhaled the vapors, Rieckhoff said. But the registry is expected to help private and government doctors document health conditions potentially related to burn pits, and perhaps hasten many diagnoses.
“It will help us get to the bottom of what’s causing so many vets to be sick,” he added. “We don’t know what toxic exposure is going to be (shown). It could be our generation’s Agent Orange (the defoliant used in Vietnam, later shown to be carcinogenic). But it’s important that you start with data. Data will be a critical part of identifying the problem and then creating good treatment. I’m glad we didn’t have to wait decades like the Vietnam veterans did around Agent Orange.”
Le Roy Torres, for example, has been given a 10 percent disability rating by the VA, said his wife, who calls that ruling “a joke” because “he served for 22 years, lost his childhood dreams, his career, just turned 40 and is unable to work because of his lung disease which also has affected his heart.” The Torres family is fighting the VA for a higher disability rating and, thus, higher compensation for his service-related symptoms.
Before the lawsuits and the law, a handful of military families launched their own, online registries for service members, veterans and their survivors so they could report their symptoms and mark how closely they had served to one or several of the burn pits.
As Le Roy Torres struggled harder to breathe, he and his wife launched BurnPits360.org. The site lists 11 service members who descended from full health to terminal cancer after serving near a burn pit. That roll includes Air Force Sgt. Jessica Sweet, who died of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in 2009 at age 30. She served in Afghanistan. Also listed is Army Staff Sgt. Steven Ochs, who died from AML in 2008 at age 32. He served in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
One of the registry's primary goals is to determine if there are tangible links between the deaths of service members like Sweet and Ochs and their exposure to the burn pits.
“How many have been affected? Every week I get an email from someone who has passed,” Rosie Lopez-Torres said. “We started our registry because we weren’t going to wait on the Department of Defense and VA. Our list of people who have self reported their data — whether it’s the loved one of a fallen hero who lost the battle with toxic exposure, or someone who is fighting the battle — is well over 1,000 people. They are from all over the country.
“The hardest thing for us is trying to figure out the finances day to day, and hearing (from the government) ‘just wait’ on your retirement check,” she added. “He’s hearing, ‘wait, wait, wait’ but he’s having to provide for his family. And he’s looking at his life and saying: “What am I going to do now?’”
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Haliburton-Cheney-Traitor
This CIA sheltered company should be dealt with in the JFK way. Tear them into splinters and throw them to the wind.
And chemical conglomerates will be behind the scenes tapping down requests for chemical make-ups of the ingredients that were openly burned.
In the meantime...any ideas from the peanut gallery as to what the he$# they were supposed to do with all that stuff?
Obviously the guys paid to get the fob disposal jobs done right don't. And that is the point.
Love, The Peanut Gallery!
All jokes aside, It is shocking!
Oh, but that is but another Contractor Incompetance Story Presented By Halliburton/KBR...
and surprise surprise they think they deserve immunity, like when they shoot civilians. Fortunately our government cares a little bit more about our soldiers than it does about the civilians in the nations it occupies, a little
Look will you just give up on this and let Halliburton/KBR get back to their real business of counting money?
It's not as though they built shoddy showers that electrocuted service men, oh wait, they did. Tell me again what the penalty for that was? Do you really think this is going to be any different? Electrocution has a direct cause and effect, we're just talking about air here.
We've got some congresscritter who thinks carbon dioxide is a harmless gas (I'd love to seal him in a room and see how long he can maintain that it is harmless), but these substances are way more complex than that. If they're so deadly why didn't everyone drop dead? Sorry, I'm giving the defense ideas...
So what if they are convicted? The appeals will continue until the victims are all dead and any fines will be reduced to nothing, even IF they lose.
agent orange is very toxic , my father got it in vietnam , it affects the lungs and nervious system and there are birth defects to siblings
How could a birth defect caused by your exposure to toxins impact your brother or sister ......oh wait....
EWWWWWW.....
I think he meant children.
He meant children. If you look at the Veitnam generations after Agent Orange was used, you'll see that the effects do carry down through the line. It's horrible to see and I can only imagine what may happen to those families who are having to deal with this new health issue.
Well Robert, it looks like you did not fully understand the issue.
Robert: I know what your saying, a friend of mine had a child with severe problems related to agent orange and the fight this guy had with the government ended when he died young, early fifties. I wonder if you are also affected like your siblings and to what extent. P.S. Don't mind what some people say that don't read so good. Desert Storm veterans have been fighting battles at home to. 20 years now the government position is what its always been. Wait-um out. P.S. for others on here this article isn't about Agent Orange, its is different un-named stuff. Agent Orange is a defoliant, not much need of that in desert.
da doc ------ what war were you in ????????
rocket-
Salivary gland cancer is a footprint of agent Orange contamination, as well.
........... particularly in the spouse who was returned home to.
robertthehorse - I understand. When I worked for a doctor in Tampa, one of his patients was a Vietnam Vet with Agent Orange exposure. I cried every time he came in for a check up. I had to take his blood pressure, pulse and temp all the while every nerve in his body felt like it was on fire without being touched, touching made it flare up a hundred times worse. This was around 2005 so he'd been living like that since 1968.
Since 1968.
Think about that. This man's entire body felt like it was on fire beneath the skin for decades. He couldn't control any part of his body for decades. He wore a hard plastic back brace to keep him upright for decades. His wife changed his diaper for decades. To say he looked ill, even skeletal is such an understatement. He looked like he had died back in Vietnam... or maybe he just wished he had so badly, I don't know.
Good point, Bob. The attention and article refered to the burn smoke contents, using Agent Orange as representative of the Former's severity.
They know it is dangerous before they have Our Troops sacrificing themselves processing orders.
Guess that is exactly the name of the game. Hopefully, one day These Heroes will get the actual respect, in action, they should be afforded. The same considerations should also extend to noncobatants in countries We Invade. We Can Dream, and More!
That's just nasty.
It is fantastic that there is this dialogue going on.
Peace
Why in the name of God did it take this long to recognize the problem ??? There are some other people whose careers and futures need to be on the line, who were responsible for overseeing the safety of our troops. This is a gross violation of military safety standards, purely for convenience purposes. The U.S. military had the responsibility to establish the conditions for these private contractors to operate under, in the process of awarding them these contracts. - RC
How can you possibly trace this generation's Agent Orange"? It blows anywhere in the wind on any given day, and even once it settles to the ground, dust storms will eventually pick it up and spread it far and wide. And what about the Afghan people themselves? Who is going to pay their medical bills down the road? Many of them can barely afford enough to eat. This is really monstrous indeed! - RC
I can't even comprehend the U.S. government anymore, and that includes both military and civilian. But I guess what I really can't comprehend the most are the American people who just keep electing these corrupt and incompetent politicians to national office, over and over and over again. Without a major redrafting of our U.S. Constitution in favor of far greater democracy, the United States of America is really done for. But unfortunately, most of the American people still couldn't care less. - RC
You done, Rick Carter? Thanks for nothing though.
(Most of the American people really couldn't care less, because deep down inside most of them really want our world to come to an apocalyptic end, so their "Lord and Savior" King Jesus can supposedly make his second advent into our world to set up his totalitarian theocratic kingdom over our entire Earth, and perpetually rule and reign as the future supreme demigod dictator over our world. I have not ceased to warn our world daily for over 13 years now that all three of these Abrahamic "End Time" religions were covertly installed by outside offensive totalitarian ETs, who want to crash and explode our emerging human world in a final programmed cataclysm of global warfare fueled with WMDs, known as the Christian Apocalypse or World War III, so these ETs can eventually steal and annex our extremely valuable celestial real estate, and render all of mankind extinct here on this Earth. Our precious world has been under covert biocybernetic warfare attack for thousands of years now, by these outside offensive totalitarian ETs who want to one day use our extremely valuable celestial real estate as a future stepping stone to further galactic conquest. But does anyone in this world really listen to me? Not that I can tell, and the U.S. government, from the White House on down, continues to totally discredit me everyday with their official statements which effectively label me, Rick Carter, as the worst liar and deceiver, even the worst heretic, blasphemer and apostate person to ever walk the face of the Earth. Have fun with your program "End Times", everyone! I really have to leave you to your own devices from here on out.) - Rick Carter
Rick, not sure about most of what you wrote but as a 3 war 23 year vet...I am embarrassed by your emotional ranting and hate fueled rage. Especially the part where you slam the Faith that got me through some pretty tough times. Please do not defend me as a veteran. Most of what your wrote demeans what I fought and bled for. And though there are a lot of Americans politically against a lot of my views right now...they have a lot on their plates in this moral and ethical upheaval we are having...I would like to think the do care...just a little...about what it cost for them to be free and have their opions. And a lot are being misled by a pretty tricky dick (we had ours) if you know what I mean. So kick back, ride it out, and give the rest of us a break how 'bout?
Could Be???
It is one of several, and it includes RoundUp by, you guessed it, Monsanto.
And This Congress is still set to pass a Monsanto Rider into Law DESPITE Knowing its extreme dangers.
So Rick, not only can I agree with most every word you wrote, but insist it is even worse than that. And the evidence continues to pile up, as those "Most Americans" keep their little heads stuck deep in to the proverbial sand.
But Those working incredibly hard to bring down these Anti-Human Corporate Agents(including their lackey Politicians in DC and elsewhere) are having an effect and getting The Word Out regarding the Treason against America, Its Citizens, and The World Population. It is not an easy battle against the K Street Minions and Puppet Masters, but it can be turned around. Maybe not in time to save this and past generations, but at least to begin reducing the dangers for Our Future Generations.
So while those that argue over "The Fiscal Cliff" while ignoring much more intrinsic diasasters that have been Signed, Stamped, Sealed and Delivered for generations for and by the Plutocrats that profit by poisoning us while telling us how lucky we are deny this reality, more of us are Petitioning Our President, Congressmen/women and Those Corporations Guilty that it is Time to Represent US, not Them.
I have more to say, but I believe my point has been made.
Peace, for now...
Bhopal, anyone?
Rick_Carter tends to try and pretend he is posting intelligent, opposing opinions when every post I've seen is fueled by utter ignorance, conspiracy theories that are grounded in zero evidence, and an utter lack of basic understanding of an issue. He posts in a lot of the space/science articles with ideas that are so utterly ignorant that it surprises me that someone who speaks so literately can be so utterly ignorant.
His posts are the forum equivalent of tabloid journalism: utterly inane, no academic value, and yet you want to read it like watching a car crash.
LOL!!
Ususally perhaps, but not always. I did get a flashback reading #3.4, I must admit. But Faith can be found on every and any Battlefield under the imminent threat of annihilation, and it is stronger than the urge to watch a car wreck!
Peace, and My Greatest Empathies and Prayers to/for all those affected by this type of willful exposure, Veteran and Civilian alike.
And the really sad thing is that this is nothing new. This is such a standard way of treating veterans (and workers in general) who have been exposed to debilitating chemicals to fit the plans of a few. Psychotropic drug testing, atomic radiation, disease research, exposure to deadly chemicals in the workplace, and exposure to carcinogens in cigarettes, all while those in charge and gaining the benefit refused to admit the danger and the culpability.
Not surprising Cheney has yet another group identifying him as a mass murderer. Notice since sociopath Shrub was in office that every corporation these murderers are associated with are always report them as 'former' owners when these stories hit the press? Which of Cheney's companies own it now? Can't tell when you have SCOTUS in your back pocket, K-Street paying your bills and Rupert Murdoch to cover your 'media' tracks. Cheney mirrors North Korea's leadership and we'd all be living like North Koreans if he had his way. Retalibans suck!
Look how long the government denied any problems evolving from the use of agent orange. I've had family and friends battle for years before getting any help. It's OK for our boys to fight and die for their country but the fat cats don't want the responsibility of doing what is right for them when they get back to state side. Cheney is an evil man in my opinion.He should be put on trial for his and his companies actions.
It takes a act of congress to get ant benefits from agent orange
Hey NC/Dave, what is an ant benefit?
I have been dealing with Agent Orange adverse effects, since I came home from vietnam. They said it was harmless and I believed them?. But I can say, I have the best Medical system in the country caring for me and thats the Veterans Medical System.
It entirely depends on which VA hospital you go to. Some are utterly horrid. My father was in one for the last years of his life and was also a Vietnam vet (airforce fighter pilot). He had a choice of moving back to his hometown in Connecticut or moving to North Carolina. He was originally going to the VA hospital on Long Beach, CA but it was very apparent that it was just a place to hide ill soldiers and wait for them to die. CT wasn't that different, but the North Carolina one was very attentive to his needs and he passed peacefully with respect, dignity, and honor.
We would come off LRRs and jump in 55 gal barrels of AO to kill all bugs and leaches and who knew what else. It worked great. Who knew. I do not know how I have escaped the effects. I do know that of the 9 man squad I have not been able to track down any of them for over 10 years now. ah...got something in my eye..gotta go.
time and time again our military is exposed to toxins which cause serious, if not, fatal health problems -- and then the vets have to beg to get help...
those flag wearing politicians who don't hesitate to send our military off to war seem to have a lot of reservations about taking care of our vets ...
always has been that way and probably always will be that way ... until all of our politicians are forced to serve in combat before they can take public office.... and even then that's no guarantee....
It is bigger than just the Military, unfortunately.
The first Gulf war in 91 had its share of problems as well and that still hasn't been fully resolved. Lost my brother to brain cancer thanks to his time in Saudi and Kuwait.
Yeah, don't know how I am dodging the effects of that one either but so far I am.....
No one should volunteer for the military until post-service medical care can be assured. I am watching a friend die from chemical contamination that caused cancer. He will be long gone before they get around to rejecting his claim. I am embarrassed by the way we treat veterans. Our leadership needs to step up to their responsibilities to our veterans.
I am an American Contractor and have worked over in Jalalabad, Bagram, Shank and Dwyer. I wrote a respond to the Military Star about an article back in 2009 concerning burn pits. Its a easy fix, Incinerators every US airport is required to have them to burn all trash off of International Flights. I have been to these bases and few of them have Incinerators sitting empty and not used at all. Another govt waste of money that you see all the time while over in War areas. Putting Military and Contractor in un-needed harm is easier then it is to protect them!
I am way too familiar with 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.
It is formed when products of incomplete combustion condense in the presence of chlorine.
If you work for the Devil you get burned.
Very badly in this case.
Does the US plan to borrow money from the Chinese to pay for the damage to vets from dioxin?
Great question, ENDRUST. After all, it was to secure those Oil Fields for them that the deal was struck and Iraq Invaded under the pretense of lies, continually funded by BOTH Major Political Parties of the US, and World... Of course, The Usual Suspects all got their Fill as well...
No one could really believe the Chinese were just being there for us, right? And they never had to lift a finger or get dirty.
Diablically Brilliant.
Agent orange was a lie, the fact of the matter the soldiers from Vietnam came home with a biological disease.
A biological disease that has spread throughout the population of the U.S. The fact of the matter is this, the rise of birth defects, AUTISM, ADHD, ADD and many other birth defects are a result of this disease.
To imagine a chemical could do the damage to children born to veterens is a farce, if you are sick, if your parents are sick with continual issues, skin and internal, you may want to look at this web site.
agentorangelegacy.com/reported-illnesses/
The american people are dying because millions of soldiers have brought home disease from these deployments.
Iraq and Afghanistan--what a loss of life--The Presidnt of Afghanistan called the American soliders demons and that the United States was responsible for all the coruption in his country.Thousand of illegals have entered our country--Colombian--Costa Rica--Guatemala--Honduras--Mexico--over 20,000,000 illegals--of which many are perverts and rapist--SEE: HTTP://WWW.USOPENBORDERS.COM Sad that the president gave amnesty to 800,000 illegal Mexicans so they would not be deported and could ge jobs---taking American jobs
I spent two years breathing in the crap from Gulf I and I'm fine.... LOL
Miserable pukes are still in denial about Vietnam veterans Agent Orange exposure. These politicians are insufferable, they put us in harms way fighting wars that have no 'end game', expose us to death every minute of the day, spray us with toxic chemicals that affects future generations, then they get on television, grin like third graders on their first field trip to the zoo, promise everything, deliver nothing but lies; decade after decade. We better wise up. Now they want to dictate how we live our lives in this country, minute by minute. Screw 'em.
Will this be used to cover up damage by depleted uranium and other unknown agents?!!!
Hmm a Republican war with our dollars and Republican companies poisoning mostly Republican troops. A Democratic president of course rightens their wrongs. Figures.
Disgusting
Where is the EPA ?
EPA = Inept paper pushing bureaucrat Revenue generating agency.
Not in Afghanistan/Iraq? Hell they aren't supposed to be. It is "Where is the EPA HERE we need to keep aware of! It appears they are continuing to follow their predecessors' examples. Unfortunately.
It is better than having nothing, and it is a necessity to have some counterweight force to the Pollutors of Great Release with Regulatory Powers. When they decide to actually dtaw those lines...
EPA Sees Risks to Water, Workers In New York Fracking Rules
Bruce Baizel: Most significant about EPA's progress report on ...
yubanet.com/opinions/Bruce-Baizel-Most-significant-about-EPA-39-s...
... Most significant about EPA's progress report on fracking is the lack of progress it reports
epa is headed by political appointee so it is politicized and the politicians give in to bribes, I mean "donations" from industrialists and health is secondary to the main decision makers
Copy That, michael!
Talking about EPA---I am a Gopher Tortise Tracker--See----WWW.GOPHERTRACKER.ORG---I do this because I have been in Florida for 78-years--anyways the gopher is protected--as a THREATENED SPECIES--because for many years the gopher was buried alive by developers--now protected under Florida rule 68-A-27.005 of the Florida Administration Code--problem is-the Florida Game Commission and EPA must be in the same bed--as the hog wire fence which runs the entire length of Florida-North and South bound lanes-problem is the fence is not matained properly,in places the fence is 12-inches above the ground--the contractors are getting paid to maintain the fences-thousands of gophers have been run over by cars--strange bed fellows--EPA and the Florida Fish and Game Conservation Commission.
I am the father of a Vietnam vet. Today I dread hearing the phone ring. At age 22 he spent 6 weeks in Vietnam dismantling Radar equipment to be taken out. Today he is 61 years old and in worse shape than me. At age 3 I became the victim of Polio and I lost the use of my right leg but I have had a good life. Every time I see my son I feel like screaming. He is a victim of Agent Orange. He can't walk with out some one assisting him. He can hardly feed himself. I only wish the powers that be were in my shoes and share heart ache I have seeing my son in the condition he is in.
Mr. May I hear you and I feel for you. You sound a bit like my grandfather, who also contracted polio at a young age. I am truly sorry about your son, and it makes me upset to see yet another example of how our country does not deal honestly or honorably with our soldiers.
When I was 19 I briefly considered joining the navy. I scored very high on the ASVAB and the recruiters were promising me all sorts of things, and how I could 'write my own ticket'. But there was something about their manner that concerned me. I sensed what could best be called salesmanship in their words, and this eventually made me distrust everything they said. I am glad that I never signed, because I now see how litte our govt cares about military personnel, especially if they become wounded, injured, or sick. To me, they ask far more than they are willing to provide themselves.
I hope that someday we Americans will stop blindly accepting the deal our govt offers and instead insist upon this nation of high ideals and eloquent words actually honoring the contracts it makes with us. I hope that no more fathers have to see withered sons, and no more sons will be ignored by the government they so valiently served. Peace to you, sir.
This is not the '60's. We KNOW about the hazards of burning waste. Why would command allow this
to compromise the troops. Plus if we are supposedly helping these countries, WHY do we burn waste
right in the mist of population centers??????????
Thank You 'previous party' for engaging us in the hopeless task of extricating our troops and reputation from this unnecessary set of conflicts. Oh and thanks for showing us how human nature, unregulated, can bring down a world economy.
Placating the masses that are ill - pure lip service by the new Dictator to silence the opposition, until they all die! Old soldiers do not die, they simply fade away in the past! You see, we all die - soldiers die sooner than most!
The burn pits are the large target due to the connection with a contractor. The reality is every company area had a smoldering burn barrel that everything went into. They were not about to send a possibly classified hard drive, floppy disk, piece of paper, to get onto some truck driven by a non-military person, to be dumped into the large burn pit... not that the burn pits didn't burn all kinds of junk but the "company" bun pits had just as much junk in them as the contractor burn pit. The environmental science people could still do air samples around the areas that military forces were located and find traces many know carcinogens. For example Iraq is one giant EPA nightmare, and it was not all caused by a burn pit here and there. They dump benzene into their canals, yellow cake that was stolen from the refining plant dumped on the ground to let the wind blow here and there. It seems like the overall fact should first be established that Iraq is full of carcinogens, (regardless of source), identify the physical damage to human life today (i.e. birth defects). Even do some bio essays, genetic changes from all of the stuff in their air. As for the deep pockets to seek remediation seems to shift the focus from the reality of the dangers our military (and contractors) were exposed to for being in such a polluted land.
When the military did do air samples the reports do not show that they took air samples "up-wind" from the burn pits in order to have a comparison of the "naturally" occurring poison. It was so bad when I was there that I bet soil samples would clearly show that the urban areas of the country are not safe for human life.