Author Archives: Website Administrator

100 Years Young, Congratulations F. Lincoln Grahlfs

Happy birthday, Lincoln! Behind him, Madison VFP members Larry, Phil, Steve, Daryl, John, and Tom. Photo credit, Sandy Franzen.

A copy of Lincoln’s book can be found here at the following link or Amazon or where Veterans for Peace Madison might be tabling.

Undaunted: The Story of a United States Navy Tug and Her Crew…by Grahlfs, F. Lincoln

Picture credits to Larry, Phil and Tom

Members of Madison Veterans for Peace joined a large crowd today to celebrate the 100th birthday of Lincoln Grahlfs, our oldest member currently. Lincoln served in the US Navy during and after World War II.

After the war, he was at the infamous US nuclear weapons tests on Bikini and Eniwetok Atolls in the Pacific, receiving much radiation. Many of his buddies died too young, but he has survived and fought for better health care for veterans suffering from nuclear exposure. During the Summer of 2022, US President Joe Biden called him to Washington DC, to witness the signing of a bill mandating that care.

– Larry

It was a wonderful party for Lincoln

Who celebrated his 100th birthday

With so many friends and family.

Lincoln was recently honored with
A personal meeting with President
Biden at the White House for his work
With the veterans who survived the
Atomic testing programs held after
WWll.

Members of Madison’s Clarence
Kailin chapter 25 Veterans For Peace
Were on hand to honor their most
Distinguished member.

– Tom Glassel

A War Veteran Recounts His Journey to Becoming a Sociologist (asanet.org)

Lincoln during the war. We were all so young during our wars. Some are forever young.

National World War II Museum oral historian Hannah Dailey talks about “atomic veterans” and interviews four veterans including Lincoln Grahlfs

Veterans and Nuclear Radiation Exposure | C-SPAN.org

Joan and Lincoln Grahlfs

“F. Lincoln Grahlfs, a World War II Navy veteran, is a sociologist who has studied the effects of radiation exposure on United States military veterans. He has served as president of the National Association of Radiation Survivors.”

Veterans of US Atomic Age Deserve Compensation (militarytimes.com)

Lincoln and President Joe Biden Summer 2022

The President signed a 2-year extension of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), which provides partial restitution to Downwinders, atomic veterans, and uranium workers exposed to radiation. – Lilly Adams

Lincoln’s ship putting out fires on one of the expendable ships that was anchored near ground zero of an atomic bomb test.

“The United States conducted nearly 200 atmospheric nuclear weapons development tests between 1945 and 1962 spreading radiation across several Western states and the South Pacific. All the while, the Atomic Energy Commission insisted to surrounding residents: “There is no danger.”

‘Downwinders’ ignored despite radiation fallout from US nuke tests – Responsible Statecraft

“Floating on a U.S. Navy tugboat in the Pacific Ocean nearly a year after the end of World War II, Lincoln Grahlfs and his shipmates could hear a countdown over a radio, signaling their mission would soon begin.

The sailors were told to cover their eyes with their hands before the countdown hit zero. Four hours later and wearing no protective gear, Grahlfs and his ship traveled 11 miles through Bikini Atoll to ground zero of where the United Stated military had tested a nuclear weapon.

The crew was tasked with putting out fires on empty ships used as targets and towing those that hadn’t sunk to shallower waters for examination. More than 75 years after cleaning up the aftermath of two atomic tests in the central Pacific, the Madison resident has used his personal experience to advocate for ridding the world of nuclear weapons and on behalf of fellow veterans exposed to dangerous radiation…”

‘You can’t live with them’: Madison WWII vet exposed to atomic testing warns about nuclear weapons

Wisconsin State Journal

Golden Rule Sails Down Mississippi

The Golden Rule is a project of Veterans for Peace that promotes a peaceful world without nuclear weapons.

hat tip to Phil Fransen for many of pictures on this web post.

“The Golden Rule sailboat, the very same boat sailed by four Quaker sailors toward the Marshall Islands in 1958, will arrive at the Riverside Park Levee in La Crosse at 10:30 AM on Wednesday, Oct. 5. Mayor Reynolds will welcome the boat and crew with an official declaration from the City. Representatives from Veterans For Peace, Women in Black, and others will speak… The welcome event will kick off a series of events that day, all with same message as in 1958: Abolish Nuclear Weapons.”
– Wisconsin Public Radio

Newsbreak: ‘Golden Rule’ peace boat makes its way to La Crosse

“Golden Rule schedule in Iowa

● Dubuque: Arrives evening of Sunday, Oct. 9; leaves the morning of Oct. 11

Facebook Video in Dubuque as the boat arrives

● Clinton: Arrives the evening of Oct. 12; leaves the morning of Oct. 14

● Quad Cities: Arrives the evening of Oct. 14; leaves the morning of Oct. 17

● Muscatine: Arrives the afternoon or evening of Oct 17; leaves the morning of Oct. 19

● Burlington: Arrives the morning of Oct. 19; leaves the morning of Oct 21

● Keokuk: Arrives the evening of Oct 21; leaves the morning of Oct. 23.

For more information about the Golden Rule Project and its Great Loop Voyage, visit vfpgoldenrule.org. You can follow the boat’s progress on a map that updates every 10 minutes at http://share.garmin.com/goldenrule

Groups can schedule an educational presentation by Jaccard at [email protected] or (206) 992-6364.

Historic Golden Rule sailboat heading to Iowa – Burlington Hawkeye (newsmemory.com)

September in Minnesota with Golden Rule

VFP Golden Rule Project | Advancing VFP Opposition to Nuclear Weapons and War

Hot Potato: PFAS Forever Chemicals in Madison

Hot potato: PFAS contamination lingers at burn pits as city, county, National Guard contest responsibility

original article

“More than four years after the state Department of Natural Resources warned of toxic “forever” chemicals at former firefighter training sites near the Madison airport, city, county and state officials have yet to begin cleanup amid disputes over who is responsible.

In June 2018, the DNR notified Dane County, the city of Madison and the Wisconsin Air National Guard they may be responsible for PFAS contamination at the sites, which were known as “burn pits” used for firefighter training between the 1950s and 1980s.

Tests of shallow groundwater at the sites found two PFAS compounds at levels thousands of times higher than state standards for drinking water or groundwater, and millions of times what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers safe for drinking water.

The sites on Darwin Road and Pearson Street both drain into Starkweather Creek, which flows into Lake Monona, where health officials have warned anglers to limit consumption of fish because of the chemicals, which have been linked to illnesses including high blood pressure, low birth weight, developmental delays and most recently liver cancer.

The DNR has also ordered the city, county and National Guard to clean up PFAS from other parts of the airport, which is home to Truax Field.

For years, the city and county have deferred to the National Guard, which is investigating PFAS contamination under the federal Superfund law, a process that could take a decade for actual cleanup work to begin.

But when the National Guard Bureau submitted a final plan last spring, the burn pits were not included because the bureau said it was not solely responsible.

Now the DNR is again asking the city, county and Wisconsin National Guard to further investigate the site and determine what, if any, cleanup is required.

‘Hot potato’

The delays come as industry groups have challenged the DNR’s authority to require cleanup of PFAS. A Waukesha County judge ruled in April that the agency must first go through a 2½-year rulemaking process to list the chemicals as hazardous substances, though his order is on hold while under appeal.

Maria Powell, founder of the Madison Environmental Justice Organization, which helped bring the burn pit pollution to light, said city, county and military leaders have been playing “hot potato” with the burn pits since pollution was first documented in the 1980s.

Powell said it would be “almost comical” if not for the “complete disregard” for people — many of them low-income people of color — who live downstream and eat the contaminated fish.

“It’s not funny,” she said. “It’s criminal.”

Long practice

The Darwin Road site was used from 1953 until 1987 to train firefighters with the National Guard, city of Madison, and Dane County, as well as volunteer fire departments, according to a 1989 Corps of Engineers report.

Jet fuel, kerosene and other flammable liquids would be spilled on the ground, set on fire and then extinguished. The report documented an array of hazardous chemicals in the groundwater, though there were no tests for PFAS.

A former firefighter training area, known as a burn pit, on Pearson Street is one of two sites near the Dane County Regional Airport with high levels of PFAS. Both sites drain into Starkweather Creek, which flows into Lake Monona, where anglers have been warned to limit consumption of fish because of contamination.
JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

A second burn pit on Pearson Road was used by various fire departments starting in the late 1980s.

In 2018, the DNR notified the city, county and Guard that the sites were likely contaminated with PFAS and requested an investigation.

DNR spokesperson Sarah Hoye said the agency “didn’t have actual soil or groundwater data from the fire training areas demonstrating a release of a hazardous substance,” which it needs to require a cleanup.

In 2020, an environmental contractor found combined levels of two chemicals — PFOA and PFOS — at more than 68,000 parts per trillion in groundwater at the Darwin Road site and in excess of 20,000 ppt at the Pearson Street site. While Wisconsin does not regulate PFAS in groundwater, the standards for surface water is 8 ppt for PFOS and 95 ppt for PFOA.

City’s stance

Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway t old the DNR in 2019 that the city should not be responsible for the burn pits, but the DNR maintains that the city provided firefighting services for Truax Field and owned the Darwin Road site until 1974, when the federal government required the use of PFAS foams at military bases.

In March the City Council approved an agreement with the county and Guard to split the cost of a $30,000 investigation — not into the extent of PFAS contamination but “historical PFAS use” at the training areas.

According to the resolution, “a more complete understanding about the historical use of PFAS-containing firefighting materials at the Airport, including at and near the Burn Pits, will be helpful to the parties.”

Rhodes-Conway’s chief of staff, Mary Bottari, said the city is not contesting its responsibility for the site, though its share “has yet to be determined.”

“The city would still like to ultimately see a complete picture of the historical PFAS use at the airport, including at the two firefighting training areas, which a historical investigation could help develop,” Bottari said. “We do know, for example, that other local fire departments trained at the facilities. If we are able to identify those parties, they can help build a complete picture of historic use on the site.”

A former firefighter training area, known as a burn pit, on Darwin Road is one of two sites near the Dane County Regional Airport with high levels of PFAS. Both sites drain into Starkweather Creek, which flows into Lake Monona, where anglers have been warned to limit consumption of fish because of contamination.
CHRIS HUBBUCH, STATE JOURNAL

It’s not clear when that investigation began or how long it will take.

Bottari said it wouldn’t be “appropriate” for city staff to comment on cleanup plans because the land is owned by the county, which will play the “lead role.”

Update pending

County officials declined to be interviewed about the cleanup plan.

In a written statement, airport spokesperson Michael Riechers said the city, county and Guard are developing “a plan to further investigate the firefighting training areas that will incorporate several facets including investigative efforts already completed and the pilot projects currently underway at the airport.”

Riechers said the county intends to update the DNR next week.

The state Department of Natural Resources has asked the city of Madison, Dane County and the Wisconsin National Guard to clean up firefighter training areas on Pearson Street, above, and Darwin Road that are contaminated with toxic PFAS chemicals.
JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Maj. Leslie Westmont, a spokesperson for the Air National Guard, referred questions about the burn pits to the National Guard Bureau, the federal agency that excluded them from its cleanup plan for the rest of the base.

The National Guard Bureau did not respond to questions.

Federal process

The bureau is overseeing the base cleanup under the federal Superfund law, a process that could take up to a decade for actual cleanup to begin.

The military has spent about $2 million so far investigating the extent of PFAS contamination at the base and expects the next phase of the investigation will cost almost $2 million more.

Lance Green, co-chair of the Friends of Starkweather Creek and a member of the Sustainable Madison Committee, said he’s been frustrated for years by the lack of action.

“PFAS is fairly new, but everybody knows about sucking the water out of the ground and getting the PFAS out,” Green said. “We need stronger action now to start lowering the contamination. That’s simple.”

DNR spokesperson Sarah Hoye said there’s not enough data to determine if the pollutants have spread from the site, but environmental watchdogs say there’s no reason to believe the highly-mobile chemicals would stay put.

“It can only spread,” Green said. “That’s the thing it does: spread.”

Green said it will take years to reduce PFAS levels in the lakes and fish, but only if the city, county and Guard take immediate action to eliminate the source.

“It continues to move out and it continues to get fish full of PFAS,” he said.

The city council has approved spending $425,000 on a treatment system for one East Side well that was shut down in 2019 because of PFAS contamination, though the Madison Water Utility contended that Truax Field — not the burn pits — is the likely source of that contamination.

Discarded deadlines let polluted plume from military base spread unchecked | Local Government | madison.com

County sues

Earlier this year Dane County sued foam manufacturers in an attempt to recover “substantial costs” associated with cleanup of the airport.

The suit claims the defendants knew — or should have known — that using the foam, required by the Department of Defense and Federal Aviation Administration, would release PFAS to the air, soil and groundwater.

The lawsuit notes the chemicals, which can damage the liver, kidneys and nervous system, spread quickly in the environment, “contaminating soil, groundwater, and surface water” and are “readily absorbed in animal and human tissues.”

In emails with the county’s outside attorney, obtained through an open records request, assistant corporation counsel Amy Tutwiler discusses formulating media “talking points” for “how to respond to the concern that the health effects alleged in the complaint suggest pfas remediation should be occurring at a more rapid pace.”

Those talking points were not provided in response to the records request.

With PFAS cleanup years in the future, National Guard says its moving ‘quickly’ on Truax investigation | Science & Environment | madison.com

The county has since sued the DNR in an effort to strike conditions included in the airport’s stormwater permit intended to measure and limit PFAS in water that drains into Starkweather Creek.

The county contends the conditions are illegal because the DNR has already required cleanup under the remediation program and that they would be too costly.

County officials have said they did not know what the additional testing would cost, but according to documents obtained through an open records request it would be about $8,000 a year.

That case is on hold while the DNR conducts an internal review of the permit.”

Winners, Losers, Friends, and Enemies on the New Terrain of Veterans Affairs

How the U. S. fails its military veterans – WORT-FM 89.9 (wortfm.org)

In their newly release book, “Our Veterans: Winners, Losers, Friends, and Enemies on the New Terrain of Veterans Affairs“, authors Steve Early, Suzanne Gordon, and Jasper Craven discuss many of the obstacles to veterans in the United States.

Faced with efforts on both sides of the aisle to privatize military healthcare, bogus claims by pseudo-veteran-support groups funded by the Koch brothers to undermine the VA medical system, and a congress which pours money into funding the active military but leaves veterans to fight for pennies, the recruitment claims promising education and healthcare for returned military personnel are failing veterans.

The book

Duke University Press – Our Veterans (dukeupress.edu)