How The U.S. Government Is Knowingly Making Us Sick

If you`re under the impression I`m going to write about some conspiracy theory, you couldn`t be farther from the truth. I don`t intend to talk about anything that doesn`t have a REAL proof to sustain it. Everything here is out in the public, 100% true and proven. Which makes it even worse, because it shows just how ignorant the government is when it comes to public health. As long as their political, economic or social interests are satisfied, making or keeping millions of people sick is just “collateral damage”.

The best example of governmental ignorance is the unbelievable attitude they chose to adopt towards the dangerous leaking of radioactive waste into the Columbia River.

According to RTAmerica, “one of the most contaminated waste sites in America is leaking nuclear waste, according to US officials. The Hanford Nuclear Reservation stores material from the production of atomic weapons, in tanks which have outlived their 20-year lifespan.(…) On Friday, the US Department of Energy announced that one of Hanford ‘s 177 radioactive waste tanks is disposing up to 300 gallons per year.  The leaks have come from Tank T-111, built between 1943 and 1944, now holding some 447,000 gallons of highly radioactive slurry left from plutonium production of  nuclear arms.”

source: rt.com

Now, they discover in awe that the leak is going straight into the Columbia River. Judging by the fact that the waste site is along the river, that can`t be much of a surprise… Now, they say it`s not yet clear how much “toxic stew” ended up in the water, however Mother Nature Network published some astonishing numbers:

“Some 525 million gallons of radioactive waste were generated by Hanford between 1944 and 1988, according to a Government Accountability Office report, and at least 56 million gallons of the stuff remains on site in leaky tanks.

Already a million gallons of it has seeped into the ground and contaminated the Columbia River. Meanwhile, the DOE is stalling on the clean up and trying to wiggle out of its 2018 commitment for completion.

“They’re trying to avoid the option of having to build storage tanks, which are very expensive, but the cost of a catastrophic tank failure is incalculable,” says Robert Alvarez, senior scholar for the Institute for Policy Studies.” “

Even though it`s obvious there are financial interests on stake, the government insists on lying shamelessly. They`re excuse for not cleaning up the mess? It`s not an “immediate danger”. According to Governor Jay Inslee, it will take years before the waste reaches groundwater, so people shouldn`t worry about their health for now.

So when exactly should American citizens start worrying about their health? When their tap water shines in the dark? When they grow a third eye? What`s the protocol here? Maybe there`s a certain amount of time you have to wait before starting to freak out about your kids` safety, when 300 gallons of radioactive waste are leaking every year… Even as you`re reading this, the tank is still leaking. They haven`t figured out a way to stop it yet.

But I strongly believe that`s not a priority, either. After all, they are perfectly aware that the 300 gallons per year is nothing, compared to what the soils along the Columbia River contain.

source: greenpeace.org

“Approximately 450 billion gallons of waste has already been discharged into the soil during production at the Hanford site—an amount equal to about five days flow of the Columbia River.

According to Carpenter, a recent Hanford Challenge study found that 17 out of 18 fish in the Columbia tested positive for plutonium, a highly toxic radioactive element, while a separate 2006 U.S. Geological Survey study found serious damage to the kidneys of Hanford Reach salmon as a result of hexavalent chromium exposure.”

And still… the health nightmare doesn`t stop here:

“In June 2008, a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report delivered more bad news on the Hanford site, finding that the DOE lacks comprehensive information about the condition and even the contents of the tanks, which raises “serious questions about the tanks’ long-term viability.”

So they`ve know this for years now and yet they did absolutely nothing to solve the problem. And all because it`s “too expensive”. So sending our troops to fight other nations` wars is a good investment. Buying thousands of drones to spy on American citizens is a good investment. Starting cyberwars with China is a good investment. But eliminating a constant source of deadly poison that`s been leaking into our soils and water for decades is just too much for our budget.

Ok, they don`t give a damn about me and my kids… fine. But how can they “forget” THEIR kids live in the same country and drink the same water as everyone else? Contamination doesn`t discriminate. It gets us all.

By Alec Deacon