Maggie Stutz, Alaska Community Action on Toxics, Anchorage, Alaska.
How much does working within the system help? If the same entity supposed to protect a group of people is responsible for their pain and suffering, how will there be justice or compensation? These are the questions I have been grappling with during my summer project. I sit at my desk, reading court case after court case, act after act, doctrine after doctrine, hoping something in those words will help the people of Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island).
The military built two defense sites on Sivuqaq (St. Lawrence Island) during and after World War Two. The U.S Army Corps of Engineers claimed they cleaned up these sites, yet people are still getting sick. Past community-based participatory research conducted by Alaska Community Action on Toxics found elevated PCBs, OCPs, and mercury levels within these FUDS (formerly used defense sites). These toxins have also been found in people living on the island and in stickleback fish. This data means the people living in Sivuqaq have an increased risk for cancer, and the people living there are witnessing the rising cases within their lifetimes.
Most of my summer project is researching legal precedents for a suit against the military. I have studied the Due process Clause- Bodily Integrity, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, and the Community Right to Know Act. These are helpful but never guarantee a just outcome for the community members affected by this tragedy. I have tried to find ways around sovereign immunity and have realized that it is improbable that these people will ever see their day in court.
Although I am filled with anger and hopelessness with these thoughts, I keep on working. I know that anything I can contribute is a step in the right direction. Every time I reach a dead end, that is a path someone later on no longer has to go down, and helps the organizations get one step closer to finding a solution. I wonder if working within the legal system that was created and is run by the government that has hurt the community members of Sivuqaq will work. There is no guarantee of any positive outcome, but is that a reason not to try?
Alaska Community Action on Toxics researches the levels and health effects of these toxins, informs the community members, and advocates internationally for bans. Next week we are traveling to Nome, Alaska and Sivuqaq to conduct more research and help community members learn how to test their water for toxins. Actions such as those are concrete ways one can see a positive impact being made within these hurt communities. Pamela Miller, the founder of Alaska Community Action on Toxics, was present at the Joint Conference of the Parties of the Basel, Rotterdam, and Stockholm Conventions on hazardous chemical management in June. An outcome of the convention was PFAS getting added to the list for global elimination. This step in the right direction is a tangible way to see the organization and project I am a part of making a difference, giving me hope for the future.
I am still left wondering if working toward a better and healthier future is possible while operating within the rules created by the government responsible for these issues. I do not think it is, but I do not know what else to do.