European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 14, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and Stripe sunday november 14,1993 crates Strain army ties with townsfolk from Page 1 1 alarm about the munition cases Here Quot said Bruno Miinster  ath. S the allegations have been rejected by bavarian health officials arid 7th army training Center officials who say they have seen no Trace of abnormal death rates. Erich Hannah a grafenw6hr druggist and member of the Zub admits that the evidence Ofine cancer deaths is anecdotal. A. Quot we cannot Back up our cancer death claims scientifically a yet a but we reject charges that we were irresponsible in publishing our report Quot Hannak said. A we had so Many reports from townspeople that showed there was of a pattern of a High cancer death rate among workers who handled the contaminated american crates that we Felt we had to go Public with it to get officials to do something. They have been dragging their  so far there has been no indication that the bavarian state government intends to investigate the complaints. But Hannak said area doctor amp Are checking their files to add More substantial evidence to the claims. So far Zub members have refused to disclose any of the medical records they say they have seen or to identify any worker they assert died from  said that concerns about the munitions crates surfaced publicly last year with the discovery by German customs officials that . Munitions crates had been treated with amounts of pentachlorophenol Wood prese re Atic that exceeded the limits set by German Law. A on october 27, 1992, a customs official noticed that the discarded cases being sold to the Burstein company in pc Swath were marked with the letters pc for pc Tach Loro phenol and tested them a Hannak said. Inc discovery prompted the Zub to try to find out what had happened to the millions of munitions cases discarded Over the years Hannak said. One of the problems of collecting information is that people in the towns around the training area Don t like to say anything against the american military he said. The Grafe Wohr training area 60 Miles Northeast of Nairn Borg covers 88.5 Square Miles. It is the largest .-controlled Traini Garca in Germany. A you have to realize that the american military is the largest employer in the entire Region. Alone in Grafe Wohr 600 people of the 6,000 inhabitants work for the army and the situation in the other towns is the same a said Hannak who owns the main drugstore in Gra Fenohr. Quot if you Don t work for the americans you have to commute As far away As Nairn Borg or even farther away to find work a Hannak said. A so people think if they criticize the americans it will Only make trouble for those family members who still work for the army. I Don t believe the army is so Small minded a Hannak said. A. Currently 2,428 non americans work at the Grafe Wohr and Vilseck army facilities Down from a Peak of 3,240 in 1990. Wilhelm Keck the Grafe Wohr City manager said there is a sense of nervousness in his Community. A judging from what i hear people Are in a waiting attitude. They re Uncertain about the pollution problem but in no Ereat state of anxiety Quot he said. A the Campaign to pick up munition cases from the citizens of seven towns around the training area made people realize How toxic the boxes we  that recall Campaign which ran oct 19 to 21, was a Success Keck said. Thousands of boxes were turned in and disposed of at county Cost. Keck said the charges by the Zub Are being taken seriously. A we have requested several City and state agencies to investigate the charges a Keck said. The Zub recently held a Public meeting in Gra Fen Wohr a cafe Bohm. It was attended by 22 members of environmental groups from hamlets around the training area. Zub members come from All walks of life. At the recent meeting were a forester druggist teacher housewife Bank employee bioengineer and plumber. At the meeting group member Dieter Wutzer criticized bavarian state and county officials for ignoring the data the Zub had collected on air and water pollution stemming from the Landfill at the . Army training site. A we Are labelled a alarmist or a anti american by the politicians but that just shows they be run out of objective arguments a Wutzer said. Wutzer said people in the towns around the training area Are beginning to doubt whether the politicians Are telling the truth about the crates and the . Army Landfill. The turning Point he said came two weeks ago when local authorities offered to dispose of three contaminated crates for each inhabitant free of charge. A up to the time of the offer Many people tried to ignore the idea that the Wood was contaminated a he said a now they begin to wonder if there Isnit something to Zub argue deter Wutzer a spokesman for the Union of environmentally aware citizens Zub in German Speaks to a group of two dozen members at a meeting thursday night Erich Hannak another spokesman Slis to the right. Numberg Sas Suun i it. A amp shot Toby Kan Torga Wemer Ohla chief of utilities of the 409th base Supply in in Grafe Wohr says he s never seen crates dumped at the Grafe Wohr Landfill  for years he said people from the villages have been taking the old crates from the training area dump or buying them from the firm hired to dispose of them. A they used the Wood to build Homes and burned them in stoves for heat so they be been exposed to the toxic Wood preservative for years. And when they burned the Wood they and their neighbors were exposed to the toxic fumes of dioxin a component of agent Orange a Hannak  an environmental Protection Agency spokesman in Washington d.c., said Wood treated with pentachlorophenol is a Vety hazardous Quot when burned at Low temperatures such asm a fireplace or open trash dump. A pentachlorophenol Breaks Down into a chlorinated dioxin which is one of the most toxic forms of the Many types of dioxin a Heier said. A burning Wood treated with that substance in the open air at Low temperatures is the worst possible scenario. That a Why we always warn against using treated Wood in  the Zub has backed off its initial claim that the americans purposely burned the contaminated crates at its Landfill site. But it Sticks by its assertion that the army dunked crates in its Landfill by the thousands. Quot the crates caught fire in the dump a they weren t set afire. But we do have a witness who claims the americans were dumping crates there for years. He last saw it done 15 Yean ago a said Zub member Rainer Kroier the army has said it never dumped crates at the site. Wemer Ohla chief of utilities of the 409th base Snohr in has worked at the Landfill site for 15 years. A a in be never seen crates dumped Here. I think the Zub arguments Are very weak but very Clever a Ohla said a they be started a Campaign against our Landfill Here which began with charges that we were polluting the ground water and ended in cancer deaths. In a waiting for them to prove it Ohla said the army began phasing out the contaminated boxes in the mid to late 1980s. He also said the army sold the contaminated cases to a German firm licensed to dispose of them As prescribed by Law. A Why should we bum Money a Ohla asked. Angelika Hoh Reuther daughter of the owner of the Burstein co., which has disposed of the ammunition boxes for decades said the boxes Are burned in special incinerators in the towns of Obenhausen Schwabach near Nimberg and Schweinfurt she said the allegation of contamination has caused the company nothing but trouble. V a people bought the ammunition cases from us for years a she said. A now after the Zub Campaign these companies want to sue us. If we have to pay them it would Cost us hundreds of thousands of  Hoh Reuther said her fathers firm has taken the crates from the army since 1946. A i remember when i was a child i would travel with my father As far away As Kaiserslautern and Esau to pick up the boxes a Hoh Reuther said. A she said the munitions boxes come in six sizes ranging from 3 to 6 feet in length. A the last Price our company paid the army for the boxes was 31 pfennig 23 cents and we sold them for anywhere Between 3 and 5 Marks $1.81 to $3depending upon our transportation  Hoh Reuther said that Over the years millions of boxes passed through the company a hands. A we got the last cases from the army on september 15 this year. The contaminated ones were sent to special incinerators. The army still has some of the cases that Are stored in a special warehouse in Vilseck a Hoh Reuther said. The spokesman for the 7lh army training come said the army stopped buying chemically treated boxes in 1984, but because of a huge Supply they still show up. A the new boxes Are made of plastic. The old boxes Are being destroyed Usa eur wide by the 200th theater army Materiel come that is working through the proper German channels a the spokesman said. The army said it has spent $279,075 to destroy 50,741 contaminated crates stored with the Burstein co. In pres Sath