Re: agent orange history?

[Ralph Ryder <ralph@tcpub.demon.co.uk>]

Here's another angle of dioxin. the forgotten victims of America. 
Taken From ToxCat Vol 2 no 9 

The Voice In the Canyon. The Spraying of Kellner Canyon


Bob McCray is a big man. Standing 6ft 4 inches tall he is every
Englishman’s idea of what an American ‘cowboy’ should be. 
        Yet Bob McCray’s true statue comes not from his enormous build
and height, but from his indomitable fighting spirit and his dedicated
to the forgotten spray victims of Globe, Arizona.

        I first met Bob McCray during the 2nd Citizens ‘Conference on
Dioxin in St. Louis, Missouri in July 1994. As with all anti-toxics -
incineration activists, we found we had a lot in common and a good
friendship was established during the conference. We shared a room
during the 3rd Citizens’ Conference on Dioxin and other Synthetic
Hormone Disruptors in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in March 1996. It was there
he told me the full  story of the chemical spraying of Kellner Canyon
that led to his involvement in the battle against toxins and apathetic
officialdum.
        In August 1969, Bob, a fit young man, was just one of a number
of men building homes for themselves and their families in the Globe
area. His wife, Rosalie, and their five month old son Paul, made up a
small, but very happy McCray family. The plot they had chosen for their
home was inside the timberlands of Kellner Canyon, one of 4 canyons,
Russell, Kellner, Icehouse and Six-shooter, that lie about three miles
south of Globe, Arizona. 

        The house at that time was just a skeleton with a tarpaulin
sheet stretched across the rafters as a makeshift roof to shield them
from the hot August sun. Settling down to a family picnic, Bob heard the
throbbing rhythm of helicopter blades. Peering into the clear blue sky
he saw a snub-nosed - two seater U.S. Forest Service helicopter passing
overhead just above the tree tops. Seconds later a ghostly, foul
smelling spray cloud enveloped them as it drifted like a thick shiffon
curtain along the floor of the canyon, over the partly built house and
into the McCray’s lungs, and into their lives.
        Suddenly, from a happy family enjoying the sunshine and its
warmth, the McCray’s found themselves sopping wet with some strange
witches brew burning their eyes and skin. Absolutely furious, Bob McCray
bundled his frightened family into their pickup and drove to the U.S.
Forest Services helicopter pad near-by to find out who was responsible
and get some answers as to what was going on.

        When they arrived at the heli-pad the McCray’s encountered a
line of interested spectators watching the helicopter filling up with
more chemical spray. Bursting through the line of onlookers and shouting
defiance at the pilot Bob McCray made for the helicopter. Seeing him
approach, the pilot simply revved up, lifted off, and flew over dowsing
him with the foul smelling vapour again. 

        Also enjoying the August sun on that fateful day in Kellner
Canyon was Bob McKusick and his family. They were looking at the clay
deposits McKusick, in his trade as a potter, had secured through
negotiations with the Forest Service. Then came the throbbing blades and
the pungent curtain of mist...

        Pat Medlin, a young women living in Kellner Canyon was also keen
to take advantage of the beautiful sunshine. She was stretched out
soaking up the sun in her garden when, seeing the good looking young
women in a bikini, the pilot of the helicopter flew closer for a better
look, not bothering to stop the chemical spray as he swooped in low over
her home...

        Another resident, Billie Shoecraft, had been woken up earlier in
the day by the same throb of helicopter blades. Stepping onto her front
porch she was met by a curtain of mist that lingered in the early
morning air...

        The canyon residents later discovered that the pungent, curtain
of mist was in fact a cloud of Silvex, the brand name of  Dow Chemical’s
mixture of 2,4,5-T and 2,4-D. American servicemen in Vietnam knew it
better as Agent Orange.

        Virtually everyone who was caught directly by the spray
developed health problems of one kind or another. Pat Medlin lost
mobility within a few days and never walked again without the aid of a
walking frame. She died of cancer a couple of years ago. 

        Paul McCray, Bob’s son, developed convulsions and has had a
terrifying 36 attacks in one day.

        Billie Shoecraft developed cancer and until her death in 1976
led a fierce battle to get the process of chemical spraying stopped. The
government and industry experts tried to play-down the whole thing and
pacify the residents of Globe. Shoecraft’s feelings and outrage at what
had been done is reflected in the title of the book she wrote about the
shameful affair: “Sue the Bastards.”

        The members of several other families in the area that were
caught directly in the spray developed cancer as the years passed, as
did Bob McCray.

        Of all the people affected, Shoecraft, McKusick and McCray
wasted no time in seeking legal advice. They spoke to anyone and
everyone who would listen to them. It wasn’t long before lawsuits were
being filed on their behalf against Dow Chemical.

        In 1980, the Globe residents class-action lawsuit against Dow
Chemical was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. Dow had the
court documents sealed. By then the chemical agents used in Silvex had
been banned. 
Surprisingly, in the land of the big pay-outs, the compensation the
residents received barely covered their medical bills.

        The story of Kellner Canyon didn’t end there. Like the Phoenix
it has risen  again from the ashes. The insidious effects and
persistence of the chemicals used, and their by-product - dioxin - has
surfaced with a vengeance on the unsuspecting community.

        At the time of spraying little was known by the general public
about the dangers from the chemicals used in the sprays. It was assumed
that the only danger to health came from “between the nozzle and the
ground.” Nowadays of course things are vastly different. Through the
efforts of a few responsible scientists, community based groups like the
Citizen Clearing House on Hazardous Waste (CCHW), and people like
activist/author Carol Van Strum, the public is a lot better informed
about many of the chemicals used as pesticides. Many of which are now
known to be persistent and health damaging years after being released
into the environment. 

        Bob McCray is now a 60 years old disabled motor mechanic,
specialising in customised and vintage American cars (when his health
allows). During the years after the spraying, as well as suffering
continual, declining health, he  always had this niggling feeling that
things weren’t quite all they seemed with regards to what the
authorities were saying about the chemicals used. He began reading
extensively on the research into the toxicity and persistence of the
chemicals used widely in the United States as herbicides and pesticides.
He also kept a watchful eye on the situation in the Kellner Canyon/Globe
area with regards to people’s health which he noted seemed to be
following a downward curve.

In September 1993, knowing a great deal more about the advances on the
dangers of herbicides, pesticides and their by-products, Bob McCray,
after hearing a lot of rumours about increasing ill-health around Globe,
decided to advertise on the local radio and in the local newspapers to
see if they were any elevated levels of cancers. 
        “I expected to get a few replies, but I got an avalanche,” he
told me. “I got six hundred letters in the first month, they were coming
in so fast there was no way I could keep up with them.”

        Compiling the volumes of information he received, McCray began
to note a definite connection between specific types of cancers: 30
cases of Soft Tissue Sarcoma - a cancer affecting tendons and ligaments
(suffered predominately by forestry workers using pesticides): 40 cases
of Hodgkin’s Disease and 40 cases of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma - a cancer
of the lymph nodes.
        “All these odd-ball cancers are to found in people living around
the canyons that were sprayed,” McCray said.

        It is worth noting that according to the National Institute of
Health, the Globe-Miami area should experience one case of Soft Tissue
Sarcoma every two years; one case of Hodgkin’s disease and 3 cases of
Non-Hodgkin’s disease every year. The only other group in the United
States afflicted with high rates of these cancers are the Vietnam
veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange.

        Bob McCray has unearthed so many cases of cancer that even the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Arizona State Health
Department have become interested. Dr. Linda Birnbaum, (Environmental
Toxicology Division U.S.EPA) said:
        “I talked to McCray and I think his numbers are very
interesting, I think we need to do more research on it. What I would
like to see done is a case-control study to see of there is indeed an
increase in cancer incidents and (Agent Orange) exposure.”
        The Arizona State Health Department believes it is the best
department to do the study. Dr. Tim Flood, Chief epidemiologist of
Arizona States Cancer Registry said he “...would like to get hold of
McCray figures. Most of the clusters we get are in the cities. They
usually involve common cancers, but this soft-tissue sarcoma is
relatively rare and it’s easier to trace to a cause.”
        Dr. Flood was quick to point out that state research did not
support McCray’s numbers, but admitted the state registry was woefully
lacking in rural areas and only extended back to 1991.
        “I plan on meeting with McCray because he has better numbers
than we do,” he said.

        Bob McCray however, is in no hurry to part with the statistic’s
he has complied. “They want to take control of this study and then they
can simply say there isn’t a problem.” he said. “When I’ve finished the
registry, then I’ll turn it over to them and not before.”

        The distrust McCray has in officialdom is well founded and he
spoke of the low regard he has for epidemiologists’ as disease
detectives.
        “If a plane crashed on you and you died, any normal person would
say the plane killed you, an epidemiologist would look at you and ask;
‘Well, did he smoke?’ ”

        Bob’s research and questions have created a strong feeling of
resentment towards him and his family in the Globe area. Many people
believe his digging and unearthing of frightening facts and figures of
unusually high rates of abnormal diseases is affecting development in
the area. He has been the victim of numerous personal attacks, both
verbal and physical over the years. This led to his wife Rosalie writing
an open letter to the community and its leaders in February 1996;
        “...We have been trying to have this problem addressed by those
whose voices could initiate a resolution to the problem. They have
instead decided to blame the messenger for crying the news. We have been
threatened, intimidated, ridiculed, shunned, and asked to leave town. We
have had our credibility questioned and have sustained numerous personal
attacks. If we left town today, the community problem would not be
solved. We won’t leave town and we won’t shut up. It is interesting to
note that this discord and the attacks on us come mainly from civic
leaders, professionals, news media and government officials, not from
the masses of people who daily read what we write and talk with us.
Civic leaders for years have been patting each other on the back and
praising each other for community service. That’s fair. We too commend
those who have the time and energy to promote the community. We ask
those same people to promote the life of the community, not just the
economy and economic growth of the community... She continued:
        “Tourism and retirement to the Globe-Miami area is great,but a
vital part of the groundwork has been over-looked. We see this current
effort as inviting hundreds of people to a dinner dance, to be held in
the building where visitors had a livestock show. The building is not
cleaned up because no-one feels responsible for the mess. We invite
guests anyway. All the gingerbread and crepe paper in the world does not
make up for the mess left behind by someone else...”

        Bob McCray endorsed everything Rosalie had written: 
        “They are trying to attract new people to the area to live. But
what kind of people are they to want people to retire here and encourage
young people to settle and have children here knowing the problems we
have. Local people are being sold down the drain. They are told dioxins
do not cause problems. These people then come to me and say give us the
facts Bob, tell us the truth.” I tell them that the person who told them
dioxin is OK is a liar and a scam artist. Usually I’m told the name of
the stupid individual who is selling us down the drain. You would be
surprised at who these fools are, some are our top officials.” 

        As well as encouraging people to settle in the area officials of
Globe are selling the town as a attractive tourist spot. As one
journalist wrote:
        “...the Brigadoon of Arizona, caught in a time-warp where the
women’s movement is still a decade away and the economy is still of the
thermos-and-lunch-box variety,”...it is a scenic rest stop on the road
at the intersection of Tucson’s North Oracle Road and Phoenix’s
Superstition Highway.”

        Bob McCray’s rumblings about all the cancers has undermined both
Globes stability and attraction. Fuelling local scepticism and anger
against McCray has been a government and industrial propaganda blitz.
The campaign to pacify and re-assure the public during the 1970s has
long since collapsed under the scrutiny of further research, but in the
meantime it was McCray who bore the brunt of Globe’s official’s denials
and the interested parties resentment (i.e. business folk, tourist
trade, industrial, housing development etc.) 
        “I’ve been beaten up, threatened with my life, lied to, barred
from public meetings... Everything I predicted is coming true. We, the
people, have been lied to time and time again.”

        During his years of research Bob McCray has spoken to dozens of
doctors and officials. “I have had to lie a lot to get information,” he
said. “Doctors won’t tell you anything unless they think your a doctor
too. They have a God-like complex and can’t believe an auto-mechanic can
understand what they’re saying.” Now he says, doctors call him for
advice.

        A story published in The Arizona Silver Belt (1994) in Globe,
saw the towns one-time avarice turned into assistance. A lot more people
came forward with stories about cancers in their families and no-one was
calling him “Crazy McCray.” 
        “I received one negative response and maybe one hundred
positive’s,” he said. “I thought at last, people are beginning to get
it.”

        Since 1973, the residents of Kellner Canyon, worried about the
quality of their well water, have hauled their water from Globe’s city
spigot three miles away.  Bob McKusick, who lives on property either
side of Kellner Creek and keeps a number of goats believes; 
        “The chemicals are locked inside the clay underground, but when
it rains they are released.” He believes his goats are like miners
canaries and after a period of very heavy rain one kid was born with
reproductive organs backwards, (see photo) two more were born without
anal openings, a fourth was born with a cleft palate and grew very
little.

        Bob McCrays battle and research continues: “I’ve been getting
phones calls and letters from around the country with more people and
groups than ever telling me about the government lies and cover-up on
pesticides,” he said.

        Shortly after the 1969 spraying in Globe, the Forest Service
engaged in illegal dumping. It took the unused defoliant barrels left
over from the helipad and buried them in a mine shaft 120 miles to the
north near Alpine, Arizona. The barrels were discovered when a worker
who took part in the exercise came forward in 1989. No criminal charges
have ever been filed. 

        In 1990, EPA were asked by Congressman Kyl to test the Kellner
and Ice House Canyons for residual Silvex and dioxin. Eighteen months
later his office was told that no survey was needed because the Arizona
Department of Environmental Quality had thoroughly studied the area and
deemed it ‘decontaminated.’ However, it was reported to one official
that the state had never tested Kellner Canyon, when in fact in 1986 the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had tested it as part of the
National Dioxin Study. They found the highest dioxin concentration
anywhere in America on the helipad site above Globe.
Warning signs placed on the helipad were removed shortly after McCray
and McKusick visted the sight and took photographs of the site, and the
signs, in February 1989.

        Although the residents of Kellner Canyon and others received
very little in terms of compensation from Dow. Their battle served as a
precedent for a Vietnam veterans’ class-action suit worth $180 million
against chemical companies like Dow and Hercules. Again, the
Corporations settled out of court without admitting liability. Until now
they have been able to extract themselves with their bank balance hardly
dented from Globe. If a link between the numbers of cancers today and
industry were to be established their liability would be enormous. 
        “Oh, they have killed me” said Bob McCray, “as surely as if they
had given me a lethal injection or put a gun to my head. They can’t do
anything to me anymore.”

Footnote: While the U.S. government is obligated to compensate veterans
who were exposed to herbicides (although God knows they tried to get out
of it for long enough) an American citizens whose health is damaged in
his own back yard by the same chemical is not entitled to a cent.

After many years of pressure, intimindation and in very real fear of
physical harm, Rosalie McCray has now left the area. Bob McCray
continues his battle for justice alone. 

Source: Personal interviews, letters and telephone conversations with
Bob McCray.
The Tucson Weekly March 2-8 1994.


© R Ryder TC Publishing

none profit grass roots media help yourselves. 


To read more of the forgotton toxic towns of the United States like
Globe see “Toxic Nation” Fred Setterberg, Lonny Shavelson. John Wiley &
Sons, Inc., ISBN 0-471-57545-3

I would love to receive more stories/information like this one to
publish in our geniune grassroots publication ToxCat. Unfortunately will
cannot pay, due to the simple fact we aere skint. 
The people in Britain and Europe are still in caves as long as dioxin
knowledge is concerned. We need information. Stories like this get the
message across. We are all in this fight together. 

Please note: People in the north west of England found their cars
covered in sand the other day, From a sand storm in the sahara desert.
thats 2,000 miles away. There is no such thing as "Not In My Back Yard."
anymore folks. 


Does anybody know Michael N.Sovick of the Oklahoma Agent Orange
Foundation  Lexington? If so could you pass this message on to him from
Ralph Ryder of CATs in Britain.
Tel him I have just found his letter from June last year behind the draw
in the filing cabinet asking for information on Coalite.
I am sending him a letter of apology and some info on Coalite,
unfortunately not what he requested as the booklet was never published
but something he should find of interest.

Cheers folks. 
Regards

Ralph Ryder

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