Nuclear missile workers contract cancer. They blame the rules.

Patricia Kim

At a memorial ceremony in 2022, veteran captain of veteran Air Force Monte WhatsApp collided with his former colleague at Minuteman III, the nuclear missile, who told him that it had not available lymphoma.

Watts defined other missiles with similar cancers. But the relationship truly hit home later on January, when the results of the blood test revealed that Watts himself had chronic lymphatic leukemia, a type of lymphoma other than Hodgkin.

Watts said: “I do not know whether it is ridiculous or coincidence or what is the correct word, but there was,” Watts said.

Inside the community of American service members who work in nuclear missile silos spread through the northern plains and the major plains, doubts have long been roaming that their workplaces were unsafe. A few months after the diagnosis of WhatsApp in 2022, the Lieutenant -Colonel Danny Speck, a former air force missile that moved to the American space, wrote a summary of a potential cancer group among the people who served in Minotman III control centers at the Malmstrom Air Force in Montana.

Select Sebbacko 36 former workers Those who served in the first place from 1993 to 2011 and were diagnosed with cancer, including the same. Of these, 11 were non -Hodgkin. Three died. The Air Force quickly responded to the results of a pipe, Launching a huge investigation In cases of cancer and the environment in three ballistic missile bases between the continents and the California launch facility. The goal is to complete the research by the end of 2025.

The service released parts of studies during its conclusion, as the city halls and surroundings were held on the Internet to highlight their results. But while the former wallets say they feel a quick response, they remain concerned that the research, which crosses contracts and includes thousands of ICBM employees and administrative workers, may treat very large residents or use statistical analyzes that are not shown in their diseases and their military service.

They need this tie to expedite the ancient warrior affairs department.

Historically, the Ministry of Defense was slow to recognize possible environmental diseases. Old warriors who were exposed to the Orange customer in Vietnam, and Marines who drank contaminated water in the Ligon camp, North Carolina, and members of the service who lived and worked near the burning digging in Iraq and Afghanistan fought for years to recognize their diseases as related to military service.

In the case of missiles, the Air Force had already studied pollution and possible cancer in Malmstrom in 2001 and 2005. This research concluded that the release centers were “safe and healthy work environments.” But with the display of Sebeck and the decision to follow up on more investigation, said Air Global Strike Command-the unit responsible for managing nuclear missiles and nuclear weapons-based nuclear weapons-that previous studies may not include a large sample with enough medical records to be comprehensive.

Speck, who is the co -manager of the Torchlight Initiative, a support group that supports ICBM employees and their families, told the Democrats in Congress On April 8 The Ministry of Defense did not accurately follow the exposure to society, which makes it difficult for the veterans to prove the presence of a link, obtain health care in VA and compensate for the deficit.

“I had to go to a VA person and withdraw some papers,” said Speck, referring to the government system to record the environmental risks of the service members. “She says I visited Poland once. It doesn’t mention that I pulled 148 alerts at the center of the control control with a multi -chlorine vinyl with this air and contaminated water.”

Dual vinyl multi -chlorine compounds – and missiles exposed to them

Multi -chlorine vinyl compounds are artificial chemicals used once in the industry, including electrical components to control missiles such as displays, keyboards and circuit breakers. They have been banned for manufacturing since 1979, and they were considered saints and a possible cancer by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The study of missile cancer in the Air Force is compared to 14 types of common cancers in the general population of the United States and the missile community, as it studies environments at the Maltrana Air Force Base in Montana, the Fe Warren Air Force base in Wyoming, the Minot Air Force base in the northern state It contributes to the risk of developing cancer.

Malmstrom, Warren and Minot bases together of Field 400 Minuteman III, the wild legs in the American nuclear trinity, which also include nuclear weapons run by aircraft and aircraft. The missiles are located in silos scattered across parts of Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska, which operates around the clock by missiles operating from underground control centers.

So far, the Air Force investigation has been found There are no “statistical high” deaths Of cancer in the missile community compared to the general population, and found that mortality rates for four types of common cancer-non-Hodgkin lymphoma, lung, colon and rectal, and prostate cancer-were much lower in missiles than the general population.

Non -Hodgkin lymphomatic cancer formed approximately 5.8 % of all cancer deaths among people who worked in the launch control centers from January 1979 to December 2020.

Early results, derived from the records of the Ministry of Medical Defense, have found high rates of breast and prostate cancers in the missile community, but a subsequent analysis includes additional data that did not support these results. Studies also did not find increased non -Hodgkin lymphoma. Air Force officials noticed during a municipal hall online on June 4, that these assessments are based on nearly half of the data that the service expects to review for its final epidemiological reports and warned them against conclusions, given the restrictions.

The final injury report will include federal and state data, including information from civil cancer records, and to overcome sub -groups and exposure, which may “provide deeper visions in the complex relationship” between service in the missile community and the risk of cancer, and the Air Force Richard Sabman wrote in September 2024 memoirs on primary epidemic results.

General Thomas Posayeer, commander of the World strike, said during the June Hall that only the final results will determine whether the missile community cancer rates are higher than the general population.

Some legislators share missile anxiety about the Air Force study. After the release of a North Carolina State University review From Torchlight’s initiative data that showed higher rates of lymphoma other than Hodgkin-in the younger ages-between Malmstrom missiles, MP Don Bacon (R-Neb.) Make up To the defense policy bill calls for the academies of science, engineering and national medicine to review health and safety conditions in facilities.

“Let’s make sure that we have some external experts working with the Air Force studying cancer rates through our ICBM tasks,” has published bacon on July 30 on the social platform X.

Regarding additional studies on work environments in facilities and a possible relationship between exposure and the risk of cancer, Speakman, who leads the Air Force Air Medicine School, said that Malmstrom had two types of multi -chlorine vinyl compounds that did not carry out other missile wing rules.

He added that gasoline, located in cigarette smoke, vehicle exhaust, and gasoline fumes, was the largest contributor to the risk of cancer in the rules reviews.

The evaluation concluded that the health risks on the missiles are “low, but they are not zero.” He said it would be appropriate to monitor the health of the launch control workers.

The following steps

Watts, which was highlighted by the Torchlight Initiative, requested the Inspector General of the Ministry of Defense Investigation – the Agency for the Control Authority, referred his request to the global strike leadership – and is closely seen by the Air Force Research. He said that the largest part of the reported cancer to Torchlight occurred in the 2000s, when ICBM employees still use technology that contains two -chlorine vinyl compounds, and burned materials such as paper coding and treated plastic, and may have been exposed to contaminated water.

“I open the door and there are men standing there in compact allowances with sampling equipment,” WhatsApp recalls. They said, “We are here to check polluted water.” Look at my crew commander, and we stand there in cotton costume.

Operating control factors no longer burn symbol tapes at home and the air force has improved blood circulation in the centers. Speck wants to consider Congress in the inclusion of missiles and other patients by exposure to basic pollution in the agreement of the agreement, prominent legislation that imposes health care and advantages of old warriors who were exposed to patients with burning digging and other pollutants.

“It has been documented that there is a large group of cancer in Montana, and perhaps also in Wyoming. People act, but all they have to do is go to the Oncology Office in Denver. I can find my comrades in the missiles there. We are sitting in the same chairs for chemotherapy,” said Speck.

A spokeswoman for the captain of the strike in the Air Force, Lauren Lerskot, said in response to Speck’s statements that the unit understands the impact of cancer on its employees and adheres to their support.

“Although the current results are primary and no conclusions can be extracted yet, we are dedicated to a strict process and introduction from the peer, which depends on data to better understand possible health risks because our pilot’s safety is our top priority,” Linscott said.

The draft laws submitted in the House of Representatives and the Senate would address the situation. In addition to the Bacon amendment, the Senate version of the annual defense policy bill requires “deep cleaning” for release centers every five years until the sites as a new ICBM are stopped, the guard, replacing Minuteman IIIS.

The Air Force aims to issue its final epidemiological report by the end of the year.

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