Frank Vera III
PO Box 1313
Jamestown, CA, 95327-1313
May 27, 2024
By Certified Mail: 7022 2410 0000 3691 5924
The Honorable Lloyd J. Austin III
Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-1000
Re: “DECLASSIFICATION BY DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OF CERTAIN INCIDENTS OF EXPOSURE OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES TO TOXIC SUBSTANCES”
Dear Secretary Austin:
The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Air Force were aware of the contamination at the former George Air Force Base, CA, for decades before the base was closed on December 15, 1992. The DoD and Air Force failed to remediate the contamination, prevent exposure, or notify the Air Force personnel of their possible exposure to hazardous, toxic, and/or radioactive materials that were improperly stored, disposed of, or released. These acts rise to the level of intentional exposure, triggering the declassification review provision outlined in the DECLASSIFICATION BY DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE OF CERTAIN INCIDENTS OF EXPOSURE OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES TO TOXIC SUBSTANCES Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VII, §737, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1445.
The former George Air Force Base was proposed as a Superfund Site on July 14, 1989, and placed on the National Priorities List (NPL) on February 21, 1990. Hundreds of Air Force personnel are sick, dying, or dead as a result of their exposure to toxic substances at George AFB. The Veterans Administration (VA) and its doctors have recognized and/or granted service-connected (SC) disability to dozens of veterans for health conditions that are the result of their exposure to the numerous toxic substances at George AFB. It cannot be argued that disclosure would pose any threat to the security of the United States since George AFB closed over 31 years ago.
The Air Force and the DoD have not publicly acknowledged the completed exposure pathway (CEP) of the toxic substances to the base personnel, and because of this, the Department of Veterans Affairs will not grant Presumptive Disability Benefits to the SC injured veterans for diseases and conditions associated with exposure to the toxic substances at George AFB.
Please order the declassification and release of any and all records, including our military medical records, which document our exposure and the extent of the contamination at George AFB so the VA can grant Presumptive Disability Benefits, and we can get medical care and compensation for our SC injuries.
Thank you for considering my request.
Frank Vera III
PO Box 1313
Jamestown, CA, 95327-1313
Phone: 209-782-4541
Email: xxx
Website: www.georgeafb.info
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Declassification by Department of Defense of Certain Incidents of Exposure of Members of the Armed Forces to Toxic Substances
Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VII, §737, Dec. 12, 2017, 131 Stat. 1445, provided that:
“(a) In General.—The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a declassification review of documents related to any known incident in which not fewer than 100 members of the Armed Forces were intentionally exposed to a toxic substance that resulted in at least one case of a disability that a member of the medical profession has determined to be associated with that toxic substance.
“(b) Limitation.—The declassification required by subsection (a) shall be limited to information necessary for an individual who was potentially exposed to a toxic substance to determine the following:
“(1) Whether that individual was exposed to that toxic substance.
“(2) The potential severity of the exposure of that individual to that toxic substance.
“(3) Any potential health conditions that may have resulted from exposure to that toxic substance.
“(c) Exception.—The Secretary of Defense is not required to declassify documents under subsection (a) if the Secretary determines that declassification of those documents would materially and immediately threaten the security of the United States.
“(d) Definitions.—In this section:
“(1) Armed forces.—The term ‘Armed Forces’ has the meaning given that term in section 101 of title 10, United States Code.
“(2) Exposed.—The term ‘exposed’ means, with respect to a toxic substance, that an individual came into contact with that toxic substance in a manner that could be hazardous to the health of that individual, that may include if that toxic substance was inhaled, ingested, or touched the skin or eyes.
“(3) Exposure.—The term ‘exposure’ means, with respect to a toxic substance, an event during which an individual was exposed to that toxic substance.
“(4) Toxic substance.—The term ‘toxic substance’ means any substance determined by the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to be harmful to the environment or hazardous to the health of an individual if inhaled or ingested by or absorbed through the skin of that individual.”
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