Get Ready to MARCH

March for Health & Justice targets Kelly Air Force Base contamination

Community takes to the streets for a clean-up and with concerns over the plan for more “trains, planes, and trucks

Saturday, July 14^th - 10AM

March starts at St. John Berchmans Church

1147 Cupples (at Weir)

Rally 12 Noon

Port San Antonio main entrance (General Hudnell)

The community will march into the main entrance of Port San Antonio (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) Saturday on the 6^th anniversary of the closure of Kelly to highlight that though the Base has closed its legacy of contamination remains. Residents will tie purple ribbons with the names of cancer victims inscribed on them to highlight the health epidemic in the community.

Marchers will then bring their voices to the doorstep of the Port San Antonio, which continues to bring further noise and pollution and completely excludes the community from decisions over the redevelopment of Kelly. The March will conclude near the office of U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, who continues to push for the redevelopment of other bases in San Antonio but has failed her community by not addressing the remediation of Kelly.

Residents are taking to the streets for:

1. An active remediation of TCE underlying homes that will clean up the plume, clean up the fumes. Recent studies show TCE causes cancer at levels lower than previously thought and the Kelly community suffers from elevated rates of liver, breast, and other cancer as well as leukemia and kidney disorders. TCE can volatilize, coming up through the soil and accumulating in people’s homes.

2. The transformation of Leon Creek into a hike & bike park. Toxins from Kelly & Lachland continue to seep into Leon Creek, where the water, sediment, and fish are highly contaminated with PCBs, heavy metals, pesticides, and other dangerous chemicals. The Air Force has no remediation plan for Leon Creek, which instead of a community asset, continues to pose an exposure risk to swimmers and fishers.

3. An end to the blasting of the community. Boeing continues to point its engines at the community directly adjacent to Port SA while running tests, subjecting residents to noise loud enough to shake houses late at night (testing often occurs after 11pm). Marchers say “no” to the expansion of rail, airplane, and truck traffic that will bring even more noise, air pollution, and threats of derailments.

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