The US military produces environmental contamination in every major domestic and foreign base. In the 1980s, the General Accounting Office of the US Congress found the US military to be one of the worst violators of environmental laws. Since then, legislation has been passed and domestic cleanup programs initiated to minimize the threat from military bases to public health and the environment. In Europe and other countries, law suits were filed forcing the US military to clean up.

After nearly a century of military operations in the Philippines, the US military left behind sites contaminated with toxic solvents, pesticides, asbestos, heavy metals, unexploded ordnance and other hazardous substances. Serious groundwater and soil contamination in over 46 sites on Clark and Subic is documented in reports by the US General Accounting Office (GAO), World Health Organization, Independent US and Philippine experts, two US-based environmental firms, and the Department of Defense's internal reports.  US failure to meet its environmental safety standards is also documented by the GAO. Yet, US officials refuse to even acknowledge the problem.

The health effects of some of these hazardous wastes are readily seen, as in those victims suffering from asbestosis or wounds from detonated ammunition. The health effects of other waste materials such as lead, mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and other persistent organic pollutants are less discernible but equally deadly.These substances have been linked to reproductive failure, cancers, and behavioral disorders.Former Clark residents report many cases of stillbirths, birth defects, cancers, skin problems, and mental disability. Some Clark residents still drink from wells testing positive for mercury. A preliminary health survey, released in 1998, shows that communities closest to toxic sites report higher rates of reproductive, kidney, and nervous system disorders. Many leukemia cases have been diagnosed among children and as many as 81 people have died.

It is unconscionable that the US, with full knowledge of the danger of military contamination and while willing to protect those in developed countries, is unwilling to help the Philippines, a country with few financial and technical resources to conduct a comprehensive cleanup.  This US refusal to protect health violates international law. Filipino Americans can rectify this environmental injustice by pressuring the US government to meet its moral and legal obligations to protect health.