LNG proposal not worth health risk

I am writing to share my views regarding the potential impact of the proposed liquefied natural gas import terminal at Pleasant Point.

Although my primary residence is near Annapolis, Md., I have visited and vacationed in the Passamaquoddy Bay areas for a number of years and own property on Campobello Island. While I believe there are many sound reasons to oppose the development of this LNG facility, I wish to address only one where I believe I have some rather unique experience and perspective – public health and safety.

I am a former rear admiral/assistant surgeon general. Much of my career has been spent in preparation for, and response to, natural and human caused emergencies and disasters. My area of specialty is the psychological and social consequences of these types of events.

For many years, I directed the federal government’s domestic disaster mental health program. I have been directly involved in the response to countless natural disasters and many human caused events such as the Oklahoma City bombing, 9-11, the bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the school shootings in Littleton, Colo., to name a few.

I know first hand the terrible physical, psychological and community pain and suffering that invariably results from natural, accidental and intentional disasters. My experiences will not allow me to sit passively on the sidelines while people I know and people I hope to come to know, in an area I treasure, contemplate taking such a tremendous risk with the public’s health and safety.

It is difficult to describe the scope, intensity, and duration of the physical, psychosocial, and community suffering that attends major disasters such as would occur should there be an accidental or intentional (terrorist) LNG release. Health consequences include freeze and heat burns as well as asphyxiation.

The most probable health and medical consequence would be burns. Burns are among the most painful and scarring (literally and figuratively) types of injuries that survivors and their families can experience. The treatment of burns is complex, long, expensive, and painful even when treatment facilities are easily accessible which is not the case in the Passamaquoddy Bay region.

I have seen first hand the suffering that primary victims and the families of dead and surviving victims must endure. It is horrific. To complicate matters, the ratio of psychological to medical casualties in such events typically is 4-100:1.

When these physical and psychological injuries could have been prevented, the individual and collective guilt that follows those who might have acted to prevent them is frequently termed “the disaster after the disaster.”

In addition to the physical health consequences, community friction, substance abuse, family discord, reduced productivity, accidents, clinical depression and a host of other psychiatric disorders are more common than not.

In my view, there is no economic incentive worth the price to be paid by placing the public’s health and safety at such risk. That having been said, I believe we have a responsibility to acknowledge and help remediate the poor economic conditions that cause people to even consider placing themselves, and their neighbors, so directly in harms way. These poor economic conditions themselves bring with them adverse health consequences.

In many ways, this LNG proposal seems like offering tainted food to hungry people with all the health and ethical implications that metaphor implies. We must take extreme care to not blame hungry people for being tempted to accept even tainted food.

If anything positive has come out of this proposal it is hopefully an enhanced sense of understanding and shared values among people in Maine, Canada, and the Passamaquoddy Tribe.

Hopefully, that positive effect will not only help defeat this dangerous proposal but create a more positive environment of mutual aid and support that, in the end, may have a positive effect on the physical, psychological, social and economic health of the region.

Rear Adm. Brian W. Flynn, Ed.D., is a retired assistant surgeon general of the United States Public Health Service.