Looking into the future the Pelican feeding its young from a self-induced wound in its own breast (as depicted, mysteriously, on the state flag of Louisiana) is accepted as an appropriate symbol of both self-sacrifice and rebirth. Through his selfless efforts, man is raised from the slavery of ignorance to the condition of freedom conferred by wisdom. Given the current state of affairs in Louisiana, one hopes that the understanding of the Pelican as a symbol shall point the way towards a new consciousness of ourselves as a whole, and lead us to face our futures with strength, grace, wisdom and faith, to learn from our mistakes and carry our successes and zest for living to future generations.

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An Ecological Survey of the Potentially Impacted Area by an Advanced Solid Rocket Motor Test by NASA at the John C. Stennis Space Center

AFFIDAVIT

STATE OF MISSISSIPPI COUNTY OF HANCOCK

BEFORE ME, the undersigned authority, personally came and appeared ROBERT J. ESHER, Ph.D., who declared under oath unto me, Notary, as follows:

1. That a copy of my resume attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference is a true and correct.

2. That I and Dwight K. Bradshaw performed and co-authored An Ecological Survey of the SSC Area Potentially Impacted by an Advanced Solid Rocket Motor and Test Facility, Final Report Submitted to National Aeronautics and Space Administration, John C. Stennis Space Center. 1988.

3. That I am employed by Mississippi State University and performed the above-mentioned survey and co-authored the above mentioned Report under contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC).

4. That the above mentioned Report was used in the preparation of Final and Supplemental Final Environmental Impact Statement, Space Shuttle Advanced Solid Rocket Motor Program (the SFEIS) for the SSC.

5. That I have examined and am familiar with the SFEIS.

6. That the static test firing of the ASRM will discharge large amounts of toxic substances (e.g. aluminum compounds and hydrochloric acid) into the air which will then be deposited in the wetlands and waterways in and around the SSC.

7. That the SFEIS contains projections of the dispersal of toxic substances in a plume (or cloud), which are based upon computer models, which are unproved, untested and not scientifically sound. Data from rocket motor in Utah, which has a much different and dryer atmosphere than southern Louisiana and southern Mississippi, were used in evaluating plume characteristics or impacts from ASRM testing at SSC. The SFEIS contains projection for dispersal of toxic substances up to 12 miles from the test site and NASA has filed projections of dispersal of the toxic substances with the Mississippi Bureau of Pollution Control projecting dispersal up to 50 km. Toxic materials will be discharged and deposited in much greater concentrations and quantities than predicted by the computer model.

8. That testing of an Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) at the SSC will release into the atmosphere during each 2.25 minute test 188 times the hydrogen chloride (HCl) that is emitted in all southeastern states combined during the same period of time. The HCl emissions from an ASRM test will be 325% greater than the total acid gas emissions for these states for the same period of time.

9. That a significant quantity of the toxic material will be deposited within 10 to 15 miles of the test site and in far greater concentrations than that projected in the SFEIS.

10. When ASRM tests are conducted with winds from the north to east, it will be unavoidable that these toxic materials enter the air space over Louisiana and that the toxic material are deposited in the wetlands and waterways of Louisiana, the potential areas include the Pearl River, the Pearl River Wildlife Management Area, the Honey Island Swamp all of which border the test sight buffer zone, as well as other Louisiana wetlands and waterways including Lake Borgne, the Rigolets and the Mississippi Sound areas.

11. That the rainfall in the region of the SSC is already quite acid and the soil already has near toxic level of bioavailable aluminum.

12. That the effect of such toxic material, particularly aluminum compounds and hydrogen chloride as acid rain, being deposited on wetlands and waterways is damaging and destructive to both plants and animals. This includes the Honey Island Swamp, which is a forested marsh.

13. That acid rain in this region already has an average pH of 4.5 to 4.6; neutral pH is 7, with pH 1 being the most acid and pH 14 most basic. Acid rainfall events have occurred five and 10 km downwind with pH 1.0 and 2.0, respectively following launches of Titan missiles with solid propellant at Cape Canaveral. On Menitt Island, most hardwood plants and most of the wetland grasses downwind of the launch pad have been damaged. Launches of the Shuttle with solid fuel boosters at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida have produced pH changes in a nearby waterway of 6 to 7 units. 24 Shuttle launches release about the same amount of ground level pollutant, as three static firings of the ASRM at SSC will produce.

14. That the SFEIS does not consider the effect of the deposition of the toxic material on the wetlands of Louisiana or Mississippi.

15. That NASA, EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have not considered the effect of these toxic materials on the air and to the wetlands and waterways of Louisiana.

16. That testing the ASRM is not a water dependent project.

17. That the SFEIS does not demonstrate the practicable alternative sites are not available, particularly in the state of Utah where the ASRMs are currently being tested.

18. Further appearer sayeth not

Robert J. Esher, Ph.D.

SWORN TO AND SUBSCRIBED BEFORE ME, NOTARY, THIS 20 DAY OF APRIL 1991

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Advanced Solid Rocket Motor (ASRM) Fact Sheet

- NASA plans to test ASRMs at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The toxic material produced during these tests will directly impact Louisiana. Louisiana has not been included in the permitting process. Why? - The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) first choice for a site to test the ASRM was Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. KSC was selected because the fallout from an ASRM test would be in the ocean and not in populated areas. NASA chose Stennis Space Center (SSC), yet no one at NASA is accountable for the decision!

- The State of Florida, in letters included in the ASRM Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), made it clear that they did not want the ASRM testing. They also stated that if Florida was chosen for testing, a new site specific EIS would be required. Why has Mississippi not required a site specific EIS?

- NASA does not own the 200 square mile Buffer Zone, it is almost all private property. Only 25 square miles inside the FEE area is Government owned. In Utah, where the solid rocket motors are currently being tested, Thiokol owns 33 square miles!

- Each static test firing of the solid rocket motor will produce massive amounts of hydrogen chloride gas (235,000 pounds) and aluminum oxide (365,000 pounds). Almost all of this hazardous material will fall out on private land in both Louisiana and Mississippi.

- Hydrogen chloride is hydrophilic: it seeks out and combines with water. It will mix with any moisture present in the air to form hydrochloric acid (equivalent to 400 tons of concentrated acid!). Acid aerosols are known to be a threat to human health. According to NASA’s own documents, and HCl that does not fallout as acid deposition will destroy the ozone layer which protects the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation.

- Scientists agree that aluminum is toxic to plants and fish. The aluminum in aluminum oxide goes into solution under mildly acidic conditions. Acidic conditions already exist in the forests and waterways in south Mississippi and southeastern Louisiana. The acid produced by the tests will make the aluminum even more deadly to plants and aquatic life.

- Medical researchers have shown that aluminum is also toxic to humans. There is no known use for aluminum is your body. Aluminum inhibits bone development and causes kidney failure; it has been implicated in non-treatable, fatal brain diseases (Alzheimer’s Disease, Lou Gehrig’s Disease and encephalopathy).

- Recent studies (Perl and Good. 1987. Lancet: 1028) demonstrated that inhaled aluminum goes directly into the brain. Once inside the brain the aluminum causes lesions similar to those seen in Alzheimer’s patients. Aluminum oxide in combination with acid aerosols would be hazardous to inhale.

- The EPA is planning to set standards for levels of aluminum in drinking water. NASA admits that there may be some contamination of ground water with aluminum as a result of ASRM testing.

- NASA’s plume dispersion model shows that communities up to 40 miles from the test site will be impacted by the ASRM exhaust cloud. According to NASA’s EIS, the actual concentration of toxic gas (HCl) that you will be exposed to is 800 times what they are reporting to the Mississippi Bureau of Pollution Control!

- No one, including NASA, knows where the fallout from the ASRM test will settle. NASA cannot predict the weather any better than the National Weather Service and everyone knows how accurate their predictions are.