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VAT should be cut on refurbished electricals, says Currys boss

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Sunday, September 1, 2024

The UK government should slash VAT on refurbished electrical products to keep gadgets out of landfill, according to the boss of Currys.“It has already been charged once on these products,” said Alex Baldock, the head of the UK’s largest electrical goods retailer. “I would like to see a radical reduction or entire cut on these products.”Baldock’s comments come as the market for secondhand electricals is growing rapidly, with new entrants such as Back Market and mainstream retailers such as Currys joining the likes of eBay and Amazon in making pre-loved gadgets more accessible.Last week, Vinted, the secondhand fashion marketplace, launched a dedicated electronics category on its site as it caters to growing demand for trading in items such as gaming consoles, speakers, headphones, fitness trackers and smartwatches.The cost of living crisis, and more awareness of the environmental impact of buying new items, are both driving the market.In 2022 the UK produced the second highest amount of e-waste per person in the world, and only 17% of unwanted gadgets are currently recycled globally.Almost half a billion small, cheap everyday electrical items from headphones to handheld fans ended up in landfill in the UK last year, according to Material Focus, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to stop electricals being hoarded and thrown away.New technology contributes more than 1bn tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year, just under 3% of the global total, making it the seventh biggest contributor, about half the size of the fashion industry, according to Our World in Data.Mending a smartphone just once can save more than 77kg of carbon emissions, research by the French ecological transition agency Ademe has found.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotionCurrys is aiming to drive up repair and resale with techniques to cut costs such as using video calls to problem-solve often basic problems with gadgets that can potentially be fixed by pressing reset or reloading software, for example.Baldock says about 70% of returned laptops have no fault – the problem is often software-based – while on TVs, 30%-40% of items returned are found to be in full working order.A team of experts based in the Currys repair centre have been fixing web-enabled devices such as TVs in this way for some time. Now the company is experimenting with using live video to help solve problems with fridges or ovens.Repairing and selling refurbished items would help Currys reduce the 8.1m defunct gadgets sent off for recycling to external partner Environcom, just as the government is potentially gearing up to make sellers pay the full cost of that process under the “extended producer responsibility” (EPR) scheme.Baldock says that “I hope and believe the new government will take a different stance” on EPR. He argues that recycling is expensive and if that cost cannot be passed on to customers, then retailers will do less of it.

Alex Baldock wants to keep gadgets out of landfill as UK’s largest electricals retailer embraces repair and reuseThe UK government should slash VAT on refurbished electrical products to keep gadgets out of landfill, according to the boss of Currys.“It has already been charged once on these products,” said Alex Baldock, the head of the UK’s largest electrical goods retailer. “I would like to see a radical reduction or entire cut on these products.” Continue reading...

The UK government should slash VAT on refurbished electrical products to keep gadgets out of landfill, according to the boss of Currys.

“It has already been charged once on these products,” said Alex Baldock, the head of the UK’s largest electrical goods retailer. “I would like to see a radical reduction or entire cut on these products.”

Baldock’s comments come as the market for secondhand electricals is growing rapidly, with new entrants such as Back Market and mainstream retailers such as Currys joining the likes of eBay and Amazon in making pre-loved gadgets more accessible.

Last week, Vinted, the secondhand fashion marketplace, launched a dedicated electronics category on its site as it caters to growing demand for trading in items such as gaming consoles, speakers, headphones, fitness trackers and smartwatches.

The cost of living crisis, and more awareness of the environmental impact of buying new items, are both driving the market.

In 2022 the UK produced the second highest amount of e-waste per person in the world, and only 17% of unwanted gadgets are currently recycled globally.

Almost half a billion small, cheap everyday electrical items from headphones to handheld fans ended up in landfill in the UK last year, according to Material Focus, a not-for-profit organisation that aims to stop electricals being hoarded and thrown away.

New technology contributes more than 1bn tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year, just under 3% of the global total, making it the seventh biggest contributor, about half the size of the fashion industry, according to Our World in Data.

Mending a smartphone just once can save more than 77kg of carbon emissions, research by the French ecological transition agency Ademe has found.

skip past newsletter promotion

after newsletter promotion

Currys is aiming to drive up repair and resale with techniques to cut costs such as using video calls to problem-solve often basic problems with gadgets that can potentially be fixed by pressing reset or reloading software, for example.

Baldock says about 70% of returned laptops have no fault – the problem is often software-based – while on TVs, 30%-40% of items returned are found to be in full working order.

A team of experts based in the Currys repair centre have been fixing web-enabled devices such as TVs in this way for some time. Now the company is experimenting with using live video to help solve problems with fridges or ovens.

Repairing and selling refurbished items would help Currys reduce the 8.1m defunct gadgets sent off for recycling to external partner Environcom, just as the government is potentially gearing up to make sellers pay the full cost of that process under the “extended producer responsibility” (EPR) scheme.

Baldock says that “I hope and believe the new government will take a different stance” on EPR. He argues that recycling is expensive and if that cost cannot be passed on to customers, then retailers will do less of it.

Read the full story here.
Photos courtesy of

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North Carolina Gov. Cooper's Second-Term Environmental Secretary Is Leaving the Job

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper’s environmental secretary for over three years is stepping down before Cooper’s second term ends and is being replaced by a veteran state government administrator

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper's environmental secretary for over three years is stepping down before Cooper's second term ends and is being replaced by a veteran state government administrator.Elizabeth Biser, who was named to the Cabinet secretary post by Cooper in June 2021, is leaving her job leading the Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ, to “pursue opportunities in the private sector,” a Cooper news release said Thursday. Biser's successor will be Mary Penny Kelley, who becomes secretary effective Tuesday, Cooper's office said. Kelley is an attorney who now works as the special adviser to the governor's Hometown Strong program, which is centered on helping rural areas. Her government work history includes holding positions as a senior advisor at DEQ and as deputy secretary at its predecessor agency, the Department of Environmental and Natural Resources. Biser was Cooper's choice as secretary when state Senate Republicans declined to confirm the governor's appointment of Dionne Delli-Gatti to succeed first-term Secretary Michael Regan when he became President Joe Biden's U.S. Environmental Protection Agency administrator.Biser's time as secretary was marked largely by the implementation of policies to reduce a broad category of “forever chemicals” commonly known as PFAS found in North Carolina water sources and to provide for remediation. EPA has announced new limits for these chemicals, which with exposure are associated with a wide range of health harms. Cooper said he appreciated Biser's service as secretary “and her work to help make North Carolina a leader in the fight against PFAS and other harmful forever chemicals.” He also said Kelley's "long career in environmental law and experience within DEQ make her the right person to lead the department and continue to work to protect North Carolina’s air and water.” Cooper, a Democrat, is term-limited from serving beyond the end of the year. It wasn't immediately clear if Kelley would be subject to a Senate confirmation process before Cooper leaves office.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - July 2024

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Explainer-US Government Shutdown: What Closes, What Stays Open?

By Andy SullivanWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government services would be disrupted and hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be told not...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. government services would be disrupted and hundreds of thousands of federal workers would be told not to work if Congress fails to extend funding past Oct. 1.Workers deemed essential would remain on the job. All federal employees' pay could be disrupted during a shutdown, though they would receive retroactive pay once government operations resume.Here is a guide to what would stay open and what would shut down, according to agency shutdown plans outlined last year:WHEN AND WHY WOULD THE GOVERNMENT SHUT DOWN?Congress writes detailed spending legislation for most U.S. government agencies each year, but it rarely gets the job done before the fiscal year starts on Oct. 1. Lawmakers typically pass stopgap spending bills to avoid disruption for several weeks or months while they finish their work, but there is often a fair amount of drama involved.This year, Republicans who control the House of Representatives say any stopgap spending bill must include legislation that would tighten voting laws to prevent non-citizens from participating in the Nov. 5 elections. Non-citizens are already prohibited by law from voting, and Democrats who hold the majority in the Senate oppose it as a voter suppression effort.If the two sides do not iron out their differences before Oct. 1, wide swaths of the government would not have the money to continue their operations.DOES THE MAIL GET DELIVERED IF THE GOVERNMENT CLOSES?The U.S. Postal Service would be unaffected because it does not depend on Congress for funding.WHAT HAPPENS TO SOCIAL SECURITY, MEDICARE AND OTHER BENEFITS?The Social Security Administration would continue to issue retirement and disability benefits.Payments would likewise continue under the Medicare and Medicaid healthcare programs.Military veterans' benefits and medical care would also continue.Food benefits through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other nutrition programs would continue, though they could be disrupted to some extent.WHAT DOES A SHUTDOWN MEAN FOR THE MILITARY?The 2 million U.S. military personnel would remain at their posts, but roughly half of the Pentagon's 800,000 civilian employees would be furloughed — ordered not to work.Contracts awarded before the shutdown would continue, and the Pentagon could place new orders for supplies or services needed to protect national security. Other new contracts, including renewals or extensions, would not be awarded.Payments to defense contractors such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin and RTX, formerly known as Raytheon, could be delayed.The Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration would continue maintaining nuclear weapons.HOW DOES A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AFFECT LAW ENFORCEMENT?Agents at the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other federal law enforcement agencies would remain on the job, and prison staffers would continue to work.The Secret Service and the Coast Guard would also continue operations, and most employees would continue to work.Most of the Federal Trade Commission's consumer-protection workers would be furloughed, as would half of its antitrust employees.WILL NATIONAL PARKS CLOSE DURING A SHUTDOWN?National parks, monuments and other sites would be closed to the public, though it will be impossible to keep visitors out of many of them. Rangers would be furloughed and restrooms, help desks and other facilities would be shuttered.Some states may use their own money to keep parks and other sites open, as happened in the 2018-2019 shutdown.Wildfire fighting efforts would continue, though timber sales on national forest lands would be curtailed and fewer recreation permits would be issued.WHAT HAPPENS TO BORDERS AND HOMELAND SECURITY?Most Border Patrol and immigration enforcement agents would continue to work, as would most customs officers.Local governments would not get new aid to shelter migrants.The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency would suspend security reviews that help schools, local governments and other institutions defend against ransomware.WILL FEDERAL COURTS STILL BE OPEN DURING A SHUTDOWN?Federal courts could operate for several weeks without congressional funding, relying on fees and other funds, but eventually would have to scale back activity. The Supreme Court would stay open as well.Criminal prosecutions would continue. Most civil litigation would be postponed.DOES CONGRESS STILL GET PAID?Lawmakers would continue to collect paychecks, even as other federal workers do not. Staffers would not get paid, though those deemed essential would be required to work.DOES A SHUTDOWN IMPACT TRANSPORTATION?Airport security screeners and air-traffic-control workers would be required to work, according to recent contingency plans, though absenteeism could be a problem. Some airports had to suspend operations during a shutdown in 2019 when traffic controllers called in sick.The Transportation Security Administration would not be able to hire new airport security screeners during the busy holiday travel season.Some major infrastructure projects could face delays because environmental reviews and permitting would be disrupted, according to the White House.WHAT'S THE IMPACT ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS?U.S. embassies and consulates would remain open. Passport and visa processing would continue as long as there were sufficient fees to cover operations. Nonessential official travel, speeches and other events would be curtailed.Some foreign aid programs could run out of money as well.WOULD A SHUTDOWN DISRUPT SCIENCE?Scientific research would be disrupted as agencies like the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration would furlough most of their workers once they run out of funding.NASA would continue to support the International Space Station and track satellites, but 17,000 of its 18,300 employees would be furloughed.Weather forecasts and fisheries regulation would continue, as would patent and trademark reviews.The Federal Communications Commission would suspend consumer-protection activities, equipment reviews and licensing of TV and radio stations. It would continue to distribute telecommunications subsidies and its broadband mapping effort.WHAT HAPPENS TO HEALTH PROGRAMS?The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would continue to monitor disease outbreaks, though other public health activities could suffer as more than half of the agency's workers would be furloughed.The National Institutes of Health would furlough most of its staff and delay new clinical trials for medical treatments.Healthcare services for military veterans and Native Americans would continue.Most inspections of hazardous waste sites and drinking water and chemical facilities would stop.Food-safety inspections by the Food and Drug Administration could be delayed. However, the FDA's testing of new drugs and medical devices would continue.WHAT HAPPENS TO THE SEC AND FINANCIAL REGULATION?The Securities and Exchange Commission would furlough roughly 90% of its 4,600 employees and suspend most activities, it said last year, leaving only a skeleton staff to respond to emergencies.Likewise, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission would furlough almost all of its employees and cease most oversight activity.The Federal Reserve, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency would continue as normal because they are funded by industry fees rather than congressional appropriations.The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, an industry-financed brokerage oversight body, would continue to operate.The Treasury Department would continue to issue debt and manage the government's cash position.DOES A SHUTDOWN DELAY KEY ECONOMIC DATA?The publication of major U.S. economic data, including employment and inflation reports of critical importance to policymakers and investors, would be suspended.WILL THE IRS STAY OPEN DURING A SHUTDOWN?The Internal Revenue Service would stop examining and auditing tax returns and responding to taxpayer queries. Automated tax collection would continue, as would processing of green-energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act. Roughly two-thirds of the agency's 90,000 employees would be furloughed.DOES THE SHUTDOWN AFFECT EDUCATION?Pell Grants and student loans would continue to be paid out, but could be disrupted as most Education Department employees would be furloughed.A protracted shutdown could "severely curtail" aid to schools, universities and other educational institutions, the department said last year. It also could delay funds that are due to be awarded later in the year.WHAT HAPPENS TO HEAD START AND CHILD CARE?The White House said last year that 10,000 children from low-income families would lose access to the Head Start preschool program.DOES A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AFFECT SMALL BUSINESSES?The Small Business Administration would not be able to issue any new loans, though loans for businesses hurt by natural disasters would continue.HOW DOES A SHUTDOWN AFFECT FARMERS?Meat and egg inspections would continue, but some lab services would be disrupted, making it harder to fight animal diseases. Crop insurance would not be affected, but some loan programs would be. Research, conservation and rural development programs would be shut down.DOES A SHUTDOWN AFFECT WORKPLACE SAFETY?Workplace safety inspections would be limited, and investigations into unfair pay practices would be suspended.The ability of the National Labor Relations Board to mediate labor disputes would be curtailed because almost all of its 1,200 employees would be furloughed, according to a 2022 plan.HOW DOES A SHUTDOWN AFFECT HOUSING?Monthly subsidies for public housing and low-income housing aid would be at risk. The Federal Housing Administration would continue to back insured mortgages, and Ginnie Mae would continue to back the secondary mortgage market. New homebuyers in rural areas would not be able to get loans from the Agriculture Department.HOW WOULD A SHUTDOWN IMPACT THE WHITE HOUSE?In the 2018-2019 shutdown, the White House furloughed 1,100 of 1,800 staff in the Executive Office of the President. Some offices, such as the National Security Council, continued at full strength, while others like the Office of Management and Budget were scaled back sharply.The U.S. Constitution specifies that the president continues to get paid.(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Andrea Ricci)Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters.

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US Halts Plan to Remove Iconic Stray Cats From a Historic Area in Puerto Rico's Capital

The U.S. government has temporarily halted a plan to remove iconic stray cats that live in a historic district in Puerto Rico’s capital until a lawsuit opposing the project is resolved

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. government has temporarily halted a plan to remove iconic stray cats that live in a historic district in Puerto Rico’s capital until a lawsuit opposing the project is resolved, a nonprofit announced Monday.The ruling was cheered by those fighting a decision by the U.S. National Park Service to remove an estimated 200 cats that meander a seaside fortress that Spain built in colonial times.“It’s a victory for the short term, but long term, these cats are still at risk,” said Yonaton Arnoff, an attorney for Maryland-based Alley Cat Allies.The cats, which have long been a tourist attraction, are both beloved and reviled by those who visit and live in Old San Juan, where the 16th-century fortress known as “El Morro” is located. It's part of the San Juan National Historic Site that the U.S. National Park Service operates. The federal agency warned in 2022 that the population of cats had surged and that the felines could transmit illnesses to humans, adding that the smell of urine and feces enveloped the area.In late 2023, the agency announced it would contract an animal welfare organization to remove the cats, and if the organization selected failed to do so within six months, officials would hire a removal agency.The U.S. National Park Service didn't immediately respond to a message for comment.The agency held public hearings on the plan that became heated, with critics noting that the organization selected would decide whether the trapped cats would be adopted, fostered, kept in a shelter or face other options.Arnoff said in a phone interview that removing the current cats is an impossible task since new cats would take their place.“They’re going to have to keep doing this forever,” he said.The U.S. National Park Service was scheduled to start removing the cats in October, but it agreed to halt those plans until a judge rules on a lawsuit that Alley Cat Allies filed in March. The nonprofit alleges that the plan violates acts including the National Environmental Protection Act.A ruling isn't expected until the first quarter of 2025, Aronoff said.Meanwhile, cats of all colors and sizes continue to prowl the trails bordering deep turquoise waters that surround El Morro, and they even have a statue honoring them nearby. Some of the felines are believed to be descendants of cats from the colonial era, while others were brought by a former mayor to kill rats in the mid-20th century.A local nonprofit, Save a Gato, feeds, spays and neuters the cats and places them into adoption.But finding homes for so many cats is hard, with the nonprofit previously noting that sanctuaries in the U.S. mainland don't have room for them.Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - July 2024

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‘Don’t run away’: Labor urged to collaborate with Greens and crossbenchers on environmental reforms

Support for government’s environmental legislation offered in exchange for protections that deliver ‘immediate, tangible impacts’Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGreens and crossbench senators have told the government not to “hide behind” Peter Dutton and Gina Rinehart and instead work with them on a better deal for the environment.The Greens environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, and independent senators David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe offered to support legislation to establish a new environment protection authority (EPA) and a separate new agency to manage environmental information, if the government agreed to a series of proposals to strengthen environmental protections.Sign up for Guardian Australia’s breaking news email Continue reading...

Greens and crossbench senators have told the government not to “hide behind” Peter Dutton and Gina Rinehart and instead work with them on a better deal for the environment.The Greens environment spokesperson, Sarah Hanson-Young, and independent senators David Pocock and Lidia Thorpe offered to support legislation to establish a new environment protection authority (EPA) and a separate new agency to manage environmental information, if the government agreed to a series of proposals to strengthen environmental protections.The government has been locked in negotiations with both sides of parliament to try to pass the bills after it delayed a broader package of legislation to fix failing national environmental laws.While travelling in Western Australia last week, Anthony Albanese said the government would consider watering down its proposed EPA model to try to secure the Coalition’s backing.This would involve dropping a plan to allow the regulator to make decisions about development proposals – meaning it would handle compliance and enforcement only, something the mining industry has lobbied for.The Coalition is still seeking a comprehensive set of amendments to the bills. This would include changes to the proposed penalty regime and “most importantly, the introduction of the full overhaul of the EPBC [Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation] Act, as has been outlined in the Coalition’s dissenting report”, the opposition environment spokesperson, Jonno Duniam, said.Hanson-Young said if the government did a deal with the Coalition it would be “nature negative” and “bad for forests, bad for nature, bad for wildlife, bad for the climate”.“Don’t run away and hide behind Peter Dutton and Gina Rinehart,” she said.“Roll up your sleeves, let’s get to work – let’s actually protect Australia’s environment.”In letters to the PM and the environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, the Greens and crossbenchers called on the government to amend the bills to deliver “immediate, tangible impacts for nature protection”.“While we reiterate our disappointment at the government’s broken promise to implement comprehensive environmental law reform in this term of parliament, we consider this legislation an opportunity to work together to begin implementing some of the urgent protections nature needs ahead of the election,” the letter says.A reactor in the backyard? What Latrobe Valley residents think of Dutton’s nuclear plan – videoIn addition to amendments that would strengthen the EPA’s independence, the letter urges a commitment to address native forestry by ending the exemption from Australia’s environment laws for logging covered by a regional forest agreement (RFA).They are also seeking integration of climate considerations into the environmental assessment process – but the letter does not use the term “climate trigger” – and greater inclusion of First Nations knowledge and expertise in environmental governance and decision-making.Plibsersek said the government was talking to all parties. “From the beginning, I have said that delivering improvements to national environment laws would require a bit of common sense, cooperation, and compromise,” she said.skip past newsletter promotionSign up to Breaking News AustraliaGet the most important news as it breaksPrivacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.after newsletter promotion“But I think Greens voters would be disappointed if the Greens party delayed a tough new environment watchdog like the EPA with strong new powers,” she said.“Or if they tried to stop fines for serious environmental crimes going up from around $15m to $780m, or if they voted against increasing the frequency of the state of the environment report from every 5 years to every 2 years.”Pocock said it was vital that the EPA was truly independent.After the tabling of a report by a committee examining the bills on Monday, Duniam said “the Coalition’s comments make clear our reservations that the government’s bills are ill thought through”.“We are unable to accept these bills in their current form,” he said.He accused the government of “trying to get what they think is a win in the portfolio this term of parliament … no matter the cost”, and without adequately considering potential risks and benefits to the environment or the broader economy.Independents in the lower house have also called for the exemption granted to RFAs to be removed.At a separate media conference on Monday morning the independent MP for Mackellar, Sophie Scamps, said the exemption should be removed before Australia hosts a global nature positive summit in Sydney in October.She also called for a clean out of the NSW Forestry Corporation board.

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A Remote Tribe Is Reeling From Widespread Illness and Cancer. What Role Did the US Government Play?

The remote Duck Valley reservation that straddles Nevada and Idaho has battled toxic contaminants on its land for decades

OWYHEE, Nev. (AP) — The family placed flowers by a pair of weathered cowboy boots, as people quietly gathered for the memorial of the soft-spoken tribal chairman who mentored teens in the boxing ring and teased his grandkids on tractor rides.Left unsaid, and what troubled Marvin Cota’s family deep down, was that his story ended like so many others on the remote Duck Valley Indian Reservation. He was healthy for decades. They found the cancer too late.In the area, toxins are embedded in the soil and petroleum is in the groundwater — but no one can say for sure what has caused such widespread illness. Until recently, a now-razed U.S. maintenance building where fuel and herbicides were stored — and where Cota worked — was thought to be the main culprit. But the discovery of a decades-old document with a passing mention of Agent Orange chemicals suggests the government may have been more involved in contaminating the land. “I don’t know if I’m more mad than I am hurt,” Terri Ann Cota said after her father’s service. “Because if this is the case, it took a lot of good men away from us.”Owyhee is the sole town on the reservation, where snow-capped mountains loom over a valley of scattered homes and ranches, nearly 100 miles (161 kms) from any stoplights. The area is bookended by deep Nevada canyons and flat Idaho plains. For generations, the legacy and livelihoods of the Shoshone-Paiute tribes have centered around raising cattle year-round. And many still use the same medicinal plants and practice the same ceremonies as their relatives buried there. First spills, then potential sprays The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs was an integral part of everyday life in Owyhee. The agency, which oversaw the maintenance building and irrigation shop, told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in February that it found a revelatory document from 1997.In it, a BIA employee recalled clearing foliage in the irrigation canals at least 20 years earlier, when he sprayed at least one of the herbicides — but possibly both — that make up Agent Orange. The EPA banned one of those chemicals in 1979 because of its cancer risks. A BIA official told the EPA and tribal leaders that it was long believed the herbicides were used for weed control along certain roads — not the canals — before rediscovering the document. The tribes' current leaders said they were unaware of either scenario. What alarms them, they say, is that the canal system has greater reach than the two-lane highway that runs through town.Word cascaded down to tribal members, most of whom live along the canals, swam in them, used the water to farm on the edges, and gathered branches from surrounding willow trees to fashion cradleboards and roast marshmallows. But they know little else.Hundreds of pages of emails, memos and other documents obtained by The Associated Press show federal agencies have promised the tribes that an investigation is coming. Still, the details are scarce because the BIA redacted or withheld most of the contents of the records.The BIA declined interview requests from the AP but said it's evaluating the extent that Agent Orange components might have been used on the reservation. Officials from the BIA and the EPA visited Duck Valley as recently as Aug. 7 to talk about the process of hiring a contractor to clean up contamination from the federal buildings, tribal leaders said. The presentation noted gaps in data analysis, including for the storage and use of herbicides.Action can’t come soon enough for tribal members who say the federal government’s prior cleanup attempts have lacked urgency and direction. They fear inaction could lead to further sickness and death.While tribal Chairman Brian Mason presses federal officials for answers, tribal members are being urged to get annual medical exams and an environmental team is tasked with digging up historical documents.“People are dying. And I don’t know what they’re waiting for,” Mason said. Back then, tribes were unaware of the dangers At Owyhee, most of the environmental dangers have been traced to the two BIA buildings no longer in use or demolished.Back in 1985, at the now-abandoned irrigation shop, some 8,000 gallons of heating oil leaked from a pipeline next to the highway. Samples taken from sump, soil and floor drains around the building revealed a mix of the hazardous chemicals that were stored inside, including waste oil, arsenic, copper, lead and cadmium, along with the two herbicides that make up Agent Orange.Racheal Thacker, a pesticides and solid waste technician with the tribes, said residents at the time were likely unaware of the dangers related to handling the chemicals stored there. Back then, the workers employed by the BIA didn’t have the expertise or resources to identify pollutants in the ground, Thacker said.Sherry Crutcher was always skeptical. Her late husband worked in the BIA maintenance building across from the irrigation shop and wore a uniform that reeked of chemicals after spraying willow trees and cleaning oil wells. The building was home base for dozens of tribal members who plowed snow, fought fires and maintained the vehicle fleet.Crutcher, a teacher and former natural resources director for the tribes, remembers employees in the maintenance building asking for cancer screenings. She said the BIA did the tests, told the workers the results were negative but didn't share the records.She remembered asking her husband, Robert, if he or the other workers had any protection. The answer was always that he had none. He died in 2022 from an aggressive form of brain cancer at age 58, she said.“I never overstepped my husband, I just asked him the questions,” Sherry Crutcher said. “I’d be like ‘why?’ He was just a quiet soul, easygoing, and say ‘well, you know, because it’s our job.’”In 1995, the EPA ordered the BIA to stop discharging gasoline, batteries and other fluids onto the dirt floor of the maintenance building, saying the practice was improper, threatened the groundwater supply and could endanger tribal members’ health. The disposal practice had long-lasting effects and the building has since been demolished with its surroundings fenced off.In its statement to the AP, the BIA said it has extensively studied the soil and groundwater on the reservation since 1999 and cleaned up wells used for drinking water. The agency also said any petroleum in the soil is safe and it’s working with the tribes on other remedial actions. Thacker said there’s no ostensible danger now from drinking water from the tap, since it's drawn from other wells. Still, there's an enduring sense of distrust and uneasiness. Some patches of land can no longer sustain crops. Fences surround contaminated areas. And after tribal officials raised concerns about hydrocarbon plumes under the one school in town, the state committed to building a new school on a different plot of land. Chairman's message reverberates throughout the community Mason stood at a podium in March and declared — without any caveats — that the tribes’ land was further poisoned. Agent Orange chemicals were sprayed extensively by the canals, he said, and demanded the federal government do something — and quick.His broadcast on social media reverberated across the reservation.The editor of the community newspaper, Alexis Smith-Estevan, listened from her couch and cried, saying she was even more certain now the federal government's contamination of the land led to the deaths of her grandfather and uncle. A grant assistant at the health clinic, Michael Hanchor, heard about it while getting signatures for paperwork and sighed.Hanchor wasn't surprised. He said he saw it as yet another government failure in line with forcing his ancestors onto a reservation and sending Shoshone-Paiute children to boarding schools meant to assimilate them into white society. “When you get that sense of defeat your whole life, you just kind of shrug your shoulders and move on,” said Hanchor, who lost his mother and a grandfather figure to cancer.Tanya Smith Beaudoin later walked along a canal where two dirt roads converge off the highway. The canal served as a de-facto swimming pool on hot summer days known to locals as “Floramae's,” named for a sweet elder with a tough exterior who once lived next door.Smith Beaudoin thought of her own father, Dennis Smith Sr., an influential tribal leader who befriended strangers at the market and organized big family dinners. He was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer that spread to most of his upper body years after working alongside Cota and Robert Crutcher in the BIA maintenance building, she said.“What can you do? If you were to get infected like he was, it was a death sentence. There’s nothing — there’s no treating it,” she said. To many in the community, there is a clear link between past contaminants and the pronounced number of cancer cases and other illnesses. “I’m going to run out of days sooner than I should’ve,” said Julie Manning, a tribal member who was diagnosed with advanced stage ovarian cancer last year. “And my child can pick up the pieces, and she’s been holding them together. And BIA can say ‘whoops, sorry.’”The chairman's announcement validated those beliefs. Still, health experts say it's nearly impossible to say with certainty that the environment factored into cancer diagnoses and deaths — especially without robust data.The tribal health clinic has logged more than 500 illnesses since 1992 that could be cancer, and is trying to break down the reservation's data to determine the most common types. A switch in recent years from paper to electronic filing means the records are likely incomplete.Genetics, lifestyle and other factors often combine to cause cancer. Even if the BIA is able to account for the time, frequency, concentration and volume of herbicides sprayed on the reservation, that wouldn't be enough to prove a cause, experts say. “Bottom line is it’s really, really complicated even to establish among things we already sort of know about,” said Lauren Teras, the senior scientific director of epidemiology research at the American Cancer Society.The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which compensates some Vietnam War veterans for exposure to Agent Orange, presumes that certain cancers and other illnesses are caused by the chemical herbicide but doesn't make the link definitive.Mason has called for a study that would give tribal members a better idea of the extent chemicals could have been sprayed and the effect on the tribes' land and its residents. He said that might provide tribal members a pathway to seek payment from the federal government.Shoshone and Paiute tribes once separately occupied an expanse of Nevada, Idaho and Oregon before the federal government forced them onto a reservation just under the size of New York City.They've lived together for generations as “Sho-Pais,” connected by a farming and ranching heritage while cheering on youth sports games and gathering for the annual Fourth of July rodeo and powwow. High school graduates who leave often find their way home after going to college or working in trades, in a sort of coming-of-age cycle, said Lynn Manning-John, the school's principal. Of the more than 2,000 tribal members, 1,800 or so live on the reservation — “the only place in the world where being Shoshone-Paiute is normal,” she said.At the school, lessons are tied to being Sho-Pai. Elementary students learn the “Hokey Pokey” in the Paiute language. Other students talk to an elder in their family and bring a picture of them to hang on the classroom walls. “If the whole world shut down, we have everything we need to survive here,” said Manning-John, whose childhood home is now fenced off due to underground contaminants. “We have animals in the mountains, we have trees that we subsist upon for our plant medicines, we have berries, we have roots."“We have our beautiful water” from the mountains, she said. "But not, apparently, our water from the canal.”Mason acknowledged an investigation into Agent Orange components will take time, even as he pushes for expediency. He was elected as chairman two years ago, marking a shift from a long line of ranchers who led the tribes to a Marine Corps veteran who most recently worked as an environmental specialist in mines across Nevada.He likened taking the leadership post to peeling back the layers of an onion, confronting questions deeper and more personal to the tribes than before.He grimaced when asked if the community would move off the land if it's eventually deemed unsafe.“I wouldn't say never,” he said. “But people have five, six, seven generations buried here. And they’re not going to leave their people. I can guarantee that.”Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Photos You Should See - July 2024

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