MTI-Retired Board of Directors: No F-35s for Our Children

As educators, we are deeply concerned about the negative impact that the F-35 fighter jets will have on students living on the north and east sides of Madison. In the Air Force’s Environmental Impact Statement, they actually acknowledged that basing the F-35s at Truax will have a “significant disproportionate impact on low-income and minority populations, as well as children.”

According to the Air Force, F-35s will be four times louder than the F-16s.  Medical research documents that at this high level of noise there will be and increase in the risk of:

– preterm or low birth weights, delayed speech development and hearing loss

– interference with concentration, long term memory, reading and math comprehension

– increased stress hormones that cause sleep disturbances increased anxiety, ADHD symptoms and PTSD.

In addition, the increased air pollution that will be caused by the F-35s is linked to higher rates of asthma, cancer, and heart disease.

Board of Directors of MTI-Retired

(sources: psr-wisconsin.org & safeskiescleanwaterswi.org)