I was born and raised in the Apollo, PA area, proudly graduating from Apollo-Ridge High School in 2017. For two summers after high school, I worked for Apollo Borough Public Works and maintained the grounds of the former NUMEC site. Today, I am the Chair of the Armstrong County Libertarian Party, striving to bring transparency, truth, and justice to my community.

One way to do this is to tackle head-on the lingering shadows of our history. I am referring to the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corp (NUMEC) and what is known as the Apollo Affair. This issue of long-standing concern is not only about our local history but also of national significance. It is a historic miscarriage of transparency and justice, two universal American values.

Even though the Apollo Affair was investigated by at least 10 different federal agencies and committees over 15 years, very little has been declassified, with no definitive conclusion. The few documents that have been declassified, though heavily redacted, suggest a possible connection between NUMEC and the diversion of hundreds of pounds of weapon-grade uranium to Israel in the 1960s. However, most files remain classified and inaccessible to the public.

Worse, residents of Apollo and the surrounding areas have dealt with the negative ramifications of this tragedy for far too long. Over $80 million have been paid out to victims of NUMEC's negligent practices, and cleanup of NUMEC's Shallow Land Disposal Area (SLDA) in Parks Township, PA, is still ongoing.

Under the direction of the US Army Corps of Engineers, the cleanup project is expected to begin again in the summer of 2025, with an expected price tag of $500 million for the American taxpayer.

At best, a government-backed corporation treated my hometown as a dumpheap for nuclear radiation, silently killing an unknown number of unknowing victims and leaving us with the $500 million cleanup.

At worst, they did all of this while subverting the will of the American people and many in the federal government at the time who were committed to nuclear non-proliferation.

For justice to prevail and for the truth to be known, we need access to these documents. By declassifying and releasing all documents related to NUMEC and the Apollo Affair, the Apollo Area and surrounding communities can finally begin to heal from this tragedy.

Additionally, the Apollo Memorial Library and the Apollo Area Historical Society are launching the Apollo NUMEC Archive Project to "inventory, preserve, and digitize historical records significant to Apollo's contribution to nuclear fuel production, international controversy and health concerns of local residents." Copies of these declassified documents would help complete this project and give the community a truly historic archive to help educate residents and visitors for generations to come.

We, the Armstrong County Libertarian Party and truth seekers everywhere, urge the 47th President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Kash Patel, the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, led by Representative Anna Paulina Luna, and any other party with authority to declassify and release unredacted all documents related to NUMEC and the Apollo Affair to the public.

Additional information on the Apollo Affair can be found here.

Sign this petition today and help us recover the truth of our past and build a transparent future.

In Liberty,

Drew Hreha

Chair, Armstrong County Libertarian Party