Alaska Community Action on Toxics

About us

Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT) was founded by Pamela K. Miller in December 1997 in response to requests for assistance from Alaskan individuals and communities concerned about health harms asso­ciated with environmental pollution from existing or proposed industrial, resource extraction, or mil­itary facilities.

Pam came to Alaska in 1989 to work for Greenpeace as a research biologist. In 1994 she established the Community Toxics Investigative and Advocacy Project for Greenpeace Alaska. When Greenpeace shifted its focus, Pam decided to form Alaska Community Action on Toxics to honor commitments she had made to people throughout Alaska who had asked for assistance and who wanted to change the system to protect the health of communities and the environment. One of these people was Yupik elder Annie Alowa who had been trying for two decades to get the military to clean up its toxic legacy on St. Lawrence Island (traditionally known as Sivuqaq).