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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 [DU-WATCH] U$A Continues Nuclear War in Iraq
2 Toronto Sun Columnist: Eric Margolis - The lies that led to war
3 al bawaba: Inventing the Enemy
4 TheStar.com: Iran intent on being a nuclear threat
5 Las Vegas SUN: Rice: Iran's Nuclear Intensions Worrisome
6 BBC: Australia team visits North Korea
7 WorldNetDaily: N. Korea's Nodong – no joke
8 US: GREENLAND RADAR CLEARED FOR U.S. MISSILE DEFENSE AGAINST MIDDLE
9 US: TheStar.com: Getting naked for Star Wars
10 US: Charleston.Net: Air Force takes new interest in lost bomb
11 Daily Times: Pakistan and India are ‘comfortable’ with N-status
12 MSNBC: The Stealth Nuclear Threat
13 Scotsman.com: Sci-Tech - KGB will not gag me, says scientist
NUCLEAR REACTORS
14 US: [NukeNet] NRC slapped our faces
15 US: New rule blasted
16 Guardian Unlimited: British Chernobyl scientist expelled by Belarus
17 Manila Times: Nuke plant fate hangs
18 US: toledoblade.com: Fuse failure not likely a sign of Besse flaws
19 ITAR-TASS: Ukraine starts commercial operation of new nuclear power
20 US: The Mercury: Limerick OKs security upgrades at power plant
21 Las Vegas SUN: Ukraine Launches New Atomic Reactor
22 US: SouthofBoston.com: Plant unsafe at any time
23 US: Public Citizen: Government Judicial Body Affirms Role of
24 US: Public Citizen: NRC Strikes Down Environmental Justice Claims an
25 US: Public Citizen: Government Administrative Body Affirms Role of
26 US: St. Petersburg Times Online: News of Citrus County
27 US: Brattleboro Reformer: NRC nixes independent observer
28 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Yankee workers threaten to strike
NUCLEAR SAFETY
29 [NYTr] Iraq: We've Weaponized Uranium Gas
30 UK: Report on gagged radiation risk committee
31 US: [du-list] Gulf war veteran says U.S. bombs poisoned troops;
32 [du-list] Fisk prophetic warning may be coming true now
33 US: Coastal Post: Marin Depleted Uranium Resolution Heats Up
34 US: Spectrum: Downwinder program expands to Cedar -
35 US: West Neighborhoods: Iodide tablets set for distribution in Beave
36 Haaretz: Army starts distributing radiation antidote
37 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Bennett rolls out nuke-testing legislation
38 US: Hawk Eye: Office of worker advocacy
39 US: Hawk Eye: Payer found for IAAP claims
40 US: Hawk Eye: Politicians plan to continue efforts
41 www.dissidentvoice.org: (DV) Nichols: My Country is Using Poison Gas
42 US: Deseret news: Utahn recalls seeing devastation caused by atomic
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
43 [toeslist] Africa Alert: nukes down your boreholes
44 Las Vegas SUN: Columnist Jeff German: Sierra Club puts heat on GOP
45 US: Bradenton Herald: State delays pollution statutes
46 Las Vegas SUN: Sierra Club steps up role in presidential
47 US: AP Wire: Nevada Ponders Superfund Status for Mine
48 Nevada Appeal: Sierra Club steps up role in presidential campaign in
49 US: OA Online News: Waste Control only company to apply for license
50 US: PE.com: Group prepares for Wyle offensive
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
51 [NYTr] 59 Years Ago in Hiroshima
52 [du-list] Hiroshima Mayor Calls for Emergency Campaign Around
53 UPI: Nagasaki observes A-bomb anniversary -
54 TheStar.com: Let us not forget lessons of Hiroshima
55 Japan Times: Rationale for denuclearization
56 asahi.com: Hiroshima marks A-bomb anniversary
57 asahi.com: EDITORIAL: Ending the nuclear threat
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
58 NASA, DOE Sign Memorandum Of Understanding
59 Hawk Eye: Willing payer
60 The Enquirer: Nevada: No deal on Fernald
61 Tri-Valley Herald: Lockheed drops bid for Los Alamos
62 Daily Camera: Governments want cleanup verified
OTHER NUCLEAR
63 Google News Alert - nuclear
64 Google News Alert - nuclear
65 [du-list] DU in the news - 7th Aug 04
66 [DU-WATCH] Project Censored item and PC Exposed!
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 [DU-WATCH] U$A Continues Nuclear War in Iraq
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2004 13:47:55 -0500 (CDT)
Hi - At the Veterans for Peace convention in Boston, a veteran recently
returned from Iraq told us (during the DU workshop that Sunny
facilitated) that the US continues to use DU in the cities. He
referenced Baghdad in particular. Shocking but not surprising.
A clip aired on ABC on January 9 shows a video clip of a Apache
helicopter (which can fire 30 mm DU rounds) blasting suspected
resistance fighters and vehicles. Can any of our experts tell whether
this is DU? It's pretty devastating, but I'm not a military person (I
was a draft resister.)
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/wnt/US/apache_video_040109.html
Here is the video without registering with ABC news
http://www.bushflash.com/kills.mpeg
(links to ABC and to video clip sent by a fellow activist who may not
wish his email to be distributed. I am bcc'ing him, and thank him for
sending this to me.)
Thanks, Charlie
Charles Jenks, attorney at law
President of the Core Group
Traprock Peace Center
103A Keets Road
Deerfield, MA 01342
413-773-1633; fax 413-773-7507
charles@mtdata.com
http://www.traprockpeace.org
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2 Toronto Sun Columnist: Eric Margolis - The lies that led to war
Sun, August 8, 2004
By Eric Margolis-- Contributing Foreign Editor
WELCOME TO the "Italian Job."
In his 2003 State of the Union address, U.S. President George
Bush cited British intelligence claims that Iraq had secretly
imported uranium ore from Niger to make nuclear weapons.
Bush's claims were based on crude forgeries, previously rejected
by the CIA.
Now, new information from European intelligence sources is
detailing how the forgeries made their way from the Niger embassy
in Rome to the White House. An FBI investigation of this
outrageous scandal is said to be at a critical phase.
In a classic example of what intelligence professionals term
"disinformation," a shady Italian intermediary, "Giacomo," was
told a lady at the Niger embassy had "a gift" for him.
"Giacomo" has told The London Sunday Times he was given a sheaf
of documents purporting to show Iraq had sought yellowcake
uranium ore from Niger, a mineral used for nuclear fuel and
weapons. "Giacomo" then reportedly passed them on to American
agents. He says the Niger documents were given to him through
SISMI, Italy's foreign intelligence service.
SISMI has long been notorious for far-right leanings.
Senior SISMI officers were implicated with celebrated swindler
Roberto Calvi, the notorious P2 masonic lodge, and other extreme
rightist groups. SISMI works hand in glove with U.S., British and
other intelligence agencies.
In the 1960s and '70s, it was revealed that SISMI carried out
numerous operations for the CIA, including bugging the Vatican,
the Italian president's palace, and foreign embassies.
Some of its officers have been accused in the past of perjury,
blackmail and political interference.
Italy's civilian intelligence service, SISDE, associated with
Italy's political centre-left, has long been a bitter rival of
SISMI.
In any event, although the CIA rejected the Niger file, it was
taken up by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney who was urgently
seeking reasons to invade Iraq.
Cheney passed the now-discredited data to Bush, who used it in
his January, 2003 address to the nation. Six months later, CIA
director George Tenet admitted that the claim should never have
been included in the State of the Union address.
A 2002 investigation by former U.S. Ambassador to Niger, Joseph
Wilson, also concluded the documents were forgeries, but he was
ignored by the White House. Wilson is now being smeared by
Republicans. Amazingly, Bush, Cheney, the neo-conservatives, and
the media, all of whom kept beating the war drums over the
alleged Iraqi nuclear threat, never seemed to have understood
that yellowcake uranium ore is no more lethal than plain dirt.
To make nuclear weapons, the ore must be laboriously enriched by
gaseous separation or centrifuge. Both processes require enormous
plants and huge amounts of electric power -- easily observable by
satellite. Iraq had no nuclear industrial infrastructure to
enrich uranium, as everyone knew. What would it do with raw ore?
Iraq had no means to deliver nuclear warheads. The only way Iraq
could get a nuclear warhead to the U.S. was by FedEx.
Who was behind the Italian Job? Who knows? Likely right-wing
elements within Italy's government who are ideological soulmates
of Bush. In any event, this appears to be SISMI's contribution to
the cascade of lies that led to war.
In Great Britain, which also pushed the discredited Niger/uranium
story, claiming it had independent confirmation from another
source, MI6 provided other disinformation.
Britain's respected Scotsman newspaper has just cited a report by
investigative journalist Tom Mangold that Tony Blair's
intelligence chief, John Scarlett, sent a secret message to
British arms inspectors in Iraq, pressuring them to confirm 10
charges made by the British government -- which have now been
disproved -- about Saddam's nefarious weapons of mass
destruction.
These claims were the centerpiece of a key government report on
the Iraqi threat justifying war. All, as it turned out, were
bogus. Instead of being sacked, Scarlett was recently promoted to
head MI6 by Blair.
Completing the farce, we now learn an astounding 15,000 tons of
highly enriched uranium the U.S. sent around the world since the
'50s for various research projects remain unaccounted for. It
takes 10 kilos to build a basic nuclear weapon.
Next Column: Bush like Custer
Eric can be reached by e-mail at:
margolis@foreigncorrespondent.com Letters to the editor should be
sent to: editor@tor.sunpub.com Home Page
CANOE home| We welcome your feedback.
Copyright© 2004, CANOE, a division of Netgraphe Inc.All
rights reserved.
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3 al bawaba: Inventing the Enemy
Al Bawaba - Middle East News and Information albawaba.com
by David Stratman
08-08-2004, 12:55
It used to be said during the Cold War that, "If the Communist
threat did not exist, the US would have to invent it." The threat
of nuclear war and the notion of a Communist (or capitalist)
under every bed provided American and Soviet ruling elites
excellent means to frighten and control their own citizens,
justify enormous arms expenditures, and legitimize power
projection abroad in the name of saving the world from Communism
(or capitalism).
The same thing can be said now with a good deal more accuracy of
political Islam, which the US ruling class has been courting and
nurturing since it first allied in 1947 with the House of Saud.
The line of strategic relationships between the US and political
Islam runs through Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Bosnia,
Afghanistan, and now Iraq. If the US did not actually invent
modern political Islam, for over half a century it has encouraged
it, promoted it, funded it, trained it, armed it, and furnished
it with a political rationale for its existence.
US ruling circles and reactionary forces acting in the name of
Islam are in a co-dependent relationship: they need each other
and work together covertly, even while they publicly attack each
other in word and deed. This relationship is part of grand
strategy, in which US rulers are playing for the highest of
stakes: their continued control over the American people, as well
as elite domination of the world. Ruling elites in Muslim nations
use political Islam and the threat from the US to control their
own people with an iron fist concealed in a glove of religious
fervor.
THE PERFECT ENEMY
Political Islam perfectly suits the needs of America's rulers for
an enemy. The lands of the Middle East and Central Asia occupied
by Muslims are the most strategically important regions of the
world, sitting astride the world's largest reserves of oil and
gas; the US could never justify attacking these nations without
first convincing Americans that Muslims need either to be
attacked–because they are "dangerous terrorists"–or "liberated."
Seeing Islam as the enemy also supports Israel's role as an
outpost of Western colonialism in the Middle East; according to
this script, Christians and Jews supposedly share a common
"Judaeo-Christian" heritage which is meant to exclude Muslims,
and we are encouraged to support a Jewish state based on savage
ethnic cleansing against "Islamic fanatics."
The greatest benefits to America's rulers of political Islam as
the enemy, however, are ideological: religious demagogues like
Osama bin Laden and Iranian mullahs channel the poor and
oppressed of the Muslim world into politically reactionary rather
than revolutionary formations and legitimize the power of elites
acting in the name of Islam; at the same time, they make the ugly
face of contemporary capitalism look by way of contrast almost
desirable to non-Muslims and many Muslims, in much the same way
that Soviet Communism did. US rulers would like the world to
perceive the choice before it in effect to be between an
admittedly decadent capitalist civilization with unlimited
freedom to "do your own thing" and a pre-modern theocratic state.
Political Islam derives much of its effectiveness from the
failure of communism as a revolutionary ideology. That failure
left widespread despair in the Middle East and around the globe
and an ideological void which militant Islam, assisted by the US,
has rushed to fill.
A HISTORY OF COLLABORATION
IRAN
The US's favored antidote to revolutionary ideology among
desperate workers and farmers in the turbulent Middle East,
Central Asia, and Muslim Africa, especially since 1979, has been
the idea that God's will as expressed in the Koran requires
people to submit to 'holy' dictatorships. That pivotal year
marked the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, the most powerful US
client except Israel, and also the Soviet invasion of
Afghanistan. In both cases the US turned to Islamic
fundamentalism to achieve its strategic goals.
The Iranian revolution was capable of establishing a secular,
anti-capitalist revolutionary democracy and sweeping the Middle
East. Instead TIME's 1979 "Man of the Year,"Ayatollah Khomeini,
and the mullahs successfully channeled the mass popular movement
into a right-wing theocracy, using nationalism and religion to
crush the revolution and consolidate the class nature of Iranian
society.
There has been a strong collaborative relationship between the
theocratic rulers of Iran and US rulers ever since. In November,
1979 Iranians took over the US Embassy in Tehran, taking 50
Americans hostage. Focusing on the "Great Satan" allowed the
Ayatollah Khomeini to put up a show of radicalism to satisfy his
followers while he liquidated tens of thousands of worker and
student revolutionaries in the spring and summer of 1980. In
October, 1980 emissaries of the Republican Party met secretly
with the Ayatollah's regime and persuaded it not to release the
hostages until the election was over, thus guaranteeing the
defeat of Jimmy Carter. From 1983 through 1988 the Reagan
Administration, in collaboration with Israel, sold arms to the
Khomeini regime in Iran and sent the proceeds to CIA-supported
Contras fighting the Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua, in
defiance of Congress.
AFGHANISTAN
In 1979 the US began another remarkably ambitious collaboration
with Islamic fundamentalists after the Soviet Union invaded
Afghanistan. With Jimmy Carter's express approval, under CIA
direction, and with massive funding from the US and Saudi Arabia,
the US undertook to recruit, train, and arm over 100,000
"mujahadeen"–Islamic "freedom fighters," as President Reagan
styled them–from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan,
to make war against the Soviet invaders. The US funded
"madrassas"–Islamic religious schools–in Pakistan and Afghanistan
to promote political Islam and it set up camps to train the
mujahadeen in guerrilla tactics and terrorism. A key CIA asset in
the struggle was a man of the fundamentalist Wahhabi Islam sect
from Saudi Arabia, Osama bin Laden. The US-backed Islamic
fundamentalist movement was successful. In 1989 it drove the USSR
from Afghanistan in ignominious defeat, a loss from which the
USSR never recovered. On September 27, 1996 the Taliban, an
Islamic fundamentalist guerrilla organization backed by the US,
Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, took control of the Afghan capital,
Kabul.
BOSNIA AND KOSOVO
In the mid-90s, with explicit approval of the Clinton
Administration and the assistance of the Pakistani ISI
(Inter-Services Intelligence) and Osama bin Laden, the US
channeled Iranian arms, Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Iranian
intelligence agents, and thousands of mujahadeen from around the
Islamic world to the Muslim government in Sarajevo during the
fighting in Bosnia, greatly enhancing Iranian and fundamentalist
influence in the region. The US, working closely with Osama bin
Laden, then supplied the Kosovo Liberation Army with funding,
arms, and Muslim fighters. Prof. Michel Chussodovsky of the
University of Ottawa sums up the alliance between the US and
Islamic militants:
"A major war supposedly ‘against international terrorism' has
been launched, yet the evidence amply confirms that agencies of
the US government have since the Cold War harbored the ‘Islamic
Militant Network' as part of Washington's foreign policy agenda."
PAKISTAN
The US has covertly championed Islamic power in the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan under a succession of leaders, most recently
ex-General Musharraf, who led a military coup against the elected
government in 1999 and proclaimed himself president. US military
forces and the CIA have maintained particularly strong ties with
the Pakistani military and with ISI, the Pakistani intelligence
service, which played a major role in directing Islamic
mujahadeen against Soviet forces in Afghanistan in the 1980s and
continues to have strong ties with the Taliban. The military and
the ISI threw crucial support to the six-party Alliance of
Islamic parties - the Mutahidda Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), enabling it
to triumph in the October, 2003 Pakistani elections. Ahmed Rashid
writes:
"[T]he Islamicists see their moment to turn Pakistan into a
theocratic state. The MMA are banking on their support within the
army and the intelligence services. They have gone out of their
way to revile Musharraf as a stooge of the Americans, while
praising the army's commitment to Islam. Emboldened by its
successes, the MMA has also declared that it will demand that the
government impose Sharia law throughout the country....[US
policies] will only hasten Pakistan's turn towards Islamic
fundamentalism as the MMA gets stronger and more strident in its
demands."
IRAQ
This desire to bolster militant Islam may explain why US military
forces have been producing with every atrocity new guerilla
fighters with which to frighten the American people and to make
the "war on terror" and threat of terrorism more convincing.
"Anonymous," a CIA analyst for 22-years who has just published
Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror, writes
that the United States has "waged two failed half-wars and, in
doing so, left Afghanistan and Iraq seething with anti-U.S.
sentiment, fertile grounds for the expansion of al-Qaeda and
kindred groups." He adds that "There is nothing that bin Laden
could have hoped for more than the American invasion and
occupation of Iraq."
Before the first Gulf war, Iraq had been a secular state, with
the highest standard of living in the Middle East. Health care
was free, as was education up through secondary school. Iraq had
a high degree of equality between the sexes, with laws against
gender discrimination; there were more female than male
university students. After two wars and 12 years of U.N.
sanctions, with its infrastructure in rubble, millions of its
people malnourished, and 70% unemployed, the living standards of
Iraqis have gone dramatically backwards. Iraqis have been subject
to savage US attacks on civilians and widespread torture and
humiliation of a sort calculated to make even those Iraqis most
initially supportive of the removal of Saddam Hussein see America
as an enemy.
The US has succeeded in consolidating the Iraqi resistance--the
only future leadership with any legitimacy in popular
eyes--increasingly under militant Islamic leadership, virtually
guaranteeing an Islamic future for once secular Iraq. The US
strategy of encouraging Islamic fundamentalism may explain what
otherwise seem like incomprehensible blunders in the war on Iraq,
not to mention the invasion itself.
For example, the US apparently deliberately provoked the Shi'ite
uprising in southern Iraq in April, 2004 and thrust radical
Islamic leader, Moqtada Sadr, into the position of being a
national hero to Iraqis. Sadr is a Shi'ite Muslim, the same sect
as that of the late Ayatollah Khomeini. In April, 2004, when
Israel assassinated Shaikh Ahmed Yassin, Sadr's newspaper gave
the story prominent coverage and promised to act "as a wing of
Hamas" in Iraq. The US promptly shut down Sadr's paper, arrested
thirteen of his top aides, and, through an Iraqi court, issued a
warrant for Sadr's arrest for murder. Though Sadr had a militia
of his own, the Mahdi Army, it had never acted violently towards
any Americans. Juan Cole, Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at
the University of Michigan, asked,
"How did the CPA [Coalition Provisional Authority] get to the
point where it has turned even Iraqi Shi'ites, who were initially
grateful for the removal of Saddam Hussein, against the United
States? Where it risks fighting dual Sunni Arab and Shi'ite
insurgencies simultaneously, at a time when US troops are
rotating on a massive scale and hoping to downsize their forces
in country?. Someone in the CPA sat down and thought up ways to
stir them up by closing their newspaper and issuing 28 arrest
warrants....This is either gross incompetence or was done with
dark ulterior motives that can scarcely be guessed at."
Naomi Klein, reporting from Baghdad, reacted with wonderment at
the US deliberately provoking a Shi'ite uprising. In an article
titled "The U.S. Is Sabotaging Stability in Iraq," she wrote:
Mr. al-Sadr is the younger, more radical rival of the Grand
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, portrayed by his adoring supporters as
a kind of cross between Ayatollah Khomeini and Che Guevara. He
blames the U.S. for attacks on civilians, compares U.S.
occupation chief Paul Bremer to Saddam Hussein, aligns himself
with Hamas and Hezbollah and has called for a jihad against the
controversial interim constitution. His Iraq might look a lot
like Iran. (Globe and Mail, Canada, 4/5/04)
Klein calls the U.S. provoking of an uprising in Shi'ite southern
Iraq "mystifying," and reckons that the CPA is trying to create
chaos in the south to make the handover of power impossible. More
likely, however, is that the U.S. is trying to create what
Professor Cole calls a "Shi'ite International," as demonstrations
erupted "throughout the Shi'ite world, including Lebanon,
Bahrain, Iran and Pakistan, against continued U.S. fighting in
Karbala, a key holy city for Shi'ite Muslims....Bush is in the
process of turning the Shi'ite world decisively against the U.S."
After claiming that it would defeat Sadr and wanted him "dead or
alive," the US backed down and negotiated with him. One of the
concessions was that Sadr would order his militia fighters to
return to their homes; meanwhile Sadr announced his intentions to
form a political party and run in the elections scheduled for
January, 2005. This arrangement, one analyst put it, "would
signal that the United States has just christened the newest
Islamic theocracy in the World."
The pattern we see developing in Iraq is familiar. The US
covertly encourages militant Islamic opposition movements
throughout the Muslim world. This means that US-backed Islamic
movements often find themselves in opposition to US-backed
governments. When Islamic forces eventually become powerful
enough to take over, then secular allies can be dispensed with.
This was the pattern in Iran, and it is the developing pattern in
Pakistan and Iraq, both of which will likely become theocracies
on the Iran model. In Iraq, given the former power and prestige
of the secular and "socialist" Ba'athist Party, it has taken an
invasion and brutal occupation to remove the secular leader and
develop Islamic forces; still the model is the same.
I should point out that the US is not alone in funding Islamic
militants. Israel funded and promoted the Islamic terrorist group
Hamas in the 1970s and 1980s and may still. Israel funded Hamas
to undercut the popularity of the secular PLO (Palestine
Liberation Organization) and the Palestinian cause, which it has
done very effectively with suicide attacks on Jewish civilians in
Israel.
ORGANIZING PERMANENT WAR
US rulers need to create a frightening, ubiquitous, and
apparently powerful enemy against which to wage endless war. They
seem to be succeeding. We will likely soon see a Muslim world
populated by Islamic theocracies in Iran, Iraq, and nuclear-armed
Pakistan. These theocracies will impose harsh controls on their
own people, crushing dissent in the name of religion, at the same
time as they will be invoked by the US and Israel as "terrorist"
threats to world peace. The US government has been laying the
groundwork for a turbulent future of war and terrorism.
I do not mean to imply here that all has gone according to plan
for the US or that the US government is all-powerful in foreign
affairs. On the contrary, US actions, especially in the war on
Iraq, have been at enormous political cost. Millions of people in
the Middle East, perhaps billions worldwide now see the US
war-maker state for what it is. Millions of Americans now
understand the ruthless nature of their government more clearly
than ever, and many now see the need for the overthrow of the
war-makers.
At the same time, arranging for a future of endless war is not a
sign of the rulers' strength but of weakness. War has always been
a method of controlling restive populations, but it is the most
extreme method, high in its political costs and unpredictable in
its outcome. The rulers of the US and the Muslim nations–and
indeed of world capitalism–are being forced towards a future of
endless war out of their fear of revolution, as billions of the
world's people lose faith in capitalism and seek an alternative.
America's most powerful elites are rolling the dice and hoping
that fear of militant Islam and possible terrorism will make
Americans line up dutifully behind their leaders and get them to
accept life in an ever more unequal, undemocratic society without
complaint or struggle.
US and Islamic rulers hope to set Americans and Muslims against
each other, inflame irrational hatreds, and blind people to their
real enemies, the ruling elites of their own societies. Ordinary
Iraqi and Pakistani and American workers have more in common with
each other than they have with the ruling rich of their
societies. To be effective the antiwar, anti-Empire movements in
every country must have strong internationalist values and seek
to build ties between workers of the US and Muslim and other
countries. The answer to division is solidarity. The answer to
communism and capitalism is truly democratic revolution. The
answer to imperialist war is to turn the guns around and
overthrow the war-makers.
The author of this article, Dave Stratman edits
NewDemocracyWorld.org, a leading developer of innovative
strategies to empower Americans as individuals and as a society
to regain our ability toward self-governance. He is also author
of We CAN Change The World: The Real Meaning Of Everyday Life.
You can contact the author at: newdem@aol.com
(www.albawaba.com)
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4 TheStar.com: Iran intent on being a nuclear threat
Aug. 7, 2004. 01:00 AM
The invasion of Iraq, which President George Bush has often said
would help stabilize the Middle East, is now hindering efforts to
deal with a real nuclear threat: Iran. Despite its ritualistic
denials, Iran gives every indication of building all the
essential elements of a nuclear weapons program. And while the
United States has hoped to pressure Iran into halting that
program, the government in Tehran has clearly concluded that it
has little to fear for now from an American government whose
diplomatic credibility has been damaged and whose military
capacities have been stretched by the war in Iraq.
Given Washington's unsatisfactory options right now, the best
choice is to support Britain, France and Germany as they search
for a diplomatic settlement. The chances of success do not look
good; the European initiative has had minimal results and seems
to be losing ground.
Iran announced last weekend that it had resumed the construction
of centrifuges that are capable of producing material for a
nuclear bomb. Tehran says it is still honouring a pledge not to
operate any of these centrifuges, but it proclaims its right to
resume enrichment at any time.
There would be little reason for Iran to take the provocative
step of restarting centrifuge construction now unless it also
intended to resume operations at some later date. And since there
are other, safer ways for Iran to get the less-enriched uranium
used in power-producing reactors, it is fair to presume that Iran
means to use the centrifuges to produce bomb fuel.
Constructing uranium centrifuges is, regrettably, legal under the
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Using them to produce fuel for
bombs is not. Diplomacy can resolve this issue only if both sides
ultimately want a deal, and it is not at all clear that Iran's
ruling clerics do. They may just be playing for time to develop
their enrichment capacity before quitting the nuclear treaty and
building bombs.
The tone of Iran's dealings with the outside world has changed
for the worse since early this year, when hard-line clerics
seized control of Parliament by excluding many of their reformist
rivals. That shut down an experiment in partial democracy that
many hoped would eventually lead to less confrontational foreign
policies, like decisions to close the nuclear program and end
support for terrorist groups. Since then, Iran has stepped up its
meddling in Iraq, stopped trying to improve its abysmal human
rights reputation and turned more belligerent in the nuclear
negotiations with Europe.
Britain, France and Germany want Iran to renounce all technology
capable of making nuclear bomb fuel. In exchange, they offer an
equally firm commitment to use outside suppliers to guarantee an
adequate supply of uranium for civilian power reactors. Such a
deal could work only if Iran returned the spent fuel to the
outside suppliers. Otherwise, plutonium could be extracted from
it and reprocessed to make nuclear weapons. Unless Iran changes
its position and forswears all rights to enrich uranium or
reprocess plutonium, there can be no deal.
Europe is right to give Iran a little more time to change its
mind. But the world cannot afford to wait long. Once the
centrifuges are completed, Iran's ambitions will become harder to
contain. If no agreement is reached, this apparent drive to build
nuclear weapons should be recognized as a threat to international
peace and security.
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All
*****************************************************************
5 Las Vegas SUN: Rice: Iran's Nuclear Intensions Worrisome
Today: August 08, 2004 at 11:57:37 PDT
By WILLIAM C. MANN ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON (AP) -
With Iran stepping up its nuclear program, a top White House
aide said Sunday the world finally is "worried and suspicious"
over the Iranians' intentions and is determined not to let
Tehran produce a nuclear weapon.
National security adviser Condoleezza Rice also said the Bush
administration sees a new international willingness to act
against Iran's nuclear program. She credited the changed
attitude to the Americans' insistence that Iran's effort put the
world in peril.
She would not say whether the United States would act alone to
end the program if the administration could not win
international support.
Iran's foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, announced a week ago
that his country had resumed building nuclear centrifuges. He
said Iran was retaliating for the West's failure to force the
U.N. nuclear watchdog agency to close its file on possible
Iranian violations of nuclear nonproliferation rules.
Kharrazi said Iran was not resuming enrichment of uranium, which
requires a centrifuge. But, he said, Iran had restarted
manufacturing the device because Britain, Germany and France had
not stopped the investigation by the International Atomic Energy
Agency.
"The United States was the first to say that Iran was a threat
in this way, to try and convince the international community
that Iran was trying, under the cover of a civilian nuclear
program, to actually bring about a nuclear weapons program,"
Rice said on CNN's "Late Edition."
"I think we've finally now got the world community to a place,
and the International Atomic Energy Agency to a place, that it
is worried and suspicious of the Iranian activities," she said.
"Iran is facing for the first time real resistance to trying to
take these steps."
Bush, in his 2003 State of the Union address, included Iran with
North Korea and Iraq in an "axis of evil" dedicated to
developing nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.
Since then, North Korea has publicly resumed its nuclear
development program. In Iraq, invading U.S.-led forces have
found no such programs after President Saddam Hussein was
deposed.
Iran announced in June that it would resume its centrifuge
program. Afterward, the U.S. official whose job is to slow the
global atomic arms race, Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton,
told Congress that Iran was jabbing "a thumb in the eye of the
international community."
On NBC's "Meet the Press," Rice reasserted that the world has
fallen in line on Iran and said she expects next month to get a
very strong statement from the IAEA "that Iran will either be
isolated, or it will submit to the will of the international
community."
She also said, "We cannot allow the Iranians to develop a
nuclear weapon. The international community has got to find a
way to come together and to make certain that that does not
happen."
(SUBS 10th graf, Iran announced ..., to correct to Iran sted
Iraq)
--
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6 BBC: Australia team visits North Korea
Last Updated: Saturday, 7 August, 2004
[Alexander Downer ]
Alexander Downer: Australia has a "particular" role
Australia has sent a delegation of officials to North Korea for
discussions aimed at defusing nuclear tensions on the Korean
Peninsula.
It hopes to use Australia's regional influence to persuade
Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has announced he will visit
North Korea later this month.
Mr Downer believes his government can act as an intermediary
between the North and the United States.
Australia has said the nuclear stand-off on the Korean peninsula
is the most serious security issue facing the Asia-Pacific
region.
There has been regular contact between Australia and North Korea
since diplomatic relations resumed in May 2000.
North Korea has an embassy in Canberra and the Australians
believe their opinions matter in Pyongyang.
Mr Downer will visit the secretive state later this month after a
short trip to China.
He said Australia was a "significant power in the region" and had
an important part to play in the discussions over North Korea's
nuclear ambitions.
"I think Australia can play a particular role in assisting the
process of eventually dismantling North Korea's nuclear
programme, but also potentially provide other assistance as
well," Mr Downer told Australian radio.
It claims to have nuclear weapons and to be building up its
arsenal, although there has been no independent verification.
Australia believes it can use its "close and intimate" ties with
the United States and its relationship with the North Koreans to
act as a go-between.
Washington and Pyongyang have appeared - at least in public - to
be a long way from any kind of breakthrough.
Australia has in the past been critical of the communist
government in the North, insisting it subjected "the population
to a pervasive programme of indoctrination and close
surveillance".
Canberra's interest in the Korean peninsula stretches beyond
matters of security. It has extremely lucrative economic ties
with South Korea.
*****************************************************************
7 WorldNetDaily: N. Korea's Nodong – no joke
SATURDAY AUGUST 7 2004
A year ago, some un-named U.S. government official "reported"
that North Korea was working on a new missile that could perhaps
be a threat to the U.S. mainland. "We've had hints of this for
several years, but it's only within the last year that we've been
able to confirm that this [missile] did exist and it's derived
from Russian technology."
Now comes Jane's Defense Weekly to confirm – sort of – this
slam-dunk U.S. intelligence. According to Jane's, North Korea has
developed and is deploying, two new missile systems, both based
on the Soviet R-27 liquid-fueled submarine-launched ballistic
missile.
The R-27 – deployed during the 1970s and 1980s – had an
operational range of about 1,600 miles carrying a 1.2-megaton
nuke warhead. But Jane's says the Korean ground-launched model
could have a range of about 2,500 miles, bringing Hawaii into
range.
True, North Korea has developed and produced longer-range
versions of the Soviet Scud liquid-fueled single-stage ballistic
missile and has marketed them internationally.
In particular, North Korea sold (a) the 170-mile range Scud-B to
Iran, Egypt and Syria, (b) the 300-mile range Scud-C to Iran,
Libya and Syria, and (c) the 560-mile range Scud-D to both Iran
and Pakistan. North Korea reportedly has 600 Scud-C missiles and
100 Scud-derivative two-stage Nodong missiles with a range of 800
miles.
How did the Koreans get the increased range? Basically by adding
fuel, thereby reducing the missile's "throw weight" and its
accuracy.
They bought the basic Scud from the Soviets. Where did they get
the basic R-27 missile?
Not from Russia.
Eduard Baltin, the former commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet,
says reports that they did are "absurd." In the early 1990s, all
R-27s were removed from service. "They were completely cleaned up
at the decommissioning factory and their warheads and military
guidance systems removed. All that was left was a solid metal
shell, which was no good for anything apart from scrap."
North Korea did obtain 12 decommissioned Russian submarines from
a Japanese scrap dealer in 1993. Jane's says that – even though
their missiles and launch systems had been removed – the missile
"cold-launch" tubes and stabilizing sub-systems were left intact
and could have helped the Koreans develop their version of the
R-27.
It isn't obvious how. About the only similarity between the North
Korean Scud-derivatives and the R-27 is that they both use liquid
fuel. For example, the R-27 was designed to be launched from a
tube while the submarine was submerged. That means the missile
doesn't have guidance fins and that the engine isn't ignited
until the missile pops clear of the surface. No one supposes that
the Korean R-27 will be launched that way.
In any case, ballistic missiles are North Korea's principal "cash
crop." Where is the market for a 1,600-2,500 mile range
liquid-fueled ballistic missile? Why would North Korea waste time
and money improving another obsolete liquid-fueled ballistic
missile?
The answer appears to be that they had no choice. Since the
collapse of the Soviet Union, no one will sell them ballistic
missiles, modern or obsolete.
But Jane's claims engineers from the VP Makeyev Design Bureau in
the Siberian city of Chelyabinsk helped the Koreans design and
possibly build their R-27, under the guise of helping the Koreans
develop a space-launch vehicle based upon a three-stage Nodong
ballistic missile.
Well, irrespective of whether the Russians helped them build an
improved R-27, it seems likely they taught the Koreans a lot
about multi-stage missile guidance. When you increase range by
adding fuel – thereby reducing throw weight – missile guidance
becomes all the more important. Especially when you replace a
1.2-megaton nuke warhead – weighing about a thousand pounds –
with a few hundred pounds of high-explosive.
So if Jane's is right and North Korea does have a few ballistic
missiles that can reach Hawaii carrying a few hundred pounds of
high-explosive, it is perhaps a good thing that the Clinton-Gore
zillion-dollar ballistic-missile defense system in Alaska is
partially operational. Perhaps, because the Clinton-Gore system
has to intercept enemy warheads in their exo-atmospheric "cruise"
phase, using inert heat-seeking kinetic-kill vehicles. But, when
it's exo-atmospheric, the enemy warhead is cold, exhibiting
almost no infrared signature. So, what's a poor heat-seeking
bullet to do?
Too bad we got rid of all our ABM nukes. With a heat-seeking
bullet, a miss by a hundredth of a meter is as bad as a miss by a
hundred meters. But, with a nuke, a hundred meters is close
enough for government work.
Physicist James Gordon Prather has served as a policy
implementing official for national security-related technical
matters in the Federal Energy Agency, the Energy Research and
Development Administration, the Department of Energy, the Office
of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of the Army. Dr.
Prather also served as legislative assistant for national
security affairs to U.S. Sen. Henry Bellmon, R-Okla. -- ranking
member of the Senate Budget Committee and member of the Senate
Energy Committee and Appropriations Committee. Dr. Prather had
earlier worked as a nuclear weapons physicist at Lawrence
Livermore National Laboratory in California and Sandia National
Laboratory in New Mexico.
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc.
webmaster@worldnetdaily.com
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8 GREENLAND RADAR CLEARED FOR U.S. MISSILE DEFENSE AGAINST MIDDLE
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2004 11:40:56 -0500 (CDT)
CANADA also agrees to facilitate missile shield scheme without debate !
=============
http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2004_07-08/GreenlandRadar.asp
Arms Control Today July/August 2004
Wade Boese
The Danish parliament has unanimously approved a Bush administration
request to upgrade a radar located in Greenland so it can play a future
role in a planned U.S. missile defense system.
The vote came approximately 18 months after the United States asked
Denmark for permission to improve its early-warning radar at Thule Air
Base. Greenland used to be a Danish colony until 1979 when it received the
right to self-government. Denmark retained responsibility, however, for
the islands defense and foreign policies.
Although the proposal sparked some debate in Denmark and Greenland, 101
Danish lawmakers voted May 27 in favor of the move. Ten parliamentarians
from two left-wing parties abstained, and 68 legislators were absent.
Officials from the U.S. and Danish governments, as well as Greenlands Home
Rule government, plan to codify an agreement covering the radar overhaul
later this summer. The agreement will permit the Pentagon to make the
Thule radar more capable of guiding U.S. missile interceptors toward
ballistic missile warheads traveling through space. Currently, the radar
is tasked with spotting launches of foreign ballistic missiles, but not
accurately tracking and pinpointing the flight trajectories of the
missiles and their payloads.
The United States already received permission from the British government
to carry out similar work on the Fylingdales radar in the United Kingdom.
(See ACT, March 2003.) The Fylingdales radar is expected to be operational
before the end of 2005, while the Thule radar will not be ready until at
least 2006.
The two radars are intended to help the United States track and intercept
ballistic missiles launched from the Middle East. No country in that
region currently possesses a ballistic missile capable of reaching the
United States.
The Arms Control Association is a non-profit, membership-based
organization.
==================
http://www.spacewar.com/2004/040805224153.q5fapms6.html
CANADA INSISTS NO DECISION ON MISSILE SHIELD DESPITE AMENDING US PACT
OTTAWA (AFP) Aug 06, 2004
Canada insisted Thursday that it had not covertly signed up to the US plan
for a missile defense shield -- despite agreeing to extend joint air
defense arrangements with Washington to facilitate the scheme.
Ministers said Canada had yet to decide whether to join the national
missile defence system, which emerged as a political hot potato during the
country's recent general election campaign.
The United States and Canada earlier announced they had extended the North
American Aerospace Defense Command aerospace warning function to support
missile defense.
The deal allows the command, known as NORAD, information on incoming
missiles to be used by the future US missile defense program.
Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew said it made "good sense to amend the
agreement so that this essential NORAD function can be preserved and
Canada can continue to benefit from the security it provides to our
citizens."
"This amendment safeguards and sustains NORAD regardless of what decision
the government of Canada eventually takes on ballistic missile defense."
Defense Minister Bill Graham told reporters the move did not "affect or in
any way determine the ultimate decision as to whether Canada will
participate in missile defense."
Washington, keen to press on with constructing the missile defense system,
a key plank of the Bush administration's defense policy, has been pressing
Canada for a decision for over a year.
But the Canadian government has had to walk a political tightrope on the
issue.
Advocates of the scheme say a decision not to take part would badly damage
the country's prestige and make Canada largely irrelevant in the defense
of its own continent.
But ministers realise that the scheme is highly unpopular in Canada, as is
the Bush administration which is building it.
Ministers have relied on the tortuous position that they oppose any system
that involves the "weaponization of space" -- a position observers say
does not rule out current US plans for missile defense.
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Washington looked
forward to "continuing this longstanding defense cooperation" through
NORAD.
The new deal "formally assigns" to NORAD the responsibility for providing
the threat information under the missile defense mission, Boucher said.
Missile defense meanwhile thrust itself to the top of Secretary of State
Colin Powell's agenda.
Powell was due to leave the US capital early Friday for a one-day trip to
Greenland to sign a series of pacts intended to modernize a US military
base which will support the missile defense program.
He will meet Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller and Greenland Deputy
Premier Josef Motzfeldt to sign agrrements paving the way for an upgrade
of radar facilities at Thule Air Base which will support the US missile
defense program.
Thule served as a key listening post during the Cold War and is now
considered essential to US missile defense plans.
As compensation to Greenland, where there was much opposition to the
modernization and expansion plans, Copenhagen and Washington are to renew
a 1951 treaty with Greenland recognizing it as an autonomous Danish
territory.
*****************************************************************
9 TheStar.com: Getting naked for Star Wars
Sun. Aug. 8, 2004. | Updated at 02:13 AM
LINDA MCQUAIG
In the strip-tease game Ottawa is playing with Washington over
whether we'll join its National Missile Defence (NMD), we don't
have a lot of clothes left to shed.
Defence Minister Bill Graham peeled off one of our few remaining
mini-garments last week when he announced Canada's willingness to
share information with the U.S. anti-missile system through
NORAD, our joint patrol of North America.
If we're going to say "no" to NMD as common sense cries out
that we do why are we getting Washington all heated up, leaving
the impression we're going to acquiesce to its demands in the
end?
One suspects, of course, that Ottawa has already said yes to
Washington, but hasn't yet got up the nerve to break this news to
the Canadian people.
Prime Minister Paul Martin is faced with a stark choice: either
disappoint the Canadian public polls show seven out of 10
Canadians oppose joining NMD or disappoint the Bush
administration and the Canadian companies eyeing lucrative
Pentagon contracts.
One fascinating thing about the Canadian debate over missile
defence is how little it has to do with actual defence.
Just about everybody on this side of the border recognizes the
shortcomings in George W. Bush's plan to deploy costly and
unproven technology in the wild hope that it will be able to
shoot down long-range incoming missiles the least likely method
of attack a hostile nation would resort to.
Even advocates of Canadian involvement, like the Canadian Council
of Chief Executives and prominent military historian Jack
Granatstein, offer only a lukewarm defence of NMD as a useful
military strategy.
Neither the chief executives nor Granatstein appear to regard
missile defence as crucial to our security. Rather, their support
for it seems to be largely about accommodating the United States.
"Washington's capacity to inflict pain and enforce compliance on
Canada is boundless," Granatstein wrote in a 2002 paper for the
C.D. Howe Institute. "Canadian policy must be devoted to keeping
the elephant fed and happy."
He points to the fact that 90 per cent of our trade is with the
United States, while only 25 per cent of theirs is with Canada.
But 25 per cent is substantial; Americans can't simply shut down
the border without hurting themselves as well. Recall we were
also told that our economy would be ruined if we refused to send
troops to Iraq.
What is striking is the subservient role Granatstein is urging
Canada to adopt. He's suggesting we support NMD, not for its own
merits, but because that's what the U.S. wants us to do.
Those with a broader view of the world might consider other
factors, like the near-certainty that the NMD will revive the
nuclear arms race.
If the U.S. feels it can protect itself from incoming missiles,
it will be in a position to launch pre-emptive nuclear strikes
without fear of retaliation.
"Two warriors armed only with spears won't attack each other. But
if one acquires a shield, he's free to attack the other,"
explains Steven Staples, a defence analyst with the Ottawa-based
Polaris Institute. Staples notes that Russia recently announced
it's developing a missile that can evade NMD.
It was the fear of setting off another arms race that led
countries around the world to condemn Bush's decision to pull the
U.S. out of the 1972 Anti-Ballistics Missile Treaty and begin
developing its NMD program.
That worldwide condemnation explains why Washington is so keen to
involve Canada in the program.
U.S. policymakers aren't interested in our military expertise or
assistance. It's our good name they want.
The involvement of Canada with its long-time reputation for
taking nuclear disarmament seriously would help them dispel
widespread criticism of NMD and deflect charges that it's a
springboard to developing weapons in space.
Granatstein is clearly irritated at the notion that moral
concerns about a new arms race should be allowed to get in the
way of Canada's involvement with NMD.
He dismisses opposition as "irrational, emotional
anti-Americanism" and scoffs at the way "Canadian
parliamentarians and media talk as if the nation still matters in
the world." And he is downright contemptuous of "our pretensions"
and "high-falutin' morality," noting "morality would only anger
the Bush administration."
So, rather than risk annoying Dick Cheney or Karl Rove, the
solution is to drop our moral convictions.
The world community has no actual power to stop Washington from
setting off a new arms race. Our only leverage is to signal our
disapproval, which is therefore what we should do, even if it
risks rankling the superpower next door.
But that's just my irrational, emotional, high-falutin' opinion.
Linda McQuaig is a Toronto-based author and commentator. .
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All
*****************************************************************
10 Charleston.Net: Air Force takes new interest in lost bomb
08/07/04
Nuclear weapon lost in 1958 accident
BY TONY BARTELME Of The Post and Courier Staff
Experts from the Air Force and other federal agencies are
studying information gathered by nuclear bomb hunters in Georgia
who think they may have found a hydrogen bomb the Air Force
accidentally dropped off the coast near Savannah 46 years ago.
Last month, a group led by retired Col. Derek Duke of
Statesboro, Ga., said it had identified a large underwater object
off Tybee Beach that was emitting radioactivity. The object was
in the same area that the plane's navigator said the bomb had
been dropped, Duke told The Post and Courier in an earlier
interview.
In the wake of Duke's report, the Air Force "thinks it's time to
take a harder look at this issue," said Lt. Col. Frank Smolinksy,
an Air Force spokesman.
He stressed that the Air Force remains convinced that the
missing bomb is incapable of generating a nuclear explosion.
In previous interviews, Air Force officials have said the bomb
did not contain a capsule of plutonium required for such a
detonation.
Still, officials have acknowledged that the bomb contains highly
enriched uranium and more than 400 pounds of high explosives.
Duke and others who have been studying the so-called "Tybee
Bomb" for years also fear that the bomb may, in fact, contain the
plutonium capsule. Duke declined to comment about the Air Force's
new interest.
An Air Force B-47 dropped the 7,000-pound bomb in 1958 after it
collided with a fighter.
Smolinsky said a "multidisciplinary team" is working on the case,
including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the National
Nuclear Security Administration, Los Alamos National Laboratory
and several other agencies.
The team will evaluate the Georgia group's data "to verify the
presence of the bomb. If the bomb is located, the Air Force will
then assess whether or not there is a need to remove it."
A similar team studied the issue in 2000 and 2001. At that time,
officials determined that the bomb probably was still intact and
that it was buried somewhere off the coast in 5 to 15 feet of
mud. In those studies, officials determined the bomb was
"irretrievably lost."
Smolinksy said, "we're not sure how long it will take" to assess
Duke's information. "But it will be with due diligence."
If the team discovers that the Georgia bomb hunters' findings
are wrong, "then we'll stand by our original position that the
bomb is safest left alone."
Copyright © 2004, The Post and Courier, All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
11 Daily Times: Pakistan and India are ‘comfortable’ with N-status
Monday, August 09, 2004
WASHINGTON: A conference held here recently to assess the key
military elements that affect strategic stability in a
nuclearised South Asia, came to the conclusion that both
countries are comfortable with their present nuclear status.
While India feels that its large geographic size and abundant
natural boundaries make its nuclear force relatively
invulnerable, its more relaxed retaliation-only strategy affords
it time to react to any irrational nuclear attack. Indian
planners are at least publicly adamant that any Indian response
to nuclear use would be certain and massive. Pakistan feels that
a mobile and dispersed nuclear arsenal is nearly invulnerable,
even from increasingly advanced Indian conventional capabilities.
The conference, sponsored by the Naval Postgraduate Schools,
Monterey’s Centre for Contemporary Conflict, was attended by
about 60 serving and retired military officials, diplomats,
intelligence analysts, and non-governmental experts, several of
them from Pakistan.
Dr Rajesh Basrur of the Centre for Global Studies, Mumbai, told
the conference, “In contrast with the Cold War, there has been no
direct nuclear component in the confrontations between India and
Pakistan. Though there is much talk of an arms race, there is no
evidence of haste in the development of a range of capabilities.”
The conference was told that the untested nuclear weapons in the
Indian and Pakistani arsenals are low-maintenance devices. Force
postures, doctrines, delivery systems, and command and control
practices developed slowly, outside of the public glare, because
there was no strategic urgency to do otherwise. While both India
and Pakistan had dueling missile tests in the mid-1990s, their
pace was more indicative of a research and development effort
than a crash programme to achieve nuclear deterrence.
It was noted that the Indian “draft” nuclear doctrine articulated
a strategy of massive retaliation after the absorption of a
nuclear first strike. One aspect of this policy - that India
would not be the first to use weapons of mass destruction -
comforted US policymakers, although it failed to adequately
reassure strategic planners in Islamabad. Pakistani delegate Air
Commodore Khalid Banuri of the Pakistan Strategic Plans Division
stated, said, “Considering ‘No First Use’ (NFU) as a flawed
argument, the possibility of an Indian pre-emptive strike cannot
be ruled out. To cater for such an eventuality, Pakistan has to
factor in all options to ensure that its response remains viable.
Thus the rising conventional imbalance and the lack of confidence
in NFU are viewed as potentially destabilising and risky.”
Dr Riffat Hussain of the Pakistan National Defence College
reminded the gathering that Pakistan’s initial attempts to
externally balance against India - through alliances - failed.
During the 1965 war, the United States cut off military supplies
to both countries, despite Pakistan’s membership in the SEATO and
CENTO alliances. In 1971, as Pakistan lost its eastern wing to an
Indian-supported Bangladeshi insurgency, the United States stood
by. As a result, Pakistan launched its own nuclear weapons
programme, to “internally balance” the neighbouring threat.
By 1985, Pakistan had developed a recessed nuclear weapons
capability. Pakistani officials felt that their displays of
military readiness - and their undeployed nuclear deterrent – had
prevented war during the 1987 Brasstacks Crisis and 1990
Zarb-e-Momin exercises and during several other crises over the
past two decades. Their decision to go ahead with a nuclear
capability allowed them to quickly respond in 1998 when India
tested. They believe that nuclear weapons and conventional forces
were crucial in deterring India from prosecuting a “limited war,”
as a response to either the 1999 Kargil operation or the 2001
terrorist attack on the Indian parliament in New Delhi. Today,
nuclear weapons are central to Pakistani strategic thought,
especially with regard to deterring India from initiating
large-scale military operations against Pakistan.
Dr Hussain argued, “In the absence of both an offensive
conventional capability, which will allow it to disrupt an Indian
offensive pre-emptively, and the geo-strategic space in which to
manoeuvre and fight in a defence-in-depth strategy, Pakistan’s
physical protection can only be assured by nuclear weapons.
Islamabad expects that in the event of an Indian attack, its
offensive would be met in the first instance by a non-nuclear
defence of the forward areas close to the border. Should
Islamabad fail to hold the front by non-nuclear combat, it would
warn New Delhi that small-yield nuclear weapons would be used to
strike at the invading Indian forces. And then, as a last resort,
it would strike with such weapons if the warning went unheeded.”
The question of how Pakistan would employ nuclear weapons, if it
ever did do so, generated considerable debate.
Pakistani participants included former ISI chief and ambassador
Asad Durrani, retired Brigadier Feroz Hassan Khan, Brig. Naeem
Salik and Capt. Khawar Hussain of the Pakistan Air Force. khalid
hasan
Daily Times - All Rights Reserved
*****************************************************************
12 MSNBC: The Stealth Nuclear Threat
Terror is understandably on everyone's mind, but there is yet
another growing danger over the horizon: an Iran ambitious for
nukes
By Fareed ZakariaNewsweek
Aug. 16 issue - Who could have imagined that alliance management
would be a hot election issue in America? But it is. John Kerry's
repeated pledge to restore relations with America's allies has
struck a chord. The trouble is, if he is elected president, Kerry
is going to find that promise hard to keep—at least with
America's allies in Europe. Most of them would be delighted to
see Kerry win, but that doesn't mean they will be more
cooperative on policy issues. Terror is understandably on
everyone's mind, but there is yet another growing danger over the
horizon. Early into a Kerry administration, we could see a
familiar sight—a transatlantic crisis—except this time it
wouldn't be over Iraq but Iran.
The threat to America from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, if
they ever existed, is in the past. Iran, on the other hand, is
the problem of the future. Over the last two years, thanks to
tips from Iranian opposition groups and investigations by the
International Atomic Energy Agency, it has become clear that Iran
is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. In the words of the
agency, Iran has "a practically complete front end of a nuclear
fuel cycle," which leads most experts to believe it is two to
three years away from having a nuclear bomb.
European countries were as worried by this development as
Washington and, since the United States has no relations with
Iran, Europe stepped in last fall and negotiated a deal with
Iran. It was an excellent agreement in which Iran pledged to stop
developing fissile material (the core ingredient of a nuclear
bomb) and to keep its nuclear program transparent. The only
problem is, Iran has recently announced that it isn't going to
abide by the deal. As the IAEA's investigation got more serious,
Tehran got more secretive. One month ago the agency condemned
Iran for its failure to cooperate. Tehran responded by announcing
that it would resume work in prohibited areas.
FAREED ZAKARIAÂ Â Â Â Current Column | Archives
That's where things stand now, with the clock ticking fast. If
Iran were to go nuclear, it would have dramatic effects. It would
place nuclear materials in the hands of a radical regime that has
ties to unsavory groups. It would signal to other countries that
it's possible to break the nuclear taboo. And it would
revolutionize the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Egypt would feel
threatened by Iran's bomb and would start their own search for
nuclear technology. (Saudi Arabia probably could not make a bomb
but it could certainly buy necessary technology from a country
like Pakistan. In fact, we don't really know all of the buyers
who patronized Pakistani scientist A. Q. Khan's nuclear
supermarket. It's quite possible Saudi Arabia already has a few
elements of such a program.) And then there is Israel, which has
long seen Iran as its greatest threat. It is unlikely to sit
passively while Iran develops a nuclear bomb. The powerful
Iranian politician Ali Rafsanjani has publicly speculated about a
nuclear exchange with Israel. If Iran's program went forward, at
some point Israel would almost certainly try to destroy it using
airstrikes, as it did Iraq's reactor in Osirik. Such an action
would, of course, create a massive political crisis in the
region.
In the face of these stark dangers, Europe seems remarkably
passive. Having burst into action last fall, it does not seem to
know what to do now that Iran has rebuffed its efforts. It is
urging negotiations again, which is fine. But what will it tell
Iran in these negotiations? What is the threat that it is willing
to wield?
Last month the Brookings Institution conducted a scenario with
mostly former American and European officials. In it, Iran
actually acquires fissile material. Even facing the imminent
production of a nuclear bomb, Europeans were unwilling to take
any robust measures like the use of force or tough sanctions.
James Steinberg, a senior Clinton official who organized this
workshop, said that he was "deeply frustrated by European
attitudes." Madeleine Albright, who regularly convenes a
discussion group of former foreign ministers, said that on this
topic, "Europeans say they understand the threat but then act as
if the real problem is not Iran but the United States."
American policy toward Iran is hardly blameless. Washington
refuses even to consider the possibility of direct talks with
Iran, let alone actual relations. Europeans could present
Washington with a plan. They would go along with a bigger stick
if Washington would throw in a bigger carrot: direct engagement
with Tehran. This is something Tehran has long sought, and it
could be offered in return for renouncing its nuclear ambitions.
But for any of this to happen, Europe must be willing to play an
active, assertive role. It must stop viewing itself merely as a
critic of American policy, but rather see itself as a partner,
jointly acting to reduce the dangers of nuclear proliferation.
And it should do this not as a favor to John Kerry but as a
responsibility to its own citizens and those of the world.
Write the author at comments@fareedzakaria.com.© 2004 Newsweek,
Inc.
© 2004 MSNBC.com
*****************************************************************
13 Scotsman.com: Sci-Tech - KGB will not gag me, says scientist
Monday, 9th August 2004
TOM PARFITT
A DEFIANT Scottish academic expelled from Belarus by the KGB has
vowed to continue his work in exposing the authoritarian
regime’s attempts to cover up the aftermath of the Chernobyl
disaster.
Dr Alan Flowers was ejected last week, apparently because of his
support for pro-democracy groups and his controversial research
into the killer fallout from Chernobyl.
The academic, who works at London’s Kingston University and who
is now at home in Edinburgh, was banned from returning to Belarus
for five years.
An angry Flowers spoke of his bitterness at the Belarus regime
and said: "This is all so senseless. But it seems that democracy
development does not meet with the approval of the current
authorities in Minsk."
Flowers said the leadership in Minsk had decided to crack down on
universities cooperating with democratic initiatives. "We are
talking about an authoritarian regime which is the last
dictatorship in Europe," he said.
The scientist was given his marching orders in the Belarusian
capital by the KGB, as the security service is still known there.
He was visiting the rector of the International Sakharov
Environmental University (ISEU) - one of the institutions which
had invited him, when officials served him with papers to leave
the country.
Flowers believes he may have infuriated the regime by claiming
publicly that the Soviet Union used rockets or aircraft to seed
radioactive clouds to rain artificially over Belarus shortly
after the Chernobyl reactor exploded in neighbouring Ukraine in
1986. "In the last two years I became blunter in voicing that
opinion," he said.
The issue is sensitive because of the devastating effect on
public health in the zone affected by fallout.
Flowers said his expulsion was "a significant blow to
Anglo-Belarusian academic and cultural relations".
But while he admitted a "real anger" about being prevented from
meeting long-established contacts, he said his scientific
research could be continued through colleagues in Belarus, and he
expected others would take up the reins to erode president
Alexander Lukashenko’s dictatorship.
"I am absolutely certain that others will follow in my footsteps
and redouble their efforts," he said.
The interior ministry in Minsk said the expulsion was "a security
decision", but there was no suggestion Flowers was involved in
espionage.
The academic’s departure from Belarus is jeopardising the
future of several British government funded projects in the
isolated state.
The scientist was shown a document adding him to a list of people
forbidden to enter the country - drawn up on February 19 -
despite the fact that he visited Belarus on three occasions after
that date. He was forced to leave the country last weekend.
Belarus borders western Russia and is run by strongman
Lukashenko, who has attempted to stamp out all opposition to his
hard-line regime.
Fourteen of the then 15 EU countries placed a travel ban on
Lukashenko two years ago because of his country’s appalling
human rights record.
Human rights groups have accused the Belarusian government of
failing to investigate the disappearance and probable killing of
several opposition political figures.
Because of an agreement between Minsk and Moscow, the scientist
is also barred from visiting Russia for the next five years.
That ban means he is unable to travel to the Siberian city of
Irkutsk this month to cement ties between the science faculty of
Kingston University and Russian researchers.
No official justification for Flowers’ ban has been given, but
the academic thinks his other activities in Belarus also led to
the expulsion. He had worked there as a visiting academic since
1992 and was on a three-week working trip to the country. He
coordinated the country’s pro-democracy European Youth
Parliament (EYP) group and last year helped an opposition
film-maker attend the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
A radioecologist, he began researching the Chernobyl fallout in
1992. He visited contaminated areas near the Belarusian city,
Gomel, on numerous occasions. His conviction that Moscow was
protected from radioactive fallout by aircraft or rockets seeding
clouds over Belarus in the wake of the nuclear disaster were
bolstered in 2002 when he met German scientist Edmund Lengfelder.
Lengfelder, a professor of radiation biology, told him former
Soviet military officers had confirmed it took place. The
Chernobyl disaster led to a dramatic rise in the number of cases
of thyroid cancer, leukaemia and birth defects, especially in
Belarus. Up to seven million people are thought to have been
affected.
However, the scientist, who studied nuclear physics at Edinburgh
University, said the Chernobyl issue was a smokescreen. "My
support for democracy projects was maybe more damaging than my
published research," he said.
As national coordinator for the EYP, he encouraged young people
to take part in English-language debates and mock parliamentary
discussions.
He also organised education projects for small businesses
financed by the Department for International Development. More
informally, he helped bring artists and theatre groups to
Scotland on exchange programmes.
As a result, a group of Belarusian students from ISEU will
perform a play called Think about Freedom tomorrow night at
Rocket @ Demarco Roxy Art House in Roxburgh Place as part of the
Festival Fringe.
©2004 Scotsman.com
*****************************************************************
14 [NukeNet] NRC slapped our faces
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 2004 19:27:54 -0700
The decision to create a security information blackout was actually made in
March. Some twisted souls at the NRC thought it would be a good idea to
announce the decision on the very day the NRC held it's meeting with
critics on how it can improve confidence. Do they believe we will ever
trust them? I recommended to them that they discontinue meetings on "trust
and confidence" and have meetings on how to improve security. The
distortions and flat out lies that were told on Wednesday were as bad or
worse than ever.
The NRC claims it will inform local and state government officials of
security problems. Since when have they ever told the whole story? I've
witnessed many lies and distortions at hearings. I'm sure you have too!
I'm going to be adding more "outrageous" stories to our website
http://www.tmia.com/security/outrage.html
in a few weeks. It's time to publish names of those who make bad decisions
just in case the next 9-11 Commission can't find specific individuals
responsible for vulnerabilities. Thomas Kean, chairman of the 9-11
Commission blamed the public for not demanding better security. So we will
be sure to do a more thorough job.
Scott Portzline
Security Consultant Three Mile Island Alert
http://www.yorkdispatch.com/Stories/0,1413,138~10021~2318676,00.html
Critics blast nuke plant secrecy
Rep. Smith: Public has right to know
By R. SCOTT RAPPOLD The York Dispatch
A local watchdog group is blasting the decision by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission to keep information on security at power plants from the public.
The NRC announced the decision Wednesday, saying it will keep details on
security lapses out of the hands of terrorists that could exploit them.
Such information had long been available in regular reports on the agency's
Web site.
But Eric Epstein, president of TMI Alert, a private group that monitors
both the Three Mile Island and Peach Bottom nuclear power plants, said the
move will not only keep the public from knowing how safe the plants are but
will hamper efforts by concerned citizens to enact changes he said the
plants would never do on their own.
"One of the reasons we have security upgrades at nuclear power plants are
because of pressure by groups like ours," Epstein said. "I don't think the
NRC or the industry have earned the public's trust. They have been slow to
make changes in security in the post-9/11 world."
Safety: The NRC said the decision was actually made in March but kept
secret. It was revealed in Washington, at the commission's
first public meeting on power plant safety since the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks.
"The Commission has a responsibility for public health and safety, and that
responsibility is evaluated in considering which information should be made
public," NRC Chairman Nils Diaz said in a written statement. "We
deliberated for many months on finding the balance between the NRC's
commitment to openness and the concern that sensitive information might be
misused by those who wish us harm."
The NRC regularly updates inspection reports at all nuclear plants,
including violations of security at the facilities.
For example, still available on the commission's Web site are security
violations found in 1996 at both local plants:
In 1996, the agency found sensitive information on security at Peach Bottom
had been improperly stored on a computer and in an "uncontrolled manner" at
various PECO Nuclear offices around the state.
The same year, nuclear inspectors at TMI found a 96-inch-wide opening in a
storm drain that provided access to the plant.
And in 1993, after an escaped mental patient crashed a car through the
gates of TMI, the agency made public the various security lapses that
allowed the incident to occur.
But officials say this is the kind of information that could be used by
terrorists in attacks on the plants, and those attempting to access the
"safeguards" section of a plant's latest evaluation now find it listed
unavailable.
Law enforcement and other emergency officials will still have access to
security information, the NRC said.
Make changes: Epstein, whose group has been calling for tighter safeguards
against terrorism at nuclear plants for more than a decade, said the NRC
has not been aggressive in requiring security changes at nuclear plants, so
it has been up to groups like TMI Alert to raise a clamor for them.
"We were one of the first organizations to draw attention to security
loopholes at nuclear power plants. We were able to do so by having access
to public documents," Epstein said. "They're taking away the ability for us
to gauge whether or not security is sufficiently improving."
And he worries the NRC could interpret the decision to keep secret many
details from plant inspections, beyond just the physical security systems
in place.
"This essentially gives the companies the ability to withhold any and all
details regarding the plant's operation. Just about everything they do has
to do with safety and security," Epstein said. "We will no longer know how
many people are there to secure the plant."
"I think everybody should be concerned about this development," Epstein
said. "You have to be actively engaged in preventing terrorism, and it
doesn't help when you put blinders on the public's eyes."
State Rep. Bruce Smith, R-Dillsburg, a township supervisor during the 1979
partial meltdown at TMI and a critic of security there, said he has mixed
feelings about the NRC decision.
"I understand why the NRC would not want to reveal a weak point at a
nuclear power plant," Smith said. "At the same time, we in York County have
two plants we are concerned with.
"If Peach Bottom or TMI are guilty of lax enforcement, we should know and
we have a right to know, and I think the NRC is wrong in their decision,"
he said.
Not concerned: But officials in the two York County municipalities closest
to the two nuclear plants were not concerned about the new policy.
George Knoll, chairman of the Newberry Township Board of Supervisors --
across the river from TMI -- said plant officials always keep the township
informed about safety and security at the plant and meet with township
officials twice a year.
"When there is any kind of event, regardless of how small or minor, we get
briefed," Knoll said.
In Peach Bottom Township, John Johnson, vice chairman of the board of
supervisors, agrees.
"I know a lot of people that work there, and I see the national guard and
state police presence there, so I feel quite comfortable that what they're
doing will protect the plant," Johnson said. "Try to drive down there
sometime and see what happens."
Pete Resler, spokesman for Exelon Nuclear, which owns TMI and Peach Bottom,
said the company will still be submitting the same reports it always has to
the NRC and has no opinion on the new policy .
"It has no impact on our reporting to the NRC," he said.
Reach R. Scott Rappold at 854-1575 or
rsrappold@yorkdispatch.com .
TMI 'security zone' permanent
The U.S. Coast Guard has established a permanent "security zone" on the
Susquehanna River, which forbids boaters from coming within 100 feet of the
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
The decision, announced Monday in the Federal Register, makes permanent the
temporary boating ban, marked by lighted buoys, in place since July 2002
because of concerns terrorists could attack the plant with a boat-borne
bomb. The temporary zone expired July 31, and the permanent boating ban
went into effect Aug. 1.
According to the Coast Guard, violators could face fines of $32,500, among
other penalties. The ban will be enforced by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission.
_______________________________________________________________________
Subscribe/Unsubscribe Here: http://www.energyjustice.net/nukenet/
Change your settings at:
http://energyjustice.net/mailman/listinfo/nukenet_energyjustice.net
*****************************************************************
15 New rule blasted
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 2004 19:26:41 -0700
Critics blast nuke plant secrecy
Rep. Smith: Public has right to know
By R. SCOTT RAPPOLD The York Dispatch
8/6/2004
A local watchdog group is blasting the decision by the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission to keep information on security at power plants from the public.
The NRC announced the decision Wednesday, saying it will keep details on
security lapses out of the hands of terrorists that could exploit them. Such
information had long been available in regular reports on the agency's Web
site.
But Eric Epstein, president of TMI Alert, a private group that monitors both
the Three Mile Island and Peach Bottom nuclear power plants, said the move
will not only keep the public from knowing how safe the plants are but will
hamper efforts by concerned citizens to enact changes he said the plants
would never do on their own.
"One of the reasons we have security upgrades at nuclear power plants are
because of pressure by groups like ours," Epstein said. "I don't think the
NRC or the industry have earned the public's trust. They have been slow to
make changes in security in the post-9/11 world."
Safety: The NRC said the decision was actually made in March but kept
secret. It was revealed in Washington, at the commission's
first public meeting on power plant safety since the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks.
"The Commission has a responsibility for public health and safety, and that
responsibility is evaluated in considering which information should be made
public," NRC Chairman Nils Diaz said in a written statement. "We deliberated
for many months on finding the balance between the NRC's commitment to
openness and the concern that sensitive information might be misused by
those who wish us harm."
The NRC regularly updates inspection reports at all nuclear plants,
including violations of security at the facilities.
For example, still available on the commission's Web site are security
violations found in 1996 at both local plants:
In 1996, the agency found sensitive information on security at Peach Bottom
had been improperly stored on a computer and in an "uncontrolled manner" at
various PECO Nuclear offices around the state.
The same year, nuclear inspectors at TMI found a 96-inch-wide opening in a
storm drain that provided access to the plant.
And in 1993, after an escaped mental patient crashed a car through the gates
of TMI, the agency made public the various security lapses that allowed the
incident to occur.
But officials say this is the kind of information that could be used by
terrorists in attacks on the plants, and those attempting to access the
"safeguards" section of a plant's latest evaluation now find it listed
unavailable.
Law enforcement and other emergency officials will still have access to
security information, the NRC said.
Make changes: Epstein, whose group has been calling for tighter safeguards
against terrorism at nuclear plants for more than a decade, said the NRC has
not been aggressive in requiring security changes at nuclear plants, so it
has been up to groups like TMI Alert to raise a clamor for them.
"We were one of the first organizations to draw attention to security
loopholes at nuclear power plants. We were able to do so by having access to
public documents," Epstein said. "They're taking away the ability for us to
gauge whether or not security is sufficiently improving."
And he worries the NRC could interpret the decision to keep secret many
details from plant inspections, beyond just the physical security systems in
place.
"This essentially gives the companies the ability to withhold any and all
details regarding the plant's operation. Just about everything they do has
to do with safety and security," Epstein said. "We will no longer know how
many people are there to secure the plant."
"I think everybody should be concerned about this development," Epstein
said. "You have to be actively engaged in preventing terrorism, and it
doesn't help when you put blinders on the public's eyes."
State Rep. Bruce Smith, R-Dillsburg, a township supervisor during the 1979
partial meltdown at TMI and a critic of security there, said he has mixed
feelings about the NRC decision.
"I understand why the NRC would not want to reveal a weak point at a nuclear
power plant," Smith said. "At the same time, we in York County have two
plants we are concerned with.
"If Peach Bottom or TMI are guilty of lax enforcement, we should know and we
have a right to know, and I think the NRC is wrong in their decision," he
said.
Not concerned: But officials in the two York County municipalities closest
to the two nuclear plants were not concerned about the new policy.
George Knoll, chairman of the Newberry Township Board of Supervisors --
across the river from TMI -- said plant officials always keep the township
informed about safety and security at the plant and meet with township
officials twice a year.
"When there is any kind of event, regardless of how small or minor, we get
briefed," Knoll said.
In Peach Bottom Township, John Johnson, vice chairman of the board of
supervisors, agrees.
"I know a lot of people that work there, and I see the national guard and
state police presence there, so I feel quite comfortable that what they're
doing will protect the plant," Johnson said. "Try to drive down there
sometime and see what happens."
Pete Resler, spokesman for Exelon Nuclear, which owns TMI and Peach Bottom,
said the company will still be submitting the same reports it always has to
the NRC and has no opinion on the new policy .
"It has no impact on our reporting to the NRC," he said.
Reach R. Scott Rappold at 854-1575 or rsrappold@yorkdispatch.com .
TMI 'security zone' permanent
The U.S. Coast Guard has established a permanent "security zone" on the
Susquehanna River, which forbids boaters from coming within 100 feet of the
Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.
The decision, announced Monday in the Federal Register, makes permanent the
temporary boating ban, marked by lighted buoys, in place since July 2002
because of concerns terrorists could attack the plant with a boat-borne
bomb. The temporary zone expired July 31, and the permanent boating ban went
into effect Aug. 1.
According to the Coast Guard, violators could face fines of $32,500, among
other penalties. The ban will be enforced by the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat
Commission.
*****************************************************************
16 Guardian Unlimited: British Chernobyl scientist expelled by Belarus KGB
Lee Glendinning
Monday August 9, 2004
A British scientist who has studied the Chernobyl nuclear
disaster for more than 10 years has been placed on the
Belarussian KGB's "forbidden persons list" and banned from the
country for five years.
Alan Flowers, a professor at Kingston University, was expelled
from the former Soviet republic last weekend, just a few weeks
after arriving for a lecture tour on an invitation from the state
university.
He had regularly conducted studies, testing radioactive content
in soil, and had his visa renewed in March to continue his work
in the country.
Detailing his expulsion for the first time, he told the Guardian
that he believed the move was an attempt to gag him by the
current Belarussian government, led by the hardline president,
Aleksandr Lukashenko.
His research could have the potential to embarrass past and
present governments.
"They claim to be a democracy and with the Chernobyl research I
was working in conjunction with the university, which claims it
is dedicated to free and open speech," Dr Flowers said.
"But whether it is Stalinist purges in the 1930s or the Soviet
reaction to Chernobyl, any detrimental history is not greatly
encouraged for consumption of Belarus people.
"It's just not given prominence by the present administration."
The professor said until his expulsion he had been carrying out
his work unimpeded and had not been approached by the authorities
at any time with suggestions that he had broken any law.
But on the afternoon of July 29, when he went to meet the
director of the university, Dr Flowers was greeted by a member of
the secret service, which still calls itself the KGB, and one
member of the local passport registration office.
"My passport was in order, my visa had been granted in March but
they told me I was illegally in the territory of Belarus and must
leave."
When he questioned the order, Dr Flowers was told only that his
name was on the blacklist and that he was therefore banned from
the country. The official's actions had been in no way
threatening, he said, and he had been treated with courtesy and
respect.
"A police officer actually apologised to me at the end and asked
me if I was completely satisfied with the proceedings," he said.
"But at the end of the day, if they decide they don't want you
there, you are really just going through the process. The
policeman who first took my passport said: 'I do hope, Dr
Flowers, that this is a mistake."'
He was told the decision had been taken by the KGB in
consultation with several other authorities, including the
interior ministry.
The next day he attended the local passport office, and left the
country the following Monday.
The Foreign Office would say only that it was still awaiting an
explanation from the Belarussian government to clarify what had
happened. Dr Flowers said it had lodged a protest on his behalf,
asking for his visa to be reinstated.
For more than 10 years Dr Flowers has taken part in scientific
exchanges with academics in Belarus. He says he has always had
full cooperation from staff there.
But the government has been known to gag outspoken researchers.
In 2001, Yuri Bandazhevsky, the country's leading scientist, who
had tried to highlight the effects of the Chernobyl disaster on
children, was sentenced to eight years in a labour camp after a
court found him guilty of taking bribes from students.
Newspapers in Moscow reported last week that a Russian
broadcasting company had been closed down after a report on a
protest against President Lukashenko was deemed "improper".
Dr Flowers believes his expulsion is a sign of declining academic
freedom. "I haven't changed with what I am doing in the past 10
years but the perception of the Belarus authority has changed
towards me."
[UP]
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
*****************************************************************
17 Manila Times: Nuke plant fate hangs
www.manilatimes.net
Monday, August 09, 2004
By Niel Villegas Mugastc "By Niel Villegas Mugas", Reportertc
"Reporter"
Malacañang appears to be backpedaling in its bid to convert the
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant into a gas-fired facility.tc
"Malacañang appears to be backpedaling in its bid to convert the
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant into a gas-fired facility."
Last week President Arroyo announced that the plant, which has
been idle the past 20 years, would be retooled so that it could
run on gas instead of nuclear energy.tc "Last week President
Arroyo announced that the plant, which has been idle the past 20
years, would be retooled so that it could run on gas instead of
nuclear energy."
Other mothballed plants will also be reopened to boost the
country’s electricity supply by 2008.tc "Other mothballed plants
will also be reopened to boost the country’s electricity supply
by 2008."
On Sunday the President’s deputy spokesman, Ricardo Saludo, said
in a radio interview that the decision whether to back the
plant’s conversion is best left under the Department of Energy.tc
"On Sunday the President’s deputy spokesman, Ricardo Saludo, said
in a radio interview that the decision whether to back the
plant’s conversion is best left under the Department of Energy."
He said it is the department which has sufficient information to
determine if the conversion would indeed be beneficial to the
country in the face of spiraling oil and energy cost.tc "He said
it is the department which has sufficient information to
determine if the conversion would indeed be beneficial to the
country in the face of spiraling oil and energy cost."
Although he did not issue a categorical response, Saludo hinted
that Malacañang is not closing its door on the proposal.tc
"Although he did not issue a categorical response, Saludo hinted
that Malacañang is not closing its door on the proposal."
He said Malacañang has to wait for the energy department to
submit a formal recommendation.tc "He said Malacañang has to wait
for the energy department to submit a formal recommendation."
Saludo said the department has yet to determine if the conversion
would minimize government spending and whether the plant is safe
enough. tc "Saludo said the department has yet to determine if
the conversion would minimize government spending and whether the
plant is safe enough. "
He made the statement in the face of growing opposition to
convert the facility.tc "He made the statement in the face of
growing opposition to convert the facility."
The Freedom from Debt Coalition, for one, warned that converting
the plant might bring the government more harm than good.tc "The
Freedom from Debt Coalition, for one, warned that converting the
plant might bring the government more harm than good."
Sen. Joker Arroyo called the proposal to reconfigure the plant a
“cross-eyed idea.”tc "Sen. Joker Arroyo called the proposal to
reconfigure the plant a “cross-eyed idea.”"
Sen. Serge Osmeña said he supports the conversion plan.tc "Sen.
Serge Osmeña said he supports the conversion plan."
Osmeña, vice chair of the Senate Committee on Energy, said the
600-megawatt capacity of the plant will greatly increase the
energy supply in the Luzon grid.tc "Osmeña, vice chair of the
Senate Committee on Energy, said the 600-megawatt capacity of the
plant will greatly increase the energy supply in the Luzon grid."
He said aging power plants should also be upgraded to avoid the
energy shortage that saddled the country in the early nineties.tc
"He said aging power plants should also be upgraded to avoid the
energy shortage that saddled the country in the early nineties."
“If the government will not concentrate on upgrading aging power
plants and building more plants elsewhere, a power shortage is
possible in the next three or four years,” Osmeña said in a
telephone interview.tc "“If the government will not concentrate
on upgrading aging power plants and building more plants
elsewhere, a power shortage is possible in the next three or four
years,” Osmeña said in a telephone interview."
He said selling the nuclear plant, which was never used, would
only bring 10 percent of the original price.tc "He said selling
the nuclear plant, which was never used, would only bring 10
percent of the original price."
“We spent $1.2 billion to build the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant
but we can only get more or less 10 percent and we have to wait
for three to four years, depending on the political will of the
government to rehabilitate it before we can get additional
supply,” Osmeña said.tc "“We spent $1.2 billion to build the
Bataan Nuclear Power Plant but we can only get more or less 10
percent and we have to wait for three to four years, depending on
the political will of the government to rehabilitate it before we
can get additional supply,” Osmeña said."
He said President Arroyo does not need to ask for emergency power
to build new power plants because she can invoke the Epira Law to
use the power she needed.tc "He said President Arroyo does not
need to ask for emergency power to build new power plants because
she can invoke the Epira Law to use the power she needed."
Among other plants the government wants to reopen are the 620-MW
Limay combine-cycle gas plant, the 850-MW Sucat plant and the
650-MW Malaya Oil Thermal plant.tc "Among other plants the
government wants to reopen are the 620-MW Limay combine-cycle gas
plant, the 850-MW Sucat plant and the 650-MW Malaya Oil Thermal
plant."
Osmeña reminded the government that Sual 1 and 2 in Pangasinan,
which generate 600-MW each, need upgrading but their temporary
closure would result in one- to two-hour outages.tc "Osmeña
reminded the government that Sual 1 and 2 in Pangasinan, which
generate 600-MW each, need upgrading but their temporary closure
would result in one- to two-hour outages."
He prefers to privatize the idle plants, something the President
has been working on.tc "He prefers to privatize the idle plants,
something the President has been working on."
Energy Secretary Vincent Perez admitted in an interview over the
weekend that he prefers that the plant be sold after 70 percent
of the National Power Corp. is privatized.tc "Energy Secretary
Vincent Perez admitted in an interview over the weekend that he
prefers that the plant be sold after 70 percent of the National
Power Corp. is privatized."
The nuclear plant would be attractive to buyers who have not won
any of the bid-out plants when Napocor sold its generating
assets.
--With Sammy Martin, Correspondent
Powered by: The Manila Times Web Admin.
*****************************************************************
18 toledoblade.com: Fuse failure not likely a sign of Besse flaws
Article published Saturday, August 7, 2004
By TOM HENRY BLADE STAFF WRITER
The blown fuse that caused Davis-Besse's emergency shutdown
Wednesday morning apparently is not a symptom of larger equipment
problems at the nuclear plant.
Both FirstEnergy Corp. and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
agreed yesterday that the fuse in question blew because it was
simply worn out.
The utility is doing additional maintenance over the weekend and
gearing up for a Monday restart. It hopes to have the nuclear
plant back online Tuesday, a company spokesman said.
FirstEnergy and the federal regulator came to the same conclusion
after completing a follow-up analysis of the plant's four reactor
trip circuit breakers. The devices are grouped into two parallel
sets and are part of a safety system that automatically shuts
down the reactor when computers sensed a problem.
Workers weren't aware that one of those two sets was holding a
blown fuse when they performed a routine test on breakers
Wednesday morning, something that's done once every three weeks.
The reactor automatically shut down when the only fully operable
set of breakers was opened for the test, Jan Strasma, a NRC
spokesman, said.
The NRC isn't classifying what happened as a procedural error.
But it has told the utility to amend its procedure for future
tests by waiting to do tests on either set of breakers until it
knows all fuses are operable on the opposite set, he said.
"As a result of this happening, they will improve their
procedure," Mr. Strasma said.
The agency has placed "no restraints" on FirstEnergy's restart
schedule, he said.
The utility said it also plans to recalibrate or fix a safety
valve between the steam generator and turbine before restart. The
valve opened early as the reactor was being shut down, but posed
no safety threat.
Contact Tom Henry at: thenry@theblade.com or 419-724-6079.
© 2004 The Blade. By using this service, you accept the
terms of our privacy statement and our visitor agreement. Please
read them. The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo,
OH 43660 , (419) 724-6000 To contact a specific department or an
*****************************************************************
19 ITAR-TASS: Ukraine starts commercial operation of new nuclear power unit
ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia]
08.08.2004, 14.33
NETESHIN, Khmelnitsky Region, August 8 (Itar-Tass) - Ukraine on
Sunday received an additional reliable power source. On an
instruction from Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma who flew to
Neteshin, the city of Ukrainian nuclear power specialists, they
put into commercial operation the second power unit of the
Khmelnitsky nuclear station. From now on, the unit started
supplying electricity to the Ukrainian energy system.
On giving the order of “raising the capacity of the second power
set up to the commercial load”, Kuchma said that “Ukraine has
confirmed once again its high technological potential by putting
into operation the new power block at the Khmelnitsky nuclear
station”.
The commissioning of the second power unit at the Khmelnitsky
station gives a possibility to generate annually 6-6.5 billion
kilowatt-hours of safe and cheap electricity. According to
managing director of the Khmelnitsky power station, “the state
of security of power unit No. 2 was confirmed by implementation
of measures on raising security and modernization”.
The second power block of the station will run on improved fuel
TVS-A and will be a pioneer among Ukrainian reactors VVER-1000
with the first full load of a new fuel. Ukraine purchased
improved assemblies from the Russian TVEL company, supplying
nuclear fuel to 13 countries, including Western Europe, the CIS
and the Baltics. Around 17 percent of the world nuclear fuel
market belongs to this Russian company, a monopoly in production
of advanced nuclear fuel for power stations.
© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
20 The Mercury: Limerick OKs security upgrades at power plant
Laura Catalano
Special to The Mercury 08/07/2004
LIMERICK -- The Board of Supervisors has approved plans by Exelon
Nuclear’s Limerick Generating Station to construct a new training
building and improve security measures around its power plant.
The new security measures are expected to be completed by the end
of October, an Exelon representative told the board at a recent
meeting.
Improvements to security include constructing seven elevated
guard posts and a new checkpoint, installing additional fencing
around the perimeter of the plant, and modifying an existing
vehicle barrier system, according to Chris Gerdis, Exelon’s lead
project manager.
The improvements are being done to conform to new federal
regulations governing security around nuclear generating
facilities.
"We are enhancing our security system to meet the regulations
established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission," Gerdis
explained.
The changes boost the already tight security at the plant, and
come as a result of new NRC regulations developed after Sept. 11,
according to Exelon spokeswoman Lisa Washak.
"The plant was very highly secure before 9/11. This is some
additional security," Washak said.
According to Washak, a boundary fence already existing around a
portion of the plant that contain the reactor will now be
expanded beyond that area., and the seven new guard posts will
augment other posts already on site.
They will be manned 24 hours a day.
"We have a very highly-trained, well-armed security force here.
This is not mall security," said Washak.
The additional barrier system will consist of concrete-block
barriers that prevent vehicles from getting near the plant. A
barrier system already exists, and will be expanded as a result
of the new security measures.
"If someone were to drive up with some sort of bomb or something
like that, it would keep them away so they wouldn’t do any
damage," explained Gerdis.
Washak said people often worry about the site, and fear that
security is lax because it is possible to drive near the cooling
towers.
"You can get pretty close to the cooling towers, but there’s
nothing in them," Washak said. "After 9/11, people worried about
an aircraft hitting them. From a nuclear perspective, that’s not
an issue."
In addition to the security improvements, Exelon will also
construct a new training facility, which will house a control
room simulator used for training operators.
The 8,400-square-foot facility will replace an existing training
building located across from the information center. The existing
building will be sold or leased once construction of the new
training center is completed by the end of the year, Gerdis said.
Exelon is constructing the new building for several reasons. For
one thing, it offers added security.
"It’s not a security requirement, but it’s just good practice to
have that facility closer to our protected area," Gerdis
explained.
It also allows employees easier access to the facility. Operators
who now have to drive to training programs will be able to walk
to the new building from the plant.
"We believe people will take more advantage of the training
offered," Gerdis said.
Washak stressed that security is and always has been a paramount
concern at the site.
"We’re taking every possible measure to protect the plant. We
think the likelihood of an attack is minimal, but we still want
to protect the plant," she said.
©The Mercury 2004
*****************************************************************
21 Las Vegas SUN: Ukraine Launches New Atomic Reactor
Today: August 08, 2004 at 13:52:36 PDT
ASSOCIATED PRESS
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) - Ukraine, the site of the world's worst
nuclear accident, launched a new atomic reactor Sunday, and a
second reactor is set to open later this year, a news agency
reported.
President Leonid Kuchma, joined by other top officials, attended
the startup of reactor No. 2 at the Khmelnitskyi plant in western
Ukraine.
Kuchma gave the order to the reactor's staff to "raise the
capacity of the .... power unit up to the commercial load," the
ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
A new reactor at the Rivne nuclear power plant, also in the west,
is set to be completed later this year.
The European Union pledged to finance safety upgrades at both
reactors through an $83 million loan. The money will be in
addition to a $42 million program recently approved by the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the same
purpose.
Ukraine has committed to modernizing its 13 operating nuclear
reactors. The former Soviet republic shuttered Chernobyl, site of
the 1986 accident, but is asking Western donors for an additional
$350 million to replace a shelter securing the destroyed reactor.
*****************************************************************
22 SouthofBoston.com: Plant unsafe at any time
By David R. Smith
THE PATRIOT LEDGER
THE ENTERPRISE
OLD COLONY MEMORIAL
Patriot Ledger
Enterprise
Old Colony Memorial
MPG Newspapers 9 Long Pond Rd. Plymouth, MA 02360 (508) 746-5555
PLYMOUTH (Aug 6) - Facing the possibility the Pilgrim nuclear
power plant could request a license renewal to continue
operations through 2032, a statewide consumer advocacy group
released a report this week critical of the plant's safety and
security.
The Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MassPIRG)
released "Unacceptable Risk," a 44-page report outlining what it
perceived as deficiencies and concerns with the plant.
The current 40-year license expires June 2012. Pilgrim's owner,
Louisiana-based Entergy, could request a 20-year license renewal
as soon as July 2005.
Entergy owns 10 plants throughout the country. The company
initially planned to submit an application for renewal of
Pilgrim's license by Dec. 2004.
However, citing a poor economic outlook for electric prices, the
company put the brakes on the renewal process.
According to Frank Gorke, MassPIRG's energy advocate, Entergy has
given the commission five generic intent notices for submitting
license renewals from July 2005 to December 2008.
"The placeholders are nonspecific," Gorke said. "The community
deserves to know what they're going to do. For safety's sake, we
have to assume Pilgrim will be on the list."
Pilgrim spokesman David Tarantino said the company would have to
make a decision one way or another by 2007 to allow sufficient
time to go through the renewal process.
"We haven't made that decision yet," Tarantino said, "but our
decision is going to be based on economics."
Without a firm decision by Entergy, Plymouth nuclear matters
committee member Jeff Berger said fighting against something that
hasn't happened yet doesn't make sense.
"What's the point of speculating about something you really can't
forecast?" Berger said. "We just need to be prepared for whatever
direction Entergy takes."
Berger noted the plant is one of the town's largest taxpayers.
Should the plant close, the town would have to focus on the
effect that would have on its tax base.
Gorke, however, said the safety of the plant and its potential as
a terrorist target needs to be addressed.
"There's a long list of problems: the threat to public health,
public safety and the environment," he said.
He said the new study summarizes all the problems with nuclear
power in one place.
Tarantino said he had read the MassPIRG report.
"There's nothing really new there," Tarantino said. "It goes
through a lot of old allegations, some dating back 25 years."
Should Entergy move forward with the license renewal process,
MassPIRG's Gorke said he doesn't have confidence the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission, the agency responsible for licensing
nuclear plants, will review Pilgrim's application carefully
enough.
"The NRC has a history of disregard for critical public safety
and environmental issues," Gorke said. "They don't do a thorough
enough evaluation of the health of a plant. There's too great a
chance that some major wear and tear or technical flaw would go
undiscovered in the process of relicensing the plant."
Tarantino countered, saying the plant has not been left as-is
over the decades.
"Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent at Pilgrim over
the years to keep it up to date," Tarantino said. "It's capable
of being relicensed."
Berger agreed. "I think to argue that it's the same plant it was
in 1972 is not effective," he said. "There's just been far too
much work on the plant since then. I can't imagine either the
people who run the Pilgrim plant or the NRC will be anything less
than thorough in making sure the plant runs safely."
Although the NRC has authority over granting or rejecting the
renewal application, Gorke said the influence of state officials,
including the state's congressional delegation, governor and
attorney general, could influence the commission's decision
during the public comment period of the 22 to 30 month renewal
process.
"The NRC has been rubber stamping license reapplications," Gorke
said. "We need to have the support of state leaders on this."
Berger, who said he wasn't necessarily for or against nuclear
energy, disputed MassPIRG's charge.
"I'm not an apologist for the NRC, I don't think they're perfect,
but from my own perspective, they wouldn't allow the plant to be
relicensed unless it met or exceeded all of its requirements for
safety or security."
SUBSCRIBE| CONTACT US MPG Newspapers, 9 Long Pond Rd., Plymouth,
MA 02360 Telephone: (508) 746-5555
*****************************************************************
23 Public Citizen: Government Judicial Body Affirms Role of
Citizens’ Groups in Licensing Hearing of New Nuclear Plant at
North Anna
August 6, 2004
But Panel Rejects Hearing Legitimate Security, Radioactive Waste
and Safety Concerns
MINERAL, Va. Todays ruling by a federal judicial board
affirmed the participatory role of three public interest
organizations in the upcoming licensing hearing for a proposed
nuclear reactor in Virginia, petitioners Public Citizen, the
Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), and the Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League said.
The board accepted two of the groups six criticisms (called
contentions ) about the application by Dominion for a permit to
site at least one new nuclear reactor near the existing North
Anna reactors. The board agreed to hear the coalitions charge
that an additional reactor or two at the site will have a
detrimental effect on the striped bass population, one of the
most important sport fish in Lake Anna.
We are pleased that the board recognized the validity of our
concerns about the important striped bass fishery in the lake,
as well as our right to participate in this licensing process on
behalf of our members in Virginia, said Wenonah Hauter,
director of Public Citizens energy program. But we are
dismayed that the board rejected hearing vital issues related to
the environment, safety and security.
Under new Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations,
Dominion has applied for an Early Site Permit (ESP), which would
allow the company to bank the site for 20 years, during which
time it can choose a reactor type and apply for a combined
construction and operating license.
This new licensing process is strange beast, said Lou Zeller
with Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League. The new process
arbitrarily divides issues related to designing and approving a
specific reactor for a specific site, making it extremely
difficult for the public to have any say in the process.
The board denied the coalitions argument that the North Anna
site should be evaluated to determine whether the entire reactor
containment could be located below ground for security reasons.
The board also rejected the coalitions concerns that there are
no viable plans for a federal repository for the irradiated
fuel, as well as its claims that Dominion has prepared an
inadequate analysis of a severe accident.
Given the September 11th Commissions report that al Qaeda
considered targeting nuclear power plants, it is outrageous that
the board has failed to admit contentions related to security
issues at nuclear power plants, said Paul Gunter, director of
the Reactor Watchdog Project for Nuclear Information and
Resource Service. Building more nuclear plants and piling up
more irradiated fuel in the cooling pools will make these sites
even more inviting to terrorists and more vulnerable to attack.
The ruling came from a three-judge Atomic Safety and Licensing
Board (ASLB) appointed by the NRC, the federal agency
responsible for licensing and regulating the commercial nuclear
industry. The board will hear, in a courtroom-style proceeding,
disputes arising from Dominions license application.
The NRCs licensing process is a formal legal procedure
administered by the ASLB. The ASLB agreed to hear the following
contentions:
+ In its application, Dominion failed to adequately address
the adverse impacts of operating one or two additional reactors
on the striped bass in Lake Anna and the North Anna River, in
particular the impacts on the population from increased water
temperature.
+ In its application, Dominion failed to consider the
no-action alternative to the use of the Lake Anna water for
cooling an additional reactor.
Early Site Permit applications have been submitted by other
utilities in Port Gibson, Miss., and Clinton, Ill., as part of
the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Nuclear Power
2010 program. Taxpayers are funding half the cost of the ESP
applications preparation and review, estimated at about $14
million each. Further, as part of a consortium of utilities,
construction firms and reactor vendors, Dominion applied on
March 17 of this year for $250 million from the government to
help prepare a combined construction and operating license for a
future nuclear plant.
Public Citizen and NIRS also filed contentions with the NRC for
the Early Site Permits in Port Gibson, Miss., and Clinton, Ill.
To read todays rulings at all three sites, please see Court
Opinions at .
###
*****************************************************************
24 Public Citizen: NRC Strikes Down Environmental Justice Claims and
Bid For Licensing Hearing to Site New Reactor Unit at Grand Gulf
August 6, 2004
PORT GIBSON, Miss. In a blow to environmental justice
principles, a federal licensing board of the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission (NRC) has denied four environmental, public
interest and civil rights organizations entrance into a licensing
hearing on Entergys application to site a new nuclear reactor in
Mississippi under the agencys new streamlined licensing
proceedings.
The licensing board denied all of the groups criticisms, or
contentions, about an Entergy Nuclear application for a permit
to site at least one new nuclear reactor near its existing Grand
Gulf Unit 1 reactor in Port Gibson, Mississippi. The proposed
reactor would be located in Claiborne County, with an 84 percent
African American population and 32 percent of its residents
living at or below the poverty line.
NRC simply ignored very real environmental justice issues in
Claiborne County and factual disputes in dismissing our case,
said Paul Gunter, director of the Reactor Watchdog Project
for Nuclear Information and Resource Service. NRC offered very
little, if any, rationale for its denial of a hearing on how a
predominately minority and poor community sitting right next door
to an atomic power plant is hurt by expanding this dangerous
site.
This is an assault on environmental justice in a bid to push new
reactors through the agencys new McLicensing procedure, said
Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizens energy program. In
the process, the licensing board has given short shrift to a
proceeding vitally important to the future health, safety and
livelihood of Claiborne Countys residents.
The two groups said they would appeal the Atomic Safety Licensing
Board (ASLB) decision to the agencys commissioners within the
required 10 days.
In denying the contentions, the licensing board did not address
the coalitions argument that a peculiar Mississippi tax law
passed by the state legislature shortly after Grand Gulf Unit 1
came on line in 1985, which redistributed most of the countys
original property tax revenue from the Grand Gulf nuclear power
station to 44 other counties in the companys electricity
distribution network, has disproportionately and adversely
impacted Claiborne County.
The ruling came from the three-judge ASLB appointed by the NRC,
the federal agency responsible for licensing and regulating the
domestic nuclear industry.
The ASLB also denied contentions on the applications lack of
analysis on safety implications from locating a new reactor
design adjacent to an older and earlier model reactor, the need
for below-grade construction of new reactors in the
post-September 11th world, severe accident impacts, emergency
planning, and the lack of a demonstrated national long-term
management plan for new nuclear waste generated by any new
reactors.
The Early Site Permit (ESP) would allow the company to bank the
site for 20 years, during which time it can choose a reactor type
and apply for a combined construction and operating license.
The board determined that the coalitions emergency planning
contentions could properly be raised at the combined construction
permit/operating license stage.
Early Site Permit applications have been submitted by utilities
in Clinton, Illinois, and Mineral, Virginia, as part of the U.S.
Department of Energys (DOE) Nuclear Power 2010 program.
Taxpayers are funding half the cost of the ESP applications
preparation and review, estimated at about $14 million each. As
part of the NuStart Energy Development consortium, Entergy
announced last week it is applying for $400 million from the
government to help prepare a combined construction and operating
license for a future nuclear reactor.
Public Citizen and NIRS also filed contentions with the NRC for
the Early Site Permits in Illinois and Virginia. To read todays
rulings at all three sites, please see Court Opinions
at http://www.citizen.org/cmep/esp.
###
*****************************************************************
25 Public Citizen: Government Administrative Body Affirms Role of
Citizens’ Groups in Licensing Hearing of New Nuclear Plant at
Clinton
August 6, 2004
Board Allows Evaluation of Clean Energy Alternatives but Rejects
Consideration of Energy Efficiency and Illinois Moratorium on
New Nuclear Plants
CLINTON, Ill. Todays ruling by a federal judicial board
affirmed the participatory role of four public interest
organizations in the upcoming licensing hearing for a proposed
nuclear reactor in Illinois, petitioners Environmental Law and
Policy Center, Public Citizen, the Nuclear Information and
Resource Service, and the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League said.
The board accepted one of the groups challenges (called
contentions ) about the application of Exelon for a permit to
site at least one new nuclear reactor near the existing
Clinton reactor. This Early Site Permit (ESP) would allow the
company to bank the site for 20 years, during which time it
can choose a reactor type and apply for a combined construction
and operating license.
We are pleased that the board recognized the validity of our
clean energy alternatives contention, as well as our right to
participate in this licensing process on behalf of our members
in Illinois, said Wenonah Hauter, director of Public Citizens
Energy Program. But we are dismayed that the board rejected
hearing vital issues related to radioactive waste, safety and
security.
The board denied the coalitions argument that Exelon should
consider energy efficiency as a reasonable alternative to
nuclear power. The board also rejected the coalitions
contention that approval of the siting of a new plant would be
inappropriate in light of an Illinois moratorium requiring the
government to approve a demonstrable means for the disposal of
high-level nuclear waste before any new nuclear plants are
located in the state.
We look forward to presenting the case that wind, solar and
other clean energy sources represent cheaper, safer and cleaner
alternatives to new nuclear power, said Shannon Fisk, staff
attorney at the Environmental Law and Policy Center, based in
Chicago. We are disappointed, however, that the panel declined
to consider energy efficiency or the Illinois State Moratorium,
which represents our States decision not to add new nuclear
power until the waste disposal problem has been adequately
addressed.
The board also rejected other contentions relating to concerns
about site safety, security and waste disposal. The ruling came
from a three-judge Atomic Safety and Licensing Board (ASLB)
appointed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the
federal agency responsible for licensing and regulating the
domestic nuclear industry. The board will hear, in a
courtroom-style proceeding, disputes arising from Exelons
application.
The nuclear waste conundrum is only further confounded by the
NRC and DOE bid to promote and license more nuclear power
without a scientifically proven and accepted long term
solution, said Paul Gunter, Director of the Reactor Watchdog
Project for Washington, DC-based Nuclear Information and
Resource Service. As the nuclear waste problem has defied
scientifically based solutions for a half century, there is
nothing reasonable about the licensing board's denial of our
concerns about more from new reactors.
Early Site Permit applications have been submitted by other
utilities in Port Gibson, Miss., and Mineral, Va., as part of
the U.S. Department of Energys (DOE) Nuclear Power 2010
program. Taxpayers are funding half the cost of the ESP
applications preparation and review, estimated at about $14
million each. Further, as part of the NuStart Energy
Development consortium, Exelon applied for $400 million from the
government to help prepare a combined construction and operating
license for a future nuclear plant.
Public Citizen and NIRS also filed contentions with the NRC for
the Early Site Permits in Port Gibson, Miss., and Mineral, Va.
To read todays rulings at all three sites, please see Court
Opinions at http://www.citizen.org/cmep/esp.
###
*****************************************************************
26 St. Petersburg Times Online: News of Citrus County
www.sptimes.com
Team acting as bad guys will test nuclear plant
Usually, Crystal River's own guards stage the "attack." This
time, to make it as real as possible, it will be a group from
outside the plant.
By AMY WIMMER SCHWARB, Times Staff Writer
Published August 8, 2004
CRYSTAL RIVER - This fall, when the security force at Progress
Energy Corp.'s nuclear power plant practices defending itself
against a terrorist attack, it will have a worthy opponent.
For the first time, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will test
the plant's security against a team specifically trained to test
its weaknesses. Previously, most exercises used a team of plant
security guards to go up against other guards in a scrimmage-like
situation.
This time, the test should be more challenging - and more
realistic.
"This force is dedicated to executing offensive tactics," said
Eliot Brenner, director of public relations for the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission in Rockville, Md. "Plant guard forces are
trained in defending a target. They are not trained in how to
attack that target, and offense and defense are two different
things."
The company hired to manage the "offensive" end of the tests is
Wackenhut Corp., which handles security at about half of the
nuclear plants in the United States. A government watchdog group
called the Project on Government Oversight labeled Wackenhut's
contract "a blatant conflict of interest," given that Wackenhut
will be supplying the forces for both teams at many plants.
Wackenhut does not handle security at the Progress Energy plant
in Crystal River but will put together the "offensive" team that
tests the plant's security guards. Wackenhut was hired by the
Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear power industry's trade
association, and Brenner said the NRC has no problem with the
decision.
"We will oversee the exercises and be the judge, the sole judge,
as to whether the exercise succeeded or failed," Brenner said.
"Wackenhut has no say. We are the proctor."
According to the New York Times, the General Accounting Office
reported last year that guard forces used as "attackers" in
exercises were often underarmed and understaffed, while the
forces defending the plant were overstaffed. This new setup
should fix that, Brenner said.
"We have used security guards, from their sites or others, as
mock adversaries," Brenner said. "These are guards, no matter how
well-trained or equipped, whose basic training is in defensive
tactic. This new team . . . will train and execute exclusively as
attackers. They will go around the country testing the
defensives."
Mac Harris, a spokesman for Progress Energy in Crystal River,
said the exercise is "one of the many types of communication
checks that goes on routinely between the NRC and the utility."
Brenner said these types of exercises were canceled in the
months immediately following Sept. 11, 2001. When they resumed,
they were required once every three years instead of once every
eight years.
Neither the NRC nor representatives from Progress Energy would
detail what types of terrorist attacks will be simulated in the
exercise. Brenner said security forces "will be using the latest
in military simulation equipment" and compared the exercise to
"laser tag." The exercise will take place at the actual plant,
not in a simulator, Brenner clarified.
"All participants in the exercise will . . . be on the ground,
defending real property," Brenner said. "We want these tests to
be the best possible, as realistic as possible."
Amy Wimmer Schwarb can be reached at 860-7305 or
wimmer@sptimes.com[Last modified August 7, 2004, 23:19:20]
© 2004 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First
Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 •
*****************************************************************
27 Brattleboro Reformer: NRC nixes independent observer
August 08, 2004 Brattleboro, VT
By DANIEL BARLOW Reformer Staff
BRATTLEBORO -- An independent observer will not be part of the
federal team inspecting the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in
Vernon next week.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced Friday the names of
the inspection team, which includes five members of that
regulatory arm and three contractors, that will inspect the
plant's engineering design.
The team will spend three weeks at the plant and put in more
than 700 hours of time studying the plant's design and safety,
relating to its proposal to boost power by 20 percent.
A public meeting is tentatively scheduled for September to
discuss the results of the inspection.
"Based on the team's qualifications and demonstrated ability to
identify issues on previous inspections, I'm confident this team
will perform a rigorous inspection at Vermont Yankee," said Jim
Dyer, director of the NRC's Office of Nuclear Reactor Regulation,
in a prepared statement.
But groups opposed to the uprate were quick to criticize the
inspection and its lack of an independent observer -- a goal many
said would give the NRC-led inspection transparency.
"This is a charade, this is meaningless and I have absolutely
zero confidence that any part of this will be an objective
inspection," said Paul Blanch, an electrical engineer with more
than 30 years of experience in the nuclear power industry. "The
team will say whatever the NRC wants it to."
Blanch, an industry whistleblower who describes himself as
"pro-nuclear" but opposes the plant's uprate, had asked Vermont
Gov. James Douglas, a Republican, to appoint him as an
independent observer to the inspection.
But the NRC has ruled that no one who has worked for Entergy
Nuclear, the company that bought Vermont Yankee in 2002, in the
past two years can be part of the inspection team. Blanch did
contract work for Entergy approximately 19 months ago.
Jeffery Jacobson, a program manager in the NRC's Inspection
Program Branch, will lead the inspection team.
The other team members are Fred Bower, a senior reactor
inspector in the division of reactor safety; Steven Dennis, the
senior operations engineer in the division of reactor safety;
Gregory Bowman, a reactor inspector in the division of reactor
safety; and Michelle Snell, also a reactor inspector in the
division of reactor safety.
The contractors for the inspection will be George Skinner, an
electrical engineer who has worked in the nuclear power industry
for 26 years; Stanley Spiegelman, a mechanical engineer with 37
years experience; and Craig Baron, a mechanical engineer with 24
years of experience in nuclear power.
The director of the anti-nuclear group, the New England
Coalition in Brattleboro, said he was pleased the NRC was doing
the study, but disappointed that an independent observer would
not be among the team.
"We're sorry they did not include Paul Blanch on the team and
equally sorry that there is no public observer as part of the
process," said Peter Alexander. "We are concerned about the level
of transparency."
Gov. Douglas has asked that the inspection team leader and other
members be made available to update the Vermont State Nuclear
Advisory Panel and the commissioners of public safety and public
service, said his spokesperson Jason Gibbs.
Vermont's congressional delegation -- independent Sen. James
Jeffords, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy and independent Rep.
Bernard Sanders -- have also endorsed the updates from the
inspection team, according to a joint letter dated Aug. 6.
Douglas has also asked that the NRC certify to the Vermont
Public Service commissioner that each of the contractors met the
"strict objectively standards required and has no conflict of
interest," according to a letter to Nils Diaz, the chairman of
the NRC, dated Aug. 6.
And with three contractors, who do not work for the NRC, on the
team, the governor is confident that the inspection will be
transparent and open to the public, Gibbs added.
"With three independent contractors on the team ... the governor
sees no reason to add an additional independent observer," said
Gibbs.
Douglas recently said he would consider asking that an
independent observer join the team, although he was silent most
of this week on the topic.
Douglas' endorsement of the inspection team is sharply different
than the inspection proposed by his gubernatorial opponent,
Democrat Peter Clavelle, the mayor of Burlington.
"Mayor Clavelle has consistently said that the nature of the
study should really be an independent safety assessment," said
campaign spokesperson B.J. Rogers. "So what we have here is
already less than what he has called for all along."
Daniel Barlow can be reached at dbarlow@reformer.com.
Copyright ©1999-2004 New England Newspapers, Inc., a
*****************************************************************
28 Brattleboro Reformer: Yankee workers threaten to strike
August 08, 2004 Brattleboro, VT
By MIKE KALIL
Reformer Staff
BRATTLEBORO -- Entergy Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant's union
workforce may strike in less than two weeks, and the unit's
chairman says it would affect the plant's safety.
Rank and file members of the International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers voted unanimously to authorize the strike
Wednesday. The deadline is midnight Aug. 19, according to Unit 8
chairman Corey Daniels.
Their contract expires in two weeks. A countdown of the days
until it expires is featured on the unit's Web site.
"If those guys go on strike, they need to shut that plant down,"
said Peter Alexander, executive director of New England
Coalition, a nuclear power watchdog group.
Daniels said Friday night that if the Vernon plant's 148
unionized workers strike, the plant will be at a loss because
outside workers don't know the plant like they do. He said
Entergy has a contingency plan for situations like this, which he
called pathetic.
Those in the picket line would include maintenance mechanics,
reactor plant operators, technicians, radiation protection
workers and others.
Essentially, Daniels said, the strike would be made up of the
plant's craftsmen.
Vermont Yankee spokesman Rob Williams said it's common for
nuclear power plants to have contingency plans, but the plant
plans to concentrate on satisfying the union members.
He refused to speculate on what would happen if the workers
indeed went on strike.
"We've been in negotiations for several weeks as the contract is
up for renewal and our goal is to reach an agreement that
reflects the realities of our business and fairly compensates the
workforce," Williams said.
Alexander said no two nuclear reactors are alike.
The plant depends on a professional staff and trained workers,
he said, and only those who are currently on the payroll
understand the plant's uniqueness.
"They don't know this reactor," Alexander said of workers at
other plants. "This reactor has been changed and modified over
the years."
The details of the negotiations are relatively confidential,
Daniels said. In short, he said, the company is doing extremely
well, but its workers just aren't being compensated.
And negotiators on the other side just won't budge, according to
Daniels.
"Right now, we have made a lot of movement in what we think is a
fair offer," he said. "The company has made none in two weeks."
The 33-year-old plant was purchased by the Louisiana-based
Entergy Nuclear Corp. in 2001.
Daniels said workers' frustrations come from the corporation
calling the shots from another part of the country.
"They want to extract even more profits by taking it straight
out of their own employees," he said.
Williams said negotiations are continuing in "good faith" and he
is confident that the two parties will come to an agreement.
"The negotiations are ongoing and we do have economic realities
at our business that have to be addressed, but we also have to
insure that we fairly compensate the workforce," he said.
Alexander said the plant has a lot of very unhappy workers and
his group has been hearing reports from all over about their
dissatisfaction.
"Entergy is a rogue corporation," he said. "We've been saying
that all along, and now their own workers are showing the truth
about this corporation."
He later added: "If Entergy is willing to put the safety of the
public at risk in order to assure their own profits, while taking
advantage of their workers, state regulators and elected
officials of Vermont should take notice."
Williams said strike authorizations are a normal part of the
negotiation process and the plant looks forward to coming to an
agreement with the unionized workers.
Daniels made it clear that the union will let the public know if
there is anything they should worry about. The union may provide
updates in the coming weeks.
This is not the first labor grievance at the plant in the past
few years.
In 2002, security workers at the plant unanimously voted against
a three-year labor contract with the security firm Wackenhut
Corp., citing poor benefits packages and long hours of overtime.
The members of the United Government Security Officers of
America Local 16 did not end up striking.
Mike Kalil can be reached at mkalil@reformer.com.
Copyright ©1999-2004 New England Newspapers, Inc., a
*****************************************************************
29 [NYTr] Iraq: We've Weaponized Uranium Gas
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2004 14:29:32 -0500 (CDT)
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
DissidentVoice - August 7, 2004
http://www.dissidentvoice.org/Aug04/Nichols0807.htm
My God! My Country Is Using Poison Gas In Iraq:
We've Weaponized Uranium Gas
by Bob Nichols
Radioactive, poison gas made from uranium was recommended to the American
Military in 1943 during World War II by atom bomb builders working on the
Manhattan Project run by Gen Leslie Groves.
Sixty-one years later deadly, radioactive, poisonous, weaponized uranium
oxide gas plays a vital role in implementing the "Total Worldwide Domination
Plan" as practiced by the NeoCons and President Bush. It is entitled
"Rebuilding America's Defenses" and was written in September 2000 by the
neo-con think tank, Project for the New American Century (PNAC).
That would be the American government's Cheney and the Pentagon's Rumsfield,
Wolfowitz, and Feith, the most hated men in the world, the Gang of Four.
What is weaponized uranium oxide gas? It's any high velocity bullet or
shell, any High Explosive Bomb or missile made with uranium metal. The
uranium components turn into uranium oxide gas after the high velocity
bullet or shell penetrates anything solid and explodes, as much as 80% of it
ignites, burns, and aerosolizes into tiny, tiny radioactive pieces and
floats in the air as a gas, blown about by the wind. They can stay airborne
for years and be re-suspended for years, over and over again.
Missiles and bombs that explode as planned are blasted into uranium gas by
the bomb's high explosive (HE). Pretty simple really. Once the uranium metal
is worked into the business end of a bullet, tank shell, bomb, or missile
the uranium oxide gas is "weaponized," and ready to go.
The feedstock uranium that's manufactured into war munitions is processed
one time to purify it. Less than one half of one percent, a tiny impurity,
is removed to make thermonuclear bombs and nuclear reactor cores. This
leaves more than 99.8% of the uranium for bullets and bombs.
The uranium is fully 88% as radioactive as it was before it was processed.
The Gang of Four cynically calls this uranium "depleted" as if everything is
OK with it; it is safe; it has been depleted; there is no problem with it.
No Problem! To top it off and make it worse, America's academics dutifully
talk about and study "Depleted Uranium,"* at retreats and seminars thus
keeping the Big Lie alive for the millions of common folk who long for some
straight answers from academe.
This so-called Depleted Uranium is what the American government is using to
make sniper bullets, tank shells, bombs, and cruise missiles. And, the
American government just ordered some more depleted uranium weapons. It only
takes a few months to re-arm. Who's next? Iran? Syria?
The 70-ton 1,500 HP workhorse M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks actually deliver
up to eight pounds of poisonous uranium oxide gas per high velocity shell
fired. The Abrams Death Machines fired many thousands of the 10-pound
uranium "penetrator" rods during the Gulf Rape of Iraq turkey shoot. They
are fully 18 inches long and 3/4 inch wide. That's the real name, too,
"penetrator rods." It's an Abu Ghraib for the entire country.
But, using uranium munitions is a War Crime. As Vice President Cheney would
say "Big Time!" That would be a major problem for less dedicated countries
than the United States. That is not a showstopper for Bush, the NeoCons, or
the American military. The Military is taught to refuse to follow orders
that embrace War Crimes because they aren't legal. They failed America and
the entire world.
The American President (Bush) stated that the International Criminal Court's
(Re: War Crimes) jurisdiction does not apply to America's leaders or the
Military. Presidential Translation: Go for it, dudes! Result: 4,000,000
pounds of uranium munitions poisoned Iraq with radioactive gas and dust
rendering large parts of it uninhabitable. We Americans have already
successfully killed Iraqis as yet unborn with radiation induced birth
defects and cancers. This same uranium oxide gas, of course, is also
sickening and killing our kids and friends in the Army in Iraq.
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, former Chief of Staff of the Indian Navy, calculated
that the radiation in 4,000,000 pounds of uranium is the equivalent of that
in 250,000 unexploded Nagasaki Plutonium Bombs. (1) That would be the Bomb
the US dropped on Nagasaki, Japan three days after the Atom Bomb was dropped
on Hiroshima August 6, 1945. This current Iraq Nuclear Radiation War was
announced in the United States by the article "There Are No Words" by this
writer on DissidentVoice.org on March 27, 2004. (2)
My God! Have the Gang of Four no humanity? Are they some kind of unfeeling
Aliens from a Hollywood horror movie? The invisible, odorless, tasteless
uranium oxide poison gas in the air can't be controlled or even seen! It's
as dangerous to our kids and neighbors in the Army shooting it as it is to
the "enemy" Iraqis. What's more, it migrates with the wind. This means it
will soon be in all countries within 1,000 miles of Iraq. This includes
America's ally, the state of Israel.
Nazi Germany had the political will in WWII to commit war crimes. The
Germans finally settled on Zyklon B Gas to exterminate six million Jews
during the cruel reign of the Third Reich. Zyklon B was "effective" but
lacked a long "killing trail." After Jews in the gas chamber or mobile van
were killed, the deadly gas was withdrawn and the corpses removed from the
chamber or van. Nazi SS soldiers were required to dispense more Zyklon B to
the next killing cluster. Effective killer, short killing trail.
Well, America is nothing if not relentless. Specifically, a 1943 memo to Gen
Groves recommended uranium oxide gas be used as a gas warfare instrument to
Kill People and to Contaminate Land. The memo did raise the problem that the
radioactive uranium gas could not be controlled and was, and is still,
dangerous to our own kids and friends: the American Troopers. (3) It would
be another thirty years before that hurdle was publicly demolished.
In 1973 in General Alexander Haig's presence, Henry Kissinger, the National
Security Advisor, referred pointedly to military men as "dumb, stupid
animals to be used" as pawns for foreign policy. (4) Kissinger set the
public stage for the war managers to sacrifice the gullible, but patriotic
and "stupid" American Troopers to the use of weaponized uranium oxide gas.
American General Norman Schwarzkopf from the First Gulf War stated they were
not told anything about harmful uranium munitions.
Uranium gas also is a good deal for the Bush Administration because it has
built in plausible deniability. Depending on the uranium gas dose the
American Troopers get, they can be expected to sicken and die over a period
days, months, and years. There is no minimum dose that is harmless. Inhaling
as little as one gram over a year means the equivalent of one X-Ray per hour
for the rest of their shortened life. Each gram in the lung shoots 12,000
little bullets per minute, forever, at the lung cells next to it. What do
you think is going to happen to the lung cells. All radiation counts.
The ensuing Veteran's Administration disability payment requests can be
denied for years while the "dumb, stupid," used up vets conveniently and
obligingly die off. The former American Trooper's painful deaths go
virtually unnoticed scattered across the North American continent in some
7,000 American hospitals and among 300 Million people.
Collaborating VA doctors merely chant, "You can't prove it," when confronted
by hundreds of thousands of sick and dying Troopers. Anyway, all the
well-paid NeoCon or timid doctors need do is delay. The invisible, deadly,
ever-present radiation does the rest.
To say the least, the American Military and their wealthy helpmates in the
private weapons industry have resolutely and definitively solved the Nazi
killing trail problem. Weaponized Uranium Oxide Gas, when used properly,
packs a killing trail up to a truly majestic 4.5 Billion years. In fact,
that pretty well qualifies as "forever" in most American classrooms studying
"Total Worldwide Domination Theory."
Instinctively racist in nature, the political decision makers, Bush and the
NeoCons with a supporting crew of weak minded Democrats, decided that the
Iraqi race had to go. It's an inescapable conclusion to any fair minded
person contemplating the purposeful use of Four Million pounds of uranium on
Iraq. That's cold blooded genocide.
Get a group of your friends together some lazy Sunday afternoon and appoint
yourselves as a Pentagon Procurement Committee. Would you choose uranium
munitions for our Troopers to use in Iraq?
Put your own ending to this article here.
A lot of people in the States have done everything we can think of to stop
these nuclear radiation wars, uranium poison gas, and the the use of uranium
as a munition. We've tried and failed for years. Failed! There are no
excuses for our collective failures. Why don't you give it a try? Can't hurt
anything! View this Flash animation, "Poison Fire USA," by Russell Hoffman
to see the animated history of 60 years of major nuclear activities in the
continental United States. It will amaze you. These events all lead up to
recklessly using uranium munitions in Iraq.
[www.animatedsoftware.com/poifu/poifu.swf ]
For further expert scientific information read former Lawrence Livermore
Nuclear Weapons Lab scientist Leuren Moret's: "Depleted Uranium: The Trojan
Horse of Nuclear War."
Do you have a solution? Then write what steps you would take to turn this
situation around. If you represent your country at the United Nations
General Assembly, be creative. Who else is going to stop the United States
from committing genocide? Send it to me at this address. I'll publish it, as
appropriate, and maybe we all can make it happen.
info-radiation-wars@cox.net
* Depleted Uranium is the result of a step in the process of creating
enriched uranium for nuclear power plant reactor cores and thermonuclear
bombs, commonly called Hydrogen Bombs and Neutron Bombs. The uranium
impurity used in bombs and reactor cores is about .711 percent of one
percent of natural uranium, a tiny amount. Like iodine in salt, except it
kills everything. Processing natural uranium removes about half of the bomb
making material. It is then called Depleted Uranium by the powers that be
because it can no longer be used to make bombs; but, it is used to make
bullets and shells instead. The Depleted Uranium is fully 88% as radioactive
in total radiation as the original uranium. There are an estimated 1.5
Billion Pounds of Depleted Uranium at U.S. Nuclear Weapons Labs and related
facilities (Bomb Factories) in the US. The word depleted does not mean the
uranium is safe or OK to use, it means it has been processed, that's all.
Perhaps a less deceptive name would be "12% depleted uranium." The familiar
60% depleted uranium figure refers to what is called "Alpha" radiation only.
Bob Nichols writes in Oklahoma City and is occasionally a contributing
writer for DissidentVoice.org, LiberalSlant.com, DemocraticUnderground.com,
OnlineJournal.com, AmericaHeldHostage.com, and other online dot com
publications. Mr. Nichols is a contributor to The Oklahoma Observer
newspaper. He is a member of CASE -- Citizens' Action for Safe Energy. CASE
has successfully killed two serious, well funded attempts to build Nuclear
Power Plants in Oklahoma and several attempts to site what is now known as
the "Yucca Mountain Used Reactor Core Dump" in Oklahoma. All these efforts
to build nuclear facilities have failed. CASE won every time. Copyright (C)
2004, Bob Nichols. All rights reserved. Permission for reposting is allowed
provided the complete text and attribution are kept intact.
REFERENCES
(1) Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat's paper presented at a medical conference in New
Delhi, India, February 29, March 1-2, 2004 titled "Silent WMDs
- Effects of Depleted Uranium."
(2) This radiation war was announced in the United States by the article
"There Are No Words" by Bob Nichols on DissidentVoice.org on March 27, 2004.
(3) Summary of the report of the Committee, Dr. James B. Conant, Chairman.
(4) Kissinger's quote regarding military men comes from Chapter 14, which
extensively discusses Al Haig, Kissinger and other Nixon staff advisors'
negotiations and differences over national security issues during the
1969-1974 period. The exact, direct quote marks begin with the word 'dumb'
and terminate after the word 'used'. SOURCE: Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein,
The Final Days, second Touchstone paperback edition (1994), Chapter 14, pp.
194-195.
*
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30 UK: Report on gagged radiation risk committee
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2004 13:48:27 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Richard Bramhall" Sent: Monday, August
02, 2004 2:31 AM Subject: Sunday Times report on gagged radiation
risk committee
The Sunday Times (UK) today (August 01, 2004) reports "Government
gags experts over nuclear plant risks" (Story by Mark Gould and
Jonathan Leake) See
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,2761-1198060,00.html
Additional background:
This is about the Committee Examining Radiation Risks of Internal
Emitters (CERRIE) and the use of legal threats to prevent publication
of a Dissenting Statement.
Two Committee meetings had voted to include it in the final report.
The second of these votes took place after Members had seen a draft
of the Statement.
The next meeting in June reversed the decision.
According to the Sunday Times story, some Committee members think
our banned Statement is "riddled with inaccuracies". They have
complained repeatedly about "potential libels" but they have never
said what might be libellous, despite our requests.
They have also talked of "inaccuracies", again without being specific
although we have asked repeatedly. The legal opinions provided to
the Chairman by Departmental lawyers speak of "negligent misstatements
of factual matters" without being specific.
Eventually, at the final meeting in June 2004, just before the
gagging vote, Committee Members referred to six matters which were
supposed to be factually inaccurate. On five of them they were
wrong. The other was a minor point which might be a mistake but
which we could and would have altered if anyone had pointed it out.
Here (if you have nothing better to do) is what they at last said
was "factually inaccurate":
1) a section on the Second Event theory in which Dr. Busby answers
scientific points made by his critics in their part of the report.
In other words it's not a matter of "fact" but of scientific debate
which the Committee has not been able to resolve. Reporting fully
on such disagreements is the Committee's remit.
2) the cancellation of a Committee study of cancer near the Bradwell
NPP.
We wrote that detailed protocols had been agreed early last year
but the secretariat had failed to obtain the data with no adequate
explanation, leading to cancellation of the study. Discussions
during the meeting confirmed our account.
3) We referred to the Secretariat's role in biased drafting of the
main report. This was unpopular with the Committee but is essentially
true.
4) We said that an external reviewer thought Hugh Richards' work
on Tritium and birth anomalies in Cardiff was "cause for concern".
In the meeting this was said to be untrue. We said it was true, and
we see that our version is now in the final report.
5) Someone said (without being specific) that there was something
wrong with our "Table one". This is a table of doses from single
particles of Uranium Oxide of various diameters and it has been in
the public domain for years without criticism, as far as we know.
We have not been told what's wrong with it.
6) We noted that data had not been obtained from Wales Cancer
Intelligence and Surveillance Unit. The precise way we wrote this
might be open to challenge, but we would have changed it long ago
if anyone had pointed out an error.
Not an impressive attack on us, but nonetheless five members voted
for a motion to ban the Statement, two against, two abstentions,
and two absent members.
ON THE OTHER HAND the main report is prone to misstatements (we say
"prone to " because it isn't published yet, so we can't be categorical).
The outstanding example concerns infant leukaemia after Chernobyl.
Published papers from research groups in several countries all show
a sharp increase.
We say this unequivocally demonstrates that ICRP's risk model is
in error by a factor of several hundred for internal exposure. The
chances that these increases in so many countries at the same time
could happen randomly are vanishingly small.
Recent drafts of the main report reveal a desperation to dismiss
it, partly by minimising statistical significance, partly by plain
denial. Some of the studies are ignored, wrong doses are used for
Germany, and the reliability of Greek cancer registration data has
been questioned without substantiation. A risk coefficient and
regression analyses have been used that we never agreed were valid.
On the basis of all this fudging the main report says leukaemia was
indeed increased but only at the level predicted by current risk
models.
Since according to the risk model a foetal dose of 10,000 microSieverts
caused a 40% increase it is hard to see how the 70 microSievert
foetal dose in Germany caused a 48% excess , or 80 microSieverts
in Scotland and Wales caused 260%. Etcetera. If dose and response
are in a linear relationship (a keystone of ICRP) then 70 microSieverts
should have caused an increase of just 0.28%.
Discrepancies on this scale are big enough to account for all the
nuclear site clusters.
The LLRC office will be closed until 9th August.
We have sent you this email circular in good faith because your
address is in our files of people who are interested in radiation
and health issues. If you do not want to receive further information
from us please reply to this email putting "Delete from LLRC" in
the subject line.
Richard Bramhall Low Level Radiation Campaign bramhall@llrc.org The
Knoll Montpellier Park Llandrindod Powys LD1 5LW U.K.
+44 (0)1597 824771
*****************************************************************
31 [du-list] Gulf war veteran says U.S. bombs poisoned troops;
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 2004 19:26:35 -0700
Gulf war veteran says U.S. bombs poisoned troops; feds disagree
By Thomas Watkins/Aspen Daily News Staff Writer
Dennis Kyne started getting sick in 1992, not long
after he returned from the Persian Gulf. Diarrhea,
vomiting, cramps and a never ending cold dogged him
incessantly.
The 34-year-old veteran now takes scrupulous care of
himself and most of his symptoms have improved, but
many of the soldiers he served with from the 18th
Airborne Division during Operation Desert Storm have
not fared so well. Some have died, others are still
sick.
Kyne, who will speak tonight in Glenwood Springs, and
Saturday night in Carbondale, believes he and his
fellow soldiers are victims of the military's use of a
cocktail of vaccinations, pesticides and other agents
that were used during the first Gulf war. The
illnesses he has witnessed are described collectively
as Gulf War Syndrome, something the Department of
Defense questions exists at all.
"In 1991, we were all displaying signs and symptoms,"
Kyne said. "All of the front line was sick. It was not
the glorious combat (leaders said it was)."
Almost a third of the 700,000 U.S. soldiers who served
in the first Gulf war are now collecting disability
payments, according to the National Gulf War Resource
Center.
Kyne, originally from Santa Fe, Calif., served in the
Army for 15 years and was honorably discharged in
2003. During Desert Storm, in his capacity as a
sergeant and a medic, Kyne witnessed many of his
troops exhibiting strange symptoms.
"Everyone was vomiting, they were pale as a ghost," he
said. "Some were walking around with a 1,000 yard
stare."
Other soldiers had joint pain, nausea and runny noses,
he added.
"We were just barfing and shitting ourselves all the
way to Saudi Arabia," he said.
Kyne believes the anti-chemical warfare drugs he and
his unit were given played a part in the troops'
deteriorating health, as well as large quantities of
pesticides that were sprayed around his camp to keep a
snake and rodent infestation under control.
But the most likely culprit for the ongoing health
problems of the servicemen and women, Kyne says, is a
kind of metal shell coating that was first used in
combat during the Gulf War - depleted uranium (DU).
The metal is used on the tips of many of the
military's conventional weapons, including anti-tank
missiles and bunker-busting missiles. It's high
density means it is extremely effective at piercing
thick armor - a missile with a depleted uranium tip
will burn its way through a tank's protective skin,
enabling the payload of the weapon to explode inside
the vehicle.
Depleted uranium is also radioactive, and will
deteriorate into a fine dust when exploded on the end
of a missile. Kyne believes that it is this
radioactive dust that is making Gulf War veterans, and
the people of Iraq, sick.
"We started walking into depleted uranium and everyone
just started melting," he said, describing his unit's
march into the neutral zone on the border of Saudi
Arabia.
Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, deputy director of the
Department of Defense's Deployment Health Support
Directorate, said that Kyne is mistaken, and adverse
effects of depleted uranium have not been proven.
He said that although animals exposed to high levels
of depleted uranium can suffer damage to their
kidneys, there is no evidence of the same thing
happening in humans. Other studies have shown there is
no link between depleted uranium and cancer, he said.
About 320 tons of depleted uranium were dropped during
the Gulf War, said Kilpatrick, and so far about 100
tons have been dropped in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"It cannot hurt your body, it has to be internalized,"
said Kilpatrick, explaining the effects of depleted
uranium in the environment. He added that most of the
250,000 plus returning Gulf War veterans were
subsequently granted disability payments by the
Department of Veterans Affairs because of routine
impairments, such as hearing loss and joint injuries.
They could have sustained these at any time during
their service, Kilpatrick noted, and not just during
the Gulf War.
Kilpatrick added that there technically is no such
thing as Gulf War Syndrome, as the variety of symptoms
soldiers exhibit varies so wildly. Research is ongoing
to establish a cause of certain illnesses in veterans,
he added, but it is believed stress is the main cause
of unusual symptoms.
Despite the government's assertions that depleted
uranium is not the cause of Gulf War Syndrome, Kyne
remains convinced that the substance does serious
harm. He now tours the country full-time, giving talks
about his beliefs and experiences.
Kyne will be talking at 7 p.m. tonight at the Blue
Acacia at 901 Colorado Ave., Glenwood Springs; and
Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Carbondale Council on
Arts and Humanities, 645 Main St.
Kyne's talks are presented by the Roaring Fork Peace
Coalition.
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32 [du-list] Fisk prophetic warning may be coming true now
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 2004 19:27:35 -0700
Hope I am wrong... but
Regarding the current use of USUK DU queried recently here by Charles
Jenks, I see no reason why the belligerent forces would have stopped
using DU. This will only happen if they run out, which will take some time.
There has been a lot of rounds expended in the last few days, and although
these are "softer" targets than the DU is designed for.. it is as cheap
as anything else, so why not, just in case there is a hard target somewhere ?
It seems logical to me that the war has actually started now, and after an
initial obliteration by USUK firepower, the surviving guerilla fighters
and further recruits, newly created by the USUK action, will
eventually move to more covert, disruptive and successful, true guerilla
tactics, eg. seen to a degree already by attacking the US troop
supplies etc. being trucked from Turkey by kidnapping the drivers. As
Iraq falls apart, the urgency within the Bush regime will grow for a
distraction.....
The proposed PNAC/ neocon plan to attack Iran may proceed, mainly at this
stage as a further diversionary ploy from mounting US
failures, socio-economic at home and in Afghanistan and Iraq
itself, prior to the next attempted US election, most likely in the form
of an Israeli bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities. It is quite likely
that DU will be used here too. Given the dangerous religious
fundamentalism of the USUK leaders combined with the profit motive of the
arms suppliers and the insanity of the initial USUK attack, I see no
reason why business will not proceed "as normal."
There are some good reasons given here why it should not..
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=127&ncid=742&e=7&u=%2Fucru%2F20040803%2Fcm_ucru%2Famericaslastwar
viz.
"Iran's military could keep us bogged down indefinitely, à la Vietnam. It
has a combined active-duty troop strength of 600,000; reserves bring the
total to a million. They have a respectable navy, and least 300 fighter
jets. A vast nation the size of Texas, California and Montana combined,
Iran is nearly four times the size of Iraq with twice its population,
living on mountainous, harsh terrain. Iranians fighting a U.S.-backed Iraqi
invasion during the '80s fought ferociously, which suggests that an
American expeditionary force would be met by similarly passionate resistance.
The American military, already stretched thin and forced to "call back"
reservists to fight in Iraq, would probably have to go ahead with
contingency plans to bring back a large-scale draft next year. At least a
half-million conscripts would be needed for a fight that would likely drag
on for years. Hundreds of billions of dollars would be spent on hardware
and weaponry, not to mention lining the pockets of Administration-connected
war profiteers. (that is mentioning it, it is the same money.db) War
against Iran could easily push us into the abyss of economic and moral
bankruptcy. The draft would prompt tens of thousands of young American men
to flee. It would push out of the community of nations once and for all.
And that's if Iran doesn't have nukes by then. "
Dr Strangelove Cheney will see only one way out here. Nuke them. This is
make or break time for oil domination of the world, especially China. The
irony is that this oiligarchy greed will stimulate fossil fuel
independence among those deprived of supply.
The Bush Jnr. regime will not be able to promote an Iran/Iraq war
as happened during Bush I ..and is doubtful if "Bush-lite" (Kerry) will be
able to manage the Iran attack, so it seems that, in the fevered minds
of Bush's controllers, this might happen before November.
This will require the generation of enough anger in the Arab world
to provoke a "pre-emptive" reason, and this anger will be reported as
coming from "foreign fighters" from Iran, who might include Osama Bin
Hidin, and perhaps a P2OG type sting action that is not halted, a la 9/11,
and the (invented) pretext that Iran does in fact have nukes.
Bush Jnr. will not be able to promote an Iran/Iraq contest as happened
during Bush Snr. time..and is doubtful if "Bush-lite" (Kerry) will be able
to manage the Iran attack, so it seems that, in the fevered minds
of Bush's controllers, this must happen before November. At best, it may
be that the Bush regime decides that the Israeli attack is enough to
engender the war /fear required for their electoral needs.
Here is the sowing of the seeds of anger....
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/E5CCC59E-3B3A-4363-A1B6-8EAD5C086247.htm
Fierce clashes rage throughout Iraq.
Friday 06 August 2004, 3:56 Makka Time, 0:56 GMT
From Hilla to Balad, Falluja to Najaf, Iraq was rocked by intense
clashes as Muqtada al-Sadr's forces vowed resistance against the US and
British occupation of the country.
Fighting raged unabated in and around Najaf on Thursday and early Friday
between Muqtada al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia and US troops who were called
in to support Iraqi national guardsmen.
By late evening on Thursday, several buildings were on fire in the holy
city, reported Aljazeera's correspondent Uday al-Katib.
Meanwhile in Baghdad, Aljazeera reported that several loud blasts, caused
by exploding mortar rounds, were heard in the city centre.
Reuters correspondents said they heard three explosions followed by
automatic gunfire near the Sheraton and Palestine hotels.
Plumes of smoke were seen rising from the hotels, which house many
journalists and foreign contractors, Reuters reported.
Najaf flare-up
According to Aljazeera's correspondent in Najaf, the clashes started when
the Najaf General Hospital was hit by several mortar rounds killing one and
wounding four others.
The health ministry said the casualties were all hospital staff.
Al-Mahdi Army militia then moved the fight to the vicinity of the city's
cemetary where a US marine helicopter was shot down by small arms fire.
A US Army spokesman said several members of the helicopter crew were
wounded, but had been evacuated. The helicopter had been transporting a
wounded soldier when it came under small arms fire, the spokesman added.
By nightfall, Aljazeera reported at least 15 Iraqis had been killed and
more than 102 wounded in the ongoing clashes.
US forces said one soldier was killed and five others wounded when their
convoy came under attack on the outskirts of Najaf cemetary.
No negotiation
Interim Iraqi Interior Minister Falah al-Naqib told reporters that his
government would not negotiate with al-Sadr and would persist in fighting
and killing members of his militia. Al-Naqib also blamed Arab press for
inciting violence in the occupied country.
Never the less, fighting spread southward to Basra as Shaikh Saad al-Basri,
an al-Sadr representative in the city, said three of their militiamen were
killed in clashes with British forces in the city.
"The clashes erupted near Garma Bridge north of the city and Sadr's
supporters damaged three British military vehicles", he added.
However, a spokesperson for British forces denied they had suffered
casualties or losses and said only two of al-Sadr's militiamen were killed.
Iraq-wide violence
Elsewhere in Iraq's south, five people were killed and 20 others wounded
when a car bomb detonated on Thursday morning at a police station in the
town of al-Mahawil, 70 kilometers south of Baghdad.
In the capital itself, at least one man was killed and a car destroyed when
a mortar round landed on the road linking the al-Adhamiya and al-Mansur
neighbourhoods in the western part of the city.
Meanwhile, in the northern town of Balad, Aljazeera's correspondent
reported that three Iraqi national guardsmen were wounded when their convoy
came under light weapons attack by unidentified armed assailants.
The attack set three of the convoy's vehicles ablaze.
"A US military convoy hit an explosive device that burnt a US military
vehicle north of Ishaqi. No information about casualties among US forces
were reported," he added.
In Falluja, west of Baghdad, Aljazeera reported that four Iraqis were
killed and another five wounded in the Karma district after being shot at
by US occupation troops who had been hit by an improvised explosive device.
There was no word on US casualties in Falluja.
Al-Mahdi Army issues warning
In an interview with Aljazeera late on Thursday, Shaikh Aws al-Khafaji, one
of al-Sadr's senior aides, said the Mahdi Army would resort to military
operations if the siege of Najaf by US forces was not immediately lifted.
He also said the Mahdi Army militia were currently deployed in the southern
city of Nasiriya to "prevent the Italian forces from entering the city".
Al-Khafaji denied carrying out any military operations against Iraqi police
and added the two had previously agreed on conducting joint patrols to
defend Najaf's holy sites and maintain security in the city
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33 Coastal Post: Marin Depleted Uranium Resolution Heats Up
MARIN COUNTY'S NEWS MONTHLY - FREE PRESS (415)868-1600 -
(415)868-0502(fax) - P.O. Box 31, Bolinas, CA, 94924 August, 2004
GI's Will Come Home To A Slow Death
By Carol Sterritt
"There are only two things worth knowing in life, but I forget
what they are."
John Hiatt, American songwriter
Now I remember what the two important things are. One is that the
situation is dire. (And thus we need the artist and musician, the
soul healer and the clown, more than ever.)
The other is that despite the horror of the day, there are people
who are so brave and beautiful in both thought and action that
one is moved to tears.
Look at the mindfulness of actions here in this county. For
years, certain people in Marin have devoted a large portion of
their lives to an outfit called the Marin Peace and Justice
Coalition. Inside that group, some members are beginning a major
work that could affect military service today and in the future
when a draft might be instituted.
One such Peace and Justice member is Yvette Wakefield. For over
eighteen months, she has examined the Depleted Uranium issue. A
county employee, she has often read the inscription on the 20
North San Pedro Building. This inscription reads: "The mission of
health and human services is to promote and protect the health,
well-being, self-sufficiency and safety of all people in Marin."
Yvette could not reconcile what she learned about depleted
uranium (DU) with the idea of health and human safety. For one
thing, she had befriended Leuren Moret, a geoscientist who is now
a world renowned authority on DU. Moret, who comes from a Quaker
background, once worked at Livermore Labs. She now travels the
world speaking out against the "omnicide" destructiveness of this
material.
The Creation of A World Class Activist
How could someone like Moret, who once worked for the war
industry, become a friend of a "peacenik," like Wakefield. Or for
that matter, how could she herself become a peace activist? Well,
back in 1991, Moret had a major realization. According to Moret,
"In 1991 I became a whistleblower at the Livermore Nuclear
Weapons Laboratory near San Francisco, CA. Richard Berta, the
Western Regional Inspector for the Department of Energy, told me,
"The Pentagon exists for the oil companies and the nuclear
weapons labs exist for the Pentagon."
The more Moret learned, the more she became convinced that
research and work involving depleted uranium was immoral.
Beginning in 1991, depleted uranium was used to support three
policies: One, to test the radiobiological effects of 4th
generation nuclear weapons (still under development); Two, to
blur and break down the distinction between conventional and
nuclear weapons; Three, to make it easier to reintroduce nuclear
weapons into the US military arsenal.
While at her job at Livermore, Moret watched America wage a short
and apparently victorious Gulf War. In just a few short weeks,
and after only 110 American casualties, we routed Iraq from
Kuwait. But the true toll of this war upon our young servicemen
and women occurred over the next decade. Of the 700,000 troops
who served in the region, 267,000 suffered from some form of
disability. Not only that, but some soldiers "infected" their
spouses with disabilities similar to their own. Or they suffered
the tragedy of having a child born with birth defects. Some
victory, huh?
At first, in its usual fashion, the Department of Defense (DOD)
and the Pentagon simply denied that this was happening. Those men
and women, who had been hale and hearty before their military
service, were now branded "malingerers."
But internationally, other researchers spoke on record that these
illnesses had nothing to do with malingering. Testimony from
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, Former Chief of the Naval Staff, India
reads, "DU weapons emit Alpha particle dose impacting a single
cell from U-238 some 50 times the annual dose level. Cancer is
initiated with one alpha particle, its daughter isotopes effect
generations as the isotopes bio-concentrate in plants and
animals. They then travel up the food chain. It is a nuclear
weapon because the energy is derived from the nucleus of the
atom. The particles enter the body through the lungs, the
digestive system or breaks in the skin.
"One gram of DU releases more than 12,000 particles per second.
The radiation slowly kills the cells that make life possible. The
Gulf War syndrome of 1991 did just that (reported by Dr. Asaf
Durakovic, Prof. of Medicine, Georgetown University, and
discoverer of the Gulf War Syndrome.)"
Our military has lobbed more than 500 tons of DU munitions on
Afghanistan. Professor Yagasaki has calculated that 800 tons of
DU is the "atomicity equivalent to 83,000 Nagasaki bombs." This
fact he presented to the World Uranium Weapons Conference in
Hamburg in October 2003. The amount of DU used in Iraq in 2003
equals nearly 250,000 Nagasaki bombs. Just as the Gulf War vets
and their families have been imperiled by their service in Gulf
War I, those veterans about to return from the Iraq war will
undoubtedly face similar consequences.
The Local FallOut
This is why Yvette Wakefield is concerned. Should Marin County
expend the energy and funding to nurture its children with
healthy baby clinics, education Kindergarten to twelfth grade,
sports programs and parks and recreation, only to then hand our
kids at age eighteen over to the military? And not just any
military, but one that plans on dispatching its personnel to a
killing field where they will, even if surviving the "normal"
activities of the battlefield, come home to a life of infirmity,
sickness and hospitalization? Wakefield has problems with this
idea.
A trained paralegal, she began work on a County wide resolution
that would proclaim the unacceptability of any Marin citizen
serving in any area of the world where their health might forever
be destroyed by DU.
Her working draft of this resolution reads: Therefore in view of
those dangers posed by exposure to depleted uranium, Marin County
requires that all Marin residents serving in the United States
Armed Forces and its Reserves be prohibited from serving in those
areas where depleted uranium weaponry is used. This is because we
acknowledge that our residents should not be required to face the
life-threatening and lifelong health problems of radiation
poisoning. Their having faced the normal dangers of combat should
be enough. Soldiers who survive their military service are
entitled to return home to a normal life of working, having
families and friends and engaging in normal activities.
She is now building a case for her resolution. She has set up a
public forum on August 12, at 7:30 PM at the First United
Methodist Church 9 Ross Valley Drive, San Rafael. Both Leuren
Moret and Dennis Kyne will be speaking at the event. Their talk
is titled "Depleted Uranium - The Trojan Horse of A Nuclear War."
Once people in Marin hear the truth of the DU deployment, and
they realize the horrific consequences born by the populations in
the Middle East and our soldiers, they can be counted on to be
supporters of this County wide resolution.
Where DU Policies Came from, And Why They Continue
The use of depleted uranium can be traced back to certain
Nixon-Kissinger era decisions. When our country was stymied by
the 1973 oil embargo, Nixon remarked that we have to make sure
that an oil embargo will never happen again. Perhaps he would
have been stopped by the test ban treaty of 1963, signed by
Russia and the United States, both super powers at that time.
According to the treaty, nuclear war was outlawed. But one way
for a nation to achieve sovereignty over another nation was and
is to utilize depleted uranium weaponry. Although such weaponry
will not necessarily offer up a mushroom cloud, the wake of its
devastation can be as deadly. Thus a policy of using depleted
uranium in weapons began. It first surfaced in the Arab-Israeli
war, Fall 1973, when Israel received and used such weapons from
the United States. It used these weapons under our country's
supervision. (Never think for a moment that the Muslim nations
hate us for our shopping centers and our democracy, our backyard
swimming pools and our skyscrapers. They hate us for what we have
done, and are doing, to them.)
The population-devastation politics of DU continues to this day.
It is an effective policy. Witness what is occurring to the
civilian population in Iraq. Following the Gulf War, birth
defects and cancer cases rose exponentially. In one Baghdad
hospital, which in pre-war days saw a single birth defect a week,
there soon occurred three and four birth defective babies in a
single day. (According to Moret, these defects are a deliberate
contamination of the population.) For the past thirteen years,
rare leukemias and bone cancers have been on the rise there. And
of course, in the days of sanctions, the hospital supplies and
equipment to help those affected were unavailable. Now, after the
devastation of the "shock and awe" campaign of Spring, 2003,
supplies are equally non-existent. Also, hospitals are now faced
with the consequences of having only sporadic electricity and a
lack of clean water. (The Bagdad population has survived the past
winter by utilizing rainwater, collected in pots and pans put out
on their roofs.)
The stories related to birth defects are heart-breaking. Some
Iraqi babies are born with eyeballs the size of lemons protruding
from their eye sockets. Some babies have no brains. Some babies
are born without any skin. Some pregnancies, although carried
close to full term, result in a birth of only a lump of flesh,
with no discernable torso, limbs or head or facial features.
Our soldiers are coming home from our Middle East "adventures"
with bodies pushed to the breaking point. On KPFA radio in June,
it was revealed that of nine returning servicemen to New York
City, six tested positive for unusually high levels of
radioactivity in their bodies. Those with the highest levels
already feel its effects. They are mind-numbingly tired; they
have rashes, muscle aches and pains, and their nervous systems
are impaired.
The Horrific Working of Pernicious Materials
These men were average soldiers in terms of their war
experiences. But for certain soldiers, especially those who have
survived the destruction of their tanks, the radiation diseases
hit hard and heavy.
By its nature, DU is aerosolized when impacted by explosion. Also
the metal components of DU-hardened tanks become a deadly,
inhale-able radiation upon explosion. The men and women
experiencing this first hand are unaware that every breath they
take during these events is impacting their lungs and blood
streams with nano-sized charged particles that begin the ruin of
their health immediately.
Unlike the Japanese survivors of atomic blasts, who first felt
radiation sickness within three days to a week, our soldiers can
experience symptoms almost immediately. This is the result of the
aerosol effects of the materials. The radioactive dust can be
pulverized to the point that it is one hundred times smaller than
bacteria. The particles go from the air to the lungs to the blood
stream. They then end up attacking the body's mitochondria. The
results range from multiple sclerosis type illnesses, to
Parkinson's, to chemical sensitivities, and of course, at a
somewhat later date, various cancers.
Our nation's youth will sacrifice their prime years to this
devastation, wearing adult diapers, shuffling along with walkers,
using oxygen tanks, and trying to live with blindness and hearing
loss.
Meanwhile, our nation's policy shapers have big plans inside our
country as well. In both Ohio and Kentucky, DU processing plants
are underway. Both these areas have high unemployment rates. The
local populace, desperate for work and a steady income, will have
few qualms about what they are doing or why they are doing it.
They will be told that the work is safe, and indeed it will seem
so. There is no stench to uranium processing; the tiles and
linoleum in the plants will no doubt be spotless. Those who
recruit them will seem friendly and kind. The fact that the DU
workers may have health problems five or ten years down the road
is not a big matter for concern. After all, if you don't consider
reality, how can it bother you?
I ask that if you are moved by this account of Depleted Uranium
devastation, you make a commitment. Red circle the date of the
public forum, August 12th, on your calendars. For further
information, call 415 721 2844. The lives you save are your own.
After all, the air a Baghdad housewife breathed in this morning
can be in your lungs by tomorrow afternoon.
Public Forum "Depleted Uranium - The Trojan Horse of A Nuclear
War." 7:30 PM at the First United Methodist Church 9 Ross Valley
Drive, San Rafael
Coastal Post Home Page
*****************************************************************
34 Spectrum: Downwinder program expands to Cedar -
thespectrum.com
Sunday, August 8, 2004
VVMC to screen for two designated days
By JENNIFER WEAVER jweaver@thespectrum.com
[Photo]
Jennifer Weaver
St. George resident Betsy Fillmore Vaught visits her sister, Gaye
Fillmore Baker of Cedar City, about their childhood growing up on
a farm in Beaver during the 11 years of above-ground nuclear
testing in neighboring Nevada in the '50s. Baker is a downwinder
and has been battling non-Hodgkins lymphoma for seven years. For
more information about Downwinders, visit www.downwinders.org.
Downwinder Information
If you are a downwinder, worked on site during nuclear testing
or worked in the uranium mining industry and need to be screened
for potential health problems as a result of radiation exposure,
please visit a clinic near you. The clinics are free.
+ Cedar City area: Valley View Medical Center, 1303 N. Main
Street, Cedar City. Call (435) 688-5990 on Aug. 25 to set an
appointment.
+ St. George area: Dixie Regional Medical Center 400 East campus,
544 S. 400 East, St. George. Access is through the 600 South
entrance.
CEDAR CITY -- The Radiation Exposure Screening and Education
Program sponsored by the Division of Health Center Management
Bureau of Primary Health Care will expand from St. George's Dixie
Regional Medical Center to Cedar City's Valley View Medical
Center for two designated days.
The clinic will compile family histories, provide information for
government compensation, perform physical examinations and
collect data that will be supplied to Congress with
recommendations for future legislation.
According Gaye Fillmore Baker, the local clinic offered in Cedar
City should not be bypassed by anyone in the Southern Utah area.
She was six years old when her head began to ooze for no apparent
reason.
"It looked like an infection but there was no sore spot. My head
was shaved to figure out where the oozing was coming from but we
couldn't figure it out," Baker said. "I got sties on my eyes and
I couldn't eat very many foods without my gums and tongue pealing
and lips swelling."
"My skin was sensitive and I developed 30 or more boils ... and
the only medication I could use is softened soap that was run
under water and scraped off and mixed with sugar then applied to
the boils and wrapped in strips that my mother had torn from a
sheet," she said.
At that time, 52 years ago, no one attributed Baker's illness to
exposure to radiation from watching the nuclear bombs explode
from the Nevada Test Site from the wrap-around porch of her
childhood home in Beaver.
Today, the 58-year-old Cedar City woman is battling non-Hodgkins
lymphoma for the fourth time. The Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt
Lake City has no doubt that her childhood experience was
radiation sickness that has led to her life-threatening disease
that has labeled her a "Downwinder," she said.
Downwinders, as they have come to be known, are people suffering
from abnormally high rates of malignant and non-malignant thyroid
disease and cancers, leukemia, lymphoma and breast cancer linked
to exposure to radioactive fallout from Jan. 21, 1951, to Oct.
31, 1958 and between June 30, 1962, and July 31, 1962 when above
ground nuclear testing was conducted.
Baker's sister, Betsy Fillmore Vaught, of St. George remembers
setting an alarm so the family could go out to the town airport
to see the lights and the various colors that filled the skies
after the bombs detonated.
"No one knew the lights were radioactive clouds, but I do
remember it was gorgeous and I was fascinated," Vaught said. "It
never crossed my mind that it was not a smart thing to do and
also not a smart thing for the government to be doing. ... I
didn't question it."
Baker recollected wiping ash off the window panes and from the
family's car hood with her hands and then wiping them off on her
pants. The sisters also talked about their father, Lee R.
Fillmore, being the Beaver County Sheriff and stopping vehicles
to wash them down.
"He'd wear a white badge, like the ones doctor's wear that do a
lot of x-rays, to check where the radiation infiltration was and
it would just turn to black. He'd send those to the government
and get a new one," Baker said.
Vaught didn't begin to suspect there was a connection between the
nuclear testing and family members becoming ill until she was in
her late 20s. Her uncle died of prostate and bone cancer, her
father died from acute pancreatitis, her aunt died from colon
cancer and her mother died from uterine cancer. When her youngest
sister became ill in 1999, she was convinced there was a
correlation.
"You can't say that all these people were radiated, and you just
don't know if there was a genetic weakness that a little
radiation triggered, but it's really hard to divide the bomb from
lifestyle when there is way too much cancer going around in our
area for some of it not to lay at the feet of the bombs," Vaught
said. "There is a strong possibility of that, and that
possibility made me realize that my family had paid a price."
Before illness in later life, the Fillmore family had their
livelihood altered when the dairy ranch they owned began to have
a high number of aborted calf fetuses among the cattle. The cow
milk was tested for tuberculosis and turned out to "really
active," Vaught said.
"My dad began thinking about selling and getting out of the dairy
business and he did," Vaught said. "Before then, we ate our own
beef, ate the alfalfa, fruit off our trees, drank our own milk,
and so if the clouds didn't get you the first time, you got it in
the food chain."
Within Southern Utah, an estimated 22,000 people were exposed to
nuclear fallout. However, a 15-year National Cancer Institute
study -- mandated by Congress and published in 1997 -- concluded
that every county within the neighboring 48 states received some
level of radioactive Iodine-131, the isotope that causes thyroid
disorders and cancers. Between 100,000 and 800,000 people have
been estimated to have been affected.
Although there is evidence that radioactive material extended
far, the federal government only compensates those under the
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act who lived in one of 21 rural
counties in Southern Utah, Nevada and Arizona. Counties in
Southern Utah falling under possible compensation include
Washington, Kane, San Juan, Garfield, Iron, Wayne, Piute, Beaver,
Sevier and Millard.
Those who are eligible for compensation must prove they were
physically present during the specified time period and have
suffered from multiple myelomas, lymphomas, leukemia or from
primary cancer of the thyroid, breast, esophagus, stomach,
pharynx, small intestine, pancreas, bile ducts, gall bladder,
liver, lung, salivary gland, bladder, brain, colon or ovary.
"Those who have been exposed to radioactive materials are at a
much greater risk of developing cancer. They must be aware of
warning signs and be more vigilant in their annual screenings,"
said RESEP clinic director, Becky Barlow, a registered nurse.
Barlow and Carolyn Rasmussen, also a registered nurse, are both
certified adult and pediatric oncologists. They educate patients
about RECA and how they can go about getting compensation. More
importantly, they collect information to provide to the National
Academies' National Research Council that is assessing the
biologic, epidemiologic and related scientific evidence
associating radiation exposure with cancers or other impacts on
human health to make recommendations to the Health Resources and
Services Administration, Rasmussen said.
Those recommendations will ultimately be given to Congress and
will include technical assistance to HRSA and its grantees on
improving accessibility and quality of medical screening,
education and referral services; the most recent scientific
information related to radiation exposure and associated cancers
or other diseases, with recommendations for improving services
for exposed persons; and whether other classes of individuals or
additional geographic areas should be covered under RECA. All of
the data must be compiled by Aug. 31.
Rasmussen said each patient who attends the clinic will receive a
thorough physical by a physician with follow-up and referrals
made as needed. There is no charge for individuals who lived in
the eligible counties in Utah, Lincoln and northeast Clark
counties in Nevada and northern Mohave and Coconino counties in
Arizona.
Furthermore, no cost will be issued to individuals who worked
on-site at any nuclear test facility during atmospheric
detonation and individuals who were miners, millers or ore
transporters of uranium for one year from 1942 to 1971.
"I was one of their early patients when the clinic opened in St.
George last spring, and the first thing that happens is you call
and they qualify you from your account if you are a downwinder,"
Vaught said. "They then sent me paperwork so I could complete a
history of myself and immediate family ... and it's good to have
it before you go to the clinic."
Though Vaught said it was no different then a regular check-up
and quite an "easy and rewarding experience," she fears people
who may qualify won't go to the clinic out of lost trust in the
government or fear of the results.
"It's absolutely free and, if nothing else, it gives you the
peace of mind that if something is detected it could be caught
early and actually save your life," Vaught said.
Her sister Baker said the opportunity to have information
supplied to Congress at a time when they are considering testing
underground nuclear bombs is even more important to give a voice
from those with real life experiences.
"We need to let the government know not to test again -- ever,"
Baker said. "It's not safe, and we live with it forever because
their is enough dust that spreads through the area to get on
vehicles, into the ground, in the water, in the feed given to the
animals that we eat ... it lasts forever, or at least thousands
of years before it dissipates affecting generations."
She continued, "I'm not really happy with the government and the
way they treated us and are contemplating treating us again. ...
They think they know exactly what they are doing and can control
nuclear tests, and I don't think they can. I'm living proof of
that."By Reporter XXXX@thespectrum.com
Originally published Sunday, August 8, 2004
Copyright ©2004 The Spectrum. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
35 West Neighborhoods: Iodide tablets set for distribution in Beaver County
Sunday, August 08, 2004
State health department officials will distribute potassium
iodide tablets next week to Beaver County residents who live near
the nuclear power plant in Shippingport.
The pills provide temporary protection from radiation exposure
in the event of an accidental release of radioactive materials at
the plant.
The distribution at the Beaver County State Health Center, 300
S. Walnut Lane, is meant to get pills to people who didn't
receive the pills or have lost them in the last year, or who have
moved within the 10-mile radius of the Beaver Valley Power
Station plant in the last year.
The pills will be given out from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, 10
a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Copyright ©1997-2004 PG Publishing Co., Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
36 Haaretz: Army starts distributing radiation antidote
News Updates Sun., August 08, 2004 Av 21, 5764 Israel
Time: 18:38 (GMT+3)
Last Update: 08/08/2004 18:38
By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent
The IDF Home Command started distributing Lugol, an antidote to
radiation, in areas close to the Nuclear Research Center in
Dimona on Sunday. The antidote is intended to protect residents
from radioactive fallout from any missile attack on the nuclear
station, or in case of a reactor accident.
The pills are iodine capsules that reduce the absorption of
radioactive iodine and bolster the body's immune system. They
will be distributed every day for the two weeks between 4 P.M.
and 8 P.M.
The pills are being distributed in Dimona, Yehorham, Ar'ara and
Kseifa, and the unrecognized Beduin villages Al-Hawashla,
Abu-Krinat, Al-Azzma and others in the Negev. In the second
stage, a few weeks later, the pills will be distributed in Arad
and the towns and communities of the Dead Sea and the Arava -
Neveh Zohar, Hatzeva, Not Hakikar, Idan and Tamar.
The mayor of Arad, Motti Brill, objects to the pills being
distributed in his town. A former engineer in the Nuclear
Research Center, Brill says that based on his personal knowledge
of the center, there is no need for Lugol pills and the
distribution would seriously damage Arad's image.
Soldiers will provide each family with the pills and a leaflet in
Hebrew, Arabic, English, Russian and Amharic explaining their
purpose and how to keep them. The Home Front Command cautioned
people not to open the packages or take the pills unless they get
explicit instructions to do so.
Every person will get a pack of five Lugol capsules and family
packages will include extra tablets according to the IDF estimate
of a family's projected growth in the next five years, a Home
Front officer said. Packets of pills will be distributed to
public institutions, schools, hotels and plants. "Each citizen
will have an extra pill waiting for him somewhere in case the
incident happens in the morning when people are not home," the
officer said.
Dimona resident Tali Peretz told Israel Army Radio the
distribution should have been ordered years ago.
"It shouldn't take a committee two years to reach the very simple
conclusion that it is not possible at a moment of crisis
distribute the tablets to almost 200,000 residents," she said.
© Copyright Haaretz. All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
37 Salt Lake Tribune: Bennett rolls out nuke-testing legislation
Last Updated: 08/07/2004 01:51:24 AM
Downwinder: I didn't feel any safer when I left [the news
conference] than when I went in
By Mark Havnes The Salt Lake Tribune
St. George resident and downwinder Michelle Thomas stands
Friday in front of a county map in the Washington County
Commission Chambers. She attended a news conference about Utah
Sen. Bob Bennett's proposed bill concerning possible testing at
the Nevada Test Site. (Mark Havnes/The Salt Lake Tribune)
ST. GEORGE - Security from rogue nations that possess or would
like to develop nuclear weapons is why Sen. Robert Bennett
believes the United States may at some point be required to start
conducting nuclear testing again at southern Utah's nearby
neighbor, the Nevada Test Site.
The Utah senator was in St. George on Friday where he revealed
draft legislation that he plans to introduce in the Senate. The
proposed legislation spells out conditions that must be met
before research and testing could begin.
The Nevada Test Site is where
above-ground weapons testing ended in 1962, and underground
testing was halted 30 years later.
The bill is similar to one introduced in the House earlier
this year by Utah Rep. Jim Matheson, whose district encompasses
areas of southern Utah - home to residents known as
"downwinders." They believe fallout from tests at the Nevada
center, about 180 miles southwest of St. George, is responsible
for increased cancer-mortality rates.
Bennett said while there are no plans now for a resumption of
research or testing, unforeseen circumstances
in a world where nuclear weapons are possessed or coveted by
countries hostile to the United States could materialize, making
the test site again viable to national security.
The senator said that he has resisted calls to dismantle the
country's nuclear weapons program or to cut funding for testing,
because of the deterrent factor provided by a viable nuclear
arsenal.
"I'm not pro-testing. I'm anti-nuclear-ignorance," said
Bennett.
Vanessa Pierce, program coordinator for Salt Lake City-based
Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah and the Downwinders Opposed
to Nuclear Testing, said Bennett's proposed bill may slow the
process, but does not stop future testing.
She said her group would like to see the senator use his
power as a member of the Senate's Energy and Water Appropriations
subcommittee to stop research and development for current and
future nuclear weapons and programs.
"We want to drive home the point that Bennett can stop
testing in one fell swoop by cutting funding for new weapons,"
said Pierce. "Instead, he has proposed legislation that deals
with monitoring - after a test has occurred.
Michelle Pierce, a downwinder who attended Friday's news
conference, was a child in the early 1950s when above-ground
nuclear tests were conducted.
She said Bennett is heading in the right direction, but that
the legislation does not alleviate the fears people in southern
Utah harbor about nuclear tests.
"I didn't feel any safer when I left [the news conference]
than when I went in," said Thomas. "It was the same rhetoric used
during the Cold War to justify testing, just pull out the Soviet
Union and insert, Iran or Iraq or North Korea."
© Copyright 2004, The Salt Lake Tribune.
*****************************************************************
38 Hawk Eye: Office of worker advocacy
Saturday, August 7, 2004, Site updated daily at 11 a.m. CST
IAAP07 info glance
People who are eligible for possible state workman compensation
include all Iowa Army Ammunition Plant employees from 1947
through 1974.
Relatives of those employees who have died also may apply.
For information about the program, call toll–free at (877)
447–9756 or visit the Web site: www.eh.doe.gov/advocacy.
The Hawk Eye
800 S. Main St., Burlington, Iowa 52601
319-754-8461 · 1-800-397-1708 · FAX 319-754-6824 ·
webmaster@thehawkeye.com
*****************************************************************
39 Hawk Eye: Payer found for IAAP claims
Saturday, August 7, 2004, Site updated daily at 11 a.m. CST
Processing to resume on pending workman compensation claims.
By MIKE AUGSPURGER
for The Hawk Eye
A federal agency is ordering a firm related to the former
contractor that managed the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in
Middletown to not protest workman compensation filings made by
former employees who a panel of doctors say are deserving.
The action by the U.S. Department of Energy also allows all
workers employed at the bomb–making facility from 1943 to 1974 to
seek state aid, not just those who worked in the nuclear areas.
In addition, relatives of dead workers also may apply, which is
about 30 to 40 percent of the 640 applications made so far with
the DOE.
The order issued by energy secretary Spencer Abraham on Friday
came after the DOE conducted an "exhaustive analysis of Mason and
Hanger–Silas Mason's contractual relationships" after the nuclear
work ended at IAAP, a news release said.
Much of IAAP's nuclear work eventually was transferred to its
sister facility, Pantex, in Amarillo, Texas. Federal officials
said although the connection between the two plants may have been
well known, it took a long time to determine legal
responsibility.
The DOE recently determined that BWXT–Pantex should serve as the
"willing payer" for applications validated by the independent
medical panel.
The DOE has about 640 workers who have applied for the state
compensation, which would vary by individual case.
With the identification of a "willing payer" for Iowa contractor
employees, Abraham also has ordered processing to resume on all
pending cases from Iowa.
Officials hope to get all the records compiled and pass them on
to the physicians' panel for final action, which may take until
the end of 2006, said Mike Waldron, a DOE spokesman.
Previously, since DOE had not identified a "willing payer" for
Iowa applicants, the Iowa claims had been moved back in the
processing queue to allow DOE contractor employees with a
"willing payer" a chance to have their applications processed
more quickly.
"A major problem has been solved for these former employees who
worked so hard to keep our nation safe from the Cold War threat,"
Abraham said in a news release.
This program should not be confused with on–going action by the
Department of Labor or the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health, a federal agency responsible for conducting
research and making recommendations for the prevention of
work–related injury and illness.
Those programs' end result may be a one–time payment of $150,000
plus additional medical expenses for former IAAP employees who
worked in the nuclear areas.
Under the DOE program, officials will gather all the medical
records and industrial health data, which would be given to the
physicians panel. If the panel determines a person qualifies,
then workman compensation benefits will be paid.
If the state awards worker compensation for lost wages and
medical expenses to an individual, the DOE will help reimburse
the contractor.
In 1975, work from IAAP was transferred to the DOE Pantex plant.
Prior to Friday, no DOE contractor had been identified that could
be directed by DOE not to contest a worker compensation claim
filed by former Iowa plant workers.
Generally, benefit awards consist of a portion of lost wages plus
reimbursement for out–of–pocket medical costs.
The Hawk Eye 800 S. Main St., Burlington, Iowa 52601 319-754-8461
· 1-800-397-1708 · FAX 319-754-6824 ·
*****************************************************************
40 Hawk Eye: Politicians plan to continue efforts
Saturday, August 7, 2004, Site updated daily at 11 a.m. CST
By MIKE AUGSPURGER
for The Hawk Eye
Iowa's congressional delegation believes the U.S. Department of
Energy's move on Friday may work, but they have some
reservations.
Iowa Sens. Tom Harkin and Charles Grassley have introduced
amendments to the Defense Authorization Bill that would make it
easier for former Iowa Army Ammunition Plant employees to get
paid for illnesses related to their work. The bill remains under
discussion in a House–Senate conference committee.
"Congress has put considerable pressure on the Energy Department
to take action on these claims," Grassley said in a news release.
"The pressure from Congress has been built two ways, with
oversight and with legislation. The willing payer issue is the
biggest piece of the problem that needs to be solved for the
plant workers, so I'm looking for maximum certainty when it comes
to securing a willing payer."
Harkin's bill would include former IAAP workers in a "special
exposure cohort" that would secure compensation payments even if
government doctors are unable to determine the amount of
radiation to which they were exposed while working at the
Middletown plant.
Harkin also noted that other states with willing payers have not
seen compensation given to more than 20,000 claims.
"This lack of action is unacceptable and why I cosponsored an
amendment to transfer the claims from the DOE to the Department
of Labor. It is unfortunate that the looming threat of
transferring claims was what it took to finally get the ball
rolling," Harkin said in a news release.
Rep. Jim Leach, R–Iowa, said the DOE action does not solve all of
the difficulties in the claims process, but it removes a
roadblock and establishes a methodology.
"It is premature to know for sure if this new approach will prove
to be the breakthrough mechanism for claim settlements," he said.
"But if it works, as is suggested by DOE, it would be very good
news for claimants."
Grassley said the federal government needs to avoid a situation
that creates new disputes and results in more delays and
frustration for the workers.
He is hoping his amendment, which is not supported by the
administration, will remain on the conference committee's table.
The Hawk Eye 800 S. Main St., Burlington, Iowa 52601 319-754-8461
· 1-800-397-1708 · FAX 319-754-6824 · webmaster@thehawkeye.com
*****************************************************************
41 www.dissidentvoice.org: (DV) Nichols: My Country is Using Poison Gas in Iraq
My God! My Country Is Using Poison Gas In Iraq:
We've Weaponized Uranium Gas
by Bob Nichols
August 7, 2004
Radioactive, poison gas made from uranium was recommended to the
American Military in 1943 during World War II by atom bomb
builders working on the Manhattan Project run by Gen Leslie
Groves.
Sixty-one years later deadly, radioactive, poisonous, weaponized
uranium oxide gas plays a vital role in implementing the "Total
Worldwide Domination Plan" as practiced by the NeoCons and
President Bush. It is entitled "Rebuilding America's Defenses"
and was written in September 2000 by the neo-con think tank,
Project for the New American Century (PNAC).
That would be the American government's Cheney and the
Pentagon's Rumsfield, Wolfowitz, and Feith, the most hated men
in the world, the Gang of Four.
Uranium 30 mm shell
What is weaponized uranium oxide gas? It's any high velocity
bullet or shell, any High Explosive Bomb or missile made with
uranium metal. The uranium components turn into uranium oxide
gas after the high velocity bullet or shell penetrates anything
solid and explodes, as much as 80% of it ignites, burns, and
aerosolizes into tiny, tiny radioactive pieces and floats in the
air as a gas, blown about by the wind. They can stay airborne
for years and be re-suspended for years, over and over again.
Missiles and bombs that explode as planned are blasted into
uranium gas by the bomb's high explosive (HE). Pretty simple
really. Once the uranium metal is worked into the business end
of a bullet, tank shell, bomb, or missile the uranium oxide gas
is "weaponized," and ready to go.
The feedstock uranium that's manufactured into war munitions is
processed one time to purify it. Less than one half of one
percent, a tiny impurity, is removed to make thermonuclear bombs
and nuclear reactor cores. This leaves more than 99.8% of the
uranium for bullets and bombs.
The uranium is fully 88% as radioactive as it was before it was
processed. The Gang of Four cynically calls this uranium
"depleted" as if everything is OK with it; it is safe; it has
been depleted; there is no problem with it. No Problem! To top
it off and make it worse, America's academics dutifully talk
about and study "Depleted Uranium,"* at retreats and seminars
thus keeping the Big Lie alive for the millions of common folk
who long for some straight answers from academe.
This so-called Depleted Uranium is what the American government
is using to make sniper bullets, tank shells, bombs, and cruise
missiles. And, the American government just ordered some more
depleted uranium weapons. It only takes a few months to re-arm.
Who's next? Iran? Syria?
The 70-ton 1,500 HP workhorse M1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tanks
actually deliver up to eight pounds of poisonous uranium oxide
gas per high velocity shell fired. The Abrams Death Machines
fired many thousands of the 10-pound uranium "penetrator" rods
during the Gulf Rape of Iraq turkey shoot. They are fully 18
inches long and 3/4 inch wide. That's the real name, too,
"penetrator rods." It's an Abu Ghraib for the entire country.
But, using uranium munitions is a War Crime. As Vice President
Cheney would say "Big Time!" That would be a major problem for
less dedicated countries than the United States. That is not a
showstopper for Bush, the NeoCons, or the American military. The
Military is taught to refuse to follow orders that embrace War
Crimes because they aren't legal. They failed America and the
entire world.
The American President (Bush) stated that the International
Criminal Court's (Re: War Crimes) jurisdiction does not apply to
America's leaders or the Military. Presidential Translation: Go
for it, dudes! Result: 4,000,000 pounds of uranium munitions
poisoned Iraq with radioactive gas and dust rendering large
parts of it uninhabitable. We Americans have already
successfully killed Iraqis as yet unborn with radiation induced
birth defects and cancers. This same uranium oxide gas, of
course, is also sickening and killing our kids and friends in
the Army in Iraq.
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, former Chief of Staff of the Indian
Navy, calculated that the radiation in 4,000,000 pounds of
uranium is the equivalent of that in 250,000 unexploded Nagasaki
Plutonium Bombs. (1) That would be the Bomb the US dropped on
Nagasaki, Japan three days after the Atom Bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima August 6, 1945. This current Iraq Nuclear Radiation
War was announced in the United States by the article "There Are
No Words" by this writer on DissidentVoice.org on March 27,
2004. (2)
My God! Have the Gang of Four no humanity? Are they some kind of
unfeeling Aliens from a Hollywood horror movie? The invisible,
odorless, tasteless uranium oxide poison gas in the air can't be
controlled or even seen! It's as dangerous to our kids and
neighbors in the Army shooting it as it is to the "enemy"
Iraqis. What's more, it migrates with the wind. This means it
will soon be in all countries within 1,000 miles of Iraq. This
includes America's ally, the state of Israel.
Nazi Germany had the political will in WWII to commit war
crimes. The Germans finally settled on Zyklon B Gas to
exterminate six million Jews during the cruel reign of the Third
Reich. Zyklon B was "effective" but lacked a long "killing
trail." After Jews in the gas chamber or mobile van were killed,
the deadly gas was withdrawn and the corpses removed from the
chamber or van. Nazi SS soldiers were required to dispense more
Zyklon B to the next killing cluster. Effective killer, short
killing trail.
Well, America is nothing if not relentless. Specifically, a 1943
memo to General Groves recommended uranium oxide gas be used as
a gas warfare instrument to Kill People and to Contaminate Land.
The memo did raise the problem that the radioactive uranium gas
could not be controlled and was, and is still, dangerous to our
own kids and friends: the American Troopers. (3) It would be
another thirty years before that hurdle was publicly demolished.
In 1973, in General Alexander Haig's presence, Henry Kissinger,
the National Security Advisor, referred pointedly to military
men as "dumb, stupid animals to be used" as pawns for foreign
policy. (4) Kissinger set the public stage for the war managers
to sacrifice the gullible, but patriotic and "stupid" American
Troopers to the use of weaponized uranium oxide gas. American
General Norman Schwarzkopf from the First Gulf War stated they
were not told anything about harmful uranium munitions.
Uranium gas also is a good deal for the Bush Administration
because it has built in plausible deniability. Depending on the
uranium gas dose the American Troopers get, they can be expected
to sicken and die over a period of days, months, and years.
There is no minimum dose that is harmless. Inhaling as little as
one gram over a year means the equivalent of one X-Ray per hour
for the rest of their shortened life. Each gram in the lung
shoots 12,000 little bullets per minute, forever, at the lung
cells next to it. What do you think is going to happen to the
lung cells. All radiation counts.
The ensuing Veteran's Administration disability payment requests
can be denied for years while the "dumb, stupid," used up vets
conveniently and obligingly die off. The former American
trooper's painful deaths go virtually unnoticed scattered across
the North American continent in some 7,000 American hospitals
and among 300 million people.
Collaborating VA doctors merely chant, "You can't prove it,"
when confronted by hundreds of thousands of sick and dying
Troopers. Anyway, all the well-paid NeoCon or timid doctors need
do is delay. The invisible, deadly, ever-present radiation does
the rest.
To say the least, the American Military and their wealthy
helpmates in the private weapons industry have resolutely and
definitively solved the Nazi killing trail problem. Weaponized
Uranium Oxide Gas, when used properly, packs a killing trail up
to a truly majestic 4.5 Billion years. In fact, that pretty well
qualifies as "forever" in most American classrooms studying
"Total Worldwide Domination Theory."
Instinctively racist in nature, the political decision makers,
Bush and the NeoCons with a supporting crew of weak minded
Democrats, decided that the Iraqi race had to go. It's an
inescapable conclusion to any fair minded person contemplating
the purposeful use of Four Million pounds of uranium on Iraq.
That's cold blooded genocide.
Get a group of your friends together some lazy Sunday afternoon
and appoint yourselves as a Pentagon Procurement Committee.
Would you choose uranium munitions for our Troopers to use in
Iraq?
Put your own ending to this article here.
A lot of people in the States have done everything we can think
of to stop these nuclear radiation wars, uranium poison gas, and
the the use of uranium as a munition. We've tried and failed for
years. Failed! There are no excuses for our collective failures.
Why don't you give it a try? Can't hurt anything! View this
Flash animation, "Poison Fire USA," by Russell Hoffman to see
the animated history of 60 years of major nuclear activities in
the continental United States. It will amaze you. These events
all lead up to recklessly using uranium munitions in Iraq:
www.animatedsoftware.com/poifu/poifu.swf
For further expert scientific information read former Lawrence
Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab scientist Leuren Moret's:
"Depleted Uranium: The Trojan Horse of Nuclear War."
Do you have a solution? Then write what steps you would take to
turn this situation around. If you represent your country at the
United Nations General Assembly, be creative. Who else is going
to stop the United States from committing genocide? Send it to
me at this address. I'll publish it, as appropriate, and maybe
we all can make it happen.
info-radiation-wars@cox.net
* Depleted Uranium is the result of a step in the process of
creating enriched uranium for nuclear power plant reactor cores
and thermonuclear bombs, commonly called Hydrogen Bombs and
Neutron Bombs. The uranium impurity used in bombs and reactor
cores is about .711 percent of one percent of natural uranium, a
tiny amount. Like iodine in salt, except it kills everything.
Processing natural uranium removes about half of the bomb making
material. It is then called Depleted Uranium by the powers that
be because it can no longer be used to make bombs; but, it is
used to make bullets and shells instead. The Depleted Uranium is
fully 88% as radioactive in total radiation as the original
uranium. There are an estimated 1.5 Billion Pounds of Depleted
Uranium at U.S. Nuclear Weapons Labs and related facilities
(Bomb Factories) in the US. The word depleted does not mean the
uranium is safe or OK to use, it means it has been processed,
that's all. Perhaps a less deceptive name would be "12% depleted
uranium." The familiar 60% depleted uranium figure refers to
what is called "Alpha" radiation only.
Bob Nichols writes in Oklahoma City and is occasionally a
contributing writer for DissidentVoice.org, LiberalSlant.com,
DemocraticUnderground.com, OnlineJournal.com,
AmericaHeldHostage.com, and other online dot com publications.
Mr. Nichols is a contributor to The Oklahoma Observer newspaper.
He is a member of CASE -- Citizens' Action for Safe Energy.
CASE has successfully killed two serious, well funded attempts
to build Nuclear Power Plants in Oklahoma and several attempts
to site what is now known as the "Yucca Mountain Used Reactor
Core Dump" in Oklahoma. All these efforts to build nuclear
facilities have failed. CASE won every time. Copyright (C) 2004,
Bob Nichols. All rights reserved. Permission for reposting is
allowed provided the complete text and attribution are kept
intact.
REFERENCES
(1) Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat's paper presented at a medical
conference in New Delhi, India, February 29, March 1-2, 2004
titled "Silent WMDs - Effects of Depleted Uranium."
(2) This radiation war was announced in the United States by the
article "There Are No Words" by Bob Nichols on
DissidentVoice.org on March 27, 2004.
(3) Summary of the report of the Committee, Dr. James B. Conant,
Chairman.
(4) Kissinger's quote regarding military men comes from Chapter
14, which extensively discusses Al Haig, Kissinger and other
Nixon staff advisors' negotiations and differences over national
security issues during the 1969-1974 period. The exact, direct
quote marks begin with the word 'dumb' and terminate after the
word 'used'. SOURCE: Bob Woodward & Carl Bernstein, The Final
Days second Touchstone paperback edition (1994), Chapter 14, pp.
194-195. Other Articles by Bob Nichols * There Are No Words ...
Radiation in Iraq Equals 250,000 Nagasaki Bombs
*****************************************************************
42 Deseret news: Utahn recalls seeing devastation caused by atomic bomb
[deseretnews.com]
Saturday, August 7, 2004
By Lisa Riley Roche
Deseret Morning News
Utahn Leon Jensen will never forget seeing the effect of an
atomic bomb on Japan, just months after the United States
launched the world's first nuclear attacks and ended World War
II.
People lie on the ground for a "die-in" near Hiroshima A-Bomb
Dome to mark 59th anniversary of the first atomic bombing.
['']
Associated Press
Jensen, now 86, flew over Nagasaki in a cargo plane just
over two months after the city became the second target of an
atomic bomb in August 1945. The first city hit by an atomic bomb
was Hiroshima, 59 years ago Friday.
Then a captain in the Army Air Corps, Jensen served as a
crew member on a mission to inspect the site. Flying just 250
feet above the site, Jensen said everything on the ground
appeared to have been destroyed.
"There was just hardly anything you could see, because
hardly anything was standing," the Draper resident recalled. "It
was just a sight that was hard to believe, that a big city had
been there. . . . We were just awed by what we saw."
Jensen was stationed on Guam when the bombs were dropped
on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9. "It was something we didn't know about
ahead of time, but there was a feeling in the air something was
going on," he said.
When those at the Guam air base got word that the atomic
bombs had been dropped, Jensen said "we were very elated at the
time, I should say. We knew the war was going to be over."
He said making the decision to drop the bombs was "one of
the great things President Truman did" because it resulted in
Japan's surrender on Aug. 15, 1945. The bombs killed or injured
more than 300,000 people in those two cities.
"This is what ended the war. If it hadn't been for that,
we would have lost a few hundred thousand more men for sure,"
Jensen said, among the Japanese as well as the Americans and
their allies. "It was just a blessing for both of us."
Jensen worries that so much time has passed that
Americans are forgetting about the final days of the war. "The
atomic bomb was one of the greatest scientific achievements in
history," the retired civil engineer said.
"It's a good thing we've never had to use one since that
time," Jensen said. "And I hope we never have to again."
E-mail: lisa@desnews.com
© 2004 Deseret News Publishing Company
*****************************************************************
43 [toeslist] Africa Alert: nukes down your boreholes
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2004 00:53:06 -0500 (CDT)
Getting rid of waste in our water systems.?
Africa Alert!
Do we want borehole disposal of radio-active materials? Yes or no?
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has commissioned the
Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (NECSA) to test the
feasibility of disposing of radio-active sealed sources (like X-rays,
geological survey and other measuring instruments) in boreholes.
The South African National Nuclear Regulator (NNR) is also involved
in this research.
South African civil society has been invited to assess whether this
method of disposal is PUBLICLY ACCEPTABLE or not.
There are some obvious problems with this concept.
1) How can South African civil society determine whether this
is acceptable to the African public? It has been made clear that
this "solution" for waste disposal is intended for Africa, not South
Africa.
South Africa already has higher standards, namely storage of sealed
sources at the places of origin, or in another appropriate place,
above ground, sealed, labelled, monitored and retrievable, which
accords with International Best Practice. South African civil society
can only play the role of alerting our fellow Africans, sharing
knowledge about this initiative, and protesting at this gross
imposition which is "policy making for other countries by technical
experiment". In other words, we must use our tactically privileged
position in a responsible way.
2) The reason that is advanced as to why Africa needs this
initiative is that its regulatory regimes are not as good as the
South African. The question would then be why radio-active instruments
are used where the regulatory regimes are inadequate, especially
when safer and more sustainable technologies exist, as evidenced
in wealthy countries. Many of these instruments are used for mining
exploration and industry (e.g testing pipes). While there are some
used in medical institutions, the question has to be asked to whose
benefit they have been used. A related issue is that the use of
such instruments is being actively encouraged by research institutions
and funders, including the SA Department of Science and Technology,
without taking responsibility for the consequences!
3) The initiative has not started on the request of Africans.
Rather, it has identified itself as part of the American "War on
Terror"
in that it aims to remove radio-active sources from third world
countries where these could be used to make "dirty bombs", that is,
a combination of explosives with radio-active material to create
radio-active contamination as an instrument of terror. It may however
be easier to make "dirty bombs" by stealing currently used radio-active
sources. No African has threatened to use a "dirty bomb" to date.
4) Technically, the borehole method amounts to a planned release
of radio-activity into the environment, which may contaminate soil
and water sources, for example termites so that radio-activity may
accumulate through the food chain, or water contamination that may
make fish farming or fishing a danger.
5) The proposal is aimed at cheap disposal, and the IAEA has
requested the South African consultants to make it as cheap as
possible.
As a result, detailed geological surveys for each disposal site
have been ruled out. On this point alone, the proposal should be
disqualified as it increases the likelihood of radio-active releases
to the environment.
6) The active elements of sealed sources are classified (for
example, in the proposed SA radio-active waste policy) as "high
level waste". There are as yet not solutions to the problem of
disposing of high-level waste. Disposal of one type of high-level
radio-active waste may open the way for a policy of deep geological
disposal. Why is this a problem? Deep geological disposal means
that radio-active waste cannot be monitored or retrieved. If
geological or climate conditions change, the waste can come into
contact with soil and water and contaminate them, making the area
uninhabitable for future generations - without the option of doing
anything about it. We insist on the best practice principles of
concentrated rather than dispersed storage of high-level radio-active
waste, above ground, labelled, monitored, and retrievable, although
we prefer that no more radio-active waste should be produced.
There cannot be geological (ground) stability for the hundreds of
thousand years that the waste will remain dangerous, and therefore
any form of underground storage is unacceptable. Inter-generational
equity demands that we apply the best of existing solutions.
7) The very absence of stable (or any!) nuclear regulatory
regimes in African countries outside South Africa, which is the
motivation for this solution, should disqualify it. Borehole disposal
in a weakly regulated or unregulated environment creates the
horrifying possibility of unknown and potentially highly dangerous
disposal of other nuclear waste from irresponsible nuclear nations.
If we find difficulty finding whole cities 500 years later, what
hope of finding a leaking radioactive borehole 100 000 years from
now? There is evidence that this has happened in Africa in the past.
In a weak regulatory environment and with the attractive option of
dumping nuclear waste into boreholes where it cannot be monitored
or retrieved, what is there to prevent this abuse?
8) The borehole concept violates the principles of sustainable
development and environmental care. It violates the precautionary
principle through planned releases and non-retrievability. It narrows
land use options for future generations through radio-active
contamination of soil and water.
9) The polluter pays principle should apply. The manufacturers
of these instruments (who are not African, or may be South African)
should take responsibility for the safe storage of these instruments,
and carry the costs of it. It is an unacceptable externalisation
of costs that Africans should be placed at risk while international
mining and industrial companies and medical equipment manufacturers
have benefited from the use of these dangerous instruments.
10) The right of Africans to decide about the risks we take should
be respected, including the right to know about potential hazards
before being exposed to them in any manner, including for medical
purposes, and the practice of policy making for Africans by
international bodies and technical consultants should be forcefully
rejected.
We propose to hold a South African meeting early in August to develop
and adopt a Declaration on Radio-Active Waste which will deal with
this issue as well as with the proposed South African radio-active
waste policy. In the meantime, we need declarations of support for
this statement, if you agree.
We do not have the means to invite Africans outside South Africa
to this meeting, but if anybody is able to attend by funding
themselves, please contact us. Regardless, we request your co-operation
in opposing this plan. We also think that, as fellow Africans, it
is important to alert you to these developments. Any suggestions
for co-operative actions will be welcome, and we will provide
whatever support is within our means.
Visit our websites at www.earthlife.org.za
and www.earthlife-ct.org.za . You
can contact me at victormunnik@iafrica.com for more information,
or Nuclear Energy Costs the Earth Campaign (Earthlife Johannesburg)
co-ordinator Mashile Phalane at mashilep@mweb.co.za.
Nuclear Energy Costs the Earth Campaign,
Earthlife Africa, Johannesburg
*****************************************************************
44 Las Vegas SUN: Columnist Jeff German: Sierra Club puts heat on GOP
Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and
Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.comor (702)
259-4067.
WEEKEND EDITION
August 7 - 8, 2004
You don't have to talk to Carl Pope very long to see that he's
not a fan of President Bush.
As executive director of the Sierra Club, the nation's oldest
and most influential environmental organization, Pope has been
critical of Bush's anti-environmental policies.
With equal passion Pope has found fault with the president's
push to make Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, the
site of the country's high-level nuclear waste repository.
For years Pope and his San Francisco-based organization, which
has 700,000 members nationwide, have been one of Nevada's
strongest allies in the fight against the dump.
Last week, sensing that Bush is vulnerable at the polls in
Nevada, Pope took the Sierra Club's opposition to the next level.
He came to Las Vegas to launch an ambitious voter education
program pointing out the dangers of Yucca Mountain and why Bush
is no friend of this state.
This is good because many people who live here -- including some
of our Republican leaders -- still think of Bush as a friend.
"Nevada's not alone anymore," Pope told me. "If Nevada can hold
on and demonstrate this November that this issue can't be swept
under the rug by politicians, I think Yucca Mountain is dead."
The Sierra Club plans to spend more than $500,000 and dispatch
1,000 volunteers into the community to reach 30,000 households.
The goal is to get voters fired up in November to vote for
Democratic challenger John Kerry, who has promised to kill the
Yucca Mountain project.
The grassroots campaign, which is being backed by the Culinary
Union, is significant because it could put Kerry over the hump in
Nevada, a battleground state, and determine the outcome of the
entire presidential race.
It's a perfect example of how groups traditionally aligned with
the Democrats have banded together with enthusiasm to defeat
Bush.
But more than that, it's an indication of how this election
could rest on the Yucca Mountain issue.
Don't let anyone tell you that Yucca Mountain isn't the most
important issue for Nevadans in the race. There is nothing more
crucial to our well-being than keeping the deadliest substance
known to man as far away as possible from our children and our
tourism industry.
This is a no-brainer. This is our future.
The Sierra Club's campaign will highlight the profound
differences between the Democrats and the Republicans on Yucca
Mountain.
Democrats are solidly behind Kerry and his pledge to stop the
dump in its tracks. Republicans are against the dump, but they
are pushing for the re-election of Bush, who is shoving the dump
down our throats.
I find it pathetic watching our highest-ranking Republicans --
Gov. Kenny Guinn, Attorney General Brian Sandoval, Sen. John
Ensign, and Reps. Jim Gibbons and Jon Porter -- dance like party
puppets every time they're asked to explain how they can work to
re-elect a president who wants to send the deadly nuclear waste
our way.
They look like flip-flopping fools.
Is there not one among them who has the strength to stand up and
tell the president he doesn't deserve our votes until he can
assure us he will kill Yucca Mountain?
Carl Pope knows Kerry pretty well, and he's convinced that the
Massachusetts senator will follow through with his Yucca Mountain
pledge, which is why Pope is willing to make a big investment in
the presidential race here.
Kerry will make another campaign stop in Las Vegas this week, so
we'll have a chance to press him for more details about his plans
to halt the project.
In the meantime, I'm glad the Sierra Club has taken a keen
interest in the race.
I'm hoping it beats a drum loud enough to wake up our Republican
leaders so we'll be united in electing a president who's on our
side in the Yucca Mountain fight.
*****************************************************************
45 Bradenton Herald: State delays pollution statutes
| 08/07/2004 |
TIFFANY TOMPKINS-CONDIE-The Herald
Joseph Bivona, a former American Beryllium Co. employee, files
a claim on Wednesday. Bivona has MS, and his wife Cindy, also a
former employee of the company, died of cancer in 1994.
INFLUENCED BY TALLEVAST
State delays pollution statutes
KEVIN O'HORAN
Herald Staff Writer
Expecting a blizzard of comments on their proposal to change the
rules for cleaning contaminated sites - as well as when and how
to tell communities like Tallevast about the poisons - Florida
regulators have delayed a meeting planned to adopt the changes.
Rather than offer rewrites to the state's Environmental
Regulation Commission in late September, regulators now will take
another month to mull over the thoughts and opinions of scores
who weighed in on the plan during a public workshop earlier this
week.
"We want to take the time to carefully consider all the comments
before submitting them to the ERC for approval," said Cragin
Mosteller, a spokeswoman with the Florida Department of
Environmental Protection.
The proposal under review focuses on setting standards for
"clean" water and soil, levels to which companies or individuals
must clear an area after a release of toxins. But the package
also looks to speed up the process through which residents learn
of the problems.
Property owners who find contamination has spread from their land
would have seven days to notify DEP of the leak, and 30 days to
notify the county health department and residents, the latter
though posted signs and newspaper ads.
If the leak were deemed an imminent threat, such as poison in a
drinking water supply, the polluter would have just three days to
notify DEP and the health department, as well as property owners,
tenants and businesses, where the contamination has reached.
Tallevast residents have pushed for such changes since learning
only in November that state officials let nearly four years lapse
going public about a January 2000 find of cancer-causing solvents
leaked at the former American Beryllium Co. plant at 1600
Tallevast Road.
After initially downplaying the threat of the Tallevast release,
DEP - prodded by Tallevast residents - has found through further
testing that the contamination has spread wider, deeper and at
much higher concentrations than believed.
Just seven people so far have officially commented on the plan,
Mosteller said, but that's likely to change as the deadline nears
to opine.
"The bulk of the comments come closer to the due date," she said.
So, the agency has moved that deadline back, stretching the
comment period by a week to Aug. 17.
In turn, that pushes to Sept. 30 the day DEP staffers plan to
brief the regulatory commission on the plans. The panel had
planned to vote on the ideas that day but will now postpone the
vote until Oct. 28.
• WHAT: DEP proposing changes to how and when the agency notifies
property owners and others near contaminated sites like the
former American Beryllium Co. plant in Tallevast.
• HOW: Comments will be accepted until Aug. 17. Write to: Roger
Register, Bureau of Waste Cleanup, 2600 Blair Stone Road, MS
4505, Tallahassee, FL 32399-2400. E-mail to:
roger.register@dep.state.fl.us. Phone: (850) 245-8934.
*****************************************************************
46 Las Vegas SUN: Sierra Club steps up role in presidential
campaign in Nevada
By MARTIN GRIFFITH ASSOCIATED PRESS
RENO, Nev. (AP) - As President Bush and John Kerry prepare to
visit Nevada again, the Sierra Club is stepping up its political
involvement in the battleground state.
Dozens of Sierra Club members began taking to neighborhoods in
Reno and Las Vegas on Saturday as part of the environmental
organization's voter education campaign designed to highlight
the candidates' differences on green issues.
Similar door-to-door efforts will be launched in upcoming weeks
in other key battleground states, including Oregon, Michigan,
Ohio, Florida and New Hampshire, spokesman Eric Antebi said.
The Sierra Club has been sharply critical of the Bush
administration's environmental record.
"We realize there's no substitute to talking to people one on
one," Antebi said, adding Nevada is the only state where an
environmental issue could turn the election.
Nearly 50 Sierra Club members - most of them from the San
Francisco Bay area - talked to more than 500 Reno voters on
Saturday about how Bush and Kerry differ on plans to bury the
nation's nuclear waste in southern Nevada.
Bush has approved Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las
Vegas, as the dump site, while Kerry has pledged it will not be
a repository if he wins in November. Kerry voted against the
project in 2000 and 2002 in the Senate.
"There's a real clearcut choice here and we know the next
president will have the power to stop it," Antebi said. "Nevada
has the power to decide its own fate on Yucca Mountain."
Tracey Schmitt, a spokeswoman for the Bush-Cheney campaign, did
not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
But in Las Vegas last week, Interior Secretary Gale Norton
defended the Bush administration's oil, natural gas and coal
development policies on federal land.
Norton said the pace of development over the last three years
has been the same as the last three years of the Clinton
administration.
"Less than 2 percent (of federal lands) is going for energy
production," she said.
Bush and Kerry are locked in a tight race in Nevada, according
to a poll conducted July 20-22 for the Las Vegas Review-Journal,
the most recent available.
Bush had the support of 46 percent of those surveyed while Kerry
had 43 percent.
A majority of Nevada voters said Bush's Yucca Mountain decision
would have no effect on their vote. But among undecided voters,
31 percent said they would be less likely to vote for Bush
because of Yucca Mountain.
"All I heard from voters today was how Yucca Mountain is their
main concern in the election," said Sierra Club member Graham
Stafford of Reno. "They don't want the waste here."
Kerry plans to visit Las Vegas on Tuesday, his third there this
year. Bush is set to visit Las Vegas on Thursday, his third to
the state since being elected.
With almost even voter registration among Democrats and
Republicans, Nevada - with its five electoral votes - has been
identified by both parties as a battleground state. Bush
narrowly carried the state in 2000.
--
*****************************************************************
47 AP Wire: Nevada Ponders Superfund Status for Mine
| 08/08/2004 |
SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press
RENO, Nev. - Pressured by a ranking senator from Nevada and the
Environmental Protection Agency, Gov. Kenny Guinn says he might
reconsider his opposition to a federal Superfund cleanup
declaration for a huge abandoned mine contaminated with toxic
waste and uranium.
Guinn, other state officials and local politicians have contended
that the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection is making
progress at the former Anaconda copper mine bordering Yerington,
an agricultural town in northern Nevada, and that one-time
Anaconda parent Atlantic Richfield Co. is cooperating.
They also fear the stigma of the area being labeled a Superfund
site, a designation that would turn over responsibility and
enforcement authority to the federal government.
Federal experts, however, said the recent discovery of unusually
high levels of radiation in soil samples at the mine is a sign
that federal help is needed.
"We realize the cleanup is going to be much more significant than
any of us anticipated," said Bob Abbey, Nevada director for the
U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
Guinn's spokesman, Greg Bortolin, told The Associated Press last
week that the Republican governor "is open-minded and is
receptive to the possibility of a Superfund listing as a result
of the information that continues to come to light."
Senate Minority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev., said state regulators
lack the muscle to force ARCO to clean up the hundreds of acres
of toxic waste, some of it radioactive, Reid said.
"This is big business overwhelming a little state and the state
doesn't have the power to fight them," said Reid, the
second-ranking Democrat in the Senate.
"This is a cesspool full of very, very toxic substances and
(ARCO) should write a check to clean it up. The only way they
will do that is if it is declared a Superfund site," Reid said.
Dan Ferriter, ARCO's environmental manager in charge of the site,
took exception to Reid's criticism, saying the cleanup already is
subject to "fairly extreme" regulatory oversight.
"We are doing much, much more than would be required for a mine
closure by the state of Nevada and we are doing more than we
would at most Superfund sites," Ferriter said Friday.
Early groundwater tests at the 3,600-acre site showed uranium at
up to 200 times the U.S. drinking water standard, apparently the
result of decades of chemical processing of copper ore in acid
leaching ponds. Uranium was also present in the copper ore.
One new soil sample shows alpha radiation levels nearly 200 times
more than natural background levels, and four other samples are
in the range of 25 to 90 times normal, the BLM reported last
month. More tests are pending.
Anaconda Copper Co. mined the site from 1953 to 1978. ARCO is
responsible for the cleanup because it once owned Anaconda and a
more recent owner of the site has gone bankrupt. ARCO has spent
about $50,000 since January testing wells and providing bottled
water to about 40 households near the mine, Ferriter said.
*****************************************************************
48 Nevada Appeal: Sierra Club steps up role in presidential campaign in Nevada
August 8, 2004
MARTIN GRIFFITH
RENO - As President Bush and John Kerry prepare to visit Nevada
again, the Sierra Club is stepping up its political involvement
in the battleground state.
Dozens of Sierra Club members began taking to neighborhoods in
Reno and Las Vegas on Saturday as part of the environmental
organization's voter education campaign designed to highlight the
candidates' differences on green issues.
Similar door-to-door efforts will be launched in upcoming weeks
in other key battleground states, including Oregon, Michigan,
Ohio, Florida and New Hampshire, spokesman Eric Antebi said.
The Sierra Club has been sharply critical of the Bush
administration's environmental record.
"We realize there's no substitute to talking to people one on
one," Antebi said, adding Nevada is the only state where an
environmental issue could turn the election.
Nearly 50 Sierra Club members - most of them from the San
Francisco Bay area - talked to more than 500 Reno voters on
Saturday about how Bush and Kerry differ on plans to bury the
nation's nuclear waste in southern Nevada.
Bush has approved Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las
Vegas, as the dump site, while Kerry has pledged it will not be a
repository if he wins in November. Kerry voted against the
project in 2000 and 2002 in the Senate.
"There's a real clearcut choice here and we know the next
president will have the power to stop it," Antebi said. "Nevada
has the power to decide its own fate on Yucca Mountain."
Tracey Schmitt, a spokeswoman for the Bush-Cheney campaign, did
not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.
But in Las Vegas last week, Interior Secretary Gale Norton
defended the Bush administration's oil, natural gas and coal
development policies on federal land.
Norton said the pace of development over the last three years has
been the same as the last three years of the Clinton
administration.
"Less than 2 percent (of federal lands) is going for energy
production," she said.
Bush and Kerry are locked in a tight race in Nevada, according to
a poll conducted July 20-22 for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the
most recent available.
Bush had the support of 46 percent of those surveyed while Kerry
had 43 percent.
A majority of Nevada voters said Bush's Yucca Mountain decision
would have no effect on their vote. But among undecided voters,
31 percent said they would be less likely to vote for Bush
because of Yucca Mountain.
All contents © Copyright 2004 nevadaappeal.com
Nevada Appeal - 580 Mallory Way - Carson City, NV 89701
*****************************************************************
49 OA Online News: Waste Control only company to apply for license with TCEQ
Saturday, 07 August 2004
American Online
c /o Odessa American 222 E. 4th Street P.O. Box 2952 Odessa, TX
79760
By Ruth Friedberg Campbell Odessa American
ANDREWS — Waste Control Specialists was the only company to apply
for a license to operate a low-level radioactive waste disposal
site as of Friday’s deadline.
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality took proposals
until 5 p.m. Friday. Waste Control already operates a low-level
radioactive storage site 30 miles west of Andrews.
Waste Control filed its 4,000-page license application with a fee
of $500,000 on Wednesday.
“I think this does show that we’re committed and we’ve got the
financial resources to be able to undertake this (project),”
Waste Control Specialists General Manager Tom W. Jones III said.
If Waste Control’s application is approved, it would be able to
start taking waste in 2008. The way the disposal site legislation
is written, it would include one facility for the interstate
Waste Compact, including Texas, Vermont and Maine, although Maine
might drop out. There would be a second facility for government
waste, including contaminated soil.
Both sites would get demolition debris, lab coats, respirators,
coveralls and gloves. Waste Control plans to dig an initial
concrete-lined hole that is 1,500 feet square and 75 feet deep.
Right below the surface is 800 feet of clay.
There are also monitor wells around the site and sump pumps that
pump the water into a holding well when it rains.
Nebraska has submitted a proposal to Texas to take its nuclear
waste, which would help Nebraska get out from under a $150
million judgment. Nebraska was to host a nuclear waste site for
members of its compact, which also includes Kansas, Arkansas,
Oklahoma and Louisiana.
The possible site for the waste is in Andrews County. Parties in
the suit meet in an emergency meeting Monday to discuss a
possible settlement.
Although Waste Control is the only company that applied, Susan
Jablonski, radioactive waste specialist with the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality, said the application will still go
through a review process.
An administrative completeness review will be done to make sure
all the information is in the application. At the same time, a
comparative merit review is conducted, used to formulate a
recommendation to the agency executive director, Jablonski said.
A public hearing in Andrews County is then held (sometime in the
spring of 2005), followed by a full-blown technical review.
After that, if someone files for one, a contested case hearing is
held, which can last no more than one year under state law,
Jablonski said.
Ken Kramer, state director of the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra
Club in Austin, said he was not surprised Waste Control was the
only applicant because the company had poured thousands of
dollars into getting the law changed.
Kramer said any other company would have to look at how much
money and influence Waste Control put in before considering
applying for a license.
Kramer said there are still a number of hurdles that have to be
jumped before a license is issued. “We will do everything we can
to make sure Waste Control doesn’t get its license and that state
officials re-examine the whole issue of whether a private company
should hold a license,” Kramer said.
“I don’t think it’s a slam-dunk that Waste Control Specialists
will get a license and open a facility,” he added.
*****************************************************************
50 PE.com: Group prepares for Wyle offensive
| Inland Southern California | Corona-Norco
CONSULTATIONS: A law firm and ex-EPA official will talk to those
who have health concerns.
09:21 PM PDT on Saturday, August 7, 2004
By PAIGE AUSTIN / The Press-Enterprise
MEETING
Attorneys and a former EPA official will meet with the Wyle Labs
Community Advisory Group.
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: Norco City Hall, 2870 Clark Ave.
The Wyle Labs Community Advisory Group is going on the offensive
with a meeting Monday night to introduce attorneys to neighbors
of the hazardous-testing complex and to discuss health issues
that regulators have sidestepped, a group leader said Friday.
The group was set up to facilitate communication between the
Norco community and state officials overseeing the cleanup of
hazardous waste at Wyle. Because state officials are limited to
investigating current pollution and health threats, residents
have grown increasingly frustrated in their attempts to find out
if pollution from Wyle has threatened public health over the past
47 years, said Jeane Guertin, chairwoman of the group.
That frustration prompted the group to invite speakers from
Heiting and Irwin, a Riverside law firm representing dozens of
Wyle neighbors who say their health and property have been
damaged by the pollution. The group will also have a former U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency senior science adviser offer tips
on lobbying the EPA to list Wyle as a Superfund site.
Last week, the EPA announced that soil and groundwater pollution
at Wyle is serious enough to place it on the federal Superfund
list of the nation's worst toxic sites. However, because the
state is overseeing the testing and cleanup of Wyle pollution,
the federal agency is declining to place the site on the list,
said Dawn Richmond, EPA's site assessment manager.
"The tension has been boiling over for quite some time now," said
Guertin. "We feel like the (California Department of Toxic
Substances Control) is refusing to look at our health issues."
The Superfund program is cash-strapped. But if Wyle is included
in the federal Superfund program, it could help the state's
Department of Health Services scrounge for the funding necessary
to explore health issues in Norco, Guertin said.
Over the past two years, dozens of Wyle neighbors have come
forward to blame Wyle pollution for their health problems, even
though regulators have not found a link between the pollution and
their cases of cancer and thyroid disease.
Two schools and dozens of homes border the Wyle property. High
levels of suspected cancer-causing agents such as TCE and
perchlorate have been found in the ground on and around the Wyle
property.
The laboratory, over the past 47 years, has tested products for
the defense industry as well as electronics and components for
space shuttles and rocket engines.
Former U.S. EPA Senior Science Adviser Matt Hagemann said he
hopes to help the residents advance their health concerns with
regulators.
Both Hagemann and attorney Jim Heiting said they plan to meet
with residents Monday to answer questions about everything from
understanding technical data to the statute of limitations for
suing Wyle.
Telephone messages seeking comment from Wyle officials were not
returned Friday afternoon.
Officials at Department of Toxic Substances Control are also
planning a town hall meeting at 7 p.m. Aug. 16 at the
Corona-Norco Unified School District office to answer residents'
questions.
Reach Paige Austin at (951) 893-2106 or pausin@pe.comMore
© 2004 Belo Interactive Inc.
*****************************************************************
51 [NYTr] 59 Years Ago in Hiroshima
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2004 09:36:23 -0500 (CDT)
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
Prensa Latina, Havana - August 6, 2004
http://www.plenglish.com
Thousands of Japanese Recall US A Bomb Attack on Hiroshima
Hiroshima, Japan, Aug 6 (Prensa Latina) Some 45,000 Japanese turned up
early Friday in Hiroshima streets, for the 59th annual commemoration of
the US atomic bomb attack on the city.
At the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi
promised to abide by the country's pacifist constitution and the three
non-nuclear principles: not possessing, not producing and not permitting
nuclear weapons in Japan.
In a ceremony that was televised nationwide, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi
Akiba declared the year leading up to the 60th anniversary of the
bombing a "Year of Remembrance and Action for a Nuclear-Free World." He
proposed year 2020 as the time by which all nuclear weapons should be
eliminated from the world.
The mayor criticized the United States, saying that it has resumed
research "to make nuclear weapons smaller and more usable."
The weapons include the so-called "bunker busters" capable of hitting
targets deep underground, and "mini-nukes" less than a quarter of the
size of the ones that leveled Hiroshima.
Akiba charged that the US government is ignoring the United Nations and
international law by conducting such research.
He called on nations to attend a nuclear nonproliferation meeting, to be
held in May 2005 in New York, and sign a treaty that would eventually
abolish nuclear arms by 2020.
ile/ima/
Copyright (c) 2004 Prensa Latina, SA. All rights reserved.
*
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52 [du-list] Hiroshima Mayor Calls for Emergency Campaign Around
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 2004 19:27:20 -0700
Statue at the Peace Park, Nakasaki-City
PEACE DECLARATION
"Nothing will grow for 75 years." Fifty-nine years have passed since the
August sixth when Hiroshima was so thoroughly obliterated that many
succumbed to such doom. Dozens of corpses still bearing the agony of that
day, souls torn abruptly from their loved ones and their hopes for the
future, have recently re-surfaced on Ninoshima Island, warning us to beware
the utter inhumanity of the atomic bombing and the gruesome horror of war.
Unfortunately, the human race still lacks both a lexicon capable of fully
expressing that disaster and sufficient imagination to fill the gap. Thus,
most of us float idly in the current of the day, clouding with
self-indulgence the lens of reason through which we should be studying the
future, blithely turning our backs on the courageous few.
As a result, the egocentric worldview of the U.S. government is reaching
extremes. Ignoring the United Nations and its foundation of international
law, the U.S. has resumed research to make nuclear weapons smaller and more
"usable." Elsewhere, the chains of violence and retaliation know no end:
reliance on violence-amplifying terror and North Korea, among others,
buying into the worthless policy of "nuclear insurance" are salient symbols
of our times.
We must perceive and tackle this human crisis within the context of human
history. In the year leading up to the 60th anniversary, which begins a new
cycle of rhythms in the interwoven fabric that binds humankind and nature,
we must return to our point of departure, the unprecedented A-bomb
experience. In the coming year, we must sow the seeds of new hope and
cultivate a strong future-oriented movement.
To that end, the city of Hiroshima, along with the Mayors for Peace and our
611 member cities in 109 countries and regions, hereby declares the period
beginning today and lasting until August 9, 2005, to be a Year of
Remembrance and Action for a Nuclear-Free World. Our goal is to bring forth
a beautiful "flower" for the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombings,
namely, the total elimination of all nuclear weapons from the face of the
Earth by the year 2020. Only then will we have truly resurrected hope for
life on this "nothing will grow" planet.
The seeds we sow today will sprout in May 2005. At the Review Conference
for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to be held
in New York, the Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons will bring
together cities, citizens, and NGOs from around the world to work with
like-minded nations toward adoption of an action program that incorporates,
as an interim goal, the signing in 2010 of a Nuclear Weapons Convention to
serve as the framework for eliminating nuclear weapons by 2020.
Around the world, this Emergency Campaign is generating waves of support.
This past February, the European Parliament passed by overwhelming majority
a resolution specifically supporting the Mayors for Peace campaign. At its
general assembly in June, the U.S. Conference of Mayors, representing 1183
U.S. cities, passed by acclamation an even stronger resolution.
We anticipate that Americans, a people of conscience, will follow the lead
of their mayors and form the mainstream of support for the Emergency
Campaign as an _expression of their love for humanity and desire to
discharge their duty as the lone superpower to eliminate nuclear weapons.
We are striving to communicate the message of the hibakusha around the
world and promote the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course to ensure,
especially, that future generations will understand the inhumanity of
nuclear weapons and the cruelty of war. In addition, during the coming
year, we will implement a project that will mobilize adults to read
eyewitness accounts of the atomic bombings to children everywhere.
The Japanese government, as our representative, should defend the Peace
Constitution, of which all Japanese should be proud, and work diligently to
rectify the trend toward open acceptance of war and nuclear weapons
increasingly prevalent at home and abroad. We demand that our government
act on its obligation as the only A-bombed nation and become the world
leader for nuclear weapons abolition, generating an anti-nuclear tsunami by
fully and enthusiastically supporting the Emergency Campaign led by the
Mayors for Peace. We further demand more generous relief measures to meet
the needs of our aging hibakusha, including those living overseas and those
exposed in black rain areas.
Rekindling the memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we pledge to do everything
in our power during the coming year to ensure that the 60th anniversary of
the atomic bombings will see a budding of hope for the total abolition of
nuclear weapons. We humbly offer this pledge for the peaceful repose of all
atomic bomb victims.
August 6, 2004
Tadatoshi Akiba
Mayor The City of Hiroshima
4d9a75.jpg
hypocenter.jpg....
or
high
quality version
Looking the disastrous scene at the hypocenter of Nagasaki from the
Hospital of the Nagasaki University of Medicine 700 meters south east of
the center.
His Excellency George W. Bush
The President
The White House
The United States of America
Letter of Protest
----------
I have received a report that your administration has submitted to Congress
a 2004 Defense Authorization Bill that requests funds for the development
of small nuclear weapons with a yield of five kilotons or less, which
development has been prohibited since 1993, and that would repeal the
Furse-Spratt prohibition on the development of such weapons.
This clear indication that the United States intends to develop small
nuclear weapons raises the horrifying spectre that nuclear weapons will
actually be used. As mayor of the A-bombed city Hiroshima I am outraged by
the barbarism that has led you not only to attack Iraq, killing or injuring
thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens, but also to develop new nuclear
weapons. You are trampling viciously on the hopes of the vast majority of
people around the world who seek peace and, on behalf of the residents of
Hiroshima, I vehemently protest.
Coming as it does on the eve of the UN NPT Review Conference Preparatory
Committee, this announcement, together with statements regarding the
necessity of resuming underground testing and rapidly developing new
tactical nuclear weapons, represents an extremely regrettable frontal
attack on the process of nuclear disarmament.
I demand that you immediately begin demonstrating a willingness to
implement the "unequivocal undertaking" to eliminate your nuclear arsenal
promised at the previous NPT Review Conference, take a clear decision to
terminate all nuclear testing, and devote the full strength of your great
country to achieving a genuinely peaceful 21st century free from nuclear
weapons.
April 21, 2003
Tadatoshi Akiba
Mayor of Hiroshima
The first atomic bomb actually used in war time was dropped on Hiroshima on
August 6th, 1945 killing between 130,000 and 150,000 people by the end of
that year. Those who survived the bombing are rapidly aging now after
struggling for many years. The Hiroshima Peace and Culture Foundation has
decided to newly videotape the testimonies of 100 A-bomb victims to
commemorate the International Year of Peace 1986 to record the precious
experiences of these survivors to be handed down to the future generations.
* Testimony of Hiroshi
Sawachika
* Testimony of Yosaku Mikami
* Testimony of Isao Kita
* Testimony of Akira Onogi
* Testimony of Hiroko Fukada
* Testimony of Akihiro
Takahashi
* Testimony of Kinue Tomoyasu
* Testimony of
Yoshitaka Kawamoto
* Testimony of Toshiko
Saeki
* Testimony of Akiko Takakura
* Testimony of Mamoru
Yukihiro
* Testimony of Taeko Teramae
* Testimony of Takehiko
Sakai
* Testimony of
Hatchobori Streetcar Survivors
* Testimony of Yoshito
Matsushige
* Peace Declaration
4d9a8f.jpg
Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day
Monday, 1 March 2004
----------
On Monday it is the 50th anniversary of the day the US 'Bravo' nuclear bomb
was detonated close to the surface of Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands. The
explosion created a fireball four miles wide that vaporized the entire
'test' island and parts of two others, leaving a hole in Bikini’s lagoon
one mile wide and 200 feet deep. The fireball contained huge quantities of
radioactive coral and water particles, which were sucked up with the force
of the blast and distributed far and wide across the Pacific - the nuclear
fallout covered an area of 7,000 square miles.
The island of Rongelap (100 miles away) was dusted with powdery radioactive
particles to a depth of one and a half inches, and Utrik (300 miles away)
was swathed in radioactive mist. The people of Rongelap and Utrik lived on
their newly radioactive islands for three days, inhaling, touching and
ingesting the fallout particles, until the US navy belatedly sent ships to
evacuate them.
Just four months later the Utrik people were returned to their island, and
in 1957 the Rongelap people were returned to theirs, after the US
government claimed it had 'cleaned up' the radioactivity - subsequently
proved to continue to persist at a high level.
Fifty years after 'Bravo', people whose parents and grandparents were
directly exposed to the initial radioactive contamination continue to have
radiation-linked health problems and genetic damage; and those who were not
themselves directly exposed, but have lived on the contaminated islands,
experience similar harm.
Classified US government documents released in 1994 indicate this
radioactive contamination of the people and their environment was
deliberate. For more information about 'Bravo' and Project 4.1, the project
to study humans exposed to nuclear radiation, see this speech by Rongelap
Mayor
James
Matayoshi.
This is but one example of the horrific racist experiments that colonising
governments have inflicted on the peoples of the Pacific, used as human
guinea pigs in the insane and pointless pursuit of nuclear weapons supremacy.
Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Day is a day to remember that the
arrogant colonialist mindset which allowed, indeed encouraged, the
devastation mentioned above continues today - the Pacific is still neither
nuclear free nor independent.
Pacific peoples have been, and continue to be, displaced from their homes
and lands to make way for nuclear bomb explosions, missile testing ranges,
military training, bombing ranges, strip mining, clear felling, factories,
roads, hydro schemes, marinas, settlers and sheep ... dispossession,
displacement, desecration of land and spirit, despair.
The cycle of destruction is clear - yet there is little willingness on the
part of the settler peoples nor of the governments within (and outside) the
Pacific to acknowledge it, let alone to work for positive solutions. Even
were that willingness to be found, it is no longer clear that Pacific
governments are in a position to exercise their, or acknowledge indigenous
peoples, sovereignty because of the stranglehold of the TNCs and
international financial institutions.
Monday is the day to acknowledge and remember those who have suffered and
died in the struggle for independence around the Pacific; those who have
opposed colonialism in its many forms and paid for their opposition with
their health and life; and those who have suffered and died as a result of
the nuclear weapons states' use of the Pacific for nuclear experimentation,
uranium mining, nuclear weapons testing and nuclear waste dumping.
Monday is the day to celebrate the strength and endurance of Pacific
peoples who have maintained and taken back control of their lives,
languages and lands to ensure the ways of living and being handed down from
their ancestors are passed on to future generations.
Monday is the day to pledge your support to continue the struggle for a
nuclear free and independent Pacific - not just on Monday, but on every day
of the year. As the theme of the 1999 Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific
conference said:
No Te Parau Tia, No Te Parau Mau, No Te Tiamaraa - E Tu ... E Tu ...
For justice, for truth and for independence - wake up, stand up!”
Kia manawanui, kia u, kia kaha to all who are working for a nuclear free
and independent Pacific.
If you are interested in more information about the Marshall Islands, see
the Marshall Islands index.
For an update on the impact of the 'Bravo' and other nuclear bomb
detonations, see Marshall
Islands Women's Health Issues. In addition to the horror of nuclear weapons
'testing', the US government continues to use Kwajalein (Marshall Islands)
for ballistic missile 'testing', for more information see
Weapons in space: the impact
on the Pacific. If you are interested in finding out more about the Nuclear
Free and Independent Pacific movement, see the
9th Triennial Conference
Communique. Other index pages on this site relating to the Pacific can be
reached via the Indigenous
rights (Pacific) index page.
®¢§®¢§®¢§®¢§®¢§®¢§®¢§®¢§®¢§®
" I say we had better look our nation searchingly in the face, like a
physician diagnosing some deep disease."
--Walt Whitman, "Democratic Vistas"
"First they ignore you then they laugh at you then they fight you then you
win."
-- Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)
"That happiness is to be attained through limitless acquisition
is denied by every religion and philosophy known, but is
preached by every American TV set."
-- Robert Bellah
"Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you."
-- Carl Jung
News of the Strange & Supernatural
http://metamagic.org/strange
MetaMagic MediaMinistry
http://metamagic.org
BZB's BriarPatch
http://briarholler.blogspot.com
GaiaWurm SurfReport
http://gaiawurm.blogspot.com
Burning Bush
http://burnbush.blogspot.com
Andrea's Temple of Bliss
http://nakedgoddess.blogspot.com
Mutation Jubilation
http://wonderkind.blogspot.com
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53 UPI: Nagasaki observes A-bomb anniversary -
(United Press International)
August 08, 2004
Nagasaki, Japan, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- Expressions of anti-nuclear
sentiment are being repeated in Nagasaki, Japan, in Monday's 59th
anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of the city.
Mayor Itcho Ito is calling for Japan to renounce the production
and possession of nuclear arms and for Americans to oppose the
enhancement of nuclear weapons, Kyodo news service reported.
Seventy-four thousand people were killed immediately or shortly
thereafter by the bomb, dropped three days after the first atomic
bomb to detonate flattened Hiroshima. Another 60,000 died of the
radioactive aftereffects.
[UPI Perspectives]
*****************************************************************
54 TheStar.com: Let us not forget lessons of Hiroshima
Sun. Aug. 8, 2004. | Updated at 06:35 PM
JAVED AKBAR OPINION
They ceased to be cities and became symbols instead.
August 6 marked the 59th anniversary of the nuclear fireball that
exploded over Hiroshima. Three days later, the citizens of
Nagasaki found out what the citizens of Hiroshima already knew:
that it is scarcely possible to imagine a more painful death than
that by radiation; that the tens of thousands who died instantly
were the lucky ones.
While Slobodan Milosevic and Saddam Hussein are in the dock for
committing crimes against humanity, the perpetrators of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki escaped unhurt. So will Bush and his warrior
cronies. What justice?
An aggrieved Mahatma Gandhi observed: "The atom bomb has deadened
the finest feelings which have sustained mankind for ages. It has
resulted for the time being in the soul of Japan being destroyed.
What has happened to the soul of the destroying nation is yet too
early to see." From this perspective, the battle between those
for and against nuclear weapons — which by their nature are
destructive beyond any rational requirement of war — is a battle
for the soul of humanity.
The atom bomb was not dropped on Hiroshima because it was the
only way to shorten the war by securing Japan's surrender.
Historian Gar Alperovitz (The Decision To Use The Atomic Bomb)
has exposed the lies retailed by Harry Truman and subsequently by
other American leaders. Many scholars say now that it was dropped
more for political reasons than for urgent military ones. Japan
had already begun to sue for peace. "Assured that the bomb
worked, Truman and Secretary of State James Byrnes were now
determined to use it not only to subdue Japan but to advance
their political objectives."
When colonialism was at its peak, the British were more blatant
about their military adventures: "I do not understand this
squeamishness about the use of gas. I am strongly in favour of
using poison gas against uncivilized tribes," declared Winston
Churchill. "The moral effect should be good ... and it would
spread a lively terror ...." His comments on the British use of
poison gas against the Iraqis after World War I, showed the bold
face of imperialism and its appetite for aggression.
Mohammed El Baradei, director of the International Atomic Energy
Agency, warns: "I worry that the memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
is beginning to fade. I worry also about the nuclear arsenal of
democratic states, because as long as these weapons exist there
is no absolute guarantee against the catastrophic consequences of
theft, sabotage or an accident." Far from eliminating the nuclear
threat, the Bush administration has allocated funds for
"mini-nukes" and "bunker buster" bombs!
The devastation in Iraq is a reminder that peace has become a
relative term. The mighty ones wage wars in the name of ending
oppression. But the oppression doesn't end, the perpetrators just
change. Peace begins when we allow ourselves to dream of a world
in which no one seeks to knock others out of the way in order to
get to the top.
Javed Akbar is director of outreach at the Pickering Islamic
Centre.
Legal Notice: Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All
*****************************************************************
55 Japan Times: Rationale for denuclearization
Saturday, August 7, 2004
EDITORIAL
Fifty-nine years after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, there is a disturbing sense that the world could be
headed for more, not less, nuclear weapons. As the world's first
and only atom-bombed nation, Japan is destined to do everything
in its power to strive for the nonproliferation and eventual
elimination of these weapons of mass destruction, or WMD.
The fact is that the danger of nuclear proliferation has
increased over the past decade. North Korea claims that it
already has a few bombs, and multilateral diplomatic efforts for
scrapping its nuclear program have made little substantial
progress. Some analysts abroad warn that if Pyongyang's
possession of nuclear arms capability is confirmed, Japan may
well decide to go nuclear.
The Cold War -- which had pushed the world to the brink of
nuclear holocaust -- ended in 1991 with the collapse of the
Soviet Union. But events since provide a chilling reminder that
the post-Cold War world is not any safer. The Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks in the United States appear to have further
dimmed the prospects for total elimination of nuclear weapons.
Nuclear weaponry is no longer the monopoly of the five permanent
members of the U.N. Security Council: the U.S., Russia, Britain,
France and China. In 1998, India and Pakistan conducted nuclear
tests in defiance of international opinion. Although they have
taken confidence-building measures, such as extending a test
moratorium and installing a hot line between New Delhi and
Islamabad, the specter of a nuclear showdown continues to haunt
South Asia.
In the Middle East, Israel already has an advanced
nuclear-weapons capability, while Iran is moving toward uranium
enrichment, a technology that can be used to make the bomb. North
Korea remains adamant about keeping its own nuclear deterrent.
The silver lining is that a number of nuclear-potential
countries, such as Ukraine, Belarus, South Africa and Libya, have
renounced their nuclear intentions. In Iraq, contrary to prewar
intelligence, no WMD have been discovered.
Still, the international nonproliferation regime is riddled with
loopholes. Porous borders, as well as the global Internet, make
for illegal trade in nuclear technologies and materials. It is
alleged, for example, that North Korea purchased
uranium-enrichment technology from Pakistan.
Unconfirmed reports say al-Qaeda may have acquired
nuclear-weapon technologies, including a process for producing
the "dirty bomb" -- a conventional-type explosive mixed with
radioactive waste that is designed primarily to contaminate the
environment.
The growing danger of nuclear proliferation appears to have
lowered the threshold on the use of nuclear force by the U.S. In
a 2002 review of the nuclear system, U.S. President George W.
Bush's administration singled out North Korea and Iran, in
addition to China and Russia, as countries posing the greatest
risk of an emergency in which the U.S. might pull the nuclear
trigger. Moreover, the report called for the development of a new
type of nuclear weapon that would penetrate deep underground to
destroy WMD storage facilities.
Unfortunately, there is a basic perception gap between Japan and
the U.S. regarding nuclear weapons -- a gap that has remained
essentially unchanged since Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For Japan,
the atomic bomb is an unnecessary weapon; for the U.S, it is a
"useful" weapon, as a noted nuclear strategist puts it.
Meanwhile, memories of Aug. 6 and 9, 1945, are fading with the
passage of time. Six decades on, there are fewer survivors who
can bear witness to the tragedies. Japan's nonnuclear policy born
of that experience -- which prohibits the nation from producing,
possessing and introducing nuclear weapons -- has long lost some
of its credibility. Rightwingers and others make no secret of
their desire to see Japan nuclear-armed.
However, there is no reason to be overly pessimistic. A private
study by Defense Agency officials concludes that Japan has
nothing to gain from possessing nuclear weapons. The report --
the result of a wide-ranging strategic review by civilian and
military staff -- can and should provide a basis for reinforcing
the three-point nonnuclear principle.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, in his next meeting with
President Bush, should clearly convey the Japanese people's
aspirations for a nuclear-free world, as well as the universal
rationale for denuclearization.
The Japan Times: Aug. 7, 2004 (C) All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
56 asahi.com: Hiroshima marks A-bomb anniversary
The Asahi Shimbun
A minute of silence is observed at 8:15 a.m. Friday in
Hiroshima.
Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba lashes out at the U.S. for its research
into small-scale nukes.
HIROSHIMA-Hiroshima's mayor on Friday admonished the United
States for trying to develop smaller nuclear weapons as the city
marked the 59th anniversary of its atomic bombing.
Issuing his ``Peace Declaration'' at the packed memorial service
here, Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba vowed that the 12 months leading up
to next year's anniversary would be ``a year of remembrance and
action'' toward achieving a nuclear-free world.
The service at the Peace Memorial Park drew about 45,000 people,
including Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
The Peace Bell tolled at 8:15 a.m., the moment the bomb was
dropped on Aug. 6, 1945, by the United States on this
now-bustling city of 1.14 million. The somber audience stood for
one minute in silence in tribute to A-bomb victims, whose numbers
continue to rise with each passing year.
Akiba talked first about the remains of 85 wartime residents
discovered earlier this year at Ninoshima island off Hiroshima
Port. It was where more than 10,000 people with terrible injuries
were taken soon after the bomb nicknamed ``Little Boy'' was
dropped.
``The remains remind us of the continuing agonies from that day,
the inhumanity of atomic bombs and the ugliness of war,'' Akiba
said.
On the lack of progress in nuclear disarmament, Akiba had strong
words for the United States.
``The egocentric view of the United States has reached the
extreme,'' the mayor said. He also expressed concern about
terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction and countries
like North Korea with nuclear development programs.
``The atomic bombings were an unprecedented experience for
humans,'' Akiba said. ``The world should return to square one.''
Hiroshima is seeking worldwide abolition of nuclear weapons by
2020. To realize that ambitious goal, Akiba has the Review
Conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in his sights.
The conference is to be held at the United Nations headquarters
in New York in May 2005. Along with citizens and cities from
around the world, Hiroshima plans to request participants in the
conference to work toward a nuclear-free world, Akiba said.
He also called on the central government to lead the world in
calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons and protecting this
nation's pacifist Constitution.
In his speech, Koizumi promised that Japan, as the only country
to have experienced atomic bombings, will continue to abide by
the pacifist Constitution and adhere to the ``three non-nuclear
principles'' of not producing, possessing, or allowing nuclear
weapons on its soil.
As of the end of March, the number of hibakusha in Japan stood at
273,918. Their average age is 72.46. Over the past year, 5,142
people who suffered from the bombing in Hiroshima have died,
bringing the toll to 237,062.
Hiroshima had an estimated population of 350,000 in
1945.(IHT/Asahi: August 7,2004) (08/07)
[Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction
*****************************************************************
57 asahi.com: EDITORIAL: Ending the nuclear threat
Japan must strive harder to abolish the A-bomb.
The golden cross on the spire of the Frauenkirche (Church of Our
Lady) in the center of the old German city of Dresden glitters
again in the midsummer sunshine.
On the night of Feb. 13, 1945, the entire city was reduced to
rubble by a devastating air raid by British and American troops.
Thirty-five thousand people lost their lives in a single night.
For many years, only the pillars and walls of the church were
left standing as testament to the destruction and slaughter on
that day. After 10 years of restoration work, however, the church
was repaired to the extent that the cross was attached to the
spire again.
Karl Hoch, a former clergyman who proposed the restoration of the
church soon after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, says, ``The
repairs were carried out in the hope of pardoning the sins of all
those who made war.'' The cross was a gift from the children of
British pilots who took part in the air raid. The restored church
became a symbol of reconciliation.
The 59th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima has
arrived.
The cities of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Dresden are strongly
linked. Even though different weapons were used, the three cities
were attacked for the same purpose: to annihilate tens of
thousands of people along with the cities.
Such indiscriminate bombings are the most easily understandable
symbols of the inhumane nature of war in the 20th century.
Trailblazing assaults include the attack on Guernica by the
Wehrmacht in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and the repeated
air raids on Chongqing in China carried out the following year by
the Imperial Japanese Army. They were followed by the attack on
Dresden and the great air raid on Tokyo in 1945, which led
finally to the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
in August of that year.
Nuclear weapons have incomparably greater destructive power and
are far deadlier than conventional weapons because, once they are
used, they go on injuring the health of the survivors. In the
midst of a great war, however, human beings have no more qualms
about using nuclear weapons than they do about using the
conventional type. That is the warning of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
In the days of the Cold War that followed the end of World War
II, however, it was not the Japanese people but the Western
Europeans who continued to heed the warning. Once a nuclear war
broke out, Europe would be the theater of war. Out of such a
sense of crisis, Europeans mounted a large campaign against
nuclear weapons. Their catchphrase was ``fear of Euroshima,''
referring to the refusal to let Europe become another Hiroshima.
This understanding survives to this day, even though the Cold War
has long since faded into history. At the Berlin Institute of
Technology, a peace studies course was started in the spring of
this year. In response to a proposal made by Tadatoshi Akiba, the
mayor of Hiroshima, the teaching staff spent two years preparing
the curriculum by discussing the subject with the mayor, among
others.
Students at the university study the U.S. government's Manhattan
Project during World War II and the actual conditions of victims
of atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Professor Eugen
Eichhorn, who plays a leading part in the course, said: ``We want
to instill in the students an interest in peace and nuclear
weapons. There are many things they should think about as
citizens.''
Fortunately, no nuclear war has broken out, nor have nuclear
bombs been used. But the world has not become safer since the end
of the Cold War. On the contrary, the world has become a more
dangerous place due to the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the war
against terror by the United States. Humanity is faced with a
crisis again.
Ordinary people have been victimized as the scourge of war has
spread from Afghanistan to Iraq. And the spreading of hostilities
spurs terrorists into action. It is hideous that American troops
carry out air raids on city streets, even if these attacks are
part of the fight against terrorists.
The threat of nuclear weapons has assumed a different form.
Experts talk about the threat of the proliferation of nuclear
weapons, especially the danger of those weapons finding their way
into the hands of international terrorists.
The existence of a black market in nuclear arms has also come to
light.
Nuclear deterrents do not work against terrorists. These days,
the United States argues that small nuclear arms can be used to
destroy dictatorial regimes that are linked to terrorist groups
in order to forestall their attacks. The nuclear threat will
never disappear as long as such arguments are made.
We are reminded of Jonathan Schell's essay, printed in Foreign
Affairs four years ago. He argued that nuclear weapons
proliferate because some countries or some groups of people
intend to counter the nuclear powers with those weapons and that
it will be practically impossible, therefore, for nuclear powers
to prevent the proliferation as long as they retain nuclear
weapons. Is it not a very instructive opinion?
Neither the five declared nuclear powers nor the countries that
have acquired nuclear weapons recently, such as India and
Pakistan, are willing to part with their nuclear arms. The drive
to abolish nuclear weapons, which originated in Hiroshima and
Nagasaki, has been a history of frustration.
But a look at today's dangerous world suggests that the
contention ``Let's get rid of nuclear weapons,'' which appears so
simple at first blush, seems to hold the key to a breakthrough.
As the only country hit with atomic bombs, Japan should strive to
make its anti-nuclear case more persuasively. Whereas Japan's
three non-nuclear principles stemmed from its experience of
having been attacked with atomic bombs, complacent about its
dependence on the U.S. nuclear umbrella, the country has failed
to acquire the ingenuity and diplomatic skill to propagate those
principles to other countries in Asia.
We must also pay very dearly for not having done enough to
reconcile with the Asian countries with which we fought a war.
It is a fact that some people in Asia think that the dropping of
atomic bombs on Japan brought about their liberation. Nor should
it be forgotten that some of them are wary of Japan's going
nuclear.
We want to see Japan strive to have China abolish its nuclear
weapons while making efforts to reconcile with that country, and,
in a joint effort with people in other Asian countries, press the
United States and other nuclear powers to scrap their nuclear
arms.
-The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 6(IHT/Asahi: August 7,2004) (08/07)
*****************************************************************
58 NASA, DOE Sign Memorandum Of Understanding
Date: Sun, 8 Aug 2004 14:23:44 -0400
http://www.nasa.gov
NASA Goes Nuclear - Signs DOE Agreement
By Magnu96196@aol.com
--------------------------------------------------
----------
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2004 09:49:24 EDT
From: Magnu96196@aol.com
Subject: NASA Goes Nuclear - Signs DOE Agreement
NASA Goes Nuclear - Signs
DOE Agreement
8-7-4
NASA and the Department of Energy's National
Nuclear Security Administration
- Naval Reactors (NR) today signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) that
will lead to the development, design, delivery,
and operational support of
civilian space nuclear reactors within NASA's
Project Prometheus.
NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe and DOE NNSA
Deputy Administrator for Naval
Reactors Admiral Frank. L. "Skip" Bowman, U.S.
Navy, signed the MOU at NASA
Headquarters.
"The development of this space nuclear power
system will provide an important
new capability to NASA for carrying out the Vision
for Space Exploration,
allowing us to explore farther and do more science
than ever before," said
Administrator O'Keefe. "This work will lead to the
development of safe and reliable
power generating systems that will alleviate
current limitations in space
power generation and propulsion that have
persisted for decades, and which limit
our ability to explore the solar system," he
added.
The Naval Reactors organization brings 50-plus
years of practical experience
in developing safe, rugged, reliable, compact and
long-lived reactor systems
designed to operate in unforgiving environments.
Naval Reactors is a joint DOE
and Department of the Navy organization
responsible for all aspects of naval
nuclear propulsion.
The partnership is responsible for developing the
first NASA spacecraft, the
Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter (JIMO) spacecraft, that
will take advantage of a
nuclear-reactor energy source for exploring our
solar system.
The reactor system will provide substantially more
electrical power than
available for past missions. This will greatly
enhance the capability of ion-drive
propulsion, the number and variety of scientific
instruments on the
spacecraft, the rate of data transmission, and
orbital maneuvering. d power than has
been available to previous science probes and
demonstrate nuclear reactors can
be operated safely and reliably in space to
provide electrical power needed for
propulsion and scientific exploration. The mission
would be launched sometime
in the next decade.
For more information about NASA on the Internet,
visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
*****************************************************************
59 Hawk Eye: Willing payer
Saturday, August 7, 2004, Site updated daily at 11 a.m. CST
IAAP07 Silas–Hanger fact box
Federal officials have determined BWXT–Pantex in Amarillo, Texas,
has a close relationship with the former Mason and Hanger–Silas
Mason Co., which managed the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in
Middletown for many years.
Although the close relationship between Pantex and IAAP has been
known for decades, it took the U.S. Department of Energy a long
time to make a legal connection and name the Texas firm as a
"willing payer" in regard to compensating former IAAP workers.
Here is some of the plant's history:
Production at IAAP began just before Japan attacked Pearl Harbor
in December 1941. In 1947, Mason &Hanger, Silas Mason Co. became
the first operating contractor to produce nuclear weapons for the
Atomic Energy Commission. IAAP manufactured high–explosive
components for nuclear weapons as well as performed the final
assembly of the weapons from 1949 to 1975. The nuclear production
ended in 1975, but the plant still produces conventional
ammunition.
IAAP is operated by American Ordnance, a joint venture company
owned by Day &Zimmermann and General Dynamics Ordnance Systems.
Day &Zimmermann, a privately held company based in Philadelphia,
made the Mason Co., parent company of IAAP contractor Mason
&Hanger, a wholly owned subsidiary under an agreement announced
in April 1999.
Under the merger agreement, Mason's businesses were folded into
similar business units of Day &Zimmermann. Mason &Hanger combined
with Day &Zimmermann's Government Systems Group based in
Philadelphia.
In business since 1827, Mason &Hanger–Silas Mason Co. was the
country's longest–existing engineering and construction company.
Originally involved in large construction and landmark
infrastructure projects, Mason &Hanger accomplishments included
the Grand Coulee Dam, the Lincoln, Boston and Brooklyn–Battery
automotive tunnels and New York City subway tunnels.
Mason &Hanger entered the ordnance plant construction arena
during World War II and set industry standards for
blast–resistant structures and explosive safety procedures. In
1947, Mason &Hanger began construction of a nuclear weapons line
at IAAP for the Atomic Energy Commission. Mason &Hanger became
the IAAP operating contractor for the U.S. Army in 1951.
Source: www.GlobalSecurity.org
The Hawk Eye 800 S. Main St., Burlington, Iowa 52601 319-754-8461
· 1-800-397-1708 · FAX 319-754-6824 · webmaster@thehawkeye.com
*****************************************************************
60 The Enquirer: Nevada: No deal on Fernald
Enquirer staff writer
Sunday, August 8, 2004
Refusal to take waste costs $9,000 a day
By Dan Klepal Enquirer staff writer
CROSBY TWP. - The state of Nevada has no intention of making
deals with the federal government when it comes to the disposal
of radioactive waste from the former Fernald nuclear weapons
plant in northwest Hamilton County.
Nevada Attorney General Brian Sandoval has threatened to file a
federal suit to stop the intended disposal of 153 million pounds
of Fernald's most dangerous waste from being buried in the desert
at the Nevada Test Site, a giant government-owned parcel of land
65 miles outside Las Vegas.
That threat has brought to a standstill the work of removing
powdery waste from one of three concrete storage "silos" at
Fernald, at a cost to taxpayers of about $9,000 per day. The bill
for doing nothing on Silo 3 over the past two weeks is at least
$126,000 ... and counting.
The centerpiece of Nevada's legal claim is that the Fernald waste
must be disposed of at a licensed Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(NRC) site. The Nevada Test Site, which has accepted and
continues to accept lower-level radioactive waste from Fernald,
is a DOE-run facility that is not licensed by the commission.
Department of Energy lawyers, who have promised Nevada a 45-day
notice before the first shipment of waste is sent, responded with
a six-page letter last week that says Nevada's legal claims are
all wrong, and asks that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission be
used as an independent third party to vouch for the safety and
appropriateness of the plan to dump Fernald waste in Nevada. No
notice has yet been given to Nevada regarding the planned
shipments.
It is "worth exploring whether our legal differences can be
compromised and set aside by developing a process through which
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission would be called upon to
vouchsafe" for the federal government's plan, says the letter,
signed by Department of Energy General Counsel Lee Liberman Otis.
No dice, Nevada officials say.
"Under no circumstances will we negotiate," Sandoval said in
response.
Bob Loux, director of the Agency for Nuclear Projects in the
Nevada Governor's Office, added that the federal government's
lawyers are asking his state to break federal law. Loux's agency
has been battling with the federal government for more than a
decade over its plan to use Yucca Mountain as a permanent dump
for the country's most dangerous nuclear waste.
"They are trying to induce us into a conspiracy to break the
law," Loux said. "They're saying 'Let's work together and
compromise on the law.'"
"If the Department of Energy believes the NRC will sign off on
its plan, we believe they ought to go ahead and get an NRC
license. The instant we get the (45-day shipping) notice, we'll
be in court."
Bill Taylor, the Department of Energy's second-in-command at
Fernald, said the cost of keeping workers on standby at the Silo
3 cleanup will go higher starting next month. It could reach a
cost of $57,000 per day, if the legal dispute stretches into late
fall.
"We're not going to allow that to continue for a long, long
period of time. It's just not practical," Taylor said of the
standby mode, which means crews at the Silo 3 project
continuously monitor and check the computer and mechanical
systems they'll use to remove the waste, and continue to practice
with those systems on fly ash.
Taylor said that after the 45-day notice is sent to Nevada, it
will take his crews about 10 days to get ready to begin removing
the material from Silo 3. Complicating the matter is a rule that
says the waste cannot be removed from the silo, then stored at
Fernald for any substantial length of time. That means crews
might have to wait for a judge's ruling on the Nevada suit before
moving forward with the job.
"I don't think (our lawyers) will ever put us in a situation
where we have material half in and half out," Taylor said. "So
sure, that might mean a further delay."
1995-2004. , a newspaper.
Use of this site signifies agreement to updated 12/19/2002.
*****************************************************************
61 Tri-Valley Herald: Lockheed drops bid for Los Alamos
8/8/2004
Defense giant says troubled nuclear weapons lab would require
too much time, energy
By Ian Hoffman, STAFF WRITER
Lockheed Martin Corp. bowed out of the competition to run Los
Alamos National Laboratory on Friday, suggesting the troubled
nuclear-weapons lab would require more time and energy to fix
than the defense giant was willing to invest.
The withdrawal of the nation's largest defense contractor jolted
other potential bidders eyeing the New Mexico lab.
Los Alamos' loss of two disks of classified data last month
prompted a furor in Congress and calls for immediate removal of
the University of California as the lab operator, under-
scoring the risks for other would-be operators.
"What a lot of folks are worried about at Los Alamos is, can you
go in there under today's conditions and be successful?" said
Bill Madia, executive vice president of the nonprofit Battelle
Memorial Institute, operator of four U.S. Department of Energy
labs.
"For Lockheed to walk away is a serious signal to the marketplace
that this is a serious challenge and contractors need to be
cautious in making this decision," Madia said.
Lockheed's decision was a blow to the University of California
and the University of Texas, both of whom were talking to the
Bethesda, Md.-based firm about teaming up on a Los Alamos bid.
Lockheed executives called counterparts at the two universities
Friday and ended those negotiations.
"It was a question of resources," said Lockheed spokeswoman Wendy
Owen. Lockheed Martin already runs Sandia National Laboratories,
a nuclear-weapons lab in New Mexico and California, as well as
Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy
and is part of a three-way team running Aldermaston Atomic
Weapons Establishment, the sole British weapons lab.
Lockheed executives chose to focus on those labs, Owen said.
She acknowledged that recent security and safety incidents
factored into Lockheed's "look at the resources it would take to
manage the contract."
Officials at the University of Texas and the University of
California said they were talking to other defense, engineering
and security contractors to round out bidding teams. Boards of
the two universities haven't made the final
decision on whether to bid, and probably won't until they see
the bid specifications, due next month.
Randa Safady, spokeswoman for the University of Texas, said, "If
we do indeed decide to move forward, we would still want to
consider partnering with an industry in safety, security,
environment and operations and all the other important areas that
Lockheed Martin would have been involved in."
UC spokesman Chris Harrington declined to elaborate on the
school's talks with San Francisco-based Bechtel National and
others.
"There's just some different players on the field today than
there were yesterday," he said.
But Lockheed was hardly one of many equals. The universities were
courting the firm because the Energy Department recently had
re-awarded its Sandia contractor to Lockheed, and it was the only
firm experienced in running a nuclear weapons laboratory.
Tri-Valley Herald All Rights Reserved
*****************************************************************
62 Daily Camera: Governments want cleanup verified
DailyCamera.com
Rocky Flats project has been monitored by EPA since 1995
By Todd Neff, For the Enterprise
August 7, 2004
The U.S. Department of Energy and contractor Kaiser-Hill Co. say
Rocky Flats will be clean when the $7.2 billion decontamination
and destruction of the former nuclear weapons plant is done in
late 2006.
Local governments want to be sure.
Led by representatives from the City and County of Broomfield,
The Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments is investigating
how to independently verify that the 6,300-acre site meets
agreed-upon cleanup standards.
The cleanup's quality will probably have a direct public impact.
The Department of Energy plans to transfer all but 1,000 acres to
the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at closure, to create the
Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge.
The Wildlife Service wants to build 16 miles of trails through
the plant's former "buffer zone," as well as allow occasional
off-trail hunting and other activities. The 1,000-acre Department
of Energy-retained "industrial area" will include the capped and
buried remains of parts of the 385-acre complex and surrounding
areas, which include former landfills. It's still not clear how
it all will be fenced off from the refuge.
"When I talk to folks in Broomfield, they very often ask the
question of who is independently verifying that the job's being
done right," said Broomfield City Councilman Gary Brosz, who is
on the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments board. "We just
need to work out the details."
The biggest question is what "independent verification" means. An
independent review of Kaiser-Hill's clean-up documentation would
cost a fraction of actually taking and analyzing soil samples,
for example.
"We could do a review costing anything from $100,000 to millions
of dollars. There's a huge range," said David Abelson, executive
director of the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments.
The money, he said, would probably come from the Department of
Energy.
Kaiser-Hill's clean-up work has been monitored by U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency as well as the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment since 1995.
"I would argue that there is a fair amount of independent
regulation," said Steve Gunderson, who oversees the Rocky Flats
cleanup for the state health department. "Having said that, there
are times that I see real value in having a completely different
set of eyes looking at the situation."
Gunderson said additional sampling might not be the best use of
money, given that the site has had more samples taken than "any
other site we've ever dealt with," and that the sampling work
continues.
"As far as independent verification goes, it's already built into
our existing system and processes now through closure,"
Department of Energy spokeswoman Karen Lutz said.
Kaiser-Hill had taken about 10,718 samples — 4,718 in the
industrial area and 5,977 in the buffer zone — as of early May.
LeRoy Moore, co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice
Center, said independent verification should include public
input, as was the case with the Radionucleotide Soil Action
Levels Oversight Panel in the late 1990s, which set the cleanup
standards for the land around Rocky Flats.
Moore said the panel's final report in February 2000 warned
against compositing — or mixing several soil samples prior to
testing for radioactivity. Among other things, the method could
dilute a given hot spot with clean earth from other samples.
Across thousands of acres, Kaiser-Hill has been taking five
samples across 30-acre plots and compositing them prior to
testing.
Anne Fenerty of Boulder, a former Rocky Flats Citizens Advisory
Board member, said she's most interested in a second opinion on
Kaiser-Hill's cleanup methods and the accuracy of their results.
"This was a terribly contaminated site," she said. "I think it's
very important just to ask these questions."
Copyright 2004, The Daily Camera and the E.W. Scripps
*****************************************************************
63 Google News Alert - nuclear
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 2004 16:23:39 -0700 (PDT)
ANNAN Calls For Total Nuclear Disarmament
Tehran Times - Tehran,Iran
United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan called for the dismantlement
of all the nuclear weapons in the world in a written message on the 59th
anniversary ...
See all stories on this topic:
UN nuclear inspectors return to Iraq
Al-Jazeera - Qatar
UN nuclear inspectors have visited Iraq for completing an inventory of
the country's declared nuclear material. The visit – the ...
See all stories on this topic:
REPORT On Paris Nuclear Talks To Be Submitted To Majlis
Tehran Times - Tehran,Iran
... be submitting a report to the Majlis about their recent talks in Paris
with Britain, Germany, and France during which the country’s nuclear
activities were ...
See all stories on this topic:
IRANIAN official again insists on right to produce own nuclear ...
EUbusiness - London,UK
A senior Iranian official again insisted in remarks published Saturday
that Tehran would not give up its right to produce its own nuclear fuel,
which other ...
See all stories on this topic:
IRANIAN Diplomat Calls Iran's Nuclear Program Peaceful
Tehran Times - Tehran,Iran
MOSCOW (IRNA) -- Iran's nuclear program is peaceful and nuclear cooperation
between Tehran and Moscow is concentrated on its peaceful application,
said Iran's ...
See all stories on this topic:
BENNETT backs bill requiring approval for nuclear testing
Provo Daily Herald - Provo,UT,USA
... Bob Bennett, R-Utah, said Friday he plans to introduce legislation
that would require congressional approval before nuclear weapons testing
could resume. ...
See all stories on this topic:
NUCLEAR power is fine - radiation is good for you
Telegraph.co.uk - London,England,UK
... Yet, why, with the notable exception of James Lovelock, the inventor
of the Gaia hypothesis, do the world's environmentalists reject nuclear
power, which emits ...
DIPLOMACY Fails to Slow Advance of Nuclear Arms
New York Times - New York,NY,USA
... 7 - American intelligence officials and outside nuclear experts have
concluded that the Bush administration's diplomatic efforts with European
and Asian allies ...
PUT an end to nuclear nightmare
San Jose Mercury News (subscription) - San Jose,CA,USA
Fifty-nine years and the Cold War have passed, and yet the nuclear nightmare
continues. Many analysts are convinced the danger is ...
ARMY to distribute radiation antidote
Ha'aretz - Israel
The IDF Home Command will start to distribute an antidote to radiation
in areas close to the Nuclear Research Center in Dimona on Sunday. ...
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64 Google News Alert - nuclear
Date: Sun, 08 Aug 2004 15:33:13 -0700 (PDT)
RICE: Stop Iran's nuclear intentions
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Seattle,WA,USA
WASHINGTON -- With Iran intending to step up its nuclear program, a top
White House aide said Sunday the world should be "worried and suspicious"
and must not ...
See all stories on this topic:
IRAN, North Korea have advanced on nuclear arms: report
ABC Online - Australia
Intelligence officials and nuclear experts say Iran and North Korea have
both made "significant progress" developing nuclear weapons programs in
the past year ...
See all stories on this topic:
IAEA inspectors complete nuclear verification in Iraq
Xinhua - China
7 (Xinhuanet) -- Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) have verified that none of the declared nuclear material in Iraq
was missing, an ...
See all stories on this topic:
UKRAINE Launches New Nuclear Reactor
Tehran Times - Tehran,Iran
KIEV (AFP) - Ukraine launched a new nuclear reactor Sunday in a move President
Leonid Kuchma said confirmed the former Soviet republic's increasing ...
See all stories on this topic:
ISRAEL distributes radiation pills to residents near nuclear ...
ABC Online - Australia
Israeli authorities began distributing iodine anti-radiation tablets today
to thousands of residents living near the controversial Dimona nuclear
reactor. ...
See all stories on this topic:
THE Stealth Nuclear Threat
Newsweek - New York,NY,USA
... from Iranian opposition groups and investigations by the International
Atomic Energy Agency, it has become clear that Iran is seeking to develop
nuclear weapons ...
See all stories on this topic:
BUSH Lets Guard Down on Nuclear Plants
Progressive.org - USA
George Bush's Nuclear Regulatory Commission is failing miserably in ensuring
that the nation's nuclear plants are safe from terrorist attacks. ...
See all stories on this topic:
PALACE: No final decision yet on nuclear plant conversion
Philippine Star - Manila,Philippines
Malacañang clarified yesterday there is no final decision yet on the proposal
to convert the mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant (BNPP) in Morong,
Bataan ...
See all stories on this topic:
SURVIVOR of Hiroshima Radiation Uses Nuclear Medicine to Save ...
Voice of America - Washington,DC,USA
... Peace park draws thousands of visitors from around the world who see
Sadako's struggle as symbolic of the fight against cancer and the horror
of nuclear war. ...
See all stories on this topic:
FIGHTING a nuclear war
The Scotsman - Edinburgh,Scotland,UK
... the car park at the stadium for the AGM on Thursday, they had to sidestep
Friends of the Earth Scotland mounting their annual protest against nuclear
power. ...
See all stories on this topic:
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65 [du-list] DU in the news - 7th Aug 04
Date: Sat, 07 Aug 2004 19:26:39 -0700
HOW can Japan preserve the memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Japan Today - Tokyo,Japan
... But then when we look at things like America's use of depleted uranium
shells in Iraq, they also have to see that this is similar to what Japan
experienced. ...
<http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=popvox&id=504>
See all stories on this topic:
Koizumi gets
tepid welcome at Hiroshima A-bomb ceremony
Japan Today, Japan - 1 hour ago
HIROSHIMA — Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi received a lukewarm welcome
Friday at the annual atomic bombing memorial in Hiroshima, apparently
because of ...
Hiroshima
remembers
Hindustan Times, India - 2 hours ago
The Mayor of Hiroshima marked the 59th anniversary of the world's first
atomic bomb attack on Friday by lashing out at the US for its pursuit of
next ...
UN's
Annan: greater effort needed to eliminate nuclear arms
Channel News Asia, Singapore - 5 hours ago
UNITED NATIONS : UN Secretary General Kofi Annan called on nations to step
up efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons and so avoid a repeat of bombings
like those ...
Hiroshima marks atomic bombing
Daily Yomiuri, Japan - 5 hours ago
On the 59th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima, city Mayor
Tadatoshi Akiba said Friday the city would use the coming year to convey
messages ...
Tying antinuclear appeal
to politics was a mistake
Daily Yomiuri, Japan - 5 hours ago
The mayor of Hiroshima should not have used the memorial ceremony for
victims of the atomic bombing of the city--an occasion on which the nation
calls on the ...
Hiroshima
marks 59th anniversary of atomic bomb
Jerusalem Post (subscription), Israel - 6 hours ago
Hiroshima marked on Friday morning the 59th anniversary of the 1945 US
atomic bombing of the city, the world's first nuclear attack. ...
Japan:
Fifty-Nine Years Later, Emotions Over Hiroshima Remain
...
Radio Free Europe, Czech Republic - 6 hours ago
Prague, 6 August 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Fifty-nine years ago today, the world saw
for the first time how destructive nuclear weapons can be. ...
Hiroshima hears critic of US on
anniversary
International Herald Tribune, France - 9 hours ago
HIROSHIMA, Japan The mayor of Hiroshima on Friday marked the anniversary of
the world's first atomic bomb attack by criticizing the United States for
its ...
Hiroshima
mayor slams US over new nuclear arms
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - 10 hours ago
The Mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba, marked the 59th anniversary of the
first atomic bomb attack yesterday with an attack on the United States for
its ...
4cf7d2.jpg
INSIGHTS:
Hiroshima's Goal Is a Nuclear-Free World
Environment News Service (subscription) - 10 hours ago
By Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor, The City of Hiroshima. HIROSHIMA, Japan, August
6, 2004 (ENS) - "Nothing will grow for 75 years." Fifty ...
History
teaches that war policy is bankrupt
San Francisco Chronicle, CA - 12 hours ago
As US politicians debate the intelligence failures that preceded the Iraq
invasion as well as the war in Afghanistan, they can take little comfort
that history ...
4cf7ee.jpg
How can Japan preserve
the memory of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
Japan Today, Japan - 12 hours ago
"I actually saw some special TV programs about the anniversary of the
bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversary this week. ...
Hiroshima
Marks 59th Anniversary of Atomic Bombing
Voice of America, DC - 13 hours ago
During the ceremony marking the 59th anniversary of the atomic bombing of
Hiroshima, the Japanese city's mayor used his annual Peace Declaration to
take a ...
Thousands
mark anniversary of Hiroshima bombing with calls for
...
Channel News Asia, Singapore - 13 hours ago
By Channel NewsAsia's Japan Bureau Chief Michiyo Ishida. Fifty nine years
ago, the world's first atomic bomb fell on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. ...
Reuters quote of the
day, August 6
Reuters AlertNet, UK - 14 hours ago
"What has kept the world safe from the bomb since 1945 has not been
deterrence, in the sense of fear of specific weapons, so much as it's been
memory. ...
Hiroshima
Mayor Fears US Development of Small Nukes
Reuters - 14 hours ago
By Eriko Sugita. HIROSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - The mayor of Hiroshima
rebuked Washington on Friday -- the 59th anniversary of his ...
US
slammed as 'egocentric'
News24, South Africa - 14 hours ago
Hiroshima - The mayor of Hiroshima slammed the United States for continuing
to develop nuclear arms on Friday, the 59th anniversary of the world's
first atomic ...
Hiroshima
mayor criticizes egocentric US worldview
Xinhua, China - 14 hours ago
TOKYO, Aug. 6 (Xinhuanet)-- Hiroshima mayor Tadatoshi Akiba voiced serious
concern Friday over what he called the United States ...
Hiroshima Mayor
calls for global ban on nukes on Anniversary
Hindustan Times, India - 15 hours ago
The Mayor of Hiroshima marked the anniversary of the world's first atomic
bomb attack today by lashing out at the United States for its pursuit of
next ...
4cf807.jpg
Japan remembers Hiroshima atom bomb
ITV.com, UK - 16 hours ago
Relatives of bomb victims, local residents and peace activists from around
the world attended a special ceremony in the city. Prime ...
Japan
remembers the horror of Hiroshima
Al-Jazeera, Qatar - 16 hours ago
The mayor of Hiroshima has slammed the United States for continuing to
develop nuclear arms. His criticism came on the 59th anniversary ...
Hiroshima
Mayor Criticizes US Nukes
Los Angeles Times (subscription), CA - 16 hours ago
By KATSUMI KASAHARA, Associated Press Writer. HIROSHIMA, Japan — The mayor
of Hiroshima marked the anniversary of the world's first ...
Hiroshima
Mayor condemns US on 59th A-bomb anniversary
Mainichi Shimbun, Japan - 17 hours ago
HIROSHIMA -- Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba lashed out at US nuclear
policies and called on Japan to uphold its pacifist Constitution as the
city marked the ...
Hiroshima
Marks A-Bomb Anniversary
Voice of America, DC - 18 hours ago
The mayor of Hiroshima criticized the United States for its nuclear weapons
research efforts Friday at ceremonies marking the 59th anniversary of the
Japanese ...
Hiroshima's Mayor Denounces
US Nuclear Policy
The Scotsman, UK - 20 hours ago
The mayor of Hiroshima marked the anniversary of the world’s first atomic
bomb attack today by lashing out at the United States for its pursuit of
next ...
US rebuked
on Hiroshima anniversary
TVNZ, New Zealand - 20 hours ago
The mayor of Hiroshima has rebuked Washington over its nuclear programme on
the 59th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city by the United
States. ...
Hiroshima
mayor slams 'egocentric' US
The Age, Australia - 21 hours ago
The mayor of Japan's city of Hiroshima slammed the United States, the 59th
anniversary of the world's first atomic bombing which killed tens of
thousands of ...
4cf81f.jpg
Remembering
Hiroshima
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia - Aug 5, 2004
Time to reflect ... An elderly woman remembers what happened to her city in
1945. Photo: Reuters. An elderly Japanese woman prays ...
1995:
Japan mourns Hiroshima anniversary
BBC News, UK - Aug 5, 2004
Up to 50,000 people have attended a memorial service in the Japanese city
of Hiroshima on the 50th anniversary of the first atomic bombing. ...
Hiroshima marks
59th anniversary of US atomic bombing
Japan Today, Japan - Aug 5, 2004
By Shinya Ajima. HIROSHIMA — Hiroshima on Friday morning marked the 59th
anniversary of the 1945 US atomic bombing of the city. ...
RAE Vogeler: Tell Kerry, Bush to get rid of nukes
The Capital Times - Madison,WI,USA
... Veterans of the 1991 Gulf War are well aware of the effects of radiation.
The Pentagon first used depleted uranium weaponry in this war. ...
<http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/index.php?ntid=7983&ntpid=0>
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66 [DU-WATCH] Project Censored item and PC Exposed!
Date: Sat, 7 Aug 2004 00:52:04 -0500 (CDT)
Amarie, Note this one from "Project Censored - On the surface, it
seems ok, but what about the resources?
http://www.projectcensored.org/publications/2004/8.html
# 8 US/British Forces Continue Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons
Despite Massive Evidence of Negative Health Effects
# 8 US/British Forces Continue Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons
Despite Massive Evidence of Negative Health Effects
Sources:
The Sunday Herald
March 30, 2003
Title: "US Forces' Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons is 'Illegal'"
Author: Neil Mackay
Hustler Magazine
June 2003
Title: "Toxic Troops: What our Soldiers Can Expect in Gulf War II"
Author: Dan Kaplevitz
Children of War
March 2003
Title: "The Hidden Killer"
Author: Reese Erlich
Faculty Evaluator: Rick Williams JD
Student Researcher: Darrel Jacks, Jason Spencer
British and American coalition forces are using depleted uranium (DU)
shells in the war against Iraq and deliberately flouting a UN
resolution which classifies the munitions as illegal weapons of mass
destruction.
Nobel Peace Prize candidate, Helen Caldicott, states that the tiny
radioactive particles created when a DU weapon hits a target are
easily inhaled through gas masks. The particles, which lodge in the
lung, can be transferred to the kidney and other vital organs. Gulf
War veterans are excreting uranium in their urine and semen, leading
to chromosomal damage. DU has a half-life of 4.1 billion years. The
negative effects found in one generation of US veterans could be the
fate of all future generations of Iraqi people.
An August 2002 UN report states that the use of the DU weapons is in
violation of numerous laws and UN conventions. Doug Rokke, ex-
director of the Pentagons DU project says "We must do what is right
for the citizens of the world- ban DU." Reportedly, more than 9600
Gulf War veterans have died since serving in Iraq during the first
gulf war, a statistical anomaly. The Pentagon has blamed the
extraordinary number of illnesses and deaths on a variety of factors,
including stress, pesticides, vaccines and oil-well fire smoke.
However, according to top-level U.S. Army reports and military
contractors, "short-term effects of high doses (of DU) can result in
death, while long-term effects of low doses have been implicated in
cancer." Our own soldiers in the first Gulf War were often required
to enter radioactive battlefields unprotected and were never warned
of the dangers of DU. In effect, George Bush Sr. used weapons of mass
destruction on his own soldiers. The internal cover-up of the dangers
of DU has been intentional and widespread.
In addition to Doug Rocke, the Pentagon's original expert on DU, ex-
army nurse Carol Picou has been outspoken about the negative effects
of DU on herself and other veterans. She has compiled extensive
documentation on the birth defects found among the Iraqi people and
the children of our own Gulf War veterans. She was threatened in
anonymous phone calls on the eve of her testimony to congress.
Subsequently, her car, which contained sensitive information on DU,
was mysteriously destroyed.
UPDATE BY DAN KAPELOVITZ
Just as "Toxic Troops: What Our Soldiers Can Expect in Gulf War II"
hit the newsstands, the U.S. military was dropping a fresh batch of
depleted-uranium tipped shells on Iraq. The story couldn't have been
timelier; yet the mainstream media blatantly ignored Hustler's
coverage of the hazards of depleted uranium (DU) and largely failed
to report any DU-related stories.
Rather than being ashamed that a porn magazine was more willing than
they were to publish the truth, major media outlets kidded themselves
into believing that the story didn't need to be covered, claiming it
was "old news." While it's true that there has been some limited
coverage of DU ever since the first Gulf War, the average American
has not heard of depleted uranium. Those who have most likely saw
reports focusing on DU's awesome armor-piercing abilities, not its
harmful long-term effects on people and the environment.
Had the mainstream media informed Americans about the hazards to the
military men and women caused by our own government, U.S. citizens
might not have been so gung-ho to again send our troops to Iraq.
Instead, TV pundits constantly told the American people that we
attacked the Iraqi people in order to "liberate" them. Thanks to U.S.
efforts, the Iraqi population is now free to live in a radioactive
battlefield.
As with the first Gulf War, there were relatively few immediate
American casualties. But with each passing year, more and more Gulf
War veterans are sick and dying, very possibly due to exposure to
depleted uranium. The latest Persian Gulf conflict was basically a
low-level nuclear war, and our new recruits are destined to suffer DU-
related illnesses and fatalities.
While there has been grass-roots activism against the use of depleted
uranium, the American military has ignored the concerns and have even
discounted their own report, completed six months prior to the first
Gulf War, that concluded that DU was indeed dangerous. At least this
time around, more soldiers seem to be aware of the possible hazards
of DU and are taking precautions to avoid exposure. Some are even
placing signs in Arabic to warn Iraqi children not to play with
radioactive shells or on contaminated tanks. After the war, the
British government, which also used DU weapons, asserted that it
should help clean up the radioactive mess that it created. If the
American media did its job exposing the truth, perhaps the U.S.
government, which was responsible for most of the damage, would be
shamed into sharing England's concerns.
Resources:
International Action Center
www.iacenter.org
The IAC published the book Metal of Dishonor Depleted Uranium:
http://www.nuclearpolicy.org
The New Nuclear Danger: George W. Bush's Military-Industrial Complex
by Dr. Helen Caldicott
Military Toxics Project, http://www.miltoxproj.org/
National Gulf War Resource Center, http://www.ngwrc.org
Uranium Medical Research Center, http://www.umrc.net
Campaign Against Depleted Uranium, http://www.cadu.org.uk
Update By Reese Erlich
The Pentagon loves using depleted uranium ammunition because it
penetrates and helps blow up enemy targets. They care little about
the long-term health effects on enemy soldiers, civilians or even
U.S. military vets. As I investigated the issue further, I began to
realize the government may well be covering up a health scandal, just
as it hid the effects of Agent Orange in Vietnam.
In Basra, before the U.S. invasion of 2003, doctors showed me a photo
album of horribly deformed children, some born without noses or eyes.
They compiled a cancer registry of children suffering from leukemia
and other cancers. Children exposed to DU in southern Iraq saw a four
fold increase in cancer and birth defects since 1990.
In "Hidden Killers," I combined original reporting from Iraq and
Bosnia with interviews of U.S. military veterans. Too many Iraqi and
Bosnian civilians exposed to DU are showing up with the same kinds of
cancers as American Gulf War vets.
I also learned that the Pentagon doesn't like critics. Military
officers and scientists who criticize the Pentagon's position can
come under withering attack. After the Gulf War, Maj. Doug Rokke was
assigned to develop official procedures for soldiers at sites where
DU was used. He and his committee mandated that soldiers wear special
protective clothing because of the cancer risk. The Pentagon
overruled him, claiming DU is safe. Rokke, who is on disability as a
result of his DU exposure, later had his disability benefits cut off.
The topic of depleted uranium ammunition has surfaced in the
mainstream media over the years, but strong denials from the military
and the complexity of the topic have muted many of the stories. I've
had editors at prestigious publications tell me they won't touch the
DU story because it's "too controversial." In my opinion, few
reporters or editors are willing to risk the career danger inherent
in criticizing the Pentagon, or taking on a popular president
during "wartime."
Since "Hidden Killers" came out, the Uranium Medical Research Center
(www.umrc.net) has published studies showing the devastating impact
of DU in the Afghanistan War, and the Christian Science Monitor
(5/15/03) featured an excellent report on the impact of DU use in
urban areas during the Iraq invasion.
I'd like to particularly thank the Stanley Foundation, a non-profit
in Muscatine, Iowa, for its support in producing "Children of War:
Fighting Dying, Surviving," the public radio documentary in which
Hidden Killers was featured.
= = = = = ==http://www.projectcensored.org/aboutus/index.html
Project Censored Exposed
The Mission of Project Censored is to educate people about the role
of independent journalism in a democratic society and to tell The
News That Didn't Make the News and why.
Project Censored is a media research group out of Sonoma State
University which tracks the news published in independent journals
and newsletters. From these, Project Censored compiles an annual list
of 25 news stories of social significance that have been overlooked,
under-reported or self-censored by the country's major national news
media.
Between 700 and 1000 stories are submitted to Project Censored each
year from journalists, scholars, librarians, and concerned citizens
around the world. With the help of more than 200 Sonoma State
University faculty, students, and community members, Project Censored
reviews the story submissions for coverage, content, reliability of
sources and national significance. The university community selects
25 stories to submit to the Project Censored panel of judges who then
rank them in order of importance. Current or previous national judges
include: Noam Chomsky, Susan Faludi, George Gerbner, Sut Jhally,
Frances Moore Lappe, Norman Solomon, Michael Parenti, Herbert I.
Schiller, Barbara Seaman, Erna Smith, Mike Wallace and Howard Zinn.
All 25 stories are featured in the yearbook, Censored: The News That
Didn't Make the News.
In 1996 and 1997, the yearbook won the Firecracker Alternative Book
Award, celebrating the best in alternative publishing. The release of
Project Censored's yearbook has developed into a national alternative
press event. In 2003, along with several independent national
magazines, over 40 alternative newsweeklies carried the Top 10
Censored stories in metropolitan areas throughout the country, and
Project Censored was featured on more than 125 independent talk radio
and television shows. Throughout the next year and into the next
decade, Project Censored will continue to inform the public, advocate
for independent journalism, and strive to spark debate on current
issues involving media monopoly.
Project Censored is a national research effort launched in 1976 by
Dr. Carl Jensen, professor emeritus of Communications Studies at
Sonoma State University. Upon Jensen's retirement in 1996, leadership
of the project was passed to associate professor of sociology and
media research specialist, Dr. Peter Phillips.
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