Cold War Survivors's topics - tribe.net

Downwinders of Nevada Test Site nuclear fallout

2011-05-07T18:37:00Z

http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/10/1778551.php
Downwinders of Nevada Test Site nuclear fallout : SF Bay Area Indymedia
===============================================
Tests of nuclear & atomic bombs at the Nevada Test Site (Newe Sogobia) caused a radioactive cloud to travel east and effect the health of the downwinders, who witnessed increasing rates of cancer from exposure.

Who are the downwinders?

"A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE “DOWNWINDERS”

Following World War II, the United States exploded atomic weapons at the Pacific islands of Bikini and Eniwetok; and in December 1950, President Truman authorized the Atomic Energy Commission (“AEC”) to conduct tests within the continental United States. The AEC selected the Nevada Test Site in southeastern Nevada because the federal government owned hundreds of square miles of surrounding desert land, and because it contained, in the contemptuous words of one bureaucrat, “a low-use segment of the population” – the Mormon citizens of St. George, Cedar City and other sacrificial cities of southwestern Utah.

For seven years between 1951 and 1958, the AEC aimed deadly radiation at soldiers positioned as close as 3.9 miles from the explosions and at the people of southeastern Nevada, northwestern Arizona and southern Utah by detonating atomic weapons above ground at the Nevada test site. After the United States ratified a Limited Test Ban Treaty with the Soviet Union in August 1963, the AEC continued to conduct underground tests, many of which erupted through the surface to again blanket citizens from those states with radioactive debris.

As evidence mounted of the deadly poisons these tests rained radioactive fallout on the people of Utah, Nevada and Arizona. AEC officials induced their employees to lie about the danger. After establishing a ground-monitoring program in the spring of 1953, the AEC conducted a series of test in the Upshot-Knothole series. In one of these tests – nicknamed “Dirty Harry” – a radioactive cloud lofted by the explosion hovered over St. George, Utah for more than two hours. Fallout reached levels far above those considered safe even by conservative AEC standards. Never the less, in an immoral cover-up justified by a twisted appeal to national security, the AEC instructed its employees to release vague statements to the public and press. When humans and animals began dying, and AEC official told subordinates to keep quiet, “in the interest of national defense.” Following this directive, AEC officials falsified data from the St. George monitoring station to make it appear that the radiation could not have harmed anyone.

In the years that followed the testing, AEC officials suppressed medical studies that showed an increased incidence of leukemia and cancer from exposure to atomic radiation. The, in addition to easing out scientists who refused to lie for them, AEC officials brought in “hired guns” – scientists motivated by a federal paycheck, personal loyalty and patriotism – to prostitute themselves, like those hired by the tobacco industry, by commenting negatively on studies that showed links between atomic fallout and leukemia and cancer."

http://www.mohavedownwinders.com/history.htm

What follows the nuclear testing of NTS is an increased rate of cancer in the residents living downwind of the NTS. The Western Shoshone call the land claimed by the NTS Newe Sogobia, their home for thousands of years. The Treaty of Ruby Valley was violated by the US military who illegally occupies and bombs Shoshone land to this day..

"Following this principle, the Western Shoshone Nation’s long possession of Newe Sogobia for thousands of years prior to the existence of the United States excludes the U.S. claim to that country. The Treaty of Ruby Valley recognizes this principle.

A treaty, within the constitutional framework of the United States, is "the supreme law of the land." The Treaty of Ruby Valley, therefore, is a shield to protect and safeguard the homeland of the Western Shoshone."

http://www.wsdp.org/press/2002-03-18_2.htm

Most of the territory Newe Sogobia is currently under US military occupation. Bombing and other ecological disasters are frequent in this land from military training activites..

Treaty of Ruby Valley -1863

http://www.angelfire.com/nv2/wells/treaty.html

"When the continued presence of radiation is imposed on an ecosystem, both human residents and wildlife are adversely effected. Another similar situation is witnessed in Iraq following the continued use of depleted uranium by the US military. Both Iraqi civilians and US soldiers show greater risks of cancer from exposure to radioactive D-U fragments. A condition known as hydrocephalus is witnessed in children born in Iraq, most likely either exposed to D-U while in the womb or from the genetic mutations of parents from earlier exposure..

In the areas where depleted uranium was used in Southern Iraq, a number of serious health problems have emerged among both soldiers and civilians.
For instance, there has been a 66% increase in leukaemias and cancers in Southern Iraq. There has also been a marked increase in the numbers of children born with birth malformations, with horrific reports of 3 children in one family being born with severe congenital malformations.
Maggie O'Kane, Felicity Arbuthnot, and journalists working with Desert Concerns, have all reported on the health crisis in Southern Iraq. The former reported a Dr Zenad Mohammed, from a hospital in Basra, herself pregnant, who was so terrified of giving birth to a severely malformed child, that she was doing her own monitoring of the problem. Her notes begin "In August we had three babies born with no head. Four had abnormally large heads. In September we had six with no heads, none with large heads and two with short limbs. In October, one with no head, four with big heads and four with deformed limbs or other types of deformities."

Severe case of hydrocephalus with defects of the cerebral nerves and debility, seen in Southern Iraq
Photo: Siegwart-Horst Günthor

There are also large numbers of soldiers who served in the Gulf with Allied forces and in the Iraqi army, who are now suffering from mysterious illnesses - often referred to as Gulf War syndrome. Many of these illnesses reflect those seen among Iraqi children and civilians. For example, of the 697,000 US troops who served in the Gulf, over 90,000 have reported medical problems. Symptoms include respiratory, liver, and kidney dysfunction, memory loss, headaches, fever, low blood pressure. There are also defects reported among their newborn children. In a veterans community in Mississippi, 67% of the children were born with malformations.

UK and US Gulf War veterans have tested positive for depleted uranium poisoning, although the governments of both countries have at every turn denied proper independent testing for all veterans.

For more information on depleted uranium and Gulf War Veterans see the National Gulf War Resource Centre's information at;"

http://www.ngwrc.org/Dulink/du_link.htm

or the

Military Toxics Project: http://www.miltoxproj.org

CADU - Campaign Against Depleted Uranium

http://www.cadu.org.uk/info/iraq/7_1.htm

During the 50's the Dept of Energy and the military at Nevada Test Site were very concerned about public opinion of the nuclear weapons testing. People were unaware that the Shoshone were also living downwind of the tests, there was little media coverage during the height of the Cold War and the McCarthy crusades against the "hidden menace of communism". Any media coverage about nuclear weapons and nuclear energy was positive and upbeat. Cancer, leukemia and other "bad words" were censored from the media and the public eye. As a result many of the downwinders born with cancer or hydrocephalus were kept hidden from view by the NTS and DOE. The downwinders were made to feel ashamed and personally responsible when they cried out in anguish at their deformed children and the lack of government concern. It would not be surprising if during the Red Scare and McCarthy censorship some of the children with hydrocephalus from radiation exposure were secretly disappeared and studied at government test labs (Area 51?) to examine the reuslts their weapons would have on the enemy..

History of Nevada Test Site;

http://www.shundahai.org/nevada_test_site_history.htm

Area 51 - is it real?

http://www.shundahai.org/area_51_nts.htm

In this case the enemy was a small community of Mormons and Shoshone who lived downwind of the NTS. Or maybe we are all the enemy in the eyes of the nuclear weapons scientists and US military generals..

We demand an end to continued manufacture of nuclear weapons by the US government, military weapons contracters and DOE. We cannot point the finger at Iran when we ourselves have contaminated our own backyard with radioactive nuclear fallout and remain in possession of the world's largest arsenal of nuclear weapons..

posted in Cold War Survivors - 2 replies

FedEx notified agencies including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and put out a bulletin to stations nationwide.

2010-11-30T18:35:35Z

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/nov/26/fedex-searching-missing-cylinder-low-level-radioac/

FedEx finds missing canister of low-level radioactive material in Knoxville

* By Wayne Risher
* Memphis Commercial Appeal
* November 26, 2010

FedEx officials called off a search for an errant shipment of low-level radioactive material after finding the unmarked package in their Knoxville station Friday.

"It was in our custody all this time," said FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz.

The company had notified FedEx Express stations nationally to be on the lookout for a misdirected package after the box wasn't delivered to a Knoxville business Tuesday.

It was one of three boxes containing rods of GE 68 or Germanium-68, a radioactive isotope that is used in quality-control calibrations of CT scans. A hospital shipped the boxes from Fargo, N.D., to the East Tennessee company by way of the FedEx hub in Memphis.

FedEx launched the search after the would-be recipient reported only two out of three boxes in the shipment arrived Tuesday.

FedEx had been tracing the package's movement and interviewing handlers while emphasizing that the material posed no danger to the public.

Munoz said the box became separated from the other two in transit and was set aside at the Knoxville station. The other two boxes, which weren't marked, were still inside an outer package that contained shipment identification.

Each box held a metal cylinder, 10 inches long, weighing about 20 pounds.

FedEx notified agencies including the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and put out a bulletin to stations nationwide.

FedEx's nuclear physicist, who handles regulatory issues on shipment of radioactive cargo, assured officials that health risks were slim to none.

"As long as no one tries to open the cylinder, there's no exposure," Munoz said. "The exposure from this rod, you'd have to be in close contact with it for 1,000 hours to get a skin blister."

-- Wayne Risher: 529-2874

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Dismantling the Big Bomb (B53)

2010-11-15T01:15:04Z

Dismantling the Big Bomb (B53)

b53.jpgThe National Nuclear Security Administration today said it had authorized the Pantex assembly/disassembly plant at Amarillo, Texas, to begin dismantlement of the B53 weapon system -- one of the biggest nuclear bombs ever built. Each bomb is about the size of a mini-van, weighs about 10,000 lbs, and has an explosive yield of about 9 megatons.

"The NNSA completed an extensive safety review that included approval of a Documented Safety Analysis and completion of a Nuclear Explosive Safety Study. This authorization means NNSA can now perform work on all weapons," the federal agency said in announcing the work authorization.

Following the initial dismantlement of bombs at Pantex, some components will be sent to Y-12 for additional dismantlement. Oak Ridge workers have been conducting "dry runs" in recent months to prepare for the B53, and a spokesman said today that Y-12 is ready to begin work.

"Y-12 has been gearing up for this work for some time," spokesman Steven Wyatt said in an e-mail response to questions. "This effort has included the preparation of an area at Y-12 for this work and the installation of additional equipment. Installation is complete and readiness reviews have been completed. We are ready to begin this work and expect to begin our part of this work early this fiscal year."

The B53 was introduced into the U.S. nuclear stockpile in 1962 and was a major part of the Cold War deterrent. It was retired from the arsenal in 1997.

In a statement, NNSA Deputy Administrator Don Cook said:

"Gaining authorization to begin dismantlement of the B53 is a significant step forward for NNSA and the nation. It confirms NNSA's commitment to support President Obama's goal of reducing the number of nuclear weapons and their role in the U.S. national security strategy. Completion of the SS-21 project for the B53 marks the first time in over a decade that NNSA has the required authorizations in place to work on all nuclear weapon types in our nation's inventory."

===============================================

posted in Cold War Survivors - 2 replies

List of military nuclear accidents

2010-11-15T01:06:35Z

http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/List_of_military_nuclear_accidents
List of military nuclear accidents

* Topic Home
* Discussion

Discussion
Ask a question about 'List of military nuclear accidents'
Start a new discussion about 'List of military nuclear accidents'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia
This article lists notable military accidents involving nuclear material. Civilian accidents are listed at List of civilian nuclear accidents. For a general discussion of both civilian and military accidents, see nuclear and radiation accidents
Nuclear and radiation accidents
A nuclear and radiation accident is usually defined as a loss of control of radioactive material with the potential to cause radiation poisoning. The likelihood and potential impact of such accidents has been a topic of debate practically since the first nuclear reactors were constructed. It has...

.
Scope of this article

In listing military nuclear accidents, the following criteria have been adopted:

1. There must be well-attested and substantial health damage, property damage or contamination.
2. The damage must be related directly to radioactive material, not merely (for example) at a nuclear power plant.
3. To qualify as “military”, the nuclear operation/material must be principally for military purposes.

1940s

* June 23, 1942 – Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig is, with a population of 515,459, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany and in the new states of Germany.-Origins:...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...

(then Third Reich) – steam explosion and reactor fire
* Shortly after the Leipzig L-IV atomic pile — worked on by Werner Heisenberg
Werner Heisenberg
Werner Heisenberg was a German theoretical physicist who made foundational contributions to quantum mechanics and is best known for asserting the uncertainty principle of quantum theory...

and Robert Doepel — demonstrated Germany’s first signs of neutron propagation, the device was checked for a possible heavy water
Heavy water
Heavy water is water containing a higher-than-normal proportion of the hydrogen isotope deuterium, either as deuterium oxide, D2O or ²H2O, or as deuterium protium oxide, HDO or ¹H²HO. Physically and chemically, it resembles water, H2O; in water, the...

leak. During the inspection air leaked in igniting the uranium powder inside. The burning uranium boiled the water jacket, generating enough steam pressure to blow the reactor apart. Burning uranium powder scattered throughout the lab causing a larger fire at the facility.

* August 21, 1945 – Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...

, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA – Accidental criticality
* Harry K. Daghlian, Jr.
Harry K. Daghlian, Jr.
Haroutune Krikor Daghlian Jr. was an Armenian-American physicist with the Manhattan Project who accidentally irradiated himself on August 21, 1945, during a critical mass experiment at the remote Omega Site facility at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, resulting in his death 25 days...

dropped a tungsten carbide
Tungsten carbide
Tungsten carbide is an inorganic chemical compound containing equal parts of tungsten and carbon atoms. Colloquially, tungsten carbide is often simply called carbide. In its most basic form, it is a fine gray powder, but it can be pressed and formed into shapes for use in industrial machinery,...

brick onto a plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a synthetic transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-white appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four...

core, inadvertently creating a critical mass
Criticality accident
A criticality accident, sometimes referred to as an excursion or a power excursion, is an accidental increasing nuclear chain reaction in a fissile material, such as enriched uranium or plutonium...

at the Los Alamos Omega site. He quickly removed the brick, but was fatally irradiated
Radiation poisoning
Radiation poisoning, radiation sickness or a creeping dose, is a form of damage to organ tissue caused by excessive exposure to ionizing radiation...

, dying September 15.
* May 21, 1946 – Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...

, Los Alamos, New Mexico, USA – Accidental criticality
* While demonstrating his technique to visiting scientists at Los Alamos, Canadian physicist
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei.The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power and nuclear weapons, but the research has provided wider applications, including those in medicine , materials...

Louis Slotin
Louis Slotin
Louis Alexander Slotin was a Canadian physicist and chemist who took part in the Manhattan Project.As part of the Manhattan Project, Slotin performed experiments with uranium and plutonium cores to determine their critical mass values. After World War II, Slotin continued his research at Los...

manually assembled a critical mass of plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a synthetic transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-white appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four...

. A momentary slip of a screwdriver caused a prompt critical
Prompt critical
In nuclear engineering, an assembly is prompt critical if for each nuclear fission event, one or more of the immediate or prompt neutrons released causes an additional fission event. This causes a rapid, exponential increase in the number of fission events...

reaction. Slotin died on May 30 from massive radiation poisoning, with an estimated dose of 1,000 rad
Rad (unit)
The rad is a largely obsolete unit of absorbed radiation dose, equal to 1 centigray. The rad was first proposed in 1918 as "that quantity of X rays which when absorbed will cause the destruction of the [malignant mammalian] cells in question..." It was defined in CGS units in 1953 as the dose...

s (rad), or 10 grays
Gray (unit)
The gray is the SI unit of absorbed radiation dose of ionizing radiation , and is defined as the absorption of one joule of ionizing radiation by one kilogram of matter...

(Gy). Seven observers, who received doses as high as 166 rads, survived, yet two died within a few years from cancers believed to be radiation-induced.

In the above incidents, both Daghlian (August 21, 1945 case) and Slotin (May 21, 1946 case), were working with the same bomb core which became known as the “demon core
Demon core
The Demon Core was the nickname given to a subcritical mass of plutonium that accidentally went critical on two separate instances at the Los Alamos laboratory in 1945 and 1946. Each incident resulted in the acute radiation poisoning and subsequent death of a scientist...

”.
1950s

* February 13, 1950 – British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . In 1871, it became the sixth province of Canada.The capital of British Columbia is Victoria, the fifteenth largest metropolitan region in Canada...

, Canada – Non-nuclear detonation of a simulated atomic bomb
* A USAF B-36 bomber, AF Ser. No. 44-92075
B-36B 44-92075
On February 13, 1950, a Convair B-36B, serial number 44-92075, assigned to the 7th Bomb Wing at Carswell Air Force Base, crashed in northern British Columbia, after jettisoning a Mark IV atomic bomb. This was the first time in history that a nuclear weapon was lost...

, was flying a simulated combat mission from Eielson Air Force Base
Eielson Air Force Base
Eielson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska.The host unit at Eielson is the 354th Fighter Wing assigned to the Pacific Air Forces Eleventh Air Force...

, near Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a Home Rule City in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough, Alaska, United States.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...

, to Carswell Air Force Base
Carswell Air Force Base
Carswell Air Force Base, is a former United States Air Force Strategic Air Command base located about northwest central of Fort Worth, Texas, United States; the air force base is mostly within the Fort Worth city limits and has portions within Westworth and White Settlement...

in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the seventeenth-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city within the state of Texas. Located in and the western edge of the American South, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...

, carrying one weapon containing a dummy warhead. The warhead contained uranium instead of plutonium. After six hours of flight, the bomber experienced mechanical problems and was forced to shut down three of its six engines at an altitude of . Fearing that severe weather and icing would jeopardize a safe emergency landing, the weapon was jettisoned over the Pacific Ocean from a height of . The weapon’s high explosives detonated upon impact. All of the sixteen crew members and one passenger were able to parachute from the plane and twelve were subsequently rescued from Princess Royal Island
Princess Royal Island
Princess Royal Island is the largest island on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. It is located amongst the isolated inlets and islands east of Hecate Strait on the British Columbia Coast. At , it is the fourth largest island in British Columbia...

. The Pentagon’s summary report does not mention if the weapon was later recovered.
* April 11, 1950, – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 521,999 as of July 1, 2008, according to U.S. census estimates, and ranks as...

, USA – Loss and recovery of nuclear materials
* Three minutes after departure from Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base
Kirtland Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located in the southeast quadrant of the Albuquerque, New Mexico urban area, adjacent to the Albuquerque International Sunport. The base was named for the early Army aviator Col. Roy C. Kirtland...

in Albuquerque a USAF B-29 bomber carrying a nuclear weapon, four spare detonators, and a crew of thirteen crashed into a mountain near Manzano Base. The crash resulted in a fire which the New York Times reported as being visible from The bomb’s casing was completely demolished and its high explosives ignited upon contact with the plane’s burning fuel. However, according to the Department of Defense, the four spare detonators and all nuclear components were recovered. A nuclear detonation was not possible because, while on board, the weapon’s core was not in the weapon for safety reasons. All thirteen crew members died.
* July 13, 1950; Lebanon, Ohio
Lebanon, Ohio
For other places with the same name, see Lebanon .Lebanon is a city in Warren County, Ohio, United States. The population was 16,962 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Warren County and is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area...

, USA – Non-nuclear detonation of an atomic bomb
* USAF B-50
B-50 Superfortress
The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber, was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. Design work began with the XB-44 Superfortress and continued...

aircraft on a training mission from Biggs Air Force Base with a nuclear weapon flew into the ground. High explosive detonation, but no nuclear explosion.
* November 10, 1950 – Rivière du Loup
Rivière du Loup
The Rivière du Loup is a river in southeastern Quebec which empties into the Saint Lawrence River at the city of Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec.There is a hydroelectric plant on the river near the city....

, Québec
Quebec
thumb|255px|alt=Château Frontenac in Quebec City|Right|upright=1.5|[[Château Frontenac]] in [[Quebec City]]thumb|255px|alt=Montréal|Right|upright=1.5|Downtown [[Montreal]]thumb|255px|Quebec in winterQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada...

, Canada – Non-nuclear detonation of an atomic bomb
* Returning one of several U.S. Mark 4 nuclear bomb
Mark 4 nuclear bomb
The Mark 4 nuclear bomb was an American nuclear bomb design produced starting in 1949 and in use until 1953.The Mark 4 was based on the earlier Mark 3 Fat Man design, used in the Trinity test and bombing of Nagasaki...

s secretly deployed in Canada, a USAF B-50
B-50 Superfortress
The Boeing B-50 Superfortress strategic bomber, was a post-World War II revision of the Boeing B-29 Superfortress, fitted with more powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360 radial engines, stronger structure, a taller fin, and other improvements. Design work began with the XB-44 Superfortress and continued...

had engine trouble and jettisoned the weapon at . The crew set the bomb to self-destruct at and dropped over the St. Lawrence River. The explosion shook area residents and scattered nearly of depleted uranium used in the weapon's tamper. The plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a synthetic transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-white appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four...

core (“pit”) was not in the bomb at the time.

* March 1, 1954 – Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll
Bikini Atoll is an atoll in the Micronesian Islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Republic of the Marshall Islands. It consists of 23 islands surrounding a lagoon...

, Republic of the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. This nation of roughly 62,000 people is located north of Nauru and Kiribati, east of the Federated States...

(then Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
The Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was a United Nations trust territory in Micronesia administered by the United States from July 18, 1947, comprising the former South Pacific Mandate, a League of Nations Mandate administered by Japan and taken by the U.S. in 1944. On October 21, 1986,...

) – Nuclear test accident
* During the Castle Bravo test of the first deployable hydrogen bomb, a miscalculation resulted in the explosion being over twice as large as predicted, with a total explosive force of . Of the total yield, were from fission of the natural uranium tamper, but those fission reactions were quite dirty, producing a large amount of fallout
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radiation hazard from a nuclear explosion, so called because it "falls out" of the atmosphere after the explosion. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust created when a nuclear weapon explodes. This radioactive dust, consisting of hot particles, is a kind of radioactive...

. Combined with the much-larger-than-expected yield and an unanticipated wind shift radioactive fallout was spread eastward onto the inhabited Rongelap
Rongelap Atoll
Rongelap Atoll is an island-atoll located in Micronesia. It is a municipality of the Marshall Islands. The Atoll consists of 61 islets with a combined area of approximately 3 square miles . Its lagoon covers 388 square miles...

and Rongerik Atoll
Rongerik Atoll
Rongerik Atoll is an uninhabited 1.68 square kilometer atoll located in the Pacific Ocean at . It consists of seventeen islands surrounding a 144 square kilometer lagoon...

s. These islands were evacuated, but many of the Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. This nation of roughly 62,000 people is located north of Nauru and Kiribati, east of the Federated States...

natives have since suffered from birth defects and have received some compensation from the federal government. A Japanese fishing boat, Daigo Fukuryu Maru
Daigo Fukuryu Maru
was a Japanese tuna fishing boat, which was exposed to and contaminated by nuclear fallout from the United States' Castle Bravo thermonuclear device test on Bikini Atoll, on March 1, 1954....

, also came into contact with the fallout, which caused many of the crew to take ill with one fatality. The test resulted in an international uproar and reignited Japanese concerns about radiation, especially with regard to the possible contamination
Radioactive contamination
Radioactive contamination, also called radiological contamination, is the uncontrolled distribution of radioactive material in a given environment...

of fish.
* November 29, 1955 – Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890 as the 43rd state....

, USA – Partial meltdown
* Operator error led to a partial core meltdown in the experimental EBR-I
Experimental Breeder Reactor I
Experimental Breeder Reactor I is a decommissioned research reactor and U.S. National Historic Landmark located in the desert about southeast of Arco, Idaho. At 1:50 pm on December 20, 1951 it became the world's first electricity-generating nuclear power plant when it produced sufficient...

breeder reactor
Breeder reactor
A breeder reactor is a nuclear reactor that generates new fissile material at a greater rate than it consumes such material. These reactors were initially considered appealing due to their superior fuel economy; a normal reactor is able to consume less than 1% of the natural uranium that begins...

, resulting in temporarily elevated radioactivity levels in the reactor building and necessitating significant repair.
* March 10, 1956 – Over the Mediterranean Sea – nuclear weapons lost
* A USAF B-47 Stratojet
1956 B-47 disappearance
The 1956 B-47 disappearance occurred on March 10 over the Mediterranean Sea. Four B-47 Stratojets took off from MacDill Air Force Base for a non-stop flight to an overseas air base and completed their first aerial refueling without incident. After descending through solid cloud to begin their...

disappeared before a scheduled refueling, while carrying two nuclear weapon cores. The plane was lost while flying through dense clouds, and the cores and other wreckage were never located.
* July 27, 1956 – Lakenheath
Lakenheath
Lakenheath is a village in Suffolk, England. It has around 8,200 residents, and is situated in the Forest Heath district of Suffolk, close to the county boundaries of both Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, and at the meeting point of the The Fens and the Breckland natural environments.Lakenheath is host...

in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...

, UK – Nuclear weapons damaged
* A USAF B-47 crashed into a storage igloo spreading burning fuel over three Mark 6 nuclear bomb
Mark 6 nuclear bomb
The Mark 6 nuclear bomb was an American nuclear bomb based on the earlier Mark 4 nuclear bomb and its predecessor, the Mark 3 Fat Man nuclear bomb design.The Mark 6 was produced from 1951-1955 and saw service until 1962...

s at RAF Lakenheath
RAF Lakenheath
Royal Air Force Station Lakenheath, commonly abbreviated to RAF Lakenheath, is a Royal Air Force military airbase near Lakenheath in Suffolk, England. Although an RAF station, it hosts United States Air Force units and personnel...

. A bomb disposal expert stated it was a miracle exposed detonators on one bomb did not fire, which presumably would have released nuclear material into the environment.
* July 28, 1957 – Atlantic Ocean – Two weapons jettisoned and not recovered
* A USAF C-124
C-124 Globemaster II
The Douglas C-124 Globemaster II, nicknamed "Old Shakey", was a heavy-lift cargo aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company in Long Beach, California....

aircraft from Dover Air Force Base
Dover Air Force Base
Dover Air Force Base or Dover AFB is a United States Air Force base located two miles southeast of the city of Dover, Delaware.-Units:...

, Delaware was carrying three nuclear bombs over the Atlantic Ocean when it experienced a loss of power. The crew jettisoned two nuclear bombs to protect their safety, which were never recovered.
* September 11, 1957 – Rocky Flats Plant
Rocky Flats Plant
The Rocky Flats Plant was a United States nuclear weapons production facility near Denver, Colorado that operated from 1952 to 1992. It was under the control of the United States Atomic Energy Commission until 1977, when it was replaced by the Department of Energy .-1950s:Following World War II,...

, Golden, Colorado
Golden, Colorado
The historic City of Golden is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the eastern edge of the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush on 16 June 1859, the...

, USA – Fire, release of nuclear materials

A fire began in a materials handling glove box
Glovebox
A glovebox is a sealed container that is designed to allow one to manipulate objects where a separate atmosphere is desired. Built into the sides of the glovebox are gloves arranged in such a way that the user can place his or her hands into the gloves and perform tasks inside the box without...

and spread through the ventilation system into the stack filters at the Rocky Flats weapons mill from Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the High Plains, just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

. Plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a synthetic transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-white appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four...

and other contaminants were released, but the exact amount of which contaminants is unknown; estimates range from 25 mg to 250 kg
Kilogram
The kilogram is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units ,The spelling kilogram is the modern spelling used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures , the U.S...

.

* September 29, 1957 – Kyshtym
Kyshtym
Kyshtym is a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern slope of the South Ural Mountains some 90 km northwest of Chelyabinsk, near the town of Ozyorsk. Population: 41,929 ; 36,000 .-History:...

, Chelyabinsk Oblast
Chelyabinsk Oblast
Chelyabinsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Chelyabinsk. Population: 3,603,339 ; -Demographics:Population: 3,603,339 ....

, Russia (then USSR) – Explosion, release of nuclear materials
o See Kyshtym disaster
Kyshtym disaster
The Kyshtym disaster was a radiation contamination disaster that occurred on 29 September 1957 in Mayak, a nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in Russia . It measured as a Level 6 disaster on the International Nuclear Event Scale, making it the second most serious nuclear accident ever recorded...

. A cooling system failure at the Mayak
Mayak
Mayak is one of the biggest nuclear facilities in Russian Federation located 150 km south-east of Ekaterinburg between the towns of Kasli and 72 km northwest of Chelyabinsk. The closest city to the nuclear complex is plant is Ozyorsk is the central administrative territorial district...

nuclear processing plant resulted in a major explosion and release of radioactive materials. Hundreds of people died and hundreds of thousands were evacuated.
* October 8–12, 1957 – Sellafield
Sellafield
Sellafield is a nuclear processing and former electricity generating site, close to the village of Seascale on the coast of the Irish Sea in Cumbria, England...

, Cumbria
Cumbria
Cumbria is a non-metropolitan county in North West England, United Kingdom. Cumbria came into existence as a county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972...

, UK – Reactor core fire

See Windscale fire
Windscale fire
On 10 October 1957, the graphite core of a British nuclear reactor at Windscale, Cumberland , caught fire, releasing substantial amounts of radioactive contamination into the surrounding area...

. Technicians mistakenly overheated Windscale Pile No. 1 during an annealing
Annealing (metallurgy)
Annealing, in metallurgy and materials science, is a heat treatment wherein a material is altered, causing changes in its properties such as strength and hardness. It is a process that produces conditions by heating to above the recrystallization temperature and maintaining a suitable temperature,...

process to release Wigner energy from graphite
Graphite
The mineral graphite is one of the allotropes of carbon. It was named by Abraham Gottlob Werner in 1789 from the Greek γράφειν : "to draw/write", for its use in pencils, where it is commonly called lead, as distinguished from the actual metallic element lead...

portions of the reactor. Poorly placed temperature sensors indicated the reactor was cooling rather than heating. The excess heat lead to the failure of a nuclear cartridge, which in turn allowed uranium and irradiated graphite to react with air. The resulting fire burned for days, damaging a significant portion of the reactor core. About 150 burning fuel cells could not be lifted from the core, but operators succeeded in creating a firebreak
Firebreak
A firebreak is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon...

by removing nearby fuel cells. An effort to cool the graphite core with water eventually quenched the fire. The reactor had released radioactive gases into the surrounding countryside, primarily in the form of iodine-131
Iodine-131
Iodine-131 , also called radioiodine, is a radioisotope of iodine which has medical and pharmaceutical uses. It is also a major radioactive hazard in nuclear fission products, and was a significant contributor to the health effects from open-air atomic bomb testing in the 1950's, and from the...

(131I). Milk
Milk
Milk is an opaque white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It provides the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. The early lactation milk is known as colostrum, and carries the mother's antibodies to the baby. It can reduce...

distribution was banned in a area around the reactor for several weeks. A 1987 report by the National Radiological Protection Board predicted the accident would cause as many as 33 long-term cancer deaths, although the Medical Research Council Committee concluded that “it is in the highest degree unlikely that any harm has been done to the health of anybody, whether a worker in the Windscale plant or a member of the general public.” The reactor that burned was one of two air-cooled graphite-moderated natural uranium reactors at the site used for production of plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a synthetic transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-white appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four...

.

* October 11, 1957 – Homestead Air Force Base, Florida – nuclear bomb burned after B-47 aircraft accident

B-47 aircraft crashed during take-off after a wheel exploded; one nuclear bomb burned in the resulting fire.

* January 31, 1958 – Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of nearly 32 million and an area of 710.850 km², including the disputed Western Sahara which is mainly under Moroccan administration...

– Nuclear bomb damaged in crash
* During a simulated takeoff a wheel casting failure caused the tail of a USAF B-47 carrying an armed nuclear weapon to hit the runway, rupturing a fuel tank and sparking a fire. Some contamination was detected immediately following the accident.
* February 5, 1958 – Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The city of Savannah was established in 1733 and was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia....

, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. Georgia was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 21, 1861, and...

, USA – Nuclear bomb lost
* See Tybee Bomb
Tybee Bomb
The Tybee Island B-47 crash was an incident on February 5, 1958, in which the United States Air Force lost a Mark 15 hydrogen bomb in the waters off Tybee Island near Savannah, Georgia, USA. The bomb was jettisoned to save the aircrew during a practice exercise after the B-47 bomber carrying it...

. A USAF B-47 bomber jettisoned a Mark 15 Mod 0 nuclear bomb
Mark 15 nuclear bomb
The Mark 15 nuclear bomb was a 1950s American thermonuclear bomb, the first relatively lightweight thermonuclear bomb created by the United States....

over the Atlantic Ocean after a midair collision with a USAF F-86 Sabre during a simulated combat mission from Homestead Air Force Base, Florida. The F-86’s pilot ejected and parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are usually made out of cloth, most commonly nylon...

d to safety. The USAF claimed the B-47 tried landing at Hunter Air Force Base, Georgia three times before the bomb was jettisoned at near Tybee Island
Tybee Island, Georgia
Tybee Island is an island and city in Chatham County, Georgia near the city of Savannah in the southeastern United States. It is the easternmost point in the state of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 3,392. The island, which includes the city of the same name, had a...

, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. Georgia was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 21, 1861, and...

. The B-47 pilot successfully landed in one attempt only after he first jettisoned the bomb. A area near Wassaw Sound
Wassaw Sound
Wassaw Sound is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Georgia, United States into which the Wilmington River flows.-American Civil War naval battle:...

was searched for 9 weeks before the search was called off. The bomb was searched for in 2001 and not found. A new group in 2004 claims to have found an underwater object which it thinks is the bomb.
* March 11, 1958 – Florence, South Carolina
Florence, South Carolina
Florence is the largest city in and the county seat of Florence County, South Carolina, United States. Known as the Florence Metropolitan Statistical Area, Florence adjoins Darlington to form the core of "Pee Dee" region of South Carolina, an area that includes the eight counties of northeastern...

, USA – Non-nuclear detonation of a nuclear bomb
* A USAF B-47 bomber flying from Hunter Air Force Base in Savannah
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Chatham County, in the U.S. state of Georgia. The city of Savannah was established in 1733 and was the colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later the first state capital of Georgia....

, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. Georgia was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788. It declared its secession from the Union on January 21, 1861, and...

accidentally released a nuclear bomb after the bomb lock failed. The chemical explosives detonated on impact in the suburban neighborhood of Florence, South Carolina. Radioactive substances were flung across the area. Several minor injuries resulted and the house on which the bomb fell was destroyed. No radiation sickness occurred.
* June 16, 1958 – Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...

, USA – Accidental criticality
* A supercritical portion of highly enriched uranyl nitrate
Uranyl nitrate
Uranyl nitrate is a water soluble yellow uranium salt. The yellow-green crystals of uranium nitrate hexahydrate are triboluminescent.Uranyl nitrate can be prepared by reaction of uranium salts with nitric acid...

was allowed to collect in the drum causing a prompt neutron
Prompt critical
In nuclear engineering, an assembly is prompt critical if for each nuclear fission event, one or more of the immediate or prompt neutrons released causes an additional fission event. This causes a rapid, exponential increase in the number of fission events...

criticality in the C-1 wing of building 9212 at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...

Y-12 complex. It is estimated that the reaction produced fissions. Eight employees were in close proximity to the drum during the accident, receiving neutron
Neutron radiation
Neutron radiation is a kind of non-ionizing radiation which consists of free neutrons.-Sources:Neutrons may be emitted during either spontaneous or induced nuclear fission, nuclear fusion processes, very high energy reactions such as in the Spallation Neutron Source and in cosmic ray interactions,...

doses ranging from 30 to 477 rems
Röntgen equivalent man
The röntgen equivalent in man or rem is a traditional historical unit of radiation dose equivalent...

. No fatalities were reported.
* December 30, 1958 – Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States. The population of the CDP was 11,909 at the 2000 census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while White Rock is also part of the town. Technically, both are part of the same...

, USA – Accidental criticality
* During chemical purification a critical mass
Critical mass
A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties A critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The...

of a plutonium solution was accidentally assembled at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...

. The crane operator died of acute radiation sickness. The March, 1961 Journal of Occupational Medicine printed a special supplement medically analyzing this accident. Hand-manipulations of critical assemblies were abandoned as a matter of policy in U.S. federal facilities after this accident.
* July, 1959 – Simi Valley, California
Simi Valley, California
Simi Valley is an incorporated city located in a valley of the same name in the southeast corner of Ventura County, California, bordering the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles in the Greater Los Angeles Area...

, USA – Explosion
* The Sodium Reactor Experiment
Sodium Reactor Experiment
The Sodium Reactor Experiment was a pioneering nuclear power plant built by Atomics International at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, nearby Simi Valley, California. The reactor operated from 1957 to 1964...

was a pioneering nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is produced by controlled nuclear reactions. Commercial and utility plants currently use nuclear fission reactions to heat water to produce steam, which is then used to generate electricity....

plant built by Atomics International
Atomics International
Atomics International was a division of the North American Aviation company which engaged principally in the early development of nuclear technology and nuclear reactors for both commercial and government applications...

at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory
Santa Susana Field Laboratory
The Santa Susana Field Laboratory is a complex of industrial research and development facilities sparsely situated within a 2,668 acre portion of the Southern California Simi Hills in eastern Ventura County California used mainly for the testing and development of Liquid-propellant rocket engines...

, nearby Simi Valley
Simi Valley, California
Simi Valley is an incorporated city located in a valley of the same name in the southeast corner of Ventura County, California, bordering the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles in the Greater Los Angeles Area...

, California. The reactor operated from 1957 to 1964. In July 1959, the reactor suffered a serious incident in which the reactor core was damaged causing the controlled release of radioactive gas to the atmosphere.
* November 20, 1959 – Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...

, USA – Explosion
* A chemical explosion occurred during decontamination of processing machinery in the radiochemical processing plant at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...

in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,214,888, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. (Report ORNL-2989, Oak Ridge National Laboratory). The accident resulted in the release of about of 239Pu
Plutonium-239
Plutonium-239 is an isotope of plutonium. Plutonium-239 is the primary fissile isotope used for the production of nuclear weapons, although uranium-235 has also been used and is currently the secondary isotope. Plutonium-239 is also one of the three main isotopes demonstrated usable as fuel in...

.

1960s

* June 7, 1960 – New Egypt, New Jersey
New Egypt, New Jersey
New Egypt is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Plumsted Township, in Ocean County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2000 Census, the CDP population was 2,519.-Geography:New Egypt is located at ....

, USA – Nuclear warhead damaged by fire
* A helium
Helium
Helium is the chemical element with atomic number 2 and an atomic weight of 4.002602, which is represented by the symbol He. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert monatomic gas that heads the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling and melting points are the lowest...

tank exploded and ruptured the fuel tanks of a USAF BOMARC-A surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A Surface to Air Missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. Development of surface-to-air missiles began in Nazi Germany during late World War II with missiles like the Wasserfall. It is one part of the anti-aircraft system...

at McGuire Air Force Base
McGuire Air Force Base
McGuire Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately east of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.On October 1, 2009, McGuire officially became part of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst...

, New Jersey. The fire destroyed the missile, and contaminated the area directly below and adjacent to the missile.
* October 13, 1960 – Barents Sea
Barents Sea
Barents Sea is a part of the Arctic Ocean located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...

, Arctic Ocean – Release of nuclear materials
* A leak developed in the steam generators and in a pipe leading to the compensator reception on the ill-fated K-8
Soviet submarine K-8
K-8 was a November class submarine of the Soviet Northern Fleet that sank in the Bay of Biscay with its nuclear weapons on board on April 12, 1970...

while the Soviet Northern Fleet
Northern Fleet
"The Northern Fleet" refers to the Red Banner Northern Fleet of the Soviet Union and Russia:* The Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet * The Russian Red Banner Northern Fleet...

November-class submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has only limited underwater capability...

was on exercise. While the crew rigged an improvised cooling system, radioactive gases leaked into the vessel and three of the crew suffered visible radiation injuries according to radiological experts in Moscow. Some crew members had been exposed to doses of up to 1.8 - 2 Sv
Sievert
The sievert is the SI derived unit of dose equivalent. It attempts to reflect the biological effects of radiation as opposed to the physical aspects, which are characterised by the absorbed dose, measured in gray...

(180 - 200 rem).

* January 3, 1961 – National Reactor Testing Station, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans." Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890 as the 43rd state....

, USA – Accidental criticality, steam explosion
* During maintenance procedures the SL-1
SL-1
The SL-1, or Stationary Low-Power Reactor Number One, was a United States Army experimental nuclear power reactor which underwent a steam explosion and meltdown on January 3, 1961, killing its three operators. The direct cause was the improper withdrawal of the main control rod, responsible for 80%...

experimental nuclear reactor underwent a prompt critical
Prompt critical
In nuclear engineering, an assembly is prompt critical if for each nuclear fission event, one or more of the immediate or prompt neutrons released causes an additional fission event. This causes a rapid, exponential increase in the number of fission events...

reaction causing the water surrounding the core to explosively vaporize. A pressure wave struck the top of the reactor vessel propelling the control rods and entire reactor vessel upwards. One operator who had been standing on top of the vessel was killed when flying control rods pinned him to the ceiling. Two other military personnel supervising the maintenance operations were also killed.

* January 24, 1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash
1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash
The 1961 Goldsboro B-52 crash refers to an accident that occurred near Goldsboro, North Carolina on 24 January 1961 when a B-52 Stratofortress carrying two nuclear bombs broke up in mid-air, dropping its nuclear payload in the process.-Accident:...

– Physical destruction of a nuclear bomb, loss of nuclear materials
o A USAF B-52 bomber caught fire and exploded in midair due to a major leak in a wing fuel cell north of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located within the city limits of Goldsboro, North Carolina. The base is named for Navy test pilot Seymour Johnson, a native of Goldsboro...

, North Carolina. Five crewmen parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are usually made out of cloth, most commonly nylon...

d to safety, but three died—two in the aircraft and one on landing. The incident released the bomber’s two Mark 39
W39
The Mark 39 nuclear bomb and W39 nuclear warhead were versions of an American thermonuclear weapon, which were in service from 1957 to 1966....

hydrogen bombs. Three of the four arming devices on one of the bombs activated, causing it to carry out many of the steps needed to arm itself, such as the charging of the firing capacitor
Capacitor
A capacitor is a passive electronic component consisting of a pair of conductors separated by a dielectric . When a potential difference exists across the conductors, an electric field is present in the dielectric. This field stores energy and produces a mechanical force between the conductors...

s and, critically, the deployment of a diameter retardation parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag. Parachutes are usually made out of cloth, most commonly nylon...

. The parachute allowed the bomb to hit the ground with little damage. The fourth arming device — the pilot’s safe/arm switch — was not activated preventing detonation. The second bomb plunged into a muddy field at around and disintegrated. Its tail was discovered about down and much of the bomb recovered, including the tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons. Naturally occurring tritium is extremely rare on Earth...

bottle and the plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a synthetic transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-white appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four...

. However, excavation was abandoned due to uncontrollable ground water flooding. Most of the thermonuclear stage, containing uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, in which 6 of the electrons are valence electrons...

, was left in situ
In situ
In situ is a Latin phrase meaning in the place. It is used in many different contexts. It is rendered in italics because it is a Latin phrase.-Aerospace:...

. It is estimated to lie around below ground. The Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare, space warfare, and cyberwarfare service branch of the United States armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947...

purchased the land and fenced it off to prevent its disturbance, and it is tested regularly for contamination, although none has so far been found.

* March 14, 1961 – 1961 Yuba City B-52 crash
1961 Yuba City B-52 crash
The 1961 Yuba City B-52 crash refers to an accident on March 14, 1961, at Yuba City, California. A B-52F-70-BW Stratofortress bomber, 57-0166, c/n 464155, carrying two nuclear weapons, that had departed from Mather Air Force Base near Sacramento, experienced an uncontrolled decompression that...

o USAF B-52 bomber experienced a decompression event that required it to fly below 10,000 feet. Resulting increased fuel consumption led to fuel exhaustion; the aircraft crashed with two nuclear bombs, which did not trigger a nuclear explosion.

* July 4, 1961 – coast of Norway – Near meltdown
o The Soviet
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval part of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have been instrumental in any possible Warsaw Pact role in an all-out war with NATO when it would have to stop the naval convoys bringing reinforcements over the Atlantic to the...

Hotel-class submarine K-19 suffered a failure in its cooling system. Reactor core temperatures reached , nearly enough to melt the fuel rods, although the crew was able to regain temperature control by using emergency procedures. The incident contaminated parts of the ship, some of the onboard ballistic missiles and the crew, resulting in several fatalities. The movie K-19: The Widowmaker
K-19: The Widowmaker
K-19: The Widowmaker is a fact-based fictional movie released on July 19, 2002, about the first of many disasters that befell the Soviet submarine of the same name. The film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow...

, starring Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford
Harrison Ford is an American film actor and producer. Ford is best known for his performances as Han Solo in the original Star Wars trilogy and as the title character of the Indiana Jones film series...

and Liam Neeson
Liam Neeson
Liam John Neeson, OBE is an Irish actor, who has been nominated for an Oscar, Golden Globe and a BAFTA.He has starred in a number of notable roles including Oskar Schindler in Schindler's List, Michael Collins in Michael Collins, Jean Valjean in Les Misérables, Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars Episode I:...

, offers a controversially fictionalized story of these events.

* May 1, 1962 - Sahara desert, French Algeria - Accidental venting of underground nuclear test
o The second French underground nuclear test, codenamed Béryl
Béryl incident
The "Béryl incident" was a French nuclear test, conducted on May 1 1962, during which nine soldiers of the 621st Groupe d'Armes Spéciales unit were heavily contaminated by radiation....

, took place in a shaft under mount Taourirt, near In Ecker, 150 km (100 mi) north of Tamanrasset, Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in North Africa...

n Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's largest hot desert. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The desert stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...

. Due to improper sealing of the shaft, a spectacular flame burst through the concrete cap and radioactive gases and dust were vented into the atmosphere. The plume climbed up to 2600 m (8500 ft) high and radiation was detected hundreds of km away. About a hundred soldiers and officials, including two ministers, were irradiated. The number of contaminated Algerians is unknown.

* January 13, 1964 – Salisbury, Pennsylvania
Salisbury, Pennsylvania
Salisbury is a borough in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 878 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Salisbury is located at ....

and Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg, Maryland
Frostburg is a city in Allegany County, Maryland, United States located at the head of the Georges Creek Valley. It is part of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,873 at the 2000 census...

, USA – Accidental loss and recovery of thermonuclear bombs
o A USAF B-52 on airborne alert duty encountered a severe winter storm and extreme turbulence, ultimately disintegrating in mid-air over South Central Pennsylvania. Only the two pilots survived. One crew member failed to bail out and the rest succumbed to injuries or exposure to the harsh winter weather. A search for the missing weapons was initiated, and recovery was effected from portions of the wreckage at a farm northwest of Frostburg, MD.

* April 21, 1964 – Indian Ocean – Launch failure of a RTG powered satellite
o A U.S. Transit-5BN-3
Transit (satellite)
The TRANSIT system, also known as NAVSAT , was the first satellite navigation system to be used operationally...

nuclear-powered navigational satellite failed to reach orbital velocity and began falling back down at above the Indian Ocean. The satellite’s SNAP
Systems Nuclear Auxiliary Power Program
The Systems Nuclear Auxiliary Power Program was a program of experimental radioisotope thermoelectric generators and space nuclear reactors flown during the 1960s by NASA.-Odd numbered SNAPs - radioiostope thermoelectric generators:...

-9a generator contained 17 kCi (630 TBq) of 238Pu
Plutonium-238
Plutonium-238, is a radioactive isotope of plutonium with a half-life of 87.7 years. Because it is a very powerful alpha emitter, this isotope is used for radioisotope thermoelectric generators and radioisotope heater units. One gram of plutonium-238 generates approximately 0.5 watts of...

(2.1 pounds), which at least partially burned upon reentry. Increased levels of 238Pu were first documented in the stratosphere four months later. Indeed NASA (in the 1995 Cassini FEIS) indicated that the SNAP-9a plutonium release was nearly double the 9000Ci added by all the atmospheric weapons tests to that date. The United States Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...

reported a resulting three-fold increase in global 238Pu fallout. All subsequent Transit satellites were fitted with solar panels; RTG's were designed to remain contained during re-entry.

* 8 December 1964; Bunker Hill Air Force Base, USA – Fire, radioactive contamination
* USAF B-58
B-58 Hustler
The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber, and the first capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command during the late 1950s...

aircraft carrying a nuclear weapon caught fire while taxiing. Nuclear weapon burned, causing contamination of the crash area.

* January 1965 – Livermore, California
Livermore, California
Livermore is a city in Alameda County. The population as of 2010 was 83,800. Livermore is located in the California's San Francisco Bay area....

, USA – Release of nuclear materials
o An accident at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California is a scientific research laboratory founded by the University of California in 1952...

released 300 kCi (11 PBq) of tritium gas. Subsequent study found this release was not likely to produce adverse health effects in the surrounding communities.

* 11 October 1965 – Rocky Flats Plant
Rocky Flats Plant
The Rocky Flats Plant was a United States nuclear weapons production facility near Denver, Colorado that operated from 1952 to 1992. It was under the control of the United States Atomic Energy Commission until 1977, when it was replaced by the Department of Energy .-1950s:Following World War II,...

, Golden, Colorado
Golden, Colorado
The historic City of Golden is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the eastern edge of the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush on 16 June 1859, the...

, USA – Fire, exposure of workers
o A fire at Rocky Flats exposed a crew of 25 to up to 17 times the legal limit for radiation.

* December 5, 1965 – coast of Japan – Loss of a nuclear bomb
o A U.S. Navy A-4E Skyhawk
A-4 Skyhawk
The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a carrier-capable ground-attack aircraft designed for the United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. The delta winged, single turbojet-engined Skyhawk was designed and produced by Douglas Aircraft Company, and later McDonnell Douglas...

aircraft with one B43 nuclear bomb
B43 nuclear bomb
The B43 was a United States air-dropped nuclear weapon used by a wide variety of fighter bomber and bomber aircraft.The B43 was developed from 1956 by Los Alamos National Laboratory, entering production in 1959. It entered service in April 1961. Total production was 2,000 weapons, ending in 1965...

on board fell off the aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...

Ticonderoga into of water while the ship was underway from Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea, referred to as East Sea , to the east...

to Yokosuka, Japan. The plane, pilot and weapon were never recovered. There is dispute over exactly where the incident took place—the U.S. Defense Department
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S. federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the United States armed forces...

originally stated it took place off the coast of Japan, but Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the sea branch of the United States armed forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 284 ships in active service and...

documents later show it happened about from the Ryukyu Islands
Ryukyu Islands
The , also known as the , is a chain of islands in the western Pacific, on the eastern limit of the East China Sea and to the southwest of the island of Kyūshū in Japan. From about 1829 until the mid 20th century, they were alternately called Luchu, Loochoo, or Lewchew, akin to the Mandarin...

and from Okinawa.

* January 17, 1966 – Palomares incident – Accidental destruction, loss and recovery of nuclear bombs
o A USAF B-52 carrying four hydrogen bombs collided with a USAF
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare, space warfare, and cyberwarfare service branch of the United States armed forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947...

KC-135 jet tanker during over-ocean in-flight refueling. Four of the B-52's seven crew members parachuted to safety while the remaining three were killed along with all four of the KC-135’s crew. The conventional explosives in two of the bombs detonated upon impact with the ground, dispersing plutonium over nearby farms. A third bomb landed intact near Palomares
Palomares, Almería
Palomares is an agricultural, fishing and tourist village on the Mediterranean Sea in the Almería province of Andalusia, Spain. It is about 20 meters above sea level...

while the fourth fell off the coast into the Mediterranean sea. The US Navy conducted a three month search involving 12,000 men and successfully recovered the fourth bomb. The U.S. Navy employed the use of the deep-diving research submarine DSV Alvin
DSV Alvin
Alvin is a 16-ton, manned deep-ocean research submersible owned by the United States Navy and operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The craft was built by General Mills' Electronics Group in the same factory used to manufacture breakfast...

to aid in the recovery efforts. During the ensuing cleanup, of radioactive soil and tomato plants were shipped to a nuclear dump in Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken, South Carolina
Aiken is a city in and the county seat of Aiken County, South Carolina, United States. With Augusta, Georgia, it is one of the two largest cities of the Central Savannah River Area. It is also part of the Augusta-Richmond County Metropolitan Statistical Area. Aiken is home to the University of...

. The U.S. settled claims by 522 Palomares residents for $
United States dollar
The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents.The U.S...

600,000. The town also received a $200,000 desalinization plant. The motion picture Men of Honor
Men of Honor
Men of Honor is a 2000 drama film, starring Robert De Niro and Cuba Gooding, Jr. The film was directed by George Tillman, Jr...

(2000), starring Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba Gooding, Jr.
Cuba M. Gooding, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning portrayal as Rod Tidwell in Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire and his critically acclaimed performance as Tré Styles in John Singleton's Boyz n the Hood .-Early life:Cuba Gooding, the son of Shirley, a singer...

, as USN
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the sea branch of the United States armed forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 284 ships in active service and...

Diver Carl Brashear, and Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director, and producer. De Niro won his first Academy Award as Best Supporting Actor for The Godfather Part II , followed by a Best Actor Academy Award win for Raging Bull...

as USN Diver Billy Sunday, contained an account of the fourth bomb’s recovery.

* January 21, 1968 – 1968 Thule Air Base B-52 crash, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Physiographically, it is a part of the continent of North America.Greenland has been inhabited by the Inuit since 2500BC...

– Loss and partial recovery of nuclear bombs
o A fire broke out in the navigator
Navigator
A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation. The navigator's primary responsibility is to be aware of ship or aircraft position at all times. Responsibilities include planning the journey, advising the Captain or aircraft Commander of estimated timing to...

’s compartment of a USAF B-52 near Thule Air Base
Thule Air Base
Thule Air Base or Thule Air Base/Pituffik Airport , is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located north of the Arctic Circle and from the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland. It is approximately east of the North Magnetic Pole. Thule is an unincorporated...

, Greenland
Greenland
Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Physiographically, it is a part of the continent of North America.Greenland has been inhabited by the Inuit since 2500BC...

. The bomber crashed from the air base, rupturing its nuclear payload of four hydrogen bombs. The recovery and decontamination effort was complicated by Greenland's harsh weather. Contaminated ice and debris were buried in the United States. Bomb fragments were recycled by Pantex
Pantex
The Pantex plant is America's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly facility and is charged with maintaining the safety, security and reliability of the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. The facility is located on a 16,000 acre site 17 miles northeast of Amarillo, in Carson County,...

, in Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 15th-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 173,627 at the 2000 census. The Amarillo metropolitan area has an estimated population of...

. The incident caused outrage and protests in Denmark, as Greenland is a Danish possession and Denmark forbade nuclear weapons on its territory. Information declassified in 2008 confirms that one of the bombs remains unaccounted for.

* May 22, 1968 – 740 km (400 nmi) southwest of the Azores
Azores
The Azores is a Portuguese archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about from Lisbon and about from the east coast of North America...

– Loss of nuclear reactor and two W34 nuclear warheads
o The USS Scorpion (SSN-589)
USS Scorpion (SSN-589)
USS Scorpion was a Skipjack-class nuclear submarine of the United States Navy, and the sixth ship of the U.S. Navy to carry that name. Scorpion was declared lost on 5 June 1968, one of the few U.S. Navy submarines to be lost at sea while not at war and is one of only two nuclear submarines the U.S...

sank while enroute from Rota, Spain, to Naval Base Norfolk. The cause of sinking remains unknown; all 99 officers and men on board were killed. The wreckage of the ship, its S5W
S5W reactor
The S5W reactor is a nuclear reactor used by the United States Navy to provide electricity generation and propulsion on warships. The S5W designation stands for:* S = Submarine platform* 5 = Fifth generation core designed by the contractor...

reactor, and its two Mark 45
Mark 45 torpedo
The Mark 45 anti-submarine torpedo was a weapon of the United States Navy designed for submarine launch against high-speed, deep-diving enemy submarines. This electrically-propelled 19-inch torpedo was 227 inches long and weighed 2,400 pounds...

torpedoes with W34 nuclear warheads, remain on the sea floor in more than 3,000 m (9,800 ft) of water.

* May 24, 1968 – location unknown – loss of cooling, radioactive contamination, nuclear fuel damaged
o During sea trials the Soviet nuclear submarine K-27
Soviet submarine K-27
K-27 was the only submarine of Projekt 645 in the Soviet Navy. Projekt 645 did not have its own NATO reporting name; it was a test attack submarine, incorporating a pair of experimental VT-1 reactor plants using liquid-metal coolant into a modified hull of a November class submarine .The keel of...

(Project 645) suffered severe problems with its reactor cooling systems. After spending some time at reduced power, reactor output inexplicably dropped and sensors detected an increase of gamma radiation
Gamma ray
Gamma radiation, also known as gamma rays , is electromagnetic radiation of high frequency . They are produced by sub-atomic particle interactions such as electron-positron annihilation, neutral pion decay, radioactive decay, fusion, fission or inverse Compton scattering in astrophysical processes...

in the reactor compartment to 150 rad
Rad (unit)
The rad is a largely obsolete unit of absorbed radiation dose, equal to 1 centigray. The rad was first proposed in 1918 as "that quantity of X rays which when absorbed will cause the destruction of the [malignant mammalian] cells in question..." It was defined in CGS units in 1953 as the dose...

/h
Hour
The hour is a unit of time. It is not an SI unit but is accepted for use with the SI with the symbol h.-Definition:...

. The safety buffer tank released radioactive gases further contaminating the submarine. The crew shut the reactor down and subsequent investigation found that approximately 20% of the fuel assemblies were damaged. The entire submarine was scuttled in the Kara Sea
Kara Sea
The Kara Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean north of Siberia. It is separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya....

in 1981.

* August 27, 1968 – Severodvinsk
Severodvinsk
Severodvinsk is a city in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina River, west of Arkhangelsk. The town was founded as Sudostroy . Population has declined in recent years .-History:...

, Russia (then USSR) – Reactor power excursion, contamination
o While in the naval yards at Severodvinsk for repairs Soviet Yankee-class
Yankee class submarine
The Yankee class is the NATO classification for a type of nuclear-powered submarine that was constructed by the Soviet Union from 1968 onward. 34 units were produced under Project 667A Navaga and Project 667AU Nalim...

nuclear submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor. The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...

K-140 suffered an uncontrolled increase of the reactor’s power output. One of the reactors activated automatically when workers raised control rods to a higher position and power increased to 18 times normal, while pressure and temperature levels in the reactor increased to four times normal. The accident also increased radiation levels aboard the vessel. The problem was traced to the incorrect installation of control rod electrical cables.

* May 11, 1969 – Rocky Flats Plant
Rocky Flats Plant
The Rocky Flats Plant was a United States nuclear weapons production facility near Denver, Colorado that operated from 1952 to 1992. It was under the control of the United States Atomic Energy Commission until 1977, when it was replaced by the Department of Energy .-1950s:Following World War II,...

, Golden, Colorado
Golden, Colorado
The historic City of Golden is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the eastern edge of the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush on 16 June 1859, the...

, USA – Plutonium fire, contamination
o An accident in which 5 kilogram
Kilogram
The kilogram is the base unit of mass in the International System of Units ,The spelling kilogram is the modern spelling used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures , the U.S...

s of plutonium burnt inside a glovebox
Glovebox
A glovebox is a sealed container that is designed to allow one to manipulate objects where a separate atmosphere is desired. Built into the sides of the glovebox are gloves arranged in such a way that the user can place his or her hands into the gloves and perform tasks inside the box without...

at Rocky Flats. Cleanup took two years and was the costliest industrial accident ever to occur in the United States at that time.

1970s

* April 12, 1970 – Bay of Biscay
Bay of Biscay
The Bay of Biscay or the Cantabrian Sea is a gulf of the northeast Atlantic Ocean located south of the Celtic Sea...

– Loss of a nuclear submarine
o The Soviet
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , also known as the Soviet Union , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed on the territory of most of the former Russian Empire in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.The Soviet Union had a single-party political system dominated by the Communist Party...

November-class attack submarine K-8
Soviet submarine K-8
K-8 was a November class submarine of the Soviet Northern Fleet that sank in the Bay of Biscay with its nuclear weapons on board on April 12, 1970...

sank with all 52 crew members after suffering fires in two compartments simultaneously. Both reactors were shut down. The crew attempted to hook a tow line to an Eastern Bloc merchant vessel, but failed.

* December 18, 1970 – Nevada Test Site
Nevada Test Site
The Nevada Test Site is a United States Department of Energy reservation located in southeastern Nye County, Nevada, about northwest of the city of Las Vegas. Formerly known as the Nevada Proving Grounds, the site, established on 11 January 1951, for the testing of nuclear devices, is composed of...

– Accidental venting of nuclear explosion
o In Area 8 on Yucca Flat
Yucca Flat
Yucca Flat is a closed desert drainage basin, one of four major nuclear test regions within the Nevada Test Site , and is divided into nine test sections: Areas 1 through 4 and 6 through 10. Yucca Flat is located at the eastern edge of NTS, about ten miles north of Frenchman Flat, and 65 miles from...

, the 10 kiloton "Baneberry" weapons test of Operation Emery
Operation Emery
Operation Emery was a series of twelve nuclear tests conducted at the Nevada Test Site. These explosions occurred in 1970 and 1971, after the Mandrel series and before Grommet....

detonated as planned at the bottom of a sealed vertical shaft 900 feet below the Earth's surface but the device's energy cracked the soil in unexpected ways, causing a fissure near ground zero and the failure of the shaft stemming and cap. A plume of hot gases and radioactive dust was released three and a half minutes after ignition, and continuing for many hours, raining fallout on workers within NTS. Six percent of the explosion's radioactive products were vented. The plume released 6.7 MCi of radioactive material, including 80 kCi of Iodine-131
Iodine-131
Iodine-131 , also called radioiodine, is a radioisotope of iodine which has medical and pharmaceutical uses. It is also a major radioactive hazard in nuclear fission products, and was a significant contributor to the health effects from open-air atomic bomb testing in the 1950's, and from the...

and a high ratio of noble gases. After dropping a portion of its load in the area, the hot cloud's lighter particles were carried to three altitudes and conveyed by winter storms and the jet stream to be deposited heavily as radionuclide
Radionuclide
A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy which is available to be imparted either to a newly-created radiation particle within the nucleus, or else to an atomic electron . The radionuclide, in this process, undergoes radioactive decay,...

-laden snow in Lassen
Lassen County, California
Lassen County is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of 2000 the population was 33,828. The county seat is Susanville, the only incorporated city in the county.-History:...

and Sierra
Sierra County, California
Sierra County is a county located in the Sierra Nevada of the U.S. state of California, northeast of Sacramento on the border with Nevada. As of 2000 the population was 3,555. The county seat is Downieville....

counties in northeast California, and to lesser degrees in northern Nevada, southern Idaho and some eastern sections of Oregon and Washington states. The three diverging jet stream layers conducted radionuclides across the US to Canada, the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean.
* December 12, 1971 – New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut.The city is home to Connecticut College, Mitchell...

, USA – Spill of irradiated water
o During the transfer of radioactive coolant water from the submarine USS Dace
USS Dace (SSN-607)
USS Dace , a Permit-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the dace, any of several small North American fresh-water fishes of the carp family. The contract to build her was awarded to Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, Mississippi on 3 March 1959 and her...

to the submarine tender
Submarine tender
A submarine tender is a type of ship that supplies and supports submarines.Submarines are small compared to most oceangoing vessels, and generally do not have the ability to carry large amounts of food, fuel, torpedoes, and other supplies, nor to carry a full array of maintenance equipment and...

USS Fulton
USS Fulton (AS-11)
USS Fulton was a , launched on 27 December 1940 by Mare Island Navy Yard and sponsored by Mrs. A. T. Sutcliffe, great-granddaughter of Robert Fulton. Fulton was commissioned on 12 September 1941, with Commander A. D...

were spilled into the Thames River
Thames River (Connecticut)
The Thames River is a short river and tidal estuary in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It flows south for 15 mi. through eastern Connecticut from the junction of the Yantic and Shetucket Rivers at Norwich, to New London and Groton, which flank its mouth at the Long Island Sound.Differing from...

(USA).
* December 1972 – Pawling, New York, USA – Contamination
o A major fire and two explosions contaminated the plant and grounds of a plutonium fabrication facility resulting in a permanent shutdown.

* 1975 – location unknown – Contamination
o Radioactive resin contaminates the American
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the sea branch of the United States armed forces. It is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. As of 31 December 2008, the U.S. Navy had about 331,682 personnel on active duty and 124,000 in the Navy Reserve. It operates 284 ships in active service and...

Sturgeon-class submarine
Sturgeon class submarine
The Sturgeon-class attack submarine were the "work horses" of the submarine attack fleet throughout much of the Cold War...

USS Guardfish
USS Guardfish (SSN-612)
USS Guardfish , a , was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the guardfish, a voracious green and silvery fish with elongated pike-like body and long narrow jaws....

after wind unexpectedly blows the powder back towards the ship. The resin is used to remove dissolved radioactive minerals and particles from the primary coolant loops of submarines. This type of accident was fairly common; however, U.S. Navy nuclear vessels no longer discharge resin at sea.

* October 1975 – Apra Harbor, Guam
Guam
Guam is an island in the western Pacific Ocean and is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. The island's capital is Hagåtña...

– spill of irradiated water
o While disabled, the submarine tender USS Proteus
USS Proteus (AS-19)
The third USS Proteus was a in the United States Navy.Proteus was laid down by the Moore Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, Oakland, California, 15 September 1941; launched 12 November 1942; sponsored by Mrs. Charles M. Cooke, Jr.; and commissioned 31 January 1944, Capt. Robert W...

discharged radioactive coolant water. A Geiger counter
Geiger counter
A Geiger counter, also called a Geiger-Müller counter, is a type of particle detector that measures ionizing radiation. They are notable for being used to detect if objects emit nuclear radiation.-Description:...

at two of the harbor's public beaches showed 100 millirems/hour
Hour
The hour is a unit of time. It is not an SI unit but is accepted for use with the SI with the symbol h.-Definition:...

, fifty times the allowable dose.

* August 1976 – Benton County, Washington
Benton County, Washington
Benton County is a county located in the south-central portion of the U.S. state of Washington. The Columbia River makes up the north, south, and east boundaries of the county. In 2000, its population was 142,475. The county seat is Prosser, and its largest city is Kennewick...

, USA – Explosion, contamination of worker
o An explosion at the Hanford site
Hanford Site
The Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government. The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works, Hanford Nuclear Reservation or HNR,...

Plutonium Finishing Plant blew out a quarter-inch-thick lead glass window. Harold McCluskey
Harold McCluskey
Harold R. McCluskey was a chemical operations technician at the Hanford Plutonium Finishing Plant located in Washington state who is known for having survived, on April 24, 1976, exposure to the highest dose of americium radiation ever recorded...

, a worker, was showered with nitric acid and radioactive glass. He inhaled the largest dose of 241Am
Americium-241
Americium-241 is the most prevalent isotope of americium in nuclear waste. It is the americium isotope used in smoke detectors based on ionization chambers...

ever recorded, about 500 times the U.S. government occupational standards. The worker was placed in isolation for five months and given an experimental drug to flush the isotope from his body. By 1977, his body’s radiation count had fallen by about 80 percent. He died of natural causes in 1987 at age 75.

* 1977 – coast of Kamchatka
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...

– loss and recovery of a nuclear warhead
o The Soviet
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval part of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have been instrumental in any possible Warsaw Pact role in an all-out war with NATO when it would have to stop the naval convoys bringing reinforcements over the Atlantic to the...

submarine
Nuclear submarine
A nuclear submarine is a submarine powered by a nuclear reactor. The performance advantages of nuclear submarines over "conventional" submarines are considerable: nuclear propulsion, being completely independent of air, frees the submarine from the need to surface frequently, as is necessary for...

K-171 accidentally released a nuclear warhead. The warhead was recovered after a search involving dozens of ships and aircraft.

* January 24, 1978 – North West Territories, Canada
Canada
Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area...

– spill of nuclear fuel
o Cosmos 954
Cosmos 954
Kosmos 954 was a Soviet Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite with an onboard nuclear reactor. The satellite's reactor core failed to separate and boost into a nuclear-safe orbit, and instead remained on board in an orbit that decayed until the satellite reentered Earth's atmosphere on January...

, a Soviet
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , also known as the Soviet Union , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed on the territory of most of the former Russian Empire in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.The Soviet Union had a single-party political system dominated by the Communist Party...

Radar Ocean Reconnaissance Satellite
RORSAT
Radar Ocean Reconnaissance SATellite or RORSAT is the western name given to the Soviet Upravlyaemyj Sputnik Aktivnyj satellites. These satellites were launched between 1967 and 1988 to monitor NATO and merchant vessels using active radar...

with an onboard nuclear reactor, failed to separate from its booster and broke up on reentry over Canada. The fuel was spread over a wide area and some radioactive pieces were recovered. The Soviet Union eventually paid the Canadian Government $3 million CAD for expenses relating to the crash.

* May 22, 1978 – near Puget Sound
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean—Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and Deception Pass...

, Washington, USA – spill of irradiated water
o A valve was mistakenly opened aboard the submarine USS Puffer
USS Puffer (SSN-652)
USS Puffer , a Sturgeon-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the pufferfish, a fish which inflates its body with air.-Construction and commissioning:...

releasing up to of radioactive water.

1980s

* September 18, 1980 – At about 6:30 p.m., an airman conducting maintenance on a USAF Titan-II missile at Little Rock Air Force Base
Little Rock Air Force Base
Little Rock Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located approximately northeast of Little Rock, Arkansas.The host unit at Little Rock AFB is the 19th Airlift Wing , assigned to the Air Mobility Command 21st Expeditionary Mobility Task Force...

's Launch Complex 374-7 in Southside (Van Buren County), just north of Damascus, Arkansas
Damascus, Arkansas
Damascus is a town in Faulkner and Van Buren counties in the central part of the U.S. state of Arkansas. Its portion within Faulkner County is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, dropped a socket
Socket wrench
A socket wrench, more commonly referred to as a ratchet, is a type of wrench, or tightening tool, that uses separate, removable sockets to fit many different sizes of fittings and fasteners, most commonly nuts and bolts.-Description:...

from a socket wrench, which fell about before hitting and piercing the skin on the rocket’s first-stage fuel tank, causing it to leak. The area was evacuated. At about 3:00 a.m.
12-hour clock
The 12-hour clock is a time conversion convention in which the 24 hours of the day are divided into two periods called ante meridiem and post meridiem...

, on September 19, 1980, the hypergolic fuel exploded. The W53
B53 nuclear bomb
The B53 with a yield of is one of the most powerful nuclear weapons built by the United States, and one of the last very high-yield thermonuclear bombs in U.S. service.- Development :...

warhead landed about from the launch complex’s entry gate; its safety features operated correctly and prevented any loss of radioactive material. An Air Force airman was killed and the launch complex was destroyed.
* August 8, 1982 – While on duty in the Barents Sea
Barents Sea
Barents Sea is a part of the Arctic Ocean located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents...

, there was a release of liquid metal coolant from the reactor of the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , also known as the Soviet Union , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed on the territory of most of the former Russian Empire in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.The Soviet Union had a single-party political system dominated by the Communist Party...

Project 705 Alfa-class submarine
Alfa class submarine
The Soviet Union/Russian Navy Project 705 was a submarine class of hunter/killer nuclear powered vessels . The class is also known by the NATO reporting name of Alfa...

K-123
Soviet submarine K-123
K-64 was a Russian Delta IV class submarine launched on February 2, 1986 as the fourth ship of its class, entered in service in the Russian Northern Fleet.The sub was laid down in December 1982 and was built at Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk....

. The accident was caused by a leak in the steam generator. Approximately two tons of metal alloy leaked into the reactor compartment, irreparably damaging the reactor such that it had to be replaced. It took nine years to repair the submarine.
* January 3, 1983 – The Soviet nuclear-powered spy satellite Kosmos 1402 burns up over the South Atlantic.
* August 10, 1985 – About from Vladivostok
Vladivostok
Vladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea...

in Chazhma Bay, Soviet submarine K-431
Soviet submarine K-431
Originally the Soviet submarine K-31, the K-431 was a Soviet nuclear-powered submarine that had a reactor accident on August 10, 1985. An explosion occurred during refueling of the submarine at Chazhma Bay, Vladivostok...

, a Soviet
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval part of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy would have been instrumental in any possible Warsaw Pact role in an all-out war with NATO when it would have to stop the naval convoys bringing reinforcements over the Atlantic to the...

Echo-class submarine
Echo class submarine
The Echo class submarines were nuclear cruise missile submarines of the Soviet Navy built during the 1960s. Their Soviet designation was Project 659 class for the first five vessels, and Project 675 for the following twenty-nine...

had a reactor explosion, producing fatally high levels of radiation. Ten men were killed, but the deadly cloud of radioactivity did not reach Vladivostok
Vladivostok
Vladivostok is Russia's largest port city on the Pacific Ocean and the administrative center of Primorsky Krai. It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, not far from Russia's border with China and North Korea...

.
* April 26, 1986 – Chernobyl disaster, considered the worst nuclear power plant accident in history. See Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine...

.
* 1986 – The U.S. government declassifies 19,000 pages of documents indicating that between 1946 and 1986, the Hanford Site
Hanford Site
The Hanford Site is a mostly decommissioned nuclear production complex on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington, operated by the United States federal government. The site has been known by many names, including Hanford Works, Hanford Engineer Works, Hanford Nuclear Reservation or HNR,...

near Richland, Washington
Richland, Washington
Richland is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, at the confluence of the Yakima and the Columbia Rivers. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 38,708. April 1, 2009 estimates from the Washington State Office of Financial Management put the...

, released thousands of US gallons of radioactive liquids. Many of the people living in the affected area received low doses of radiation from 131I
Iodine-131
Iodine-131 , also called radioiodine, is a radioisotope of iodine which has medical and pharmaceutical uses. It is also a major radioactive hazard in nuclear fission products, and was a significant contributor to the health effects from open-air atomic bomb testing in the 1950's, and from the...

.
* October 3, 1986 – east of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about 1,030 kilometres to the west-northwest...

, K-219
Soviet submarine K-219
K-219 was a Navaga-class ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet Navy. She carried 16 SS-N-6 liquid-fuel missiles powered by UDMH with IRFNA, equipped with an estimated 34 nuclear warheads....

, a Soviet Yankee I-class submarine experienced an explosion in one of its nuclear missile tubes and at least three crew members were killed. Sixteen nuclear missiles and two reactors were on board. Soviet leader
General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, officially the General Secretary of the Central Committee, was the chief administrative official of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and, due to the tenure of Joseph Stalin, effectively the leader of the party and the Soviet...

Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov is the former seventh and last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991. He was the only Soviet leader to have been born after the...

privately communicated news of the disaster to U.S. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States armed forces.Article II of the U.S...

Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States and the 33rd Governor of California . Born in Tampico, Illinois, Reagan moved to Los Angeles, California in 1937...

before publicly acknowledging the incident on October 4. Two days later, on October 6, the submarine sank in the Atlantic Ocean while under tow in of water.
* October 1988 – At the nuclear trigger assembly facility at Rocky Flats
Rocky Flats Plant
The Rocky Flats Plant was a United States nuclear weapons production facility near Denver, Colorado that operated from 1952 to 1992. It was under the control of the United States Atomic Energy Commission until 1977, when it was replaced by the Department of Energy .-1950s:Following World War II,...

in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a state that encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, two employees and a D.O.E.
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...

inspector inhale radioactive particles, causing closure of the plant. Several safety violations were cited, including uncalibrated monitors, inadequate fire equipment, and groundwater contaminated with radioactivity.

1990s

* 1997 – Georgian
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Europe. Situated at the juncture of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...

soldiers suffer radiation poisoning and burns. They are eventually traced back to training sources abandoned, forgotten, and unlabeled after the collapse of the Soviet Union. One was a 137Cs
Caesium-137
Caesium-137 is a radioactive isotope of caesium which is formed mainly as a fission product by nuclear fission. It has a half-life of 30.07 years, and beta decays to a metastable nuclear isomer of barium-137: barium-137m...

pellet in a pocket of a shared jacket which put out about 130,000 times the level of background radiation at 1 meter distance.

2000s

* February 2003: Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge, Tennessee
Oak Ridge is a city in Anderson and Roane counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Tennessee, about west of Knoxville. Oak Ridge's population was 27,387 at the 2000 census...

Y-12 facility. During the final testing of a new saltless uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, in which 6 of the electrons are valence electrons...

processing method, there was a small explosion followed by a fire. The explosion occurred in an unvented vessel containing unreacted calcium, water and depleted uranium
Depleted uranium
Depleted uranium is uranium primarily composed of the isotope uranium-238 . Natural uranium is about 99.27 percent U-238, 0.72 percent U-235, and 0.0055 percent U-234. U-235 is used for fission in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons. Uranium is enriched in U-235 by separating the isotopes by mass...

. An exothermic
Exothermic
In thermodynamics, the term exothermic describes a process or reaction that releases energy usually in the form of heat, but also in the form of light , electricity , or sound,...

reaction among these articles generated enough steam to burst the container. This small explosion breached its glovebox
Glovebox
A glovebox is a sealed container that is designed to allow one to manipulate objects where a separate atmosphere is desired. Built into the sides of the glovebox are gloves arranged in such a way that the user can place his or her hands into the gloves and perform tasks inside the box without...

, allowing air to enter and ignite some loose uranium powder. Three employees were contaminated. BWXT, a partnership of BWX Technologies
BWX Technologies
Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Group, Inc., formerly known as BWX Technologies, Inc. , is the group that operates the Y-12 National Security Complex, and a member of the Los Alamos National Security, LLC. The group also holds the contract to manage the Pantex plant in Texas, alongside...

and Bechtel National, was fined $82,500 for the accident.

See also

* International Nuclear Event Scale
International Nuclear Event Scale
The International Nuclear Event Scale was introduced in 1990 by the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to enable prompt communication of safety significance information in case of nuclear accidents....

* List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft
* List of civilian nuclear accidents
* List of disasters
* List of nuclear reactors - a comprehensive annotated list of the world's nuclear reactors
* Lists of nuclear disasters and radioactive incidents
* Nuclear weapons
* Radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation describes any process in which energy travels through a medium or through space, ultimately to be absorbed by another body...

* United States military nuclear incident terminology
United States military nuclear incident terminology
The United States military uses a number of terms to define the magnitude and extent of nuclear incidents.-Origin:United States Department of Defense directive 5230.16, Nuclear Accident and Incident Public Affairs Guidance, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Manual 3150.03B Joint Reporting Structure...

External links

* ProgettoHumus: From Trinity Test to... List of nuclear explosions in the world
* ProgettoHumus List of all nuclear accidents in the history (updated)
* Bibliography of military nuclear accidents from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
* Official List of accidents involving nuclear weapons from the UK Ministry of Defence
* Schema-root.org: Nuclear Power Accidents 2 topics, both with a current news feed
* US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) website with search function and electronic public reading room
* International Atomic Energy Agency website with extensive online library
* Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety Detailed articles on nuclear watchdog activities in the US
* World Nuclear Association: Radiation Doses Background on ionizing radiation and doses
* Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety More information on radiation units and doses.
* Radiological Incidents Database Extensive, well-referenced list of radiological incidents.
* http://www.bellona.no/imaker?id=11084 Bellona's listing of accidents of Soviet / Russian submarines, a fair number of which are nuclear powered. Currently not many are included in the list above.
* 20 Mishaps That Might Have Started Accidental Nuclear War A handy (if somewhat chilling) list of close calls.
* US Nuclear Weapons Accidents list published by the Center for Defense Information (CDI)
* Trinity Atomic Bomb by U.S. National Atomic Museum

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Cancer 'is purely man-made' say scientists after finding almost no trace of disease in Egyptian mummies

2010-11-09T00:34:57Z

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1320507/Cancer-purely-man-say-scientists-finding-trace-disease-Egyptian-mummies.html

By Fiona Macrae
15th October 2010

Cancer is a man-made disease fuelled by the excesses of modern life, a study of ancient remains has found.

Tumours were rare until recent times when pollution and poor diet became issues, the review of mummies, fossils and classical literature found.

A greater understanding of its origins could lead to treatments for the disease, which claims more than 150,000 lives a year in the UK.
Scientists found no signs of cancer in their extensive study of mummies apart from one isolated case

Scientists found no signs of cancer in their extensive study of mummies apart from one isolated case

Michael Zimmerman, a visiting professor at Manchester University, said: 'In an ancient society lacking surgical intervention, evidence of cancer should remain in all cases.

'The virtual absence of malignancies in mummies must be interpreted as indicating their rarity in antiquity, indicating that cancer-causing factors are limited to societies affected by modern industrialisation.'

To trace cancer's roots, Professor Zimmerman and colleague Rosalie David analysed possible references to the disease in classical literature and scrutinised signs in the fossil record and in mummified bodies.

Despite slivers of tissue from hundreds of Egyptian mummies being rehydrated and placed under the microscope, only one case of cancer has been confirmed.

This is despite experiments showing that tumours should be even better preserved by mummification than healthy tissues.

Dismissing the argument that the ancient Egyptians didn't live long enough to develop cancer, the researchers pointed out that other age-related disease such as hardening of the arteries and brittle bones died occur.

Fossil evidence of cancer is also sparse, with scientific literature providing a few dozen, mostly disputed, examples in animal fossil, the journal Nature Reviews Cancer reports.

Even the study of thousands of Neanderthal bones has provided only one example of a possible cancer.
Caricaturist James Gillray illustrated the taking of snuff, which appears in first reports in scientific literature of distinctive tumours of nasal cancer in snuff users in 1761

Caricaturist James Gillray illustrated the taking of snuff, which appears in first reports in scientific literature of distinctive tumours of nasal cancer in snuff users in 1761

Evidence of cancer in ancient Egyptian texts is also 'tenuous' with cancer-like problems more likely to have been caused by leprosy or even varicose veins.

The ancient Greeks were probably the first to define cancer as a specific disease and to distinguish between benign and malignant tumours.

But Manchester professors said it was unclear if this signalled a real rise in the disease, or just a greater medical knowledge.

The 17th century provides the first descriptions of operations for breast and other cancers.

And the first reports in scientific literature of distinctive tumours only occurred in the past 200 years or so, including scrotal cancer in chimney sweeps in 1775 and nasal cancer in snuff users in 1761.

Professor David, who presented the findings to Professor Mike Richards, the UK's cancer tsar and other oncologists at a conference earlier this year, said: 'In industrialised societies, cancer is second only to cardiovascular disease as a cause of death. But in ancient times, it was extremely rare.

'There is nothing in the natural environment that can cause cancer. So it has to be a man-made disease, down to pollution and changes to our diet and lifestyle.

'The important thing about our study is that it gives a historical perspective to this disease. We can make very clear statements on the cancer rates in societies because we have a full overview. We have looked at millennia, not one hundred years, and have masses of data.

'Yet again extensive ancient Egyptian data, along with other data from across the millennia, has given modern society a clear message – cancer is man-made and something that we can and should address.

Dr Rachel Thompson, of World Cancer Research Fund, said: 'This research makes for very interesting reading.

'About one in three people in the UK will get cancer so it is fairly commonplace in the modern world.

Scientists now say a healthy diet, regular physical activity and maintaining a healthy weight can prevent about a third of the most common cancers so perhaps our ancestors’ lifestyle reduced their risk from cancer.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1320507/Cancer-purely-man-say-scientists-finding-trace-disease-Egyptian-mummies.html#ixzz12QmAUI3b

===============================================

posted in Cold War Survivors - 3 replies

Parkinson’s Disease, Dopamine and PCBs

2010-10-17T15:26:02Z

http://www.foxriverwatch.com/parkinsons_dopamine_pcbs_1intro.html

Parkinson’s Disease, Dopamine and PCBs

parkinsons disease, parkinsons, parkinson disease, parkinson, parkinsons disease symptoms, parkinsons symptom, information on parkinsons disease, parkinsons cause, cause of parkinsons disease, parkinsons disease cause, parkinsons diease, parkinsons medication, stage of parkinsons disease, definition disease parkinsons, disease parkinsons statistics, definition dopamine, dopamine drug, parkinsons statistics, parkingsons
Introduction

The studies in this section demonstrate that PCBs affect the dopamine-producing processes of the brain, through changes in thyroid hormones and other chemicals in the body, which may lead to Parkinson's Disease. Even low PCB doses cause changes in these chemicals in the brain. One surprising finding of the studies is that many non-dioxin-like PCBs, including some with low levels of chlorine, contribute significantly to dopamine deficits.

The lower-chlorinated PCBs are more likely to volatilize (evaporate) into the air we breathe, from the surface of the Fox River and Green Bay. As higher-chlorinated PCBs degrade over time, many are converted into lower-chlorinated PCBs. (Until recently, many believed that lower-chlorinated PCBs were non-toxic.)

Dopamine changes may make PCB exposed adults and newborns more vulnerable to the neurological disorder called Parkinsons Disease, particularly in those who are genetically susceptible.

The Definition of Parkinson's Disease

The brain is a mesh of cells which communicate and signal over long distances and are triggered by various stimuli. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter or chemical messenger in the body which affects brain processes controlling movement, balance, walking, emotional response, and ability to experience pleasure and pain.

Parkinsons Disease, Parkinson Disease

As a chemical messenger, dopamine is similar to adrenaline. Dopamine allows the nervous system to communicate with the muscles in your body, translating thoughts into movements. Regulation of dopamine plays a crucial role in our mental and physical health.

Parkinsons disease is caused by the selective loss of a relatively small area in the brain where 500,000 neurons, or dopaminergic cells. They are situated deep in the midbrain in a place called the substantia nigra. These dopamine-producing cells primarily form synapses (connections) in the front of the brain, in the corpus striatum, or caudate and putamen.

In any brain that grows older, some of these neurons will die. The rate at which they die is individual. For certain people, whose rate of dopaminergic cell death is slightly higher than normal, the likelihood that they will eventually lose the critical 85- 90 percent of the cells that are needed for normal function is high. The brain somehow manages to compensate for a loss of about 85 percent of these cells, but when only a small number of functional dopamine cells or less remain on each side of the brain, the symptoms of Parkinson's disease appear.

The neurotransmission that takes place at the nerve terminals that produce dopamine is necessary for all of us to initiate movements and without it, we freeze up and become unable to move.

The brains of people with Parkinson's disease contain almost no dopamine. Currently, there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease, but drugs can relieve at least some of the symptoms. The cells in the brain are difficult to renew or regenerate by themselves, but researchers are experimenting with transplanting stem cells from humans or pigs into the substantia nigra of Parkinson’s patients, with some success in growing new neurons to create dopamine.

A specific substance in our bodies, called tyrosine hydroxylase, produces a chemical called L-dopa, which in turn stimulates production of dopamine. Amino acid decarboxylase (AADC) is one of the two main enzymes (the other one being catechol-0-methyltransferase or COMT) that is responsible for converting L-dopa into dopamine in the bloodstream before it reaches the brain. 3-O-methyldopa is an inactive metabolite of levodopa produced in the periphery by COMT, also known as 3-OMD.

Acetylcholine is another chemical which acts as a neurotransmitter. An imbalance between dopamine and acetylcholine results in some Parkinson's disease symptoms.

In cell culture and preliminary animal studies, it has been shown that brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) can help dopaminergic neurons against toxic insults. Similar effects have been obtained by infusions and the supply of glial-derived neurotrophic factors (GDNF) and transforming growth factor ß (TGF-ß).

Back to top

parkinsons disease, parkinsons, parkinson disease, parkinson, parkinsons disease symptoms, parkinsons symptom, information on parkinsons disease, parkinsons cause, cause of parkinsons disease, parkinsons disease cause, parkinsons diease, parkinsons medication, stage of parkinsons disease, definition disease parkinsons, disease parkinsons statistics, definition dopamine, dopamine drug, parkinsons statistics, parkingsons
The Social and Economic Costs of Parkinson’s Disease

In the United States today, over one million people over the age of 65 are living with Parkinson’s Disease.

Up to 1.5 million Americans are affected altogether, more persons than those suffering from Multiple Sclerosis and Muscular Dystrophy combined. Although 15% of patients are diagnosed before age 50, the disease generally targets older adults.

Approximately one to two percent of persons above age 65 will develop the disease.

Parkinsons Disease, Parkinson Disease
Nationwide, drug therapy alone costs about six billion dollars per year and the cost of hospital care and other consequences associated with a person having Parkinsons disease is estimated at $25-50 billion per year.

Back to top

parkinsons disease, parkinsons, parkinson disease, parkinson, parkinsons disease symptoms, parkinsons symptom, information on parkinsons disease, parkinsons cause, cause of parkinsons disease, parkinsons disease cause, parkinsons diease, parkinsons medication, stage of parkinsons disease, definition disease parkinsons, disease parkinsons statistics, definition dopamine, dopamine drug, parkinsons statistics, parkingsons
What Causes Parkinson’s Disease?

Most scientists believe Parkinson’s is caused by a poorly understood combination of genetic (inherited) susceptibilities and environmental factors, such as toxic chemical exposures.

As part of the World War II Veteran Twins Study, researchers examined 19,842 twins to distinguish whether genetics or environmental chemicals cause Parkinsons Disease (published in the January 27, 1999 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association). They concluded that "environmental factors are the most common cause of the disease in "typical onset" patients (those diagnosed after 50 years of age). At the same time, genetic factors are the cause of Parkinson’s Disease in most "young onset" patients (those diagnosed prior to age 50)."

Some drugs have been shown to interfere with the brain's metabolism of dopamine, and prolonged use can produce Parkinson features. These medications include: haloperidol and other medications used to treat hallucinations and confusion in the elderly; some anti-hypertensive drugs which contain reserpine; and a commonly prescribed anti-nausea drug, metoclopramide (Reglan). The chemical MPTP (1-methyl, 4-phenyl, 1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine), which was a byproduct of an illegal narcotic drug, also creates parkinsonism.

Several studies have shown an association between Parkinson's disease and pesticide exposure in agricultural areas. (Many pesticides are chlorinated organic compounds closely related to PCBs.) A recent study found that the pesticide Rotenone is strongly linked to Parkinson’s.

Neurotoxic chemicals are suspected of causing apoptosis or cell suicide in the substantia nigra (where dopamine is produced), a form of cell death in which cells shrink and disappear permanently.

Back to top

parkinsons disease, parkinsons, parkinson disease, parkinson, parkinsons disease symptoms, parkinsons symptom, information on parkinsons disease, parkinsons cause, cause of parkinsons disease, parkinsons disease cause, parkinsons diease, parkinsons medication, stage of parkinsons disease, definition disease parkinsons, disease parkinsons statistics, definition dopamine, dopamine drug, parkinsons statistics, parkingsons
What If the Brain Gets Too Much Dopamine?

A hyperactivity of the dopaminergic transmission or excess dopamine in the brain induces dyskinesia (uncontrollable movement of various body parts), dystonia (abnormal muscle tension and postures) and psychosis. Some researchers believe some schizophrenia and alcoholism cases may be the result of dopamine system malfunctions.

Sometimes these changes in the brain are permanent.

Many chemicals used as illegal drugs, such as amphetamine and cocaine, activate this part of the brain and stimulate dopamine production, to produce euphoria. Over time, this may damage the dopamine-producing cells through over-stimulation.

Back to top

parkinsons disease, parkinsons, parkinson disease, parkinson, parkinsons disease symptoms, parkinsons symptom, information on parkinsons disease, parkinsons cause, cause of parkinsons disease, parkinsons disease cause, parkinsons diease, parkinsons medication, stage of parkinsons disease, definition disease parkinsons, disease parkinsons statistics, definition dopamine, dopamine drug, parkinsons statistics, parkingsons
Other Neurological Disorders

The dopamine-producing cells are not the only brain cells susceptible to chemical damage. Loss of other specific types of neurons in the brain can lead to other chronic neurological diseases. For example, Alzheimer's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) are disorders where several different risk factors interplay. In each of these disorders, it is known that only a minority of patients, around 15 to 20 percent, has a family history suggestive of a major genetic (inherited) contribution to the cause. This means environmental causes (such as toxic chemical exposures) are likely for roughly 80 to 85% of cases.

PCBs affect development and function of several areas of the brain. Could PCBs be a factor in some cases of these degenerative diseases?

Back to top

parkinsons disease, parkinsons, parkinson disease, parkinson, parkinsons disease symptoms, parkinsons symptom, information on parkinsons disease, parkinsons cause, cause of parkinsons disease, parkinsons disease cause, parkinsons diease, parkinsons medication, stage of parkinsons disease, definition disease parkinsons, disease parkinsons statistics, definition dopamine, dopamine drug, parkinsons statistics, parkingsons
Symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

1. resting tremor on one side of the body;
2. generalized slowness of movement (bradykinesia);
3. stiffness of limbs (rigidity); and
4. gait or balance problems (postural dysfunction).

Other symptoms sometimes observed in Parkinson's patients include:

1. Small cramped handwriting (micrographia);
2. Lack of arm swing on the affected side;
3. Decreased facial expression (hypomimia);
4. Lowered voice volume (dysarthria);
5. Feelings of depression or anxiety;
6. Episodes of feeling "stuck in place" when initiating a step...called "freezing";
7. Slight foot drag on the affected side;
8. Increase in dandruff or oily skin;
9. Less frequent blinking and swallowing.

Go to Studies Involving PCBs & Dopamine

Back to top

parkinsons disease, parkinsons, parkinson disease, parkinson, parkinsons disease symptoms, parkinsons symptom, information on parkinsons disease, parkinsons cause, cause of parkinsons disease, parkinsons disease cause, parkinsons diease, parkinsons medication, stage of parkinsons disease, definition disease parkinsons, disease parkinsons statistics, definition dopamine, dopamine drug, parkinsons statistics, parkingsons
Text References

All information on Parkinson’s posted above (except references to PCBs) was condensed from articles on the website for the National Parkinson Foundation, Inc.

Calne, D. M.D., FRCPC. "Genes and Parkinson's Disease." Author is Director, Unversity of British Columbia, Neurodegenerative Disorders Centre, Vancourer Hospital and Health Sciences Centre, Vancourer, British Columbia

Hubble, J M.D., "Genetics and Environment in Parkinson's Disease." Author is Co-Director, Parkinson's Disease Center of Excellence and Movement Disorder Clinic, The Ohio State University, a National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence.

Tanner, CM M.D. and JW Langston, M.D. "Genetics and Parkinson’s Disease: Research Points to Environmental Causes; Efforts Now Directed Towards Factors Other Than Heredity." Authors’ address: The Parkinson's Institute, Sunnyvale, California, a National Parkinson Foundation Center of Excellence.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 2 replies

Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Described Private and Government Leased Huntington Uranium and Weapons Facilities By Tony Rutherford

2010-10-16T05:37:21Z

Oct. 13, 2010

Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Described Private and Government Leased Huntington Uranium and Weapons Facilities

By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter

Huntington, WV (HNN) – HNN has discovered a 2001 publication that appears to designate two atomic energy related facilities as having operated on the INCO venue, as either (or both) the Huntington Pilot Plant or Reduction Pilot Plant. This research confirms some verbal interviews with former workers who also designated two facilities, including one that contained “nastier” contaminants than the other.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (July/August 2001) defines the HPP as two types of facilities based on a list of sites covered by the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act of 2000.

Historic data has previously focused on a leased DOE (Energy Department facility) at the East Huntington nickel plant. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists defines these as “any building, structure, or premise at which radioactive materials and beryllium were handled and over which [the Department of ] Energy has or had a proprietary interest --- including universities and private companies for which Energy contracted an outside entity to provide management, environmental remediation, construction or maintenance services.

The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant and Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant are all categorized as “DOE” facilities.

DOUBLE CLASSIFICATION: ATOMIC WEAPONS/ DEPT OF ENERGY

But, Huntington’s plant has a double designation: AWE/DOE.

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists defined AWE as an Atomic Weapons Employer that were/are “privately owned plants that processed or produced radioactive materials for nuclear weapons.”

For example, similar designations are given to Ohio’s Painesville Site (Diamond Magnesium); Battelle Memorial Institute (Columbus); General Electric Evendale (Cincinnati); Aliquippa Forge (Aliquippa, Pa.); Sylvania Corning Nuclear Corp. (Hicksville, NY); Ashland Oil (Tonawanda, NY); University of Chicago (Chicago); D.C. Naval Research Lab (Washington, D.C.); Shpack Landfill (Norton, Mass.); St. Louis Airport Site (St. Louis, Mo.); and Middlesex Municipal Landfill (Middlesex, NJ). http://bos.sagepub.com/content/57/4/55.full.pdf

The “Mass Balance” subheading of “Making It Work, Will the Legislation to the Job” explained that the Energy Department had released a study of the “movement of recycled uranium through the nuclear weapons complex during the past 50 years. It revealed one of the last largely unknown flow sheet of the U.S. nuclear arms industry, in which uranium was reused for nuclear explosives and component production.”

The “mass balance” study became public after 1999 news reports that workers at the Energy Department’s three gaseous diffusion plants “handled uranium contaminated with plutonium and neptunium,” suggesting “many more workers and members of the public than previously thought.”

ATOMIC WEAPONS PLANTS LOCATED NEAR RESIDENTIAL AREAS

According to the author Robert Alvarez, then a scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies and a former DOE policy adviser, 250,000 tons of uranium contaminated with plutonium 239, neptunium 237, technetium 99, and other fission products were recycled and processed between 1952 and 1999 at more than two dozen facilities.” The article continued, “the uranium was sent to private facilities, universities and military bases throughout the world.” Most of the facilities lacked “proper worker or environmental standards” for handling these contaminated materials.

As an example, the Harshaw Chemical Company (Cleveland, Ohio) processed recycled uranium from the Hanford weapons production reactors to “reduce the plutonium content so that it could be accepted at the government’s uranium enrichment plants, where stricter standards were in place. Several of these facilities, like the Sylvania-Corning processing plant in Hicksville, NY were located in or near residential areas.”

The Huntington Pilot Plant, which existed in the city from about 1951 until its dismantling in 1979, processed nickel , nickel carbonyl, and recycled uranium from one or more gaseous diffusion plants. Although shut down in 1962, the facility remained on “cold stand by” until 1978-1979, when it was demolished and taken by rail and truck for burial in a classified section of the Piketon, Ohio site.

Huntington’s facilities was near residences like the Hicksville, N.Y. Sylvania-Corning facility . The New York Department of Environmental Control and the company that owned the site in 2001 announced then “excavation of four large areas on the property to put in monitoring wells to see if the radioactive plume is traveling off site. The NY State health department will assess whether the number of cancer cases in the nearby neighborhood has been excessive,” the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists article stated.

CLARIFICATION: DOL STATISTICS HUNTINGTON

Based on the October 11, 2010 report of compensation payments to HPP workers, 542 unique individual workers (821 cases) are represented in the summary. However, only 49 claims (from 41 cases) have received payments, which total $5,385,539.

Of Cancer Cases (Part B, NIOSH/SEC statistics), 27 out of 72 (includes Special Exposure Cohort) were awarded compensation.

Some employees who worked at the HPP site were awarded benefits and their employment at other sites may have contributed to this award.

http://www.dol.gov/owcp/energy/regs/compliance/statistics/WebPages/HUNTINGTON_PLT.htm

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Sensible Senator Openness 1949

2010-10-10T18:17:42Z

http://www.fas.org/sgp/eprint/mcmahon.pdf

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

New Book Concludes: Chernobyl death toll: 985,000, mostly from cancer

2010-10-10T18:14:23Z

New Book Concludes: Chernobyl death toll: 985,000, mostly from cancer

http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/New-Book-Concludes-Cherno-by-Karl-Grossman-100902-941.html

OpEdNews - Article: New Book Concludes: Chernobyl death toll: 985,000, mostly from cancer

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

It's The Bomb! Vintage Explosion Photos

2010-10-10T18:10:09Z

It's The Bomb! Vintage Explosion Photos

Categories: Smithsonian: Behind The Scenes, Daily Picture Show

September 28, 2010

by Shannon Thomas Perich

You thought summer was hot! Try an A-bomb explosion. Recently, the Science section of The New York Times online featured images of various atomic bomb explosions. Among those images are photographs captured by Harold Edgerton’s rapatronic camera in the early 1950s.

See 8 Photos Online

Credit: Courtesy of Smithsonian's National Musuem of American History

Edgerton is best known for his stop-motion photographs of bullets through apples, milk drops that create liquid white crowns, and other images revealing what the human eye cannot perceive. The U.S. government employed him and his company during World War II to track enemy movements by using nighttime photography.
Rapatronic camera
Donald E. Hurlbert/Smithsonian's National Musuem of American History

High-speed rapatronic camera, manufactured by Edgerton, Germeshausen and Grier Inc. Boston.

After the war, EG & G, Inc. (Edgerton, Germeshausen and Grier Inc.) developed the rapatronic camera for the Atomic Energy Commission to record — specifically, in one take only — the beginning of nuclear explosions. Capturing the earliest moments of atomic explosions was exceptionally challenging, in part because of the extraordinary light intensity (an atomic explosion is about a hundred times as bright as the sun) and the ultra-short duration of the phenomena.

The dangers of shockwaves and radiation required the camera to be placed 7 miles from the detonation site on a tower some 75 feet in the air. Exposure time was one-hundred-millionth of a second. The exposure time was so small that no conventional mechanical shutter could be used. A magnetic field was created around two polarized lenses that were rotated, permitting light to pass through an optical system.

In the photographs of the explosions, look for tiny Joshua trees at the bottom of a few photographs to garner a sense of the enormity of the explosion that melted the sand and vaporized steel towers. Energy from the explosion can be seen traveling down the detonation tower’s guy-wires. Though the photographs were intended as scientific documentation, these images of extreme power and raw energy have the capacity to evoke horror and dread.

Shannon Thomas Perich is an associate curator of the Photographic History Collection at Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. Her regular contributions to The Picture Show are pulled from the Smithsonian's archives.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2010/09/28/130183266/abomb

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Oregon pro nuke nut runs for Congress

2010-10-10T18:09:36Z

Republican Art Robinson is running a well-funded campaign against Congressman Peter Defazio. Art believes that that there should be testing of nuclear weapons in the United states, that nuclear waste can be diluted in water and spread over oceans and land, and that exposure to low-level radiation actually is healthy for people.
Here Rachel Maddow calls him out on it. This is very important to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCkNzD82XfI&feature=player_embedded

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

GI’s Brains Fried by Military Dispensed Nose Candy

2010-10-10T18:08:33Z

It appears a rather hard hitting study on DU is about to expose the long cover up of Uranium and health problems associated with the DOE. It was the DOE's big idea to dump their massive amounts of DU by giving it away to make kinetic energy pyrofluoric bullets of various sizes from 50 cal. to tank howitzer rounds. Cover up of health issues is nothing new for the DOE as they have made thousands chronically ill and slowly killed thousands of their workers. Now, they seek to set a new record the damages the US defenses and even foreign peoples. DOE has covered up massive fluoride health effects since the beginning of the Manhattan Project and now they have a bigger one.

This DU idea stemmed from ORNL in the late 80's and was passed to Y-12, where these 3/4 Ti alloy DU bullets were designed by Y-12's Mr. Charles Washington. This comes on the long history of Y-12 and K-25 needing to hire new people because their brain trusts all became feeble of mind. So, when idiots design something it usually turns into a huge mess, as they ignore the obvious health effects. Not only are these DU oxide effects associated with Y-12, when workers used to walk on a sea of sparks as they walked across uranium machining chips, it also extends to various war zones where the same dusts affect soldiers and locally exposed peoples.

=========

You are here: Home / Health / GI’s Brains Fried by Military Dispensed Nose Candy
GI’s Brains Fried by Military Dispensed Nose Candy

October 2, 2010 posted by Bob Nichols · 38 Comments

(San Francisco) – Now it is official. Researchers have shown that uranium oxide, or DU, “travels the nerves from the nose to the brain,” in the words of a University of Chicago doc and researcher.
James Blake Miller Los Angeles Times photo by Luis Sinco

James Blake Miller Los Angeles Times photo by Luis Sinco

A tiny amount (a milligram) of this radioactive poison quick marches up your smelling nerves right into your brain and keeps firing 1.2 Million bullets a day – forever. That’s a bunch.
850 Rounds a Minute

The radioactive 850 rounds a minute automatic weapon is about as big as the period at the end of this sentence, never needs reloading and never jams. It’s a perfect killing machine for brain cells and other cells. The range is about 20 cells, after that there is what the famous British physicist Dr. Chris Busby calls the “bystander effect.” He discovered it, he gets to name it.

These radioactive automatic weapons are so small they can float right through your clothes, evade your skin’s defenses and invade your body. Wherever the weapons alight inside, there is trouble as they never stop firing and there is no limit to their number. In a soldiers brain, trouble shows up in a noticeable way to others.

As for the 20 cell radius ball within Range, think of these powerful Bullets each as a 100 car, 100 mph, or 160 kmh, fully loaded freight train obliterating a small dog tied to the railroad tracks. Right, for the 20 cells that are within range – in all directions, it ain’t pretty.

To me, this means these 20 cell radius spheres in Soldiers and Vets brains turn to jelly or mush, weird diseases or cancers, or all of the above. No wonder VA Secretary and former General Eric Shinseki has noted the big increase in the VA’s contract Psychiatric services.

Olfactory Nerve to Brain, The Free Dictionary

Olfactory Nerve to Brain, The Free Dictionary

This radioactive bullet explanation for Vets unusual behaviors holds water and makes perfect sense to me. The Vets are under attack internally. Actually inside their skulls and in their brains. Worse, there’s nothing they can do about it. The huge VA system is also helpless. There is no cure and no treatment.

The VA knows it and is stonewalling. They fired the only doc who stood up to them on DU. Word travels fast among the cowed medical staffs.

So, the Vets get slapped with some fake diagnosis and sent to the shrink or told there is nothing wrong with them. No way the spineless docs are going to call it like it is. They grab their 250K and slink home, comfortable every night.

That ain’t no way to run an Army; but, it IS a way to run the world’s most lethal Armed Force right into the ground.

Major Doug Rokke, Ph.D, Ret., former Director of the Pentagon’s Depleted Uranium Project, puts it succinctly “It [DU] is killing our own troops.”
General Eric Shinseki, Head of VA

Since no less than Gen Shinseki has pointed out the huge increases in contract psychiatric services, let’s all take note of it and ask real loud “Why is this happening to Vets? They are not the enemy!” It’s way past time to take names and kick ass in DC. That means changing the President as s/he appoints the head of the DOD. Not so hard to do, really. It is simply what is required.

No wonder DU in the brain drives Vets nuts. The suffering these Vets must go through is unimaginable.

OK. Here’s the targeted science, make up your own minds. I did.

Abstract
http://tinyurl.com/ku3ctn
Uranium travels nerves from nose to brain.

Jul 31, 2009

Tournier, BB, S Frelon, E Tourlonias, L Agez, O Delissen, I Dublineau, F Paquet, and F Petitot. 2009. Role of the olfactory receptor neurons in the direct transport of inhaled uranium to the rat brain. Toxicology Letters doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2009.05.022.

Synopsis by Paul Eubig, DVM

Radioactive uranium that is inhaled by soldiers on the battlefield and by workers in factories may bypass the brain’s protective barrier by following nerves from the nose directly to the brain.

Nerves can act as a unique conduit, carrying inhaled uranium from the nose directly to the brain, finds a study with rats. Once in the brain, the uranium may affect task and decision-related types of thinking.

This study provides yet another example of how some substances can use the olfactory system – bypassing the brain’s protective blood barrier – to go directly to the brain. Titanium nanoparticles and the metals manganese, nickel, and thallium have been shown to reach the brain using the same route.

Military personnel and people who work in uranium processing plants are exposed to the weak radioactive element via wounds or by breathing. Exposure may affect brain function; cognitive skills are lowered in soldiers who carry uranium-laced shrapnel.

Uranium has various industrial and military uses. A form of uranium called depleted uranium is very dense and is used in armor-piercing ammunition and military vehicle armor.

Battlefield exposure can occur through wounds – such as with some US military personnel who were injured during the Gulf War. These exposures can be higher than with civilians who work with the element. A study of Gulf War veterans who have uranium shrapnel in their bodies showed that they perform more poorly on general brain cognitive tests of performance efficiency and accuracy.

Uranium can also be inhaled. Soldiers in vehicles hit by uranium rounds and workers in uranium-processing facilities can breathe it in.

The researchers – taking advantage of the fact that uranium can exist in different forms, or isotopes – used rats to compare how the element travels through the body if it is inhaled or injected into the blood. The animals breathed in one isotope at levels similar to those encountered on a battlefield where depleted uranium weapons are used. They were also injected with a different isotope. Researchers compared the levels of the two isotopes in different regions of the brain.

The inhaled isotope accumulated at 2 to 3 times higher levels than the injected isotope in the olfactory (smell) paths from the nose to the brain and in the frontal cortex and hypothalamus of the brain. This is concerning because the front part of the brain controls executive function, which is the broad ability to gather information, make decisions and initiate action.

The scientists then chemically damaged the olfactory nerves in the nose. The rats with the damaged nerves had three times less uranium in the olfactory system than the rats with intact olfactory nerves.

These finding suggests that inhaled uranium can travel directly from the nose along the olfactory nerves to the front of the brain. The olfactory pathway, then, plays an important role in inhaled uranium reaching the brain.

It is not known from this study if soldiers and civilian workers that breathe uranium could be at an even higher risk for cognitive effects or if inhaled uranium may affect brain function in similar ways as when it is carried through the blood. It is also unclear if these findings would hold true for the human brain since the rat brain is much more developed for smelling than the human brain.

Assessing these possible risks and determining if people’s relatively underdeveloped sense of smell could protect the brain would require further studies of people exposed to uranium through inhalation.

No 2.
Abstract

http://tinyurl.com/2ff6tcz

Uranium presents numerous industrial and military uses and one of the most important risks of contamination is dust inhalation. In contrast to the other modes of contamination, the inhaled uranium has been proposed to enter the brain not only by the common route of all modes of exposure, the blood pathway, but also by a specific inhalation exposure route, the olfactory pathway. To test whether the inhaled uranium enter the brain directly from the nasal cavity, male Sprague–Dawley rats were exposed to both inhaled and intraperitoneally injected uranium using the 236U and 233U, respectively, as tracers. The results showed a specific frontal brain accumulation of the inhaled uranium which is not observed with the injected uranium. Furthermore, the inhaled uranium is higher than the injected uranium in the olfactory bulbs (OB) and tubercles, in the frontal cortex and in the hypothalamus. In contrast, the other cerebral areas (cortex, hippocampus, cerebellum and brain residue) did not show any preferential accumulation of inhaled or injected uranium. These results mean that inhaled uranium enters the brain via a direct transfer from the nasal turbinates to the OB in addition to the systemic pathway. The uranium transfer from the nasal turbinates to the OB is lower in animals showing a reduced level of olfactory receptor neurons (ORN) induced by an olfactory epithelium lesion prior to the uranium inhalation exposure. These results give prominence to a role of the ORN in the direct transfer of the uranium from the nasal cavity to the brain.

http://tinyurl.com/2ff6tcz

[End]

The Notes are an integral part of the article. Include when distributing. CopyRight by Bob Nichols 2010. Feel free to distribute with attribution and Notes.

Related Articles.
“PTSD, infertility and other consequences of war,” April 27, 2010, Bob Nichols, VeteransToday dot com http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/04/27/ptsd-infertility-and-other-consequences-of-war/ Or, http://tinyurl.com/22w8qpy

Notes:
“Uranium travels nerves from nose to brain.”
Synopsis by Paul Eubig, DVM Jul 31, 2009, Environmental Health News.
Role of the olfactory receptor neurons in the direct transport of inhaled uranium to the rat brain, Benjamin B. Tourniera, Sandrine Frelona, Elie Tourloniasa, Laurence Ageza, Olivia Delissena, Isabelle Dublineaub, François Paqueta and Fabrice Petitot, Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, Laboratoire de Radiotoxicologie Expérimentale, IRSN/DRPH/SRBE/LRTOX, Site du Tricastin, B.P. 166, 26702 Pierrelatte Cedex, France, Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire, Laboratoire de Radiotoxicologie Expérimentale, IRSN/DRPH/SRBE/LRTOX, 92262 Fontenay-aux-Roses Cedex, France, Received 27 March 2009; revised 26 May 2009; accepted 27 May 2009. Available online 9 June 2009, Toxicology Letters Volume 190, Issue 1, 8 October 2009, Pages 66-73

“Sublethal Effects of Waterborne Uranium Exposures on the Zebrafish Brain: Transcriptional Responses and Alterations of the Olfactory Bulb Ultrastructure,” Ad†, Jean-Paul Bourdineaud‡, Karlijn van der Ven§, Tine Vandenbrouck§, Patrice Gonzalez‡, Virginie Camilleri†, Magali Floriani†, Jacqueline Garnier-Laplace† and Christelle Adam-Guillermin, Laboratoire de Radio

Environ. Sci. Technol., 2010, 44 (4), pp 1438–1443, DOI: 10.1021/es902550x, Publication Date (Web): January 20, 2010, Copyright © 2010 American Chemical Society

Google: uranium + olfactory For 102,000 responses with uranium and olfactory on the same page, Bob Nichols, Sep 29, 2010. Many will apply.

A second source for: “Role of the olfactory receptor neurons in the direct transport of inhaled uranium to the rat brain.” Toxicol Lett. 2009 Oct 8;190(1):66-73. Epub 2009 Jun 6.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19501638 http://tinyurl.com/24fljoc

===========

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2010/10/02/gis-brains-fried-by-military-dispensed-nose-candy/

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Atomic Plant Book Briefly Mentions Secret Burial of Huntington’s Former Uranium Processing Plant

2010-10-10T18:03:15Z

http://www.huntingtonnews.net/local/101006-rutherford-localplant.html

Oct. 6, 2010

Atomic Plant Book Briefly Mentions Secret Burial of Huntington’s Former Uranium Processing Plant

By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter

Huntington, WV (HNN) – Carol Rainey, a teacher, took a bus tour of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in 2004 with Vina Colley, president of PRESS, the Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security, and co-founder of National Nuclear Workers for Justice.

The book, “One Hundred Miles from Home Nuclear Contamination in the Ohio Valley….” in its chapter on the Portsmouth plant mentions the burial of the radioactively contaminated Huntington Pilot Plant.

“Though plant managers denied it… an INCO (International Nickel Company) plant (actually a Department of Energy plant which was on the INCO venue via a lease) had been buried in the Classified Materials disposal Facility. INCO , a large defense contractor, built the plant in 1951 to provide nickel for the barriers of the cascades at Paducah and Piketon. To save money, INCO had used scrap nickel from K-25 in Oak Ridge, but this nickel was already contaminated with uranium,” the author wrote.

“The Huntington plant closed in 1963, but was not dismantled until 1979; all the radioactive debris were then secretly shipped to Piketon . No environmental impact study of the nickel burial has ever been done,” Ms. Rainey writes.

Finally, the author tells of former workers --- classified as survivors receiving compensation for their “unwitting radiation exposure. Incidents such as these resulted in the federal ban on the sale of contaminated metals in 2000, the ban which Paducah officials are now trying to get overturned in order to sell their contaminated nickel.”

(Editor’s Note: The plant was owned by the DOE/Atomic Energy Commission which leased the site on the INCO property in West Virginia.)

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

NRC reschedules meetings on Piketon projects

2010-10-10T18:01:30Z

http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/view/full_story/9775836/article-NRC-reschedules-meetings-on-Piketon-projects?instance=secondary_stories_left_column

NRC reschedules meetings on Piketon projects
by Frank Lewis Portsmouth Daily Times

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission staff has rescheduled two public meetings originally scheduled to be held Sept. 23 in Piketon to discuss results of the agency’s most recent reviews of the United States Enrichment Corporation’s Gaseous Diffusion Plant and USEC Inc.’s American Centrifuge Lead Cascade facility at the same site. USEC inc. is the parent company of the United States Enrichment Corporation.

The meetings are rescheduled for Oct. 14, the first will begin at 7 p.m. at the Ohio State University Endeavor Center, 1864 Shyville Road in Piketon. The NRC staff will discuss with company officials the results of the agency review of the Portsmouth plant from July 6, 2008, to July 10, 2010. The discussion will include performance in the areas of safety operations, safeguards, radiological controls, facility support and special topics.

The NRC will also conduct a second public meeting about 7:30 p.m., or immediately following the first meeting, to discuss the NRC review of the American Centrifuge Lead Cascade facility at the Portsmouth plant site. The review will cover the same areas as those discussed in the first meeting. The NRC found no area needing improvement at the lead cascade facility. The agency will continue the current level of inspections based on the performance and the limited amount of material currently at the site.

Meanwhile, according to one USEC official, the company continues to move closer to getting the $2 billion loan guarantee from the Department of Energy.

Completion of its Lead Cascade test program, investment by two major corporations, and possible overseas financial assistance, has lead to USEC’s submission of a comprehensive update to its application for a Department of Energy loan guarantee to complete the American Centrifuge Plant at Piketon.

That project could lead to 8,000 jobs, nearly half of which would be for workers in this area.

“We’ve got a good relationship going with them (DOE),” Paul Jacobson, vice president of corporate communications at USEC, told the Portsmouth Daily Times during a recent visit. “We have been providing a lot of information. They came to us a year ago and said they had some financial and technical concerns. The company has done a lot under (USEC President and Chief Executive Officer) John Welch’s leadership. His leadership of the company as a Naval Academy graduate, submarine officer and a builder at General Dynamics gives him a set of leadership skills that has really helped create a new approach to doing things at the company.”

Jacobson said Welch’s running of the American Centrifuge Plant has resulted in a quality control program, and a joint venture with Babcock & Wilcox for the manufacturing of the machines, and with Toshiba and Babcock & Wilcox for financial support, something DOE had wanted to see from the company when it first filed an application for the loan guarantee.

“We were able to bring in two industry nuclear giants who looked us over very carefully in Toshiba and Babcock & Wilcox,” Jacobson said. “B&W is a huge operator in the industry. They are a manufacturer. They built just about every nuclear reactor in the nuclear navy. They go all the way back to creating the engines that powered Teddy Roosevelt’s Great White Fleet around the world in the early 20th century. So Babcock has this immense reputation in the industry.”

Jacobson said Toshiba is a global provider of nuclear power plant design and construction. Jacobson said Toshiba bought Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, one of the inventors in the nuclear age.

“With that multi-phase $200 million investment, and we’ve gotten the first $75 million, when we get the conditional loan guarantee, we’ll get the next $50 million. And then when the loan guarantee closes, we’ll get the final $75 million,” Jacobson said.

Jacobson said Toshiba’s involvement could also give USEC access to the Japanese export financing, which also would give USEC additional funds to help with the project.

Jacobson said USEC officials hope that the tie-in with the two companies will answer the financial questions DOE had about USEC.

“We’re producing about eight machines a month right now,” Jacobson said. “Of course, we get the loan guarantee and we’re able to go forward. We’re talking about hundreds a month.”

Jacobson said that although the DOE granted the $2 billion to Areva, a French company, they have another $2 billion still appropriated, available to USEC.

“They provided us $45 million in R & D (Research and Development) money to keep the line going,” Jacobson said. “We then had a strategic investment. We then closed on schedule the first phase of the strategic investment. We sent the updated loan guarantee (application) on July 30 to the DOE. We’re now in a period of intense technical review with them.”

While he said he did not want to pin a date on the decision for the loan guarantee, Jacobson said it is USEC’s hope that it will be as quickly as possible.

Frank Lewis may be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232, or flewis@heartlandpublications.com.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

U.S. Senate to honor nuclear workers Oct. 30

2010-10-10T17:57:41Z

http://www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/view/full_story/9804591/article-U-S--Senate-to-honor-nuclear-workers-Oct--30?instance=home_news_lead

U.S. Senate to honor nuclear workers Oct. 30
by Frank Lewis Portsmouth Daily Times

U.S. Senators Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) have announced passage of Senate Resolution 653, designating Oct. 30, 2010, as a National Day of Remembrance for Nuclear Weapon Program Workers. The Day of Remembrance honors the thousands of men and women who supported the nation’s nuclear efforts during the Cold War, many of which were employed at the Atomic Energy Plant in Piketon.

“I could not be more grateful for our nuclear weapons program workers and uranium miners, millers and haulers for their dedicated service to our nation during the Cold War,” Bunning said. “As a result of their hard work, America emerged victorious, but many of these brave men and women developed illnesses and sacrificed their well-being in their efforts to keep America safe. For this reason they deserve to be honored, which is why I introduced this resolution recognizing them for their patriotic service at a time when our country needed them most.”

The resolution begins, “Whereas, since World War II, hundreds of thousands of men and women, including uranium miners, millers, and haulers, have served the United States by building the nuclear defense weapons of the United States; Whereas these dedicated workers paid a high price for their service to develop a nuclear weapons program for the benefit of the United States, including having developed disabling or fatal illnesses...”

“Our nation’s Cold War veterans who dedicated their brainpower, livelihoods and unknowingly jeopardized their health to develop our nuclear deterrent, deserve this recognition,” Udall said. “Behind the Manhattan Project at what would become Los Alamos National Laboratory were not only scientists, but many others like janitors, maintenance workers and miners and millers. They worked with and supplied the very substances that made them sick, and in too many instances ultimately led to their premature deaths. They, and their families, sacrificed tremendously for the security of America and for that we will always owe them a debt of gratitude.”

Many of those workers gathered at the Cold War Patriots Resource Fair, at the Scioto County Fairgrounds in July.

“Cold War Patriots is the country’s first national association of former nuclear complex workers and uranium miners from around the country,” Tim Lerew of Cold War Patriots, said. “So from a cold start about 1 1/2 years ago we’re up to about 5,000 members. Over 1,000 of them are here in southern Ohio because of the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant at Piketon.”

Frank Lewis may be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 232, or flewis@heartlandpublications.com.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

k

2010-10-08T04:42:10Z

think ill duck n cover

posted in Cold War Survivors - 1 reply

Rich is alive use me

2010-10-01T11:44:49Z

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

pls tribe

2010-10-01T11:42:31Z

let me know ur grife bottom line

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

DOE approves plan to protect Hanford workers

2010-10-01T11:38:52Z

DOE approves plan to protect Hanford workers

* Post a comment
* Print
* Bookmark and Share

Annette Cary, Tri-City Herald

Thursday, September 23, 2010

HANFORD — The Department of Energy has approved a plan to better protect Hanford workers from beryllium after an inspection this spring found the program lacking.

The proposed corrections to worker protection were developed by the Hanford Beryllium Awareness Group, DOE Hanford offices, Hanford contractors and the Hanford Atomic Metal Trades Council. It was approved by DOE headquarters officials. The plan of corrections is good, said Mark Fisher, chairman of the Beryllium Awareness Group. But the real test will be seeing how it is implemented, he said.

“Actions are going to speak louder than words,” he said.

The plan calls for rechecking buildings at Hanford with a new trigger level that requires action if dust samples yield half the amount of beryllium as was considered a concern previously. Contractors will be required to do more concentrated sampling of the area to determine whether beryllium is present that could harm workers, Fisher said.

Some Hanford contractors already have started that work and are looking at previous sampling data to see if enough beryllium was detected to hit the new trigger level, he said.

The plan also requires more in-depth epidemiological studies, he said. The studies should identify the worker jobs at Hanford that present the most risk for beryllium contamination, including what tasks were performed and where, he said.

The information will be useful to help current and former workers understand whether they may be at a greater risk for contamination and should be tested, Fisher said.

The plan also calls for more complete training and more oversight, he said.

Beryllium is a metal previously machined at Hanford for fuel cladding, among other uses. Small particles remain in the dust that may be breathed in by workers.

This can cause an incurable lung disease in those with a genetic susceptibility.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 2 replies

Dead?

2010-10-01T00:59:15Z

It would apear that this tribe has died......ah well.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 9 replies

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Have Been Compromised by Unidentified Aerial Objects

2010-09-30T23:28:58Z

U.S. Nuclear Weapons Have Been Compromised by Unidentified Aerial Objects

Sept. 15

Ex-military men say unknown intruders have monitored and even tampered with American nuclear missiles

Group to call on U.S. Government to reveal the facts

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 -- Witness testimony from more than 120 former or retired military personnel points to an ongoing and alarming intervention by unidentified aerial objects at nuclear weapons sites, as recently as 2003. In some cases, several nuclear missiles simultaneously and inexplicably malfunctioned while a disc-shaped object silently hovered nearby. Six former U.S. Air Force officers and one former enlisted man will break their silence about these events at the National Press Club and urge the government to publicly confirm their reality.

One of them, ICBM launch officer Captain Robert Salas, was on duty during one missile disruption incident at Malmstrom Air Force Base and was ordered to never discuss it. Another participant, retired Col. Charles Halt, observed a disc-shaped object directing beams of light down into the RAF Bentwaters airbase in England and heard on the radio that they landed in the nuclear weapons storage area. Both men will provide stunning details about these events, and reveal how the U.S. military responded.

Captain Salas notes, "The U.S. Air Force is lying about the national security implications of unidentified aerial objects at nuclear bases and we can prove it." Col. Halt adds, "I believe that the security services of both the United States and the United Kingdom have attempted—both then and now—to subvert the significance of what occurred at RAF Bentwaters by the use of well-practiced methods of disinformation."

The group of witnesses and a leading researcher, who has brought them together for the first time, will discuss the national security implications of these and other alarmingly similar incidents and will urge the government to reveal all information about them. This is a public-awareness issue.

Declassified U.S. government documents, to be distributed at the event, now substantiate the reality of UFO activity at nuclear weapons sites extending back to 1948. The press conference will also address present-day concerns about the abuse of government secrecy as well as the ongoing threat of nuclear weapons.

WHO: Dwynne Arneson, USAF Lt. Col. Ret., communications center officer-in-charge

Bruce Fenstermacher, former USAF nuclear missile launch officer

Charles Halt, USAF Col. Ret., former deputy base commander

Robert Hastings, researcher and author

Robert Jamison, former USAF nuclear missile targeting officer

Patrick McDonough, former USAF nuclear missile site geodetic surveyor

Jerome Nelson, former USAF nuclear missile launch officer

Robert Salas, former USAF nuclear missile launch officer

WHAT: Noted researcher Robert Hastings, author of UFOs and Nukes: Extraordinary Encounters at Nuclear Weapons Sites, will moderate a distinguished panel of former U.S. Air Force officers involved in UFO incidents at nuclear missile sites near Malmstrom, F.E. Warren, and Walker AFBs, as well as the nuclear weapons depot at RAF Bentwaters.

WHEN: Monday, September 27, 2010

12:30 p.m.

WHERE: National Press Club

Holeman Lounge

Event open to credentialed media and Congressional staff only

SOURCE Former U.S. Air Force Officer Robert Salas, and Researcher Robert Hastings

=====

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUS166901+15-Sep-2010+PRN20100915

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Explosion Rocks Honeywell Uranium Facility Run by Scab Workers

2010-09-30T23:20:16Z

Explosion Rocks Honeywell Uranium Facility Run by Scab Workers

Union workers have been locked out at the uranium enrichment facility in Metropolis, Illinois for two months now after contract negotiations broke down over Honeywell's demand that workers give up their retiree health care coverage and pension plans. The Metropolis uranium facility is the only one in the United States that can convert U308 into the extremely deadly UF6.

Because the plant is the only conversion facility of its kind in the United States, familiarity with the Metropolis plant, and not just generic experience in the field, is essential to ensuring the plant's safety. Concerns have been raised by local community members and union officials that replacement workers at the Honeywell facility cannot safely operate the plant since they have no site-specific experience in this type of conversion facility.

Workers claim that Cote is far more interested in keeping his record profits high than actually protecting workers and the surrounding community. They believe that Honeywell CEO David Cote is willing to risk radioactive contamination in order to demand that uranium workers cut their retiree health care and pension plans.

On Saturday, nuclear regulators allowed Honeywell to start up core production at the facility, where core production had been shut down for over two months due to concerns about the training of replacement workers. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission delayed reopening the plant for several days after questions were raised about the unusually high levels of uranium that were appearing in the urine tests of several nuclear workers.

The following day, a hydrogen explosion rocked the plant. The blast shook the ground in front of the plant and could be heard a mile away, according to local reports. State Trooper Bridget Rice said that police were called to investigate to the scene of the explosion after receiving several phone calls reporting an explosion at the plant. Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman Roger Hannah also confirmed that there was indeed "a small hydrogen explosion that was very loud" at the Metropolis facility.

The plant splits hydrofluoric acid into hydrogen and fluoride. The hydrogen then gets scrubbed and released into the atmosphere and fluorine goes into the process. If the hydrogen and fluorine recombine, it can be very reactive and cause a non-radioactive hydrogen explosion. On Saturday, hydrogen was accidentally recombined with fluorine causing a massive explosion that could be heard a mile away and leading to the plant being temporarily shut down.

Honeywell Spokesman Peter Dapel released this statement: "There was a noise at Metropolis Works yesterday that occurred as a result of the normal venting of one of our systems.... The union workforce is very familiar with the procedure that caused yesterday's noise, having executed similar processes on at least two occasions earlier this year prior to the work stoppage with the exact same outcomes. It is common to plants that work with fluorine, and characteristic of plants that are following correct procedures."

However, union spokesman John Paul Smith claims that the workers who worked at the plant for decades said very minor explosions had occurred, but no explosion of such a magnitude that it could be heard outside of the plant. State police also could not cite an incident where they had been called to the plant to investigate an explosion at the Metropolis facility that had been reported to them by local community members.

Workers and local community members see this explosion as evidence that the quickly trained replacement workers are not qualified to operate the plant.

Local union officials claim that the workers are not properly trained to work in the plant. In a statement released last week USW Local 7-699 claimed, "The Union workforce was required to have extensive on-the-job training on running units from qualified trainers for several months prior to being qualified. We have recently learned that several Fluorination workers were deemed 'qualified' by company personnel after one week of training. Furthermore, Union employees were required to have been a qualified operator for six months on a running unit before they were allowed to begin to train another employee. The company is currently training their own employees with people who themselves are not qualified."

Additional concerns have been raised about the safety records of the replacement workers at the Metropolis facility who are employed by the Shaw Group. In 2009, a subsidiary of the Shaw Group was made to pay $6.2 million to the federal government for forcing its workers not to report safety and site violations when working on nuclear plant sites in Alabama and Tennessee.

Local community members are claiming that Honeywell is also not properly reporting safety violations at the nuclear facility in Metropolis. A recent report by Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) says Honeywell has failed to notify the NRC of 37 reportable unplanned, uranium contamination events at its Metropolis facility between January 2008 and January 2010.

The Metropolis facility had previously been shut down after a release of deadly toxic UF6 gas in December of 2003, which hospitalized four community members and lead to evacuations of dozens of residents near the plant. This was only the second time in American history (the first being the infamous Three Mile Island disaster) where a site area emergency forced the evacuation of a community surrounding a nuclear power facility. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission at the time found that Honeywell "failed to implement some parts of its emergency response plan and did not provide sufficient information to local emergency responders".

The Environmental Protection Agency has also been very critical of the safety record of the uranium enrichment facility. According to the report by Sam Tranum of Uranium Intelligence Weekly, in May of 2009 the EPA listed the Metropolis facility as being "in significant noncompliance - a high priority violator" of the Clean Air Act and that the Metropolis facility had been in violation of the Clean Air Act for the nine months prior to that. Also, the EPA found that the Honeywell Metropolis uranium facility had been violating the Clean Water Act for about two years, but returned to compliance in December of 2009.

A federal grand jury has been convened to look into criminal violations of federal environmental laws. Honeywell initially tried to cover up the grand jury investigation to local community and union members. However SEC reports forced the company to reveal they were under grand jury investigation. According to Sam Tranum of Uranium Intelligence Weekly:

Details of the investigation are being kept under tight control by the relevant authorities, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ), but the existence of a grand jury probe was confirmed by Honeywell International's most recent 10Q filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission. It stated that the EPA and DOJ are investigating "whether the storage of certain sludges generated during uranium hexafluoride production at our Metropolis, Illinois facility has been in compliance with the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act [RCRA]," adding that, "The federal authorities have convened a grand jury in this matter."

Honeywell's long history of safety violations, the poor training of replacement workers at the Metropolis facility, and Saturday's hydrogen explosion, have lead local workers and community members to call on the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to shut down production until the contract dispute can be resolved. "This just simply isn't normal, what's happening at the plant," said union member John Paul Smith.

Workers are also calling on President Obama to put pressure on his close economic adviser Honeywell CEO David Cote to settle the safety and contract issues at the plant. They are asking President Obama to remove David Cote from the President's Deficit Commission if he does not resolve the safety and contract issues.

Last week, the 350,000 members of the Steelworkers Organization of Active Retirees called on President Obama to fire Cote from the so-called Deficit Commission. They released a statement saying:

Mr. Cote's cruel and calculated behavior towards workers at its hexafluoride plant in Metropolis, Ill. clearly illustrates that he's unqualified and inappropriate to help decide issues such as whether to reduce the federal deficit by cutting programs like social security or by upgrading the faulty military contracting process, from which Honeywell benefits.

Mr. Cote should be evicted from the so-called Deficit Commission immediately before he can use that position to harm all Americans the way he is injuring Honeywell workers in Illinois.

Editor's note: This post has been updated. An earlier version said of union officials: "They believe that Honeywell CEO David Cote is willing to risk nuclear fallout in order to demand that uranium workers cut their retiree health care and pension plans." NRC press relations official Roger Hannah corrected: "'nuclear fallout' is impossible at such a facility because nuclear fission does not occur there." The term has been replaced with "radioactive contamination."
=====

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mike-elk/explosion-rocks-honeywell_b_707893.html

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

US considering killing the B-1 Bomber

2010-09-04T20:09:01Z

Will the B-1 Bomber get decommissioned?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20100628/us_time/08599200002000

posted in Cold War Survivors - 5 replies

The Downwinders: Gloria's story

2010-03-05T05:59:37Z

http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080721/DVTONLINE01/80721011/1053/DVTONLINE

Many of you knew her or know of her. Many of you are related to her, went to school with her, laughed and cried with her.

Gloria Leavitt Gregerson was born in Bunkerville in 1941. In 1983, her body lay in a chapel in Bunkerville after a five-year battle with acute myelogenous leukemia. That was the last of many battles with disease she waged.

Gloria was a downwinder. She eventually became internationally known for her story of "Downwind Agony" and her speech before three-quarters of a million people in New York’s Central Park to protest nuclear testing. She appeared in documentaries in the United States, England and Japan and became a spokesperson for more than a thousand plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the federal government.

The thread that runs through Gloria’s story is one of persistence, kindness, courage and pain. And she would need all her courage to the weather the storm brought on by that bright mushroom cloud that "became a backdrop to her life."

In one interview she told a news reporter, "It was brighter than noon-day sun, breathtakingly beautiful. They would let us out of class to watch the cloud come up behind the hills across the river from our school."

This is what I hear over and over again as I question oldtimers about the fallout: "They let us out to watch the blast."

Pain was part of Gloria’s life from the time she was a young girl. At one point she remembered that she must have been in the doctor’s outer room at least six times. This time would be different.

Pain had been her constant companion for weeks. Her lower abdomen had felt like a "tongue of living fire." This time Dr. Conrad told her parents that he suspected she had uterine cancer.

"He must be talking about someone else," Gloria thought. "I can’t have cancer. I’m too young. Only old people have cancer."

Her mother tucked her in that night as if she were a young child instead of a 16-year old in the bloom of her youth. This would be the beginning of a 20-year battle with cancer — one she would eventually lose.

Her medical history reads like a "broken record."

Cancer surgery 1960-1975

1960 major surgery, cancer of female organs

1962 major surgery for cancer

1963 major surgery for cancer

1963 hysterectomy

1965 major surgery for cancer

1967 surgery for cancer

1969, 1970, 1973, 1975 cancer

"This was in addition to the nausea and headaches that plagued her throughout high school."

Through it all Gloria did her best to live a "normal" life. She attended high school, dated, fell in love, and wished for children of her own. But the children were never to be. The damaging effects of radiation cost her that before it took her life.

Gloria’s cousin Tom’s memories of her are that she loved everybody and she loved Bunkerville. And then she loved Jack. They were married after a tumultuous relationship which should have alerted Gloria to what lay ahead. But she adored him.

Following their marriage, Jack joined the Navy and moved to California. Gloria returned to work in Las Vegas.

At one point they began adoption proceedings of a young son. But in the end, Jack divorced her and she not only lost him, she lost her son, David, as well.

What soothed her bitter disappointment and her pain was her music. Born with a talent, she sang and played piano by ear. If she heard it, she could sing it.

Gloria and Larry met in the summer of 1967. Their courtship lasted only about six months. "Larry said he was attracted to Gloria because she was so alive, so beautiful and so concerned about everyone around her."

"‘We had a great courtship, the best kind,’ he said. ‘I courted her and she courted me.’"

They were married January 12, 1968, in Boulder City. Larry went to school and Gloria worked. Larry graduated from optometry school and the Gregersons moved back to Boulder City.

Gloria’s fondest wish was to have a family and have a family she would. Together they went against counsel and adopted four children at once, two girls and two boys who had been abused by their parents and finally put into Child Haven.

It proved to be a challenge that even Larry and Gloria found often overwhelming, but they never gave up on the children. And when they did adopt them, they didn’t have any idea how short Gloria’s stay with them would be.

The Kennedy hearings of 1978 and 1979, at which Gloria testified were related to compensation. In 1980 the government began Congressional hearing on compensation legislation. Field hearings were scheduled in Salt Lake City in April 1981.

This is her testimony:

My name is Gloria Leavitt Gregerson. I was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and was living downwind in Bunkerville, Nevada during all the years of atomic testing.

The first blast came without warning. No one was informed it was going to happen. The flash was so bright it awakened us out of a sound sleep. We lived in an old two-story home, and when the blast hit, it not only broke out several windows, but also made two large cracks full length of the house.

After the first blast, my parents would load all of us still in our pajamas, in the car and drive to the top of a nearby hill. From there we saw the bright flash and then a little later, the mushroom cloud. If my memory serves me correctly, it would take three to four minutes for the sound to reach us. It would follow the river and bounce back and forth between mountain ranges. It felt and sounded like an earthquake.

The radioactive cloud, as it came over, was very distinct. It always had a pinkish-orange tint to it. The cloud reached our valley between 9:00 and 10:00 a.m. It would almost always drift over our school yard.

Government officials came to our school to talk in an assembly on several occasions. This was only after several shots had been fired. They always preceded their comments with, "There’s nothing to be alarmed about, nothing to worry about, but…

Their cautions were:

1. Wash your car every day.

2. Wash your clothes at least twice before you wear them.

3. Spray water on trees, lawns, plants and vegetation before touching or walking on them.

4. Don’t drink the local milk. (We had access to no other kind at the time.)

5. Don’t worry about anything; there’s nothing to harm you.

The latter caution they kept emphasizing, but why take the trouble to come all that way and take time to hold an assembly just to tell us there was nothing to worry about?

We were given badges to wear and were monitored numerous times. We were never told the results of those readings, though.

I remember as a young girl playing under the trees shaking the white powdered dust all over me. I thought it was fun. I also remember writing my name in the dust all over cars on numerous occasions.

When I was 16 years old, it was discovered that I had cancer in my female organs. After numerous operations to remove the cancer, I finally had to have a hysterectomy two years after I graduated from high school. I have been unable to have children of my own. In my late 20s and early 30s, I had numerous operations for another type of cancer, squamous cell carcinoma.

I have adopted five children. In October 1978, I received a one-month-old baby boy. Three months later I was unable to care for my family and was hospitalized in January only to find that my blood was so low the doctor said I probably wouldn’t have survived the day without the transfusions they gave me. In February 1979, my doctor referred me to a hematologist and I was diagnosed as having acute myclomonocytic leukemia. My life expectancy was three weeks.

It is horrifying to suddenly have all your hair gone one day and your face nothing but big blistering sores. My skin would tear if I moved quickly or made an awkward move. My temperatures would keep going to highly dangerous levels, and as a result I got frostbite from the ice blankets they used to reduce my fever. My children and my family could hardly recognize me as a result of the many months of chemotherapy. I am in precarious remission now, but don’t know when I’ll have a relapse.

In my opinion, the government’s attitude on the subject of fallout victims and atomic testing is shameful. The pain, horror and suffering brought upon innocent victims and our families are monstrous and yet we are looked upon by some as illiterate, fortune hunters because we have file suit asking for justified compensation for medical bills and termination of atomic testing.

Perhaps you can understand our fear and outrage when we discover that their underground tests are venting and are still spreading radioactive fallout into the atmosphere. It is interesting, too, that they still wait for the wind to blow in our direction before permitting a test.

I have a few questions, I hope you will ponder:

1. What gives the government the right to experiment with my health and the health of my children’s children?

2. Who in the government is responsible for continued testing? What type of cold-blooded men can be in charge of deliberately perpetrating the radioactive atrocity that is still taking place upon American citizens?

3. If the government has spent $175 million studying Nagasaki and Hiroshima, why are they so reluctant to study the fallout victims in our own nation?

I have always thought people who ranted against government bureaucrats were a little crazy and radical and now I find myself asking the same questions they ask. I am not a so-called "bleeding heart liberal." I am and always have been very conservative. I don’t intend to spend what little time I have left in a vindictive "Ban the Bomb" exercise, but I can’t say the same for my children and my husband.

Government officials and scientists in the 1950s were quick and sure to point out that no harm would come from the testing. We know different now, so why is the testing still going on? To what purpose? What more could they possibly learn? If they haven’t learned all they need to know, let them get their answers in some other way tan by endangering the lives of all of us.

Gloria made other appearance and spoke up about nuclear testing because she felt it was her duty to her fellow man.

On March 26, 1983 she succumbed to the effects of that very testing. She died of leukemia — a direct result of the nuclear fallout she played in as a child.

Her legacy to us is to never forget. When our government starts talking about resuming testing again, we must speak out against it. No testing is safe. Underground testing vents and releases into the atmosphere through faults in the earth’s surface.

Surely, we, too, must ask, "How much more do we need to know?" We already know from the two bombs dropped on Japan how devastating nuclear weaponry is. We know what radiation poisoning does.

Gloria’s story is just one of many that we will tell. She was one among many whose lives were poisoned by nuclear testing, whose children, grandchildren and great grandchildren will be touched in ways they may never understand.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 1 reply

Atomic City Underground

2008-07-23T13:40:10Z

http://blogs.knoxnews.com/knx/munger/2008/07/jimmy_perritt_and_his_family.html#more

Jimmy Perritt and his family

Vickie Burke's father -- Jimmy W. Perritt, a former barrier operator at K-25 and painter at K-25 and Y-12 -- died of cancer in late February, but she and her sisters are not going to stop fighting for compensation until they get what they believe is due from the government.

"It's the principle. We promised my father before he died that they would pay everything owed to him," Burke said.

Their story is similar to many who've experienced frustration and anger in dealing with the federal program set up to compensate sick nuclear workers. Some of the issues are detailed in "Deadly Denial," the current series by Laura Frank and staff at the Rocky Mountain News. I'll try to share other stories here, as told by those involved.

In January, about a month before her father died, Burke (who lives in South Florida) wrote a lengthy letter to Congressmen Wamp and Duncan, Sen. Alexander, Gov. Bredesen and others, talking about the problems Jimmy Perritt and his family had faced.

Here's an excerpt:

During the 1950s time period there were no exposure/contamination control measures used to protect our father. There was no anti-contamination clothing, nor fume hoods, gloves, shielding, respirators, radiation badges, biological radiation monitoring programs, showers or other protective devices and /or procedures provided. Our Dad went to work in his own clothes, carrying a lunch box and came home in the same clothes day after day. Some of these measures were finally put into place in the 1970s.

Our father has terminal metastasis malignant melanoma directly attributable to the radiation exposure he received working for the U.S. Government at Oak Ridge. He is dying because he took a job doing important work for the defense of his country at a place that the government told him was safe.

Burke said her family, in some ways, was lucky. She and her sisters were educated, with backgrounds in insurance industry and the government operations at Oak Ridge, and persistent. They were able to share the burden of health care and deal with the "roadblocks" and the massive paperwork required to track and follow-up on the claims for compensation. Ultimately, her father and his family were able to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars, but Burke said her father's life was worth much more, and she's still outraged that some of the costs -- including the expenses for his funeral -- still haven't been covered.

In her multi-page letter, she detailed many of the problems encountered with the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program, the Dept. of Labor and ACS, the vendor health care. Like many other claimants, she complained of lost letters, arguments about details of health care items that seemed to be obvious, and debates over his medical needs, the extent of home care, and, ultimately, hospice care.

She wrote:

My father has fallen six times since Christmas day. The Christmas fall necessitated a call to 911 and transporting him to the hospital. with serious physical injuries.Three of the other falls have caused significant injuries. Each fall has caused further deterioration in my father's health.

More recently, months after her father's death, Burke wrote another letter to the claims adjuster with the Dept. of Labor, outlining the chronology of problems and seeking action on compensation claims that had been denied.

She wrote, in part:

We recently received your check for some of the expenses our Dad incurred before his death. However we strongly disagree with your decision to not pay for the additional charges my father incurred in an attempt to provide safety, comfort, self-respect, dignity and to comply with your many different adjusters' requests. It is unacceptable to us that you refuse to pay the mailing and certified letter expenses, lawn care and funeral expenses. It is particularly insidious that you would deny the cost of having our letters certified when your representatives continually lost them and tried to claim that they never received them. Your people forced us into having the letters certified and then refuse to pay for it? Where is the rationale in that?

On behalf of my father's estate, we would like a Formal Recommended Decision issued in this case.

The people examiningn our father's claim have been dealing with this situation as if he were someone on an HMO health plan looking for care he did not need. They do not seem committed to the spirit of the settlement and instead seem committed to finding ways not to provide the care he was entitled to, even after his death.

I will attempt one more time to explain why my father's estate is entitled to reimbursement for mailing cost, certified letter cost, lawn services and funeral expenses. After this attempt, if you continue your failure to fulfill the terms of the settlement, we will take this matter to another legal arena.

You denied the cost of mailing and certified expenses. Let me again remind you why we had to incur these expenses. Due to the outrageous conduct of the EEOICP and ACS my Father waited until three days before he died on Feb 26, 2008 to be reimbursed $2,500 in expenses for an October 2007 trip to M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston TX. The receipts had been mailed three times. The last two times they were sent Certified Mail and we have the return signed receipts. My sister was told on January 23, 2008, by the examiner for the Department of Labor that they still have not been able to locate the receipts! How can this be? When documents have been faxed and mailed to them and confirmation received on our end, they claim they never received them. This caused us to have to send all communications by Certified Mail at the request of previous adjusters at EEOICP and ACS.

How could you possibly think that our Dad was capable of mowing and landscaping his yard that is over one acre? Our Dad was a very proud and conscientious person in many ways. He took pride in his home and yard. He did not want to burden his family or neighbors with taking care of his lawn. (Nor was he obligated to do so.) However he had too much self-respect and pride to just let it go, as many people would have done. For over a year after he began chemo treatments, he continued to mow and landscape his yard until he could no longer walk. We pleaded with him to hire someone over six months before he did and now you are denying the cost of lawn service to a man's estate who was incapable of walking, in extreme pain and dying. The cost of this service was only $500 for June to October 2007. It is not the sum of the money that infuriates us but the principle of the matter that you owe reasonable expenses and deny this charge.

In each of her letters, Burke said she wanted to make clear that her father -- despite the many problems encountered with the compensation program -- did not regret his work days in Oak Ridge.

. . . Even as my Dad lay dying he was not angry with the government. He was proud of the work he helped support at Oak Ridge and his contribution to the nation's security. He continued to honor his security clearance commitment to the government, even though they have not honored their commitments to him. A few days before he died I once again asked him to tell me the details of his work. He continued to say, "I can't tell you." He went to his death with the dirty secrets that went on at Oak Ridge that has and is continuing to kill so many nuclear workers.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Deadly denial: Navajo miners stand ground in a different kind of Cold War

2008-07-23T13:31:21Z

War
By Laura Frank, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/23/deadly-denial-navajo-miners-stand-ground-different/

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
George Blue Horse, a medicine man, performs a ceremony to improve relations between the Navajo people and the U.S. Department of Labor, at the Tuba City, Ariz., branch of the Office of Navajo Uranium Workers.

Javier Manzano © The Rocky

George Blue Horse, a medicine man, performs a ceremony to improve relations between the Navajo people and the U.S. Department of Labor, at the Tuba City, Ariz., branch of the Office of Navajo Uranium Workers.

Please download the latest version of Adobe Flash Player, or enable JavaScript for your browser to view the video player.
Deadly Denial: 3-day special report
U.S. Department of Labor has failed to help compensate assist former nuclear workers with health safety issues problems ailments graphic chart document video testimony
Visit the special report index of our Deadly Denial investigative series about the failure of the U.S. Department of Labor to adequately compensate former nuclear weapons workers suffering from illnesses. Read more stories, watch videos, download documents and weigh in on the discussion.
Related Links

* GRAPHIC: Claims compensation by state
* GRAPHIC: Cancer and compensation

Related Stories

* As workers await relief, program doles out big bonuses to its own
* Condemnation from lawmakers
* Ross Williams is too weak for the tests he needs to receive compensation
* Levi Samora got a stack of rejection letters — one on the day he received aid

TUBA CITY, Ariz. — This spring, officials from the U.S. Department of Labor sat around a small fire, touching sweet corn pollen to their tongues and inhaling spicy cedar smoke in a traditional Navajo ceremony.

Larry Martinez, who manages the Office of Navajo Uranium Workers, had organized the ceremony hoping to improve a working relationship that he described as "difficult and getting worse" between the Navajo and the labor department, which manages a federal program to compensate sick nuclear weapons workers.

Ten thousand Navajo men mined uranium for America's atomic bombs. The U.S. government knew early on that uranium could cause lung damage. But instead of warning the Navajo miners, the government decided to study what happened to them.

Now those who survived — and the families of those who didn't — are having trouble proving that they qualify for compensation.

"I'd like to have you understand this ceremony is going to create this coordination," Martinez said in English during the mostly Navajo-language ceremony. "We're all in this together, to make sure the Cold War patriot, the person who sacrificed his health to protect his country, is taken care of. When you leave here, you'll be part of what happened here."

But less than two hours after the ceremony, the spirit of cooperation appeared to have worn off.

At a public meeting to explain the benefits of the compensation program to sick Navajo uranium workers, the lead DOL official ejected some of the people he had just participated with in the cooperation ceremony.

Booted out were representatives of an in-home health care company from Denver authorized to provide care for gravely sick uranium workers.

Martinez was seething.

"Did that ceremony mean nothing to them?" the usually calm Martinez said.

Wall of opposition

Most of the uranium workers whom Martinez helps are by law supposed to be compensated automatically through a program created eight years ago. It compensates workers who sacrificed their health, and sometimes their lives, as they labored amid highly toxic and top-secret materials used to build nuclear weapons.

Many of the Navajo were compensated $100,000 by a previous program created in 1990 and were to be automatically eligible for the new one, so their total benefits would rise to the current standards.

Instead, the Navajos have joined other former nuclear workers in fighting a different cold war, this time against their own government.

A Rocky Mountain News investigation found that the compensation program has become so complex and adversarial that even claims that by law were to be automatically approved — the Navajo being a striking example — are being stonewalled.

Only one in four sick workers or their survivors has been compensated, while millions of tax dollars have been spent redoing faulty work, including repeatedly rewriting technical reports, re-examining old exposure records that workers say are wrong and reopening denied claims only to deny them again.

Meanwhile, top officials running the compensation program have collected tens of thousands of dollars each in bonuses. In all, program officials have been given more then $3.2 million in bonuses since the program began. That includes $116,000 in bonuses for Shelby Hallmark, the program's top official.

Sick workers believe that their government is intentionally thwarting them. They are not alone.

"It's an ideological issue," said Bill Richardson, the former energy secretary who persuaded the Clinton administration to enact the compensation program. "When the Bush administration came in, they saw this as an entitlement program they didn't believe in. They had to comply with it, but they did so by putting up barriers so it wouldn't work properly."

A White House spokesman declined to comment, saying that the labor department would speak for the administration.

While DOL didn't respond to the Rocky's inquiries, it sent a statement responding to Richardson: "The Department of Labor has paid out nearly $4 billion dollars to energy worker claimants, well in excess of estimates provided by then-Secretary Richardson's Department of Energy, which led to the official Congressional Budget Office report. In just eight years, DOL has already issued payments to almost three times as many workers and their families (6,500 vs 15,000) as the CBO estimated would be paid in ten years. We remain committed to making sure that energy workers receive the compensation to which they are entitled."

The DOL's Web site says that more that 42,000 claims have been paid. The department did not respond to questions about the discrepancy between 15,000 paid versus 42,000.

Counting the cost

The controversial method of determining which workers deserve compensation has been fraught with problems, but program officials have clung to the process. Government scientists at the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health continually change the way they estimate how much radiation workers absorbed.

More than two thirds of these estimates — involving more than 12,000 sick Cold War veterans — have had to be reviewed or completely reworked because of changes in the methods scientists say will give the best estimates. And because the scientific understanding of how toxic substances cause disease continues to evolve, virtually no case can ever be closed for good.

Larry Elliott, who directs dose reconstruction at NIOSH, declined to say how much each of nearly 18,000 dose reconstructions cost taxpayers. But since the program began, his office has spent more than $280 million in administrative costs.

Too much of that has been wasted, said U.S. Rep. Tom Udall, D-N.M., cousin to Colorado Congressman Mark Udall.

"Nothing could be more irresponsible than to spend taxpayer dollars fighting claimants rather than compensating them," Tom Udall said. "When claimants are forced to submit to unnecessary tests — or when NIOSH spends time and resources hunting for records that simply don't exist — taxpayer money is wasted and sick workers are forced to bear additional suffering."

One key government contractor was paid for completion of essential reports, and got paid more when those reports proved faulty and had to be fixed.

One of the key documents used in the dose reconstruction is called a site profile. This report attempts to list the kinds of toxic exposures workers in different jobs at different sites might have encountered. But not one of the site profiles for any of the major weapons sites was correct the first time, the Rocky found in reviewing various versions of the reports.

A big part of NIOSH's administrative expense went to Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the Tennessee-based consortium that won the original $70 million contract to do the profiles and estimate worker radiation doses. As of last year, the contract, still going after nine extensions that include new dose reconstruction work, had nearly tripled to $200 million.

As one result, the administrative costs for the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program are 15 times higher than similar programs.

While the government declined to detail its spending in response to the Rocky's questions, labor department officials acknowledged earlier this year that administrative costs for the program reach about 33 percent of its payments to claimants.

That is a stunning figure for administrative costs when compared with the 2 percent for a sister program that compensates uranium miners and people exposed to atomic bomb testing. Administrative costs for Social Security Disability Insurance are about 2.5 percent of payments.

Officials say part of the reason is that the nuclear workers program is much more complex than the other compensation programs. But that, says Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., whose district includes the former Rocky Flats weapons site near Denver, is exactly the problem.

"It's putting the onus and the burden on the people who are already carrying significant burdens," Udall said. "I think it's an outrage."

Double dose of rejection

DOL has had to reopen thousands of cases it had already denied, citing changes in the scientific methods it uses to determine who receives compensation.

Government scientists discovered, for example, that Rocky Flats contained a previously unknown kind of plutonium — "Super-S" — that had not been monitored or studied. They spent two years working on a scientific method to estimate the radiation wallop that the Super-S might have given Flats workers. Some were notified by letter that their denials were being overturned and their cases reconsidered.

But many former workers found their new dose estimates lower than before.

Shelby Hallmark, the labor department executive who oversees the program, predicted workers' dismay with these so-called reworks earlier this year.

"More people are going to go back through reworks and get a second denial," he said. "It's not going to be pleasant for these folks."

Hallmark knew even then that the reworks were unlikely to result in more workers being compensated. That is because the original method used more claimant-friendly assumptions in estimating radiation doses. But the newer methods are more exact, Hallmark said.

The original estimates were "claimant-favorable ... overestimates," said Larry Elliott, who oversees the work at NIOSH.

But the original estimates apparently weren't favorable to all claimants. Elliott acknowledged some reworks came back higher than the original "overestimates."

The constantly changing methods have not benefited most workers, Mark Udall said, but the changes have benefited the contractors.

"It keeps those folks employed," Udall said.

Questions pile up

Among all of the complicated claims of illness related to half a century of nuclear weapons production, two kinds were supposed to be slam-dunks. If you were a uranium worker compensated in an earlier program, or a beryllium worker or uranium worker with lung damage, your claim was supposed to slide right through the system.

But that isn't happening because laws and rules are not being followed.

A 90-year-old Navajo woman who lost her uranium miner husband is still waiting for federal compensation from the new program, even though the law says that compensation should be automatic.

A 48-year-old beryllium worker tried for five years to get compensation that was supposed to be automatic, given his diagnosed lung disease.

An 86-year-old uranium miner is too sick to complete the breathing test required to prove that he qualifies for compensation.

But some workers never even make it into the system to be considered. DOL calls these "non-covered" applications because they failed to prove the employee worked at one of the more than 300 covered sites or had one of some two-dozen covered illnesses.

But the Rocky found evidence that the failure to prove information was sometimes the labor department's fault. For example, a uranium miner in New Mexico was rejected because DOL said he didn't submit medical records to prove his illness. But Jarvina Lee, a caseworker at the Navajo office of uranium miners in Shiprock, N.M., said she personally had sent 1,600 pages of medical records to DOL's Denver office on behalf of the worker.

DOL eventually found the box of records six months later at its Seattle office, after the worker had died.

"I don't know how someone could lose 1,600 pages of medical records," Lee said. "But we have had lots of horror stories like that."

The federal compensation program is so difficult to navigate for sick workers or their survivors that both the Navajo Nation and the state of New Mexico have established offices to help claimants file for their benefits.

"It's a sham," Richardson, the former Energy Secretary who is now governor of New Mexico, said of the program. "It's an insult to our workers, and it's wrong."

Vera Begay lives in a home on the Navajo reservation in eastern Arizona that was made from smooth, square stones her husband brought home from the uranium mines. The mines were so close by that blasted rock sometimes rained down on the three-room house, which even now is slightly radioactive.

Begay's husband died of lung cancer 24 years ago. She was given a "compassionate payment" for his lost life years ago, through the earlier program specifically for miners. That should have made her automatically eligible for additional compensation.

But the 90-year-old Begay — whose grandson is Martinez, the man who oversees the Navajo Uranium Workers office — has been waiting three years.

"I don't know why," Begay said in English, though she speaks mostly in Navajo.

Even Martinez is not sure why his grandmother has not received the compensation.

"She should already have been paid," he said.

Talk of reform so far just talk

Congress has the authority to change the compensation program, but so far, its efforts to do so haven't had much impact. A series of hearings in 2006 and 2007 resulted in little change. At least a dozen bills are pending that would improve the compensation program, but none has gone anywhere. There is talk of holding more hearings and submitting more bills to reform the law.

"The bottom line is we want to protect and help the most needy and most deserving folks," said U.S. Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo. "I think we have to continue to push on this."

U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., said he is working on new legislation to relieve the workers' plight.

"More and more evidence is surfacing that former workers have had their claims lost or ignored, that claims examiners were encouraged to deny claims, and that bureaucratic red tape is tying the program in knots," Salazar said.

"This is an absolutely unacceptable way to treat those who have sacrificed for our country."

Dr. Laurence Fuortes is a physician and University of Iowa professor who studies occupational illness. He has helped some sick workers with lung disease try to get compensation.

When he began to suspect that workers were being wrongly rejected, he filed a Freedom of Information Act request to see more examples of lung disease claims that had been denied. Of the first 19 cases he reviewed, he found five of them contained medical evidence that they should have been approved instead.

Fuortes said he told program director Peter Turcic that the cases suggested a larger problem that needed further review.

"He seemed to agree," Fuortes said, adding that it was not clear what DOL might do about it.

"This system has been designed with maximum complexity," Fuortes said. "To me, it's setting things up for disaster."

That is exactly what's happened, said former DOL claims examiner Anne Block.

Block, a Seattle attorney who said she was fired from her job because she too helpful to claimants, said that mistakes are rampant in the system.

When a case goes through the years-long dose reconstruction process, DOL sends it to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for an estimate of how much radiation the worker absorbed.

"I would send half the claims back to NIOSH because there would be something wrong with them," Block said.

Other times, claims examiners would be given "pre-screened" files marked as "accept" or "deny."

"I'd say 90 percent of the time, they were wrong," Block said.

She described cases that should have been approved automatically but were instead sent to NIOSH for the dose reconstruction process, cases sent off for review when a final decision already had been issued, and meetings where senior managers encouraged claims examiners to deny claims to close out cases more quickly.

"It's a complete mess," she said of the program. "And a complete waste of taxpayers' money."

DOL officials declined earlier this year to address Block's allegations.

Standing their ground

Mike Chance oversees DOL's resource centers, 11 offices across the country that are designed to help sick nuclear weapons workers file claims for compensation and medical coverage. Chance was the lead DOL official at the Navajo cooperation ceremony.

After the ceremony, Chance was about to start a "town hall" meeting at the Navajo chapter house in Tuba City, Ariz., to describe benefits available to sick workers and their families.

One of those benefits is home health care, if a doctor orders it for a gravely ill worker. Although Chance did not mention this benefit during the meeting, the labor department has approved Denver-based home health care company Professional Case Management as one provider. The company had been invited by the Navajo Nation to participate. But when employees of the company tried to set up a table to display their services, Chance ousted them from the public meeting.

Chance said he was not allowed to comment to the media, but he was overheard saying that he ousted Professional Case Management because DOL did not want to appear to endorse the company, which is suing DOL for failure to pay covered medical expenses of some of its clients.

Chance held a second town hall meeting on the Navajo reservation the next day in Kayenta, Ariz., near the Four Corners area. Again, he ejected the Professional Case Management employees. Martinez, who was setting up an information table with staff from his Office of Navajo Uranium Workers, confronted him.

Martinez told Chance that he and his entire staff also would leave if the home health care display was not allowed. Chance let them put the display in the hallway of the Kayenta Recreation Center, outside the auditorium where the meeting was being held.

The memories of the cooperation ceremony fiasco were still burning in Martinez's mind as he stood outside the century-old, eight-sided mud and log Hogan where his grandmother grew up, amid the red sands of eastern Arizona, just over the border from Colorado.

Years of frustration fueled the fire inside him.

"Time doesn't mean anything to the Department of Labor," he said. "They're not thinking about the individuals out there who are suffering. Congress is the only one that can do anything about this. And if we keep pushing them, maybe they will."

frankl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5091

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Ben Ortiz was warned that steps to help his case will backfire

2008-07-21T08:04:01Z

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/20/ben-ortiz-was-warned-steps-help-his-case-will-back/

NAMBE, N.M. — There is a saying in Spanish: En boca cerrada, no entran moscas.

Ben Ortiz had not heard it in ages when a government doctor asked him if he knew what it meant. Ortiz, who was seeing the doctor at the top secret Los Alamos nuclear weapons lab because he believed that toxic exposures there had made him sick, knew exactly what it meant:

"It means keep your mouth shut," Ortiz said.

But Ortiz has not.

For 20 years, he has spoken out about sickness that he and fellow Los Alamos workers suffer. Sitting in the home he built at the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, he looks out across the valley toward the mesa top where the giant lab still operates.

Ortiz was one of the first workers to speak publicly about the ill workers' plight, testifying to Congress about the need for a compensation program because he thought it was the right thing to do. And he was one of the first to file for compensation after the program was created in 2000.

But Ortiz still has not been fully compensated, even though the federal government has acknowledged that some of his many health problems are work-related.

Ortiz said he believes that speaking out and getting his elected representatives involved has cost him. He said an official at the federal resource center set up to help workers with their claims told him that every time his senator or congressman inquires on his behalf about the delay, it only delays his case further.

Officials at the Denver office of the U.S. Department of Labor, which runs the compensation program, told him that the massive three-ring binder of evidence he had compiled with help from the office of his congressman, Tom Udall, had been lost.

Ortiz, 70, is one of several leading advocates for the ill workers nationwide who have experienced unexplained delays and unexplained mistakes in their compensation claims.

"I don't think it's a coincidence," he said.

Not that Ortiz expected the road to be easy. He had long tried to sound the alarm that toxic exposures at the weapons lab in New Mexico had ruined his health and that of others.

Ortiz had endured humiliation when the Los Alamos doctor and two others blamed his debilitating health problems on age (he was 50 at the time) or his imagination. One even questioned if Ortiz was making himself sick by practicing witchcraft.

"I wasn't going to let those people tell me I was imagining this," he said.

Turns out he wasn't.

Three experts on the health effects of chemical exposure have said that Ortiz's work at the atomic bomb laboratory caused his health problems, which include liver damage, brain damage and blackouts.

Ortiz is losing control of his right hand. His speech and his senses of smell and taste are damaged. He cannot identify the smell of coffee or tell the difference between salt and sugar. Inhaling any chemicals — even auto exhaust — sends him into migraine-like headaches.

Neurotoxicologist Raymond Singer, who has consulted with the Justice Department and FBI, wrote in a report 15 years ago that "Mr. Ortiz was poisoned by solvents and related substances at Los Alamos National Laboratories, causing enduring neurotoxicity and neuropsychological deficits."

Even that was not enough to qualify him for full compensation.

"I was a good employee," Ortiz said of his work as a mechanical technician. He soldered silver and cadmium and worked bare-handed, nearly elbow deep, in vats of chemical solvents. "They shouldn't do this to employees."
Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

With a 25-pound liver

2008-07-21T07:57:24Z

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/20/25-pound-liver-janine-anderson-was-told-she-isnt-t/

With a 25-pound liver, Janine Anderson was told she isn't too sick

MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Janine Anderson spent seven years as a secretary at the Oak Ridge nuclear reservation, one of the nation's premier nuclear weapons development and production complexes.

But that safe-sounding office position didn't protect her from the toxic exposure that has ravaged her body. Her lungs are scarred with deadly beryllium, a key ingredient in atomic bombs. Her immune system is attacking her body, which harbors an array of heavy metals in toxic quantities. Her liver is so enlarged that it is threatening to burst through her abdominal wall.

She states matter-of-factly that her prognosis is grim.

"Eventually my liver will crowd out my heart, my lungs, everything," she said. "I don't know how much longer I have." She is finding it harder to eat and to breathe.

Anderson helped found the Alliance of Nuclear Workers Advocacy Groups. So far, she has personally helped fellow workers receive more than $2.5 million in compensation from a federal program to aid sick weapons workers.

Many are former co-workers from her administration building. Anderson lists them by disease: brain tumor, leukemia, asbestosis, breast cancer and lung cancer.

"Every single person I worked with except my boss got sick," she said.

But for seven years, the government repeatedly denied most of Anderson's own claim, citing her advocacy work on behalf of others as evidence that she must not be too sick.

Anderson is among several advocates interviewed by the Rocky Mountain News whose claims for compensation have been derailed by the government. The advocates believe that their problems are related to their criticism of the troubled program.

Anderson wonders how and why the program case managers sought out information about her advocacy work, while they failed for so long to take note of the evidence that eventually proved her claim.

In the last few months, the U.S. Labor Department suddenly began approving parts of her claim — a total of 32 medical conditions that they say she suffers because of her job at the bomb factory. They have not explained why those same conditions had been repeatedly rejected for compensation in previous years.

But program officials may have waited too late for Anderson. Her physicians have told her that her liver now weighs more than 25 pounds — a healthy human liver weighs about three pounds.

A series of experts have told her that this condition is inoperable.

Anderson's finances are in a shambles. She and her husband, Richard, have refinanced their home three times in an attempt to meet staggering medical bills.

She worries about how the end will come and what will happen to her husband.

"I'm just trying to get realistic, so it's not such a shock when they tell me they can't do anything," she said. "I want to know if I only have six months or a year to live."

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Deadly denial

2008-07-21T07:53:01Z

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/jul/20/deadly-denial/

The Americans who built the nation's nuclear weapons are still fighting a cold war.

Tens of thousands of sick nuclear arms workers — or their survivors — from every state in the nation have applied for compensation that Congress established for them in 2000. But most have never seen a dime.

Congress promised these Cold War patriots an efficient, compassionate path to atonement. But a Rocky Mountain News investigation found that the government has derailed aid to workers by keeping reports secret from them, constantly changing rules and delaying cases until sick workers died.

Many ill workers have become mired in a process so adversarial that top program officials at one point considered putting some of them under government surveillance — spying on them.

"These are heroes from the Cold War who risked their lives to build nuclear weapons," said Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico who oversaw the nation's weapons complex as U.S. energy secretary and helped create the compensation program. "The bureaucracy has placed so many barriers, it's almost criminal that workers and their families are not being compensated."

Thousands of nuclear arms workers became sick or died building atomic weapons to defend America. They did top-secret work that exposed them to radiation, chemicals, heavy metals and other poisons. For half a century, the federal government's official policy was to fight any workers who claimed job-related illness, often spending tens of millions in tax dollars annually to do so. The government at times absolutely denied that the workers faced undue danger. It was a flat-out lie.

All of that was supposed to have changed at the start of this decade, when the Clinton administration reversed the government's stonewalling and a Republican Congress decided to pay sick workers' medical bills and offer them $150,000 in compensation.

Congress passed the landmark Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act in 2000, saying that the nuclear weapons workers had been on the front lines of the Cold War and deserved compensation for the illness and death their jobs caused.

The workers were to be compensated if evidence linked their radiation or chemical exposures to their illnesses. Congress realized that the secrecy surrounding their jobs could make finding proof particularly difficult, and instructed government agencies to help the workers through the process.

The compensation program got off to a wasteful start when the Department of Energy ran up a $90 million administrative bill in four years but compensated only 32 people.

Congress thought it had fixed the program when it fired the energy department from the job in 2004 and transferred the entire responsibility to the U.S. Department of Labor, which had explicit instructions to make the compensation "timely, uniform and adequate."

Since then, sick nuclear workers have protested bitterly about the program's failure to meet their needs. In 2006, congressional hearings uncovered White House attempts to cut costs by denying compensation to more workers.

Congress was reassured when labor department officials repeatedly testified that the cost reduction plans had been jettisoned, and that they were compensating many more people than officials originally thought would even apply.

But the Rocky's investigation found that the labor department has delayed the cases of sick nuclear weapons workers or their survivors across the nation by giving misleading information, withholding records essential to their cases, failing to inform them of alternative paths to aid, repeatedly claiming to have lost evidence sent by ill workers and making requirements for compensation impossibly high.

"It's denial by design," said Janine Anderson, a sick worker who has spent seven years fighting for compensation while the government alternated between losing her file and denying her case. "I'll go to my deathbed believing this was set up to deny claims."

Thwarting the will of Congress

Only one in four sick workers or their survivors has been compensated, according to the labor department's own statistics. Some 165,000 claims have been filed, but fewer than 43,000 have been paid — and even then, it has taken an average three years to qualify.

While the law says that the government is supposed to help sick workers with their claims, the people running the compensation program instead have at times ignored the law and thwarted the will of Congress.

"There is no question that when it comes to this program, this administration has been more than willing to ignore the law when it disagrees with Congress' intent," said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, who repeatedly has tried to intervene on behalf of sick workers in his home state of Illinois. "It must be remembered that these laws were passed by a Republican majority in Congress.

"While many workers or their families have been compensated, there is no doubt that what Congress intended when it created this program simply has not materialized and as a result, many deserving workers have been left out by the current legislation."

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, said, "The intent of the legislation should be fulfilled — these workers should be adequately compensated and treated for their injuries and illnesses. The health problems of these individuals are tragic and this program should administer benefits and compensation in an effective and timely manner."

The Rocky first requested an interview for this series with the labor department's Shelby Hallmark, director of compensation programs, on May 13. After receiving no response to repeated requests, the newspaper sent Hallmark a 3-page letter on June 10 outlining the findings of its investigation. Hallmark sent an e-mail saying the department would respond.

But it has not.

On July 7, the Rocky sent its findings to the White House. A spokesman there said DOL would speak for the administration. Since then, a DOL spokesman has promised on three separate occasions to deliver a written response. That didn't happen by deadline for this report.

However, labor department officials previously have said that the compensation program is a success.

More than 42,000 sick workers or their survivors have been paid $3.95 billion, an average of about $94,000 each. In a news release issued last month, on the day that ill workers were picketing DOL's district offices across the country, officials said that compensation for this year alone is expected to reach $1 billion.

For perspective, that is less than the $1.4 billion that the federal government pays each year to maintain the stockpile of weapons that the sick workers built.

In reviewing hundreds of documents, analyzing compensation program data and statistics, and interviewing more than 100 sick workers and their survivors across the United States, the Rocky found:

The labor department delayed awards to some claimants until they died. One in 17 sick workers or survivors with valid claims — more than 1,200 people nationwide — died before they received their benefits. Even some of the claims that by law should be compensated automatically are being inexplicably delayed or denied.

Millions of dollars have been spent redoing technical work that was faulty, while top labor department officials directing the program have collected tens of thousands of dollars each in bonus money. Officials refused to explain why the bonuses have been paid. Meanwhile, two out of every three claims sent for scientific analysis — at the National Institute for Occupation Safety and Health — have had to be re-examined or redone.

Program officials ignored the law and their own rules. They changed rules midstream so claimants who had been told they would receive compensation were instead denied.

For example, some claimants from the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons complex northwest of Denver were formally notified last November that they would be compensated. Then DOL changed the way it calculated eligibility for those claimants and rescinded the approval. In another example, DOL issued instructions undermining claims for some illnesses despite known links to workplace exposures — including prostate cancer, the cancer for which workers have filed claims most frequently.

Claimants who publicly criticized the program experienced perplexing delays, with evidence suggesting that their activism was held against them.

Claims were manipulated and claims examiners were encouraged to deny claims.

Attorney Anne Block, a former claims examiner in the compensation program's Seattle office, said that the program's problems stem from an anti-claimant attitude that trickles down from the highest levels.

Block said she was wrongly fired for being too helpful to claimants and is filing a lawsuit. She told of managers purposely delaying claims, notes attached to sick workers' files labeling them "known troublemaker" and pressure from above to deny claims.

Block said that in September 2007, assistant district director Tracy Johnson called a meeting of claims examiners to push them to make decisions on claims that had been languishing for more than 300 days at the Seattle office, which has the lowest rate of claim approval among the four district offices.

"She said, 'I know 99.9 percent of these are denials. I want five or six recommended decisions to deny out the door for each of you,'" Block said. "How could you accept a claim when you'd just been told by the boss you were supposed to deny them?"

Labor department spokesman Loren Smith said earlier this year that officials would not respond to Block's allegations.

'It all started falling apart'

Block said she believes that the anti-claimant attitude comes from top labor department officials Hallmark, director of the Office of Worker Compensation Programs, Peter Turcic, program director, and deputy director Roberta Mosier.

An internal e-mail from Mosier to other program officials, including Turcic, obtained by the Rocky shows that she considered in 2006 asking the labor department's inspector general to put a sick claimant under surveillance to see if the claimant was as ill as his doctor said.

Mosier was responding to a report called in to one of DOL's district offices by another claimant who accused the man of going fishing when he was supposedly sick enough to require home health care.

While thousands of claims languish for years, the alleged fisherman quickly rose to the attention of the program's top administrators. The home health agency involved said recently that DOL is still paying for his care.

In another e-mail, Mosier discusses whether the department's inspector general could send someone "undercover" to a meeting between claimants and the health care provider.

That move was part of an ongoing attempt to decertify a Denver home health care company that was holding public meetings across the country to let claimants know they are eligible for home health care if their doctors order it.

In seven years, the labor department has never announced a verified case of fraud in the program.

"It is deeply troubling that this administration would assume that these workers are lying about their work conditions and their illnesses," Obama said. "The great irony of the situation is that this program was created because the government misled these workers for so many years."

David Harris, a former claims examiner in the Denver DOL office, said he was never pressured to deny cases, but he and other examiners faced "killer" pressure to move claims through the office quickly. And he agreed with Block about who was driving that pressure.

"It comes from up above," said Harris, who left the office two years ago for a job in another federal agency. "You can get quality or you can get quantity, but you can't get both. But (claims examiners) can't score highly (on job evaluations) if they're not doing the quantity of work."

Harris said the intense deadlines started after Congress gave DOL responsibility for the entire program in 2004. Until then, half of it had been administered by the energy department. Officials were under pressure to quickly move thousands of complex cases that had stalled.

"That's when it all started falling apart," he said.

But increases in both claims and complexity cannot explain all of the problems that the program faces, said some of its most vocal critics.

Former Rocky Flats worker George Barrie, whose wife, Terrie, is a leading advocate for ill workers nationwide, has fought seven years to prove he qualifies.

Just before his case was denied, he requested a copy of the entire case file. In it were letters from his wife's organization, completely unrelated to his case. [See Barrie, page 10]

Former Los Alamos worker Ben Ortiz was one of the first workers to call for a compensation program and one of the first to file for it after it was created. Despite showing links between his job and his brain damage, he is still waiting for full compensation seven years after first applying. He said a government official told him every time his senator or congressman inquires on his behalf about the delay, it only delays his case further. [See Ortiz, page 8]

Janine Anderson, the former worker at the Oak Ridge nuclear weapons complex in Tennessee, helped found the Alliance of Nuclear Workers Advocacy Groups. So far, she has helped fellow workers receive $2.5 million in compensation. But the government denied most of her claim for seven years, citing her advocacy work as evidence that she must not be too sick.

DOL recently reversed its stance toward Anderson and approved more than 30 of her ailments that it previously had denied were work-related, but it might be too late. Anderson has been told that her severe liver condition is inoperable. [See Anderson, page 8]

Vina Colley, of Portsmouth, Ohio, helped found National Nuclear Workers for Justice, and was active in calling for help for ill workers since before the compensation program was formed. She has letters from multiple doctors stating that they believe her ailments are linked to toxic exposures. But officials shelved her claim for years, for reasons she still hasn't figured out. Despite the fact that Ohio workers' compensation officials agreed that she has work-related illnesses, the federal government denied parts of her claim multiple times and has yet to fully compensate her.

Advocates are not the only ones whose cases have been derailed or delayed. Many other claimants have been stalled by a bewildering array of obstacles.

Douglas DelForge died in February at age 46 after battling brain tumors for 15 years. His claim had been approved, but DOL officials acknowledged that they had delayed his payment for lost wages. His parents are still waiting for the labor department to explain why. If an explanation comes, it likely will be all they get from DOL. The law prevents parents from being compensated for a child's death.

Sue Yourishin and her brother, Steve Bock, lost their mother to lung, brain and bone cancer after she worked 20 years at Rocky Flats. They received a letter from DOL last November saying that they would be compensated. Three months later, they received another letter saying they wouldn't be, because DOL had changed its own rules for deciding who receives compensation.

A "claimant friendly" estimation of their mother's radiation dose had included exposure to neutron radiation, a particularly dangerous form. But when it became clear that exposure to neutron radiation would garner automatic compensation because it had gone unmonitored for years, program officials withdrew that assumption for their mother's case and others.

University of Iowa researcher Marek Mikulski studies sick workers. He has tried to help some get compensation. If they qualify for the first part of the program that covers cancer and lung disease, they are supposed to be covered automatically under the second part, which offers lost wages and impairment payments for any health problems related to any toxic exposure.

But Mikulski said that some workers he helped never were told about the second part of the program despite being approved for the first.

Kay Barker, whose late husband worked at Rocky Flats, and Sherrie Neff, who worked at a uranium plant in Fernald, Ohio, both tried to obtain information that the government had concerning workplace exposures at the sites. Although the law requires the government to help claimants, Barker was told that her request would cost more than $1,500 and Neff was told that hers would be $35,000.

All of these hurdles may save the government money, said U.S. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., whose district includes the former Rocky Flats site.

"That's legitimate in some cases," Udall said. "But not in this, when it come down to people's lives — people who really worked on behalf of all of us."

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

The Farallon Islands Nuclear Waste Dump

2008-07-13T08:25:56Z

http://www.energy-net.org/blog/?p=506#comment-2

The Farallon Islands Nuclear Waste Dump

November 14, 2007 at 8:12 pm · Filed under California, Nuclear Waste

http://socket.kongshem.com/2007/10/farallon-islands-nuclear-waste-dump.html#links
The Farallon Islands Nuclear Waste Dump

If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, you may be surprised to learn that “more than 47,800 drums and other containers of low-level radioactive waste were dumped onto the ocean floor west of San Francisco between 1946 and 1970.” (Source: The U.S. Geological Survey, a bureau of the Department of the Interior.)

Permalink
1 Comment »

1.
admin said,

November 14, 2007 @ 8:21 pm

As usual, most of the history around the Farallons nuclear dump has been lost and found several times over, as if this were some kind of lost pirates treasure.

Sadly, there have quite a few media moments around the issue, with the last one being in the early 1990’s when a satellite mapping project uncovered the sunken aircraft carrier.

Probably the largest blast occurred when the a diving team uncovered the barrels of waste in the late 70’s. Hearings were held but the whole public outcry was quickly shutdown by calling for further investigations. As part of the whole bay area antinuclear movement one east bay group organized a giant Sponge group that could be counted on to show up with interesting costumes reminding us of the mutant sponges that the Tektite II divers found.

Barbara Boxer, who was a representative at the time helped kill one of the controversies, pushing the issue into “investigation Hell”.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Suit Legal Fees top $9 Million

2008-07-13T08:19:58Z

http://www.wpsdtv.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=a099df3c-d9ba-45d4-a380-787ab4760297

Property owners near the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion plant claim four law firms have been paid $9.4 million to defend the plant's former owners
By Griff Potter

The attorney for 80 property owners near the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion plant claims four law firms have been paid $9.4 million to defend the plant's former owners in a suit filed by the property owners over ten years ago.

James Owens, attorney for the property owners said, "The amount of money the Federal Government is paying to stall claims of these Property Owners is unconscionable".

HISTORY
Last November, the Kentucky Supreme Court reinstated the suit, which had been dismissed by a Paducah Federal Court judge in January 2004.

The lawsuit alleged that water leaks from the uranium enrichment plant devalued property values.

The homeowners sued in 1997, claiming that about 10 billion gallons of polluted groundwater had damaged 82 pieces of property. They also claimed they lost use of their property and suffered loss to plants, crops, livestock and wildlife.

The KY Supreme Court reversed a decision by U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley, who dismissed the 10-year-old suit saying there wasn't enough proof enough contamination existed to pose a health hazard.

The court ruled: "Property owners are not required to prove contamination that is an actual.. health risk, nor are they required to wait until government action is taken. An intrusion which is an unreasonable interference with a property owners use of his property is sufficient evidence of an actual injury.. to award actual damages."

Now, James Owens claims those attorneys collecting large legal fees from the government are refusing to negotiate a settlement in the case.

"The defendants in the case have a contract with the Department of Energy (DOE) in which the United States government pays all expenses involved in the operation of the Plant, including litigation expenses, said Owens.

One of the property owners, Ruby English of West Paducah, filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request to learn how much the government was spending to fight the property owners.

Law Firm Costs
Vorys, Sater, Seymour & Pease $9,064,844.75
Columbus, OH

Kramer, Rayson, Leake, Rodgers & Morgan $333,026.44
Knoxville, Tn

Joseph DiStefano $39,504.90
Tracy's Landing, MD

Whitlow, Roberts, Houston & Straub $32,105.35

(Mark C. Whitlow) Paducah
TOTAL $9,469,431.44

Copyright 2008 WPSD-TV, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasted, rewritten, or redistributed.
Save/Share Story
digg Google
del.icio.us Yahoo!

Ads by GoogleWhat's this?
Qui Tam Fraud Complaint?
Former feds will help you prove qui
tam frauds exceeding $1-million
www.jameshoyer.com
10 Rules of Flat Stomach
Drop 9 lbs of Stomach Fat every
11 Days by Obeying these 10 Rules.
FatLoss4idiots.com
"You have Yellow Teeth"
The Secrets Dentists don't want
you to know about Teeth Whitening!
www.Best-Teeth-Whitening.com
Current News
24 Hour News - Breaking Stories
Watch Online!
www.russiatoday.com
Kentucky Colleges
Flexible Courses to Jump Start
Your Career! Classes Start Soon.
iLearn101.com
Email Story
To Email: To Email is Required. A valid email address is required.
Your Name: Your Name is Required.
Your Email: Your Email is Required. A valid email address is required.
Message:
Send a copy to my email

You can send a story to multiple email addresses by separating the email addresses with a semicolon (;)

This station will not store your email address or your recipient's email address or use them in any way.
Most Popular

* Local Attorney Arrested on Second DUI Offense | Video Watch Video
* Paddlefish Warning for Ohio River | Video Watch Video
* Disruptive Weekend Storms
* Burglary Suspect Turns Himself In | Video Watch Video
* Arrangements for Shadrach Boaz - Victim of Olivet Church Rd. Crash | Video Watch Video

* Ultimate Doppler 6
* Currently

Loading ...
WEATHER AUTHORITY FORECAST | MORE MAPS/RADAR
24/7 Digital Weather Channel

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Hanford vit plant gets emission stack (w/ video)

2008-07-13T08:13:44Z

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/901/story/237599.html

It's made of steel, weighs about 140,000 pounds and it took four months to assemble.

And Friday the 68-foot-tall emission stack was set atop the Analytical Laboratory building at Hanford's vitrification plant by 32 workers and engineers in an hourlong operation. The stack will help block the release of contaminants from the lab into the environment.

"It's a significant milestone, a good symbol of our progress for the community to see," said David Leeth, plant construction manager.

The $12.2 billion Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project, of which the lab is a key component, will help take care of the 53 million gallons of radioactive and chemical waste stored in underground tanks at Hanford.

The lab will analyze radioactive waste samples before they're treated to identify the best recipe to convert the waste into molten glass, and will ensure quality control in the treatment process.

The plant, which is being constructed by Bechtel National, is expected to become operational in 2019.

"Every installation we make brings us closer to operations and supports our efforts to clean up the Hanford site," said Delmar Noyes, deputy manager of the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant Project for the U.S. Department of Energy.

The plant will be the world's largest vitrification facility and will be a model for the nuclear industry to follow, he said. It's designed to last 40 years, he added.

The plant spread over 65 acres will include a pretreatment facility and separate facilities for treating low-activity waste and high-level waste. Low-activity waste will be processed faster than the high-level waste and be stored at Hanford, while high-level waste eventually will be shipped to an underground repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

For the Tri-Cities, construction of the plant is an engine of community growth. It brings federal money to the area and provides thousands of high-paying jobs, said Deanna Smith, spokeswoman for the Tri-City Development Council.

It's nice to see work at the plant is progressing well, Smith said.

About 800 to 1,000 professionals including chemical and radiological technicians and health physics specialists will be needed to run the plant when it's operating.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

River use banned after French uranium leak

2008-07-11T08:50:28Z

This is from the French AFP

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/10/nuclearpower.pollution/print

" The 75 kilogrammes of untreated uranium amounts to 6.26 cubic metres
of liquid containing 12 grammes of uranium per litre, according to Socatri."

Socatri is one of the responsible parties for the leak, so it can be
reasonably assumed they would not exaggerate the data. By any measure,
especially by US water standards 12 grams per Liter is a very high
concentration. No wonder they shut down rivers, lakes and groundwater
downstream. A fairly black eye for the so called superior French nuke
power system.

Richard

Residents in the Vaucluse, a popular southern French tourist destination, were banned yesterday from drinking well-water or swimming or fishing in two rivers after a uranium leak from one of France's nuclear power plants.

Nuclear officials yesterday revised down the amount of untreated liquid uranium that spilled from the Tricastin nuclear power centre in Bollene, saying it was limited to 75kg and ranked grade one on the one-to-seven scale of nuclear accidents. But the spillage of waste material containing uranium in the picturesque area of Provence, 30 miles from Avignon, which is currently hosting an arts festival, embarrassed the government.

Nicolas Sarkozy has prioritised exporting nuclear expertise worldwide, including to Britain. Nuclear power comprises 87% of France's electricity production, but yesterday anti-nuclear groups renewed their criticisms of the nuclear power policy.

The leak occurred when a tank was being cleaned between Monday night and Tuesday morning but was not detected until yesterday. Around 30 cubic metres of liquid containing uranium, which was not enriched, leaked out of a tank. Of this, 18 cubic metres poured on to the ground and into the nearby Gaffiere and Lauzon rivers, which flow into the Rhone. The plant has been operational since 1975.

Vaucluse authorities banned drinking well-water, fishing and eating fish from the rivers as well as swimming and water sports and irrigating crops with potentially contaminated water. One swimmer among 100 bathers asked to immediately vacate a local lake said it was as if there had been sharks in it.

Officials from the Socatri safety agency, a subsidiary of nuclear giant Areva, said groundwater, wells and rivers had shown no effects yesterday. The nuclear safety authority said radioactive levels detected in rivers and lakes in the region were decreasing.

The prefecture of Vaucluse said the leaked uranium should only be found in very small quantities and the risk was low but the ban on drinking, fishing and swimming would continue.

Germany's Social Democrat environment minister, Michael Müller, whose party is opposed to nuclear energy, said yesterday that the incident should not be taken lightly. "It's no trifle when active uranium penetrates the soil," he told Agence France Presse.

The French environmental group, the Committee for Independent Research and Information on Radioactivity, said that the radioactivity released into the environment was at least 100 times higher than the fixed limit for that site for the entire year.

Greenpeace International nuclear campaigner, Aslihan Tumer, said: "Given the restrictions on the consumption and use of water in the area, it is clear that the leak poses a risk to the local population and to the environment."
About this article
Close
This article appeared in the Guardian on Thursday July 10 2008 on p21 of the International section. It was last updated at 10:10 on July 10 2008.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

US removes uranium from Iraq

2008-07-11T08:12:33Z

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1107ap_iraq_yellowcake_mission.html

This is the article that broke the story about 550 tonnes ofuranium brought from Iraq to the Port of Montreal in a secretU.S. military operation. The uranium was long ago obtainedfrom a mine near the town of Ukashat about 420 km. west ofBaghdad, and was stored at the Tuwaitha nuclear complex(23,000 acres in size) 15 km southeast of Baghdad. After the(first) Gulf War, in 1991, the IAEA identified and secured the yellowcake, which has been under IAEA safeguards ever since. - G. Edwards
AP Exclusive:
US removes uranium from Iraq
By BRIAN MURPHY
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

In a Monday June 9, 2003 file photo, UN inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) work at the nuclear facility in Tuwaitha, Iraq, 50 kms east of Baghdad. The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program - a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium - reached a Canadian port Saturday, July 5, 2008, to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans. (AP Photo/Saurabh Das, file)
The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program - a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium - reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.
The removal of 550 metric tons of "yellowcake" - the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment - was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam's nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried the cache would reach insurgents or smugglers crossing to Iran to aid its nuclear ambitions.
What's now left is the final and complicated push to clean up the remaining radioactive debris at the former Tuwaitha nuclear complex about 12 miles south of Baghdad - using teams that include Iraqi experts recently trained in the Chernobyl fallout zone in Ukraine.
"Everyone is very happy to have this safely out of Iraq," said a senior U.S. official who outlined the nearly three-month operation to The Associated Press. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
While yellowcake alone is not considered potent enough for a so-called "dirty bomb" - a conventional explosive that disperses radioactive material - it could stir widespread panic if incorporated in a blast. Yellowcake also can be enriched for use in reactors and, at higher levels, nuclear weapons using sophisticated equipment.
The Iraqi government sold the yellowcake to a Canadian uranium producer, Cameco Corp., in a transaction the official described as worth "tens of millions of dollars." A Cameco spokesman, Lyle Krahn, declined to discuss the price, but said the yellowcake will be processed at facilities in Ontario for use in energy-producing reactors.
"We are pleased ... that we have taken (the yellowcake) from a volatile region into a stable area to produce clean electricity, " he said.
The deal culminated more than a year of intense diplomatic and military initiatives - kept hushed in fear of ambushes or attacks once the convoys were under way: first carrying 3,500 barrels by road to Baghdad, then on 37 military flights to the Indian Ocean atoll of Diego Garcia and finally aboard a U.S.-flagged ship for a 8,500-mile trip to Montreal.
And, in a symbolic way, the mission linked the current attempts to stabilize Iraq with some of the high-profile claims about Saddam's weapons capabilities in the buildup to the 2003 invasion.
Accusations that Saddam had tried to purchase more yellowcake from the African nation of Niger - and an article by a former U.S. ambassador refuting the claims - led to a wide-ranging probe into Washington leaks that reached high into the Bush administration.
Tuwaitha and an adjacent research facility were well known for decades as the centerpiece of Saddam's nuclear efforts.
Israeli warplanes bombed a reactor project at the site in 1981. Later, U.N. inspectors documented and safeguarded the yellowcake, which had been stored in aging drums and containers since before the 1991 Gulf War. There was no evidence of any yellowcake dating from after 1991, the official said.
U.S. and Iraqi forces have guarded the 23,000-acre site - surrounded by huge sand berms - following a wave of looting after Saddam's fall that included villagers toting away yellowcake storage barrels for use as drinking water cisterns.
Yellowcake is obtained by using various solutions to leach out uranium from raw ore and can have a corn meal-like color and consistency. It poses no severe risk if stored and sealed properly. But exposure carries well-documented health concerns associated with heavy metals such as damage to internal organs, experts say.
"The big problem comes with any inhalation of any of the yellowcake dust," said Doug Brugge, a professor of public health issues at the Tufts University School of Medicine.
Moving the yellowcake faced numerous hurdles.
Diplomats and military leaders first weighed the idea of shipping the yellowcake overland to Kuwait's port on the Persian Gulf. Such a route, however, would pass through Iraq's Shiite heartland and within easy range of extremist factions, including some that Washington claims are aided by Iran. The ship also would need to clear the narrow Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Gulf, where U.S. and Iranian ships often come in close contact.
Kuwaiti authorities, too, were reluctant to open their borders to the shipment despite top-level lobbying from Washington.
An alternative plan took shape: shipping out the yellowcake on cargo planes.
But the yellowcake still needed a final destination. Iraqi government officials sought buyers on the commercial market, where uranium prices spiked at about $120 per pound last year. It's currently selling for about half that. The Cameco deal was reached earlier this year, the official said.
At that point, U.S.-led crews began removing the yellowcake from the Saddam-era containers - some leaking or weakened by corrosion - and reloading the material into about 3,500 secure barrels.
In April, truck convoys started moving the yellowcake from Tuwaitha to Baghdad's international airport, the official said. Then, for two weeks in May, it was ferried in 37 flights to Diego Garcia, a speck of British territory in the Indian Ocean where the U.S. military maintains a base.
On June 3, an American ship left the island for Montreal, said the official, who declined to give further details about the operation.
The yellowcake wasn't the only dangerous item removed from Tuwaitha.
Earlier this year, the military withdrew four devices for controlled radiation exposure from the former nuclear complex. The lead-enclosed irradiation units, used to decontaminate food and other items, contain elements of high radioactivity that could potentially be used in a weapon, according to the official. Their Ottawa-based manufacturer, MDS Nordion, took them back for free, the official said.
The yellowcake was the last major stockpile from Saddam's nuclear efforts, but years of final cleanup is ahead for Tuwaitha and other smaller sites.
The U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency plans to offer technical expertise.
Last month, a team of Iraqi nuclear experts completed training in the Ukrainian ghost town of Pripyat, which once housed the Chernobyl workers before the deadly meltdown in 1986, said an IAEA official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the decontamination plan has not yet been publicly announced.
But the job ahead is enormous, complicated by digging out radioactive "hot zones" entombed in concrete during Saddam's rule, said the IAEA official. Last year, an IAEA safety expert, Dennis Reisenweaver, predicted the cleanup could take "many years."
The yellowcake issue also is one of the many troubling footnotes of the war for Washington.
A CIA officer, Valerie Plame, claimed her identity was leaked to journalists to retaliate against her husband, former Ambassador Joe Wilson, who wrote that he had found no evidence to support assertions that Iraq tried to buy additional yellowcake from Niger.
A federal investigation led to the conviction of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Where Nukes Go To Die

2008-07-11T07:55:06Z

http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsub/articles/20080709.aspx

Where Nukes Go To Die

The U.S. has decommissioned over a hundred nuclear subs. These "nukes" are eventually dismantled at the Puget Sound Naval Base in Bremerton, Washington. The nuclear fuel is removed. The radioactive portions of the reactor compartment are shipped, by barge, some 500 kilometers down the coast, and moved inland 40 kilometers by truck to storage trenches in the Hanford nuclear storage facility. Hanford is in a desert area, and it will take about 600 years for the buried metal components to completely degrade.

The non-radioactive portions of the sub (over 95 percent of the metal) is sold for scrap. Even with that, it costs the U.S. Navy about $30 million to dismantle each nuclear sub.

The U.S., and other industrialized nations, have paid for a similar program to deal with over a hundred Soviet era Russian nuclear subs. Before this program was created, in the 1990s, the Russians were simply sinking their old nuclear boats off their northern coast, hoping no one would notice. But Scandinavian nations, that fish these waters, did note an increase in underwater radioactivity, and inquiries were made.

The first nuclear powered carrier to be dismantled will cost much more (over $500 million), because of more reactors, and more noxious (but non-nuclear) materials. More recent nuclear ships are being built for less expensive dismantling and disposal. This subject was brought up half a century ago, when the first nuclear ships were built. But much less was known about the subject, so the disposal angle got little attention.

Comment from Richard I have a very good friend this was his job i will be contacting him to explain you will be in shock,

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Contaminated US site faces 'catastrophic' nuclear leak

2008-07-11T07:36:44Z

New Scientist
July 9, 2008

http://environment.newscientist.com/channel/earth/energy-fuels/mg19926642.900-contaminated-us-site-faces-catastrophic-nuclear-leak.html
Contaminated US site faces 'catastrophic' nuclear leak
ONE of "the most contaminated places on Earth" will only get dirtier if the US government doesn't get its act together - clean-up plans are already 19 years behind schedule and not due for completion until 2050.

More than 210 million litres of radioactive and chemical waste are stored in 177 underground tanks at Hanford in Washington State. Most are over 50 years old. Already 67 of the tanks have failed, leaking almost 4 million litres of waste into the ground.

There are now "serious questions about the tanks' long-term viability," says a Government Accountability Office report, which strongly criticises the US Department of Energy for delaying an $8 billion programme to empty the tanks and treat the waste. The DoE says the clean-up is "technically challenging" and argues that it is making progress in such a way as to protect human health and the environment.

The DoE's plan, however, is "faith-based" , says Robert Alvarez, an authority on Hanford at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC. "The risk of catastrophic tank failure will sharply increase as each year goes by," he says, "and one of the nation's largest rivers, the Columbia, will be in jeopardy."

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

4 Real-Life WALL*E Robots Cleaning Up After Nuke Waste

2008-07-08T10:58:05Z

This article includes photos of the robots used inside of Hanford's waste tanks

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/robotics/4271364.html

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Nuclear Agency Weighs Attack Threat at Plants

2008-07-08T10:54:14Z

By MATTHEW L. WALD
Published: July 2, 2008
ROCKVILLE, Md. - Dragged by a federal appeals court into a rare public
discussion of the risks that terrorists could attack a nuclear plant, the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission heard arguments on Tuesday from a California
group that the commission's staff had overlooked one category of potentially
serious attacks.

The commission, determined to dispose of the issue promptly, heard the
arguments directly instead of delegating them to administrative law judges,
the first time since 1989 that the sitting commissioners have heard such
oral arguments.

But the three-hour session was not a revealing one, largely because the
lawyer for the commission staff said there were major issues that could not
be described in open session without compromising national security.

The commission's ruling could be important because the spent fuel storage
system proposed for the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, near Avila Beach,
Calif., is being adopted at scores of other reactor sites around the country
because of the Energy Department's failure to establish a national burial
site for used fuel. At issue was whether storage casks that the Pacific Gas
and Electric Company wants to build at the Diablo Canyon plant could be hit
with incendiary missiles, piercing the steel and concrete shell and lighting
the metal cladding of the fuel. If that happened, plant opponents contend,
the fire could turn radioactive cesium into a gas, which would float widely
with the wind and then resolidify.

"I cannot discuss anything that concerns what scenarios the staff considers
credible," said Lisa B. Clark, the lawyer for the commission staff.

Ms. Clark added that the staff was aware of the mode of attack raised by the
California group, San Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace. "It does not alter the
staff's conclusion that there would not be any significant environmental
consequences of a terrorist attack," she said.

But the lawyer for the mothers' group, Diane Curran, said that the
commission staff had provided a list of the background documents it relied
on, and that these did not cover the threat described by her group's
technical consultants.

"The most obvious thing wasn't even on the table, not even remotely," Ms.
Curran said.

In calculating the threat of accident, the commission takes into account the
probability of the event, and its consequences, but the commission has long
argued that it is impossible to calculate the probability of a terrorist
attack and thus it does not need to take that threat into account when
approving installations like the cask storage.

But the mothers' group sued and demanded an analysis of that risk, and in
June 2006 won a favorable ruling from the United States Court of Appeals for
the Ninth Circuit, in San Francisco. The commission staff then performed an
environmental assessment, which is an abbreviated version of an
environmental impact statement, and concluded that there would be no
significant impact from the threat of terrorism against the casks.

The details of how the staff reached that conclusion were evidently murky
even to one of the four commissioners who heard the case on Tuesday. The
commissioner, Gregory B. Jaczko, asked how the staff could assume that the
risk was low if it could not assign a numerical value to the likelihood of
an attack.

"Well, you have to use your judgment," Ms. Clark said.

For accidents, she said, "we're very comfortable, and we understand how to
deal with probability, how to evaluate it in quantitative terms." But the
threat of terrorism "is going to take us outside of that familiar space,"
she continued.

Still, she asserted, "the staff's judgment, based on their experience,"
indicated that this was not a threat to the environment. The casks, she
said, were "robust."

Mr. Jaczko responded, "So we're down to the staff's belief that this
probably isn't going to happen?"

The chairman of the commission, Dale E. Klein, tried through questions to
make the case that even if an attack were successful, people would be
exposed to doses of radiation that were quite small.

The mothers' group was advised by Gordon D. Thompson, a physicist, who said
that the chimneylike design of the casks, intended to keep the fuel from
overheating, could help fan a fire. Ms. Clark argued that Mr. Thompson had
not seen the intelligence reports on the capabilities of terrorists, but Ms.
Curran said equipment to do the job was available to "subnational groups."

"It is clear that weapons are available that can penetrate a cask and start
a fire," Ms. Curran said. "U.S. Army-shaped charges are more than capable of
penetrating concrete and armor plating."

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

A tour of Hanford reveals the dangers of the birthplace of the bomb

2008-07-08T10:40:20Z

The Oregonian
June 28, 2008
http://www.oregonli ve.com/travel/ index.ssf/ 2008/06/a_ tour_of_the_ hanford_reveals. html

A tour of Hanford reveals the dangers of the birthplace of the bomb

by James Long

Fed up with Fiji?

Bummed out by the Bahamas?

Plumb tuckered out with Paris and those five-star maxi-meals at Maxim's?

Then get on the tour bus and roll with us through the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. If, that is, you were lucky enough to win a "lottery seat" from the U.S. Department of Energy. (OK, I cheated. I used my press card. Sue me.)

For the next six hours, we'll ride through a desert that has enough radioactive waste underneath to float a tanker. We'll see dozens of decrepit buildings, many of them too dangerous to enter.

We'll be on and off the bus a half-dozen times for an opportunity to race one another to a Porta Potti or swig from water bottles provided by our host. We'll be briefed on spiders, snakes and possible electrocution hazards, and we'll be advised to stay this side of any purple-and-yellow tape marking a radiation zone.

We'll hike into the frigid bowels of an ancient nuclear reactor and freeze our buns on folding chairs as someone explains how neutron-transfer converts uranium-238 into plutonium-239 for atomic bombs.

As for the cuisine, no sweat: There isn't any.

Tickets are free. But good luck getting one.

Hard to believe as it may be, these tours are wildly popular. People from all over the world competed for the 2,000 available seats this year, snapping them up almost as soon as the online application process opened in March.

On our lucky day, the bus begins rolling north on Hanford Route 4. Guards have looked us over. Dogs have sniffed our carry-ons. We're clutching our free water bottles. Michelle Gerber, a slender lady with a nice smile and a Ph.D. in Hanford history, stands up and adjusts her mike. "Congratulations, everyone," she says. "You're lottery winners."

I follow her gaze out the window.

The first time I saw Hanford in the 1990s, what surprised me was how beautiful it was. I had just been assigned to cover it as a reporter for The Oregonian.

It still looks more like a national park than a nuclear wasteland. There's the occasional ugly building, of course. But no bubbling pools of waste. Nothing that glows.

The damage isn't easy to see.

Hanford is mostly a big desert plateau, half the size of Rhode Island, straddling the Columbia River where it bends into an upside-down "U" north of Richland, Wash. The area's remoteness was one reason the Army chose it for the Manhattan Project, the super-secret U.S. effort to build an atomic bomb during World War II.

"Most of the site was just buffer," Gerber says.

Of Hanford's original 670 square miles, less than 5 percent went for bomb work. The rest remains much as it has been since the last ice age. Golden eagles, desert elk, prehistoric lichens and rare butterflies share a landscape that includes debris mounds left by icebergs during the Missoula Floods 12,000 years ago.

Roving patrols with machine guns and bazookas kept out intruders, as well as most of the 20th century.

Ecosystem a rarity

After plutonium production ceased two decades ago, the government set aside a 120-square-mile area along Hanford's western boundary as a nature reserve. It was, biologists said, the largest shrub-steppe ecosystem -- a landscape now rarer than old-growth forest -- left in the United States.

Of course there were drawbacks. Do you want to hear about the radioactive wasp nests? Or tumbleweeds that had to be chased down as nuclear waste after someone discovered they were carrying strontium-90, among other things. Then there were the escaped alligators.

I am not making this up.

We'll get back to it. But first, our bus is approaching a bunch of low, abandoned factory buildings. Tractors and loaders sit in rubbly patches of demolition.

"The first building we pass," Gerber says, "is the fuel fabrication plant."

News photographers -- the only people on the bus allowed to have cameras -- squeeze off a few shots.

"This plant," she continues, "made 22 million pieces of uranium fuel," the first step on the path to an atomic bomb.

Gerber's mentioning the fuel made me think of Ralph Wahlen, a Hanford old-timer who was 77 and retired in Aloha when I talked to him in the 1990s. Wahlen had gotten a job in the fabrication plant when he was in his 20s, running a lathe to shape pieces of heavy silvery metal into cylinders.

"They didn't tell us it was uranium," Wahlen said. "They didn't tell us anything."

The metal was called "tube alloy," and it was strange stuff. Fine particles would catch fire spontaneously. Every scrap had to be saved. The lathe men turned out thousands of "slugs" like long, smooth rolls of silver dollars.

The B Reactor

In the fall of 1944, Wahlen and several co-workers helped move the slugs they'd made to a building miles away. They helped feed them into row upon row of horizontal holes in a thing called B Reactor, a term they'd never heard.

An elevatorlike catwalk hoisted them up the face where the holes were. Wahlen couldn't begin to fathom what was being created or what might be destroyed.

Our bus veers right, toward the river on Route 2.

On our right, an abandoned school comes up. The old Hanford town site. About 300 people lived here until the winter of 1943, when the Army gave them 30 days to move.

Hanford became a vast construction camp with as many as 51,000 workers.

"Do we have anybody who worked here?" Gerber says, scanning the passengers.

"I did." A tiny lady with short gray hair raises her hand. We dutifully applaud. Betty Breitenfeldt is 85 now. She tells me she was teaching in a one-room school in Iowa when she and a girlfriend heard about Hanford and drove out together. "I wanted to work in a laboratory but the only thing they offered me was waitress."

Hanford secrecy was so tight that all sorts of rumors sprang up: The government was building a poison-gas factory. It was building a concentration camp. It was building a germ-warfare laboratory to experiment on humans.

The real story was hardly less bizarre.

Unknowns plentiful

Hanford was the brainchild of a scientist who was legally a citizen of Italy, then allied with Germany in war against the United States. Construction started on Hanford's most complicated facility, the world's first full-scale nuclear reactor, before blueprints were finished -- and while designers argued over crucial details. They were unsure of practically everything: whether the reactor would work, how to detonate a plutonium bomb, and whether such a bomb might explode a little too well and ignite the Earth 's atmosphere, burning the planet to a cinder.

Elvin Barton, an FBI agent assigned to Hanford security, told me years later that he'd sat in on a meeting at which the Armageddon scenario was discussed.

"They decided it wouldn't happen, but here are all these big scientists talking about it and I'm just this little FBI agent sitting in the corner ... and I can't say a word because everything's a secret."

The first reactor we drive past is 100-F. Not the oldest, just the first on our route. There are nine in all. All closed.

The three original Manhattan Project reactors -- B, D and F -- were supplemented with five more -- H, DR, C, KW and KE -- between 1949 and 1955. A ninth reactor, N Reactor, went online in 1963. Over time, the nine made an estimated 64 metric tons of plutonium, enough for tens of thousands of warheads.

When the Manhattan Project started, the Army already knew how to make a nuclear bomb with natural uranium-235. But uranium was saddled with a big downside. Uranium-235 made up less than 1 percent of natural uranium and couldn't be chemically separated from the common form, uranium-238, because they were chemically identical. They had to be physically separated. That was tough, requiring thousands of filters.

Why it was built

Collecting 50 or 60 pounds that way was absurd, which is mainly why Hanford was built. It was all about plutonium. Plutonium is similar to U-235 but chemically different, allowing it to be separated fairly easily. And plutonium packed more nuclear energy. A piece the size of a cue ball and weighing maybe 10 pounds could level a fair-sized city.

Our bus turns through a gate in a chainlink fence.

In front of us is B Reactor. It was not only the first reactor ever built, but the first reactor to be called a reactor. "Reactor" was a code name, like "tube alloy." It was used instead of the name that its inventors gave it, which was "atomic pile." The cover name stuck, and now the world has reactors instead of piles.

B Reactor has not grown handsomer with age. Its boxy concrete shapes are weatherstained, giving way here and there to cinderblock. Rusty pipes duck in and out.

We get a snakes-and-bats briefing before they let us inside.

The foyer could be that of any small factory: buffed-concrete floors, white-over-green walls, a pegboard with a sign-in sheet, a water cooler, a building floor plan with instructions on what to do if an alarm goes off.

A long corridor leads to a cavernous room, four stories tall inside and dimly lit. The reactor face -- a big, black waffle iron -- takes up nearly one whole wall.

The slug-loading ports -- 2,004 altogether -- protrude in our direction like stubby fireplugs. They ascend row after row, each with a stubby "pigtail" or hose for the pressurized coolant water. The water's rush was the only noise the reactor made.

History's first bomb

The plutonium for history's first atomic bomb came from here, the one that turned night into day in the New Mexican desert near Alamogordo on July 16, 1945, and for the "Fat Man" bomb that obliterated Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, helping bring World War II to an abrupt end.

Burt Pierard motions us to sit.

He's a friendly guy with a gray beard, tattoos, an earring and a ponytail held neatly by four leather wraps. He's a tour guide for the Hanford Reactor Museum Association, which is among the groups that want B Reactor preserved as a national historic site.

This relic, he tells us, wasn't made to do what civilian power reactors do, which is heat water into steam to make electricity. B Reactor was in the alchemy business, the old human dream of turning one element into another. Except B Reactor didn't turn iron into gold; it turned uranium into plutonium.

B Reactor was conceived by a "Mr. Farmer," as he was known at Hanford. His real name, Enrico Fermi, would have given away the ballgame.

Fermi had defected to the United States during a 1938 trip to Stockholm to pick up a Nobel Prize in physics. His wife, Laura, was Jewish, and they feared her arrest if they returned to Italy, an ally of Nazi Germany.

In 1942, Fermi and his colleagues built the first small reactor in a vacant squash court at the University of Chicago. It ran for only a few minutes but proved that a chain reaction was possible.

B Reactor was a scaled-up Chicago pile. Both used a stack of graphite blocks with holes drilled through them to hold pieces of radioactive uranium. Graphite, Pierard reminds us, was key.

Slowing neutrons

Whenever a uranium atom naturally disintegrated, one of the particles it ejected was a neutron. If the neutron traveled at its normal high speed and hit another uranium atom, it tended to just bounce off. But if it traveled more slowly, the other atom had a chance to catch it. That's what the graphite was for -- to slow down the neutrons as they passed through it from one hole to another.

A uranium atom that captured a neutron would either split and send out neutrons of its own to strike other atoms -- a "chain reaction" -- or it would absorb the neutron and change into a new element. This is how B Reactor made plutonium in Wahlen's slugs.

Atoms of natural uranium-238 that absorbed an extra neutron became uranium-239, which morphed quickly into plutonium-239. Bomb stuff. About one-twentieth of 1 percent of the uranium-238 became bomb-usable plutonium.

"Any questions," Burt asks. "No?"

He grins.

B Reactor was as conceptually simple as the digestive system of a goat. You pushed a new uranium slug in the front and an old one dropped out the back, containing plutonium. The 64,000 slugs that underwent alchemy at any one time were inched along over a 100-day period until they were excreted into a deep pool of water, sizzling hot and glowing an eerie blue from their now-intense radioactivity.

The chimney we saw as we arrived was for a ventilation system that swept air out of the building, including stray fission products such as iodine-131, which drifted silently to nearby farms. There, cows ate tainted grass and passed along the radioactivity, in their milk, to people.

Separation plants

But B Reactor's emissions were nothing compared with the brownish clouds that poured out of the separation plants. To extract plutonium, the slugs were dissolved in hot nitric acid, creating a waste stream thousands of times more voluminous than the product. Almost everything except the tiny bit of plutonium and the recoverable uranium was a screaming-hot radioactive stew that was routed mostly to the underground tanks.

That was just the beginning.

Our bus turns south to the place the slugs were processed, the so-called 200 Areas on the central plateau.

Some 53 million gallons of radiochemical waste are still stored here in 177 giant underground tanks. At least 67 have leaked, and one known as C-106 boiled until fairly recently from its own radioactivity.

The only clues to the tanks' presence are chainlink fences surrounding graveled areas with pipes and access panels. No plants are allowed to grow, lest their roots bring something dangerous to the surface.

"Half the radioactivity at Hanford is in the tanks," Gerber says.

A lot is still on the loose.

The U.S. Department of Energy estimated in the 1990s that about 450 billion gallons of liquid had been released into the ground with radioactive contaminants including iodine-129, strontium-90, technetium-99, tritium and uranium, along with such hazardous chemicals as carbon tetrachloride and chromium. About 80 square miles of aquifers are contaminated, and the Energy Department acknowledges that some has trickled into the Columbia River.

Expanding expertise

Over the years, the great variety of environmental problems at Hanford has forced authorities to expand their expertise from the nuclear sciences to such things as trapping gophers and rounding up fruit flies. Burrowing animals insist on bringing radioactive dirt to the surface, while fruit flies have proved to be fond of special paint used to immobilize radioactive contaminants in walls.

Not long ago, workers demolishing auxiliary buildings at H Reactor discovered that mud dauber wasps had been using radioactive mud to build nests. Similar incidents have resulted in radioactive birds and ants. On several occasions, Hanford officials have had to chase alligators that escaped a pen near a reactor where they were being kept for radiation-exposure studies.

The bus drops us off at an enormous hole in the ground. Thirty-five football fields would fit inside it. Yellow tractors crawl like fleas as they distribute burial containers holding some of the 8 million tons of contaminated trash collected, so far, from cleanup areas along the Columbia.

But some things are too dicey even to put in this pit.

The U.S. Department of Energy is still gingerly demolishing buildings at the Plutonium Finishing Plant, a 15-acre complex that originally had 63 structures containing about 20 tons of plutonium or plutonium-contamina ted trash. The department acknowledged in the 1990s that enough plutonium was lost or strayed just in ductwork -- an estimated 1.5 tons -- to give some country a significant nuclear arsenal.

43 buildings to go

All salvageable plutonium, officials say, has since been retrieved and placed under high security, while the waste -- contaminated rags, tools, floor tiles and so on -- has been packaged for shipment someday to a facility in New Mexico. Forty-three of the buildings have yet to be demolished.

A guide leads us away from the disposal pit to acquaint us with another of Hanford's ticklish problems: old barrels. Some have been known to build up pressure from the chemical or radioactive trash they hold and send lids flying with a bang. Hanford is on a crusade to vent, repackage and bury the 37,000 barrels it knows about, and about half have been processed so far. Engineers show us a remote-control barrel-venter they use before taking off a lid to verify the contents, in hopes of avoiding a nasty surprise.

Back on the bus, we make a hasty swing around the last attraction on the tour, the $12.2 billion waste-treatment construction project. Its completion date remains a mystery: Once set for 2011, it is now being projected for 2017 or beyond.

The centerpiece, if it ever gets finished, will be a plant for turning high-level tank waste into glass for storage someday in a permanent site such as Yucca Mountain in Nevada.

Our bus angles back toward Richland. We've had five hours of atomic fun.

As I find my car and drive back into Richland, I remember the city's unique way of obtaining 10 percent of its drinking water from the same Hanford aquifer that contains, upstream, radioactive tritium, good for making hydrogen bombs. It's a long story, but the city knows how to manage this. It tests the water all the time. But if I'm traveling with anybody new, I always tell them about it just to freak them out.

My favorite Mexican restaurant, 3 Margaritas, is on Jadwin Avenue. The waiter puts down a bowl of salsa and chips.

"Corona?"

"Si, senor."

The waiter nods and comes back with the frosty beer and a glass of water. I look at the water. I drink the beer.

Booking a tour

. Hanford tours are free and can be booked on the Web at www5.hanford. gov/publictours but they fill up almost immediately.

. The rest of 2008 is booked solid, and the U.S. Department of Energy won't start taking requests for 2009 until about Feb. 1, said Rich Buel, a department spokesman at Hanford. Officials are considering whether to increase the number of tours again after doubling them from 24 to 48 for 2008.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

some recent news about the cold war

2008-07-08T10:38:17Z

Las Vegas Cold War-era mystique rekindled
http://www.twincities.com/travel/ci_9765577?source=rss

U.S.planned to use nerve gas on Oz soldiers during cold was
http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=81765

Remembering Brainwashing
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/weekinreview/06weiner.html

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Im Back Thanks To All Members

2008-07-08T09:22:21Z

First of all I sincerely thank all members for hanging on it makes me very happy!!!

After taking a few years away form the computer for needed rest, and peace of mind, I'm back. I have much to report on as well as comments, as I have been involved with 3 dose reconstructions during this time frame. The us gov. at the beginning of the energy employees occupation illness compensation program (EEOICP) when passed by law back in 2000 said we can never fully compensate these individuals for the loses of their loved ones and sacrifices they have made but will try to do all we can for them in a timely manor. (BS) Well it has been almost 8 yrs. now and for me as well as many others no resolution yet.( the most ludicrous roller coaster ride I have ever been on in my life). I finally understand that they are just waiting for us all to die so as to speak sweep us under the rug once and for all. My reply is i will not let this happen quietly!!! I have but one goal in my life and this is acknowledgment for the sacrifices to this country that my family has made by being recognized by this program period. I will be making many commits as well as suggestion and posts from other victims on a routine bases from here on out health permitting. This is a very open minded site so I hope to here from the ones that agree as well as the ones that do not. I ask only one favor please that all be respectful to both sides of opinions. After all this is still America and this is how we learn. And again thank you to all for remaining members to this tribe.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

The Return of the Doomsday Machine?

2007-09-06T09:06:14Z

This should remind everyone that the Cold War might have "ended" but never bothered to really demobilize...

The Return of the Doomsday Machine?
Please don't count on me to save the world again.
By Ron Rosenbaum
Posted Friday, Aug. 31, 2007, at 3:52 PM ET

"The nuclear doomsday machine." It's a Cold War term that has long seemed obsolete.

And even back then, the "doomsday machine" was regarded as a scary conjectural fiction. Not impossible to create—the physics and mechanics of it were first spelled out by U.S. nuclear scientist Leo Szilard—but never actually created, having a real existence only in such apocalyptic nightmares as Stanley Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove.

In Strangelove, the doomsday machine was a Soviet system that automatically detonated some 50 cobalt-jacketed hydrogen bombs pre-positioned around the planet if the doomsday system's sensors detected a nuclear attack on Russian soil. Thus, even an accidental or (as in Strangelove) an unauthorized U.S. nuclear bomb could set off the doomsday machine bombs, releasing enough deadly cobalt fallout to make the Earth uninhabitable for the human species for 93 years. No human hand could stop the fully automated apocalypse.

An extreme fantasy, yes. But according to a new book called Doomsday Men and several papers on the subject by U.S. analysts, it may not have been merely a fantasy. According to these accounts, the Soviets built and activated a variation of a doomsday machine in the mid-'80s. And there is no evidence Putin's Russia has deactivated the system.

Read it at Slate.com
Article URL: http://www.slate.com/id/2173108/

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

short film: APT + Kontrabrand - The Litany

2007-06-22T21:18:33Z

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBsep4Xosk8

this is a short film i made in san francisco with spoken word/performance artist Chris Sia and Eugene Steele. It started out with Chris reading a list of all of these wartorn places in his van at Burning Man last year, and then he asked me to help him make a video, so we dug out a ton of samples and went to town.

our crew is A.P.T. (armageddon prevention team) and Kontrabrand is top secret, but suffice to say, you'll hear about it in the near future if you follow what i do at all.

enjoy!

dylan

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Salazar blocks nominee until Flats workers get aid

2007-05-13T02:20:59Z

http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_4828626

Salazar blocks nominee until Flats workers get aid
12/12/2006

U.S. Sen. Ken Salazar is blocking the confirmation of a Labor
Department
nominee because of what he called the administration's "foot dragging"
on helping
ill Rocky Flats workers.

Salazar said he wants to see action by the Bush administration before
he will
allow confirmation of Leon Sequeira for Department of Labor assistant
secretary for policy. Under Senate rules, one senator can block action
on a
confirmation.

"I harbor no ill will toward Mr. Sequeira," Salazar said Tuesday. "But
I am
furious with the foot dragging, the obstruction, and the neglect that
have
characterized the administration's approach toward American citizens
who took real
risks for our country during the Cold War, who are suffering now, and
who
need and deserve help."

Many who worked at the former nuclear-weapons facility near Golden were
exposed to radiation and other hazards and now have cancer and other
serious
illnesses, said Salazar spokesman Drew Nannis. Those workers and their
survivors
filed a petition 17 months ago asking for financial compensation.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 1 reply

JOIN THIS TRIBE!

2007-02-11T03:09:30Z

http://tribes.tribe.net/politicsreligionothers

Just want a beyond heated intelligent political and otherwise debate.

this tribe is not for the meek.
So if you know you are not going to be able to handle it, DONT JOIN!

Ok folks, thanks and let the games begin.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 2 replies

Fallout link to thyroid cancer gets boost

2006-12-17T19:20:33Z

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650215537,00.html

Fallout link to thyroid cancer gets boost

If cancer victim lived in '50s, Nevada tests could be to blame

By Joe Bauman
Deseret Morning News
Almost anyone diagnosed with thyroid cancer who was a child in
the
United States during open-air nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site,
and drank
fresh milk from stores or farms, could make a case that development of
the
disease likely was influenced by radioactive fallout.
That's the belief of F. Owen Hoffman, one of the authors of a new
report summarizing impacts of fallout on thyroid cancer. The report is
"Thyroid
Doses and Risk of Thyroid Cancer from Exposure to I-131 from the Nevada
Test
Site," prepared by SENES Oak Ridge Inc., consultants based in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
It calculates risks, breaking out several areas throughout the
country
and analyzing the danger of thyroid cancer to people born in certain
years.
Federal fallout compensation is available only to people who
lived in
selected counties. But as documented years ago, fallout from open-air
nuclear
blasts at the test site fell throughout the country.
The National Institutes of Health has set up a fallout risk
calculator
on the Internet, which is useful for figuring exposure and risk. The
program
asks those using it for facts such as age, gender and residency.
SENES' study makes some of the same calculations for several
groups of
citizens, with birth year, gender and location playing important roles.
It
calculates risks based on these factors and shows estimates about
exposure.
The new report's risk calculator is updated in a way that is
similar to
an improvement the NIH plans for its online site, according to the
study.
"Virtually all 160 million Americans who lived in the continental
U.S.
during the nuclear testing period were exposed to I-131," the report
says.
Radioactive Iodine 131 would churn into the air with a blast's
fireball. It would travel in clouds and drop as fallout. Cattle eating
contaminated
grass would pass along I-131 in their milk, and the material tended to
accumulate in thyroid glands of people who drank milk.
The federal government has laws governing compensation to atomic
workers who were exposed to radiation and developed cancer.
For compensation, there must be at least a 1 percent chance that
the
baseline risk of thyroid cancer has doubled for the atomic worker,
Hoffman,
president and director of SENES, said when contacted by the Deseret
Morning News.
The baseline represents the risk to unexposed people of the same age,
gender
and other attributes.
Almost anyone in the United States who was "unfortunate enough to
have
been diagnosed with thyroid cancer, a fairly rare disease, would
qualify (for
compensation) regardless of location of residence throughout the 3,090
counties of the USA," Hoffman said in an e-mail response.
That is, they would qualify only if:
â€¢ The laws for exposed workers were to apply to members of the
public
exposed off-site, which they don't.
â€¢ Fallout exposures mostly occurred when the person was a
child.
â€¢ And "during the time of atmospheric weapons testing, the
individual
consumed fresh sources of store-bought or farm-produced milk."
"The look-up tables (in the report) contain estimates of doses
and
risks for eight representative birth cohorts and 67 locations in eight
regions
around the continental United States," the new publication says.
The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act of 1990 (amended in 2002)
does
not cover many millions of Americans exposed to fallout during the
period of
open-air nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site. It provides money for
some
specialized workers such as uranium mine ore haulers, plus affected
civilians
who lived in 10 counties of southern and other parts of Nevada and
Arizona.
But the report makes clear that the radioactive Iodine 131 from
atomic
tests was carried in fallout that hit throughout the country, making
its way
into milk sold commercially. Usually fallout happened during rainfall,
but
sometimes it hit without precipitation.
Some of the hardest-hit areas were both southern and northern
Utah, and
parts of Montana, Kansas, Colorado, Vermont, South Dakota, Idaho, Iowa
and
other areas.
For a woman born in Salt Lake City in 1952 who has lived in the
area to
the present, who has consumed retail commercial milk and who has never
had
thyroid cancer, the chance of coming down with that disease is about
6.6 out of
1,000. (That is a mean, with the lowest figure 1.2 and the highest 28.)
If she had lived in an area that was not peppered by fallout, her
chance of coming down with thyroid cancer would be 1.8 per 1,000.
Fallout in Salt Lake City increased the risk of thyroid cancer
for a
woman born that year by 3.7 times, compared with the risk from natural
sources.
Men's chances of exposure were lower because male babies are not as
susceptible to ill effects of the radioactive iodine that worked its
way into milk
during the era of open-air testing.
Of groups whose risks were calculated, the highest mean estimate
was
for women born in Gunnison, Colo., in 1952. Risk of such a woman
developing
thyroid cancer was calculated at a mean of 18 out of 1,000, or 10 times
as likely
to develop the rare disease as someone not exposed who was born that
year.
However, it would be hard to find an American born during the
period of
open-air testing at the National Test Site â€” early 1951 through the
middle of
1962 â€” who wasn't exposed as a baby.
Radiation doses to the thyroid gland and the risk of developing
thyroid
cancer depended on age at the time of each nuclear test, location and
type
and amount of milk consumed. Milk from goats posed a greater danger,
which could
have implications for Navajos who drank goat's milk.
Breast milk was safer than cow's milk available commercially, the
report adds.
Support for the SENES project came in the form of a grant from
the
Citizens' Monitoring and Technical Assessment Fund, according to the
report's
cover. Its authors are Ann G. Moore, A. Iulian Apostoaei, Brian A.
Thomas and
Hoffman.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Mobile phones: Not so useful

2006-12-11T19:56:26Z

Amrita Chaudhry

http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=131564
Mobile phones: Not so useful

Ludhiana, May 29: Memory loss, Parkinson’s disease, impaired immunity, renal retardation and congenital defects are just some ill-effects caused by use of, now indispensable gizmo - mobile phone.

A study conducted by the Consumer Association of Penang (CAP), Malaysia, in association with the World Health Organisation (WHO) has found that mobile phones emit microwave radiations which can actually fry the brain. Children who are taking to mobile phones like fish to water are at a greater risk for, radiations from mobile phones penetrate skull and brain far deeper in children than adults, the study points out.

Advertisement
Citibank
This document, published by CAP, is based on studies carried in various counteries like Britain, Sweden, Russia, the USA, Australia, Austria et al. The major findings of the study include that people using mobile phones are two-and-a-half times more prone to brain tumour, digital phone users have been known to develop non-Hodgkin’s disease in the lymph glands in neck, damage immune system and the DNA system of the body, raise blood pressures, cause Alzhmeimer, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, decrease sex drive, headaches, diziness and concentration lapses are some of the other diseases to which mobile phone users, even with mediocre usage, are prone to.

The study says that mobile phones emit a low-level microwave radiation. More startling is the fact that even if one is within 200 metre of a mobile phone tower, it can be associated with an increased risk of a range of cancers and miscarriage, and also a higher risk of sleep disturbances and chronic fatigue which may lead to difficulties in learning.

Children are especially more vulnerable because of their developing nervous system.

The study suggests that it is the duty of the government to regulate the ill-effects caused by the increasing use of mobile phones. It also suggests formation of a task force to monitor the situation. It should be the responsibility of the government to see that children are not allowed to use mobile phones and that cell sites should be thoroughly checked while the towers are being erected, the report states. The report has a made a strong recommedation that cell sites should not be erected in residnetial areas or anywhere close to schools.

The report states that there would be 1.6 billion mobile phone users worldwide by 2005. Keeping in mind the ill-effects of the use of mobile phones, the WHO has initiated studies in 10 nations.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 1 reply

Alpha particles have devastating effect on human tissue

2006-12-02T21:32:36Z

http://www.guardian.co.uk/russia/article/0,,1962345,00.html

Ian Sample, science correspondent
December 2, 2006
The Guardian

Experts said last night it was very unlikely that Mario Scaramella was
contaminated with polonium-210 through social contact with the former
Russian spy
Alexander Litvinenko.

Investigators cannot rule out the possibility that he was poisoned
sometime
after Mr Litvinenko. But they believe the most likely scenario is that
Mr
Scaramella was poisoned at the same time as Mr Litvinenko when they met
in a sushi
bar on November 1.

Although Mr Litvinenko is known to have received an enormous dose of
polonium, Mr Scaramella is believed to have ingested a lower dose.

This suggests that he may have eaten or drunk something contaminated
with the
poison. He could not have picked it up from shaking Mr Litvenenko's
hand, or
from conversation across the table.

Tests conducted on all staff at the restaurant have found no traces of
polonium-210.

If he was poisoned on November 1 - the day he met Mr Litvinenko - the
polonium-210 would still be in his system. Due to its radioactivity
polonium-210
emits alpha particles when it decays and it has a relatively short
half-life of
138 days.

Experts said last night the substance has different effects on
different
people, and it is possible that Mr Scaramella is more resistant to the
poison than
his friend. Sources close to the investigation confirmed the amount of
polonium-210 in Mr Scaramella's body was substantial, and it had been
detected in
his urine.

Hospital tests will check his white blood cell count for signs of
radiation
sickness. Polonium poisoning would initially affect bone marrow,
killing off
white blood cells. Mr Scaramella may not have felt ill as a result,
although he
may have felt slightly fatigued.

Officials expect Mr Scaramella's bone marrow to recover from the dose,
but
while it is impaired, he will be susceptible to infections and he is
expected to
be moved from the hospital as soon as he is cleared to avoid picking up
an
infection.

Dr Mark Little, an expert in epidemiology and public health at Imperial
College, said: "It is possible it could have been a separate incident
and have
nothing to do with Mr Litvinenko but the fact that he was at a
restaurant on
November 1 when Mr Litvinenko was possibly poisoned, it just seems to
me that it
possibly happened then.

"If you are sitting opposite someone and this is being sprayed on their
food,
it is likely you are going to get some. Some people would die from this
but
it would take you a much longer time - possibly three months."

This is what happened to survivors of the 1945 atomic bomb on
Hiroshima. At
first they appeared fine but "within two months their bone marrow
collapsed and
they died from infections and other things", said Dr Little.

Mr Scaramella is the first person to test positive since Mr
Litvinenko's
death sparked a radiation alert.

Experts from the Health Protection Agency have been advising University
College Hospital, where Mr Scaramella was admitted last night, on the
dose that the
Italian received.

Although relatively unusual, polonium occurs naturally and is present
in the
environment at very low levels.

It has many isotopes, all of which are radioactive, but polonium-210 is
the
most widely available.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Polonium is costly, undetectable, trillion times more toxic than cyanide

2006-12-02T21:31:18Z

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20061202.SPYSIDE02/TPStory/

ESTANISLAO OZIEWICZ

The bizarre assassination of spy-turned-whistleblower Alexander
Litvinenko
has drawn attention to a mysterious radioactive element, polonium.

Ingested or inhaled, it is extraordinarily lethal, even in microscopic
doses.
It's no new-age ingredient --polonium was discovered in 1898 by Marie
and
Pierre Curie, who named it after their Polish homeland. What's new is
that Mr.
Litvinenko appears to be the first person who has ever been
deliberately
poisoned with the it.

Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Peter Zimmerman, a physicist at
King's
College London, described the choice of polonium-210, the isotope that
killed
Mr. Litvinenko, as the result of "perverse genius."

That's because polonium is 5,000 times as radioactive per gram as
radium and,
according to one science writer, a trillion times more toxic than
cyanide.
Prof. Zimmerman says Mr. Litvinenko must have suffered horribly because
"it was
as if his internal organs received a severe sunburn and peeled."

Print Edition - Section Front
Enlarge Image

The Health Physics Society says that three millicuries of polonium is
enough
to kill. (A millicurie is the amount of radiation given off by
one-thousandth
of a gram of radium).

"Because polonium's radioactivity is so high," says Prof. Zimmerman,
"one
millicurie of polonium would weigh only 0.2 millionths of a gram."

United Nuclear Scientific Supplies distributes radio-isotopes over the
Internet, including polonium-210. But in a recent statement posted on
its website,
United Nuclear said the only isotopes it sells are an "exempt quantity"
amount,
meaning the quantities are so small (and they are electroplated on the
inside
eye of a needle) that they are not considered hazardous by the U.S.
Nuclear
Regulatory Commission.

United Nuclear does not carry any stock, and any orders it receives are
sent
to the NRC-licensed reactor in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

It says that one would need about 15,000 of its polonium-210 needles,
at a
cost of about $1-million U.S., to have a toxic amount.

"If you really wanted to poison someone, you would of course have to
come up
with a way to remove the invisible amount of material from the exempt
sources,
which is about physically impossible, and combine them together."

Perhaps that is one reason why news reports speculate that British
investigators are looking to nuclear facilities in Russia as the source
of the polonium
that killed Mr. Litvinenko.

Sergei Kiriyneko, head of Russia's state atomic energy agency Rosatom,
told
the government daily Rossiiskaya Gazeta yesterday that Russia produces
about
eight grams of polonium a month but that it is strictly controlled.

Polonium-210 does not stick around for very long. It has a half-life of
138
days, which means its radioactivity will be reduced by 50 per cent in
that
time. According to one environmental radiochemist, that suggests the
dose that
killed Mr. Litvinenko was produced recently.

One advantage of polonium to assassins is that, properly stored in a
vial, it
is undetectable.

"You could carry it around in a box, and no one would know you had any
by the
radiation," Yale University geophysics professor Karl Turekian told The
National Interest online.

"It would get warm if you had a lot of it, but no one could detect it
if you
had a vial surrounded by sawdust."

However, once it is released, as in Mr. Litvinenko's body, its captured
properties can give clues to investigators about where it was
manufactured.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Ex-Flats workers with cancer hit brick wall in seeking aid

2006-11-25T19:19:14Z

Subject: Ex-Flats workers with cancer hit brick wall in seeking aid.
RE: The "defendant caretkakers" redundant and defiant, abusive,
discriminatory, and illegal acts

================

Hi!

FYI -- Again, more findings of fact have emerged that provides evidence
that the EEOICP process is failed and is discriminatory, and abusive.
The attached media report discloses more of the same defiant and
abusive "defendant caretakers" harm done. See Item 1 of 2. The US Congress'
department delegates refuse to adhere to strict compliance with the
Rule of Law. The delegates violate their own "interim regulations."
These conflicting marauders are not qualified adjudicators. They are
assigned government personnel who have been oriented to believe they are
authorized practicioners. Actually, the department personnel are not
licensed and/or qualified to practice law or medical evaluations that
involves diagnosis or prognosis. The 109th USHouse Judiciary subcommittee is
investigating and holding EEOICPA hearings since about February 2006.
The sworn witness testimony that were aired during the November 15,
2006, hearing (Part IV) does offer much incite regarding why/how the
scandalous EEOICP affair evolved for the past six years and actually for
decades. Observation and tracking of the agents' performance affirms their
abuse of discretion acts, poor judgement, poor reasoning, poor
principles and poor practices.

For comparison value, I offer a very brief overview of the status of my
EEOICP claims that I have once again discovered. Apparently, the
"defendant caretakers" have not saw fit to have any contact with me for
several years. Suddenly the USDOL Ombudsperson's representatives, a
Seattle District Office representative, and the newly assigned case examiner,
Tom Melancon, contacted me Thursday and Friday. Hummm! It seems that
the well-documented fraud activity continues to adversely affect the
active status of my Subtitle B claim. Of course, I am challenged to
clarify this mess. I am instructed by the unaware USDOL representatives to
contact newly identified case examiner Melancon at my expense and
effort for the purpose of "explaining and proving" whatever the agents claim
to expect. I have not received any valid documentation that dismisses
my Subtitle B or E claims. There have been formal threats issued by
the "defendant caretakers." The claimants establish that WE are weary of
stressful routines imposed by the "defendant caretakers." I was made
aware that my records have been "locked up" in the agents' "dead file"
since 2003 (witnessed and documented). A USDOL Seattle District Office
supervisor, Christi Long, chose to document her fraud regarding the
status of "my RECA" claim--yes, I said "RECA" claim. My claims have been
filed since the first week of August 2001. Long distributed two
official letters to my Congressional representatives that reflects her
official signature. The representatives were conducting an investigation of
my case. When I confronted Long during a 2005 hearing held in
Richland, her excuse was that her clerk had written the letters. Long admitted
she errored when she "blind-signed" the letters. Long said, "That you
are clearly an EEOICP claimant and not a RECA claimant, and I will take
care of it." Long definitely seemed to believe she had exhonerated
herself from any responsibility and assumed she was forgiven. More time
elapsed; and I was not informed of any corrective action. So, I
confronted Long again during another EEOICP status hearing held in Pasco, WA.
Long had not notified the Congressional representatives of her abuse of
discretion behavior. Senator Cantwell's, Senator Murray's, and House
Represenative Hasting's aides attended the hearing and were informed of
the problem. Christi Long's letters state that I was not eligible to
receive compensation because I did not qualify as a "RECA claimant."
Consequently, it appears that for many years the USDOL employees thought
my Subtitle B claim had been "administratively dismissed." Case
examiner Melancon left a message on my answering machine that indicates "that
you believe you claim was closed inappropriately." Wrong! Christi
Long inappropriately dismissed what she thought was a RECA claim. I was
instructed to return Melancon's call. On many occasions, I have
notified the respondents of my declared pro se status. In accordance with the
expected protocol, complainant and respondent should communicate in a
more formal manner and in writing. Observance of my due process rights
and the Rule of Law by the "defendant caretakers" is mandated. Long
distance verbal communication is simply not acceptable at this point in
time. You would think that by now a USDOL and USHHS solicitor would have
oriented the agency employees regarding the legal definition of
"default," "fraud," and the many other legal definitions that
apply--especially since the members of Congress have formally and officially oriented
the US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales regarding their legal
interpretations and ramifications.

In 2002 and 2003, USHHS-OCAS director Larry Elliott, censored my
"Special Exposure Cohort" petition that I structured and distributed to the
appropriate agents in good faith. The petitions respresent about 7,600
petitioners. Elliot's conflicts of interests was one of the topics for
discussion by the witnesses during the USHouse Judiciary subcommittee
hearing November 15, 2006. Elliott's conflicts of interest was the
reason why he was removed from his executive secretary position on the
current US President's Advisory Board on Radiation and Workers Health. I
must assume that the "SEC" petition is hidden away in Elliott's "dead"
and/or "secret" files. Did Elliott destroy the petition? I plan to
reintroduce the petition. Many are aware that the President's Advisory
Board members agree to destroy public record accountability which the
agents' documented and then attempted to censor. But, I haven't quite
decided what I will do about this current boondogal that has come to my
attention. By Friday, the USDOL employees were trying to provoke me into
"explaining" my claim issues over the telephone. The agents definitely
affirmed that they are wholly unaware. So, back to the old
documentation routines that are necessary during any legal process. Records,
records, records and more records compile. I am very interested in filing
a litigation claim, soon. But, I will likely remain in the EEOICP
process for awhile longer. I have also attached the communication that was
sent to me by an acting Ombudsperson Eileen McCarthy. See Item 2 of 2.
McCarthy's and a clerk's novice ideals are expected and routine by now.

The claimants should consider writing to your members of Congress for
the purpose of witnessing and objecting to the "defendant caretakers"
routines that have trended to cause the denial of tens of thousands of
meritorious claims/cases. The claimants don't have to be invited to the
elected Officials' investigative hearings to be able to testify. The
elected Officials work for their constituents which was clearly
re-inforced after the November 7, 2006, election outcome. As WE all know, the
EEOICP process was originally intended to assist the sick nuclear
workers and their families. It is alarming when the Officials still believe
the USHHS-NIOSH and cohorts are capable of reconstructing dose. This
claim is ludicrous. The outspoken USHHS health physicists seem to
believe they are brilliant and expert. When in fact, they document
incredible errors. Consequently, tens of thousands of meritorious claims/cases
are denied. During the past 21 years, I have never observed any health
physicists that were subpoenaed to appear as an "expert witness" during
any legitimate court hearing.

The government Officials are aware of the fact that atomic weapons'
plant workers range in age is about 75 to 95. The Officials are aware that
since 1986, the sick and dying second and third generation of "nuclear
waste cleanup workers" range in age is about 18 to 75. And, what about
the effects of the migrating toxic exposures to our families which is
disclosed and affirmed by the USHHS-CDC-NIOSH.

Gai Oglesbee, Independent National Advocate
EEOICP Claimant | Downwinder
National Nuclear Victims for Justice
http://www.nnvj-goglesbee-eeoicp-abuse.com

------------

ITEM 1 OF 2:

Rocky Mountain News: Ex-Flats workers with cancer hit brick wall in
seeking aid

By Ann Imse, Rocky Mountain News

November 16, 2006

Former Rocky Flats workers with cancer are being stymied in their
attempt to win compensation because a federal official is
blocking an inquiry into whether their radiation records are
missing or falsified, Congress was told Wednesday.

Contract auditor SC&A said it could not finish its work because
the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health is
limiting its access to workers' claims.

A NIOSH official responded that he restricted the auditor's
access to enforce the Privacy Act.

But a watchdog group says it's an attempt to limit compensation
to the sick workers for budget reasons.

Since 2000, officials have rejected 70 percent of the claims for
aid filed by tens of thousands of sick nuclear weapons workers,
said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. Workers must prove their
cancer and other illnesses were caused by radiation and toxic
chemical exposure on the job to collect $150,000 in compensation
plus medical care.

Former workers at the Rocky Flats atom bomb plant outside Denver
say they can't prove their cases because radiation records are
missing or wrong. On these grounds, they've petitioned for all
former Rocky Flats workers with cancer to be grandfathered into
the aid program.

Their petition has been in front of a federal advisory board all
year, while more workers die without help.

The board, which is to rule on the petition, asked its
contractor, SC&A, to figure out if the workers are correct about
the missing and incorrect records.

SC&A pulled about a dozen random workers' claim records for
Rocky Flats, and "they found enormous gaps in data," some years
long, said Richard Miller of the Government Accountability
Project in an interview.

Miller said NIOSH, which is doing radiation dose calculations
for the workers' claims, then yanked SC&A's access to the
records.

In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Immigration,
Border Security and Claims on Wednesday, SC&A's John Mauro said
he could no longer do his job investigating the Rocky Flats
claims of "significant gaps, falsifications and deliberate
destruction of records" if he didn't have access to the records.

Larry Elliott, head of that section of NIOSH, said in an
interview that he is merely following the Privacy Act, ensuring
that SC&A sees only specified claims.

"They can't just look at any claim they want while they are
there," he said.

Elliott denied allegations made in the hearing that his
department is setting up the Rocky Flats petition for denial as
a cost-saving measure.

Jackson Lee called the Rocky Flats allegation "one of the
harshest" she heard in a variety of complaints about the aid
program Wednesday. "A fact-finder can't be a fact-finder without
access to documents," she said.

The Privacy Act specifically allows for government contractors
like SC&A to be treated as government employees with authority
to review private records as part of their work.

Miller said SC&A staff members have signed Privacy Act
agreements not to reveal patient-specific information to the
public.

Miller suggested to the committee that Congress order full
access to the records.

He said this could be done in a rider to an appropriations bill
before January.

| | 2006 ? The E.W. Scripps Co.

==================

ITEM 2 OF 2:

From "McCarthy, Eileen - SOL" <Mccarthy.Eileen@dol.gov>
Date 2006/11/17 Fri PM 04:33:56 CST
To goglesbee@verizon.net
Subject RE: DaytonDaily News Media coverage re. EEOICP sick worker
issues

Dear Ms. Oglesbee,

Thank you for contacting the Office of the Ombudsman for Part E of the
Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act (EEOICPA). As
you may know, the Ombudsman's role is to provide information to
claimants, potential claimants, and other interested parties about EEOICPA Part
E benefits and how to obtain those benefits; in addition, the Ombudsman
issues a report to Congress concerning complaints, grievances and
requests for assistance received during the year. Our most recent report is
on our website, at

http://www.dol.gov/eeombd/2005annualreport/index.htm, and our next
report will be filed in February 2007 (covering calendar year 2006).

As you may have heard from other claimants, Don Shalhoub has resigned
as Ombudsman to become a Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration. This is a great loss to us, but
obviously a great gain for OSHA. We are expecting the appointment of a new
Ombudsman very soon.

In the meantime, I and the other staff of the Ombudsman's office are
available to assist you and other claimants with your claims. As I
indicated initially, the Office of the Ombudsman is assigned certain
responsibilities under Part E of EEOICPA. Do you have a claim pending
with DOL? If you could give me a little more background about your
case, that would be helpful.

Eileen McCarthy
Office of the Ombudsman for Part E of EEOICPA

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Energy Department fines Hanford contractor $82,500

2006-11-25T19:16:28Z

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
November 17, 2006
http://seattlepi. nwsource. com/local/ 6420AP_WST_ Hanford_Fine. html

By SHANNON DININNY
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

YAKIMA, Wash. -- CH2M Hill Hanford Group, a contractor hired to help
clean up the highly contaminated Hanford nuclear reservation, will be
fined $82,500 for violating nuclear safety requirements, the
Department of Energy announced Friday.

CH2M Hill is the primary contractor responsible for retrieving
hazardous and radioactive waste from 177 underground tanks at the
site. The toxic stew was left from decades of plutonium production
for the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal.

The preliminary notice of violation issued Friday cited a series of
violations associated with two separate events, during which
employees were contaminated with radioactivity.

On Sept. 21, 2005, when workers were removing equipment used to
retrieve waste from one of the tanks, they were contaminated with
highly radioactive waste while disconnecting a pressurized hose that
was contaminated inside. Workers again were contaminated on March 6,
while removing a camera from a radioactively contaminated catch tank.

None of the contaminated employees exceeded regulatory exposure
limits, the Energy Department said in a statement.

"The proposed civil penalty of $82,500 is based on the overall
significance of the violations and reflects mitigation granted by the
department for prompt, corrective actions taken by (CH2M Hill) to
prevent recurrence," the statement said.

The company must respond to the notice within 30 days.

CH2M Hill voluntarily reported the events and took corrective action,
leading the Energy Department to reduce the proposed penalty by 50
percent, said Mark Spears, company president and chief executive
officer.

Among the corrective actions: CH2M Hill improved work processes,
added new training for managers and support personnel and improved
emergency response planning.

"Our goal is to maintain the highest standards of safety performance.
The events cited in the enforcement action clearly fell below the
mark," Spears said. "We partnered with our work force to improve our
processes and the dramatic improvement in our safety and compliance
performance over the past year is testament to the effectiveness of
these actions and the quality of our workers."

The federal government created Hanford in the 1940s as part of the
top-secret Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. The site
produced the plutonium for the Fat Man bomb that was dropped on
Nagasaki, Japan, effectively ending World War II, and continued to
produce plutonium for the nation's nuclear weapons arsenal through
the Cold War.

Today, it is the nation's most contaminated nuclear site. Focus has
shifted to cleanup, which is expected to top $50 billion and continue
through 2035.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

UK Admits Israel Has Nuclear Weapons

2006-11-25T19:12:54Z

http://www.alalam.ir/English/en-newspage.asp?newsid=029030120061120184059"
target=_blank
>http://www.alalam.ir/English/en-newspage.asp?newsid=029030120061120184059

UK Admits Israel Has Nuclear Weapons

LONDON, Nov. 20--Former British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw has become
the
first member of the British cabinet to go on public record and formally
admit
that the Zionist regime has an arsenal of nuclear weapons.

"I don't think it is a secret. I have never pretended that they haven't
got
nuclear weapons, certainly they have got a nuclear arsenal and it is a
working
assumption," said Straw.

The House of Commons leader made the admission after he was challenged
about
the government's failure to acknowledge let alone deal with Tel Aviv's
nuclear
weapons in an interview with the Muslim News, to be published Friday.

When he was foreign secretary, Straw insisted that he had talked about
Israel's illegal capability, which Britain helped to create nearly 50
years ago, in
the same breath as India and Pakistan.

"If you want a nuclear free Middle East, which I do, you don't get
proliferation, you stop proliferation, and then you ultimately deal
with the fact that
Israel has nuclear weapons, and I'm on record about that a lot," he
said.

In his interview, the House of Commons leader also said that he
accepted that
there was a continuing blaring injustice over Israel's 50-year
occupation of
Palestine.

"I have always thought, the glaring injustice of the Middle East crisis
--
Israel and Palestine -- has caused a great anger among Muslims," he
said.

"Resolving the Israel-Palestine situation is one of the most urgent
priorities of all," Straw said, but like Prime Minister Tony Blair, he
denied that
Britain's foreign policy had increased the threat of terrorism in the
UK.

He admitted that the situation in Iraq following the joint US-UK
invasion was
dire, but insisted that it cannot be the motivation for Bin Ladin and
his
group because they were going before that.

The former foreign secretary, who was replaced in May, also
acknowledged that
with the benefit of hindsight there are plenty of things one could have
done
better in Iraq.

"The preparations for the post war situation in Iraq were not nearly as
good
as they should have been," he said adding that there was time lost in
the very
crucial three months between the fall of Saddam.

"It was partly lost because in the United States a decision was made
that the
lead over reconstruction of the country should be given to the
Department of
Defense rather than to the State Department, and that was a great
error,"
Straw said.

This, he suggested, was one of the things which the British government
would
have done differently in Iraq, but said that the UK had only limited
influence
over that rather than a huge influence.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Valves installed backwards on two Naval Reactor Power Plants

2006-11-25T19:11:56Z

[ This is the kind of nonsense that goes on when an organization has no oversight by either the DOE or the NRC. First they perform an incredibly stupid act, and than they lie about it to the public, and no one in the Government gives a damn.]
John Shannon Nuclear Engineer/Nuclear Physicist [Retired]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Daily Gazette November 16, 2006
Opinion Dept
2345 Maxon Road Extension
Schenectady, N.Y. 12301-1090

Your November 7 article, Valve problems shut down reactors, reported that both reactors at the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory Kesselring Site have been shut down for an extended period of time after the discovery that some valves were installed incorrectly. This admission is accompanied with the usual boilerplate disclaimer of any risk to the workers at the site or to the general public.

To characterize the latest problem in plain English, the valves were installed backwards. At the very least, this shocking error can cause a significant reduction in flow and cooling to vital plant components. At worst, certain valve types when installed backwards will completely block normal flow. Such incompetence at any commercial nuclear reactor in the U.S. would lead to an immediate shutdown order by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission that would not be lifted until all plant procedures and personnel were thoroughly purged.

Not so with Naval Reactors, a self-regulating organization that provides their own oversight, a ploy that for more than 50 years has allowed them to expound false propaganda about their unprecedented excellence. A most disturbing aspect of this situation is that this is not the first time the Kesselring Site has installed valves backwards. It has happened before. Clearly, the real risk arises because of human error by personnel entrusted with safe operation of this nuclear facility.

Robert G. Stater (Nuclear Engineer)
105 Pashley Road
Scotia, NY, 12302
(518) 399-1072

The Writer is a retired KAPL Nuclear Engineer

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Workers contend contractors defrauded government in cleanup

2006-11-25T19:09:05Z

http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/16054285.htm"
target=_blank
>http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/state/16054285.htm

Nov. 19, 2006
Workers contend contractors defrauded government in cleanup
Associated Press

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A four-year-old lawsuit unsealed last month contends
contractors cleaning up a Cold War uranium-enrichment plant in southern
Ohio were
paid millions of dollars for shoddy work or work that was not done.

The lawsuit, filed by four workers, accuses Bechtel-Jacobs Co. and
Safety and
Ecology Corp. of falsifying work records, taking shortcuts and failing
to
protect the health of workers and neighbors of the Portsmouth Gaseous
Diffusion
Plant. The facility, near Piketon, about 60 miles south of Columbus,
produced
enriched uranium for 50 years and closed in 2001.

The workers - Philip Borris, Michael Eversole, Rodney Gossett and
Thomas
McDermott - filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court using a Civil
War-era law
designed to nab suppliers cheating the government. The case was kept
secret while
the Department of Justice investigated. It recently decided not to join
in.

"The Department of Justice lawyers have made it clear to us they have
found
plenty wrong, but they are having a hard time getting the support of
the
Department of Energy to make their case," said Charles Fitzpatrick, an
attorney for
the workers.

The U.S. attorney's office found no criminal intent to deceive the
government, said spokesman Fred Alverson in Columbus. "That doesn't
mean one way or
another that contractual obligations were kept or not kept, whether
overpayments
were made or not made."

Borris, a radiation-control worker, said the four sued on behalf of the
government because the Energy Department would not listen to their
complaints.

An Energy Department spokeswoman disagreed. "We take every employee
complaint
seriously," said Megan Barnett, a spokeswoman in Washington.

The contractors have not been served with the lawsuit and would not
comment,
their spokesmen said. The companies are no longer at the plant.

The workers estimate overpayments total tens of millions of dollars.

The four say contractors labeled large amounts of non-radioactive
fencing
shipped offsite as scrap metal contaminated with radiation to collect a
performance payment, charged for unnecessary work or work not
performed, billed the
government for nongovernment work and ignored health and safety
regulations.

Based on the False Claims Act, the lawsuit asks for three times the
amount of
actual loss to the government. If the workers win, they would receive
25
percent to 30 percent of the award. The suit also seeks a civil penalty
of $5,000
to $10,000 per violation plus damages and attorney fees.

Gossett, a health and safety worker, and others in the business say
problems
slip because the Energy Department has fewer people monitoring
contractors
than before.

Fitzpatrick said for the Energy Department to recoup money, the agency
would
have to admit that it failed to watch the companies.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Video available on U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee EEOICP 11-15-06 hearing

2006-11-25T19:08:02Z

Hi!

First of all, the members of Congress must "get-over" this 22 cancer
"SEC" qualification that was their intent. None have successfully
explained why this dictate was approved. The controversy continues;
but at
one point in time "All CANCERS WERE QUALIFIED!" The question is who
gets to or has dictated which cancers|relevant disease are work
related
or which cancers|relavent disease are caused by environmental
pollution?
So far, the "defendant caretakers" have been allowed to make that
determination based on their guesstimate IREP theories.

The U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the EEOICPA is now
available for review. Chair Hostettler indicates the "promise made to
the
COLD WAR veterans. . ." is broken. Chair Hostettler will not be
returning in January when the 110th Congress takes over which is
controlled
by the democrats.

Since so many violations of the Rule of Law and citizen's due process
rights are vacated by the libelous "defendant caretakers" for this
EEOICP purpose, it appears the 110th Congress will have no choice but
to
seek possible remedies. How would it be possible to reform the
EEOICPA?
The listing of the many abuse of discretion acts is very long by now.
For instance, will the 109th Congress recognize that discrimination is
rampant.

You will note during your review of the video that much discussion
takes place regarding significant amounts of taxpayer funding that has
been
squandered on administrative costs and on the the government
oppressors' ways and means to reduce and/or "save" the funding that was
appropriated to compensate the sick and dying workers or their spouse
survivors.
Also, the presence of the current U.S. Advisory Board on Radiation and
Workers Health is attacked by the witnesses. Certain "defendant
caretakers" are identified as well as their abusive behavior during the
hearing. Once again the suppressed claimants have a window of
opportunity
to identify many more government employee offenders. Simply offer
written testimony regarding the horrors you have suffered and
distribute to
your Congressional representatives. For instance, you can help by
identify and affirming that USHHS-NIOSH director of OCAS Larry Elliott
has
been an abusive and controlling dictator regarding his and his
supervisors' reasons for seeing to it that tens of thousands of
meritorious
claimants are denied their entitlements according to the EEOICPA
provisions. Elliott is my perception of a well-paid oppressor.
Elliott was
removed from the current U.S. President's Advisory Board on Radiation
and
Workers Health and Safety because of his proven conflicts of interest.
Current President George W. Bush reinstated Wanda Munn who was removed
from the Advisory Board because she had no administrative value or any
particular expertise having to do with with the mission of the Advisory
Board. Munn is also a member of the Hanford Advisory Board. She
protested her removal from the ABoRWH and was reassigned by order of
President Bush. What does that finally tell us about Munn's mission.
Since
she began to make her appearance on these boards, she has always been a
very controversial figure. Munn always seems to manage to promulgate
and/or promote the wrong message. She is a retired Hanford engineer.

Gai Oglesbee, Independent National Advocate
EEOICP Claimant | Downwinder
National Nuclear Victims for Justice
http://www.nnvj-goglesbee-eeoicp-abuse.com" target=_blank
>http://www.nnvj-goglesbee-eeoicp-abuse.com

--------------

URL internet loaction:
http://www.house.judiciary.gov" target=_blank
>http://www.house.judiciary.gov

Click on legislative. . .
then. . .

Click on Energy Employees hearing

then. . .
Select the "video" telecast indicator and wait for it to boot up. The
video is over an hour long.

The November 16, 2006, hearing was postponed until further notice. It
was announced that there is substantial interest by key members of
Congress.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

International Traffic: US to export 15Kg of highly enriched uranium..

2006-11-15T20:26:42Z

http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2006/10/fr102706.html

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Inspection of a nuc site re. four high power nuc plants by Jack Shannon

2006-11-15T20:23:20Z

http://www.mindspring.com/~kapl/jpsasbestos01.html

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Radioactive iodine linked to thyroid disease

2006-11-15T20:19:40Z

Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:45 PM GMT

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The long-term risk of developing a tumor in the thyroid gland or autoimmune thyroiditis, a progressive inflammatory disease of the thyroid, is increased after exposure to radioactive iodine in childhood, according to a re-analysis of data from children exposed to radiation from a nuclear test site in Nevada.

Since 1965, researchers have been studying children exposed to radioactive iodine from nuclear weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site from 1951 through 1962.

In 1993, Dr. Joseph L. Lyon, of the University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, and colleagues, reported that among the 2,497 subjects examined, there was an association between radiation exposure from the Nevada Test Site and thyroid tumors.

The researchers have now used newly corrected dose estimates and disease outcomes to reassess the association. The new results are published in the current issue of the journal Epidemiology.

In children who received the highest radiation dose, the risk of thyroid tumors rose from 3.4-fold in the earlier evaluation to 7.5-fold. For thyroiditis, the risk increased from 1.1- to 2.7-fold, with a 4.9-fold excess risk for exposure to each Gy unit (gray = absorbed dose of radiation). The risk could not be estimated for malignant thyroid tumors.

"This is the first report of such a relationship in a U.S. population; hence, we believe that this (study group) represents a unique opportunity to provide further assessment of a range of exposures and disease end points among U.S. citizens," Dr. Lyon's team writes. "Further follow-up of this (study group may increase our understanding of the long-term health consequences of exposure to radioactive iodine regardless of its origin in reactors, accidents, or nuclear detonations."

SOURCE: Epidemiology, November 2006.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Cleanup Of Piketon Uranium Plant May Top $4.5 Billion

2006-11-15T20:17:36Z

http://wcpo.com/news/2006/local/11/12/uranium.html

PIKETON, Ohio (AP) -- The cost of cleaning up radioactive and hazardous
waste
at a former uranium-processing plant in southern Ohio could top $4.5
billion.

There's also evidence that contamination has migrated off the site.

That's according to the Dayton Daily News.

The newspaper says the government has spent one billion dollars on
clean-up
so far.

Officials with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency say the Piketon
plant's environmental record has improved.

But in recent years the US Energy Department has found small amounts of
radioactive contamination outside the plant.

The department told the newspaper that none of the amounts are large
enough
to pose a health threat.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--

Expanded A.P. Story, Updated: 11/12/2006 5:51:53 PM

PIKETON, Ohio (AP) -- Cleaning up radioactive and hazardous waste at a
former
uranium-processing plant may top $4.5 billion, and there is evidence
that
contamination has migrated off the 3,714-acre site, the Dayton Daily
News
reported Sunday.

The Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which once enriched uranium for
weapons and nuclear fuel, closed in 2001.

The newspaper said the government has spent $1 billion so far digging
up
soil, emptying ponds, capping unlined toxic landfills, treating
groundwater and
hauling contaminants away -- more than 43,000 containers of hazardous,
radioactive and other waste and 8,400 tons of radioactive scrap metal.

Officials with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency say the worst
of the
plant's contamination is confined to the federal land, in part because
thick
bedrock slows the spread of groundwater.

They also say the plant's environmental record improved in recent years
as
plant operators adopted modern waste-handling practices and began
following
rules governing discharges to air and waterways.

Still, there is evidence of offsite contamination. According to its
most
recent environmental reports, the U.S. Energy Department in 2003 and
2004 found
small amounts of radioactive contamination outside the southern Ohio
plant.

Tests on two area deer killed by cars showed traces of uranium isotopes
in
the livers of both and in the muscle of one.

Traces of uranium were also found in milk and egg samples from area
farms,
and in three vegetables taken from the gardens of plant neighbors.

Air, water and sediment tests also revealed small amounts of
radioactive
uranium, plutonium or technetium, and three fish from area waterways
had traces of
uranium or plutonium.

The U.S. Department of Energy told the newspaper that none of the
amounts are
large enough to pose a health threat.

Messages seeking comment were left for the Energy Department by The
Associated Press.

The cleanup hasn't ended disputes between the Energy Department and the
Ohio
EPA.

Most recently, the Energy Department pushed for a reduced groundwater
cleanup
standard, arguing that the lesser standard is appropriate because no
one
drinks the water underneath the plant site, according to memos obtained
by the
Daily News.

"We represent the taxpayers. Our goal here is to make sure we are doing
cost-effective, smart cleanup," William Murphie, manager of the Energy
Department
office overseeing cleanup, told the newspaper.

Some of the most dangerous cleanup work is being done inside three
massive
enrichment buildings, where workers are removing uranium deposits that
cling to
surfaces inside equipment and 600 miles of piping.

They must use extreme care because mishandling the radioactive deposits
could
cause a small nuclear reaction a "criticality" that could kill workers
and
spread radiation through the area.

Murphie said nothing like that has happened.

"We've never had a criticality event, and I have no reason to believe
that we
ever will have a criticality event," he said.

In 2000, the Energy Department launched an investigation that
identified
hundreds of accidental releases of uranium gas or toxic fluorine at the
plant
since the 1950s and concluded there was a failure to properly monitor
emissions or
workers' exposure to radiation.

"We take a lot of lumps for the past processes and, face it, mistakes
that
were made," Murphie said. "We've learned from the past. We're all
smarter than
we were in the past."

Murphie said the department remains committed to the cleanup and trying
new
solutions if those now in place don't work.

"DOE is very proud of the cleanup program here," he said. "We believe
we have
accomplished a lot."

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Radioactive Long Island

2006-11-15T20:16:44Z

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/12/opinion/nyregionopinions/12LI-

By KELLY MCMASTERS
> Published: November 12, 2006
> AT the geographic center of Long Island, just
> before the fish tail splits, three plumes of
> radioactive tritium snake through the earth. These
> plumes extend from soil beneath Brookhaven
> National Laboratory, where they originated during
> experiments involving one of the lab's nuclear
> reactors in the late 1990s, and travel by
> groundwater east and south.
>
> The United States Department of Energy, which owns
> the Brookhaven lab, recently posted a legal notice
> in local newspapers requesting public comment on
> some options for cleanup. The department offered
> five plans for the public to consider, from simply
> monitoring the plumes to digging up the
> contaminated soil and shipping it to an
> undisclosed location. The department recommends
> monitoring to be sure the plumes shrink over the
> next decade as predicted. And if they don't?
> "Additional actions will be evaluated."
>
> The department's notice directed readers to a Web
> site. Two maps there are particularly educational.
> The first is called Operable Units and Areas of
> Concern. It highlights 30 sites on the lab's
> campus, including Graphite Research Reactor spill
> sites, a Building 830 pipe leak and a Particle
> Beam Dump. There is also the 123-acre stand of
> pines and oaks known as the Gamma Forest, which
> was irradiated with cesium-137 between 1961 and
> 1979 in order to research the effects of radiation
> on plants.
>
> In other words, the map charts decades of
> accidental leaks and spills and intentional
> releases of radiation, most of which issued from
> the site's two decommissioned reactors. (Two other
> reactors remain operational.)
>
> The second map outlines groundwater flow from the
> lab; two bright blue arrows point east toward the
> Hamptons, and six point south directly at Shirley,
> a mostly blue-collar community to the south that
> shares the Hamptons' beautiful coastline but none
> of their social cachet.
>
> I grew up in Shirley. As a child there in the
> 1980s, I was fascinated by the lab, partly because
> the neighborhood fathers who worked there - most
> of them in support and service positions - traded
> jokes about glowing in the dark. Today, the jokes
> have turned sour.
>
> A class action lawsuit has been filed against the
> Brookhaven lab, and most of the plaintiffs are
> from the Shirley area. The complaints range from
> depressed real estate values as a result of living
> in a contaminated area to the claim that cancers
> and other illnesses have resulted from the
> laboratory's pollution. A children's cancer
> cluster - by 2000 there were 19 children in the
> area afflicted by a rare soft-tissue cancer -
> rings the lab like a necklace.
>
> The plaintiffs' lawyer is Richard J. Lippes, who
> fought and won the Love Canal case near Buffalo in
> the 1970s. The Shirley case has been going on for
> more than a decade already. During that time, the
> lab has managed to clean up almost all of the
> nuclear and chemical pollution flowing east toward
> the Hamptons while largely ignoring Shirley.
>
> When Brookhaven was constructed in 1947, Shirley
> didn't exist; most of the East End of Long Island
> was covered in potato farms and brush. It was this
> isolation - the thick cover of pines and distance
> from large populations - that made the site
> attractive to scientists engaged in such
> inherently dangerous research.
>
> Sixty years later, the laboratory is still hidden
> away in the middle of the Pine Barrens, but
> beneath it lies an aquifer that is one of the
> nation's largest single sources of drinking water,
> serving nearly three million people.
>
> I understand that the lab is worthy of
> celebration - six Nobel Prizes have been won by
> scientists associated with Brookhaven. I also unde
> rstand that much of the work the lab conducts,
> including medical research into addiction and
> cancer, is vitally important. But over the six
> decades the lab has been on Long Island, a dense
> population has crowded around it.
>
> Meanwhile, the lab released radioactive tritium,
> cesium, europium, radium, strontium, plutonium and
> several known carcinogens into the environment.
> Cancer rates on Long Island have soared without
> explanation. For many of these cancers, including
> breast cancer, the only proven cause, aside from
> genetic predisposition, is exposure to radiation.
>
> With all that in mind, I would like to suggest my
> own plan for Brookhaven's cleanup. Let's call it
> Option 6: Close the remaining two nuclear reactors
> on the Brookhaven National Laboratory property. It
> is time.
>
> Nuclear reactors made sense in the 1940s when most
> of Long Island was brush and pines. But it makes
> no sense to house them in a dense residential area
> where so many lives are at risk and mistakes -
> radioactive, potentially cancer-causing mistakes -
> continue to be made. Shut them down.
>
> Kelly McMasters, who teaches creative writing at
> Columbia, is writing a book about the hamlet of
> Shirley.
>

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Another Downwinders Life Shattered (MINE)

2006-11-06T12:56:58Z

My father worked at Hanford from 1951 to 1973, sixteen years in
Reactor Operations.Job titles as follows. (Radiation Monitoring,
Supervisor, Radiation Monitoring, Supervisor, Supplemental Crews,
Reactor Specialist, and Supervisor 105-109, 100N Area.)

After which he worked as Office Equipment Manager, and Manager of
Printing and Duplicating.

He was in charge of classified files for the Atomic Energy Commission.

My father had a Q clearance, that's the highest.

My father also worked for Bendix and U.N.C. Geotech in Grand Junction, Colorado.

With almost thirty years of employment for the Department of Energy he
died in 1988 at age 62, of Multiple Myeloma a rare type of cancer
having Statistically Significants linking it to Nuclear workers.

Brief history of my father: From March,1944 to Nov.1946 Military
Service, Held rank of Sargent in Army Air Force as Remote Control
Gunner. His position was Ball and Turret gunner B-17 Bomber Combat
Crew. My father spent time in France,Austria,and Germany.

Education: Mesa Jr. College from Dec.1946 to June,1949 after which he
attended the University of Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania.My father took
courses in Pre-Dental,including chemistry,bacteriology,
physics,zoology,anatomy,and mathematics. Company sponsored courses in
the field of employee and union relations.

Summary of qualification: Held administrative position for nine years,
for Bendix, and Geotech U.N.C.,(DOE) as Supervisor of Printing
Department.

Held administrative positions for 19 of 23 years employed at the
Hanford Project. Responsibilities included directing the activities of
union, non-union and supervisory employees.

Appraisals by management asserted his performance was proficient and
emphasized his ability to handle personnel relations effectively,as
well as getting the job done.

Responsibilities in Arrow Lite and Paint and Arrow Trophies, Inc.,
included outside selling.

While he was manager of Arrow Trophies,Inc., he traveled western
Colorado selling trophies,awards,and component parts wholesale and
retail.

The gross sales tripled in the three years he managed the corporation.

He was Branch Manager and only sales person while employed by Rocky
Mountain Hose Co.

Hired on with General Electric 4-18-51 to March 1955 as H.I.Inspector
B, later job title changed to Radiation Monitor.

Duties: Responsible for radiation protection and contamination control
in a single reactor building under the supervision of a radiation
monitoring supervisor Duties included routine and
non-routine,radiation surveys,air sampling and accurate record
keeping.

March 1955 to October 1959 Supervisor,Radiation Monitoring Reactor
Operations.Duties: Supervised a crew of 8 to 16 radiation
monitors,providing monitoring service for 4 to 8 production reactors
during one 8-hour shift. Maintain a sustained radiation protection
training program for all reactor personnel on the shift;i.e.,
radiation monitors, reactor operators and maintenance craftsman.
Assume responsibility for all radiation problems and incidents with in
the assigned reactors on the shift.

Oct. 1959 to June 1961 Supervisor, Radiation Monitoring Reactor
Operations.Duties: Same as June 1964 to June 1967. June 1961 to April
1963- Reactor Specialist- Reactor Operations.Duties: In training for
first 18 months. As Reactor Specialist, responsible for the efficient
and safe operation of nuclear production reactor during 8-hour shift.
Provide functional guidance to reactor operating crew.

April 1963 to June 1964- Supervisor, 100-N Reactor Operation.Duties:
Supervise a shift crew of 10 to 12 reactor operators and 2 radiation
monitors in work not directly affecting the process control for a dual
purpose reactor during the initial operating period following
construction. Much of the work involved high temperature - high
pressure water, and steam. Work included non-irradiated and irradiated
solid, gas, and liquid materials arrangement, handling, storage and
shipping; decontamination activities and radiation protection clothing
control.

June 1964 to June 1967- Supervisor, Supplemental Crews- Reactor
Operations.Duties: Supervise a crew of 6 to 8 reactor operators and 2
to 4 radiation monitors during one eight- hour shift. This crew is
concerned primarily with supplying supplemental manpower during
shutdown periods of the eight Hanford plutonium production reactors.

From April 1951 to 1967- General Electric Company, Richland, Washington.

June 1967 to June 1969- Specialist - Office Equipment
Management.Duties: Coordinated procedures and controls to insure
availability, suitability, maximum utilization, and economical
retirement of all office machines, furniture, and other related items
of controlled equipment utilized at the October Project by the Atomic
Energy Commission and it's cost-type contractors. Conducted tests and
made studies off all types of office equipment such as typewriters,
electronic calculators, and economical and dependable equipment to be
purchased as replacement and additions to stock.

June 1969 to Oct. 1973- Manager of Printing and Duplicating.Duties:
Responsible for management of printing plant, duplicating service,
from design service, engineering reproduction service and classified
files for the Atomic Energy Commission and it's cost-type contractors
at the Hanford Project. Held accountable for planning, organizing and
directing activities of 40 employees.

From June 1967 to Oct. 1973- ITT Federal Support Services, Inc., and
Atlantic Richfield Hanford Co., Richland, Washington.

Dec. 1973 to Jan. 1977- Arrow Trophies, Inc., Grand Junction,
Colorado.Duties: Manager and part owner of retail outlet supplying
trophies and awards.

Jan. 1977 to Sept. 1978- Arrow Lite and Paint, Grand Junction,
Colorado.Duties: Manager and part owner of retail and wholesale store.
Products included paints, wall-coverings, framed mirrors, medicine
chest, fireplace doors and related items.

Sept. 1978 to Sept. 1979- Rocky Mountain Hose Co., Grand Junction, Co.
Duties: Branch Manager and outside sales.

Oct.1979 to March 1988- (DOE)- Geotech U.N.C., and Bendix Field
Engineering Corporation, Printing Manager

Accomplishments: Authored several systems acceptance test procedures
and detailed operating procedures for startup of the new reactor.

Promoted from Radiation Monitor to Radiation Monitoring Supervisor
with less time as a monitor that anyone promoted before him.

Also was youngest Monitoring Supervisor.

Established highest charging rate for a 12 month period, while a
Supplemental Crews Supervisor.

Personnel working for him never suffered a major injury.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,(PNNL) operated by Battelle for
the U.S. Department of Energy in charge of radiological exposure
records claims he received 22.008 rems of whole body effective dose
equivalent, and 27.010 rems skin dose equivalent, and 27.730 rems
extremity dose extremity dose equivalent, and no eye dose equivalent.

PNNL claims he received no internal dose.

My father told his doctors shortly before he died that he had received
45 rems of whole body effective dose equivalent.

I have documentation from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona
stating that he had received 45 rems while employed at Hanford, and
also documentation from a his doctor at Saint Marys Hospital in Grand
Junction, Colorado stating diagnosis of multiple myeloma is
potentially pertinent in that he has a history of irradiation exposure
in his prior occupation associated with accelerators and reactors.

Battells explanation for the discrepancy in dose was possibly my
father was calculating his penetrating exposure with his skin exposure
which is not a meaningful number.

If that was the case it would have added up to be forty nine.

I contend that taking into consideration with respect to my fathers
education, monitoring experience, and record keeping skills that this
is a false conclusion.

Whether it is 22rems or 45 rems most of the scientific community
believes that any number over 20 can cause, and or increase your risk
associated with cancer.

Recently my only living first degree relative my brother, was told by
a supervisor at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health.(NIOSH) In charge of dose reconstruction that it does not look
like my fathers cancer was 50 percent as likely as not caused from his
employment for the Department of Energy. With all due respect,I must
disagree.

Evidence:

1.My father had a Q clearance.

2.My father spent most of his time in the 100 area, but also spent
time in the 200 and 300 areas.

3.Department of Energy, General Electric worker records from 1951 to
1955 are not documented on job locations, to fully understand what
types of exposures may have occurred between those years.

4.My father started working in 1951 his work involved exposure to
neutrons and it was not until the late 1950's that the neutrons were
properly monitored.

5.My father worked in Reactor Operations, Production,and Manufacturing.
Manufacturing Process, Reactor Operations main radiation hazards were
from inhalation of fission products, activation products, external
whole body ionizing radiation.

6.Production workers were exposed to natural uranium through about
1958. Reactor workers,they do not know how they were monitored for
activation products until 1960 except air sampling.

7.My father was involved in at least three laps of radiation control
incidents,and one skin contamination incident.

8.One of the incidents personnel who may have received uncontrolled
exposures are not known for certain.

9.Incidents were classified as severity 11 and severity 16.

10.At Hanford, urine samples were used as one way to monitor radiation exposure.
But for decades those tests showed only the activity level in the
urine, not whether radiation was from isotopes being quickly excreted
or insoluble.

11.My father was monitored by biological radiation monitoring programs
urine, and
in-vivo/whole body count for Plutonium, and Fission Products,also for Isotopes.

12.Samples for bioassay were also picked up from my fathers door step.

13.For years my father traveled to where ever he was needed all around
the Hanford Reservation when working as day relief radiation monitor,
and as supplemental crews.

14.In the early 1950's Hanford had a severe problem with hot particles
from the stacks and he was exposed to radioactive dust,and fall-out.

15.My father reported to the Hanford doctor for particles in his eyes,
and also for some deep cuts and continued to work in radiation zones.

16.Which means he most likely received internal radiation exposure
from these circumstances through inhalation and absorption that were
never calculated.

17.For sixteen years my father was exposed to radiation, chemicals,
and heavy metals.

18.On some of the earlier dosimetry records on the bottom of the
dosimetry card it states that you must not exceed 50 mrems daily
without special permission.

19.He reached 50 mrems at least 50 times, and over 50 mrems a least 30 times.

20.My Father was withdrawn, restricted from certain Job sites because
of over-exposure at least 10 times.

21.Dosimetry records that I received from Battelle (DOE) were poor
quality, and around one fourth were illegible, so the number of
radiation limits and with drawn from job sites are most likely much
higher.

22.My father told his doctors from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale
shortly before he died that he had received 45 rems of whole body
effective dose equivalent, and one of his doctors in Grand Junction,
Colorado states that the multiple myeloma is potentially pertinent in
that he has a history of irradiation exposure in his prior occupation
(meaning Hanford) with accelerators and reactors.

23.I have documentation from the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona,
stating exposed to 45 rems while employed at Hanford, and Saint Marys
Hospital in Grand Junction, Colorado stating diagnosis of Multiple
Myeloma is pertinent do to his previous work with radiation and
accelerators.

24.My father had supervisor evaluations states that strengths were in
Radiation Monitoring and was qualified in all aspects, as well as
being quite qualified in Reactor Operations.

25.Meaning that he was an expert in Radiation Monitoring, and
calculating Dosimetry,and record keeping, and was very knowable in
Reactor Operations.

26.My fathers job required that he have X-rays almost on a yearly
bases, he had at least fourteen chest X-rays while at Hanford.

27.My father was exposed to radiation while working with accelerators.

28.The IREP computer program designed to calculate probability of
causation, which is so instrumental to the out come of the program
does not take into account for accelerator produced particles which
under estimates his exposure.

29.With all the factors involved with my father's work the synergistic
effect is incomprehensible.

30.Radiation is known to effect the immune system adding to the
possibility of contracting cancer.

31.There are a number of accredited studies around fifty with
statistically significant findings linking radiation workers to
multiple myeloma.

32.Most of these case studies were exposed to far less radiation
exposure than my father was.

33."Statistical significance" is the likelihood that the results found
could not have occurred by chance alone. The association of disease
risk with radiation exposure in a study is said to be statistically
significant if the association is so strong that it is unlikely to
have occurred simply by chance.Statistically significant means that
chance is operating less than 5 percent of the time.

34.My father had no history of any kind of cancer in his family.

35.Multiple Myeloma is a rare type of cancer.

36.Blacks are twice as likely to contract and die from multiple
myeloma as whites.

37.The Department of Energy has known from as early as 1977 that
Nuclear workers at Hanford were dyeing from Multiple Myeloma.

38.The Program Director Mr. Peter M. Turcic made the statement
quote.(This is a claimant friendly process workers don't have to prove
any exposure at all in dose reconstructions,only that they are ill and
worked in the area where there was a 99 percent confidence level that
they were exposed.)

Conclusion:

My Father while employed as Printing and duplicating supervisor at the
Hanford Project was in charge of classified files for the Atomic
Energy Commission.
The responsibility involved with this job means he was thought as a
very respected, competent, and trustworthy employee and knew exactly
what he was doing.

I believe Congress enacted the (EEOICP) for families like mine who
have suffered from the loss of a loved one.

With all do respect, I believe that the over abundance of evidence of
my fathers claim shows that an approval is in order.

I am still awaiting a decision. I have been waiting for over four years.
I truly believe that the biggest
problem with the porgram is that the IREP computer program is flawed.

A good question would be to ask DOL how many claims for Luekemia,
Thyroid Cancer, and Multiple Myeloma have been approved?

I have asked but they claim that they do not know.

The money is not the most importance
factor it would not begin to pay for lost wages, medical and burial expences.

I get a little paranoid at what our
government is capable of doing.
In a society as open as are's is, the
only way that they can admister
certain policies is to lie, deni or
be secretive,which are all the same to me.
I only wish that DOL,DOE,HHS,NIOSH,OCAS,ORAU,
would follow the path that congress intend
for the Energy Employees Occupational Compensation Program.
It was not designed for NIOSH to make up the
rules as they see fit. Yes, my family has
suffered the consequences of Hanford, and the cold war.
My father dieing in my arms at age 62 of Multiple Myeloma, my mother as healthy
as a horse one day, and dead the next of Acute Myeloid Leukimia and my
brother wasting away in front of my face with Colon Cancer and dieing at age 42.
All the while ripping a piece of my heart out
with each of their death's. I am so scorn that
life will never be the same.Nor will I.

Richard

posted in Cold War Survivors - 3 replies

History of French Nuclear Tests in the Pacific

2006-11-01T20:44:30Z

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?no=325785&rel_no=1

Part I ] 1966-1974: Atmospheric tests

For the first time in almost half a century, French scientists are confronting their government with solid scientific evidence showing that the nuclear tests conducted in the Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls have caused an increase in thyroid cancers among the populations inhabiting the neighboring islands.

This four-part story retraces the history of the French nuclear testing program in the Pacific and summarizes the conclusions of several surveys regarding the radiological situation of these atolls as well as the potential health consequences on the local populations.
PART I 1966-1974. THE ATMOSPHERIC TESTS

PART II 1974-1992. THE UNDERGROUND TESTS

PART III 1995-1996. CHIRAC RESUMES FRENCH NUCLEAR TESTS

PART IV THE AFTERMATH: THE RADIOLOGICAL SITUATION
<Editor's Note>

PART I 1966-1974. THE ATMOSPHERIC TESTS

French scientists have played a major role in the early development of nuclear physics. Becquerel discovered the natural radioactivity of uranium salts in 1886. Two years later, Marie and Pierre Curie isolated a new element, the radium, and investigated its properties. The three French scientists shared the 1903 Noble Prize for Physics.

TODAY'S TOP STORIES

Republicans Give New Meaning to 'Base'

Lula Expects 'Responsible Opposition'

Fears of Coup in Fiji

The Double Life of Israel

Israeli Soldiers Break the Silence

FROM THE SECTION

Battery Recall Just the Latest in Sony Woes

The Battle for the Airwaves

Global Warming Must Be Tackled

History of French Nuclear Tests in the Pacific

Electronics Companies Come Under Greenpeace Scrutiny

In 1934, Irene and Frederic Joliot-Curie, the daughter and son-in-law of Pierre and Marie Curie, produced the first artificial radioactive element. For this discovery, they won the 1935 Noble Prize of Chemistry.

In 1938, Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann discovered the process by which a neutron splits a heavy nucleus in two lighter ones. In January 1939, Lise Meitner explained this reaction and called it nuclear fission. In the spring of the same year, F. Joliot and his collaborators -- Lew Kowarski, Hans Halban and Francis Perrin -- demonstrated the possibility of a chain reaction.

From then on, nuclear reactions could be used to produce energy or to make powerful weapons. On May 1939, Joliot deposited three patents: the first two concerned the production of energy while the third one dealt with the military applications.

During the occupation of France by the Germans which began in June 1940, research in nuclear science no longer progressed. However in the U.S., American and British nuclear scientists were advancing rapidly with the Manhattan project.

As French nuclear scientists were well aware of the potential military application of nuclear energy, General de Gaulle had been well informed of the progress made in the U.S. toward the fabrication of the first nuclear weapons. On Oct. 18, 1945, de Gaulle created the Atomic Energy Commissariat (AEC). The Atomic Energy Authority is the first such Agency ever established worldwide. On the same day, he appointed Joliot as the High Commissioner and Dautry as the General Administrator.

In the years following the end of WWII, France was plagued by a weak political power and tremendous economical difficulties. As a result, French nuclear research made little progress and fell well behind that of the new superpowers. Reliance on U.S. economical help, through the Marshall plan, may equally have prevented France to consider the nuclear military option, as the U.S. government was eager to keep its nuclear monopole.

France merely attempted to keep alive a small-scale research program. On Dec. 15, 1948, France started its first nuclear reactor: ZOE. The following year, a plutonium research facility was set up at Le Bouchet by the AEC.

Another factor that held back the development of a French nuclear weapon was the strong influence of the French Communist Party. On March 19, 1950, F. Joliot, himself a communist, signed the "Stockholm Appeal." The Declaration called for an absolute ban on nuclear weapons. As the Government of Georges Bidault could not longer tolerate his opinions, Joliot was dismissed and replaced by F. Perrin in April 1950.

In 1952, Felix Gaillard, the Secretary of State for Atomic Energy in the Pinay Government (March 1952 to January 1953), drafted a modest five-year plan for the development of atomic energy. His plan concentrated on civilian applications of nuclear energy as a remedy for the country limited resource of fossil energy. In July 1952, the Communist Party drafted a project of law banning all research activities related to military applications of nuclear energy. The Bill was overwhelmingly defeated by the National Assembly (518 to 100).

While the vote merely left the door opened to the development of nuclear weapons, the re-armament of Germany convinced the French Military Authorities that France needed these weapons. And thus, on Dec. 26, 1954, Prime Minister Pierre Mendes gave the authorization for a nuclear weapon program. The Bureau of General Studies was immediately created to manage this program.

Meanwhile, the Fourth Republic was facing major troubles with its colonies. In 1954, Algerian nationalists began a war for independence. The next year, France had to abandon Indochina after a decade of fighting.

Yet, it is probably the 1956 Suez operation that best revealed to the French and British the new status of the world. Moscow threatened to launch missiles on London and Paris in response to their intervention while Washington showed no solidarity for their cause. The incident showed that a common vision of defense did not imply automatically a convergence of interests on matters of foreign policy.

In France, the feeling of dependence on Americans was no longer bearable. To put an end to this situation, the French Parliament affirmed the need to possess the nuclear bomb. Slowly, and with much hesitation, the French Nuclear Doctrine was taking shape.

On Oct. 5, 1956, a program concerning vehicles of delivery of nuclear weapons was established. On Nov. 30 the AEC and the Defense Minister signed a memorandum concerning the testing of nuclear weapons.

On Dec. 5 a Committee for the Military Applications of Atomic Energy was created. This committee provided for a secret co-operation between the Atomic Energy Commissariat and senior military officials. On Dec. 19 a strategic nuclear bomb program was outlined.

In May 1958, rebel army officers seized control of Algiers. In Paris, a coup seemed imminent. A weak and inexperienced government had lost control over all matters. In this critical situation, General de Gaulle made his come back on the political scene.

On May 31, 1958, de Gaulle became President of the Council of Ministers. In June, the National Assembly voted him full powers for a period of six months. Moreover, he was asked to draft the constitution of the Fifth Republic which he submitted in September to a popular referendum. The new Constitution was approved by a wide margin.

On Dec. 21, de Gaulle became President of France. In the autumn of 1958, Algeria was General de Gaulle's most urging problem. He quickly dismissed a military solution, foreseeing that the independence was unavoidable.

The return of General de Gaulle also marked the end of French hesitations concerning nuclear matters. De Gaulle intended to distance himself from Washington in order to raise France's international prestige and to restore its independence in Foreign Affairs. But in order to reduce the French dependence on the American nuclear umbrella, he felt the urgent need to develop a nuclear force. His view was widely shared by top French military officials.

"Western defense centered around the nuclear weapon is becoming wholly dependent on American wishes... The only possible correction is the formation by the European nations of a nuclear arsenal to allow them to intervene in the new warfare with their own means; it would give them the possibility of resuming a leading role in directing the coalition," wrote General Valluy, the French representative in the NATO Standing Group.

As "French defense must be French," the General created the "Strike Force", a nuclear force independent of NATO. He soon afterwards decided on the date of the first test which he would announce on June 17, 1958, during a meeting with his Defense Council.

In 1959 he ordered the closing of all U.S. Air Force bases in France. A point of no return had been reached. France would become a nuclear power. There is some irony in the undisputable fact that the French took their decision not so much out of fear of their enemies but because of a lack of confidence in their allies.

Becoming a nuclear power meant, among other things, that France needed a test site. On June 17, 1958, de Gaulle chose the Sahara for this purpose.

Despite the fact that the British, Soviet, and American had previously agreed -- in 1963 -- to ban testing in the atmosphere, under water, and in space, the French government decided to carry out atmospheric testing. This would eventually lead the Soviet Union to withdraw from the moratorium.

Seventeen tests were performed: four in the atmosphere (from Feb. 13, 1960, to April 25, 1961) and 13 underground from November 1961 to February 1966.

In 1960, de Gaulle opened peace negotiations with the Algerian rebels. These negotiations lead to an agreement granting independence to Algeria. As a result, the Sahara test sites -- Reganne and In Ecker -- had to be abandoned and new locations had to be found. And by then, the French Empire had dwindled to a few islands.

French Polynesia, a territory roughly the size of Europe, is made up of about hundred islands. These Islands, most of which are coral atolls, belong to five different groups: Marquises Islands, Austral Islands, Iles Gambier, Society Islands and Tuamotu Archipelago.

The Moruroa and Fangataufa atolls, located in the southeast corner of the Tuamotu Archipelago are located 20,000 km away from the metropolis. Nevertheless, they are part of France. These atolls were chosen for their "ideal location." They were uninhabited, easily accessible, and located far away from populated islands.

The closest inhabited atoll is Tureia (140 persons) at a distance of 120 km to the north. Only 5,000 persons lived within 1,000 km of the test site. A larger population (184,000 persons in 1974) is located 1,200 km to the northwest, at Tahiti.

Moreover, French technicians deemed the meteorological conditions perfectly suited to atmospheric nuclear tests. They also concluded that the basaltic nature of the underground was particularly well suited for underground testing.

The fringes of the atolls are at most a few hundred meters wide and enclose a lagoon. They rise just a few meters above sea level. Moruroa covers an area of 155 km square while Fangataufa, located 40 km south, covers an area of 45 km square.

On March 29, 1963, the legislation establishing the two atolls as test sites was signed. A few weeks later, French Troops and civilian workers arrived at once.

Immediately, the local parliament, known as the Territorial Assembly, objected the tests for environmental and radiological concerns. The French governor -- the so called high Commissioner -- simply reminded them of their colonial status. As such, all questions relating to defense matters were outside their competence.

French officials brushed aside all concerns about nuclear fallout by stating that the nukes would be exploded only when the wind was blowing in the south direction, where no other islands are located.

On July 2, 1966, the French tried out their new atomic test site at the Moruroa atoll. The first bomb, a plutonium fission device named Aldebaran, was placed on a barge floating over the lagoon and was detonated, at 5:34 local time.

Following the blast, unpredicted winds spread the radioactive fallout over the Gambiers Islands. As the radioactivity levels raised to 0.6 millisievert (The International System of Units for radiation dose and effective dose equivalent -- 1 millisievert = 100 millirem) per hour, no one notified the local populations. Levels of radioactivity in drinking water were 50 times above normal.

On July 19, 1966, the French dropped the next bomb from an airplane flying 15,000 meters above the empty ocean, 40 km south of the atoll.

After these two tests, radiation at five times the permitted annual dose was measured at the Gambier Islands. In Apia, Western Samoa, the concentration of fission products in rain water was 135,000 pico-curies per liter. For comparison, the maximum allowed amount of radioactivity contained in products imported in the European Union is about 10 times smaller than this value.

Part 2 of this series will be published later this week.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Mystery of Israel's secret uranium bomb

2006-10-30T17:57:39Z

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/fisk/article1935945.ece

Alarm over radioactive legacy left by attack on Lebanon
Published: 28 October 2006
Did Israel use a secret new uranium-based weapon in southern Lebanon this summer in the 34-day assault that cost more than 1,300 Lebanese lives, most of them civilians?

We know that the Israelis used American "bunker-buster" bombs on Hizbollah's Beirut headquarters. We know that they drenched southern Lebanon with cluster bombs in the last 72 hours of the war, leaving tens of thousands of bomblets which are still killing Lebanese civilians every week. And we now know - after it first categorically denied using such munitions - that the Israeli army also used phosphorous bombs, weapons which are supposed to be restricted under the third protocol of the Geneva Conventions, which neither Israel nor the United States have signed.

But scientific evidence gathered from at least two bomb craters in Khiam and At-Tiri, the scene of fierce fighting between Hizbollah guerrillas and Israeli troops last July and August, suggests that uranium-based munitions may now also be included in Israel's weapons inventory - and were used against targets in Lebanon. According to Dr Chris Busby, the British Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, two soil samples thrown up by Israeli heavy or guided bombs showed "elevated radiation signatures". Both have been forwarded for further examination to the Harwell laboratory in Oxfordshire for mass spectrometry - used by the Ministry of Defence - which has confirmed the concentration of uranium isotopes in the samples.

Dr Busby's initial report states that there are two possible reasons for the contamination. "The first is that the weapon was some novel small experimental nuclear fission device or other experimental weapon (eg, a thermobaric weapon) based on the high temperature of a uranium oxidation flash ... The second is that the weapon was a bunker-busting conventional uranium penetrator weapon employing enriched uranium rather than depleted uranium." A photograph of the explosion of the first bomb shows large clouds of black smoke that might result from burning uranium.

Enriched uranium is produced from natural uranium ore and is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. A waste productof the enrichment process is depleted uranium, it is an extremely hard metal used in anti-tank missiles for penetrating armour. Depleted uranium is less radioactive than natural uranium, which is less radioactive than enriched uranium.

Israel has a poor reputation for telling the truth about its use of weapons in Lebanon. In 1982, it denied using phosphorous munitions on civilian areas - until journalists discovered dying and dead civilians whose wounds caught fire when exposed to air.

I saw two dead babies who, when taken from a mortuary drawer in West Beirut during the Israeli siege of the city, suddenly burst back into flames. Israel officially denied using phosphorous again in Lebanon during the summer - except for "marking" targets - even after civilians were photographed in Lebanese hospitals with burn wounds consistent with phosphorous munitions.

Then on Sunday, Israel suddenly admitted that it had not been telling the truth. Jacob Edery, the Israeli minister in charge of government-parliament relations, confirmed that phosphorous shells were used in direct attacks against Hizbollah, adding that "according to international law, the use of phosphorous munitions is authorised and the (Israeli) army keeps to the rules of international norms".

Asked by The Independent if the Israeli army had been using uranium-based munitions in Lebanon this summer, Mark Regev, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said: "Israel does not use any weaponry which is not authorised by international law or international conventions." This, however, begs more questions than it answers. Much international law does not cover modern uranium weapons because they were not invented when humanitarian rules such as the Geneva Conventions were drawn up and because Western governments still refuse to believe that their use can cause long-term damage to the health of thousands of civilians living in the area of the explosions.

American and British forces used hundreds of tons of depleted uranium (DU) shells in Iraq in 1991 - their hardened penetrator warheads manufactured from the waste products of the nuclear industry - and five years later, a plague of cancers emerged across the south of Iraq.

Initial US military assessments warned of grave consequences for public health if such weapons were used against armoured vehicles. But the US administration and the British government later went out of their way to belittle these claims. Yet the cancers continued to spread amid reports that civilians in Bosnia - where DU was also used by Nato aircraft - were suffering new forms of cancer. DU shells were again used in the 2003 Anglo-American invasion of Iraq but it is too early to register any health effects.

"When a uranium penetrator hits a hard target, the particles of the explosion are very long-lived in the environment," Dr Busby said yesterday. "They spread over long distances. They can be inhaled into the lungs. The military really seem to believe that this stuff is not as dangerous as it is." Yet why would Israel use such a weapon when its targets - in the case of Khiam, for example - were only two miles from the Israeli border? The dust ignited by DU munitions can be blown across international borders, just as the chlorine gas used in attacks by both sides in the First World War often blew back on its perpetrators.

Chris Bellamy, the professor of military science and doctrine at Cranfield University, who has reviewed the Busby report, said: "At worst it's some sort of experimental weapon with an enriched uranium component the purpose of which we don't yet know. At best - if you can say that - it shows a remarkably cavalier attitude to the use of nuclear waste products."

The soil sample from Khiam - site of a notorious torture prison when Israel occupied southern Lebanon between 1978 and 2000, and a frontline Hizbollah stronghold in the summer war - was a piece of impacted red earth from an explosion; the isotope ratio was 108, indicative of the presence of enriched uranium. "The health effects on local civilian populations following the use of large uranium penetrators and the large amounts of respirable uranium oxide particles in the atmosphere," the Busby report says, "are likely to be significant ... we recommend that the area is examined for further traces of these weapons with a view to clean up."

This summer's Lebanon war began after Hizbollah guerrillas crossed the Lebanese frontier into Israel, captured two Israeli soldiers and killed three others, prompting Israel to unleash a massive bombardment of Lebanon's villages, cities, bridges and civilian infrastructure. Human rights groups have said that Israel committed war crimes when it attacked civilians, but that Hizbollah was also guilty of such crimes because it fired missiles into Israel which were also filled with ball-bearings, turning their rockets into primitive one-time-only cluster bombs.

Many Lebanese, however, long ago concluded that the latest Lebanon war was a weapons testing ground for the Americans and Iranians, who respectively supply Israel and Hizbollah with munitions. Just as Israel used hitherto-unproven US missiles in its attacks, so the Iranians were able to test-fire a rocket which hit an Israeli corvette off the Lebanese coast, killing four Israeli sailors and almost sinking the vessel after it suffered a 15-hour on-board fire.

What the weapons manufacturers make of the latest scientific findings of potential uranium weapons use in southern Lebanon is not yet known. Nor is their effect on civilians.

Did Israel use a secret new uranium-based weapon in southern Lebanon this summer in the 34-day assault that cost more than 1,300 Lebanese lives, most of them civilians?

We know that the Israelis used American "bunker-buster" bombs on Hizbollah's Beirut headquarters. We know that they drenched southern Lebanon with cluster bombs in the last 72 hours of the war, leaving tens of thousands of bomblets which are still killing Lebanese civilians every week. And we now know - after it first categorically denied using such munitions - that the Israeli army also used phosphorous bombs, weapons which are supposed to be restricted under the third protocol of the Geneva Conventions, which neither Israel nor the United States have signed.

But scientific evidence gathered from at least two bomb craters in Khiam and At-Tiri, the scene of fierce fighting between Hizbollah guerrillas and Israeli troops last July and August, suggests that uranium-based munitions may now also be included in Israel's weapons inventory - and were used against targets in Lebanon. According to Dr Chris Busby, the British Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk, two soil samples thrown up by Israeli heavy or guided bombs showed "elevated radiation signatures". Both have been forwarded for further examination to the Harwell laboratory in Oxfordshire for mass spectrometry - used by the Ministry of Defence - which has confirmed the concentration of uranium isotopes in the samples.

Dr Busby's initial report states that there are two possible reasons for the contamination. "The first is that the weapon was some novel small experimental nuclear fission device or other experimental weapon (eg, a thermobaric weapon) based on the high temperature of a uranium oxidation flash ... The second is that the weapon was a bunker-busting conventional uranium penetrator weapon employing enriched uranium rather than depleted uranium." A photograph of the explosion of the first bomb shows large clouds of black smoke that might result from burning uranium.

Enriched uranium is produced from natural uranium ore and is used as fuel for nuclear reactors. A waste productof the enrichment process is depleted uranium, it is an extremely hard metal used in anti-tank missiles for penetrating armour. Depleted uranium is less radioactive than natural uranium, which is less radioactive than enriched uranium.

Israel has a poor reputation for telling the truth about its use of weapons in Lebanon. In 1982, it denied using phosphorous munitions on civilian areas - until journalists discovered dying and dead civilians whose wounds caught fire when exposed to air.

I saw two dead babies who, when taken from a mortuary drawer in West Beirut during the Israeli siege of the city, suddenly burst back into flames. Israel officially denied using phosphorous again in Lebanon during the summer - except for "marking" targets - even after civilians were photographed in Lebanese hospitals with burn wounds consistent with phosphorous munitions.

Then on Sunday, Israel suddenly admitted that it had not been telling the truth. Jacob Edery, the Israeli minister in charge of government-parliament relations, confirmed that phosphorous shells were used in direct attacks against Hizbollah, adding that "according to international law, the use of phosphorous munitions is authorised and the (Israeli) army keeps to the rules of international norms".

Asked by The Independent if the Israeli army had been using uranium-based munitions in Lebanon this summer, Mark Regev, the Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman, said: "Israel does not use any weaponry which is not authorised by international law or international conventions." This, however, begs more questions than it answers. Much international law does not cover modern uranium weapons because they were not invented when humanitarian rules such as the Geneva Conventions were drawn up and because Western governments still refuse to believe that their use can cause long-term damage to the health of thousands of civilians living in the area of the explosions.

American and British forces used hundreds of tons of depleted uranium (DU) shells in Iraq in 1991 - their hardened penetrator warheads manufactured from the waste products of the nuclear industry - and five years later, a plague of cancers emerged across the south of Iraq.

Initial US military assessments warned of grave consequences for public health if such weapons were used against armoured vehicles. But the US administration and the British government later went out of their way to belittle these claims. Yet the cancers continued to spread amid reports that civilians in Bosnia - where DU was also used by Nato aircraft - were suffering new forms of cancer. DU shells were again used in the 2003 Anglo-American invasion of Iraq but it is too early to register any health effects.

"When a uranium penetrator hits a hard target, the particles of the explosion are very long-lived in the environment," Dr Busby said yesterday. "They spread over long distances. They can be inhaled into the lungs. The military really seem to believe that this stuff is not as dangerous as it is." Yet why would Israel use such a weapon when its targets - in the case of Khiam, for example - were only two miles from the Israeli border? The dust ignited by DU munitions can be blown across international borders, just as the chlorine gas used in attacks by both sides in the First World War often blew back on its perpetrators.

Chris Bellamy, the professor of military science and doctrine at Cranfield University, who has reviewed the Busby report, said: "At worst it's some sort of experimental weapon with an enriched uranium component the purpose of which we don't yet know. At best - if you can say that - it shows a remarkably cavalier attitude to the use of nuclear waste products."

The soil sample from Khiam - site of a notorious torture prison when Israel occupied southern Lebanon between 1978 and 2000, and a frontline Hizbollah stronghold in the summer war - was a piece of impacted red earth from an explosion; the isotope ratio was 108, indicative of the presence of enriched uranium. "The health effects on local civilian populations following the use of large uranium penetrators and the large amounts of respirable uranium oxide particles in the atmosphere," the Busby report says, "are likely to be significant ... we recommend that the area is examined for further traces of these weapons with a view to clean up."

This summer's Lebanon war began after Hizbollah guerrillas crossed the Lebanese frontier into Israel, captured two Israeli soldiers and killed three others, prompting Israel to unleash a massive bombardment of Lebanon's villages, cities, bridges and civilian infrastructure. Human rights groups have said that Israel committed war crimes when it attacked civilians, but that Hizbollah was also guilty of such crimes because it fired missiles into Israel which were also filled with ball-bearings, turning their rockets into primitive one-time-only cluster bombs.

Many Lebanese, however, long ago concluded that the latest Lebanon war was a weapons testing ground for the Americans and Iranians, who respectively supply Israel and Hizbollah with munitions. Just as Israel used hitherto-unproven US missiles in its attacks, so the Iranians were able to test-fire a rocket which hit an Israeli corvette off the Lebanese coast, killing four Israeli sailors and almost sinking the vessel after it suffered a 15-hour on-board fire.

What the weapons manufacturers make of the latest scientific findings of potential uranium weapons use in southern Lebanon is not yet known. Nor is their effect on civilians.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Former clerk says Nevada Test Site documents were buried

2006-10-21T16:14:34Z

LAS VEGAS A former clerk at the Nevada Test Site says she thinks the government literally buried records that would help workers get compensation for work-related illnesses.

An official with the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration says documents that were destroyed didn't contain information about health, safety or exposure to radiation.

He says industrial hygiene records would have been warehoused for archiving.

Sandie Medina is now a union project manager for the Southern Nevada Building and Construction Trade Council's test site medical surveillance project.

She says records were removed from test site storage in late 1997 or early 1998 and buried in a landfill.

She says she thinks the documents could help workers prove compensation claims under the Labor Department's Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Too many waiting too long

2006-10-21T16:11:08Z

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061019/OPINION01/610190302
Too many waiting too long
Former Clarksville Base employees need compensation.

Bobby Murphy is one of 442 people who have submitted claims with the government regarding illnesses linked to working at the Clarksville Base at Fort Campbell a half-century ago. He filed on behalf of his father in 2001 and has been turned down four times despite extensive documentation.

Murphy told The Leaf-Chronicle that many of the people his father worked with are already dead. "It seems they're just waiting for everyone to die."

ADVERTISEMENT

Officials with the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program say that claims approved for workers at the Clarksville Base amount to a total of close to $1.2 million. They preach patience. They say that nationwide, 133,000 claims have been filed.

But that provides little comfort to those who worked at the Clarksville Base — one of 13 nuclear facilities in the United States during the Cold War — got sick years later and want the EEOICP to recognize their claims now.

Others apparently think it would be a losing cause and haven't bothered to ever file.

Debbie Bratton, a researcher on the Clarksville Base, says that people should not give up. They would not have gotten even this far, if not for persistence.

We agree with Bratton. It's a battle worth fighting.

But the fact remains that the government shouldn't have made it this difficult for people who worked on behalf of their country to get the compensation that they deserved for ending up with compromised health.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Will Nuclear Power Destroy The World? The Obscene Destructiveness Of

2006-10-21T16:07:18Z

Fr those that think nuclear power is the solution
to global warming see NIRS work at:
http://www.nirs.org/climate/climate.htm
http://www.nirs.org

>The spread of nuclear technology is expected to
accelerate as nations redouble their reliance on
atomic >power. That will give more countries the
ability to make reactor fuel, or, with the same
equipment and a >little more effort, bomb fuel -
the hardest part of the arms equation.

http://www.iht.com/bin/print_ipub.php?file=/articles/2006/10/15/news/arms.php

A 'race' to head off nuclear disaster
By William J. Broad and David E. Sanger

The New York Times TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2006
The declaration by North Korea that it has
conducted a successful atomic test brought to nine
the number of nations believed to have nuclear
arms. But atomic officials estimate that as many
as 40 more countries have the technical skill, and
in some cases the required material, to build a
bomb.

That ability, coupled with new nuclear threats in
Asia and the Middle East, risks a second nuclear
age, officials and arms control specialists say,
in which nations are more likely to abandon the
old restraints against atomic weapons.

The spread of nuclear technology is expected to
accelerate as nations redouble their reliance on
atomic power. That will give more countries the
ability to make reactor fuel, or, with the same
equipment and a little more effort, bomb fuel -
the hardest part of the arms equation.

Signs of activity abound. Hundreds of companies
are prospecting for uranium where dozens did a few
years ago. Argentina, Australia and South Africa
are drawing up plans to begin enriching uranium,
and other countries are considering doing the
same. Egypt is reviving its program to develop
nuclear power.

Concern led the International Atomic Energy Agency
to summon government officials and experts from
around the world to Vienna in September to discuss
tightening curbs on who can produce nuclear fuel.
"These dangers are urgent," Sam Nunn, a U.S.
expert on the politics of nuclear proliferation,
told the group. "We are in a race between
cooperation and catastrophe and, at this moment,
the outcome is unclear."

The International Atomic Energy Agency itself
exemplifies some of the underlying tensions
inherent in the development of nuclear energy. It
is the primary United Nations agency charged with
detecting proliferation, but it has another
mandate as well: to promote safe nuclear power.

For decades, it has done so by running technical
aid programs with roughly a hundred states. Some
of that knowledge could be useful in a weapons
program, though the aid is meant exclusively for
civilian use.

Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the
agency, has estimated that as many as 49 nations
now know how to make nuclear arms, and he has
warned that global tensions could push some over
the line. "We are relying," he said, "primarily on
the continued good intentions of these countries -
intentions which are in turn based on their sense
of security or insecurity, and could therefore be
subject to rapid change."

In the United States, Democrats and Republicans
spent the past week arguing over who lost control
of North Korea: Bill Clinton or George W. Bush.
But seeds of the problem were planted by President
Dwight Eisenhower, just months after the armistice
ended the fighting on the Korean Peninsula in
1953.

His program was called Atoms for Peace, and it
soon involved dozens of nations, all seeking to
unlock the magic of nuclear power.

Almost from the start, evidence accumulated that
countries were using civil alliances and reactor
technologies to make bombs. By 1960, France had
joined the United States, Britain and the Soviet
Union as a nuclear weapons state. China held its
first test in 1964. Israel had the bomb by 1967
(though it still does not admit to it), India by
1974, South Africa by 1982 (it has since given up
its weapons) and Pakistan by 1998.

Six of those countries built their weapons by
exploiting at least some technologies that were
ostensibly civilian, nuclear analysts say. They
enriched uranium beyond the low level needed for
power reactors. Or they mined the spent fuel of
civil reactors for plutonium - the path that North
Korea started taking in the late 1980s or early
1990s, according to U.S. intelligence officials.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has worked
hard to fight this kind of cheating while also
helping with the basic technology. In the 1980s,
it aided Iran's hunt for uranium. Even now,
Iranian technicians fly to Vienna and agency
experts go to Iran to lend a hand.

The hardest part, experts agree, is not acquiring
the weapons blueprints but obtaining the fuel.

Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan's
nuclear arms program, who went on to establish the
world's largest atomic black market, sold the
secrets of how to make centrifuges for enriching
uranium to Libya, Iran and North Korea.

Investigators are still trying to learn where else
Khan may have planted his nuclear seeds. They
discovered outposts of his network in Dubai,
Malaysia and South Africa and found that before
his fall in 2004 he had visited at least 18
countries, including Egypt, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan,
Syria and Saudi Arabia.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

'Birdcage' cases slow for some

2006-10-21T15:58:44Z

http://www.theleafchronicle.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061016/NEWS01/610
160312

'Birdcage' cases slow for some
By CHANTAL ESCOTO
The Leaf-Chronicle

Sam Samsil thinks his father's radiation death â€” which was caused by
working
at the Clarksville Base nearly 50 years ago â€” did not go completely
in vain.

His mother filed a claim with the Energy Employees Occupational Illness
Compensation Program (EEOICP) about five years ago, and it was finally
approved
recently. Samsil â€” a Birmingham, Ala., attorney who grew up in
Clarksville â€”
said he never gave up on the claim for his mother's sake because it was
the right
thing to do.

"It's been a long road for my mother," Samsil said. The maximum amount
awarded for each case is a $150,000 lump sum payment. His father, D.M.
Samsil, died
in 1996 with unexplained skin cancer.

Some people are still waiting and hoping their claims will be approved
â€”
about 440 workers of the Clarksville Base nuclear storage facility and
their
families are waiting for government compensation.

"We had to appeal several times, but it would seem that we have been
successful, and the dosage report was positive in my father's case,"
Samsil said.

D.M. Samsil's case was determined through a long and complicated
process
called "dose reconstruction," the dosage report his son is referring
to. The
scientific calculation is conducted through the National Institute for
Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH).

The dose reconstruction determines the amount of radiation a worker
could
have been exposed to depending on where he worked and for how long. If
a worker's
dose reconstruction is rated at 50 percent or above, then the claim
usually
is awarded.

The Clarksville Base at Fort Campbell was one of 13 nuclear facilities
set up
around the United States during the Cold War. The Birdcage was
constructed in
1948 by the Atomic Energy Commission, and its operations were highly
secretive. Even to this day workers at the Clarksville Facility are
reluctant to talk
about what went on at the nuclear weapons storage because of such
intense
security.

But for many employees who kept quiet for so long, their secrets died
with
them. To make matters more complicated, many of the files and employee
records
at the nuclear storage facility were lost or "disappeared."

Compensation slow
The EEOICP has paid out more than $500 million in cash and benefits
since
2001 to Department of Energy Atomic weapons site workers or their
families in
Tennessee. Those sites include Oak Ridge, Clarksville Base at Fort
Campbell,
Chattanooga and Erwin. A total of $2 billion has been paid nationwide.
Workers at
the Clarksville Base whose claims have been approved received nearly
$1.2
million.

But that doesn't mean a whole lot to Bobby Murphy and 441 other people
who
have filed for the lump sum. Murphy submitted his claim on behalf of
his father
in 2001. It's been denied four times even though he has affidavits and
records
proving his father worked at the Clarksville Facility as an
electrician.

"Most everybody my father worked with are deceased. It seems they're
just
waiting for everyone to die," he said. Murphy's problem with the
compensation
process is that officials say his father wasn't exposed to enough
radiation to
get the compensation. But at the same time the EEOICP will not accept
proof
Murphy has that shows his father worked extensively in the "hot" areas.

"It doesn't make a lick of sense," he said. "I never thought in my
lifetime
that I'd be arguing with the Department of Energy about where my father
worked."

Persistence is key
Peter Turcic, director of the EEOICP, said he feels for the families,
but the
dose reconstruction is still pending in many of these cases. He advises
workers and families to be patient and to continue appealing,
especially if new
information becomes available such as a changed medical condition or
death.

Turcic said the majority of the claims were denied for illnesses not
covered
under Part B of the program, which includes radiation cancers and lung
diseases such as silicosis and beryllium.

"NIOSH has their processes and procedures," Turcic said, citing 133,000
claims filed nationwide. The EEOICP is still actively seeking people to
file if
they think their sickness or that of a relative was caused by working
at an
atomic weapons site.

"We encourage people to file if they worked at (Clarksville Facility)
and had
an illness. If they fill out Part E (of the claim application) that
includes
all illnesses. If they fill that out we make a determination if they
are
entitled to benefits."

Debbie Bratton has done extensive research on the Birdcage and said she
has
gone before the appeals board on behalf of some families seeking
compensation.

She said tenacity is the answer.

"I believe there are many people who have not filed because they either
feel
they don't have a chance or they are intimidated by the paperwork
requirements," Bratton said in an e-mail.

"I cannot over emphasize the need for persistence. The very legislation
would
not exist without the persistence of many former workers of nuclear
facilities, particularly those in Oak Ridge, who invested years to get
the federal
government to adopt legislation."

Chantal Escoto covers military affairs and can be reached by telephone
at
245-0216 or by e-mail at chantalescoto@theleafchronicle.com.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

GAO Calls Radiation Monitors Unreliable

2006-10-21T15:51:09Z

http://www.mindspring.com/~kapl/index.html

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

The Sunflower news letter

2006-10-14T18:42:30Z

http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2006/09_sunflower-mail.htm

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Cost of Hanford Cleanup Project Rises Again

2006-10-14T18:40:22Z

Cost of Hanford Cleanup Project Rises Again
On 7 September 2006, the estimated cost for cleaning up the Hanford nuclear reservation rose to $12.2 billion.

Originally slated to cost $4.3 billion and to be completed in 1999, the clean up project's completion date has been pushed back to November 2019. The bulk of the clean up money is going towards a plant that will convert millions of gallons of waste into glasslike logs to be permanently disposed of in a waste depository. Currently, there are 43 million gallons of waste and 177 underground tanks. This clean up effort is a race against time. It needs to be cleaned up before the waste reaches and contaminates the nearby Columbia River.

Considerable technical difficulties have prevented this from being achieved. "We have had some world-class technical issues," acknowledged John Eschenberg, the federal manager for construction. "I have made mistakes. Bechtel has made mistakes. If I could relive the last three years, there are things I would do differently." Currently, not a single gallon of waste has been reprocessed.

Source: Vartabedian, Ralph, "Errors, Costs Stall Nuclear Waste Project," Los Angeles Times, 4 September 2006.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Small fire confirmed at uranium warehouse

2006-10-14T18:39:03Z

Why is Y-12 being allowed to lie about uranium chip fires. Isn't that
dishonest?

This is another one of those news pieces that contains a big lie. The
fire
originated from the pyrophloric tendencies of uranium chips to ignite
due to
friction, then get red hot, and set other things on fire. Uranium
fires are
difficult to put out.

The Bill Wilburn statement that the uranium did not catch fire is
untruthful,
as the only way this fire started was for the uranium chip to catch on
fire
and oxidize. They put out uranium fires with powdered graphite to
block the
oxygen, as that is one of the few methods that can put out a uranium
fire.

It appears the days of Y-12 telling lies and the news helping tell
those lies
has not gotten any better. When uranium chips catch fire they release
fine
uranium oxide particles that suspend in air and become a health hazard.
It
appears they want to hide this problem, as the workers likely didn't
wear
respirators. And the only way to get graphite dust on the uranium
chip fire is to
rip open the bag and dump in some graphite dust to put out the fire.

In the 50s and 60s at Y-12, uranium chip fires were very common and the
production area workers would scuff their feet on the floors and watch
sparkler
effects come from under their yellow shoe scuffs. And they inhaled
the small
uranium particles very often in uranium part production areas, and
filled the
drains and creek with uranium dusts.

========

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/local_news/article/0,1406,KNS_347_5057453,00.html

Small fire confirmed at uranium warehouse
Official says Sept. 22 incident at Y-12 over in a 'matter of minutes'

By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
October 11, 2006

OAK RIDGE - A small fire occurred Sept. 22 in a warehouse where highly
enriched uranium and other materials are stored at the Y-12 nuclear
weapons plant, a
spokesman confirmed Tuesday.

But the uranium itself did not catch on fire, and the entire incident
was
over in a "matter of minutes," said Bill Wilburn of BWXT, the company
that
manages Y-12 for the federal government.

The Project On Government Oversight, a Washington-based watchdog group,
was
the first to report on the incident. Peter Stockton, an investigator
with POGO,
said the group has long been concerned about the Y-12 warehouse,
Building
9720-5, because it is constructed of wood and is considered vulnerable
to fire.

The incident occurred while workers were using a protective "glove bag"
to
examine a package of highly enriched uranium that was wrapped in
plastic and
masking tape, Wilburn said. A glove bag allows workers to examine
uranium without
the possible release of contaminants or direct exposure to the
radioactive
material, he said.

During the procedure, a small piece of the uranium apparently oxidized
upon
exposure to air and caused some combustion of the plastic packaging and
masking
tape, he said.

Neither the uranium nor the glove bag caught fire, Wilburn said.
Workers
immediately put out the fire using powdered graphite, known as coke, he
said.

"There were no injuries and no release of contamination," the Y-12
spokesman
said. "They responded quickly, and the other folks evacuated the
building. The
whole incident only lasted a matter of minutes."

Wilburn said an investigation of the incident was being conducted, but
he
said he did not know the status of it. He said he could not comment on
POGO's
remarks about the building being constructed of wood.

"I can't discuss the building or what it's made out of," he said.

Steven Wyatt, a federal spokesman with the National Nuclear Security
Administration, said Y-12 workers reacted properly to an unexpected
event.

"It's certainly something you don't want to happen, but their response
was
very swift," Wyatt said.

The workers were handling a "legacy" material that has been in storage
at the
Oak Ridge nuclear facility since the 1970s, Wilburn said.

Y-12 employees are "de-inventorying" Building 9720-5, as part of the
preparations for moving into a new storage facility for highly enriched
uranium. The
new $500 million storage center is under construction and about 35
percent
completed.

Oak Ridge officials typically do not discuss their storage facilities
in
depth for safety and security reasons.

According to a study guide for workers published in 1997, Building
9720-5 is
used for storage and shipping of safeguarded nuclear materials.

"The materials handled in the warehouse include uranium, lithium,
beryllium,
and thorium and come in the form of canned subassemblies, fuel
assemblies,
oxides, metals and alloys," the document states.

Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Oppenheimer's flaws fascinate author

2006-10-14T18:36:47Z

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061013/FEATURES06/
610130301

October 13, 2006

Oppenheimer's flaws fascinate author

By Chris Poynter
cpoynter@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

J. Robert Oppenheimer was at his office at the Los Alamos National
Laboratory
when the news broke over the loudspeaker in 1945: Hiroshima had been
bombed.

The laboratory -- where the atomic bomb had been secretly created under
Oppenheimer's leadership -- erupted into cheers.

Oppenheimer, however, soon realized the horror of the weapon he had
created
-- and "the father of the atomic bomb," as he became known, spent the
rest of
his life trying to contain nuclear weapons.

"American Prometheus" -- a book that profiles Oppenheimer's triumphant
but
tragic life -- won the Pulitzer Prize in Biography this year, and one
of its
authors, Martin J. Sherwin, will speak in Louisville next week, brought
to town
by the Filson Historical Society.

Sherwin, a history and English professor at Tufts University, co-wrote
"American Prometheus" with Kai Bird, an author and contributing editor
to The Nation
magazine.

Sherwin began researching the book about 1979, but it took him 25 years
to
complete because of teaching commitments and other interests.

He pored over Oppenheimer's personal papers, searched through his
Federal
Bureau of Investigation files and interviewed family, friends and
people who
worked with him at Los Alamos and elsewhere.

Oppenheimer was a genius, Sherwin said, though at one point, after
graduating
from college, he contemplated suicide.

"He felt he was totally useless and should end it all because he
couldn't
stand the embarrassment of failure," Sherwin said. "But â€¦ he
discovered a way not
to be a failure. He discovered quantum physics, and he was a genius at
it."

Though Oppenheimer was director of Los Alamos in New Mexico and was a
celebrated hero after World War II, he had a terrible personal life. He
was an absent
father, Sherwin said, rarely spending time with his children because
work and
research took precedence. (Oppenheimer died in 1967. His daughter
committed
suicide in the 1970s; his son is still living.)

Sherwin said he admired Oppenheimer for realizing the danger of nuclear
weapons and working to control them.

He spoke out against nuclear proliferation, "but doing that in the
context of
American politics and the emerging Cold War was very difficult,"
Sherwin
said.

Sherwin said he did not admire Oppenheimer for falling for McCarthyism
in the
1950s and turning against some of his former students who were
leftists.

Oppenheimer "was kind of like iron. Once it starts cracking, it falls
apart,
as opposed to steel, which has the ability to twist and turn," Sherwin
said.

Oppenheimer was accused at a government hearing of being a national
security
risk and was stripped of his federal security clearance.

Mark Wetherington, executive director of the Filson Historical Society,
said
Sherwin's appearance is part of the Gertrude Polk Brown lecture series.
The
series has brought numerous authors to town, including many Pulitzer
Prize
winners.

Sherwin said he believes the world is worse because of nuclear weapons,
but,
he said, Oppenheimer's work and life are relevant today.

"The country and leadership of the country have learned very little,"
Sherwin
said. "We still think having nuclear weapons helps our security. I
don't
think they help our security at all."

Reporter Chris Poynter can be reached at (502) 582-4475.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Underground blasts were also culprits

2006-10-14T18:35:32Z

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,650198069,00.html

October 12, 2006

Underground blasts were also culprits

'96 report says that radiation detected off Nevada Test Site

By Joe Bauman
Deseret Morning News

Fallout researchers have focused their attention on above-ground
nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site from the 1950s through the
early '60s.
However, a 1996 report says hundreds of underground tests also spewed
radiation.
Besides the danger to workers at the NTS, more than 50 of the
tests
released enough radioactive material that some made its way off the
sprawling
test site.
The report is "Radiological Effluents Released From U.S.
Continental
Tests 1961 through 1992," produced by the U.S. Department of Energy in
August
1996 and available at a DOE Web site, www.nv.doe.gov.
U.S. above-ground testing ended in 1962. However, since 1961,
radioactive material escaped from 433 tests, "some of which have
simultaneous
detonations" where several explosions would go off at once, the report
says.
"However, only 52 of these are designated as having offsite
releases,"
according to the report.
The "Palanquin" test of April 14, 1965, blew radiation out of a
crater,
and 23,000 picocuries of gross beta activity per cubic meter of air was
detected offsite at the populated community of Clark Station, Nev., the
report
says. At Highway 6, an uninhabited location offsite, eight miles east
of the
Tonapah Test Range Road, the reading was 87,000 picocuries per cubit
meter of air.
Stone Cabin Ranch, Nev., also off the Nevada Test Site, had the
greatest gamma radiation exposure, at 3 milliroentgens per hour. The
report adds that
the highest radioactive iodine concentration in milk was "11,000
picocuries
per liter at Martin Ranch near Eureka, Nev.; no children present."
Fallout at 0.03 milliroentgens per hour was detected as far as
Council,
Idaho, about 500 miles away.
In the Baneberry test of Dec. 18, 1970, "gross fission products"
blew
out of the underground test and were detected off the Nevada Test Site.
Part of the fallout cloud drifted over Nevada, Utah and Wyoming,
while
"another fraction (of the cloud) moved toward California."
Maximum radioactivity detected offsite was 3,400 picocuries of
Iodine-133 per cubic meter of air at Stone Cabin Ranch, Nev. Maximum
iodine level
detected offsite was 810 picocuries of radioactive I-131 per liter of
milk at the
McCurdy Ranch near Beatty, Nev., it says.
"Venting occurred from a fissure near surface ground zero" 3 1/2
minutes after the blast, says the report. "The effluent venting rate
steadily
decreased with time, but visible vapor continued to emanate from the
fissure for 24
hours after the detonation."

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Study of contamination at rocket lab site reveals evidence of cancer

2006-10-14T18:34:19Z

http://www.simivalleyacorn.com/news/2006/1013/Front_Page/003.html

Study of contamination at rocket lab site reveals evidence of cancer
link
By Avi Rutschman avi@theacorn.com

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory Panel, an independent team of
researchers
and health experts, released a report last week concluding that toxins
and
radiation released from the Rocketdyne research facility near Simi
Valley could be
responsible for hundreds of cancers in the surrounding areas.

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory was built in 1948 by North American
Aviation and consists of 2,850 acres in eastern Ventura County. Over
the years, it
has been used as a test site for experiments involving nuclear
reactors,
high-powered lasers and rockets.

The report was completed by experts in the fields of reactor accident
analysis, atmospheric transport of contaminants, hydrology and geology.
The study
took five years to complete and was funded by the California
Environmental
Protection Agency.

"We want to thank the many legislatures that have attended meetings,
provided
funds and pressured public agencies into action," said Marie Mason, a
community activist and longtime resident of the Santa Susana Knolls
area in Simi
Valley, who helped to form the advisory panel.

The panel originally formed 15 years ago after a 1959 nuclear meltdown
that
occurred at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory was made public.
Concerned about
the possibility of facing adverse health affects due to the meltdown,
area
residents pressured legislators into funding a panel to study the
impact of the
incident.

"We were fearful of what our families and communities may have been
exposed
to," said Holly Huff, another community member who pushed for the
formation of
the panel.

The first study conducted by the panel was performed by UCLA
researchers and
focused on the adverse health effects the meltdown had on Rocketdyne
employees. Completed in 1997, that report indicated workers did indeed
suffer a higher
rate of lymph system and lung cancers.

Boeing, the current owner of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, has
challenged the validity of the studies, calling into question the
scientific methods
used by researchers.

"We received a summary of the report Thursday, and we were not given an
advance copy to look through and prepare with," said Blythe Jameson, a
Boeing
spokesperson.

"Based on our preliminary assessment," Jameson said, "we found that the
report has significant flaws and that the claims are baseless without
scientific
merit and a grave disservice to our employees and the community."

After the UCLA study concluding that laboratory workers had faced
adverse
health effects because of the meltdown, the panel was given federal and
state
funds to conduct another study of potential impacts on neighboring
communities
and their residents.

According to the panel, Boeing was unwilling to disclose a large amount
of
data concerning the accident and certain operations. This forced the
researchers
to base some of their studies on models of similar accidents.

"One simply does not know with confidence what accidents and releases
have
not been disclosed, nor what information about the ones we do know of
also has
not been revealed," the panel stated in its report.

After five years of research, the panel concluded that between 260 and
1,800
cancer cases were caused by the field laboratory's contamination of
surrounding communitiesThe incident released levels of cesium-137 and
iodine-131, radio

nucleotides that act as carcinogensthat surpass the amount of
contaminants
released during the Three Mile Island incident. The report also stated
that
othecontaminants have escaped, and still could, from the Boeing-owned
laboratory
through groundwateand surface runoff.

Jameson said other scientific studies have contradicted those findings.

"There have been several reports done by federal and state agencies,
most
notably a preliminary site evaluation from Agency for Toxic Substance
and Disease
Registry in 1999, in which they did not identify a public health hazard
to
surrounding communities," Jameson said.

David Lochbaum, a nuclear safety engineer for the Union of Concerned
Scientists, estimated in the field laboratory panel's report that as
much as 13,000
curies of iodine131 and 2,600 curies of cesium-137 escaped from the
reactor
during the 1959 meltdown. In comparison, only 17 curies of iodine131
and none of
cesium137 escaped during the Three Mile Island incident.

The test reactor was contained in a partial pool of liquid sodium and
buffered from the surrounding environment by a layer of helium.

The reactor did not have a concrete containment shield, which would
explain
the high levels of radioactive material that were able to escape during
the
meltdown, according to Lochbaum.

Dr. Jan Bayea, a physicist who specializes in modeling the movement of
radiation through the air, came to the conclusion that between zero and
1,800
cancers, but most likely 260 cancers, were caused by the release of
radioactive
materials.

"We faced three major difficulties in this study because it was a
complex
site, not much information was released and we couldn't obtain any
meteorological
data from Boeing," Bayea said.

According to the panel, Boeing wouldn't release meteorological data
from the
time period of the 1959 incident, claiming that information is a trade
secret.

Jameson insists that Boeing has not tried to hide anything.

"We've shared the meteorological data with the Agency for Toxic
Substance and
Disease Registry, that was then, in turn, turned over to various
groups,"
Jameson said. "It's been shared with various other agencies, most
recently at a
Department of Energy meeting in May of 2005 where it was shared with
the
public."

Dr. William Bianchi, a soil physicist, discovered that Boeing's
decision to
not use a synthetic cap on the burn pit areas has led to additional
contamination of groundwater at the site, according to the panel's
report.

Boeing attempted to stop the recharge of groundwater with clay soil and
with
native vegetation, but neither method proved to make the area around
the burn
pits impermeable.

"The supposed impermeable clay material is not impermeable at all," the
report states.

Dr. Ali Tabidian, chair of the Department of Geological Sciences at Cal
State
Northridge, discovered that perchlorate, a toxic substance found in
rocket
fuel, did end up in groundwater wells in Simi Valley as a result of
surface
water runoff.

According to the report, Tabidian said that perchlorate migrated off
the
laboratory site through surface water runoff, traveled into the Arroyo
Simi, then
entered the groundwater and wells near the Arroyo.

The study says perchlorate has been discovered in a number of wells
surrounding the area.

Boeing has challenged this claim, stating that the perchlorate could
have
come from Chilean fertilizer, fireworks or road flares.

According to the report, Tabidian feels these are unjustifiable claims
because if they were true, perchlorate would be detectable in wells
throughout Simi
Valley rather than only in the areas surrounding the Arroyo.

"Perchlorate is very soluble and travels almost as fast as water. It's
a
warning, the leading edge of contaminate plume," said Dan Hirsch,
co-chair of the
panel and a lecturer on nuclear policy at UC Santa Cruz.

Despite their findings, the panel did not recommend an epidemiological
study
of surrounding communities because of a lack of data provided by Boeing
and
the high migration of residents in the area throughout the years.

"Doing a health study at this point would be a big gamble; it would be
wiser
to search for a fingerprint of the contamination release," Bayea said.

"This has been 17 years of unwanted frustration, and in those years our
innocence has been lost," Mason said.

The report commissioned by the Santa Susana Field Laboratory Panel can
be
read online at www.ssflpanel.org.

"There is no evidence of contamination as a result of our current or
past
operations that has adversely impacted the surrounding communities. We
will
continue to move forward with the cleanup of the site in a safe and
effective
manner," Jameson said.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Matheson acts on fallout study

2006-10-14T18:32:53Z

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view2/1,4382,650198389,00.html?textfield=nuclear

Matheson acts on fallout study

Lawmaker calls for 'roadblocks in way of any new testing'

By Joe Bauman
Deseret Morning News
The more scientists look into the effects of fallout from nuclear
weapons tests, the more damage they discover, says Rep. Jim Matheson.
The Utah Democrat was responding to a study by the University of
Utah
researcher Dr. Joseph Lyon and colleagues, which was reported in
Wednesday's
edition of the Deseret Morning News. A re-evaluation study by 15
experts headed
by Lyon, to be published in the journal Epidemiology on Nov. 1, shows
that
more than twice as many downwind residents as originally believed
suffered damage
to the thyroid gland from fallout.
"Dr. Joseph Lyon and his associates have spent 40 years
researching
danger to those who were 'downwind' of nuclear testing in Nevada,"
Matheson said
in a press release. "The more we look, the more damage we uncover from
this
era, even as the federal government was telling us it was safe."
Lyon's early studies helped convince Matheson's late father, the
former
Utah Gov. Scott M. Matheson, that he should demand the release of
classified
data about the nuclear tests, says the release. "Gov. Matheson died
from a
radiation exposure-related illness at age 61," it adds.
The congressman is quoted as saying the data prove that even
underground nuclear tests are unsafe.
"I have long opposed any effort to resume nuclear weapons testing
in
Nevada," he added. "My legislation â€” Safety for Americans from
nuclear Weapons
Testing â€” establishes significant roadblocks in the way of any new
testing."
The legislation requires Congress to authorize any nuclear
weapons test
and establishes the National Center for the Study of Radiation and
Human
Health, he said.
The center is a consortium of universities that will study health
effects of radiation exposure and illnesses that are linked to
radiation.
Lyon's study is called "Thyroid Disease Associated With Exposure
to the
Nevada nuclear Weapons Test Site Radiation: A Re-evaluation Based on
Corrected Dosimetry and Examination Data."
The journal "Epidemiology" placed an abstract online. To read it,
go to
the scientific journal's main Web site,
www.epidem.com/pt/re/epidemiology/paptoc.htm and then click on the box
labeled "Epi Fast-Track."

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

The government agents' conflicts of interest. .The EEOICP scandal that involves tens of thousands of oppressed EEOICP victims

2006-10-14T18:30:32Z

Hi!

For your information, review another media disclosure that I posted
below my commentary.

For decades the government contractors "independent status" claim is,
of course ludicrous. The Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) is
the $200 million dollar plus USDOE contractor who was hired by USHHS,
CDC-NIOSH to reconstruct the dose of EEOICP claimants. The Officials
pretend that no EEOICP claimant has or ever will notice that the ORAU's and
cohorts are USDOE contractors with conflicts of interest. The ORAU
agents continue to consult with the current U.S. President's Advisory
Board on Radiation and Workers Health. And, the bogus dose reconstructions
and site profiles are used to deny tens of thousands of mertorius
EEOICP claims.

ORAU admitted conflicts of interest relevant to my claim. But, "the
NIOSH took back the claim," said the ORAU executive who notified me.
And, the NIOSH agents recommended denial of my EEOICP claim because I
refused to sign their "waiver" that states that I agree with their bogus
dose reconstruction assessment.

I note that the manipulative and abusive NIOSH OCAS director Larry
Elliott censored my SEC petition that represents over 7,600 claimants.
Many petitioners have died in the interim.

When I finally decide it is time to file a lawsuit, it is a given that
the USDOL and USHHS employees will continue to claim independent
status, deny conflicts of interest, and deny any wrongdoing. However, at
some point in time legal precedent shall be established during a proper
adjudication process. At this point in time the "defendant caretakers"
don't recognize a claimants pro se status which is, of course, a mandate
that is recognized by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure according to
the Constitution.

And, participating "SEC" petitioners are instructed that they are not
to notice that preferred government IT market consultant-contractor
Sanford, Cohen & Associates (SC&A) are hired to consult with the current
President George Bush's Advisory Board on Radiation and Workers Health.
The wars between the consultants and the Advisory Board members and
their consensus agreements causes the "redaction" of incriminating
evidence and the destruction of public records. The Advisory Board members
claim their "business sensitive" contributions are "privacy act
protected." The Advisory Board members continue to claim their participation on
the board has nothing, whatsoever, to do with the acknowledgement of or
the signing of the conflicts of interest waiver. All remaining
participants declare they have no conflicts of interest. Just recently, two
members were ejected from the Advisory Board because the evidence
affirmed their conflicts of interest so saith the rest of the board me!
mbers.

WE don't have a choice when WE vote in November and thereafter. WE are
simply expected to ignore the findings of fact -- that the candidates
and our elected Congressional representatives shall continue to ignore
the EEOICP scandal.

The EEOICP saga continues as WE prepare to vote for the candidates in
just 26 more days who WE know are aware of the details regarding this
scandal, too.

Gai Oglesbee, Independent National Advocate
EEOICP Claimant | Downwinder
National Nuclear Victims for Justice
http://www.nnvj-goglesbee-eeoicp-abuse.com

--------------

Knox News: ORNL shares $5M in grants

By News Sentinel staff

October 11, 2006

OAK RIDGE - Oak Ridge National Laboratory was among the
institutions sharing $5 million in nanotechnology research grants
for solid-state lighting.

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman announced the grants last week
during a trip to the Department of Energy's facilities in New
Mexico.

ORNL will receive $600,000 to conduct a project to improve the
efficiency of organic light-emitting diodes, DOE said in a press
statement.

The federal agency said there is the potential to double the
efficiency of general lighting systems, which would reduce the
energy consumption and save consumers money.

border=0> ? 2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Missilethreat.com

2006-10-08T02:18:12Z

http://www.missilethreat.com/

posted in Cold War Survivors - 1 reply

"Government has failed to take away their used reactor fuel rods. . .Court awards $143M to reactor companies

2006-10-07T21:45:49Z

Hemscott: Court awards $143M to reactor companies

WASHINGTON (AFX) - The owners of three closed nuclear power
plants have been awarded $143 million because the government has
failed to take away their used reactor fuel rods.

The award by the U.S. Federal Court of Claims settles a
long-standing legal fight waged by operators of the three
reactors in Maine, Connecticut and Massachusetts.

It also could foreshadow a series of additional financial awards
to operators of reactors nationwide who have argued the federal
government broke contractual agreements that promised the waste
would be taken by 1998.

The award, granted by Court of Claims Judge James Merow on
Saturday, was unsealed Wednesday.

It gives $32.9 million in damages to Yankee Atomic Electric Co.,
operator of the Yankee Rowe reactor in Massachusetts; $34.1
million to Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Co., operator of
Connecticut Yankee reactor; and $75.8 million to Maine Yankee
Atomic Power Co.; operator of the Maine Yankee reactor.

The companies had asked for $177 million.

Michael Thomas, vice president and chief financial officer of
the three Yankee companies, said that while the monetary award
is 'very positive ... (it) does not solve the problem of used
nuclear fuel remaining at the plant sites.''We hope this ruling
will spur the U.S. Department of Energy to begin fulfilling its
obligation,' said Thomas.

Federal courts previously have ruled that the Energy Department
was contractually obligated to begin taking used reactor fuel
from commercial power plants by 1998. But the ruling was the
first finding of a significant financial settlement.

The government missed the 1998 deadline because it doesn't have
any place to put the spent fuel. A proposed central repository
at Yucca Mountain in Nevada is way behind schedule in being
completed.

Once expected to open in 2010, the Yucca waste site has yet to
received a federal license and is not likely to be completed --
if licensed -- by 2018 at the earliest.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This

Copyright 2006 Hemscott Group Limited.
Hemscott is the UK registered trademark of Hemscott Group
Limited.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Veterans exposed to atomic radiation lose court ruling

2006-09-09T18:39:07Z

WASHINGTON - Radiation exposure took Alice Broudy's husband a generation ago.

This week, a court ruling sliced away at her bid for redress.

In a quiet ruling that nonetheless resonates nationwide, a federal appellate court rejected efforts by Broudy and others seeking claims on behalf of "atomic veterans." The same court simultaneously rejected bids by other veterans exposed to biological and chemical agents.

Taken together, the dual rulings by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will likely impede many veterans hoping for compensation. At the very least, it will complicate future claims.

"It's a significant ruling," Washington-based attorney David Cynamon, who represented veterans in both cases, said Friday. "Unfortunately, it's a significantly bad ruling."

A Department of Veterans Affairs spokesman couldn't be reached to comment.

Broudy, a resident of California's Orange County, has long been seeking full compensation for the death of her husband, a Marine major who was repeatedly exposed to radiation. She has company.

George Woodward, who lives north of Wichita, Kan., in the town of Miltonvale, was exposed to radiation during a 1955 test blast. Kathy Jacobovitch, a resident of Vashon Island, Wash., lost her father through exposure to contaminated ships in Puget Sound. Ernest Kirchmann, a 62-year-old Navy veteran who lives south of Minneapolis in tiny West Concord, who's filed a separate lawsuit, was exposed during a 1964 nuclear submarine accident.

"It isn't just my personal case," Broudy said Friday. "It's the entire veterans community. It makes me so angry."

Broudy married her husband, Charles, in 1948. Three years earlier, he'd walked the war-poisoned streets of Nagasaki. Within a decade, he was facing radiation in the Nevada desert. He died of lymphatic cancer in 1977. Though she has since received partial compensation, Broudy has been confronting the federal government for more. She has now lost three separate lawsuits.

"This closes the door," Cynamon said of the latest appellate court ruling, which was issued Wednesday. "It will make it very difficult, if not impossible, for individuals who are victimized by government cover-ups."

All told, an estimated 220,000 U.S. soldiers were allegedly exposed to radiation in the 1940s and 1950s. Some, such as William Yurdyga of Sacramento, Calif., claimed in an earlier lawsuit that they were exposed following the Hiroshima or Nagasaki atomic blast. Others claimed exposure during Cold War testing.

The three-member appellate panel wasn't ruling on whether the atomic veterans deserve compensation. A 1988 law provides that. To succeed, though, veterans must prove they were present at a radioactive site and that they contracted a radiation-related illness or were exposed to a cancer-causing radiation level.

Required military test records can be elusive. A 1973 fire destroyed many veterans' records, and veterans consider alternative "dose reconstruction" estimates inaccurate.

"You send a Freedom of Information Act request," Broudy said, "and you wait and you wait and you wait, and then maybe you get a piece of it, or you get nothing at all because they say it's classified."

The latest lawsuit sought to force Pentagon officials to release all relevant records. In the opinion written by Appellate Judge Thomas Griffith, appointed by President Bush last year, the court panel agreed unanimously that atomic veterans couldn't compel a massive release of all the Pentagon's relevant documents.

Instead, individual veterans must file individual claims.

If the Pentagon is "covering up records of medical tests that describe the amount of radiation to which these veterans were exposed, FOIA (the Freedom of Information Act) provides a potential remedy," Griffith wrote.

A new study by Melinda Podgor for the Elder Law Journal found that 18,275 atomic veterans had filed for compensation as of October 2004. Only 1,875 claims were granted.

On a separate but related legal track, veterans such as Columbia, S.C., resident John Goricki and Homestead, Fla., resident Richard B. Holmes were pursuing claims following exposure during the Shipboard Hazard and Defense project of the 1950s and 1960s.

Project SHAD allegedly exposed up to 10,000 soldiers and sailors to biological and chemical agents. Like the atomic veterans, SHAD survivors claim that the Pentagon clings to secret information. Like the atomic veterans, they couldn't persuade the appellate court to order the release of all relevant documents.

The veterans "can still seek, through FOIA, the documents they believe they need to pursue their benefits claims," the appellate panel ruled.

--

Posted for educational and research purposes only,
~ in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 ~

NucNews Links and Expanded Archives - http://nucnews. net

Looking for solutions? http://prop1. org/prop1/
~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Atomospheric test victims-- findings of fact records..1945 to 1995

2006-09-09T16:47:06Z

http://www.project-112shad-fdn.com/content10.htm

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Piketon, Ohio dump site for spent nuclear fuel

2006-08-26T17:42:12Z

Dayton Daily News; Date: Aug 24, 2006; Section:
News; Page: 1

Spent nuclear fuel could end up in south Ohio

Proposal to reprocess radioactive fuel near Piketon already drawing
criticism.

By Lynn Hulsey Staff Writer

DAYTON — Highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel from across the country,
and
possibly the world, could come to southern Ohio under a plan being
pushed
by a public-private development partnership.

In a proposal already drawing criticism from environmentalists, the
Southern Ohio Nuclear Integration Cooperative, or SONIC, envisions
building
a spent fuel storage and reprocessing plant and an advanced,
plutonium-fueled nuclear reactor on federal land near Piketon, 100
miles
southeast of Dayton. The idea is part of a federal plan to recycle
nuclear
fuel and reduce waste.

“This is extremely important. It is important for America,” said Dan T.
Moore, SONIC’s Cleveland-based chief executive.

SONIC is applying for a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of
Energy to study putting the operation at the department’s Portsmouth
Gaseous Diffusion Plant, which enriched uranium for nearly 50 years
before
closing in 2001, said Gregory Simonton, executive director of the
Southern
Ohio Diversification Initiative, a SONIC partner in Piketon.

SONIC is one of 41 entities to have given the government a formal
“expression of interest” in the plant.

Simonton said the area desperately needs the jobs the development would
bring, but added that seeking the study grant doesn’t mean officials
have
decided to definitely pursue the operation.

“Quite frankly, given the history of our site it makes sense to look at
any opportunity,” he said. “But just because we do the evaluation
doesn’t
mean it fits community values.”

» Site would be part of larger

U.S. initiative Article on A8

Publication: Dayton Daily News; Date: Aug 24, 2006; Section:
Local; Page: 8

Nuclear facilities could be part of U.S. initiative

Some residents oppose partnership seeking grant to have federal land
near
Piketon.

By Lynn Hulsey Staff Writer

The high-technology nuclear facilities being considered for federal
land near Piketon would be part of a larger U.S. government initiative
to
increase the use of nuclear power, reduce nuclear waste and contain the
global proliferation of dangerous technology.

But some local activists want nothing to do with it. They say the U.S.
Department of Energy has already polluted the proposed site — the
now-closed Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant — and the community has
borne
its full share of the country’s nuclear legacy.

They oppose the idea of building a storage and reprocessing plant for
highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel rods — a process that would allow
the
rods to be reused — and an advanced burner-reactor that would produce
electricity by burning plutonium, a nuclear waste that would be
extracted
from the rods.

“I think it’s terrifying. To think that people in our community are so
desperate for jobs that they would take plutonium, the fuel rods, any
type
of waste,” said Vina Colley, president of Portsmouth/Piketon Residents
for
Environmental Safety and Security. “They’re sacrificing this
community.”

Pat Marida, central Ohio chair of the Sierra Club, said the facility
would make Ohio the “dump site of the nation.”

There is also the possibility of spent fuel rods coming from other
countries. Part of President Bush’s Global Nuclear Energy Partnership
plan
is to offer other countries nuclear fuel and recycling services if they
agree to not pursue those technologies themselves.

Department of Energy spokesman Craig Stevens said the origin of the
spent fuel is not yet decided.

Sara Perkins, spokeswoman for a U.S. Rep. David Hobson, R-Springfield,
said, “It is our understanding that the U.S. is not going to take
foreign
fuel before taking care of the fuel we have here at home.”

It may be a good idea for the United States to handle spent nuclear
fuel from countries where it is not well-safeguarded, said U.S. Rep.
Jean
Schmidt, R-Loveland, whose district includes Piketon.

But she said she’ll support the proposed facility for Piketon only if
the community wants it.

The plan is very preliminary. The Department of Energy has $20 million
to offer in grants for communities to study possible sites for the
facility. Grants will be awarded this fall, with studies to be
completed
early next year.

A partnership is seeking a study grant for Piketon.

Pike County’s top development official is a bit leery of the project,
although in a region of high unemployment, she said the community needs
the
jobs.

“Storage of spent nuclear fuel is probably not one of the best things
that we could’ve thought of,” said Jennifer Chandler, county community
and
economic development director.

But considering how limited the development options are at the old
uranium enrichment plant, the latest proposal might be a good fit if
the
community supports it, she said.

Blaine Beekman, executive director of the Pike County Chamber of
Commerce, said he has been assured by supporters that spent fuel rods
would
only be stored temporarily while they await reprocessing.

If the idea wins community and government approval, there would have to
be rules in place so shipments of the rods would be limited to an
amount
that could be handled in a reasonable time, said Gregory Simonton of
the
Southern Ohio Diversification Initiative.

His public- and privately funded development group formed a company
with a Cleveland firm to bring the new facilities to the site of the
old
Piketon plant.

For nearly five decades the government-owned plant enriched uranium,
first for weapons and then for nuclear reactors. It closed in 2001 and
the
DOE is in the midst of a major cleanup of radioactive contaminants and
hazardous chemicals.

The site is home to two new nuclear missions. USEC Inc. is building a
pilot uranium enrichment centrifuge facility while awaiting federal
approval for a commercial enrichment plant. The DOE is building a plant
to
recycle some 20,000 cylinders of uranium enrichment waste that
accumulated
over the years.

--
Lynn Hulsey
Reporter
Dayton Daily News
(937) 225-7455

Vina Colley

Vina Colley

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

NATURAL CELLULAR DEFENSE [ZEOLITE]

2006-08-26T17:39:34Z

NATURAL CELLULAR DEFENSE [ZEOLITE]
PART 1 of 2

By Dr. James Howenstine, MD.
August 24, 2006
NewsWithViews.com

The pharmaceutical industry earns one trillion dollars each year from
the
sale of chemotherapy drugs. If anyone thinks that this industry will
soon be
bringing forth a new therapy that will cure cancer they may wish to
revaluate this
thinking. These people are brilliant at controlling the media and
encouraging
the public that â€œthe cure is just around the corner.â€ If they were
to cure
cancer it would be the biggest mistake they have ever made and they are
not
accustomed to making mistakes.

One of the key factors in successful therapy of cancer is removal of
toxic
metals (mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium, aluminum, iron, uranium etc.)
from the
body.

Dr. Josef Issel of Germany had great success treating cancer with
fever,
organic raw food, enzymes and immune stimulating methods. In his office
a biologic
dentist removed metal amalgams (mercury) and mercury dental deposits
from
these patients. His methods were so successful he earned a three year
stay in a
German prison in the site reserved for convicted murderers.

In Dr. Thomas Rauâ€™s Paracelsus Clinic in Switzerland most patients
seen are
terminally ill from malignancies that have failed chemotherapy and
radiation.
Fifty percent of patients with stage 4 (advanced) cancer recover. Their
therapeutic program consists of:

Opening up missing tooth sites to remove hidden mercury deposits

Removal of all root canal teeth

Careful removal of all mercury fillings

Detoxify the patient from mercury and other harmful substances
Obviously toxic metals play a major role in causing cancer and their
removal
can greatly assist recovery. The substance zeolite (Natural Cellular
Defense)
acts primarily by removing toxic metals from the body.

Zeolites are minerals formed when molten lava contacts water from lakes
or
ocean. A specific member of the zeolite family of minerals called
â€œclinoptiloliteâ€ has a unique honeycomb like structure which has
the ability to trap and
bind toxins, heavy metals, viral particles, and other impurities so
these
substances can be removed from the body. The clinoptilolite type of
zeolite can be
activated by a process which removes naturally occurring toxins. The
end product
results in a 100 % natural completely non-toxic liquid that is safe for
human
consumption (FDA rating G.R.A.S. Generally Recognized As Safe). In a
liquid
form carried by the blood stream zeolites are believed to pass to all
parts of
the body.

The clinoptilolite form of zeolite has been used for more than 800
years in
traditional medicine to improve general health in India, China, Russia
and
nearly every part of Asia. In the United States this has been used in
water
filtration, air purification, animal feed and fertilizers to keep crops
healthy.

Zeolites are negatively charged which is not common among minerals.
This
negative charge facilitates the migration of positively charged toxic
minerals
into the zeolite cages and onto the surfaces of zeolite where these
substances
can be transported for elimination in stools and urine. There is a
preferential
order of zeolite attraction to minerals .of heavier weight before
proceeding
to lighter minerals. This is manifested by trapping of mercury,
uranium,
arsenic, and cadmium before lighter minerals are captured (magnesium,
calcium,
lead). Zeolites can be considered molecular sieves and filtering agents
who are
able to trap positively charged atoms, ions, and compounds for removal
from the
body.

What Can Zeolite (Natural Cellular Defense) Accomplish?

Remove Toxic Heavy Metals (uranium, aluminum, lead, mercury, arsenic,
cadmium
etc). This improves enzyme function.

Trap and remove viral particles from the body

Improve immune function so colds and influenza are less likely to occur

Improve pH levels so infectious organisms have a less favorable site to
survive

Trap protons in the digestive tract making acid reflux less troublesome

Improve nutrient absorption

Removal of toxins and chemicals improves immune function

Trapping allergens in blood and digestive tract decreases symptoms from
inhaled and swallowed antigens

Absorptive action in the intestines may stop diarrhea

Can be of great value in life threatening and chronic disease states.
Is Zeolite A Chelating Substance?

Zeolite has a great affinity for heavier metals such as mercury,
uranium,
arsenic, cadmium, aluminum and a lesser affinity for metals of lower
weight
(lead, calcium, magnesium). In two published studies involving goats,
sheep, and
cows half the animals received zeolite along with food and vitamins and
the
others received the same therapy but no zeolite. The animals receiving
the zeolite
had better nutritional status and better mineral content in their
bodies than
the animals not taking zeolite. The zeolite animals lost toxic metals
and had
better levels of calcium and magnesium than the animals not taking
zeolite.
Zeolite is an important chelating agent which appears to bind more
metals than
standard EDTA used in chelation.

What Can NCD Do In Allergic Diseases (Migraine Headaches, Asthma)?

Patients with migraine headaches frequently are aware that certain
foods will
trigger headache attacks (red wine, preserved meats treated with
nitrites and
nitrates such as sausages, hot dogs, salami, caffeine, chocolate, some
dairy
products{aromatic cheeses} etc.). NCD can remove some of these triggers
for
migraine attacks by physically absorbing the offending substances in
the
intestines.

Asthmatic patients are exposed to pollen, dust, molds, and air polluted
by
chemicals and smog all of which may initiate bronchospasm (wheezing).
Often the
offending substances are heavily charged making them susceptible to
removal by
NCD before they cause asthma attacks. Many persons with allergic
disorders
have noticed a decrease in symptoms after starting NCD therapy.

Use Of NCD In Hyperacidity And Acid Reflux States

The ability of zeolite to bind gastric acid can be dramatically
effective in
some individuals suffering from painful reflux of gastric acid onto the
esophagus . Other persons with indigestion related to gastric acid may
also obtain
relief.

Possible Benefits From NCD In Arteriosclerosis

There are several important concepts regarding the initiation of
arteriosclerosis. One of these is that arteriosclerosis results from
the infiltration of
the endothelial lining of the arteries with toxic heavy metals. The
inner
lining of the artery is the site where the important vasodilator
substance nitric
acid is created. The endothelium also produces prostacyclin which
decreases
clotting of blood and causes dilating of arteries. A third important
endothelial
substance is heparin, a potent substance that prevents clots from
forming.
Excessive deposition of heavy metals in the endothelium diminishes the
endotheliumâ€™s ability to produce valuable nitric oxide, prostacyclin
and heparin.
Removal of these toxic metals restores the endotheliumâ€™s ability to
produce these
vital substances which stops and may even reverse arteriosclerosis.

Inflammatory reactions in the body (often related to infections such as
gingivitis, pneumonia, viral infections etc.) can be a stimulus for
arteriosclerotic plaques to suddenly develop. Bacteria and viruses have
been transported from
these inflammatory sites to the endothelial lining of arteries.
.Careful
studies of persons suffering strokes and heart attacks has revealed
that up to 25
or 30 % of these persons have a history of an infectious disease in the
several days preceding the vascular event. Experts in the field of gum
disease have
warned that there is mountain of evidence that there is an unusually
high rate
of gingivitis in persons developing heart attacks and strokes. Therapy
that
heals gingivitis (Oral Guard) could protect many patients from having
heart
attacks and strokes.

Signs of inflammation such as elevated levels of CRP and sedimentation
rates
are a valuable clue that artery narrowing and related vascular
occlusion is a
strong possibility. The body reacts to infectious processes by walling
off the
area of infection. The blood in these sites becomes sludgy with poor
blood
flow. Plaque formation becomes accelerated in these sites of impaired
oxygen
delivery. Resolving these abnormal indicators of infection with agents
like
cucurmin is helping many patients escape vascular accidents.

Dr. Linus Pauley pointed out that Vitamin C and lysine could correct
the
collagen deficiency seen in arteriosclerosis with healing of narrowed
arteries.
This information was nearly completely ignored by conventional
medicine.
Coronary by-pass surgery, and the placing of stents and angioplastic
opening of
narrowed arteries are big business for the medical community. The fact
that
surgical procedures are being performed for what is a degenerative
inflammatory
disorder of arteries has not slowed the wave of surgery. Curative
therapy for
arteriosclerosis needs to reverse the abnormal events in the lining of
the arteries
and eliminate the infections that initiate vascular occlusions.

Homocysteine elevation, increased clotting factors (fibrinogen,
platelets,
lipoprotein (a) excess) and meals prepared with synthetic transfats all
contribute to arteriosclerosis as does cholesterol elevation in a minor
way.

Heavy metals inhibit both enzyme function and protein performance. Zinc
finger proteins[1] are stabilized by the presence of a zinc atom in the
middle of
the protein. When this zinc atom is missing the protein will not work.
These
zinc finger proteins are necessary for cellular division. This is
especially
important for the immune system which requires extra cells when faced
with a
viral or bacterial infection. Supplemental zinc during infections
normally helps
the body create more immune cells. The zinc may also be displaced by
heavy
metals such as mercury and arsenic. Again the protein fails to function
because of
displaced zinc. Removing heavy metals from the body permits correct
placement
of zinc to occur with improved immune function and restored enzyme
function
resulting.

Adenosine triphosphate ATP is the prime energy source for the body. ATP
needs
a magnesium ion to be stabilized. Active ATP is called Magnesium ATP.
Persons
with mercury poisoning have the magnesium displaced by the excessive
mercury
levels. In this state of absent magnesium the body has less energy
production
and fatigue and weakness are common symptoms. When the mercury is
removed
energy output returns to normal. Many persons taking NCD have noticed
that they
have more energy within a few weeks of starting this therapy.

Because the affinity of zeolite for removal of heavy metals like
arsenic,
cadmium, mercury and uranium is greater than for lighter metals like
calcium it
tends to only remove calcium when there are no or few heavier metals to
absorb
to. This results in slow removal of the calcium found in
arteriosclerotic
plaques. The vitamin K2 would probably be more rapid in removing
calcium from
plaques and heel spurs than zeolite.

NCD helps the body improve artery function by eliminating toxic metals
from
the body, improving immune system function, improving pH levels,
increasing
oxygen levels in tissues and by improving enzyme function.

What Is Happening When Toxic Metals Leave The Body?

When zeolite from NCD captures toxic metals the zeolite combined with
metals
is excreted in urine and also becomes part of fecal waste.
Approximately 60 %
of zeolite leaves the body in urine and 40 % in fecal waste. One
hundred
percent[2] of zeolite is eliminated from the body within a 4 to 7 hour
time frame.
Because of this rapid elimination taking very large doses of NCD
accomplishes
nothing not achieved with conventional dosage.

When meat is cooked, particularly if burned, nitrosamines form. The
nitrosamines have been implicated in causing colon cancer. An important
action of
zeolite is to trap and remove dangerous nitrosamines from the
intestines.

As the mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic, uranium etc. leave the body the
blood
levels of these substances decline. When this occurs there is now more
mercury, cadmium, lead etc in the bones and other tissues than in the
blood. This
produces an osmotic effect which leads to slow steady migration of
metals out of
bones and tissues into the blood and then out of the body.

Lead has very important health ramifications. There is no amount of
lead that
is safe for the human body. Elevations of lead levels in humans are
strongly
correlated with the development of hypertension. When the lead is
removed from
the body the blood pressure returns to normal. Lead excess is also an
important cause for cataract formation. Children with elevated levels
of lead have a
high incidence of poor academic performance, increased use of drugs and
more
anti-social behavior.

Lead is stored in bones. Modern man has 1000 times more lead in his
bones
than men living 400 years ago. Effective oral chelation therapy removes
lead but
may take 10 to 15 years to complete itâ€™s removal from bone. An oral
chelating
therapy such as Essential Daily Defense removes lead by virtue of the
presence
of garlic powder.

An interesting and perhaps significant observation seen in persons
taking
zeolite is that some persons lose weight.[3] One theory proposed to
explain this
is that these toxic metals are so dangerous to the body they get
surrounded by
fat tissue to decrease their toxic effects. When NCD has led to loss of
toxic
metals the fat tissue may be metabolized away as these stored metals
also get
eliminated from the body.

How Does NCD Affect pH Values In The Body?

Normal body pH is slightly alkaline at 7.4. When the body pH falls to
consistently low values 5 chronic degenerative diseases such as cancer,
serious
infections and arteriosclerosis may appear. Oxygen levels correlate
with pH levels
so acidic pH levels are associated with low oxygen levels in tissues.
Hydrogen
ions are small so they do not get trapped in zeolite. However, their
acidic
effect is balanced by the presence of alkaline zeolite leading to a
neutral
more healthy pH where disease has a harder time flourishing. Positively
charged
protons in the vicinity of zeolite become attracted into the cage and
their
disappearance raises local pH values to a safer level. When a cage with
protons
is transported to an area where there are few protons (not acidic).the
protons
will migrate back out of the cage. Thus the pH effects are localized[4]
not
systemic. For part two click below.

Click here for part -----> 2

Footnotes:

1, Deitsch, Rik Interview with Rik Deitsch Chairman of Waiora's Science
Advisory Board December 2005 pg 5
2, ibid
3, ibid
4, ibid

Â© 2006 Dr. James Howenstine - All Rights Reserved

Sign Up For Free E-Mail Alerts

E-Mails are used strictly for NWVs alerts, not for sale

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--

Dr. James A. Howenstine is a board certified specialist in internal
medicine
who spent 34 years caring for office and hospital patients. After 4
years of
personal study he became convinced that natural products are safer,
more
effective, and less expensive than pharmaceutical drugs.

This research led to the publication of his book A Physicians Guide To
Natural Health Products That Work. Information about these products and
his book can
be obtained from amazon.com and at www.naturalhealthteam.com and phone
1-800-416-2806 U.S. Dr. Howenstine can be reached by mail at Dr. James
Howenstine,
C/O Remarsa USA SB 37, P.O. Box 25292, Miami, Fl. 33102-5292.

E-Mail: dr.jimhow@gmail.com

===============================================
[DOEWatch] List is for news and learning about energy issues related to
DOE, energy, and industry. Fluoride and metal synergism's are top
issues for energy production and health. Subscribe via email, send Email
to: DOEWatch-subscribe@topica.com or via the
Web page at: http://www.doewatch.com
The [downwindersII] list is the
companion discussion list to [DOEWatch].
(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes.)

Con't from part 1:

What Effect Does Zeolite Have On Autoimmune Diseases?

Auto-immune illnesses can be associated with an underactive immune
system or
an overactive immune system. Examples of an underactive immune function
would
include cancer and HIV disease. In both these conditions the
underactive
immune system fails to detect and kill cancer cells or fight off
infections as
would normally occur. One of the conditions with an overactive immune
system would
be rheumatoid arthritis In this disease the immune system attacks the
membranes in the joints in an uncontrolled manner .resulting in
progressive
destruction of joints. NCD has a modulating effect on immune diseases
which stimulates
the immune system to perform more effectively in an underactive
disorder and
slows down the activity of the immune system in diseases where the
immune
system is operating excessively.

Are There Any Dangers In Using NCD along With Another Detoxifying
Substance?

The use of NCD with other detoxifying substances, supplements and
minerals is
actually desirable.[1] Anything that improves the immune defense system
such
as selenium, Burbur, N-Acetyl Cysteine etc. appears to complement the
effects
of NCD.

What Health Problems Are Not Benefited By NCD?

Xenoestrogens from exposure to pesticides, herbicides, plastics and
petrochemicals are too large or fail to exhibit a chemical charge
making them fail to
be attracted by zeolite. This results in no excretion upon exposure to
NCD.
However, there may be indirect benefits from use of NCD in persons
exposed to
xenoestrogens because NCD does have beneficial effects on
glucuronidation which
is an important liver detoxification pathway. This could improve liver
performance in these patients.

Are There Effects On Aflatoxins?

Some fungi in foods like nuts and beans produce dangerous toxins called
aflatoxins. There has also been a dramatic increase in aflatoxins found
in foods
entering the United States from foreign countries. These entering foods
are
routinely given massive doses of radiation without any subsequent
labeling of the
foods certifying radiation. This radiation kills the beneficial
bacteria that
normally prevent aflatoxins from becoming predominant. Chronic exposure
to
aflatoxins can lead to liver damage and hepatoma (liver cancer).
Zeolites have
been able to reduce aflatoxin infection in farm animals and would
probably
benefit humans in the same way.

What Does Zeolite Do To Prosthetic Structures Like Heart Valves, Breast
Implants, Dental Amalgams, Hip Joint Replacement Parts And Vascular
Stents?

It is important to realize that the effects of zeolite are passive.
There is
no active erosion of amalgams, hip replacements, breast implants or any
other
structures placed in the body. by health care practitioners.

Can Side Effects Be Seen During Zeolite Therapy?

Some persons report feeling sicker with increased pain during the early
stages of zeolite therapy. When the body is mobilizing large amounts of
toxic
metals the excretion of the particles carries increased amounts of
water out of the
body along with the metal (osmotic effect). This fluid loss can be
prevented
by increasing the quantity of water ingested particularly in the early
stages
of therapy. Another reaction that occurs in about one percent of
persons is a
detoxification reaction (Herxheimer Reaction). These patients may
develop
muscle aching, headache, skin rash and malaise. This reaction is caused
by
liberation of toxic substances making it possible for them to react
with body tissues
causing a transient painful inflammatory response. For example, zeolite
has
greater attraction to cadmium than to lead so placing zeolite in the
body might
permit lead to become freed from a sequestered site when cadmium
migrates to
zeolite. This formerly sequestered lead is now capable of causing an
inflammatory reaction. Herxheimer reactions can easily by terminated by
decreasing the
dosage or temporarily stopping NCD.

Zeoliteâ€™s Use In Malignancies

Zeolite has had 30 years of research performed by Dr. Harvey Kaufman.
This
culminated in a patent for the product. The Waiora company is funding
ongoing
research to learn more about the effects of NCD in humans and animals.

Because cancer is known to develop after exposure to toxic materials or
procedures (asbestosis, radiation, mercury, fluoride, transfats,
uranium, chlorine,
viruses etc.) use of a therapy (zeolite) that steadily removes toxic
metals,
impurities, viral particles and toxins from the body is indicated in
patients
with malignancies.

Many parts of the world including the United States have seen rising
numbers
of patients with cancer. Uranium contamination has been found in 42
states
where depleted uranium bombs and shells have been manufactured, stored
or tested.
The fastest growing leukemia cluster in the U.S. is found adjacent to
the
Fallon, Nevada. bombing and gunnery ranges. There is strong evidence
that persons
living within 20 or 30 miles of nuclear reactors have an increased
level of
malignancies. To make matters even worse the United States has sold
depleted
uranium bombs and shells to at least 29 nations around the world.

In the first 2 months of 2006 there were 172,000 cases of lung
cancer[2] in
the U.S. The whole year of 2005 only saw 175,000 cases of lung cancer.
How can
this be explained? This does not fit with inhalation of second hand
smoke or
cigarette smoking. High levels of uranium were found in the air at the
Aldermaston research Center in northern England ten days after the
second war in Iraq
began with heavy bombing and shelling in Iraq. This suggests that all
of
Europe was contaminated with radiation at the onset of Gulf War II.
There have now
been 4 nuclear wars since World War II (Iraq twice, Afghanistan,
Bosnia). The
amount of radiation released since 1991 is greater than the equivalent
radiation of 82,000 Nagasaki type nuclear devices. No news media in
Europe or the
U.S. discusses this as this is one of many forbidden topics.

My guess is significant amounts of uranium are being detected in U.S.
air but
this information is being concealed from the American public.

DU shells and bombs vaporize into particles 1/10 micron in size. These
particles contain uranium which can penetrate all clothing and all
known gas masks.
Uranium particles trash the DNA of cells leading to mutations and
malignancies
between 3 and 5 years after initial exposure to uranium. These minute
particles can be transported on prevailing winds around the world. The
rapidly rising
rate of U.S. lung cancers could be due to depleted uranium fallout in
the
United States.

Are There Any Therapies For Uranium Induced Malignancies That May Have
Merit?

In Bosnia physicians have reported seeing patients with up to three
simultaneous malignancies. This has never been previously reported in
medicine. There
is an epidemic of cancer in children in Iraq. Significant quantities of
uranium
have been found in persons living in Bahrain, India, Afghanistan and
Iraq.
The Aldermaston research facility reported levels of uranium sufficient
to
trigger immediate environmental agency notification 10 days after the
start of Gulf
War II. This means that all Europe was certainly contaminated with
airborne
uranium at that time. There is good reason to believe that eastern
Europe was
probably heavily contaminated during the warfare in Yugoslavia. As
these
nuclear wars expand more persons are steadily being exposed to deadly
uranium in
air. U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq in the second Gulf War have been
found to
be heavily contaminated with uranium even when not in combat roles.
Currently
persons living in northern Israel and all of Lebanon are probably being
exposed to significant doses of uranium.

For the unfortunate victims of DU weapons, who have cancer, there are
several
therapies that may have merit. The homeopathic preparation uranium
nitricum
might be helpful. Fresh vegetable greens help detoxify the body from
radiation
injury. Chlorophyll and increased hydration is also helpful. Possibly
some or
most inhaled uranium particles become trapped in mucous covering the
alveolar
cells in the lung. Mucolyxir and N-acetyl cysteine, by liquefying
secretions,
may facilitate removal of uranium deposits from the lung mucous.

NCD by virtue of itâ€™s affinity for heavy metals should be a good
therapy to
steadily remove uranium particles from the body. This removal of
uranium could
assist recovery from uranium induced cancers. Also patients taking NCD
on a
regular basis may be decreasing their chances of developing uranium
induced lung
and other malignancies by steadily eliminating uranium from the body so
their
body uranium levels remain low. Wherever uranium containing bombs and
shells
are manufactured, tested or stored there are persons being exposed to
uranium.
Because of the total control the New World order has over the media
U.S.
citizens are not going to be warned about toxic levels of uranium in
the air and
accidental contamination problems with uranium may never get reported.
This is
all part of the massive Satanic program to lower world population.

Sunburn is a mild form of radiation burn. This can be rapidly healed by
a
nano-particle sized (.25 nm to 6 nm particle size) formulation of
colloidal
silver. This same formulation of colloidal silver can dissolve skin
cancers[3] in 3
days. Mr. Scott Clayton is personally aware of 3 patients with lung
cancer
who recovered when treated with the same preparation of colloidal
silver taken
by mouth.

A group of 30 Central American women with 3 different histological
types of
breast cancer were all treated with a single intravenous infusion of
nano-sized
hydrosol silver (Argentyn 23). Repeat biopsies of all 30 women at 19
days
following the infusion disclosed no evidence of breast cancer[4] in any
of the
biopsies. Four of the women experienced Herxheimer reactions with fever
and
transient liver enlargement. Previous study at the University of
Wisconsin had
suggested that proper dosage of this nano-sized silver preparation has
the
ability to saturate all tumor cell atoms with silver particles which
blocks the
glucose consumption tumor cells[5] need to stay alive.

What Doses Of NCD Should Be Used?

Persons who have serious health problems such as malignancies, advanced
arteriosclerosis, neurologic diseases (Multiple Sclerosis, Amyotrophic
Lateral
Sclerosis, Parkinsonâ€™s Disease, Alzheimerâ€™s Disease), severe reflux
esophagitis
etc. should start with 12 drops of NCD in water four times daily. This
high
dosage should be continued until improvement is noticed at which time
the dosage
can be decreased. Persons taking NCD for preventative reasons to
improve their
general health should start on 9 drops three times daily for the first
month.
This should remove a significant amount of their toxic burden. The dose
can
then be reduced to the maintenance level of three drops three times
daily.

Testimonials From Zeolite Users

Case 1. A male with a mesothelioma (pleural lining lung malignancy),
often
related to asbestosis exposure and smoking, had a large tumor mass
protruding
through the posterior chest wall and another in the upper abdomen the
size of a
marble when he started to take NCD. After a month of therapy both
masses were
gone. He remains well.

Case 2. A male with severe itching from non-healing skin lesions on the
legs
of many years duration started NCD therapy. Within a week he notice
nearly
complete healing of the skin lesions and disappearance of metal allergy
when
wearing watches.

Case 3. A veteran who had 30 years of mental cloudiness since exposure
to
Agent Orange in Viet Nam began zeolite. The next morning he experienced
mental
clarity for the first time in 30 years. Four days later he became aware
of a
horrible taste in his mouth. This was associated with disappearance of
a mouth
tumor of 4 years duration. 37 years earlier he had a brown recluse
spider bite
between his toes. Subsequent to the spider bite a non-healing ulcer
could be
seen at the site of the spider bite. After four days of zeolite the
foot started
to itch and the ulcer was gone.

Case 4. A male with a painful goose egg sized buttock mass was
scheduled for
surgery. In one week of zeolite therapy the mass became so small he
cancelled
the surgery.

Case 5. A female with a painful right fibrocystic breast mass started
taking
zeolite. Three weeks later she was aware of decreased beast pain. Her
physician was unable to identify the previously biopsied right breast
mass.

Case 6. A 23 year old female with chronic genital warts had failed to
benefit
from burning and topical therapy. The genital warts disappeared in 7
days
when zeolite was started.

Case 7. A male had severe heartburn which frequently awakened him from
sleep.
He had used Tums daily for 27 years. After starting zeolite therapy he
realized he had taken no Tums for a week as his symptoms were gone.

Case 8. A female had many years of severe heartburn. She often
experienced
heartburn which would awaken her from sleep. There was associated with
marked
shortness of breath and regurgitation of ingested food. She was using 4
to 6
antacid tablets hourly. When she started NCD she began to have much
less
symptoms. Stopping therapy for a week led to a relapse so she is still
taking 19 drops
of NCD three times daily.

Case 9. This 33 year old female had joint pains, fatigue, exhaustion
and
depression diagnosed as fibromyalgia. Massage, acupuncture, herbs,
acupressure and
glucosamine had failed to help. Zeolite therapy led to complete
resolution of
her symptoms.

Waiora is a multi-level marketing company which I joined so my patients
could
have access to this fine product. Natural Cellular Defense can be
obtained by
phoning 1-800-416-2806. For part one click below.

Click here for part -----> 1

Footnotes:

1, Deutsch, Rik personal communication.
2, CNN American Morning Program March 8, 2006 Miles and Soledad O'Brien
3, Clayton, Scott personal communication
4, Apsley, John et al Nanotechnology's Latest Oncolytic Agent: Silver,
Cancer, &Infection Interactions Townsend Letter May 2006 pg 96
5, Oliver DO et al Biocidal effects of silver: Contract NAS 9-9300
Final
Techanical Report, University of Wisconsin, Accession No. N71-24436 ,
NASA
CR-1149, Code G3, Category 04, 1971 Feb;5-2

Â© 2006 Dr. James Howenstine - All Rights Reserved

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

What Iraq War Can Buy Domestically For US Populace

2006-08-26T17:36:04Z

http://nationalpriorities.org/index.php?optionfiltered=com_wrapper&Itemid=182

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

U.S. nuclear threats; Games get serious

2006-08-26T17:35:06Z

U.S. nuclear threats; Games get serious
The BulletinWire is sent out once a month by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Each edition of the Wire alerts readers to our latest online content. Plus, the Bulletin editors select the best online articles and resources on the most urgent issues of the day.

If you no longer wish to receive the BulletinWire, click here to unsubscribe.

Now available online:
U.S. Nuclear Threats: Then and Now
By Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristensen
During an impromptu April 18 press conference, President George W. Bush refused to rule out the possibility of a nuclear strike against Iran, declaring that "all options are on the table." In doing so, Bush joined a long list of U.S. officials--including Harry S. Truman, Richard Nixon, and George H. W. Bush--who have drawn the nuclear sword in an effort to influence international relations.

Games Get Serious
By Josh Schollmeyer
To many, video and computer games represent an adolescent diversion. But a growing community of scientists, policy makers, and game developers beg to differ. Together, they've created a nascent movement that delves into such hefty issues as preventing genocide, promoting democracy, and training first responders.

Garbage In, Garbage Out
By Josh Schollmeyer
Everyday, Canadian garbage trucks brimming with refuse cross the U.S. border unencumbered on their way to Michigan landfills, posing a national security hazard, according to a recent Senate report. But, in this Bulletin Threat Assessment, Stephen Flynn, a border security expert and author of America the Vulnerable, argues that the trash "threat" is mostly garbage.

Deputy Director
Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy
AAAS seeks to hire a Deputy Director for its Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy (CSTSP). The Center serves as the Washington hub for the MacArthur Foundation.¿½s Science, Technology and Security initiative. CSTSP role is to bring the results of scientific work and analyses on security issues to the Washington policy community. The Deputy will be involved in programs, policies, management, budgeting and staffing. A full description is available at CSTSP.

Coming soon in the September/October issue of the Bulletin:
Special Report: Nuclear 9/11?
When the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001, so too did America.¿½s confidence that it was secure from calamitous acts of terrorism. Since then, the United States has undertaken concerted efforts to secure loose nukes and bombmaking materials. But, five years later, are we any safer?

The Ongoing Failure of Imagination By Graham Allison
The Continuing Misuses of Fear By William M. Arkin

A Brave New World in the Life Sciences
By Eileen R. Choffnes, Stanley M. Lemon, and David A. Relman
The biosciences are converging with innovative technologies at breakneck speed, yielding new discoveries that have the potential to cure--or kill.

Spinning the War in Afghanistan
By Sarah Chayes
The media portrayed the capture of Kandahar by Afghan resistance fighters as a major victory in the 2001 war to topple the Taliban. In truth, the U.S. military did most of the fighting. But that didn.¿½t stop one of Afghanistan.¿½s most infamous warlords from reaping the spoils.

New subscribers save 50% off the standard price!
Get six issues for only $18!
SUBSCRIBE | NEWSSTAND LOCATOR | TABLE OF CONTENTS

Announcement:
Stephen Hawking joins board at Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists announced at its June 2006 meeting Stephen Hawking's election to its Board of Sponsors. The advisory group was founded by Albert Einstein and first led by J. Robert Oppenheimer. It is now headed by Leon Lederman, the 1988 Nobel Laureate in physics and former director of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory.

The Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, Hawking is a prolific and widely honored writer and speaker and author of the worldwide bestseller A Brief History of Time, originally published in 1988 and updated and reissued in 1998. More recently, he published The Universe in a Nutshell in 2001.

In-depth on Terrorism:
Connecting the Dots
By Scott Atran and Marc Sageman July/August 2006
How do terrorists become radicalized? Who among them is most liable to defect? We don't have the answers to these vital questions because of the lack of reliable data.

Mother. Daughter. Sister. Bomber.
By Mia Bloom November/December 2005
Women are increasingly taking a leading role in conflicts by becoming terrorists--specifically, by becoming suicide bombers.

The Bioterrorist Cookbook
By Malcolm Dando November/December 2005
The chances of a massive bioterrorism attack remain low. It's the small-scale attacks that warrant real concern.

Homegrown Terror
By Michael Reynolds November/December 2004
A bomb is a bomb. A chemical weapon is a chemical weapon. It won't matter to the victims whether their attacker's name is Ahmed or Bill.

More on Terrorism:
In Focus: British Terror Plot
Brookings Institution

Was it al-Qaeda?
Council on Foreign Relations

Preventing Toxic Terrorism
By Paul Orum, Center for American Progress
Introduction
Past Issues
Subscribe
Unsubscribe

Site Map Web Policies
Copyright 2006 Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Argentina to Expand Nuclear Program

2006-08-26T17:32:26Z

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Argentina-Nuclear-Energy.html

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 23, 2006
Filed at 10:41 p.m. ET

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Argentina
announced an ambitious plan Wednesday to expand
its nuclear program to meet rising energy demands,
including extending the life of existing plants
and possibly resuming uranium mining.

At a Government House news conference, Planning
Minister Julio de Vido said the plan calls for
increasing the life span of the aging Atucha I and
Embalse nuclear power plants and completing
construction by 2010 on the long-stalled Atucha II
plant.

Two decades of delays have hampered completion of
the Atucha II project, located some 75 miles
northwest of the capital of Buenos Aires.

The nearby Atucha I facility has been operating
since the mid-1970s, in conjunction with the
Embalse plant in central Argentina.

The planning minister was flanked by President
Nestor Kirchner, who did not comment on the plan
nor on a report by the leading newspaper Clarin
saying the nuclear program could cost the
government $3.5 billion over eight years.

''When this government took office in 2003, the
nuclear energy sector was reactivating,'' De Vido
said. ''Today we come to establish a strategic
plan for the Argentine nuclear energy sector for
the coming years.''

The program calls for large-scale power generation
to meet fast-growing energy demands, amid careful
regulation by national authorities. Among other
steps, De Vido announced plans for ''concrete
steps'' toward resumption of uranium mining.

De Vido did not comment on a Clarin report that
Argentina might revive a uranium enrichment
program shut down in 1983 due to budget
constraints. Enrichment provides the fuel needed
to operate such nuclear plants, but can also be a
central to building nuclear weapons.

Argentina, one of the leading Latin American
nations in nuclear power generation, has had to
stave off potential energy shortfalls in recent
years.

The move comes as Argentina and Brazil are seeking
new energy sources to counter crude oil prices
that have passed $70 a barrel, along with soaring
prices in natural gas and other fuels.

Last May, Brazil inaugurated a uranium enrichment
center capable of producing nuclear fuel. The
center is expected to save South America's largest
economy millions of dollars that the country now
spends to enrich fuel at Urenco, the European
enrichment consortium.

Both nations have stressed the strictly peaceful
nature of their nuclear programs, given a backdrop
of international pressure against Iran to halt
expansion of its nuclear program. Washington has
cautioned Iran that it will seek sanctions in the
U.N. Security Council if Tehran does not step
enriching uranium.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

CA oopsie! - San Onofre - Radioactive Leak Reaches Nuclear Plant's Groundwater

2006-08-20T05:34:19Z

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-radioactive18aug18,0,3580491.story?coll=la-home-local

Radioactive Leak Reaches Nuclear Plant's Groundwater
At San Onofre, the cancer-causing tritium isn't known to infect drinking water, but experts are checking.
By Seema Mehta and Dave McKibben
Times Staff Writer

August 18, 2006

Radioactive, cancer-causing tritium has leaked into the groundwater beneath the San Onofre nuclear power plant, prompting the closure of one drinking-water well in southern Orange County, authorities said.

Officials have not found evidence that the leak from the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station, California's largest, has contaminated the drinking water supply.

As a precaution, San Clemente officials shut down and are testing a city well near the contaminated area.

"We owe it to our residents and business folks to properly test the water," said Dave Lund, San Clemente's public works director.

In recent years, tritium leaks have been found at more than a dozen nuclear plants across the nation, prompting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to form a task force this year to study the cause of the contamination. The findings are scheduled to be released this month.

Sandwiched between Camp Pendleton and the Pacific Ocean in northwestern San Diego County, the San Onofre power plant has had a controversial presence on the coast since its construction in the 1960s.

In the years since, sea lions and endangered sea turtles have been killed when caught in the plant's seawater intake pipes for its cooling system. Since Sept. 11, 2001, nearby residents also have grown wary of the plant as a potential terrorist target that stores highly radioactive spent nuclear fuel.

One of two nuclear power plants in California, San Onofre provides 2,150 megawatts of power, enough for 2.2 million homes throughout Southern California.

The plant is operated by Southern California Edison and houses two working reactors. A third, 450-megawatt reactor was shut down in 1992 and is being dismantled.

While workers were taking apart the containment dome that housed the inactive reactor, they discovered that groundwater beneath the reactor complex was tainted with tritium, said Ray Golden, spokesman for the power plant. The source of the leak has not been determined, he said.

Tritium occurs naturally in the environment but is also a byproduct of nuclear fission, said Victor Bricks, spokesman for the NRC's regional office in Arlington, Texas. It has a half-life of 12 years, meaning its radioactivity is reduced by half every 12 years.

Tritium, an isotope of hydrogen that can cause not only cancer but also miscarriages and birth defects, is increasingly stoking fears in communities near nuclear plants across the country.

A tritium leak that contaminated millions of gallons of groundwater near the Braidwood Nuclear Generating Station in northeast Illinois led that state to sue the owner of the plant in March.

"So far, the spills … haven't resulted in people off-site being exposed to excessive amounts of radiation," said David Lochbaum, director of the nuclear safety project for the Union of Concerned Scientists in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit advocacy group that focuses on environmental problems. "But the law is supposed to be that nothing radioactive leaves the site, either in water or in air, unless it's monitored or controlled. They have had a series of failures."

Samples of the groundwater beneath San Onofre's decommissioned unit contained 50,000 to 330,000 picocuries per liter, Bricks said.

In drinking water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's safety limit for tritium is 20,000 picocuries per liter, a measurement of radioactivity based on one-trillionth of a unit. The state of California has recommended a "public health goal" of no more than 400 picocuries per liter, a level the agency determined could still cause one cancer case per million people exposed.

San Onofre has extracted more than 10,000 gallons of the contaminated groundwater and piped it into the Pacific about 8,600 feet offshore, where it is instantly diluted in seawater, Golden said.

Since groundwater will continue to seep into the contaminated area, plant officials will continue removing contaminated water and discharging it into the ocean until they can remove all traces of the contamination.

It's unknown how much tritium has seeped into the ground, where it came from, or when the leak occurred, Golden said. It's likely that it leaked from the reactor, the spent-fuel pool, various water storage tanks or pipes. The leak probably occurred sometime between 1968 and 2004, Golden said.

Edison officials have tested nearby soil, water and sand all around the plant over nearly four decades and have never seen unusual radiation levels, so there is nothing to indicate that the contaminated groundwater has left the site, he added.

John Robertus, executive officer of the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, which governs the area, also said that because of the area's hydrology, it's unlikely that local groundwater sources were contaminated. Groundwater is likely to migrate toward the ocean and away from drinking water wells, he said.

There are two drinking water wells about two miles from the site, one on Camp Pendleton and one in San Clemente.

A Camp Pendleton spokeswoman said the base draws its water from 20 on-base wells regularly checked for pollutants, including radioactive ones.

In San Clemente, Lund said, the city gets 3% of its drinking water from the well two miles north of the plant. Much of that is used to irrigate San Clemente's city golf course, but some serves homes in the southernmost part of town, he said.

The city gets the rest of its water supply from the Colorado River and Northern California.

"There's concern, but I don't think it should be heightened concern," said Mayor Wayne Eggleston. "We just have to wait for the results."

Some residents and visitors were worried Thursday evening.

"I have a lot of concerns. It's radioactive, isn't it?" Craig Ervin, a San Clemente resident playing golf at the municipal course. "I don't know why they put that plant next to a city."

Lucio Tiberio, a San Diego resident who had just finished surfing at nearby Trestles, was more concerned about the tritium's effect on the ocean.

"There's pollution everywhere, but this is scary because there's no way you can see it," he said.

The regional water board regulates all discharges from the plant but has no jurisdiction over nuclear waste, which is handled by the federal government.

Robertus, the board's chief, said he was unhappy to learn of San Onofre's disposal methods for the contaminated water.

"My hands are tied; we don't regulate radioactive waste," he said. "I'm not particularly pleased with hearing … that they're dumping nuclear radioactive waste" into the ocean.

NRC spokesman Bricks said the ocean dumping meets his agency's standards.

But Daniel Hirsch, director of the nuclear watchdog group Committee to Bridge the Gap in Los Angeles and former director of the Adlai Stevenson program on nuclear policy at UC Santa Cruz, said it was foolhardy to make the ocean the dumping ground.

"It's extremely hard to clean up water that's contaminated with tritium," he said. "There's this incredible illusion that you can dump radioactive waste in the ocean and it won't come back to you in the fish you eat. That's troubling. Dilution is irrelevant."

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Item 1: Deadly nuke rods piling up in California; Item 2:Yucca official urges speedy passage of Senate energy bill; Item 3: ORNL specialists help move Poland uranium to Russia

2006-08-19T19:09:56Z

Item 3. . .Comment, disclosure, and reminder of the link to EEOICP
conflicts of interest. . .

ORAU, ORNL, and ORISE are USDOE contractors. There is no change in the
venue. I note that Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) is the
preferred government's $200 million dollar USHHS-NIOSH "Energy Employees
Occupational Illness Program" dose reconstruction | site profile IT
market consultant. The ORAU entity | other government contractors are
allowed to proceed as though they have no conflicts of interest,
whatsoever. The Officials have always used the ploy that their contractors are
independent. The majority of the EXECUTIVE BRANCH Officials have wholly
sanctioned the USDOL, USHHS, and USDOE contractor's EEOICP involvement
since October 30, 2000. I note that Sanford and Cohen Associates are,
also, government preferred IT market consultants. Especially note Item
3 discloses the fact that the USDOE -ORNL contractor is working with
Russia for profit and gains to move their nuclear waste to a more stable
site. The point is "governments" of the world don't have a ways and
means to effectively control or store the mountains of nuclear waste.
America's Yucca Mountain and other predicted storage sites have
definitely met with resistence and failed. Now, what do WE do with the deadly
"stuff" for zion years to come? It is obvious by now that to date, the
U.S. government scientists have failed to come up with any doable
eliminator. Whenever Hanford's vitrification plant is operational,
vitrification will only take care of about 10 percent of the waste. But, our
Officials adamantly insist that their government scientists are the
only reliable source of science application. The EEOICP link -- the
Officials insist that the USHHS - CDC/NIOSH health physicists are experts
which WE know is nonsense. The Officials' health physicist "caretakes"
are allowed to claim that they have developed miraculous and superior
science knowlege since mid-April 2000. This idealogy has caused the
Officials' "caretakers" to develop what they believe is a superior science
methodolgy and application that is used to deny tens of thousands of
sick nuclear workers EEOICP claims.

Who among us will have the "right stuff" to intervene? WE the people
do have the right to use our vote to oust any Official who doesn't
support the will of the people or the Constitution. Which Officials
support the unique nuclear workforce who are hired to do a job. Which
Officials support the second and third generation of "nuclear waste cleanup
workers" who are still classified as unprotected guinea pigs and/or
"pigs who move through the python" -- the USDOL and USHHS-CDC/NIOSH
predators. See EXHIBIT 26 and 33 my WEB site.

Gai Oglesbee, Independent National Advocate
EEOICP Claimant | Downwinder
National Nuclear Victims for Justice
http:/www.nnvj-goglesbee-eeoicp-abuse.com

----------------------
ITEM 1 OF 3:

Scripps News: Deadly nuke rods piling up in California |

By KEAY DAVIDSON

Thousands of tons of deadly radioactive rods of spent nuclear
fuel and waste have accumulated at three California nuclear
power plants because the federal government has failed to open a
permanent nuclear burial site in Nevada that was supposed to be
ready eight years ago.

And the delay is only getting worse: The Department of Energy
says the nuclear dump site won't open until 2017 _ almost two
decades past the original 1998 inauguration target and five
years beyond the most recent scheduled opening date.

The latest delay climaxes a yearlong debacle at the Yucca
Mountain Project in Nevada _ a debacle during which staff
scientists were suspected of fraud, federal investigators
blasted the project's management, and project officials
announced plans to revamp the operation and redesign the burial
site. On July 14, according to news reports, officials said
they'd lay off up to 500 employees as part of the planned
reorganization.

The Energy Department estimated in 2001 that the facility would
cost $60 billion. But in February, Energy Secretary Samuel
Bodman admitted at a conference of nuclear power industrialists
that there's no trustworthy cost estimate.

Energy Department officials say the facility will offer a
permanent solution to the nation's deadliest waste, protecting
the environment from the radiation of spent nuclear fuel for
10,000 years or longer. Critics say the computer models the
Energy Department used to make such predictions are unreliable.

To its harshest critics, the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste
repository looks dead in the water.

"The Yucca Mountain nuke dump has been riddled with scientific,
health and safety problems from the beginning," said Sen. Harry
Reid, D-Nev., in a statement. "I don't believe the dump will
ever open."

But project defenders are confident they'll get their act
together and overcome long-standing technical objections to the
site _ especially fears that the super-hot nuclear fuel and
wastes could leak into groundwater and spread for miles far
faster than anyone dreamed when the project was proposed in the
1970s.

Someday "Yucca Mountain will open," Paul Golan, deputy director
of the Energy Department's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste
Management, told The Chronicle. "We're going to demonstrate that
we have good science, good process, good engineering. We have
good quality standards in place. This (repository) is certainly
a challenge that this country can solve _ and can solve
credibly."

Utility officials in California and across the nation are not
pleased to be stuck with growing mountains of spent fuel and
waste that the Energy Department had promised to take off their
hands long ago. Nationwide, more than 50,000 tons of poisonous,
super-hot rods of spent nuclear fuel are sitting in cooling
ponds and dry casks at atomic power plants awaiting the day when
they will be shipped to Yucca Mountain.

Several utilities have sued the department to recover costs of
on-site storage and won; more suits are planned.

PG&E officials, who run the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant and the
now-defunct Humboldt Bay reactor, are among the litigants. They
have demanded $100 million in damages and say they expect a
court decision in September. So far, the Diablo Canyon plant has
accumulated more than 1,000 tons of spent fuel and waste; the
much smaller Humboldt Bay plant, which closed in the 1970s, has
almost 30 tons.

Southern California Edison spokesman Ray Golden told The
Chronicle that the utility is reviving legal action against the
Energy Department, which had been temporarily delayed, for its
failure to take spent fuel and waste now accumulating at the San
Onofre Nuclear Generating Station near San Diego. A pool at that
plant stores 3,000 tons of spent fuel; an additional 300 tons is
stored in dry casks.

Utility officials insist that it's safe to store the fuel and
nuclear waste on site. But anti-nuclear activists fear the spent
fuel and waste storage facilities could become juicy targets for
terrorists _ say, a pilot flying a plane filled with explosives.

On June 2, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco,
responding to a lawsuit by the anti-nuclear activist group San
Luis Obispo Mothers for Peace, ordered the U.S. Nuclear
Regulatory Commission to study the possibility of a terrorist
attack at Diablo Canyon.

Nearly a half-century has passed since the National Academy of
Sciences recommended burying spent fuel from nuclear power
plants at an underground site, and it's been two decades since
Congress designated Yucca Mountain as that site.

Nothing else like the proposed Yucca Mountain repository, which
would be operated by the Energy Department, has been built. The
facility some 70 miles northwest of Las Vegas would consist of a
series of tunnels 1,000 feet underground, where spent fuel rods
from the nation's nuclear plants would be permanently buried.

Published: Sunday, 13 August 2006

Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service ? full article| email

-----------------------------
ITEM 2 OF 3:

Deseret news: Nuclear-waste decisions put on hold

[deseretnews.com]

Friday, August 4, 2006

Yucca official urges speedy passage of Senate energy bill

By Suzanne Struglinski Deseret Morning News

WASHINGTON ? Congress and the Energy Department are still not
quite sure how to deal with the temporary storage of nuclear
waste, and details may be pushed off until after the August
recess and possibly after the November mid-term election.

Any decision on interim storage could affect Private Fuel
Storage's plan to store nuclear power plant waste on Goshute
Indian land in Tooele County, and long-term plans to store waste
at Nevada's Yucca Mountain could potentially bring hundreds of
shipments of nuclear waste through Utah.

At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources hearing
Thursday, the Energy Department's top Yucca Mountain project
official, Edward Sproat, told members that without passage of a
pending bill that makes several changes to nuclear-waste policy,
there is no way the department can achieve its new goal of
opening Yucca by 2017.

"The probability of making that schedule without this
legislation is zero, that's how important it is," said Sproat,
who has held his position a little more than a month.

But committee Chairman Pete Domenici, R-N.M., said the
longer it takes Yucca to open, the longer the nuclear waste will
stay onsite at commercial reactors all over the country because
the department can ship only so much waste to Nevada at a time.

"May I repeat, for those who don't think we need to
address temporary storage: If everything goes perfectly, it will
take over 30 years, longer than I have been in the Senate, to
eliminate the existing backlog of spent fuel," Domenici said.
"In light of that, it only makes sense to look for additional
ways for the government to meet its obligations."

The Senate has yet to act on the pending energy and water
spending bill that contains $10 million to start a federal
temporary storage program until Yucca opens. The Senate bill
specifically disqualifies Utah from getting a federal site
because Private Fuel Storage already has a license to store
waste in Skull Valley. But the bill does not prohibit companies
from using PFS instead of a government waste facility.

Utah and its congressional delegation have been fighting
the PFS plan for years.

The House passed its version of the energy and water
spending bill, which contained $30 million for the temporary
storage of nuclear waste, saying the government could consider
private sites as well as federal facilities to store it.

Once the Senate passes its bill, certain House members
and senators will work together to iron out differences between
the two.

Congress is about to go on its August recess, leaving
legislative work behind for a month to head back to home
districts to meet with constituents ? or most likely to work on
campaigns.

This leaves the spending bills and other nuclear-waste
legislation in limbo until the lawmakers come back to allow them
to advance. Any bill left at the end of this session would need
to be resubmitted at the beginning of the new Congress that
starts in January.

Domenici told reporters after the hearing that he may
introduce another, simpler Yucca bill he would hope to get
through Congress while tackling the temporary storage issue in
the spending bill only.

Sproat said temporary storage is something that needs to
be discussed because "there is not one solution here that fits
all."

"There is no one answer," Sproat said, adding that there
are legal, political and financial matters affecting any
decision to open or locate a temporary nuclear-waste storage
site.

He is not quite convinced that the country needs interim
storage but said the department would follow what Congress says.

Sproat also told the panel that working on temporary
storage sites, if the responsibility fell to his office, could
take management responsibility and time away from working on
Yucca.

At this time, the Energy Department itself is not asking
for temporary storage policy or anything to be built but Yucca
Mountain.

PFS has told the Energy Department it is open to the idea
of working with the government by using federal money to ship
and store nuclear waste in Utah, but the department has yet to
respond to the request. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has
consistently said that PFS is not part of the department's
waste-manage- ment plan.

? 2006 Deseret News Publishing Company

-------------------------
ITEM 3 OF 3:

KnoxNews: ORNL specialists help move Poland uranium to Russia

By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com

August 12, 2006

OAK RIDGE - Nuclear specialists from Oak Ridge National
Laboratory participated in a project that removed about 90 pounds
of weapons-usable uranium from Poland to a safe location in
Russia, a lab official said Friday.

"ORNL personnel were involved both in the initial assessment
which took place over six months ago and in the removal, which
occurred earlier this week," Larry Satkowiak, the laboratory's
director of nuclear nonproliferation programs, said in an e-mail
response to questions.

The Oak Ridge experts were part of a team put together by the
National Nuclear Security Administration's Office of Global
Threat Reduction.

The U.S. government is actively working with other countries to
secure nuclear materials that are in vulnerable locations.

In a statement released to the news media this week in
Washington, Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman lauded the work in
Poland.

"This is another example of the international community working
collectively to reduce the threat of terrorism," Bodman said.

The uranium removed from Poland was the highest amount secured
under the program launched two years ago.

Satkowiak said the highly enriched uranium fuel was a particular
concern because the material's form would be "highly desirable
for weapons use in an improvised nuclear device."

Analysts say that nuclear terrorists, if they gained access to
fissile material such as highly enriched uranium, could quickly
assemble a crude weapon and detonate it on the spot - with
potentially catastrophic results.

The uranium fuel was relocated from Poland to Dimitrovgrad,
Russia, "for temporary safe storage," Satkowiak said. ORNL
personnel earlier were involved in a project that upgraded the
safeguards and security at the storage facility at Dimtrovgrad,
he said.

The nuclear material was returned to Russia because that's where
it originated, officials said.

The uranium fuel will be blended down with other stocks to
reduce its enrichment - the percentage of U-235 - and eliminate
the material's weapons capability, Satkowiak said.

"ORNL also provides many of the monitors (who) oversee the
blend-down of this type of material at Dimitrovgrad," he said.

The Oak Ridge laboratory is playing an "extended role" in a
number of projects that support the federal Office of Defense
Nuclear Nonproliferation, Satkowiak said. In recent months, ORNL
workers have assisted the relocation of uranium from vulnerable
sites in Libya and Uzbekistan to Russia.

In another project earlier this year, uranium experts from the
Y-12 National Security Complex worked with counterparts in
Argentina to relocate uranium fuel from a reactor in Buenos
Aires to a storage facility in Oak Ridge.

Senior writer Frank Munger may be reached at 865-342-6329.

2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

anti nuke paper

2006-08-12T17:32:44Z

http://www.ratical.org/radiation/CNR/PP/chp1.html

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

2 Items of Interest

2006-08-12T17:25:19Z

The two items posted below presents a good definition of why wars and
weapons capable of mass destruction evolve. The point is that the
United States is no longer the only nation who claims control over nuclear
capability and weaponry. A second and third generation of sick workers
exist. Especially present day U.S. Officials insist on retaining their
old values and/or "primitive political attitudes." The author of the
"The Great Equalizer" seems to have a good grasp on the evolution
process from past to present day.

60 minutes airs the Iran leader's interview this week. Comments by the
media have already been advertised, today.

Government Accountability Project (GAP) just released their report on
the status of the Hanford state workers' compensation issues that would
deny thousands of sick worker claims. The USDOE lauds the recent State
regulators' findings that "whitewashes" the reason for the
investigation. It appears that the State regulators intent is to continue to obey
the Feds. The USDOL, the USDOE, and the US Secretary of Defense
control the outcome since 1951 when the government agents took control over
the industrial insurance coverage for Hanford workers â€” Special
agreements â€” under the guise of national security interests. See
old-archaic RCW 51-04-130.

For your information >> As of today, when an interested reviewer
indicates nnvj-goglesbee-eeoicp-abuse.com at the Altavista, MSN-Charter,
Yahoo search engines, many pages of my WEB site are posted. I don't use
Google. I am trying to keep up with as many current events as possible.
Information regarding the EEOICP issues is sparse. Click on the
indicator, "More pages from nnvj-goglesbee-eeoicp-abuse.com" to access many
pages. Yahoo has the nnvj site listed as Homepage with the URL title
nnvj-goglesbee-eeoicp-abuse.com following. The indicator - goglesbee -
will display certain relevant URLs. But, - oglesbee - is also the name
of many other users including my own family. The indicator - nnvj -
simply brings up pages of URLs that are full of gobbelygook which is a
common ploy used by the government "spys" in their attempt to confuse
and/or censor advocate sites such as this.

Gai Oglesbee, Independent National Advocate
EEOICP Claimant | Downwinder
National Nuclear Victims for Justice
http://www.nnvj-goglesbee-eeoicp-abuse.com

--------------------------------
Item 1 of 2:

[NYTr] The Great Equalizer: Kolko on Hiroshim/Nagasaki

Date: Thu, 10 Aug 2006 21:51:34 -0400 (EDT)

Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit

CounterPunch - Aug 10, 2006
http://www.counterpunch.org/kolko08102006.html

The Great Equalizer

Reflections on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

By GABRIEL KOLKO

The United States had a monopoly of nuclear weaponry for only a few
years before other nations challenged it, but from 1949 until
roughly the 1990s deterrence theory worked--nations knew that if
they used the awesome bomb they were likely to be devastated in the
riposte. Nuclear war was not worth its risks. Today, by contrast,
weapons of mass destruction or precision and power are within the
capacity of dozens of nations either to produce or purchase. Every
kind of weapon is now available; deterrence theory is less and less
relevant, and the equations of military power relevant to the period
after World War Two no longer hold. This process began in Korea
after 1950 and the Americans discovered that great space combined
with guerrilla warfare was more than a match for them in Vietnam.
But there has now been a qualitative leap in technology that makes
inherited conventional wisdom utterly obsolete.

Technology is now moving far faster than the diplomatic and
political resources or will to control its inevitable
consequences--not to mention traditional strategic theories.
Hizbollah has far better and more lethal rockets than it had a few
years ago, and the U. S. Army has just released a report that light
water reactors--which 25 nations, from Armenia to Slovenia as well
as Spain, already have and are not covered at all by existing arms
control treaties--can be used to obtain weapons-grade plutonium
easily and cheaply.

Within a few years, many more countries than the present ten or so
will have nuclear bombs and far more destructive and accurate
rockets and missiles, not to mention the means to deliver them
accurately. Weapons-poor fighters will have far more sophisticated
tactics as well as far more lethal equipment, which makes the
heavily equipped and armed nations lose the advantages (as in
Vietnam and Iraq) of their overwhelming firepower. The battle
between a few thousand Hizbullah fighters and a massive,
ultra-modern Israeli army proves this. Among many things, the war
in Lebanon is a window of the future, and either the Israelis cease
their policy of bluster and intimidation, and finally accept the
political prerequisites of peace with the Arab world, or they too
will eventually be wrecked by cheaper nuclear weapons.

We live with 21st century technology and also with primitive
political attitudes, nationalisms of assorted sorts, cults of
heroism and irrationality, and the world will destroy itself unless
it realistically confronts the new technological equations. Israel
must now confront this reality, and if it does not develop the
political skills--and serious compromises--this new equation
warrants then it will be destroyed even as it devastates its
enemies.

This is the message of the conflicts in Gaza, the West Bank, and
Lebanon--to use only the examples in today's papers. Walls are no
longer protection for the Israelis--one shoots over them. Their
much-vaunted tanks have proven highly vulnerable to new weapons, and
these will become more and more common. The U. S. war in Iraq is a
military disaster against the guerrillas--a half trillion dollars
spent there and in Afghanistan have left America on the verge of
defeats in both places, its "shock and awe" strategy has utterly
failed save to produce contracts for weapons makers and de facto
economic bankruptcy.

Adroitly, the Bush Administration has managed to deeply alienate
more of America's nominal allies than any government in modern
times. Its sublime confidence and reliance on the power of its
awesome weaponry is a crucial cause of its failure, although we
cannot minimize its preemptory hubris and extreme nationalist
myopia.

But if the challenges of producing a realistic concept of the world
that confronts the mounting dangers and limits of military
technology seriously are not resolved soon there is nothing more
than wars to look forward to.

[Gabriel Kolko is the leading historian of modern warfare. He is the
author of the classic Century of War: Politics, Conflicts and
Society Since 1914 and Another Century of War?. He has also written
the best history of the Vietnam War, Anatomy of a War: Vietnam, the
US and the Modern Historical Experience. His latest book, The Age of
War, was published in March 2006. He can be reached at:
kolko @counterpunch.org. ]
=================================================
.NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems
. Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us .
.339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org
.List
Archives: https://olm.blythe-systems.com/pipermail/nytr/
.Subscribe:
https://olm.blythe-systems.com/mailman/listinfo/nytr
================================================

Item 2 of 2:

A Contrasting Item. . .

Knox News: Peace Alliance tries to get message to Bechtel

By News Sentinel staff

August 10, 2006

OAK RIDGE - As part of a series of protests this week, members of
the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance gathered Wednesday
morning at Bechtel's Oak Ridge office facility and tried to
deliver a letter asking the corporation to "refrain from further
business in weaponry, war preparations and profiteering from the
sufferings of the poor."

Ralph Hutchison, a coordinator of the peace alliance, said all
doors were locked, and workers inside refused to open them.

"Bechtel went into a self-imposed siege mode," Hutchison said.
The peace group ultimately read the letter out loud and then
left a copy at the front door, he said.

Bechtel National is a partner in the management of the Y-12
National Security Complex, which historically has manufactured
parts for every nuclear weapon in the U.S. arsenal.

Wednesday was the 61st anniversary of the atomic bomb being
dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, near the conclusion of World War II.

2006 - Knoxville News Sentinel

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

ExxonMobil Gets Religion on Warming -- $2.3 Million Worth Signers of Environmental Statement Funded by ExxonMobil

2006-08-12T17:21:33Z

ExxonMobil Gets Religion on Warming -- $2.3 Million Worth
Signers of Environmental Statement Funded by ExxonMobil

Brian Kaylor, Ethicsdaily.com, Aug. 10, 2006

A recent statement by evangelical Christians downplaying the potential problems of global climate change includes eight signers whose six organizations have received a total of $2.32 million in donations from ExxonMobil over the last three years.

Released by the Interfaith Stewardship Alliance (ISA) on July 25, the statement was signed by 113 evangelicals and 19 non-evangelicals in response to a February statement released by the Evangelical Climate Initiative (ECI).

The ECI statement, signed by 86 evangelical Christian leaders, argues that humans are responsible for much of climate change and that actions should be taken to prevent it. The ISA statement, on the other hand, argues that humans have little impact, that climate change is unlikely to occur and if it does will not be all harmful, and that prevention now will be more costly than adaptation later.

The ISA statement claims that scientific research is not conclusive on the issue as the ECI document stated, and that much research suggests climate change will be minor or nonexistent. However, many of the signers of the document lead or work for organizations that have received donations from ExxonMobil, the world's largest publicly-traded oil and gas company.

In all, ExxonMobil's gave $715,000 in 2005 to organizations with singers of the ISA document. Following is a list of organizations, the amount of funding they received from ExxonMobil in 2005, and the individuals from the organizations that signed the ISA statement.

--The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty; $50,000; Research Fellow Jay W. Richard.

--American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research; $240,000; Visiting Fellow Kenneth Green and Weyerhauser Fellow Steven F. Hayward.

--Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Change; $25,000; President Sherwood B. Idso and Chairman Craig D. Idso.

--Competitive Enterprise Institute; $270,000; President Fred L. Smith, Jr.

--Congress of Racial Equality; $75,000; Senior Policy Advisor (energy and environment) Paul K. Driessen. (Drissen was one of the four authors of the ISA statement.)

--The National Center for Public Policy Research; $55,000; Vice-President David Ridenour.

These six organizations have received funding from ExxonMobil in previous years as well. In 2004, they received a combined $740,000 (the Center for the Study of Carbon Dioxide and Global Changes did not receive any that year). In 2003, they received $865,000. For the three year period of 2003-2005, these six organizations received a total of $2.32 million from ExxonMobil.

Another signer of the ISA statement is Donald Paul Hodel, former U. S. Secretary of Energy and U. S. Secretary of the Interior for President Ronald Reagan, and former president of the Christian Coalition and Focus on the Family. Hodel also co-wrote Crisis in the Oil Patch: How America's Energy Industry is Being Destroyed and What Must Be Done to Save It, which argues for less regulation of the oil and gas industry.

Two other signers of the ISA statement have been connected to the Jack Abramoff scandal: Louis P. Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition and Rabbi Daniel Lapin of Toward Tradition. Critics of the ECI statement previously argued that the organization should not be trusted because it accepted donations from the Hewlett Foundation, which has also contributed to Planned Parenthood.

Southern Baptist signers of the ISA statement included: Gregg Allison of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, James Borland of Liberty University, Kent Chambers of Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Reginald Ecarma of North Greenville University, Gary Gray of Southwest Baptist University, Michael Salazar of Union University, Gregory Thornbury of Union University, and David Whitlock of Southwest Baptist University.

Southern Baptist signers of the ECI statement included: David Clark of Palm Beach Atlantic University, David Dockery of Union University, Douglas Hodo of Houston Baptist University, Timothy George of Beeson Divinity School, David Gushee of Union University, Lee Royce of Mississippi College, and Pat Taylor of Southwest Baptist University.

Brian Kaylor is communications specialist with the Baptist General Convention of Missouri.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Did Building 1916 T-1 make workers sick?

2006-08-12T17:19:02Z

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/opinion_columnists/article/0,1406,KNS_364_4902639,
00.html

Munger: Did Building 1916 T-1 make workers sick?
By FRANK MUNGER, munger@knews.com
August 9, 2006

For a place that's been studied as much as Oak Ridge, there are still
plenty
of mysteries.

Jo Nell Barton of Lenoir City thinks one of those mysteries may have
caused
her and many others to get sick.

"Basically, all we have is hearsay," she freely admits. "We have no
proof
whatsoever."

Barton formerly worked for the Atomic Energy Commission (a predecessor
of the
U.S. Department of Energy) at the Technical Information Center (a
predecessor
of the Office of Scientific and Technical Information) in Building 1916
T-1
in the warehouse district on Oak Ridge's east end.

She worked there from January 1957 to July 1959.

"In September 1960 at the age of 22, I was diagnosed with thyroid
cancer and
had a total thyroidectomy. My son was 9 months old at the time of my
surgery,
and I was never able to conceive again," she said in recounting her
experience
there.

She went back to work at the Technical Information Center from February
1963
to December 1965. Twenty years later, she was diagnosed with breast
cancer and
had a total mastectomy.

The federal facility where she worked was used for document production
and
storage. It contained a printing plant, photo lab and various rooms and
vaults,
including those used for the safekeeping of classified papers related
to early
nuclear programs.

What wasn't clear to Barton and Doris Henline, another Lenoir City
woman who
worked there and later developed cancer, was what may have taken place
in the
warehouse before 1916 T-1 became home to the government's document
operation.

In a presentation early this year to an advisory board on the
government's
compensation program for sick nuclear workers, Barton and Henline said
they had
investigated illnesses of past and present workers at Building 1916
T-1.

"We have identified 75 out of approximately 150 federal workers who
have had
catastrophic illnesses," they said in a prepared statement. "Fifty-six
have
had cancer, and 14 have had neurological illnesses (8 of whom worked in
the same
area of the building). Thirty of these 75 workers are now deceased. We
know
there are (a) number of other sick workers who have not been
identified."

There was speculation that the warehouse may have been used as an early
staging ground for radioactive materials in Oak Ridge or that documents
brought to
the site from nuclear facilities around the country could have been
contaminated.

"Those secret documents came in from all those test sites," Barton
said. "Who
knows what we were exposed to from those documents?"

The women sought the help of U.S. Rep. John J. Duncan Jr., R-Tenn., in
getting Building 1916 T-1 added to the list of facilities eligible for
workers
seeking help under the Energy Employee Occupational Illness
Compensation Program.
The facility did not qualify under an initial review, apparently
because there
was no evidence it ever housed nuclear materials or did work on nuclear
weapons.

Brian Hitson, associate director of DOE's Office of Scientific and
Technical
Information, found some early architectural drawings that indicate the
building's construction was completed in January 1948 and that it was
used as a
warehouse for the school system until the transition to a document
operation around
1956-57.

As for concerns about documents being tainted with radioactive
materials,
Hitson said that issue was investigated in the 1990s. OSTI, with help
from
radiation specialists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, set up a survey
program to
look for problems, he said.

"We did quite a bit of spot-checking, and nothing was ever found on any
of
the documents," Hitson said.

At Duncan's request, the U.S. Department of Labor is reviewing the case
and
will determine whether Building 1916 T-1 should be included in the
compensation
program.

"A decision on this issue will be forthcoming shortly after thorough
research
of the available information related to this building," Dolline
Hatchett, a
Labor spokeswoman, said by e-mail on July 28.

At this time, it doesn't appear likely that Building 1916 T-1 will
qualify.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Spent nuclear fuel "recipe for disaster"

2006-08-12T17:08:27Z

http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/state/article/0,1406,KNS_348_4891184,00.html

Spent nuclear fuel "recipe for disaster"
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 3, 2006

CHATTANOOGA â€” Environmentalists are worried about increased spent
nuclear
fuel stored at Tennessee Valley Authority power plants, calling the
waste "a
recipe for disaster."
TVA officials, however, say the storage method is safe.

Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant in Athens, Ala., with more than 1,400 metric
tons
of high-level radioactive waste stored in an elevated pool inside the
plant,
is among the nation's leaders in onsite spent nuclear fuel.

"This waste is being piled up on the river banks, and the river is the
drinking water source for thousands of people," said Stephen Smith,
director of the
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "Couple that with the known
terrorists'
threats, and it's very discomforting."

The material is placed in an elevated pool until it cools enough for
the
government to transport it to a permanent disposal facility, but it's
unclear when
that will happen. The new storage site at Yucca Mountain in Nevada was
delayed again last week until at least 2017.

Another 37 metric tons of waste are being stored outside the plant
along the
Tennessee River.

TVA officials are not pleased with the delay at Yucca Mountain, but
they say
the stored waste is not a public threat.

"The storage in dry casks is a proven, safe technology," TVA spokesman
John
Moulton said. "(The Nuclear Regulatory Commission) has licensed the
storage
facilities, so there are regulatory checks there."

Waste also is being stored at other plants. Sequoyah Nuclear Plant in
Soddy-Daisy has a full storage pool and outisde storage. Watts Bar
Nuclear Plant in
Spring City will need dry-cask storage in about 12 years.

The three plants combined store more than 2,500 metric tons of waste
and
radioactive fuel assemblies because there is nowhere else to keep it.

"We sued (the U.S. Department of Energy), as did many other utilities,
because they didn't start picking up the spent fuel," Moulton said.

TVA's lawsuit was filed in 2001, and a federal court awarded TVA $34.9
million to help pay for onsite storage through 2005. TVA has paid about
$758 million
into the Nuclear Waste Fund for the building of a permanent storage
site.

Nationwide, there is about 55,000 metric tons of nuclear waste being
stored,
and it increases by about 2,000 metric tons a year, Nuclear Regulatory
Agency
officials said.

___

Information from: Chattanooga Times Free Press,
http://www.timesfreepress.com

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Nuclear Mishap: A Close Call with Catastrophe in Sweden?

2006-08-12T17:07:01Z

August 4, 2006

An observer has called last week's mishap in Sweden the worst
incident to befall a nuclear power plant since the accident at
Chernobyl. Nobody was injured, but for 22 minutes, workers had no
idea what was happening in the reactor's core. Swedish officials
have taken half the country's nuclear power plants offline until
it can ensure their safe operation.

Sweden's nuclear power station in Forsmark: the worst nuclear
incident since Chernobyl and Harrisburg?

DPASweden's nuclear power station in Forsmark: the worst nuclear
incident since Chernobyl and Harrisburg?

Sweden's nuclear energy authority, SKI, has largely completed
its reconstruction of events in an accident last week that led
to the closure of a nuclear power plant in the city of Forsmark
and, ultimately, the shutdown of half the country's nuclear
plants as a precautionary measure. In the incident, two of the
plant's four backup generators malfunctioned when the plant
experienced a major power outage on July 25. According to
officials, who described the event as "serious," a short-circuit
triggered the accident, which caused a cut in power to the
nuclear facility. Plant workers told Swedish media that it came
close to a meltdown.

In fact, the only thing that appears to have stopped a
catastrophe is the fact that two diesel backup generators kicked
in, enabling the Forsmark facility to operate at least part of
its emergency cooling system. Still, for 20 minutes, workers
were unable to obtain information about the condition of the
reactor and they were only able to respond after 21 minutes and
41 seconds, according to a report in Germany's Hamburger
Abendblatt newspaper.

Swedish media are reporting that a previously unknown technical
problem emerged during the emergency that could also be present
in all other Swedish nuclear reactors.

3 Posts,<br />Latest Post: 07/04<br />By

In its first report, nuclear authority SKI claimed that operators
of the nuclear plant had reacted correctly during the emergency.
"In my opinion, the media is exaggerating the issue," said Jan
Blomstrang, a member of SKI's committee for reactor security. The
two generators that were still operating, he said, could have
provided sufficient energy for the reactors if it had been
necessary. The agency is expected to release a comprehensive
report in the coming days.

On Thursday, Swedish officials shut down two further nuclear
power plants as a safety precaution. Plant operators said the
move was necessary because they could not guarantee the security
of nuclear facilities in the city of Oskarshamm. A spokesman for
the company that operates the Oskarshamm plant said he could not
rule out the possibility of an incident happening like that at
Forsmark.

After an emergency meeting of SKI officials, spokesman Anders
Bredfall said that both nuclear power plants in Oskarshamm would
be taken offline until investigators were able to deteremine
whether the backup generators at that plant could fail in the
same way as those in Forsmark.

Official: Worst incident since Chernobyl

Swedish nuclear energy expert Lars-Olov H?nd, head of the
construction department at Swedish utility company Vattenfall --
and onetime boss at the Forsmark reactor -- has described last
week's problems as the "worst incident since Chernobyl and
Harrisburg," a reference to the 1979 meltdown at Three-Mile
Island in Pennsylvania. He accused the plant's operators of
trying to play down the seriousness of the event. For their part,
officials at Swedish nuclear authority SKI have rejected
H?nd's assessment, describing it as "exaggerated."

Following the latest shutdowns, only five of Sweden's 10 nuclear
power plants are still operating. Nuclear power accounts for
close to half of the electricity produced in Sweden and the
shutdowns triggered record price increases. But the Swedish
government's energy agency said the nation's electricity supply
was not currently at great risk because it can rely more on
hydropower during the summer months.

Sweden is in the process of abandoning nuclear energy -- a
policy that has led to the shut down of two of the country's
total of 12 plants since 1999. However, against a backdrop of
concerns about climate change and energy dependency, recent
public opinion polls indicate that an increasing number of
Swedes would like to go on using nuclear power.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Moderator

2006-08-12T16:56:29Z

Dear Tribe,
As you may already have figured out I've been gone for a while, well i'm still on vacation but I will start to post again. Thank you for hanging in there!

Best Wishes,
Richard

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

I-297 Sponsors Expect Federal Appeals Court

2006-06-20T21:55:30Z

Will Uphold Initiative
Requiring Hanford Cleanup and Halt to Dumping Toxic/Radioactive Waste

Initiative Already Accomplished Sponsors' First Goal for Initiative 297 to End Dumping in Unlined Trenches,

which USDOE Was Planning to Use as National Waste Dump

Sponsors call on Governor and Legislature to protect what court called Washington's "legitimate concerns"

Sponsors of the most-popular Initiative in state history expect it will be upheld on appeal, following today's ruling in U.S. District Court that it is unconstitutional. Initiative 297 was passed by a record 1.8 million Washington voters in November 2004, but has not been implemented because of the court challenge.

The Sponsors of the Initiative, which requires cleanup of the Hanford Nuclear Reservation before more waste can be dumped alongside the Columbia River, say they are confident that all of the initiative will be upheld as constitutional by the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In responding to today's lower court decision, Initiative Chief Sponsor Gerald Pollet said "we knew from the start that the initial ruling would not be the last word - this was going to be appealed no matter which side prevailed in the lower court."

The federal court appears to invite more litigation to ensure Hanford gets cleaned up. The judge asked "why there has not been an effort to enforce" the numerous violations that Sponsors said encouraged the initiative, rather than having to repeatedly sue.

Judge Alan McDonald's decision makes it clear that the state has authority to regulate the toxic waste at Hanford, but he said I-297 also regulates the radioactive component of the "mixed waste" in violation of the Atomic Energy Act. The "mixed waste" is a toxic, radioactive brew of solvents, chemicals and other hazardous waste mixed inseparable from the radioactive materials that is mixed with.

"The State has authority to stop the federal government from abandoning the high-level nuclear and chemical waste soup in leaking tanks, and to require cleanup before more waste gets dumped," said State Senator Adam Kline (D-37, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee). "We expect the Legislature and Governor to be able to use that authority to follow the will of the voters to protect our State's waters, the Columbia River and the health of future generations." Kline said that the Legislature would consider the lower court opinion in considering proposals to amend the law to carry out the mandate of the voters to ensure that contamination will be cleaned up, not made worse by having more waste dumped or abandoned to spread to the Columbia River.

"The State of Washington has already shown that the Cleanup Priority Act will only apply to radioactive hazardous wastes and contamination, and not to materials used by businesses, as the USDOE and Hanford contractors have claimed in their attempt to have the entire initiative ruled unconstitutional. The Legislature can clarify that the law does not apply to anything but hazardous wastes, in keeping with the intent of the voters," said Senator Kline. The opinion of the District Court relied heavily on finding that the initiative included non-wastes and that the voters intended to regulate nuclear safety. However, the court recognized that state authority to require Hanford cleanup existed.

"The voters adoption of Initiative 297 already prompted tremendous changes to protect the Columbia River and the health of future generations," said State Representative Toby Nixon (R-45), who was one of the Sponsors named as co-defendants of the initiative. "Being on the ballot forced the federal Energy Department to stop dumping waste in unlined soil ditches, which the federal government had planned to do on a massive scale by using those ditches as a national radioactive waste dump."

"Eastern Washington's health and economic well-being depend on our State's ability to require cleanup of contamination spreading into the Columbia River and to stop USDOE from dumping more waste and abandoning the waste that's there without cleaning up," said Spokane City Council Member Bob Apple, who is also a co-defendant Sponsor of I-297. "The federal judge said that the people of Washington have no reason to be confident that the Energy Department will clean up the place without the exercise of state authority. The mandate of the voters needs to be implemented by the Legislature and Governor."

"The Court said that the State has authority to regulate mixed hazardous and radioactive waste, but the Court found that the Initiative went too far. We respectfully disagree, and will continue to carefully analyze the decision, but we do not expect this will be the end of the matter," said Professor Michael Robinson-Dorn at the University of Washington Berman Environmental Law Clinic. The Clinic represents the Sponsors in defending Initiative 297 in the case.

Initiative 297, the Cleanup Priority Act, requires:

· An end to dumping waste in unlined trenches and cleanup of the trenches (these massive unlined, leaking ditches were being used in 2004 and the USDOE planned to use them as a national radioactive waste dump.)

· Cleanup of Hanford's contamination and compliance with hazardous waste standards before more mixed radioactive and hazardous chemical waste can be added to Hanford's problems.

· Emptying of the leaking High-Level Nuclear Mixed Waste tanks and cleanup of the contamination more than one million gallons of waste which has already leaked from them and is now spreading towards the Columbia River. (USDOE is proposing to abandon over 5 million gallons of waste in the tanks and has no plan to cleanup the contaminated soil and groundwater.)

§ The Initiative used the same cleanup standard for tanks as in existing hazardous waste standards, which the Energy Department and Bush Administration had demanded that Washington State agree to weaken or face cleanup budget cuts.

§ Cleanup to meet the State's existing standards to protect the public from cancer-causing contamination in groundwater or in soil at hazardous waste dumps.

· Public involvement in cleanup decisions at all mixed radioactive and toxic waste sites.

###

For Information:

· Gerald Pollet, JD; Executive Director HoANW; & Chair, Yes on I-297 (206)382-1014 / cell: (206)819-9015

· Bob Cooper, Press Secretary (206) 568-0471

· Professor Michael Robinson-Dorn, Berman Environmental Law Clinic, UW Law School (206) 616-7729

Sponsors/Co-Defendants of Initiative 297:

· Senator Adam Kline: (206) 625-0800

· Representative Toby Nixon: (206)-790-6377

· Spokane City Council Member Bob Apple: (509)487-4107

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

'Downwinders' deserve their due

2006-06-20T21:53:08Z

http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?issue_date=06-16-2006&ID=2005110691

'Downwinders' deserve their due

Commentary by Pat Murphy

----------------------------------------------------------

The news out of Washington is a baffling set of contradictions.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency freely and hurriedly ladled out $1.4 billion in aid to hundreds of ineligible Katrina hurricane claimants-call it fraud-and just as quickly peeled off $60,000 in compensation to families of 24 Iraqis shot and killed in Haditha by U.S. Marines who're being investigated for murder.

But several hundred Idahoans have been denied compensation from the same government for illnesses they and experts contend were the result of radioactive fallout from Nevada nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s.

Mind you, the government doesn't reject claims of all "downwinder" families living where radioactive fallout rained down. Washington has paid claims to families in Utah, Nevada and Arizona-a handsome total of $440 million, in fact.

But nothing for Idahoans.

That despite data showing that four Idaho counties-Blaine, Custer, Gem and Lemhi-ranked among the nation's top five in per capita thyroid dosage of radiation.

Idahoans claiming illnesses from nuclear dust were just as unwitting and unknowing victims of secret nuclear tests that showered them as were residents in the other states, and surely deserve better of their government than cold indifference.

If the U.S. Treasury can shell out $1.4 billion to pay fraudulent Katrina claims, it certainly can find just and relatively modest compensation for ill survivors of nuclear tests about which they were not warned and therefore could not escape.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Russia's 'Floating Chernobyls' to Go Ahead Despite Green Fears

2006-06-20T21:50:45Z

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0616-04.htm

Published on Friday, June 16, 2006 by the Independent / UK
Russia's 'Floating Chernobyls' to Go Ahead Despite Green Fears
by Andrew Osborn

Russia is to press ahead with the world's first floating nuclear power station despite environmental concerns. The first "floating Chernobyl" could be ready in four years.

Rendition of a proposed floating nuclear power plant. (Photo/Baltiysky Zavod)

The Kremlin has approved the project and a shipyard in the far north of Russia, used to build nuclear submarines, will begin work next year. Rosenergoatom, the country's nuclear power agency, says it intends to build up to six mobile power stations, costing £182m each, the first scheduled for use in 2010.

Sergey Kiriyenko, the head of Rosenergoatom, said: "There will be no floating Chernobyl," referring to the 1986 nuclear disaster. Sergey Obozov, a senior official at the agency, said they would be "reliable as a Kalashnikov assault rifle, which are a benchmark of safety."

But environmentalists warned that the power stations could sink in stormy weather, and could become a target for terrorists. A report from Bellona Foundation, an independent Norwegian research group, claims the floating power stations are "a threat to the Arctic, the world's oceans, and the whole concept of non-proliferation."

The structures will supply heat and electricity to far-flung corners of Russia's far east and far north where it is difficult and expensive to ship coal and oil. Russia also wants to sell the structures to other countries, including China and India.

The structures will have a service life of 40 years, require a crew of 69 people, and could power a medium-sized town. The first power station will be moored in the White Sea off the town of Severodvinsk in Russia's northern Archangel region.

© 2006 Independent News and Media Limited

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

Heroes Of The Cold War Out In The Cold Many Workers Who Dealt With Uranium Are Being Denied Compensation

2006-06-20T21:48:54Z

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/06/19/eveningnews/main1730542.shtml

Heroes Of The Cold War Out In The Cold
Many Workers Who Dealt With Uranium Are Being Denied Compensation

LACKAWANNA, N.Y., June 19, 2006
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Former Bethlehem Steel worker Ed Walker is among those who unknowingly worked with uranium during the Cold War but has been denied compensation by the government. (CBS)

Quote

"It's not surprising that more people were said 'no' to than 'yes.' People not exposed to radiation develop these cancers as well."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dr. Lewis Wade

(CBS) At age 72, Ed Walker, like most men of his generation, has never been afraid of hard work. In the 1950s, he and the men of Bethlehem Steel, in Lackawanna, N.Y., just outside Buffalo, worked hard.

"Restaurants were all loaded," he tells CBS News national correspondent Bryon Pitts. "Weekends after payday, you couldn't get a seat in any place. It was just a booming town."

But Bethlehem Steel went belly-up — and soon, old-timers like Walker would discover a secret: Co-workers were dying from cancer.

From 1949 to 1952, Bethlehem Steel had a contract with the federal government to roll uranium rods for nuclear reactors. It was the peak of the Cold War. The nation was nervous, and the military was building an arsenal of atomic bombs.

The men who worked at the Bethlehem plant in Lackawanna never knew they were dealing with uranium, Walker says. "They never had a clue — not for 50 years."

Uranium is radioactive material, but Walker says the people at the plant wore neither radiation detectors nor protective suits. When asked what was protecting them from the radioactivity, he replies, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

In 2000, Congress passed legislation allowing workers who developed cancer from exposure to radioactive material at Bethlehem Steel and 323 other plants around the country to receive up to $150,000 in compensation — if they qualified. But Walker and others have learned just how big that if could be: Walker was diagnosed with bladder cancer six years ago; he's been denied three times.

"Ludicrous. Ludicrous," Walker says of the denials.

The qualification process is complicated, to say the least. The Labor Department uses a computer model that determines a worker's radiation exposure 50 years ago. If there's more than a 50 percent chance that a worker's cancer was caused by their exposure, he's compensated. If it's less than 50 percent: nothing.

"They took everything; cleaned me right out — took (my) appendix, gall bladder, hung the bag on me. And yet they say I am only 10 percent. Come on," says Russell Earley, who worked at Bethlehem Steel for 43 years and has been rejected three times.

So far, the Labor Department has received 21,000 claims and paid out nearly half a billion dollars to workers and their families. But 72% of the applications have been denied.

"I can appreciate that angst," says Dr. Lewis Wade, one of the government's leading scientists. "But again, it's not surprising that more people were said 'no' to than 'yes.' People not exposed to radiation develop these cancers as well."

That's no consolation to Walker. Though he agrees that Bethlehem Steel was good to Lackawanna for a very long time, he notes that "you can't tell that to a widow who lost her husband."

Called "Heroes of the Cold War," these Americans just feel left out in the cold.

©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

BACK TO THE BUNKER--->June 19 COG exercise---recall TRI-POD

2006-06-05T17:13:39Z

BACK TO THE BUNKER--->June 19 COG exercise---recall TRI-POD
Date: Mon, 5 Jun 2006 07:17:24 EDT

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/02/AR200606020141
0.html

BACK TO THE BUNKER

By William M. Arkin
June 4, 2006

On Monday, June 19, about 4,000 government workers representing more
than 50
federal agencies from the State Department to the Commodity Futures
Trading
Commission will say goodbye to their families and set off for dozens of
classified emergency facilities stretching from the Maryland and
Virginia suburbs to
the foothills of the Alleghenies. They will take to the bunkers in an
"evacuation" that my sources describe as the largest "continuity of
government"
exercise ever conducted, a drill intended to prepare the U.S.
government for an event
even more catastrophic than the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The exercise is the latest manifestation of an obsession with
government
survival that has been a hallmark of the Bush administration since
9/11, a focus
of enormous and often absurd time, money and effort that has come to
echo the
worst follies of the Cold War. The vast secret operation has updated
the
duck-and-cover scenarios of the 1950s with state-of-the-art technology
-- alerts and
updates delivered by pager and PDA, wireless priority service, video
teleconferencing, remote backups -- to ensure that "essential"
government functions
continue undisrupted should a terrorist's nuclear bomb go off in
downtown
Washington.

But for all the BlackBerry culture, the outcome is still old-fashioned
black
and white: We've spent hundreds of millions of dollars on alternate
facilities, data warehouses and communications, yet no one can really
foretell what
would happen to the leadership and functioning of the federal
government in a
catastrophe.

After 9/11, The Washington Post reported that President Bush had set up
a
shadow government of about 100 senior civilian managers to live and
work outside
Washington on a rotating basis to ensure the continuity of national
security.
Since then, a program once focused on presidential succession and
civilian
control of U.S. nuclear weapons has been expanded to encompass the
entire
government. From the Department of Education to the Small Business
Administration to
the National Archives, every department and agency is now required to
plan for
continuity outside Washington.

Yet according to scores of documents I've obtained and interviews with
half a
dozen sources, there's no greater confidence today that essential
services
would be maintained in a disaster. And no one really knows how an
evacuation
would even be physically possible.

Moreover, since 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, the definition of what
constitutes an "essential" government function has been expanded so
ridiculously beyond
core national security functions -- do we really need patent and
trademark
processing in the middle of a nuclear holocaust? -- that the term has
become
meaningless. The intent of the government effort may be laudable, even
necessary,
but a hyper-centralized approach based on the Cold War model of
evacuations
and bunkering makes it practically worthless.

That the continuity program is so poorly conceived, and poorly run,
should
come as no surprise. That's because the same Federal Emergency
Management Agency
that failed New Orleans after Katrina, an agency that a Senate
investigating
committee has pronounced "in shambles and beyond repair," is in charge
of this
enormous effort to plan for the U.S. government's survival.

Continuity programs began in the early 1950s, when the threat of
nuclear war
moved the administration of President Harry S. Truman to begin planning
for
emergency government functions and civil defense. Evacuation bunkers
were built,
and an incredibly complex and secretive shadow government program was
created.

At its height, the grand era of continuity boasted the fully
operational
Mount Weather, a civilian bunker built along the crest of Virginia's
Blue Ridge,
to which most agency heads would evacuate; the Greenbrier hotel complex
and
bunker in West Virginia, where Congress would shelter; and Raven Rock,
or Site R,
a national security bunker bored into granite along the
Pennsylvania-Maryland
border near Camp David, where the Joint Chiefs of Staff would command a
protracted nuclear war. Special communications networks were built, and
evacuation
and succession procedures were practiced continually.

When the Soviet Union crumbled, the program became a Cold War
curiosity:
Then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney ordered Raven Rock into caretaker
status in
1991. The Greenbrier bunker was shuttered and a 30-year-old special
access
program was declassified three years later.

Then came the terrorist attacks of the mid-1990s and the looming Y2K
rollover, and suddenly continuity wasn't only for nuclear war anymore.
On Oct. 21,
1998, President Bill Clinton signed Presidential Decision Directive 67,
"Enduring
Constitutional Government and Continuity of Government Operations." No
longer
would only the very few elite leaders responsible for national security
be
covered. Instead, every single government department and agency was
directed to
see to it that they could resume critical functions within 12 hours of
a
warning, and keep their operations running at emergency facilities for
up to 30
days. FEMA was put in charge of this broad new program.

On 9/11, the program was put to the test -- and failed. Not on the
national
security side: Vice President Cheney and others in the national
security
leadership were smoothly whisked away from the capital following
procedures overseen
by the Pentagon and the White House Military Office. But like the mass
of
Washingtonians, officials from other agencies found themselves
virtually on their
own, unsure of where to go or what to do, or whom to contact for the
answers.

In the aftermath, the federal government was told to reinvigorate its
continuity efforts. Bush approved lines of succession for civil
agencies. Cabinet
departments and agencies were assigned specific emergency
responsibilities. FEMA
issued new preparedness guidelines and oversaw training. A National
Capital
Region continuity working group established in 1999, comprising six
White House
groups, 15 departments and 61 agencies, met to coordinate.

But all the frenetic activity did not produce a government prepared for
the
worst. A year after 9/11, and almost three years after the deadline set
in
Clinton's 1998 directive, the Government Accounting Office evaluated 38
agencies
and found that not one had addressed all the issues it had been ordered
to. A
2004 GAO audit of 34 government continuity-of-operations plans found
total
confusion on the question of essential functions. One unnamed
organization listed
399 such functions. A department included providing "speeches and
articles for
the Secretary and Deputy Secretary" among its essential duties, while
neglecting many of its central programs.

The confusion and absurdity have continued, according to documents I've
collected over the past few years. In June 2004, FEMA told federal
agencies that
essential services in a catastrophe would include not only such obvious
ones as
electric power generation and disaster relief but also patent and
trademark
processing, student aid and passport processing. A month earlier, FEMA
had told
states and local communities that library services should be counted as
essential along with fire protection and law enforcement.

None of this can be heartening to Americans who want to believe that in
a
crisis, their government can distinguish between what is truly
essential and what
isn't -- and provide it.

Just two years ago, an exercise called Forward Challenge '04 pointed up
the
danger of making everyone and everything essential: Barely an hour
after
agencies were due to arrive at their relocation sites, the Office of
Management and
Budget asked the reconstituted government to identify emergency funding
requirements.

As one after-action report for the exercise later put it in a classic
case of
understatement: "It was not clear . . . whether this would be a
realistic
request at that stage of an emergency."

This year's exercise, Forward Challenge '06, will be the third major
interagency continuity exercise since 9/11. Larger than Forward
Challenge '04 and the
Pinnacle exercise held last year, it requires 31 departments and
agencies
(including FEMA) to relocate. Fifty to 60 are expected to take part.

According to government sources, the exercise will test the newly
created
continuity of government alert conditions -- called COGCONs -- that
emulate the
DEFCONs of the national security community. Forward Challenge will
begin with a
series of alerts via BlackBerry and pager to key officials. It will
test
COGCON 1, the highest level of preparedness, in which each department
and agency
is required to have at least one person in its chain of command and
sufficient
staffing at alternate operating facilities to perform essential
functions.

Though key White House officials and military leadership would be
relocated
via the Pentagon's Joint Emergency Evacuation Program (JEEP), the
civilians are
on their own to make it to their designated evacuation points.

But fear not: Each organization's COOP, or continuity of operations
plan,
details the best routes to the emergency locations. The plans even
spell out what
evacuees should take with them (recommended items: a combination lock,
a
flashlight, two towels and a small box of washing powder).

Can such an exercise, announced well in advance, hope to re-create any
of the
tensions and fears of a real crisis? How do you simulate the experience
of
driving through blazing, radiated, panic-stricken streets to emergency
bunker
sites miles away?

As the Energy Department stated in its review of Forward Challenge '04,
"a
method needs to be devised to realistically test the ability of . . .
federal
offices to relocate to their COOP sites using a scenario that simulates
. . .
the monumental challenges that would be involved in evacuating the
city."

With its new plans and procedures, Washington may think it has thought
of
everything to save itself. Forward Challenge will no doubt be deemed a
success,
and officials will pronounce the continuity-of-government project
sound. There
will be lessons to be learned that will justify more millions of
dollars and
more work in the infinite effort to guarantee order out of chaos.

But the main defect -- a bunker mentality that considers too many
people and
too many jobs "essential" -- will remain unchallenged.

warkin@igc.org

William M. Arkin writes the Early Warning blog for washingtonpost.com
and is
the author of "Code Names: Deciphering U.S. Military Plans, Programs
and
Operations in the 9/11 World" (Steerforth Press).

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies

The shadow lingers

2006-06-04T21:40:37Z

http://www.ydr.com/newsfull/ci_3898177
The York Daily Record - The shadow lingers
The shadow lingers
Ten years after lawsuit dismissed, debate continues on partial meltdown's health effects
By JENNIFER NEJMAN
Daily Record/Sunday News

Lester Haring, 62, holds his granddaughter Lindsey Keiser, 5, at his Christmas tree farm along River Drive in Cly. Behind him is the Susquehanna River and the cooling towers for the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant. Lester Haring, who worked at the plant for several years, said he has no qualms about living nearby.
· E-mail photo
· Order photo reprint
(Jason Plotkin - YDR)
At bottom: · The health effect studies · Scientists test teeth for TMI's effects
Jun 4, 2006 — Ten years ago a judge ruled there was insufficient evidence to link radiation from the Three Mile Island accident to health problems in test cases of about 2,000 plaintiffs.

Yet some people who co-exist with the operating nuclear plant continue to question whether the partial meltdown on March 28, 1979, released radiation into the environment that has affected their health.

They live in the historical shadow of a plant that suffered a partial meltdown, the worst nuclear accident in United States history.

Today is the 10-year anniversary of U.S. District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo's ruling. The rest of the plaintiffs lost on appeal in 2002.

Nearly everything about the accident seems to be up for dispute, depending on who you ask, from how much radiation left the plant, to where it traveled, to what groups of people might have been affected, to what, if any, health effects have occurred or might occur in the future.

Even scientific studies seem to conflict. Some find links to health problems. Others do not. A new analysis notes more-than-expected cases of thyroid cancer in York and Lancaster counties over a period of years and pro- poses - but doesn't conclude - that it could be because of exposure to radiation from the accident.

For some, questions linger

Within a year of the accident, a German shepherd developed cataracts and a cat gave birth to a litter of deformed kittens, Debbie Baker said. The pets belonged to her mother, who lived about five miles from the plant.

In 1980, Baker gave birth to Bradley. As a 23-year-old Fairview Township mother with a son who had Down syndrome, Baker's thoughts turned to radiation exposure.

Before they evacuated, Baker had been taking her daughter to a babysitter in Goldsboro - not knowing she was pregnant with her second child.

Baker joined a class action lawsuit and wanted a day in court, but eventually accepted a monetary settlement. That settlement was accepted before the about 2,000 other plaintiffs brought suit, she said.

Today, at 49, in her Camp Hill home, Baker has a radiation monitor. It's never reached a level that would convince her to evacuate. She said she doesn't live in fear, but remains concerned about whether what happened that day affected her unborn child.

"It's always - like a wonder - you can't ever prove it," Baker said.

James E. Thomas, now 76, was one of the about 2,000 plaintiffs. Janet and James Thomas left their Foustown home the weekend of the accident to travel to the Appalachian Mountains for a square-dancing festival. With other dancers, they joked about glowing in the dark.

Then, James Thomas, who loved to be outside gardening, developed skin cancer.

When the lawsuit ended, the Thomases gave up.

"We just figured it was a lost cause and let it drop," Janet Thomas said.

Today, the couple lives in the same house.

For some, no worries

On a recent May day, the Susquehanna River sparkled blue. On Cly Road in Newberry Township sits a quaint house with a small sign advertising "FRESH BROWN EGGS."

Margaret Sipe, 55, and her husband have lived in the house with a view of the cooling towers for about two decades. She believes people have blown the accident out of proportion.

"I like it out here," Sipe said. "Not a lot of traffic, everyone gets along."

The area has filled in with more residential housing - about eight years ago, those places behind her house were cornfields, Sipe said.

The family has a friend who works at the nuclear power plant. There are no problems, don't worry, he has told them.

"It doesn't even cross our mind," Sipe said.

Up River Drive, the street rises with a steep hill. The tree farm lot provides a view of white puffs billowing out of the cooling towers.

Lester and Sue Haring own Haring Tree Farms.

The same year as the accident, but after it occurred, they started their Christmas tree farm on River Drive in Cly. They live nearby.

"The condition of the land is fine," Sue Haring said.

Lester Haring, 62, grows corn, tomatoes, onions, potatoes and other vegetables with his grandchildren. They sell some. His granddaughter,

Dr. Roger Levin, a head and neck surgeon in the Harrisburg area, in the examining room of his Palmyra office May 25 with a model head and neck and a model thyroid. Levin recently completed a professional paper and found higher-than-expected cases in York and Lancaster counties.
· E-mail photo
· Order photo reprint
(Kristin Murphy - YDR)
Lindsey Keiser, 5, is in charge of pumpkins - she's low to the ground, that's good for planting, he tells her.

Haring was not working at Three Mile Island the day of the accident, but he worked there for nine years building scaffolding inside the plant.

Builders were the first ones to enter areas where updates or repairs were needed because they created the structures electricians and others needed to stand on, he said.

Lester Haring said he believes nuclear plants are safe.

His wife, Sue, 61, has breast cancer. She's taken radiation and chemotherapy. She said she believes she inherited her disease; both her grandmother and two aunts had breast cancer.

"People have cancer all over the United States," Sue Haring said. "It's really hard to say did (the accident) do it."

Researchers debate: No link

Scientific studies on the Three Mile Island accident have different conclusions. Some people even interpret them differently.

By the time Columbia University investigators published their findings in 1990 that they saw no link between radiation and cancer cases, the lawsuit of about 2,000 plaintiffs was under way.

The state Department of Health also performed studies. None showed an increased risk of cancer related to the Three Mile Island accident, said Richard McGarvey, health department spokesman.

One health study showed a higher risk of low-birth weight babies in women who lived within a 10-mile-radius, but that was determined to be associated with a higher use of sedatives that appeared to be associated with the stress pregnant women were feeling, McGarvey said.

Until the mid-1980s, the state health department updated a registry of 35,000 people who lived within a 10-mile-radius of Three Mile Island, McGarvey said.

Another registry of women pregnant at the time of the accident and the children they bore was updated through the state fiscal year of 1994-95, he said. Nothing unusual was showing up in the database, so the registry was cut out of the budget, McGarvey said.

Detailed studies of radiological consequences of the Three Mile Island accident were done by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, what is now the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Department of Energy and Pennsylvania, according to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The average radiation dose to people living within 10 miles of the plant was 8 millirem, and any single person would have received less than 100 millirem, according to the American Nuclear Society.

Most people receive about 5 millirem per week from the environment. A chest X-ray exposes a person to about 6 millirem, according to the society.

Studies have shown that radiation's immediate effects are not observed until 35,000 millirem, said Brian Grimes, who retired from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1996 and is a spokesman for the nuclear society.

At 15,000 millirem, temporary sterility in humans is clinically testable, Grimes said.

Studies from Three Mile Island did not find any statistically significant increases in cancer cases, he said.

Attorney Alfred Wilcox of Pepper Hamilton LLP in Philadelphia represented the three power companies and their parent company, GPU, that the about 2,000 plaintiffs sued. Rambo's decision should give comfort to anyone concerned that the radiation adversely affected their health, Wilcox said.

The plaintiffs' case fell apart with their complicated theory that a blowout of radiation from the reactor avoided all of the detection monitors and huge doses hit pine and spruce trees and people, Wilcox said.

"We showed the judge, actually, those trees were affected by a tree fungus and parasite," he said.

He said there are more important subjects to spend research money on than whether the Three Mile Island accident had any health effects.

"The idea that somebody would do a better job of looking at that today is kind of silly," he said.

Others say the accident presents a unique opportunity for continued study.

Evelyn Talbott, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh, said that, even though exposures during the accident were low, the population should continue to be followed. That might be possible using the state health department's cancer registry, she said.

In one of her studies, a 20-year follow-up of mortality, published in 2003, Talbott used information from the

Sue Haring, 61, has breast cancer. She lived near the plant in 1979 when the accident occurred. She remembered evacuating, but later returned. She doesn't believe her cancer was caused by the accident. Cancer runs in her family, she said. Her husband, Lester, stands in the background.
· E-mail photo
· Order photo reprint
(Jason Plotkin - YDR)
state's registry for residents who lived within a five-mile radius of Three Mile Island, combined with the state's mortality data. The study found radioactivity released during the nuclear accident did not appear to have caused more cancer deaths in residents between 1979 and 1998, Talbott said.

It did find a hint of higher breast cancer rates, likely caused by gamma exposure in the days after the accident, but that trend appeared to weaken between the 1992 and 1998 study updates, she said.

Researchers debate: Possible link

Other researchers have found what they say are links between radiation released and cancer.

Steve Wing, who conducted a study on behalf of the about 2,000 plaintiffs, said his research improved upon the Columbia study, but produced different results.

Wing, associate professor in the epidemiology department at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, found as the estimated radiation dose increased, the cancer incidence increased after the accident, based on where plumes from the accident traveled.

His researchers looked at the difference between the pre-accident period, 1976 to 1979, compared to two sets of years post-accident, 1984 to 1985 and 1981 to 1985.

They found positive relationships between accident dose estimates and cancer rates for leukemia, lung cancer and all cancers combined.

"The criticisms were mainly that we weren't supposed to find that," he said.

Study data was available to nuclear industry scientists, and researchers had the opportunity to point out mistakes, but none did, he said.

When Rambo decided 10 years ago not to include some of the study data and then the plaintiffs' appeal lost, Wing said he was disappointed.

"I feel it was a disservice to the general public," he said. "It's a disservice to the history of this accident. ... Our interpretation of the results is that the doses were larger than what had been assumed."

In reviewing state Department of Health data, a Harrisburg-area doctor found more thyroid cancer cases than expected in York County for every year except one between 1990 and 2002.

Dr. Roger Levin, a head and neck surgeon who has experience treating thyroid cancer, said one reason for the higher incidence of thyroid cancer could be that people were exposed to radiation during the TMI accident.

The thyroid - a gland in the neck - controls the body's overall metabolism. It manages weight, pulse rate and body temperature.

Because the thyroid needs iodine to make its hormone, it's possible the gland could have taken in more radioactive iodine during the accident, Levin said. The gland cannot distinguish between radioactive iodine and the type found in table salt, which is why the state passes out non-radioactive iodine pills. In theory, people could take the pills during a nuclear accident to fill up the gland to protect it.

Addressing the increased cases in York and Lancaster counties, Levin said, radioactive material could have traveled to those counties by water, since it seems the wind was not blowing in that direction during the accident and days after.

When Levin started his research, he expected to see no difference in the number of thyroid cancer cases expected and the number reported in area counties.

Counties farther away than York and Lancaster from the accident showed no increasing trend.

"I sort of don't know what to do with the data except throw it out there and let (people) smarter than me debate it," Levin said.

Continuing to wonder

Donna James, 46, of West York said she believes the Three Mile Island accident caused her thyroid cancer. At the time, she was a student at Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania.

In January 2004, after three years of feeling tired and achy, James had a nodule removed from her neck. Her mother has thyroid problems, but not cancer, James said.

James said her cancer could have a connection to breathing the air after the accident or from the effects the radiation had on the environment.

"Especially because I used to eat a lot of organic foods," James said.

Her concerns and wonders have become part of the shadow Three Mile Island has left on the region.

Rep. Bruce Smith, R-Dillsburg, said people still talk to him about the accident. They tell him they believe there are higher cancer rates in the area because of it, he said.

"There is no doubt in my mind the (health department's) studies were flawed," Smith said.

At the time of the accident, Smith was chairman of the board in Newberry Township, the largest municipality on the West Shore within a 5-mile radius of the plant.

His children stood outside at the bus stop that morning. After the accident, his wife, Patricia Smith, became active in the fight to make sure the plant was safe. When one unit re-opened in 1985, the Smiths moved to Dillsburg.

They placed 22 miles between their home and the reactors. No longer could they see the cooling towers from their home.

"(The tower) was too much of a reminder of the accident and mental turmoil and frustration my wife went through at the time of the accident," Smith said.

When asked to comment about the 25th anniversary in 2004, a FirstEnergy spokesman said that, since the 1979 partial meltdown, the Unit 2 reactor has been in a state of long-term monitored storage.

GPU workers removed 300,000 pounds of core material from TMI Unit 2 before the project was completed in December 1993.

A FirstEnergy spokesman said last week the company could not comment on possible health effects because it did not own TMI Unit 2 at the time of the accident.

For some, the plant is part of the scenery. For others, it's a symbol of hidden effects of a past event and clues to why certain people got sick.

Eric Epstein of Three Mile Island Alert Inc., an activist group formed before the 1979 accident, said he believes people affected by the radiation will get a day in court, even if it's decades from now. Epstein is convinced that the accident has led to adverse health effects in the area, but he still lives there.

It's a great place to live, he said. "There is nowhere you can go where there is not an environmental threat," Epstein said.

They monitor the radiation and watch.

"People will question the health effects of TMI for at least a generation," he said.

Reach Jennifer Nejman at 771-2026 or jnejman@ydr.com.

The health effect studies

The following studies deal with Three Mile Island:

· Steve Wing, associate professor, epidemiology department, UNC, Chapel Hill

The study was conducted on behalf of the about 2,000 plaintiffs who claimed emissions of radioactive gases during the Three Mile Island accident were much larger than the industry and government stated and that intense plumes had exposed small areas to high radiation doses, resulting in adverse health effects, including cancer.

Findings: Wing's research found positive relationships between accident dose estimates and cancer rates for leukemia, lung cancer and all cancers combined. The study looked at the difference between the pre-accident period, 1976 to 1979, compared with two sets of years post-accident, 1984 to 1985, and 1981 to 1985.

Estimates for radiation effects were larger for cancers that occurred in 1984 to 1985 than for cancers that occurred in 1981 to 1985, an observation consistent with there being more time for cancers to develop after exposure. Those estimates were larger when statistical adjustments were made for differences in socioeconomic status between areas of low and high dose.

· Evelyn Talbott, professor of epidemiology, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health

Talbott's 2003 study was a 20-year follow-up of mortality data on residents who lived within a 5-mile radius of Three Mile Island. She used data collected by the state Department of Health in interviews conducted with 32,135 residents within two months of the accident. The exposure data was combined with mortality data from the state.

Finding:The study found overall cancer deaths in the local population were similar to cancer death rates statewide. Radioactivity released during the nuclear accident does not appear to have caused more cancer deaths in residents between 1979 and 1998, she said.

However, with regard to specific cancer sites, the risk of cancers of the hematopoietic blood system, such as leukemias and lymphomas, were greater for naturally occurring radiation, called background radiation, that comes from the earth's crust.

There is an area around Three Mile Island that has this higher background radiation and should be considered for further study, Talbott said. The area is known as the Reading Prong and it occurs in southeastern Pennsylvania in the southern parts of Lebanon, Berks, Lehigh and Northampton counties. Talbott cautioned that more work should be done before conclusions can be made about this area.

Talbott's study found a hint of higher breast cancer rates, likely caused by gamma exposure the days after the accident, but this trend appeared to weaken between the 1992 and 1998 study updates.

· Dr. Roger Levin,chief division of otolaryngology/head and neck surgery, PinnacleHealth System in Harrisburg, and clinical associate professor of surgery, Penn State College of Medicine

Levin did his research so he could join The Triological Society, a society for ear, nose and throat specialists and head and neck surgeons. His paper is scheduled to be published in the society's peer-reviewed journal, The Laryngoscope, in an upcoming month.

Findings: In reviewing state health data, Levin found more thyroid cancer cases than expected in York County for every year except one between 1995 and 2002.

One plausible reason could be people were exposed to radiation during the 1979 Three Mile Island accident, he said.

During the accident, the thyroid gland could have taken in radioactive iodine or people could have brought increased levels into their systems through food grown in the area or other environmental factors, he said.

Levin said two factors that could have made a link to the Three Mile Island accident more convincing did not occur: the winds were blowing northwest, not toward York County, and there was no increase in thyroid cancer in populations younger than 20 years old.

However, he said he found in his readings that a small amount of radiation was vented into the Susquehanna River in the form of wastewater from parts of the plant that were not part of the cooling systems, such as toilets, showers and laundry facilities.

And children and expectant mothers were evacuated in the days following the accident, Levin said.

Thyroid cancer is increasing in the United States. Some say it's due to better diagnosis; others attribute exposure to radiation, Levin said.

top
Scientists test teeth for TMI's effects
Pa. group looks for radioactive chemicals from nuclear sites

Joseph Mangano wants your baby teeth.

Not for the same sentimental reasons parents safeguard their children's teeth as childhood keepsakes, but rather to try to prove what he believes are the dangers of living close to a nuclear reactor.

Since 1998, the Radiation and Public Health Project in Norristown has collected more than 5,000 teeth from people who live close to one of the eight U.S. nuclear sites, and from people who don't live near the sites, Mangano said.

In November, the Radiation and Public Health Project added Three Mile Island in Dauphin County to its list of nuclear sites and started to collect teeth from nearby residents, he said.

Mangano is the national coordinator for the Radiation and Public Health Project.

Through the project, several dozen teeth have been collected from people who live near TMI. The teeth will be tested for levels of Strontium-90, a radioactive chemical found in the waste of nuclear reactors that has been linked to bone cancer, cancer of the soft tissue near the bone and leukemia.

Strontium-90 may also contaminate reactor parts and fluids, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

A decade has passed since U.S. Middle District Chief Judge Sylvia Rambo dismissed 2,100 cases filed by people who claimed their health problems could be traced back to the partial meltdown of TMI Unit 2 on March 28, 1979.

"To me," Mangano said, "the health effects (related to the partial meltdown) are almost as big as the story of the accident itself."

On that day, mechanical failure and human oversight led to what is considered the worst commercial nuclear accident in American history.

As a result of the partial meltdown, people who lived near the plant at the time of the accident were exposed to a small amount of radioactive material.

The goal of Mangano's group is to collect baby teeth from before and after the TMI Unit 2 accident to test for the Strontium-90 levels.

Launched in 1985 by founders Jay Gould and Ernest Sternglass, the project's goals, according to Mangano, are:

· To account for any health risks posed by nuclear reactors.

· To point out any resistance by government officials to fully disclose the health effects of nuclear power.

Mangano, 50, has a master's degree in public health, with a focus on disease prevention, from the University of North Carolina.

He joined the Radiation and Public Health Project in 1989.

"I had a desire to contribute to preventive health," he said. "Especially since our health system is so strongly focused on disease diagnosis and treatment, and not on prevention."

Mangano regularly attends public hearings concerning nuclear power plants, including Peach Bottom Atomic Power Station, to raise public awareness about the health effects of nuclear reactors.

The collection of teeth by the project is one way to alert the public to any health risks posed by nuclear sites, Mangano said.

Aside from the area around TMI, the project has collected teeth from Indian Point in New York, Oyster Creek in New Jersey, Limerick in Pennsylvania, Saint Lucie in Florida, Turkey Point in Florida, Diablo Canyon in California and Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York.

Roughly 80 percent of the teeth collected came from people who live close to one of those sites.

By testing baby teeth, researchers with the project have found that people who live close to nuclear sites have ingested high amounts of Strontium-90.

Children who live in counties closest to nuclear reactors have an average level of Strontium-90 in their teeth that is 30 to 50 percent higher than children tested in more distant counties.

While some people may inhale trace amounts of Strontium-90 as dust, the most common pathway would be for residents to swallow the chemical via food and water.

Strontium-90 is a byproduct found in the fission of uranium. During the 1950s and 1960s, large amounts of Strontium-90 were produced during atmospheric nuclear weapons tests and dispersed worldwide, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Between 1998 and 2003, the Radiation and Public Health Project received 106 baby teeth from children with cancer. The group tested the teeth for Strontium-90.

Since some of those teeth were very small or decayed, leaving little intact enamel for testing, accurate test results were available for little more than half of the samples.

Test results showed that the 54 teeth had an average Strontium-90 concentration about 60 percent higher than teeth from children without cancer.

By the end of the year, Mangano's group plans to announce its test results regarding baby teeth taken from residents who live close to TMI.

"We will take any baby teeth from anybody, but most of the teeth we are collecting come from now," he said. "We would like to get more teeth from people who were born before the accident so we can compare."

Reach Sean Adkins at 771-2047 or sadkins@ydr.com.

posted in Cold War Survivors - 0 replies