I'm afraid you'll be disappointed.
On the 60th anniversary of the A-bombing of Hiroshima, let me start
off with a little historical context:
"Having found the bomb we have used it. We have used it against those who attacked us without warning at Pearl Harbor, against those who have starved and beaten and executed American prisoners of war, against those who have abandoned all pretense of obeying international laws of warfare. We have used it in order to shorten the agony of war, in order to save the lives of thousands and thousands of young Americans."
"Public Papers of the Presidents: Harry S Truman, 1945", pg. 212.
Any similarity with claims made by C21 terror groups are purely co-incidental.
Any similarity between post hoc editing of the above
into a more politically-acceptable form and (say) after-the-fact
justification for
a pre-emptive attack on another country are, again, purely co-incidental
as well as ironic. -- rkh, 06-Aug-2005
[09-Apr-2006: In the context of a developing civil war in Iraq,
and news of advanced plans to "restucture" Iran via a bombing campaign
that may involve tactical nukes:]
The United States is now fielding a new tactical and strategic nuclear military capability that has already been used to threaten a non-nuclear country. This new capability was certified without nuclear testing, using an existing surrogate testing facility with capabilities much less than those under construction and planned. The weapon was developed and deployed in secret, without public and congressional debate, contrary to domestic and international assurances that no new nuclear weapons were being developed. Other new or "modified" nuclear weapons, earth-penetrating and otherwise, are planned.
The Pentagon and Bush Administration is reviewing its nuclear
weapons programs with the advent of the concept of "mini nukes" --
weapons that might be classified as "conventional" for suburban use.
The total number of intact nuclear warheads retained by the United States and Russia.
~30,000
Number of intact nuclear warheads throughout the world. 17,500 of these are considered operational.
128,000+
Estimated number of nuclear warheads built worldwide since 1945. All but 2 percent of these nuclear warheads have been built by the United States (55 percent or 70,000+) and Russia (43 percent or 55,000+). 1
10,729
Total number of intact U.S. nuclear warheads (274 warheads are awaiting dismantlement)
10,455
Total warheads in the U.S. stockpile
[From CDI.ORG --
The Center for Defence Information].
The news that Iran is building a uranium enrichment facility has increased previously existing concerns over Iran's nuclear intentions. Information about the full extent of Iran's current and future capabilities is not known, but enough information has been publicly discussed to provide some background.
[From the newsletter of the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace].
North Korea has apparently become the world's ninth nuclear power. Last November, the CIA estimated that Pyongyang has one, perhaps two, nuclear weapons. The North Korean crisis, as it has emerged over the past several months, is an extremely complex affair with implications that could drastically affect Asian security and, by extension, U.S. interests. The confrontation has weakened the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and may send signals to others that obtaining nuclear weapons has geopolitical benefits, especially when facing the United States.
[From the
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Feb 2003]
I am going to talk briefly about the evolution of U.S. nuclear strategy and policy since the election of President George W. Bush. It is my contention that changes being made under the current administration represent a negative trend for nuclear nonproliferation, and have the potential to undercut rather than bolster U.S. security. I also will attempt to provide some suggestions about more useful alternative approaches to the problem of proliferation.
[From CDI.ORG, 28 Feb 2003]
North Korea, warning of a "Third World War," withdrew from the global treaty that bars it from making nuclear weapons but said Friday it was willing to talk to Washington to end the escalating crisis.
29 May 2002, Nuke Fears on India-Pakistan Tension
A war between India and Pakistan could easily go nuclear.
If India, fed up with terror attacks, moved against its smaller and
weaker neighbor, Pakistan might view a nuclear missile launch as its
only option in response.
India might retaliate with nuclear weapons of its own in a scenario
that could kill 8 million to 12 million people and bring radiation
fallout to millions more, including thousands of U.S. soldiers in the
region.
Even if the two nations' leaders do not want war, "There is a danger
that as tensions escalate, the leaders could find themselves in a
situation in which irresponsible elements can spark a conflict," State
Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Wednesday.
"Dangerous Rivals: India and Pakistan
For a country that's just suffered a coup, Pakistan is remarkably at ease.
But some people threaten to shatter the calm if the military stays in charge."
[(US) ABS News items related to India and Pakistan]
A potted glimpse
query to search Aussie News articles and the news
morgue for items that may be relevant to "nuclear".
(You might also try the potted search of
my public Web pages).
11 May 1998 8:14pm EST. The Australian Geological Survey Organisation in Canberra detected signals from
the announced underground nuclear explosion in Rajasthan, India.
The explosion took place at 10:14 Universal Time, 11 May 1998 (08:14pm EST)
and had an estimated body-wave magnitude of 5.0. Preliminary estimates indicate
that the yield was in the range 5-20 kilotonnes of TNT. [See also
AGSO's
Monitoring Nuclear Explosions page].
28 May 1998 8:16pm EST. The Australian Geological Survey Organisation in Canberra detected a signal from
the announced underground nuclear explosion in southwestern Pakistan.
The explosion took place at 10:16 Universal Time, 28 May 1998 (8:16pm EST on
28 May 1998) and had an estimated body-wave magnitude of 5.0. Preliminary
estimates indicate that the yield was in the range 5-20 kilotonnes of TNT.
[See also
Further Pakistan nuclear tests detected,
the
BGR Seismic Data Analysis Center for a map of the Pakistani test
site,
and
The official test announcement from the Pakistan government web site].
"India is now a nuclear weapons state. "We have the capacity for a big bomb now. Ours
will never be weapons of aggression."
PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, Thursday 14 May 1998.
This report gives a fairly comprehensive background and analysis
of the Indian nuclear weapons program 1974--1998 as well
as details of and world-wide reaction to the testing itself.
[From Envirolink.Org]
... Indian science today, which is heavily skewed toward nuclear, military, and space
research, has failed to deliver significant advances either to the scientific world at large or
to the Indian people. Despite repeated official claims that India is among the top ten
industrialized nations in the world, with the third largest stock of scientific and technological
personnel, the country's science and technology enterprise has had little effect on the daily
lives of millions of Indians.
[From the
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists V47#4 May 1991].
Background, maps and chronologies of the latest nuclear weapons tests.
[From the Centre for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS)
of the Monterey Institute of International Studies].
This independent (and not for profit) web site was set up [soon after the Nuclear tests conducted by India
on May 11, 1998] to bring together information resources for peace and anti-nuclear activists from all
over South Asia. The site also contains links to websites of the local and International Anti Nuclear and
Peace campaigns.
[From "South Asia Citizens Web", located under
http://www.mnet.fr/].
India's nuclear weapon test explosions have rocked Washington as few other events have in recent
years. Among senior officials, there is a palpable sense of outrage at having been deceived by the new
BJP-led government. "We were told privately and publicly that India would continue to show restraint in
the non-proliferation field, and would do nothing to surprise us," Assistant Secretary for South Asian
Affairs Rick Inderfurth told a Senate committee on May 13.
[From the NRDC]
India's underground nuclear tests on May 11 and 13 caught the world by
surprise. Although intelligence agencies had monitored the Pokhran test
site for years, they missed the preparations for these tests, resulting in a
widely criticized intelligence failure.
[From the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, V54#4 Jul/Aug 1998]
Expresses grave concern at the resumption and the continuation of nuclear testing and calls upon those
States which have active nuclear testing programmes in place to desist from testing until a
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty enters into force;
Calls upon all States, particularly those with nuclear weapons programmes, to take further effective
steps toward fulfilling their obligations as regards nuclear disarmament and the non-proliferation of
nuclear weapons;
Over half a century ago, the United States embarked on one of the greatest
engineering projects of all time. This venture (under the direction of the
U.S. Army's "Manhattan Engineer District" [MED] ) had as its goal the
development of the world's first atomic bomb.
Hidden and largely ignored, the remnants of a war-time uranium refinery
remain here, its radioactive secret still dangerous thousands of years
into the future. F.A.C.T.S. is commited to ensuring that we not pass this
along as our lethal legacy to countless future generations.
PeaceNet is a world-wide computer network serving organisations and individuals working for positive change in the areas of
peace, social and economic justice, human rights and the struggle against racism. PeaceNet is also a repository for current
information ranging from disarmament, economic justice, immigrant rights, the prison system, indigenous peoples and many
others. Through our international partners in the Association for Progressive Communications PeaceNet also features news,
actions and events throughout the world, including the Middle East, the Baltics, the former Soviet Union, and Central America.
If you think the information here is valuable - you will want to join PeaceNet.
Founded in 1961, Amnesty International is the
grandfather of human rights organisations
around the world. Its history is to a large extent the
history of the movement, although it is
only one of many such groups today.
Amnesty International On-line.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent
Societies (IFRC) home page, Geneva, Switzerland.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red
Crescent Societies is one part of the
International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement,
which comprises National Red Cross or Red Crescent
Societies, the International Federation of Red Cross
and Red Crescent Societies (the Federation), and the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Information about the movement,
its operations,
disaster information,
weekly news,
etc.
This page contains information links to some United Nations and other related international organisations, arranged in
alphabetical order. Please note that this page is NOT an official entry point for access to United Nations information servers; it is
simply an unofficial list provided for the convenience of UNDCP staff, member states and other interested parties. Please send e-mail
if you wish to offer any suggestions or corrections, but do not send requests for information on the UN or its activities.
The Foundation is an International Education and Advocacy Group
on Issues of International Peace and Security.
[See also
the News page
and the latest edition of
Sunflower,
a free monthly electronic newsletter].
The organisation was founded in 1945 to educate the public about
the nuclear age. The web site includes articles from past and current
issues, plus useful links.
On Thursday, June 11 [1998], the Board of Directors of the Educational
Foundation for Nuclear Science, the parent organization of the
Bulletin, announced that it had reset the Doomsday Clock to
nine minutes to midnight.
The Federation of American Scientists is engaged in analysis and advocacy on
science, technology and public policy for global security. A privately-funded
non-profit policy organization whose Board of Sponsors includes over 55 American
Nobel Laureates, FAS was founded as the Federation of Atomic Scientists in 1945 by
members of the Manhattan Project who produced the first atomic bomb.
This catalog has a nearly complete list of known tests. There are still
many times, magnitudes, latitudes, and longitudes to be filled in. Please
send any additions, deletions, corrections, suggestions to:
jim@leonard.okgeosurvey1.gov.
Please cite an unclassified document with your suggestions.
Side-by-side chart of which of the Big Five let off how many when.
[From the NRDC. See also the bar chart
Global Nuclear Weapons Tests 1945--1996 at the Brookings Institution].
Just the entries from the above catalog pertaining to
French testing in the South Pacific.
Please send any additions, deletions, corrections, suggestions to:
jim@leonard.okgeosurvey1.gov.
Please cite an unclassified document with your suggestions.
Just the entries from the above catalog pertaining to
Chinese testing at Lop Nor in NW China.
Please send any additions, deletions, corrections, suggestions to:
jim@leonard.okgeosurvey1.gov.
Please cite an unclassified document with your suggestions.
At 1995/300 22:00, France conducted a nuclear test at Mururoa with an announced yield of 60 kilotons. The
nuclear device was buried to a depth sufficient that no shock wave entered the water. Therefore, the hydro-acoustic
signature of this event was unlike that expected for covert explosions in the ocean. Nevertheless, significant
seismic energy coupled into the ocean, and some of the energy propagated as a trapped acoustic wave in the
SOFAR channel. Thus, the event was well recorded by the hydrophone at Point Sur.
Script of Quantum (ABC) episode about testing at Mururoa.
Various experts say there is little danger from radioactive waste.
The consensus is the greatest danger posted by the renewal
of French testing in the Pacific is to the international test-ban treaties.
A collection of opinions from various net.people about the safety
and/or advisability and/or controversy surrounding the resumption
of weapons testing in the South Pacific. [Warning: there don't seem
to be too many "authorities" there; the opinions are basically
a representations of the feelings of a cross-section of
predominantly Japanese science-oriented lay-people; have your Kanji viewer
handy ;-)].
This page lists various media releases and statements regarding the
1995 French nuclear testing in the South Pacific.
The Australian Centre for International &
Tropical Health & Nutrition (ACITHN) is particularly interested in
obtaining information and references relating to the medical and
environmental effects of nuclear testing.
We protest against China's Nuclear Tests.
We strongly disapprove of the French Government's decision to
restart nuclear tests.
Petition and links to other WWW resources.
This program was started around two weeks ago, in response to the
arrogance of the French President Jacques Chirac statement that 'no
matter how much we protested here in Australia, New Zealand and other
Pacific countries, the tests would go ahead'. STOP THE BOMB organiser
Lindsay Chinnery was further infuriated at the statement by Sen Garth
Evans, 'that it could have been worse' and the blase attitude of the
Australia government towards French testing.
This petition is addressed to the French Government and will to emphasise the magnitude of feelings
against their intention to continue the testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific. Although it is focussed on
the testing in the Pacific, we believe that the petition can have an effect on nuclear weapon testing and
stockpiling in general.
We have started this activity because we wanted to gather all of those
thoughts and make it into a big movement. Since we thought we should
prevent this movement from splitting into pieces from less salient
differences, the main sentence of the petition is simply: Stop Nuclear
Tests!
CyberPages Poll. The J.Chirac government has decided to resume
Nuclear Testing in the South Seas. Will this decision legitimise
Nuclear testing once again ? Will other countries who "perhaps" have
the technology now feel justified in also testing their weapons? Do
you support the French decision to resume testing , especially as it is
being done many miles from home?
To have handed the Greenpeace organisation such a huge victory
yesterday, the French Government must have a breathtaking disregard
for international public opinion. For make no mistake, the French
played into Greenpeace's hands: the Rainbow Warrior II steamed into
the exclusion zone around Mururoa Atoll hoping the French would create
an international incident, defying them to do so. The French obliged -
in spades.
The present message from French researchers and technicians in animal
reproduction is addressed to our colleagues and the peoples of the
Pacific countries to assure them that we are strongly against the
decision of our President to resume nuclear testing in Mururoa. We
consider these tests are dangerous firstly, from an ecological point
of view, secondly because they will favour the arms race and thirdly
because this decision exhibits an inadmissible contempt for the people
of the Pacific area.
A statement, in French and English from the South Pacific member
states of the United Nations. A proposed bill to the senate from
Senator John Coulter:"Prohibition of exportation of Uranium to
France"(Customs Act Amendment) Act 1995. A letter send to President
Chirac by the independent Nation of Hawaii. Other things in French
and English.
Introduction.
First Part: Effects of ionising radiation on human beings.
Second Part: the situation in French Polynesia.
Conclusions and recommendations.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has noted the announcement in Vienna on 1 March [1996] of the
agreement between France and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to conduct a study of the
radiological situation at the French nuclear testing sites at Mururoa and Fangataufa Atolls.
This site is dedicated to providing information about
the health costs of man-made low-level ionising radiation.
Includes The Committee For Nuclear Responsibility;
Nuclear Technology: The Inappropriate Exercise of Human Intelligence;
Nuclear Radiation and its Biological Effects,
an essential lay-person's primer;
Poison Fire, Sacred Earth, World Uranium Hearing, 1992;
Chernobyl: Understanding Some of the True Costs of Nuclear Technology;
A Series posted to the Internet in 1992--93;
Information-rich jumpdoors / addresses. [from rat haus reality press
]
On July 16, 1945, at 5:29:45am, the first atomic explosion was
detonated at Trinity Site in New Mexico, U.S.A. It came less than
50 years after the discovery of radioactivity in 1896 and brought
many threads of physics, technology and politics to a dramatic
culmination. The man-made thunder that echoed off the Oscuro
Mountains continues to reverbrate through the modern world. It was
the beginning of mankind's continuing struggle with the nuclear genie.
[From Envirolink.Org]
From 1945 to 1963 the U.S.A. conducted an extensive campaign of atmospheric nuclear tests, grouped
into roughly 20 test "series." After 1963 when the Limited Test Ban Treaty was signed testing for the
U.S., Soviet Union, and Great Britain moved underground. France continued atmospheric testing until
1974 and China did so until 1980. This page focuses mainly on U.S. testing because those documents are
most readily available.
[From Envirolink.Org]
The answers to questions about radiation exposure
and adverse effects are highly contested.
Scientists of a generation ago believed that they
understood the nature of toxic hazards well enough to
establish what were then considered safe standards
for exposure.
When coined in 1939, the term "permissible level"
was explicitly not meant to imply safety; rather it was
selected to replace the term "tolerance level," which
conveyed a certainty that available scientific evidence
could not support.
Radiation protection standards have been lowered
seven times since they were first established, most
recently in 1990.
[STAR -- Standing for Truth About Radiation --
was organised by Long Islanders concerned about
the toxic effects of radiation, particularly in
connection with the Millstone power station and
the BNL. It aims to impartially evaluate the impact of
nuclear sites on their communities and present
reliable information about nuclear matters].
The Natural Resources Defense Council's
Nuclear Program was launched in 1971.
From the outset NRDC has sought to change the way
our society thinks about nuclear energy, nuclear weapons,
and nuclear war. We have done this in various
ways, through public education, advocacy and litigation.
The NRDC Nuclear Program is based in Washington, DC.
A total of 434 nuclear power plants were operating around the world
in 1998, based on data reported to the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) Power Reactor Information System (PRIS).
Overall
nuclear power plants provided approximately 16 percent of the world'
s electricity production in 1998.
[From the IAEA]
Maps and factoids and EIS criticism about plans for uranium mining
"completely surrounded by" (some folks split hairs about it being "inside") a
World Heritage area.
The Friends of Kakadu (FOK) is a non-profit community group providing a
source of information, news and commentary in support of the campaign to
block the construction a proposed new uranium mine in Kakadu National
Park -- a World Heritage listed park in Australia.
"This report is about ensuring that if and when uranium is mined in Australia, it should be on the basis
of promoting vigorous research-based management of the industry aimed at:
minimising the impact of mining on the environment;
ensuring the health and safety of employees in the industry and of communities located close to
mines, adjacent to transport routes or otherwise affected by mining and milling of uranium;
fostering a constructive relationship between mining companies and Aboriginal communities
affected by uranium mining; and
maintaining and enhancing international and Australian safeguards to ensure that uranium
mined in Australia, and nuclear products derived from it, is used only for civil purposes by
approved instrumentalities in approved countries which are signatories to the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty and with whom Australia has safeguards agreements."
The CSIRO Division of Exploration and Mining is the largest supplier of strategic
R&D to the Australian exploration and mining industry. With over 250 staff
focussing on research aimed at increasing the competitive advantage of the
industry, the Division has established an enviable track record in the delivery of
innovative science and engineering to the coal and other mineral mining
companies.
The Group was established in July 1995 as a research group within the Minerals Mining Program with dEM.
The Excavation Engineering and the Environmental Enginnering Groups were merged in May 1997. The
Group undertakes strategic and applied research in the areas of mine environment and excavation
engineering.
[See also
Minesite Rehabilitation Research Program].
Ranger is the NT's only operating uranium mine [as of 1997].
Completely surrounded by Kakadu National Park, it's been
operating since the mid 1970s. Despite official bans on
uranium mining and exports, records show almost 6000 tonnes
of yellowcake left Australia between 1977 and 1982.
[See
The Gulliver Ranger Dossier for background and
more recent history]
Lots of info about uranium mining in Australia,
prospects for sales to Asia, the nuclear fuel cycle,
"radiation and life", the "peaceful atom", and briefing
papers on everything from "Canada -- Australia's Major Competitor"
through "Advanced reactors", to "Plutonium" and
"Renewable Energy and Electricity".
[The Centre's mandate is to "provide information"].
U.S. Nuclear Mythology from Electricity "Too Cheap to Meter"
to "Inherently Safe" Reactors.
Before accepting arguments that nuclear power can alleviate the build up of greenhouse gases or that joining
military to civilian nuclear ventures is desirable, we need to learn what history might have to offer by the way of
lessons. In particular, the idea of new reactors that would join military and civilian goals parallels the
development of the first generation of power reactors in the United States. This study critically examines the
history of wildly optimistic public statements that were made about nuclear power in the years and decades
immediately following World War II and serves as a partial guide to dealing with critical civilian and military
nuclear issues today. So far as we are aware, the technical foundation of those extravagant promises has never
been carefully scrutinized until now.
Government subsidies and caps on liability are nothing new for
the nuclear industry. It
has been coddled since its founding almost 40 years ago and
would almost certainly have
shut down were it not the beneficiary of federal largesse.
Over the last four decades, the nuclear industry has been an enormous
drain on the U.S. public treasury. Fiscal Fission:
The Economic Failure of Nuclear Power, a Greenpeace
study released last December, estimates that federal outlays from 1950
to 1990 for nuclear power totaled $97 billion in 1990 dollars.
[In the Jan 1993
Multinational Monitor
from Essential Information, Inc.
The Monitor was founded by Ralph Nader.
See also findings from a Brookings study, below].
NIRS is the information and networking center for citizens
and environmental organisations concerned about nuclear power,
radioactive waste, radiation, and sustainable energy issues.
We're located at 1424 16th Street NW, #404, Washington, DC 20036;
202-328-0002; fax: 202-462-2183;
e-mail nirsnet@igc.apc.org.
A comparison of the estimated amount of radiation associated with
uranium and thorium released through coal-fired power stations vs the
NCRP estimated exposure for nuclear plant operation. Although spoiled
by the apples and oranges comparison -- sometimes touted as showing "a
typical coal-fired station releases 100 times more radiation than a
nuclear power station" -- there are some useful data included.
(A more accurate comparison would be based on the total amounts of
each material -- possibly then disregarding questions related to the
isotopes involved -- released from the relevant plants. I.e. the
quoted coal figures in this document, together with the estimated
amounts of high-, medium- and low-level waste produced by global
nuclear power production annually).
During coal combustion most of the uranium, thorium, and their
decay products are released from the original coal matrix and are
distributed between the gas phase and solid combustion products.
The partitioning between gas and solid is controlled by the volatility and
chemistry of the individual elements. Virtually 100 percent of the radon gas
present in feed coal is transferred to the gas phase and is lost in stack
emissions. In con-trast, less volatile elements such as thorium, uranium,
and the majority of their decay products are almost entirely retained in
the solid combustion wastes. Modern power plants can recover greater
than 99.5 percent of the solid combustion wastes. The average ash yield of
coal burned in the United States is approximately 10 weight percent.
Therefore, the concentration of most radioactive elements in solid combustion
wastes will be approximately 10 times the concentration in the original coal.
This collection of profiles has been pieced together from journal articles and books on a variety of topics related to
radioactive waste handling and disposal. No new research was performed by the author in creating this document
hence errors in the original articles would likely be repeated herein. The attempted format is listed below, however
time constraints, ordering of information and lack of information did not usually permit the profiles to take that
form. Some of the information is contradictory. This does not always mean that a reporting error has been made
as some of the policies are in fact inconsistent. [Department of Nuclear Engineering, University of California, Berkeley].
CARD is a state-wide non-profit organization devoted
to safeguarding the people and land of New Mexico
from nuclear contamination and moving New Mexico
towards a sustainable, non-nuclear economy.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
(WIPP) project is a huge experiment
in the deep geological burial of
nuclear waste. Originally conceived as
a repository for both transuranic waste
and "spent" fuel rods from reactors, it
was supposed to demonstrate that th
ere really was a safe way to dispose of
these materials. In the late 70s when
WIPP was authorized, waste generated
by nuclear power plants was their
Achilles' Heel. A future for nuclear
power could not be imagined unless
something could be done with the
waste.
[From the folks at
CARD]
Nuclear Guardianship is a citizen commitment to present and future
generations to keep radioactive materials out of the biosphere.
Recognizing the extreme damage these materials inflict on all life-forms
and their genetic codes.
[See particularly
Welcome to RTK NET, a network providing free online access to over 100 gigabytes of quantitative databases and
numerous text files and conferences on the environment, housing, and sustainable development.
[Check out the Search
button].
The total land area
used by US nuclear bases and facilities is 15,654 square miles --
around 300 mi^2 more than Massachusetts, NJ and Washington, DC, combined.
The volume of radioactive waste from US weapon development is so far
around 104 mn m^3.
The cost of the loss of 2 aircraft, an extended search,
the recovery and waste disposal following the nuclear weapons accident
over Palomares, Spain, in Jan 1966 was $182 mn.
The number of US weapons lost and not recovered is oficially 11.
The compensation paid by the US to the Marshall Islanders
since 1956 in respect of damage caused by nuclear testing was
$750 mn.
Amount spent beteen Oct 1992 and Oct 1995 on activities
related to nuclear weapons testing was $1.2 bn. No tests were
actually conducted.
The legal fees paid by the DOE to fight claims
from workers and citizens regarding weapons production
and testing from Oct 1990 through Mar 1995 was $97 mn.
The number of "pits" stored at the Pantex Plant, Amarillo TX,
as of Sep 30, 1996 is 9,204.
The 1998 US spending on weapons and weapons-related programs was
around $35.1 bn.
[From the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Cost Study Project at
the Brookings Institution].
The materials comprising this page were put on-line during
1992 and sent out to Internet news groups from
November through March, 1993. Materials include:
Poison Fire, Sacred Earth
Testimonies, Lectures, Conclusions
from the World Uranium Hearing,
Salzburg, 1992.
From Dr. Rosalie Bertell:
Quietly Eating Radioactivity (1986);
16 Million Radiation Deaths and Counting (1989);
Oral Testimony, World Women's Congress for
a Healthy Planet (1991);
The Health of the Oceans (1984);
Nucleogenic Illness: Replenishing the Earth
[the work of IICPH] (1986);
Radioactivity: No Immediate Danger? (1991);
No Immediate Danger? Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth
(1991).
Chapters from Nuclear Witnesses, by Leslie Freeman, 1981.
Chapters from Deadly Deciet, Low-Level Radiation,
High-Level Coverup by Dr. Jay Gould and Benjamin
A. Goldman, with Kate Millpointer (1991).
Ernest Sternglass: Secret Fallout, Low-Level
Radiation from Hiroshima to Three Mile Island (1982);
Phone Interview transcript (1992).
Nuclear Guardianship Project's Spring '92 Forum
newspaper.
Assorted [other] Posts, Articles, Transcripts and Book Excerpts.
This electronic document contains government issue
press releases, comments from soldiers and citizens and
images of the scientific and military activities during the
Plumbbob Series of atomic weapons tests at the Nevada
Test Site in 1957. [From the Historical Gazette]
As part of the Secretary of Energy's Openness Initiative, the Department of Energy [note 1] (DOE) is committed
to informing the public about United States Government plutonium production, acquisition, and utilisation from
the beginning of these activities. The focus of this report is on the historical plutonium acquisitions and removals
that have resulted in the September 30, 1994 plutonium inventory.
The time has come for Canada to formulate a coherent
policy on the subject of nuclear weapons and to vote at
the United Nations, in the company of the majority of the
world's nations, for comprehensive negotiations to
eliminate nuclear weapons.
India's five nuclear explosions, and Pakistan's six
explosions, have shown that the status quo, in which the
five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council
keep their nuclear weapons indefinitely while all others
are prohibited from acquiring them, is unsustainable.
Canada must no longer be a nuclear fence-sitter: on the
one hand ardently supporting the Non-Proliferation
Treaty and international law, while on the other hand
supporting, and hiding behind, the nuclear arsenals of the
United States and NATO. The actions of India and
Pakistan have demonstrated the futility of this approach.
[From the Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, 15 Jun 1998]
After Operation DESERT STORM, it comes as no surprise that depleted uranium,
or "DU," forms a vital new part of our modern arsenal.
Currently increasing both the protection of armor and the effectiveness
of sabot penetrators, DU rounds are also used in the A10's 30-mm gun and
under development for the Bradley's 25-mm cannon.
However, users of depleted uranium need to understand the possible hazards of
our latest technological wonder to help improve their effectiveness on
the battlefield.
The two main concerns about depleted uranium are heavy metal toxicity and
slight radioactivity. Like lead and other heavy metals, DU is a poison inside
the body (primarily to the kidneys). DU does not present an immediate external
hazard, but is an internal hazard if a soldier has open cuts or sores on the
skin where the DU could enter the body. The internal hazard from radiation
depends on how much DU is inhaled, swallowed, or gets under the skin. The
alpha particles emitted by DU are most hazardous inside the body where the
short range but high ionization of the particles damage internal tissues.
[Interestingly, DU is said to be deposited largely within 50 m of
any site where it may have been burned -- c.f. the uranium
contamination of "average" coal-fired power stations alleged in other
documents here-abouts].
Depleted Uranium projectiles, possibly a German technology, were used for the
first time by the allied troops during the Gulf War in 1991, with devastating
effects and consequences.
As early as the end of 1991 I diagnosed a hitherto unknown disease among the
Iraqi population which is caused by renal and hepatic dysfunctions.
During the last five years I have been able to carry out extensive studies in Iraq.
The results of my studies show similarities to a clinical picture described recently
by the term "Gulf War Syndrome" in allied soldiers and their children. The
congenital deformities caused by genetic defects in American and Iraqi children
are identical.
To assess the potential mutagenic effects of long-term exposure to
internalized depleted uranium, Sprague-Dawley rats were implanted with
depleted uranium and their urine and serum were evaluated for mutagenic
potential at various times after pellet implantation using the Ames Salmonella
reversion assay. Tantalum, an inert metal widely used in prosthetic devices
was used for comparison. Enhancement of mutagenic activity in Salmonella
typhimurium strain TA98 and The Ames II[trade] mixed strains (TA7001-7006)
was observed in urine samples from animals implanted with depleted uranium
pellets. In contrast, urine samples from animals implanted with tantalum did
not show a significant enhancement of mutagenic activity in these strains.
In 1986, shortly after the Tchernobyl accident, The Environmental
Foundation Bellona, known as the Bellona Foundation, was founded by
environmentalists Frederic Hauge, Rune Haaland and friends. The
founders acknowledged the need for a new environmental organisation in
Norway.
The site includes a slew of Envirofacts, Press Releases, Picture
Gallery, and other info relevant to nuclear technology and its
consequences across Europe. An especially nice innovation is the
"focus button", allowing the browser to see documents related to "just
the facts", "Russia", or various other special interests.
[See also the
Incidents reports for some detailed news on
events related to (mainly) the Russian nuclear industry]
In 1996 the Russian Navy celebrates its 300th anniversary. Nuclear submarines have been in service with the
Northern Fleet for nearly 40 years. This report describes the problems that the Russian Northern Fleet is
experiencing with its nuclear powered vessels and with the storage of spent nuclear fuel and other radioactive
waste that the operation of these vessels generates. The Kola peninsula and Severodvinsk have the highest
concentration of nuclear reactors, active and derelict, in the world. The cold war arms race went too fast for
authorities to plan what to do with decommissioned submarines and the nuclear waste. The present generation
must now handle the clean-up efforts. This report describes the challenges that we face.
[From the
Bellona Foundation]
A local list of resources regarding the world's worst civilian
nuclear accident. (If you have any additions, please send me email at
Kym@KymHorsell.COM).
"...The [Chernobyl] catastrophe caused thousands of deaths....It continues to reach into the future
to claim new victims and indeed the spectre of another Chernobyl continues to hang over the
region..."
U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher after a tour of a children's hospital caring for victims of the
disaster, March 19, 1996. [From Greenpeace International]
IAEA-135 is a well-documented Irish Sea sediment distributed for an inter-comparison study in 1992 by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The material was collected by the Institute of Environmental and Biological
Sciences of Lancaster University (Lancaster, U.K.) in July, 1991 in the Lune estuary, at Condor Green, U.K., just
south of the Sellafield re-processing facility and the Windscale nuclear power facilities (Fig. 5). The Irish Sea has
been described as one the most radioactive bodies of water in the world. As described in Chapter 1, the vast
majority of the radioactive contamination in the region is the direct result of the intentional releases from the
Sellafield re-processing facility (formerly known as Windscale) since 1952 (Kershaw et al., 1990; Luttrell, 1993;
Batlle, 1993;). [From
Michael Schultz ].
Contrary to what most Americans believe, nuclear power and nuclear devices have not enjoyed a safe history at
United States facilities. At least 50 nuclear weapons lie on the ocean bottom due to U.S. and Soviet accidents. A
large number of incidents mar the safety record of nuclear plants, facilities, bombers and ships, of which Three
Mile Island is only the best remembered. Numerous deaths and injuries resulted from these incidents. This site
lists some of the known events involving nuclear devices and facilities.
The nuclear weapons industry, like any other large industrial enterprise, is subject to the normal range of accidents
from vehicle wrecks to falls from a height. These accidents are by far the most common that happen. There is one
class of accident that is unique to the nuclear industry: criticality accidents, where an amount of fissile material
accidentally comes together into a supercritical amount. There is a sudden release of energy and deadly radiation.
This calendar gives some examples of the everyday nuclear
incidents that have occurred all over the world. It
demonstrates how technological failures coupled with
human error risk public health and the environment on an
almost daily basis. [from Greenpeace.org]
The Bureau of Atomic Tourism is dedicated to the promotion of tourist
locations around the world that have either been the site of atomic
explosions, display exhibits on the development of atomic devices, or
contain vehicles that were designed to deliver atomic weapons.
From the Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory, Athens, Greece.
Gives some good reasons for living in the southern hemisphere
.
General information.
Radioactive releases.
Environmental pollution.
Doses to the population.
For those that want to go the whole hog and oppose
nuclear power as well, this is a collection of the facts
and figures on past and present (rather than
planned) disposal policies in the US and
elsewhere for spent fuel, and "low level waste".
Since 1945, the United States has manufactured and deployed more
than 70,000 nuclear
weapons to deter and if necessary fight a nuclear war.
Some observers believe the absence of
a third world war confirms that these weapons were a
prudent and cost-effective response to
the uncertainty and fear surrounding the Soviet Union's military and
political ambitions during the cold
war. As early as 1950, nuclear weapons were considered relatively cheap
providing "a bigger bang for a buck" and were thoroughly integrated into
U.S. forces on that basis. Yet this assumption was never
validated. Indeed, for more than fifty years scant attention has
been paid to the enormous costs of more than $4 trillion thus far,
and its short and long-term consequences for the nation.
[From
The Brookings Institution].
Uses of nuclear technology |
What is radioactive waste? |
How much waste is being produced? |
Responsible management of wastes |
IAEA's role in radioactive waste management. [An IAEA Factsheet]
The [IAEA]'s 1995 programme on radioactive waste management focused on three major areas: strengthening
waste management infrastructures in developing Member States; establishing international principles and
standards for the safe management of wastes; and preparing for the convention on waste safety. The increased
importance placed by Member States on the decommissioning/dismantling of nuclear installations and the
restoration of radioactively contaminated sites was reflected in the introduction of new initiatives in these areas.
"Low-Level" Radioactive Waste
is one of the most misleading terms ever created. In the U.S., it is all nuclear waste that is not legally high-level
waste, some transuranic waste, or mill tailings. [Fact sheet from NIRS]
The purpose of this archive is to dispel some of the misconceptions
and misunderstandings about the physics and effects of high energy
explosive devices, and hopefully encourage public discussion about
these matters... Originally from Melbourne University
at <http://www.ph.unimelb.edu.au/~gau/smurf.html>.
Now moved to Finland for "administrative reasons". [
Envirolink mirror]
Click on a site name to view a list of the photographs for that site. Each list contains a small image and a caption.
Clicking on the image in that list displays the full size image. [From the US DOE].
Delegates from 62 States have adopted the Joint Convention on the Safety of
Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management.
One of the main objectives of this Convention is to ensure that during all stages of
spent fuel and radioactive waste management there are effective defenses against
potential hazards so that individuals, society and the environment are protected
from harmful effects of ionizing radiation, now and in the future, in such a way that
the needs and aspirations of the present generation are met without compromising
the ability of future generations to meet their needs and aspirations. The
Convention also aims at promoting an effective nuclear safety culture worldwide.
[From the IAEA].
THE STATES PARTIES TO THIS PROTOCOL,
CONSIDERING that it is desirable to amend the Vienna Convention on Civil Liability for Nuclear
Damage of 21 May 1963, to provide for broader scope, increased amount of liability of the operator of a
nuclear installation and enhanced means for securing adequate and equitable compensation,
HAVE AGREED as follows, ...
More than three and a half decades have now passed since the first atomic test at Alamogordo, New
Mexico--July 16, 1945--and the subsequent detonations at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Since then our own
military has exploded more than 700 nuclear bombs on our own continental soil and in the Pacific. Many of the
health effects are just now being felt.
The
Office of Technological Assessment, closed in 1996 in
what some cite as a "short sighted (US) budget-cutting measure",
issued a number of reports on present and past dangers of high-tech,
including (past) nuclear weapons testing and (present) nuclear technology.
The OTA is closed, but the files live on [as as 30 Jan 1997]
at Princeton.EDU,
The National Academy of Sciences
,
and the Government
Printing Office.
These pages are intended to aid the armchair / Internet activists in locating information on major current campaigns that
everyone can help out with. These campaigns will include major human rights, animal rights and environmental campaigns
(guess my interests ;-).
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is the "Atoms for Peace" organisation of the UN system,
carrying out activities related to the development and verification of nuclear energy's peaceful uses.
The IAEA Bulletin is the flagship journal of the
International Atomic Energy Agency.
Published since 1959 and now issued in
English, French, Spanish, Russian and
Chinese editions, the Bulletin features
articles dealing with the various applications of
nuclear energy, as well as IAEA programmes
and projects.
Pepared by the Division of Public Information,
IAEA Newsbriefs has served as the Agency's newsletter since
1986. It regularly reports on IAEA programmes,
Board meetings, scientific and technical meetings, and other
topical events and development.
The IAEA Division of Public Information publishes a fact sheet series on aspects of the Agency's work
and programmes. These typically are 4-page overviews of topics ranging from basic facts about the
IAEA to applications of nuclear energy in everyday life. The fact sheets are published in English,
French, Russian and Spanish. English versions, and selected versions in other languages, are offered
here in hypertext format.
A service of the IAEA Division of Public Information, the Daily Press Review tracks nuclear-related items
appearing in a range of the world's newspapers, magazines, journals, and wire services. Subjects typically covered
include safeguards and non-proliferation, nuclear power and safety, radiation protection, nuclear fuel cycle and
waste management, nuclear applications, energy and the environment, and technical cooperation, among others. [as of c1997, this service seems to be suspended]
The OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) was established on 1st February 1958 under the name of the OEEC
European Nuclear Energy Agency. It received its present designation on 20th April 1972, when Japan became its
first non-European full Member. NEA membership today consists of all the European Member countries of
OECD as well as Australia, Canada, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico and the United States.
Publications. Nuclear Safety. Radioactive Waste Management.
Radiation Protection. Nuclear Law. Nuclear Development.
Nuclear Science. Data Bank. General Information. The NEA Library.
The Uranium Institute is the only independent, non-governmental,
global organisation to offer a forum for
research and debate on economic, technical and political issues
affecting the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Welcome to the home page of the experimental World Wide Web InfoServer of WHO, amongst the major
international organisations in Geneva, Switzerland (near Haute-Savoie).
Programs. Regional and other offices. Word Health Report. Press Releases.
Newsletters. International Conferences.
This page is a summary news service for peace-related issues world-wide.
Mennonites are part of the historic peace church tradition.
From the beginning of the Anabaptist/Mennonite movement in the
16th century, followers were committed to
the principle of non-resistance. After reading the
Bible and examining the record of the early church,
the first Mennonites came to believe that they could
not participate in war.
Summary related to
a RAND report,
Nuclear Deterrence in a Regional Context.
Nuclear confrontations between the United States and nuclear- armed regional adversaries will be games of brinkmanship, i.e.,
a competition in risk-taking where threats to cross the nuclear brink are made for strategic objectives. The outcomes of such
interactions will be determined by the risk-taking propensities of each side and by the credibility of the opponent's threat to
cross the nuclear threshold first, the likely consequences of the threatened attack, and the credibility and severity of U.S.
retaliatory threats. Credibility, in turn, depends on perceptions of each side's resolve and capability.
The Gorbachev Foundation/USA is a non-profit, non-partisan educational foundation created in
1992, to articulate and address the challenges of the post Cold War world through the revisioning of global priorities. We strive
to both clarify the fundamental crises facing the human community, and creatively address those crises through the convening of
the world's most innovative thinkers in the consensus building processes.
If we keep going in the direction we are headed--without a committed, global effort to delegitemize and to ban, under
international inspection, the possession of fissile materials and nuclear weapons (as chemical and biological weapons of mass
destruction are now banned)--we are likely to experience within coming decades not only threats but actual explosions of
Hiroshima size bombs in regional wars or terrorist acts.
A Swedish Royal Commission chaired by Ambassador Alva Myrdal proposed
in its 1966 report to establish an institute, later named the
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI. The
Institute's research should seek to contribute to 'the understanding
of the preconditions for a stable peace and for peaceful solutions of
international conflicts' and the Commission recommended that research
be concentrated on armaments, their limitation and reduction, and arms
control.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them remain major national security issues despite
the end of the Cold War. In the fall of 1993 the Nonproliferation and International Security (NIS) Program Office and Division
were established at Los Alamos National Laboratory to respond to the proliferation threat. Our mission - to develop and apply
preeminent science and technology to deter, detect, and respond to proliferation and to ensure U.S. and global
security-challenges our very best scientists and engineers to seek innovative solutions to highly complex technical problems.
This report identifies the means of production and outlines the technological 'know how' required for a country to embark upon
a nuclear weapons programme, but it is not claimed that any country that has developed or is developing such civil nuclear
facilities has the intent to procure nuclear weapons by these means. The views and findings expressed in this study are those
of the author and not necessarily shared by Greenpeace.
Fifty years ago this summer, on August 6 and 9, 1945, the
cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by the first atomic
bombs used in warfare.
There has been
some controversy over whether there was a consensus to use The Bomb
against Japan.
There has been some controversy over
whether there was a need to use them at all to end WWII.
The documents show who was for and who against the idea of
using atomic weapons in 1945.
Documents on the decision to use the atomic bomb
are reproduced here in full-text form. In most cases, the originals are in
the U. S. National Archives.
Each of these links is related in some way to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki or the history of
nuclear weapons. There is something for every taste; choose what interests you. This page was new July
8, 1995, and it was last updated May 11, 1998. [From Gene Dannen's
"Leo Szilard" pages]
Welcome to the Leo Szilard Home Page, where physicist and "conscience of science" Leo Szilard
(1898--1964) lives again in information-space.
This page was new March 30, 1995, and it was last updated July 17. It is still under construction.
This site is one man's attempt to show how technological development can be used for both the
betterment and the destruction of mankind. Nowhere is this more apparent than with nuclear energy .
This page will concentrate on the horror that is nuclear weapons and how that horror is distinct from
the peaceful uses of nuclear energy such as nuclear power and medicine.
[See Todd's
Weapons
page.
Todd A. Postma is a grad of Berkeley's Nuclear Engineering
program. As of 1998 he's finishing a PhD as a fellow
in the DOE's CS Graduate Fellowship Program].
Report of the Committee on Political and Social Problems, Manhattan Project, Metallurgical Laboratory, University of
Chicago, June 11, 1945 (The Franck Report).
The Arms Production Project of the
SIPRI
monitors and analyses developments in arms production in the OECD
(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and the
developing countries. The arms-producing facilities of the Central and
East European countries are covered in the SIPRI Project on Arms
Transfers. A data base on the arms industry was created in 1989 as an
empirical basis for the project. It contains financial and employment
data for the major arms-producing companies in the OECD and developing
countries for the years since 1989.
At 2:45 A.M. local time, the Enola Gay, a B-29 bomber loaded with an
atomic bomb, took off from the US air base on Tinian Island in the
western Pacific. Six and a half hours later, at 8:15 A.M. Japan time,
the bomb was dropped and it exploded a minute later at an estimated
altitude of 580 +- 20 meters over central Hiroshima.
Greenpeace was conceived in 1971 in Vancouver, Canada, with the purpose of creating a green and
peaceful world. Greenpeace today still adheres to the same principles:
to 'bear witness' by drawing attention to an abuse of the environment
through their unwavering presence at the scene, whatever the risk, to
non-violence and to independence. Greenpeace International is the
international coordinating body for the 43 national offices in 30
countries. Presently, its head office is located in Amsterdam, the
Netherlands.
For Mother Earth was founded in 1991. In 1992 we organised a 5.500 km
Walk across America in Solidarity with Native Americans and for an
immediate halt of nuclear testing. An average of 100 people walked
from New York City to the Nevada Test Site linking the violation of
Indigenous Peoples' land rights and nuclear developments worldwide. A
list of European activities related to the announcement of resumed
testing in the South Pacific, press releases...
Press releases and bulletins, background information,
a letter from Greenpeace Research Labs about the need to study the
impact of French testing on Mururoa and Fangataufa...
A list "maintained" by Greenpeace International. The list of WWW
sources is provided for general interest. It does in no way reflect
whether the information therein is endorsed by Greenpeace or not. It
is not meant to be exhaustive; some of the home pages provide much
more elaborate listings. [See the
Anti-Nuclear Web sites].