France has admitted for first time that fractures have a been found in
the coral cones at the Moruroa and Fangataufa nuclear testing sites in
French Polynesia.
Environmental groups and critics of France's nuclear testing program
had made the claim for several years, although France had always
denied it.
But the new director of France's Atomic Energy Commission, Rene
Pellat, has told a news conference in Tahiti that there are fractures
within the atolls.
The editor of Tahiti Pacifique, Alex Duprel, says Mr Pellat made the
admission after inspecting the site last week.
"So he also admitted that there were actually fractures in the coral
cone of the atoll," he said.
"People who had been there...had seen these faults in the coral cone,
which were due to settlement of the underground explosion which were
within the basalt mass.
"But it's mostly a collapsing of the chimneys and one part of the
coral cone had actually broken away."
Calls for monitoring of French nuclear test sites (21 Feb 1999)
[From ABC radio]
Sites used for French nuclear tests in the South Pacific for three
decades are contaminated and should be watched closely, an independent
French report has found.
The examination by the French Commission contradicts results published
last June by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
That 2,000 page report said the tests had had "no radiological health
effects" and little significant environmental impact on the Fangataufa
and Mururoa atolls.
But the new report by an independent French laboratory says
radioactivity is leaking into the water table, lagoons and ocean.
Over a 30-year period, France carried out 193 atmospheric and
underground tests in the area.
They were finally stopped in January 1996, after increasing protests
by New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Indonesia.
[See http://www.anu.edu.au/law/pub/icl/lawofsea/mururoa.html]
22 Feb 1999, Mururoa 'should be watched'
Sites used for French nuclear tests in the South
Pacific for three decades were contaminated and should
be watched closely, an independent French commission
said in a report released on Saturday.
The examination by the Independent Research and
Information Commission on Radioactivity (CRII-RAD)
contests results published last June by the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
[Full Story].
THE RADIOLOGICAL SITUATION AT THE ATOLLS OF MURUROA AND FANGATAUFA
[October 1998]
The Study of the Radiological Situation at the Atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa was conducted at the request
of the Government of France to determine whether, as a consequence of French nuclear tests conducted above
and beneath these atolls, radiological hazards could arise, now or in the future; and to recommend the form,
scale and duration of any monitoring, remedial action or follow-up action that might be required.
[Full Text].
Further probe expected into French nuke testing (23 Aug 1998)
[From ABC radio]
The South Pacific Forum is expected to call for further investigation
of the impact of French nuclear testing in the Pacific.
Forum member nations meeting in Micronesia say a recent international
atomic energy agency report on the issue leaves crucial questions
unanswered.
The report was discussed by forum officials as they prepare the agenda
for Monday's summit of Pacific leaders.
France commissioned the atomic energy agency study of its former
Pacific nuclear test sites which was limited to the current levels of
radio activity at Mururoa and Fungatafa Atolls.
The study said there are no risks currently posed to human health but
critics say the focus of the report was too narrow and that it ignored
evidence of disease and birth defects linked to nuclear testing.
The forum leaders summit is expected to call for more detailed
investigation of the health consequences of 30 years of nuclear
testing and for an examination of issues such as compensation.
Climate change and an Australian proposal for a ban on whaling in the
South Pacific were also discussed at yesterday's meeting.
French researcher says slight cancer increase near
Mururoa Atoll (31 Jul 1998)
[From ABC radio]
French medical researchers have found a
slight increase in the incidence of thyroid cancer in people born near
Muroroa Atoll, which they say needs ongoing study. Muroroa Atoll was
one of the sites of French nuclear tests conducted in 1995. There is
no evidence that atmospheric nuclear tests led to increased cancer
rates in French Polynesia as a whole, but a small part of the
population may have been affected. The French army has released a
study which shows no link between above ground tests and cancer rates
across the whole French Polynesian population. However Florent de
Vathaire, an epidemiologist who led the study says in a small part of
the population, born during the test period within 500 kilometres of
the nuclear test site, there has been a slight increase in thyroid
cancer. He says the numbers are not statistically significant but
should continue to be studied as the population gets older.
Radiological Study of Mururoa and Fangataufa Atolls Nears Completion
[From IAEA Newsbriefs, V13 No 1 Jan/Feb 1998]
The International Advisory Committee (IAC) on the Study of the Radiological Conditions at the Atolls of
Mururoa and Fangataufa held its third and final meeting in early February, adopting a report of the study's
findings. The comprehensive, five-volume report is being finalized for release and presentation in the
South Pacific region in the spring.
The study was launched in 1996 under the guidance and direction of the IAC, which is chaired by Ms.
Gail de Planque of the United States. The Committee includes distinguished scientists from ten countries
and ex officio representatives of the South Pacific Forum, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the
Effects of Atomic Radiation, the World Health Organization, and the European Commission.
Requested by the Government of France, the study is being coordinated by the IAEA and has involved
directly 55 scientists from 22 different countries. Altogether 17 laboratories in 12 as well as
the IAEA's Seibersdorf Laboratories in Austria and its Marine Environment Laboratory in
participated in analyses of environmental samples that were independently collected during a sampling
and surveillance campaign in July 1996.
Results of the study will be presented and discussed at the IAEA's International Conference on the
Radiological Situation at the Atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa being convened in Vienna from 30 June to
3 July 1998. The purpose of the conference is to allow the scientific bases of the study to be examined,
and to stimulate discussion of the radiation protection principles governing the evaluation of remediation
of former nuclear sites More information may be obtained from the IAEA Department of Nuclear Safety.
[See the
preliminary findings.
The main points regarding contamination are:
- several kilograms of plutonium resulting from four early
atmospheric tests remain in the lagoon sediments of each atoll;
- leakage from some underground test cavities has resulted in
tritium concentrations in both lagoons which are some ten times higher
than in the open ocean;
- particles containing plutonium remain in a small, low-lying area
in the islets of Colette, Ariel and Vesta at Mururoa Atoll where the
five atmospheric "safety trials" were conducted; and
- higher levels of caesium-137, than are found elsewhere on the
atolls were found in small patches covering several hectares in the
Kilo-Empereur region on the north-eastern rim of Fangataufa, windward
of a site where a surface level test was conducted in 1966.
The report indicates that He-3, Pu-239, Pu-240 will continue to
"migrate" into the lagoons from the underground sites, decreasing in
the short term (100 years) to pre-test levels, but tending to
increase in a few thousand years. It says the total amount of
radioactive material in the test sites
represents about 2% of the total waste produced by all nuclear weapons
tests. (The Brookings Institution estimated the rad waste produced by
American tests alone represents 100s of millions of tonnes, however).
None of the contaminants is said to be in levels that
would have any significant consequence from the point of
view of radiation safety.
The study also looked at "disruptive events" such as under-sea
rock-slide or other geological activity, and concludes Pu levels might
rise above present levels in such circumstances. It concludes that the
probability of human health effects for visitors to the former test
sites is "very low and the overall probability of ultimately incurring
serious health consequences as a result for such an individual was
estimated to be negligible, less than one in one million per year".
The most likely additional radiation dose, even in the unlikely event
people take up residence on the atolls and live from local produce is
said to be only a few percent of average natural background
radiation].
-
International Conference on the Radiological
Situation at the Atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa
Vienna, Austria, 30 June -- 3 July 1998 [2nd announcement]
-
The IAEA is convening an international Conference on the Radiological Situation at the
Atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa where the results of the Study will be presented and
discussed by the scientific community. The purpose of the Conference is to allow the
scientific bases of the Study to be examined, and to stimulate discussion of the radiation
protection principles governing the evaluation or remediation of former nuclear sites.
[See also the preliminary program ].
- Study announcement
-
The objectives of the Study of the Radiological Situation at the Atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa are to
"assess the radiological situation (both present and future) at the atolls and involved areas from the point of
view of radiological safety",
"ascertain whether there are any radiological hazards to people",
and make "recommendations on the form, scale and duration of any
monitoring, remedial action or other follow-up action that might be required".
- Mururoa in the news
-
Daily Press monitoring at the IAEA.
- Case T-219/95 R
-
Nuclear tests conducted by a Member State - Application for interim relief - Article 34 of the EAEC Treaty -
Application for suspension of the operation of a Commission decision regarding nuclear tests
- The Impact of Nuclear
Testing at Mururoa and Fangataufa
-
The Minister for the Environment, Senator John Faulkner, today
[16 Aug 1995] released a report by a high level scientific group
on the impacts of nuclear testing at Mururoa and Fangataufa atolls in French Polynesia.
-
ratical FOCUS-ON-NUKES news posting "service"
-
French nuclear testing &ct from ratical.com.
-
Study of the Radiological Situation at the Atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa
-
Home Page on the study announced by the IAEA.
[As of Nov 1997, the last entry is dated 6 Aug 1996 -- 5
months after the study was originally announced]
- IAEA Newsbriefs
Volume 11, Number 2 (71)
APRIL/MAY 1996
-
- Radiological Study of Mururoa and Fangataufa
Atolls
-
- International Radiological Survey of Mururoa and
Fangataufa Atolls gets Underway
-
- International Scientific Teams Complete
Sample-Taking at Mururoa and Fangataufa Atolls
-
-
Volcanologist says France's N-test site is unstable
-
Search my news archives for Mururoa articles
-
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(You might also try the potted search of
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Kym@KymHorsell.COM
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