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How 6,700 Tons of Radioactive Sand from Kuwait Ended Up in Idaho
On April 26, 2008, the BBC Alabama arrived in Longview, Wash., carrying 6,700 tons of Kuwaiti sand. The sand had become contaminated with depleted uranium when U.S. military vehicles and munitions caught fire at Doha Army base in Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War. The depleted uranium was being repatriated. The sand was a gift of the Kuwaiti government.
[continued at link] On April 26, 2008, the BBC Alabama arrived in Longview, Wash., carrying 6,700 tons of Kuwaiti sand. The sand had become contaminated w... more -
How 6,700 tons of radioactive sand from Kuwait ended up in Idaho?
How 6,700 Tons of Radioactive Sand from Kuwait Ended Up in Idaho
By Penny Coleman, AlterNet
Posted on September 17, 2008, Printed on September 17, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/98950/
On April 26, 2008, the BBC Alabama arrived in Longview, Wash., carrying 6,700 tons of Kuwaiti sand. The sand had become contaminated with depleted uranium when U.S. military vehicles and munitions caught fire at Doha Army base in Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War. The depleted uranium was being repatriated. The sand was a gift of the Kuwaiti government.
So was the cost of repatriation. Neither government will discuss just how much the tab was.
The Longview Daily News reported that Mike Wilcox, vice president of the International Longshoremen's and Warehousemen's Union Local 21, initially had been "concerned about the safety of longshoremen and the entire community when he heard a shipment of depleted uranium was coming into Longview."
But the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission determined that the sand contained "unimportant quantities" of radioactive material, and officials from the Department of Health would be available to test radiation levels -- just in case any of the sand spilled.
At the last minute, the Army notified port authorities that tests had revealed that the sand was also contaminated with lead -- in fact, four times more lead than the EPA's limit for hazardous materials. Transshipment was delayed for a few days awaiting a green light from the EPA.
Wilcox told the Daily News that he hoped the delivery would be a one-time thing.
Over the next month, longshoremen loaded 160 containers onto railcars bound for an Idaho-based waste disposal site owned by a company called American Ecology. When the sand arrived at the Idaho site, the company did its own tests and, as Chad Hyslop, project director for American Ecology, told the Daily News, "found no hazardous levels of lead."
Doug Rokke, who quit his job directing the cleanup of radioactive battlefields for the Army, contacted American Ecology and discovered "that they had absolutely no knowledge of U.S. Army Regulation 700-48, U.S. Army PAM 700-48, U.S. Army Technical Bulletin 9-1300-278, and all of the medical orders dealing with depleted uranium contamination, environmental remediation procedures, safety and medical care."
Hazardous materials storage has become a lucrative and growing business, especially since Donald Rumsfeld began implementing his plans for a sleek new "global cavalry" capable of swift and lethal response from strategically placed "frontier stockades" to punish bad guys whenever and wherever they have been bad. According to the Pentagon's annual "Base Structure Report," which itemizes its foreign and domestic military real estate, the Department of Defense currently operates more than 800 such bases around the world; 5,311 if you count the ones in American territories and on the U.S. mainland; probably well over 6,000 if you count the ones, like Doha in Kuwait, that for some reason didn't make the list. (Similarly omitted are all U.S. bases in Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Qatar and Uzbekistan.) How 6,700 Tons of Radioactive Sand from Kuwait Ended Up in Idaho By Penny Coleman, AlterNet ... more -
Planning for the Prosecution of High Level American War Criminals
A call out to the good lawyers of this earth!! Wake up lawyers! Wake up lawyers!
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Radiation warning for Scots families near firing range
PEOPLE living near a top-secret firing range may be at a higher risk of cancer, scientists have claimed.
Researchers say radioactive particles from weapons could damage the genes, including those of unborn babies, of residents who live near the military site on the Solway Firth.
About 7000 depleted-uranium shells have been fired into the sea from the 30-year-old Dundrennan range at Kirkudbright in the past 20 years.
The MoD have always insisted the tests don't pose a public health risk.
But Dr Chris Busby and Dr Ewald Schnug, of Germany's Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, claim uranium from the shells could leak into the sea and then find its way into food and water supplies.
The uranium absorbs normal background radiation, which causes it to fire out photoelectrons - particles which damage surrounding tissue once inside the body.
Uranium bonds readily to DNA, which increases the chances of genetic damage.
Busby and Schnug's computer modelling results, reported by New Scientist, will be published in detail in a peer-reviewed paper later this month.
According to their calculations, this internal radiation is 1500 times as dangerous as overall radiation levels at the site.
The MoD began testing depleted-uranium shells in 1980.....more
The complete stupidity and audacity of the war machine, 30 years of radiation pollution that has a half life of 4.5 billion years. As well as this stuff being a banned weapon, but still used in Iraq/Afghanistan, thus certain war crimes are being committed and should be enforced, there should also be crimes against the planet taken into account. PEOPLE living near a top-secret firing range may be at a higher risk of cancer, scientists have claimed. ... more -
Stabilize depleted Uranium?
In a study of the environmental fate of uranium, a research team in Scotland has discovered that common fungi can lock the radioactive material “into a chemical form inaccessible to biological organisms, and unlikely to dissolve into surface waters.” Uranium, a highly dense element used to add weight to missiles, is impossible to physically remove from battlefields. Fungi, however, coat depleted uranium in a yellow mineral that makes it chemically stable and could prevent it from moving up the food chain. Although the safety is not guaranteed, fungi’s ability to trap uranium with just moisture and nutrients could lead to a practical way to decontaminate war-torn lands. In a study of the environmental fate of uranium, a research team in Scotland has discovered that common fungi can lock the radioactive... more
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The World's Hardest Working Shaman
Western Shoshone leader, Corbin Harney talks about his prophetic conversation with the water
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Depleted uranium shells used by U.S. worse than nuclear weapons
The use of depleted uranium (DU) munitions by the U.S. military may lead to a death toll far higher than that from the nuclear bombs dropped at the end of World War II. DU is a waste product of uranium enrichment, containing approximately one-third the radioactive isotopes of naturally occurring uranium. Because of its high density, it is used in armor- or tank-piercing ammunition. It has been fired by the U.S. and British militaries in the two Iraq wars and in Afghanistan, as well as by NATO forces in Kosovo and the Israeli military in Lebanon and Palestine.
Inhaled or ingested DU particles are highly toxic, and DU has been classified as an illegal weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations The use of depleted uranium (DU) munitions by the U.S. military may lead to a death toll far higher than that from the nuclear bombs d... more -
Nuclear Waste: Achilles' Heel of the Fake Green Technology
As Nuclear Waste Languishes, Expense to U.S. Rises
WASHINGTON — Forgotten but not gone, the waste from more than 100 nuclear reactors that the federal government was supposed to start accepting for burial 10 years ago is still at the reactor sites, at least 20 years behind schedule. But it is making itself felt in the federal budget.
Each reactor typically creates about 20 tons of waste a year, which is approximately two new casks, at roughly $1 million each. If a repository or interim site opened, clearing the backlog would take decades, experts say. At present, waste is in temporary storage at 122 sites in 39 states.
"Accelerating Hanford Cleanup"
http://www.archive.org/details/acc300
The first two minutes of "Accelerating Hanford Cleanup" are eye opening and the amount of radioactive waste and work needed there is staggering.
NO NEW NUKES. As Nuclear Waste Languishes, Expense to U.S. Rises ... more -
Cookie cutter reactors running into Hurdles!
WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 - For the first time in three decades, companies are getting ready to build nuclear reactors in the United States. They intend to do so under streamlined procedures meant to avoid the long delays and cost overruns that crippled the industry last time around.
But with early jockeying under way to win government approval for this new generation of plants, ominous signs are emerging that the plans may not go smoothly.
And if the industry succeeds in winning approval for as many new reactors as it wants, 31 and counting, the capacity of nuclear suppliers is likely to be strained. By most estimates, they can fabricate enough parts for only three or four reactors a year, and the United States will be competing with other countries that want to build nuclear plants.
Some of the most important parts can be cast only by a single foundry, Japan Steel Works. "The global supply chain is going to be the pacing item," Mr. Wallace said. WASHINGTON, Dec. 4 - For the first time in three decades, companies are getting ready to build nuclear reactors in the United States. ... more -
Enriched Uranium Intercepted in Europe
If confirmed, this is the most successful scheme I've heard of to smuggle radioactives into the West for sale, presumably to terrorists. It's worrying to me, because I think it raises the chances that a dirty bomb attack will be one of the big attacks we could see in the next few years. On the theory that where there is one network, there will be others, and we can't stop them all.
I don't think however that this means that a backpack nuke is likely. Build-in-place could maybe have been done with this quantity, I don't know the minimum required, but why go to that degree when you can just powder the stuff and spread it around? If confirmed, this is the most successful scheme I've heard of to smuggle radioactives into the West for sale, presumably to terr... more -
China Deal Gives Lift to Revival of Fission
PARIS, Nov. 26 Areva, the French nuclear power giant, signed the largest deal in the industrys history Monday, with Chinas leading nuclear power company.
A nuclear renaissance is now gearing up everywhere in the world, said John B. Ritch III , a former American diplomat and director general of the World Nuclear Association, an industry group. It is occurring parallel to an enormous expansion in energy consumption.
Some governments heed their antinuclear constituencies. Germany, once a leader in nuclear energy, is committed to exiting nuclear energy by 2020; Sweden is similarly committed to phase out its nuclear plants by 2010.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No Nukes, period! PARIS, Nov. 26 Areva, the French nuclear power giant, signed the largest deal in the industrys history Monday, with Chinas leading... more -
NOT IN MY BACKYARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A Deeply Green City Confronts Its Energy Needs and Nuclear Worries
FORT COLLINS, Colo. This city takes pride in being green, from its official motto, Where renewal is a way of life, to its Climate Wise energy program, which helps local businesses reduce the carbon emissions that scientists say can contribute to global warming.
But now two proposed energy projects are exposing the hard place that communities like this across the country are likely to confront in years to come as the tangled nuances of thinking globally come back to bite.
Both projects would do exactly what the city proclaims it wants, helping to produce zero-carbon energy. But one involves crowd-pleasing, feel-good solar power, and the other is a uranium mine, which has a base of support here about as big as a pinkie. Environmentalism and local politics have collided with a broader ethical and moral debate about the good of the planet, and whether some places could or should be called upon to sacrifice for their high-minded goals.
?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
If the NYT is so interested in science, why do the preface global warming with a statement like this: "...that scientists say can contribute to"????????/
Is global warming still up for debate? Are we headed to hell in a hand basket?
Am I reading to much into this, or are subtleties like this important. After Iraq, the NYT should be on its best, and most objective behavior, don't you think?
I say let's error on the side of survival. A Deeply Green City Confronts Its Energy Needs and Nuclear Worries ... more -
Nuclear Reactor Hazards
Ongoing Dangers of Operating Nuclear Technology in the 21st Century
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When I Came Home
When I Came Home is a documentary film about homeless veterans in America: from those who served in Vietnam to those returning from the current war in Iraq. The film looks at the challenges faced by returning combat veterans and the battle many must fight to receive their benefits from the Veterans Administration.
Through the story of Herold Noel, a homeless Iraq war veteran suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and living out of his car in Brooklyn, the film reveals a failing system and the veterans struggle to survive after returning from the war. When I Came Home follows Herolds battle with homelessness and PTSD as he tries to get help from the VA, city agencies, and various veterans organizations.
With temperatures dropping in New York, Herold meets fellow vet Paul Rieckhoff, founder of the countrys largest Iraq veteran advocacy organization. What follows is a media blitz that transforms the young, homeless veteran into the leader of a new movement. When I Came Home is a documentary film about homeless veterans in America: from those who served in Vietnam to those returning from th... more -
Tedd Weyman: THE NUCLEAR WAR ON IRAQ
Deputy Director of the Uranium Medical Research Centre, working with Dr. Asaf Durakovic, Tedd Weyman organized and led field studies in Afghanistan and Iraq to measure and analyse uranium contamination of radiotoxic and chemotoxic heavy metals ('depleted uranium,' etc.) from battlefield weapons. The use of uranium in non fissile-penetrating weapons and bunker busters are effectively nuclear weapons, Weyman reports. It is known world wide, he says, that DU weapons have long-term implications that, right now corporations and governments are hiding. But Weyman cautions, "If you don'’t have a moral objection [to using DU on another nation], you might have a pragmatic objection which might be the liabilities that a nation faces for permanently contaminating another nation's environment...Uranium contamination in Iraq will last for millions of years. So the liabilities are very significant when you have every nation that was on the receiving end and every soldier on the sending end is contaminated." Weyman spoke in Rochester, June 26, 2005 at an event hosted by a coalition of Rochester peace groups. Deputy Director of the Uranium Medical Research Centre, working with Dr. Asaf Durakovic, Tedd Weyman organized and led field studies i... more
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Depleted uranium is a crime! (Warning Strong Content)
STRONG CONTENT!
MORE INFO ABOUT DEPLETED URANIUM:
http://www.cadu.org.uk/intro.htm
(Campaign Against Depleted Uranium)
The photos are by Takashi Morizumi.
Takashi Morizumi is a photojournalist who covers topics in Japan and overseas such as the effects of US military bases and environmental problems. In particular, since the later half of the 90s, he has covered the damages caused by nuclear mining, testing, power plants, and the use of depleteted uranium and other nuclear weapons.
Takashi has been documenting the children of Iraq since 1998. He has observed the effects of the U.S. government blockade: no medical supplies, malnourished children, weakened children dying in large numbers, and the alarming increase in leukemia, cancer, and physical deformities.
Takashi has combined approximately 50 of his photos of Iraq into an exhibition that is being shown around the world.
"I hope to show to many people a view of the things happening around the world that I have been investigating. In the 21st century, where is the world heading? Can mankind's intelligence lead us to a bright future? I want you to keep thinking positively."
Animation made by Eric Blumrich STRONG CONTENT! MORE INFO ABOUT DEPLETED URANIUM: http://www.cadu.org.uk/intro.htm (Campaign Against Depleted Uranium) ... more -
Alice Springs voices opposition to nuclear waste dump
Anti-nuclear protesters confronted CLP candidate for Lingiari, Adam Giles, outside his Alice Springs office at 8:30 this morning.
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Election countdown continues: No time to Radioactive waste
The National Day of Action by to highlight the dangerous nature of federal government plans to impose a nuclear dump in the Northern Territory and the Coalition's continued refusal to disclose its nuclear agenda to the Australian community ahead of the federal election. The National Day of Action by to highlight the dangerous nature of federal government plans to impose a nuclear dump in the Northern T... more
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Depleted Uranium is a waste product of the nuclear power industry
Helen Caldicott talks about nuclear workers and how the US wages our own nuclear war in Iraq via depleted uranium.
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Nuclear power resurgence?
Here are a few articles on the resurgence, or attempted resurgence on Nuclear power. Useful for knowing some of the pro-N-power arguments that are being used. Here are a few articles on the resurgence, or attempted resurgence on Nuclear power. Useful for knowing some of the pro-N-power argume... more
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Depleted Uranium
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Depleted Uranium
