ANUMUKTI

A Journal Devoted to Non-Nuclear India

Vol. 6 No.2 October/November 1992

What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of diffentices, their atttractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and peculiarities, by eliminating different civilizations and cultures, progress weakens life and favours death. The ideal of a single civilization for everyone, implicit in the cult of progress and technique, impovcrishes and mutilates us. Every view of the world that becomes extinct, every culture that disappears, diminishes a possibility of life.

Octavio Paz

A Voyage that Diminished the Possibilities of Life

cist's physicist and his compatriot Uranium is the heaviest naturally F Leo Szilard—the man who dreamed found element. Nucleus of atoms of irst came the visionaries-the the whole enterprise up and many uranium spontaneously divide into seekers after truth, the people others. And there was Enrico Fermi: smaller bits, nuclei of lighter ele- whose insatiable curiosity and gen- "The Italian navigator who landed ments, and a few (sometimes 2 and ius led them to probe deeper and on the shores of the New World and sometimes 3) neutrons all moving at ever deeper into the mysteries of found that' the natives were great speeds. The trick was to get nature. People like Ernest Ruther- friendly." these neutrons to act as triggers for ford-the giant New Zealander further breaking up of other ura- whose ingenious experiments using That was the encoded message nium nuclei. If this could be done on a little bit of wire and some sealing which announced to the American a suotained basis, then that was the wax were to alter the whole course authorities that a nuclear chain re- key to the vast store of energy. The of scientific development in the action had been established and problem was that most of the neu- twentieth century; there was Niels that it was controllable. On Decem- trons were moving too fast. They Bohr, the Danish mountaineer and ber 2nd, 1942, in a laboratory con- would speed away before they could footballer, who gave us our picture structed underneath the squash hit other atoms and cause fission. of the atom-the most recognisable court of the University of Chicago, Fermi put a piece of parnffin wax in symbol of the modern age; there Fermi and his group of co-workers, the way. The wax was to act like a were the Germans Edwin Sehrodin- forged the key that opened the vast crowded bazaar to the speeding neu- ger and Werner Heisenberg who store of energy locked inside the trons. They slowed down, became gave the theoretical tools-the atom. more amenable to capture by other framework to understanding the se- uranium nuclei and the chain reac- crete of the micro world* there was tion became sustainable. Like an- Paul Dirac the Hungarian physi- other Italian navigator exactly 450 ergy has been put to was in boiling market test and no new power years before him Fermi landed the water and generating electricity. plants have been ordered for the last spaceship earth on the shores of the eighteen years. Neither has nuclear new world. But were the natives But, on this, the fiftieth anniver- energy been as safe and clean as its really friendly? sary of Fermi's forays under the backers had claimed. Catastrophic squash court, nuclear electricity accidents have taken place far too After the dreamers came the faces an uncertain future. It has in frequently and routine emissions schemers. People like General a very deep sense proved itself to be have proved to have been far more Leslie Groves, who made useful "poisoned power". The very process harmful than previous expecta- products out of these discoveries. of fission, leads to the creation of a tions. Like weapons of mass destruction. bewilderingly large variety of poi- Groves wasn't the only one. There sons. Amongst these poisons are But as advocates of 'development' were many others: The political some of the most toxic substances never tire to point out, there is no leaders: The top executives of large known to humanity. Thus for exam- free lunch; somebody has to pay the corporations: The military men. ple, a small spec of plutonium price. The price has been paid dis- And they weren't all just Americans weighing no more than a trillionth proportionately by the voiceless— either. They were to be followed by of a gramme lodged in a person's the yet unborn generations, the the Russians, and the British, and lung can cause cancer. Nuclear indigenous people of remote regions the French, and the Chinese; and power plants produce such poisons where all the uranium mining and the Indians and the Pakistanis and in quantities of hundreds and some- the bomb testing have taken place, the Israelis and the ... times thousands of kilograms. by young children and by women. Dr Keeping these poisons isolated from Rosalie Bertell winner of the Right After Hiroshima, the stream of nu- the environment for essentially Livelihood Award has estimated clear scientists divided into three. eternity has proved to be an insur- this price as the untimely deaths of One channel went on to make bigger mountable task. Far from being "too 32 million people. and better (worse for you and me) cheap to meter", nuclear energy has bombs. These were people like Ed- instead turned out to be too costly to Christopher Colombus had also ward Teller—first rate scientist but continue. Despite huge government found the natives friendly. The na- a paranoid personality. Then there subsidies, (totaling according to the tives paid for their friendliness with was the other stream-a small government's own estimate to more the destruction of their lives and counter current. Scientist who said than $ 40 billion by 1979 in U.S.A. culture. The track record of nuclear enough was enough and who tried to alone, nuclear power has failed the colonialism has been much worse. turn the clock back from the ap- proach of midnight. And there was the mainstream. People who Congratulations Dr Gofman for the Right Livelihood Award thought that nuclear energy was an inexhaustible, clean, cheap and safe Dr John Gofman is one of my heroes. He did his Ph.D. in nuclear chemistry source of energy and a solution to all and then went on to become a medical doctor. Today, at 74 years of age, he the world's ills if only it could be is Professor Emeritus in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of harnessed and put to peaceful uses. California at Berkeley. Many ingenious peaceful uses of nuclear by-products were found. While a graduate student in 1942, Gofman proved the flssionability of There were the uses in medical di- uranium-233 and developed the process which isolated the first workable agnosis and therapy. There were ag- quantity of plutonium and discovered several radioactive isotopes of ura- ricultural uses, and in food nium and protactinium. His pioneering work on the chemistry of lipoproteins preservation and in all kinds of has received several medical awards. gadgets from radioactive smoke de- tectors to starters in energy efficient But good scientists, though not dime a dozen are still not very rare entities. tube lights, to watch dials that Far more than being merely a good scientist, Dr John Gofman is a man of glowed in the dark. And on and on... scientific integrity and has courage of his convictions. Thus, when he found No doubt there would be many more that the health effects of low, officially 'acceptable' doses were in actuality killing millions of people, he put his entire 'career' and funding on line and in the future. said so. For his outspokeness, he was hounded by the radiation estab- lishment. His books, Radiation and Human Health, X-Ray3: Health Effects But the main use apart of course of Common Exams and Radiation Induced Cancer from Low-Dose Exposure from the weapons that nuclear en- are all classics in the field. Anumukti is eagerly awaiting the yet to be published book on heritable health effects.

October/November 1992 2 Anumukti 2 Allaying Public Fears

positive and constructive. As you society should also value the opinion I will notice, the safety systems in of such experts before coming to de- n the last issue of Anumukti, we KAPP-1 are supervised by the cisions on the social implications of mentioned that the Kakrapar Atomic Energy Regulatory Board such safety measures. I am sure Atomic Power Plant (KAPP-1) and the expert committees it has set that the Chairman, Atomic Energy started functioning from the 3rd of up to monitor the detailed operation Regulatory Board. Shri S.D.Soman, September, 1992- Shri Narayan De- and testing. I am glad Shri Desai is will be available for anybody who sai had gone on a five day fast in taking such a keen interest in the wishes to get clarified on any prob- protest against the starting of this nuclear power plant. I am certain lem with regard to KAPP-1. unit without the mandatory safety that his misgivings will be allayed With regards, testing. The fast has galvanised by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Yours sincerely, many in the vicinity of the plant to Board. The Chairman of the Atomic P.K.Iyengar become active in their opposition to Energy Regulatory Board, Shri the plant. As part of our campaign, S.D.Soman will be available for any AERB Chief Visits Vedchhl we had informed the local press and further clarifications if required. local and state level politicians of With regards, We received this letter much after Yours sincerely the implications of starting KAPP1 Shri Soman's visit to Vedehhi. without fully testing out the Emer- P.V.Narasimha Rao gency Core Cooling System. When Shri Soman spent one and a half We also reproduce Dr P.K.lyen- Shri Narayanbhai announced his hours with us. His major point too gar's letter in full decision to fast, this was conveyed to was to show that AEHB was inde- the State Government and to some pendent of the Department of No.6/6(14)/92-PP/789 political leaders in the state. The Atomic Energy (DAE). As proof he September 8, 1992 Narmada Development Minister, offered AERB annual report which Shri Babubhai Jasbhai Patel, for- is a separate document and not part Dear Shri Patel, warded Shri Narayanbhai's letter to of the annual report of DAE. How- the Prime Minister along with a ever, on questioning he admitted We have seen your letter dated note of his own. The Prime Minis- that this was the first year in which July 28, 1992 addressed to the ter's reply dated October 9, 1992 the report had been published sepa- Prime Minister regarding Kakrapar reads: rately and previously AERB 's report Atomic Power Project-I. The ques- used to form part of the DAE report. tion of adequacy of safety systems in Dear Shri Patel, Shri Soman and the other officials KAPP-1 is decided by the Atomic who had accompanied him, did not Energy Regulatory Board and the Thank you for your letter of Sep- say a word about Emergency Core expert committees that it has set up tember 7,1992. Cooling System (ECCS) in KAPP-1 to monitor the detailed operation till they were just about to take You may have received by now the and testing. It is only after their leave and had in fact stood up to do clarification sent to you by Dr. approval that KAPP-1 attained so. At that time Shri Soma n brought criticality. A monitoring mechanism P.KJyengar, Secretary and Chair- out an unsigned note (on plain paper by an independent group has been man, Atomic Energy Commission, not AERB stationary) and handed established for this purpose, and the at my request. A copy is enclosed for that over with the comment that Department of Atomic Energy relies ready reference. testing of the ECCS had been " done on their verdict. The Nuclear Power in an integrated fashion" at KAPP-1 Corporation is responsible for the I hope you will be able to use your and found to be satisfactory. On be- construction and operation, and is good offices with the Sarvodaya ing asked "then how come Shri subject to the approvals given by the leader, Shri Narayanbhai Desai, to Natarajan and Shri Ghosh (who are allay his apprehensions. Atomic Energy Regulatory Board both members of the AERB consti- In this connection, we may point tuted safety committee) had written Energy is vital for our progress. their note," he made no reply. He out that individual opinions could Nuclear energy is one of the most replied in the negative when asked be coloured and that is the reason important energy sources available if he (Soman) had called Shri to us. Safety systems are important why a committee of experts is asked Natarajan to ask him why he in all industrial undertaking and to decide on such issues. Leaders in our approach to them should be

Anumukti 3 October/November (Natarajan) had written such a note Core Cooling System (ECCS) as per could never happen) is already be- when the ECCS had been found to design intent was not done in toto fore us. be "satisfactory". before the KAPP-1 was actually started. All that Dr P.K.Iyengar has In such a situation, I would like to After the visit to Vedchhi, a press done is to imply that there are dif- submit that, if at all we could afford release was issued by KAPP ferences of opinion in the commit- to make an error, the error has to be authorities claiming that "Shri So- tee, and the committee as a whole on the side of safety. I do hope and man had set all Shri Narayanbhai' s including presumably Shri Ghosh pray that there will not be an acci- fears at rest." Whereas, during the and Shri Natarajan have acquiesced dent or a leakage of radioactivity in visit, he evaded giving a direct an- in allowing the reactor to start. KAPP-1, but as responsible repre- swer to the only question that Shri sentatives of the people it is your Narayanbhai put to him, that was In this connection, let me recall the duty to see that no action is taken "Does the AERB or the DAE con- facts regarding the point at issue, that would endanger the safety of sider the health and safety of the about which there is no dispute. the people living around the Power people living in the vicinity of the Plant in any eventuality. plant, to be their responsibility?" . l. ECCS at KAPP-1 was tested in Februaiy 1992. I must also point out that "inde- pendence' of AERB hardly has a Reply to the Prime Minister 2.The test showed that the sys- meaning when we consider the fact tem did not function as per design that there have been numerous in- The following is an edited text of intent. stances when DAE has gone ahead the letter written by Shri Narayan and done whatever it wished to do, Desai to the Prime Minister, which 3.Parts of the system which mal- being confident that AERB would was forwarded by Shri Babubhai J functioned were, probably, re- retrospectively approve, and AERB Patel along with a note of his own. paired and retested in June and has always done so. A case in point What I have edited out are portions August '92. However, full inte- is the December 1991, massive leak which summarized Dr Iyengar's let- grated testing of the entire ECCS of radioactivity from a pipe in the ter, since we have reproduced the was not undertaken. CIRUS reactor complex in BARC original letter in full. Bombay, reported in a series of . 4.Thus, whether the ECCS would three articles by Rupa Chinai in The Dear Pradhan Mantriji, function as required in an emer- Sunday Observer. Since the area gency situation is at present un- where the leak was detected is criss- I am thankful to you for your letter known and a matter of crossed by numerous other pipes, October 9, 1992 in response to Shri speculation and hope. the Reactor Safety Committee rec- Babubhai Patel's letter in connec- ommended that all pipelines carry- tion with my fast. 5. ECCS testing, in fact, could not ing radioactive effluents be tested, be undertaken since the AERB At the outset, let me confess that repaired if necessary, and confirmed had already given its permission Dr. P.K Iyengar's letter that you to be no longer leaking before start- for fuel loading and heavy water have enclosed with your's is far from ing CIRUS reactor. The apex safety loading in the primary heat body, 'SARCOF which is directly re- convincing. transport system. An ECCS test lated to AERB, gave its permission at that stage would have meant Dr. Iyengar wants us to have faith to start the reactor, subject to fulfill- that heavy water worth hundreds in experts. It mast be noted that ment of the stipulations of the Reac- of crores of rupees would have both Shri K,Natarajan and Shri tor Safety Committee, on 5th become contaminated and down- Ghosh are 'experts', being members February '92. The reactor was graded and hence useless for re- of the AERB constituted safety com- started that very evening without actor purposes. mittee specially charged to take care the conditions being fulfilled. That of the safety aspect of the Atomic very night, one of the fuel elements Let us be aware of what is at stake Power Plant in question. They are suffered damage releasing large here. In case the ECCS does not the very people whose opinion the amounts of radioactivity into the function as required in an emer- AERB and hence ultimately DAE coolant system, which had to be gency situation, we would have a are supposed to respect and impie- pumped out through the pipeline major disaster in South Gujarat, ment. To my knowledge no repre- which was known to be leaking and which would deal a crippling blow sentative of the DAE or the AERB had not been repaired. This instance not only to the state of Gujarat but has repudiated the substance of is a clear abdication on AERB's part to the economy of the entire country. Shri K.Natarajan's note,-that inte- of its regulatory responsibility and The example of Chernobyl (another grated testing of the Emergency illustrates the contemptuous atti- instance which the experts claimed tude in which this body is held by

October/November 1992 4 Anumukti 6.2 officials of DAE. AERB has till now tell us, whom can we trust if not the sent. There is a lot of other indus- not publicly reprimanded anyone experts. The head expert tells us, try nearby. A good number of the for this violation. you cannot trust what a single or in nuclear workers don't live at this case two experts say when they Tarapur but commute from Bom- Before concluding, I would like to feel that no outsider is listening, but bay, etc. Thus, even if one finds quote from the report of the Kemeny you can only trust the public state- something significant, one would Commission, which was set up to ments of a committee of experts. It not know what to attribute it to. investigate the causes of the Three is well known from all walks of life, Mile Island accident in USA. in that experts are capable of good ad- 3.The permanent staff of nuclear March 1979. vice only at times when their own power plants, by and large does personal interests are not at stake. not do the really 'dirty jobs. That "After many year's of operation of Whenever there is money to be honour is conferred upon the hap- nuclear power plants, the belief that made or the prospect of career ad- less 'casual' workers most of nuclear power plants are sufficiently vancement are apparent, doctors whom live in the vicinity. These safe grew into a conviction. One advice unnecessary operations, poor fellows are not considered as must recognize this to understand teachers advice unnecessary tui- nuclear workers except when the why many key steps that could have tions, engineers approve unsafe question of the applicability of ra- prevented the accident were not structures, nuclear regulatory bod- diation limits comes up. Thus, taken. The Commission is convinced ies approve of untested designs. In though they probably receive the that this attitude must change to one such a situation, public safety can largest doses of radiation, their that says that nuclear power is by its only be insured not by relying on the health is not regularly moni- very nature potentially dangerous, opinions of expert bodies, but by the tored, nor are any records kept. In and therefore, one must continually activities of an enlightened citi- case a comparative study was to question whether the safeguards al- zenry. choose its control group from this ready in place are sufficient to pre- sample, peculiar results are vent accidents." Recently, following the flurry bound to come up since the pre- caused by reports regarding the sumable unaffected group would I would, therefore, request you to high prevalence of disease and de- in reality be the more affected note the seriousness of the matter formities around the Rawatbhata one. and not to be guided solely by the Atomic Power Plant, the Depart- advice of these experts, especially ment of Atomic Energy has decided However, even despite all these when experts seem to differ so dras- to conduct a survey of cancers problems with a study at Tampur, tically with each other on a matter amongst their own permanent DAK still wants to do such a study that could have catastrophic conse- workers and their families at of its employees, the way to do an quences. Tarapur. Such a survey is unlikely honest study would be to not look With kind regards to come up with any thing of signifi- only at effects like cancel which Narayan Desai cance for the following reasons: take decades to show up, but at the general pattern of disease and de- l.The 'healthy worker effect': The formity and then try to see if this Comments permanent staff of any industrial pattern was in some way peculiar undertaking including nuclear and not found in other truly compa- It is the duty of responsible public stations is better fed and has gen- rible groups. That way mething servants to allay public misgivings erally abetter standard of living could emerge that would I e of real regarding various facets of govern- and health than the population at benefit to the workers Unfortu- ment policies The best and in fact large. Thus, even at Ilanford, nately, the purpose of DAK studies the only way in the long run to do studies have shown that nuclear is not to be of use toanyone, but only this, is to openly confront problems, workers as a group have less as a tool in the game of 'allaying honestly investigate, make the re- number of cancers than the gen- public fears', sults available to one and all, so that eral population. It is only when the general public becomes a part- comparisons are made between Surendra Gadekar ner in the governance of the country, groups that are comparable, that and ordinary people feel that they one can get sensible results. have a say in policies that affect Keep their own lives. Instead, what we 2.Tampur is a bad choice for such have is that "Allaying Public Fears" Anumukti survey since, there are many is a game which politicians and "ex- Flying other confounding factors pre. perts' play with gusto. Our leaders Renew Your Subscription Today (We apologise for being grounded!)

Anumukti 0.2 5 October/November 1992 The Uranium Concentration Camps

that miners at Joachimsthal and would not have gone over well with I Homi Slavkov were dying from lung the Czechoslovak people. n Europe, as in America, the cancer about five times the rate of postwar call to arms forced a rapid coal miners and the general male The Czech uranium mines (where expansion of the uranium mines of Czech population — results that uranium was first identified and ex- the Erzgebirge, employing many were similar to U.S. findings at this ploited) are well known. Not widely tens and ultimately hundreds of time. Rericha prepared a paper de- known (even to Rericha and his col- thousands of miners. Recently dis- tailing his findings for the Health leagues) was the fact that the covered documents reveal that fol- Institute in 1966, and simultane- Czechoslovak government organ- lowing a secret agreement in ously sought to publish his results ized 17 to 20 concentration camps at November of 1945 the Soviet Union in a more conventional scientific the three major uranium mines, in was granted exclusive rights to all journal. which tens of thousands of political the uranium mined in Czechoslova- prisoners were forced to work in the kia. These mines in Bohemia were Rericha's efforts to publicize the 1950s and 1960s. All of the prison- greatly expanded under Soviet su- carnage in Czech uranium mines ers forced to mine uranium were pervision and began producing ore were blocked By orders of the State political prisoners. The scale of the for shipment to the east. Bohemia Security Police. The report and its prisoner camps was approximately was destined to become the primary contents were classified and publi- equal to that of "civilian" employ- source of uranium for the Soviet Un- cation was barred in foreign or ment in uranium mining. According ion until the 1960's, when large de- Czech periodicals — a ban that was to Secret Police Archives, numbers posits were discovered and not lifted until the Velvet Revolu- of political prisoners at the uranium developed in Kazakhstan and Cen- tion of 1989. The logic behind the concentration camps were: tral Asia. The Schneeberg mines of ban was extraordinary: as Rericha Saxony were also revived under So- today recalls it, Czech Year 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 viet occupation: uranium ore fig- security authorities ured as part of the war reparations said they were afraid paid by the East Germans to the that from uranium Prisoners 9,029 11,280 11,816 9,655 7,974 Soviet Union. health statistics, one could calculate either In the 1950's, about the same time uranium production that U.S. health authorities began levels, or the quality to take the problem seriously (at of uranium being The Number of Political Prisoners least at the level of research), Czech mined, or both. For health officials began to study the this reason, all information on rates By 1960 the number had dropped health effects of uranium mining. of cancer in uranium miners was to 2,600, and by 1963 the political Health records and vital statistics declared "top secret." The cynicism prisoners had been replaced at the were gathered on uranium miners, of such a ban, even on its own terms, concentration camps by a popula- coordinated by a Health Institute of ' was made apparent to Rericha in tion of criminals. the Uranium Industry, established the 1970's. when he again tried to in the mining town of Pribram in publish his findings. Rericha was Compared to civilian miners, the 1954 for this purpose. As in the U.S., again denied the right to publish, political prisoners bore the brunt of Czechoslovakian efforts to publicize despite the fact that the administra- the hazard and received practically the health problems of the miners tive chief responsible for all Czech none of the compensation. Civilian ran up against cold war fears that uranium mining defected to the miners were paid extremely well — releasing such information would West in 1970. With all the details of about ten times the average salary compromise national security. In Czech uranium mining available to of physicians, for example. But the I960, Dr Vladimir Rericha of the Western intelligence agencies, why concentration camp inmates were Health Institute of the Uranium In were the health hazards of uranium foraed labourers, and the vast ma- dustry was asked to prepare a com- mining still kept secret? One can jority did not survive to enjoy the prehensive overview of the only conclude that the Czechoslovak compensation that was finally incidence of lung cancer among Authorities feared that revelation of awarded in 1989. Czech miners. Between 19G0 and the sacrifice of the country's miners 1965, Rericha and his staff compiled for the sake of Soviet atomic power Robert Proctor elaborate epidemiological evidence

October /November 1992 6 Anumukti 6.2 Where Have All The Babies Gone?

attention to such a correlation be- age through fallout would not be 1 tween physical and mental damage increased rates of leukaemia and he British Medical Journal of 9th to humans and both the fallout from cancer among children, but instead Februaiy, 1992 (vol.304 pp 343-6) atom-bomb tests as well as emis- an increase in premature and un- carries a study by Prof. R.KAVhyte sions from nuclear power plants. der-weight births. This would result of McMaster University, Hamilton, The latter, even under normal oper- in increased infant mortality, im- Ontario, Canada which demon- ating conditions, also discharge paired pregnancy and immunologi- strates a correlation between at- atomic fission products similar to cal deficiencies in children that mospheric atomic bomb test in the those found in fallout, such as stron- survive (though Whyte does not dis- 50s and 60s and rise in infant mor- tium-90, iodine-131, carbon-14, cuss immunological deficiency in his tality. Until now such correlations tritium, krypton-85, etc. In his pa- paper). For every thousand live have been denied by all interna- per, Whyte also cites a study from births the number of underweight tional radiation-protection bodies Sternglass published in 1969 which babies is some 100 times greater (like ICRP, UNSCEAR, BEIR) and demonstrates close geographical than that of children dying from health authorities world-wide. and temporal correlation between cancer and leukaemia. the increased strontium-90 pollu- tion, as a result of the atom bomb A recently published study by the High Statistical Correlations tests bet ween 1950 and 1963 and an Ukrainian parliamentary commis- excess in infant mortality. Whyte sion, shows that just six years after The high statistical correlations also cites another study by Prof Jens Chernobyl, there has been a distinct indicate that there was an excess of Scheer of Bremen University, who increase in cancer amongst chil- 320,000 infant deaths in the period showed that there was a 35 percent dren, a large increase in birth de- 1950-1980 in the USA and UK increase in infant mortality in alone. All first day infant deaths, southern Germany after the neonatal deaths (within the first 28 Chernobyl incident. Today days) and still births were included there is a wealth of laboratory in this study. and epidemiological studies dealing with the effeets of Gill- As an example, this graph shows out and low-level radiation on the first day neonatal mortality humans, animals and plants. (deaths/1,000 live births) for Eng- All these findings should land and Wales and USA plotted hopefully at last influence the against calendar years. Before 1950, radiation protection lawmak- (the beginning of the atom- bomb ers. tests) the curves show a deviation: the mortality rate no longer contin- ues to decrease but even increases Consequences for slightly. After the cessation of the Society bomb tests in 1963, the mortality rate begins to decrease again, fol- In a memorandum on the implications of the Whyte study, Dr lowing a delay, until the curves at fects and growth problems in both Sterglass says that in USA alone, the end of the 60's resume the trend Ukraine and Byelorussia. In addi- 280,000 additional infants have seen before the bomb tests. Simi- tion, it was pointed out that two to died from 1950 to 1980 as a direct larly shaped curves were also dem- three and a half times more children result of atom-bomb tests. Today, onstrated for the excess mortality in are suffering from immunological there could be millions of persons the first 28 days after birth and the deficiencies than before 1986. number of still births. aged 10 to 45 years who have been harmed by the atomic bomb tests because some ten times more under- Risks Underestimated Confirmation of Previous weight babies survived which, none- Studies theless, frequently showed physical Therefore, according to Whyte, the and mental problems. Therefore the health risks from fallout (any fallout More than three decades ago, Prof greatest health and economic dam- whether from bomb-tests or from EJ-Sternglass had already drawn nuclear accidents like Chernobyl or

Anumukti 7 October/November 6.2 1992 from the routine emissions from externally received radiation doses Germany. It's theme was: New As- formally' operating nuclear power like that of the Hiroshima victims is sessment of Radiation Risks. Over plants), have been underestimated unsuitable. It follows that the most 300 scientists and doctors took part by between 100 and 1,000 times be- sensitive sectors of our society are in the gathering. The conference cause the radiation protection levels insufficiently protected, namely the adopted a statement which was have only taken account of cancer developing foetus and the elderly drafted by Prof Horst Kuni of the and genetic defects! These 'accept- who both have weak immune de- University of Marburg and the Otto- able' limits are based on the Hi- fenses. Today it is irresponsible to Hug Radiation Institute. The state- roshima-Nagasaki data, which was still deny the supra-linear effect of ment said, "...we consider it safe to the result of a single short-duration radiation in the low dose region. say that the collective dose released, radiation burst. Such radiation Furthermore, the variations in ra- as a result of the operation of atomic damage is more easily repairable in diation sensitivity among the popu- power stations, is sufficient to result contrast to the indirect damage lation due to different factors like in significant health risks to the em- caused by free radicals which takes age, sex, illness, genetic composi- ployees as well as the general pub- place at low levels at low dose rates. tion, etc. have not been taken into lie." It called for a total shut-down account in the radiation protection of all nuclear power plants. Supralinear Response laws. Ralph Graeub Curve Shut Down All Atomic Power Ralph Graeub is a chemical engi- The data from Prof Whyte support Stations neer and a member of the Radiation the growing evidence that in order Safety Group for the Swiss section to arrive at a maximal allowed con- At the end of February, 1992 the of Physicians for Social Responsibil- centration of fission products in first International Conference of the ity. milk, drinking water and foodstuffs, newly formed Association for Radia- a linearextrapolation from high and tion Protection took place in Kiel,

ATOMIC DECEPTIO A OH, WHAT A TANGLED TOM IC DECEPTION:

OH, WHAT A TANGLED WEB!

"The national security stale that rity". Using the Freedom of Information Act, Hanford Educa- the United States has evolved to- tion and Action League (HEAL) has ward since 1945 is significantly a gained access to once classified in- denial of the American democratic formation on the governmental poli- vision: suspicious of diversity, secret, cies which allowed the secret mcuiial, exclusive, monolithic, parc- releases of radiation into the air and noid" the Columbia River. A number of these 'techniques' of information Richard Rhodes, management have been used and The Making of the Atomic Bomb are still being used also by the In- dian nuclear establishment. The Indian State is walking down the same antidemocratic path that the United States has traversed. H Thus, it is interesting to know and anford managers did take note the similarities in the policy of many precautions to limit exposures lies and official deception and denial to radioactive and toxic materials. of access to knowledge that both They were not totally cavalier, as states have followed. The following some suspect. Radiation protection is an account of the 'war' the U.S. was a major concern in the design of government waged on its own citi- the reactor and chemical separation zens in the name of "national secu- plants. But there were mistakes, took chances with the health of oth- there were accidents, and people ers. Instead of confronting these im- perfections and working honestly to correct the situations, the govern- ment adopted an official policy of cover-up. It feared the public's reac- tion to the truth and the loss of the ability to build atomic weapons.

An aspect to reflect upon is that the public's awareness about Harford's radiation did not start with the re- lease of the once classified docu- ments in 1986. There were rumours about Harford's radiation dangers as early as August 1945. Rumours continued throughout the fifties and sixties. The other noteworthy aspect is the fact that the government is still making it difficult for citizens to have access to historical documents about Hanford. Thus, while much has been learnt since 1986, still

October/November 1992 8 Anumukti more remains concealed, and the They monitored the wind and would clide) that was being released, it government is working actively to generally not release radiation if the traveled further than Spokane keep its own citizens in the dark. conditions did not dilute the plume (more than 125 miles downwind) enough. Wakefield Wright, a chemi- and the actual release amount was cal operations supervisor, has 360 curies. Was Ignorance the Cause? stated: "before you could dissolve in those days you had to worry about Security: The Culture of Se- During the past eight years, many wind conditions ... They didn't want scientists and Hanford officiaIs have the wind to be in the direction of crecy said that the reason the large radia- Tricities although they were 30 to 35 tion releases from Hanford were al- miles away. If we started dissolving During World War II, Hanford "was lowed was due to incomplete and the wind got bad, we had to such a hush-hush operation that knowledge among early Hanford quit." even the amount of ice cream con- scientists of the dangers of radia- sumed by the workers was classi- tion. However, this comforting view If the officials had taken these pre- fied " At the start of the Manhattan is not true. The documents reveal cautions, then why did they allow Project. the military adopted a secu- that the officials knowingly exposed radioactivity releases which vio- rity system known as compurtmen- workers and the public to levels of lated their own guidelines? From Uiligation. Individuals would only radiation exposure which they the available documents, it appears be told what was necessary to per- themselves considered dangerous. that even with all their precautions, form their tasks. Parker wrote that They routinely ignored their own they discovered that they could not security could be maintained "if haz- guidelines regarding atmospheric obtain enough plutonium while op- and infonnation is phrased in such releases of radioactive iodine till erating the facilities safely. Even a manner thai the maximum infor- early fifties and dumped radiation though Japan had surrendered and mation on the nature of the hazaed into the Columbia river right up to the war was over and there was no is combined with the minimum in- early 1960s. other nation which possessed fonnation on the nature of the mate- atomic weapons, the government rials used and the processes The reason for operating Hanford's felt that they had to have more uneolved." factories in this manner are not en- bombs. Therefore, the officials con- tirely clear. But it is fairly certain tinued to operate the plants in ways The culture of secrecy was nearly a that during the Second World War, they knew were dangerous anil de- total preoccupation with Hanford the desire to win the war as quickly cided that the public could not be workers and their families. The Fed- as possible provided the main push. told the truth. They adopted decep- eral Bureau of Investigation (FBI) According to Hanford's first opera- tion as government policy. maintained an ominous presence in tions manager, Walter O Simon, the workplace* and in the neighbour- "the pressure was tremendous." But hoods of Hanford workers. One after August 1945, the reasons are How Did Hanford Cover It Up worker commented, "There have murky at best. The highest releases been cases of men talking or telling during 1945 occurred after the In one word, by lying. A 1955 ad- their wives more than they should. Japanese surrender, when appar- dress by Hartford's chief health offi- There are a lot of FBI men working ently there was no hurry'. cial H.M.Parker to a United Nations in the areas. We all know when a meeting on the peaceful uses of guy starts getting careless, and it It is not as if Hanford officials did atomic energy, held in Geneva, pro- isn't very long until he is not around not take any precautions—they did. vides an excellent example of how any more." To share concerns about Within the plutonium facilities, Hanford deceived the world. In the Hanford's operations meant dis- they constructed the ventilation course of his talk, Parker mentioned missal and ostracism. systems to suck the contaminated "a single emission of 100 curies of air away from those areas occupied iodine-131 in a few hours". The de- by workers. Another precaution was classified documents now show that Public Relations: the high emissions stacks on the the actual amount released was The "Suppress Officer" separation plants. Simon recalled, nearly 80 times more than his ver- "We did worry about gas emissions sion. In a similar vein, Parker also. Milt Cydell, Hanford's public rela- when the uranium from the reactor talked about another release of 100 tions officer during and after World was dissolved to separate the pluto- curies of radioactive particle, which War II, was commonly referred to as nium. We monitored them very was carried off-aite. What Parker the "suppress officer". carefully, and ... if there was a good did not tell his distinguished audi- wind velocity to distribute them, we ence, was the fact that the it was When the first atomic bomb was might have taken some chances ..." ruthenium (a longer lived radionu- dropped on Hiroshima and the

Anumukti 9 October/November 1992 6.2 workers at Hartford learned about suspicious marks were discovered ever, AEC manipulated to have Dr the nature of their work, the rumour on his skin. Knowing that he had Simeon Cantril, as the third and mill went into high gear. Harry worked at Hanford, the funeral decisive referee. However, Cantril Petcher, a food service worker at home called the General Electric was far from unbiased. He was an Hanford during World War II re- medical department. (General Elec- AEC consultant since 1943, and was called "When the bombs were tric Company were the operators of also the person who had helped in dropped my recollection was, God, is Hanford under government con- the preparation of the first autopsy that what we were doing here? Did tract.-Editor)Because the injury report. The state of Washington ac- we get poisoned?" Hanford officials could have been connected to cepted the findings of this review worked quickly to reassure the Johnson's work, G.E. decided that and denied Marie Johnson's claim. workers that building the bombs an autopsy should be done but not was safe. by its own pathologist. Dr Frederic Eighteen months after Ernest Davis, the pathologist for Walla Johnson's death, Hanford official Dr Depending upon their audience Walla, was called to perform the W.D.Norwood claimed to a Seattle and message, Hanford officials autopsy. Davis was assisted by newspaper, "We have neverv to changed their tune. Writing two three Hanford (G.E.) physicians. our knowledge, had any sick- weeks after the atomic bombings, The cause of death was listed as ness due to radiation..." Parker and another key health offi- ruptured aorta near the heart. cial, Dr Simeon Cantril, wrote a Johnson had a history of high blood Legal: memo to the workers stating that pressure. The autopsy report could "we don't want any misinformation not explain the marks on his skin. Defense in Depth by the misinformed to mar either our record or the morale we have Johnson's widow, Marie, was sus- The documents show that from the built up through confidence in the picious of how he had died. Some of very beginning, Hanford was aware safety of our operations." In answer his co-workers had told her that her that people would file legal claims to concerns about Hanford's effect husband had been heavily exposed when they found out what Hanford on the public living near Hanford, to radiation in the months leading produced. In February 1945, Colo- Parker and Cantril calmed the up to his death. (The official Han- nel Franklin Matthais, Hanford's workers by stating: "The amounts of ford records do not indicate this high wartime commander, wrote in his radioactive iodine in Richland are exposure.) When Marie took her diary that he "inspected the mete- entirely innocuous." Less than three husband's body back to Chicago for orological and radiation monitoring years later, the same Parker, writ- burial, she had a second autopsy setup and the recordings that are ing an internal memo, would refer done. This time the autopsy surgeon being taken to permit us to be pre- to the "entirely innocuous" levels of considered the burn marks to be the pared in case of claimed serious ex- iodine as being high enough to have result of radiation exposure. Marie posure in certain areas." He made caused "concern in 1945." A year Johnson began the process of filing the following noting in his diary on later in another internal memo, a claim, contending that on the work July 6, 1945 "I asked him to set up Parker made another reference to radiation burns had contributed to some procedure that would assure the "entirely innocuous" levels of io- Johnson's death. us of getting first information on dine: "In 1945 iodine1945 con- any question that might lead to a tamination of vegetation was 45 The Atomic Energy Commission legal claim." Mattias' paranoia re- to 70 times accepted permissible (AEC) refused to consider the possi- garding people suing Hanford went maximum at Richland and Ken- bility and organized a team of its so far as to require a shepherd to newick." own medical and legal experts to sign a waiver before being allowed travel to Chicago in an attempt to to herd his sheep to pasture near get Dr Thomas Carter, who per- Hanford. He also asked state and Medical: formed the second autopsy, to alter federal government officials to sign A Profusion off Sad Stories his opinion and not find radiation as secrecy oaths. the cause of Johnson's death. He On June 9, 1952, Ernest Johnson was even threatened with legal ac- Science: died in his Richland home after be- tion if he did not change his opinion. coming ill at work. He was a mam- However, despite all the threats, Dr The Complicity of Silence tenance foreman at one of the Carter remained steadfast. Having plutonium production reactors at • failed to move Carter, AEC felt com- The hazards at Hanford were not a Hanford. He had not been feeling pelled to discredit his testimony. In complete secret for many in the sci- well that day and seen his doctor in order to do this, the AEC arranged entific community. At various the afternoon. As the funeral home to have an "unbiased" review done times, the government set up con- prepared Johnson's body, several of both the autopsy reports. How- sultative groups, made up of acien-

October/November 1992 10 Anumukti 6.2 tists and officials from private busi- verted into annual reports and is- concentrates more radioactive phos- nesses, industry and the universi- sued as unclassified documents. phorus, which was one of the key ties. To the Hanford management, However, all detailed information components of the radioactive efflu- their role was purely public rela- available in previous years, became ents from Hanford. From 1959-64, tions. only general information about en- Hanford reported doses to the bone vironmental impact. from phosphor us-32 for an "aver- This consultation with outside "in- age" individual; and from 1964 to dependent" experts does present an Another way in which scientific de- 1966 for a "maximum" individual. apparent problem: if there was any- ception was practiced was by chang- What is intriguing is that while the thing really dangerous about Han- ing the places from where samples "average" person ate much less fish ford, wouldn't these outside were collected. Even when the moni- than the "maximum" (10-25 pounds scientists have alerted the public? toring reports were classified as 'se- was considered average, 90 pounds Most of the people on these advisory cret', officials were careful not to for the maximum), the "average" committees were from companies report the worst news. During the person caught his/her fish in water that either had or wanted AEC con- fifties, as more reactors were added that was more heavily contami- tracts. The scientists knew that as along the Columbia river, the radio- nated. Hanford placed the fishing long as they kept supporting the active concentration the river water hole for the "average" person at the party line that the radiation being increased several-fold. Until 1954, point of nearest approach to the re- released posed no harm, they could the quarterly reports included three actors whereas the fishing point for keep their position and professional readings-one along the north bank, the "maximum" individual was reputation. When certain conscien- one in the middle of the river and placed further downstream where tious scientists violated this cozy ar- another on the south bank. Due to a the radiation is diluted by another rangement by asking too many channeling effect in the river, the two rivets joining Columbia. questions or by coming to different south bank usually gave a reading conclusions, the establishment 2 or 3 times higher than the north The Deception Continues would launch, a campaign to dis- bank reading. Starting in 1955, the credit them—the isolated individual quarterly reports only mention one Most of this article has focused on verses the established order. The Hanford reading, and it is obvious the deception during Hanford's first experiences of many former AEC ex- that the lower north bank reading is twenty years for which there is more perts like Dr John Gofman are well being used. information available. But the pol- documented. Another method used to obfuscate icy of deception has continued right up till the present. Environmental monitoring reports reality concerns the various as- are models of scientific deception. sumptions used in calculation radia- Jim Thomas From 1946 to 1957 they were issued tion exposure estimates. For HEAL Perspective 10 -11 quarterly, but access was strictly example, in the fifties there was Summer/Fall 1992 limited to those people.who had the much concern over the radioactivity proper security clearances. In 1958, in whitefish in the Columbia. Com- the quarterly reports were con- pared with other species, whitefish

World Uranium Hearing and IInd Global Radia-

tion Victims Conference

In September '92, two important an- been a fleeted by all aspects of the tion Victims Conference was a more tinuclear meetings took place. The nuclear fuel cycle and weapon's test- conventional sort of a conference. World Uranium Hearing held in ing—often indigenous people—and Salzburg, Austria from September activists and more academically ori- I was lucky enough to be invited to 13th to 19th. and the IInd Global ented "experts". The World Ura- attend both events and a sub- Radiation Victims Conference, held nium Hearing was actually set upas sequent speaking tour arranged by in Berlin from September 21 to 20. a series of "hearings" at which "wit- the World Uranium Hearing at dif- Both the conferences aimed at nesses" gave testimony to a board of ferent places in Germany, Others bringing together people who have "listeners", while the Global Radia- from Australia included activists

Anumukti 11 October/November 1992 6.2 from Melbourne and a group of abo- were to be taken to the slopes of to be some mysterious link between riginal people from Maralinga, Grssblockner, the highest mountain peoples' social and political status where the British tested nuclear in Austria, for the final act. When and their geology that makes the weapons in 1960s. we were taken there, it was in the land of indigenous people uniquely most expensive-looking, hi-tech suitable for uranium mining, as a The World Uranium Hearing was tourist buses that I have ever seen, site for nuclear power plant, for nu- a high-profile event designed pri- let alone traveled in. (Let us leave clear waste disposal and for nuclear marily to focus attention on the af- aside for a moment the fact that one weapons' testing. The truth of fect uranium mining has had on the of our hi-tech buses broke down due course is, that governments think indigenous people worldwide, to a subtle software malfunction). indigenous people as simply ex- though its concerns were not limited Who, I wondered paid for these pendable. People who can be quite either to indigenous people or to buses? It turned out that the bus literally bulldozed or cheated into uranium mining. There were testi- company is giving us this ride for accepting almost anything. The monies from non-indigenous activ- free. Why are they doing that? Well, same treatment meted out to say, ists such as myself and from they are in the business of taking residents of Paris, or Moscow or 'experts' with specific knowledge of people up to the snow... and in May Delhi or Sydney instead of Tahiti or particular aspects of the nuclear 1986, after the Chernobyl accident, Novaya Zemlya or Maralinga or fuel cycle and weapon's testing pro- the snow was 100 times as radioac- Meghalaya, would provoke a politi- grammes. tive as is considered 'safe' for people, cal crisis that would terminate the and the company suffered badly. programme. Nevertheless, the emphasis was on Now, the proprietor is thoroughly indigenous people. Testimony was opposed to nuclear power. There Research and lobbying in Austra- received from American Indians, were many other small examples lia just doesn't prepare one for the Canadian Inuit (Eskimo), Kazakhs, like this. sheer emotional impact of all these People from Chupotka and Novaya real life stories, and often my wife Zemlya in the CIS, Peru and Brazil But what created the most impact Mishka and I were moved to teare. and from small Pacific Islanders, at the hearing, were the testimonies We weren't expecting to hear such Australian aboriginals and from In- themselves. There were stories of tales of prolonged, intense, and dia. India was represented by people heroic and successful resistance wholly avoidable human suffering, from Meghalaya and Jaduguda in and there were stories of prolonged not only from the indigenous victims Bihar and Dr Dhirendra Sharma deep suffering. of the nuclear industry but also from from Delhi. many who had once worked in it. Joan Scottie, an Inuit from Baker The World Uranium Hearing was Lake in the frozen arctic north of An example of this was the testi- an occasion to be remembered. It Canada, gave an inspiring account mony given by a worker from the was extraordinarily well-funded for of her community's successful (so U.S. weapons' industry, who de- an environmental gathering with far) resistance to the establishment scribed the effects on his health. solid support from the city govern- of a massive new uranium mining Here a large part of the pain came ment of Salzburg, as well as the project at Kiggavik by the German not only from the sickness caused by provincial and national govern- company Urangesselschail. radiation exposure, but also from ments. The proceedings themselves the years of being lied to, by his were at the old university in the A variety of American Indian rep- employers and government. medieval centre of Salzburg, while resentatives told of the effects on meals were had in the new resi- their people of living on lands by the The crowing example of an indus- dency palace('new' here means 16th side of the tailings piles of many now try insider-Victim' came in the in- century), under chandeliers with defunct uranium mines, and of the spiring testimony given by Vladimir chubby baroque angels flying over- so far very feeble efforts by the U.S. Chernousenko. Chernousenko is head. government at cleanup. the person who led and supervised the clean-up effort at Chernobyl. He But it was memorable for far more People from Novaya Zemlya gave is presently dying from the radia- than the setting. It brought home to an impassioned account of the So- tion exposure he received while do- an Australian activist the very resl viet and now Russian government's ing his duty in constructing the nature of the problems and the suf- persistence in using their ancestral sarcophagus at Chernobyl. He sub- fering caused by the nuclear experi- hunting grounds as a place to con- sequently wrote a number of articles ment. duct nuclear testing. and a book giving a highly critical insider's view of the Soviet/C.I.S, An example: As the conference One thing that came across very nuclear industry. For him, fighting drew to a close, it transpired that we clearly to me was that there seems

October/November 1992 12 Anumukti 6.2 the industry is a race against the effects of Chernobyl and of the nu- Towards the end of the hearing, the effects of radiation on his own body. clear bomb testing at Semipalatinsk Uranium Institute issued a 'brief* in Kazakhstan. However, many of ing', in which it tried to detail all the Evidence from India came from ac- them were somewhat 'estab- 'benefits' of uranium mining to local tivists from Meghalaya and Bihar. lishment' and often talked all communities. This briefing seemed around the subject instead of being very incongruous after the whole Mr Hoppingstone Lyngdoh and straightforward. week had been spent listening to the Rev. Basaiawmoitof the Khasi Jain- 'beneficiaries' talk detailing suffer- tia Environment Protection Council A few questions do hover around ing. spoke about the new plans for ura- the conference. World Uranium nium mining in Meghalaya, Mr Hearing spent $15 million on its Finally, it must be said, that the Xavier Dias and Mr Areeparampil delegates1 travel, accommodation, indigenous people brought to both spoke about the impact of uranium and food, plus faxes, phones, trans- the conferences a deep spirituality mining in Singhbhum district of Bi- lations, photocopying, etc, Was it and a holistic value system that con- har. Besides, there was Dr Dhiren- money well spent? $1*5 million, I trasted very sharply with the insti- dra Sharma from Delhi. believe, will certainly stop uranium tutional values of power and money. mining in Australia. It would do We will need these values as well as At the conference in Berlin, there much to stop the world-wide spread the hard data that we have had for were reports from many scientists, of nuclear industry, if farmed out to years if we are to win the war including Dr Alice Stewart and Dr grassroots activist groups. How- against nuclear power and its fuel Rosalie Bertell and Professor ever, it is a fact that this money was cycle. E.T.Sternglass amongst others. The forthcoming for the World Uranium Berlin conference was dominated to Hearing, but not otherwise. And, John HaIlam some extent by the large contingent also that the Hearing did make an Friends of Earth from C.I.S. who gave reports on the impact on the mainstream media. Sydney

Petra Kelly: World Citizen

First a letter from a friend: in New Delhi, she had quickly ob- The Environment and Peace Move- tained an appointment with Rajiv ments have lost two great friends. No, it cannot be suicide. Petra Gandhi at the lunch hosted by the Kelly and General 'Bastian were late PM. One of the issues they had Hemchandra Basappa people who stood and worked for a discussed during the more than 45 Documentation & Dissemination cause, against odds, on issues most minutes discussion had been the nu- Center for Disarmament Informa- others would not take a stand or get clear industiy, especially the fast tion 21, Railway Parallel Rd. involved in* They were concerned at breeder reactors. That evening both Nehru Nagar Bangalore 560020 the growing arms trade, the nuclear General Bastian and Petra Kelly industry, industrial pollution and had told me that Rajiv Gandhi Death of Petra Kelly is a great the problems of refugees, especially seemed concerned and wanted more shock. She was like a shooting star- the Tibetians. information. a briIIiant burst of light in the night sky. Anumukti pays tribute to this At our first meeting, Petra Kelly Petra had expressed her concern at world citizen by reproducing bits had personally come down to iden- the consequences of German unifi- from her writings. tify and take me inside to her office cation. When she had lost her seat next to the German Parliament in in Parliament, she had sent a letter A Power Shared With Others Bonn, as the guards would not let introducing us to her successor in me in, without my passport for iden- Parliament, from the former East- As we once thought of the physical tification. ern Germany. She was simple, eas- world as separate bodies, acting on ily approachable and a dear friend one another primarily by collision, In November 1988, when we were to all concerned people around the so we thought of the social world, participants at the Nehru Centen- world. ary Conference on Nuclear Weap- too, as changed only by coercive ons-Free and a Non-Violent World forces.

Anumukti 6.2 13 October/November 1992 Many of our resources have to do and women. All of us must be con- nous peoples. In over half the coun- with our own daily life, with e way cerned with both levels: the big and tries of the world, people are de- in which we live, with the way in the little war waged against us as tained or imprisoned without trial; which we change ourselves. The tra- individuals, against smaller coun- tortured or even executed for their dition within the peace movement of tries, against the planetary environ- race, gender, cultural, religious, so- seeking to live one's politics and at- ment, every single day. Resistance cial and environmental beliefs; and tempting to move one's life into to war, to the use of nuclear weapons for their protest through non-violent closer accord with the values of non- and nuclear energy is impossible means. exploitation, liberation, freedom without resistance to sexism, to ra- equality and mutual aid are the cism, to imperialism, and to violence Human rights and environmental most important elements in disarm- as an every day pervasive reality. issues are and must be inextricably ing and in creating peace around There is a very profound relation- linked. "Without respect for people, us.... ship between the fact that many people will have no respect for other women and children are commonly species. Without an equitable and The depth of our own change can- attacked, beaten up, and raped, and ecologically sustainable distribu- not happen in one single day, this that a nuclear war as well as a nu- tion of the world's wealth, there are change must be renewed every day clear catastrophe threatens this en- no ecologically sustainable socie- and continue all the rest of our life. tire planet Earth, which has no ties." emergency exit. We are looking for a new power, The ecological movements and the powershared with others, not power UNPO (Unrepresented Nations green parties must work towards exercised to gain control over them. and People's Organisation repre- advancing human rights in a far Feminism, ecology and non-violence sents minority groups, indigenous more radical way than has been the belong together and are interre- peoples, and occupied territories not case, there is much to learn from lated. But at the same time, we must officially recognized by the United indigenous societies, which have a be watchful that, while we struggle Nations. From their reports on hu- harmonious relationship with land together against the big war, the man rights violations, it is evident and nature, and simple lifestyles little war in our everyday life is not that Western governments in par- which offer models of what alterna- forgotten — the little war being ticular and Western people in gen- tive and ecological societies could waged against the weak, the handi- eral have little or no awareness of look like. capped, the elderly, against children the continued extinction of indige-

And What About Our BAnd What About Our Bomb?

The "Peaceful" Explosion The plutonium for the 1974 test R, was produced at BARC in the Cirus ecent reports in the press have No one has questioned India's abil- research reactor, a 40 MW reactor highlighted Pakistani efforts at ac- ity to build atomic bon\bs since supplied by Canada that began op- quiring a nuclear weapons capabil- 1974, when it detonated a 12 kiloton erating in 1960. This reactor can ity, following the showing of a "peaceful" nuclear explosive in the produce about 9 to 10 kilogrammes documentary film in the U.S. In this Rajasthan desert. Although Indian of weapon-grade plutonium a year. report we examine the some of the officials claimed the explosion was work being done in India in the geared toward exploring such Canada supplied the Cirus on con- same Held. The report is excerpted things as enhanced mining tech- dition that it be used for peaceful from a long article by David Al- niques and underground engineer- purposes only, but Canada did not bright and Mark Hibbs which ap- ing tasks, it was clearly intended to require International Atomic En- peared in the September 1992 issue develop a weapons' capability. Raja ergy Agency (IAEA) safeguards on of The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Ramanna said in his recently pub- the reactor or an accounting of the The May issue of the same journal lished autobiography that partici- amount of plutonium the reactor carries a long article on the Paki- pating "in the development of a produced. India claims that its stani bomb efforts. We shall in fu- prototype weapon lent me a special agreement with Canada did not pre- ture be printing news regarding the status." clude the use of Cirus produced plu- Pakistani nuclear programme more tonium for "peaceful" nuclear regularly in Anumukti. explosions.

October/November 1992 14 Anumukti 6.2 The Cirus plutonium was chemi- According to sources, construction of hard to forge and cast, and hot- cally separated from the irradiated the Ratnahalli facility already un- pressing creates higher quality uranium fuel in the nearby Trom- derway in 1987, was subject to de- parts. bay plutonium separation plant, lays and took about four years to which began operation in 1964. Cur- complete. One western official said Boosted and thermonuclear rently most of India's supply of production of enriched uranium weapons weapons plutonium is believed to product at Karnataka was "very re- have been produced in the Dhruva cent" and likely began no earlier reactor and separated at Trombay, than mid-1990. India also makes tritium, which with only a small amount of high means that it could be exploring trit- quality plutonium produced in un- The enrichment programme could ium based neutron emitters or trit- safeguarded power reactors and be part of a long term programme to ium boosted fission weapons. separated at Tarapur. build thermo-nuclear weapons. Weapons experts however, believe Though these weapons rely on the that the development of boosted India is estimated to have an in- fusion of hydrogen ( deuterium and weapons would require full scale ventory of about 290 kg of pluto- tritium) for most of their explosive tests. nium available for manufacture of yield, the process is started by nuclear weapons by the end of 1991. atomic blasts. Although plutonium Although Indian officials have de- Based on the Department of Atomic or weapons grade uranium is used nied trying to manufacture an H- Energy's annual reports we believe, in the "primary", which provides the bomb, indirect indications of such a that almost all of this plutonium is initial blast, only weapons grade en- programme include lithium 6 puri- in separated for riched uranium can be so located fication and production, and an ex- with the thermonuclear fuel to pro- tensive inertiaI confinement fusion In the absence of information vide an extra "kick" to get the fusion (1CF) programme at BARC. An ICF about the amount of plutonium reaction going. facility would be useful in the study needed for an Indian bomb, we as- of the high-energy, high density sume it to be about 6 kilogrammes, physics associated with thermonu- a higher than normal value. Thus Advanced Fission Designs clear explosions, the improvement India has enough plutonium for at of elaborate weapons design com- least 50 bombs. Although India has reiterated that puter codes, and the development of it has not built or deployed nuclear sophisticated diagnostic techniques weapons since 1974, it has main- and instrumentation. Uranium Enrichment tained and expanded the complex of laboratory and industrial support Till as late as 1988, DAE had been activities essential to a nuclear Dellvery denying that it had built a new ura- weapons programme. Because India nium enrichment facility at Ratna- has made progress in fissile materi- In addition to combat aircraft able halli near Mysore? Now, in an als production and processing, and to deliver nuclear weapons, India is interview, Dr P.K.Iyengar, director in the production of other important developing nuclear capable mis- of Department of Atomic Energy materials, it is believed to have de- siles. Agni can carry a pay load of (DAE) told Nucleonics Week that signed nuclear devices that are 500 to 1000 kilogrammes over a while India had successfully oper- smaller, lighter and more depend- . .rango of 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers. ated a 100-machine centrifuge cas- able. One U.S. official said that In- This missile is large enough to hold cade at Bhabha Atomic Research dia is continuing to do more a nuclear warhead and reach tar- Centre by 1985 itself, we built the research on design than Pakistan. gets in China or Pakistan. new facility to further develop the technology," One indication of Indian aspira- The economic and political costs of tions in advanced designs is BARC's a decision to move forward on these Well placed Indian sources said interest in beryllium metal. The use weapons could be high. Besides that the Ratnahalli facility was not of beryllium makes possible the de- draining valuable resources needed included in the list of nuclear facili- sign of smaller, lighter and more for economic development, deploy- ties recently given by the Indian advanced nuclear weapons. The ing a nuclear arsenal would lead to government to Pakistan, and that minimum amount of plutonium or Chinese and Pakistani countermea- Pakistan, convinced that India had highly enriched uranium required suree. In the long run, India's secu- built a second centrifuge plant, had to sustain a chain reaction or "criti- rity would be reduced. registered its objections in New cal mass "can be reduced by sur- Delhi after the two countries ex- rounding the core with a neutron David Albright and Mark Hibbs changed lists. reflector, and beryllium metal is

Anumukti 6.2 15 October/November 1992 Review

Subscription information Nuclear India: A Dream Gone Sour Rs. 25/- per year ( 6 issues) for South Asia This film is a powerful inducement of India's nuclear pro- U.S. $ 15/- per year or equivalent in other gramme. Some of its images, especially of deformed children- currencies for airmail overseas. touched me greatly. For the last two years, I have personally (Rs. 300/- per year if paid for in India) known the plight and misery of some of these children. I have not been able to make any difference in their wretched exist- Rs. 250/- for life (only within India) ence. Therefore, a film which would make this awful condition Demand drafts should be drawn on the State known to the whole world and hopefully force our ruling class Bank of India, VaIod (Code: 0531) For cheques out of its uncaring caccoon should have been a source of some and drafts drawn on other banks, please add satisfaction. Unfortunately, this is not the right film to bring Rs 6/- as Clearance charges. justice to the victims of our nuclear madness. Anumukti Team: Peter Patrao and The reason why, inspite of its strong visuals the film fails is Surendra Gadekar because it is based on a fundamentally flawed concept. It seems to say two things, both of them wrong. One, that if the "rules" are properly followed, then nuclear power can be run 'safely', Subscriptions, donations and enquiries re- and two that nuclear enteiprise in India has failed because it garding circulation should be addressed to: is being carried out in India—this poor benighted land where people know no better than to drink water from leaks in radio- Editor Anumukti active effluent carrying pipelines and farmers are still plough- Sampoorna Kranti Vidyalaya ing their fields using hand held ploughs. The film glosses over Vedchhi, District: Surat, 394 641 the fact that nuclear enterprise has been a total disaster every- where. Thus, we see the stereotype images of a bullock cart INDIA moving in the foreground, with the nuclear power plants form- ing the background. The commentary rubs this in with that if Please do not send cheques or drafts addressed the same level of radioactivity as observed on the beach sands to Surendra Gadekar of Kerala were to be observed in Britain, it would mean imme- Published by S.Gadekar for Sampoorna diate evacuation. While this may be true, the impression that Kranti Vidyalaya and printed at The Parijat the British nuclear programme is somehow safer or less dirty Printry, Ahemedabad is not. Nobody is in a better position to appreciate this fact, then PRINTED MATTER BOOK POST the maker of the film, James Cutler, who was the person who exposed the dirty linen of Sellafield.

The film is wrong on another count. It makes a great point of saying that the film was made clandestinely. This point is emphasised more than once, and is mentioned in connection with the all pervading secrecy surrounding the nuclear pro- gramme in India. I do believe that the Indian nuclear estab- lishment would not have allowed the film to be made. But I also think that neither did the producers make any attempt to do so It would have been better if they would have shown the same discretion in their presentation that they showed in filming.

The Indian nuclear programme is, in reality, a dream gone sour. The people living near nuclear establishments are not its only victims. We all are. We are saddled with a power source that does not, will not and cannot deliver the goods. Only the bads. The film with fine depiction of the contrasts between government claims and the reality on the ground does make one think. Unfortunately, its tone, is apt to raise one's patriotic hackles. This is a pity, since the major issue should have been one of social justice to the victims.