[Peace-discussion] Experts: Divine Strake 'Mushroom Cloud' Could Have Sickened Many

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 12:28:26 -0500

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Thanks Deanna! I'm also so glad you all were part of this!
Justice Department lawyers urged U.S. District Judge Lloyd George not to
hold Wednesday's 
hearing, arguing the cancellation made the issue moot.
I'm hoping they'll NOT let go! that they'll capitalize on this opportunity
to drive home some legislation that is Pro active in the  realm of civic
health and people's rights!
Thanks for sharing this Deanna!
Peace,
joni

  _____  

From: peace-discussion-admin@lists.gp-us.org
[mailto:peace-discussion-admin@lists.gp-us.org] On Behalf Of Deanna L.
Taylor
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 9:32 PM
To: peace-discussion@lists.gp-us.org
Subject: [Peace-discussion] Experts: Divine Strake 'Mushroom Cloud' Could
Have Sickened Many

As musician Laura sings:  "Sometimes Davey wins".

I am so glad we were part of the coalition that got this thing stopped.
Read on:

Deanna

http://nativeunity.blogspot.com/2007/06/experts-divine-strake-mushroom-cloud
.html
Friday, June 29, 2007
Experts: Divine Strake 'Mushroom Cloud' Could Have Sickened Many
By KEN RITTER
Associated Press Writer
June 28th, 2007

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A non-nuclear explosive test planned by the government
could have spread 
lethal radioactive particles across the Nevada desert and beyond had it not
been 
canceled, experts testified Wednesday.

"A new generation of 'downwinders' would have been created, with cancers and
birth 
defects," said Robert Hager, a Reno lawyer who summoned witnesses to try to
drive a stake 
through any future plans for the "Divine Strake" test at the Nevada Test
Site 85 miles 
northwest of Las Vegas.

The explosion of a 700-ton fuel oil and fertilizer bomb was proposed to
gather data about 
penetrating underground bunkers that produce and store weapons of mass
destruction. But 
the prospect of a mushroom cloud in the desert prompted a lawsuit and
intense opposition 
in Utah and Nevada, where critics feared it would scatter decades-old
radioactive 
material from previous Cold War-era tests.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency canceled the test in February.

Justice Department lawyers urged U.S. District Judge Lloyd George not to
hold Wednesday's 
hearing, arguing the cancellation made the issue moot.

"DTRA has no plans to conduct either the Divine Strake experiment or any
tests using 
open-air explosive detonations at the (Nevada Test Site)," government
lawyers Caroline 
Blanco and Sara Culley declared in documents filed in the case.

"We think it should be completely over," Blanco said Wednesday.

But Hager pleaded with the judge to order the government to provide notice
and an 
opportunity for public hearings if a similar test is resurrected.

Hager also sought the recovery from the government of $400,000 in attorney
and legal fees 
he claims were racked up forcing DTRA to pull the plug on the Divine Strake
experiment.

He said the government first postponed the test and later canceled it only
after his 
clients, the Western Shoshone tribe members and others in Nevada and Utah,
filed a 
lawsuit and found fatal flaws in the environmental impact reports.

The judge, who has heard months of arguments since the blast was initially
scheduled for 
June 2006, did not make immediate rulings on those requests. He gave both
sides several 
weeks to file briefs before he decides.

But he agreed to hear the experts Hager brought to Las Vegas to testify that
the 
government failed to adequately study possible health effects of the blast.

Plutonium expert Michael Ketterer, a chemistry and biochemistry professor at
Northern 
Arizona University in Flagstaff, testified that government soil samples
found "no doubt" 
there was radioactive contamination at the blast site.

Diane Stearns, a Northern Arizona University biochemist and uranium expert,
faulted a 
December 2006 draft environmental report on the proposed blast for failing
to answer what 
she called the "obvious" question.

"The public wants to know: What are the health risks from the fallout?" she
said on the 
witness stand. "We know this radioactivity is carcinogenic. We know it can
cause cancer."

Government officials a year ago downplayed surface contamination, and then
said they 
didn't expect the blast would disturb fallout left from the 100 aboveground
and 828 
underground nuclear weapons tests conducted at the test site from 1951 to
1992.

Thousands of people who lived near the test site - called downwinders - were
exposed to 
cancer-causing radiation from the weapons tests.

Ketterer said Wednesday that plastic shovel sampling for a December 2006
environmental 
study was so "abbreviated and hasty" he could not tell how much plutonium
there was on 
the surface around the Divine Strake site.

"They didn't test enough so that a report could be provided to represent the
danger?" the 
judge asked.

"Yes, your honor," Ketterer replied.

"The report as far as you're concerned was inadequate?"

"Yes."

Over the image of a huge crater left from a July 1962 nuclear test dubbed
"Sedan," 
Richard Miller, a researcher, author and former federal Occupational Safety
and Health 
Administration compliance agent, testified that for many years radioactive
fallout from 
Nevada traveled across the U.S.

Miller compared the 10,000-foot dust plume that officials said would have
been generated 
by the Divine Strake blast with a dust cloud kicked up by the 104-kiloton
Sedan test, 
which was detonated at a shallow 600 feet below ground.

Miller also offered charts showing widespread and random radioactivity
deposits around 
the nation after nuclear tests in the past, and called it impossible to
predict where 
microscopic particles cast so high in the atmosphere would settle.

"A debris cloud can be scavenged by a thunderstorm and 99 percent of the
material can 
come to Earth within an hour," Miller said. But he said measurements also
found 
radioactive clouds wafted north to Canada, west to California or east as far
as Maine.

Hager noted that the government had predicted dust churned up by the Divine
Strake test 
would settle within about 50 miles - or near the boundary of the Nevada Test
Site.

The blast was to have been 280 times larger than the bomb that destroyed the
Alfred P. 
Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995.

TO SUBMIT an ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest,
e-mail 
bobbieo@digitaldune.net.

NATIVE UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes
to make a 
positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political fabric of
American 
society and a place for non-Natives to better understand the ways of the
American Indian.

AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news and other great programs from Indian
Country - 
www.airos.org

FOR NATIVE CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com

Visit Vietnam Vet. LARRY MITCHELL at http://www.potawatomivet.com
<http://www.potawatomivet.com/> and click on his blog 
at the site.

NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was developed for
tribal education 
specialists serving tribal communities. Any tribal community can register at
NO COST.

NAJA ALERTS, POTPOURRI - Every Tuesday when available.

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<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft>Thanks Deanna! I'm also so glad you =
all&nbsp;were part of=20
this!</DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft>Justice =
Department=20
lawyers urged U.S. District Judge Lloyd George not to hold Wednesday's=20
 hearing, arguing the cancellation made the issue moot.</DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft>I'm hoping =
they'll NOT=20
let go! that they'll capitalize on this opportunity to drive home some=20
legislation that is Pro active in the&nbsp; realm of civic health and =
people's=20
rights!</DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft>Thanks for =
sharing this=20
Deanna!</DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft>Peace,</DIV>
<DIV dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft>joni</DIV> 
<DIV class=3DOutlookMessageHeader lang=3Den-us dir=3Dltr align=3Dleft>
<HR tabIndex=3D-1>
From: =
peace-discussion-admin@lists.gp-us.org=20
[mailto:peace-discussion-admin@lists.gp-us.org] On Behalf Of =
Deanna L.=20
Taylor Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 9:32 PM To:=20
peace-discussion@lists.gp-us.org Subject: [Peace-discussion] =
Experts:=20
Divine Strake 'Mushroom Cloud' Could Have Sickened =
Many </DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
As musician Laura sings: &nbsp;"Sometimes Davey wins".
I am so glad we were part of the coalition that got this thing =
stopped.=20
&nbsp;Read on:
Deanna
<A class=3Dfixed=20
href=3D"http://nativeunity.blogspot.com/2007/06/experts-divine-strake-mus=
hroom-cloud.html"=20
target=3D_blank>http://nativeunity.blogspot.com/2007/06/experts-divine-st=
rake-mushroom-cloud.html</A> Friday,=20
June 29, 2007 Experts: Divine Strake 'Mushroom Cloud' Could Have =
Sickened=20
Many By KEN RITTER Associated Press Writer June 28th, =
2007 LAS=20
VEGAS (AP) - A non-nuclear explosive test planned by the government =
could have=20
spread lethal radioactive particles across the Nevada desert and =
beyond had=20
it not been canceled, experts testified Wednesday. "A new =
generation=20
of 'downwinders' would have been created, with cancers and birth =
 defects,"=20
said Robert Hager, a Reno lawyer who summoned witnesses to try to drive =
a stake=20
 through any future plans for the "Divine Strake" test at the Nevada =
Test=20
Site 85 miles northwest of Las Vegas. The explosion of a =
700-ton fuel=20
oil and fertilizer bomb was proposed to gather data about =
 penetrating=20
underground bunkers that produce and store weapons of mass destruction. =
But=20
 the prospect of a mushroom cloud in the desert prompted a lawsuit =
and=20
intense opposition in Utah and Nevada, where critics feared it would =
scatter=20
decades-old radioactive material from previous Cold War-era=20
tests. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency canceled the test in=20
February. Justice Department lawyers urged U.S. District Judge =
Lloyd=20
George not to hold Wednesday's hearing, arguing the cancellation =
made the=20
issue moot. "DTRA has no plans to conduct either the Divine =
Strake=20
experiment or any tests using open-air explosive detonations at the =
(Nevada=20
Test Site)," government lawyers Caroline Blanco and Sara Culley =
declared in=20
documents filed in the case. "We think it should be completely =
over,"=20
Blanco said Wednesday. But Hager pleaded with the judge to order =
the=20
government to provide notice and an opportunity for public hearings =
if a=20
similar test is resurrected. Hager also sought the recovery from =
the=20
government of $400,000 in attorney and legal fees he claims were =
racked up=20
forcing DTRA to pull the plug on the Divine Strake experiment. He =
said=20
the government first postponed the test and later canceled it only after =
his=20
 clients, the Western Shoshone tribe members and others in Nevada and =
Utah,=20
filed a lawsuit and found fatal flaws in the environmental impact=20
reports. The judge, who has heard months of arguments since the =
blast was=20
initially scheduled for June 2006, did not make immediate rulings on =
those=20
requests. He gave both sides several weeks to file briefs before he=20
decides. But he agreed to hear the experts Hager brought to Las =
Vegas to=20
testify that the government failed to adequately study possible =
health=20
effects of the blast. Plutonium expert Michael Ketterer, a =
chemistry and=20
biochemistry professor at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff,=20
testified that government soil samples found "no doubt" there was=20
radioactive contamination at the blast site. Diane Stearns, a =
Northern=20
Arizona University biochemist and uranium expert, faulted a December =
2006=20
draft environmental report on the proposed blast for failing to answer =
what=20
 she called the "obvious" question. "The public wants to know: =
What=20
are the health risks from the fallout?" she said on the witness =
stand. "We=20
know this radioactivity is carcinogenic. We know it can cause=20
cancer." Government officials a year ago downplayed surface=20
contamination, and then said they didn't expect the blast would =
disturb=20
fallout left from the 100 aboveground and 828 underground nuclear =
weapons=20
tests conducted at the test site from 1951 to 1992. Thousands of =
people=20
who lived near the test site - called downwinders - were exposed to=20
 cancer-causing radiation from the weapons tests. Ketterer =
said=20
Wednesday that plastic shovel sampling for a December 2006 environmental =

study was so "abbreviated and hasty" he could not tell how much =
plutonium=20
there was on the surface around the Divine Strake site. "They =
didn't=20
test enough so that a report could be provided to represent the danger?" =
the=20
 judge asked. "Yes, your honor," Ketterer replied. "The =
report=20
as far as you're concerned was inadequate?" "Yes." Over =
the image=20
of a huge crater left from a July 1962 nuclear test dubbed "Sedan," =
 Richard=20
Miller, a researcher, author and former federal Occupational Safety and =
Health=20
 Administration compliance agent, testified that for many years =
radioactive=20
fallout from Nevada traveled across the U.S. Miller compared =
the=20
10,000-foot dust plume that officials said would have been generated =
 by the=20
Divine Strake blast with a dust cloud kicked up by the 104-kiloton Sedan =
test,=20
 which was detonated at a shallow 600 feet below =
ground. Miller also=20
offered charts showing widespread and random radioactivity deposits =
around=20
 the nation after nuclear tests in the past, and called it impossible =
to=20
predict where microscopic particles cast so high in the atmosphere =
would=20
settle. "A debris cloud can be scavenged by a thunderstorm and 99 =
percent=20
of the material can come to Earth within an hour," Miller said. But =
he said=20
measurements also found radioactive clouds wafted north to Canada, =
west to=20
California or east as far as Maine. Hager noted that the =
government had=20
predicted dust churned up by the Divine Strake test would settle =
within=20
about 50 miles - or near the boundary of the Nevada Test =
Site. The blast=20
was to have been 280 times larger than the bomb that destroyed the =
Alfred P.=20
 Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City in 1995. TO SUBMIT =
an=20
ARTICLE, OPINION PIECE, COMMENTS to the Native Unity Digest, e-mail =
 <A=20
class=3Dfixed=20
href=3D"compose.php?to=3Dbobbieo%40digitaldune.net&amp;thismailbox=3DINBO=
X"=20
nicetitle=3D"New Message =
to&#13;&#10;bobbieo@digitaldune.net">bobbieo@digitaldune.net</A>. =
NATIVE=20
UNITY - A place for Native American Peoples to solidify their tribes to =
make a=20
 positive impact on the cultural, social, economic and political =
fabric of=20
American society and a place for non-Natives to better understand =
the ways=20
of the American Indian. AIROS NATIVE NETWORK plays music, news =
and other=20
great programs from Indian Country - www.airos.org FOR NATIVE =

CELEBRITY NEWS - go to www.nativecelebs.com Visit Vietnam Vet. =
LARRY=20
MITCHELL at <A class=3Dfixed href=3D"http://www.potawatomivet.com/"=20
target=3D_blank>http://www.potawatomivet.com</A> and click on his blog =
 at the=20
site. NATIVE BIZ LEARNING CENTER - www.learn.nativebiz.com was =
developed=20
for tribal education specialists serving tribal communities. Any =
tribal=20
community can register at NO COST. NAJA ALERTS, POTPOURRI - Every =
Tuesday=20
when available. </BODY></HTML>

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