[sacw] S A A N Post | 14-15 Sept. 00

[Harsh Kapoor]

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South Asians Against Nukes Post
14-15 September 2000
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#1. Bangladesh: Why Nuclear Power Should Be Anathema

#2. Nuclear nightmare haunts the world

#3. India: Supreme Court to hear writ on uranium mines

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#1.

(14 sept.2000
Dear Friends,

Attached is an editorial published in the Bangladesh Observer on 7
September 2000 which echoed our concern. Similar things should be pursued
in other countries.

You can write letter to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh expressin the
concern. Praise her for her role in favour of peace in different
international forums, and then request her not to compromise her stated
principle for some short term tangible gains. The letter can be delivered
to the local Bangladesh Mission with copy to the local press.

[...]

Sincerely,
Mohiuddin=20
Community Development Library (CDL)
Network of Development Information & Communication
# 39, Road 14A, Dhanmondi
Dhaka 1205, Bangladesh

phones: +88.02.8113769, 8110495
fax: +88.02.8110254)
-
[editorial published in the Bangladesh Observer on 7 September 2000]

WHY NUCLEAR POWER SHOULD BE ANATHEMA

Our democratically elected, avowedly pro-people, Prime Minister, should
consider it her moral responsibility to heed the critics of atomic power
and put the much-hyped Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant Project in the domain of
dispassionate public discourse prior to implementing the high-risk, capital
intensive 'prestige project'. A thorough and transparent thrashing out of
the whole issue with reference to the realities on the ground and the
current status of nuclear power in today's world is imperative, for all the
myths that it is safe, cheap and environment friendly, have long been
exploded. Besides, we have some gas for the present and the boundless sun
for the future if only we would consider.=20

No nuclear scientist worth the name could be euphoric about atomic energy
in this post-Chernobyl environment. Fourteen years after the worst civilian
nuclear disaster (caused by human error), and billions of dollars spent for
medical treatment, clean-up and repair, Chernobyl is still a nightmare and
continues to gobble up huge aid funds just to keep the remaining reactor
reasonably 'safe'. Apart from the immediate casualties, and explosive
increase in childhood cancers, congenital malformations, spontaneous
abortions and various stress-related and immune system illnesses have been
documented in a wide area surrounding the disaster zone.=20

The unsustainability of nuclear power has been doubly brought home by the
growing mountains of radioactive waste for which there is no foolproof
method of safe disposal Only those blissfully ignorant of the properties of
the various radioactive elements, used in the whole nuclear fuel cycle,
would solve the mind boggling problem. This realisation has mercifully
persuaded a number of governments in the west, at least, to rethink their
energy options.=20=20

In the United States, the country with the largest number of nuclear
reactors, all the plants ordered since the mid-70s have been cancelled. In
Britain, France and Germany nuclear building programmes have ground to a
halt. In fact Germany recently declared its intention to phase out nuclear
power while declare its intention to phase out nuclear power while it gears
up research and development of other viable options (solar and wind, for
example). Sweden was one of the first countries to decide in 1980 to close
all nuclear power stations (which account for almost half the country's
electricity generation) by 2010. In Italy a 1987 referendum resulted in an
immediate shutdown of its nuclear stations. Denmark never went for nuclear
plants.=20

This crisis in the nuclear industry has sent reactor pedlars knocking on
the doors of the developing countries. Nuclear salesmen from the US,
France, Canada, Russia and Japan are said to be busy competing with one
another with no holds barred as to what tactics they might use to win
deals. We would request the Bangladesh chapter of Transparency
International which claims to be a watchdog for corruption in big business
and high places to look into the activities of these salesmen and lobbyists
who are bent on push selling a reactor to the present government.=20

The words of assorted 'experts' and other advocates of the RNPP who would
be beneficiaries in terms of jobs, perks and kickbacks should not be the
sole criteria for the PM, on which to base her decision. If she is truly
the leader of the people she must listen to the informed opinion of those
who, first and foremost, have the wellbeing of the of the people at heart.
The installation of a nuclear reactor on our soil-in the neighborhood or =
=20

anywhere else in the world, for that mater-----should be anathema
considering that experience gathered over the past half century regarding
this 'beast' has proved it to be uneconomic, poor performing and accident
prone. Worst of all nuclear power is burdening generations with loads of
radioactive waste, the impact of which, biophysicists say, would disrupt
and distort evolution itself.=20
=20=20
________

#2.

The Independent (Bangladesh)

Nuclear nightmare haunts the world

by Saiful Alam Lytton

The Kursk submarine disaster seems to be the beginning of the end. Apart
from the loss of lives of 118 sailors aboard, radiation threat to poison
the environment and human lives looms large which shall be haunting the
minds of the people in the days ahead. The disastrous consequences are a
foregone conclusion. Removing or abandoning the Kursk poses equal threat to
environment and human lives, as experts say removing it will entail huge
radioactive exposures and abandoning will release huge cocktails of toxins
when Kursk=92s body will decay.For Kursk disaster mishandling on the part o=
f
Russian authorities is largely held responsible. While this is partly true,
but the fact remains that nuclear technology is inherently hazardous. So
the Kursk incident should not obscure the generic problem with nuclear
weapons everywhere. In the present day world the greater and more imminent
threats arise out of the inadequacy of control over huge stockpiles of
nuclear weapons.The Kursk incident has once again brought into question the
rationality of manufacturing nuclear weapons, as the manufacturers cannot
reliably control mishaps. As such nuclear weapons can no longer be a viable
instrument of policy. For, any nuclear war, accident or miscalculation
would not only destroy vast areas, but by environmental and ecological
changes will threaten the very survival of humans and plants on earth.The
Chernobyl accident illustrated the extent of damage and the area of impact
of one accident in one particular nuclear power plant. Similarly, two more
accidents in chemical plants=97one at Basle in Switzerland and other at
Ludwigshafen in West Germany=97resulting in the spilling of a few tons of
toxic chemicals in the Rhine River, showed how serious and long-lasting the
impact will be on aquatic life and various aquifers. After 18 tons of
chemical spillage in the Rhine, it was estimated it would take ten years to
recover from the damage. On the other hand, any chemical plant hit will
produce hundreds of Bhopals.In these circumstances the probability of a
leadership rationally deciding on launching a military action to secure any
worthwhile objective whatsoever, is virtually nil. With the rise in
political awareness of the populations all over the world, while it may not
be very costly to invade a relatively well populated country, it is very
expensive to keep a population reconciled to domination. Unlike in the
period up to the Second World War, populations do not just accept such
occupation in a docile fashion. This factor has been highlighted in
Vietnam, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Lebanon, West Bank and some other
spots.Today the world has shrunk to such an extent and has become so
integrated in its functioning, it is no longer feasible to think of nations
behaving anarchically. Chernobyl, Bhopal, global pollution and acid rain,
greenhouse effect and even AIDS all indicate how international existence
had become jeopardised. No nation can live in isolation any longer. This
has to a great extent constrained the scope of using nuclear weapons, which
might someday become redundant. The redundancy, due to lack of proper care
and attendance, results in horrifying incidents, like Chernobyl, Bhopal,
Kursk, through accidents or miscalculations. So, for saving mankind from
the future horror, let us make nuclear weapons obsolete and impotent.

_____

#3.

South China Morning Post
Thursday, September 14, 2000
=20=20=20=20
INDIA
Supreme Court to hear writ on uranium mines
=20=20
by S. N. M. ABDI in New Delhi=20=20

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a petition holding the Government
responsible for large-scale radiation sickness afflicting tens of thousands
of poor tribespeople living around the Jadugoda uranium mines - the
lifeline of India's controversial nuclear programme.=20

The public interest suit filed by leading human rights activist B. L.
Wadhera claims that tribal communities living near the uranium mines in
south Bihar state suffered from radiation-related illnesses such as cancer,
leukaemia, tuberculosis, thalassaemia, congenital deformities, impotency
and infertility because of the callousness of the government-run Uranium
Corporation of India (UCIL) and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC).=20

The suit was filed in April 1999. But the Supreme Court was hesitant about
entertaining it, as it involved the politically sensitive nuclear industry,
which had never before been subjected to public scrutiny . The judges
finally relented last week after Mr Wadhera submitted the report of a
fact-finding team comprising leading doctors and members of leading
non-governmental organisations.=20

The report accused the UCIL of playing with the lives of 50,000 people
living within a 10km radius of the mines.=20

Activists expect that many hidden problems of India's highly contentious
nuclear programme - fuelled solely by uranium from Jadugoda - will be
revealed during the hearing of the suit.=20

Besides killing and maiming indigenous people, the suit accuses UCIL of
damaging the environment in one of India's most undeveloped regions.=20

Mr Wadhera said that the AEC itself recommended there should be no human
habitation within 5km of ponds where uranium waste products are dumped. But
there are seven villages with a population of 50,000 within a 1.5km radius
of dumping ponds.=20

But according to UCIL managing director Kailash Kumar Beri's
counter-affidavit, neither mining personnel nor people living near the
mines were exposed to radiation.=20

Mr Wadhera said that he was making arrangements for international experts
to measure the radiation levels at Jadugoda which would be presented in the
Supreme Court.=20

Activists of the Jadugoda Organisation Against Radiation have been fighting
for more than a decade for free medical treatment and compensation for
those it says have suffered from radiation.=20

According to the group, the local people have been ignored because of the
larger interests of the nuclear industry.=20

When they first raised their voices against the ecological and health
hazards of radiation, the activists were branded as agents of Pakistan's
Inter Services Intelligence.=20

Last year, the environment committee of the Bihar Legislative Assembly
which studied the high incidence of radiation sickness in Jadugoda,
described the situation as "deplorable" in its 80-page report.=20=20=20