From: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com (abolition-usa-digest) To: abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: abolition-usa-digest V1 #176 Reply-To: abolition-usa-digest Sender: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-abolition-usa-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk abolition-usa-digest Friday, September 3 1999 Volume 01 : Number 176 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 20:35:21 +1000 From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign Subject: (abolition-usa) GLOBAL FAX CAMPAIGN RE NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND Y2K John Hallam =46riends of the Earth Sydney, 17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia, =46ax(61)(2)9517-3902 ph (61)(2)9517-3903 nonukes@foesyd.org.au http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html EMBARGOED TO 2/SEPT. 1999 =46RIENDS OF THE EARTH/AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE GLOBAL Y2K N-WEAPONS FAX CAMPAIGN The 'Go Codes' were today sent out to commence a global fax campaign aimed at persuading the presidents of the US and Russia to take strategic nuclear weapons off hairtrigger alert over the Y2K 'rollover' period. The campaign commences at the same time as there is mounting concern over the effect of Y2K glitches on nuclear reactors in the US, Japan and Russia, and as reports surfaced in New Zealand media that 14 of Australia's =46remantle class patrol boats had been unable to deal with the rollover of the Global Positioning System (GPS). According to campaign coordinator John Hallam, "There has been an astonishing global response both to the call for a campaign to fax presidents Yeltsin and Clinton asking them to take nuke weapons off hairtrigger alert over the y2K rollover period, and to the sign- on letter to the two presidents, which we will be faxing repeatedly before December." "It doesn't take great genius to understand that having 5500 nuclear weapons (3,500 in Russia and 2000 in the US) capable of being launched within roughly 15/30 minutes, and controlled to a large extent by the largest, oldest, and least Y2K compliant computer systems in the world is not safe." "Obviously, the US and Russia are taking some steps to remedy the situation, and the joint strategic stability centre in Colorado is helpful. However, it is less than reassuring that it is only scheduled to commence operation on 27December, and the Russians have threatened several times on account of Kossovo, to pull out of it. What if there is a four-day delay in the schedule?" According to Irene Gale(AM) of the Australian Peace Committee "There is one failsafe and sure way to ensure that planetary catastrophe simply cannot happen and that is to take all nuclear forces off hairtrigger alert. The UK has already made a start by changing the 'notice to fire' on its submarine force from seconds to days. The US and Russia should follow that example." "Unless they do, then even if we manage to get through the Y2K bump, there will still be the possibility hanging like a sword of damocles over the whole planet that one day in a time of crisis, someone, somewhere, will believe false warning signals produced by a malfunctioning piece of hardware or software in Siberia or North Dakota, and make a miscalculation that could, ultimately, set back the process of evolution by roughly two billion years. This is a game of Russian Roulette with the whole planet that just cannot be allowed." Meanwhile, a monster sign on letter to Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton has generated more than 350 organisational signatures, ranging from members of the European Parliament and Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand MPs, to development groups in Nicaragua, to Russian peace groups to US congresspeople Edward Markey and Cynthia mc Kinney, to Leichhardt, Waverley, Darebin, Salisbury, Uralla, Richmond Rivers and Mitcham local governments. Contact: John Hallam, (02)9517-3903, h9810-2598, Irene Gale, (APC) 08-8364-2291 - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 20:57:04 +1000 From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign Subject: (abolition-usa) INSERTING THE GO-CODES FOR THE GLOBAL FAX CAMPAIGN John Hallam Friends of the Earth Sydney, 17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia, Fax(61)(2)9517-3902 ph (61)(2)9517-3903 nonukes@foesyd.org.au http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html Dear Rob, Katie, Marion, Vladimir, Alice, Bob Tiller, Bill Santlemann, Rennie Drielsma, Yukio, Paul Swann and all, It's an unmitigated pleasure to insert the 'go codes' sometimes!. At least, on a global fax campaign to ensure that if the go codes ever do get inserted, absolutely nothing happens! The 'fax now' as distinct from the 'fax on Sept 1' alert went out earlier today, for the global fax campaign. I don't anticipate huge media for this, but put it out anyway. In other developments: The total sign ons for the 'Bill and Boris' letter are now at more than 350 and still growing. However I have yet to crack the big celebrity barrier. I tried the Dalai Lama yesterday but his fax machine kept on cutting out. He does not have an email. (or i can't get it). I have also faxed Tutu to no avail. David Cortright signed on. A number of local governments have signed on. A further (much stronger) resolution is happening tomorrow in the Senate but I think that Dorling will torpedo it, in spite of getting faxed and phoned from all around the country (and not once from me). A whole heap of parliamentary questions are happening. (esp on the patrol boats, Rob!) WCP and CND UK are faxing as are IPPNW-Berlin, PSR, PGS, TVC, GRACE, Operation de-Alert, Global Response, Y2K-WASH, and other folk from Kamchatka to Nicaragua. Many thanks to all the wonderful people and organisations who are doing this. There is never enough of us. And one small detail which I hardly dare mention: I need $2000 to keep on doing this, to pay FOE's fax bill. Other folk are talking about up to $200,000 but I need just $2,000. But this is not an ambit claim. I really do need $2,000. There are some people I can only reach by fax, and I cannot run to a friendly politician every time I need to make an ISD fax. EMBARGOED TO 2/SEPT. 1999 FRIENDS OF THE EARTH/AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE GLOBAL Y2K N-WEAPONS FAX CAMPAIGN The 'Go Codes' were today sent out to commence a global fax campaign aimed at persuading the presidents of the US and Russia to take strategic nuclear weapons off hairtrigger alert over the Y2K 'rollover' period. The campaign commences at the same time as there is mounting concern over the effect of Y2K glitches on nuclear reactors in the US, Japan and Russia, and as reports surfaced in New Zealand media that 14 of Australia's Fremantle class patrol boats had been unable to deal with the rollover of the Global Positioning System (GPS). According to campaign coordinator John Hallam, "There has been an astonishing global response both to the call for a campaign to fax presidents Yeltsin and Clinton asking them to take nuke weapons off hairtrigger alert over the y2K rollover period, and to the sign- on letter to the two presidents, which we will be faxing repeatedly before December." "It doesn't take great genius to understand that having 5500 nuclear weapons (3,500 in Russia and 2000 in the US) capable of being launched within roughly 15/30 minutes, and controlled to a large extent by the largest, oldest, and least Y2K compliant computer systems in the world is not safe." "Obviously, the US and Russia are taking some steps to remedy the situation, and the joint strategic stability centre in Colorado is helpful. However, it is less than reassuring that it is only scheduled to commence operation on 27December, and the Russians have threatened several times on account of Kossovo, to pull out of it. What if there is a four-day delay in the schedule?" According to Irene Gale(AM) of the Australian Peace Committee "There is one failsafe and sure way to ensure that planetary catastrophe simply cannot happen and that is to take all nuclear forces off hairtrigger alert. The UK has already made a start by changing the 'notice to fire' on its submarine force from seconds to days. The US and Russia should follow that example." "Unless they do, then even if we manage to get through the Y2K bump, there will still be the possibility hanging like a sword of damocles over the whole planet that one day in a time of crisis, someone, somewhere, will believe false warning signals produced by a malfunctioning piece of hardware or software in Siberia or North Dakota, and make a miscalculation that could, ultimately, set back the process of evolution by roughly two billion years. This is a game of Russian Roulette with the whole planet that just cannot be allowed." Meanwhile, a monster sign on letter to Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton has generated more than 350 organisational signatures, ranging from members of the European Parliament and Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand MPs, to development groups in Nicaragua, to Russian peace groups to US congresspeople Edward Markey and Cynthia mc Kinney, to Leichhardt, Waverley, Darebin, Salisbury, Uralla, Richmond Rivers and Mitcham local governments. Contact: John Hallam, (02)9517-3903, h9810-2598, Irene Gale, (APC) 08-8364-2291 - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 15:52:32 -0400 From: Ellen Thomas Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Invitation to the October Meeting of the US Campaign to AbolishNuclear Weapons Happily, I plan to be at the October gathering in Ann Arbor. Alan and Odile Haber have my heartiest thanks for facilitating this. I look forward to discussion about current legislation -- what it is, what needs to be done, who will do it. Thanks for putting me on the registrant's list for any and all events. It will be great to see everyone again! Ellen Thomas PROPOSITION ONE COMMITTEE P.O. Box 27217, Washington, DC 20038 USA 202-462-0757 (phone) | 202-265-5389 (fax) http://prop1.org | prop1@prop1.org - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 01:33:39 -0700 (PDT) From: Timothy Bruening Subject: (abolition-usa) A Celebration Of Life Party In December, I am planning to invite some friends to my house for a Celebration Of Life party. How should I word the invitation? - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 01:33:40 -0700 (PDT) From: Timothy Bruening Subject: (abolition-usa) Nuclear War Contigency Plans If a small nuclear war erupts anywhere in the world as a result of the Y2K bug or just plain nationalism, what contingency plans does the Abolition 2000 movement have? Does it have press releases all ready to be released in case of a small nuclear war? I ask because I believe that a small nuclear war would create an unprecedented opportunity to mobilize public opinion against nuclear weapons, but I fear that the hawks would use a small nuclear war to argue that we need a Stars Wars system to defend against nuclear weapons, so I believe that the Abolition 2000 movement needs to be able to dominate the public debate before the hawks move in. - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 09:10:40 -0700 (PDT) From: marylia@earthlink.net (marylia) Subject: (abolition-usa) NIF: $300 Million Cost Overrun Hello peace and environmental advocates: This is a very important story on the National Ignition Facility's cost overrun and schedule slippage. It provides key information not yet reported in the major newspapers. Please note that Tri-Valley CAREs is calling for a Congressional investigation. Plus, I am still digging. There will be even more to come! In the meantime, enjoy... Lab Laser: $300 Million Cost Overrun? by Marylia Kelley from Tri-Valley CAREs' September 1999 newsletter, Citizen's Watch Last week, Mike Campbell resigned his position as Associate Director for Lasers at Livermore Laboratory. As A.D., Campbell had been head of the Laser Directorate, including the $1.2 billion National Ignition Facility. Lab Director Bruce Tarter issued a press statement on Friday claiming Campbell had stepped down for personal reasons. Along with that announcement, Lab management immediately began leaking information to the press that Campbell had not received a Ph.D. from Princeton, as he had claimed. That fact was widely reported in the media. End of story? Or, titillating red herring? Tri-Valley CAREs began conducting interviews last week with senior scientific staffers at the three major nuclear weapons laboratories, Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia. Knowledgeable, long-time employees at all three of the labs said the real reason for the "shake up" is that the nuclear fusion-based NIF, being built at Livermore Lab, is $300 million over budget and one year behind schedule. We were told NIF is mired in scientific and technical difficulties that Livermore Lab and its parent agency, the Dept. of Energy, are trying to hide from Congress and the public. There are three "show stopper" areas where NIF is rapidly falling behind schedule and incurring cost overruns-$300 million and rising, employees say. * Target fabrication - This refers to the design and manufacture of the cryogenic (frozen) balls containing the radioactive fuel that NIF's 192 laser beams are supposed to compress uniformly and instantly to achieve the temperatures and other phenomena found in the later stages of an exploding nuclear weapon. * Diagnostics - This is the sophisticated array of equipment that is required to provide a highly accurate record of what goes on in a NIF target "shot." These results are to be fed into the nuclear weapons codes, the software that is central to nuclear weapons design. * Glass development and delivery - This refers to the refinement and manufacture of exceedingly complex optics, special lenses and crystals that comprise the basis for NIF - which is a glass laser. No glass means no laser. In essence, Livermore Lab officials have been spending the money as fast as they get it, but have failed to accomplish the milestones those funds were supposed to achieve. Employees say the Lab has attempted to hide the overrun by pulling target fabrication, diagnostics and glass delivery out of NIF's "project" budget. That's how, say staffers, Mike Campbell justified standing on stage at the target chamber dedication in June boasting NIF was "on budget." Just missing a few key ingredients, that's all. Very Clintonesque. Since all those things will need to be purchased, Livermore Lab and the DOE management plan to rob money from other programs at Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia labs to make up for the overrun, say scientists. NIF is the 800 pound gorilla poised and ready to squash many smaller, more worthy projects. NIF's technical difficulties have also caused its completion date to slip by 12 months, say sources close to the program. While Lab and DOE officials are still saying publicly that NIF will be on line in 2003, several months ago the projected start date was secretly bumped backed to 2004, they say. NIF is, at best, half-built (according to the Lab's assessment). That it could be this far over budget and behind schedule is indicative of a program in deep trouble, and one whose management insisted on plunging full speed ahead before key scientific problems were resolved. A $300 million cost overrun is particularly astonishing when one considers that NIF's construction estimates have nearly doubled, from $677 million to $1.2 billion. How could NIF garner such huge budget increases and still incur an overrun on top of that? Tri-Valley CAREs is calling for a Congressional inquiry into NIF spending. Top Lab and DOE management should be forced to come clean now, before any new checks are cashed. NIF's overall budget for fiscal year 2000, which starts on October 1, contains nearly half a billion dollars. Congress should not risk throwing good money out after bad. Marylia Kelley Tri-Valley CAREs (Communities Against a Radioactive Environment) 2582 Old First Street Livermore, CA USA 94550 - is our web site, please visit us there! (925) 443-7148 - is our phone (925) 443-0177 - is our fax Working for peace, justice and a healthy environment since 1983, Tri-Valley CAREs has been a member of the nation-wide Alliance for Nuclear Accountability in the U.S. since 1989, and is a co-founding member of the international Abolition 2000 network for the elimination of nuclear weapons. - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 3 Sep 1999 15:57:03 +1000 From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign Subject: (abolition-usa) THE MOST IMORTANT FAX YOU MIGHT EVER MAKE APPEAL: THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IN THE WORLD BETWEEN NOW AND DECEMBER31 =46AX YELTSIN, CLINTON TO TAKE N-WEAPONS OFF ALERT OVER Y2K NOW. SIGN THE NUKE WEAPONS DE-ALERTING LETTER TO YELTSIN/CLINTON (TEXT at http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html to sign email nonukes@foesyd.org.au) PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN, +7-095-205-4330, PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, +1-202-456-2461, Dear All, You will be getting many messages of this kind because this is possibly the most important single issue that can ever come your way between now and the next year. =46ollowing this appeal there are two sample letters, one from FOE Australia and one from Bob Tiller of PSR USA. I urge you to act on them. The fax campaign started Sept 1. IFyou or your organisation has not yet faxed Yeltsin and or Clinton, do it in the next few days. I am writing to urge you to fax Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton from now onwards to take strategic nuclear weapons off alert before December, and to ask that the de- alerting of strategic nuclear weapons be discussed at the coming September 21 meeting of the G8. Also if you are an organisation or a 'prominent' person, please sign the big sign - on letter to Yeltsin and Clinton. It's already been faxed a few times, and will be faxed again and again as it grows before December. The text is on the website at http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html To sign email THIS ADRESS. (nonukes@foesyd.org.au) This is of absolutely vital importance. Getting 5000 nuclear missiles off alert status before the Y2k bug plays havoc with their command and control systems is just about the most important thing anyone can possibly do. Arguably there is simply no other issue this important between now and December/January. It might be literally a matter of survival. Please use the fax numbers I have provided. The numbers here work. I've just checked them. If they (especially Yeltsins one) seem not to work be patient. Keep trying. If they take these numbers out of operation I will supply others but not until I am sure. Try and get everyone you know to do it. If you are a large organisation please try and get all your members to do it. Include it in your newsletters. Many thanks and may the fax gremlins smile on you! John Hallam. DRAFT MODEL LETTER TO YELTSIN AND CLINTON FOR GLOBAL FAX CAMPAIGN STARTING SEPTEMBER 1 PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN, +7-095-205-4330, PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, +1-202-456-2461, Dear Presidents Yeltsin, and Clinton, I am writing to you to convey my extreme concern over the possibility that Y2K -related problems in the computerised command, control, and monitoring systems of nuclear forces and weapon systems, may give rise to an unacceptable risk of accidental nuclear war, as a result of incorrect data and miscalculation. I therefore urge you to solve the problem by taking your nuclear forces off alert, or by standing them down. I ask that standing down nuclear forces in view of the problems posed by the 'Millennium Bug', be a matter for urgent priority discussions at the G8 Summit in Berlin on Sept 21. As well asY2K considerations, taking nuclear weapons off alert will increase strategic stability and confidence, and eliminate the possibility of accidental nuclear war. I would remind you that your two countries have some 5000 strategic nuclear weapons that are able to be fired within a time span of 15-30 minutes. This must never happen. Should it do so, not only would your two countries cease to exist, but it is entirely possible that human life and maybe all life life on the planet, could be terminated. Any risk of this happening at any time, Y2K or otherwise, no matter how small, is unacceptable. However, the Y2K problem adds another layer of uncertainty to the risk that already exists. Taking nuclear forces off alert was strongly recommended by the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in 1996, and a number of resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly have urged that it be done. Taking nuclear weapons off alert and placing them in a state in which hours to days rather than minutes or seconds would be required to make them launch ready, would effectively eliminate the risk of accidental nuclear war due to the Y2K computer problem. It would also make impossible the many non-Y2K related problems that have many times brought us to within minutes of a possible nuclear exchange. De-Alerting will cost you nothing, and can be done by a simple executive order to stand down nuclear forces. The UK has already altered its 'notice to fire' from minutes to days. We/I urge you to do likewise. The stakes involved far outweigh any considerations of national pride, national interest, or even national security. Indeed, the immediate stakes are so high, and the potential for global catastrophe so clear that mutually verified de- alerting must now take precedence over all other considerations. Signed... etc >------------------------------------------- >Dear Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton: > >The Cold War ended years ago, but the nuclear danger endures, menacing >us all. Thousands of nuclear weapons remain on high-alert in the United >States and Russia. Although both countries have announced their >"de-targeting" of the other, that step is virtually meaningless when >both countries keep their weapons on alert and maintain a >launch-on-warning posture. > >Keeping nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert does not add to the >security of either nation; indeed it makes all of us less secure. You >are well aware of the various occasions when Russia and the U.S. came >close to launching nuclear weapons because of misunderstanding or poor >data. Removing the weapons from hair-trigger alert would eliminate the >risk of hasty reaction. > >Therefore I urge you to lessen the nuclear danger by removing all >nuclear weapons from high-alert. This can be accomplished in a matter >of weeks without treaty negotiation or ratification. > >This approach has worked before. In 1991 President George Bush took the >bold step of removing hundreds of U.S. nuclear weapons from high-alert >status, and in response Mikhail Gorbachev did the same with hundreds of >Soviet weapons. Now we need similar courageous leadership to finish the >process that they started. > >De-alerting takes on added urgency this year. When January 1, 2000 >arrives, no one will know if all of the Y2K computer problems have been >fixed. Why court disaster by having nuclear warheads on hair-trigger >alert when we do not know how the computers in the nuclear system will >function? > >Last year the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a >resolution which calls on the nuclear weapons states to de-alert their >weapons. It is wise counsel. For the sake of our children and >grandchildren, please de-alert all nuclear weapons now. > >Sincerely, John Hallam =46riends of the Earth Sydney, 17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia, =46ax(61)(2)9517-3902 ph (61)(2)9517-3903 nonukes@foesyd.org.au http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Sep 1999 16:55:56 -0400 From: Bob Tiller Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Nuclear War Contigency Plans There can be no such thing as "a small nuclear war." It is a mistaken idea, a false construct, and we should not be using it. Shalom, Bob Tiller Timothy Bruening wrote: > If a small nuclear war erupts anywhere in the world as a result of the Y2K > bug or just plain nationalism, what contingency plans does the Abolition > 2000 movement have? Does it have press releases all ready to be released in > case of a small nuclear war? > > I ask because I believe that a small nuclear war would create an > unprecedented opportunity to mobilize public opinion against nuclear > weapons, but I fear that the hawks would use a small nuclear war to argue > that we need a Stars Wars system to defend against nuclear weapons, so I > believe that the Abolition 2000 movement needs to be able to dominate the > public debate before the hawks move in. > > - > To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" > with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. > For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send > "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 03 Sep 1999 17:09:55 -0400 From: Hisham Zerriffi Subject: (abolition-usa) BEIR VII letter and press release Dear Friends: Here is the press release and final version of the letter delivered by IEER to the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR VII). IEER Letterhead FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For further information contact: Arjun Makhijani or Lisa Ledwidge: 301-270-5500 PRESS RELEASE 70+ Signers Urge National Academy Panel to Study Genetic and Birth Defects as Radiation Risks Washington, DC, Sept. 3, 1999. More than 70 organizations and individuals from around the world today called on a new National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel being set up to study the impacts of low-level radiation exposure to consider a wide range of potential health effects including birth defects and genetic damage in its deliberations. In a letter to the NAS Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR VII), the signers said =93It is important that the BEIR VII process address the full range of risks that have not been conclusively evaluated so far. This should include risks that have come to light since the BEIR V report (such as the combined effects of radiation and hormonally-active agents, also called endocrine disrupters) as well as issues that could have been addressed in BEIR V, but were not.=94 Dr. Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER), handed the letter to the Committee for consideration on behalf of the signatories. =93The issue of the health effects of radiation is far more complex than the range of effects evaluated in the last BEIR committee report,=94 said Dr. Arjun Makhijani. =93Moreover, some of the data, such as US worker dose data, used in radiatio= n studies is suspect or seriously flawed. It is crucial that the committee consider data integrity and quality questions and not accept results of studies only because they have been published in peer-reviewed journals.=94 =93We have compiled a list of some of the most crucial issues that we believ= e you should address, like radiation's effects on the development of ova, which are formed once per lifetime during females' fetal development,=94 sai= d Lisa Ledwidge, Outreach Coordinator of IEER. =93We also are requesting that the committee publish and update frequently a list of the publications that it is reviewing so that the public may be able to follow the review and add to that list as needed.=94 The letter makes some highly specific suggestions for research. David Close, a professor of physics at East Tennessee State University who specializes in the effects of radiation on DNA, noted that when radioactive atoms, such as those of carbon-14, become part of the DNA, they change the chemical composition of that piece of DNA when they decay. =93Carbon-14 becomes nitrogen-14 when it decays,=94 said Dr. Close. =93We need to know whether the genetic change that results from such a transmutation in the DNA can produce adverse health effects, and if so what these health effects are.=94 IEER requested that the committee treat the issues in the letter with the same seriousness had a member of the committee raised them. - --30-- **************************************************************************** ************** IEER Letterhead September 3, 1999 Richard R. Monson M.D., Chair c/o Rick Jostes, Staff Officer Committee on the Health Risks from Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR VII) National Academy of Sciences 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20418 Dear Dr. Monson, We are writing in connection with your committee's work on assessing the effects of low-level radiation in the form of the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) VII review.=20 We are pleased that the BEIR VII Committee has set out to "consider a large amount of published data =85 concerning the risks to humans of exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation" (BEIR VII Project Scope). We expect that, as part of this work, the Committee will examine conflicting evidence and interpretations in the process of identifying biological effects and risk factors. We look forward to following closely the Committee's deliberations throughout this important process and to participating in= them. The work of past BEIR Committees has been influential in setting the tone and terms of the scientific debate on the issue and in the radiation standard-setting process. Therefore, we believe it is crucial that the full range of information and issues regarding the health effects of ionizing radiation be considered. The BEIR V report considered only risks of cancer, some aspects of genetic damage (though it did not estimate risks of =93diseases of complex genetic origin, which are thought to comprise the largest category of genetically-related diseases,=94 p. 4) and mental retardation arising from in-utero exposure. It is important that the BEIR VII process address the full range of risks that have not been conclusively evaluated so far. This should include risks that have come to light since the BEIR V report (such as the combined effects of radiation and hormonally-active agents, also called endocrine disrupters) as well as issues that could have been addressed in BEIR V, but were not. We have compiled a list of some of the most crucial issues that we believe you should address. These issues are as follows: *Effects of radionuclides that cross the placenta: This should include consideration of the effects on the developing fetus itself (e.g. miscarriages, malformations, and developmental effects other than mental retardation) and the effects on relevant organs at critical periods of fetal development. This study of health effects on the developing fetus should specifically include effects on development of specific organs, and the indirect effects of harm to organs such as the thyroid. We are especially concerned about radionuclides such as iodine-131, carbon-14, and tritium that could become part of the fetus in ways that could profoundly affect its well being. For instance, tritium, being a form of hydrogen, combines with oxygen to form water. Tritiated water behaves chemically like ordinary water. If ingested, a fraction of it becomes incorporated into the cells of the body, including genetic material. Such radioactive water also crosses the placenta. The potential for the resultant in-utero exposure to cause miscarriages, birth defects, and other health problems needs to be examined. The BEIR VII committee's evaluation of the risks of low-level radiation should include all such radionuclides and effects. If there are gaps in present knowledge, these should be identified clearly and their implications should be spelled out. *Effects of radiation on female fetuses: Considering that ova are formed once per lifetime during females' fetal development, the Committee should evaluate the effects of radiation on the reproductive system of female fetuses and the possible effect of such radiation on the children of females irradiated in this way. *Effects of organically-bound radionuclides: Radionuclides such as tritium or carbon-14 can become part of the DNA. Upon radioactive decay, they transmute into other elements. (Tritium becomes helium-3 and carbon-14 becomes nitrogen-14.) Such transmutation events could adversely affect the DNA. The potential health effects of such transmutations need to be evaluated. =20 *Synergistic effects: Exposure to radiation is sometimes coupled with exposure to other hazardous substances. The Committee should consider health effects caused by combined exposure to radioactive and non-radioactive substances. Special attention should be given to substances such as hormonally active agents that affect the hormonal system and the possibility that such disruption might increase the risk of cancer and other diseases arising from radiation exposure. Conversely, radiation exposure might damage the endocrine system, thereby increasing vulnerability to other disease-producing agents in the environment. The possibility of variability of such risks depending on age of exposure (and whether exposure takes place in-utero) should also be considered. *Data integrity and quality: Worker dose records of the U.S. Department of Energy, and its predecessor agencies, are deeply flawed. The environmental contamination records are similarly deeply flawed. We know these things about the United States because much of the raw data record has become public through lawsuits, Freedom of Information Act requests, etc. Use of studies that accept official US worker or offsite dose estimates without evaluation of the raw data is highly questionable to say the least. Since the raw data in other countries are still largely secret, there is even less reason to accept them at face value. For instance, there is evidence that the health data in the former Soviet Union are questionable. The Committee should review these and related fundamental questions of data integrity and address whether any of this record is suitable at all for assessing the risks of low-level radiation, and if so how it should be used. The Committee should also address what criteria of data quality it will apply to the information contained in the studies it reviews. In this context, we do not believe that it will be enough to simply accept peer-reviewed studies as correct if they have not evaluated the soundness of the underlying official dose and health data. Finally the impact of misclassification of radiation exposures and health outcomes and health-related selection factors, should be considered in interpreting all epidemiological studies, including studies of A-bomb survivors. *Effects on various populations: The concept of "standard man" or "average" is often used to set radiation protection standards. Given the potential large variability of actual health effects of radiation in various populations, the Committee should assess the errors in risk estimates produced by the use of this concept. For instance, the age-dependence of the dose response relationship for various health effects should be explicitly spelled out, not only for children, but also for older age groups. Another example is the potential variation in sensitivity to low-level radiation among individuals who are otherwise of similar demographic make-up. In many of these areas, it may be that there is simply not enough knowledge to come to reliable scientific conclusions. In such cases, the Committee should clearly and frankly say so and recommend a research agenda. If possible, this should be accompanied by qualitative discussions of the mechanisms of potential health effects. It is of crucial importance to us that all areas where risk cannot be reliably calculated are clearly identified. If the types of risk can be qualitatively ascertained, the risks should be spelled out. If even the qualitative risks cannot be assessed, that conclusion would also be very material. We have not discussed cancer-related issues above because we are presuming that the Committee will address the full range of relevant literature in regard to carcinogenic effects. It would be helpful if the committee published and updated frequently a list of the publications that it is reviewing, so that we may be able to follow the review and add to that list, should we feel that to be necessary or desirable. We look forward to providing scientific input throughout the BEIR VII process and expect that the Committee will fully address the issues we have raised as seriously as it might were those same issues raised by a member of the Committee.=20 We appreciate the opportunity for public comment and ask that it be expanded as needed to fully accommodate the issues and evidence that we want to put forth. We look forward to your response. Do let us know if you have any questions or need more information. Please address your questions or responses to Lisa Ledwidge or Arjun Makhijani. Thank you very much. Sincerely, Lisa Ledwidge Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D. Outreach Coordinator President=09 ieer@ieer.org arjun@ieer.org Other signatories: David E. Adelman, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, D.C., USA Glenn Alcalay, Co-chair, National Committee for Radiation Victims, New York, New York, USA Jennifer Aldrich, Executive Director, Physicians for Social Responsibility/Oregon, Portland, Oregon, USA Dave Andrews, Vice Chair, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Wales, UK Didier Anger, le CRILAN, Les Pieux, France Paulette Anger, le CRILAN, Les Pieux, France Caron Balkany, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety*, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA Dan Becker, Director, Global Warming and Energy Programs, Sierra Club, Washington, D.C., USA Rosalie Bertell, Ph.D., GNSH, President, International Institute of Concern for Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Patricia T. Birnie, Chair, GE Stockholders' Alliance, and Chair, Environment Committee, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Tucson, Arizona, USA Philippe Brousse, Secr=E9tariat du R=E9seau "Sortir du nucl=E9aire," Lyon,= France Elizabeth Brown, East Bay Peace Action, Albany, California, USA Kateri Caron, Spokane, Washington, USA Vina Colley, Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and Security, McDermott, Ohio, USA David Close, Professor, Department of Physics, East Tennessee State University, USA Mary Byrd Davis, Uranium Enrichment Project of Earth Island Institute, Georgetown, Kentucky, USA Cyndy deBruler Executive Director, Columbia River United, Hood River, Oregon, USA Greg deBruler, White Salmon, Washington, USA Anushka Drescher, Ph.D., Berkeley, California, USA Gordon Edwards, Ph.D., President, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Montreal, Quebec, Canada Nader Entessar, Professor of Political Science & International Studies, Spring Hill College*, Mobile, Alabama, USA Cathey E. Falvo, M.D., M.P.H., Program Director, International & Public Health Graduate School of Health Sciences, New York Medical College*, Valhalla, New York, New York, USA Ansar Fayyazuddin, Assistant Professor of Physics, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden Martin Forwood and Janine Allis-Smith, CORE (Cumbrians Opposed to a Radioactive Environment), Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, UK Michel Fremont, le CRILAN, Courcy, France Surendra Gadekar, ANUMUKTI, Vedchhi, India Sanghamitra Gadekar, ANUMUKTI, Vedchhi, India Ann Harris, Director, We The People, Inc., of Tennessee, and Executive Director, Alliance for Public Health & Safety, Ten Mile, Tennessee, USA Ruth M. Heifetz, M.D., M.P.H., Senior Lecturer, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California-San Diego*, San Diego, California, USA Ira Helfand, M.D., Co-Founder and Past President, Physicians for Social Responsibility, USA Felicity Hill, Director, U.N. Office for Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, New York, USA Laura Hunter, Environmental Health Coalition, San Diego, California, USA Joe Jaffe, retired physicist, San Diego, California, USA Carol Jahnkow, Executive Director, Peace Resource Center of San Diego, San Diego, California, USA Chuck Johnson, Director, Center for Energy Research, Salem, Oregon, USA Judith Johnsrud, Director, Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power, State College, Pennsylvania, USA Deb Katz, Citizens Awareness Network, Shelbourne Falls, Massachusetts, USA Robin Klein, President, Hanford Action of Oregon, Portland, Oregon, USA Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Koehnlein, President, German Society for Radiation Protection, and Institut fuer Strahlenbiologie, Westfaelische Wilhelms-Universitaet, Muenster, Germany Cathy Lemar, Military Toxics Project, Lewiston, Maine, USA Bernard Lindberg, Chairperson, Mankato Area Environmentalists, Mankato, Minnesota, USA John Loretz, Executive Editor, Medicine and Global Survival*, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Michael J. Manetas, Department of Environmental Resources Engineering, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, USA Robert A. McFarlane, M.D., Clinical Professor Emeritus of Surgery, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon, USA Janot Mendler, Director for Operations, GEF/UNDP International Waters:LEARN*, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Robin Mills, Director, Maryland Safe Energy Coalition, Baltimore, Maryland, USA Giorgio Nebbia, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Economics, University of Bari*, Italy Dale D. Nesbitt, Staff scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Retired, California, USA Andi Nidecker, Associate Professor, University of Basel, and Executive Council, Swiss Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility and International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Switzerland Baku Nishio and Hideyuki Ban, Co-directors, Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Tokyo, Japan Rudi H. Nussbaum, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Portland State University, for Northwest Radiation Health Alliance, Portland, Oregon, USA=20 Sonya Ostrom, Metro New York Peace Action Council, Brooklyn Heights Peace Action, Eastside Peace Action, Flatbush Peace Action, Greenwich Village Coalition for Peaceful Priorities, NOBSAC (North Bronx Social Action Committee), Shorefront Peace Committee, SNAP (Stop Nuclear Arms Proliferation), and Westside Peace Action, New York, New York, USA David Ozonoff, M.D., M.P.H., Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Perline, Ph.D., engineer and physicist, Paris, France Carolyn Raffensperger, Science and Environmental Health Network, Windsor, North Dakota, USA Bruce Reznik, Executive Director, San Diego BayKeeper, San Diego, California, USA Norman Rubin, Director of Nuclear Research and Senior Policy Analyst, Energy Probe, Toronto, Ontario, Canada Gladys Schmitz, Vice-chairperson, Mankato Area Environmentalists, Mankato, Minnesota, USA Betty Schroeder, Co-Chair, Arizona Safe Energy Coalition, Tucson, Arizona, USA=20 Monique Sen=E9, GSIEN, Orsay, France Victor W. Sidel, M.D., Professor of Social Medicine, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA Pamela Sihvola, Co-chair, Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste, California, USA Norma Sullivan, retired college English professor, San Diego, California,= USA Dr. Jinzaburo Takagi, Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Tokyo, Japan Tim Takaro, M.D., Chair, Hanford Task Force, Washington Physicians for Social Responsibility, Seattle, Washington, USA Alyn Ware, Consultant at Large, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy, New York, New York, USA Harvey Wasserman, Citizens Protecting Ohio, Bexley, Ohio, USA Carroll Webber, Ph.D., Greenville, North Carolina, USA David Crockett Williams, Coordinator, Global Peace Walk Project, and Initiator, Global Emergency Alert Response, Tehachapi, California, USA Steve Wing, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina*, Chapel Hill, USA Alexei Yablokov, Center for Russian Environmental Policy and Program for Radioactive and Nuclear Safety by International Socio-Ecological Union, Moscow, Russia Alla Yaroshinskaya, Yaroshinskaya Ecological Charity Fund, Moscow, Russia *Affiliation provided for identification purposes only Cc: Members of BEIR VII Committee Dr. Evan B. Douple, Director, Board on Radiation Effects Research Dr. Stephen L. Simon, Board on Radiation Effects Research Dr. E. William Colglazier, Executive Officer, National Academy of Sciences Dr. Jerome Puskin, Radiation Studies Branch, Environmental Protection= Agency Dr. Richard B. Setlow, Chair, BEIR VII Phase I Committee Mr. Charles Meinhold, President, National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements Professor R.H. Clarke, Chairman, International Commission on Radiological Protection =20 ***************************************************************** Hisham Zerriffi =20 Project Scientist =20 Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER) 6935 Laurel Ave. Suite 204, Takoma Park, MD 20912 =20 Phone: (301) 270-5500 Fax: (301) 270-3029 =20 E-mail: hisham@ieer.org Web: http://www.ieer.org=20 ***************************************************************** - - To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message. For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send "help" to the same address. Do not use quotes in your message. ------------------------------ End of abolition-usa-digest V1 #176 *********************************** - To unsubscribe to $LIST, send an email to "majordomo@xmission.com" with "unsubscribe $LIST" in the body of the message. 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