by Ed Kociela
 Major media across the country have turned a deaf ear on an upcoming bomb test at the Nevada Test Site.
This
isn't an ordinary scientific exercise. The test, named Divine Strake,
is an explosion of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil set to
detonate in the Nevada desert.
It has been described in several documents as part of the Defense
Department's run-up to the bunker-buster bomb, which is a tool the
military would like to have in its arsenal to go after hardened,
underground targets such as nuclear sites in North Korea, Iran or
anywhere else the United States doesn't like the idea of deployed
nukes.
And, yes, bunker-busters are expected to be nuclear devices.
The
test will take place in a part of the United States that was soaked
with radioactive particles during the nuclear tests that took place
from 1945 until 1992. Some tests were underground, some were at
altitude. All spread poison that caused disease through the 48
contiguous United States and into Canada, killing more than 15,000
people and injuring many times more.
No matter how many times the subject comes up, however, the national media ignores it.
The
bomb will go off in the rural West. Why should they care? Because the
jet stream picks this stuff up and dumps it randomly across the country.
Some
of the places hardest hit by nuclear fallout include Kansas City, St.
Louis, parts of Iowa, New York and other unlikely spots.
This
test is rearing its ugly head again. The Defense Department had
promised the residents of southern Nevada and Utah a series of public
hearings where they could register their comments. Those hearings have
now turned into "open house" events where the public can walk through a
bunch of displays, take in a PowerPoint presentation and send their
comments to the government.
A draft environmental assessment says
all would be well with this test. It would stir up the nuclear cocktail
from the desert floor and redistribute it into the air. But it wouldn't
hurt anybody.
That's a crock.
With the government's track
record of lying through its teeth when the Cold War tests took place,
who can trust it now? There is no way they can predict how much toxic
dust will be shaken up, where it will go, on whom it will land.
So
the possibility is that it cannot only land on you, but your family in
Minnesota, Alabama, Florida, New York, Maine or even Quebec, Canada.
To read the government's environmental assessment, go to: http://www.nv.doe.gov/ library/publications/environmental.aspxand to make a comment e-mail divinestrake@nv.doe.govor send a fax to (702) 295-0625.
It matters to all of us, whether we live in rural America or one of the bustling metropolitan areas.
Bomb test fails to capture interest
Major media across the country have turned a deaf ear on an upcoming bomb test at the Nevada Test Site.
This
isn't an ordinary scientific exercise. The test, named Divine Strake,
is an explosion of 700 tons of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil set to
detonate in the Nevada desert.
It has been described in several documents as part of the Defense
Department's run-up to the bunker-buster bomb, which is a tool the
military would like to have in its arsenal to go after hardened,
underground targets such as nuclear sites in North Korea, Iran or
anywhere else the United States doesn't like the idea of deployed
nukes.
And, yes, bunker-busters are expected to be nuclear devices.
The
test will take place in a part of the United States that was soaked
with radioactive particles during the nuclear tests that took place
from 1945 until 1992. Some tests were underground, some were at
altitude. All spread poison that caused disease through the 48
contiguous United States and into Canada, killing more than 15,000
people and injuring many times more.
No matter how many times the subject comes up, however, the national media ignores it.
The
bomb will go off in the rural West. Why should they care? Because the
jet stream picks this stuff up and dumps it randomly across the country.
Some
of the places hardest hit by nuclear fallout include Kansas City, St.
Louis, parts of Iowa, New York and other unlikely spots.
This
test is rearing its ugly head again. The Defense Department had
promised the residents of southern Nevada and Utah a series of public
hearings where they could register their comments. Those hearings have
now turned into "open house" events where the public can walk through a
bunch of displays, take in a PowerPoint presentation and send their
comments to the government.
A draft environmental assessment says
all would be well with this test. It would stir up the nuclear cocktail
from the desert floor and redistribute it into the air. But it wouldn't
hurt anybody.
That's a crock.
With the government's track
record of lying through its teeth when the Cold War tests took place,
who can trust it now? There is no way they can predict how much toxic
dust will be shaken up, where it will go, on whom it will land.
So
the possibility is that it cannot only land on you, but your family in
Minnesota, Alabama, Florida, New York, Maine or even Quebec, Canada.
To read the government's environmental assessment, go to: http://www.nv.doe.gov/ library/publications/environmental.aspxand to make a comment e-mail divinestrake@nv.doe.govor send a fax to (702) 295-0625.
It matters to all of us, whether we live in rural America or one of the bustling metropolitan areas.
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