[NukeNet] Europeans move to ban DU weapons

[Linda Gunter]

BEYOND NUCLEAR

Beyond Nuclear Bulletin 
June 10, 2008
Top Stories

Bush notices that nuclear weapons are “dangerous.” But only in the hands of others
Background: Speaking in Slovenia, ironically the site of a loss of coolant reactor accident just a week ago, U.S. president, George Bush said that “Iran with a nuclear weapon would be incredibly dangerous for world peace."
Our View: More dangerous yet is that the U.S. and Russia still possess at least 10,000 nuclear weapons, 5,000 of which are deployed, and 2,000 of which could be launched in 15 minutes without the possibility of recall. Far from showing any intention to dismantle its nuclear arsenal as mandated by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Bush administration has pushed for refurbishing and increasing its nuclear arsenal. This sends the wrong signal to the rest of the world and is counter-productive to achieving non-proliferation goals in the Middle East.
What You Can Do: Urge your presidential candidate of choice to ensure that, if elected, he will uphold the U.S. obligation under the terms of the NPT to begin elimination of U.S. nuclear weapons. Tell them that 2,000 nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert  is “incredibly dangerous for world peace.”

European Parliament Calls for a Ban on Depleted Uranium Weapons Use
Background:  Weapons tipped with “armor-piercing” depleted uranium (DU) have been used by the U.S. in Iraq, the Balkans and Afghanistan, leaving battlegrounds permanently contaminated. DU is radioactive and has a half-life of 4.5 billion years. It is a by-product of uranium enrichment, a process used for civilian nuclear fuel production and nuclear weapons. Soldiers and civilians on all sides of these conflicts have reported serious health problems that will continue to occur long after the conflicts have ended. A resolution passed last month by the House in the European Parliament calls for a moratorium on the use of DU weapons and demands an international treaty that would ban these weapons globally. 
Our View: The U.S. should both endorse and adopt this resolution. Areas contaminated with DU by U.S. military action will remain poisoned effectively for the rest of geologic time (the sun is expected to move to red giant phase and consume the Earth in 5.5 billion years.) The very least we must do is to ban the use of DU weapons; acknowledge and treat those suffering from the health consequences; relocate communities from heavily contaminated areas; and begin cleanup efforts.
What You Can Do: Representatives Bob Filner (D-CA), Jose Serrano (D-NY) and Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) have all championed the DU cause and have introduced and passed legislation on health issues related to DU exposure. Please write to them and/or your own elected representatives to urge introduction of Congressional legislation in support of the EU resolution to outlaw any further use of DU weapons and to begin addressing any potential clean-up in areas the U.S. has contaminated.

Of Note
The French Nuclear Medusa:  Rarely factored into the cost of nuclear power is the price-tag for decommissioning and dismantling obsolete nuclear facilities. But Areva now faces a bill of $3.8 billion just to dismantle an obsolete fuel processing facility at its La Hague reprocessing center on the Normandy coast. The dismantlement work is expected to take 25 years. Since Areva is 90% government-owned it is likely the French public will foot the bill, despite current company protestations to the contrary. The U.S., under the Bush administration, is pushing to resume reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel in the U.S. Reprocessing has been resisted in the U.S. for several decades, mainly because of the proliferation risks it poses but also because of the enormous costs involved, borne out by this latest tally from France.

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Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic. Beyond Nuclear staff can be reached at: 301.270.2209. Or view our Web site at: www.beyondnuclear.org


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