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BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Radioactive legacy of ‘lost bomb’

Radioactive legacy of ‘lost bomb’
By Gordon CoreraSecurity correspondent, BBC News, Thule, Greenland

The crash of a B-52 aircraft, armed with nuclear warheads, in north-west Greenland back in 1968 has left a lasting legacy, according to those involved in the clear-up and those who live in the region now.

There are claims of long-term damage to the environment and to the health of individuals, allegations disputed by the governments involved………………….Radioactive material was widely dispersed across the ice and was also thrust into the sky in a plume of smoke, declassified documents show.

Danish workers rushed to the scene of the crash, near Thule, and were heavily involved in clearing up the wreckage in the subsequent weeks and months as part of an enormous US military operation.

However, some of those workers believe not enough thought was given to their safety, given the presence of radioactive material from the bombs on board the plane………………….The (sick) workers have taken a case through Europe’s courts, arguing that Denmark failed to abide by a European directive requiring their health be monitored…………………..former workers believe that the lack of proof of a link between the crash and their ill-health is precisely because they have not been monitored over time in a way that would allow such a link to be proved.

The head of the Association of Former Thule Workers, Jens Zieglersen, who also helped at the crash, remains unconvinced.

“I think it’s a cover-up. We are getting older and the Danish authorities and the Danish government will wait and keep their mouths sealed for another 15, 20 years; then there’s no-one left that remembers and who was a part of the accident back in the days of ’68.”

BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Radioactive legacy of ‘lost bomb’

November 12, 2008 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized