Trump pulls US out of Iran nuclear deal in major blow for allies http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/world-economy/trump-set-to-pull-out-of-iran-nuclear-deal-in-major-blow-for-us-allies/news-story/7a5eab875ec947073656ec8bba211cd0
BARACK Obama has warned of serious consequences over Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw from a nuclear accord with Iran.Emma Reynolds and wires. news.com.au– 9 May 18
President Trump announces decision on Iran nuclear deal
BARACK Obama has slammed Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from a landmark nuclear accord with Iran.
In a statement, the former president said the announcement was “so misguided” and would see the US “turning our back on America’s closest allies, and an agreement that our country’s leading diplomats, scientists and intelligence professionals negotiated”.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, was negotiated and implemented during Mr Obama’s presidency.
“I believe that the decision to put the JCPOA at risk without any Iranian violation of the deal is a serious mistake,” warned Mr Obama. “Without the JCPOA, the United States could eventually be left with a losing choice between a nuclear-armed Iran or another war in the Middle East.
“We all know the dangers of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. It could embolden an already dangerous regime; threaten our friends with destruction; pose unacceptable dangers to America’s own security; and trigger an arms race in the world’s most dangerous region.”
Mr Trump will withdraw the US from a landmark nuclear accord with Iran, in a move that is already triggering global panic.
The President warned that “at the heart of the Iran deal is a giant fiction” — that the regime wanted peace.
He said the nation had continued to develop nuclear capabilities, and if he allowed the “defective” accord to remain in place, it would lead to an arms race in the Middle East.
Mr Trump vowed he would reimpose the highest level of economic sanctions, which were lifted under the 2015 deal, warning that any nation helping Iran “in its quest for nuclear weapons” could also be strongly penalised by the US.
“We will not allow a regime that chants ‘Death to America’ to gain access to the most deadly weapons on Earth,” he said.
His decision raised fears Iran could mount an attack on Israel, which pushed for an end to the deal. The announcement also saw oil prices plummet by 1.2 per cent.
Mr Obama, who brokered the deal, said the decision weakened America’s ability to confront Iran’s “destabilising” behaviour.
In a rare public criticism of Mr Trump, the former president said the deal had accomplished the very outcome that is being pursued with North Korea.
“The consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America’s credibility, and puts us at odds with the world’s major powers,” he said.
“Every aspect of Iranian behaviour that is troubling is far more dangerous if their nuclear program is unconstrained.”
Mr Trump’s choice had become known as the “nuclear option”, because it is almost certain to signal an end to the multination agreement. Iran will now have to decide whether to follow the US and exit the deal, or try to retain the agreement with other countries.
Mr Trump insisted the US “no longer makes empty threats”, in a televised address from the White House. He also noted that secretary of state Mike Pompeo was on his way to North Korea to discuss the upcoming summit between the US President and Kim Jong-un.
The 2015 deal between multiple world powers lifted most sanctions against the Iran, provided it agreed to restrictions on its nuclear program that would prevent it producing a bomb, and regular inspections.
Now, sanctions on Iran’s central bank — intended to target oil exports — will kick back in on Saturday, the next deadline for renewal, rather than being waived again.
The administration will give those who are doing business with Iran between three and six months to wind down business and avoid breaching those sanctions.
But it is still possible that a new agreement could be reached. Administration officials briefing congressional leaders about Mr Trump’s plans reportedly emphasised that just as with the ditched Trans-Pacific Partnership and Paris climate agreement, he remains open to renegotiating a better deal.
European nations have in recent days given in to many of Mr Trump’s demands in the hope he would choose a more gradual approach, which might have allowed the deal to survive.
But they failed to prevent his decision to reimpose sanctions and walk away from the signature Obama agreement, which Mr Trump has attacked since the election campaign.
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised Mr Trump’s “historic move”, while while the military said forces were on high alert near its border with Syria after spotting Iranian activity.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who strongly supports the deal and tried to persuade Mr Trump to stay in it during a visit to Washington last month, said he was “disappointed” by the announcement.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said: “Together with the rest of the international community, we will preserve this nuclear deal.”
France, the UK and Germany have previously vowed to maintain the deal without the US, but that could potentially put them at risk of sanction.
Hours before the announcement, European members of the agreement met to underline their support for it. Officials from Britain, France and Germany met in Brussels with Iran’s deputy foreign minister for political affairs, Abbas Araghchi.
If the deal collapses, Iran will be free to resume prohibited enrichment activities, while businesses and banks doing business with Iran will have to rush to extricate themselves or run afoul of the US.
American officials have been making plans to sell the pullout to the public and explain its complex financial ramifications, said US officials and others, who weren’t authorised to speak and requested anonymity.
Mr Trump built up anticipation for his announcement by tweeting that he would reveal his decision at 2pm at the White House.
In Iran, many are deeply concerned about how his decision could affect the already struggling economy.
President Hassan Rouhani sought to calm nerves during a speech on Tehran, smiling as he appeared at a petroleum expo in the capital. He didn’t name Mr Trump, but emphasised that Iran continued to seek “engagement with the world.”
“It is possible that we will face some problems for two or three months, but we will pass through this,” Mr Rouhani said.
The first 15 months of the Trump presidency have been filled with many “last chances” for the Iran deal in which he’s repeatedly postponed the decision.
An immense web of sanctions, written agreements and staggered deadlines make up the accord. Sanctions on specific Iranian businesses, sectors and individuals will snap back into place in July unless Mr Trump signs another waiver.
Even the secretary of state and the UN agency that monitors nuclear compliance agree that Iran, so far, has lived up to its side of the deal. But the deal’s critics, such as Israel, the Gulf Arab states and many Republicans, say it’s a giveaway to Tehran that ultimately paves the path to a nuclear-armed Iran several years in the future.
ran has been coy in predicting its response to a US withdrawal. For weeks, Iran’s foreign minister had been saying that a reimposition of US sanctions would render the deal null and void, leaving Tehran little choice but to abandon it as well.
But on Monday, Mr Rouhani said Iran could stick with it if the European Union, whose economies do far more business with Iran than the US, offers guarantees Iran would keep benefiting. For the Europeans, a Trump withdrawal would also constitute dispiriting proof that trying to appease him is futile.
The three EU members of the deal — Britain, France and Germany — were insistent from the start that it could not be reopened. But they agreed to discuss an “add-on” agreement that would not change the underlying nuclear deal, but would add new restrictions on Iran to address what Mr Trump had identified as its shortcomings.
The President wanted to deter Iran’s ballistic missile program and other destabilising actions in the region. He also wanted more rigorous nuclear inspections and an extension of restrictions on Iranian enrichment and reprocessing rather than letting them phase out after about a decade.
Negotiating an add-on agreement, rather than revising the existing deal, had the added benefit of not requiring the formal consent of Iran or the other remaining members: Russia and China. The idea was that even if they baulked at the West’s impositions, Iran would be likely to comply anyway so as to keep enjoying lucrative sanctions relief.
Although the US and Europeans made progress on ballistic missiles and inspections, there were disagreements over extending the life of the deal and how to trigger additional penalties if Iran were found violating the new restrictions, officials revealed.
Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs
Oh dear – it’s all – will he or won’t he destroy the Iran nuclear deal? Will he have a successful nuclear talk with Kim Jong Un? Will he sell nuclear reactors to Saudi Arabia without safeguards against nuclear weapons? Will I ever do a newsletter without Trumpiness?
Climate in brief The world needs to hear, repeatedly, the simple message on urgency of climate change (and of nuclear threat, too). The UN’s climate change body releases its first annual report. For the entire month of April, atmospheric Co2 levels exceeded 410 parts per million . Global climate change underway – the message from melting Arctic sea ice.
NUCLEAR
Trump talks tough in preparation for summit with Kim Jong Un.
Swiss artist Cornelia Hesse-Honegger shows how insects can tell the true story of the impacts of ionising radiation.
In new technique, scientists calculate radiation dose in bone from victim of Hiroshima bombing.
IRAN –Iran’s moderate Rouhani government in danger, if U.S. President Donald Trump scraps Tehran’s nuclear deal. Iran will not ‘renegotiate or add onto’ nuclear deal. A serious backward step for Iranian reform, if Trump destroys the nuclear deal.
NORTH KOREA. North Korea’s nuclear test site in fact fully operational? Kim Jong Un promises a public display of closing nuclear test site.
UK.
USA.
JAPAN. Researchers Identify How Much Radiation Hiroshima Victims Were Exposed to –Foreign Trainees Used in the Cleanup of Fukushima Nuke Plant. Radiation to atmosphere from Fukushima now estimated to be up to 8 times more than from Chernobyl nuclear accident. Fukushima residents fight state plan to build roads with radiation-tainted soil.
CHINA. China ‘supports North Korean shift from nuclear to economy’.
TURKEY. Scientists call on the the International Atomic Energy Agency, NATO to stall Turkey’s dangerous nuclear power developments. Greek and Turkish Cypriots unite to oppose nuclear power plant in Akkuyu, Turkey.
FRANCE. France’s “revolving door” between nuclear power managers and politicians: big conflict of interest!
MIDDLE EAST. Climate Change Ignores all Borders as Rain Bombs Fall on Kauai and the Middle East Alike.
RUSSIA. Russia’s nuclear reactor ship raises fears of a maritime ‘Chernobyl.
SAUDI ARABIA. Saudi Arabia’s nuclear obsession – a cover for nuclear weapons development?
IRAQ, KUWAIT. Southern Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia permanently polluted with Depleted Uranium.
ISRAEL. Israel, Too, Lied About Its Nuclear Capabilities.
EUROPE. 32 years after Chernobyl, wild boars remain too radioactive to eat.
The Sun 4th May 2018 , Theresa May urged to come clean on ‘secret’ meeting with Hitachi boss
over £2bn taxpayer bailout for new nuclear power project. Hitachi, responsible for the £20bn new nuclear power plant in Anglesey, North Wales, said the project was unaffordable without state support.
The group is reported to have claimed the £20 billion project due to start generating in the mid-2020s is unaffordable without state support. It’s the latest blow to the Government’s energy policy after huge delays to the construction of the Hinkley Point nuke plant in Somerset.
The PM’s official spokesman would only say Mrs May was taking part in “private meetings” at Downing Street yesterday afternoon. Hannah Martin, Greenpeace’s UK head of energy, said: “The information blackout about government nuclear policy is unjustifiable.
The SNP demanded the Government rule out public money on “failing nuclear projects”. Drew Hendry, the Scottish Nationalists’ business spokesman, said: “This is yet another damning report of the UK government’s misguided nuclear obsession. “Hinkley Point is already set to cost consumers a fortune because of the appalling strike price deal the UK government made with EDF. “The Prime Minister must now categorically rule out any public bail out of this, or any other nuclear project and put an end to secret discussions behind closed doors.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6207351/theresa-may-hitachi-secret-meeting-bailout-nuclear/
Recycling nuclear waste is not the win-win it seems like it should be, Las Vegas Sun, Editorial, Sunday, May 6, 2018 The idea of turning Yucca Mountain into a nuclear waste reprocessing facility, which some Nevadans are proposing, sounds wonderful….
But the hard facts behind reprocessing show that doing it at Yucca Mountain is almost as scary as storing waste there. …. Here are a few key reasons why:
• It doesn’t solve the transportation problem. Radioactive materials would still be shipped into Nevada, and some of the transportation routes for the waste cut through the heart of the Las Vegas Valley. This isn’t just a NIMBY issue, either, considering that the routes also pass through 43 other states.
• It’s water-intensive. According to one estimate, it would require 50,000 acre-feet of water annually, or the equivalent of enough for 100,000 homes for a year. Considering that the water in the Yucca Mountain area is already over-appropriated, that’s more than would be available and far more than would be environmentally sound.
• It’s dirty. Reprocessing involves using acid to extract plutonium and recover unused uranium from irradiated uranium fuel, which results in liquid wastes teeming with radioactive and chemical poisons. The Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington, one of the few places in the U.S. where reprocessing for nuclear weapons production has occurred, is an environmental disaster area where $50 billion in cleanup work has been done and more than $100 billion more is needed to deal with millions of gallons of liquid waste stored in underground tanks.
So while the basic idea behind reprocessing may sound like sort of a nuclear version of recycling aluminium cans or plastic bottles, it’s actually not environmentally friendly and is prohibitively costly.
…… it’s a dangerous idea, not only from a health and environmental standpoint but from a political one, as well.Yucca Mountain proponents in other states would love to see a crack in Nevada’s longstanding official opposition to the repository. If they sense that the reprocessing concept has caused Nevadans to warm to the idea of bringing the nation’s waste to the state, you can bet they’ll exploit it.
That’s especially true given President Donald Trump’s support of the project, for which he placed $120 million in funding to restart the licensing process in his budget. Congress rebuffed him by not including the funding in this year’s omnibus spending bill, but there’s been no indication that Trump will stop pressing.
It’s important for Nevadans to remain galvanized in their opposition to Yucca Mountain. Regardless of whether the site is used for storage or reprocessing, bringing the nation’s 77,000 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste to a site just 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas would be a disaster waiting to happen. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2018/may/06/recycling-nuclear-waste-is-not-the-win-win-it-seem/
Times 6th May 2018 , The entire £15bn-plus cost of Hitachi’s nuclear power station on Anglesey
could land on the government’s balance sheet, even though taxpayers are expected to hold only a minority stake. The Japanese industrial giant has warned it will walk away from the 2.7 gigawatt plant at Wylfa unless it
secures UK state support.
Hiroaki Nakanishi, the chairman of Hitachi, met Theresa May and the chancellor, Philip Hammond, last week to urge progress on the project after more than two years of talks.
The final deal may see taxpayers take an equity stake in the Horizon plant, possibly as much as
33%, alongside Hitachi and the Japanese government. Direct state exposure to the construction of a nuclear plant has faced stiff resistance from the Treasury because of fears about cost overruns and the impact on government
debt.
Industry insiders said a minority taxpayer stake could result in the entire liability landing on the state’s books, despite the Japanese partners, because official statisticians now take a more conservative approach to accounting for risk where the government is concerned. In 2014, Network Rail’s debt burden of £34bn was reclassified as national debt
after an EU decree. Any state stake in Horizon would be sold on once construction was completed.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/taxpayers-on-the-hook-for-15bn-hitachi-nuclear-plant-qnbx0s9xm
Greenpeace investigation shows Fukushima radiation risks to last into next century https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/15062/greenpeace-investigation-shows-fukushima-radiation-risks-to-last-into-next-century/, by Greenpeace International Tokyo, Japan – A comprehensive survey by Greenpeace Japan in the towns of Iitate and Namie in Fukushima prefecture, including the exclusion zone, revealed radiation levels up to 100 times higher than the international limit for public exposure.[1][2] The high radiation levels in these areas pose a significant risk to returning evacuees until at least the 2050’s and well into next century.
Proposed nuclear storage site in southeast New Mexico accused of ‘nuclear colonialism’
Fears of a proposed nuclear waste repository between Carlsbad and Hobbs extended beyond the two cities, stirring anxiety from residents across New Mexico and west Texas.
Leona Morgan, co-coordinator of the Albuquerque-based Nuclear Issues Study Group and a Diné activist, said the potential horrors of nuclear exposure were already felt by Native American residents in the Four Corners Region of New Mexico, where uranium was mined until the late 1990s.
Morgan said the concerns of Native Americans, such as the Navajo Nation, are often ignored by the federal government.
“I’ve heard a lot of warm sentiments about how this part of the state knows about nuclear science, and how much you all welcome it,” she said.
“In our part of the state, we know about the cancers, and the contamination of our lands and our water. We know this will impact us for generations to come.”
Holtec International, a New Jersey-based company specializing in nuclear storage, applied to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March 2017 for the first phase of an interim storage facility for spent nuclear fuel rods.
The first phase would include 500 canisters of spent nuclear fuel rods, brought in by rail cars from nuclear power plants across the country, and stored at the property about 35 miles east of Carlsbad.
In total, 10,000 canisters could be stored at the site, totaling up to 120,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel.
The Holtec project is intended as a temporary storage facility, until a permanent repository is developed. [i.e. stranded wastes – just as is planned for Kimba, South Australia] The concept of interim storage was first devised as a proposal for a permanent disposal facility in Yucca Mountain, Nevada, recently stalled.
Opponents of Holtec’s proposal contended the waste should be stored at the generator sites on an interim basis, and only moved when a permanent repository is available.
…. Morgan said the project was an example of “nuclear colonialism,” forcing low-income and minority-majority regions to unfairly bear the risk of storing nuclear waste.
“The contamination that was left by the United States government is an atrocity. It is a sin,” she said. “It is a violation of our human rights, and it is a form of genocide. New Mexico should not be proud of its nuclear legacy. It is the birth place of nuclear colonialism.”
Myriad activists, scientists, local leaders and business owners spoke for and against the project at Thursday’s meeting.
The debate centered around a potential canister leak, and contamination of nearby soil and natural resources.
Karen Hadden, executive director for the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition said even with monitoring, the risk of radiation exposure was too high to support the project.
A similar, smaller interim storage facility was proposed near Andrews, Texas – about 40 miles across the eastern state line, by Waste Control Specialists (WCS) and French nuclear company Orano.
The project was re-docketed by the NRC earlier this year, after it stalled.
“They’re both a risk to our communities,” Hadden said of the facilities. “This is a project of huge magnitude that could impact this entire country. It cannot be taken lightly.”
She said the consequence of Holtec’s proposal could be felt across the nation, and residents from outside Carlsbad, and along the transport paths, deserve a place at the table.
“I am unhappy about some of the statements made earlier that some who do not favor bringing the nation’s waste here are uninformed, or fear mongering,” she said. “This site (Holtec) poses more risk to the people of Texas than WCS. All the trains would come through our state. It’s a shared concern.” ……. Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516,achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter. https://www.currentargus.com/story/news/local/2018/05/04/nuclear-storage-site-southeast-new-mexico-navajo-nation-nuclear-colonialism/581529002/
Le Monde 5th May 2018 , Nuclear: EDF launches negotiations for two new EPRs in the United Kingdom.
According to our information, the French group is discussing with the British government to find a new way of financing to build reactors in Sizewell.
The possibility of sharing the cost of construction with British consumers on their electricity bills is thus under consideration. It would not necessarily be a direct payment, but rather a kind of bond that remains to be defined. For the time being, the British Ministry of Industry is simply saying that “new nuclear power plants have an important role to play
in the future of our low-carbon electricity production”.
To understand the current discussions, we have to go back to Hinkley Point. The two EPRs, whose construction in the West of England began at the end of 2016, must cost 19.6 billion pounds (22.2 billion euros), and that of the first must
start in 2025.
They are criticized from all sides. First on the side of EDF, which finances on its own funds two-thirds (the Chinese CGN brings the rest) and sees the English project plummet its balance sheet. Its chief financial officer resigned to oppose it in March 2016.
http://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2018/05/05/nucleaire-edf-lance-les-negociations-pour-deux-nouveaux-epr-au-royaume-uni_5294780_3234.html
The ballot will be held less than a week after findings of a Senate Inquiry into the site-selection process are to be released, on August 14. …… a nuclear waste facility would not be imposed on an unwilling community and it would need “broad community support”
Anti-nuclear protesters increase fight against radioactive dump being established in SA
The Advertiser Erin Jones, Regional Reporter, Sunday Mail (SA) May 5, 2018
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/antinuclear-protesters-increase-fight-against-radioactive-dump-being-established-in-sa/news-story/55f7c369b17f03c747c1de824428b4df
ANTI-NUCLEAR campaigners will increase their fight to stop South Australia from becoming the nation’s radioactive waste ground, ahead of a final vote by the community.
Hundreds of postcards will be sent to Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan demanding cultural heritage sites, agricultural land and the environment be protected from nuclear waste.
The Federal Government is expected to decide in the coming months whether to build a low-level and intermediate-level waste facility at Kimba or Barndioota, in the Flinders Ranges.
The two-year site selection process has divided both communities, those in favour believed it would create economic opportunities, while those opposed said it would jeopardise industries.
Conservation SA nuclear waste campaigner Mara Bonacci said the government needed to be more transparent about the facility ahead of an August 20 community ballot.
“There is division in both communities, whether it’s people who are pro-nuclear waste or anti-nuclear, they both want what’s best for the community,” Ms Bonacci said.
“But the pro-waste people are saying it will create lots of jobs, but we haven’t got any clarity around the numbers or if they’re full-time.
“We also want to know what number the Minister wants in a community vote to show ‘broad community support’ for the facility.”
Before the government decides on the successful site, residents from both communities will be given a final chance to accept or reject the proposal.
The ballot will be held less than a week after findings of a Senate Inquiry into the site-selection process are to be released, on August 14.
Mr Canavan told the Sunday Mail the government would provide more detailed information on the project’s design, job creation, cost, community benefits and safety, ahead of the ballot.
He said a nuclear waste facility would not be imposed on an unwilling community and it would need “broad community support” – although no arbitrary figure was provided.
“As we have always said, a range of factors will be used to determine broad community support, including the results of a public ballot, public and private submissions, and feedback from stakeholders during community discussions, including neighbours, councils and local groups,” Mr Canavan said. “The consultation process is engaging people on all sides of the discussion, and all views – supportive, neutral and opposed – are taken into account.”
The ballot will include residents of the Flinders Ranges Council and within a 50km radius of the Barnidoota site, and the Kimba District Council.
Marshall Islands now besieged by radiation and sea level rise
via Bikini was just the beginning — Beyond Nuclear International
Indigenous peoples sounded the warning, then started a movement
via Leave uranium in the ground — Beyond Nuclear International
‘Yes, there is still radiation here’, Gulf News 4 May 18 , Australia’s least likely tourist spot: a test site for atom bombs “……..
“Yes, there is still radiation here,” Robin Matthews ( Australia’s only nuclear tour guide) said as he drove a minibus to the sites where the Australian and British governments dropped seven bombs between 1956 and 1963, which dotted the earth with huge craters and poisoned scores of indigenous people and their descendants.
Back then, the government placed hundreds of human guinea pigs — wearing only shorts and long socks — in the front areas of the test zones. The effects of large doses of radiation were devastating…….
Today, just four people live full time in Maralinga village, a veritable ghost town. Amid the old buildings are new lodgings built for tourists, complete with hot water and Wi-Fi.
In the 1950s and ‘60s, at the height of the Cold War, 35,000 military personnel lived here.
The first nuclear test was conducted in September 1956, two months before the Melbourne Olympics.
That blast — as powerful as the bomb that the US dropped on Hiroshima — was the first of seven atom bombs set off here. But it was the so-called minor tests that were the most harrowing. Carried out in secret, the tests examined how toxic substances, including uranium and plutonium 239, would react when burnt or blown up.
….. Around one area tourists can visit are 22 major pits, each at least 15 metres deep and cased in reinforced concrete to prevent dangerous radiation from seeping out.
The site looks like a recently tilled garden bed, stretching out for hundreds of yards, in a near perfect circle. Dotting the red desert earth are shards of twisted metal. Aside from a few feral camels loping nearby, it is still and silent.
But on October 4 1956, a “nuclear landmine” was detonated here, tearing a crater 40 metres wide and 21 metres deep into the earth.
‘This is their land’
The resulting atomic reaction took only a fraction of a second, but its effects on one indigenous family would last decades. Survivors of the blasts, their children and grandchildren suffered from cataracts, blood diseases, arthritic conditions, stomach cancers and birth defects…….https://gulfnews.com/news/asia/australia/yes-there-is-still-radiation-here-1.2216400
Two women led the campaign to end a Russian nuclear power project in South Africa
US readies emergency plan ‘SCENARIO ONE’ amid fears of nuclear attack https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/700561/us-nuclear-attack-plan-bomb-donald-trump-homeland-security-scenario-one-bomb-fallout
THE US already has a has a plan ready for a nuclear attack, Daily Star Online can reveal. By Henry Holloway
Washington, New York and Los Angeles were all proposed as prime targets for a strike.
US military forces would be deployed to the city to conduct major search and rescue operations.
At least 3,000 square miles would have to be quarantined, mass evacuations deployed and predictions of recession.
Daily Star Online can reveal the US’s chilling “National Response Scenario Number One” designed to combat a nuke strike.
US officials have drawn up their nuke plans based on a nuclear bomb with the power of 10,000 tons of TNT.
Predictions were sketched out based on a device being detonated within Washington by terrorists rather than a nuclear strike in World War 3.
The possible scenario for a nuclear attack was deemed to be an improvised bomb driving into the city centre in a delivery van.
Exploding and levelling part of central DC, the bomb would kill “hundreds of thousands” – according to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents seen by Daily Star Online.
And a plume of fallout would blossom out from the city – potentially being felt as far away as 150 miles.
Detonation of the nuclear bomb would also trigger an electromagnetic pulse that could knock out communications and further hamper rescuers.
The “high voltage spike” would trigger problems from around three miles around the blast, with power grids, mobile phone towers and switching stations “vulnerable”.
Emergency first responders are predicted to receive “lethal doses of radiation”.
And first responders “value” will have to considered on whether they will be sent into the danger zone – potentially leaving people abandoned near the nuke’s ground zero.
US officials also produced a handy table precisely detailing the numbers and types of injuries expected during the blast.
Radiation poisoning, flash blindness, burns to eyes and blunt trauma are all predicted for survivors in the thousands.
Even the size of the crater has been calculated – potentially being 64ft deep with a diameter of 150ft.
Warnings are also made the plans about the “significant psychological impact on survivors” that may impact rescuers.
Damage to building and infrastructure is deemed to cost “billions of dollars”.
It is predicted clean-up from the bomb would take “years” with “staggering costs and the incident would “forever change the American psyche”.
The document reads: “There will certainly be economic, political, law enforcement, civil liberty and military consequences that will likely change the very nature of the country.”
Decontamination is deemed to the priority of the US Government response – rather than the “lifesaving efforts that assist the victims directly injured by the detonation”.
Scenario One read: “The costs of the decontamination and rebuilding would be staggering. But these losses do not begin to address the true implications of this type of an incident
“The detonation of an IND in a US city would forever change the American psyche, as well as its politics and worldview.
“The real implications may only be addressable by historians many years after the incident.”
It said: “These scenarios are designed to be the foundational structure for the development of national preparedness standards from which homeland security capabilities can be measured.
“They represent threats or hazards of national significance with high consequence. While these scenarios reflect a rigorous analytical effort by Federal homeland security experts.”
No place for nuclear power http://www.concordmonitor.com/No-nuclear-power-17303115, May 06, 2018
Last week, CBS Evening News reported on two as yet unexplained rare cancer clusters in Auburn, Ala., and Huntersville, N.C. To investigate the cause, Dr. Carol Shields of Philadelphia’s Will Eye Hospital explained: “We need to really carefully go through exactly where they lived, foods they liked, how close were they to a nuclear reactor, how much time did they spend outside.”
There should be no place for nuclear power in New Hampshire energy policy.
of the week – Shut Down Drone Warfare!
Tell the Ukrainian Government to Drop Prosecution of Peace Activist Yurii Sheliazhenko
Petition to revoke the licensing of the Near Surface Nuclear Disposal Facility (NSDF) at Chalk River. https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7247
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
nuclear-news 