nuclear-news

France should pay for study on genetic impact of its Pacific nuclear tests

RNZ, 16 Oct 22, The French state should pay for a study on the genetic impact of its nuclear weapons tests in the South Pacific, the French Polynesian president Edouard Fritch says.

Fritch was responding to a renewed call by the opposition Tavini Huiraatira party to follow up on reports dating back to 2016 that radiation caused disabilities in the atolls near the blast zones.

The president confirmed that since 2017 there had been a budget allocation of $US17,000 for such a study but said after careful consideration he was of the view that it should be funded by the French state.

Fritch added that the opposition’s French National Assembly members could raise the matter in Paris.

In 2018, the former head of child psychiatry in Tahiti Dr Christian Sueur reported pervasive developmental disorders in areas close to the Morurua test site…………………

In his assessment, Sueur noted that of the 271 children he treated for pervasive developmental disorders, 69 had intellectual disabilities or deformities which he attributed to genetic mutations.

He also reported that on Tureia atoll, a quarter of the children present during the 1971 blast had developed thyroid cancer.

Sueur said in 2012 among the atoll’s 300 residents there were about 20 conditions believed to be radiation-induced. He said the genetic conditions were found mainly in children whose parents and grandparents had been exposed to radiation from the atmospheric weapons tests in Moruroa between 1966 and 1974……………….

Until 2010, France said its tests were clean and had no effect on human health, but Paris has since adopted a law offering compensation for victims suffering poor health because of exposure to radiation.  https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/476816/france-should-pay-for-study-on-genetic-impact-of-its-pacific-nuclear-tests

October 16, 2022 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized