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CITIZENS EDUCATION PROJECT
NEWS RELEASE
May 11, 2004
Contact: Steve Erickson 801-554-9029
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NUKE TEST SITE TO TEST AGAINST GERM WAR AGENTS
Rural residents downwind of the nation’s nuclear weapons testing site who were harmed by radioactive fallout from past nuclear tests have a new fear. The Nevada Test Site north of Las Vegas proposes to expand its mission to conduct open air dispersion tests of simulated biological and chemical weapons to learn how to protect the nation against terrorist attacks.
Under the radar screen of burgeoning local opposition to the push to resume nuclear testing, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the U.S. Department of Energy, which runs the test site, want approval to conduct 5 to 20 open air tests annually of chemicals and biological agent simulants to train first responders and perfect detection systems and protective equipment.
The NNSA released a Preliminary Draft Environmental Assessment on the proposed action April 12. Comments from the public are due May 15. But not many people know about the proposal.
“That’s just they way they want it and planned it,” said Steve Erickson, director of the watchdog Citizen Education Project in Salt Lake City. “Play it as nothing special, business as usual, national security. Best way to hide a major new mission for a facility and an industry that needs new product lines to stay viable.”
Erickson points out that operational testing of actual and simulated germ agents has been done extensively for years at other locations, like Utah’s Dugway Proving Ground, and questions whether the NTS plan is an unnecessary duplication of past and current training and experiments. “It appears that this may be a case of ‘mission creep’ by NNSA and DOE,” he said.
The Environmental Assessment has a number of shortcomings, according to Erickson. “The EA fails to document the need for these tests, doesn’t adequately examine alternatives, doesn’t specify where on the Test Site these actions will take place. It doesn’t provide a list of the chemical agents to be used in tests, contains insufficient information on the impacts on migratory birds, and doesn’t address possible conflicts and incompatibilities with other projects at NTS, like resuming nuclear testing. The EA does admit that suspended aerosols could move off-site, but pooh-poohs the potential harm that could result,” he stated.
The proposal also includes plans to disperse “killed” Influenza A virus, which the EA describes as non-infectious and harmless to human health. Erickson complains that the document doesn’t offer enough information on the source of the virus and how it would be killed. “It may be that the virus would be killed at Dugway’s new gamma irradiator and shipped to Nevada,” he speculated.
“There are too many uncertainties involved and too little information available to properly evaluate the potential impacts of this major federal action, “ Erickson asserts.“ A full Environmental Impact Statement, with public hearings, should address these issues and other concerns of the public and elected officials in Nevada and Utah before any decision to proceed is made.”
Comments on the document are due on May 15. A copy of the proposal (PDF) is posted on the DOE’s Nevada Office website.
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