2013 CPEO Military List Archive

From: Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2013 16:13:54 -0700 (PDT)
Reply: cpeo-military
Subject: [CPEO-MEF] RADIATION: Cleanup at formerly used nuclear weapon sites
 
A Nuclear Cleanup Effort Leaves Questions Lingering at Scores of Old Sites

John R. Emshwiller and Jeremy Singer-Vine
Wall Street Journal
October 30, 2013

It was a discovery that helped launch the nuclear age. On the eve of America's entry into World War II, scientists isolated plutonium in a small room in UC Berkeley's Gilman Hall. To make sure the moment wasn't forgotten, Room 307 was designated a National Historic Landmark.

As it turned out, there would be plenty of other reminders. The work left radioactive residue that forced the university to rip out an entire adjacent room in 1957, according to its own documents. ...

The contamination at Berkeley is part of the legacy of one of the most important scientific and industrial undertakings in U.S. history. During the buildup to the Cold War, the federal government turned to the private sector to help develop and produce nuclear weapons and other forms of atomic energy. Hundreds of companies and thousands of workers were pressed into service. But while it helped defend a country, this enormous endeavor has left an equally enormous--but rarely publicized--cleanup job of contamination that spans the country.

...

For the entire article, see
http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-367982/

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org

  Prev by Date: [CPEO-MEF] CHEMWEAPONS: "Burn, Bury Or Scorch? Why Destroying Syria's Chemical Weapons Is Hard"
Next by Date: [CPEO-MEF] RADIATION: How much is safe?
  Prev by Thread: [CPEO-MEF] CHEMWEAPONS: "Burn, Bury Or Scorch? Why Destroying Syria's Chemical Weapons Is Hard"
Next by Thread: [CPEO-MEF] RADIATION: How much is safe?

CPEO Home
CPEO Lists
Author Index
Date Index
Thread Index