we This is the first of a two part article prepared for the U.S. Peace Council by Peter Bower, a geochemist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Geological Observatory. The military use of nuclear materials, as completed weapons, and during manufacture, ex- perimentation, transportation and storage poses a far greater threat than the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Yet this aspect rarely seeps into the mass media. This article, slightly abridged, was prepared for ihe U.S. Peace Council by Peter Bow- er, a geochemist at Columbia University’s Lamount-Doherty Geological Observatory. Such facts and figures from the USA concern: Canadians because of proximity through water, air, and food, and because of military and industrial links between the two countries. The fact, for example, that 80% of liquid nuclear wastes in USA are from military manu- facture must say a lot to the thousands who have demonstrated their concern for health and ecol- ogy in the nuciear age. So you thought you didn’t have to worry about the possibility of major nuclear “accidents,” at least not until Three Mile Island, Pennsylvania, jumped off the map and into the headlines? Well, be- fore you let the nuclear corpora- uons and their friends in govern- ment (who told you not to worry in the first place) tell you that Three Mile Isiand was only a “mishap” in a “failsafe” safety system, you might want to ask a few more questions. For example, did you know that 13 years ago, in October 1966. an actual, partial meltdown - occurred at the Ennco Fermi nu- clear plant in the Detroit-Windsor area, which threatened millions of residents? Hundreds of serious nuclear power accidents — caused by carelessness, neglect and outright negligence, miscal- culanon and human error, or mechanical failure — have littered a path leading inevitably to catas- trophe for over 30 years. History has taught us that nuclear power gt THE * BIGGEST NUCLEAR: THREAT THE. PENTAGON Bo: cannot be trusted in the hands of the utilities corporations. Military Less Trustworthy But, if anything. even less trustworthy. are U.S. military re- search, development production and use of our 30,000-plus nuclear weapons. Over 40 serious acci- dents are already known to have threatened the functioning of nu- clear weapons “‘failsafe’’ sys- tems, or to have required emergency health and safety measures to protect the. public. And these are only the reported accidents, a fraction of the total. They include: e the fire and two explosions Each Polaris su marine is capable of launching missiles with ranges of 2,200-3,600 mites. Gut ofits fleet of 40 there are about 20 always on the prowi in the deepest parts of the ocean. Each carries 160 nuclear war heads, which gives them the capacity to blow up half the cities in the Soviet Union (or the U.S.). in “peacetul™ times the safety of the world depends iargely on the sanity and alertness of its commander and crew. In addition to numerous minor accidents, two submarines have already been destroyed and iost at sea. PACIFIC TRIBUNE—JUNE 29, 1979—Page 8 which severely damaged a nu- clear-tipped Bomarc surface-to- air missile at McGuire AFB, New Jersey, in June 1960; e the explosion and fire in a Titan Il ICBM silo at Little Rock, AFB, Arkansas, in August 1975; e the vandalism, presumably by military personnel, of a nuclear missile in a Strategic Air Com- mand B-52 bomber at Robins AFB, Georgia, in 1978. The claim of impossible *‘million to one’’ odds against a nuclear weapons’ mistake is a false claim when the Pentagon and the corporations are rolling the dice. Experience teaches us that the dice are loaded. Out of a fleet of 41 Polaris submarines, about 20 are constantly on the prowl, hidden in the deepest parts of the oceans. : Each Polaris is capable of launching missiles with ranges of 2,200-3,600 miles. Each has 160 such nuclear weapons, with an explosive force several times that of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs combined. Fwo Polaris subs can thus. destroy every Soviet (or U.S.) city with a popu- lation over 100,000, with some nuclear warheads to spare. Remember that these sub- marines, their crews and their nuclear loads are commanded by one person. Remember too that these subs are isolated from and out of contact with the rest of the world, as they try to remain unde- tected. Those who ask, **Can we trust the Soviets?’’ should ask if the sanity of one commander or the stability of one Polaris crew is to be trusted as collateral for the existence of humanity. _ To madness, mutiny or ter- rorism, we must add the possibil- ity of a nuclear exchange from human error and miscalculation as well as mechanical mal- function. In addition to numerous ‘‘minor’’ accidents, two nuclear submarines have already been destroyed by unknown causes and lost at sea. No Public Control The civilian nuclear power industry-has seen rapid — but. poorly controlled and organized — development. Nevertheless, this development, the dangers of which are apparent, is subject to resistance from the public, and to at least nominal regulation by government agencies. But the use of nuclear energy by the military is subject to no such constraints save those set by the military it- self. Existing laws, limited as they are, can only be used to control civilian nuclear shipments. Weapons-grade nuclear mate- rials, nuclear bomb components, nuclear reactor components, and radioactive wastes of the military criss-cross the USA a thou- sand times over. Nuclear reactors power all of our major naval ves-— sels: submarines, aircraft car- riers, cruisers, destroyers, etc. Each aircraft carrier (right) has over 100 nuc- clear warheads of various kinds. And to these the 2,154 nuclear warheads of the ICBM’s located in underground silos throughout the U.S. and the 1,620 nuclear bombs of the 390 long-range bom- cs = bers and the over 6,000 nuclear warheads of the Polaris fleet and the enormity of the Pentagon’s nuclear weapons program begins to come into focus. ‘the Pentagon’s nuclear weap! Periodically, the nuclear fuel ments in these reactors must replaced, and the radioactil wastes produced by the old 1 elements must be removed 10% ’ disposal site. Transport of radi active materials occurs at eve stage in this process. Plutoml b produced in military nuclear re tors or uranium which must® ; mined and then purified or & riched, are transported along Wit a multitude of nuclear bomb co® ponents to a host of nuclé weapons facilities. 4 Huge Nuclear Weapons Hors To name a few, over 30,0000 clear weapons include su to-air, air-to-surface, surface surface, and air-to-air miss nuclear depth charges, nucl tipped torpedoes, and nuci# anti-submarine rocket-torped0® Each aircraft carrier posses®, over 100 nuclear warheads of ¥# ious kinds. Add these to the 2,18) | nuclear warheads of the 1, ICBM’s located in undergroul silos throughout the U.S., and 1,620 nuclear bombs of the long-range bombers stationed # over. 20 Strategic Air Comma bases across the country, and th , over 6,000 nuclear warheads ! the Polaris fleet. The enormity? program begins to come if focus. All of these 30,000 nucle warheads must be replact periodically with fresh or mr modern versions. Nuclear W" heads and bomb componetl. weapons grade plutonium uranium, nuclear fuel element and radioactive wastes must all® transported by the military fot every ICBM silo, every SAY Base, every naval station amt every production facility in U.S. All these materials. flow and from every corner of U¥& country, subject to no civil law? code, nor to any governing or agency. In spite of the fact tl? ® military operations are secret, © nuclear energy program is alr’ f known to have caused far moti é actual damage to public heal i and safety than the civilial! ¢ corporate-controlled nucle power program which has ng" fully earned the anger of the PY” ‘ lic. | e To be continued next W =~ fn fF 49 Fl a Te a a, a a 2?