hidden genocide: environmental racism in the nuclear age

8/20/2019 Hidden Genocide: Environmental Racism in the Nuclear Age

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Hidden Genocide in the Nuclear Age

Ernest J. Sternglass

Hidden Genocide: Environmental Racism

in the Nuclear Age

Ernest J. Sternglass, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus of RadiologyUniversity of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine

Summary...............................................................57ntroduction...........................................................5!

"he Effect of #uclear $ea%ons............................5!&igure '( #evada lo)*birth*)eight %ercentage among )hite and non*)hite '+5-'++ "he Effect of #uclear Reactor /%erations...........'&ederal Program for Mil0 Shi%ment....................12ross Underestimation of Radiation Ris0............3

&igure 4( ose*res%onse curve( ncrease in total deaths as a function of e6%osure to odine-'1' in mil0 ..............................................................................5&igure 1( odine-'1' in mil0 of mid*tlantic states after 8hernobyl( Ma6imum readings during May andugust '+!.........................................................

#uclear Plant U%)ind of the 9argest Mil0*%roducing 8ounty Shar% Rise in #on*$hite nfant Mortality in $ashington 7"he "argeting of the :lac0 Po%ulation.................7eliberate nflicting of isease and eath on a Minority !

"he 8ontinuous 8over*u% the "ragic amage.....!m%act of the #uclear ge eadlier "hen $ars and 2enocides +/utloo0.................................................................+References.............................................................72lossary................................................................7'

Summary

"he discovery of nuclear fission hasdestroyed human health and lives on a scalethat d)arfs all the lives lost in a century of

)orld )ars and e%isodes of genocide. :ut ithad its greatest im%act on indigenous %eo%lein under*develo%ed areas of the )orld, and

%oor minority grou%s in the large cities of theU.S., %articularly fro*mericans.

&irst came the develo%ment and testing of nuclear )ea%ons regarded as essential for national security by the ma;or governmentsof the )orld, carried out in lo) %o%ulationdensity areas )here )ere mainly indigenousor minority %o%ulations live. "his )asfollo)ed by the construction of largenumbers of nuclear %o)er stations in the

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Genocide and Mass Violence in West Asia

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U.S. near high concentrations of %o%ulations, %romoted by a federal government an6iousto end the %ublicAs fear of fallout from bombtesting, as a Bclean )ayC to meet the ra%idly

gro)ing need for energy to re%lace themassively %olluting fossil fuel %o)er stations.

fter it )as discovered in the early '+7sthat even small radiation doses from

%ermitted normal releases of fission %roductsless than those received from normal

bac0ground radiation %roduced une6%ectedlylarge adverse effects on human health,government agencies tried to minimiDe the

health effects on the ma;ority %o%ulation."his )as done using the &ederal Mil0 Mar0eting Program, originally established inthe '+1s to %rotect the income of farmers)hen their mil0 did not taste )ell by forcing)holesalers to %ay the normal %rice and todirect it to be diluted )ith normally tastingmil0. :eginning in the '+7s, this %rogram)as used to send mil0 %roduced in areasclose to nuclear reactors contaminated )ithfission %roducts into the inner city areas

)here the %o%ulation )as com%osed mainlyof lo) income frican mericans and recent?is%anic immigrants.

Introduction

lthough the testing of nuclear )ea%ons )ascarried out in remote areas %redominantlyinhabited by minority or indigenous

%o%ulations far from the ma;or %o%ulationcenters, the radioactive fallout of uranium

and fission %roducts travelled thousands of miles. t entered the food, the mil0 and thedrin0ing )ater and led to a silent e%idemic of infectious and chronic diseases, slo)ing thenormal decline of both infant and totalmortality rates for the )hole %o%ulation as)ell as damaging the develo%ing brain. :utthis )as not understood at the time becausethe effect of the relatively small radiationdoses %roduced by gamma radiation due tofallout from distant bombs on the ground)as less than the dose %roduced by natural

bac0ground radiation in a year, or the dosefrom a chest *ray.

?o)ever, the adverse effects of fission %roducts on human health )ere hundreds tothousands of times greater than expected

)hen bomb testing began because the ne)lycreated radioactive chemicals )ere inhaledor ingested, and concentrated in 0ey organssuch as the thyroid or the bone marro))here the cells of the immune systemoriginate. Moreover, it )as not discovereduntil the early '+7s that %rolongede6%osures to lo) doses of radiation are more

biologically damaging than the same dose

received in a single short e6%osure such asan *ray or gamma rays from the brief flashof a distant nuclear e6%losion.

t is the %ur%ose of the %resent %a%er tosummariDe the evidence that the failure of mortality rates to continue their %revious rateof decline that began in the '+5s and hadtheir greatest effect on the :lac0 %o%ulationin the U.S., )as due to fission %roducts from

bomb testing and releases from nuclear reactors. "hus, ma;or accidents at theSavannah River nuclear )ea%ons %lant inSouth 8arolina, that too0 %lace in #ovember and ecember of '+7, )ere 0e%t secret bythe U.S. government because it )as feltabsolutely essential for the continuingdevelo%ment and testing of nuclear )ea%onsallegedly reFuired for national security. sdiscovered by inde%endent scientists in thelate '+!s, this %olicy led U.S. federal andstate government agencies not only to falsify

%ublic health data but also to deliberatelysend the most contaminated mil0 near nuclear reactors into the areas of the inner cities )ith the largest :lac0 %o%ulation.

"his e6%lains )hy the greatest rates of infantmortality, cancer and other chronic diseasessuch as diabetes e6ist in the minority :lac0 and ?is%anic immigrant %o%ulations.

/nly education of the %ublic about theenormous damage to human health and the

attending health*care costs that target themost vulnerable %oor minority in the U.S.can end the cover*u% by a government trying

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to %rotect the deterrent value of nuclear )ea%ons and the large cor%orate investmentsin uranium mines and reactors.

The Eect o Nuclear Wea!ons

nitially, it )as the secret %roduction of nuclear )ea%ons driven by the fear that?itlerAs 2ermany )ould develo% and usethem first that %roduced the first )ave of contamination of the environment, causing ahidden e%idemic of chronic diseases anddeaths among the )or0ers in the mining and

%roduction of the fissionable forms of uranium and %lutonium. "his )as follo)ed

by the first secret test of a nuclear )ea%on in #e) Me6ico in July of '+35, a state )ith alarge #ative merican and ?is%anic

%o%ulation. $ithin a month the first militaryuse in ?iroshima and #agasa0i too0 %lace,)hose detailed conseFuences )ere again0e%t secret from the merican %ublic asdescribed by Robert Jay 9ifton and 2regMitchell in their boo0 B?iroshima inmerica( &ifty Gears of enialC


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blo)ing in the direction of the reservations)here most #ative mericans lived.

s &igure '


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' atmos%heric tests had ta0en %lace in #evada


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ho%e that Bclean nuclear energy too chea% tometerC )ould eliminate the health %roblemsassociated )ith mining and burning of coal.

:ecause of the atmos%here of secrecysurrounding the develo%ment and testing of nuclear )ea%ons in the '+5s )hen it )asfeared that the large communist armies of theSoviet Union and 8hina )ould overrunEuro%e and Lorea, no e%idemiologicalstudies of %o%ulations living do)n)ind fromthe test*sites in #e) Me6ico and #evadae6%osed to small radiation doses )erecarried out by %ublic health officials. t )as)idely believed that the small doses

associated )ith distant fallout )ould %roduceno detectable harm because it a%%earedli0ely that there )as a safe threshold beforeany adverse effects could be observed, asa%%eared to be the case for immediate deathfrom e6%osure to high levels of radiation.

9i0e)ise, the nuclear engineers and %hysicists )ho had )or0ed on thedevelo%ment of nuclear )ea%ons )erean6ious to see the discovery of fission

%roduce great benefits to society and not ;ustthreaten it )ith e6tinction in a nuclear )ar."hus they )anted to believe that smallamounts of radioactive material %ermitted to

be released by nuclear %o)er %lants duringnormal o%eration )ould %roduce nodetectable adverse effects on human health.

:ut ;ust about the time the first commercialnuclear %o)er stations )ere being built inthe late '+5s and early '+s, a series of articles in scientific ;ournals sho)ed that

effects of very lo) doses of man*maderadiation com%arable to those from natural

bac0ground did have an une6%ectedly largeability to increase cancer in some humans,namely in the develo%ing foetus in the)omb. "his discovery )as made by r.lice Ste)art at /6ford University and her co*)or0ers in England first %ublished in'+5!


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the reactor that )as allo)ed to be %roduced by government regulations at the time )henthe first commercial nuclear %o)er stations)ere being built.

n the light of these findings during the early'+s, in '++, the same year that theconference on Radiation :iology of the&oetal and Juvenile Mammal too0 %lace thatrevealed the great sensitivity to lo) radiatione6%osure of *rays and fission %roductsduring early develo%ment, a ma;or )arningof the great danger of %roceeding )ith alarge %rogram of nuclear %o)er )as

%ublished by Richard 8urtis and EliDabeth

?ogan


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Unfortunately, this )as based on theassum%tion that there is a direct or linear relation bet)een the amount of radioactivityin the mil0 and the effect on human health,

and that in fact there might be a safethreshold level )here no adverse effectse6ist. :ut ;ust about the same time thatune6%ectedly large increases in cancer andinfant mortality )ere found near nuclear

%lants in the early '+7s, another une6%ecteddiscovery )as made by braham Pet0au, ascientist )or0ing for the 8anadian tomicEnergy Establishment.

$hat he discovered and %ublished in '+74

)as that the radiation dose reFuired toru%ture animal cell membranes immersed in)ater )as very large, namely 1,5 rads, theeFuivalent of some 15, years of normal

bac0ground radiation


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of reference '. t )as found that the falloutfrom the accident had caused large rises inthe amount of short*lived radioactive odine- '1' in mil0 )ith a half*life of ! days in

certain %arts of the U.S. "his in turn )asfound to have been follo)ed by a significant5.1K increase in the total number of deathsin May '+! com%ared )ith the same monththe %revious year for the U.S. as a )hole.

Moreover, the increase in the total number of deaths at all ages in different census regionsof the country in the %eriod May to ugust,relative to the number in the %revious year,)as related to the amount of odine-'1' in

%asteuriDed mil0 as measured by the EP.nd the best fit to the data )as indeed for alogarithmic or su%ra*linear form of the dose*res%onse rather than a straight line such as is

sho)n in &igure 4


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seen in &igure 1


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?o) )ell the dominant $hite %o%ulation)as %rotected by the high degree of segregation of residence and food stores isillustrated by the fact that the $hite

%o%ulationAs cancer incidence rate in the.8. of 33.5N>*4+.5 )as significantly lo)er than for the average $hite %o%ulation in theU.S. of 3.!N>* 4.! %er ',. nd the$hitesA cancer incidence in .8. )as eventhe lo)est among all the cities in the U.S.listed.

"he degree of targeting of the :lac0 %o%ulation still living in highly segregated %arts of the large metro%olitan areas is

further illustrated by the fact that the cancer incidence for the recent immigrant ?is%anicminority is greatly lo)er than for :lac0s."hus, in $ashington .8., the incidence of cancer in 44 for ?is%anics )as only1'3.1N>*71., com%ared )ith 5'4.!N>*41..?ence the :lac0sA rate is higher by '+!.5than the rate for ?is%anics, )hich is by 1K.Moreover, the :lac0sA rate in .8. )as thehighest of any city listed other than the cityof etroit, Michigan, )hose very large

cancer rates )ill be discussed shortly.

Since cancer has long been 0no)n to be %roduced by radiation, there can be no doubtthat the %rinci%al cause of these abnormallyhigh rates of infant mortality, lo) birth)eight, behavioural and cognitive %roblemsas )ell as infectious and chronic diseasessuch as leu0aemia, cancer and diabetescannot be attributed to racial differences inthe genes.

nstead, the evidence of recent rises anddeclines of infant and total mortality ratesclearly re%resent environmental factors in)hich nuclear fission %roducts are asynergistic factor that multi%lies the action of other chemicals and air %ollutants in theenvironment, as Rachel 8arson has )arnedthe )orld long ago in her ground*brea0ing

boo0 BSilent S%ringC * for the U.S. as a )hole, '3K higher than for the nation)ide average cancer

incidence. "his time, the source of fission %roducts )as not ;ust the mil0 shi%%ed intothe city, but also the drin0ing )ater,contaminated by the large number of nuclear reactors that discharge their liFuid )astesinto the 2reat 9a0es, )hich are the source of drin0ing )ater for the cities on their coast.nd in this case, both the $hite and :lac0

%o%ulations )ere strongly affected,e6%laining the difference bet)een the case of $ashington and etroit since $ashington

receives its drin0ing )ater from the PotomacRiver, on )hich there is no nuclear reactor located.

The 3ontinuous 3over%u! the Tragic

0amage

"he enormously high cancer rates for both$hites and :lac0s in the etroit area and allof Michigan, both higher than in the entireMid)est, illustrate the enormously greatfinancial crisis that has been %roduced by thes%iralling health care costs connected )ith

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the treatment of cancer, disabilities and other chronic conditions li0e diabetes that arethreatening the economic future of thenation.

"his is %articularly clearly illustrated by theenormous recent financial losses suffered by2eneral Motors and &ord %roducingautomobiles in or near etroit. t is the largefinancial cost of health care for the )or0ersand retired em%loyees in the absence of anational single %ayer health insurance

%rogram that has been a crucial factor in thecost of their %roducts. "his has beenidentified as one of the most im%ortant

causes of the financial %roblems of thesecom%anies in com%eting )ith those in Ja%anand Lorea that do not have their factories inetroit or Michigan


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+utloo-

?o)ever there is ho%e for the future, sincethere has been a )orld)ide movement to

develo% alternative forms of energy tore%lace both fossil fuels and nuclear %o)er that do not %ollute the environment andincrease the danger of climate )arming. sfor the )arming of our %lanet, there is alsoanother serious %roblem of nuclear energy0e%t from the %ublic by governments, sincelarge Fuantities of fossil fuels are reFuired tomine, trans%ort and enrich the uranium fuel,discharging large Fuantities of greenhousegas carbon dio6ide into the atmos%here.

Moreover, in the %rocess of enriching theuranium, highly to6ic de%leted uranium)aste is %roduced, )hich has been used bythe military of the U.S. and other nations toma0e bombs and ammunitions that have ledto the generation of highly to6ic, long*livedradioactive %oison gasses, adding to the to6icfission %roducts released by some 3nuclear %lants o%erating around the )orld.

&inally, it must be said that as the result of

the tragic effects %roduced by the discoveryof fission, governments have had to learnthat large*scale )ars bet)een nations such astoo0 %lace in the 4th century cannotcontinue in the nuclear age since the use of the nuclear )ea%ons arsenals )ould clearlyend all human life on Earth.

Reerences

*hree -ile 1sland) Mc2ra)* ?ill , #e)Gor0


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e6%losive in a bomb, a so*calledenrichment %rocess. "his results inUranium )ith a little less of Uranium- 415, so*called de%leted Uranium.

:ecause of the long life of both of theseisoto%es and their radioactivity lastingmillions of years, they re%resent a veryto6ic threat to human health in the formof fine %articles created )hen Uraniumammunition im%acts armour or a hardsurface and burns, forming a %oisonousgas of Uranium o6ide that can travellong distances in the air, carried by

%revailing )inds around the )orld.

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hidden genocide: environmental racism in the nuclear age

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