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abolition-usa-digest     Friday, September 3 1999     Volume 01 : Number 176




----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 20:35:21 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) GLOBAL FAX CAMPAIGN RE NUCLEAR WEAPONS AND Y2K

John Hallam
=46riends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia,
=46ax(61)(2)9517-3902 ph (61)(2)9517-3903

[e-mail]    http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html


EMBARGOED TO 2/SEPT. 1999
=46RIENDS OF THE EARTH/AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE
 GLOBAL Y2K N-WEAPONS FAX CAMPAIGN
The 'Go Codes' were today sent out to commence a global fax campaign aimed
at persuading the presidents of the US and Russia to take strategic nuclear
weapons off hairtrigger alert over the Y2K 'rollover' period.

The campaign commences at the same time as there is mounting concern over
the effect of Y2K glitches on nuclear reactors in the US, Japan and Russia,
and as reports surfaced in New Zealand media that 14 of Australia's
=46remantle class patrol boats had been unable to deal with the rollover of
the Global Positioning System (GPS).

According to campaign coordinator John Hallam,
"There has been an astonishing global response both to the call for a
campaign to fax presidents Yeltsin and Clinton asking them to take nuke
weapons off hairtrigger alert over the y2K rollover period, and to the
sign- on letter to the two presidents, which we will be faxing repeatedly
before December."

"It doesn't take great genius to understand that having 5500 nuclear
weapons (3,500 in Russia and 2000 in the US) capable of being launched
within roughly 15/30 minutes, and controlled to a large extent by the
largest, oldest, and least Y2K compliant computer systems in the world is
not safe."

"Obviously, the US and Russia are taking some steps to remedy the
situation, and the joint strategic stability centre in Colorado is helpful.
However, it is less than reassuring that it is only scheduled to commence
operation on 27December, and the Russians have threatened several times on
account of Kossovo, to pull out of it. What if there is a four-day delay in
the schedule?"

According to Irene Gale(AM) of the Australian Peace Committee
"There is one failsafe and sure way to ensure that planetary catastrophe
simply cannot happen and that is to take all nuclear forces off hairtrigger
alert.
The UK has already made a start by changing the 'notice to fire' on its
submarine force from seconds to days. The US and Russia should follow that
example."

"Unless they do, then even if we manage to get through the Y2K bump, there
will still be the possibility hanging like a sword of damocles over the
whole planet that one day in a time of crisis, someone, somewhere, will
believe false warning signals produced by a malfunctioning piece of
hardware or software in Siberia or North Dakota, and make a miscalculation
that could, ultimately, set back the process of evolution by roughly two
billion years. This is a game of Russian Roulette with the whole planet
that just cannot be allowed."

Meanwhile, a monster sign on letter to Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton has
generated more than 350 organisational signatures, ranging from members of
the European Parliament and Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand MPs, to
development groups in Nicaragua,  to Russian peace groups to US
congresspeople Edward Markey and Cynthia mc Kinney, to Leichhardt,
Waverley, Darebin, Salisbury,  Uralla, Richmond Rivers and Mitcham local
governments.
Contact: John Hallam, [phone], h9810-2598,
Irene Gale, (APC) 08-8364-2291



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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 1 Sep 1999 20:57:04 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) INSERTING THE GO-CODES FOR THE GLOBAL FAX CAMPAIGN

John Hallam
Friends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia,
Fax[phone] ph (61)(2)9517-3903

[e-mail]    http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html


Dear Rob, Katie, Marion, Vladimir, Alice, Bob Tiller, Bill Santlemann,
Rennie Drielsma, Yukio, Paul Swann  and all,

It's an unmitigated pleasure to insert the 'go codes' sometimes!.

At least, on a global fax campaign to ensure that if the go codes ever do
get inserted, absolutely nothing happens!

The 'fax now' as distinct from the 'fax on Sept 1' alert went out earlier
today, for the global fax campaign.

I don't anticipate huge media for this, but put it out anyway.

In other developments:

The total sign ons for the 'Bill and Boris' letter are now at more than 350
and still growing.

However I have yet to crack the big celebrity barrier. I tried the Dalai
Lama yesterday but his fax machine kept on cutting out. He does not have an
email. (or i can't get it).

I have also faxed Tutu to no avail.

David Cortright signed on.

A number of local governments have signed on.

A further (much stronger) resolution is happening tomorrow in the Senate
but I think that Dorling will torpedo it, in spite of getting faxed and
phoned from all around the country (and not once from me).

A whole heap of parliamentary questions are happening. (esp on the patrol
boats, Rob!)

WCP and CND UK are faxing as are IPPNW-Berlin, PSR, PGS, TVC, GRACE,
Operation de-Alert, Global Response, Y2K-WASH, and other folk from
Kamchatka to Nicaragua.

Many thanks to all the wonderful people and organisations who are doing
this. There is never enough of us.

And one small detail which I hardly dare mention:
I need $2000 to keep on doing this, to pay FOE's fax bill. Other folk are
talking about up to $200,000 but I need just $2,000. But this is not an
ambit claim. I really do need $2,000. There are some people I can only
reach by fax, and I cannot run to a friendly politician every time I need
to make an ISD fax.


EMBARGOED TO 2/SEPT. 1999
FRIENDS OF THE EARTH/AUSTRALIAN PEACE COMMITTEE
 GLOBAL Y2K N-WEAPONS FAX CAMPAIGN
The 'Go Codes' were today sent out to commence a global fax campaign aimed
at persuading the presidents of the US and Russia to take strategic nuclear
weapons off hairtrigger alert over the Y2K 'rollover' period.

The campaign commences at the same time as there is mounting concern over
the effect of Y2K glitches on nuclear reactors in the US, Japan and Russia,
and as reports surfaced in New Zealand media that 14 of Australia's
Fremantle class patrol boats had been unable to deal with the rollover of
the Global Positioning System (GPS).

According to campaign coordinator John Hallam,
"There has been an astonishing global response both to the call for a
campaign to fax presidents Yeltsin and Clinton asking them to take nuke
weapons off hairtrigger alert over the y2K rollover period, and to the
sign- on letter to the two presidents, which we will be faxing repeatedly
before December."

"It doesn't take great genius to understand that having 5500 nuclear
weapons (3,500 in Russia and 2000 in the US) capable of being launched
within roughly 15/30 minutes, and controlled to a large extent by the
largest, oldest, and least Y2K compliant computer systems in the world is
not safe."

"Obviously, the US and Russia are taking some steps to remedy the
situation, and the joint strategic stability centre in Colorado is helpful.
However, it is less than reassuring that it is only scheduled to commence
operation on 27December, and the Russians have threatened several times on
account of Kossovo, to pull out of it. What if there is a four-day delay in
the schedule?"

According to Irene Gale(AM) of the Australian Peace Committee
"There is one failsafe and sure way to ensure that planetary catastrophe
simply cannot happen and that is to take all nuclear forces off hairtrigger
alert.
The UK has already made a start by changing the 'notice to fire' on its
submarine force from seconds to days. The US and Russia should follow that
example."

"Unless they do, then even if we manage to get through the Y2K bump, there
will still be the possibility hanging like a sword of damocles over the
whole planet that one day in a time of crisis, someone, somewhere, will
believe false warning signals produced by a malfunctioning piece of
hardware or software in Siberia or North Dakota, and make a miscalculation
that could, ultimately, set back the process of evolution by roughly two
billion years. This is a game of Russian Roulette with the whole planet
that just cannot be allowed."

Meanwhile, a monster sign on letter to Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton has
generated more than 350 organisational signatures, ranging from members of
the European Parliament and Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand MPs, to
development groups in Nicaragua,  to Russian peace groups to US
congresspeople Edward Markey and Cynthia mc Kinney, to Leichhardt,
Waverley, Darebin, Salisbury,  Uralla, Richmond Rivers and Mitcham local
governments.
Contact: John Hallam, [phone], h9810-2598,
Irene Gale, (APC) 08-8364-2291



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 with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
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------------------------------

Date: Wed, 01 Sep 1999 15:52:32 -0400
From: Ellen Thomas <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Invitation to the October Meeting of the US Campaign  to AbolishNuclear Weapons

Happily, I plan to be at the October gathering in Ann Arbor.  Alan and
Odile Haber have my heartiest thanks for facilitating this.  I look forward
to discussion about current legislation -- what it is, what needs to be
done, who will do it.  Thanks for putting me on the registrant's list for
any and all events.  It will be great to see everyone again!

Ellen Thomas


PROPOSITION ONE COMMITTEE
P.O. Box 27217, Washington, DC 20038 USA
202-462-0757 (phone) | 202-265-5389 (fax)
http://prop1.org | [e-mail]

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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 01:33:39 -0700 (PDT)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) A Celebration Of Life Party

In December, I am planning to invite some friends to my house for a
Celebration Of Life party.  How should I word the invitation?


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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 01:33:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: Timothy Bruening <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) Nuclear War Contigency Plans

If a small nuclear war erupts anywhere in the world as a result of the Y2K
bug or just plain nationalism, what contingency plans does the Abolition
2000 movement have?  Does it have press releases all ready to be released in
case of a small nuclear war?

I ask because I believe that a small nuclear war would create an
unprecedented opportunity to mobilize public opinion against nuclear
weapons, but I fear that the hawks would use a small nuclear war to argue
that we need a Stars Wars system to defend against nuclear weapons, so I
believe that the Abolition 2000 movement needs to be able to dominate the
public debate before the hawks move in.


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------------------------------

Date: Thu, 2 Sep 1999 09:10:40 -0700 (PDT)
From: [e-mail] (marylia)
Subject: (abolition-usa) NIF: $300 Million Cost Overrun

Hello peace and environmental advocates: This is a very important story on
the National Ignition Facility's cost overrun and schedule slippage. It
provides key information not yet reported in the major newspapers. Please
note that Tri-Valley CAREs is calling for a Congressional investigation.
Plus, I am still digging. There will be even more to come! In the meantime,
enjoy...

Lab Laser: $300 Million Cost Overrun?

by Marylia Kelley
from Tri-Valley CAREs' September 1999 newsletter, Citizen's Watch

Last week, Mike Campbell resigned his position as Associate Director for
Lasers at  Livermore Laboratory. As A.D., Campbell had been head of the
Laser Directorate, including the $1.2 billion National Ignition Facility.
Lab Director Bruce Tarter issued a press statement on Friday claiming
Campbell had stepped down for personal reasons. Along with that
announcement, Lab management immediately began leaking information to the
press that Campbell had not received a Ph.D. from Princeton, as he had
claimed. That fact was widely reported in the media. End of story? Or,
titillating red herring?

Tri-Valley CAREs began conducting interviews last week with senior
scientific staffers at the three major nuclear weapons laboratories,
Livermore, Los Alamos and Sandia. Knowledgeable, long-time employees at all
three of the labs said the real reason for the "shake up" is that the
nuclear fusion-based NIF, being built at Livermore Lab, is $300 million
over budget and one year behind schedule.

We were told NIF is mired in scientific and technical difficulties that
Livermore Lab and its parent agency, the Dept. of Energy, are trying to
hide from Congress and the public. There are three "show stopper" areas
where NIF is rapidly falling behind schedule and incurring cost
overruns-$300 million and rising, employees say.

* Target fabrication - This refers to the design and manufacture of the
cryogenic (frozen) balls containing the radioactive fuel that NIF's 192
laser beams are supposed to compress uniformly and instantly to achieve the
temperatures and other phenomena found in the later stages of an exploding
nuclear weapon.

* Diagnostics - This is the sophisticated array of equipment that is
required to provide a highly accurate record of what goes on in a NIF
target "shot." These results are to be fed into the nuclear weapons codes,
the software that is central to nuclear weapons design.

* Glass development and delivery - This refers to the refinement and
manufacture of exceedingly complex optics, special lenses and crystals that
comprise the basis for NIF - which is a glass laser. No glass means no
laser.

In essence, Livermore Lab officials have been spending the money as fast as
they get it, but have failed to accomplish the milestones those funds were
supposed to achieve.

Employees say the Lab has attempted to hide the overrun by pulling target
fabrication, diagnostics and glass delivery out of NIF's "project" budget.
That's how, say staffers, Mike Campbell justified standing on stage at the
target chamber  dedication in June boasting NIF was "on budget." Just
missing a few key ingredients, that's all. Very Clintonesque.

Since all those things will need to be purchased, Livermore Lab and the DOE
management plan to rob money from other programs at Livermore, Los Alamos
and Sandia labs to make up for the overrun, say scientists. NIF is the 800
pound gorilla poised and ready to squash many smaller, more worthy
projects.

NIF's technical difficulties have also caused its completion date to slip
by 12 months, say sources close to the program. While Lab and DOE officials
are still saying publicly that NIF will be on line in 2003, several months
ago the projected start date was secretly bumped backed to 2004, they say.

NIF is, at best,  half-built (according to the Lab's assessment). That it
could be this far over  budget and behind schedule is indicative of a
program in deep trouble, and one whose management  insisted on plunging
full speed ahead before key scientific problems were resolved. A $300
million cost overrun is particularly astonishing when one considers that
NIF's construction estimates have  nearly doubled, from $677 million to
$1.2 billion. How could NIF garner such huge budget increases and still
incur an overrun on top of that?

Tri-Valley CAREs is calling for a Congressional inquiry into NIF spending.
Top Lab and DOE management should be forced to come clean now, before any
new checks are cashed. NIF's overall budget for fiscal year 2000, which
starts on October 1, contains nearly half a billion dollars.

Congress should not risk throwing good money out after bad.





Marylia Kelley
Tri-Valley CAREs
(Communities Against a Radioactive Environment)
2582 Old First Street
Livermore, CA USA 94550

<http://www.igc.org/tvc/> - is our web site, please visit us there!

[phone] - is our phone
[phone] - is our fax

Working for peace, justice and a healthy environment since 1983, Tri-Valley
CAREs has been a member of the nation-wide Alliance for Nuclear
Accountability in the U.S. since 1989, and is a co-founding member of the
international Abolition 2000 network for the elimination of nuclear
weapons.



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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 3 Sep 1999 15:57:03 +1000
From: FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) THE MOST IMORTANT FAX YOU MIGHT EVER MAKE

APPEAL: THE MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE IN THE WORLD BETWEEN NOW AND DECEMBER31

=46AX YELTSIN, CLINTON TO TAKE N-WEAPONS OFF ALERT OVER Y2K NOW.

SIGN THE NUKE WEAPONS DE-ALERTING LETTER TO YELTSIN/CLINTON
(TEXT at http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html to sign
email [e-mail])

PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN, [phone],
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, [phone],

Dear All,

You will be getting many messages of this kind because this is possibly the
most important single issue that can ever come your way between now and the
next year.

=46ollowing this appeal there are two sample letters, one from FOE Australia
and one from Bob Tiller of PSR USA.

I urge you to act on them. The fax campaign started Sept 1. IFyou or your
organisation has not yet faxed Yeltsin and or Clinton, do it in the next
few days.

I am writing to urge you to fax Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton from now
onwards to take strategic nuclear weapons off alert before December, and to
ask that the de- alerting of strategic nuclear weapons be discussed at the
coming September 21 meeting of the G8.

Also if you are an organisation or a 'prominent' person, please sign the
big sign - on letter to Yeltsin and Clinton. It's already been faxed a few
times, and will be faxed again and again as it grows before December. The
text is on the website at
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html

To sign email THIS ADRESS. ([e-mail])

This is of absolutely vital importance.   Getting 5000 nuclear missiles off
alert status before the Y2k bug plays havoc with their command and control
systems is just about the most important thing anyone can possibly do.

Arguably there is simply no other issue this important between now and
December/January.
It might  be literally a matter of survival.

Please use the fax numbers I have provided. The numbers here work. I've
just checked them. If they (especially Yeltsins one) seem not to work be
patient.  Keep trying. If they take these numbers out of operation I will
supply others but not until I am sure.

Try and get everyone you know to do it.

If you are a large organisation please try and get all your members to do
it. Include it in your newsletters.

Many thanks and may the fax gremlins smile on you!

John Hallam.


DRAFT MODEL LETTER TO YELTSIN AND CLINTON FOR GLOBAL FAX CAMPAIGN STARTING
SEPTEMBER 1

PRESIDENT BORIS YELTSIN, [phone],
PRESIDENT BILL CLINTON, [phone],

Dear Presidents Yeltsin, and  Clinton,
I am writing to you to convey my extreme concern over the possibility that
Y2K -related problems in the computerised command, control, and monitoring
systems of nuclear forces and weapon systems, may give rise to an
unacceptable risk of accidental nuclear war, as a result of incorrect data
and miscalculation.  I therefore urge you to solve the problem by taking
your nuclear forces off alert, or  by standing them down.

I ask that standing down nuclear forces in view of the problems  posed by
the 'Millennium Bug', be a matter for urgent priority discussions at the G8
Summit in Berlin on Sept 21.  As well asY2K considerations, taking nuclear
weapons off alert will increase strategic stability and confidence, and
eliminate  the possibility of accidental nuclear war.

I would remind you that your two countries have some 5000 strategic nuclear
weapons that are able to be fired within a time span of 15-30 minutes.

This must never happen. Should it do so, not only would your two countries
cease to exist, but it is entirely possible that human life  and maybe all
life life on the planet, could be terminated.

Any risk of this happening at any time, Y2K or otherwise, no matter how
small, is unacceptable.

However, the Y2K problem adds another layer of uncertainty to the risk that
already exists.

Taking nuclear forces off alert was strongly recommended by the Canberra
Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in 1996, and a number of
resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly have urged that it be
done.

Taking nuclear weapons off alert and placing them in a state in which hours
to days rather than minutes or seconds would be required to make them
launch ready, would effectively eliminate the risk of accidental nuclear
war due to the Y2K computer problem.  It would also make impossible the
many non-Y2K related problems that have many times brought us to within
minutes of a possible nuclear exchange.

De-Alerting will cost you nothing, and can be done by a simple executive
order to stand down nuclear forces.

The UK has already altered its 'notice to fire' from minutes to days.

We/I urge you to do likewise.

The stakes involved far outweigh any considerations of national pride,
national interest, or even national security. Indeed, the immediate stakes
are so high, and the potential for global catastrophe so clear that
mutually verified de- alerting must now take precedence over all other
considerations.

Signed...
etc

>-------------------------------------------
>Dear Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton:
>
>The Cold War ended years ago, but the nuclear danger endures, menacing
>us all.  Thousands of nuclear weapons remain on high-alert in the United
>States and Russia.  Although both countries have announced their
>"de-targeting" of the other, that step is virtually meaningless when
>both countries keep their weapons on alert and maintain a
>launch-on-warning posture.
>
>Keeping nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert does not add to the
>security of either nation; indeed it makes all of us less secure.  You
>are well aware of the various occasions when Russia and the U.S. came
>close to launching nuclear weapons because of misunderstanding or poor
>data.  Removing the weapons from hair-trigger alert would eliminate the
>risk of hasty reaction.
>
>Therefore I urge you to lessen the nuclear danger by removing all
>nuclear weapons from high-alert.  This can be accomplished in a matter
>of weeks without treaty negotiation or ratification.
>
>This approach has worked before.  In 1991 President George Bush took the
>bold step of removing hundreds of U.S. nuclear weapons from high-alert
>status, and in response Mikhail Gorbachev did the same with hundreds of
>Soviet weapons.  Now we need similar courageous leadership to finish the
>process that they started.
>
>De-alerting takes on added urgency this year.  When January 1, 2000
>arrives, no one will know if all of the Y2K computer problems have been
>fixed.  Why court disaster by having nuclear warheads on hair-trigger
>alert when we do not know how the computers in the nuclear system will
>function?
>
>Last year the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a
>resolution which calls on the nuclear weapons states to de-alert their
>weapons.  It is wise counsel.  For the sake of our children and
>grandchildren, please de-alert all nuclear weapons now.
>
>Sincerely,

John Hallam
=46riends of the Earth Sydney,
17 Lord street, Newtown, NSW, Australia,
=46ax(61)(2)9517-3902 ph (61)(2)9517-3903

[e-mail]    http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~foesyd/nuclear/bbletter.html






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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 03 Sep 1999 16:55:56 -0400
From: Bob Tiller <[e-mail]>
Subject: Re: (abolition-usa) Nuclear War Contigency Plans

There can be no such thing as "a small nuclear war."   It is a mistaken idea, a
false construct, and we should not be using it.

Shalom,
Bob Tiller



Timothy Bruening wrote:

> If a small nuclear war erupts anywhere in the world as a result of the Y2K
> bug or just plain nationalism, what contingency plans does the Abolition
> 2000 movement have?  Does it have press releases all ready to be released in
> case of a small nuclear war?
>
> I ask because I believe that a small nuclear war would create an
> unprecedented opportunity to mobilize public opinion against nuclear
> weapons, but I fear that the hawks would use a small nuclear war to argue
> that we need a Stars Wars system to defend against nuclear weapons, so I
> believe that the Abolition 2000 movement needs to be able to dominate the
> public debate before the hawks move in.
>
> -
>  To unsubscribe to abolition-usa, send an email to "[e-mail]"
>  with "unsubscribe abolition-usa" in the body of the message.
>  For information on digests or retrieving files and old messages send
>  "help" to the same address.  Do not use quotes in your message.


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------------------------------

Date: Fri, 03 Sep 1999 17:09:55 -0400
From: Hisham Zerriffi <[e-mail]>
Subject: (abolition-usa) BEIR VII letter and press release

Dear Friends:  Here is the press release and final version of the letter
delivered by IEER to the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on the
Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR VII).

IEER Letterhead

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For further information contact:
Arjun Makhijani or Lisa Ledwidge: 301-270-5500

PRESS RELEASE
70+ Signers Urge National Academy Panel to Study Genetic and Birth Defects
as Radiation Risks

Washington, DC, Sept. 3, 1999. More than 70 organizations and individuals
from around the world today called on a new National Academy of Sciences
(NAS) panel being set up to study the impacts of low-level radiation
exposure to consider a wide range of potential health effects including
birth defects and genetic damage in its deliberations. In a letter to the
NAS Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR VII),
the signers said

=93It is important that the BEIR VII process address the full range of risks
that have not been conclusively evaluated so far.  This should include
risks that have come to light since the BEIR V report (such as the combined
effects of radiation and hormonally-active agents, also called endocrine
disrupters) as well as issues that could have been addressed in BEIR V, but
were not.=94

Dr. Arjun Makhijani, president of the Institute for Energy and
Environmental Research (IEER), handed the letter to the Committee for
consideration on behalf of the signatories.  =93The issue of the health
effects of radiation is far more complex than the range of effects
evaluated in the last BEIR committee report,=94 said Dr. Arjun Makhijani.
=93Moreover, some of the data, such as US worker dose data, used in radiatio=
n
studies is suspect or seriously flawed.  It is crucial that the committee
consider data integrity and quality questions and not accept results of
studies only because they have been published in peer-reviewed journals.=94

=93We have compiled a list of some of the most crucial issues that we believ=
e
you should address, like radiation's effects on the development of ova,
which are formed once per lifetime during females' fetal development,=94 sai=
d
Lisa Ledwidge, Outreach Coordinator of IEER.  =93We also are requesting that
the committee publish and update frequently a list of the publications that
it is reviewing so that the public may be able to follow the review and add
to that list as needed.=94

The letter makes some highly specific suggestions for research.  David
Close, a professor of physics at East Tennessee State University who
specializes in the effects of radiation on DNA, noted that when radioactive
atoms, such as those of carbon-14, become part of the DNA, they change the
chemical composition of that piece of DNA when they decay.  =93Carbon-14
becomes nitrogen-14 when it decays,=94 said Dr. Close.  =93We need to know
whether the genetic change that results from such a transmutation in the
DNA can produce adverse health effects, and if so what these health effects
are.=94

IEER requested that the committee treat the issues in the letter with the
same seriousness had a member of the committee raised them.

- --30--

****************************************************************************
**************
IEER Letterhead

September 3, 1999

Richard R. Monson M.D., Chair
c/o Rick Jostes, Staff Officer
Committee on the Health Risks from Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing
Radiation (BEIR VII)
National Academy of Sciences
2101 Constitution Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.  20418

Dear Dr. Monson,
We are writing in connection with your committee's work on assessing the
effects of low-level radiation in the form of the Biological Effects of
Ionizing Radiation (BEIR) VII review.=20

We are pleased that the BEIR VII Committee has set out to "consider a large
amount of published data =85 concerning the risks to humans of exposure to
low levels of ionizing radiation" (BEIR VII Project Scope). We expect that,
as part of this work, the Committee will examine conflicting evidence and
interpretations in the process of identifying biological effects and risk
factors.  We look forward to following closely the Committee's
deliberations throughout this important process and to participating in=
 them.

The work of past BEIR Committees has been influential in setting the tone
and terms of the scientific debate on the issue and in the radiation
standard-setting process.  Therefore, we believe it is crucial that the
full range of information and issues regarding the health effects of
ionizing radiation be considered.  The BEIR V report considered only risks
of cancer, some aspects of genetic damage (though it did not estimate risks
of =93diseases of complex genetic origin, which are thought to comprise the
largest category of genetically-related diseases,=94 p. 4) and mental
retardation arising from in-utero exposure.

It is important that the BEIR VII process address the full range of risks
that have not been conclusively evaluated so far.  This should include
risks that have come to light since the BEIR V report (such as the combined
effects of radiation and hormonally-active agents, also called endocrine
disrupters) as well as issues that could have been addressed in BEIR V, but
were not.  We have compiled a list of some of the most crucial issues that
we believe you should address.  These issues are as follows:

*Effects of radionuclides that cross the placenta: This should include
consideration of the effects on the developing fetus itself (e.g.
miscarriages, malformations, and developmental effects other than mental
retardation) and the effects on relevant organs at critical periods of
fetal development.  This study of health effects on the developing fetus
should specifically include effects on development of specific organs, and
the indirect effects of harm to organs such as the thyroid.  We are
especially concerned about radionuclides such as iodine-131, carbon-14, and
tritium that could become part of the fetus in ways that could profoundly
affect its well being.  For instance, tritium, being a form of hydrogen,
combines with oxygen to form water.  Tritiated water behaves chemically
like ordinary water. If ingested, a fraction of it becomes incorporated
into the cells of the body, including genetic material.  Such radioactive
water also crosses the placenta.  The potential for the resultant in-utero
exposure to cause miscarriages, birth defects, and other health problems
needs to be examined.  The BEIR VII committee's evaluation of the risks of
low-level radiation should include all such radionuclides and effects.  If
there are gaps in present knowledge, these should be identified clearly and
their implications should be spelled out.

*Effects of radiation on female fetuses: Considering that ova are formed
once per lifetime during females' fetal development, the Committee should
evaluate the effects of radiation on the reproductive system of female
fetuses and the possible effect of such radiation on the children of
females irradiated in this way.

*Effects of organically-bound radionuclides: Radionuclides such as tritium
or carbon-14 can become part of the DNA.  Upon radioactive decay, they
transmute into other elements.  (Tritium becomes helium-3 and carbon-14
becomes nitrogen-14.)  Such transmutation events could adversely affect the
DNA.  The potential health effects of such transmutations need to be
evaluated. =20

*Synergistic effects: Exposure to radiation is sometimes coupled with
exposure to other hazardous substances.  The Committee should consider
health effects caused by combined exposure to radioactive and
non-radioactive substances.  Special attention should be given to
substances such as hormonally active agents that affect the hormonal system
and the possibility that such disruption might increase the risk of cancer
and other diseases arising from radiation exposure.  Conversely, radiation
exposure might damage the endocrine system, thereby increasing
vulnerability to other disease-producing agents in the environment.  The
possibility of variability of such risks depending on age of exposure (and
whether exposure takes place in-utero) should also be considered.

*Data integrity and quality: Worker dose records of the U.S. Department of
Energy, and its predecessor agencies, are deeply flawed.  The environmental
contamination records are similarly deeply flawed.  We know these things
about the United States because much of the raw data record has become
public through lawsuits, Freedom of Information Act requests, etc.  Use of
studies that accept official US worker or offsite dose estimates without
evaluation of the raw data is highly questionable to say the least.  Since
the raw data in other countries are still largely secret, there is even
less reason to accept them at face value.  For instance, there is evidence
that the health data in the former Soviet Union are questionable. The
Committee should review these and related fundamental questions of data
integrity and address whether any of this record is suitable at all for
assessing the risks of low-level radiation, and if so how it should be
used.  The Committee should also address what criteria of data quality it
will apply to the information contained in the studies it reviews.  In this
context, we do not believe that it will be enough to simply accept
peer-reviewed studies as correct if they have not evaluated the soundness
of the underlying official dose and health data.  Finally the impact of
misclassification of radiation exposures and health outcomes and
health-related selection factors, should be considered in interpreting all
epidemiological studies, including studies of A-bomb survivors.

*Effects on various populations: The concept of "standard man" or "average"
is often used to set radiation protection standards.  Given the potential
large variability of actual health effects of radiation in various
populations, the Committee should assess the errors in risk estimates
produced by the use of this concept.  For instance, the age-dependence of
the dose response relationship for various health effects should be
explicitly spelled out, not only for children, but also for older age
groups.  Another example is the potential variation in sensitivity to
low-level radiation among individuals who are otherwise of similar
demographic make-up.

In many of these areas, it may be that there is simply not enough knowledge
to come to reliable scientific conclusions.  In such cases, the Committee
should clearly and frankly say so and recommend a research agenda.  If
possible, this should be accompanied by qualitative discussions of the
mechanisms of potential health effects.  It is of crucial importance to us
that all areas where risk cannot be reliably calculated are clearly
identified.  If the types of risk can be qualitatively ascertained, the
risks should be spelled out.  If even the qualitative risks cannot be
assessed, that conclusion would also be very material.

We have not discussed cancer-related issues above because we are presuming
that the Committee will address the full range of relevant literature in
regard to carcinogenic effects.  It would be helpful if the committee
published and updated frequently a list of the publications that it is
reviewing, so that we may be able to follow the review and add to that
list, should we feel that to be necessary or desirable.

We look forward to providing scientific input throughout the BEIR VII
process and expect that the Committee will fully address the issues we have
raised as seriously as it might were those same issues raised by a member
of the Committee.=20

We appreciate the opportunity for public comment and ask that it be
expanded as needed to fully accommodate the issues and evidence that we
want to put forth.  We look forward to your response. Do let us know if you
have any questions or need more information.  Please address your questions
or responses to Lisa Ledwidge or Arjun Makhijani.  Thank you very much.

Sincerely,



Lisa Ledwidge                 Arjun Makhijani, Ph.D.
Outreach Coordinator                President=09
[e-mail]                    [e-mail]

Other signatories:
David E. Adelman, Natural Resources Defense Council, Washington, D.C., USA
Glenn Alcalay, Co-chair, National Committee for Radiation Victims, New
York, New York, USA
Jennifer Aldrich, Executive Director, Physicians for Social
Responsibility/Oregon, Portland, Oregon, USA
Dave Andrews, Vice Chair, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Wales, UK
Didier Anger, le CRILAN, Les Pieux, France
Paulette Anger, le CRILAN, Les Pieux, France
Caron Balkany, Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety*, Santa Fe, New
Mexico, USA
Dan Becker, Director, Global Warming and Energy Programs, Sierra Club,
Washington, D.C., USA
Rosalie Bertell, Ph.D., GNSH, President, International Institute of Concern
for Public Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Patricia T. Birnie, Chair, GE Stockholders' Alliance, and Chair,
Environment Committee, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom,
Tucson, Arizona, USA
Philippe Brousse, Secr=E9tariat du R=E9seau "Sortir du nucl=E9aire," Lyon,=
 France
Elizabeth Brown, East Bay Peace Action, Albany, California, USA
Kateri Caron, Spokane, Washington, USA
Vina Colley, Portsmouth/Piketon Residents for Environmental Safety and
Security, McDermott, Ohio, USA
David Close, Professor, Department of Physics, East Tennessee State
University, USA
Mary Byrd Davis, Uranium Enrichment Project of Earth Island Institute,
Georgetown, Kentucky, USA
Cyndy deBruler Executive Director, Columbia River United, Hood River,
Oregon, USA
Greg deBruler, White Salmon, Washington, USA
Anushka Drescher, Ph.D., Berkeley, California, USA
Gordon Edwards, Ph.D., President, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear
Responsibility, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Nader Entessar, Professor of Political Science & International Studies,
Spring Hill College*, Mobile, Alabama, USA
Cathey E. Falvo, M.D., M.P.H., Program Director, International & Public
Health Graduate School of Health Sciences, New York Medical College*,
Valhalla, New York, New York, USA
Ansar Fayyazuddin, Assistant Professor of Physics, Stockholm University,
Stockholm, Sweden
Martin Forwood and Janine Allis-Smith, CORE (Cumbrians Opposed to a
Radioactive Environment), Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, UK
Michel Fremont, le CRILAN, Courcy, France
Surendra Gadekar, ANUMUKTI, Vedchhi, India
Sanghamitra Gadekar, ANUMUKTI, Vedchhi, India
Ann Harris, Director, We The People, Inc., of Tennessee, and Executive
Director, Alliance for Public Health & Safety, Ten Mile, Tennessee, USA
Ruth M. Heifetz, M.D., M.P.H., Senior Lecturer, Department of Family and
Preventive Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California-San
Diego*, San Diego, California, USA
Ira Helfand, M.D., Co-Founder and Past President, Physicians for Social
Responsibility, USA
Felicity Hill, Director, U.N. Office for Women's International League for
Peace and Freedom, New York, USA
Laura Hunter, Environmental Health Coalition, San Diego, California, USA
Joe Jaffe, retired physicist, San Diego, California, USA
Carol Jahnkow, Executive Director, Peace Resource Center of San Diego, San
Diego, California, USA
Chuck Johnson, Director, Center for Energy Research, Salem, Oregon, USA
Judith Johnsrud, Director, Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power, State
College, Pennsylvania, USA
Deb Katz, Citizens Awareness Network, Shelbourne Falls, Massachusetts, USA
Robin Klein, President, Hanford Action of Oregon, Portland, Oregon, USA
Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Koehnlein, President, German Society for Radiation
Protection, and Institut fuer Strahlenbiologie, Westfaelische
Wilhelms-Universitaet, Muenster, Germany
Cathy Lemar, Military Toxics Project, Lewiston, Maine, USA
Bernard Lindberg, Chairperson, Mankato Area Environmentalists, Mankato,
Minnesota, USA
John Loretz, Executive Editor, Medicine and Global Survival*, Cambridge,
Massachusetts, USA
Michael J. Manetas, Department of Environmental Resources Engineering,
Humboldt State University, Arcata, California, USA
Robert A. McFarlane, M.D., Clinical Professor Emeritus of Surgery, Oregon
Health Sciences University, Portland, Oregon, USA
Janot Mendler, Director for Operations, GEF/UNDP International
Waters:LEARN*, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Robin Mills, Director, Maryland Safe Energy Coalition, Baltimore, Maryland,
USA
Giorgio Nebbia, Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Economics, University of
Bari*, Italy
Dale D. Nesbitt, Staff scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Retired,
California, USA
Andi Nidecker, Associate Professor, University of Basel, and Executive
Council, Swiss Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility and
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Switzerland
Baku Nishio and Hideyuki Ban, Co-directors, Citizens' Nuclear Information
Center, Tokyo, Japan
Rudi H. Nussbaum, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, Portland State University, for
Northwest Radiation Health Alliance, Portland, Oregon, USA=20
Sonya Ostrom, Metro New York Peace Action Council, Brooklyn Heights Peace
Action, Eastside Peace Action, Flatbush Peace Action, Greenwich Village
Coalition for Peaceful Priorities, NOBSAC (North Bronx Social Action
Committee), Shorefront Peace Committee, SNAP (Stop Nuclear Arms
Proliferation), and Westside Peace Action, New York, New York, USA
David Ozonoff, M.D., M.P.H., Professor and Chair, Department of
Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston,
Massachusetts, USA
Perline, Ph.D., engineer and physicist, Paris, France
Carolyn Raffensperger, Science and Environmental Health Network, Windsor,
North Dakota, USA
Bruce Reznik, Executive Director, San Diego BayKeeper, San Diego,
California, USA
Norman Rubin, Director of Nuclear Research and Senior Policy Analyst,
Energy Probe, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Gladys Schmitz, Vice-chairperson, Mankato Area Environmentalists, Mankato,
Minnesota, USA
Betty Schroeder, Co-Chair, Arizona Safe Energy Coalition, Tucson, Arizona,
USA=20
Monique Sen=E9, GSIEN, Orsay, France
Victor W. Sidel, M.D., Professor of Social Medicine, Albert Einstein
College of Medicine, Bronx, New York, USA
Pamela Sihvola, Co-chair, Committee to Minimize Toxic Waste, California, USA
Norma Sullivan, retired college English professor, San Diego, California,=
 USA
Dr. Jinzaburo Takagi,  Citizens' Nuclear Information Center, Tokyo, Japan
Tim Takaro, M.D., Chair, Hanford Task Force, Washington Physicians for
Social Responsibility, Seattle, Washington, USA
Alyn Ware, Consultant at Large, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy, New
York, New York, USA
Harvey Wasserman, Citizens Protecting Ohio, Bexley, Ohio, USA
Carroll Webber, Ph.D., Greenville, North Carolina, USA
David Crockett Williams, Coordinator, Global Peace Walk Project, and
Initiator, Global Emergency Alert Response, Tehachapi, California, USA
Steve Wing, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University
of North Carolina*, Chapel Hill, USA
Alexei Yablokov, Center for Russian Environmental Policy and Program for
Radioactive and Nuclear Safety by International Socio-Ecological Union,
Moscow, Russia
Alla Yaroshinskaya, Yaroshinskaya Ecological Charity Fund, Moscow,  Russia

*Affiliation provided for identification purposes only


Cc:    Members of BEIR VII Committee
    Dr. Evan B. Douple, Director, Board on Radiation Effects Research
    Dr. Stephen L. Simon, Board on Radiation Effects Research
    Dr. E. William Colglazier, Executive Officer, National Academy of Sciences
    Dr. Jerome Puskin, Radiation Studies Branch, Environmental Protection=
 Agency
    Dr. Richard B. Setlow, Chair, BEIR VII Phase I Committee
    Mr. Charles Meinhold, President, National Council on Radiation Protection
and         Measurements
    Professor R.H. Clarke, Chairman, International Commission on Radiological
Protection






  =20
*****************************************************************
Hisham Zerriffi                               =20
Project Scientist   =20
Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER)
6935 Laurel Ave. Suite 204, Takoma Park, MD  20912   =20
Phone: [phone]       Fax:   [phone] =20
E-mail: [e-mail]    Web:    http://www.ieer.org=20
*****************************************************************

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