Downwinders: Include Guam in law; Radiation survivors group meets
By Bernice Santiago • Pacific Sunday News • October 18, 2009
A group of island residents and members of the Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors met yesterday to discuss legislation that proposes to include Guam in the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.
The federal RECA law, passed in 1990, compensates people who have been diagnosed with specific cancers and chronic diseases that could have resulted from exposure to agents associated with nuclear weapons testing, according to a 2005 report published by the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council.
The law covers exposure to nuclear tests carried out for more than 20 years during and after World War II. According to the report, both on-site participants of above-ground nuclear tests and "downwinders" in areas designated by RECA are eligible for compensation.
Areas of Nevada, Utah and Arizona are covered in the law as "Downwind Counties," the report states.
The PARS group hopes to include Guam in the law, citing concerns about exposure to radioactive debris during the 1940s and 1950s, when a series of atmospheric nuclear tests were conducted by the U.S. in the Marshall Islands.
The tests were conducted 1,200 miles east of Guam, in an area where trade winds are predominantly from east to west, the report states.
In the report, the National Research Council's committee on radiation exposure recommends that residents of Guam living be eligible for compensation as "downwinders."
"Help us identify what's really going on, what really happened," said Terry Flores at the meeting yesterday. Two of her sisters have been diagnosed with breast cancer, she said. The tests were conducted when she was a young girl, and Flores was concerned that there could be a possible link between their diagnosis and radiation exposure.
Tamuning resident Dolores Taitingfong, a cancer survivor, said that she hopes residents who were exposed and may have become ill from exposure will be compensated.
"I'm not looking for compensation, I'm well now," Taitingfong said. "But the other people who are sick need it."
The report states that Guam received measurable fallout from atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific, according to an independent assessment by the NRC committtee. Further efforts are necessary to establish associated cancer risk, according to the report.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death on Guam, according to data the Guam Comprehensive Cancer Control Coalition released Friday.
Nearly 20 percent of deaths on the island from 2003 to 2007 were cancer-related, but the coalition stated that the general cancer trends on Guam are similar to what's seen on the mainland U.S.
Certain Guam cancer cases have been linked to smoking, according to the data. Guam has the highest percentage of smokers in the nation -- 27.3 percent, according to Yvette Paulino of UOG and the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii Partnership.
Showing posts with label Nuclear Testing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nuclear Testing. Show all posts
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Radiation Survivors Group To Meet Saturday
Radiation Survivors Group To Meet Saturday
Guam- On Saturday October 17 from 11:00am to 2:00pm, the non-profit organization of Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors (PARS) will be holding their general membership meeting at the Tamuning Community Senior Citizen Center.
The members of PARS continue to laboriously lobby Congress to include Guam in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Program which would make those suffering from illness resulting from radiation exposure eligible for compensation and medical care.
Based upon scientific evidence presented before a federal panel of scientists with the National Research Council, the National Academy of Sciences concluded that, “As a result of its analysis, the committee concludes that Guam did receive measureable fallout from atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific. Residents of Guam during that period should be eligible for compensation under RECA in a way similar to that of persons considered to be downwinders.”
The PARS General Membership Meeting on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at the Tamuning Senior Center from 11 am to 2 pm. A donation of $20.00 is requested to help assist the association and the endeavor.
Written by :
News Release
Guam- On Saturday October 17 from 11:00am to 2:00pm, the non-profit organization of Pacific Association for Radiation Survivors (PARS) will be holding their general membership meeting at the Tamuning Community Senior Citizen Center.
The members of PARS continue to laboriously lobby Congress to include Guam in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Program which would make those suffering from illness resulting from radiation exposure eligible for compensation and medical care.
Based upon scientific evidence presented before a federal panel of scientists with the National Research Council, the National Academy of Sciences concluded that, “As a result of its analysis, the committee concludes that Guam did receive measureable fallout from atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons in the Pacific. Residents of Guam during that period should be eligible for compensation under RECA in a way similar to that of persons considered to be downwinders.”
The PARS General Membership Meeting on Saturday, October 17, 2009 at the Tamuning Senior Center from 11 am to 2 pm. A donation of $20.00 is requested to help assist the association and the endeavor.
Written by :
News Release
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Nagasaki Mayor Urges Nuclear Arms Ban
Nagasaki mayor urges worldwide nuclear arms ban
Associated Press
August 8, 2009
TOKYO - The mayor of Nagasaki called for a global ban on nuclear arms at a ceremony marking the 64th anniversary of the devastating U.S. attack on the Japanese city that killed about 80,000 people.
In a speech given just after 11:02 a.m. - the time when a plutonium American bomb flattened Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945 - Mayor Tomihisa Taue said some progress toward eliminating nuclear weaponry had been made but more needed to be done.
He cited a speech by President Obama in April calling on the world to rid itself of atomic weapons, but also noted a nuclear test blast by North Korea in May.
“We, as human beings, now have two paths before us. While one can lead us to a world without nuclear weapons, the other will carry us toward annihilation, bringing us to suffer once again the destruction experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 64 years ago,” he said.
The atomic attack on Nagasaki came three days after one on Hiroshima, in which 140,000 people were killed or died within months. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II.
At Sunday’s ceremony, Nagasaki observed a moment of silence at the moment of detonation 64 years earlier, while a large bell in the city’s Peace Park was rung repeatedly.
Taue invited leaders of countries possessing nuclear arms to come to Nagasaki and speak to survivors of the attack.
Prime Minister Taro Aso and other dignitaries also addressed the crowd of thousands that had assembled for the ceremony.
Associated Press
August 8, 2009
TOKYO - The mayor of Nagasaki called for a global ban on nuclear arms at a ceremony marking the 64th anniversary of the devastating U.S. attack on the Japanese city that killed about 80,000 people.
In a speech given just after 11:02 a.m. - the time when a plutonium American bomb flattened Nagasaki on Aug. 9, 1945 - Mayor Tomihisa Taue said some progress toward eliminating nuclear weaponry had been made but more needed to be done.
He cited a speech by President Obama in April calling on the world to rid itself of atomic weapons, but also noted a nuclear test blast by North Korea in May.
“We, as human beings, now have two paths before us. While one can lead us to a world without nuclear weapons, the other will carry us toward annihilation, bringing us to suffer once again the destruction experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 64 years ago,” he said.
The atomic attack on Nagasaki came three days after one on Hiroshima, in which 140,000 people were killed or died within months. Japan surrendered on Aug. 15, ending World War II.
At Sunday’s ceremony, Nagasaki observed a moment of silence at the moment of detonation 64 years earlier, while a large bell in the city’s Peace Park was rung repeatedly.
Taue invited leaders of countries possessing nuclear arms to come to Nagasaki and speak to survivors of the attack.
Prime Minister Taro Aso and other dignitaries also addressed the crowd of thousands that had assembled for the ceremony.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
France to Compensate Nuclear Test Victims
FRANCE TO FINALLY COMPENSATE NUCLEAR TEST VICTIMS
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hjfYconL8ljXKcBLGNurBnKienbw
PARIS (AFP/Pacific Media Watch): France said Tuesday it will compensate victims of nuclear testing carried out in French Polynesia and Algeria, after decades of denying its responsibility.
An initial sum of 10 million euros (US$14 million) has been set aside for military and civilian staff as well as local populations who fell ill from radiation exposure, Defence Minister Herve Morin said.
Some 150,000 civilian and military personnel took part in the 210 nuclear tests carried out in the Algerian Sahara desert and the Pacific between 1960 and 1996.
"It's time for France to be true to its conscience," Morin told Le Figaro newspaper.
The move was welcomed by French veterans who had been waging a long campaign for the state to recognise its responsibility toward ageing and sick staff of its nuclear programme.
"This is a step forward that we are greeting with satisfaction," said Michel Leger, president of the Association of Veterans of Nuclear Tests (AVEN).
Leger recalled he was "wearing shorts and a hat, lying on the ground without protective eyewear, arms folded over my eyes" when an above-ground test took place 40 km (25 miles) away, in southern Algeria in the early 1960s.
"Afterwards, there was no medical checkup," said Leger, who now suffers from cardiovascular illnesses.
One of the world's five declared nuclear powers, France carried out 17 nuclear tests in Algeria in the early 1960s including four atmospheric trials.
The first test code-named "Gerboise Bleue" (Blue Gerbil) took place on February 13, 1960 in Reggane, southern Algeria, some 15 years after the United States ushered in the age of nuclear weapons with its test in New Mexico.
Over four decades, 193 tests were carried out at the French Polynesian islands of Moruroa and at Fangataufa until 1996 when president Jacques Chirac declared an end to the programme.
Retired sailor Serge Vauley recounted that his crew was told to stand on the deck of the Foch aircraft carrier to "admire France's firepower" when the mushroom cloud from a test rose up to the Pacific sky.
Vauley, now 64 and one of the victims seeking compensation, suffers from respiratory problems and described having "holes the size of my fist" in his lungs, Le Figaro reported.
Refusing to acknowledge a direct link between the nuclear tests and the veteran's illnesses, the French government had long argued that it had done everything possible to minimize risks to personnel during testing.
Morin told a news conference that France feared recognition of the ravages caused to its personnel would have weakened its nuclear programme during the Cold War.
By offering compensation, the government was hoping to avoid long, drawn-out litigation, he said. About a dozen veterans have won minor damages in lawsuits brought against the state.
A bill is expected to be presented to parliament next month that will set up a nine-member commission of physicians, led by a magistrate, who will examine individual claims for compensation.
Veterans expressed concern however that the defence minister would have the final say on awarding compensation instead of the independent commission.
They also said it remained unclear how the government would go about compensating native populations.
"These populations will have to prove that they lived there when the tests occurred," said Patrice Bauveret, of the veterans' group.
The government is also lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding its nuclear programme as it considers the compensation claims.
The military archives of the nuclear programme have been opened and are being examined by two experts who are to submit a report in December on the environmental impact of the tests.
A separate health study is under way of 30,000 personnel who took part in the trials that could help support claims presented to the government.
* Comment on this item www.pacificmediacentre.blogspot.com
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hjfYconL8ljXKcBLGNurBnKienbw
PARIS (AFP/Pacific Media Watch): France said Tuesday it will compensate victims of nuclear testing carried out in French Polynesia and Algeria, after decades of denying its responsibility.
An initial sum of 10 million euros (US$14 million) has been set aside for military and civilian staff as well as local populations who fell ill from radiation exposure, Defence Minister Herve Morin said.
Some 150,000 civilian and military personnel took part in the 210 nuclear tests carried out in the Algerian Sahara desert and the Pacific between 1960 and 1996.
"It's time for France to be true to its conscience," Morin told Le Figaro newspaper.
The move was welcomed by French veterans who had been waging a long campaign for the state to recognise its responsibility toward ageing and sick staff of its nuclear programme.
"This is a step forward that we are greeting with satisfaction," said Michel Leger, president of the Association of Veterans of Nuclear Tests (AVEN).
Leger recalled he was "wearing shorts and a hat, lying on the ground without protective eyewear, arms folded over my eyes" when an above-ground test took place 40 km (25 miles) away, in southern Algeria in the early 1960s.
"Afterwards, there was no medical checkup," said Leger, who now suffers from cardiovascular illnesses.
One of the world's five declared nuclear powers, France carried out 17 nuclear tests in Algeria in the early 1960s including four atmospheric trials.
The first test code-named "Gerboise Bleue" (Blue Gerbil) took place on February 13, 1960 in Reggane, southern Algeria, some 15 years after the United States ushered in the age of nuclear weapons with its test in New Mexico.
Over four decades, 193 tests were carried out at the French Polynesian islands of Moruroa and at Fangataufa until 1996 when president Jacques Chirac declared an end to the programme.
Retired sailor Serge Vauley recounted that his crew was told to stand on the deck of the Foch aircraft carrier to "admire France's firepower" when the mushroom cloud from a test rose up to the Pacific sky.
Vauley, now 64 and one of the victims seeking compensation, suffers from respiratory problems and described having "holes the size of my fist" in his lungs, Le Figaro reported.
Refusing to acknowledge a direct link between the nuclear tests and the veteran's illnesses, the French government had long argued that it had done everything possible to minimize risks to personnel during testing.
Morin told a news conference that France feared recognition of the ravages caused to its personnel would have weakened its nuclear programme during the Cold War.
By offering compensation, the government was hoping to avoid long, drawn-out litigation, he said. About a dozen veterans have won minor damages in lawsuits brought against the state.
A bill is expected to be presented to parliament next month that will set up a nine-member commission of physicians, led by a magistrate, who will examine individual claims for compensation.
Veterans expressed concern however that the defence minister would have the final say on awarding compensation instead of the independent commission.
They also said it remained unclear how the government would go about compensating native populations.
"These populations will have to prove that they lived there when the tests occurred," said Patrice Bauveret, of the veterans' group.
The government is also lifting the veil of secrecy surrounding its nuclear programme as it considers the compensation claims.
The military archives of the nuclear programme have been opened and are being examined by two experts who are to submit a report in December on the environmental impact of the tests.
A separate health study is under way of 30,000 personnel who took part in the trials that could help support claims presented to the government.
* Comment on this item www.pacificmediacentre.blogspot.com
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Moruroa O Tatou Welcomes Nuclear Compensation
MORUROA O TATOU WELCOMES NUCLEAR TESTS COMPENSATION PLAN
November 25, 2008
www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=43258
PAPE'ETE (RNZI Online/Pacific Media Watch): French Polynesia’s nuclear test veterans’ group, Moruroa o Tatou, has welcomed news that the French government plans to introduce a law to set up a compensation fund for those suffering poor health as a result of the French nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific.
Such a law is expected to be tabled early next year and could pave the way for France to recognise a causal link between the tests and the prevalence of conditions such as thyroid cancer.
The head of the veterans’ group, Roland Oldham, says the announcement suggests that France will at last drop its claim that its weapons tests were clean.
Oldham says in contrast, the United States recognises 31 different types of cancer as a possible result of its testing regime.
He says the French government move may also be to pre-empt a cross-party initiative on the issue.
So far, more than two dozen different French court rulings recognised individual complaints that health problems were the result of the weapons tests but to date the French government has dismissed the findings.
Tens of thousands of French servicemen were deployed in the South Pacific during the 30-year test regime which ended in 1996.
November 25, 2008
www.rnzi.com/pages/news.php?op=read&id=43258
PAPE'ETE (RNZI Online/Pacific Media Watch): French Polynesia’s nuclear test veterans’ group, Moruroa o Tatou, has welcomed news that the French government plans to introduce a law to set up a compensation fund for those suffering poor health as a result of the French nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific.
Such a law is expected to be tabled early next year and could pave the way for France to recognise a causal link between the tests and the prevalence of conditions such as thyroid cancer.
The head of the veterans’ group, Roland Oldham, says the announcement suggests that France will at last drop its claim that its weapons tests were clean.
Oldham says in contrast, the United States recognises 31 different types of cancer as a possible result of its testing regime.
He says the French government move may also be to pre-empt a cross-party initiative on the issue.
So far, more than two dozen different French court rulings recognised individual complaints that health problems were the result of the weapons tests but to date the French government has dismissed the findings.
Tens of thousands of French servicemen were deployed in the South Pacific during the 30-year test regime which ended in 1996.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Marshall Islands to go to Court Over Nuclear Testing
Marshall Islanders go to US court over nuclear testing
Monday, 18 August 2008 00:00
MAJURO (Pacnews) — Bikini Islanders in the Marshall Islands hope their case for additional compensation for damage caused U.S. nuclear weapons tests by yield results, reports Radio New Zealand International.
Their quest to be given more money has been revived in a new round of litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals, with a ruling expected in the next few months. The U.S. maintains that the issue has been settled in previous agreements.
Bikini Island Council representative Jack Niedenthal said if their legal bid fails, they may have to approach U.S. politicians.
“The only hope we have is going back to the U.S. Congress and asking them to help us, there’s nothing forcing them to help us so it’s sort of like banging a tin cup and it’s not a very good feeling to be doing that,” he said.
Monday, 18 August 2008 00:00
MAJURO (Pacnews) — Bikini Islanders in the Marshall Islands hope their case for additional compensation for damage caused U.S. nuclear weapons tests by yield results, reports Radio New Zealand International.
Their quest to be given more money has been revived in a new round of litigation in the U.S. Court of Appeals, with a ruling expected in the next few months. The U.S. maintains that the issue has been settled in previous agreements.
Bikini Island Council representative Jack Niedenthal said if their legal bid fails, they may have to approach U.S. politicians.
“The only hope we have is going back to the U.S. Congress and asking them to help us, there’s nothing forcing them to help us so it’s sort of like banging a tin cup and it’s not a very good feeling to be doing that,” he said.
Monday, August 04, 2008
UK Admits to Servicemen Being Exposed to Radiation
UK admits servicemen exposed to radiation
5:00AM Monday August 04, 2008
By Alanah May Eriksen
and AAP
British Defence chiefs have admitted servicemen were exposed to dangerous
radiation levels during nuclear tests in Australia and the South Pacific in
the 1950s.
But a New Zealand veterans advocate has dismissed the admission as a token
gesture, which goes nowhere towards satisfying a claim for compensation by
sailors here.
The Sunday Mirror reported yesterday that court papers show the British
Ministry of Defence (MoD) now believes - after years of denials - that
nuclear tests were responsible for the deaths of some British servicemen.
However, the MoD insists that only 159 men were affected out of the 20,000
who were present.
About 800 former servicemen from Britain, New Zealand and Fiji launched a
multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the MoD this year, claiming they had
been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation during tests at sites
including Maralinga in South Australia and Christmas Island.
The court documents show two Royal Air Force servicemen, Eric Denson and
John Brothers, were irradiated after being ordered to fly through the
mushroom clouds of nuclear bombs to collect samples.
Film badges worn by the men recorded the amount of radiation they were
exposed to. "Eric had a dose equivalent to 190 years of background
radiation," the newspaper said. "John's was 107. The MoD's maximum safe dose
was just 30."
About 550 New Zealand sailors on board the frigates HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS
Rotoiti were at the series of nine aerial bomb explosions at Christmas
Island in the Pacific and Malden Island, part of Kiribati, beginning on May
15, 1957.
There are thought to be about 160 left alive.
The sailors, banded together as the New Zealand Nuclear Test Veterans
Association, are part of the class action lawsuit.
The chairman of the association, Roy Sefton, who suffers from muscle and
skeletal pain that he is certain is a result of being exposed to the
testing, said the admission was laughable.
"It's rubbish. I don't know how many, but there have been many thousands
exposed. It's not even within the realms of reality. It's a token gesture.
"You wouldn't have all these men 20 nautical miles from ground zero if it
wasn't for some sort of purpose, to see how they reacted."
Mr Sefton said British defence chiefs wanted to play the incident down
because Britain wanted to upgrade its nuclear power stations and build new
ones.
5:00AM Monday August 04, 2008
By Alanah May Eriksen
and AAP
British Defence chiefs have admitted servicemen were exposed to dangerous
radiation levels during nuclear tests in Australia and the South Pacific in
the 1950s.
But a New Zealand veterans advocate has dismissed the admission as a token
gesture, which goes nowhere towards satisfying a claim for compensation by
sailors here.
The Sunday Mirror reported yesterday that court papers show the British
Ministry of Defence (MoD) now believes - after years of denials - that
nuclear tests were responsible for the deaths of some British servicemen.
However, the MoD insists that only 159 men were affected out of the 20,000
who were present.
About 800 former servicemen from Britain, New Zealand and Fiji launched a
multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the MoD this year, claiming they had
been exposed to dangerous levels of radiation during tests at sites
including Maralinga in South Australia and Christmas Island.
The court documents show two Royal Air Force servicemen, Eric Denson and
John Brothers, were irradiated after being ordered to fly through the
mushroom clouds of nuclear bombs to collect samples.
Film badges worn by the men recorded the amount of radiation they were
exposed to. "Eric had a dose equivalent to 190 years of background
radiation," the newspaper said. "John's was 107. The MoD's maximum safe dose
was just 30."
About 550 New Zealand sailors on board the frigates HMNZS Pukaki and HMNZS
Rotoiti were at the series of nine aerial bomb explosions at Christmas
Island in the Pacific and Malden Island, part of Kiribati, beginning on May
15, 1957.
There are thought to be about 160 left alive.
The sailors, banded together as the New Zealand Nuclear Test Veterans
Association, are part of the class action lawsuit.
The chairman of the association, Roy Sefton, who suffers from muscle and
skeletal pain that he is certain is a result of being exposed to the
testing, said the admission was laughable.
"It's rubbish. I don't know how many, but there have been many thousands
exposed. It's not even within the realms of reality. It's a token gesture.
"You wouldn't have all these men 20 nautical miles from ground zero if it
wasn't for some sort of purpose, to see how they reacted."
Mr Sefton said British defence chiefs wanted to play the incident down
because Britain wanted to upgrade its nuclear power stations and build new
ones.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Guam Left Out Again
Guam Left Out in New RECA Bill
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff
monday 6 august 2007
------------------------------
IDAHO senators have reintroduced a bill that would make residents of Idaho and Montana eligible for a federal government program that compensates people suffering from diseases acquired from radiation exposure resulting from nuclear testing in the Nevada test site, as Guam still awaits its inclusion in the program.
Robert Celestial, president of the Pacific Association of Radiation Survivors, yesterday expressed disappointment in Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo’s inaction on a draft bill that his group submitted to her office on Jan. 19.
The bill, drafted by PARS, seeks to include Guam in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act program, based on the 2005 report released by the National Research Council, which concluded that Guam residents were eligible for the program.
Celestial said despite repeated promises made by Bordallo’s office to bring Guam’s case to Congress, PARS has yet to see action on the draft bill.
Following the release of the NRC report in 2005, Bordallo filed a bill seeking the inclusion of Guam in the RECA program, but the legislation languished in the House of Representatives and was abandoned altogether when the 109th Congress adjourned.
“It’s been over seven months since we submitted our draft proposal to the congresswoman, yet we’re still waiting for her to reintroduce the bill. We love our congresswoman but does she love us back?” Celestial asked. NRC determined that certain elements of fallout from nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, such as the radioactive isotope Iodine-131, settled in Guam. Those affected in this way are often referred to as “downwinders,” to denote their situation downwind from the fallout.
According to researchers, radioactive contamination can manifest itself as various forms of cancer, leukemia and other illnesses, particularly thyroid cancer. “If you look at the obituary pages in the paper, you’ll see a lot of our residents having gone away without ever getting compensated for the diseases they have suffered as a result of nuclear testing in the Pacific during the 1950s,” he added.
Last week, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo and Larry Craig were joined by Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester on S. 1917 that would amend RECA to include all of Idaho and Montana. Nuclear testing in Nevada during the 1950s and 1960s released radiation into the atmosphere that settled in states far away from the original test site.
By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
Variety News Staff
monday 6 august 2007
------------------------------
IDAHO senators have reintroduced a bill that would make residents of Idaho and Montana eligible for a federal government program that compensates people suffering from diseases acquired from radiation exposure resulting from nuclear testing in the Nevada test site, as Guam still awaits its inclusion in the program.
Robert Celestial, president of the Pacific Association of Radiation Survivors, yesterday expressed disappointment in Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo’s inaction on a draft bill that his group submitted to her office on Jan. 19.
The bill, drafted by PARS, seeks to include Guam in the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act program, based on the 2005 report released by the National Research Council, which concluded that Guam residents were eligible for the program.
Celestial said despite repeated promises made by Bordallo’s office to bring Guam’s case to Congress, PARS has yet to see action on the draft bill.
Following the release of the NRC report in 2005, Bordallo filed a bill seeking the inclusion of Guam in the RECA program, but the legislation languished in the House of Representatives and was abandoned altogether when the 109th Congress adjourned.
“It’s been over seven months since we submitted our draft proposal to the congresswoman, yet we’re still waiting for her to reintroduce the bill. We love our congresswoman but does she love us back?” Celestial asked. NRC determined that certain elements of fallout from nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands, such as the radioactive isotope Iodine-131, settled in Guam. Those affected in this way are often referred to as “downwinders,” to denote their situation downwind from the fallout.
According to researchers, radioactive contamination can manifest itself as various forms of cancer, leukemia and other illnesses, particularly thyroid cancer. “If you look at the obituary pages in the paper, you’ll see a lot of our residents having gone away without ever getting compensated for the diseases they have suffered as a result of nuclear testing in the Pacific during the 1950s,” he added.
Last week, Idaho Sen. Mike Crapo and Larry Craig were joined by Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester on S. 1917 that would amend RECA to include all of Idaho and Montana. Nuclear testing in Nevada during the 1950s and 1960s released radiation into the atmosphere that settled in states far away from the original test site.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Two Islands
Two Island Tales, The Use and Abuse of Power
By Brian McAfee
http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/5631/1/32/
August 1, 2007
The idyllic lives of two island based populations were inexorably changed and came close to annihilation just to accommodate U.S. supposed protection of democracy. Both Bikini Atoll in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean's Diego Garcia island were populated by thriving, self sufficient, fishing based population until coming under the radar screen of British and U.S. hegemonic interests. The disregard and callus indifference towards the effected populations show the true nature of U.S. "values."
Both Bikini and Diego Garcia resurfaced as issues earlier this year when survivors of the hydrogen bomb tests in the Pacific and Chagos islanders (Diego Garcia) won court cases recognizing the injustices forced upon them by the U.S. in the case of Bikinians and by the British in the case of the Chagos islanders. The Bikinians were awarded $1 billion in damages for the impact and effect of U.S. nuclear and hydrogen tests. They will likely never see a cent of it as the bank reserve designated for awarding payment is said to have no funds to accommodate the ruling. The obvious irony here is that the funding to continue the Iraq war is seemingly boundless and unending but to rectify an earlier injustice is economically unfeasible. From 1946 through 1958 the U.S. had carried out 23 atomic and hydrogen bomb tests with the 1954 Bravo test the most significant one. The Bikinians were first moved to Rongeric, where they nearly starved to death, then they were shipped to Kwajalein and finally to tiny Kili where now their population is more then fifteen times bigger than the original 167 that were forcibly removed in 1946. The health effect of being down wind and contamination of the food supply of the resettled Bikini Islanders continue to be a factor in the health and food supply of Pacific islands of the Marshall Island Region.
The Chagos islanders won a hollow victory that they would be allowed to return to their islands, with the exception of Diego Garcia, the largest and main island in the archipelago, and the primary home of the exiled islanders. The U.S. which has a naval and air base on the island remains unwilling to give back the stolen island. In the case of Diego Garcia, Britain and the U.S. both were culprits in the theft of the island. While the U.S. media has, for the most part, not covered the issue of Diego Garcia two journalists have made a point of keeping it alive as an issue. Both William Blum and John Pilger have kept the story and issue alive over the years. Diego Garcia is an example of an ongoing injustice with elements of imperialism, racism and ongoing abuse of power in the name of "democracy." Blum in his recent book "Rogue State" described what happened in the Chagos Islands, "A few thousand inhabitants of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean were summarily uprooted by Great Britain and shipped against their will to Mauritius and the Seychelles, each more than a thousand miles away. No one helped them resettle or paid for the homes they lost. They simply were forced to become squatters in foreign lands. The reason for this was to make room for a U.S. military base on the biggest of the Chagos Islands, Diego Garcis." John Piler's new book "Freedom Nest Time" goes in to more details of what happened with the Chagos Islands and Diego Garcia with updated details.
In both cases the apparent writing of wrongs were deceptive. In the case of the Bikinian legal victory of $1 billion the funds, according to the U.S., no longer exists to pay them despite the current ruling, how convenient. In the case of Diego Garcia the main goal in the native pursuit of justice, the Island of Diego Garcia itself, remains off limits to its rightful owners, the Chagossian people. The U.S. continues to scoff at the legal and moral basis for justice, for simply doing the right things.
By Brian McAfee
http://www.politicalaffairs.net/article/articleview/5631/1/32/
August 1, 2007
The idyllic lives of two island based populations were inexorably changed and came close to annihilation just to accommodate U.S. supposed protection of democracy. Both Bikini Atoll in the Pacific and the Indian Ocean's Diego Garcia island were populated by thriving, self sufficient, fishing based population until coming under the radar screen of British and U.S. hegemonic interests. The disregard and callus indifference towards the effected populations show the true nature of U.S. "values."
Both Bikini and Diego Garcia resurfaced as issues earlier this year when survivors of the hydrogen bomb tests in the Pacific and Chagos islanders (Diego Garcia) won court cases recognizing the injustices forced upon them by the U.S. in the case of Bikinians and by the British in the case of the Chagos islanders. The Bikinians were awarded $1 billion in damages for the impact and effect of U.S. nuclear and hydrogen tests. They will likely never see a cent of it as the bank reserve designated for awarding payment is said to have no funds to accommodate the ruling. The obvious irony here is that the funding to continue the Iraq war is seemingly boundless and unending but to rectify an earlier injustice is economically unfeasible. From 1946 through 1958 the U.S. had carried out 23 atomic and hydrogen bomb tests with the 1954 Bravo test the most significant one. The Bikinians were first moved to Rongeric, where they nearly starved to death, then they were shipped to Kwajalein and finally to tiny Kili where now their population is more then fifteen times bigger than the original 167 that were forcibly removed in 1946. The health effect of being down wind and contamination of the food supply of the resettled Bikini Islanders continue to be a factor in the health and food supply of Pacific islands of the Marshall Island Region.
The Chagos islanders won a hollow victory that they would be allowed to return to their islands, with the exception of Diego Garcia, the largest and main island in the archipelago, and the primary home of the exiled islanders. The U.S. which has a naval and air base on the island remains unwilling to give back the stolen island. In the case of Diego Garcia, Britain and the U.S. both were culprits in the theft of the island. While the U.S. media has, for the most part, not covered the issue of Diego Garcia two journalists have made a point of keeping it alive as an issue. Both William Blum and John Pilger have kept the story and issue alive over the years. Diego Garcia is an example of an ongoing injustice with elements of imperialism, racism and ongoing abuse of power in the name of "democracy." Blum in his recent book "Rogue State" described what happened in the Chagos Islands, "A few thousand inhabitants of the Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean were summarily uprooted by Great Britain and shipped against their will to Mauritius and the Seychelles, each more than a thousand miles away. No one helped them resettle or paid for the homes they lost. They simply were forced to become squatters in foreign lands. The reason for this was to make room for a U.S. military base on the biggest of the Chagos Islands, Diego Garcis." John Piler's new book "Freedom Nest Time" goes in to more details of what happened with the Chagos Islands and Diego Garcia with updated details.
In both cases the apparent writing of wrongs were deceptive. In the case of the Bikinian legal victory of $1 billion the funds, according to the U.S., no longer exists to pay them despite the current ruling, how convenient. In the case of Diego Garcia the main goal in the native pursuit of justice, the Island of Diego Garcia itself, remains off limits to its rightful owners, the Chagossian people. The U.S. continues to scoff at the legal and moral basis for justice, for simply doing the right things.
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