French nuclear legency in the south pacific

[MarineCorps]

Officials in French Polynesia have discovered unexpectedly high levels of radioactive contamination nearly a decade after nuclear testing ended on Mururoa Atoll.

As many as five people a day are being sent to private hospitals in Auckland for diagnosis and treatment for what may be radiation-related illnesses.

The territory's president Oscar Temaru accused the French government of a continuing, high-level cover-up over the health and environmental consequences of the testing.

"We have a lot of health problems," he told the Dominion Post newspaper.

Although France preferred such patients to be sent to Paris, it was cheaper and closer to send them to New Zealand, Mr Temaru’s office said.

France conducted 41 atmospheric nuclear tests over the Tuamotu atolls of Mururoa and Fangataufa between 1966 and 1974.

It followed these up with 134 underground nuclear tests at the same testing sites between 1975 and 1991. Eight more tests took place in 1995 and 1996.

In July, Mr Temaru set up a commission of inquiry to investigate the tests and it was due to report back next month.

But he said the French ministry of defence was refusing to cooperate with the commission and was keeping secret files in Paris while insisting Mururoa and Fangataufa remain off limits.

He believed it was covering up serious, continuing health problems.

"I witnessed what happened to the atoll of Mururoa," he said.

"It is still forbidden to go to Mururoa."

Outside experts, including specialists from Japan, had looked at the situation but were being denied access to crucial health statistics.

Mr Temaru said the commission was doing its best.

"One of them (commission members) told me they found out very strange, very high levels of contamination from the atoll of Tureia," he said.

The data had to be analysed in France but Mr Temaru said people did not know what was going on.

"We need a neutral organisation to come to Tahiti, and France should open those secret archives and tell us why they are still secret."


Tureia, 115 km north-east of Mururoa, has about 100 people living on it.

It is the closest resident population to the test sites.

http://www9.sbs.com.au/theworldnews/region.php?id=124279&region=2

Intresting peice of news I saw in the paper yesterday....

 

[admiral-bell]

Yikes. france is doubly in trouble

 

[Irish Caesar]

France was conducting nuclear weapons tests in the mid-1990's?

 

[Perfection]

France was conducting nuclear weapons tests in the mid-1990's?

Yeah, they didn't sign the early test ban treaties.

 

[amadeus]

I thought this had been known for years already. I had no idea how many people were being sent for treatment, though.

 

[blindside]

This one is going to blow up.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Ah, they're just trying to take the attention off of the riots. It's a conspiracy, everyone!

 

[Verbose]

Exploding nuclear devices below an atoll is just plain stupid. (They used to do it in the Sahara as long as Algeria was French.)

But it seems the public memory is short:
People were boycotting French products ovet the nuclear tests in -95 in both the US and Europe — pouring French wine into the gutter in front of TV cameras etc. (Bit of a silly way to do protests.)

The US and UK were offering France their own computer simulation technology that might have made the tests redundant — but France told them to go stuff themselves.

A major piece of national pride, these nukes are.

In 1939 for about a year or so France was way ahead in the nuclear race thanks to Eugène Jolliots laboratory at the Collège de France, with the worlds only operational nuclear reactor, several ton of graphite from Belgian Congo and a couple of hundred litres of heavy water from Norsk Hydro Elektrisk. The objective was to build a bomb. That is, until the disaster in 1940.

And then somehow France got a lucky escape from its predicament in -45, but now it was the US that had the bomb along with the British who had pooled their resources with them.

After the war De Gaulle approached them with the, in his opinion, very reasonable demand that their Great Power ally France was entitled to be let in on the secret. He was sent home with his nose in a sling.

At which point France had to build its own bombs from scratch, under the direction of Jolliot.

So, since the US and the UK refused to share after -45, and French military nuclear technology owes them nothing, the French army isn't going to do what it's told, no way no how, even if it would make sense.

And the people sent for treatment if France aren't exactly a secret, even if the situation is a dirty one.

 

[Irish Caesar]

So, since the US and the UK refused to share after -45, and French military nuclear technology owes them nothing, the French army isn't going to do what it's told, no way no how, even if it would make sense.

The motivations of USA are the same in both cases: in '45, to prevent others from obtaining nuclear weapons (yes, even Allies); in '95, to stop existing nuclear weapons from being detonated. It's sad that the world didn't "get it" after Hiroshima was bombed: you don't need to test nuclear weapons, you know perfectly well what they are capable of. Sure, get a few to act as a deterrent, but DON'T go setting them off!

 

[Shaihulud]

I remember that the French sank the Rainbow Warrior a greenpeace ship, that was on its way to deliberately hinder their test. Or was that to block the movement of nuclear waste? Can't remember properly.

 

[Winner]

Another green B/S propaganda. It's ten years from the explosion, any serious radioactive contamination is out of question.

BTW,
the nuclear testing should be resumed, in atmosphere too.

I'd love to see the nuclear explosion in person (from the safe distance, of course ).

 

[Zardnaar]

Caused a minior diplomatic impasse between our governments back in 95. I remember the French ambassador being hauled over the coals.

If nuke testing is so safe do it in your own country. I recommend suberbs in Paris for starters.

 

[Grisu]

France was conducting nuclear weapons tests in the mid-1990's?

they sure were, stirred quite some trouble here, I'd say. I remember slogans like "&%@# Chirac" written everywhere (hint, the first word rhymes with Chirac )

I'm still surprised that Chirac survived this politically..

 

[Winner]

If nuke testing is so safe do it in your own country. I recommend suberbs in Paris for starters.

Good idea, few neutron bombs would surely solve their problem

 

[Stapel]

France was conducting nuclear weapons tests in the mid-1990's?

I remember as if it were yesterday!
'Mururoa' hit the news quite frequently.

@Shaihulud:
The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior was earlier.

 

[Kozmos]

OMG OMG Godzilla is gonna get us.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Another green B/S propaganda. It's ten years from the explosion, any serious radioactive contamination is out of question.

BTW,
the nuclear testing should be resumed, in atmosphere too.

I'd love to see the nuclear explosion in person (from the safe distance, of course ).

183 nuclear explosions in 40 years? I'm sure it would raise your cancer risk just a little...

USA has computer programs to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon exploding. The idea behind that is to NOT detonate a nuclear weapon. Otherwise you get global warming

 

[Perfection]

183 nuclear explosions in 40 years? I'm sure it would raise your cancer risk just a little...

USA has computer programs to simulate the effects of a nuclear weapon exploding. The idea behind that is to NOT detonate a nuclear weapon.

France hasn't detonated nuclear weapons since '96.

 

[Irish Caesar]

Radiation will increase your risk of cancer for a long time; it doesn't have to show up right away.

 

[Masquerouge]

OMG OMG Godzilla is gonna get us.

Things usually get ugly when you mix matters of national pride, secret-defense issues and atomic bombs...

Chirac was not particularly loved in France for doing the tests, most people did not see the point anyway, but the Asterix syndrom hit again, I guess.

And even if the blame lies heavily on France for stupidly blowing nukes because it could, Aussies and New Zealanders were a bit on the paranoid side when they claim it could be dangerous for them. If you look at a map, Mururoa is not in the vicinity...

Ah well.