AW: [ RadSafe ] Italian mafia accused of trafficking nuclear waste

[Franz Schönhofer]

"Mafia" is an eye catcher, "nuclear" as well and "nuclear waste" even
better. "Illegal trafficking", "disposal of nuclear waste", not to talk
about the word "plutonium" adds some spice. How great is a mixture of all
these words????
And finally one can add something about an illegal production of plutonium
(secret breeder reactor?). Now add the word "Iraq" and you have all the
ingredients you need for a real horror story and in line with those stories
about "Iraqi WMD" distributed by the US administration a few years ago. 

I thought that "Nature" was a serious scientific journal and its readers
reasonable human beings. Well, I erred terribly, it is worse than the worst
gutter paper.   

Best regards,

Franz

Franz Schoenhofer, PhD
MinRat i.R.
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Wien/Vienna
AUSTRIA


-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] Im Auftrag
von Boby Mathew
Gesendet: Mittwoch, 24. Oktober 2007 18:24
An: radsafe
Betreff: [ RadSafe ] Italian mafia accused of trafficking nuclear waste

http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071017/full/449768a.html
   
   
    Italy's anti-mafia squad has launched an official investigation into
allegations of illegal trafficking and disposal of nuclear waste — as well
as clandestine production of plutonium — by managers of the Italian National
Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment (ENEA).
  Eight former employees of ENEA's Trisaia research centre in the southern
town of Rotondella, and two alleged members of the 'Ndrangheta mafia, are
under suspicion following a decade-long inquiry. Trisaia is now a
multidisciplinary research centre, but in the 1970s and 1980s it specialized
in nuclear waste processing and storage.
  A mafia informer told the anti-mafia bureau in Potenza that an ENEA
manager paid the 'Ndrangheta mafia to get rid of 600 drums of nuclear and
toxic waste from Germany, France, Switzerland and the United States in 1987.
He claimed that the mafia disposed of the radioactive material at
unauthorized, non-secure sites in southern Italy, Somalia and in the
Mediterranean Sea.
  Investigators also suspect that the centre illegally produced plutonium
during the 1980s, which the mafia allegedly sent to Iraq. ENEA denies all
charges and says that the centre did not have the capacity to produce
plutonium. “But we will collaborate fully with the investigations to dispel
any suspicion of misconduct,” says its president, Luigi Paganetto.


 __________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around 
http://mail.yahoo.com 
_______________________________________________
You are currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing list

Before posting a message to RadSafe be sure to have read and understood the
RadSafe rules. These can be found at:
http://radlab.nl/radsafe/radsaferules.html

For information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe and other settings visit:
http://radlab.nl/radsafe/