[ RadSafe ] Dutch Piracy reiterated

Mon May 5 13:36:48 CDT 2014

Claiming to have stopped a "WMD" shipment seems like a nice feather in a regulator's cap.  What is the administrative process for eating crow baked in humble pie?  The agency will not want to wear that bad PR, even if it is just internal.  If they bragged about it, or made it a big deal, even worse.  I don't know the particulars, but usually human nature factors are larger issues than data or facts.

Just my 3 cents...

DeWayne Holcomb, CHP, CLSO

________________________________
From: Doug Aitken <JAitken at slb.com>
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 6:00
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Dutch Piracy reiterated

While I deplore any action of this sort that is unjustified, I think it is naïve to ask anyone other than a competent lawyer contracted by the vendor to intervene in this.

 I personally have no doubt that the facts as presented are correct, however, I have absolutely no idea of the contents of the shipment. And as I have never used any of the radiation equipment in question, nor do I have a detailed understanding of the law applied to this seizure, I would not be willing to make any statements regarding the legitimacy of the actions taken by the Dutch authorities.

This is strictly a matter for a lawyer specializing in these regulations to fight and for the company to clearly explain the characteristics and usage of the equipment seized.

Regards
Doug

Doug Aitken
QHSE Advisor, D&M Operations Support
Schlumberger Technology Corporation

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu [mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Marco Caceci
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2014 3:08 AM
To: 'The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List'
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Dutch Piracy reiterated

Hi Dimiter:

Thank you for your comment. I still think these people are clowns, in the sense that they entertain by acting stupid.

Anyhow, I must say I am disappointed at the lack or reaction on this forum: nobody else but you commented or contacted me on this issue. Lunar eclipses seem to raise more debate.

Is it possible that nobody else but you gets upset when a repressive regime, in breach of international treaties, without jurisdiction, extrajudiciarily confiscates radiation protection equipment, and fabricates preposterous pretexts to justify such piracy, while delaying  (for 10 months now) fair trial in a court of law?

Having received confused comments in this regard, let me clarify and appeal once again to the community.

Dutch Customs confiscated a shipment of radiation detectors of ours bound to Iran (www.radal.com<http://www.radal.com>). EU law clearly allows such sales.
An unnamed prosecutor claims (http://www.radal.com/images/PubPro1_RED.pdf) that they have seized prohibited neutron "nuclear detection devices for specific use in nuclear reactor, respectively state of war" whatever that means. They promise to file criminal charges but haven't done so. See more details below.

What I would like to be able to do is to prove to the judge that our x-ray / gamma detectors/alarms are not (as should be obvious to us all) prohibited neutron detectors nor specially designed SNM identification instruments.

Hence it would certainly help if I could collect statements from experts, of which are many on this forum:

- addressed “to whom it may concern”
- indicating that the RadAl™-1 products as described in their user manual posted on http://radal.com/RadAl201.pdf:
1 – are properly described as "instruments for radiation protection, limited by design or function to protect against hazards specific to residential safety and civil industries, such as mining, quarrying, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, medical, veterinary, environmental, waste management, or to the food industry".
2 – are not “neutron detection and measuring instruments specially designed or prepared for determining neutron flux levels within the core of a nuclear reactor”.
3 – are not “nuclear detection systems, specially designed or modified for detection or identification of radioactive materials adapted for use in war”.
And possibly
- indicating availability to provide expert testimony to a court of law.
- explaining why you are an expert in the field of radiation detectors.

Dear Dimiter: could you send me such a letter as PDF?
Dear colleagues: could you produce such a letter for me?

This is serious request, I am being charged in a criminal case deriving from my company's (legal) activities in the field of radiation protection, which is a topic relevant to this newsletter.
Your help would be much appreciated, it could contribute to provide better radiation protection to the public against attempts to deny it, and could help redress this farcical perversion of justice and avoid further aggravation and stress to your humble servant

Thank you all in advance then

Marco

Dr Marco Caceci
Principal
L.Q.C. s.l.u., Vilabertran 15, 17130 La Escala, Spain tel +34 902 88 4887 mob +34 607 07 1196 fax +34 972 98 0591 web www.radal.com<http://www.radal.com> @ mcaceci at radal.com

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

Dimiter Popoff didi at tgi-sci.com
Thu Apr 10 09:46:41 CDT 2014

Hi Marco,

I probably can't offer any real help but the story is so sickening
I find it hard to just shut up.

I think the "prosecutor" is deliberately sabotaging your shipment
for some reasons they should be made to explain.

Here is why I think so:

1. No "normal" person can be *that* stupid - if he/she were that stupid he/she
would be unable to find his/her way to work to the office every day.

2. He/she would not hide behind the anonymity if he/she felt right.

Best of luck - and I hope you make them pay for every penny they
have wasted for you, interest included.

Dimiter

------------------------------------------------------
Dimiter Popoff, TGI             http://www.tgi-sci.com
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/didi_tgi/sets/72157600228621276/

>From: "Marco Caceci" <chemitech at chemitech.com>
>To: <radsafe at health.phys.iit.edu>
>Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2014 09:28:06 +0200
>Subject: [ RadSafe ] Dutch Piracy
>
>In August 2013 Dutch Customs seized in Schiphol a shipment of our products,
>RadAl(tm)-1 wall mount gamma radiation alarms (www.radal.com<http://www.radal.com>) destined to
>Iran.
>
>To make a long story short, we have spent now some eight months trying to
>get our stuff back and to find out the reasons for this patent act of
>piracy.
>
>Some of us already know that according to EU law (267/2012, regulating
>exports to Iran; and 428/2009, enumerating "dual use" items that require a
>license), instruments like ours that are "detection equipment limited by
>design or function to protect against hazards specific to residential safety
>and civil industries, such as mining, quarrying, agriculture,
>pharmaceuticals, medical, veterinary, environmental, waste management, or to
>the food industry" are <explicitly> not regulated as "double use items",
>hence they require no licensing for export and their export to Iran is not
>prohibited.
>
>Dutch Customs after some excitement about this Mafia - Iran - Plutonium
>conspiracy (they diligently contacted our Spanish police who made a few nice
>calls asking if we were doing anything illegal, just in case) passed the
>buck on to a Public Prosecutor.
>
>Finally an assistant to an unnamed Prosecutor told us in writing that our
>goods are "criminally seized", and they will "examine this criminal case";
>and, lo and behold, deigns to give their reasons: our products are cited by
>EU law 428/2009, being, they say, class 0A001.j, namely:
>
>- Neutron detection and measuring instruments specially designed or prepared
>for determining neutron flux levels within the core of a "nuclear reactor"
>and (at the same time), being class 1A004.c:
>- Nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) detection systems, specially
>designed or modified for detection or identification of . Radioactive
>materials "adapted for use in war"
>
>This they summarize as "nuclear detection devices for specific use in
>nuclear reactor, respectively state of war". Sic.
>
>The Prosecutor's assistant has no doubts since "the opinion of the Dutch
>Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that the goods fall under the regulation
>267/2012".
>
>Should I worry? Will the judge believe the Customs Inspectors, the Public
>Prosecutor, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (all knowledgeable in
>nuclear reactor core neutron flux level meters), or your humble servant -
>who is clearly an underground southerner Mafia communist trading in
>forbidden nuclear reactor/bomb parts?
>
>It is understandable that a lawyer cannot tell the difference between a
>gamma, a neutron, and a turkey. But this one has had eight months to learn,
>could have read the user manual or the information we volunteered, or could
>have asked an expert for advice. Maybe they got advice from anti-nuclear
>activists.
>
>Meanwhile, having obtained favorable opinions from Spanish Customs and the
>Spanish Ministry for International Trade, we have resumed our exports to
>Iran uneventfully. So we have a situation where under the same EU laws the
>same goods going to the same place are seized in Schiphol but are allowed
>through Barcelona/Istanbul.
>For a picture of our alarms in place (maybe they are detecting neutrons
>above a secret underground reactor core) see
>http://www.radal.com/images/iran.jpg
>A redacted copy of the Public Prosecutor's message is at address
>http://www.radal.com/images/PubPro1_RED.pdf - please do not bug them, keep
>your comments for the judge.
>
>The unlawful sizing of goods in transit on a territory is piracy. Radiation
>protection equipment protects people's health, sabotaging its trade is
>immoral - hence European law, justly, (still) allows its export to Iran.
>
>I wouldn't have expected this from a country which hosted a "Nuclear
>Security Summit 2014 ... aimed at preventing nuclear terrorism around the
>globe". Caveat emptor...
>
>In anticipation of my day in court, I would appreciate if any colleague,
>particularly if nearby (Holland), in a position of authority (radiation
>protection society.) and/or who has ever seen a neutron detector for a
>reactor core, could contact me to arrange possible support (letters or
>expert testimony).
>
>Any advice or comment to me will be welcome. Indeed I would appreciate to
>hear your opinion on this case: in particular I cannot decide: is the Public
>Prosecutor stupid (in the sense that he/she really believes they have caught
>prohibited neutron detectors "adapted for use of war") or evil (in the sense
>that he/she knows they speak hogwash, and intend to harass and intimidate)?
>
>Greetings and Thanks
>
>Marco
>
>Dr Marco Caceci
>Principal
>L.Q.C. s.l.u., Vilabertran 15, 17130 La Escala, Spain tel +34 902 88 4887
>mob +34 607 07 1196 fax +34 972 98 0591 web www.radal.com<http://www.radal.com> @
>mcaceci at radal.com
>
>

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