WHAT'S NEW for Jan. 11

[Susan Gawarecki <loc@ICX.NET>]

This week's WHAT'S NEW is heavy on the nuclear issues.  All opinions

below are those of Robert Park.  Enjoy



--Susan Gawarecki



WHAT'S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 11 Jan 02   Washington, DC



1. NUCLEAR TESTING: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO STOCKPILE STEWARDSHIP? 

In 1999, 32 physics Nobel laureates signed a letter bluntly

concluding that "continued nuclear testing is not required to

retain confidence in the safety, reliability and performance of

weapons in the stockpile, provided the science and technology

programs necessary for stockpile stewardship are maintained" (WN

8 Oct 99).  The American Physical Society had taken the same

position http://www.aps.org/statements/97.2.html .  The United

States has now spent tens of billions of dollars developing the

necessary programs.  Since no other country has this capability,

the US would seem to have the most to lose by a resumption of

testing.  So what's behind the administration's position?  While

reliability can be ensured without testing, new weapons can't be

developed.  That's good for non-proliferation, but bad if, as is

widely believed, the real agenda is to develop a new generation

of mini-nukes, more powerful than conventional bombs, but in a

much smaller package, for attacking underground bunkers.



2. THE MORATORIUM: WHATEVER HAPPENED TO CONGRESS?  A moratorium

on testing, imposed by the senior Bush, has been upheld by both

Republican and Democratic administrations for almost a decade.

The irony of abandoning the moratorium in order to develop a new

class of weapons to attack terrorists that would be ideally

suited for use by terrorists is not lost.  Yesterday, Rep. Edward

Markey (D-MA) sent a "Dear Colleague" letter to other members of

Congress asking them to add their names to a letter urging the

President to pledge not to develop new nuclear weapons or resume

underground testing.  It would be good if all members of Congress

heard from constituents, particularly scienctists, on this issue. 



3. ARMS REDUCTION: UH, BETTER ON THE SHELF THAN ON MISSILES. 

While abandoning the ABM treaty, the Administration announced it

would cut nuclear weapons from 6,000 to 3,800.  Now we find that

doesn't mean reducing the number of warheads, just putting them

in storage.  Well, if warheads were always kept separate from

missiles, it would be a safer world, but Russia isn't pleased. 

In related news, a new intelligence estimate that the US is more

likely to suffer an attack with weapons of mass destruction by

terrorists using planes, trains or trucks than by countries using

long-range missiles.  The new estimate will enter the debate over

administration plans to spend $8B on missile defense this year.



4. YUCCA MOUNTAIN: DOE APPROVES CONSTRUCTION OF STORAGE FACILITY.

It won't end the debate.  The political war is just beginning.



ERRATUM: WN is grateful to the many readers who took the trouble

to point out that the iodine isotope of greatest concern in power

plant accidents is I-131, not I-125 as we reported (WN 4 Jan 02).



THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY and THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.

Opinions are the author's and are not necessarily shared by the

American Physical Society or the University, but they should be.

-- 

.....................................................

Susan L. Gawarecki, Ph.D., Executive Director

Oak Ridge Reservation Local Oversight Committee

Please visit our Web site - http://www.local-oversight.org

.....................................................

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