Re: Leading NZ nuclear scientist defends IAEA report on Muruora Atoll

[Schoenhofer <schoenho@via.at>]

At 09:16 04.06.1998 +0200, you wrote:



>
>Leading NZ nuclear scientist defends IAEA report on Muruora Atoll
>
>   NADI, Fiji, June 2 (AFP) - A leading New Zealand scientist on  
>Tuesday strongly defended the credibility of an international report which
>says that French nuclear test sites in the South Pacific pose no health
>threat to people. 
>   Until three years ago France conducted nuclear tests at Mururoa  
>and Fangataufa atolls in French Polynesia. 
>   The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is to publish its  
>report at the end of the month. But in a summary last week it said 
>it would conclude: "There will be no radiological health effects 
>which could be either medically diagnosed in an individual or 
>epidemiologically... which could be attributable to radiation doses 
>from the residual radioactive material remaining at the atolls." 
>   The report has already been criticised for being biased and  
>under French control. 
>   But New Zealander Andrew McEwan, who chaired one of the IAEA  
>task forces, said he vouched for the report's independence and 
>credibility. 
>   "We personally took the samples, those samples were then sent to 
>different laboratories throughout the world," he said, adding that 55
>experts contributed to the report. 
>   Four IAEA team members including McEwan and team leader Gail de  
>Planque of the United States briefed the 15 member countries and 
>officials of the South Pacific Forum here Tuesday on the study's 
>findings. 
>   "What we have found is that doses now and in the future would be  very
>small in relation to natural radiation sources," McEwan said. "There is
>very little radiological significance on both the atolls." 
>   He said doses of radiation local inhabitants would receive from  
>the environment or food would be less than naturally occuring cosmic
>radiation he would be exposed to after flying over the Pacific in a plane.
>
>   "Plutonium does not get into marine life very easily and if some  gets
>eaten by people, the doses would be very low because plutonium is very
>insoluble," the New Zealand scientist added. 
>=========================
>

Being the leader of the terrestrial working group of the Mururoa Project I
can only comment, that I did not expect anything else, than that we would
be accused of delivering a biased and French controlled report. 

"I have made up my mind, don't disturb me with facts." 

Franz