Environmental officials halt test site explosion

Massive, non-nuclear blast had been slated for June 2

Apr. 12, 2006
By KEITH ROGERS
REVIEW-JOURNAL

Nevada environmental officials have halted a massive, non-nuclear explosion scheduled for June 2 at the Nevada Test Site until the federal agency hosting the blast shows it will comply with air quality standards and that hazardous particles can be tracked, letters released Tuesday reveal.

The National Nuclear Security Administration "is prohibited from allowing this test to proceed until authorization from NDEP (the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection) has been received," the state division Administrator Leo Drozdoff wrote in a letter sent Friday to test site manager Kathleen Carlson.

The letter refers to an April 28, 2005, request to Carlson from the state Bureau of Air Pollution Control.

"To date, the NNSA has not responded to this information request. NNSA is reminded that no approval was received. ... In order to conduct this test, NNSA needs to provide all information and demonstrations required," Drozdoff wrote.

Kevin Rohrer, a spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration's Nevada Site Office, said his agency will provide the requested information to the state "within two weeks."

"What the state wants to see is further analysis and computer modeling of any plume that might be generated from this to ensure that any emissions are still within the threshold established in our air permit," Rohrer said.

He said initial calculations based on detonating 900 tons of ammonium nitrate fuel oil solution in a 30-foot pit show the blast will be in compliance with the test site's air permit that was issued in June 2004.

The Defense Threat Reduction Agency, which wants to conduct the test above a limestone tunnel, intends to use a smaller amount of ammonium nitrate fuel oil solution, 700 tons.

"We believe we're going to be well below the threshold," Rohrer said.

The state's April 2005 request seeks documentation that identifies hazardous pollutants that will be carried by the explosion's mushroom cloud. It also calls for documentation that demonstrates that state and federal air quality standards will be met. The information is required under an existing air quality permit for operating the government's test site, 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.

In a statement issued Tuesday, Steve Robinson, Gov. Kenny Guinn's deputy chief of staff, said: "The governor's office expects the NNSA to fully comply with all applicable state environmental rules and regulations before any testing is done."

Drozdoff's letter was written the same day that Citizen Alert, a statewide environmental group, called for the Defense Department and Energy Department to halt the Divine Strake blast, claiming it is unnecessary and could send surface contamination from previous atomic bomb tests into the air.

When told Tuesday about the state blocking the explosion until air quality compliance is demonstrated, Citizen Alert Executive Director Peggy Maze Johnson said she was delighted. But, she added, the calculations and modeling should be done by independent air-quality experts.

"Instead of NNSA hiring their contractors to do what the state wants, they need to bring in an independent study group to do that, somebody who isn't on their payroll and doesn't owe them," she said.

The Divine Strake blast is aimed at developing technology for weapons to penetrate "hardened and deeply buried targets," according to the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

According to Raymond Yowell, Chief of the Western Shoshone National Council, “We’re opposed to any further military testing on Shoshone lands. This is a direct violation of the CERD finding and an affront to our religious belief - Mother Earth is sacred and should not be harmed. All people who are opposed to these actions by the U.S. should step forward and make their opposition known.”

Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone grandmother and Executive Director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project, “The U.S. has named this 700 ton explosive ‘Divine Strake’. It’s a mystery why they use ‘devine.’ Isn’t ‘devine’ used for your deity, God, Your sacredness? Why don’t they call it ‘Hell Strake?’ I believe when you are working testing weaponry of destruction of life, you should not associate it with ‘devine.’ We want this insanity to stop – no more bombs and no more testing.”

Eileen McCabe-Olsen, Associate Director of Shundahai Network noted, “This test, besides being an egregious violation of Western Shoshone sovereignty, is an escalation that should outrage anyone concerned with peace, justice and care of our environment.”

Pete Litster, Executive Director of Shundahai Network said “Ongoing weapons tests at the Nevada Test Site violate international law. They violate the standing treaty between the U.S. Government and the Western Shoshone people. They also violate the spirit of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The Test Site is located on Western Shoshone territory, and must not continue to be misused in bold violation of standing agreements between the U.S. government and the Western Shoshone nation.”

Although approval for the test was sought and obtained from the state of Nevada in January 2006, the test detonation was cancelled. The Western Shoshone National Council, the Western Shoshone Defense Project, and Shundahai Network called for the United States Government to do so immediately.

At this time, the testing has been postponed.

CONTACTS:

Julie Fishel, Western Shoshone Defense Project
775-468-0230
Western Shoshone Defense Project Email

Pete Litster, Shundahai Network
801-637-1500 Pete Litster - Email

The Western Shoshone Defense Project's (www.wsdp.org) mission is to affirm Newe (Western Shoshone) jurisdiction over Newe Sogobia (Western Shoshone homelands) by protecting, preserving, and restoring Newe rights and lands for present and future generations based on cultural and spiritual traditions. The W.S.D.P. was established in 1991 by the Western Shoshone National Council to provide support to Mary and Carrie Dann, Western Shoshone grandmothers who were facing the confiscation of the livestock that they graze on Western Shoshone lands.

Shundahai Network Website Shundahai Network is dedicated to breaking the nuclear chain by building alliances with indigenous communities and environmental, peace and human rights movements. We seek to abolish all nuclear weapons and an end to nuclear testing. We advocate phasing out nuclear energy and ending the transportation and dumping of nuclear waste. We promote the principles of Environmental Justice and strive to insure that indigenous voices are heard in the movement to influence U.S. nuclear and environmental policies. All of our campaigns and events incorporate the values of community building, education, spiritual ceremonies and nonviolent direct action.