DU is Blowing in the Wind

May 15, 2005

Los Alamos National Labs (LANL) has an interesting method of disposing depleted uranium (DU). They burn it under the guise of �Dynamic Experimentation� performed for our safety. Problem is, Taos is downwind of at least 528 pounds of burning DU per year.

Historically, the nuclear industry has always had a problem disposing of nuclear waste. Back in the �70s, they released it onto highways across the South from waste-trucks. In the �80s they buried it in the desert: the entire truck along with the barrels.�Nowadays, their ingenuity is remarkable, guided by the high art of double-speak. It�s a simple disposal system; they�re burning it for our benefit.

�This permit authorizes the construction and/or operation of LANL Dynamic Experimentation (DX) Division Sled Track located at Technical Area (TA) � 36. The function of the facility is to test and evaluate simulated accident scenarios involving transportation containers of High Explosive materials (HE) and depleted uranium (DU) using a sled track. The accident scenarios may generate emissions from open burning of HE, wood and depleted uranium materials.�This facility is located in Township 18 North, Range 6 East, Section 1, approximately four miles south of Los Alamos, New Mexico in Los Alamos County.�

The above quote is from Air Quality Permit No. 2195-K, issued by the Air Quality Bureau of the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED). It says the DX Sled Track facility is for the purpose of evaluating transportation accident scenarios and involves generating emissions from burning high-explosive materials and depleted uranium. LANL could find a less lethal way of conducting the experiments if they were not doing a disposal job. Or � are they nuts?

Google �depleted uranium� and find 597,000 entries discussing the �poison dust� and deadly health effects. �Kidney dysfunction, lung damage, bloody stools, extreme fatigue, joint pain, unsteady gait, memory loss and rashes, and ultimately, cancer and premature death await those exposed to DU,� according to Amy Worthington (�Death by Slow Burn�How America Nukes Its Own Troops: What �Support Our Troops� Really Means,� The Idaho Observer, 4/16/03). The Pentagon should know. DU has been burning across the desert Middle East since Desert Storm. It�s surprising there�s so much left over to burn at LANL

Why has LANL been granted the Air Quality Permit? They don�t need one since they aren�t monitoring the Technical Area 36 site permitted by NSR 2195-K. According to LANL �Airnet Program Updates� (APU) for 2005, sampler 77 located at TA-36 (the Sled Track area) has been closed. No monitoring!�Reading from the APU, one finds: �This sampler was located in an old firing site that is a radiological control area with depleted uranium surface contamination. Depleted uranium has normally been detected in samples from this site because the sampler is located on top of the source. Even though this location may represent the highest possible concentrations onsite, it does not provide an indication of the amount of material being resuspended or transported offsite.� (www.lanl.gov/orgs/rres/maq/AirnetNews.htm.)

Are they telling us LANL has suspended monitoring in the DU burn site because it isn�t indicative of the amount of radiation blowing into Los Alamos town, Taos, and northward as the wind flows? They have also suspended monitoring at the Los Alamos town site. The reason: �Measurements at these sites have been consistently lower than at other nearby sites.��Yup! That�s government science at work.

How much DU are they really burning? Who knows? The NSR permit authorizes the facility to conduct eight simulated accidents a year using the sled track.�For each �accident� they can burn 99 pounds of HE and 88 pounds of DU. The NSR Permit says LANL will monitor each accident scenario �to ensure that associated open burning activities meet the requirements specified by this permit.� Why have they turned off the monitors at the site?

LANL is required to generate and maintain records necessary to demonstrate compliance with permit conditions and to notify NMED 30 days prior to each burn. Problem is, the Permit reads as though NMED is working hand in glove with Los Alamos Labs. Otherwise, why would they write a permit for this slow killing machine?

We have Joni Arends, Executive Director of Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety (CCNS) to thank for making us aware of this toxic situation. CCNS and the Embudo Valley Environmental Monitoring Group gave written comments on the draft permit released for review on Good Friday, March 25. Response was demanded by March 28, making it impossible to contact community groups for input. And to our knowledge, there has been no media coverage of any kind on burning DU at LANL. The Los Alamos Monitor newspaper might want to check out what�s happening around town.

The NSR Permit is not available on the Internet. Contact Michael Schneider at Air Quality Bureau, NMED, 2048 Galisteo, Santa Fe 87505 for your copy. It�s quite a read, particularly when accompanied by the LANL Airnet Program Updates.

More in the June issue.