Children from Al Wadiyah carry home clean water barrels which Greenpeace activists exchanged for radioactive ones.
Greenpeace activists today took clean water containers into the
communities around the Tuwaitha nuclear facility near Baghdad and
encouraged people to swap them for radioactive containers,
contaminated with uranium 'yellowcake'.
Despite a $3 a barrel offer from the US Army, many in the
community have retained the contaminated containers. It's estimated
that, of the 500 barrels looted from the nuclear site since the
war, some 150 are still unaccounted for. A new barrel costs
$15.
"In discussions with local people, we realised that for many the
immediate need for water storage over rides the unseen threat of
radioactivity," said Mike Townsley of Greenpeace. "The affected
people are not organised criminals but the poorest of the poor,
living in chronic poverty after years of neglect and abuse at the
hands of Saddam's regime and a decade of crippling sanctions.
Greenpeace hopes that by offering new barrels specifically designed
for water storage that we can return the last of the contaminated
barrels to the US military for safe keeping inside the Tuwaitha
site."
A small Greenpeace radiation sampling team has been working in
the community living near the Tuwaitha nuclear facility for only
two weeks and has already uncovered frightening levels of
radioactivity there, including:
A huge "yellow cake" mixing canister, with approximately 4- 5
kilos of uranium inside, abandoned on open ground near a village,
which the team returned to the U.S. radiation experts inside
Tuwaitha plant;
radioactivity in a series of houses, including one source
measuring10,000 times above normal;
another source outside a 900 pupil primary school measuring
3,000 times above normal;
locals who are still storing radioactive barrels and lids in
their houses;
another smaller radioactive source abandoned in a nearby
field;
several objects carrying radioactive symbols discarded in the
community;
consistent and repeated stories of unusual sickness after coming
into contact with material from the Tuwaitha plant.
None of the material found can be used for conventional nuclear
weapons.
The occupying forces claim responsibility for public health but
have refused to allow the experts - the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) - to carry out a public health and environmental
assessment around Tuwaitha and in other parts of the country. They
insist there is no threat to public health, which is clearly not
the case.
"The evidence we gathered in a very short time shows that
radioactive contamination could be spread through out the Tuwaitha
environment, affecting a large number of people. It is high time
for this threat to be taken seriously and a serious investment made
into assessing the true extent of the radioactive contamination and
impact on public health," said Greenpeace radiation expert, Dr
Rianne Teule.
"As the US military health physicist and radiation expert at
Tuwaitha, Lt Col Melanson, said this week, the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) should be given a full mandate to search,
survey and decontaminate towns and villages around the Tuwaitha as
quickly as possible," she added.
Two members of the Greenpeace team are maintaining a weblog
diary of their mission to Iraq. You can review a history of the
expedition to date and monitor live developments at:
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/iraq
VVPR info: Video: Martin Atkin: + 31 (0) 6 2700 0057 (m) Photo: John Novis: +31 (0) 653 819 121 (m)
Notes: (1) On 24th June, Lt. Col. Melanson of the US military stationed at the Tuwaitha nuclear site, said: "I would recommend the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Health Organisation get involved and do an assessment. They've got involved in other instances, like in Brazil, where sources have ended up being distributed in the community and they actually assess the risks from that. The faster it happens the better". (2) The Tuwaitha nuclear storage facility, south of Baghdad, was left unsecured by occupying forces after the fall of Saddam Hussein and was heavily looted. In contrast, oil pipelines and the oil ministry were immediately secured. Just days after the cease- fire, British Museum officials were brought in to reclaim stolen artefacts. It was nearly two months before IAEA inspectors were allowed to return. (3) Washington Post June 6th 2003: "The U.S. military has conducted an initial radiation survey in the villages, and a health study is set to begin in coming days. There is no health risk to the population or the soldiers guarding the site," said Mickey Freeland, part of the U.S. team involved in the hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. (4) Mohamed ElBaradei, speaking in Jordan. Reuters June 22nd (5) None of the material stored at Tuwaitha can be used for conventional nuclear weapons as all such components were removed by the International Atomic Energy Agency after the first Gulf War.