2 hours

2019 • REVISED EDITION

now with Over 100 pages of peer review

9:00am — 11:00am, approximate, September 11th, 2001

Selected Works By Experts In The Field Of Nuclear Weapons & Atmospheric Physics

• a jeff prager publication

•
exploring
THE ORIGIN
OF ENRICHED URANIUM
The origin of Enriched Uranium [man-made uranium] in wars following the first Gulf War in 1991 is puzzling. It has been found in the
Balkans, in Lebanon, Iraq and in Gaza, and urine measurements made by the UK military on personnel deployed in the second Gulf War
in 2003 suggest that there was Enriched Uranium employed there also. A number of suggestions have been made. One is that Enriched
Uranium has been substituted for Depleted Uranium in large bunker busting bombs and Cruise missiles in order to disguise the use of
Depleted Uranium so as to make later analysis impossible. The second, and more plausible explanation, is that the Enriched Uranium is a
component of a new weapon developed by the US. Survey measurements made in the UK in 1997 showed no Enriched Uranium in more
than 500 soil samples analyzed by the University of Southampton. Nevertheless, the existence of Enriched Uranium in the environment
today, whatever its origin, has one very important consequence. It means that using the U238/U235 ratio as an analytical indicator for
the existence of Depleted Uranium is no longer possible. Therefore the results of all the surveys carried out by the United Nations Envi-
ronment Programme and others are meaningless. Dr. Christopher Busby developed a very simple technique to accurately measure ura-
nium in the environment used in his peer reviewed reports and with other physicists and their peer review we can prove, beyond doubt,
that smaller, 3rd generation nuclear weapons have been deployed globally for decades and that similar technology was used on 9/11.

in the environment
ON PEER REVIEW
Most people aren’t aware that there have been hundreds of samples taken by independent laboratories, gov-
ernment agencies, college research departments and others of the dust that remained at Ground Zero after the
events of September 11th, 2001. Atmospheric samples were also taken by numerous institutions along with
the many ground samples. Equally unknown is that these various organizations all produced peer reviewed
documentation in respected mainstream journals regarding their findings. It should be noted that the journal
in which Dr’s Jones and Harrit claim their peer reviewed report is published in, and it is, is not a peer reviewed
publication. It’s a “pay to play” journal anyone can publish in. Just pay the fee. By constantly repeating that their
findings of nano-thermite in “red-gray” chips have been reviewed by peers and published, they’ve convinced
the public that this is so. It is not. The peer review that appears in this eMagazine is true peer review. The reports
are published by bona-fide researchers with a host of credentials from highly regarded institutions and their
findings properly submitted, reviewed by peer editors and published in respected journals. Dr’s Jones and Harrit
can continue to make the claim that their report on “red-gray” chips confirms thermite but several peer reviewed
reports have studied the World Trade Center dust very carefully and there is no thermite in the dust. None of
the numerous reports find thermitic materials — yet several, including US government reports, find data that
confirms both fission and fusion at Ground Zero. Additional peer review confirms the use of weapons based on
enriched uranium in Bosnia, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza and elsewhere. Because the propaganda surround-
ing 9/11 is so thick, and because there are so many theories, from planes to no planes and from super-duper
nano-thermite to directed energy scaler laser weapons, I’ve used herein numerous peer reviewed reports and
the references within those reports along with documents authored by world renowned physicists to prove the
theories developed originally by myself, Dr. Ed Ward and Don Fox in 2011 supported by William Tahill’s prescient
and ground-breaking work. Based on the levels of elements on the Periodic Table found at Ground Zero we
can state with complete confidence that 9/11 included both fission and fusion and that it was a nuclear event.

is it really PEER REVIEW?

superbly
executed
“The so-called terrorist attack was in fact a superbly executed military operation against the
United States, requiring the utmost professional military skill in command, communications
and control. It was flawless in timing, in the choice of selected aircraft to be used as guided mis-
siles, and in the coordinated delivery of those missiles to their pre-selected targets. As a tactical
military exercise against two significant targets—the world financial center and the citadel
of world strategic military planning—the attack, from a psychological impact on the Amer-
ican public, equaled the Japanese “surprise” attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.”

military operation
in 2018 there were over

75,000
32,000
Members in the World Trade Center Health program and over

Members have been diagnosed with aero-digestive issues, such as asthma, chronic cough,

12,000
gastroesophageal reflux disorder or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Over

members have been diagnosed with 9/11-related mental health issues and over

5,441 members have a 9/11-linked cancer diagnosis as of late 2016,

with an average of 4.17 new cancer diagnoses

every single day since then ...
selling
“Doubt is our product since it is the best means of competing with

doubt
the ‘body of fact’ that exists in the mind of the general public.”

Doubt as a commodity has extraordinary value and if Edward Bernays were alive to-
day no doubt he’d be the world’s top “doubt” salesman. Doubt creeps in with the myr-
iad of theories and the propaganda that follows them — the propaganda espoused
by Dr. Steven Jones, Dr. Judy Wood and many others. Here, I leave no room for doubt.
Using peer reviewed reports and the work of respected and accomplished physicists
we flesh out the truth behind the events of the morning of September 11th, 2001.
Radi0active
isotopes detected Characterization Of The Dust/Smoke Aerosol
That Settled East Of The World Trade Center (WTC) In Lower Manhattan
After The Collapse Of The WTC • 11 September 2001

Radionuclides

We analyzed the gamma spectrum of the samples using an EG&G/Ortec

high-purity Ge detector (50% relative efficiency) gamma counter (EG&G/Or-
tec Instruments, Inc., Oak Ridge, TN). We analyzed approximately 50 peaks
based on statistical significance (counting/lack of interferences). These in-
cluded thorium, uranium, actinium series, and primordial radionuclides.
Liquid scintillation analyses were conducted for emissions on the total dust
and smoke samples using a Packard Tri-Carb Model 2770 TR/SL (Packard In-
strument, Meriden, CT). The MDA for alpha radioactivity was 0.30 DPM (0.14
pCi) based on a NIST-traceable 226Ra standard (National Institute of Stan-
dards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD). When placed in the liquid scintil-
lation fluid, the WTC samples are somewhat darker than the backgrounds
and calibration standard, which may cause slight underreporting of the

in WTC
beta activity due to quenching and standard-to-sample efficiency bias.

dust
https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/35779/PDF/1/play/

samples
 actinium series
Actinium is a chemical element with symbol Ac and atomic num-
ber  89. It was first isolated by French chemist  André-Louis De-
bierne  in 1899.  Actinium gave the name to the  actinide  series,
a group of 15 similar elements between actinium and  lawren-
cium  in the  periodic table. It is also sometimes considered the
first of the 7th-period transition metals, although lawrencium is
less commonly given that position. Together with polonium, ra-
dium, and  radon, actinium was one of the first  non-primordial
radioactive elements to be isolated. A soft, silvery-white radioac-
tive metal, actinium reacts rapidly with oxygen and moisture in air
forming a white coating of actinium oxide that prevents further
oxidation. Actinium is found only in traces in  uranium  and  tho-
rium  ores as the  isotope 227Ac, which decays with a  half-life  of
21.772 years, predominantly emitting beta and sometimes alpha
particles, and 228Ac, which is beta active with a half-life of 6.15
hours. One ton of natural uranium in ore contains about 0.2 mil-
ligrams of actinium-227, and one ton of thorium contains about
5 nanograms of actinium-228. The close similarity of physical and
chemical properties of actinium and  lanthanum  makes separa-
tion of actinium from the ore impractical. Instead, the element
is prepared, in milligram amounts, by the neutron irradiation
of 226Ra in a nuclear reactor. Owing to its scarcity, high price and
radioactivity, actinium has no significant industrial use. Its current
applications include a neutron source and an agent for radiation
therapy targeting cancer cells in the body and killing them. Ow-
ing to its strong radioactivity, actinium glows in the dark with a
pale blue light, which originates from the surrounding air ionized
by the emitted energetic particles. [1] Actinium has similar chemi-
cal properties to lanthanum and other lanthanides, and therefore
these elements are difficult to separate when extracting from ura-
nium ores. Solvent extraction and ion chromatography are com-
monly used for the separation. [2]
Naturally occurring actinium is composed of two radioactive iso-
topes; 227Ac (from the radioactive family of 235U) and 228Ac (a
granddaughter of 232Th). 227Ac decays mainly as a beta emit-
ter with a very small energy, but in 1.38% of cases it emits an alpha
particle, so it can readily be identified through alpha spectrome-
try. Thirty-six radioisotopes have been identified, the most stable
being 227Ac with a half-life of 21.772 years, 225Ac with a half-life
of 10.0 days and 226Ac with a half-life of 29.37 hours. All remain-
ing radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are less than 10 hours
and the majority of them have half-lives shorter than one minute.
The shortest-lived known isotope of actinium is 217Ac (half-life
of 69 nanoseconds) which decays through alpha decay and elec-
“the element is prepared, in milligram
amounts, by the neutron irradiation
of 226Ra in a nuclear reactor”
tron capture. Purified 227Ac comes into equilibrium with its de-
cay products after about a half of a year. It decays according to its
21.772-year half-life emitting mostly beta (98.62%) and some al-
pha particles (1.38%); [3] the successive decay products are part
of the actinium series. Owing to the low available amounts, low
energy of its beta particles (maximum 44.8 keV) and low intensity
of alpha radiation, 227Ac is difficult to detect directly by its emis-
sion and it is therefore traced via its decay products. Actinium
is found only in traces in  uranium  ores — one ton of uranium
in ore contains about 0.2 milligrams of  227Ac [4]  – and in  tho-
rium ores, which contain about 5 nanograms of 228Ac per one
ton of thorium. The actinium isotope 227Ac is a transient mem-
ber of the  uranium-actinium series  decay chain, which begins
with the parent isotope 235U (or 239Pu) and ends with the sta-
ble lead isotope 207Pb. The isotope 228Ac is a transient member
of the thorium series decay chain, which begins with the parent
isotope 232Th and ends with the stable lead isotope 208Pb. An-
other actinium isotope (225Ac) is transiently present in the nep-
tunium series decay chain, beginning with 237Np (or 233U) and
ending with  thallium  (205Tl) and near-stable  bismuth  (209Bi);
even though all  primordial  237Np has decayed away, it is con-
tinuously produced by neutron knock-out reactions on natu-
ral 238U. The low natural concentration, and the close similarity
of physical and chemical properties to those of lanthanum and
other lanthanides, which are always abundant in actinium-bear-
ing ores, render separation of actinium from the ore impractical,
and complete separation was never achieved. [5] Instead, actini-
um is prepared, in milligram amounts, by the neutron irradiation
of 226Ra in a nuclear reactor.
227Ac is highly radioactive and experiments with it are car-
ried out in a specially designed laboratory equipped with a
tight  glove box. When actinium trichloride is administered in-
travenously to rats, about 33% of actinium is deposited into the
bones and 50% into the liver. Its toxicity is comparable to, but
slightly lower than that of americium and plutonium. [6]  For
trace quantities, fume hoods with good aeration suffice; for
gram amounts, hot cells with shielding from the intense gam-
ma radiation emitted by  227Ac are necessary.[7] intravenously
to rats, about 33% of actinium is deposited into the bones and
50% into the liver. Its toxicity is comparable to, but slightly lower
than that of americium and plutonium. [6] For trace quantities,
fume hoods with good aeration suffice; for gram amounts, hot
cells with shielding from the intense gamma radiation emitted
by 227Ac are necessary.[7]
References
1. Richard A. Muller (2010). Physics and Technology for Future Presidents:
An Introduction to the Essential Physics Every World Leader Needs to
Know. Princeton University Press. pp. 136–. ISBN 978-0-691-13504-5.
2. Katz, J. J.; Manning, W. M. (1952). “Chemistry of the Actinide Elements
Annual Review of Nuclear Science”.  Annual Review of Nuclear Sci-
ence.  1: 245–262.  Bibcode:1952ARNPS...1..245K.  doi:10.1146/annurev.
ns.01.120152.001333.
3. Audi, Georges; Bersillon, O.; Blachot, J.; Wapstra, A. H. (2003). “The
NUBASE Evaluation of Nuclear and Decay Properties”.  Nuclear
Physics A.  729  (1): 3–128.  Bibcode:2003NuPhA.729....3A.  CiteSe-
erX 10.1.1.615.5152. doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysa.2003.11.001.
4. Hagemann, French (1950). “The Isolation of Actinium”. Journal of the
American Chemical Society. 72 (2): 768–771. doi:10.1021/ja01158a033
and Greenwood, Norman N.; Earnshaw, Alan (1997). Chemistry of the El-
ements (2nd ed.). Butterworth-Heinemann. p. 946. ISBN 0-08-037941-9.
5. Zachariasen, W. H. (1949). “Crystal chemical studies of the 5f-series of
elements. VI. The Ce2S3-Ce3S4 type of structure” (PDF). Acta Crystallo-
graphica. 2: 57–60. doi:10.1107/S0365110X49000126.
6. Langham, W.; Storer, J. (1952). “Toxicology of Actinium Equilibrium Mix-
ture”. Los Alamos Scientific Lab.: Technical Report. doi:10.2172/4406766.
7. Keller, Cornelius; Wolf, Walter; Shani, Jashovam, “Radionuclides, 2. Ra-
dioactive Elements and Artificial Radionuclides”, Ullmann’s Encyclopedia
of Industrial Chemistry, Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, doi:10.1002/14356007.
new
uranium
There is no doubt that significant quantities of uranium weapons were employed in
Bosnia, and particularly in the early part, before December 1995. Depleted Uranium
DU had been employed against armor in the 1991 Gulf war. Later it has been demon-
strated that weapons containing Depleted Uranium and also Natural and slightly
Enriched Uranium began to be employed in heavy weapons (Cruise missiles, smart
bombs etc.) to destroy hard targets, deep bunkers etc. I have found evidence of the
use of non-Depleted Uranium in bomb craters in the Lebanon and also Gaza (Busby
2007, 2009) and this was reported by the UN (Busby UNIDIR 2009) and also reported
in the national newspapers. The United Nations Environment Program UNEP visits to
survey for uranium contamination in Kosovo and Bosnia found widespread disper-
sion, shown by the data UNEP reported. I met with the UNEP leader Pekka Haavisto in
Sweden and also with his replacement Klaus Topfer in Slovenia. In 2001 in Strasbourg
I advised the project director for the Bosnia survey Dr H-O Snihs that, in view of my
findings in Kosovo in 2001 of uranium resuspension in the air, he should deploy air
measuring devices, and this was carried out, first in Montenegro and then in the Bos-
nia surveys. He agreed to do this. It’s an important matter as the route for exposures
is mainly by inhalation of resuspended material. Although it was not until 2002/2003
that the Bosnia post conflict assessment for uranium contamination was completed,
seven years after the bombing, evidence of uranium weapons usage was still found

weapons
(UNEP 2003) and it was found, as I predicted, in the air. This was a surprise to UNEP.
dew
The difference between 1st and 2nd generation nuclear weapons was already one of
the militarily-attractive features of third generation nuclear weapons, where radiations
from advanced nuclear or thermonuclear explosives were used in directed energy war-
heads (DEW) to produce powerful plasma-jets or X-ray laser-beams. In this eMagazine,
using physics and peer review, we explain the workings of 3rd generation directed ener-
gy nuclear warheads (DEW) and how plasma jets and X-ray solitons generated by a con-
fined and directed nuclear explosion destroyed the Twin Towers and Buildings 6 and 7.

third generation
directed energy
warheads Image by Dr. Heinz Pommer
our government
admits deception
In a dramatic announcement on a national television news magazine in April 2000, Bill Richardson,
Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), acknowledged that his agency collaborated with
the beryllium industry to defeat a 1975 attempt by the Occupational Safety and Health Administra-
tion (OSHA) to reduce workers’ exposure to beryllium, a collaboration that was brought to public at-
tention in a 1999 investigation by Toledo Blade reporter Sam Roe. “Priority one was production of
our nuclear weapons,” Richardson stated. “[The] last priority was the safety and health of the work-
ers that build these weapons.” The Secretary’s declaration was remarkable; rarely do the most se-
nior officials in government admit deception that resulted in death and disability of its own citizens.

that resulted in death

With Obvious And Powerful Upward Ejections As The Towers Disintegrate, The Question We Will Be Answering Is: “What happened between 9am and 11am on September 11th, 2001?”
We’ll establish FACTS and eliminate DOUBT
 This eMagazine contains advertising and the advertising is, of course, satire,
hopefully bringing some humor to what otherwise might be a severely depressing issue.

NUCLEAR FEET?

Advertisement
two hours
9:00am — 11:00am, approximate, September 11th, 2001
DAMAGED DNA
WARING: According to the Surgeon Gorg-
na woman should not eat, drink, breath
during pregnancy because of risk of birth
defects. Consumption of food, beverages,
Selected Works By Experts In The Field Of Nuclear Weapons & Atmospheric Physics air, may cause health problems.

a jeff prager publication • January 1st, 2019

Anarchy Books
and

Renegade Publishing
FONTS THANKS TO:

MYRIAD PRO
and
THE BOLD FONT

For
Camy ~
for your
unconditional
love.

Two pistols welded together at Ground Zero

Cover photo: “The ‘pile’ burned hot and emitted gaseous vapors containing “very fine particles,” micron sized particles, for 99 days.” ~ Jeff Prager
 FAIR USE NOTICE

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LIABILITY

The writer(s) disclaims all liability for any loss, damage, injury or expense however caused, arising from the use
of or reliance upon, in any manner, the information provided through this report and does not warrant the
truth, accuracy or completeness of the information provided. It is unlikely but entirely possible that an asser-
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INTENT

The publisher and writer(s) warrant that the information presented in this report is an accurate reflection of
information presented on public web sites on the internet. Information on these sites is sometimes presented immediate
RUST
by individuals or organizations which may be viewed as pursuing objectives which are hateful and malicious
or publishing falsehoods. If information on such sites is verifiable and appears to have merit, and that infor-
mation is consistent with other facts in this investigation, the factual information from that site is included as
best possible, without any reflection on the merit of that site’s objectives or intent. The ambition, objective
and desire behind publication of this report is to:

1) provide a hypothetical but verifiable explanation for the events of September 11th, 2001, specifically be-
tween 9:00am and 11:00am and the demolition of Buildings 1, 2, 6 and 7, that incorporates peer review with
currently public information or information that was once public but now, for whatever reason, is no longer
available. All of the information herein was not included in the official US government report, and,

2) to focus public attention on circumstances that strongly suggest there has been wrong doing by elect-
ed and public officials and corporate organizations involved in misuse of government resources and public
funds, and,

3) provide a foundation of research and hypothesis for future research. Information presented in this report
documents that the federal institutions responsible for investigating these events are currently involved in
efforts to suppress the facts under the guise of National Security. Hence, this information is being made public
in the hope that unknown officials with an appropriate level of authority can re-institute a proper investiga-
tion, or that private investigative resources can further substantiate (or disprove) the claims made herein.
 This eMagazine References As Primary Source Data The Peer Reviewed Reports And Documents Listed Below
There are a significant number of additional peer reviewed reports and documents linked throughout this eMagazine that were relied upon as well.
All full and complete reports, eBooks, full articles and high quality images used or referenced herein are available in a free, single download, Zip file linked on the last page.
1. Environmental Studies Of The World Trade Center Area After The September 11, 2001 Attack
Open-File Report 01-0429 • Version 1.1, Published November 27, 2001, USGS web site By Roger N. Clark1, Robert
O. Green2, Gregg A. Swayze1, Greg Meeker1, Steve Sutley1, Todd M. Hoefen1, K. Eric Livo1, Geoff Plumlee1, Betina
Pavri2, Chuck Sarture2, Steve Wilson1, Phil Hageman1, Paul Lamothe1, J. Sam Vance3, Joe Boardman4 Isabelle
Brownfield1, Carol Gent1, Laurie C. Morath1, Joseph Taggart1, Peter M. Theodorakos1, and Monique Adams1
1. U. S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado
2. Jet Propulsion Lab Pasadena, California
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8 Denver, Colorado
4. Analytical Imaging and Geophysics, LLC Boulder, Colorado
2. Chemical Characterization Of Volatile Organic Compounds Near The World Trade Center:
Ambient Concentrations And Source Apportionment
Issue 41 of Atmospheric Environment, 2007 By David A. Olson, Gary A. Norris, Robert L. Seila, Matthew S. Landis,
Alan F. Vette, National Exposure Research Laboratory
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA
3. Airborne Fine And Ultrafine Particles Near The World Trade Center Disaster Site
Beverly S. Cohen a , Maire S. A. Heikkinen a & Yair Hazi b, Aug 2010 in Aerosol Science and Technology
a New York University School of Medicine, Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine , Tuxedo, NY
b Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Department of Environmental Health Sciences , NY, NY
4. Analysis Of Aerosols From The World Trade Center Collapse Site, NY, Oct. 2 To Oct. 30, 2001
By Thomas A. Cahill a , Steven S. Cliff a , Kevin D. Perry b , Michael Jimenez-Cruz a , Graham Bench c , Patrick Grant
c , Dawn Ueda c , James F. Shackelford d , Michael Dunlap d , Michael Meier d , Peter B. Kelly e ,
Sarah Riddle e , Jodye Selco e & Robert Leifer g
a. DELTA Group, Department of Applied Science, University of California, Davis, California
b. Department of Meteorology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
c. Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA
d. Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, UC Davis, Davis, California
e. Department of Chemistry, UC Davis, Davis, California
f. Redlands University, Redlands, California
g. Environmental Measurement Laboratory (EML), Department of Energy New York, New York
5. Ground Zero: The Nuclear Demolition Of The World Trade Centre
By William Tahill, B.A. ©2006 Salus populi suprema lex esti
6. Questions & Answers with Frédéric Henry-Couannier
Physicist, Lecturer at the University of Aix-Marseille and at the Particle Physics Center of Marseille
7. Progress Report Of Results: MVA9119 Analysis Of Red/Gray Chips In WTC Dust
Dr. James Millette, MVA Scientific Consultants www.MVAinc.com • 2012 Annual Meeting, Atlanta, Georgia
February 20-25, 2012, American Academy of Forensic Science www.AAFS.org
8. Uranium And Other Contaminants In Hair From The Parents Of Children
With Congenital Anomalies In Fallujah, Iraq
By Samira Alaani1, Muhammed Tafash1, Christopher Busby2* Malak Hamdan3 and Eleonore Blaurock-Busch4
1. Fallujah General Hospital, Althubbadh, Fallujah, 00964, Iraq
2. Department of Molecular Biosciences, University of Ulster, Cromore Rd, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, UK
3. The Cancer and Birth Defects Foundation, Office 4, 219 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6DB, UK
4. Laboratory for Clinical and Environmental Analysis, Microtrace Minerals, Rohrenstrasse 20, Hersbruck, Germany
9. Metal Contamination And The Epidemic Of Congenital Birth Defects In Iraqi Cities
By M. Al-Sabbak • S. Sadik Ali • O. Savabi • G. Savabi • S. Dastgiri • M. Savabieasfahani
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Al Basrah Maternity Hospital, Al Basrah Medical School, Basrah, Iraq
Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
National Public Health Management Center, School of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
M. Savabieasfahani & School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA
10. Solving The Radioactive Riddle Of 9/11
By Heinz Pommer, Graduate Physicist, bitplant.de GmbH & Co. ATD-Services KG Fabrikstr. Heidenheim, Germany
11. Chernobyl: Consequences Of The Catastrophe For People And The Environment
Introduction: The Difficult Truth About Chernobyl
By Alexey V. Nesterenko,a Vassily B. Nesterenko,a and Alexey V. Yablokovb a. Institute of Radiation Safety, Belarus
b. Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
12. Characterization Of The Dust/Smoke Aerosol That Settled East Of The World Trade Center (WTC) In Lower
Manhattan After The Collapse Of The WTC • 11 September 2001
Lioy, Paul J., Weisel, Clifford P., Millette, James R., Eisenreich, Steven, Vallero, Daniel, Offenberg, John, Turpin, Barba-
ra & Porcja, Robert. (2002). Characterization of the Dust/Smoke Aerosol that Settled East of the World Trade Center
(WTC) in Lower Manhattan after the Collapse of the WTC 11 September 2001. Environmental Health Perspectives
110(7), 703-714. Retrieved from doi:10.7282/T3K072NC.
13. The Power Sources Of The 9/11 Event
911 Keeptalking • London, Tuesday, May 1st, 2018, By Heinz Pommer • Physicist
14. Fourth Generation Nuclear Weapons: Military Effectiveness And Collateral Effects
By Andre Gsponer, Independent Scientific Research Institute Box 30
CH-1211 Geneva-12, Switzerland
Version ISRI-05-03.17 February 2nd, 2008
15. F*** You! Mr. President: Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb
3rd Edition Featuring a New Overview and Postscript Chapter, “The Profits of Fear” by Charles Platt
Other people are hereby authorized by the copyright holder to make and distribute electronic copies
of this book for free.
 introduction
In 2011 I wrote to, requested and received 18 bound medical journals from the Japanese government containing
a significant amount of research performed between 1945 and current aggregating research results in relation-
ship to the continuing and highly varied effects, time-based, of both the Nagasaki and Hiroshima wartime nuclear
detonations. Each device was markedly different releasing a different set of radionuclides. I was investigating the
relationship between Multiple Myeloma, a rare blood cancer affecting people at an average age of 71 with 99% of
those affected over 65, and ionizing radiation, and the Japanese government was kind enough to send the materi-
als for free. The documents are available to anyone that requests them. Ultimately, this quest was a side adventure
after having discovered in the peer reviewed reports that there have been nuclear detonations between 1980 and
2019 that we, the public, have been completely unaware of. Surely there will be more.
These include clandestine operations by western governments, the US, Israel and others, in the October 23rd, 1983
US Marines barracks bombing in Beirut, Lebanon, the October 12th, 2002 Bali bombing in Indonesia and weapons
detonated in Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Yemen, Gaza and other Middle Eastern countries. We know this based on
the investigations performed by Dr. Christopher Busby on the elements remaining in wartime bomb craters in the
Middle East. Busby did not find depleted uranium, he found refined and enriched uranium, and Dr. Busby makes
the unarguable case that new nuclear weapons have been deployed in the peer reviewed reports that followed.
Dr. Busby found “a statistically significant increase in uranium in all the filters beginning at the start of the 2nd Gulf
War (03-04/2003) and ending when it ended” from analysis of data obtained using Freedom of information legisla-
tion from high volume air samplers, deployed by the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) at Aldermaston, an
A-bomb-factory in Berkshire, UK. Dr. Busby has found enriched uranium in craters in southern Lebanon and Gaza
from Israeli weapons used in 2006, in Bosnia from US supplied weapons in 1996, in Fallujah, Iraq and in the Gulf
War in 2006 — all submitted to and accepted by refereed peer reviewed journals. These reports, among others, are
included herein, some in their entirety. Small tactical nuclear weapons have been used for decades.
In the general population Multiple Myeloma occurs at the rate of 3.8 to 9 per 100,000 people depending upon which
statistics one uses — however that’s the spread across dozens of peer reviewed reports — it’s always between 3.8
and 9. That rate also occurs 99% of the time in people over 65. Just 1% of Multiple Myeloma victims are ever under
the age of 65 in the general population. The average age of Multiple Myeloma victims is 71. In the population co-
hort of 40,000 9/11 Ground Zero First Responders the rate of Multiple Myeloma (MM) as of March 1st, 2011, was 1
in 299 people. This means 134 First Responders had died (as of 2011) from Multiple Myeloma (MM). Considerably
more have died from MM since then. What’s more, they have all been between 37 and 60 years of age with most
under 55. These are extraordinary figures, unprecedented, and this report confirms why this is happening. Worse,
there are approximately 8,000 currently sick First Responders today (2011) and many that have already died have
succumbed to not one, not two, but sometimes 3 different rare cancers. One doesn’t necessarily need the chemis-
try and physics found in Chapter One herein to understand the truth, but it certainly helps. As we trek through the
medical history of 9/11 we find that today, in 2019, approximately 7500 First Responders (the low known figure)
have been stricken with cancer and many are rare cancers — blood cancers, lymphomas and leukemia’s.
In Hiroshima, it appears that the risk of developing Malignant Lymphoma and Multiple Myeloma is considerably
greater in survivors who received 100 rad or more than in similar individuals exposed to less than one rad; when
the period prevalence rate is standardized, the relative risks are 8.0 and 4.9 for Malignant Lymphoma and Multiple
Myeloma respectively in highly exposed survivors, as opposed to persons who absorbed dosages of little or no
biological significance. In this connection, it should be noted that the morphological material available for review
in these cases is approximately equally divided between diagnostic lymph node biopsies and the autopsy series.
The presence of a similar dose-response relationship in these 2 essentially independent sources of case material
is felt to be very important in excluding possible bias in biopsy referrals, autopsy procurement, etc. In contrast to
the foregoing data, a comparable increased risk of developing Malignant Lymphoma or Multiple Myeloma is not
evident among the heavily exposed Nagasaki survivors, although the total number of individuals in each exposure
category is too small to permit a definitive statement. That said, we do have a plausible explanation. The physical
characteristics of the 2 bombs deployed in August, 1945, were dissimilar: the Hiroshima bomb was a Uranium-235
device which emitted a balanced spectrum of neutrons and gamma rays at most exposure gradients, while the
Nagasaki bomb was composed of Plutonium-238 and emitted predominantly gamma rays. Therefore, at a given
dose estimate, Nagasaki inhabitants were exposed relatively to more gamma rays than Hiroshima residents who
absorbed a radiation mixture consisting of gamma rays and neutrons.
When the totality of the anecdotal and medical evidence is combined with:
••
The analysis by William Tahill of USGS Open Source report #01-0429 in Chapter 1
••
The peer review and public commentary by Dr. Thomas Cahill
The peer review by Dr. David A. Olson
••
The peer review by Dr. Beverly S. Cohen
The peer review by Dr. James Millette
••
The peer review by Dr. Samira Alaani, and over 100 more peer reviewed reports
The email exchange between nuclear physicist Dr. Christopher Busby and myself
••
Numerous peer reviewed reports by Dr. Busby proving the use of enriched uranium weapons globally
The prescient analysis by Dr. Jeff Smith, nuclear physicist and ex-IAEA Inspector
••
Questions and answers with nuclear physicist Frédéric Henry-Couannier and Couannier’s message to me
Nuclear Physicist Paul J. Lioy’s analysis of radionuclides found in the Ground Zero dust
••
Physicist Heinz Pommers unprecedented analyses (2) of the events of 911
World renowned nuclear weapons physicist A. Gasponer’s analysis of 3rd & 4th Generation Nuclear weapons
•
World renowned nuclear weapons physicist Sam Cohen’s critique of the nuclear weapons industry
Dai Williams analysis of 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation nuclear weapons
... the weight of the evidentiary material and the assertions made herein become unequivocal and unarguable.
Here, all roads lead to Rome and on September 11th, 2001, both fusion and fission occurred in Lower Manhattan,
New York City, New York. Based on First Responder deaths alone, 1000s of deaths from both multiple myeloma
and other rare cancers, we know that many more thousands of New Yorkers and others in the area of Ground Zero
working on and around or living near the “pile,” were exposed, for 4 to 5 days at most, to ionizing radiation at a
wide variety of external and internal dose levels. After a few short days the radiation had ceased and the city was
relatively safe once again except for several persistent spots under the pile that were still hot for 99 more days.
The elements from the periodic table that these devices/weapons may have employed can be gleaned from the
elements they left behind in the dust and the behavior of those elements in that dust. With uranium reaching 93
Becquerels per kilogram in the USGS girder coating samples, we can safely assume from that alone that this was a
nuclear event but there’s much more here to prove so unarguably. It’s never one epiphany or a single piece of evi-
dence that allows for these difficult and inescapable conclusions, I wish it were, but it’s the totality of the collected evidence
presented here that produces these certain results. 9/11 was a nuclear event — we can prove, unarguably, both fission and
fusion occurred at Ground Zero. Yes, they sell us doubt and of course there have been hundreds of books written about 9/11,
so why should you believe mine?

First, this eMagazine is free — 600+ pages of painstaking research, research I’ve performed for 13 years now, and other than
the physicists and medical researchers whose work appears here, I’m the only independent 911 researcher that publishes
all of my fully referenced research material for free. There are over 150 peer reviewed reports, personal dialogue with nucle-
ar physicists, documents authored by nuclear physicists and other referenced documents that make the assertions herein
certain. This makes this book different than all the rest. There is no “speculation” in this eMagazine. Here, I use known and
accepted peer reviewed physics, chemistry and medical reports using strictly highly respected mainstream sources. There is
no debate now — 911 was a nuclear event and while it may take 600+ pages to prove this as factual beyond any reasonable
doubt, I accomplish that here. Of course I can do it in 2 pages but where’s the fun in that? And it would be complex.

No one ever promised understanding 9/11 would be easy and frankly, it’s not. It’s definitely not. But I’ve collected the data
you’ll need to know, organized it, and feel confident that this eMagazine will quell any doubts you may have. I have specifi-
cally presented the evidence herein in such a manner that it should all be easily understandable by the average person­— no
need for physics or chemistry classes, it’s all right here. Remember, many of the authors of the peer reviewed literature often
write their reports so that the public can understand them — they’re often written specifically for you and I.

First, I believe you’ll need to have some basic knowledge of the effects of known nuclear events, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Three
Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima and how these events relate to unusual blood cancers like Myeloma’s, Lymphoma’s
and Leukemia’s. These cancers are seen in the survivors of nuclear events and these disorders are seen in an unusual num-
ber of survivors of 9/11 — over 5400 cancers in First Responders as of late 2016, increasing at an average of just over 4 new
cancers per day. What’s even more profound, Multiple Myeloma is a disease of the aged with the average age of onset being
71, while 9/11 First Responders contracted rapid onset Myeloma’s at very early ages — men in their 30s, 40s and 50s. Un-
derstanding Myeloma, cancers and radiation will help to understand 9/11 so I cover this issue with referenced peer review.
Keep in mind that the weapons used on 911 produced a different radionuclide profile than the weapons used at Nagasaki
and Hiroshima —and were considerably smaller — and the Chornobyl and Fukushima events again produced a different
radionuclide profile so 911 cancer onset and cancer types are going to be variables we’re now learning about.

Next, you’ll need to grasp the importance of what the scientific community refers to as “very fine particles,” which are micron
and sub-micron sized particles and why their “re-generation” in the “pile” through the end of October is so important. Based
on the peer review, “soil and glass were boiling” underground at Ground Zero through the end of October and beyond. Glass
boils at approximately 2500º C or just over 4500º F. These are extraordinary temperatures and that they were still being
reached underground more than 30 days beyond the 911 event, for 100 days more, is a crucial point proven repeatedly by
numerous Ground Zero peer reviewed reports on atmospheric aerosols.

Recognizing the difference between Chrysotile and Amphibole asbestos and understanding how steel and other building
materials, under high-heat, dissociative conditions, turn into “slag wool” and what this means regarding the dust is also
important. The dust contained a significant percentage of slag wool. The knowledge that “iron-rich spheres” were created
by the event and found in the dust, that it would be odd if they weren’t found in the dust, and that these iron rich spheres
are excellent absorbers of activated neutrons without becoming radioactive themselves, ­and what this means are more
crucial facts you’ll learn. How Electromagnetic Pulses affect cars, the air gap, which metals are affected and the heat gener-
ated are additional factors necessary to understanding 9/11 and there’s much more. I’ve laid out all of the facts here using
a wide variety of peer review, all from respected and highly regarded sources and, as much as possible, in terms we can all
understand. Without isotope profiles we would have to perform our analyses based on known nuclear physics and chem-
istry yet we arrive at incontrovertible conclusions because we now have Ground Zero isotope profiles in the peer review.

A clear understanding of the differences between 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation nuclear weapons is needed and provided
along with an explanation of DEW, which actually stands for directed energy nuclear weapons of which we have full knowledge
and understanding of, and build and use them regularly across the globe. DEW is a common term in the nuclear weapons in-
dustry and does not refer to yet-to-be-developed laser or scaler weapons. DEW commonly refers to nuclear weapons designed
specifically to direct their energy to a highly confined soliton — the space assumed by quantum or quasiparticles propagated
as a traveling non-dissipative wave that is neither preceded nor followed by another such disturbance — often times X rays and
other nuclear effects. The rust that appeared immediately after 9/11, even on nearby new construction, is another important
clue.

Numerous prominent physicists from Latvia, Germany, France, Lebanon, the USA and many other countries have contributed to
this report and their combined work leads to inescapable conclusions. Enough to make the conclusions unassailable and con-
clusive and I can’t thank them enough. Were it not for William Tahill’s work — the first person in the world to expose and prove
fission at Ground Zero — none of this would be possible and I will be forever thankful. All of us should be. I also want to thank
Dr. Ed Ward and Don Fox, my silent, behind-the-scenes, cherished and trusted co-conspirator’s. This eMagazine would not have
been possible without their dedication as well, along with their contributions towards the physics and chemistry of 9/11. Dr.
Heinz Pommer’s contribution is also unmatched, unequivocal and prescient. Pommer was the first to develop an accurate 3-D,
Step-By-Step model of the events of 911 and the destruction of the Twin Towers. Dr. Pommer’s work is invaluable and should be
disseminated worldwide. To Frédéric Henry-Couannier, my personal thanks — perhaps we can meet one day! Now we come to
Dr. Christopher Busby, physicist extraordinaire. His help, his life’s work and his peer review, as difficult as it may have been to both
create and get published, provides insights into the truth behind nuclear weapons, nuclear events, internal versus external dos-
age and the long-term effects of uranium and other fission products and metals on the planet and humanity. We should all, each
of us, be thankful for his life’s dedication to the ongoing global nuclear industries’ continued bioaccumulative contamination of
the planet. Dr. Busby’s work is global, on behalf of us all. As a result of this well-founded and established scientific assistance, I
can state with absolute certainty the following:

“The events in NYC on September 11th, 2001 occurring between 9am and 11am — the destruction of the Twin Towers and Buildings 6
and 7 —
­ had both a fission and fusion component to their demolition. No radioactivity after the explosion(s) except from Tritium H-3
which together with He-4 is the product and possibly some short lived gamma radiation from neutron activation products, primarily
Ca-45 from the Ca in the concrete and Fe-55 from the steel. These would be radioactive for a few days only and radiation would not
have been detectable by most Geiger counters, requiring specialized equipment to detect.”

This eMagazine proves this unquestionably.

Yes, you are going to have to learn some new terms and their definitions, like soliton and electromagnetic pulse. I hope you’ll
come to understand that in the military arms industry the acronym DEW refers to “directed energy nuclear weapons”, not
some exotic space gun or scaler device. You’ll also learn that 4th generation nuclear weapons have already been researched
and have been and are being developed — there’s a global arms race if you haven’t noticed and behind the scenes the phys-
icists in every developed country are hard at work to advance the science of nuclear reactions, miniaturize nuclear weapons
and reduce radioactive fallout — the primary goals in nuclear weapons development. You’ll read about nuclear bullets. You’ll
discover 3rd generation directed energy nuclear weapons are real world weapons. And you’ll learn about 4th generation
nuclear weapons (FGNYs), not yet developed, but in stages of research and design.

All of the reports referenced or excerpted in this eMagazine, although sometimes but not always linked at the end of each
report, are available in the Zip Download linked on the last page in their full form. The free Zip download includes all of the
images in this eMagazine in full size, all of the reports in their full length and all of the complete newspaper articles. There
are also additional reports, images and articles that were not included in this eMagazine based on space. The zip file includes
the entire 2005 FEMA public domain image download with over 350 high quality Ground Zero images and 100s more im-
ages from NYPD, FEMA, NYFD, Homeland Security and individual civilian photographers. There are also just over 600 peer
reviewed reports, eBooks and documents on this subject and a wide variety of additional related information collected and
organized in the free Zip download. It’s a treasure-trove of critically important information.

~ Jeff Prager • January 2019
 preface
F*** You! Mr. President:
Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb
By Sam Cohen
Excerpts with a link to the full document Featuring a New Overview and Postscript Chapter, “The Profits of Fear” by Charles Platt
© 1996-2006 by Sam Cohen, Los Angeles; All rights reserved for all media.
It’s very rare for any single book to really stand out in terms of many crucially im-
portant unvarnished first-hand historical ‘reality checks’. Sam Cohen’s book Shame
is one of those few remarkable exceptions. The principle themes and characteris-
tics of Sam’s book are:
1. It’s an inspiring story of dogged triumph over considerable childhood psycho-
logical torment and medical adversity.
2. It’s a remarkable story of recognizing the right problem to solve, versus mere-
ly reinventing bigger conventional weapons in new technologies. The neutron
bomb aimed at reducing the civilian slaughter that now characterizes large-scale
war—conventional and otherwise. It makes the morally crucial and counterintu-
itive case that the neutron bomb is the most moral weapon ever invented, and
is thus the best type of nuclear bomb ever invented. (Keep in mind the prior ac-
tual and continuing dependence on monster stockpiles of inherently indiscrim-
inate civilian-slaughtering—and civilian life-support infrastructure destroying—
city-obliterating bombs.)
3. It’s a one-man American Perestroika and Glasnost movement, which honest-
ly shows how many high-profile credit-mongering “Cold Warriors” and Cold War
institutions were generally groups of cynical political opportunists who actually
(and often knowingly) undermined real national security in their greedy lust for
power, glory, and profit.
4. It’s to the foreign policy, national security, and military-industrial establishments
what Feynman’s myth-shattering activities were to NASA’s phony Challenger ‘in-
vestigation’ (doublespeak for ‘cover-up’). It’s an amazing chronicle of how a hand-
ful of remarkable people can sometimes prevail over enormously larger institu-
tional packs of political animals dominated by self-serving groupthink. It puts on
record the sort of ‘real world’ bureaucratic skullduggery that others will generally
only speak about off the record, and often only after swearing you to secrecy.
5. It shows why George Washington’s foreign policy advice—far from being al-
legedly obsolete—is actually becoming increasingly more important with prolif-
erating advances in smaller and more powerful weapons.
Most of this book will be about my own personal experiences with those involved
with the development and policy formulation for nuclear weapons. Having spent
some forty or so years observing these people close at hand, nuclear weapons
was my profession, I’ll be relating my experiences with and my opinions about
them. For it was their collective behavior as human beings, not intellectual giants,
as many of them were, which produced the evolvement of our policies. I’ll be tell-
ing tales about them, ranging from flattering to scurrilous, to show how these
policies came about. As for our nuclear policies, what I’ll have to say will be main-
ly scurrilous, mainly because they’ve been divorced from human realities, which
among other things involve going to war time after time. As for the people mainly
responsible for the policies, I’ll be mainly scurrilous about them too, for they were
people who thought they had a God-given ability to know the unknowable. At
best, their behavior was hallucinatory; at worse they were just crooks and liars.
Of course, there were others, many others, who were just plain decent dedicated
people, as I saw them, who dealt with nuclear weapons in one way or another
and were interesting, even fascinating, enough to warrant attention here. As for
myself, and I have no reservations in stating that I’ve had a major impact on our
nuclear policy formulation process, I’ll have some not too flattering comments
about my own sweet behavior. Unlike Sigmund Freud, however, I’m not capable of
analyzing myself from inside. As an outsider, in hearing me out, you can pass your own judgment on me.
When I was in college, my philosophy professor quoted another, very famous, philosopher, Alfred North Whitehead,
as having said that most things people do what they do for reasons they don’t understand. They do so for reasons
dictated by their unconscious, which practically none of us understand. I include myself in this category, certainly
with respect to my relationships with people. With respect to my
professional behavior, especially inventing the neutron bomb,
I think I have some understanding of what’s been going on in
my psyche. I’ll be letting you in on this. (I was in college against
my will, for I would rather have been a gravedigger, which I was
for a while until my boss fired me because he didn’t want me to
wind up like him.)
As a variation on Whitehead’s belief, there’s the opinion of an
old military acquaintance of mine, a true intellectual who just
happened to like the Air Force, who had served with the Joint
Chiefs of Staff in the Pentagon. While there he conducted an
extensive study on the U.S. military decision-making process,
with full clearances and access to all the high level sensitive
documents, memoranda, meeting transcripts, what have you.
He had sifted through all this material, tried to analyze it for log-
ical, or rational, content, and finally arrived at a profound con-
clusion: Decisions that critically affected, or at least seemed to,
the security of our country were arrived at “Because it seemed
like a good idea at the time.”
If my observations on how we decided to build, deploy and use
nuclear weapons have you feeling a little queasy, you should be.
If you feel a little terrified, you have good reason to. That such
deadly instruments of death and destruction have been in the
hands of people who really didn’t know what they were up to,
never did and still don’t, this has to be hard to swallow. Howev-
er, you must accept the fact that like the rest of us they had a
pack of faults (like massive egos that needed massaging; lust,
sometimes insatiable, for power; gross intellectual dishonesty;
and compulsions for working out neurotic drives they didn’t
understand and were powerless to resist.) Many, if not most,
of them were dedicated Americans who put their country’s
well-being above their own, even though they rarely stopped to
think of how their country regarded its well-being. This is something, which George Bush called the “vision thing”,
our country, being as diverse as it is, cannot possibly decide upon.
Collectively, like today’s politicians, who have all the above-listed vices and failings, you (and I) should want to
throw these rascals out. For on balance they have an awful record. The trouble is, however, is that like politicians
we can’t get rid of them very easily, if at all. They mostly are politicians, albeit unelected, who have learned the art
of survival. We’re stuck with them, I’m afraid, and they will continue to run the show. May God help us, but if your
criteria for judging the efficacy of the policies they’ve been responsible for are based on the avoidance of nuclear
war, God has helped us. If your criteria include other things like terrible failures in non-nuclear war, a degraded
economy, and so on, God has ignored us.
Returning to the scholars who have applied themselves to the bombs, the bombers, the strategists, the policy
makers, and so on, most of them tend to be academically oriented. Feeling forced to publish or perish, with rare
exceptions they are forced to rely on the works and opinions of others; never having experienced first hand what
they are writing about. Consequently, because they are compelled to play by the rules, they adhere to the practice
of listing sources and their works (or opinions), with all due credit, in the form of footnotes, references, bibliogra-
phies and interviews — all of which sometimes rival in length what
the author himself has written. Most of this doesn’t add up to
a hill of beans toward conveying any particular insight into or
feeling for the issues, let alone the people involved in them. This
may sound unfair to many well- meaning scholars but I believe
it’s largely true.
Whether they know it or not they have victimized themselves
or have been victimized by those they bank on for material.
Not everything, especially in the nuclear policy area, they read
or hear is necessarily so. For a subject dominated by such great
passions and emotions, it usually isn’t so.
Okay, so what are they supposed to do? Give up their profes-
sorships, or hopes for acceptable doctoral theses, and become
gravediggers like I once was — and would happily be again if I
was up to it. When it comes to black humor to liven up a lifeless
occupation, there’s nothing like a stand-up necrophiliac. (Why
do they bury people on the side of a hill? Because they’re dead.
I’ve got the most important job of anyone in my neighbor-
hood; I’ve got 20,000 people under me. And we’d all laugh even
though we’d heard these jokes time after time.) Of course they
won’t do any such thing but I’ll bet you that many of them wish
they could, for a while, to get away from this nonsense which
happens to be their livelihood. I bring all this out not so much
to ridicule or disparage these scholars, but rather to suggest
that their well-intended efforts should be taken for what they’re
worth — precious little insofar as gaining any real understand-
ing of the issues.
Having said all this, I have to say that there is much that can be
said, written and learned about these nuclear issues, other than
trying to get a grasp on them by analyzing their history. This
is because of two factors: (1) There is a large body of scientific
truths that can be brought to bear which, alas, far too many (including far too many “reputable” scientists) have
chosen to ignore or distort in the shaping of our nuclear policies; and (2) Although it is not really possible to grasp
the human truth of military matters, human beings, in dealing with these matters sometimes can act logically and
even, although far less frequently, rationally. Combining these two factors, if concerned people can be honest
enough with themselves and spend some time trying to figure out the technical and military aspects of nuclear
weapon issues, they can get some glimmerings of what it’s all about, but hardly any deep understanding. Then,
in the framework of their own perceptions of the world around them and how they view our national objectives,
they can more objectively develop opinions. I might say, and you have to believe me that I find it agonizing to say
this, in view of my jaundiced and even bitter opinion of the U.S. government, the best way to get the most objec-
tive information on these issues is from the U.S. government. As poorly as I rate it, our government is a far better
source of such information than the media or academia. However, if they’re egotistical enough to think they can
develop answers besides opinions, they should be reminded of what Victor Borge once said: “I used to have a ter- should be sane enough to “have his finger on The Button.” Today, that “Button” phrase has become archaic. I can’t
rible conceit, but I finally stopped that. Now I’m perfect.” remember when I last heard it. There was some residual concern about Ronald Reagan‘s qualifications to com-
mand nuclear forces (partly because of his advanced age), but I don’t think the issue was mentioned at all when
In my opinion, Borge comes as close to being a perfect comedian as they come; his jokes really crack me up. Were, Bill Clinton or George W. Bush were running for office.
however, he to take an interest in nuclear policy issues, try to understand them, and decide that he did, and then
explain them to his audience, this would be the joke of century. I would take days before I stopped laughing. Over a period of decades, we gradually realized that our nuclear fears had been unwarranted. The hypothetical
scenarios of game theory had entailed a lamentable ignorance of human psychology. No leader or militarist in the
In what follows, I’ll try to give you some insight into the technical and military aspects of our nuclear policies as Soviet Union or the United States had been crazy enough to start a nuclear war, and we came to the conclusion
they have developed over the years, and I’ll give you my unvarnished opinions of them. I’ll also give you my ap- that none ever would.
praisal, based on a large body of personal experience on how the policies were developed, on where the United
States should be going, from a national security standpoint, in the Nuclear Age, which isn’t about to end any
time soon and perhaps never will. Mainly, however, lest you get the idea that I’m writing something that can be
construed as scholarly (Heaven forbid!), what I intend to do is to write about my life and times, up to the time my
professional career was forced to an end: mainly for my pleasure but hopefully for yours. I’ll be reminiscing about a
life that on balance I think was pretty interesting. Maybe you’ll agree with me. I’ll try and give you some feeling for
some of the players, major and minor, (and, of course, myself included) who have participated in the development
of nuclear weapons, in planning for their use, and in formulating the policies governing their use. In my judgment
you’ll get a far better feeling for this nuclear business by learning a bit about some of the characters who have
been involved in this business, which really is about people — not bombs, bombers, sterile mathematical analyses,
and robots, who pretend to be people, who run the business.

Much of what I write will be tempered by the fading memory of an old man in his late seventies who forgets why
he decided to go the bathroom and remembers only when nature compels him to. When I’m writing about people
and happenings I’ll try to be as truthful as I can. When I’m writing about nuclear weapons, however, for which I still
have a great affection, for had they been treated more honestly by those who shaped our nuclear policies they
might have made a real contribution to our national security, to say nothing about our national economy, I don’t
have to try to be truthful. The truth here is science and science is truth. However, this is all water over the dam,
which has left me somewhat scarred, certainly skeptical, but not cynical, although I may sound so. Were I indeed
cynical, I’d be off doing something else than writing this book, which, I might say, is what most of my former com-
rades in nuclear arms are doing. God bless them, they knew when to stop. I didn’t.

Finally, for heavens sake please don’t get the idea that you’re about to read a well ordered and structured tome.
Forget it. I will try, somewhat, to be somewhat chronologically orderly. However, as I write, when some episode
(or two, or three, or more) comes to mind that doesn’t fit into a time-ordered pattern, I intend to fit it in anyway.

The Profits of Fear

One benefit of the aging process—perhaps the only benefit—is that it enables historical perspective. I was born in
1945, and can remember very clearly the nuclear hysteria of the 1950s and the 1960s. During the Cuban missile cri-
sis I hung out with my teenage friends and discussed our options if we received a four-minute warning of nuclear
attack. “I know what I would do,” a rather lovely girl told me with a sexy smile, almost making me hope that Nikita
Khrushchev, would launch a pre-emptive strike. As children of the Bomb we lived in everyday fear of annihilation
for more than a decade, and during that time nuclear weapons remained the news topic in the western world, like
a hit album that never dropped out of the charts.

Today, global nuclear war exists as a topic of interest only in Terminator movies, and even they have lost their
former appeal. The weapons are still there, our leaders can still use them, but the Union of Concerned Scientists
doesn’t lose much sleep worrying about them anymore.
During presidential elections throughout the Cold War, our primary, overriding concern was that a candidate
As the mood of the nation became slightly less belligerent, and a new generation insisted that we should “Give
peace a chance,” statesmen pandered to pacifists by staging occasional summit conferences or arms reduction
negotiations at which they embraced one another as if their prior threats and warnings had never happened.
In reality of course it was the other way around: The peace process never really happened. After the very last
treaty was signed, both superpowers still owned more than enough weapons to annihilate each other, because
it is not in the nature of people who seek power to relinquish it voluntarily. Sam Cohen illustrates his skepticism Justice Department, Clinton signed the Communications Decency Act, Greenspan punished investors for being
toward nuclear treaties by telling the story of a negotiation in which Soviet representatives did not even know exuberant to a degree that he found irrational, legislators of both parties crafted laws to throw hackers and file
how many nuclear warheads their own nation possessed, because the Politburo didn’t trust them with this in- sharers in jail, the State Department attempted to outlaw strong encryption, and prosecutors collaborated with
formation. The only way the treaty could be concluded was when the United States volunteered to guess the their friends in the traditional news media to publicize endless cases of predators, pedophiles, thieves, and con
number of Soviet warheads, using its own intelligence data, which were classified. Divulging classified informa- artists infesting the Internet. The message was relentless: New technology should not be trusted. Even Bill Joy,
tion to a potentially hostile foreign nation is a treasonous act, but that was what the United States had to do, to cofounder of Sun Microsystems, decided that some aspects of future science would be so dangerous, they should
create a document that made mutual arms reduction look plausible. Its only real achievement was a photo op be brought under control even though they didn’t exist yet.
during the signing ceremony.
At the time when I visited Sam Cohen, in late 2000, I didn’t realize how much further the backlash would go. I
George Orwell, suggested in his novel 1984 that a totalitarian state would benefit most from a war which seems certainly did not imagine a faith-driven initiative in which primitive zealots would pervert foreign policy, cripple
threatening yet is never sufficiently dangerous to defeat the nation and can be prolonged almost indefinitely. An scientific research, curtail social freedoms, and revive international adventurism to entrap the nation in a new state
ongoing conflict of this type provides an outlet for destructive energy and justifies material sacrifices while dis- of perpetual Orwellian war.
couraging dissent. Whether this scenario is applicable to American government may be debatable, but certainly
the Cold War satisfied all of these criteria. Eventually I saw George Bush Junior standing on an aircraft carrier, dressed like an Air Force pilot, shouting “Bring
it on!” And unlike his father, he didn’t look depressed at all, even though he was ordering thousands of young sol-
Orwell imagined a regime that stopped “the pendulum of history,” but in reality any status-quo becomes unstable diers into a conflict that was quite capable of killing them, while threatening to undo all the prosperity that we had
with time, and the threat of communism turned out to be emptier than anyone had realized. I remember a TV created for ourselves during our freedom from fear.
interview with George Bush Senior, who was slumped in his chair with his chin in his hand, not saying much, as
an interviewer asked why he didn’t have a more emotional reaction to the wonderful news about the Berlin wall Many journalists dislike Bush Junior. They complain about him toadying to the religious right, and they make fun
coming down. “I guess I’m just not an emotional kind of guy,” Bush responded. of his syntactical blunders — but no one treats him as if he’s unnecessary, and the National Enquirer doesn’t go
near his sex life. Also, unlike his father, Junior got himself re-elected by a significant margin, even at a time when
Yet he was reacting with obvious emotion. He was visibly depressed, with good reason, since the self-destruction economic growth seemed questionable.
of the Soviet Union caused a massive reduction in his own importance. After being empowered by nuclear weap-
ons like his predecessors, he suddenly found himself as a Commander in Chief with no enemy to fight. No one My only question is why this fear-based charade still works, and I guess the answer is that the fear makes us stupid
cared anymore that his finger was on The Button, because he had lost any excuse to use it. I think Bush understood enough to allow it to work.
very clearly a fundamental fact of politics: Our leaders are less valuable to us at times when we feel more secure.
When a president has no foreign threat from which he can claim to protect the nation, his remaining primary task Bush Junior still plays the nuclear-drama card once in a while, when he issues warnings about nations such as
is simply to create national prosperity. Sure enough, as the North Korea, but he never even mentions Moscow as a
economy tanked near the end of Bush’s first term, there significant threat, because no one would take it seriously.
was no further use for him at all. He was terminated by “My only question is why this fear-based charade still works, and I guess We have given up sitting around wondering what we will
uppity voters who were annoyed by the rise in unemploy- do if there’s a four- minute warning of Armageddon. In-
ment and weren’t afraid anymore. the answer is that the fear makes us stupid enough to allow it to work.” stead, we have been induced to worry about primitive ex-
plosives in the hands of semi-literate fanatics who might
Freedom from fear made us a bit smarter — at least, smart kill perhaps a few thousand of us in tall buildings or a few
enough to elect Bill Clinton, a feelgood guy who seemed sleazy and corrupt but was unlikely to cause much trou- dozen of us in public transit systems. Such numbers are utterly trivial compared with the mass annihilation that
ble. With no foreign threat to empower him, Clinton’s domestic policy initiatives failed, and he was reduced to seemed plausible and imminent during the 1950s and 1960s. They are small even by comparison with highway
the status of a second-rate celeb attracting National Enquirer coverage. Instead of worrying about him starting a traffic fatalities, yet the anxiety induced by the possibility of domestic terrorism has become comparable with
nuclear war, we spent months wondering whether an intern had given him a blow job. This was highly beneficial bygone fears of communism. This makes no sense at all, but fears are seldom rational, especially when they are
to We, the People, who, freed from fear, set about generating prosperity for ourselves on an unprecedented scale. manipulated by elected representatives who somehow continue to command some trust and respect. In a system
such as this, clearly there was no place for Sam Cohen. He invented a device that would win wars without destroy-
You might think that no one could object to a booming economy, yet the way it happened was unwelcome in ing anything—and tried to sell it to military leaders whose greatest desire was to destroy as much as possible. He
segments of industry, government, and even the mass media where status and prosperity had been linked with found a way to end conflicts quickly, with minimal drama—and offered it to political leaders who have more to
stability. Disruptive technology threatened old-school industrial titans such as AT&T, Kodak, Warner, and IBM. Old- gain from conflicts that create maximum drama and drag on for years. If policy makers in Washington had wanted
school billionaires found themselves outranked by disrespectful upstarts, and old-school stock analysts began to to curtail human suffering and the appalling wastefulness of military expenditures, the neutron bomb offered
look like idiots. Meanwhile the Internet empowered voters by setting up an uncontrollable conduit of information, them an option. Some found it provocative, a few were willing to pursue it, but a majority chose to let it disappear
circumventing the traditional symbiosis between media conglomerates and legislators. Some writers even con- into obscurity, along with the man who created it.
templated a future in which further advances in technology might render government obsolete altogether.
Epilogue: An Exercise in Futility
You didn’t have to be a techno geek to calculate the sum of these vectors. When people in power feel threatened
by rapid change, they apply the brakes. Initially we saw some straws in the wind: Microsoft was humbled by the I’m driving a rented car north out of Boston on a stormy night in July 2005, trying to find Route 128 on my way to
a conference, when my cell phone rings. It’s 8:30 pm, I’m tired and hungry, and the inventor of
the neutron bomb is on the line. Articles by Sam Cohen

I pull onto the shoulder and talk to Sam for a while. He complains about his state of health, and
tells me that he is no longer able to walk very easily. He reminds me that he is almost 85, and
says that the future does not look good, either for himself or the nation generally. As always
he is concerned about national security. He worries that our adventures in the Middle East
will have long-term repercussions for which we are ill-prepared. He points out that the current
adventures in Iraq would have been rendered totally unnecessary if neutron bombs had been
used on Iraqi battlefields during Desert Storm. That war could have been ended decisively in-
stead of leaving the door open for a renewed round of insanely expensive, divisive, convention-
al hostilities. I ask him if he feels certain that the neutron bombs which were built during the
Reagan administration were really destroyed under Bush Senior. He replies that in some ways
the United States is an odd nation. U. S. presidents often say things that they don’t mean, but a
small army of underlings works tirelessly to make sure that reality conforms with public state-
ments. All edicts are faithfully carried out. The weapons were destroyed.
“Tactical Nuclear Weapons and U.S. Military Strategy”, ORBIS, Spring 1971.
“U.S. Strategic Nuclear Weapon Policy”, Air University Review, January- February 1975.
“SALT and the Public Law”, National Review, August 8, 1980.
“Whither the Neutron Bomb? A Moral Defense of Nuclear Radiation Weapons”, Parameters, June 1981.
“A New Nuclear Strategy”, The New York Times Magazine, January 24, 1982.
“Arms Limits: From Open Skies to Open ‘Spies’”, Wall Street Journal, June 29, 1983.
“Competitive Strategies: A Sow’s Ear From A Silk Purse?”, Defense Science, November & December, 1989.
“End Nuclear Testing Now”, The Wash. Post, October 29, 1991. “The Ultimate Terrorist Weapon”, Spin, January, 1995.
“The Coming Neutron Bomb Threat”, WSJ, May 15, 1996. “Save the Nukes”, National Review, February 10, 1997.
“Needed: A Real ABM Defense”, The New American, October 12, 1998. (Coauthored with Conrad Schneiker.)
A complete copy of the latest version of “F*** You! Mr. President: Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb,” pre-
viously titled “Shame ...,” by Sam Cohen, is available in the free Zip download linked on the last page.

On the other hand, Sam has no doubt that China and Israel built their own neutron bombs,
probably using information that was leaked to them in an attempt to stabilize their situation
by assuring their defense. “If this is the case,” he says, “those nations now are equipped with
weapons superior to anything we have.” He pauses and chuckles. “And more humane than any-
thing we have.”

He asks me if I am still planning to write about him for a web site, and I say I’m close to finishing
the piece. “I hope you realize,” he tells me, “that writing this will be futile. It won’t change anything.”

I answer that I work on the principle that if a piece of journalism reaches only one person who
finds it significant, the effort is worthwhile.

“I suppose I have to agree,” he says. “That’s always the basis on which I operated.”

Sam Cohen failed to change the world. Policies are still being initiated by analysts whose intel-
lectual arrogance convinces them that they can know the unknowable. Data are still being ma-
nipulated to prove the unprovable, and wars are still being fought to serve the selfish interests
of narcissists who profit from fear while enjoying their starring roles in the drama of interna-
tional politics. Sam lost all of his battles with the establishment—yet if the experiences he has
shared provide any of us with any insight at all, they will not have been wasted.

~ Charles Platt, August 2005

Books by Sam Cohen

Tactical Nuclear Weapons: An Examination of the Issues (Crane Russak, New York, 1978).
The Neutron Bomb: Political, Technological & Military Issues (Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis,
Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1978).
Checkmate on War (Editions Copernic, Paris, 1980).
The Truth About the Neutron Bomb: The Inventor of the Bomb Speaks Out (William Morrow & Company,
New York, 1983).
We Can Prevent World War III (Jameson Books, Ottawa, Illinois, 1985). Nuclear Weapons, Policies and the
Test Ban Issue (Praeger, New York, 1987).
 CHAPTER 1 - PAGE 28:
Analysis Of USGS Report #01-0429
Building 6 And Very Fine Particles
Velocity & The Speed Of Sound
TABLE Introducing T. Mark Hightower
of CHAPTER 2 - PAGE 111:
CONTENTS The Peer Review
911 Rescue Animals
Enriched Uranium Use In War
1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Gen. Nuclear Weapons
CHAPTER 3 - PAGE 327:
Death By Dust
1000s Of September 11th Cancers
What Happens 10 Years From Now Skippy?
CHAPTER 4 - PAGE 368:
Smacsonic, The CID & The QRS-11 Gyrochip
What Year Was That Again, George? 1984?
CHAPTER 5 - PAGE 388:
Multiple Myeloma & Leukemia
The Children Of Chernobyl & The CoverUp
The Low Dose Issue & Beryllium
CHAPTER 6 - PAGE 449:
Plasma & The Energy Surplus
The Good Candidate Hypothesis
Radiation, Ural & Other Regions
CHAPTER 7 - PAGE 477:
Star In A Jar
Fissionless Fusion
The Radioactive Boyscout
Crossing The Petawatt Threshold
CHAPTER 8 - PAGE 493:
Litigating Death, Selling Doubt,
Violating Due Process, Abrogating
Constitutional Amendments And
The Crime Of The Millenium
CHAPTER 9 - PAGE 557:
EDCs & PBDEs
Mom, Meet Pop’s
Fertility Is Monetized
The Global Fertility Rate Plummets
Have You Been Spayed Or Neutered Yet?
CHAPTER 10 - PAGE 569:
Parting Shots - Images From A Nuclear Event
lay of the land
CHAPTER 1 provides a 25-page physics and chemistry analysis of USGS Report #01-0429 establishing that fission did occur at Ground
Zero. We describe velocity as it relates to destroying cement and steel and address the lack of thermite in several peer reviewed reports.
We confirm that Dr. Steven Jones’ report on “red-gray” chips has never been peer reviewed but published in a highly questionable jour-
nal which we address in detail. We firmly and conclusively establish that there was no thermite in the dust or remnants from Ground
Zero — that the alleged thermite was, in fact, paint, and that based on Lawrence Livermore documentation, the velocity of thermite
makes it an incendiary similar to a matchstick. Chapter 1 provides a firm foundation for understanding the more complex material in
Chapter 2.

CHAPTER 2 includes the peer review that establishes that enriched uranium weapons have been used for decades in war theaters
across the globe by the US and NATO allies including in the Balkans (Bosnia and Serbia), Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza, Iraq and elsewhere.
With peer review we provide conclusive evidence that radionuclide’s were found in the Ground Zero dust, a necessary yet missing piece
of the puzzle until now. We discuss, in detail, using 3-D computer generated images provided by physicist Dr. Heinz Pommer, exactly
how the buildings at Ground Zero were destroyed. We also provide in-depth coverage of 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation nuclear
weapons and energy generation capabilities. An interview with physicist Dr. Frédéric Henry-Couannier enlightens us further.

CHAPTER 3 provides the material necessary to understand the massive number of cancers and other expected diseases and disorders
that a small nuclear event in a major metropolitan city would be expected to and is currently causing.

CHAPTER 4 details the methodology used to hijack and navigate the planes/drones used to crash into the Twin Towers and Shanks-
ville, Pennsylvania. The weapon that hit the Pentagon is described, with images, in Chapter 10.

CHAPTER 5 is filled with all of the material you’ll need to understand 1st generation nuclear weapons and the diseases and disorders
these highly radioactive devices caused and how this relates to the diseases and disorders caused at Ground Zero on September 11th,
2001 by 3rd generation directed energy nuclear warheads that produce far less radioactivity and a different type of radioactivity.

CHAPTER 6 describes cold fusion, fusion, plasma, the Ground Zero Energy Surplus and regions in the Ural’s severely affected by nu-
clear fallout.

CHAPTER 7 starts out with NASA’s strides in the development of energy at the Petawatt level through laser technology, fissionless
fusion and technologies we now know were not employed on 9/11 because their development is as yet incomplete — antimatter
weapons, anti-proton weapons, black hole bombs, etc. — all under some form of research or development.

CHAPTER 8 concerns the legal maneuvers by the state and federal governments to relinquish responsibility for the critical medical
care and financial compensation necessary for dead and dying First Responders and outlines the minimal care actually legislated.

CHAPTER 9 is a chapter I added that has little to do with nuclear weapons and warheads and everything to do with radiation and the
increase in background radiation globally over the last 70 years. This chapter discusses the severe drop in global fertility and its asso-
ciation with increased radiation levels globally and the export of the American diet — a diet composed of numerous petrochemical
additives that cause disease and disorder. Ingesting a single radionuclide, which can now occur by swallowing a drop of rainwater or
breathing in average dust, can cause cancer in a year, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years and sometimes, perhaps not at all.

CHAPTER 10 contains 9/11 images not often published and some short essays that I believe are important and relative to this subject.
9/11 was an Outside Job. This highly compartmentalized event was outsourced like ev-
erything else. The people doing the heavy lifting on the ground were Israeli and Saudi
operatives, but with consent and cooperation at the very highest levels of the U.S.
government. The people manipulating the global population sitting at the highest
levels of wealth and influence were from the US, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Saudi
Arabia, the UK and European Union and ever-present Israel. Links to theses coun-
tries can be found in “Murdering Liberty, Killing Hope,” by Jeff Prager, 2008:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/14WE1v_pgigcQh8quMb7fquU3Q7u9RC9r/view?usp=sharing
Pictured below and at left, the end of an I-Beam that was approximately one
inch thick, shredded, warped and melted in just seconds to what now resem-
bles a thin piece of sheet metal. When this I-Beam was forged it required
temperatures in the thousands of degrees to properly shape without
defects. Here, on 9/11, this I-Beam was re-shaped in seconds and the heat
would have to have been absolutely incredible to cause the metal to
completely disintegrate in seconds, as it has in the images seen here.

911 Was
Not
An Inside Job
911 was
an outside job

USGS Ground Zero dust sample #WTC01-14 • September 16 and 17, 2001
 CHAPTER ONE
Physics & Chemistry Analysis Of USGS #01-0429
Building 6 And Very Fine Particles
Velocity & The Speed Of Sound
Introducing T. Mark Hightower
 VELOCITY By Jeff Prager
Velocity MUST be faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive to drop tall buildings in a single bound and thermite simply can’t do that
In order to cause concrete and steel to turn to micron-sized dust particles at Ground Zero as
found and recorded in a peer reviewed report by Dr. Thomas Cahill, UC Davis Delta Group, an
organization specializing in atmospheric monitoring, the speed of sound must be reached in
those items. Dr. Cahill is one of the worlds premier atmospheric physicists.
 
The speed of sound for concrete is 3200-3700mps (meters per second) and for steel the speed of
sound is 4880mps to 5050mps, depending on the components in the steel and/or concrete [1].
 
Based on statements by Dr. Steven Jones he estimates the velocity for the aluminum and iron ox-
ide energetic compound in a silica substrate, which he alleges comes from Ground Zero dust, at
300mps. According to Lawrence Livermore Laboratories the maximum velocity for an energetic
compound made of iron oxide and aluminum in a silica substrate is 895mps. Again, according
to Lawrence Livermore, the velocity can be increased to above 2000mps if copper is added. We
know that the energetic compound allegedly found by Dr. Jones did not have a copper compo-
nent. This energetic compound allegedly found by Dr. Jones is incapable of turning either steel
or concrete into the micron sized particles found by Dr. Cahill. Dr. Cahill set up his sophisticated
atmospheric monitoring system on a rooftop within 1 mile of Ground Zero on or about October
of 2001 and took air samples for close to 30 days.
Dr. Cahill stated, “soil and glass were boiling” at Ground Zero well after
September 11th, 2001 and up to and including October 30, 2001 and
beyond [2, 8].
 
To vaporize or boil soil and glass rather extraordinary temperatures must be
reached and maintained — over 4500º F.
Underground fires could not have been fed by nano-thermite. High velocity
nano-thermite is designed specifically to burn rapidly and exhaust its energy
immediately so as to reach temperatures that can easily exceed 3-4,000º F. Jones’
nano-thermite did not have the velocity, the energy budget, to have reached
those temperatures nor could thermite have burned for 99 days.
 
T. Mark Hightower has worked as an engineer for nearly 30 years, initially in the chem-
ical industry, then in the space program, and currently in the environmental field. He
is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) [3].
In 2011 Dr. Neils Harrit who worked directly with Dr. Steven Jones in their investigation of the al-
leged nano-thermite they claim came from Ground Zero, was asked in an email by T. Mark High-
tower (with several others included in that email) to estimate the amount of Dr. Jones’ energetic
compound that would be required to take the Twin Towers down. Dr. Harrit proposed that a low of
29,000 metric tons and a high of 144,000 metric tons would be required, per tower [4].
 
Using the low figure of 29,000 metric tons and assuming a single one-ton crate could be moved
from a tractor trailer backed up to a loading dock in the basement area of the towers to its final
destination within the towers every 15 minutes it would have required approximately 300 days,
working 24/7, just to load the building. Working in 8 hour day shifts it would have taken almost
3 years. It would also have required, based on standard freight weight limits for semi-trailers,
over 1,500 tractor trailer loads delivered to each tower. This is a preposterous and patently ab-
surd scenario.
 
The rate of Multiple Myeloma, a very rare blood plasma cancer, across the general population is 3.0-
9.0 per 100,000 people depending on the peer review you choose, but that is the range across all
available peer review. The average age of those afflicted with this disease is 71 with 99% of those
afflicted being over the age of 65. Based on a CDC report (see: CDC K25 Workers)[5] we do not know
what causes Multiple Myeloma. We do know that even the most minimal exposure to ionizing radi-
ation causes a measurable increase in the incidence of Multiple Myeloma.
 
As of March 1st, 2011, the rate of Multiple Myeloma and resulting deaths among Ground Zero First
Responders was 18 per 100,000 with all of those afflicted being between the ages of 37 and 60.
This is unprecedented, a global historic first and a medical anomaly. Reggie Hillaire, a Ground Zero
First Responder, was able to beat thyroid cancer only to contract Multiple Myeloma in late 2011.
Some First Responders have succumbed to not one, not two, but in some cases three rare cancers.
The cancer incidence among Ground Zero First Responders, while un-addressed in the mainstream
media, is epidemic.
 
The incidence of Thyroid cancer, brain cancer, pancreatic cancer and many other cancers is signifi-
cantly elevated among Ground Zero First Responders. More profound is that never have we seen
rapid onset cancers in asbestos workers or other industrial workers exposed to the wide variety of
carcinogens found in the Ground Zero dust (see USGS report #01-0429 - Chemistry Table 1)[6] We
have only seen rapid onset cancers in those people exposed to radiation at Hiroshima, Nagasaki
and Chornobyl. [7] The Ground Zero dust, though containing a myriad of unhealthful and often
deadly elements, contained elements that have never in the history of the human species caused
rapid onset cancers. In fact, both Dr. Cahill and the USGS found very little asbestos in the 35+
ground sample tests and during the approximately 30 days of atmospheric testing by the Delta
Group from the University of California, Davis.
 
In mid-2012 I discussed my findings re: USGS report #01-0429 and the analysis of that reports
Chemistry Table 1 which I published to the CDC/NIOSH web sites (9) (where they remain today)
and the internet at large, with Dr. Christopher Busby. Dr. Christopher Busby is a world renowned
nuclear physicist specializing in nuclear demolition and war zone crater analysis. Dr. Busby is also
a director of Green Audit Limited, a private company, and scientific advisor to the Low Level Radi-
ation Campaign (LLRC). He is a visiting professor at the University of Ulster and was the National
Speaker on Science and Technology for the Green Party of England and Wales. Dr. Busby is a re-
spected physicist worldwide with decades of experience in the particular science we’re discussing
here. The analysis on the following pages, while wholly
inadequate in explaining fully what occurred on 911,
was, nevertheless, accurate in many cases as Dr. Busby
points out. Yet Dr. Busby goes further and explains that
he’s found similar elements at similarly high levels in
craters in Fallujah, Iraq and other war torn areas of the
globe. Dr. Busby then offers an opinion as to what may
have caused these anomalous levels of the elements
in the various dust samples from Fallujah, Iraq, Ground
Zero, NYC and other areas across the globe and their un-
usual increases and decreases in parts per million across
various sampling locations. Excerpts from that email fol-
low. The reader should also understand that as far back
as the very early 1960s the Soviets detonated AN602,
or Project 7000; product code 202 (Izdeliye 202); arti-
cle designations RDS-220, which used deuterium and
uranium in a fusion - fission process that reduced total
residual radioactivity by 97%. Today, deuterium, lithium
deuteride and dozens of other “salting” methods exist
to combine fusion and fission in what’s called a hydro-
gen or neutron bomb. Nano-technology is a child of the
nuclear industry and we can assume with absolute cer-
tainty that explosive nuclear devices have been consis-
tently reduced in size since the 1950s. In 1960 we had
developed the “Davy Crocket,” a nuclear device measur-
ing approximately 17 inches long and 11 inches around.
It’s safe to assume that between 1960 and 2000 the size
of these devices was dramatically reduced with the use
of nanotechnology. This nuclear component miniatur-
ization is addressed on the following pages.
Excerpt from email between Dr. Busby and myself:
 
From:
“xxxxxx@greenaudit.org”
To:
“jeff prager”
Cc:
xxxxxx@greenaudit.org
WTC trace elements arguments
Dear Jeff,
 
I have briefly examined the paper presenting an argument
on the basis of “trace element” concentrations in dust and
on girder residues from the WTC that the buildings that
they were destroyed by nuclear fission. The arguments
are incorrect for a number of reasons. However, the evi-
dence is interesting and I will briefly discuss the issues.
 
1. Barium and Strontium are not trace elements, they are
common constituents of any material that contains Cal-
cium ( concrete) as they are in the same chemical group
and occur together. I agree however that they are pres-
ent in very much higher amounts than they should.
 
2. Both elements are toxic but not highly toxic
3. A correlation between Ba and Ca would be expected
in any sample since they occur together and with Ca be-
cause they are in Group II of the periodic table and share
chemistry.
 
4. But it is highly unusual to find such high levels of Bar-
ium
 
5. I also found high levels Barium and Strontium in war
debris in Gaza, Fallujah Iraq and the Lebanon.
 
6. You do not get high levels of Bariums and Strontium
from nuclear fission. They are both fission products in
the form Ba-140 and Sr-89 and Sr-90 but the quantities in
grams are ridiculously low. You must not confuse activ-
ity (becquerels) with mass (grams). The whole of the Sr-
90 releases from Fukushima or from Chernobyl amount
to a few grams. A fission yield of a 2 Megaton Test (which
would have destroyed New York entirely) would make
only which 1014Bq of Sr-90 and represents 18grams. For
Barium it is less than a gram. So this argument about too
much Sr and Ba does not work. The argument is even
more absurd when applied to Thorium (see below).
7. C-14 is not formed by fission but by neutron activation.
 
8. Although Thorium-234 is formed by fission of Uranium, the quantities are even smaller than
Ba and Sr because the half life of Th-234 is less than a month. So the amount of Th-234 made
from 1 gram of U-239 is less than 1 x 10-11g. The ratio of U to Th on this basis would be 10/11.
 
OK lets move on to what could have happened
based on my deconstruction of the data from the war zones:
 
1. The concentration of Uranium is a key. This is slightly too high in the dust and much too high
in the girder coatings. The activities for 2.7, 3.2, 4.7 and 7.57 are 33, 40, 58 and 93Bq/kg. The
graph shows that there is too much U on the girder coatings. Normal levels of U are about 12, at
most 40Bq/kg [See USGS 01-0429, Chemistry Table 1 for the 2.7, 3.2, 4.7 and 7.57 uranium ppm’s]
2. My belief is that there is a cold fusion weapon or device of some sort. This employs Urani-
um and Deuterium. The output is neutrons, lots of heat, lots of energy, gamma radiation. The
devise is the size of an apple or grapefruit but heavy (20-40kg). No radioactivity after the ex-
plosion except from Tritium H-3 which together with He-4 is the product and some short lived
gamma radiation from neutron activations products (e.g. Ca-45 from the Ca in the concrete,
Fe-55 from the steel). These would be radioactive for a few days only. [emphasis mine]
3. You would thus expect to find too much Uranium and also Tritium. You find both. There is
a paper showing high levels of Tritium in the water at WTC. We also see U levels are too high.
Maybe the Barium is part of this mixture, and the Strontium. I have certainly found high levels
of both in the war samples.
 
Regards,
 
~ Chris Busby
 Conclusions
 
1. Nano thermite is an incendiary. Explosives are classified as having velocities exceeding
3000mps. The incendiary nanothermite allegedly found at our near Ground Zero and used
by Dr. Steven Jones is incapable of turning any component of the Twin Towers or any other
known element into micron sized particles or what is commonly referred to in scientific cir-
cles as “very fine particles,” as we all saw on 911 and as Dr. Thomas Cahill verifies in his peer re-
viewed report supported by the same findings in two additional independent peer reviewed
reports. Furthermore, the amount, percentage or number of “very fine particles” was extremely
high and they were being generated and regenerated through the middle to end of October.
Through September and most of October 2001 something was creating micron-sized particles
of glass and soil in the “very fine particle” range and there is only one method known to hu-
mankind to do so and that method would be to
use the process of fission and/or fusion.
2. Nanothermite is incapable of maintaining under-
ground fires with a complete oxygen supply and
nanothermite is incapable of maintaining oxygen
starved fires as well at the temperatures required to
“boil soil and glass” as Dr. Thomas Cahill stated. This
is because the nano in Nanothermite means the
material is designed such that it is specifically syn-
thesized to burn as rapidly as possible, in seconds,
exhausting its energy immediately — Nanother-
mite, regardless of quantity, will release the totality
of its energy in just seconds because it’s designed
to reach temperatures exceeding 4000º F and thus
must burn as rapidly as possible to do so.
3. The chain of possession of the dust samples al-
legedly found at Ground Zero and controlled by
Dr. Jones is highly suspect, unverifiable and un-
scientific. Jones claims his samples were given
to him by a person or persons living in NYC, the
samples coming from the interior of their home
or apartment, which was filled with dust debris.
This means that in reality, we have no idea where
Jones’ samples came from. The chain of posses-
sion of the dust samples procured by the USGS
on September 16th and 17th, 2001, at Ground
Zero, NYC, is known and secure. The chain of pos-
session followed standard scientific procedure as
outlined in USGS Report #01-0429, using nitrile
gloves and double bagging and sealing the sam-
ples taken. [6] Nano thermite and energetic com-
pound residue was not found in the USGS dust
samples. The USGS dust samples contain within
them proof of both fission and fusion.
4. The perpetrators of 911 spent as much time
developing strategies to deal with public opinion
after the event as they did on the event itself. Pub-
lic opinion after the fact needed to be carefully
managed and that management process was a
critical component of the event.
5. Dr. Steven Jones spent a significant portion
of his career working at the US Department Of
Energy which is the government agency that is
responsible for all nuclear research in the United
States. He worked specifically with Muon Cata-
lyzed Fusion, Cold Fusion, Deuterium, Lithium
Deuteride and other elements known to be asso-
ciated with the cold fusion process. Dr. Jones is a
knowledgeable and respected physicist.
6. Dr. Steven Jones refuses to discuss the issues
raised in this essay and maintains adamantly that
911 had no nuclear component whatsoever.
 
7. Dr. Christopher Busby is willing to discuss these
issues and states that the dust samples from 911
indicate a cold fusion process using deuterium
which is precisely the science and elements Dr.
Jones studied at the Department of Energy.
 
8. That 911 was a nuclear event is certain and any-
one attempting to maintain that it was not is part
of the cover-up being foisted upon the American
people. Remember, 9/11 was declared a Nation-
al Security Event, meaning those in the know are
prevented from discussing what they know even
if they wanted to. And then, there are those that
One of the many benefits of 9/11 is the scientific data being collected on the detonation of this simply want to continue to perpetrate the lies.
type of weapon within the confines of a major city, something the military industrial complex  
has a critical “need to know”. These miniature, high yield, low radiation weapons are ideal mili- 9. Exposure to nuclear radiation is the most odi-
tary hardware and the use and results need to be studied thoroughly. This event provided that ous and repulsive event a human being can ex-
data set, still being collected and evaluated today. This type of weapon was used in a major, perience. That secret is being kept by those in the
developed, metropolitan city and no one was the wiser. The illnesses, cancers and numerous media spotlight, those in the know and those in
other disorders are similar in many ways to what we saw during the Nagasaki & Hiroshima at-
the 911 movement, to include Dr. Steven Jones.
tacks — however, in many ways unlike Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this miniature, advanced nu-
clear weapon, leaving little radiation behind, was survivable for the majority of those exposed.
10. From the moment the two nuclear devices
were detonated above Japan, the American government sought to reduce the size of nuclear
weapons to make them usable in times of war. At current sizes, they couldn’t be deployed again
without severe international political fallout. Size was the issue — and by the late 1950s we had
fully developed a nuclear weapon that was 17 inches long and 11 inches around, weighed 21 kilos,
and was capable of being launched from a three-man tripod — we developed the Davy Crocket.
The M-28 and M-29 fired the M-388 nuclear projectile. The complete round with casing weighed
34.5 kilo’s and was 31 inches long. Development continued with the advent of nanotechnology
which was developed by the nuclear industry — the nuclear industry works with atoms and this
only makes sense. Nanotech, working with atoms, is a child of the atomic industry.
EXPLOSIVE VELOCITIES
DDF - 10,000mps
HMX - 9,100mps
RDX - 8,750mps
TNT - 6,900mps
Jones’ Thermite 300-895mps maximum
Nuclear weapons, 3rd generation or even more advanced weapons, are ideal because they are
extremely small with fairly predictable profiles. After decades of underground nuclear testing this
science has been refined to an extraordinary level of competence. With nano-technology the var-
ious control systems necessary to a nuclear device are infinitesimally smaller than those we’re
familiar with from the 1960s. Advanced nuclear grenades, nuclear weapons the size of apples or
grapefruits as Dr. Busby states, are the most secretive technological advancement in real world
weapons systems. We have incontrovertible proof these weapons have been used repeatedly.
A properly “above-ground” detonated neutron weapon will destroy objects such as people. Howev-
er, on September 11th, Manhatten Island was covered with millions and millions of sheets of undis-
turbed, unburnt paper. A neutron weapon detonated below ground will behave entirely differently,
destroying buildings and causing fires via EMP in dense metals while leaving paper or tree leaves
unaffected. Iron (iron dust in this case) being a neutron absorber (absorbs 2 neutrons) while not
becoming radioactive, absorbed a significant portion of the radioactivity on 9/11.
Why Use Nuclear Weapons? Nuclear Demolition Works!
Nuclear devices as described herein were the only possible way to destroy the buildings without
having enormous chunks of building debris fly all over NYC and smash down on dozens of sur-
rounding buildings. A significant portion of these enormous structures had to be turned to dust.
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:7NabbrSO2pAJ:https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket/archive/pdfs/NIOSH-227/0227-031511-Prager_sub.pdf+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
Destruction was kept to a minimum although overall it was still quite devastating. It could have
been monumentally worse had standard explosives been used. The velocity of thermite is far too
low yet the velocity of standard explosives is extraordinarily high and the total destruction would
have been inconceivable. Nuclear demolition, a recognized and studied engineering science, turns
most of a structure to a fine dust in less than 600 milliseconds, micron sized particles. In this case
these sub-micron particles, pictured on pages 61 through 65, were then carried away by the pre-
vailing winds. The remaining dust settled across New York City and beyond with small portions of
the remaining structure piling up in cratered areas of Ground Zero [10, 11,12]. Velocities achieved
by a nuclear explosion would be rapidly exceeded by the molecular dissociation caused by the brief
but very intense heat. Some structure would be ejected, as we saw, but far less than with conven-
tional explosives. Nuclear energy is the only type of demolition that carries the total energy budget
required to turn 100s of 1000s of tons of material to micron sized very fine particles. While much of
the towers were recovered, a substantial portion of the buildings can be seen in dozens of images of
both dense pyroclastic clouds emanating from Ground Zero and spreading across the city and the
enormous atmospheric clouds swept across the state and out to sea by the prevailing winds [13 ].
 References:
1. The Engineering Toolbox:
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/sound-speed-solids-d_713.html
2. No Thermite by T. Mark Hightower, commentary by Jeff Prager:
https://www.scribd.com/document/392538906/No-Thermite-On-911-by-T-Mark-Hightower-with-
commentary-by-Jeff-Prager
3. Has Nanothermite Been Oversold To The 911 Truth Community by T. Mark Hightower, download link:
https://911scholars.ning.com/profiles/blogs/has-nanothermite-been-oversold
4. Nanothermite: If It Doesn’t Fit You Must Acquit, The Pittsburgh Press:
https://charlenecleoeiben54123.wordpress.com/2014/09/17/911-nano-thermite-debunked/
5. Multiple Myeloma: A Study Of K25 Workers:
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pgms/worknotify/pdfs/k25_7-06-09-508.pdf
6. Environmental Studies of the World Trade Center area after the September 11, 2001 attack:
https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0429/
7. See Chapter 1 
8. Aerosol Science and Technology • Volume 38, Issue 2, 2004, Analysis of Aerosols From The World Trade Center Collapse
Site, New York, Detection and Evaluation of Long-Range Transport of Aerosols - (Delta Group) October 2 to October 30, 2001:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02786820490250836
9. CDC/NIOSH web posting by Prager. Note: the CDC somehow reduced the document size to 4 point text, meaning you have
to zoom the page approximately 10 times before you can even read the text and additionally, the lines of text are off center
and angled. The original documents as submitted to the CDC/NIOSH are in the zipped file linked on the last page and here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Q2HklZiACv7llW09CfChba8xllFCxmG5/view?usp=sharing
10. AVIRIS - TIN (Triangular Irregular Network) Constructed from LIDAR data. The five AVIRIS maps show the pertinent sec-
tions of Manhattan Island and dust dispersal: See pages 79 through 83.
11. 3D Model Rendered from Triangular Irregular Network data - Ground Zero in 3D showing visible craters at Twin Towers
and Building 6: See pages 84, 85 and 86.
12. B2level CAD - Oct 18th, 2001 3D - Below ground view of Ground Zero showing crater depths at the Twin Towers and Build-
ing 6 and 7 at more than 60 feet deep: See page 87.
13. See two images on page 32.
The Physics and Chemistry Analysis
On The Following Pages Proves,
Unarguably, That Fission Occurred
In NYC O n Se p te m b er 1 1 th , 2 0 0 1
By William Tahill, BA

Salus populi suprema lex esti

 Sample Collection Procedure

A 2-person USGS crew collected grab samples from 35 localities within a 0.5-1 km radius circle cen-
tered on the World Trade Center site on the evenings of September 17 and 18, 2001. The spectroscop-
ic imaging was carried out by the airborne infrared system known as AVIRIS.

Many of the streets bordering the collection locations were cleaned or were in the process of being
cleaned at the time of sample collection. Given this limitation, collection of dust samples was re-
stricted to undisturbed window ledges, car windshields, flower pots, protected areas in door entry
ways, and steps. Occasionally, samples were collected from the sidewalk adjacent to walls that were
afforded some degree of protection from the elements and cleanup process. In many cases the sam-
ples formed compact masses suggestive of having been dampened by rain and having dried in the
intervening 3-4 days. Two samples of an insulation coating (WTC01-8 and 9) were collected from steel
girders recently removed from the debris pile of the WTC. Samples were gathered by nitrile- gloved
hand and put into doubled plastic sample bags (sample bag in another sample bag). Initially, Global
Position Satellite (GPS) locations were collected for the sample collection locations, but this approach
was abandoned because of difficulty in acquiring a satellite signal between tall buildings. Instead,
sample locations were identified using road intersections where road signs remained intact. All but
two of the samples were collected outdoors and had been subjected to wind and water during a rain
storm the night of September 14th. One sample (WTC01- 20) was collected indoors near the gym-
nasium in the World Trade Center Financial Center directly across West Street from the World Trade
Center. Samples of concrete (WTC01-37A and 37B) were collected from the World Trade Center debris
at the same location as WTC01-09. A sample of dust (WTC01-36) blown by the collapse into an open
window of an apartment located 30 floors up and 0.4 km from the center of the World Trade Center
site was also acquired a few days later.

This report then provides a rather detailed chemical analysis of the dust samples. The minimum, max-
imum and mean or averages appear at the table at the right, a photographic image taken directly
from the web site. The web site has numerous charts and various analyses of the collected data and
that’s what we’ll be using here to demonstrate very basically and beyond doubt, that thermonuclear
demolition did, in fact, take place.

Dissecting The Data • What Does It All Mean?

The USGS data was divided into two basic categories; Major Elements and Trace Elements

The major elements are classified as those elements found in high enough quantities to be measured
in percentage terms by weight. This method included the very common everyday elements expected
to be found in the rubble of demolished buildings and also includes some less common elements.

The trace elements are less common elements that are either found in very small quantities or should
be found in very small quantities, if they’re found at all. They’re shown in parts per million by weight
or 1ppm = 1mg/kg.

The summary tables show Maximum, Minimum and Mean or average values over all of the sample
locations. The girder coatings had very different values as compared to the indoor and outdoor sam-
ples. The full, complete and original charts are linked in the references for this report and the individ-
ual parts per million are what is used in this critical analysis of decay paths.
 The Major Elements Table 1 • Top Ten Trace Elements
The most abundant elements were Silicon and Calcium as would be expected from normal building rubble
and city dust. Concrete is 44% Calcium Oxide and 15% Silicon Dioxide (sand) with smaller percentages of
Aluminum Oxide, Ferric Oxide, Magnesium Oxide and Gypsum (Calcium Sulphate). Plaster is also made from
Gypsum. The major elements discovered at over 1% concentration correlate with this assertion.

However, the levels of Sodium and Potassium are highly unusual. Sodium and Potassium are not “rare” ele-
ments but the levels measured correlate strongly with some of the anomalous Trace elements from the sam-
ples. This will be looked at more carefully in the Trace element section in comparison to the findings on Zinc.

While the USGS includes Titanium and Manganese as percent measurements indicating they’re considered
Major elements they are more accurately described as Trace elements. The Titanium measured as 0.26% of
the dust or 2600ppm on average and is present across nearly all sample locations at 0.25-0.3% except for the
sample taken as WTC01-02, at the intersection of York and Water Streets, where Titanium measured 3900ppm.
This is unusually high and will also be discussed further in the section that follows on Trace elements.

Titanium Oxide is often added to cement and concrete to lighten the color and for very white cement and
concrete as much as 5% Titanium Oxide can be added to the mixture. Since Titanium Oxide is expensive and
the Twin Towers were 30% glass and 70% aluminum cladding, Titanium Oxide would have been used minimal-
ly in the interior cement slabs, if at all. The levels of Manganese average 0.11% or 1100ppm and this is unusu-
ally high for Manganese since there aren’t any building applications for it. There are interesting correlations
regarding Manganese that will be discussed further. So, thus far, Sodium and Potassium are unusually high
and Titanium at an average of 2600ppm or 0.26% and Manganese at an average of 1100ppm or 0.11% are
also unusually high and should be found in Trace quantities but were found in the Major Elements section of
the USGS report. The levels of Sodium, Potassium, Titanium and Manganese are anomalous and deviate from
what would be considered normal and standard and we’ll discuss these momentarily.

The Trace Elements

A concentration of 1% is 1 part per 100 or 10,000 parts per million (ppm). Therefore, 1 part per million is 1 ten
thousandth of a percent. Let’s examine the top ten Trace Elements as they were classified by the USGS (chart
at right). TABLE 1 KEY

While these elements in these samples at these levels don’t jump out at us we also need to understand, we Ba = Barium
aren’t scientists and we aren’t familiar with data such as this, but this sample data will stand out to anyone Sr = Strontium
knowledgeable in this field. The figures for Barium, Strontium and Zinc literally leap off the page. Barium, Zn = Zinc
Strontium and Zinc have the highest levels and the highest concentrations across ALL of the sampling loca- Pb = Lead
tions. We can see that the figures for Zinc and Strontium at location WTC01-02, New York and Water Streets, Cu = Copper
are extremely high and at sample location WTC01-16, Broadway and John Streets, the sample figures for Bar- Ce = Cerium
ium and Strontium are even higher, exceeding 3000ppm. The Zinc concentration exceeds 1000ppm for all Y = Yttrium
samples taken except the girder coatings which were very likely buried and not exposed to the atmosphere. Cr = Chromium
Ni = Nickel
The highest concentrations discovered were for Barium, Strontium and Zinc followed closely by Lead, Copper La = Lanthanum
and Chromium. These concentrations far exceed what would normally be considered to be Trace amounts.
There is between 1g/kg and 3g/kg of Zinc in the World Trade Center dust. There is more then 0.7g/kg of Stron-
tium with over 3g/kg at one location. These quantities are unprecedented. To begin with, a Trace amount
would be considered to be less then 10ppm but that doesn’t mean that even 10ppm of some substances
would be acceptable or normal. The following pages will examine this data in more detail.
 Barium & Strontium

These elements at these levels are wholly out of place and do not belong in
these samples. In fact, they don’t belong in these samples at all, really. But,
accounting for the fact that there are always disbelievers we’ll plot these
elements and discover their intimate relationships based on all various lev-
els across all sampling locations.

The levels never fall below 400ppm for Barium and they never drop below
700ppm for Strontium and they reach over 3000ppm for both of them at
WTC01-16, Broadway and John Streets. Why? Barium and Strontium are rare
Trace elements with limited industrial uses. Strontium salts are mainly used
to produce the red color in fireworks and Barium is used in some paints,
in the manufacture of some glass products (CRT screens) and in vacuum
tubes. Both elements are highly toxic, their levels are unprecedented, nei-
ther have building applications at these levels and shouldn’t be present in
building rubble and neither are valid in even Trace amounts, which would
be less then 10ppm or 10mg/kg.

The enormous peak in Barium and Strontium concentration at WTC01-16

is readily apparent (chart at right). The concentration of the two elements
reaches 3670ppm for Strontium and 3130 for Barium or over 0.3% by weight
of the dust. This means that 0.37% of the sample was Barium and 0.31% of
the sample was Strontium by weight at that location, WTC01-16, Broadway
and John Streets. This is higher then the Titanium concentration at WTC01-
16 of 0.25% or 2500ppm and higher then the Titanium Mean or average of
0.26% or 2600ppm.

Quite simply, this is astronomical. Barium and Strontium compounds are

not valid constituents of concrete or any other building material including
glass, aluminum, plaster and steel at these extreme levels. They should not
be there at these levels. Even at the other sampling locations the concen-
tration does not fall below 400ppm for either Barium or Strontium, which is
still an astronomically high level for these elements.

The Mean concentration for Barium including the very low girder coat-
ing samples is 533ppm and for Strontium it’s 727ppm. These are not Trace
amounts. They are highly dangerous and extremely toxic amounts. They
should not be in the World Trade Center dust or any demolished building
dust at these levels. At these levels they are critical components of nuclear
fission and the decay process.
 The Correlation Between Barium & Strontium
Produced By A Common Process
Here we’re plotting the concentration of Barium at each location against the Strontium concentration. The correla-
tion between the concentrations of the two elements, Barium and Strontium is very strong. The graph on the left
shows just the first 9 locations, where the concentration of both Barium and Strontium was below 1000ppm and
the graph on the right adds the 10th data point at WTC01-16 where the concentration of Barium and Strontium
both spiked over 3000ppm.
We can see that the data lies on an asymptotic curve. Looking at the left hand graph most of the points form a very
tight cluster (circled in red), where the Barium concentration was between 400-500ppm and the Strontium con-
centration was between 700-800ppm. This is telling, that such a high number of samples had very similar concen-
tration profiles. This shows a fairly homogenous dispersal of the radionucleides by the blast (with the exception of
one data point at WTC01-16) and that the Barium and Strontium concentrations are related in a fairly distinct and
narrow band — they were produced by a common process. The very high concentration at WTC01-16 tells us even
more and fits the correlation perfectly — the process that produced the Barium and Strontium was still ongoing
at that location, leading to an extremely high concentration there.
The Product Moment Correlation Coefficient
The quality of this correlation can be quantified statistically using what’s known as the Product Moment Correla-
tion Coefficient. Correlation Coefficients are used to estimate how strong the relationship is between two different
things – e.g. between smoking and lung disease. If there is a high correlation coefficient the two things might be
related or linked.
Using this method, the Coefficient of Correlation between the concentration of Barium and Strontium at the out-
door and indoor sampling locations is 0.99 to 2 decimal places (0.9897 to 4 decimal places). The Correlation Coef-
ficient between the concentration of Barium and the concentration of Strontium is 0.9897 and the maximum Cor-
relation Coefficient that is mathematically possible is 1.0 and this would mean we have a perfect match between
the two factors we’re examining and the data points would lie on a straight line with no variation between them.
To obtain a Correlation Coefficient of 0.9897 with this number of measurements around Lower Manhattan is very,
very significant indeed. What this means is that we can say that there’s a 99% correlation in the variation in the con-
centration between these two elements. They vary in lockstep; they vary together, similarly. When one varies, so
does the other. We can state with absolute mathematical certainty that any change in the concentration of one of
these elements, either the Barium or Strontium, is matched by the same change in the concentration of the other.
Whatever process gave rise to the presence of the Barium or the Strontium must have produced the other as well.
There is only one process that can account for
this and produce both Barium and Strontium
in mathematically coincidental variations. A
very well known process indeed that this re-
port discusses intimately.

Nuclear Fission

But just to be sure, we can use another sta-

tistical procedure to test whether this cor-
relation between the two values could have
arisen by chance. For example, if there are
only two data points one would invariably
obtain a very good correlation between
them, a correlation of 1 in fact, a prefect
correlation. This is because if you only have
two data points you can only draw a straight
line to join the two data points together. The
USGS took 12 measurements that included
Barium and Strontium. Using what is called a
‘t’ test statistic, another statistical technique,
we obtain a ‘t’ value of 21.83 for the correla-
tion coefficient of 0.99 with 12 data points.
Without explaining this in detail, what this
tells us is that the chance that such a high
correlation coefficient could have arisen by
chance with 12 measurements is vanishing-
ly small. Nuclear Fission, again confirmed by
mathematical data and the varing ppm rela-
tionships of the elements in the dust.
 The Girder Coatings Are Key

We know beyond doubt that the only process that can cause Bar-
ium and Strontium to be present in related and correlated quan- 3
tities and any process that can also cause Barium and Strontium
to have such strong relational concentrations across different sam-
ples, is nuclear fission. We know that if nuclear fission had occurred
that Barium and Strontium would be present and a strong statisti-
cal correlation between the quantities of each would be found, and
we have that, in spades. What else do we have? Quite a lot.

About 400ppm of Barium and Strontium were measured in two

samples of insulation girder coatings (WTC01-08 and WTC01-
09). The concentration of Strontium actually falls somewhat be-
low that of Barium in the second girder sample, WTC01-09, as at
WTC01-16, whereas in every other sample the level of Strontium
discovered was higher then Barium. Given the elevated levels of
Barium daughter products found in the second girder and even 1 2
the highest level of Uranium found (7.57ppm just West of and
behind Tower One) this shows that active fission was still on-
going in the second girder coating, in the very same way as at
WTC01-16 and therefore more Barium was found then Strontium.
4
This accounts for Dr. Cahill’s findings. The UC Davis Delta Group
found “very fine particles” being “continually regenerated,” — in oth-
er words, new particles — in the atmosphere above Manhattan for
over thirty days beyond September 11th, 2001. Generation of new
“very fine particles” requires a nuclear reaction. Unfissioned material
was still undergoing the process of fission well after September 11th.

In other samples where the rate of fission had slowed down to give
way to decay, the concentrations of Barium and Strontium reverse,
due to the different half lives. Barium isotopes have a shorter half
life then Strontium isotopes so they decay more quickly and after
a period of time when no new Barium or Strontium has been de-
posited, Strontium will exceed Barium. The fact that more Barium
then Strontium was still found at WTC01-16 and WTC01-09 shows
that the overall nuclear processes taking place were somewhat fa-
voring Barium over Strontium – and hence Zinc as well, and we will
explore this shortly.

The tighter cluster of Barium (400-500ppm) and Strontium (700-

800ppm) concentrations across widely separated sampling loca-
tions in Lower Manhattan is cast iron proof that Nuclear Fission occurred. We know that Barium and Strontium are
the characteristic signature of fission; they are formed by two of the most common Uranium fission pathways. The
fact that their concentrations are so tightly coupled means that their source was at the very epicenter of the event
which created the dust cloud that enveloped Manhattan. This was not a localized pre-existing chemical source
which would only have contaminated a few closely spaced samples and left the remaining samples untouched.
The very high concentrations of Barium and Strontium at location WTC01-16 shows that active nuclear fission was
still ongoing at that spot; the dust was still “hot” and new Barium and new Strontium were being actively generat-
ed, actively created by transmutation from their parent nuclei. Image (1) shows no signs of thermitic reaction, no
scorching, no burn marks, no signs of high heat at all — just the twists and turns in the wreckage. Image (2) shows
extremely high heat was required to bend steel this thick without producing stress cracks and doing so in less than
10 seconds. Image (3) shows bolts still intact and no thermitic reaction or burning present and to the left of image
(4) we see bolts still intact with no evidence of a thermitic reaction while overall, we see extensive rust and the very
white oxidation, remnants of a nuclear detonation explained in the following chapters. Overall, the metal, regardless
of size, seems to have undergone just milliseconds of incredibly intense heat — a million degrees for milliseconds.
 Zinc

Looking at the data for Zinc we see that the Zinc concentration for WTC01-02, Wa-
ter Street at the intersection of New York, is 2990ppm and this immediately stands
out. In fact, for the outdoor samples, Zinc is the most common Trace element at all
sampling locations, with generally between 1000ppm and 2000ppm except for
the spike of nearly 3000ppm at WTC01-02. This equates to an enormous concen-
tration of Zinc. 0.1% to 0.2% of Zinc in the dust overall and at WTC01-02, 0.299%
of the dust was Zinc. This exceeds the concentration of the supposed “non-Trace”
element Manganese and Phosphorous and almost equals the elevated Titanium
concentration of 0.39% at that same location.

Where Does All The Zinc Come From?

In the chart at the lower right we add the Zinc plot line in comparison with Bar-
ium and Strontium. The peak in Zinc concentration at WTC01-02 is also accom-
panied by a higher Barium and Strontium concentration for those elements than
at any of the other locations except WTC01-16, but the concentrations of Zinc,
Strontium and Barium all vary together in a similar way at all locations, except at
WTC01-16 and in the girder coatings, which are the last two data points at the far
right of the chart, WTC01-08 and WTC01-09.

If we include the data for WTC01-16, the Correlation Coefficient between the
Zinc and Barium concentration is 0.007 to 3 decimal places, from which we can
conclude that there is absolutely no correlation at all. But if we exclude that one
sampling location, where Barium and Strontium concentrations peaked, the correlation coefficient between
Zinc and Barium is 0.96 to two decimal places and between Zinc and Strontium, 0.66 to two decimal places.
So what happened? This shows that the Zinc and Barium concentrations are closely related and if we exclude
what must have been an extraordinary event at WTC01-16 as an outlier, the correlation is very good. The Prod-
uct Moment Correlation Coefficient is 0.96. We’ll discuss why WTC01-16 might be so different momentarily.
The concentration of Zinc is now 3 times the concentration of Barium but the correlation between Zinc and
Strontium is not so clear, showing that the relationship must be more indirect. This is to be expected since
Barium and Strontium are produced by different nuclear fission pathways.

In spent nuclear fuel, Strontium is found as Strontium Oxide (SrO) – the Strontium produced by the nuclear fis-
sion explosion(s) within the Twin Towers will certainly have been oxidized to SrO by the heat. SrO is extremely
soluble in water, so some of the Strontium concentration results obtained may have been distorted by the
rain water which fell on New York a few days after the towers were destroyed. There is a very strong linear re-
lationship between Barium and Zinc found at the World Trade Center. This may indicate that a closely related
nuclear sub-process gave rise to them, which produced 3 times as much Zinc as Barium by weight. If so, that
would be a very unusual nuclear event. There is a lesser known nuclear process that accounts for this, which
would be indicative of very high energies indeed. This process is known as Ternary Fission.

Ternary Fission

In Ternary Fission, an atom of uranium splits not into two atoms but three. One of the well-known by-products
of atomic bombs is Carbon-14 and it is known that Carbon-14 is also a Ternary Fission product of nuclear reac-
tors. So if a nuclear fission process produces Carbon-14, what are the other two products produced?
In the first step, Uranium fissions into Radon, the heaviest of the inert or noble gases plus Carbon-14 plus a
large burst of excess neutrons. We have seen that Uranium “likes” to use noble gas pathways, so the produc-
tion of Radon and therefore the complementary fission fragment Carbon-14 must occur, accounting for the
Carbon-14 produced by nuclear bombs.
In the second step, the Radon further fissions into Barium and Zinc with a further large release of neutrons.
This process would certainly partially account for the high levels of Zinc detected, in close correlation to Bari-
um. Other interrelated processes must also have been at work to produce almost exactly three times the con-
centration of Zinc to Barium. This might lead into classified domains of nuclear engineering and testing but
one conclusion can be drawn; the high levels of Zinc indicate that the World Trade Center nuclear explosions
might have characteristics akin to a neutron bomb.
Girder Coatings
It’s also very interesting to note that the concentration of Zinc in the indoor and outdoor dust samples is over
1000ppm but an order of magnitude lower than that in the girder coating samples, where only 50-100ppm
Zinc was found. Whatever caused the elevated levels of Zinc in the dust, did not penetrate into the girder in-
sulation coatings.
found in the dust. Potassium is very similar except its concentration was not a peak at WTC01-02, Water and
New York Streets, but somewhat lower then the next location, WTC01-03, State and Pearl Streets.
There are clear correlations and relationships here which show that the Potassium and Sodium concentrations
did not arise at random. If they are products of radioactive decay, where did they come from?
Remember that Strontium is produced by a fission pathway that proceeds through the Noble Gas Krypton
and then the Alkali Metal Rubidium. Similarly, Barium is produced through Xenon and the Alkali Metal Caesi-
um. We know that Uranium fission favors these pathways through the Noble Gases — we will see later proof
that Neon was produced along with the balancing Lead — we would also expect Argon.
Just as radioactive isotopes of Krypton and Xenon decay by beta particle emission to produce Rubidium and
Caesium, radioactive isotopes of Neon and Argon also decay by beta emission to produce Sodium and Potas-
sium. We would indeed expect to find anomalous levels of these elements present — what was found, very
high levels of sodium and potassium, is again consistent with the occurrence of nuclear fission.

The Barium and particularly the Strontium levels in the girder coatings are also lower than in the dust but still
fairly high, comparable to their levels in the dust. So this discrepancy between Barium and Zinc in the girder
coatings, along with WTC01-16, suggests that there was not just one direct process at work for the generation
of Zinc and Barium but a number of parallel processes — as one would expect from the different fission path-
ways that occur.

Very interestingly, the levels of further fission daughter nuclei of Barium and Strontium such as Cerium, Yttri-
um and Lanthanum are all an order of magnitude higher in the girder coatings then in the dust.

So we have an inverse relationship between the levels of Zinc, Barium and Strontium and the levels of further
decay nuclei in the girder coatings.

This indicates that fission products, Barium and Strontium, were initially forced into girder coatings by the
proximate force of the blast. These fission products had partially decayed into Cerium, Lanthanum and Yt-
trium by the time the samples were collected but no new Barium or Strontium had been deposited in the
meantime. The girder coatings therefore trapped high levels of Cerium, Lanthanum and Yttrium but some of
the oxides of these elements in the dust exposed to the weather were leached out by the rain. However, in the
dust itself, spread out across Manhattan, more Barium, Strontium and Zinc was still being deposited from the
decay of the heavy radioactive inert gases present and from new fission products being continually generated
under the site.

These are not rare elements as such and the USGS classified them as “Major Elements” due to the high levels
found. However, the variations in concentration of these two elements at the different sampling locations is
very revealing and we have compared them to Zinc in the following analysis.

Sodium & Potassium

This graph (right) shows that (apart from the very high peak in Sodium levels for one of the indoor dust sam-
ples) the Sodium and Potassium concentrations both display this now characteristic peak at location WTC01-
16, the corner of Broadway and John Street. Sodium has the same peak as Zinc at WTC01-12, the corner of
Warren and West, and like Zinc, falls to a minimum in the girder coatings — far below the concentrations
If we plot Zinc against Sodium and Potassium in rank order, we obtain the graph below. There is a very strong
correlation between Zinc and Potassium. Between Zinc and Potassium there almost appear to be two rela-
tionships. On the one hand, as the concentration of Zinc increases, we see a linear increase in the level of So-
dium, but on the other hand, as the level of Zinc approaches the 1500ppm level, the concentration of Sodium
takes another route to shoot up past 8,000ppm to over 11,000ppm in one of the indoor dust samples.
Is there a way of accounting for this?
Yes, there is. Potassium has 5 radioactive isotopes, which all decay in a similar time-scale, i.e. very quickly in a
matter of hours or minutes. Four of them decay by beta emission – which means the majority of Potassium will
transmute into Calcium which in turn will change into Scandium and Titanium. This is generally going towards
Zinc and we will see momentarily the strong correlation between Titanium and Zinc. We could have equally
used Titanium here in comparison to Sodium and Potassium, but we want to show the clear relationship with
an element classified by the USGS as a Trace element, since Titanium was classified as a “Major Element” by the
USGS. However, Sodium has only two radioactive isotopes; one decays by beta emission with a long 15 year
half life to form Magnesium, Aluminum, etc., while the other decays by positron emission back to Neon with
a 2.6 year half life. This means that as the concentration of this Sodium isotope increases it will anti-correlate
with heavier elements such as Titanium, Zinc, etc. – it is decaying back towards Neon and lighter elements
while the other Sodium isotope, decaying much more slowly and therefore having relatively less impact on
the production of its heavier element daughter products, will correlate with the occurrence of heavier ele-
ments. This is exactly what we see in the chart below — there appears to be two Sodiums, one that correlates
with Zinc (heavier elements) and one that goes towards inverse proportionality — Zinc actually decreases as
Sodium increases. This fits the behavior we would expect from the two Sodium isotopes.
Other Trace Elements
We now examine the other Top Ten Trace Elements, many of which are well known decay products of the nu-
clear fission pathways. Their presence in such incredibly high quantities in the World Trade Center dust cannot
be explained by any other mechanism.
Cerium
In looking at Table 1 of the trace elements (on earlier page), we see peaks in the concentration of Cerium at
WTC01-02 and 01-16, i.e. at the same two locations as the Barium and Strontium peaks. Cerium is a very rare
element — yet over 100ppm was discovered at WTC01-02 and 01-16, which again is an extraordinarily high
level for that element. Cerium is the second daughter product of Barium in that disintegration pathway, com-
ing after Lanthanum. The Coefficient of Correlation between Barium and Cerium is 0.84, very high. Below we
plot the concentration of Barium against Cerium:
The data points in fact fit a cubic relationship in which the concentration of Cerium is approximately equal to 10
times the cube root of the Barium concentration. We show the data in the graph below with the actual Barium
concentration now also plotted against the Cerium value calculated by the ‘cube root’ formula and a best fit curve
to the actual data. The correlation between the actual Cerium values and the values predicted by this model is
clearly of the same order. What does this tell us?
Since Cerium is the second daughter product of decay of Barium, we would expect the amount of Cerium present
to increase linearly with the concentration of Barium. The first part of the curve, for Barium less then 1000ppm is
more or less linear as expected. Why then does the relative concentration of Cerium fall at WTC01-16, Broadway
and John Streets, where Barium was so high, at 3670ppm? This shows that at that location new Barium was still
being actively produced, with intense nuclear fission and decay of intermediate products still ongoing. There was
not yet enough time for the Barium being produced to decay into its daughter products. The concentration of Ura-
nium at this location was not the highest found though, which supports what we conjectured before; the Barium
and Zinc was not just produced by direct fission of Uranium but by Ternary fission and other intermediate decay
steps from the other elements that were produced. Another factor that has to be taken into consideration is the
presence of different isotopes of the fission products; Barium and Strontium, discussed momentarily.
Since Cerium is the daughter product of Barium, this high correlation between Barium and Cerium concentrations in
the expected exponential relationship is further evidence that Nuclear Fission has taken place. More proof follows.
Lanthanum
Lanthanum is the next element in the disintegration pathway of Barium, situated between Barium and Cerium.
The concentration of Barium versus Lanthanum is plotted below. This graph is almost identical in form to the
relationship between Barium and Cerium. A similar inverse exponen-
tial (cubic) relationship is clearly visible. In this case, Lanthanum is ap-
proximately equal to 5 times the cube root of Barium. Lanthanum has
a much shorter half life then Cerium; most of its isotopes have a half
life of only a few hours whereas beta decay by Cerium is measured in
half life periods of a month to 10 months. Ceriums beta decay going
back to Lanthanum occurs more quickly but Lanthanum’s beta decay
going back to Barium occurs in a similar time-scale to that — a few
hours, so we are left with the net effect of Lanthanums beta decay be-
ing much quicker than that of Cerium, so the concentration of Cerium
remaining was higher than that of Lanthanum.
Cerium Versus Lanthanum
Next we show the relationship between Lanthanum and Cerium. We
have an almost perfect linear correlation between the two. The graph
(next page, top at right) confirms our two cubic models, which pre-
dict that the concentration of Lanthanum produced should be half
the concentration of Cerium. Or, Cerium = two times Lanthanum. Giv-
en that Cerium follows Lanthanum in the fission pathway, that both
elements are extremely rare except in nuclear events and the concen-
tration of Lanthanum is almost perfectly correlated with the concen-
tration of Cerium, the occurrence of Nuclear Fission of Uranium is the
only possible explanation.
This data is shown again (in the graph at right) and in-
cludes the Girder Coatings. These relationships in the
data provide further overwhelming proof that Nuclear
Fission of Uranium has taken place, with characteris-
tic statistical relationships between the quantities of
the different elements present that are indicative of
the fission pathways of Uranium. We see the plot of
Cerium versus Lanthanum forming a straight line on
the graph at right, an almost perfect 100% correlation.

Yttrium

Yttrium is also a very rare element and should not be

present in dust from a collapsed office building. Yttri-
um is the next decay element after Strontium. If we
plot the concentration of Strontium against Yttrium,
we see what happens in the graph below, at right.

Strontium 90 has a much longer half life (28.78 years)

than most Barium isotopes so we would not expect
to see as high a concentration of Strontium’s daughter
products as those that are produced from Barium. This
is in fact what we see — the concentration of Cerium
(next daughter product to Barium) is higher then Yttri-
um, the next daughter product to Strontium.

Another factor is that different isotopes of these

daughter elements are produced with different half
lives and, as before, they decay by different mecha-
nisms — electron (beta particle) emission and elec-
tron capture (EC). The USGS of course have not an-
alyzed which isotopes and what proportions were
present for each element — Barium, Strontium, Zinc,
Cerium, etc., — or if they have that information hasn’t
yet been made public.
Although Strontium 90 is the main Strontium isotope produced which decays by emission,
some Strontium 82, 83 and 85 is produced as well which decay by EC into Rubidium. Different
Yttrium isotopes also decay by emission and EC both into Zirconium and back into Strontium.
Examining the graph on the previous page we see what may look like two separate and dis-
tinct relationships between Yttrium and Strontium. One set of points seems to indicate a linear
increasing relationship between the Strontium and Yttrium concentration, while another set
shows Strontium reaching a maximum and decreasing again as Yttrium increases (ignoring
the outlier with >3000ppm Strontium). We have seen this pattern with Sodium and we will see
it again; the relationship where Strontium decreases as Yttrium increases can be explained by
the influence of Yttrium isotopes decaying by electron emission into elements of higher atom-
ic number — i.e, Zirconium while the other line is formed by those Yttrium isotopes that decay
by EC back into Strontium — boosting the amount of Strontium present.

Also, if there was a significant time difference between the analysis of the samples and it can
be safely assumed there likely was, it would affect the comparison results because Yttrium 90
has a half life of only 2.67 days while Yttrium 91 has a half life of 58.5 days. We know that some
samples were collected on the evening of the 17th of September and some 24 hours later on
the 18th of September, which may have had an effect on Yttrium 90 levels in the two sets of
dust samples by removing them from the influence of the nuclear processes continuing in the
environment. A time delay in the analysis of the samples would also have a significant effect.
24 hours is 3/8ths of the half life period, so some 23% of the Strontium 90 present in the dust
will decay away in this time. Any Strontium 89 present would not be greatly effected by a time
delay of 1 day since its half life is 52 days, so the corresponding Strontium made up of Sr89 and
Sr90 would not show a noticeable difference; Yttrium made up of Y89 and Y90 would show a
noticeable difference.

This may explain why in the graph on the previous page in the central cluster some of the Yttrium concen-
trations were lower than others for a similar Strontium concentration – maybe there was a significant delay
between the times the analyses were performed.

Overall, we can see that there is a marked correlation between Strontium and Yttrium, with one outlier –
WTC01- 16 where the concentration of Strontium (and Barium) peaked. This was as we have said, evidently a
location where energetic nuclear processes were still ongoing. New Strontium was being actively produced
and therefore the concentration of Yttrium was relatively lower.

Chromium

The presence of Chromium is also a tell tale signature of a nuclear detonation. It’s concentration is shown
plotted against Zinc and Vanadium in the graphs at the top of the page at right.

There is a strong correlation between the Zinc and the Chromium concentration. The Coefficient of Correla-
tion is high, 0.89.

There is also an indication of strong correlation between Chromium and Vanadium with 6 points of lying
on an almost perfect exponential curve, with one outlier, WTC01-03, the corner of State and Pearl Streets, of
42.5ppm where the Vanadium concentration reached its highest level.

The third graph at right plots Chromium against Nickel. There is a strong cluster in the two concentrations
showing a very homogenous distribution in these elements.
 Copper

This element is also indicative. If we plot the concentration of Copper against Zinc and Nick-
el, we obtain the graphs seenat right. The concentration of Nickel was almost the same ev-
erywhere, except for the peak of 88ppm matched by the Copper peak of 450ppm.

The Copper — Zinc relationship is very interesting, showing in fact two distinct relationships
again depending on isotopic composition. There are two radioactive isotopes of Copper (Cu
64 and Cu 67) with short half lives of 12.7 hours and 2.58 days respectively which decay into
Zinc isotopes. The other two isotopes (Cu 60 and Cu 61) decay the other way by positron
emission into Nickel — and in fact Cu 64 goes both ways, into both Nickel and Zinc. This
would explain why there strongly appear to be two Copper — Zinc relationships.

The decay of radioactive Copper by beta particle emission into Zinc would have been anoth-
er source of the Zinc found in the World Trade Center Dust.

Titanium & Manganese

Titanium and Manganese are not present in Trace quantities but in quite high concentrations and as we have discussed
earlier, even if Titanium had been included as a pigment (TiO) in some of the concrete when it was made this would be
far from sufficient to account for the high levels of Titanium found in the dust. However, it is interesting that there is a
peak in Titanium concentration of 3900ppm at location WTC01-02, the corners of Water and New York Streets, where the
Zinc reached its maximum of 2990ppm and many other elements also peaked. Manganese also peaks with 1500ppm
at WTC01-02 and WTC01-25, the corners of Warren and Church Streets, which correlates with the two Zinc peaks of
2990ppm and 1900ppm.

The chart at left shows that once again, the high levels of Titanium and Manganese detected were not naturally occur-
ring; the correlations with each other are too marked. The main pathway we would expect for the production of Titanium
would be by beta decay of Argon, through Potassium, Calcium and Scandium. This is fission.
 Titanium

Another possible mechanism for the production of the Titanium

would be by ternary fission of Plutonium. Ordinary thermal nu-
clear reactions always produce Plutonium when the non-fissile
U238 in the fuel (which is the majority of the Uranium in the de-
vice) absorbs neutrons: this produces Uranium 239 which then
undergoes beta decay into Plutonium, with atomic number 94.

Plutonium would then undergo ternary fission into

Xenon, Argon and Titanium.

While this reports central theme is conclusive nuclear fission in

NYC on 911, there is another theoretical possibility and that is
that the devices within the Twin Towers and Building 7 were of
the Fast Fission Breeder type. In this type of nuclear device the
fuel is made of a central Plutonium core surrounded by Uranium
238. As the central Plutonium core is fissioned to produce ener-
gy, the U238 jacket also captures neutrons and is converted into
yet more Plutonium: the device “breeds” more fuel then it uses.

One advantage of this type of fission process is that since the

Plutonium can only be fissioned by fast neutrons, no moderator
is required to slow them down to produce slow neutrons as ordinarily required. This means the
device size can be much smaller. This may have been a significant advantage if this were a clan-
destine underground installation under the Twin Towers and this report does not hypothesize
this issue. This report in this chapter confirms nuclear fission in NYC on 911 but does not seek
to understand who was responsible, why or exactly how this occurred or specifically whether
this was a built-in part of the building construction or a covert weaponized operation. Ti = Titanium
V = Vanadium
Uranium could also undergo ternary fission into Xenon, Argon and Calcium — with the Cal- Cr = Chromium
cium then undergoing decay (which is it’s primary mode) into Titanium: in fact it would also Mn = Manganese
form from normal binary fission of Uranium into Argon and Tungsten, with the Argon then Fe = Iron
decaying to Potassium, Calcium, Scandium and Titanium as was said before. Co = Cobalt
Ni = Nickel
Looking at an extract from the Periodic Table of Elements at right, starting with Titanium at the Cu = Copper
atomic number 22, we have the sequence Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu and Zn. Zn = Zinc

This transmutation of Titanium into the succeeding elements would occur by emission of beta
particles, as shown previously for the decay paths of Bromine and Xenon. We see many of the
elements found in anomalous quantities in this part of the Periodic Table, where the radioac-
tive isotopes of these “transition elements” as they are called interact complex decay patterns.

Again, there is a distinct correlation, with the concentration of all three metals peaking at a
location WTC01-02, the corners of Water and New York Streets, which we have seen was a peak
for many of the metals found, even common ones such as Iron and Aluminum. Again, proof of
nuclear fission.
 Manganese

The concentration of Manganese plotted against Zinc, Lead and Titanium is shown
in the graphs on this page. In all three cases we see an absolutely identical pat-
tern. First, a decrease in Zinc, Lead and Titanium as Manganese increases, then at
1200ppm of Manganese (0.12%) there is an extraordinary increase in the quantity
of Zinc, Lead and Titanium present in the dust. Finally, an asymptotic leveling off
of even higher levels of Manganese.

It is therefore very indicative indeed that we have these complex correlations and
relationships between these different metals. Data of this type has probably never
before seen the light of day, revealing the complex fission event processes that
take place in an energetic nuclear explosion. We can surmise that in the confined
space of the nuclear blast, indeed not only ternary but quaternary and further lev-
els of fission have taken place, with daughter nuclei not just decaying by ordinary
alpha, beta or gamma radiation emission but literally being fissioned again by
the intense neutron radiation, to create a complete smorgasbord of the Periodic
Table. Combined with the data from the previous pages the reader should clearly
see that we’ve proven Nuclear Fission in NYC on 911, perhaps Ternary Fission and
likely even Quaternary Fission but Fission nevertheless and there’s much more.
 Lead

Lead is yet another product of nuclear fission. We would not ex-

pect to see lead piping in a building of 1960s vintage, certainly
not in quantities sufficient to produce the high concentrations of
Lead that were seen and detected in the World Trade Center dust.

One of the frequent pathways for nuclear fission of Uranium is

to a Noble Gas and the balancing element, which together add
up to the 92 protons in Uranium. This is what occurs with Barium
and Strontium, where the balancing Noble Gas is Krypton and
Xenon. Lead has an atomic number of 82. The balancing element
with an atomic number of 10 is Neon — a Noble Gas. Radioactive
Lead is a well known product from nuclear fission and we would
not be surprised to find it in the fallout.

The nuclear equation for fission of Uranium to Lead follows a pre-

ferred Noble Gas pathway:

235/92U + 1/0Ne + 210/82Pb + 2 1/0 n

There were two spikes measured in the concentration of Lead

of over 700ppm, at WTC01-02 and WTC01-25; these two loca-
tions also had the highest concentrations of Zinc (2990ppm and
1920ppm), Chromium (224ppm and 134ppm) and Manganese
(1500ppm and 1500ppm).

By inspection we can see that there is a power relationship be-

tween the concentration of Lead and Zinc and perhaps a linear
relationship between Lead and Chromium. Referring back to the
charts on the previous page we know that there must be a close
relationship between Lead and Zinc because they both have an
identical re- lationship to Manganese.
 Copper, Zinc & Lead

Here we plot Copper against Lead and Copper

against Zinc again for a comparion. We can see clear-
ly that Zinc and Lead both have exactly the same
relationship to Copper. These correlations also show
that the presence of Lead is also indicative that a nu-
clear explosion occurred. Earlier we commented that
Copper transmutes into Zinc by beta decay. If we plot
the concentration of Zinc, Lead and Copper together
by location (next page), the correlations can be seen
in a different way. Particularly interesting is the dra-
matic fall in concentration of all of these elements in
the Girder Coatings.
 Concentrations Of Copper, Zinc & Lead

In this graph Zinc has been divided by a factor of 10 to avoid losing

all the detail in the scaling if the ‘Y’ axis instead went up to 3000ppm.
The variation in Lead is matched by the variation in Zinc almost per-
fectly across all sampling locations, including the Indoor and Girder
Coating samples.

The concentration of Copper follows that of Zinc (image at right)

with one distinct exception at WTC01-15, Trinity and Cortlandt
Streets, just several hundred feet East of Building 4. As we have
already seen in the graphs for Copper/Nickel/Zinc, there seem to
be two Copper-Zinc relationships. If some of the Zinc was being
formed by beta decay of Copper, then the high Copper at WTC01-
15 could reduce Zinc, since formation of Zinc by that decay path-
way would be retarded by material being held up at the Copper
stage, before decaying on to Zinc. Therefore this graph along with
the lower curve in the right-hand graph on the Copper page, does
confirm that some of the Zinc was indeed being formed by beta
decay of Copper.

This would at least be a small mercy for the civilian population ex-
posed in this event since the Zinc isotopes formed from Copper are
stable — i.e. they are not radioactive.
 Antimony

Antimony is a rare exotic metal used in engineering in small quantities for

hardening other metals (e.g. bearings). The variation in concentration of
Antimony (Sb) found in the dust very closely mirrors the level of Barium but
then falls to practically nothing in the Girder Coatings. The graph at right
(top) shows the levels on Antimony measured at each location against the
Barium concentration divided by 10.

The next two graphs, arranged in rank order, both include and do not in-
clude the the massive spike in concentration at WTC01-16, the corners of
Dey and Broadway.

Antimony has an atomic number of 51 and atomic weights ranging from

119 to 127. Barium has an atomic number of 56 with atomic weights rang-
ing from 128 to 140. Some radioactive Xenon isotopes could transmute
to Antimony via Iodine and Tellurium by electron capture, whereas as we
know, Barium is formed from Xenon by electron (beta particle) emission
— so we would expect a common source, isotopes of Xenon, for both the
Barium and Antimony. The evident close correlation between Barium and
Antimony is therefore very logical and can be explained by the nuclear
chemistry of the equation below:

125/54 Xe + eg125/53 I
125/53 I + eg125/52 Te
125/52 Te + eg125/51 Sb
 Molybdenum

There is a very interesting relationship between

Antimony and Molybdenum. This is clearly not a
random distribution — there is in fact an almost
perfect linear relationship between Antimony and
Molybdenum, with the usual exception of one
sample where the Antimony concentration was
exceedingly high at 148ppm, WTC01-16 again.

The atomic number of Antimony is 51; the atomic

number of Molybdenum is 42. Together this adds
up to 93 while Uranium has an atomic number of
92. Tin and Molybdenum are well known fission
products. It seems that some of the Uranium in-
deed fissioned into Tin (with atomic number 50)
and Molybdenum (42) and the Tin then decayed
by beta emission into Antimony. The graph at right
is a very telling graph as regards the fission pro-
cess that certainly occurred in New York City on
September 11th, 2001.
 The Girder Coatings
In earlier graphs Zinc, Lead and Copper are all much lower in the Girder Coatings then in the dust, both indoor
and outdoor. Referring to the Girder Coating chart (next page) we can see that a number of other elements
also had their lowest levels in the girder coating samples: Antimony, Molybdenum and Cadmium.
On the other hand, we saw earlier that the concentration of Cerium, Yttrium and Lanthanum are all in order
of magnitude higher in the girder insulation coatings than in the dust. In fact, in the second girder at WTC01-
09, West of and behind what was Building One, Cerium, Yttrium and Lanthanum at 356ppm, 243ppm and
175ppm respectively are 6 times as high as the lowest levels recorded for these elements in the dust, far ex-
ceeding “Trace” levels. Some other elements also recorded their highest levels in the girder coatings: Nickel in
particular with 202ppm at WTC01-08, at the Southwest corner of what was left of Building Six, about 10 times
as high as all the other measurements for Nickel — but then Nickel falls back again in the second girder coat-
ing, WTC01-09, West of and behind what was Building 1. This is illustrated in the two charts below.
Image On The Following Page
The image of the destruction at Ground Zero on the following page depicts some of the
initial First Responders exploring the destruction and what’s left of the Twin Towers and
Buildings 3, 4, 5, and 6 at Ground Zero. We can’t be sure what these brave men and wom-
en were thinking but a close and careful examination of this image reveals that rust is ap-
parent everywhere, something we wouldn’t normally expect immediately after a building
demolition of any kind. Even the structures that have remained standing exhibit severe
rusting of the metal surfaces.
We also have considerable oxidation on several I-Beams and the oxidation and rust ap-
pear almost everywhere. Both oxidation and rust are the result of a chemical reaction that
strips the steel and other metals of their naturally protective coating and impregnates the
metals with highly active molecules that cause rust and oxidation with immediacy.
 ”
E Yy
K Busb
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t i nhristo
o a r. C
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Judging from the USGS map at the beginning of this report, location
WTC01-09 was the closest sampling location to the Twin Towers. It
is situated approximately 20 meters to the West of the North Tower, Dark smoke is the steel being disintegrated and converted to its The top of the cloud is beginning to form a mushroom shape
World Trade Center One. constituent parts which includes iron rich spheres and slag wool. which will stop above this image at a cold air layer its slowly
dissipating force is unable to penetrate.
As we have already shown, a nuclear blast very likely impregnated the
girder coatings with the initial fission products Barium and Strontium.
These would then have partially decayed away so that by the time of
the analysis, high concentrations of their rare daughter products, Ce-
rium, Yttrium and Lanthanum were trapped in the coating. Looking
back at the graphs for the concentrations of Barium, Strontium and The stem begins to form, remains of the central
Zinc, we see that there are two places where Zinc is lower then Stron- core of the building, a segment approximately
tium and Barium; at location WTC01-16, Broadway and John Streets, 20 meters in diameter, is liquified/vaporized by the X-ray soliton.
and in the girder coatings. The high levels of Cerium, Lanthanum and
Yttrium found in the girder coatings are also consistent with the still
fairly high Strontium and Barium levels in the girders: so why should
the level of Zinc be lower in the girders and at WTC01-16, given that
otherwise Zinc is closely linked to Barium.
Powerful, upwards ejection force
The answer is that Bromine, a fission fragment produced as you will
remember by the initial fission of Uranium, decays by emission into
Strontium by only 3 decay steps ­— and we know that Strontium is
tightly coupled to Barium, since Barium is produced from the other
fission fragment Xenon — while Zinc is produced from the Bromine
fragment the other way by emission in 5 steps. Therefore depending
upon the isotopic mixture produced and the half lives of all interme-
diary products, when very active decay is still ongoing in a sample The white smoke is the concrete slabs being
which recently still had a high Uranium concentration, we are seeing calcined to their constituent elements. Circular, concentric fountain forms around
a lot of Barium and Strontium being produced while Zinc has not yet the structure indicating a singular energy
formed: but later on (or in samples which are not as “hot”) as the Bar- source and confirming an
ium and Strontium decay away, whatever pathways led to Zinc now underground demolition.
predominate and create a high level of Zinc in the dust.

In fact, the analysis should be done the other way around: there is
very little if any public data available on what mixture of fallout, fis-
sion products, isotopes and stable end products are produced when
an atomic bomb explodes. The data is showing us what did happen.
Another intriguing fact is that the concentration of Nickel and Chro-
mium peaked in the first girder coating, WTC01-08, just meters west
of Building 6 on West Street, particularly the Nickel, but fell again in
the second girder coating. This could be explained by speculating
that the first girder was contaminated with stainless steel, which con-
tains Nickel and Chromium, but the second girder was not.

Whatever the physical mechanisms might be which account for these

findings, the underlying mathematical correlations are self evident
and lead ineluctably to the deduction that a nuclear explosion oc-
curred in Manhattan on September 11th, 2001, in order to account for
the presence of these elements in these varying quantities and the
Actinium Series isotopes. There is no other explanation. None.
 Uranium and Thorium

Finally we come to the detection of measurable quantities of Thorium and Urani-

um in the dust from the World Trade Center, elements which only exist in radioac-
tive form. The level of uranium, the peak level of 7.57ppm’s or 93 Becquerels per
kilogram in the girder coating is extraordinarily high, between 2 and 8 times what
is considered the normal peak or high anywhere else on earth. The lower graph at
right plots the concentration of Thorium and Uranium detected at each sampling
location. Again, the last two locations, WTC01-08 and WTC01-09, are for the two
girder coating samples.

The Uranium concentration follows the same pattern as Thorium, although the
graph scale does not show this markedly. Uranium follows the dip at WTC01-03
and WTC01-16 but the highest concentration of Uranium also matches Thorium in
the second girder coating, WTC01-09, at 7.57ppm or 93 Becquerels per kilogram.
93 Becquerels per kilogram greatly exceeds normal Trace element levels for urani-
um which range from 12-40 Becquerels per kilogram maximum.

Let’s also not forget that the indoor samples collected by the USGS also had ex-
tremely high levels of uranium — 2.7 and 3.23 parts per million — far higher than
anything else can account for 33, 40.

The second girder contained 30.7ppm of Thorium, 6 times as high as the lowest
level of that element detected. Thorium is a radioactive element formed from Ura-
nium by decay. It is very rare and should not be present in building rubble, ever.

The Thorium picture also mirrors that found for Yttrium. The concentration of both
elements dips at WTC01-03 and WTC01-16 (where so many other elements peak-
ed) but in the two girder coatings (WTC01-08 and 09) is nearly an order of magni-
tude higher than in the dust samples. The high correlation between Thorium and
Uranium is self evident. The presence of these two elements in such high concen-
trations (particularly in the two girder coatings at WTC01-08 and 01-09) in such a
close mathematical relationship is further incontrovertible evidence that a nuclear
fission event has taken place.

As we said earlier, Thorium is formed from Uranium by alpha decay. An alpha par-
ticle is the same as a Helium nucleus, so this means we have one of the favored
fission pathways: Uranium fissioning into a Noble Gas and the balancing element,
in this case Helium and Thorium.

If the Helium formed follows the same pattern as Krypton and Xenon (which de-
cay by beta emission through Strontium and Barium), then we would expect to
find Lithium and Beryllium, the next elements after Helium in the Periodic Table,
in quantities that correlate with Thorium. The USGS did measure the Lithium con-
centration in the dust: Thorium is plotted against Lithium on the next page, both
including and excluding the two girder coating samples.
 Conclusion

The graph of Thorium versus Lithium including the Girder Coatings has exactly the same form as the graph
showing Thorium versus Uranium, also including the Girder Coatings. Without the two Girder Coatings the
correlation of Thorium to Lithium in the dust is completely linear. We therefore have compelling evidence that
this fission pathway of Uranium to Thorium and Helium, with subsequent decay of the Helium into Lithium,
has indeed taken place. “It is out of the question
It is out of the question that all of these correlations which are the signature of a nuclear explosion could have
occurred by chance. This is impossible.
that all of these correlations
The presence of rare Trace elements such as Cerium, Yttrium and Lanthanum is enough to raise eyebrows in which are the signature of a nuclear explosion
themselves, let alone in quantities of 50ppm to well over 100ppm. When the quantities then vary widely from
place to place but still correlate with each other according to the relationships expected from nuclear fission,
it is beyond ALL doubt that the variations in concentration are due to that same common process of nuclear
could have occurred by chance”
fission.

When we find Barium and Strontium present, in absolutely astronomical concentrations of over 400ppm to
over 3000ppm, varying from place to place but varying in lockstep and according to known nuclear relation-
ships — the implications are of the utmost seriousness.

The presence of Thorium and Uranium correlated to each other by a clear mathematical power relation-
ship — and to other radionucleide daughter
products — leaves nothing more to be said.

This type of data in this format has never

been available to the public before. It is an
unprecedented insight into the action of a
nuclear device. Nuclear weapons scientists
around the world may be interested in this
data to analyze it and try to determine ex-
actly what type of device produced it.

September 11th, 2001, was the first major

nuclear event in the United States that can
be proven to have taken place, without
question. Nanotechnology, a child of the
nuclear industry has allowed for casings, ra-
dars, altimeters, boost-gas delivery systems,
neutron generators, detonators, batteries,
integrated circuits, fuzing systems, arming
systems and permissive action links to be
reduced to miniature scale, nano-scale, al-
lowing for tactical mini-nukes the size of an
apple or grapefruit and weighing in at ap-
proximately 20 kilo’s or so. Employing both
fission and fusion, leaving very little radio-
activity behind, these are the perfect weap-
ons for the 21st century and beyond, where
wars may take place within Megacities.
The hydrogen bomb developed by the Russians in
1961 reduced radiation output by 97% such that
the area destroyed would be completely radia-
tion-free within 4 to 5 days.
The Soviet RDS-220 hydrogen bomb, code name
Ivan or Vanya and known by Western nations as
Tsar Bomba, was the most powerful nuclear weap-
on ever created. Tested on October 30th, 1961, it
also remains the most powerful explosive ever det-
onated.
It was also referred to as Kuzma’s mother possi-
bly referring to First secretary Nikita Khrushchev’s
promise to “show the United States a Kuzma’s moth-
er” (an idiom roughly translating to “We’ll show
you”) at a 1960 session of United Nations General
Assembly.
The bomb had a yield of 50 megatons of TNT. In
theory, it would have had a maximum yield of 100
megatons of TNT if it had included a uranium-238
tamper, but because only one bomb was built, this
was never demonstrated. The single bomb was
detonated at the Sukhoy Nos cape of Severny Is-
land, part of Novaya Zemlya.
The remaining bomb casings are located at the
Russian Atomic Weapon Museum in Sarov and the
Museum of Nuclear Weapons, All-Russian Research
Institute of Technical Physics, at Snezhinsk.
Many codenames are attributed to the Tsar Bom-
ba: Project 7000; product code 202 (Izdeliye 202);
article designations RDS-220 (РДС-220), RDS-202
(РДС-202), RN202 (PH202), AN602 (AH602); code-
name Vanya; nicknames Big Ivan and Kuzkina. The
name “Tsar Bomba” was coined in an analogy with
other massive Russian objects: the Tsar Bell and Tsar
Cannon. The CIA designated the test as “JOE 111”.
The Tsar Bomba was a three-stage bomb with Trut-
nev-Babaev second- and third-stage design, with a
yield of 50 megatons. This is equivalent to about
1,570 times the combined energy of the bombs
that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, 10 times
the combined energy of all the conventional explo-
sives used in World War II, one quarter of the esti-
mated yield of the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa, and
10% of the combined yield of all nuclear tests to
date. A three-stage hydrogen bomb uses a fission
bomb primary to compress a thermonuclear sec-
ondary, as in most hydrogen bombs, and then uses
energy from the resulting explosion to compress a
much larger additional thermonuclear stage. There
is evidence that the Tsar Bomba had several third
stages rather than a single very large one.
The Tsar Bomba was flown to its test site by a spe-
cially modified Tu-95V release plane, flown by Ma-
jor Andrei Durnovtsev. The Tu-95V bombers were
designed to carry much lighter and smaller weap-
ons, meaning the Tsar Bomba was too big to be
placed on a missile, and too heavy for the planes to
transport it to the target with enough fuel.
Taking off from the Olenya airfield in the Kola Pen-
insula, the release plane was accompanied by a Tu-
16 observer plane that took air samples and filmed
the test. Both aircraft were painted with a special
reflective white paint to minimize heat damage.
Despite this effort, Durnovtsev and his crew were
given only a 50% chance of surviving the test.
The bomb, weighing 27 metric tons, was so large
(8 metres [26 ft] long by 2.1 metres [6 ft 11 in] in
diameter) that the Tu-95V had to have its bomb
bay doors and fuselage fuel tanks removed. The
bomb was attached to an 800-kilogram parachute,
which gave the release and observer planes time to
fly about 45 kilometres (28 mi) away from ground
zero, giving them a 50 percent chance of survival.
When detonation occurred, the Tu-95V dropped
one kilometre in the air because of the shock wave
but was able to recover and land safely.
The Tsar Bomba detonated at 11:32 Moscow Time
on October 30th, 1961, over the Mityushikha Bay
nuclear testing range (Sukhoy Nos Zone C), north
of the Arctic Circle over the Novaya Zemlya archi-
pelago in the Arctic Ocean. The bomb was dropped
from an altitude of 10.5 km (6.5 mi); it was designed
to detonate at a height of 4 km (13,000 ft) over the
land surface (4.2 km [14,000 ft] above sea level) by
barometric sensors.
The original, November 1961, United States Atom-
ic Energy Commission estimate of the yield was
55–60 megatons, but since 1992, all Russian sourc-
es have stated its yield as 51 megatons. First secre-
tary Khrushchev warned in a filmed speech to the
Supreme Soviet of the existence of a 100-megaton
bomb (technically the design was capable of this
yield.)
Although simplistic fireball calculations predicted
the fireball would hit the ground, the bomb’s own
shock wave reflected back and prevented this. The
8-kilometre-wide (5.0 mi) fireball reached nearly as
high as the altitude of the release plane and was vis-
ible at almost 1,000 km (620 mi) away from where it
ascended. The mushroom cloud was about 64 km
(40 mi) high (over seven times the height of Mount
Everest), which meant that the cloud was above
the stratosphere and well inside the mesosphere
when it peaked. The cap of the mushroom cloud
had a peak width of 95 km (59 mi) and its base was
40 km (25 mi) wide.
All buildings in the village of Severny (both wood-
en and brick), located 55 km (34 mi) from ground
zero within the Sukhoy Nos test range, were de-
stroyed. In districts hundreds of kilometres from
ground zero, wooden houses were destroyed,
stone ones lost their roofs, windows, doors and ra-
dio communications were interrupted for almost
one hour. One participant in the test saw a bright
flash through dark goggles and felt the effects
of a thermal pulse even at a distance of 270 km
(170 mi). The heat from the explosion could have
caused third-degree burns 100 km (62 mi) away
from ground zero. A shock wave was observed in
the air at Dikson settlement 700 km (430 mi) away;
window panes were partially broken for distances
up to 900 kilometres (560 mi). Atmospheric focus-
ing caused blast damage at even greater distances,
breaking windows in Norway and Finland. Despite
being detonated 4.2 km above ground, its seismic
body wave magnitude was estimated at 5–5.25.
Sensors continued to identify the shockwaves after
their third trip around the world.
The Tsar Bomba is the single most physically power-
ful device ever deployed. For comparison, the larg-
est weapon ever produced by the U.S., the now-de-
commissioned B41, had a predicted maximum
yield of 25 megatons of TNT (100 PJ). The largest
nuclear device ever tested by the U.S. (Castle Bravo)
yielded 15 megatons of TNT (63 PJ) because of an
unexpectedly high involvement of lithium-7 in the
fusion reaction; the preliminary prediction for the
yield was from 4 to 6 megatons of TNT (17 to 25 PJ).
The largest weapons deployed by the Soviet Union
were also around 25 megatons of TNT (100 PJ) (e.g.,
the SS-18 Mod. 3 warhead).
The weight and size of the Tsar Bomba limited the
range and speed of the specially modified bomb-
er carrying it and ruled out its delivery by an inter-
continental ballistic missile. Much of its high-yield
destructiveness was inefficiently radiated upwards
into space. It has been estimated that detonating
the original 100 Mt design would have released
fallout amounting to about 26% of all fallout emit-
ted since the invention of nuclear weapons. It was
decided that a full 100 Mt detonation would create
too great a risk of nuclear fallout, as well as a near
certainty that the release plane and crew would be
destroyed before it could escape the blast radius.
The Tsar Bomba was the culmination of a series of
high-yield thermonuclear weapons designed by
the Soviet Union and the United States during the
1950s (e.g., the Mark 17 and B41 nuclear bombs).
Footage from a Soviet documentary about the
bomb is featured in Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic
Bomb Movie (Visual Concept Entertainment, 1995),
where it is referred to as the Russian monster bomb.
The video states that the Tsar Bomba project broke
the voluntary moratorium on nuclear tests. In fact,
Soviets restarted their tests and broke the unilat-
eral voluntary moratorium 30 days before Tsar
Bomba, testing 45 times in that month. Since the
moratorium was unilateral there was no multilat-
eral legal obstacle. The U.S. had declared their own
one-year unilateral moratorium on nuclear tests,
and as that year had expired, the US had already
announced that it considered itself free to resume
testing without further notice. Later it was stated
that the U.S. had not resumed testing at the time
of the Tsar Bomba test. That announcement was in
error, as the US had in fact tested five times under
Operation Nougat between the USSR’s ending of
the moratorium on October 1st and the Tsar Bom-
ba test on October 30th.
Combining fission and fusion in a nuclear device
producing a hybred nuclear weapon at nano-scale
is what detroyed the buildings at Ground Zero.
 nanothermite debunked By T. Mark Hightower
1. After extensive study of the WTC dust and red-gray particles found within it, accredited forensic scientist Dr.
James Millette has conclusively demonstrated that the particles are NOT thermite in any shape, form, or function.
“The red/gray chips found in the WTC dust at four sites in New York City are consistent with a carbon steel coated with
an epoxy resin that contains primarily iron oxide and kaolin clay pigments.”
“There is no evidence of individual elemental aluminum particles of any size in the red/gray chips, therefore the red layer
of the red/gray chips is not thermite or nano-thermite.”
The red layer is an epoxy resin containing primarily iron oxide and kaolin clay pigments. Paint, in other words. The
gray layer is the carbon steel.
Millette confirmed the earlier re-investigation of Frederick Henry-Couannier, who was given WTC dust samples by
none other than Richard Gage himself: https://www.darksideofgravity.com/nexus_gb.pdf
Dr. Millette is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and works with internationally known
microscopy experts. An ad hoc international team of these experts, as well as architects, engineers, and other spe-
cialists, contributed their expertise to this study.
This study debunks the thermite claim and the Niels Harrit paper.
The Niels Harrit paper wasn’t properly peer reviewed by anyone before publication. Bentham Open Source Journals
do not provide peer review, it sells article spots in bulk. How would a respectable journal know in advance that the
next article your lab writes is going to be worthy of publication? It’s not a legitimate practice. Secondly, Bentham
Journals was caught accepting an article for publication that had been written by a computer, filled with grammat-
ical sentences with gobblegook nonsense but nicely labeled figures with captions. Anyone actually reading the
article would have caught this mess, proving that nobody at Bentham ensures that articles are even read before
publication. This is not peer review. When this scandal erupted, the Jones crew knew they were in a pickle, so they
devised a strategy for overcoming this obvious weakness in the article by CONSTANTLY referring to the article as
“peer reviewed”. This was a worthy psy-op. They tricked most of their followers into accepting as stone cold fact that
the Harrit paper had been peer reviewed by repeating a lie.
2. On May 1, 2011, chemical engineer Mark Hightower published, “The Nanothermite Challenge”
The challenge comes to this: “Find and document peer-reviewed scientific research [publications] that demonstrate
that a gas-generating nano-thermite (GGNT) based upon iron (III) oxide (Fe2O3) and aluminum (Al), where the gas-gen-
erating chemical added to the nano-thermite is not itself a high explosive, can be made to be a high explosive with at
least a detonation velocity of 2000 m/s. The author of this paper will donate [to AE911Truth] $100 for every 1000 m/s of
detonation velocity that can be documented, the donation not to exceed $1,000.”
The deadline date of June 20, 2011 passed with not even one entry to this contest. Not even one entry for the
Nanothermite Challenge was received. This is significant, because nano-thermite is commonly believed to be a
high explosive within the 9/11 truth community. Belief in nano-thermite runs deep.
3. Thermite is incapable of the effects seen on 9/11 and the detonation velocity is vastly insufficient. The highest
detonation velocity for an iron oxide/aluminum nano-thermite (the form claimed to have been used in the WTC
Twin Towers destruction) documented in the technical literature is 895 m/s, much too low to achieve significant
fragmentation of steel and concrete, and nowhere near the detonation velocity of conventional high explosives,
such as 8750 m/s for RDX and 6900 m/s for TNT and even that would not be enough to account for the explosive
effects observed at the World Trade Center.
The explosive effects observed at the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 were not only powerful, but
devastating – turning concrete and other materials to dust, as well as separating and propelling steel members
and other materials in all directions.
While thermite is an incendiary (burning agent) and nano-thermite can be formulated to be a faster-reacting
incendiary or even a low explosive like black powder, it cannot be formulated to be a high explosive. Formulated
as a low explosive, nano-thermite cannot produce the shock wave of at least 3200 m/s to fragment concrete or at
least 6100 m/s to blast through steel. As a fast incendiary, nano-thermite could have been used to sever and/or
weaken the Twin Towers’ steel columns, but this low-velocity melting process is a totally different mechanism for
the cutting of steel, and it alone could not have accounted for the explosive effects observed. Therefore thermite
can be eliminated as the primary method of controlled demolition.
4. The main ingredients of thermite are rust and powdered aluminium. The buildings were steel structures with
aluminium cladding. The majority of the buildings were turned to dust/powder. So, it would be expected to have
large quantities of powdered aluminium and powdered iron-rust in the dust. Something would be more seriously
wrong if these ingredients were not found in the dust.
5. 9/11 blogger Kevin Ryan admits that they do not know what role nano-thermite played in 9/11 or how it brought
down the towers. Kevin states that “Although we know that nano-thermite has been found in the WTC dust, we do
not know what purpose it served in the deceptive demolition of the WTC buildings. It could be that the nano-thermite
was used simply to drive fires in the impact zones and elevator areas – fires which would otherwise have gone out
too early or not been present at all – and thereby create the deception that jet fuel-induced fires could wreak the
havoc seen.” Kevin assumes it was nano-thermite that was found in the dust. In reality it was the towers that
were turned into the ingredients that make up thermite. The alleged iron rich spheres were likely the result of
molecular dissociation caused by both fission and fusion. Kevin Ryan fails to explain how nano-thermite could
bring down the towers and omits the fact that the towers didn’t collapse but rather turned to dust mid-air.
Simply, thermite doesn’t fit the bill — it’s not an explosive but an incendiary.
6. If the towers were brought down by a controlled demolition using explosives it would have looked and
sounded like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8U4erFzhC-U
It would have been loud and obvious if all those columns were cut at once. Yet there were no “bangs” or bright
flashes as would be expected if the towers were brought down by conventional demolition. Also thermite
gives off an extremely intense bright white light and this would have been visible if hundreds of thermite
charges were going off at once. The towers would have lit up like a Christmas tree. Instead the “collapse” looks
like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78taEPSUsXU&t=19m40s a tower turning to dust mid-air not a
tower collapsing due to cut columns. Cutting columns is one thing but the tower turning to dust is another.
Does thermite do this? http://img802.imageshack.us/img802/395/image018m.jpg Thermite/thermate does
not have the capability to turn steel and concrete into nano-size particles. This is not a conventional demoli-
tion using explosives.
7. The seismic data disproves conventional demolition. “The energy budget recorded in the seismic record on the
day of 9/11 and the collapse of the WTC buildings did not reflect the mass of building materials involved in the col-
lapse, nor the nearly freefall of the collapsing buildings. The seismic record demonstrates an event on the scale of a
quarry blast. Where was the thud [that would have accompanied a WTC building collapse]?”
ratory. Steven E. Jones is the man who covered up Cold Fusion in the late eighties and early nineties. http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=rhdbU2sA8gE The perpetrators of 9/11 waited until the 9/11 truth movement started to
grow and gain traction and then Steven Jones appears out of the woodwork as a “9/11 truther” pushing thermite
lies. Cold Fusion expert Dr. Eugene Mallove who exposed Steven Jones in his book ‘Fire from Ice’ was murdered just
a year before Steven Jones came on the scene with his thermite lies. Dr. Eugene Mallove also worked with William
Zebuhr in this area. Zebuhr’s nephew was Michael Zebuhr – Dr. Judy Wood’s student who formed a 9/11 Truth
student’s group at Clemson. Michael Zebuhr conducted an experiment in 2006 in an effort to prove that Professor
Jones is wrong about his theory that thermite was in the South Tower. Not long after that experiment, Zebuhr was
murdered in a very mysterious manner.
Dr. Steven Jones, after covering up cold fusion, is now covering up the fact that similar technology was used on
9/11. Steven Jones is a 9/11 cover-up operative period. He is a fraud. A traitor.
11. Dr. Wood exposes in her lawsuit the fact that NIST contracted with a major manufacturer of directed energy
weapons for the 9/11 NIST Report. The company in question, Applied Research Associates (ARA), is not only a
manufacturer of directed energy weapons, but is also a founding sponsor of Directed Energy Professional Society
(DEPS). Dr. Wood and her attorney revealed that another company NIST contacted with for their Report, Science
Applications International Corporation (SAIC), is also a manufacturer of directed energy weapons. In addition,
SAIC is a company involved in psychological operations as evidenced by its involvement in a Pentagon program
to feed disinformation to the foreign press and its psy-ops activities in Iraq. The propositions that nuclear energy
weapons were a causal factor in destruction of the WTC on 9/11 and that 9/11 was primarily a false-flag operation
conducted as a “psyop” to foster war, whose results critically depended on selling the “hijacked jetliner” hoaxes, are

If a 500,000 ton pile of steel and concrete falls to the ground top down at near free fall speeds it would leave
a significant seismic signature of at least 4 on the Richter scale yet the seismic signature was a mere 2.1 and
building 7 was no louder than the background noise, in other words the seismic signature was nil. The major-
ity of the towers turned to dust in the air before they even hit the ground. Thermite cannot do this. If thermite
was used to simply cut columns and the towers fell to the ground the seismic signatures would have reflected
that.

8. If thermite was used to simply cut the columns the rubble pile should have been 1/3 the height of the
towers. The rubble pile should have around 15 stories high of floors stacked on top of each other if it was
a conventional controlled demolition. Instead the debris pile from the 110 story towers was merely 1 story
high. This photo was taken on mid-day on 9/11 https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3751206292196
Where did 95% of the towers go? 95% of the towers turned to nano-sized dust before hitting the ground.

9. The air sampling data, taken by the University of California at Davis and the Lawrence Berkeley Labs, re-
vealed “very fine particles” in the aerosol plumes from the WTC debris field. These buildings were turned into
micro-particles, much smaller than red blood cells.

Anyone who has worked around gravel quarries or cement plants knows that the dust from crushed rock is
not a fine powder that is carried miles into the air. It is coarse and settles very quickly. It is impossible for me
to envision some kind of explosive or mechanical process that would yield particles of this size. It is simply
impossible for conventional explosives with thermite to yield particles of this size.

10. Steven E. Jones is a 9/11 cover-up agent. A shill. The deliberate nano-thermite disinformation originates
with and is pushed by Steven “Las Alamos” Jones. Nano-thermite was pioneered at Las Alamos National Labo-
supported by NIST’s use of investigators like SAIC and ARA. SAIC obviously has benefited tremendously from
9/11 and its executives pushed the WMD fraud about Iraq to promote the illegal U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Has nanothermite been oversold to the 9/11 Truth community?

http://www.checktheevidence.co.uk/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=326&Itemid=60

Nanothermite: If It Doesn’t Fit, You Must Acquit!

https://911scholars.ning.com/profiles/blogs/nanothermite-if-it-doesn-t-fit-you-must-acquit

paper has
no mass
 WTC Dust Study • February 29th, 2012, by Dr. James Millette
Introduction by Chris Mohr
In the summer of 2011, after finishing my 22 respectful YouTube rebuttals of Richard Gage’s Blueprint for Truth
(keywords chrismohr911), I decided to see if I could organize an independent study of the World Trade Center dust
to find out if thermitic materials could be found. Not being a chemist, I couldn’t make a truly independent analy-
sis of the data found in the Bentham paper alleging the discovery of unignited thermitic material by Niels Harrit,
Steven Jones, Kevin Ryan and others: “Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center
Catastrophe, The Open Chemical Physics Journal, Vol 2, 2009.”
While I am very skeptical of claims of controlled demolition on 9/11, I’m no scientist, and I can’t independently
judge the merits of this Bentham article. What if they did find thermitic materials? I wanted to see if their evidence
could stand up to scientific testing. So I began to ask, what would it take to do an independent test of the dust?
Some people said that for a few hundred dollars, a lab could easily test the dust. Kevin Ryan told me it would not
be so easy, and he turned out to be right. He seemed to indicate he would be reluctant to provide samples of his
own dust, so eventually I decided to look for a lab which:
1) Knew a protocol for searching for unignited thermitic materials in dust
2) Did not put down the idea as ridiculous or a waste of time
3) Had access to WTC dust
4) Would not just run whatever test their lab could do just to make a few hundred dollars
(they had to know what they were doing and have the equipment to do it)
Finally, for my part I decided not to tell the researcher how to do his/her job. I would simply ask if they could
look for unignited thermitic materials in the dust, and if so, what protocol would they suggest and how much
would it cost?
The search was not easy. I contacted 24 or 25 forensic experts, laboratories, universities, fire safety experts, etc. I
broadcast out a general request to refer me to someone who could do this.
Eventually, I was recommended to Dr. James Millette of MVA Scientific Consultants near Atlanta. He had all the
qualifications: 1.) He had a lab that could do multiple tests. 2.) He had access to WTC dust (Kevin Ryan would not
be likely to release any of his own samples) 3.) He was genuinely openminded. I asked him if he believed there was
thermitic material in the dust and he said he wouldn’t know until he did the tests. He openly acknowledged that
no one in the traditional scientific community has seriously investigated this question. I asked him point blank
what would happen if he found thermitic materials in the dust and he said he was used to giving forensic evidence
that contradicted the expectations of the people who had hired him. He is an independent scientist. “If I find it I’ll
publish it.” Many 9/11 Truth activists have told me, “at last, someone is taking the Bentham study seriously! At last, a
real independent investigation!” [Editors note: The Bentham Open Physics Journal is not a bonafide peer reviewed
journal but rather a ‘pay for publication’ journal].
I submit to you that Dr. Millette has kept his promise.
Dr. Millette is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and works with internationally known
microscopy experts. An ad hoc international team of these experts, as well as architects, engineers, and other spe-
cialists, contributed their expertise to this study. Dr. Millette had already glanced at the red-gray chips in WTC dust
but never did a thorough study of them. He decided to do this study for only $1000, although the value of all his
research was much more. I thought he just might be my guy. In case things didn’t work out, I called him “Lab Guy”
for a month or so on the JREF blog and other correspondences. I checked him out, and got recommendations from
a top arson expert and fire safety expert.
Why did he do such a thorough study at such a low cost? He is doing a lot more with this study than just doing a
job and reporting his findings. It was the centerpiece of three major presentations by his lab at the American As-
sociation of Forensic Scientists 2012 convention.
In addition, the results will soon be published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal [Editors Note: The report appears
on the following pages. It should also be noted that thermitic materials were not found in USGS dust samples].
Some people on the 9/11 Truth side were suspicious of him. I’ve summarized those suspicions on my Richard Gage
debate thread starting near the bottom of this page:
http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=212725&page=86
On that thread I am willing, on a limited basis, to answer sincere questions about my decision to choose Dr. Millette
for this study. I am not interested in endless rounds of attacks and will not participate in such an exercise on that
thread or anywhere. However, this thread here is about summarizing and discussing the scientific findings of this
report. If you have questions about Jim Millette’s credibility, those are being dealt with on the other thread (link
above). This is a moderated thread, so any questions about anyone’s honesty or integrity etc. will be referred to the
other thread. Here is Dr. James Millette’s promise to us:
“Chris, I can assure you that we will proceed in an objective, scientific manner and report what we find. At present, I have
no opinion as to whether we will find any active thermitic material. All I can say is that to this point in time we have not
found any during the general particle characterizations we have done. Because we have not focused on this particular
question in the past analyses, we are proceeding with a careful, forensic scientific study focused on the red-gray chips
in a number of WTC dust samples. When I present the data, it will be in front of critical members of the forensic science
community and when I publish, it will be in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. I am an independent researcher without
an interest in how the research results come out. Our laboratory is certified under ISO 17025 which includes audits of
our accuracy, reliability and integrity. I am a member of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists and have sworn
to uphold the high ethical standards of the organization. I do not see anything in our article that he linked… to suggest
that we were publishing misleading data.”
~ Jim Millette
 Dr. James Millette
MVA Scientific Consultants
www.MVAinc.com
February 20-25 2012
American Academy of Forensic Science
www.AAFS.org
2012 Annual Meeting
Atlanta, Georgia
Progress Report of Results: MVA9119
Analysis of Red/Gray Chips in WTC Dust
Introduction
This report summarizes the results to date of the analyses of red/gray chips found in samples of dust generated
by the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster of 11 September 2001. MVA Scientific Consultants was requested by Mr.
Chris Mohr of Classical Guide to scientifically study red/gray chips from WTC dust that matched those presented
in a paper by Harrit et al., 2009, [1] which concluded that thermitic material was present in the WTC dust. Mr. Mohr
was unable to gain access to any samples used in the Harrit study so four samples were chosen from the archives
of MVA Scientific Consultants. These dust samples had been collected within a month of 11 September 2001 and
sent to MVA for different projects. They are identified by the sample numbers shown below and on the New York
City map shown in Figure 1 [See report in Zip download on last page]. The red/gray chips discussed in this report
were analyzed during the period from 18 November 2011 to 20 February 2012. Some analytical results characteriz-
ing the particles in the dust from two of the samples (4808-L1616 and 9119-X0135) had been previously published
in the scientific literature. [2,3]
Fig. 1 [See Zip download linked on last page for all reports]
MVA # Date Collected Sample Location Map No.
4808-L1616 28 September 2001 22 Cortlandt St. 1
4795-L1560 22 September 2001 Murray & Church St. 2
5230-M3451 15-16 September 2001 49 Ann St. 3 9119-X0135
07 October 2001 33 Maiden Lane 4
Methods
In order to confirm that the samples chosen had the characteristics of WTC dust, the samples were examined by
stereomicroscope and by polarized light microscopy (PLM) according to the procedures described in Turner et
al., 2005 [4] (Figures 2 and 3). The analytical procedures used to characterize the red/gray chips were based on
the criteria for the particles of interest in accordance with the recommended guidelines for forensic identification
of explosives [5] and the ASTM standard guide for forensic paint analysis and comparison. [6] The criteria for the
particles of interest as described by Harrit et al.1 are: small red/gray chips attracted by a magnet and showing an
elemental composition primarily of aluminum, silicon and iron as determined by scanning electron microscopy
and x-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) (Figure 4). The spectrum may also contain small peaks related
to other elements. To that end, the following protocol was performed on each of the four WTC dust samples.
1. The dust sample particles contained in a plastic bag were drawn across a magnet and those attracted to the
magnet were collected (Figure 5) [See report in Zip download on last page].
2. Using a stereomicroscope, particle chips showing the characteristic red/gray were removed and washed in clean
water.
3. The particles were dried and mounted on a carbon adhesive film on an SEM stub and photographed (Figure 5).
4. Analysis of the surfaces of the chips was done by SEM-EDS at 20 kV without any added conductive coating (Fig-
ures 6 and 7).
Red/gray particles that matched the criteria (attracted to a magnet and an EDS Al-Si-Fe spectrum) were then con-
sidered particles of interest and subjected to additional analytical testing. The additional tests included: Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR); SEM-EDS of cross-sections; low temperature ashing and residue analysis
by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with selected area electron diffraction (SAED) and EDS; muffle furnace
ashing and residue analysis by PLM and TEM-SAED-EDS; ultra-microtome sectioning of the red layer and analysis
by TEM-SAED-EDS; and solvent tests. Stereomicroscopy was done using either an Olympus SZ-40 stereomicro-
scope or a Wild M5-49066 stereomicroscope. Polarized light microscope (PLM) examination of the dusts and ashed
residue was done with an Olympus BH-2 PLM or an aus Jena Jenapol PLM. Scanning electron microscope (SEM)
analysis of the surfaces of red/gray chips was done using a JEOL Model JSM-6490LV SEM coupled with a Thermo
Scientific Noran System SIX x-ray energy dispersive spectrometer (EDS). Digital x-ray images and phase mapping
was also done with this instrument. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was performed with a SensIR
FTIR equipped with a diamond ATR objective and attached to an Olympus BX-51 compound microscope.
Cross-sections of the chips of interest were made with clean scalpel blades. The analysis of cross-sections was
done with a JEOL Model JSM-6500F field emission SEM with a Thermo Scientific Noran System SIX EDS system.
Low-temperature ashing (LTA) is an alternative to using solvents to extract inorganic constituents from an organic
film or coating. [6] LTA of the chips of interest was done using an SPI Plasma Prep II plasma asher. LTA was per-
formed for time periods of 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the chip. The gray layer remained intact
and the red layer residue was collected in clean water and drops of the suspension were placed on carbon-film
TEM grids. After drying, the particulate was analyzed using a Philips CM120 TEM capable of SAED and equipped
with an Oxford EDS system. Chips of interest were ashed in a muffle furnace using a NEY Temperature Programma-
ble furnace operated at 400oC for 1 hour. The gray layer remained intact and the red layer residue was prepared
as described above and analyzed using a Philips CM120 TEM-SAED-EDS. Ultra-thin sections of a red layer were
cut using a Reichert-Jung Ultracut E Ultramicrotome with a diamond knife. The ultra-thin sections were placed
directly on TEM grids and analyzed using a Philips EM 420 TEM-SAED-EDS. Samples of red/gray chips were placed
in several solvents overnight and then subjected to ultrasonic agitation to determine if the solvents could dissolve
the epoxy binder and liberate the internal particles. The solvents included methylene chloride, methyl ethyl ke-
tone (MEK), and two commercial paint strippers used for epoxy resins. The commercial paint strippers, Klean-Strip
KS-3 Premium Stripper and Jasco Premium Paint and Epoxy Remover, contain methylene chloride, methanol and
mineral spirits. One red/gray chip was subjected to 55 hours of submersion in MEK, then dried and coated with a
thin layer of gold for conductivity. The red layer was analyzed by SEM-EDS analysis using an advanced x-ray phase
mapping technique. The technique uses a multivariate statistical analysis program to find spectral-similar regions
in a spectral imaging acquisition. It analyzes the spectrum at each pixel location and then groups the pixels with
similar spectra into principal components or phases.
 Results
The composition of the four samples of dust chosen for study were consistent with WTC dust previously published
2,3 (Appendix A).
Red/gray chips that had the same morphology and appearance as those reported by Harrit et al. [1], and fitting the
criteria of being attracted by a magnet and having the SEM-EDS x-ray elemental spectra described in their paper
(Gray: Fe, Red: C,O, Al, Si, Fe) were found in the WTC dust from all four locations examined. The red layers were in the
range of 15 to 30 micrometers thick. The gray layers were in the range of 10 to 50 micrometers thick (Appendix B).
The FTIR spectra of the red layer were consistent with reference spectra of an epoxy resin and kaolin clay (Figure
8) (Appendix C).
The SEM-EDS and backscattered electron (BE) analysis of the cross-sections of the gray layer in the red/gray chip
showed it to be primarily iron consistent with a carbon steel. The cross-sections of the red layer showed the pres-
ence of equant-shaped particles of iron consistent with iron oxide pigment and plates of aluminum/silicon consis-
tent with reference samples of kaolin. The thinnest kaolin plates were on the order of 6 nm with many sets of plates
less than 1 micrometer thick. Small x-ray peaks of other elements were sometimes present. The particles were in a
carbon-based matrix (Figures 9 through 14) (Appendix D).
TEM-SAED-EDS analysis of the residue after low temperature ashing showed equant-shaped particles of iron con-
sistent with iron oxide pigment and plates of kaolin clay. Small numbers of titanium oxide particles consistent with
titanium dioxide pigment were also found (Figure 15) (Appendix E).
PLM analysis of the residue from red/gray chips after muffle furnace ashing at 400oC for 1 hour showed very fine
red particles consistent with synthetic hematite (iron oxide) pigment particles (Figure 16). PLM also found pos-
sible clay present based on a micro-chemical clay-stain test. TEM-SAED-EDS analysis of another portion of the
same muffle furnace residue showed equant-shaped particles of iron consistent with iron oxide pigment, plates of
kaolin clay and some aciniform aggregates of carbon soot consistent with incomplete ashing of a carbon-based
binder (Figure 17). The SAED pattern of the kaolin particles (Figure 18) matched the kaolin pattern shown in the
McCrone Particle Atlas [8] (Appendix E). The values for the d-spacings determined for the diffraction patterns
matched those produced by reference kaolin samples.
TEM-SAED-EDS analysis of a thin section of the red layer showed equant-shaped particles of iron consistent with
iron oxide pigments and plates of kaolin clay (Figures 19 and 20). The matrix material of the red coating layer was
carbon-based. Small numbers of titanium oxide particles consistent with titanium dioxide pigment and some cal-
cium particles were also found (Appendix F).
The solvents had no effect on the gray iron/steel layer. Although the solvents softened the red layers on the chips,
none of the solvents tested dissolved the epoxy resin and released the particles within. SEM-EDS phase mapping
(using multivariate statistical analysis) of the red layer after exposure to MEK for 55 hours did not show evidence
of individual aluminum particles (Appendix G).
In summary, red/gray chips with the same morphological characteristics, elemental spectra and magnetic attrac-
tion as those shown in Harrit et al. [1] were found in WTC dust samples from four different locations than those
examined by Harrit, et al. [1] The gray side is consistent with carbon steel. The red side contains the elements: C, O,
Al, Si, and Fe with small amounts of other elements such as Ti and Ca. Based on the infrared absorption (FTIR) data,
the C/O matrix material is an epoxy resin. Based on the optical and electron microscopy data, the Fe/O particles
are an iron oxide pigment consisting of crystalline grains in the 100-200 nm range and the Al/Si particles are kaolin
clay plates that are less than a micrometer thick. There is no evidence of individual elemental aluminum particles
detected by PLM, SEM-EDS, or TEM-SAED-EDS, during the analyses of the red layers in their original form or after
sample preparation by ashing, thin sectioning or following MEK treatment.
Discussion
The Encyclopedia of Explosives [9] describes thermite as essentially a mixture of powdered ferric oxide and pow-
dered or granular aluminum. There are two sets of ingredients listed for thermite in Crippen’s book on explosives
identification. [10] The first is iron oxide and aluminum powder and the second is magnesium powder, ferric
oxide, and aluminum powder. Nano-thermite (thermatic nanocomposite energetic material) has been studied
in the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. A TEM image of a thin section of that material was
published by R. Simpson [11] in 2000 and shows material that is made up of approximately 2 nanometer iron oxide
particles and approximately 30 nanometer aluminum metal spheres (Figure 21).
According to the Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology, kaolin (also known as aluminum silicate or china
clay) is a platy or lamellar pigment that is used extensively as a pigment in many segments of the paint industry.
[12] It is a natural mineral (kaolinite) which is found in vast beds in many parts of the world. [13] Iron oxide pig-
ments are also used extensively in paints and coatings. [13,14] Both kaolin and iron oxide pigments have been
used in paints and coatings for many years. [13,14] Epoxy resins were introduced into coatings in approximately
1947 [15] and are found in a number of specially designed protective coatings on metal substrates.
In forensic studies, paints and coatings often must be broken down so that the components of the entire coating
product can be studied individually. Epoxy resins are formed from the reaction of two different chemicals which
produces a polymer that is heavily cross-linked. Epoxy resins can be especially difficult to dissolve. Organic sol-
vents, including those sold commercially for epoxy paint/coating stripping, were found to soften the red layer
of the red/gray chips but did not dissolve the epoxy resin sufficiently so particles within the coating could be
dispersed for direct examination. In this study no organic solvent was found to release particles from within the
epoxy resin and it was necessary to use low temperature ashing to eliminate the epoxy resin matrix and extract
the component parts of the coating. The other procedures generally used to examine component particles within
a coating without extraction (cross-sections and thin sections) were also applied in this study.
Conclusions
The red/gray chips found in the WTC dust at four sites in New York City are consistent with a carbon steel coated
with an epoxy resin that contains primarily iron oxide and kaolin clay pigments.
There is no evidence of individual elemental aluminum particles of any size in the red/gray chips, therefore the red
layer of the red/gray chips is not thermite or nano-thermite.
Notes on the Source of the Red/Gray Chips
At the time of this progress report, the identity of the product from which the red/gray chips were generated has
not been determined. The composition of the red/gray chips found in this study (epoxy resin with iron oxide and
kaolin pigments) does not match the formula for the primer paint used on iron column members in the World
Trade Center towers (Table 1).[16] Although both the red/gray chips and the primer paint contain iron oxide pig-
ment particles, the primer is an alkyd-based resin with zinc yellow (zinc chromate) and diatomaceous silica along
with some other proprietary (Tnemec ) pigments. No diatoms were found during the analysis of the red/gray chips.
Some small EDS peaks of zinc and chromium were detected in some samples but the amount detected was in-
consistent with the 20% level of zinc chromate in the primer formula. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) contain
some information about product materials. According to the MSDS currently listed on the Tnemec website, [17]
55 out of the 177 different Tnemec coating products contain one or two of the three major components in the red
layer: epoxy resin, iron oxide and/or kaolin (aluminum silicate) pigments. However, none of the Table 1: Composition of Primer Paint on the World Trade Center Towers according to T. F. Sramek [16]
177 different coatings are a match for the red layer coating found in this study.

References
Pigment Iron Oxide 35.9%
1. Harrit, N.H., Farrer, J., Jones, S.E., Ryan, K.R., Legge, F.M., Farnsworth, D., Roberts, G., Gourle, J.R., Zinc Yellow (Zinc Chromate13) 20.3%
and Larsen, B.R., “Active Thermitic Material Discovered in Dust from the 9/11 World Trade Center Tnemec pigment (proprietary composition) 33.7%
Catastrophe”, The Open Chemical Physics Journal, 2009, 2, 7-31. Diatomaceous silica 10.1%
2. Lioy, P.J, Weisel, C.P., Millette, J.R., Eisenreich, S., Vallero, D., Offenberg, J., Buckley, B., Turpin, Vehicle Soya alkyd resin solids 16.5%
B., Zhong, M., Cohen, M.D., Prophete, C., Yang, I., Stiles, R., Chee, G., Johnson, W., Porcja, R., Al- Hard Resin 2.8%
imokhtari, S., Hale, R.C., Weschler, C., and Chen, L.C., “Characterization of the Dust/Smoke Aerosol Raw Linseed Oil 35.1%
that Settled East of the World Trade Center (WTC) in Lower Manhattan after the Collapse of the Bodied Linseed Oil 6.4%
WTC 11 September 2001”, Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 110, No. 7, 703-714, July 2002. Suspension agents 2.2%
3. Millette, J.R., Boltin, R., Few, P. and Turner, Jr., W., “Microscopical Studies of World Trade Center Driers and antiskin 4.8%
Disaster Dust Particles”, Microscope, 50(1): 29-35, 2002. Thinners 32.3%
4. Turner, W.L., J.R. Millette, W.R. Boltin, and T.J. Hopen, A Standard Approach to the Characteriza-
tion of Common Indoor Dust Constituents. Microscope 53(4):169-177. 2005.
5. TWGFEX Laboratory Explosion Group, Recommended Guidelines for Forensic Identification of
Intact Explosives and Recommended Guidelines for Forensic Identification of Post-Blast Explosive
Residues (Rev. 8 - 2009), Technical Working Group for Fire and Explosions, National Institute of
Justice - Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.http://www.ncfs.org/twgfex/docs.
6. ASTM E1610-02, Standard Guide for Forensic Paint Analysis and Comparison. ASTM –Interna-
tional, West Conshohocken, PA. Reapproved 2008.
7. COMPASS multivariate statistical analysis software program for Noran System Six x-ray system.
Minoru Suzuki, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Yokohama, Japan; Pat Camus, Ph.D., Thermo Fisher Scien-
tific, Madison, WI, USA. Application Note: 51220. 2008.
8. McCrone, W.C. and Delly, J.G. The Particle Atlas, 2nd Ed. Ann Arbor Press. Vol. 3, p. 584. 1973.
9. Kaye, S.M. “Thermite”, Encyclopedia of Explosives and Related Items, Vol. 9, PATR 2700, US Army
Armament Research and Development Command, Dover, New Jersey, 1980, (available from
NTIS, US Department of Commerce, Springfield, Virginia 22161), page T189.9119ProgressRe-
port022912s Page 8 of 21
10. Crippen, J.B. Explosives and Chemical Weapons Identification. CRC Taylor &Francis, Boca Ra-
ton, FL, 2006, p.149.
11. Simpson, R., Nanoscale Chemistry Yields Better Explosives, Science and Technology Review.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory October, 2000.
12. Smith, A. “Inorganic Primer Pigments”, Federation Series on Coating Technology, Federation of
Societies for Coatings Technology, Philadelphia, PA. 1988.
13. Gettens, R.J. and Stout, G. L., “Painting Materials”, Dover Publications, 1966.
14. Petraco, N. and Kubic, T., Color Atlas and Manual of Microscopy for Criminalists, Chemists, and
Conservators. CRC Press, Baca Raton, 2004. The Open Chemical
15. Prane, J.A., “Introduction to Polymers and Resins”, Federation Series on Coating Technology, Physics Journal Is
Federation of Societies for Coatings Technology, Philadelphia, PA. 1986. Not A Bonafide Or
16. Sramek, T.F.: Correspondence between Pittsburgh-Des Moines Steel Co. and R. M. Monti, Port Respected Peer
of New York Authority, giving clarification and attaching a product sheet for Tnemec 69 and 99
Reviewed Published
column paints, Nov 22, 1967. As cited in: Banovic, S.W. and Foecke, T., Assessment of Structural
Research Journal
Steel from the World Trade Center Towers, Part IV: Experimental Techniques to Assess Possible Ex-
posure to High–Temperature Excursions. Journal of Failure Analysis and Prevention. 6(5):103-120.
Oct 2006.
17. www.tnemec.com [ last accessed on Feb. 26, 2012]
 UNDERSTANDING AVIRIS
The Dust & Debris Map

The map at right shows the location and designated reference letter and number combination for all of the
samples taken by the USGS team. Marked as MAP 1A, MAP 1, Parts 1, 2 and 3 and MAP 2 on the following
pages are enlarged Satellite maps and show locations of materials with spectral shapes similar to the spectra
of field samples of dust and debris collected around the lower Manhattan area. These materials/minerals in-
clude common building materials; therefore, the maps may include materials in buildings not associated with
the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse. While the minerals mapped in any one location may or may not be
associated with the WTC event, a pattern is seen that appears to show the distribution of materials related to
the WTC collapse. Further, the debris map qualitatively agrees with on scene observations 2 days after the im-
aging spectroscopy data were acquired. Production of a dust/debris map was challenging because building
materials are similar all over the city (e.g. concrete occurs in many locations). However, the pulverized dust/
debris does have some general spectral characteristics that can be used.

Spectra of the field samples in the MAP 1 images show a general range of spectral characteristics. Samples
‘WTC01-37B’ and ‘WTC01-37Am’ (See map at right) are concrete that display ferrous iron absorptions (most
likely due to the aggregate). The spectrum of concrete minus the aggregate is shown in sample WTC01-37A:
the cement shows less ferrous absorption. Pervasive in the spectra of the debris is gypsum, and with the vari-
ations in abundance of other components, spectra of the dust and debris show the spectral variations seen
in Dust Figure 3. We mapped for these general spectral shapes over the spectral range 0.5 to 2.4 microns.
The ultraviolet was not included because scattering from smoke affects shorter wavelengths to much. The
strategy proved effective. The maps should not be interpreted as indicating that these specific materials were
mapped, only that the spectral shape is similar. However, red and yellow colors indicate areas showing more
ferrous-like absorptions, and this is apparent in the WTC core zone where many steel girders dominate. Green
copper roofs have a similar absorption to ferrous minerals, so they would map as red or yellow. Two versions
of the dust/debris map are shown here; MAP 1 and MAP 2, with 4 images for map 1 and 1 image representing
map 2 (MAP 1A and MAP 1, Parts 1, 2 and 3, and Map 2). Dust map 1 and Dust map 2 are the same but map 2
is without the grey-scale image background. Dust MAP 2 allows one to see the mapped materials without the
apparent clutter of the grey-scale image.

The plume map in Dust Figures 1 and 2 indicate an asymmetry in the dust/debris distribution, with more iron
bearing materials to the south by southeast. It’s difficult to locate the outer boundary of the dust/debris be-
cause of the problem of matching common materials throughout the city.

USGS Report #01-0429 - Linked below

Environmental Studies of the World Trade Center area after the September 11, 2001 attack.
Version 1.1 • Published November 27, 2001

By Roger N. Clark1, Robert O. Green2, Gregg A. Swayze1, Greg Meeker1, Steve Sutley1, Todd M. Hoefen1, K.
Eric Livo1, Geoff Plumlee1, Betina Pavri2, Chuck Sarture2, Steve Wilson1, Phil Hageman1, Paul Lamothe1, J.
Sam Vance3, Joe Boardman4 Isabelle Brownfield1, Carol Gent1, Laurie C. Morath1, Joseph Taggart1, Peter M.
Theodorakos1, and Monique Adams1

1. U. S. Geological Survey, Denver, Colorado

2. Jet Propulsion Lab Pasadena, California
3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 8 Denver, Colorado
4. Analytical Imaging and Geophysics, LLC Boulder, Colorado

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0429/
 GROUND ZERO DUST
UNDERSTANDING the U.S.G.S. DUST SAMPLES

and the vast difference in “chain of custody” between the USGS samples
and the samples of dust Dr. Steven Jones claims came from Ground Zero
and were then used in Dr. Neil’s Harrit’s report supporting a “nano-thermite” theory

The information in this report describes the results of an interdisciplinary environmental characterization of the
World Trade Center (WTC) area following requests from other Federal agencies after the attack on September
11th, 2001. The scientific investigation included two main aspects: 1) imaging spectroscopy mapping of materials
to cover a large area around the WTC and 2) laboratory analysis of samples collected in the WTC area.
Spectroscopy is a tool that detects chemical bonds in molecules (solid, liquid or gas) through absorption (or emis-
sion) features in the spectrum of the material. Imaging spectroscopy obtains a spectrum for every spatial pixel in
an image format. Data from the Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) were collected over the
WTC area by NASA/JPL for this study.
The analytical techniques applied to this study include X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy
(SEM) with elemental analysis by Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), laboratory Reflectance Spectroscopy (RS),
leachable metals, and X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF).
Information presented in this site was first made available to the World Trade Center emergency response teams
on September 18, 2001 (Thermal hot spot information), and September 27, 2001 (maps and compositional results).
dust/debris and beam-insulation samples were analyzed for a variety of mineralogical and chemical parameters
using Reflectance Spectroscopy (RS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), chemical anal-
ysis, and chemical leach test techniques in U.S. Geological Survey laboratories in Denver, Colorado.
Results of these studies to date lead to several important conclusions:
The dusts released from the WTC building collapse are largely composed of particles of glass fibers, gypsum, con-
crete, paper, and other miscellaneous materials commonly used in building construction.
Laboratory analyses (RS, SEM, XRD) have detected chrysotile asbestos only in trace levels (less than 1 weight per-
cent) in over two thirds of the dust and airfall debris samples. To date, no amphibole asbestos minerals have been
detected in any of the dust samples.
Laboratory analyses of the material coating a steel beam in the WTC debris have detected the presence of chrys-
otile asbestos (a serpentine mineral) at levels as high as 20% (by volume) of the coating material. No amphibole
asbestos has been detected in this beam coating material.

The Airborne Visible / Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS), a hyperspectral remote sensing instrument, was
flown by JPL/NASA over the World Trade Center (WTC) area on September 16, 18, 22, and 23, 2001. A 2-person
USGS crew collected samples of dusts and airfall debris from more than 35 localities within a 1-km radius of the
World trade Center site on the evenings of September 17 and 18, 2001. Two samples were collected of indoor
locations that were presumably not affected by rainfall (there was a rainstorm on September 14). Two samples
of material coating a steel beam in the WTC debris were also collected. The USGS ground crew also carried out
on-the-ground reflectance spectroscopy measurements during daylight hours to field calibrate AVIRIS remote
sensing data. Radiance calibration and rectification of the AVIRIS data were done at JPL/NASA. Surface reflectance
calibration, spectral mapping, and interpretation were done at the USGS Imaging Spectroscopy Lab in Denver. The
AVIRIS mineral maps do not show widespread distribution of chrysotile or amphibole asbestos at the few-percent
detection limit of the instrument at the ground surface. AVIRIS mapping keyed to the detection of minerals that
may occur in asbestiform habits has identified isolated pixels or pixel clusters (each pixel is approximately 2m x
2m) in the area around the WTC. In these areas, potentially asbestiform minerals might be present in concentra-
tions of a few percent to tens of percent. Some spectral absorption strengths in the AVIRIS data are similar to those
observed in spectra of the chrysotile asbestos-bearing beam coating. The absorption features mapped by AVIRIS
only indicate the presence of serpentine mineralogy and not if the serpentine has asbestos form. Non-asbestiform
serpentine minerals can occur naturally in rocks and such rocks may have been used in building materials. The
AVIRIS maps could indicate areas of higher concentrations of asbestos or simply areas of non-asbestiform miner-
 “chrysotile asbestos, found at Ground Zero, is less carcinogenic than the amphibole asbestos minerals”

Asbestos in the dust and beam coating materials is composed only of chrysotile asbestos and does not contain amphibole asbestos.
A significant body of research conducted over the last twenty years by toxicologists, epidemiologists and mineralogists has indicated that chrysotile
asbestos is less carcinogenic than the amphibole asbestos minerals (Ross, 1999; Skinner et al., 1988; Van Oss et al., 1999; McDonald, 2001).
alogy and would need field sampling and laboratory analysis to confirm
the presence of any asbestos. The AVIRIS maps show the surface materi-
als only and not any buried materials.

At right, SEM image of a chrysotile bundle (center) and glass fibers from
sample 8. Similar bundles have been identified at trace levels in several
of the dust samples. The image you’re looking at is approximately 15
nanometers square.

AVIRIS mineral maps show a few isolated pixels of amphibole minerals,

but these pixels are isolated with no clusters like those seen in the chrys-
otile pixels. The few mapped amphibole pixels are at a statistical noise
level in the WTC area similar to the pixel noise level mapped throughout
the city. The absorptions mapped by AVIRIS only indicate the presence
of amphibole mineralogy, which can occur naturally (non-asbestiform)
in rocks that are used in building materials, and field sampling of those
pixels would be necessary to confirm the presence of asbestos. The
AVIRIS maps of serpentine chrysotile and amphibole mineralogy are
consistent with laboratory analyses of the field samples.

Laboratory analyses and the AVIRIS mapping results indicate the dusts
are variable in composition, both on a fine scale within individual sam-
ples and on a coarser spatial scale based on direction and distance from
the WTC. Replicate mineralogical and chemical analyses of material
from the same sample reveal variability that presumably is due to the
heterogeneous mixture of different materials comprising the dusts.
The spatial variability is observed at large scales of tens of meters to
centimeter and smaller scales. AVIRIS mapping suggests that materials
with higher iron content settled to the south-southeast of the building
2 collapse center. Chrysotile may occur primarily (but not exclusively)
in a discontinous pattern radially in west, north, and easterly directions
perhaps at distances greater than 3/4 kilometer from ground zero.

Although only trace levels of chrysotile asbestos have been detected

in the dust and airfall samples studied to date, the presence of up to 20
volume % chrysotile in material coating steel beams in the WTC debris,
and the potential areas indicated in the AVIRIS mineral maps indicates
that asbestos can be found in localized concentrations.

Chemical leach tests of the dusts and airfall debris samples indicate that
the dusts can be quite alkaline. When reacted with rain water or wash
water from cleanup efforts, the dusts can produce slightly alkaline to
very alkaline solutions, due to partial dissolution of concrete, gypsum,
and glass fiber particles. Indoor dust samples generated the highest pH
levels (11.8) in the leach tests, indicating that dusts that have not been
exposed to rainfall since September 11th are substantially more alkaline
than those that have been leached by rainfall.

At least some heavy metals and metalloids (such as aluminum, chromi-

um, antimony, molybdenum, and barium) are readily leached from the
dusts into rain or wash water. Indoor dust samples showed greater pro-
portions of leachable metals than outdoor dust samples. These metals
may also be potentially bioavailable if the dusts are accidentally inhaled
or ingested. Chemical leach tests of the material coating steel girders in
the WTC debris indicate that the coatings can contain soluble chromi-
um and substantial radioactive uranium — ­ 93 Becquerels per kilogram.

AVIRIS data collected on September 16th, 2001, revealed a number of

thermal hot spots in the region where the WTC buildings collapsed.
Analysis of the data indicated temperatures greater than 800ºF in these
hot spots (some over 1300ºF). Over 3 dozen hot spots of varying size
and temperature were present in the core zone of the WTC. By Septem-
ber 23rd, most of these fires that were observable from an aircraft had
been eliminated or reduced in intensity.

Our finding that trace levels of asbestos are present in the dust samples
is consistent with results of other studies carried out by the U.S.Environ- Approximately 1/3rd of a
mental Protection Agency (www.epa.gov). Our results provide further nanometer in diameter
clarification by showing that 1) elevated concentrations of asbestos
may be present in beam coatings and possible localized area as indicat-
ed by the AVIRIS maps, and 2) asbestos in the dusts and beam coating
materials is composed only of chrysotile asbestos and does not contain
amphibole asbestos. A significant body of research conducted over the
last twenty years by toxicologists, epidemiologists and mineralogists
has indicated that chrysotile asbestos is less carcinogenic than the am-
phibole asbestos minerals (Ross, 1999; Skinner et al., 1988; Van Oss et
al., 1999; McDonald, 2001). This conclusion, however, has not been uni-
versally accepted by the scientific community. A recent and thorough
discussion of these ongoing issues can be found in Nolan, et al. (2001).

Results of our mineralogical characterization studies, chemical leach

tests, and AVIRIS mapping provide further support for the EPA and New
York Department of Public Health recommendations that cleanup of
dusts and the WTC debris should be done with appropriate respiratory
protection and dust control measures. These results include: the pres-
ence of up to 20 volume % chrysotile in material coating steel beams in
the WTC debris (which could be unintentionally released into the air as
dust during cleanup); the small areas in the AVIRIS mineral maps indi-
cating that asbestos might be found in localized concentrations in the
dusts; the highly alkaline nature of the dusts; and, the presence of po-
tentially bioavailable metals in the dusts.

At right, Secondary electron SEM image of gypsum and/or anhydrite

crystals from sample 20. The image you’re looking at is approximately
15 nanometers square. Additional examples of USGS Ground Zero SEM
imaging appear on the following three pages.
 Where Did All The Slag Wool At Ground Zero Come From? — A By-Product Of Nuclear Demolition
By Jeff Prager
December 8th, 2018
The Cambridge Dictionary defines slag as:

Slag - noun:

•
Waste material produced when coal is dug from the ground, or a
substance produced by mixing chemicals with metal that has been
heated until it is liquid in order to remove unwanted substances from it

Slag Wool, pictured below, also called mineral wool and in the same category as rock wool, has been produced naturally for centuries during volcanic eruptions.
Strong winds passing over flowing molten lava blow the lava into fine silky fabric-like threads that under a microscope look a lot like wool. From this natural forma-
tion of Slag wool we eventually developed a global market for the products as insulation and fire-proofing materials. The Slag and Rock wool produced today uses
temperatures similar to those found in volcanic lava flows but under controlled manufacturing conditions.

Rock and Slag Wool Composition and Manufacturing Process

Rock Wool and slag wool insulations are composed of basically the same raw materials in different proportions and are produced in the same way. Manufacturers
use a mechanized process to spin a molten composition of rock and slag into high temperature-resistant fibers. Their similar properties also produce fairly similar
performance attributes. The major difference is in the specific volumes of the various raw materials used to make each product.

Rock Wool insulation is composed principally of fibers manufactured from a combination of aluminosilicate rock (usually basalt), blast furnace slag, and lime-
stone or dolomite. Slag is also a byproduct from steel production that would otherwise wind up in landfills. Binders may be used, depending on the product. Typi-
cally, rock wool insulation is composed of a minimum of 70 to 75 percent natural rock. The remaining volume of raw material is blast furnace slag.

Slag Wool insulation is composed principally of fibers manufactured by melting the primary component, blast furnace slag, with a combination of some natural
rock, with or without binders, depending on the product. Typically, slag wool insulation uses approximately 70 percent blast furnace slag, with the remaining vol-
ume of raw materials being natural rock.

Slag Wool is made from blast furnace slag, a waste byproduct of steel production. The industry estimates that over 90 percent of the slag used for insulation is
purchased directly from steel manufacturers. The remaining 10 percent is mined from waste disposal sites and landfills. Between 1992 and 2005, slag wool insu-
lation manufacturers used over 13 billion pounds of waste blast furnace slag in the production of insulation — 1.3 billion pounds from waste disposal sites and
landfills and 11.7 billion pounds from steel production. Extremely high heat applied to steel can produce slag wool.
 AVIRIS
IMAGES
 MAP 1 - PART ONE

Dust & Debris Plume Map

AVIRIS - TIN
(Triangular Irregular Network)
Constructed from LIDAR data
 AVIRIS - TIN MAP 1 - PART TWO
(Triangular Irregular Network)
Constructed from LIDAR data Dust & Debris Plume Map
 MAP 1 - PART THREE

Dust & Debris Plume Map

Sample collection in the World Trade Center area

Sept 17-18, 2001

A 2-person USGS crew collected grab samples from 35 locali-

ties within a 0.5-1 km radius circle centered on the World trade
Center site on the evenings of September 17 and 18, 2001. This
same crew also carried out on-the-ground reflectance spec-
troscopy measurements during daylight hours to calibrate Air-
borne Visible Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) remote
sensing data. Many of the streets bordering the collection lo-
cations were cleaned or were in the process of being cleaned at
the time of sample collection. Given this limitation, collection
of dust samples was restricted to undisturbed window ledges,
car windshields, flower pots, protected areas in door entry ways,
and steps. Occasionally, samples were collected from the side-
walk adjacent to walls that were afforded some degree of pro-
tection from the elements and cleanup process. In many cases
the samples formed compact masses suggestive of having been
dampened by rain and having dried in the intervening 3 - 4 days.
Two samples of an insulation coating (WTC01-8 and WTC01-9)
were collected from steel girders recently removed from the de-
bris pile of the WTC. Samples were gathered by nitrile-gloved
hand and put into doubled plastic sample bags (sample bag in
another sample bag). Initially, Global Position Satellite (GPS) lo-
cations were collected for the sample collection locations, but
this approach was abandoned because of difficulty in acquiring
a satellite signal between tall buildings. Instead, sample loca-
tions were identified using road intersections where road signs
remained intact. All but two of the samples were collected out-
doors and had been subjected to wind and water during a rain
storm the night of September 14. One sample (WTC01-20) was
collected indoors near the gymnasium in the World Financial
Center directly across West Street from the World Trade Center.
Samples of concrete (WTC01-37A and WTC01-37B) were col-
lected from the WTC debris at the same location as WTC01-9. A
sample of dust (WTC01-36) blown by the collapse into an open
window of an apartment located 30 floors up and 0.4 km from
the center of the WTC site was also acquired a few days later.
 WITHOUT
GRAY-SCALE
INTERFERENCE

AVIRIS - TIN AVIRIS - TIN

(Triangular Irregular Network) (Triangular Irregular Network)
MAP 1A Constructed from LIDAR data MAP 2 Constructed from LIDAR data
 triangular
irregular
network (TIN)
IMAGES
 3D Model Rendered from Triangular Irregular Network (TIN) data - Ground Zero in 3D showing visible craters at the base of the Twin Towers

Note that Building 6

located at the bottom
left corner has been
“cored” like an apple.
 Building 6
3D Models Rendered from Triangular Ir-
regular Network data - Ground Zero in
3D showing visible craters at Twin Tow-
ers and building 6. Note in the top, right
image, at the lower left of the image, is
Building 6, with perfectly rounded “cores”.
 B2level CAD — October 18th, 2001
3D - Below ground view of Ground Zero showing deep craters adjacent to the Twin Towers and Buildings 6 & 7 at more than 60 feet in depth.
At center is an obvious “drill hole” which is coincidentally almost perfectly centered between the Twin Towers and reaching over 80 feet in depth.
The police car above exhibits unusual damage. Only the rear one third of the car was destroyed. The plastic lights on
the roof are intact, the tires remain inflated yet the rear bumper has exploded off of the car and not only are all of the
rear flashing and lighting missing, the rear has obviously sustained tremendous heat damage — in just a few seconds
this car was scorched. This is precisely the effect we would expect to see with a pyroclastic cloud moving at 35 miles per
hour through Manhattan (the cloud was clocked at 35mph). Scintillation refers to the sparkling seen, heard and recorded
in testimony in the cloud spreading across Manhattan — a flash of visible ultraviolet light emitted by fluorescence in a
phosphor when struck by a charged particle or high-energy photon. A cloud likely filled with neutron activation prod-
ucts and carrying a strong electromagnetic pulse. This damage is thoroughly consistent with a nuclear detonation.

PAPER
fully intact, without a burn mark in sight, was strewn across lower Manhattan with the concrete and steel dust,
a signature of an electromagnetic pulse generated by the nuclear devices
 BUILDING six The Overlooked Demolition — And The Not So Puzzling Evidence
by Clyde Lewis • Dedicated to Bill Biggart, who died on September 11th photographing the destruction

As I have been revisiting over- down in controlled demolition,

looked facts surrounding the the arguments have been made
attack in NYC of September that there was a fire in building
11th, 2001 I have run into some 7 and this is why it came down.
angry people who believe it is Even though the story of fires
inappropriate to produce the- bringing down building 7 do
ories about the attacks and to not measure up to scrutiny,
question the official story of and the gullible will say that
the attacks. fires cause freefall demolitions
of buildings, the truth about
I am having a difficult time try- building 6 is that the building
ing to understand why it is not exploded and it was seen on
important to expose the truth. National television and then
What I talk about is different was immediately covered up.
than what most conspiracy the- CNN aired the huge explosion
orists talk about and I have also of building 6, the U.S. Customs
received unanimous praise for building. The smoke and the
speaking openly about facts debris from the building raised
that seem to have slipped by 8 floors and was visible and yet
the regular conspiracy theo- it was ignored as we watched
rists begging for your attention. the terrible plume of black
When I appeared at Conspiracy September 10th, 2001 September 11th, 2001 October 30th, 2001 smoke being released from the
Con 2011 in Santa Clara, Califor- south tower. It was confirmed
nia I had a very interesting experi- that at exactly 9:04 am Building 6
ence. During a Q&A period I was asked what I would be talking about during the September 11th Anniversary, more exploded. A CNN archivist confirmed that this is what was recorded. No one could figure out why the building ex-
specifically what I felt needed to be discussed. I paused for a moment and then I stated that while there are many ploded. Besides being the Home of U.S. Customs, building 6 housed several federal departments and agencies. One
people fighting over whether or not there was a plane at the Pentagon or Thermite at the towers, they seem to be agency in particular was the Export-Import bank of the United States. Destroying this building was crucial because
missing out on investigating the most overlooked puzzle pieces in the 9/11 case. I said that I believe our focus now there may have been records that would have exposed who provided the investment capital for the attacks on the
should be on Flight 93 in Shanksville and Building 6. Almost in unison the group assembled at the hotel where I United States and who would have benefited financially from the attacks. In order to fully understand how this
was appearing said “building 7.” I said no building 6—one guy piped up “Clyde you mean building 7” and I said no— theory can materialize we must go back to a media exchange that has to have been forgotten since I never hear
everyone is talking about building 7 and everyone is focusing on what brought down the towers. I want to know it being cited by independent researchers. The Building 6 connections to bank exchanges and documentation of
what happened to flight 93 and why building 6 exploded immediately after United Airlines Flight 175 slammed into these events prior to 9/11 are dismissed outright by the mainstream media and many other truth movements be-
the South Tower, at about 9:03 a.m. While there have been countless attempts to show that Building 7 was brought cause of links that may lead us to consider that 9/11 may have been financed by Saudi Arabia, Germany, the USA,
Building 6 Micro-nuke estimated “coring” placements
(at center left), by Chuck Boldwyn, with the circular cores
obvious in the photo directly above
 CNN Airs The Demolition Of Building 6
the UK, Canada, Sweden or Israel — or all of them together. The truth is that there were many insinuations of this in the
beginning during interviews on talk shows. The statements however faded into history because they did not match the
findings that would lead the United States into prolonged wars with Iraq and Afghanistan.

Senator Bob Graham, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, stated on the December 11th, 2002
broadcast of News Hour with Jim Lehrer that intelligence was discovered that gave compelling evidence that some
of the terrorists were bought and paid for by an unnamed sovereign government. Gwen Ifil was filling in that day
and rather than throwing soft ball questions at the Senator about 9/11 she shot a very controversial question that
got a surprising answer. She merely asked if there were classified elements that would surprise the American people
regarding 9/11. He responded that there were unnamed foreign governments involved in facilitating some of the
activities of the terrorists in the United States. To be sure, he said, “governments,” with an ‘s’. A New York Times report
also reported that there was a relationship between Omar al-Bayoumi, an employee of the Saudi Arabian civil aviation
authority, and two 9/11 hijackers. Are we to assume that this connection may lead us to who planned and carried out
the attacks? Saudi Arabia denied any connections but Omar al-Bayomi helped pay for some of the expenses of the
Hijackers and had access to seemingly unlimited funding from Saudi Arabia.

Mohammad Atta’s connections to German and Israeli intelligence were also mainstream fodder for a day. I devoted
several pages to Mohammad and his global connections in Murdering Liberty, Killing Hope, 2008. Seemingly, the de-
struction of building 6 could very well have been a way to disrupt the information flow which would have connected
the attacks of 9/11 to Saudi, German, Swedish, UK, Israeli, Canadian and US financiers, also documented in Murdering
Liberty, Killing Hope. The destruction of building 6 was planned to occur just after the plane hit the South tower to
cover up these connections. Building 6 was also home to the El Dorado task force, an interagency money-laundering
group from 55 agencies created in 1992. The El Dorado Task Force was responsible for coordinating all major mon-
ey-laundering investigations in the U.S. In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attack, The El Dorado Task Force would
coincidentally be immediately dismantled and redirected by President George Bush to investigate terrorist financing,
ending their money laundering investigations. Nine of those investigations and the evidence they contained would
have exposed elected officials, premiers, presidents and other aristocrats as international criminals [1]. Eight of the
those federal court cases ended with the destruction of Building 6 and the destruction of the evidence stored there.
The ninth case was settled and permanently sealed.

The destruction of World Trade Center Six, pictured at right, is one of the many unexplained questions of 9/11, now ex-
plained. This 8-story building suffered a huge crater in its center which went all the way down to sub-basement levels.
This is evidence enough that a bomb or bombs of some type were detonated under the World Trade center causing
Building 6 to be cored like an apple. Although Building 6 apparently exploded at 9:04 a.m., the government-sponsored
investigation was steered away from looking into what had actually happened. The Federal Emergency Management
Agency funded an investigation by the American Society of Civil Engineers; however, investigators were reportedly
blocked from the building by an order from the New York City’s Dept. of Design and Construction. On the same day,
the Securities and Exchange Commission declared a national emergency and for the first time in U.S. history invoked
its emergency powers under Securities Exchange Act Section 12(k) and eased regulatory restrictions for clearing and
settling security trades for the next 15 days. These changes would allow an estimated $240 billion in covert government
securities to be cleared upon maturity without the standard regulatory controls around identification of ownership
(See: “The September 11th Commission Report, Revised 2008,” by JP Heidner):

Images ©Bill Biggart • September 11, 2001

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HUMCfcbamKSTr2oE4JB5mIn83UJtkg-I/view?usp=sharing

It is also an interesting side note to indicate that The Federal Emergency Management agency was called into New
York on Monday September 10th, 2011. FEMA spokesman Tom Kenney in an interview conducted by Dan Rather on
Wednesday, September 12th, 2001, stated that FEMA was deployed to New York on Monday night, September 10th, to
be ready to go into action on Tuesday morning, September 11th. FEMA had to hurry to come up with a reason that he
made that statement. The Federal Emergency Management Agency claimed it did not have urban search and rescue
teams in place in New York City prior to the September 11th attacks. FEMA officials said Kenney, in the heat of the mo-
ment, misstated his team’s arrival date. However, in the interview Kenney is complaining about not getting full access
to the site until “today”. Kenney talks about a Monday, a Tuesday, and “today”. That’s three days. After all of the denial
a smoking gun statement was made by Rudy Giuliani.

In the transcript of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s testimony to the 9/11 Commission during the May
18th-19th, 2004 hearings he stated that a command center was established on Pier 92 prior to the attacks because of
a bio terror drill that was being carried out:

“The reason Pier 92 was selected as a command center was because on the next day, on September 12, Pier 92 was going
to have a drill, it had hundreds of people here, from FEMA, from the Federal Government, from the State, from the State
Emergency Management Office, and they were getting ready for a drill for biochemical attack. So that was gonna be the
place they were going to have the drill. The equipment was already there, so we were able to establish a command center
there, within three days, that was two and a half to three times bigger than the command center that we had lost at 7 World
Trade Center. And it was from there that the rest of the search and rescue effort was completed.”

So why would FEMA deny their presence in New York the day before the attack? Was there inside knowledge that the
buildings would be attacked and that there would be a major simultaneous controlled demolition of the buildings?
Odigo had inside knowledge. So did Zim. And so did those playing the stock market. There seems to be a large num-
ber of people with inside knowledge that the attacks would take place.

Giuliani also stated that he was informed prior to the North and South Tower collapse that they would indeed col-
lapse. He was actually caught in building 7 and was rescued before it was demolished. They were ordered to leave the
area because they were told the towers would collapse.
In just milliseconds, extraordinary heat causing dissociation left these thick steel beams shredded.
As far as Building 6 and even Building 4 and 5 there was an order issued that the Treasury also had concerns about Note that there are no remnants of a “high-heat” thermitic reaction, no burning or scorching of the metal.
the loose gold bullion and cash in the connecting basements of the buildings. The billions of dollars in Gold Bullion Also note that these beams have undergone extraordinary rusting in a very short few days.
that was stored under the World trade center was transported out. The amount of what was recovered seems to total
a couple of million. The Gold was owned by the Kuwaiti government.

It is also believed, however not confirmed, that the Gold had been moved to a delivery tunnel transported under
secret orders. As the Gold was being removed Firefighters and FEMA incident workers were told not to enter the re-
stricted areas or face lethal force.

A handful of heavy-machinery operators and other workers, under the watchful eyes of more than 100 armed offi-
cers, built and graded a ramp into the delivery tunnel. A small bulldozer knocked down a wall inside the tunnel, and
a Brink’s armored truck drove in just before sunset.

There is also another thing to consider, the bombing of building 6 covers up treasury transactions and the demolition
of Building 7 covered up and destroyed all Securities exchange reports. The trail of money to Saudi nationals, Israeli
interests and government officials in Germany, Sweden, Canada, the UK, the USA and other countries ended there.

There is also the case of Larry Silverstein, the man who had controlling interest of the World Trade Center properties
and the man who denies that he demanded that the buildings be pulled and has now retracted his statements, saying
they were taken out of context. On July 24th, 2001 the Port Authority of New York awarded control of the WTC com-
plex to a partnership consisting of Silverstein Properties and Westfield America. Mr. Silverstein was the lead (general)
partner and controlled Silverstein Properties. Mr. Frank Lowy controlled Westfield America. Representing the Port
Authority of New York was Mr. Lewis Eisenberg, Chairman of the Port Authority for New York. Eisenberg, was also for-
mer chairman of Goldman Sachs Inc., and was also the chairman of the Republican National Committee. The winning
bid from Silverstein and Lowy was 3.2 Billion dollars. Silverstein and Lowy were required to make a down payment of
$125,000,000.00. (According to the website “What Really Happened,” Silverstein had two other financial backers, a Lloyd
Goldman and a Joseph Cayre, who also put up a portion of the down payment.) However, contrary to popular
belief, Silverstein et.al., did not buy/purchase the WTC. The partnership only gained control of the WTC by
obtaining from the P.A.N.Y. a 99-year lease in Buildings 1, 2, 4, 5 and 9 and 400,000 square feet of retail space.

Mr. Silverstein immediately insured the complex for a whopping 3.6 billion dollars. This was accomplished
under contract with Willis Group Holdings Ltd. who arranged and negotiated the coverage with a consortium
of 25 separate insurance companies insuring those billions.

The contracts included coverage in the case of “terrorist attack.” When the attack occurred Silverstein claimed
that there were two different terrorists attacks and therefore the actual amount due under the contracts was
double or about 7.2 billion dollars.

In a subsequent lawsuit on this issue a jury awarded Silverstein an additional 1.1 billion dollars for a total re-
covery of 4.6 billion dollars. In December of 2003 the Port Authority of New York agreed to return to Silverstein
and Lowy the entire deposit of $125,000,000.00 that the partnership had invested to acquire control of the
World Trade Complex.

The deal has been kept from review and now the new Tower was being built.
Nothing like building a beautiful tower to cover up the ugly details of what was
and will likely remain the biggest crime in global history.

At right, “Lucky” Larry Silverstien watches his buildings value, below, almost double.

Reference: 1. The September 11th Commission Report, Revised 2008, Who, Why and How:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HUMCfcbamKSTr2oE4JB5mIn83UJtkg-I/view?usp=sharing
 TERNARY FISSION by Jeff Prager, Dr. Ed Ward & Don Fox

Originally posted as “Mystery Solved: The WTC Was Nuked On 9/11”

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Don Fox; revised on June 1st, 2017 by Don Fox; edited on November 29th, 2018 by Jeff Prager

The debate has raged for almost two decades stroyed from the top down and the inside out.
about what caused the Twin Towers to “col-
lapse” in approximately 10 seconds each — 9 At left, a 9/11 prosecution image from the
seconds for the South Tower, 11 for the North. Zacharias Moussaoui trial. The image depicts
A large and ever-growing percentage of the a mans legs, burned on 9/11, with the burns
public has become skeptical of the conclu- mirroring what we would expect from the
sion of the government’s official NCSTAR 1 flash burns received outside the radius of de-
report, according to which, “NIST found no struction with the use of nuclear weapons.
corroborating evidence for alternative hypoth- The burns show precisely where the pockets
eses suggesting that WTC towers were brought of his shorts were the moment he was ex-
down by controlled demolition using explosives posed to the heat and how the extra layer of
planted prior to 9/11.” clothing protected portions of his upper legs.

Skepticism of NIST’s conclusions is well found- This is a controversial contention. Judy Wood,
ed. There is eyewitness testimony, abundant Ph.D., has proclaimed that a Tesla-inspired di-
video and audio evidence of explosions and rected energy weapon (DEW) was responsi-
burns at the WTC on 9/11. There is also seis- ble for the destruction of the WTC buildings
mic data that demonstrates that high pow- and has vehemently denied nuclear devices
ered explosives were used to demolish the were used. Steve Jones, Ph.D., and his follow-
Twin Towers. The gross observable video evi- ers promote the theory that an incendiary
dence — if you are willing to believe your own (nanothermite) was the cause of the destruc-
eyes — shows that the Twin Towers were de- tion of the WTC buildings, while they also
deny that nuclear devices were used. So these seemingly opposed camps agree on one thing: nuclear
devices were not used on 9/11! The nanothermite hypothesis has been discredited on multiple occasions
in articles by T. Mark Hightower, Dr. James Millette in peer review and Jim Fetzer, including “Has nanother-
mite been oversold to the 9/11 community?”, “Is ’9/11 truth’ based upon a false theory?”, and “Nanothermite: If
it doesn’t fit, you must acquit”. Since it is a principle (law) of materials science that an explosive can destroy
a material only if it has a detonation velocity equal to or greater than the speed of sound in that material,
where the speed of sound in concrete is approx. 3,200 m/s and in steel approx. 6,100 m/s, while the high-
est detonation velocity that has been attributed to nanothermite is 895 m/s, it should be obvious: You
can’t get there from there!
The DEW hypothesis turns out to be difficult to test, since Judy Wood defines DEWs as sources of energy
that are greater than conventional and can be directed, which even encompasses micro and mini nukes
within its scope. As earlier articles have explained, including “9/11 Truth will out: The Vancouver Hearings
II” and “Mini Neutron Bombs: A Major Piece of the 9/11 Puzzle”, there are multiple grounds for preferring the
mini or micro nuke hypothesis over the DEW alternative, which emerge with particular clarity from a study
of the dust samples collected by the US Geological Survey. It is ironic that, while the “thermite sniffers” also
focus on dust samples, they seem to have missed what we have to learn from the most viable dust sam-
ples — the USGS dust samples. Indeed, the nuclear component of the decimation of World Trade Center
buildings 1, 2, 6 and 7 is the darkest and most closely guarded secret of 9/11. With so many folks claiming
different theories it is difficult for average people to know what to believe. Fortunately, we have scientific
proof of what happened at Ground Zero. The 35 USGS dust samples, the basement 6 water samples and
a dozen peer reviewed reports reveal the true story of what happened on 9/11. This article thus provides
more of the scientific evidence — especially from the US Geological Survey dust samples and the peer
review — that settles the debate in favor of the demolition of the WTC buildings as having been a nuclear
event without any questions remaining as regards anomalies during the events of September 11th, 2001.
Debris Ejected Over 600 Feet
The explosives that demolished the Twin Towers were so powerful that North Tower debris was ejected up
at a 45° angle and out over 600 feet into the Winter Garden. This feat alone puts an end to the notion that
the buildings were “dustified” where they stood or that an incendiary like nanothermite was responsible
for the destruction of two 500,000 ton 110 story skyscrapers or that the buildings collapsed due to fire.
Debris was ejected up at a 45° angle, which then lands in the Winter Garden over 600 feet away and any
theory must fully account for this ejection event and others like it. Engineers estimate that 1/3 of the ce-
ment was completely vaporized and any theory must account for vaporization. And as Judy Wood likes to
point out, no toilets were found in the rubble, and this is important. Over 30% of the debris from the Twin
Towers destruction landed outside the building’s footprints in the form of dust. What type of explosives
could cause this sort of damage? The only thing known to man that can explain this demolition, to include
complete dissociation of all ceramic materials (toilets and sinks) is a nuclear detonation of some type.
Proof Of Fusion
The Department of Energy (DOE) collected water samples from the basement of Building 6 eleven days
after 9/11 that showed tritium levels 55 times greater than background. How does this prove fusion? Let’s
start with defining tritium: Tritium is an isotope of hydrogen containing one proton and two neutrons.
Tritium is radioactive with a half-life of 12.32 years. Also Known As: hydrogen-3, 3H (Helmenstine)
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission provides us
some excellent background information on hydrogen:
“Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe, comprising approximately 90% of the luminous
universe by weight. Ordinary hydrogen (1H) accounts for greater than 99.985% of all naturally-occurring hy-
drogen, whereas deuterium (2H) comprises approximately 0.015%. By comparison, tritium (3H) represents
only approximately 10-16 percent of hydrogen naturally occurring. Tritium is a rare but natural isotope of
hydrogen (H), and is the only natural hydrogen isotope that is radioactive. The tritium atom is sometimes
designated T to distinguish it from the common lighter isotope. Notwithstanding the difference in mass, tri-
tium can be found in the same chemical forms as hydrogen. The most important forms, from the perspective
of atmospheric behavior of tritium, are tritiated hydrogen gas (HT) and tritiated water (HTO). These tritiated
forms behave chemically like hydrogen gas (H2) and water (H2O).”
Natural Sources
Tritium is generated by both natural and artificial processes. Tritium is naturally produced primarily
through the interaction of cosmic radiation protons and neutrons with gases (including nitrogen, oxygen
and argon) in the upper atmosphere.
Anthropogenic Sources
In addition to its natural sources, tritium also has a number of anthropogenic sources which account for
the dominant proportion of the global tritium inventory. Anthropogenic tritium sources include fallout
from nuclear weapons testing, nuclear reactors, fusion reactors, fuel reprocessing plants, heavy water
production facilities and commercial production for medical diagnostics, radiopharmaceuticals, lumi-
nous paints, sign illumination, self-luminous aircraft, airport runway lights, luminous dials, guages and
wrist watches, and others.
Commercial uses of tritium account for only a small fraction of the tritium used worldwide. Instead, the
primary use of tritium has been to boost the yield of both fission and thermonuclear (or fusion) weapons,
increasing the efficiency with which the nuclear explosive materials are used.
Thermonuclear Detonation During Nuclear Weapons Testing
Nuclear tests have been conducted in the atmosphere since 1945, producing tritium in amounts that
greatly exceed the global natural activity, particularly during 1954 to 1958 and 1961 to 1962 when a
number of large-yield test series were undertaken. The tritium activity arising from atmospheric nuclear
tests can be estimated from the fission and fusion yields of the weapons tests or from environmental
measurements. For example, the tritium activity produced per unit yield is dependent upon the attributes
of the device, as well as on the characteristics of the detonation site, and tritium generation from fusion
reactions is much higher than from fission. The tritium that is produced by a nuclear explosion is almost
completely converted to tritiated water (HTO), which then mixes with environmental water. 
What About WTC-6?
We have established that tritium is a rare hydrogen isotope, the vast majority of the tritium that is pro-
duced is used in nuclear weapons and that the tritium produced by a thermonuclear explosion is convert-
ed into tritiated water (HTO). Tritiated water WAS found in the basement of Building 6 at concentrations
55 times background levels. Here is Dr. Ed Ward’s 8-Point breakdown of the US Department of Energy’s
water sample data and the findings regarding tritium, including Dr. Ward’s Dilution Formula:
1. Trace definition as it applies to quantity: Occurring in extremely small amounts or in quantities less
than a standard limit. In the case of tritium, this standard level would be 20 TUs – the high of quoted stan-
dard background levels.  http://www.thefreedictionary.com/trace
2. The stated values of tritium from the DOE report “Study of Traces of Tritium at the World Trade Center”:
A water sample from the WTC sewer, collected on 9/13/01, contained 0.164±0.074 (2ó) nCi/L (164 pCi/L
+/- 74 pCi/L – takes 1,000 trillionths to = 1 billionth) of HTO. A split water sample, collected on 9/21/01
from the basement of WTC Building 6, contained 3.53±0.17 and 2.83±0.15 nCi/L ( 3,530.0 pCi/L +/- 170
pCi/L and 2,830 pCi/L +/- 150 pCi/L), respectively.  http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EdWard-MD/message/136
https://symphony-ext.llnl.gov/uhtbin/cgisirsi/?ps=Nw6TiRe5DJ/MAIN/318660005/5/0#
Pico to Nano converter – http://www.unitconversion.org/prefixes/picos-to-nanos-conversion.html  WTC 6 = 1 acre (approx.)
Nano to Pico converter – http://www.unit-conversion.info/metric.html
3. 1 TU = 3.231 pCi/L (trillionths per liter) or 0.003231 nCi/L (billionths per liter) – http://www.hps.org/
publicinformation/ate/q2282.html – (My original TU calculations came out to 3.19 pCi/L, but I will gladly
accept these referenced minimally higher values.  Firemen = 12 million liters. Firemen would mostly be spraying the hot areas.
http://www.clayandiron.com/news.jhtml?method=view&news.id=1022
4. In 2001 normal background levels of Tritium are supposedly around 20 TUs (prior to nuclear testing in
the 60’s, normal background tritium water levels were 5 to 10 TUs):
However, groundwater studies show a significantly less water concentration: Groundwater age estima-
tion using tritium only provides semi-quantitative, “ball park” values: · <0.8 TU indicates sub modern water
(prior to 1950s) · 0.8 to 4 TU indicates a mix of sub modern and modern water · 5 to 15 TU indicates mod-
ern water (< 5 to 10 years) · 15 to 30 TU indicates some bomb tritium https://water.usgs.gov/lab/3h3he/
background/ But, instead of “5 to 15 TU” (which would make the increase in background levels even high-
er), I will use 20 TUs as the 2001 environmental level to give all possible credibility to the lie of “Traces”.
5. Let’s calculate the proven referenced facts. Tritium level confirmed in the DOE report of traces of tri-
tium = 3,530 pCi/L (+/- 170 pCi/L, but we will use the mean of 3,530 pCi/L). 3,530pCi/L (the referenced
lab value) divided by the background level of 20TUs (20 X 3.231 p (1 TU = 3.21 pCi/L) = 64.62 pCi/L as the
high normal background/standard level. 3,530 divided by 64.62 pCi/L = 54.63 TIMES THE NORMAL BACK-
GROUND LEVEL. 3,530 pCi/L divided by 3.231 pCi/L (1 TU) = 1,092.54 TUs
6. This is my ‘fave’ because lies tend to eat their young. Muon physicist Steven Jones states the following
regarding 1,000 TUs: “The graphs below show that hydrogen-bomb testing boosted tritium levels in rain by
several orders of magnitude. (“Tritium in precipitation,”) (Jones, 2006) Yet, Dr. Jones calls the EXACT SAME
LEVELS quoted in nCi/L as “Traces” and “These results are well below the levels of concern to human exposure”
(Jones, 2006). Interesting isn’t it? According to Dr. Jones, first tritium levels are boosted “by several orders
of magnitude” by weapons detonations but then the same levels are “Traces” and “well below the levels of
concern.”
7. Thomas M. Semkowa, Ronald S. Hafnerc, Pravin P. Parekha, Gordon J. Wozniakd, Douglas K. Hainesa,
Liaquat Husaina, Robert L. Rabune. Philip G. Williams and Steven Jones have all called over 1,000 TUs of
Tritium, “Traces”. Even at the height of nuclear bomb testing 98% – after thousands of Megatons of nucle-
ar testing of the rainwater — tests were 2,000 TUs or less. 
https://e-reports-ext.llnl.gov/pdf/241096.pdf
8. It is also important to note that the tritium present was diluted by at least some portion of 1 million
liters of water accounting for BILLIONS of TUs. An important point that Jones glosses over is the dilution of
water in the basement of WTC 6. If not for copious amounts of water sprayed on the WTC site undoubted-
ly the concentration of tritium would have been substantially higher than the measured 55 times normal
background levels.
Dr. Ed Ward’s Breakdown of the WTC Rain and Fire Hose Water — 4 Million Gallons of Dilution: 
WTC site = 16 acres.
Rain = 4 million liters.
4/16 = 1/4 of a million liters deposits in WTC 6 in its 40 ft. (depth) by 120 ft. (diameter) crater.
WTC 6 was hot – see thermal images.
There are about 5 acres that gradually increase to maybe a total of 6 to 7 acres, but let’s be generous and
say they sprayed 8 acres (this will lower the total amount of Tritium Units estimate).
8/16 = 1/2 of 12 million liters = 6 million liters spread over 8 acres = 3/4 of a million liters per acre.
Rain plus Firemen = 1 million liters in WTC 6 in the 40 ft (depth) by 120 ft (diameter) crater.
1 liter of the pooled water = 1,106 TUs X 1 million liters of water = 1.1066 BILLION TUs JUST IN WTC 6 (no
other places were checked.)
This completely ignores 104 Million Liters (30 Million Gallons) pumped out of the bathtub and the drain
water of 51 TUs. 120 million liters X 51 = 6.120 BILLION TUs. This also completely ignores the amount of
Tritium in gas form that escapes into the atmosphere and gets massive dispersal.
To sum this up: we see a plume of smoke rising from Building 6, photos that show the building was black-
ened and bombed out before ANY debris from the Twin Towers hit it, a massive crater in the middle of the
building and the DOE found massive quantities of tritium in the basement eleven days after 9/11. Only a
thermonuclear explosion explains all of this and there is more proof.
Proof Of Fission
The US Geological Survey collected samples of dust and airfall debris from more than 35 localities within
a 1-km radius of the World Trade Center site on the evenings of September 17 and 18, 2001. The USGS was
primarily looking for asbestos in the dust but they found very little. They did find a host of elements that
when analyzed properly prove that nuclear fission took place at Ground Zero. The tritium proves fusion.
A quick glance at the chemistry table and immediately the presence of the elements such as uranium,
thorium, cesium, barium, strontium, yttrium, rubidium, molybdenum, lanthanum, cerium, chromium and
zinc raise suspicions. But deeper analysis shows that these elements correlate with each other according
to relationships expected in a nuclear fission event. Jeff Prager has done extensive work with the USGS
dust samples and we’ll use some of the slides from his Vancouver Power Point presentation to help us
analyze the USGS data (See Chapter One, USGS Dust Sample Graphs for by William Tahill to coordinate Dr.
Wards analysis— the Vancouver, Canada slides are not included here).
We know beyond doubt that the only process that can cause Barium and Strontium to be present in relat-
ed or correlated quantities and any process that can also cause Barium and Strontium to have such strong
relational concentrations across different samples, is nuclear fission. We know that if nuclear fission had
occurred that Barium and Strontium would be present and a strong statistical correlation between the
quantities of each would be found, and we have that, in spades. What else do we have? Quite a lot.
About 400 ppm of Barium and Strontium were measured in two samples of insulation girder coatings
(WTC01-08 and 01-09). The concentration of Strontium actually falls somewhat below that of Barium in
the second girder sample, WTC01-09, as at WTC01-16, whereas in every other sample the level of Stron-
tium discovered was higher than Barium. Given the elevated levels of Barium daughter products found in
the second girder and even the highest level of Uranium found (7.57ppm just West of and behind Tower
One) this shows that active fission was still ongoing in the second girder coating, in the very same way as
at WTC01-16 and therefore more Barium was found then Strontium.
In other samples where the rate of fission had slowed down to give way to decay, the concentrations
of Barium and Strontium reverse, due to the different half-lives. Barium isotopes have a shorter half-life
then Strontium isotopes so they decay more quickly and after a period of time when no new Barium or
Strontium has been deposited, Strontium will exceed Barium. The fact that more Barium then Strontium
was still found at WTC01-16 and WTC01-09 shows that the overall nuclear processes taking place were
somewhat favoring Barium over Strontium and hence Zinc as well. The tighter cluster of Barium (400-500
ppm) and Strontium (700-800 ppm) concentrations across widely separated sampling locations in Lower
Manhattan is cast iron proof that Nuclear Fission occurred.
We know that Barium and Strontium are the characteristic signature of fission; they are formed by two
of the most common Uranium fission pathways. The fact that their concentrations are so tightly coupled
means that their source was at the very epicenter of the event which created the dust cloud that envel-
oped Manhattan. This was not a localized preexisting chemical source which would only have contami-
nated a few closely spaced samples and left the remaining samples untouched. The very high concentra-
tions of Barium and Strontium at location WTC01-16 shows that active nuclear fission was still ongoing
at that spot; the dust was still “hot” and new Barium and new Strontium were being actively generated,
actively created by transmutation from their parent nuclei.
The presence of Thorium and Uranium correlated to each other by a clear mathematical power relation-
ship — and to the other radionuclide daughter products such as sodium, potassium, zinc, lithium, stron-
tium and barium – solidifies our data.
Anyone seriously interested in 911 truth will naturally be compelled to fully and thoroughly investigate
the serious implications raised by this report personally, and I strongly encourage this. The material is com-
plex yet if I can understand it anyone can. No one promised us that the answers to 911 would come easily.
There’s more compelling and incontrovertible evidence I’d like to cover now. There is a very strong linear
relationship between Barium and Zinc found at the World Trade Center. This may indicate that a closely
related nuclear sub-process gave rise to them, which produced 3 times as much Zinc as Barium by weight.
If so, that would be a very unusual nuclear event. There is a lesser known nuclear process that accounts for
this, which would be indicative of very high energies indeed. This process is known as Ternary Fission.
What Is Ternary Fission?
From Wikipedia: Ternary Fission is a comparatively rare (0.2 to 0.4% of events) type of nuclear fission in
which three charged products are produced rather than two. As in other nuclear fission processes, other
uncharged particles such as multiple neutrons and gamma rays are produced in ternary fission.
Ternary fission may happen during neutron-induced fission or in spontaneous fission (a type of radioac-
tive decay). About 25% more ternary fission happens in spontaneous fission compared to the same fis-
sioning system formed after thermal neutron capture, illustrating that these processes remain physically
slightly different, even after the absorption of the neutron, possibly because of the extra energy present
in the nuclear reaction system of thermal neutron-induced fission.
True Ternary Fission
A very rare type of ternary fission process is sometimes called “true ternary fission.” It produces three near-
ly equal-sized charged fragments (Z ~ 30) but only happens in about 1 in 100 million fission events. In
this type of fission, the product nuclei split the fission energy in three nearly equal parts and have kinetic
energies of ~ 60 MeV (Wikipedia contributors, 2013)
Mini-Neutron Bombs
We have evidence of nuclear fission and fusion taking place at Ground Zero. Fission triggered fusion
bombs fit the evidence. These bombs had limited but powerful blast effects, a burst of neutron radiation
as well as EMP effects. Mini-neutron bombs appear to be what was used.
What Is A Neutron Bomb?
A neutron bomb is a type of thermonuclear weapon. An enhanced radiation bomb is any weapon which
uses fusion to enhance the production of radiation beyond that which is normal for an atomic device.
In a neutron bomb, the burst of neutrons generated by the fusion reaction is intentionally allowed to
escape using X-ray mirrors and an atomically inert shell casing, such as chromium or nickel. The energy
yield for a neutron bomb may be as little as half that of a conventional device, though radiation output
is only slightly less. Although considered to be ‘small’ bombs, a neutron bomb can still have a yield in the
tens or hundreds of kilotons range. Neutron bombs are expensive to make and maintain because they
require considerable amounts of tritium, which has a relatively short half-life (12.32 years). Manufacture
of the weapon requires that a constant supply of tritium is available. Neutron bombs have a relatively
short shelf-life. (Helmenstine) Per Sam Cohen “In a broad sense, the neutron bomb is an explosive version of
the sun; that is, the relevant energy it emits comes from thermonuclear, or fusion reactions, involving the very
lightest elements. To be specific, its fuel consists of the two heavier nuclei of hydrogen, named deuterium and
tritium. By means of a fission trigger, a mixture of these two nuclei is compressed and heated, as happens in
a hydrogen bomb, to cause nuclear reactions whose principle output is in the form of very high energy neu-
trons. Also produced will be blast and heat, but so predominant are the neutron effects against human beings,
who are a hundred to a thousand times more vulnerable to radiation than blast and heat, that by bursting
the weapon high enough off the ground the only significant effects at the surface will come from radiation.
In so doing, the blast and heat effects will not be strong enough to cause significant damage to most struc-
tures. Hence, a bomb which, accurately but misleadingly, has been described as a weapon that kills people but
spares buildings.” (Cohen, 2006) [Only when the weapon is detonated high above the ground]
Neutron Radiation And EMP Effects At Ground Zero
Neutron radiation and EMP appear to be responsible for what have been referred to as the “toasted cars”
found near Ground Zero. What is neutron radiation? From the Shots Across the Bow Blog: To understand
neutron radiation, imagine a pool table set for the start of a game. 15 balls are in the middle of the table,
with the cue ball set for the break. The cue ball is a free neutron. When the neutron hits the nucleus, one
of three things might happen. First, if the cue ball doesn’t have enough energy, or hits at the wrong angle,
it caroms off, barely disturbing the pack of balls. Second, if the ball has too much energy, it slams through
the pack, breaking it up.
This is fission, and results in fission products, more free neutrons, and energy. Third, if the ball has just the
right amount of energy, it just makes it to the pack and joins in, becoming another neutron in the nucleus.
Here is where our analogy breaks down, because many times, when a nucleus gets another neutron, it
becomes unstable, and begins to decay, emitting alphas, betas, or gammas. This is called activation, and is
one of the trickier problems with neutron irradiation and the physical properties of the irradiated matter
can be quite different from the original. A large quantity of high energy neutrons bombarding an object
will cause the atoms in the material to move i.e. heat up. This is why so few bodies were found at Ground
Zero ­— most of the people that were in and very near the Towers were vaporized by the blast and heat
effects of the devices and the neutron radiation that was released.
The “Toasted” Cars
Ted Twietmeyer has a post on Rense’s website that goes a long way towards explaining the toasted cars
found near Ground Zero. Twietmeyer attributes the damage to aluminum vehicle parts such as engine
blocks and mirrors to strong EMP eddy currents produced by nuclear detonations at Ground Zero. And
what else do eddy currents create? HEAT if the currents are strong enough. The stronger the eddy cur-
rents, the more heat which will be generated. Although magnetic fields are being created, they are tem-
porary in aluminum because it is not magnetic, but paramagnetic. This means aluminum will be affected
by magnetism, but it cannot be magnetized [Editor’s Note: I agree with Ted on this angle but provide Ed
Wards opinion as well because whether the effects were EMP or neutrons is actually immaterial].
“Sacrificial Vehicles” Provide Shielding For Other Vehicles And Show Pulse Vectors
A vector is simply a line that shows direction and usually has an arrow. Arrows are not shown in an
attempt to simplify the image [See images page 101]. The direction of force is from upper left to lower
right. The noted image provides a possible explanation for the location of the source of the magnetic
pulse (EMP), and why some vehicles were damaged and others were not. This parking lot may be the
best evidence in support of this theory. Yellow lines indicate the pulse(s) blocked by the rear row of ve-
hicles. It appears the entire outside of all rear vehicles were destroyed. Note how several hoods on the
rear row of vehicles have white dust or ash, indicating an intense heat originating from under the hood.
This is probably caused by the engine block vaporizing, and the white dust may be aluminum oxide.
Also note that the vehicles all have obviously identifiable lines of demarcation as regards the damage
they sustained clearly indicated by the vectors.
White Lines Show The Pulses That Reached The Vehicles In The Foreground
White lines show the pulses and the orange shapes around each car show the damage threshold line. The
cars are basically undamaged below these lines and some might be repairable. If it wasn’t for “sacrificial”
vehicles and canopy in the background, those in the foreground would have been completely burned.
Note that white and yellow lines are not meant to be a literal interpretation to show size of the pulse, how
many lines of force hit each vehicle, etc… Each line is intended to show only the direction the pulse(s)
came from. Regardless of whether this parking lot is close to the WTC or not, it clearly shows that the
nuclear device (or pulse source) was high above the ground. If the pulse source were close to the Earth,
then vehicles in the foreground would have been completely shielded from the pulse. (Twietmeyer, 2007)
Ed Ward’s take: I believe some of what he attributes to EMP was done by neutrons — in particular his
linear evaluations (angle computations) would seem more neutron than EMP. EMP should tend to flow
around — seems to be a correlation of dust cloud carrying EMP. So the linear blockage of cars protecting
other cars would seem to be more appropriate for neutrons.
The Temperature Of The Pile
Temperatures at Ground Zero were 600º F to 1,500º F or even higher for 99 days after 9/11. Firemen were
fighting fires at Ground Zero for those 99 days. AVRIS data showed that the temperature in one spot was
1,341 °F on 9/16/01. These high temperatures could be attributed to neutron bombs that were deto-
nated underground in order to destroy the foundations of the Twin Towers. Some of the hot-spots may
have been unexploded nuclear fissile material reacting underground. This is an appropriate explanation
because we know that in nuclear detonations only approximately 6% of the available fissile material is
actually used. The rest is strewn outwards by the explosive force and can continue the process of fission
until it reaches a stable isotope. The workers at Ground Zero experienced hellish working conditions. One
Ground Zero worker, Charlie Vitchers, describes the nightmare “The fires were very intense on the pile, the
heat was very intense. In some places you couldn’t even get onto it. In some areas where you could walk, you’d
travel another five feet and then you could just feel the heat coming up and you would have to just back off.
You’d say to yourself, “I can’t see a fire, but I can feel the heat, so somethings wrong here,” and you’d back off.
“That was one of the concerns we had about putting equipment on the pile, because the operators were sitting
eight or ten feet up above the debris pile in their cabs and couldn’t feel the heat. But they’re carrying a hundred
gallons of diesel fuel, hydraulic hoses, and other flammables, and there was nothing to stop the heat from
wrecking the machine. If they got stuck in a place where the heat was so intense that it set his machine on fire,
that operator wasn’t going to make it out. We were so lucky. We didn’t lose anyone. We lost a lot of equipment,
mostly due to collapses, but didn’t have any piece of equipment catch on fire or anything like that. But hoses
melted, and there was a lot of damage to tires — some of them melted just from being too close. I mean, the
bottom of your shoes would melt on some of the steel. Some of that was so hot you could feel the hair on the
back of your neck start to burn when you walked by. There were cherry-red pieces of steel sticking out of the
ground. It was almost like being in a steel-manufacturing plant. You just couldn’t physically go near that stuff.”
“Every time a grappler grabbed a piece of steel and shook it out, it would just fan the fire, like a fan
in the fireplace. All of a sudden there’d be smoke billowing out. The Army Corps of Engineers eventu-
ally supplied us with infrared aerial shots of where the heat was. It was like looking at the blob. The
fire was moving under the pile. One day it would be here, it would be 1,400 degrees, the next day it
would be 2,000 degrees, then five days later it wouldn’t register over 600 degrees.” (Stout, Vitchers &
Gray, 2006)
Conclusions Of This Study
Evidence for fission and fusion abounds at Ground Zero. Tritiated water in any significant quan-
tity is a tell-tale sign of a thermonuclear explosion. A 170 meter high plume of smoke was ob-
served rising from Building 6, and massive amounts of tritiated water were found in the base-
ment. The girder coatings in the towers exhibited 93 Becquerels per kilogram of uranium. It
appears to be beyond reasonable doubt that these buildings underwent a nuclear event, be-
cause no alternative explanation is reasonable. The Twin Towers were 500,000 tons each and
destroyed in 9 and 11 seconds respectively with debris ejected hundreds of feet out. There can
be no doubt that the Twin Towers experienced a nuclear event as well. The USGS dust samples
prove beyond all doubt that nuclear fission took place at Ground Zero. Fission triggered fusion
bombs such as mini or micro neutron bombs explain the dust and water sample evidence per-
fectly. The destruction of the Twin Towers was an unprecedented use of nuclear bomb technol-
ogy. The public had never before witnessed anything like it. While Steve Jones and Judy Wood,
among others, have purposely added to uncertainty over what happened to the WTC buildings
on 9/11, we, Dr. Ed Ward, Don Fox and myself, Jeff Prager, prefer to add scientific facts to the
discussion.
Donald Fox has done extensive research on the role of mini-nukes by Dr. Ed Ward and on work
by The Anonymous Physicist on the towers and has formulated an account of how it was done
and why there is more to this story relative to very low-yield thermonuclear devices.
See his blog at https://donaldfox.wordpress.com
Jeff Prager, founder of an award winning magazine for Senior Citizens, in 2002 tried to prove 19
Muslims hijacked four planes and attacked us. By 2005, he realized this was false, sold his busi-
ness, left the US for a Mexican beach and began to investigate 9/11 full-time. See also “America
Was Nuked” and “Murdering Liberty, Killing Hope,” by Jeff Prager [included in the zip download
on the last page].
Ed Ward, M.D., among the leading experts on the use of nukes on 9/11, maintains an extensive
archive about them at his “Weblog of Tyranny”, http://edwardmd.wordpress.com/ and has also
appeared as a guest on “The Real Deal”, which you can hear at radiofetzer.blogspot.com
References
Semkow, T., Hafner, R., Parekh, P., Wozniak, G., Haines, D., Husain, L., Rabun, R., & Williams, P.
U.S. Department of Energy, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (2002). Study of Traces of
Tritium at the World Trade Center (UCRL-JC-150445). Retrieved from llnl.gov website: https://e-
reports-ext.llnl.gov/pdf/241096.pdf
Clark, R., Green, R., Swayze, G., Meeker, G., Sutley, S., Hoefen, T., Livo, K., Plumlee, G., Pavri, B., Sarture, C.,
Wilson, S., Hageman, P., Lamothe, P., Vance, J., Boardman, J., Brownfield, I., Gent, C., Morath, L., Taggart, J.,
Theodorakos, P., & Adams, M. USGS Spectroscopy Lab, (2001). Environmental Studies of the World Trade
Center Area After the September 11, 2001 Attack (Open-File Report 01-0429).
Retrieved from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) website: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0429/
Minister of Public Works and Government Services Canada, (2009). Investigation of the Environmental
Fate of Tritium in the Atmosphere (INFO-0792). Ottawa: Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).
http://nuclearsafety.gc.ca/pubs_catalogue/uploads/Investigation_of_Environmental_Fate_of_
Tritium_in_the_Atmosphere_INFO-0792_e.pdf 
Tritium in Precipitation. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://www.science.uottawa.ca/eih/ch7/7tritium.htm
Jones, S. (2006, September 28). Hard Evidence Repudiates the Hypothesis That Mini-Nukes Were Used on
the WTC Towers.
Retrieved from http://www.journalof911studies.com/letters/a/Hard-Evidence-Rebudiates-the-
Hypothesis-that-Mini-Nukes-were-used-on-the-wtc-towers-by-steven-jones.pdf
Ternary fission. (2013, March 22). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.
Retrieved April 19, 2013, from 
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ternary_fission&oldid=546177060
Helmenstine, A. M. What is a Neutron Bomb?
Retrieved from http://chemistry.about.com/od/chemistryfaqs/f/neutronbomb.htm 
Cohen, S. (2006). F*** you! Mr. President: Confessions of the Father of the Neutron Bomb. (3rd ed., pp. 123-124).
Retrieved from http://www.AthenaLab.com/Confessions_Sam_Cohen_2006_Third_Edition.pdf 
Stout, G., Vitchers, C., & Gray, R. (2006). Nine Months at Ground Zero: The Story of the Brotherhood of Workers
Who Took on a Job Like No Other. (Google eBook ed., pp. 64-65). Simon and Schuster. Retrieved from: 
http://books.google.com/books?id=4VD–5-T5IcC&lpg=PA62&ots=I8PEz77ZPT&dq=ground zero grappler&pg=PA64 
A Nuclear Power Primer: Part 3: How Does Radiation Hurt Us and How Much Does it Take? (n.d.). Retrieved from:
http://www.shotsacrossthebow.com/index.php/site/comments/a_nuclear_power_primer_part_3_
how_does_radiation_hurt_us_and_how_much_does_/
Twietmeyer, T. (2007, March 24). What May Have Melted the WTC Vehicles.
Retrieved from http://rense.com/general75/melt2.htm
 vectors

White lines show the pulses and the orange shapes around each car show the damage threshold line. The cars are basically undamaged below these lines and some might be repairable. If it
wasn’t for “sacrificial” vehicles at the rear, those in the foreground would have been completely burned. Note that white and yellow lines are not meant to be a literal interpretation to show size
of the pulse, how many lines of force hit each vehicle, etc… Each line is intended to show only the direction the pulse(s) came from. Regardless of whether this parking lot is close to the WTC or
not, it clearly shows that the nuclear device (or pulse source) was high above the ground. If the pulse source were close to the Earth, then vehicles in the foreground would have been completely
shielded from the pulse. (Twietmeyer, 2007) Note that some of these cars show that they’ve already begun to rust significantly.
The image below shows no obvious remnants of a thermitic reaction at the ends
of any of the I-Beams — no burns or heat markings — yet these extremely thick
I-Beams are bent almost in half and they’re all severely rusted.

At lower right we see a 5-inch thick I-Beam (2.5 inches thick per side) bent like a
horseshoe, and in fact this beam was named “The Horseshoe,” and the I-Beam ex-
hibits no stress cracks along either the inner or outer radii. Bent under the weight
of falling debris or bent by a slow-velocity incendiary thermite, the beam would
show obvious stress cracks. The only method of bending metal of this size and
strength so rapidly is with extremely high heat applied for only milliseconds —
the initial millisecond soliton X-ray heat flash of a 3rd generation directed energy
nuclear warhead, which we discuss in depth in the following pages.

At right, the polished craters, the surfaces of which show the rock experienced
extraordinarily high heat, are being coated and leveled as First Responders fill the
cavities with cement. Additional images of the craters appear in the last chapter.
These images were first published in the UK in 2011, approximate, as examples
of ancient “Ice Age” remnants under the Twin Towers yet historic images show-
ing construction of the towers and the “bathtub” reveal no such thing. Eventually
these images also appeared briefly here in the states with a similar explanation.
Much larger and more detailed images of the craters appear in the last chapter.
 “... the very fine particles are a large fraction of the total mass.”
Vaporizing Glass And Soil
By William Tahill
The boiling point of silicon dioxide (glass) is about 2500º C or 4532º F. The underground temperatures must therefore have reached, at times, at least 2500º C or 4532º F to vaporise glass and soil.

What were these small very fine particles that Cahill was making such This is very important. Cahill was saying that the ground under Ground
a point about? How could a metal aerosol be produced? Very high Zero was so hot that the soil itself was vaporised. Glass was not just be-
temperatures would be required indeed. Very small particles are par- ing melted, but boiled away - and this was still happening weeks after
ticularly dangerous since they can bypass the body’s natural defence the event. Even after rain had dampened down the site, these aerosols
mechanisms and if breathed in, enter directly into the bloodstream. were being regenerated by the intense underground heat source. The
They can also pass through HEPA filters, the finest grade of gas mask presence of Vanadium is very interesting. Cahill’s comment about Va-
available and they can even enter the body through the skin. These nadium and Nickel being associated with the combustion of fuel oil,
particles are so small that they can pass through glass, metal and any- plastics or organic matter is completely incorrect and draws attention
thing else. So they are a serious human health hazard. Anything with a to this incongruity, something Professor Cahill must know. Vanadium
diameter of less than 2.5μm (nanometer or micrometer) is considered and Nickel are not found in burned fuel oil, plastics or organic matter
to be dangerous for these reasons. (A micrometer or μm is a millionth at the levels found in the WTC dust particles. Where would this Vana-
of a meter - or a thousandth of a millimetre). dium, imbedded with the Ground Zero dust, have come from - the
highest concentrations they had ever seen? Vanadium is not a com-
The UC Davis DELTA Group press release states: “There are no estab- mon element and certainly not a common component of skyscrap-
lished safe limits for inhaled very fine particles. The closest reference is the ers. However, as we have already seen in Chapter One, Vanadium is a
U.S. EPA “PM2.5” standard, which limits the allowable mass of airborne decay product of radioactive fallout. It is associated with Nickel and
particles in the size range 2.5 micrometers to 0 micrometers. That stan- Chromium in its decay series. And the Vanadium content was unusual-
dard is based on health studies of typical air samples, in which very fine ly high. Cahill, to those who understood his cryptic message, was stat-
particles are a small fraction of the total mass. In contrast, in the World ing much more than what appears on the surface of his comments.
Trade Center samples analysed at UC Davis, the very fine particles are a
large fraction of the total mass.” [Emphasis mine] The graph at left from Dr. Cahill’s report shows that on the 3rd of Octo-
ber, 2001, a high spike of Vanadium was detected, of roughly 110 ng/
We can understand that Professor Cahill might be motivated to draw m3 [nanograms per square meter of air]. On the next day, another Va-
attention to the fine particulates for health and safety reasons. But is nadium spike was detected, 60 ng/m3. On the 26th of October there
there anything more to it? Thomas Cahill also explained the meaning was a massive spike in the concentration of Chromium which goes
of the generation of the particles to reporters more clearly: off the scale (over 150 ng/m3) and to a lesser extent Nickel. V, Cr and
Ni are radioactive decay products from the same decay pathway. It is
“The presence of coarse particles immediately after days of rain indicat- interesting that on the 3rd and 4th of October, the spikes in Vanadium
ed that they were being continually re-generated from a dry, hot source, concentration are accompanied by Silicon spikes, but on the 26th the
not re-suspended from roadways and other surfaces. The very fine par- enormous Chromium/ Nickel spike is not matched by the Silicon or
ticles were high in a number of species generally associated with com- Sulphur. But what’s most interesting is that Cahill produced a chart
bustion of fuel oil - such as sulfur, vanadium, and nickel, and incinera- with Vanadium, Chromium and Nickel together at all — on the same
tion of plastics and other organic matter. There was also an unusual, graph — elements of a distinct nuclear decay pathway! Whatever hap-
very fine, silicon-containing aerosol. This latter type of aerosol can be pened on the 26th of October must have been a major event of some
produced only by very high temperatures, including vaporisation of soil kind, to create this enormous Chromium emission without the nor-
and glass. We had seen this previously, but at much lower concentra- mal building materials present. Cahill wanted the public, at least those
tions, in the plumes of coal-fired power plants in the EPA BRAVO study that might understand, to be aware of these findings. We can easily
in Texas, the burning oil fields of Kuwait, and Beijing during the winter and accurately speculate that on the 26th of October 2001 a portion
coal heating season. In the case of metals, we saw many different spe- of the still burning pile was exposed during clean-up operations, al-
cies in the very fine particles. Most, including lead and mercury, were at lowing high amounts of vanadium, chromium and nickel to escape
low concentrations at our site, but some, such as vanadium, were the into the atmosphere. Particles Dr. Cahill and his team then captured
highest that we have seen recorded”. and analyzed using his sophisticated atmospheric testing equipment.
 Stainless Steel
These spikes recorded by Cahill of chromium, nickel and to a lesser extent vanadium are also interesting from
another point of view. Surrounding the fissile core of a nuclear reactor is an enormous amount of stainless steel.
The reactor pressure vessel itself is normally made of stainless steel 6 inches thick. All of the cooling pipes, heat
exchangers and condensers carrying coolant water are made of stainless steel. The enormous steam turbines at-
tached to the electricity generators are made of stainless steel. As an example, the Indian Prototype Fast Breeder
Reactor (PFBR) contains about 3300 tonnes of stainless steel in its core material and accessories, not including the
steam turbines. The main element alloyed with steel to create stainless steel is chromium. Normally, between 9%
and 12% of stainless steel is chromium. Other major alloying elements include nickel, vanadium, molybdenum and
for specialist nuclear applications, titanium and zirconium. In fact, the single biggest industrial use of nickel is in
the manufacture of stainless steel.
Given the extremely high temperatures that we know existed below the rubble, high enough to continually vapo-
rise soil and glass, and the existence of molten pools of steel, it can be hypothesised that the enormous chromium
and nickel spike on the 26th of October may have been caused by the vaporisation of a pool of stainless steel,
exposed by recovery operations on that day. If the temperature reached over 700º C at the surface, it would have
been substantially higher below. We know that the underground temperatures were high enough to vaporise
glass. The boiling point of Silicon Dioxide (glass) is 2230º C, which would be achievable underground if the surface
temperatures were 700º C. The boiling point of steel is about
2800º C, which is about the same as the melting point of ura- “It may take years before these effects show up, just like with radiation.”
nium or the temperature expected in the core melt of a nucle-
ar reactor meltdown. Even if the molten steel was not boiling, ~ Dr. Thomas Cahill, US Davis DELTA Group
it would still vaporise at the temperatures we know existed of
over 2000º C. The evidence that glass was being vaporised strongly supports the possibility that stainless steel, if it
was present, was being vaporised. The presence of these chromium and nickel spikes is consistent with the pres-
ence of a reservoir of molten or even boiling stainless steel. Stainless steel is not used as a construction material,
certainly not as structural steel beams for a skyscraper. However, as we have said previously, thousands of tons of
stainless steel are used in the core material of a nuclear reactor generating electricity: a nuclear reactor is probably
one of the few engineering applications where one will find so much stainless steel in one place. Could a small,
experimental reactor have been under the towers?
To summarise, we know that a nuclear explosion occurred. The enormous residual and continuing heat is better
explained by the core meltdown of a nuclear reactor, which reaches 2800º Centigrade or more. If there was a nucle-
ar reactor present, one would expect to see evidence of a lot of stainless steel - at least hundreds of tons even for a
small reactor. The detection of large quantities of chromium and nickel and to a lesser extent vanadium is consis-
tent with the hypothesis that a large quantity of vaporised stainless steel was present and therefore is consistent
with the deduction that the nuclear event could also have included a core meltdown. 3rd generation devices could
have been placed above or below a small reactor as well.
Diphenyl
An interesting observation is made in the New Scientist article that follows, that of the 400 organic compounds
detected after the collapse, many had never been detected in the air before. One of these rare never before seen
compounds detected by the EPA was diphenyl propane. Where did the diphenyl come from? Mixtures of diphenyl
and diphenyl oxide have been used as the coolant for certain nuclear reactors — organic solvent cooled reactors.
Diphenyl apparently never became as popular as water as a reactor coolant mainly due to the sensitivity of these
solvents to radiation. If diphenyl is so rare — so rare that the EPA had never seen it as an air pollutant before, its
presence may provide evidence that a diphenyl cooled nuclear reactor was under the tower
NewScientist.com News Service
Two years after the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, which claimed almost 3000 lives,
dozens of researchers have gathered to assess the legacy of the giant plume of smoke and dust caused by the
atrocity. The composition of the plume was unique in its chemical composition and unprecedented in its com-
plexity. As a result, no one yet knows the health effects of breathing them in and therefore how many more people
may have been affected by the collapse of the Twin Towers. “This was a fully functional building that was completely
smulched into a burning pit,” says Thomas Cahill, an atmospheric physicist at the University of California Davis, who
has focused on the composition of the finest particles in the plume for the past two years. “That’s never happened
before, so we are in completely new territory. All we can say is we are worried about it,” he says. “It may take years before
these effects show up, just like with radiation.”
Astonishing Complexity
The gathering on Wednesday at the American Chemical Society’s meeting in New York City was the first time
chemists, atmospheric physicists and doctors from over 20 US institutions had got together to pool their results.
Paul Lioy, of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, emphasised to the meeting the sheer diver-
sity of chemicals that were present in the dust. A mixture of plastics, computer hardware, synthetic furniture and
hundreds of miles of wire burned to produce an aerosol of astonishing complexity. Out of 400 organic alkanes,
pthalates and polyaromatic hydrocarbons he identified, the
majority had never before been detected in the air, he says. One
such compound, detected by researchers from the US Environ-
mental Protection Agency, was diphenyl propane, thought to
have come from burning plastic. The health consequences of
breathing it are totally unknown, says EPA scientist Leonard Stockburger. Scientists from the US Geological Survey
showed that even among the well-known molecules and crystals, new shapes of particle were thrown up by the
plume. “They detected fibrous, cylindrical materials, which have a totally different behaviour to spherical particles,” says
Michael Hays of the EPA, who attended the meeting. “How does that influence inhalation routes?” But the scientists
were careful to be clear about their message. “We don’t want people to get the wrong impression. For long term effects,
we are simply in an area of unknowns,” says Lioy. Next, the chemists’ hope to produce a map of exactly what was in
the air and when in the weeks and months after the September 11 attacks. Then, if people develop symptoms, the
doctors will know exactly what they were likely to have inhaled. The New York City Department of Health launched
a survey last Friday that will follow the health of up to 200,000 people who were in the vicinity of the Twin Towers
when they collapsed. Some evidence of ongoing effects has already surfaced. A study published in August showed
that pregnant women who were near Ground Zero on September 11th, 2001, or up to three weeks later were twice
as likely to give birth to smaller babies as women who were not. Editors Note: reduced birth weight of neonates is
a well known symptom of exposure to radiation [See pages 408 - 413].
The 24 hours that compose September 11th, 2001, are classified — this was and is a National Security Event.
Anyone that knows exactly what happened that day is prevented from speaking about what they know. The City
of New York is attempting to track the health of over a quarter of a million people — upwards of 40,000 First
Responders and 200,000 additional New York City residents. The US government requested numerous reports,
all peer reviewed, containing a wide variety of atmospheric data regarding the elements left behind in the dust.
Although one of them, the USGS report, was put together by chemists without nuclear backgrounds, perhaps
that’s just another method of compartmentalization. I spoke with several of the authors of the USGS Report by
telephone. One asked me what the daughter product of strontium is so I know these guys don’t have a physics
background of any sort and finding 7.57 parts per million uranium in a girder coating meant nothing to them. Yet
there are several hundred nuclear physicists worldwide that would immediately recognize the data and it’s about
time those that recognize the data for what it is speak up, as several already have.
Massive upward ejections, pyroclastic clouds, dust particles below micron size, particles continually regenerated Zero dust leads to an unfortunate and inescapable conclusion — when we take into account the World Trade Cen-
requiring temperatures exceeding 2500º C or 4532º F, uranium and tritium at levels unheard of, vehicles exhibit- ter Health Registry and the data they’re compiling, Dr. Thomas Cahill, DELTA Group, UC Davis, was correct — the
ing the effects of extremely hot clouds of electromagnetic pulses, obvious neutron activation, a trail of fissioning people of New York, 250,000 of them, are a part of an ongoing government experiment looking into and examining
daughter products, 1000s of unusual rapid onset cancers and the Actinium Series of isotopes found in the Ground the effects of new, 3rd generation, low rad nuclear weapons used within the confines of a major metropolitan city.
 Temperature At “The Pile”
Eyewitness Accounts By Bechtel Employees
By William Tahill, BA
The following extracts are quoted from a web page written by three Safety, Health and Emergency
experts from Bechtel who at great personal risk assisted in the recovery efforts at the WTC. The
three men were Stewart Burkhammer, Norman Black and Jeffrey Vincoli. Their testimony provides a
very important insight into the extraordinary temperatures under the rubble of the towers.
Underground Fires
“On September 12th, 2001, a small group of SH&E professionals from Bechtel Group Inc., led by Stewart
Burkhammer, a professional member of ASSE’s National Capital Chapter, arrived in New York City to
assist the city and state of New York in the emergency recovery effort after the attacks on the World
Trade Center. The sights and experiences of the days and weeks that followed are described here in order
to provide fellow SH&E professionals a brief account of the extraordinary challenges encountered at
Ground Zero.”
“Three underground floors had been used as a parking garage with a total capacity of 2,000 cars. As-
suming (conservatively) the garage to be half-full, with the cars’ fuel tanks being anywhere from near
empty to full, the explosive potential was extraordinary. With the stability of the debris pile unknown,
subsurface fires burning continuously, and with welding and other hot work being performed on top of
the debris ...”
“WTC Building 6 housed several federal agencies, primarily U.S. Customs. The third floor, now largely in-
accessible, contained a firing range. More than 1.2 million rounds of ammunition were stored on this lev-
el. The ammunition was finally located on October 24th, 2001, melted together into large “bullet balls”
that were extremely dangerous to handle and dispose of properly. At one point, a discharge of a bullet,
due to the immense heat in the area, caused a shrapnel wound to the face of one worker. “ The ammu-
nition was not located until October 24th, 43 days after the collapse, yet the temperatures were still
so high that they caused the discharge of a bullet.
“The debris pile at Ground Zero was always tremendously hot. Thermal measurements taken by helicop-
ter each day showed underground temperatures ranging from 400º F to more than 2,800º F. The surface
was so hot that standing too long in one spot softened (and even melted) the soles of our safety shoes.
Steel toes would often heat up and become intolerable. This heat was also a concern for the search-and-
rescue dogs used at the site. Many were not outfitted with protective booties. More than one suffered
serious injuries and at least three died while working at Ground Zero. The underground fire burned for
exactly 99 days and was finally declared extinguished on December 19th, 2001.”
The Bechtel people say that the helicopter measurements showed underground temperatures of
more than 2800º F. However, any thermal imaging measurements taken from a helicopter would
(For a clear image of molten steel see page 235)
only indicate surface temperatures, not those deep below the ground. Therefore, this must have
been an extrapolation or estimate of the underground temperatures. However, 2800º F is extraor-
dinarily hot; it is over 1500º C and higher than the melting point of steel. This testimony raises the
obvious question: what intense heat source under the rubble could maintain underground tem-
peratures of greater than 1500º C or 2800º F for such a long period of time?
The Pools of Molten Steel
There were several eyewitness accounts of the discovery of pools of molten steel under the rubble
when the debris pile was reduced and taken away. What heat source could have melted structural
steel and kept it molten for 6 weeks under the rubble of the Twin Towers? The melting point of steel
is approximately 1500º C.
The most well known account is that by Peter Tully and Marc Loizeaux in the American Free Press.
According to both Peter Tully, President of Tully Construction and Marc Loizeaux, President of Con-
trolled Demolition Inc., who was called in by Tully Construction to help remove the rubble, pools
of molten steel were discovered 6 weeks after the collapse of the towers. In the AFP article, Tully
says that he saw the pools. In a later communication to the Libertypost.org website, Mr. Loizeaux
clarified that he had not personally seen the molten steel but had been told about it by other con-
tractors working the site.
One of the most authoritative reports of the presence of molten steel that has been quoted was
made by Dr. Keith Eaton, Chief Executive of the Institution of Structural Engineers. Based in London,
the IoSE is the largest professional body dedicated to structural engineering in the world. In 2002,
Dr. Eaton and colleague Prof. David Blockley visited New York City and were given a guided tour
of the Ground Zero area. In the report which appeared in “The Structural Engineer”, Dr. Eaton was
quoted as saying:
“They showed us many fascinating slides, ranging from molten metal which was still red hot weeks after
the event, to 4-inch thick steel plates sheared and bent in the disaster”.
Other reports have also appeared stating that steel members had been literally evaporated by in-
tense heat and there are several other reports of molten steel that are now extensively quoted on
the Internet. Therefore not only had a heat source melted 47 box columns each 4 inches thick at the
bottom of the towers — it had maintained the steel in a molten state for over 6 weeks and presum-
ably could have continued to do so if the rubble had not been removed. This could not have been
achieved by 10,000 gallons of kerosene, much of which was expended in the initial fireball outside
the tower when the aircraft first impacted, nor parked cars full of gasoline.
 Energy Balance Calculation

To illustrate this, here is a simple calculation. The central core of the WTC consisted of
47 rectangular steel box columns. These measured 36 by 90 centimeters and had a
wall thickness of 10cms at the base, tapering to 6cms at the top (400 meters above).
There were also 236 smaller exterior steel columns which we will not consider.

The total volume of steel in the 47 central columns is calculated to be 3338.88 m3.
The density of steel is 7,874 kgm-3.
Therefore the mass of steel in the central columns is 3338.88 x 7,874 = 26,290 tons.
The Specific Heat Capacity of Steel is 470J/kg.K
Therefore the amount of thermal energy that would be required to raise this amount
of steel to 800º C from room temperature to soften it so that it might lose structural
rigidity (which is extremely unlikely in any event) would be
(800 - 25) ºC x 470J/kg. ºC x 26,290,000kg = 9.6 x 1012 J.
The amount of thermal energy available from the 10,000 gallons of JetA in the B767 is “ There
calculated as follows: are no established
The Heat of Combustion of JetA is 42.8 MJ/kg. safe limits for inhaled very
Jet A has a mass of 6.75 lb/USG or 3.07kg/USG. fine particles. The closest reference
The Total Thermal Energy available from the fuel is therefore: (10,000 x 3.07)kg x 42.8
MJ = 1.3 x 1012 J
is the U.S. EPA “PM2.5” standard, which
This is only 13% of the energy required to soften the steel of the central core columns, limits the allowable mass of airborne par-
even assuming an impossible 100% efficiency of heat transfer from fuel to steel. In re- ticles in the size range 2.5 micrometers to -0-
ality, the efficiency of transfer would be very low — a few percent at best. As another micrometers. That standard is based on health
indicator, the thermal energy in the fuel could melt a total of 1300 tonnes of steel if all of studies of typical air samples, in which very fine
its thermal energy was transferred to the steel without losses. The steel would then im- particles are a small fraction of the total mass. In
mediately re-solidify, lacking any further heat energy to maintain it in the molten state.
contrast, in the World Trade Center samples an-
This Is Calculated As Follows alysed at UC Davis, the very fine particles are
a large fraction of the total mass.”
Thermal Energy Available from Fuel = 1.3 x 1012J.
Specific Heat Capacity of Steel is 470J/kg.K
Melting Point of Steel = 1538 ºC.
Latent Heat of Fusion of Steel = 277kJ/kg
Energy to raise 1kg of steel to meting point and then melt it is (470 x (1538 - 25) +
277,000) J = 988.1kJ
Mass of steel that can be raised from room temperature (25 ºC) to 1538 ºC and then
melted by 1.3 x 1012J is
1.3 x 1012J / 988.1 x 103J = 1,315 tons.
With a realistic conversion efficiency of only a fraction of a percent, it would be unlikely
for even a few tons of the central steel support columns to have melted. It is obvious
that the official story that the steel supports of the towers were melted by burning jet
fuel is woefully inadequate. Various internet sites have shown pictures of steel framed
buildings that have not collapsed even after being subjected to intense fire for days.
Fire has no effect whatsoever on the steel structure of buildings.

At right, an iron-rich sphere from one of the USGS sampling sites. Dr. Jones and Dr Harrit
had it backwards. As published in the peer reviewed literature by Dr. Millette, the iron-
rich spheres were caused by the nuclear reaction, not a remnant of non-existent ther-
mitic materials. The red-gray chips were simply the rust-proof paint used on the steel.
 Caustic Dust then in turn reacts with the other oxides present in the raw cement to form the inert finished mass of Calcium
Silicate, Calcium Aluminum Silicate and similar substances which we call concrete. Therefore pulverized concrete
The web site www.cooperativeresearch.org has the following description of the USGS dust analysis exercise, as or cement dust is not in itself caustic but in fact very inert. The only way the concrete dust could be made caustic
reported to the St. Louis Despatch newspaper: On the 17th of September 2001, US Geological Survey (USGS) sci- would be for it to be subjected to intense heat of over 800º C. The intense heat generated during the collapse of
entists Gregg Swayze and Todd Hoefen went to New York to obtain samples of dust fallout from the WTC collapse. the WTC literally calcined the Calcium Silicate and Calcium Aluminosilicate of the concrete back into Calcium Ox-
They collected 35 dust samples from a variety of locations around Ground Zero. This was to complement an air- ide. This analysis of the caustic nature of the dust by the USGS therefore confirms and corroborate the reports of
borne spectrographic analysis being carried out by the AVIRIS system. Dr. Roger Clarke, the head of the AVIRIS sys- the very high temperatures under the collapse site and on the surface itself. We are told that the intense heat gen-
tems, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, “The ground erated by the jet fuel fires melted the 47 steel box
samples ... gave us up-close, specific information columns of the WTC and caused its total collapse.
on specific points.” On September 19th they trans- Thermal calculations have already shown that this
mitted their data to the USGS office in Denver for is impossible. But the specific heat capacity of
analysis. concrete is higher than steel. Even more thermal
energy would be required to heat the concrete to
“Tests revealed the dust to be extremely alkaline with calcine it into CaO than to melt the steel — and
a pH of 12.1 (out of 14). [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, there was far more concrete dust from the build-
2/10/02] “... and that some of it was as caustic as liq- ings than there was steel.
uid drain cleaner.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 2/10/02
(B)] “We were startled at the pH level we were find- “Tests revealed the dust Energy Comparison
ing” Swayze adds. “We knew that the cement dust to be extremely caustic
was caustic, but we were getting pH readings of 12 How much energy would be required to heat the
and highly alkaline with
and higher. It was obvious that precautions had to concrete dust of the WTC sufficiently to calcine it
be taken to protect the workers and people return- a pH of 12.1 (out of 14).” into CaO?
ing to their homes from the dust.” Sam Vance, an Concrete will decompose into carbon dioxide and
environmental scientist with the EPA, sends the CaO at between 1400º F to 1600º F or 760º C to
results to officials at the EPA, the New York health 870º C.
department and US Public Health Service. [St. Lou- Let us assume that only half the concrete in each
is Post-Dispatch, 2/10/02]. building was calcined, i.e about 50,000 tonnes.
The Specific Heat Capacity of concrete is 0.8kJ/
What could have caused the dust to have such a kg.K
high pH - i.e. be more caustic than drain cleaner? The thermal energy required to raise that mass
It is not possible to measure the pH of a dry sub- of concrete to 760º C from room temperature is
stance. The high pH readings the USGS obtained therefore 50,000 x 1000 x 0.8 x (760-25) kJ = 2.9 x
were actually measured by putting the dust in 1010kJ or 2.9 x 1013 J.
water first and then seeing how alkaline or acid- How much thermal energy is available from the
ic the solution became. On the site, this moisture fuel in a Boeing 767?
would come from the hands, skin and lungs of res- The maximum Fuel Capacity of a standard B767 is
cue workers — and the people of New York. The 16,700 US Gallons or 112,725 lbs (and we know the
fact that such high pH was measured means that aircraft only had approximately 10,000 gallons on
the concrete dust either contained or had been board at impact).
turned into a strongly caustic or alkaline reagent
by whatever it was subjected to when the towers The Heat of Combustion of JetA is 42.8 MJ/kg.
collapsed. How could this happen? The Total Thermal Energy available from the fuel is
therefore: (112,725/2.2)kg x 42.8 MJ = 2.2 x 1012J
Dry cement powder is comprised of 64% Calci- Gun Encased In Concrete And Gun-Casing Remains • The Sign Reads: Therefore even assuming that the total theoreti-
um Oxide (CaO). When this is added to water, it cal thermal energy of the fuel was converted into
forms an alkaline solution of Calcium Hydroxide or The U.S. Customs House stored a large arsenal of firearms at its Six World Trade Center office. During recovery efforts, heating up the concrete of the building, with 100%
Ca(OH)2, similar to “drain cleaner” which is Sodium several handguns were found at Ground Zero, including these two cylindrical gun-casing remains and a revolver conversion efficiency, there would be insufficient
Hydroxide. In ready to mix cement and concrete, the embedded in concrete. Fire temperatures were so intense that concrete melted like lava around anything in its path. energy available to calcine more than a small frac-
Calcium Oxide is combined with other oxides. When [Note that the object on the left is a “bullet ball” described earlier with a gun barrel emerging from the top of the ball] tion of the concrete in the WTC. In reality, much of
water is added, the CaO turns into Ca(OH)2 which the fuel from at least the second aircraft impact was
expended in a large fireball outside the building. And the official explanation
for the collapse is that the burning fuel melted the steel columns of each tow-
er, which would not leave any energy left to render the concrete dust caustic.
According to the official FEMA report, the 767s carried much less than a full
load of fuel, estimated in fact at 10,000 USG. This amount of fuel could only
raise 2,233 tonnes of concrete to 760º C from room temperature, even with a
completely unrealistic 100% conversion efficiency.

Other Caustic Sources

There is another source of caustic agents that would have raised the pH of the
dust: the radioactive oxides of Calcium, Barium, Strontium and Zinc produced
by nuclear fission and decay. These oxides all form an alkaline solution on con-
tact with water. We have seen that the jet fuel could not possibly have calcined
enough concrete to turn the dust caustic. The shock wave itself from the nu-
clear blast would not calcine the concrete either, but there were eyewitness
accounts of the pyroclastic dust “sizzling” as it passed, so evidently it was at a
high temperature — whether it was hot enough to have calcined the concrete
we do not know.

However, even if we say that the intense volcanic heat was localized to
the sub-basement levels under the tower, coming from the molten cores
of the fissile material, and that this heat had no effect on the majority of
the dust from the disintegrating towers, the radioactive fallout itself in the
dust would be caustic.

Therefore the caustic nature of the dust could be yet another indication
that the towers were subjected to a nuclear explosion. We can certainly
say we would expect to find caustic dust, caused by the presence of alkali
forming oxides of the common nuclear fission products — Barium, Stron-
tium, Zinc and also Calcium.

Conclusion

There is overwhelming evidence that extraordinarily high temperatures were

produced during the collapse of the WTC and that they persisted for weeks if
not months after the collapse. If the towers had been demolished by a normal
atomic bomb, the residual heat left would have been marginal. All of the fis-
sile material in the bomb would be converted to explosive energy. Destruction
would have been massive, covering blocks and blocks of downed buildings.
The thermal energy available from the fuel on board each aircraft is minuscule
in comparison with that required to melt the steel columns and raise the tem-
perature of the rubble to the temperatures of 1000K recorded by the AVIRIS
infra-red system at the surface, let alone the underground temperatures that
were vaporising glass. It’s estimated that 30% of the cement was calcined into
dust. The only explanation that can bring together both the evidence of nu-
“... we would expect to find caustic dust, caused by the presence of alkali forming oxides
clear fission, fusion and the volcanic temperatures on the site is that of 3rd of the common nuclear fission products — Barium, Strontium, Zinc and also Calcium.”
generation nuclear device(s).
 Patricia Ondrovic, EMT and Robert Ruiz, EMT
Witnesses To Electromagnetic Pulses
By Jeff Prager
As EMT Patricia Ondrovic attempted to enter World Trade Center Build-
ing 6 just prior to destruction of Twin Tower One, she was prevented
from entering by guards stationed at the entrances. Yet as she looked
into the lobby she “saw a series of flashes around the ceiling of the lob-
by all going off one-by-one like the Christmas lights that chase in pattern.”
This is easily and accurately explained by Electromagnetic Pulses. At
almost the very same time, Ondrovic reports that as she began to run,
a car door exploded from a car, for no apparent reason, knocking her
down and injuring her rib cage. All of this occurred just as Tower One
began to explode.

A car door exploding is explainable. As Electromagnetic pulses

passed through Ondrovics area they intercepted the metal cars near
Ondrovic. These pulses — extraordinary electromagnetic currents —
induce a strong current in metal but not in people or paper. That
current is prevented from flowing beyond the door itself by an air gap
surrounding the door and so the door itself can only expand so far be-
fore its boundary or air gap is reached. The final result is that the door
itself or its metal door handles will fly off or explode away from the ve-
hicle. Note that dozens and dozens of vehicles in and around Ground
Zero are missing their doors and/or door handles, mirrors, bumpers
and all aluminum flashing.

In a book by the Anonymous Physicist discussing EMT Robert Ruiz, we

find, “His utter incredulity at watching a car completely catch on fire for no
discernible reason ... Ruiz just barely escaped WTC 2 being destroyed. First
he describes the ground near him shaking before the “collapse” starts. This
could be evidence of an underground nuclear bomb going off before the
top was brought down.” Ruiz says, “the ground shakes, then WTC 2 starts to
come down, and he runs and survives under a nearby doorway.” Ruiz then
states, “I was trapped there. Like things weren’t bad enough already, the
car that’s parked right on that corner catches on fire. I don’t mean a little
fire, the entire thing. Don’t ask me how. The entire car caught on fire. You
would think maybe just a motor part or just the engine part. But this entire
car just goes up in fire.”

In layman’s terms, Ruiz was standing in a position, perhaps protected

by a building edge, where the Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) was still
strong enough to be “sucked up by the metal vehicle” but not carrying
enough heat to affect Ruiz — and the vehicle burst into flames.

Only electromagnetic pulses can account for these anomalies and

again we have proof that 911 was a nuclear event.
 chapter two
The Peer Review
911 Rescue Animals
Enriched Uranium Use In War
1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th Generation Nuclear Weapons
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intentionally made by writing ‘Tragedy and Hope’ was to help

the ordinary American realize the utter contempt which the

Network leaders have for ordinary people. Human beings are

treated en masse as helpless puppets on an international chess

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them to wars, revolution, civil strife, confiscation, subversion,

indoctrination, manipulation and deception.”

~ Quote by W. Cleon Skousen in “The Naked Capitalist”

“This is not a new matter for me. In the last three years I have been involved as
an expert witness in a significant number of cases involving exposure to urani-
um, including veteran appeal tribunals in the UK and a class action in the Royal
Courts of Justice, and I have succeeded in every single case in persuading the
tribunal judges that the evidence advanced by the UK Defence Ministry is out-
dated and has been overtaken by new scientific research.”
~ Dr. Christopher Busby
 Hidden Genetic Damage
And New Weapons Of The Military Industrial Complex
By Jeff Prager

Is this where I say, “hold on to your hats?”

“This is all very James Bond you know? You get money in brown envelopes, you meet people on platforms with samples
who’ve got like a daffodil (gestures to breast pocket), you know, “the rain is very heavy today in Iraq”. “no, it’s not”. [1] It’s
quite exciting!

~ Dr. Christopher Busby discussing conducting his study of the extraordinary cancer epidemic, the highest rates
of cancer ever seen on planet earth in the entirety of human history, even higher than Hiroshima — in Fallujah,
Iraq — where he finds “new, experimental atomic weapons” have been used [2] [See page 131].

How do the national and international organizations entrusted with protecting humanity from ionizing radiation
fallout get away with duping you and enriching the nuclear industry by many billions? They lie:

“UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation) [3] based its dismissal of any prob-
lem with Uranium exposures on three citations, desktop reviews, the RAND corporation 1999 report (Harley et al 1999),
the US Institute of Medicine 2001 report and that of the Royal Society in 2001. None of these reports were peer-reviewed,
and the RAND corporation is believed to be closely associated with the US Pentagon. All were selective in their referenc-
es. And all were out of date. None of these could deal with the particulate nanoparticle inhaled Uranium from weapons
fallout, since no-one had studied it. Yet all three (and also countless reports from agencies like WHO) employed the ICRP
model to show that the doses were too low.” [4]

I hope you understand the following: The “radiation risk model” used by the IAEA, UNSCEAR, EURATOM, ICRP, and
every national and international organization to judge your risk to exposure to environmental radiation from
Fukushima, Chernobyl or the nuclear power station in your neighborhood is flawed. Seriously flawed. Professor
Busby was invited to make an Intervention on the proposed adoption of the revised Basic Safety Standards for
Ionizing Radiation, the EURATOM Directive. This new version explicitly states its basis to be the fatally flawed and
a dangerous radiation risk model of the International Commission on Radiological Protection ICRP (chased out of
Sweden by Busby in 2010 and now resident in Canada) [8]. Dr. Christopher Busby, who is in my opinion the most
competent man on earth when it comes to nuclear radiation [5,6,7,8], discusses “the James Bond stuff” in relation-
ship to his studies — studies that reveal:

1. Depleted Uranium in Iraq is not the problem.

2. Depleted Uranium in Iraq is the cover story.
3. Enriched Uranium was used in Iraq, Bosnia, Gaza, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and elsewhere.
4. Enriched uranium means an atomic bomb of some type or style.
5. There is a new, anti-personnel weapon (anti-human), the size of an apple.
6. The weapon can be detonated above, below or at ground level, producing widely differing results.

Which Could Be

7. A thermobaric weapon.
8. A thermobaric weapon made with uranium.
9. A fission-fusion hybrid neutron bomb, expect deuterium, tritium and neutron activation products, and small,
the size of an apple or grapefruit that leaves virtually no radioactivity behind which may be seen for just days.
The video links below are in large part Dr. Busby, alone, providing ex-
cellent presentations on these issues and in terms that all of us will be
able to easily understand [1, 9].

Confused on issues nuclear related? Look for Dr. Busby’s other You-
tube videos and interviews. Links 1 and 9 are videos all of us should
take the time to watch and understand. Dr. Busby’s Green Audit web
site has links for most of the peer reviewed reports he’s published over
the years [10] along with links for Green Audit Publications [11].

References

1. Professor Christopher Busby: Fallujah Health Effects, New Uranium

Weapons, Stockholm, November 2011, Youtube - A “must watch” video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWua6EjfImI
2. Cancer, Infant Mortality and Birth Sex-Ratio in Fallujah, Iraq,
by Busby, Mamdan and Ariabi, 2005-2009:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/113416726/55
3. UNSCEAR, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of
Atomic Radiation, web site: http://www.unscear.org/
4. The Health Effects of Exposure to Uranium and Uranium Weapons
Fallout, European Committee on Radiation Risk, Brussels, 2010: http://
www.google.com/url?q=http://www.earthlife.org.za/wp-content/
uploads/2011/04/ECRR-Uranium-and-Health-2010.pdf&sa=U&ei=L-
gIvU9KJPI602AW-wYBI&ved=0CC4QFjAD&usg=AFQjCNEL31RVkk4J-
Dl6ERK-qAzaiplA-1Q
5. The Non Hodgkin Lymphoma of Steve Dornan and his previous ex-
posure to contamination from uranium weapons in Bosnia, Chris Bus-
by, PhD, December 2009:
www.greenaudit.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/42.pdf
6. Depleted Uranium Causes Cancer, The coroner’s inquest of Stuart
Raymond Dyson, Smethwick Council Chambers, Smethwick West Mid-
lands UK, Collected papers, Chris Busby Sept 11, 2009:
http://nonuclear.se/files/busby_dysonpapers20090911.pdf
7. The health outcome of the fukushima catastrophe; initial analysis
from risk model of the european committee on radiation risk ecrr oc-
casional paper, Chris Busby, July 2011:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/111935113/24
8. Aspects of DNA Damage from Internal Radionuclides, Dr. Christo-
pher Busby: http://www.greenaudit.org/
9. Prof Chris Busby in European Parliament, Brussels, Jan 2013, You-
tube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTk2bJ9-RBE
10. Green Audit Papers and Reports:
http://www.greenaudit.org/papers/
11. Green Audit Publications:
http://www.greenaudit.org/publications/
 Under The Radar: Identifying Third-Generation Uranium Weapons
By Dai Williams

Dr. Dai Williams is a work psychologist and independent researcher in the United Kingdom.
Uranium is a heavy metal: it has a number of properties
that make it a strategic material for nuclear and other
He correlates technical, combat, health and environmental data regarding suspected
uranium weapons from specialists and verified sources. • Ultrafine dispersal: uranium burns to a black dust or
aerosol of mainly insoluble oxides. Due to the minute
weapons and a genotoxic hazard. size of particles, contamination disperses widely, resus-

•
pended by the sun, vehicles and wind.

•
Radioactive isotopes: natural uranium contains ra-
dioactive isotopes of different energy levels: primarily Toxicity: uranium dust is toxic, and can cause severe
U-238 (99.28%), U-235 (0.71%) and U-234 (0.005%). Ra- skin and lung irritation and damage the kidneys. High
dioactive decay, combustion and nuclear reactions cre- doses can cause renal failure within days. [2]
ate daughter products, thermal radiation and ionizing
radiation (alpha, beta and gamma). High-energy, short- Strategic Context And Known Uranium Weapons
range alpha particles are genotoxic, causing potential-
ly carcinogenic and mutagenic chromosome damage. The first generation of uranium weapons exploited the

•
fission potential of the U-235 isotope in enriched ura-
High density: uranium has a density of 19g/cm3. This nium to create nuclear weapons. Global contamina-
is similar to tungsten and gold, 1.7 times the density of tion from nuclear fallout started in 1945 and continued
lead and 2.4 times that of iron. The use of uranium can from over 500 atmospheric nuclear tests up to 1996.
increase a weapon’s kinetic energy, enabling it to pen- [3] Highly enriched and depleted uranium and plutoni-
etrate tanks and bunkers. um are the main materials in many nuclear warheads.

•
Testing has added several hundred tons of uranium
High strength: uranium creates very hard alloys with and other oxides to global background alpha radiation
certain metals (e.g. titanium, niobium or cobalt). These sources in soil and oceans as well as gamma-emitting
alloys can be used for defensive armour, armour-pierc- fission products.
ing penetrators and high-impact warheads.

•
The horrors of the use of nuclear weapons in the Sec-
Low melting point: at 1132ºC, less than half that of ond World War made them an arms control priority.
tungsten, uranium’s melting point makes it suitable for Nuclear weapons were classified as weapons of mass
shaped charge liners. When fired, these liners melt to destruction (WMD); in 1968 the Treaty on the Non-pro-
form a focused jet of liquid metal that travels at very liferation of Nuclear Weapons was signed and the
high speed to burn through metal or rock. non-proliferation regime took root. Concerns over the

•
health effects of nuclear fallout had led to the Partial
Pyrophoric: uranium burns in air. Temperatures at Test-Ban Treaty in 1963 but testing continued, with
explosion can reach up to 5000ºC (compared with global health consequences. The Comprehensive Nu-
phosphorus at 900ºC, napalm 1300ºC and thermite at clear-Test-Ban Treaty was signed in 1996, although it
2500ºC). [1] has not yet entered into force.
Since the 1970s a second generation of uranium weapons has been developed, which exploits the non-fission ti-personnel effects. The United States Air Force (USAF) Mission Plan of 1997 included nine upgrades of bombs and
properties of uranium. Depleted Uranium (DU, a by-product of the nuclear enrichment process) is used to create missiles using “dense metal” warheads. [13] The possibility that these dense metal warheads might exploit uranium
strong and dense alloys for tank armour and anti-tank ammunition. These solid DU penetrators burn through ar- (or depleted uranium) for its high-density and incendiary properties was put forward in 2001 to explain radiation
mour and may fragment inside the target into smaller particles that ignite to cause a high-temperature incendiary anomalies in the Balkans. [14] Jane’s web site states that “some guided weapons used depleted uranium to increase
explosion. In 1991, 286 metric tons of DU ammunition were used in the First Gulf War; 3 tons were used in Bosnia the penetration effect”. [15]
in 1994–1995; 11 in Kosovo and Serbia in 1999; and over 75 in Iraq in 2003—in total over 375 tons reported since
1990. [4] Data on these warheads are publicly available on military research and manufacturers’ web sites, [16] but the
high-density metals used are classified. Three
Penetrators that hit their targets and burn cause different conventional warhead technologies
airborne uranium oxide dust contamination. can be enhanced using uranium components:
Unburned penetrators contaminate soil and shaped charge warheads and submunitions
groundwater. Official reports from the North can use uranium in their liners; hard-target
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) [5], and for bomb and missile warheads can exploit urani-
governments and military in the United King- um in their casings or as ballast; and high-den-
dom [6], United States [7] and Europe [8] have sity, reactive metal or thermobaric explosives
consistently minimized radiological health risks can use the pyrophoric property of uranium.
from DU weapons. But complex health problems While tungsten alloys are also strong and
for civilians in recent conflict zones (Bosnia, Iraq) dense, uranium has added advantages regard-
and illnesses known as Gulf War Syndrome for ing its incendiary properties, and penetrates
veterans of the First Gulf War have caused wide- better.
spread concern. [9] This has led to investigations
such as environmental testing by the United Na- Uranium-Enhanced
tions Environment Programme and urine testing Shaped Charge Warheads
of veterans by the United Kingdom’s Depleted
Uranium Oversight Board, but no official testing The 1980s saw the development of increas-
of civilians in conflict zones. Almost all the inves- ingly complex and powerful anti-tank missiles,
tigations have focused on analysis and testing including small guided weapons with tandem
for depleted uranium. warheads (which detonate twice or more),
some of which used shaped charges. Short-
Growing concern about the hazards of DU weap- range guided weapons were developed with
ons are slowly seeing some response from the a range of shaped charge warheads that could
international community: the European Parlia- be used on many tactical targets, e.g. tanks, ve-
ment has voted for a moratorium on DU ammu- hicles and bunkers. Shaped charge technology
nition in 2001, 2003 and 2008. [10] In October is now widely used in modern weapons from
2007 a United Nations General Assembly resolu- landmines, demolition charges and submu-
tion requested the Secretary-General to submit nitions up to advanced multistage warheads
a report on the “effects of the use of armaments used for hard-target penetration. There is ev-
and ammunitions containing depleted uranium” idence to suggest that uranium is being used
for its Sixty-third session. [11] However, the lat- in shaped charge warheads. Civilian research
est European Union and United Nations resolu- into shaped charges for oil well perforation in
tions have been carefully restricted to the use of DU, excluding other non-nuclear uranium weapons. By restricting the 1980s showed penetration increased fivefold when copper shaped charge liners were replaced with urani-
debate and scientific testing to depleted uranium weapons the arms control agenda has been diverted from a um. [17] The United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence web site reported tests for an “Anglo-French tandem warhead
third generation of undisclosed uranium weapons developed to meet more recent strategic concerns —guided with DU rear liner” in 1999. [18] Upgraded shaped charge weapons (judging from the extra letters used in their
weapons enhanced with undepleted uranium. names, e.g. AGM-65G) were deployed in the First Gulf War in TOW, Hellfire and over 5,000 Maverick missiles. [19]
These systems were used again in the Balkans in 1995 and 1999, and in Afghanistan, Iraq and Lebanon. [20] It
In the 1980s and 1990s the threats of large-scale tank warfare, and of chemical and biological weapons, led to the is not known how many used, or use, uranium-enhanced warheads, or the levels of contamination they have
desire to modify or enhance a wide range of conventional weapons. These included retrofitting AGM-86 nuclear caused, because uranium liners would have burned or vaporized into fine oxide dust. Weapons manufacture
cruise missiles with non-nuclear warheads [12] and developing new bomb and missile warheads designed for and target inspections and casualty testing are needed to verify the extent to which uranium liners or casings
hard or deeply buried targets, some with agent defeat (to burn up chemical or biological warfare agents) and an- are used in shaped charge weapons.
 Uranium Ballast In Hard-Target Warheads kans if, as some suspected, they carried depleted uranium warheads (Tomahawk, BLU- 109/B, GBU-28 Bunker
Buster, BLU-107 Durandal, AGM-114 Hellfire and armour piercing incendiary ammunition). [27] The worst-case
The threat that WMD may be hidden in hardened concrete bunkers or deeply buried in tunnels or caves resulted scenario estimated that with 400kg of DU in a Tomahawk warhead and 651kg in a BLU-109/B, attacks using 1000
in the development of hard-target or “Bunker Buster” warheads. The 2 metric ton GBU-28 Bunker Buster was first of each could involve 1000 tons of DU. Of this at least 200 tons may be respirable. The study only considered the
tested in combat in Iraq in 1991. [21] These weapons tend to be much heavier than those using shaped charges, use of depleted uranium, since at the time there was no suspicion that weapons could be using any other form
and are used for deep impact on larger targets. of uranium, but it is possible these weapons were in fact using undepleted uranium. Such use could explain the
increased uranium dust levels observed by neighbouring states at the time (see center graph).
The 1997 USAF Mission Plan and Hard and Deeply Buried Target Defeat System Program defined a new generation
of guided weapons with short- and long-range warheads capable of penetrating up to 5m of reinforced concrete Uranium-Enhanced Explosives And Thermobaric Weapons
or over 20m of soil. [22] These warheads range in size from 250lbs to 20,000lbs. All are intended to achieve at least
twice the penetration effect of previous weapons by using smaller diameter warheads and replacing steel with Thermobaric explosives produce intense heat and a blast wave that suffocates humans in the blast area (if they are
high-density metal casings or ballast. Some are also intended to function as agent defeat warheads. not incinerated). [28] Uranium alloys can be engineered to produce hard but brittle bomb casings or ballast that can
fragment and burn at very high temperatures, enhancing conventional weapons to create a blast with a fireball and
These warheads are of standard sizes and compatible with existing weapons and delivery platforms. Combined with fragments of burning uranium shrapnel. Video reports from Iraq and Lebanon show explosions with these effects.
smart laser or satellite guidance units, e.g. JDAM and Paveway, they become guided bomb units (GBU). Some war- [29] In March 2002 a thermobaric warhead was used on underground targets in Afghanistan. Designated the BLU-
heads can be delivered in air-to-ground 118/B, it used the new high-density war-
missiles or sea-launched missiles. En- head casings of the BLU-116. [30] The
hancement projects include convert- GBU-28 has been upgraded with the
ing existing Air Launched (ALCM) and BLU-122—another dense metal war-
Tomahawk cruise missiles (TLAM) to be head with a new explosive warhead—
able to carry new hard-target, Advanced to become an enhanced Bunker Buster,
Unitary Penetrator warheads instead EGBU-28 or EGBU-37. Thermobaric and
of tactical nuclear warheads. [23] Most high- density explosives have also been
of the warheads defined in the 1997 adapted to much smaller guided weap-
USAF Mission Plan became operation- ons, such as the AGM-114N Metal Aug-
al between 1999 and 2003 except the mented Charge Thermobaric Hellfire
20,000lb Direct Strike Hard Target Weap- and the SMAW-Novel Explosive shoul-
on (DSHTW). [24] der-mounted weapon used in Fallujah.
[31]
US patents published in 1999 and 2002,
including one for upgrading the 2000lb Dense Inert Metal Explosive (DIME), offi-
BLU-109 warhead, confirm that hard-tar- cially using tungsten powder, is another
get warhead upgrades could use tung- development of concern, anticipated
sten or uranium as the “heavy metal” from an examination of US patents. [32]
mentioned in the USAF Mission Plan. Operationally, tungsten and uranium
[25] In November 2001 the UK Govern- alloys could be interchangeable. If sus-
ment claimed that DU could not be used pected DIME casualties suffer severe
in guided bombs because it was too soft, burns, or burning shrapnel injuries,
although it acknowledged that titanium then this raises questions over whether
may be used. [26] But as the new tech- uranium is being added or substituted
nologies are more clearly understood, to make a more reactive high-density
the potential advantages of using ura- explosive.
nium in hard-target warheads—its high
density, its high-strength alloys, and Evidence Of Uranium Use
the very high temperatures at which it In Recent Conflicts
burns—become clear.
Since the 1986 Chernobyl accident
In 1999, an analysis was published of many countries have airborne radiation
the likely impact of weapon systems monitoring facilities. In May 1999 scien-
deemed to have been used in the Bal- tists in The former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia detected an 8-fold increase in airborne uranium levels soon after US bombing attacks began in the
Balkans. [33] In southern Hungary Kerekes et al. detected a 14-fold increase in airborne uranium dust (particles
less than 2μm in size, with almost normal, not depleted, U-235/U-238 ratios) during the bombing of Belgrade. [34]
Kerekes et al., were testing for DU and concluded that what they had detected was natural uranium from soil dis-
turbed by the bombing, an explanation reported by the UK Royal Society in 2002. [35]
In 2000, UNEP conducted an environmental assessment of DU contamination in the Balkans, when it received the
necessary data from NATO regarding how much DU had been used and where (this had been initially requested by
the UN Secretary-General in October 1999). NATO reported that their forces used 30,000 rounds (10 metric tons) of
DU ammunition in about 100 locations in the Balkans in 1999. [36] UNEP did not test bomb or missile targets: it was
looking into known DU use. UNEP published its report in January 2001, indicating no detectable contamination
more than 10–20m from known DU targets. [37] This represented a major anomaly considering the uranium detect-
ed in Hungary and The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. DU contamination from A10 bullets that only trav-
elled 20m does not explain the detection of airborne uranium dust in two different places over 150km away. Many
of the 12,000 guided weapons used in Afghanistan between October 2001 and June 2002 were targeted at suspect-
ed caves and bunkers, thus it follows that many employed hard-target warheads. Suspicions of the use of uranium
in these warheads were hard to verify: the United Kingdom and the United States have denied that the weapons
used contained DU, therefore UNEP’s post-conflict assessment of Afghanistan excluded any uranium testing.
But suspicions remained, and from 2002 several independent technical investigations into suspected new ura-
nium weapons began. The Uranium Medical Research Center (UMRC) in Canada arranged two field missions to
Afghanistan in 2002 and another to Iraq in 2003. The UMRC collected urine samples from civilians in bombed areas
near Jalalabad. These showed no DU, but very high levels of undepleted uranium (80–400ng/l: the normal level
among the United Kingdom population is 5ng/l). [38]
In 2004, Chris Busby used air sampling data from the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) in Aldermaston, Unit-
ed Kingdom, from 1998 to 2003 to identify a major increase in airborne uranium dust less than two weeks after
bombing in Baghdad (see Figure 1). This correlated with wind tracks from Iraq to the United Kingdom derived
from the United States’ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) modelling system. I ran further
NOAA tests and correlated other AWE peaks in uranium levels with Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan (March
2002) and air strikes in Ar Rutbah, Iraq (5–10 March 2003).
Multiple Testing Verifies Uranium Contamination In Lebanon
During the 2006 conflict between Hezbollah and Israel in Southern Lebanon, unusual explosions and extreme in-
juries during the conflict caused Lebanese communities, media and non-governmental organizations to question
whether Israel was using DU weapons or other new weapons. The United Nations Human Rights Council voted for
an inquiry into the suspected use of DU and other illegal weapons in the conflict, which reported in November.
[39] I visited Lebanon in September and November 2006 and met Lebanese physicist Dr M.A. Kobeissi. I witnessed
his radiation reading of 726nSv in Crater A, Khiam. I collected samples of soil and water from Khiam as well as
water, dust and urine samples and an ambulance’s air filter from south Beirut. These were tested by Chris Busby
at Green Audit, by the Harwell laboratory in the United Kingdom and by the School of Oceanographic Sciences’
laboratory at the University of Wales. Two samples contained high levels of undepleted uranium and four samples
contained low-enriched uranium. [40] Dr Kobeissi continued his studies in 2007: 15 urine samples from Beirut
were tested; two were found to contain low-enriched uranium and one a high level of undepleted uranium. [41]
UNEP’s first post-conflict survey of Lebanon, undertaken in October 2006, tested 32 locations for DU only, and all
were negative, so we met UNEP personnel in Geneva and returned to Lebanon to retest craters in Khiam on 21
November. UNEP did not test Crater B, where my soil and water samples were found to contain low-enriched ura-
nium. But the results of their soil tests in Crater A matched Kobeissi’s, with medium and high (26–52mg/kg, where
normal is 2–3mg/kg) levels of undepleted uranium. UNEP’s statements and final report reflect the results of their
first survey, smear tests for DU only. [42] Their more precise soil test results are available on their web site. [43]
Levels and isotopic ratios of uranium contamination distinguish between man-made and natural sources. Bring-
ing together the test results available for Lebanon—those from UNEP, Kobeissi and Busby/ Williams—suggests the
use of two different types of weapon, one containing undepleted uranium (Khiam Crater A) and one low-enriched
uranium (Khiam Crater B); both types of contamination were found in Beirut.
Since 2002 several independent uranium weapons researchers have been collecting combat reports and uranium
contamination reports and test results; combining these would create a valuable metadata resource. It has been
suggested that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should have an international databank of nuclear
explosives to allow the identification of the source of nuclear materials following an explosion. [44] A similar facil-
ity is necessary for non-fissile uranium sources, weapons and contamination incidents, to build a clearer and more
reliable picture of the possible development and use of new weapons and their effects.
Casualty Reports
Conflicts are used to combat-test new and prototype weapons. The first warning of the use of new weapons often
comes from combat reports of unusual deaths, injuries or destruction. These may not constitute legal or scientific
evidence but they serve as early warnings to the possible use of either new and unknown or outlawed weapons,
and to the need for operational vigilance and technical investigation.
Deaths and injuries involving extreme burns indicate the use of high-temperature weapons. In 1945 the heat from
nuclear weapons used in Japan carbonized casualties. In Iraq in 1991 casualties in tanks and vehicles hit by sec-
ond-generation DU ammunition were carbonized; civilians in the Al Amiriya shelter in Baghdad were carbonized
by a high-temperature explosion from a bomb or missile. In 2001 US troops bombed by accident in Afghanistan
suffered extreme burns. In 2003 Iraqi troop casualties at Baghdad airport were extremely burned on one side but
unburned on the other. In one case near Baghdad a child, partly protected by a wall, survived extreme burns that
charred his exposed limbs and torso indicating brief, very high-temperature flash burns. In Fallujah, Iraq in 2004
[45] and Lebanon in 2006 there were further reports of casualties with extreme burns. [46]
Since 2001 occasional reports from Afghanistan and Lebanon describe victims who died immediately, or within 24
hours, without external injuries, sometimes covered with black dust, sometimes with severe vomiting or internal
bleeding; [47] civilian medical personnel would be unaware that these casualty reports match the effects of new
thermobaric weapons.
Eyewitness And Media Reports Of Explosions
Photographs and television reports of combat situations give direct images of blast, explosions and the size, colour
and dispersal of explosion plumes. They also indicate effects such as crater size, penetration and blast damage.
Military personnel will recognize most types of explosion, plumes and craters, and which weapons cause them.
Some journalists and media teams are also skilled observers of the effects of weapons and the casualties in com-
bat zones, collating eyewitness reports and scientific or photographic data for public information. [48] Pictures
from Baghdad in 2003 and Beirut in 2006 (see above) all show explosions with a brilliant white flash (brighter than
lightning) followed by a large fireball (up to 50m diameter). Fragments of burning shrapnel are blown 100–200m
or more from the target, indicating high-density pyrophoric metal. Photos of explosions in Lebanon in 2006 often
showed two explosions on targets—one from a high explosive and one fireball. Eyewitnesses several hundred
metres from targets reported “silent” explosions and brief asphyxia “as if all the oxygen has gone”. It appears that
very large incendiary bombs are being used frequently, and their difference from high explosives is clear when
looking at a mixed strike. [49]
 Unusual illnesses And Deaths
International and regional organizations involved in emergency response and post-conflict recovery must be alert
for unusual health problems after an attack, not to forget the peacekeepers or coalitions that might also be ex-
posed, and national emergency response, health and arms control agencies. Health reports from combat zones
are quickly forgotten among the many other urgent concerns, but they may be early indications of communities
contaminated by the use of new weapons and deserve investigation.
However, acute exposure to toxic, biological or radioactive sources can be fatal within hours or days. In chaotic
conflict situations medical personnel able to assess the cause of death are likely to be scarce and victims are often
buried quickly for health, cultural or religious reasons. Medical assessments for the most acute casualties are rare
in remote locations so eyewitness reports of unusual deaths are important in trying to establish the cause of death.
Even for well-resourced populations like the United Kingdom and the United States, health anomalies among
troops may be undiagnosed, misdiagnosed or not reported. In 1991 US troops in Iraq reported early onset symp-
toms of nausea, numb hands and feet, joint pains, weakness etc. These symptoms were widespread and also
affected non-combatants e.g. technicians. In 2000 several NATO personnel from Italy and Portugal died after
post-conflict deployment to heavily bombed areas in the
Balkans. [50] Most died of rapid onset leukaemias or lym-
phomas, and classified investigations are ongoing.
“The first warning of the use of new weapons often comes from
In July 2003 a US soldier was evacuated from Baghdad with
a mysterious, non-bacterial pneumonia after hauling con-
combat reports of unusual deaths, injuries or destruction.”
taminated soil from targets in Baghdad to the desert. He
died three days later of renal failure. Nineteen other troops
were reported with similar conditions. [51] Severe lung irri-
tation and toxic effects could be symptoms of exposure to large amounts of uranium oxide dust. This possibility
was recognized in the United Kingdom’s Royal Society report on DU in 2002, but as the investigation was on
known uses of uranium in combat, there was no expectation of possible lethal toxic exposure from uranium or
depleted uranium in large warheads. [52]
In Afghanistan there were several reports of unusual illnesses and fatalities in combat regions: doctors reported
several undiagnosed deaths within 2–3 days of bombing incidents that they suspected were due to non-con-
ventional weapons. [53] In November 2001 the World Health Organization’s Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and
Response web site reported a major epidemic of leishmaniasis in the Kabul region. In February 2002 it reported
30 deaths from Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever out of season. [54] In April 2003 visceral leishmaniasis was re-
ported in northern Iraq soon after bombing and an influenza epidemic in western Iran, downwind of bombing in
Iraq. Perhaps understandably, symptoms and injuries are being explained by “known” possible causes, as medical
experts are not looking for the possible effects of the use of new weapons. However, these explanations can seem
far-fetched. Health problems that may be delayed onset effects of weapons use (three to five years or more after
attacks) were reported in Iraq in the mid-1990s, Bosnia in the late 1990s, and more recently in Afghanistan and Fal-
lujah, Iraq. Reported problems include severe birth defects, leukaemias, lymphomas and a range of other chronic
or fatal health conditions. [55]
Comprehensive public reports about overall post-conflict health and mortality for military personnel in Europe
and North America are rare. Rigorous uranium testing for veterans only started with the United Kingdom’s De-
pleted Uranium Oversight Board project after 2002. [56] Most veterans who have served in locations presumed or
known to have been contaminated by uranium have not been fully tested for uranium contamination. There has
been no systematic national uranium testing of civilians from recent conflict zones since 1991. The search of vet-
erans and civilians involved in the First Gulf War for answers to their long-term health problems remains far from
over in 2008.
Conclusion
Undepleted uranium dust is effectively invisible to conventional field and laboratory tests. It gives no gamma
radiation indication in the field and shows an almost normal isotopic ratio in laboratory tests. This is perfect cam-
ouflage for large quantities of radiological contamination—it appears to be natural background uranium.
Recent public and scientific discourse has been restricted to depleted uranium, mainly because this is the only
form of uranium that has been admitted as used in weapons. However, as long as it is suspected that new weapons
are being developed and used that contain other forms of uranium, scientific assessments of veterans’ and civil-
ians’ health, and of the post-conflict environment, must consider the use of any combination of uranium isotopes.
This paper describes warhead enhancements planned over 10 years ago. If these weapons are using uranium, the
levels of contamination could be massive. Moreover, what developments have there been in the meantime? The
borderline between conventional, radiological and nuclear weapons is increasingly blurred, both technically and
legally. In 2004 the United Nations Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters noted that:
“The nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime does not address the issue of radiological weapons and war-
fare, as it is strictly devoted to nuclear weapons and the respec-
tive fissile materials. No international instrument is available
in the realm of radiological weapons.” [57]
The board recommended that the Conference on Disarma-
ment begin negotiations on a convention for the prohibi-
tion of radiological weapons. International debate and far
wider health studies and scientific review are needed to
uncover the full scope of radiological weapons technology,
their use, and hazards for civilians, troops and global contamination.
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16. See, for example, the Boeing and Lockheed Martin web sites (www.boeing.com and www.lockheedmartin.
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Analysis Network and the web site GlobalSecurity.org are also useful sources.
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lished 10 April 1984, assignee Wilson.
18. United Kingdom Ministry of Defence, 2002, Proposal for a Research Programme on Depleted Uranium, Appen-
dix A, A.1: DERA reports produced between 1 April 1995 and 18 May 2001.
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21. FAS Military Analysis Network, Guided Bomb Unit-28 (GBU-28): BLU-113 Penetrator, updated 22 February 1998,
at<www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/smart/gbu-28.htm>.
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see also the RDT&E Budget Item Justification of February 2006 (PE 0604327N), at <www.dtic.mil/descriptivesum/
Y2007/Navy/0604327N.pdf>.
23. See Boeing, AGM-86C/D Conventional Air-launched Cruise Missile (CALCM) Backgrounder, August 2008, at
<www.boeing.com/defense-space/missiles/calcm/docs/CALCM_overview.pdf>; BGM-109 Tomahawk: Tomahawk
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bgm-109-var. htm>.
24. Williams, January 2002, op. cit., Table 4, p. 131.
25. Patent located and described by David Hambling in “The Heavy Metal Logic Bomb”, The Guardian, 5 September
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1999, assignee Raytheon Company; Shrouded aerial bomb, United States Patent 6389977, filed 25 May 2000 (PCT
filed 11 December 1997), published 21 May 2002, assignee Lockheed Martin Corporation.
26. Letter from Dr Lewis Moonie MP, Under Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans Affairs, in Wil-
liams, 2002, op. cit., p. 52.
27. Liolios, op. cit.
28. Anna E. Wildegger-Gaissmaier, 2003, “Aspects of Thermobaric Weaponry”, ADF Health, vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 3–6.
29. CNN report on the“Shock and Awe”bombing of Baghdad, March 2003, at <www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aEvzuA
4f0c&feature=related>; “New Israeli Strike ‘kills 28’”, BBC News, 4 August 2006, at <news.bbc.co.uk/media/avdb/
news_web/video/9012da68004cf50/bb/09012da68004d1e4_16x9_bb.ram>.
30. Jane’s Information Group, BLU-118B Thermobaric Warhead (United States), June 2008, at <www.janes.com/
extracts/extract/jalw/jalw9169.html>.
31. “AGM-114N Metal Augmented Charge (MAC) Thermobaric Hellfire”, GlobalSecurity.org, last updated 25 No-
vember 2005, at <www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/agm-114n.htm>; “SMAW Novel Explosive
(SMAW- NE)”, GlobalSecurity.org, last updated 7 April 2008, at <www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/
smaw-ne. htm>.
32. See High density tungsten-loaded castable explosive, US Patent 5910638, filed 28 November 1997, published
8 June 1999, assignee United States of America, and others cited in Dai Williams, October 2002, Uranium weapons
2001–2003: Hazards of Uranium weapons for Afghanistan and Iraq, Tables A and B, at <www.eoslifework.co.uk/
pdfs/u25.pdf>.
33. Scott Peterson, 2000, “Depleted Uranium Haunts Kosovo and Iraq”, Middle East Report 215.
34. A. Kerekes et al., 2001, “Did NATO Attacks in Yugoslavia Cause a Detectable Environmental Effect in Hungary?”,
Health Physics, vol. 80, no. 2, pp. 177–178.
35. Royal Society, 2002, op. cit., p. 22.
36. “NATO Confirms to the United Nations Use of Depleted Uranium during the Kosovo Conflict”, Joint UNEP and
UNCHS (Habitat) news release, 21 March 2000.
37. UNEP, 2001, Depleted Uranium in Kosovo: Post-conflict Environmental Assessment, Geneva.
38. A. Durakovic, 2005, “The Quantitative Analysis of Uranium Isotopes in the Urine of the Civilian Population of
Eastern Afghanistan after Operation Enduring Freedom”, Military Medicine, vol. 170, no. 4, pp. 277–284.
39. UN Human Rights Council Special session resolution S-2/1, 11 August 2006; United Nations Human Rights
Council, Implementation of General Assembly Resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006 Entitled “Human Rights Coun-
cil”: Report of the Commission of Inquiry on Lebanon Pursuant to Human Rights Council Resolution s-2/1, UN
document A/HRC/3/2, 23 November 2006, note 218.
40. C. Busby and D. Williams, 2006, Evidence of Enriched Uranium in Guided Weapons Employed by the Israeli Mil-
itary in Lebanon in July 2006: Preliminary Note, research note 6/2006, Green Audit, at <www.llrc.org/du/subtopic/
lebanrept. pdf>; C. Busby and D. Williams, 2006, Further Evidence of Enriched Uranium in Guided Weapons Em-
ployed by the Israeli Military in Lebanon in July 2006: Ambulance Air Filter Analysis, research note 7/2006, Green
Audit, at <www. llrc.org/du/subtopic/ambulance.pdf>.
41. M.A. Kobeissi, “A Study on the Presence of Depleted and Enriched Uranium Used by Israeli Bombardments on
Lebanon during the July\August Conflict 2006”, presentation to the Fondazione Internazionale Lelio e Lisli Basso
Issoco, 28 March 2008, at <www.internazionaleleliobasso.it/public/contributi/Kobeissi_Italy_Lecture2008.pdf>.
42. UNEP, 2007, Lebanon: Post-conflict Environmental Assessment, Geneva, available at <postconflict.unep.ch/
index. php?prog=Lebanon>.
43. Spiez Laboratory, Test Report no. NUC-2006-030A, “Determination of uranium isotopes and depleted uranium
in soil samples from the Lebanon DU Assessment II, Khiam”, 29 November 2006, at <postconflict.unep.ch/lebanon-
report/ Weapons%20team/Mission%20II%20-%20Nov%202006/TR-06030A.doc>.
44. M. May and J. Davis, 2006, “Preparing for the Worst”, Nature, vol. 443, October, pp. 907–908.
45. “The Fog of War: White Phosphorus, Fallujah and Some Burning Questions”, The Independent, 15 November
2005.
46. Dai Williams, September 2006, Eos Weapons Study in Lebanon, September 2006: Interim Report, pp. 20 and 21,
at <www.eoslifework.co.uk/pdfs/u26leb19oct.pdf>.
47. Williams, January 2002, op. cit., p.35 ; Williams, September 2006, op. cit, p. 21.
48. See, for example, Robert Fisk, “Mystery of Israel’s Secret Uranium Bomb”, The Independent, 28 October 2006;
F. Masella, A. Saso and M. Torrealta, “Khiam Southern Lebanon: A Bomb’s Anatomy”, RaiNews 24, November 2006,
at <www.rainews24.it/ran24/inchieste/09112006_bomba_ing.asp>; and F. Masella, A. Saso and M. Torrealta, “War
Dust Uranium in Beirut”, RaiNews24, January 2007, at <www.rainews24.it/ran24/inchieste/18012007_polvere_
eng. asp>.
49. Dai Williams, September 2006, op. cit., pp. 19, 21–23.
50. “Italy Wants Answers from NATO on Uranium Arms after Six Balkans Soldiers Die”, Agence France Presse, 3 Jan-
uary 2001; Christina Lamb, “The Enemy Within”, Daily Telegraph, 19 June 2001.
51. “US Soldier who Died of Iraq ‘Mystery’ Illness is Buried”, Lake Sun Leader (Missouri), 21 July 2003; “7 More Cases
of Mystery Illness US Troops in Baghdad”, Lake Sun Leader (Missouri), 12 July 2003.
52. Royal Society, 2002, op. cit., p. x.
53. “US Targets Taliban Front Line”, The Guardian, 22 October 2001. For other health effects of uranium weapons,
see Williams, October 2002, op. cit. pp. 23–24.
54. These reports are no longer available on the web site.
55. Many of these affect children, see the report from the Monitoring Net of Human Rights in Iraq and the Con-
servation Center of Environmental and Reserves in Fallujah, Prohibited Weapons Crisis: The Effects of Pollution on
the Public Health in Fallujah, presented to the seventh session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, March
2008; and “Iraq Deformities”, Journeyman Pictures, 7 July 2008, at <www.journeyman.tv/?lid=58969>.
56. Final Report of the Depleted Uranium Oversight Board, February 2007, at <www.duob.org> or <www. mod.
uk/defenceinternet/aboutdefence/corporatepublications/healthandsafetypublications/uranium/ finalreportoft-
hedepleteduraniumoversightboard.htm>.
57. Department for Disarmament Affairs, 2004, Disarmament And Non-Proliferation Regimes, DDA Occasional Pa-
pers no. 8, Geneva, United Nations, p. 18.
 International Journal Of Environmental Research & Public Health • July 2010
Cancer, Infant Mortality And Birth Sex-Ratio In Fallujah, Iraq 2005–2009
By Chris Busby 1, Malak Hamdan 2 and Entesar Ariabi 3
1. Department of Molecular Biosciences
University of Ulster, Cromore Rd, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, UK
2. 100 Tanfield Avenue, Neasden, London, NW2 7RT, UK
E-Mail: malakhamdan@hotmail.com
3. 82 Goldsmith Road, London, N11 3JN, UK
E-Mail: intisar_alobady@yahoo.com
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed:
E-Mail: christo@greenaudit.org; Tel.: +44-1970-630215; Fax: +44-1970-630215
Received: June 7th, 2010; in revised form: June 23rd, 2010
Accepted: June 30th, 2010 • Published: July 6th, 2010
Abstract
There have been anecdotal reports of increases in birth defects and cancer in Fallujah, Iraq blamed on
the use of novel weapons (possibly including depleted uranium) in heavy fighting which occurred in that
town between US led forces and local elements in 2004. In Jan/Feb 2010 the authors organised a team
of researchers who visited 711 houses in Fallujah, Iraq and obtained responses to a questionnaire in Ar-
abic on cancer, birth defects and infant mortality. The total population in the resulting sample was 4,843
persons with an overall response rate that was better than 60%. Relative Risks for cancer were age-stan-
dardised and compared to rates in the Middle East Cancer Registry (MECC, Garbiah Egypt) for 1999 and
rates in Jordan 1996–2001. Between January 2005 and the survey end date there were 62 cases of cancer
malignancy reported (RR = 4.22; CI: 2.8, 6.6; p < 0.00000001) including 16 cases of childhood cancer 0-14
(RR = 12.6; CI: 4.9, 32; p < 0.00000001). Highest risks were found in all-leukaemia in the age groups 0-34
(20 cases RR = 38.5; CI: 19.2, 77; p < 0.00000001), all lymphoma 0–34 (8 cases, RR = 9.24;CI: 4.12, 20.8; p <
0.00000001), female breast cancer 0–44 (12 cases RR = 9.7;CI: 3.6, 25.6; p < 0.00000001) and brain tumours
all ages (4 cases, RR = 7.4;CI: 2.4, 23.1; P < 0.004). Infant mortality was based on the mean birth rate over
the 4 year period 2006–2009 with 1/6th added for cases reported in January and February 2010. There
were 34 deaths in the age group 0–1 in this period giving a rate of 80 deaths per 1,000 births. This may be
compared with a rate of 19.8 in Egypt (RR = 4.2 p < 0.00001) 17 in Jordan in 2008 and 9.7 in Kuwait in 2008.
The mean birth sex-ratio in the recent 5-year cohort was anomalous. Normally the sex ratio in human
populations is a constant with 1,050 boys born to 1,000 girls. This is disturbed if there is a genetic damage
stress. The ratio of boys to 1,000 girls in the 0–4, 5–9, 10–14 and 15–19 age cohorts in the Fallujah sample
were 860, 1,182, 1,108 and 1,010 respectively suggesting genetic damage to the 0–4 group (p < 0.01).
Whilst the results seem to qualitatively support the existence of serious mutation-related health effects in
Fallujah, owing to the structural problems associated with surveys of this kind, care should be exercised
in interpreting the findings quantitatively.
Introduction
There have been several media reports of apparent excess rates of cancers and birth defects in the town
of Fallujah in Iraq, some 50 miles west of Baghdad [1-3]. In 2004, one year after the end of the second
Persian Gulf War in March 2003 there was heavy fighting between US led occupation troops and Iraqi el-
ements in this town. Little is known about the types of weapons deployed, but reports began to emerge
after 2005 of a sudden increase in cancer and leukaemia rates.
Concerns have been expressed for some time about increases in cancer, leukemia and congenital birth
anomalies in Iraq. These have been blamed [4] on mutagenic and carcinogenic agents (like depleted ura-
nium) employed in the wars of 1991 and 2003. Increases in childhood leukaemia in Basrah have recently
been investigated [5] and the findings confirm that there has indeed been a significant increase since
1991. Unfortunately, since many reports from Iraq and Fallujah have been anecdotal, and have rarely
been backed up by any population-based epidemiological evidence, it is difficult in these cases to assess
the validity of the various assertions. Questionnaire survey studies have a long history of use in areas
where there are difficulties obtaining accurate population numbers or illness rates [6]. Epidemiology in
post-conflict areas where official population, cancer and birth data are not available can use question-
naire survey methods developed and used earlier in a number of areas of the UK and Ireland. The method
is described fully with a sample questionnaire in Busby 2006 [7] where breast cancer rates in the town
of Burnham on Sea, Somerset were reported. The study was later investigated by the official South West
Cancer Intelligence Service and was shown to have given an accurate result for the breast cancer inci-
dence rates. For these reasons we decided to conduct such a survey study in Fallujah.
Method
The Survey and Questionnaire
Between January 20th and February 20th, 2010, a team of 11 researchers visited houses in an area of Fal-
lujah, Iraq. They administered a questionnaire in Arabic on cancer and birth outcomes including infant
mortality. It was explained that the purpose of the project was to obtain information which would show
what the rates of cancer and birth effects were, that all personal information would remain completely
confidential and that the results would be made available when the study was completed. The interview-
er and the household member then filled out the questionnaire together. The interviewee then gave
their personal identification number and the address of the house was recorded. In general people were
anxious to cooperate in order to discover the true level of cancer and birth problems in the area. This
has generally been found to be the case in other surveys of this type [7]. However, it was found that in
some areas there was considerable distrust and fear that the questions were part of some secret-service
operation and householders refused to participate; on one occasion the interview team was physically
attacked. Following this, the teams were always accompanied by a local person of some reputation or
standing in the community. It is estimated that the final refusal rate per house visited was less than 30%.
However this 30% was almost entirely from one single area where the locals were particularly suspicious
and where the teams had visited early in the survey period without a local person to vouch for the study.
The final number of houses responding to the questionnaire was 711 and the total population in the re-
sulting sample was 4,843 persons.
 Ethical Aspects

The ethical aspects of conducting such a study were consid- “We conclude that the results confirm the reported increases in cancer
ered in some depth. In contemporary Iraq it would have been
impossible to obtain ethical committee approval even if such
and infant mortality which are alarmingly high. The remarkable reduc-
a body existed, which it does not. The authorities have consis- tion in the sex ratio in the cohort born one year after the fighting in 2004
tently avoided examining the health of communities which identifies that year as the time of the environmental contamination.”
have complained of increases in ill health, and little has been
done by the international community. Indeed, shortly after
the questionnaire survey was completed, Iraqi TV reportedly
broadcast that a questionnaire survey was being carried out
by terrorists and that anyone who was answering or admin-
istering the questionnaire could be arrested. In general, the
provisions of the Helsinki protocol were followed insofar as
no one was coerced and all confidentiality was assured.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The questionnaire method has strengths and weaknesses. Its

main strength is that it obtains the sex and age breakdown of
the current population: in this aspect it is essentially a census
of the study population at the time of the survey. No official
census data would be as accurate as this, and in a post war
situation no accurate census to this level of resolution exists.
It also obtains the cancer data in the study population in the
last ten years; the questionnaire asks for details of all cancers
in the household (sex, age at diagnosis, site or type of can-
cer, name of clinic or doctor which diagnosed and survival).
One weaknesses of this type of study is population leakage
due to migration. Although ten years is used on the question-
naire, from analysis in earlier studies of this kind [7] it has be-
come clear that there is leakage of cases (due to deaths and
subsequent population movements) and so the recent five
year period is employed. However, as a consequence of such
a population leakage it is clear that the result will show the
minimum cancer rates existing in the study group. In earlier Dr. Christopher Busby, far right, examining bomb craters and debris with his team in the Middle East
studies this effect was especially found for lung cancer which
has a high mortality to incidence ratio. One other weakness
is that the questionnaire could in principle be manipulated by
those who do not honestly report the cancer cases in the household: no independent confirmation of 5-year study period and this may introduce some inaccuracies into the analysis. The question of selection
the cases is made, although in principle it would be impossible to do this since the individuals give their bias does not arise in this case since the questionnaires were administered to a random sample of those
identity numbers and names of the doctors or clinics where they were treated. Our belief is that those in houses in the study area selected by the interviewees and responses were random. However, the 30%
the present study group gave accurate answers to the questionnaire since in present day Iraq the public who refused to respond were all from one area initially visited before it was decided to bring a local per-
would be fearful of giving both misleading data and also at the same time their identities. son to vouch for the study, and so it is not thought that their exclusion introduced bias. These structural
problems listed above are accepted and should be borne in mind. They may be used to place limits to the
The population at the time of the questionnaire is used as a surrogate for the mean population over the accuracy of the results and we will therefore return to examine this in the Discussion Section.
 Infant Mortality

The questionnaire investigated infant mortality by asking each household if any child aged 0–1 had died
in the previous ten years; again a 5-year period was employed in the analysis. The cause of death was also
asked for. Researchers found that interviewees were very sensitive to the question about birth defects
since there is a stigma attached to admitting to such an event in the family; a similar situation has been
reported for the Hiroshima survivors [7]. There was no apparent problem with admitting an infant death,
without explaining the cause, and therefore in this study, infant mortality is a better indicator of the birth
outcomes than the answer to the cause of infant death and this is what was employed. For infant mortal-
ity, the mean annual birth rate was assessed from the population data as 1/5th the 0–4 population and
the number of infant deaths per thousand births was obtained. This was compared with infant mortality
in Egypt, Jordan and in Kuwait. Sex ratio was calculated from the population data directly.

Sex-Ratio

The population data in 5-year age groups was used to examine the sex ratio in 5-year birth cohorts.

Cancer

The national cancer rates in Iraq are not currently available; use of earlier Iraq cancer rates would bias the
results since the whole country has been affected by post-war contamination following the 1991 and 2003
conflicts to various putative carcinogens, including oil fires, heavy metals and uranium from weapons.
Therefore the cancer relative risks were calculated by applying 5-year sex and age group rates from the Mid-
dle East Cancer Registry (Gharbiah) [8] in Egypt for 1999 to the study group population to give an expected
number of cases of all malignancies, breast cancer, leukemia, lymphoma and brain tumours in 5 years. The
reported number in the previous 5-year period in the study group was then divided by this expected num-
ber to give a relative risk RR for the cancer. Standard contingency table statistical methods were employed
to assess the results. The MECC Egypt age and sex specific rates were compared with the rates in Jordan [9]
to check that there were no anomalous rates in Egypt which might bias the results. Age specific incidence
rates for the cancers studied were broadly similar in Egypt and in Jordan [9]. The rates in Kuwait were not
used since it was thought that the standard of living in Kuwait and also its proximity to contamination from
the 1991 and 2003 Gulf Wars might make its use as a standardizing population questionable.

Results And Discussion

The population base obtained from the questionnaires was 711 households with 4,843 persons. The sex
and age breakdown by 5-year groups is given in Table 1. Reported cancers from January 1st, 2005, to the
end of January 2010 are given in Table 2. Cancers reported before 2005 were not included. All cancer and
infant death cases reported were checked against duplicate sex and age patterns to ensure there was
no double reporting; if there was any doubt, data was discarded (one such instance was found). Table
3 shows the infant mortality cases reported from 2004 and includes reports of deaths in the first two
months of 2010 [See pages 119 and 120 for all 5 Tables].

In Table 4 the reported numbers of cancers are compared with expected numbers for the 5-year period
2005 to the sample cutoff date in 2010. The expected numbers are calculated by applying the sex and
5-year age group rates obtained from the Middle East Cancer Consortium [8] for Egypt 1999 and also
checked against rates in Jordan [9] 1996–2001. Table 5 [all Tables on following pages] shows the mean
infant mortality rate per 1000 births for the period 2006–2010 including deaths reported in the first two
months of 2010. Also shown are rates for the period from January 1st, 2009, and comparisons are made
with infant mortality rates in Jordan, Egypt and Kuwait.

The responses show that there is an anomalous sex ratio in the 0–4 age group. There are 860 males to
1000 females, a significant 18% reduction in the male births from the normal expected value of 1,055
(267 boys expected, 234 observed; p < 0.01) Perturbation of the sex ratio is a well known consequence of
exposure of mutagenic stress and results from the sensitivity of the male sex chromosome complement
to damage (the females have two X chromosomes whereas the males have only one). A number of stud-
ies have examined sex-ratio and radiation exposure of mothers and fathers. Of relevance is the study of
Muller et al. [10] of the offspring of 716 exposed fathers who were Uranium miners. There was a signifi-
cant reduction in the birth sex ratio (fewer boys). Lejeune et al. (1960) [11,12] examined the offspring of
fathers who had been treated with pelvic irradiation; at high doses there was an increase in the sex-ratio,
but this reversed in the low doses (around 200 mSv). Schull et al. 1966 [13] found a reduction in the sex
ratio in A-Bomb survivor fathers (mothers “unexposed”) for children born from 1956 to 1962, a reversal of
an earlier finding by Schull and Neel 1958 [14] of a positive effect in the 1948 to 1955 births. It should be
noted that there were external and internal irradiation effects in these groups, with the internal effects
predominating in the later years. Yoshimoto et al. 1991 [15] found an overall reduction in the sex ratio for
A-Bomb survivors for children born from 1946 to 1984. Thus the evidence suggests that exposure to ion-
ising radiation at low doses and specifically exposure to Uranium may cause a reduction in the sex ratio.

It is clear that the 0–4 population, born in 2004–2008, after the fighting, is significantly 30% smaller than
the 5–9, 10–14 and 15–19 populations. This could be a result of lower fertility or early foetal losses in this
cohort. It has been pointed out by a referee that it might also in principle be a result of the deaths of men
in the 2004 fighting but this does not seem to be supported by the sex ratios in the men and women aged
25 and over. The infant mortality numbers reported by year point to sudden increase in deaths in 2006
(Table 3). There was only one death reported for the two years 2004 and 2005 in the sample population.
For the period from 2006 to the end of the survey there was a mean death rate of 80 per 1,000 births,
more than 4 times the rate in Egypt and in Jordan (p < 0.00001) and some 9 times the rate in Kuwait. The
rate seems to have increased markedly after 2009 to a rate of 136 per 1,000 births. These results support
the many reports of congenital illness and birth defects in Fallujah and suggest that there is evidence of
genetic stress which appeared around 2004, one year before the effects began to show.

The results for cancer show some alarming rates in the 5-year period. Relative Risk based on the Egypt
and Jordan cancer rates are significantly higher for all malignancy, leukaemia, lymphoma, brain tumours
and female breast cancer. Between January 2005 and the survey end date there were 62 cases of cancer
(all malignancies) reported (RR = 4.22; CI: 2.8, 6.6; p < 0.00000001) including 16 cases of childhood cancer
0–14 (RR = 12.6; CI: 4.9, 32; p < 0.00000001). Highest risks were found in all leukaemias in the age groups
0–34 (20 cases RR = 38.5; CI: 19.2, 77; p < 0.00000001), all lymphomas 0–34 (8 cases, RR = 9.24;CI: 4.12, 20.8;
p < 0.00000001), female breast cancer 0–44 (12 cases RR = 9.7;CI: 3.6, 25.6; p < 0.00000001) and brain tu-
mours all ages (4 cases, RR = 7.4;CI: 2.4, 23.1; P < 0.004). These results for cancer also support the idea that
there has been exposure to some mutagenic agent at some time in the past. Could this have been around
2004 when the fighting occurred? The answer depends upon whether it is plausible to accept such a short
time lag between exposure and clinical expression of the cancer, leukaemia or lymphoma. It is commonly
believed that the lag between initiation and expression of cancer is a significant period: for exposure to
acute external low LET radiation the onset of leukaemia is stated to be about 5 to 7 years, and for breast and for the reasons already given i.e., that they had given names, addresses and identities and the names
cancer and solid tumours as high as 15 to 20 years. However, genetic damage expansion models for can- of the doctors and clinics involved in an area where the consequences of giving misleading responses to
cer [16,17] hold that it is the acquisition of a key number of mutations which lead to final clinical expres- questions are severe, this seems highly unlikely.
sion. This is then seen as purely probabilistic so long as the mutagenic stresses are constant; in this way
the exponential increases in cancer rates with age are explained as are cancer rates and initiation expres- Conclusions
sion lags in cell populations with different natural replication rates. However, such an explanation makes
it also clear that the sudden (spike) introduction of a This study was intended to investigate the accuracy
mutagenic stress could supply a final key mutation of the various reports which have been emerging
in those individuals who already carry almost the full from Fallujah regarding perceived increases in birth
necessary complement of mutations for the specif- defects, infant deaths and cancer in the population
ic cancer [18]. This idea explains many observations and to examine samples from the area for the pres-
of increases in cancer shortly (a few years) after an ence of mutagenic substances that may explain any
exposure. For example, there seems to have been results. We conclude that the results confirm the
a rapid increase in lymphoma in Italian peacekeep- reported increases in cancer and infant mortality
ers potentially exposed to depleted uranium in the which are alarmingly high. The remarkable reduc-
Balkans [19]. Tondel et al. have reported increased tion in the sex ratio in the cohort born one year after
cancer risk in Northern Sweden peaking less than 5 the fighting in 2004 identifies that year as the time
years after the Chernobyl contamination and signifi- of the environmental contamination. In our opinion,
cantly associated with the levels of Caesium-137 fall- the magnitude of these effects make it difficult to
out in municipalities [20]. Despite the assertions of question them on the basis of any of the hypothet-
the studies of the Japanese A-Bombs (which did not ical shortcomings of the study type which we have
begin until 1952) that the first increases in leukae- considered although these must be borne in mind.
mia in the study group appeared more than 5 years However, owing to the various constraints placed by
after the bomb, leukemia in victims of Hiroshima circumstance on the methods employed, we must
and Nagasaki was reported beginning only months emphasise that the results of this study should be
after the explosion, and even in those who had not interpreted with those aspects in mind. Finally, the
been exposed to the prompt radiation but to fallout results reported here do not throw any light upon
and uranium in the bombed city debris [21]. Further- the identity of the agent(s) causing the increased
more, the onset lag for internal exposure to high LET levels of illness and although we have drawn atten-
radiation (e.g., Uranium) has not been determined tion to the use of depleted uranium as one potential
and it can be argued that this lag cannot be deduced relevant exposure, there may be other possibilities
from the external low LET studies that make up the and we see the current study as investigating the
current radiation risk model. On the other hand, it anecdotal evidence of increases in cancer and infant
may be that the increases in cancer found here for mortality in Fallujah.
some individuals are the result of some earlier expo-
sure, perhaps during the 1991 Gulf War. The origin Acknowledgements
and time of introduction of the carcinogenic agent
causing the effects found here will be the subject of a One of us (CB) acknowledges core support for Green
separate report. However it does not seem unreasonable to conclude that the causes of the infant deaths Audit from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust during the work on this report which was otherwise
and the cancer increases are one and the same. We must finally address the earlier listed shortcomings privately funded. We thank also Abdulmunaem Almula and Eva Ehrstedt and the members of the team in
of the interview questionnaire survey method. These might have been of concern had the findings been Fallujah who obtained the results and to all of those individuals who answered the questionnaires. None
less clear but since the Relative Risks for the various indicators were extremely high, it can hardly be pos- of us have any conflicts of interest.
sible that these results could have occurred through errors introduced through any of the potential prob-
lems outlined in the Methods Section. A 100% error in the population would only halve the relative risks. References
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 Conflict And Health • 2011 “These findings
Uranium And Other Contaminants suggest the enriched uranium exposure
In Hair From The Parents Of Children With Congenital Anomalies
In Fallujah, Iraq is either a primary cause or related to the cause
By Samira Alaani1, Muhammed Tafash1, Christopher Busby2*
Malak Hamdan3 and Eleonore Blaurock-Busch4
of the congenital anomaly and cancer increases

1. Fallujah General Hospital, Althubbadh, Fallujah, 00964, Iraq

2. Department of Molecular Biosciences
University of Ulster, Cromore Rd, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, UK
3. The Cancer and Birth Defects Foundation, Office 4
Questions are thus raised
219 Kensington High Street, London, W8 6DB, UK
4. Laboratory for Clinical and Environmental Analysis about the characteristics and composition
Microtrace Minerals, Rohrenstrasse 20, D-91217, Hersbruck, Germany

Abstract
of weapons now being deployed

Background: Recent reports have drawn attention to increases in congenital birth anomalies in modern battlefields”
and cancer in Fallujah Iraq blamed on teratogenic, genetic and genomic stress thought to result
from depleted Uranium contamination following the battles in the town in 2004. Contamina-
tion of the parents of the children and of the environment by Uranium and other elements was
investigated using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. Hair samples from 25 fa-
thers and mothers of children diagnosed with congenital anomalies were analysed for Uranium
and 51 other elements. Mean ages of the parents was: fathers 29.6 (SD 6.2); mothers: 27.3 (SD “we conclude that these
6.8). For a sub-group of 6 women, long locks of hair were analysed for Uranium along the length results support the belief
of the hair to obtain information about historic exposures. Samples of soil and water were also that the effects in Fallujah
analysed and Uranium isotope ratios determined. follow the deployment of
a Uranium-based weapon
Results: Levels of Ca (Calcium), Mg (Magnesium), Co (Cobalt), Fe (Iron), Mn (Manganese), V (Va- or weapons of some
nadium), Zn (Zinc), Sr (Strontium), Al (Aluminum), Ba (Barium), Bi (Bismuth), Ga (Gallium), Pb unknown type.”
(Lead), Hg (Mercury), Pd (Palladium) and U (Uranium), for mothers only, were significantly higher (image: Yemen)
than published mean levels in an uncontaminated population in Sweden. In high excess were
Ca, Mg, Sr, Al, Bi and Hg. Of these only Hg (Mercury) can be considered as a possible cause of
congenital anomaly. Mean levels for Uranium were 0.16 ppm (SD: 0.11) range 0.02 to 0.4, higher
in mothers (0.18 ppm SD 0.09) than fathers (0.11 ppm; SD 0.13). The highly unusual non-normal
Fallujah distribution mean was significantly higher than literature results for a control popula-
tion Southern Israel (0.062 ppm) and a non-parametric test (Mann Whitney-Wilcoxon) gave p
= 0.016 for this comparison of the distribution. Mean levels in Fallujah were also much higher
than the mean of measurements reported from Japan, Brazil, Sweden and Slovenia (0.04 ppm
SD 0.02). Soil samples show low concentrations with a mean of 0.76 ppm (SD 0.42) and range
0.1-1.5 ppm; (N = 18) [Editors Note: The high for U in the girder coating at Ground Zero, NYC, was
7.57ppm’s]. However it may be consistent with levels in drinking water (2.28 μgL-1) which had
similar levels to water from wells (2.72 μgL-1) and the river Euphrates (2.24 μgL-1). In a separate
study of a sub group of mothers with long hair to investigate historic Uranium excretion the
results suggested that levels were much higher in the past. Uranium traces detected in the soil
samples and the hair showed slightly enriched isotopic signatures for hair U238/U235 = (135.16
SD 1.45) compared with the natural ratio of 137.88. Soil sample Uranium isotope ratios were
determined after extraction and concentration of the Uranium by ion exchange. Results showed statistically sig-
nificant presence of enriched Uranium with a mean of 129 with SD5.9 (for this determination, the natural Uranium
95% CI was 132.1 < Ratio < 144.1).
Conclusions: Whilst caution must be exercised about ruling out other possibilities, because none of the elements
found in excess are reported to cause congenital diseases and cancer except Uranium, these findings suggest the
enriched Uranium [Not depleted uranium] exposure is either a primary cause or related to the cause of the congeni-
tal anomaly and cancer increases. Questions are thus raised about the characteristics and composition of weapons
now being deployed in modern battlefields.
An interesting and relevant study is that of significant excess rates of cancer and congenital birth anomalies in the
Quirra polygon in Sicily where NATO is believed by the authors of the study to test Uranium weapons [12]. Nev-
ertheless, besides DU, there may also be a number of other potential causes for any increased risks of congenital
anomaly in Fallujah or in Southern Iraq. Modern warfare involves the deployment of novel weapons systems which
create contamination of the environment and the local inhabitants of the war zones by a range of heavy metals and
other substances. For example, analysis of wound tissue of war injuries produced in Gaza in 2009 revealed traces of
elements which have been argued by the authors to be associated with carcinogenicity and fetotoxicity, including
As (Arsenic), Cd (Cadmium), Sn (Tin), Pb (Lead), Hg
(Mercury), U (Uranium), Cr (Chromium), Ni (Nick-
el), Co (Cobalt) and V (Vanadium) [13]. To inves-
tigate this issue we examine the concentrations
and isotopic ratios U238/U235 of Uranium and “Questions are thus raised about the characteristics and
other elements in the hair of the parents of the
CA children. To provide information about envi- composition of weapons now being deployed
ronmental levels of Uranium we also measured
the Uranium content and U-238/U235 isotopic
ratio of surface soil samples and content of tap
water, well water and water from the River Euphra-
tes which flows though the city. It is not our intention here to exhaustively discuss the arguments relating to the
genotoxicity and fetotoxicity of Uranium; these have been rehearsed at some length in the literature. However,
since Uranium is the only known radioactive heavy metal exposure in Iraq, it must be considered to be a major sus-
pect for the cause of the effects found in Fallujah and also in the rest of Iraq. Such a suspicion is also supported by this second investigation, we divided the hair locks into 12-14 cm sections, each of which was separately analysed
other evidence of birth defects in Gulf War Veterans and increasingly from studies of the genotoxicity of Uranium
in cell and animal studies. Induction of genetic and genomic damage by ionizing radiation has been recognized
since the early work of Muller on the genetic effects of X-rays on Drosophila [14,15]. Increased levels of genetic and
genomic based conditions have been reported in those exposed to internal contamination from fallout from the
Chernobyl accident [16-19]. It should be noted that the radiation doses in these Chernobyl affected territories were
not considered high [20] and were generally less than natural background. However the concept of absorbed dose
itself may not be valid for the internal exposures from the Chernobyl fallout [21-23]. Indeed, significant effects of
the Chernobyl fallout were reported for infant leukemia rates in those children who were in utero during the fallout
period reported by 5 different research groups for Greece, Germany, Scotland, Wales and Belarus; taken together
and because the absorbed doses were so low, these raise questions about the application of the concept of dose
used for risks from external exposures in the A-Bomb lifespan studies for internal substances like Strontium-90
and Uranium which have high affinity for DNA [24,25]. For example, the fetotoxic effects of internal exposures to
Strontium-90, a radionuclide that binds to DNA, were investigated in the period of atmospheric testing [26]. In mice,
Sr-90 exposure of fathers caused high rates of fetal death whereas the same dose from the radionuclide Cs-137
which does not bind to DNA produced no effect. Uranium, as its molecular species in tissue, the UO2++ ion, also
binds strongly to DNA having an affinity constant of 1010 M-1 [27] a fact which has been known since the 1960s
when it was first used as an electron microscope stain for chromosomes [28]. For this and a number of other reasons
Uranium may be considered theoretically to show enhanced levels of genomic damage relative to that which its ab-
sorbed dose might predict [29]. Such anomalous genomic damage has, indeed been found at low concentrations
in cell cultures [30-32] rodents [33,34] in Uranium miners [35] and Gulf War veterans [36]. Given this evidence for the
genomic effects of Uranium, since the respirable aerosol form of DU is far more effective in becoming internalized
and the particles may remain in the body for more than 10 years [6] it is not surprising that there is considerable
evidence emerging that the effects of exposure to DU, or aerosolized Uranium weapons involve a wide range of
adverse human health conditions [37,38].
These considerations provide a general background for our examination of Uranium levels in the mothers and
fathers of the children with CA in Fallujah. In order to attempt to characterize the source of any Uranium we also
determined the U238/U235 isotopic ratio which for natural Uranium is always exactly 137.88. Pure Depleted Ura-
nium in anti-tank ammunition may be considered to have an isotopic ratio of over 400 but mixtures with natural
environmental Uranium will of course show lower ratios [6,38].
Hair Analysis
With advances in technology in the last 10 years, analysis of hair contamination has become a valuable tool in as-
sessing environmental exposures, particularly for Uranium [39-43]. We determined Uranium and other elements in
the hair of mothers and fathers of children who
had been born with major congenital anom-
alies. In principle, contamination in hair rep-
resents excretion into the hair strand at the time
of exposure; thus it might be expected that an-
alysing hair along the lock from scalp to distal
in modern battlefields.” end, might reveal information about changes in
exposure with time. It is of value in this regard
that the Moslem women in the group all had
long hair, 30-80 cms in length. Since hair grows
on average, 1 cm per month, this means that the
distal end of the hair of an 80 cm lock taken in February 2011 began growing in 2005. For this reason and also to
investigate the accuracy of the initial determinations we obtained a second sample of hair about 9 months after the
initial sample from a group of women whose analysis had shown the presence of Uranium in the first analysis. In
from its mid point.
Subjects And Methods
Hair Analysis • Initial Study
Parents of children born in 2009-2010 with major congenital anomalies in Fallujah General Hospital volunteered to
take part in the study. Mothers and fathers separately gave hair samples in May 2010 and also completed a ques-
tionnaire. Details from the questionnaire were filed with the clinical details of the child’s congenital anomaly. In two
cases, hair from the child was also obtained. We obtained the clinical details of the congenital anomaly, the age of
the parents, their smoking history and alcohol drinking history and where they had lived. All of the parents were
from Fallujah and had been present at the time of and after the attacks in 2004. Hair was cut from the nape of the
neck with stainless steel scissors and placed in a sealed polythene bag. The centre of the first 15 cm of the scalp end
of the lock was employed in the case of the mother. Fathers’ hair as received was generally very short, less than 2 cm.
There were 25 samples from parents and two samples from children. In all cases, samples were physically brought
to the UK where they were opened in the laboratory, the samples divided in two longitudinally and one half placed
in a second polythene bag and re-coded. The re-coded half-sample was then posted to Germany for analysis. There,
samples were removed from the plastic bags, washed well with a deionized aqueous detergent solution (Triton
X-100) and dried before cutting and weighing. In the initial study, for about half the cases, and where there were
only small quantities of samples, mother and fathers hair were mixed together. This was because the quantity of for the comparison levels in hair were obtained from an unpublished database created through studies carried out
hair available from some of the fathers was very small by the present laboratory on 1000 healthy subjects liv-
and because it was believed it would give a more rep- ing in Germany and the USA. Also shown are the lim-
resentative value for the population with fewer deter- its of detection of the element at these laboratories.
minations. Each determination was based on about In addition for further comparison are shown means
100 mg of hair precisely weighed. Samples were dis-
“Results showed statistically significant presence of enriched uranium” and ranges taken from Rodushkin and Axelsson [43]
solved in 3.0 ml A/R Nitric acid containing 10% of 30% which are slightly different for some elements. The
hydrogen peroxide solution by microwave digestion mean ages of the fathers was 29.6 (SD 6.2) and the
at 80 degrees for 1 hour to give a clear solution. The solu- mothers 27.3 (SD 6.8). Only 5 fathers and 3 mothers were
tions were diluted to 10 ml with ultra-pure water and examined by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry over the age of 30 and only two parents (a father and mother) over 40. None of the parents (all of whom are Mos-
ICPMS (Agilent 7700 with Octupole Reaction System). lems) reported drinking alcohol. Four fathers and none of the mothers were smokers. These individuals did not
show higher than average amounts of Uranium than the non smokers. In Table 3 are shown results for individual
Hair Analysis • Long Hair Study parents for elements of interest which are found at levels which are higher than the normal range, together with
details of the child anomaly. Mean levels for Uranium were 0.16 ppm (SD: 0.11) range 0.02 to 0.4, higher in mothers
In the case of the long hair study, samples were obtained in February 2011 from 4 women whose hair had already (0.18 ppm SD 0.09) than fathers (0.11 ppm; SD 0.13). It was also of interest to examine the variation in concentration
been analysed in the first study plus two other women (not with children with birth defects) who lived in Fallujah of these elements between the mothers and fathers. Table 4 gives details of some comparisons of mothers and
and who volunteered to take part. The hair was divided longitudinally and cut into equal sections of 13 to 15 cm fathers of the same children.
(depending upon the initial length) and labeled from the scalp end. The re-coded half-sample was then posted to
Germany for analysis using the same procedure already outlined. Long Hair Study

Drinking And Local Water Samples
Tap water, well water and water from the river Euphrates in the city were also analysed in Germany by ICPMS after
treatment with nitric acid/hydrogen peroxide and filtration.
Soil Analysis
For soil samples, the analysis was carried out by the Harwell Scientifics Laboratory in Oxford, UK. Six samples of sur-
face soil from the top 1 cm were obtained from various representative areas in that part of Fallujah where there had
been bombardment and fighting in 2004. Gamma dose rates at each site were checked at 30 cm from the ground
with a calibrated Russian SOSNA twin chamber Geiger Counter which has a thin window and responds to beta and
gamma radiation. Initially, three separate aliquots of each sample were digested in concentrated nitric and hydro-
fluoric acids in fluoropolymer vessels by microwave. Following digestion, samples were made to a known volume
of demineralised water having resistivity of 18.2 MOhm cm. All samples were analysed for total Uranium and Ura-
nium isotopes at the same laboratories using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry ICPMS (Perkin Elmer
Agilent 7500CE) on the above nitric acid/hydrofluoric acid digestions. Calibration was achieved using standard ad-
dition of a certified Uranium standard and instrumental drift was corrected with a Bismuth spike. Quality Control
standards at 5.0, 10 and 20 micrograms per litre were prepared from an alternative stock source solution that was
used to prepare the calibration standard. Three independent preparations were made from each sample and each
was run three times on the system. After obtaining initial concentration data, the U-238/U-235 isotope ratio was ob-
tained in a separate determination where an acid dissolution of a larger quantity of material was passed onto an ion
exchange column to separate and concentrate Uranium from the matrix. Approximately 3 g of sample was ashed
overnight at 450 C, and the residue digested in concentrated nitric and hydrofluoric acids. After co-precipitation of
the Uranium with iron hydroxide, ion-exchange chromatography (Eichrom 1 × 8 100-200 mesh) was used to further
purify and separate the Uranium. This Uranium extract (which had about 50 times the Uranium channel counts than
the initial sample was then further analysed for Uranium isotope U238/U235 ratios.
Results • Initial Hair Study
Results were obtained for all the elements listed in Table 2. The listed range of normal background values (95% CI)
To further investigate the idea that historic exposure changes may be looked for along the length of hair, data for
4 women with long hair from the original group and two new women are given in Table 5. The results for Uranium
in the scalp end of the lock for the women whose hair was taken in May 2010 and measured in the first set of tests
agree well with the results obtained in the second set of measurements on hair taken 9 months later in February
2011. Figure 1 shows the variation in Uranium concentration along the length of the hair of the different individuals
plotted against the mean period of the hair growth. In Figure 2 for comparison is the normalized concentration of
Uranium along the length of locks of hair reported in a study of children living in Northern Sweden [42].
Soil And Water
Concentrations of Uranium in soil and water samples show low concentrations with a mean of 0.76 ppm (9.4 Bqkg-1)
SD 0.42 ppm and range 0.1-1.5 ppm; (N = 18). Levels in tap water were 2.28 μgL-1, water from a well was 2.72 μgL-1
and from the river Euphrates as it flows though the town by the bridge 2.24 μgL-1.
Discussion • Elements Found In Excess In The Hair
The results show that the parents of the children from Fallujah diagnosed with major congenital defects have sig-
nificant excess concentrations of a range of elements. The following elements were present in concentrations that
were more than two standard deviations from the mean levels in an uncontaminated Swedish population: Ca, Mg,
Co. Fe, Mn, V, Zn, Sr, Al, Ba, Bi, Ga, Pb, Hg, Pd and U (for women only). Some of these were present in very high excess
relative to both the laboratory control ranges and also the Swedish controls: Ca, Mg, Sr, Al, Bi and Hg. In examining
the data we have chosen to focus on Calcium, Strontium, Bismuth, Mercury and Uranium, the first three since they
are unusual and might be associated with earlier environmental exposures, and the latter as it is a known cause
of damage to the developing foetus. Methyl Mercury has been associated with congenital neurological disease in
Japan, but the types of congenital anomaly concern brain development and learning difficulty and do not match
those found in Fallujah, which are dominated by heart and circulatory system and neural tube defects [44]. Matrix
analysis for cross correlations between all these elements in the cohort do not reveal any significant relationships
between them. However there is one interesting finding. The concentrations of these elements in the fathers are
generally significantly lower than the concentration in the mothers. For the specific case of Uranium, the statistical
boxplot is given in Figure 1 of the concentrations in mothers, fathers and the mixed samples of hair. The difference
between mothers and fathers is significant at the p < 0.05 level. The increased levels of contamination in the moth-
ers relative to the fathers is generally quite marked for all of the excess contaminants examined, as can be seen in
Table 4. This dependence of elemental concentration on sex was found for a wide range of elements by Rodusshkin
and Axelsson [42,43] who found that women had roughly twice the levels of all the elements studied here than men
and this included Uranium. However, Gonnen et al [45] measured Uranium in a group of individuals living in south-
ern Israel and found no significant difference in Uranium levels in hair between men and women. The relatively low
levels of Uranium found in the two children we studied might be expected on the basis of measurements made on
aborted fetuses which showed that they had 10% of the Uranium content of their mothers [44]
Uranium In The Hair • The Initial Study
In attempting to identify the cause of the cancer and congenital disease in Fallujah we cannot believe that the
elements found in excess and listed above could, under normal conditions of exposure, be the cause of such a
remarkable level of disease, since none of them, including Uranium, are present at levels which exceed the var-
ious environmental limits placed on contamination by government regulations in the USA or Europe. As far as
Uranium is concerned, there are many parts of the world where Uranium levels in drinking water and human hair
exceed those found by us in this study and levels of congenital disease and cancer in such areas are not markedly
increased; as an example we may contrast the 38-fold excess leukaemia rates found in the questionnaire study [1]
with the study of Auvinen et al of leukaemia in Finland in those drinking well
water with high levels of Uranium [46]. The mean level of Uranium water in
the leukaemia cases in Finland was 7 μgL-1 and that of the controls was
5 μgL-1. However, this approach begs a number of questions. The argu- “It was not, however, depleted uranium. It was, in fact,
ments relating to the health effects of Uranium from weapons use have
been predicated on a different type of Uranium exposure which seems to slightly enriched, with ratios varying from 118 to 132.”
be inhalation of nanoparticle ceramic oxides. Below about 1 micrometer
diameter these will be translocated to the lymphatic system where part of
it may remain for more than ten years [6,7]. The excretion into urine (or hair)
from the bloodstream of Uranium derived from this source is likely to be very slow [6,7,38]. The ionisation damage
close to such a particle is likely to be significantly higher than would be calculated on the basis of the molecular
concentration in tissue, and the local molecular concentration of the UO2++ ion, the solubilised form of Uranium
in the body, very high. A similar argument has been made by Zuchetti in relation to excess cancer and congenital
anomalies found near the Quirra range in Sardinia where DU weapons are believed to be tested [12]. This would
drive an equilibrium concentration of Uranium bound on the DNA which would locally be very high. In addition, it
has been argued, and indeed established, that Uranium amplifies the natural background gamma radiation owing
to its high atomic number, though there is a question about the level of local radiation dose enhancement this
produces [29,47-50]. Furthermore the predicted photoelectron enhancements [29] from this molecular source have
not been addressed or measured although theoretically it can be predicted that they may be significant [49,50].
In looking to see whether the levels of Uranium in the hair of the mothers and father of the children with congenital ing Uranium isotope ratios. One of us (CB) was involved with the UK Ministry of Defence in developing a urine test
disease could indicate a cause of the health problems in Fallujah there are three questions that must be asked. First, to study the levels of DU in veterans [38]. The rapid advances in technology which occurred in the late 1990s led
do these levels seem to be higher than control populations living in uncontaminated areas of the world? Second,
are these levels representative of an unchanging natural background exposure though drinking water containing
natural Uranium which is a result of high natural levels of environmental Uranium? Third, are the Uranium isotope
ratios indicative of a natural Uranium source? We will attempt to address all three of these questions in turn.
Are The Levels Of Uranium In Hair In Fallujah Too High?
There are a number of literature sources for Uranium in hair. If we omit the Finland data (which was from an area
with high natural Uranium) the mean level of the other 5 studies is 0.04 ppm with a standard deviation of 0.023. The
mean level in our initial study was 0.16 ppm and so this is almost five standard deviations from this mean and for a
normally distributed population this would be highly significant. The highest levels in Table 7 apart from the Finland
sample are from an apparently uncontaminated control population studied by Gonnen et al. who measured Urani-
um in a population of 99 individuals living in Southern Israel, in the Negev Desert in 1999 [45]. The mean and me-
dian values were found to be 0.062 and 0.05 ppm respectively and results showed that those younger than age 45
had significantly lower values than those who were older. Comparing means in a non parametric distribution may
not be correct way of comparing two groups. Because we have the distribution and the Israeli study distribution is
given [45] we compared the Fallujah distribution results with those reported in the Israeli study. The histogram dis-
tributions for Fallujah and the Israeli cases younger than age 45 (which should be strictly comparable with the par-
ents of the Fallujah children who were all younger than 45) are shown in Figure 4. Since these are clearly not normal
distributions we employed the Mann-Whitney U-Wilcoxon non-parametric statistical test to determine whether the
concentration of Uranium in the Fallujah parents were significantly higher than those in the Israeli control group.
The results show a significant (2-tailed) excess in the Fallujah cohort p = 0.016.
Are The Levels In Hair A Consequence Of A Locally High Level Of Uranium?
To examine this we measured Uranium in water samples from a well, from the river Euphrates and from tap water.
The results show that there was 2.3 μg L-1 total Uranium in the tap water and much the same level in both water
from a local well and from the River Euphrates where it flowed through the town. It is generally accepted that the
main source of Uranium in humans is from drinking water [45]. A compart-
mental biokinetic model of Uranium in human hair has been developed by
Li et al. [51] and these authors show a correlation between Uranium intake
in water and concentrations in hair for intakes greater than 10 μg per day.
There is a very wide degree of scatter in the data at the low end with re-
sults falling between 0.2 and 1.0 ppm in the hair. However no data is given
for intakes below 10 μg per day. Nevertheless since we have compared the
Fallujah group with the Israeli group of Gonnen et al., we may also note that
these authors also measured Uranium in the drinking water. They reported
that the Uranium in drinking water varied between 0.7 and 5 μg L-1 [45]. It is therefore rather curious that at these
levels the hair concentrations should be lower than the level in the Fallujah group but we cannot make too much of
this since the standard deviations of the Uranium in drinking water in the Gonnen et al study were not given. Levels
of total Uranium in the soil were measured and these were also not high in terms of natural background levels of
Uranium in the world environment. Levels in soil were generally less than 1 ppm (12 Bqkg-1) in Fallujah compared
with average global soil levels of 1.8 ppm (22 Bqkg-1) [52]. Therefore the soil levels do not explain the total Uranium
levels in the group. However there is a final question which is asked: is the Uranium natural?
The Uranium Isotope Ratios
The use of DU weapons as anti-tank penetrators in Gulf War 1 led to attempts to track its use by means of measur-
to the development of ICPMS for detecting DU on the basis of its characteristic isotopic ratio signature and these
machines became increasingly able to detect DU isotope signatures in urine tests. The natural atom ratio of U238/
U235 is 137.88. Pure DU has a signature greater than 400 [6] but for the purposes of the urine test developed with
the instruments in use at the time (2003) any ratio above 142 was considered to originate from a DU contamination
[38]. If DU had been used in Fallujah, therefore, it might be expected that some deviation from the natural signature
of 137.88 would be found if we looked. Measurements made on the soil samples quickly showed that although
the total Uranium levels could be accurately determined, because of interference from other elements taken up in
the acid dissolution of the sample, the concentrations of U235 needed to accurately define the isotope ratio were
too low. Accordingly, an ion exchange extraction technique was developed, and results of these measurements
showed clearly that the Uranium in the soil was not natural. It was not, however, depleted Uranium. It was, in fact,
slightly enriched, with ratios varying from 118 to 132. Under the conditions of the extraction we are able to assess
the 95% CI limits from the count variance found in relation to the total counts. We are able to say that for defining
natural Uranium the Ratios must fall in the range 132.1 < Ratio < 144.1. Values below 132.1 are thus enriched, above
144.1 depleted with p < 0.05. In the case of the hair samples for those samples with more than 0.1 ppm we were able
to determine this ratio directly since the solutions had less interference and the instrument employed (octupole
reaction cell) had a greater intrinsic sensitivity. At low Uranium levels, where overall U-235 concentrations become
uncertain, it is technically possible to ignore overall accuracy in concentration and obtain isotopic ratios directly by
dividing out the counts per second per channel. ICPMS counts atoms according to their mass, so the ratio of counts
in the U238 channel to the U235 channel gives the isotope ratio without any assumptions about concentration. Ul-
timately this method fails at very low concentrations where the counts drop towards a zero concentration point of
electronic amplifier background noise. This noise is a higher proportion of the U-235 channel counts than the U-238
channel counts since the latter are 137.88 times greater in natural Uranium. Thus any material will begin to appear
enriched as the concentration falls towards the limit of detection. But as the concentration increases above this
the measurements will converge towards the accurate value. Figure 5 shows the isotopic ratio U238/ U235 plotted
against total counts for U238. If we employ the data based on counts in the U235 channel of above 1000 counts the
result (n = 14) is an isotope ratio of 135.16 with a standard deviation of 1.45. Since this is 2 standard deviations away
from the natural Uranium value of 137.88, this result shows that the Uranium in the parents is slightly enriched. If
the single outlier at 138.89 is removed the mean falls to 134.9 with a standard deviation of 1.02 which suggests that
the outlier is just that. The SD is now almost 4 standard deviations away from the mean and the data is very tightly
defined. This discovery of enriched Uranium in the hair might be expected since the soil sample data also shows
traces of enriched Uranium. Note that the limit of detection for the instrument is conventionally placed at 1000
counts and that 4000 counts represents a concentration of approximately 0.003 ppm.

Long Hair Study

If the higher levels of Uranium in the mothers relative to the fathers reflects increases in historic exposures then we
may expect, under simplistic assumptions, to find an increasing trend in concentration in samples of hair taken from
the proximal (scalp) to the distal end of the mothers. But the concentration of Uranium along locks of hair from the
scalp to the distal end was investigated by Rodushkin and Axelsson [42,43]. These authors showed that for Urani-
um the concentration falls rapidly and regularly by distance from the scalp, presumably as a result of washing the
hair. The trend was found to be such that 20 cm from the scalp the concentration was about half that at the scalp
and at 37-39 cm from the scalp the concentration was about 15% of its initial value (Figure 2). In our study of the
long locks of hair from 6 women from Fallujah we see clearly that the Uranium content does not fall along the hair
as would be predicted by the findings of Rodushkin and Axelsson [42,43]. Figures 2 and 3 show this clearly. In the
results of the 6 women we find individual variations in trends: four women have increasing levels of Uranium along
the lock to the distal end, whilst two have falling levels. But even in the woman where the level falls most rapidly,
the reduction over a period of 40 months (40 cm) is modest, perhaps to about 50% of the initial value. The results
from Sweden suggest that the expected fall over this period should be 90% to a value about one tenth the original.
Taken as a whole, including the women where the trend is upwards or level we have to conclude that the Uranium
exposure 40 months before we took the samples was conservatively about five to ten times what is indicated now.
Thus if we assume that (because of hair washing) the Uranium is lost from the women in Fallujah at the same rate as
it is lost from the individuals in Sweden examined by Rodushkin and Axelsson [52] then 40 months before February
2011 (i.e. in Summer 2007) the levels would have been about 2.6 ppm rather than the 0.26 ppm measured in Feb-
ruary 2011. And we looked for a woman with very long hair to investigate this historic exposure. This woman, NM1
has hair which is more than 80 cms long. It is clear that the trend in Uranium in her hair is fairly uniform, or maybe
even rises. It is clear that the Uranium level in her hair at 40 cm indicates that if it had been measured in June 2007
it would have contained over 4 ppm of Uranium. We must assume that the loss of Uranium (through washing) is
related to the number of washes, and so in this case, where the hair takes us back to 2005 (Table 4) the levels in the
hair at that time must have been very high indeed. Thus we can provisionally conclude that the levels of Uranium
in the hair of the parents of the congenital anomaly children are higher than could be easily explained by the en-
vironmental levels but more important the Uranium in the hair, the drinking water and in the environment has a
component which is man-made and is enriched in the isotope U-235.

Weaponised Uranium As A Cause Of The Health Effects In Fallujah

The use of passive DU munitions in Iraq (and also in the Balkans) has been admitted by the USA and UK forces and
recent research, as outlined above, has suggested that Uranium may demonstrate anomalously high genotoxicity
[53]. We have found high genotoxicity in this population: high cancer levels and high congenital anomaly levels.
High childhood cancer levels in 1994-98 were also found in southern Iraq, where the main exposures to DU oc-
curred in 1991. Significant excesses of congenital anomalies have been reported in the offspring of the Gulf veter-
ans. However, DU has not been found.

What we have found is slightly enriched Uranium (EU). We have found this in hair and in soil samples, using dif-
ferent instruments in different laboratories and employing different methods. We suggest that the levels in the
hair seem to be high for the levels in the drinking water to be the sole source. In addition, we have found from the
long hair study that the excretion into hair was much higher in the past than it is now. From the calculations made
by the Royal Society [6,7] and the analyses of the UK DUOB [38] it would seem that the most likely explanation is
that these excretions were the consequence of the slow dissolution and excretion of Uranium from some depot
in the human body following an initial acute exposure. There remain two questions. Why use Uranium weapons
in Fallujah? Why use enriched Uranium? The military have been clear that although they used 350 tonnes in Gulf
War 1, they did not employ Depleted Uranium weapons to any extent in Gulf War 2. That is they did not use DU.
And indeed, no DU was found in the urine of GW2 veterans; one of us (CB) obtained the data from the 400 or so
UK troops and although the urine Uranium levels were significantly high, the isotopic ratios showed them not to
contain DU [38]. If anything, the distribution was rather broad and suggested that the ratios might contain some
degree of enrichment. So one suggestion that may occur is that the use of Enriched Uranium or natural Uranium in
weapons, although costly, enables the military to employ Uranium weapons and avoid subsequent detection [53].
They can truthfully say that they did not use DU. But what of the second question? Uranium weapons are passive
anti-armour weapons. Why would they be employed in house to house fighting against insurgents? To examine
this issue we turn to accounts of the Battle of Fallujah and the weapons used.

The Battle OF Fallujah

In 2004 Fallujah experienced two major military operations. The first siege and battle of Fallujah — Operation Vigi-
lant Resolve — ran from 4th April to 10th May after the death of four US contractors. US forces attempted to control
the city with ground operations and air support bombing but had to withdraw. The second siege and battle of Fal-
lujah — Operation Phantom Fury — ran from 7th November to December 23rd. US and Iraqi forces were involved
in the most intense urban combat operations in Iraq since April 2003. US Marines carried out ground operations
with support from armoured vehicles, mortars, tanks and artillery. Air support was provided from Cobra and Apache
helicopters, AV-8B Harriers, F-16 and F-18 fighter-bombers, AC130s and UAVs [54]. A wide range of guided weapons
were used to destroy suspected insurgent targets before infantry troops entered strongly defended buildings.

CAS (Close Air Support) weapons included AGM-114 Hellfire, AGM-65 Maverick and TOW missiles. These mainly
use shaped charge warheads believed to contain Uranium shaped charge liners (concept identified in US Patent
4441428 [55,56]. CAS operations in Fallujah also used 500lb GBU-12, 38 and possibly larger hard target guided
bombs e.g. GBU-24 for hard targets and suspected bunkers. The advanced penetrator warhead versions of these
(BLU-110, 111) use high-density metal ballast — either tungsten or Uranium [54,55,57]. Undepleted or low en-
riched Uranium contamination has been found in samples from heavily bombed locations in Afghanistan, Iraq and
Lebanon [53,56,58]. US forces also used Fallujah to combat-test prototypes of at least two new types of thermo-
baric weapons — Thermobaric Hellfire missiles — AGM-114N [54] — and a new thermobaric RPG called SMAW-NE
(Shoulder-fired, Multi-purpose Assault Weapon - Novel Explosive) [54]. Their effective performance in Fallujah led
to major production contracts in 2005. Thermobaric weapons use high temperature/high pressure explosives as
anti-personnel incendiary weapons. They char or vaporise victims in the immediate target location, or suffocate
and collapse internal organs with their extended blast/vacuum effects [54]. These weapons use a new generation
of reactive metal explosives, some of which are suspected of using Uranium for the high temperature and increased
kinetic blast effects. If Uranium enhanced warheads were used in Fallujah these may have contained between 10
and 100 kgs of Uranium per warhead, depending on weapon type [56].
Finally, it is conceivable that these traces of enriched Uranium found in the present study relate to a completely new
type of weapon or indeed to some other source entirely. But with regard to this we note that Fallujah is not the only
war theatre where enriched Uranium has been detected. Measurements made on soil samples taken from a crater
in Khiam in the Lebanon made by an Israeli missile found high levels of Uranium with significant enrichment ratios
[53,56]. These results were obtained from two different laboratories using two different techniques, ICPMS and
alpha spectroscopy. In addition, the crater was significantly radioactive shortly after the bomb fell but this radioac-
tivity decayed away inside of a few weeks. No fission products were found [59]. Enriched Uranium was also found
in an ambulance air filter from the Lebanon [53,56,59]. We have also tested the Fallujah samples for radioactivity in
the present study using long count time low resolution high sensitivity gamma spectroscopy and we have sent the
water samples for measurements of Tritium. No man-made radionuclides were detected and no Tritium was found
in the Fallujah samples. The identity of the enriched Uranium weapons employed in Fallujah and elsewhere must
remain an open question until the USA or Israeli military release more information.
Conclusions
This study analysed hair samples to examine contamination of the parents of children with congenital anomalies
in Fallujah, a city where there was a very major and concentrated use of novel weapons in 2004. The purpose of our
study was to identify the cause of the increased risks with some elemental component of the weaponry that was
deployed. We conclude that the Fallujah parents of children with congenital malformations show unusually high
levels of contamination by a number of chemical elements. These include Lead, Iron, Aluminium, Manganese, Stron-
tium, Barium, Bismuth and Mercury. There are also high levels of contamination with elements that are derived from
destroyed concrete and masonry, namely Calcium and Magnesium. However, none of these elements could account
for the levels and types of ill health in the population, the cancer and congenital anomaly rates. In addition to these
elements we found significant levels of Uranium, a material which has been associated with weapons employed
in Iraq and in the Balkans since 1991 and also with genotoxicity. These levels were significantly higher than those
expected on the basis of published control group data from various studies and particularly from Southern Israel.
Further, the pattern of contamination with regard to hair length indicated a major contamination event in the past.
The levels of Uranium could not be explained by any local Uranium deposits in the soil since measurements made of
soil Uranium showed only modest concentrations though the Uranium was slightly enriched. Levels in the hair were
also greater than could be easily explained by the levels we measured in the drinking water. The hair samples appear
to contain traces of slightly enriched Uranium with an isotopic ratio of 135.16 (SD 1.5). The soil samples contained
slightly enriched Uranium with isotope ratios ranging from 118 to 132 (natural range 95% CI 132.1-144.1) which
demonstrates the existence of enriched Uranium in the Fallujah environment. Since none of the other elements
found in excess in the parents were genotoxic except Uranium we conclude that these results support the belief
that the effects in Fallujah follow the deployment of a Uranium-based weapon or weapons of some unknown type.
Acknowledgements And Conflict Of Interest
We are grateful to Dai Williams for useful discussions and information regarding weapons systems employed in Fal-
lujah. One of us (CB) acknowledges core support from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust during this work. We
are grateful to the Cancer and Birth Defects Foundation, London, UK., for assistance towards the cost of analytical
measurements and the International Foundation for Research on Conflict and Health 2011.
Radioactivity Risk (Den Internationella Insamlingsstiftelsen för Forskning kring Radioaktivitetens Risker) Stockholm,
Sweden, for some assistance towards equipment costs. None of us have any conflict of interest.
Author Details
1) Fallujah General Hospital, Althubbadh, Fallujah, 00964, Iraq. 2) Department of Molecular Biosciences, University
of Ulster, Cromore Rd, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, UK. 3) The Cancer and Birth Defects Foundation, Office 4, 219 Kensing-
ton High Street, London, W8 6DB, UK. 4) Laboratory for Clinical and Environmental Analysis, Microtrace Minerals,
Rohrenstrasse 20, D-91217, Hersbruck, Germany.
Authors Contributions
SA conceived of the study, diagnosed congenital anomalies, obtained volunteers and took hair samples. MT diag-
nosed congenital anomalies, obtained volunteers and took hair samples. CB assisted with the design of the study,
analysed the data, drafted the manuscript and arranged for the analysis and interpretation of results of soil and
water samples. MH assisted with the design of the study, organised the logistics, the collection of soil and water
samples, the chain of custody and the transfer, division and recoding of the samples. EBB advised on analytical
methodology and carried out the analytical measurements. All authors read and approved the final manuscript
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 Media Lies By Omission

Uranium - The “Demon Metal” That Threatens Us All

By Chris Busby • January 1st, 2014

Ingested Uranium is linked with health impacts far greater than is explained by orthodox risk models.
Chris Busby explains how the ‘demon metal’ does its damage - and why the nuclear industry is desperate to hide the truth.

I am going to ramble about a bit here, but it’s a bit of a rambling tale, which I hope will come together at the end. I for in children (0-14) where the rate was 12.6 times the expected and in leukemia in young adults 0-34 where the
start with Africa. A few years ago I was in the middle of rate was 38 times the expected. Now these are pretty
nowhere in Tanzania, in a big thatched hall attempt- astonishing findings. The biggest leukemia increase
ing to explain to the locals why it wasn’t a good idea in Hiroshima was about 17-fold, and this was ascribed
to allow the open-cast mining of Uranium in their to radiation exposures. But whatever caused this in
tribal territory. I say: Fallujah, also increased rates of congenital defects in
the newborn and altered the sex ratio at birth. The
“At the beginning of time there was created the evil spirit sex ratio, the number of boys born per 1000 girls, fell
Uranium, which deformed children and killed their par- from 1050 to about 800, a signal of genetic damage.
ents with horrible diseases. Mungu (God) fought with We looked for the cause of this genetic damage in
the demon and trapped his power throughout the earth the hair of the mothers of the birth defect children
in the ground, tied into the rocks. Now greedy men wish and found a huge excess of Uranium. This result also
to free the demon to use his powers to make money, but caused a splash, with 16,000 accesses to the paper
the effects will be terrible and you must not allow it.” since its publication in 2011.

Later, I thought this ad hoc explanation was quite ac- Uranium Weapons Cause Genetic Damage
curate.
Of course, these Fallujah studies just confirmed what
Since 1910 the Iraqi doctors had been saying ever since Gulf
Childhood Leukemia War 1 when the US vapourised about 350 tons of
Tracks Uranium And Radium the stuff over the Iraqi population. Uranium weap-
ons were causing the genetic damage. There were
In 2002 my friend Richard Bramhall, on the  CERRIE reports of  similar effects in the Balkans and in Gulf
committee, was thinking about childhood leuke- war veterans and their children. Discussion can be
mia and the arguments of Sir Richard Doll about found in these papers and the third one, where the
the disease. Doll pointed out that the death rates of congenital malformation rates are calculated. The UK
this (then) entirely new condition began to increase Gulf veterans are now in their 40s and are beginning
around 1910 and continued up to the 1960s, after to develop cancer. There are studies showing that US
which medical treatment made death rate trends veterans have had children with birth defects. I have
valueless as an epidemiological indicator. Since the in- been involved in a number of Gulf war cancer cases
crease began before nuclear energy and fission-product releases (Sellafield, Chernobyl, Caesium-137, Strontium-90) in Ministry of Defence Pensions appeals, and notably in a coroner inquest in 2009 into the death of Gulf Veteran
Doll argued these could not be the cause. But what Bramhall found was that the trend in global Uranium and Ra- Stuart Dyson. He died from colon cancer at the young age (for that disease) of 40, and the jury concluded that his
dium production fitted the trend in childhood leukemia pretty accurately. Not a proof, of course, but interesting. cancer was caused by Depleted Uranium exposure, a finding that caused severe headaches for the Secretary of
State for Defence.
Fallujah - Shake, Bake, Irradiate Bomb Test Veterans

In 2009 I helped organize the first study of cancer and infant mortality in Fallujah Iraq - a paper which has now had It is not only the Gulf veterans that were exposed to Uranium. The atmospheric nuclear tests involved huge bombs
27,000 accesses and 18,000 downloads from the journal website and has been something of a phenomenon in the that were constructed entirely of Uranium. The UK Grapple Y 3 megaton test on Christmas Island in 1958 involved
media (though not of course the BBC). The results showed an enormous increase in cancer, and this was most clear a 4 ton lump of the stuff that was atomized by the explosion and created a black rain of Uranium oxide nanopar-
ticles that fell from the sky (along with fish that had been sucked from the sea into the cloud). The nuclear test
veterans have suffered all the same effects: cancers and a whole range of health problems. And birth defects in
the children. I know about the birth defects as a result of an epidemiological study I carried out with Mireille de
Messieres in 2007. This showed a 9-fold excess risk of a congenital defect in the children and an 8-fold excess in
the grandchildren. And I know about the Uranium in the bombs and the black rain as it is evidence in the case I am
currently fighting in the Royal Courts of Justice in a nuclear test veteran Pensions Appeal.
Fatally Flawed - The Concept Of ‘Dose’
We can go back now and ask about the health effects following the Hiroshima bombs. The increase in cancer
in the group of Japanese survivors has been and still is the foundation of the current radiation risk model. Of
course, the cancers have been correlated with the radiation dose, a huge acute sudden gamma ray dose from
the A-bomb. But what if ‘dose’ is not the correct quantity to predict or explain the cancers? What if the internal ex-
posures to the fallout caused much bigger effects? Then the ‘control
group’, those who were not there at the time of the detonation
would also be affected, and the differential cancer yield based on
‘dose’ would be meaningless. There is recent interest in this and
in the link between the ‘black rain’ and the cancers. I jump now
to France in 2010 where I am at a big meeting on radiation and
health at the University of Paris Sud. I talk with Dr Irina Guseva
Canu who has spent several years studying the French Uranium
workers. She can’t get her results published, could she cite me as
a referee to the journals? I’m not surprised she can’t get the stuff
published. When her findings finally appear in the literature in a
rather diluted form they show that the Uranium workers suffer
excess risk of leukemia and lymphomas, and also heart disease.
The ‘doses’ are very low, but are not given, though by a forensic
analysis of her three papers, they can be deduced. On the basis
of the current risk model they are 2,500 times too small to ac-
count for the cancers.
There is plenty of other published work that points to the dan-
gers of Uranium exposures, mainly from inhalation of dust parti-
cles. There is chromosome analysis of Gulf War Veterans, of New
Zealand Test veterans, and of Uranium workers in Namibia. There
are laboratory studies of genetic and genomic effects in cell cul-
tures, and there are the cancer rates in North Carolina by Urani-
um content in soils.
How Did The Experts Get It So Wrong?
Apart from the ‘skullduggery argument’, here is a possible answer. There are two things about Uranium which were
known since the 1960s but not assembled into a health hazard argument. Perhaps because of the agreement
signed between the WHO and the IAEA in 1959. Perhaps because the scientists in the area were mainly physicists
and not interested in the biology of internal exposures. Who knows? Maybe no-one thought of it.
First, Uranium has enormous chemical affinity for DNA and binds to chromosomes. This was discovered in 1961
and ever since then Uranyl salts have been the electron-microscope stain of choice for imaging. The reason they
create such clear, sharp images is that Uranium has the highest atomic number (92) of any natural element. Its 92
electrons block the passage of the electron microscope beam. But that’s not all they do. They also block gamma
rays. The absorption of gamma radiation (natural background radiation) by any element is proportional to roughly
the fifth power of the atomic number Z. So clearly Uranium (like lead (Z = 82), but considerably more so) blocks the
passage through the body (the oxygen in water has Z=8) of background gamma radiation.
Uranium In Tissues Acts As A Gamma Ray Damage Multiplier
The energy from the gamma rays, absorbed by the Uranium, is therefore converted into fast photoelectrons - and
these smash through the nearest tissue. And of course, the nearest tissue is the DNA in the chromosomes and in
mitochondria or any other tissue that the Uranium is bound to. This idea, as an explanation for all the anomalous
biological effects of Uranium was advanced by me first in the CERRIE conference in 2004 and next in a series of pa-
pers and reports from various conferences, and an outline can be found on the web. The theory was also reported
in New Scientist in 2008 in How war debris could cause cancer.
So if you have Uranium inside you, a lot of it is on the DNA (nuclear
scientists say its on the phosphate in the bones, but DNA is phos-
phate also). And it then acts as an antenna sitting on the DNA
- converting background radiation into photoelectrons which
smash up the chromosomes like an egg whisk. Note that to do
this the Uranium does not need to be radioactive - just to have
a very heavy nucleus with a high atomic number. Of course all
isotopes of Uranium are radioactive as well, but the main nat-
ural isotopes, U-238 and U-235, are only mildly so. Their health
impacts are far, far greater than can be accounted for by its own
emissions of radiation. Hence the chromosome damage found
in the miners, the test veterans and the Gulf veterans and the
Chernobyl liquidators, all disproportionate by large multiples to
their radiation doses.
The Golden State
Finally let us go to California. In 2006 I was commissioned as an
expert in a legal case involving 9 children in Los Angeles who had
developed the rare eye cancer retinoblastoma shortly after birth.
They lived in the north west of the city, downwind from the Santa
Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) a nuclear site involved in research
into reactor development by an outfit called Rocketdyne - a sub-
sidiary of Boeing.
This SSFL has had a long history of disasters and releases, meltdowns
and local cancer scares, but no-one has been able to nail them conclusively in terms of causality. By delving into
the annual reports of the SSFL I was able to find one key to unlock the explanation. The annual reports gave tables
of measurements of Uranium in air filters; but they measured the concentrations of all three Uranium isotopes,
U-238, U-235 and U-234. From the isotope ratio it is possible to see whether the Uranium is natural (U238 / U235
activity = 21.6) or enriched - the stuff they use in reactors (U238 / U235 < 18). There had been a huge increase in
enriched Uranium in the filters at the same time as the period of the retinoblastoma cases, increases caused by
the demolition of buildings and the remediation of the site, involving digging up and trucking away thousands of
tons of Uranium-contaminated soil. Add to this the published evidence that the highest rates of this rare disease
is in the Navajo tribes living near Uranium mine tailings, and in children living near Sellafield, and you have a good
case. Boeing settled. I am currently involved in two other cancer cases in the same area, involving women who
hiked around the site and later developed cancer.
 And In The UK ... Where’s The Uranium?

In passing I should say that a similar evidence of Uranium contamination was recently found in documents pre-
sented in support of the application to build new reactors at Hinkley Point. It is unusual to find any measurements
of uranium near nuclear sites in the UK. For some reason, although the most arcane radionuclides are routinely
measured and reported in the government annual RIFE reports, Uranium is conspicuous by its absence. I have
regularly written to them about this but nothing has been done. It’s this idea that Uranium is somehow natural,
and therefore unimportant.

New Risk Model Needed For Ingested Uranium

So there we are. We have traveled around the world. There are two messages from all this. First, that internal
radionuclide exposures cannot be modeled on the basis of ‘dose’. Second that this is most true for the element
Uranium, present now increasingly in the environment as extremely long lived nanoparticle aerosols that can be
inhaled and translocated easily into the body through the lungs, and into the brain through the nasal passages.
Attempts to persuade University scientists to study this idea (quite easy experiments) have met with the University
equivalent of the kind of garlic-producing and cross-wielding response reserved for vampires. Attempts to obtain
funding to carry out the studies have been blocked at every level.

Children With Cancer

I was approached last year by the huge charity Children with Cancer (a) to apply for funding and (b) to submit
a paper for consideration for their big child leukemia conference. I suggested that we look at Uranium and the
cause of child leukemia, broadly on the evidence I have written about here. Both the funding for a study, and the
contribution to the conference were swiftly turned down: they had someone already to talk about child leukemia
and radiation, they said.

Oh, Who Was That? Richard Wakeford.

I know Richard Wakeford of old. He is the former head of epidemiology for British Nuclear Fuels in Sellafield, where
he spent his career denying any conceivable link between radioactive emissions from nuclear power stations and
other nclear industry plant, and excess cancers in their vicinity. Here is one such example of his work: Risk of child-
hood leukemia after low-level exposure to ionizing radiation - in which he completely ignores the role of ingested
Uranium as a gamma-ray interceptor and re-emitter of photoelectrons. Or see this articlein which he downplays
the risks created by the Fukushima nuclear disaster. Now he is a visiting member of the Dalton Nuclear Institute,
and member of the ICRP, the International Commission on Radiological Protection, whose risk model for internal
emitters and ingested Uranium underestimates health damage by a factor of more than 1,000 ...

Ah, OK, Well That’s Alright Then ...

My Prediction

Meanwhile here is my prediction: Uranium, the demon from the beginning of time, released by bad men for their
profit, will continue, and indeed increase its genotoxic toll on life, on you, and on your children and grandchildren.
It is coming, or already has come, to a theatre near you.
 
Chris Busby is the Scientific Secretary of the European Committee on Radiation Risk. For details and current CV see: 
www.chrisbusbyexposed.org For accounts of his work see www.greenaudit.org and www.llrc.org and 
www.nuclearjustice.org He is also the author of Uranium and Health - The Health Effects of Exposure to Uranium and
Uranium Weapons Fallout. Documents of the ECRR 2010 No 2, Brussels, 2010.
 Limited Metallurgical Examination
By Jonathan Barnett, Ronald R. Biederman and R. D. Sisson, Jr.
FEMA

Two structural steel members with unusual erosion patterns were observed in the WTC debris field. The first ap- of the steel. Figures C-4 and C-5 present typical near-surface regions showing the microstructural changes that oc-
peared to be from WTC 7 and the second from either WTC 1 or WTC 2. Samples were taken from these beams and cur due to this corrosion attack. Figure C-6 presents the microstructure from the center of a much thicker section
labeled Sample 1 and Sample 2, respectively. A metallurgic examination was conducted. of the steel that is unaffected by the hot corrosion. Figure C-7 illustrates the deep penetration of the liquid into the
steel’s structure. In order to identify the chemical composition of the eutectic, a qualitative chemical evaluation
Sample1(From WTC 7) was done using energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) of the eutectic reaction products. Figure C-8 illustrates the
results of this analysis [All figures are available in the original document found in the Zip file linked on the last page].
Several regions in the section of the beam
shown in Figures C-1 and C-2 were exam- Summary For Sample 1
ined to determine microstructural changes
that occurred in the A36 structural steel as 1. The thinning of the steel occurred by a
a result of the events of September 11, 2001, high-temperture corrosion due to a combi-
and the subsequent fires. Although the exact nation of oxidation and sulfidation.
location of this beam in the building was not 2. Heating of the steel into a hot corrosive
known, the severe erosion found in several environment approaching 1,000 °C (1,800
beams warranted further consideration. In °F) results in the formation of a eutectic
this preliminary study, optical and scanning mixture of iron, oxygen, and sulfur that liq-
electron metallography techniques were uefied the steel.
used to examine the most severely eroded 3. The sulfidation attack of steel grain bound-
regions as exemplified in the metallurgical aries accelerated the corrosion and erosion
mount shown in Figure C-3. Evidence of a of the steel.
severe high temperature corrosion attack
on the steel, including oxidation and sulfida- Sample 2 (From WTC 1 or WTC 2)
tion with subsequent intergranular melting,
was readily visible in the near-surface micro- The origin of the steel shown in Figure C-9
structure. A liquid eutectic mixture contain- is thought to be a high-yield-strength steel
ing primarily iron, oxygen, and sulfur formed removed from a column member. The steel
during this hot corrosion attack on the steel. is a high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel con-
This sulfur-rich liquid penetrated preferen- taining copper. The unusual thinning of the
tially down grain boundaries of the steel, member is most likely due to an attack of the
severely weakening the beam and making steel by grain boundary penetration of sulfur
it susceptible to erosion. The eutectic tem- forming sulfides that contain both iron and
perature for this mixture strongly suggests copper. Figures C-10, C-11, and C-12 show
that the temperatures in this region of the the region of severe corrosion at different
steel beam approached 1,000 °C (1,800 °F), levels of magnification.
which is substantially lower than would be
expected for melting this steel. Figure C-13 shows the region where a quali-
tative chemical analysis of the eroded region
When steel cools below the eutectic tem- was performed. The comparison of the EDX
perature, the liquid of eutectic composition spectra from the specific regions identified
transforms to two phases, iron oxide, FeO, in Figure C-13 shows concentration of cop-
and iron sulfide, FeS. The product of this eu- per and sulfur in the grain boundaries in ad-
tectic reaction is a characteristic geometrical dition to iron sulfide formation adjacent to
arrangement that is unique and is readily iron oxide in the oxidized surface layer. Sul-
visible even in the unetched microstructure fide formation within the steel microstruc-
 The Lengths The Network Will Go To
ture increases in concentration as the oxidized region is approached from the steel side. This is clearly shown in Figure C-14. by Jeff Prager

The larger sulfides further into the steel are the more stable manganese sulfides that were formed when the steel was made. The Let’s face facts — this is a FEMA Report, as believable as a Disney production and quite similar in a
smaller sulfides that have formed as a result of the fire do not contain significant amounts of manganese, but rather are primarily number of ways. The last paragraph, ‘Suggestions For Future Research’, first states that the “severe
sulfides containing iron and copper. These corrosion” is an unusual and so far unex-
sulfides have a lower melting tempera- plainable event yet we know that the high
ture range than manganese sulfide. It is pH of the dust, 12.1+ caused extreme rust
much more difficult to tell if melting has across Ground Zero and beyond, rapidly,
occurred in the grain boundary regions in within both hours and days, as stated in
this steel as was observed in the A36 steel the peer review. It certainly wasn’t an ‘un-
from WTC 7. It is possible and likely, how- usual’ event. Caustic dust is a signal of a
ever, that even if grain boundary melting nuclear demolition yet FEMA finds this a
did not occur, substantial penetration by mystery. Awkwardly, FEMA touches upon
a solid state diffusion mechanism would the source of corrosion, thinning and melt-
have occurred as evidenced by the high ing of the metal by suggesting the possi-
concentration of sulfides in the grain inte- bility of long-term underground heat and
riors near the oxide layer. Temperatures in even supports the nuclear event by esti-
this region of the steel were likely to be in mating high heat above 1800º Fahrenheit
the range of 700–800 °C (1,290–1,470 °F). but avoids addressing the issue further
leaving the reader with an unexplained
Summary For Sample 2 and unexplainable anomalie. FEMA’s final
statement reads, “a detailed study is need-
1. The thinning of the steel occurred by ed” and we’re left with that. We’re left with
high temperature corrosion due to a that from FEMA. However further exam-
combination of oxidation and sulfidation. ination yields a wealth of documentation
2. The sulfidation attack of steel grain by several physicists supported by a num-
boundaries accelerated the corrosion and ber of peer reviewed reports that confirms,
erosion of the steel. without question, that 911 was a nuclear
3. The high concentration of sulfides in event which is the cause of the corrosion.
the grain boundaries of the corroded re-
gions of the steel occured due to copper So much of the mainstream peer review
diffusing from the HSLA steel combining subtlely alludes to the event being nucle-
with iron and sulfur, making both dis- ar while denying it at the same time such
crete and continuous sulfides in the steel that those physicists — there are very few,
grain boundaries. this is a highly specialized field of study —
that would or could recognize the data,
Suggestions For Future Research can. They know. The rest of us are left with
nothing but doubt, just as physicist Heinz
The severe corrosion and subsequent Pommer asserts prominently.
erosion of Samples 1 and 2 are a very un-
usual event. No clear explanation for the Our doubt leads only to confusion and a
source of the sulfur has been identified. distaste for further study. And that doubt
The rate of corrosion is also unknown. It is placed in our minds by far less than
is possible that this is the result of long- FEMA reports. The media, the shills and
term heating in the ground following the the rest of the propaganda machine never
collapse of the buildings. It is also possible that the phenomenon started prior to collapse and accelerated the weakening of the steel stop pumping out subterfuge. The game is rigged, War is Peace, Black is White, Up is Down and
structure. A detailed study into the mechanisms of this phenomenon is needed to determine what risk, if any, is presented to existing every social movement is compromised and controlled by the elite. Still, every once in a long
steel structures exposed to severe and long-burning fires. while, we uncover the truth in spite of the deceptive propaganda.
 Damage Assessment 130 Liberty Street Property
WTC Dust Signature Report • Composition And Morphology
Prepared by: RJ LeeGroup, Inc., 350 Hochberg Road Monroeville, PA 15146
The World Trade Center destruction commencing on September 11, 2001 (“WTC
Event”) physically destroyed significant portions of the interior and exterior of the
building located at 130 Liberty Street, New York, NY (the “Building”). A gash
was created in the north side of the Building; the plaza in front of the
Building was crushed which exposed the Level A and Level B Base-
ment areas and the first floor; approximately 1,500 windows were
broken; and the Building was exposed to the elements as well
as being filled with a combination of soot, dust, dirt, debris,
and contaminants. For a period of time following the WTC
Event, the Building owner, Deutsche Bank Trust Company
Americas (the “Bank”), was precluded by the City of New
York from entering the Building. After the Bank gained
access to the Building, the Bank retained the services
of engineering firms to assess the physical damage.
Additionally, an environmental firm was retained to
conduct limited sampling for asbestos, heavy met-
als, and biological contaminants.
In April of 2002, RJ Lee Group was retained by the
law firm of Pitney Hardin Kipp & Szuch LLP, on be-
half of the Bank, to oversee and investigate the
presence, type, amount, and extent of environ-
mental contaminants in the Building and to rec-
ommend remediation strategies. The findings set
forth in this report are based upon RJ Lee Group’s
review of the results of its own extensive set of
analyses, its background, experience, and educa-
tion in this area, as well as its study of recognized
scientific literature.
The collapse of a major building can produce signif-
icant quantities of dust and debris comprised of the
construction materials and the contents of the building.
Fires in commercial office buildings can produce combus-
tion products including soot, partially combusted aerosol-
ized particles and organic vapors. The amounts and portions
of the various products of combustion will depend upon the
source materials, the combustion temperatures, the availability
of oxygen and other oxidants, the duration of the fires, and other
factors. The WTC disaster uniquely combined several cataclysmic de-
structive processes in a single event. This report evaluates the features of
the WTC Dust and WTC Hazardous Substances deposited in the Building as a
Summary Report • December 2003
result of the collapse, ground impact, fires, pressure forces, and other phenomena aris-
ing from the WTC Event. As a result of this investigation, it was determined that
WTC Dust contains various solid phases that include asbestos and minerals,
metals and mercury, organic pollutants and particles of various sizes and
different morphological characteristics. The distinctive composition,
solid phases, and unique morphological features have allowed for
the development of a “WTC Dust Signature”: dust containing par-
ticles that, when occurring together, can be considered to act
as identifying source tracers. The WTC Dust Signature can be
compared with dusts of unknown provenance using con-
ventional source apportionment methodologies, forensic
tags derived from microscopic observations, or statisti-
cal analysis. These techniques are a scientifically recog-
nized methodology used to determine source impact
by comparing dust from an unknown source to ref-
erence source signatures. In this case, the dust of
unknown origin can be compared to the WTC Dust
Signature to determine what component or frac-
tion of the material is the result of the WTC Event.
To evaluate the validity of the WTC Dust Signa-
ture as a unique identifier, dust samples were
collected from a number of representative of-
fice buildings, “Background Buildings”, in typ-
ical urban locations including Midtown Man-
hattan, New York City, NY, Washington, D.C.,
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, PA, and Florham
Park, NJ. See RJ Lee Group “Background Levels
in Buildings” report. Additionally, dust samples
collected from the New York City area collected
and analyzed prior to 9/11/2001 were reevaluated.
The pre-WTC Event samples, collected in the spring
of 2000, included materials from both the interiors of
the World Trade Center Towers as well as exterior sam-
ples, taken in close proximity to the Towers. The Back-
ground Building samples and the pre-WTC Event samples
were compared to known WTC Dust for the forensic eval-
SEM image of a skin flake uation, using the source apportionment methodologies to
determine the extent of the WTC Dust impact. This WTC Dust
from the WTC dust evaluation represents the most extensive microscopic investigation
related to WTC Dust ever performed. Over 400,000 particles were clas-
sified using SEM techniques with approximately 80,000 images collected.
 WTC Event Dust Constituents

Building materials from which the WTC Towers were constructed include structural steel, asbestos-containing in-
• Particulate with the WTC Dust Signature was observed throughout the Building.
sulation material, other insulating fibrous material (mineral wool and glass fibers), cement and aggregate (con-
crete), wallboard, ceiling tiles, ducts, wiring, paint, plate glass, and other components. Building contents of the
WTC included computers and other electronic equipment, fluorescent lights, furniture, office supplies, and a myr-
• The identity, concentration, and characteristics of the particles and the chemical composition of the WTC Dust
constitute a complex, recognizable pattern or “signature.”
iad of other items. The brittle and friable components of these materials were pulverized during the collapse and
the combustible components were partially burned in the ensuing fires.
• The identification of WTC Dust is not based on an individual characteristics, but rather on a profile comprised
of the WTC Dust Markers.
The catastrophic structural collapse of the WTC resulted in coarse
fragmentation as well as fine particle dust generation including as-
bestos and various chemicals of concern. The hazardous materials
in the dust originated from many common sources. The National
• The presence of WTC Dust in a sample of Building dust can be
established using conventional forensic and statistical methodology
with a high degree of scientific certainty.
Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report estimated more than 1.2
million tons of building materials collapsed during the WTC Event The Analytical Results Are As Follows:
containing an estimated 300 to 400 tons of asbestos. (NRDC, 2002)
Additionally, 50,000 personal computers were destroyed, with each
containing approximately 4 pounds of lead. (NRDC, 2002) Addition-
ally, thousands of fluorescent light bulbs, thousands of light switch-
• Chrysotile asbestos was pervasively present in the Building. The
WTC towers were built, in part, using fireproofing materials that
contained chrysotile asbestos. In contrast, the Building was not con-
es and other mercury-containing items were destroyed, releasing structed with asbestos-containing surfacing materials. Chrysotile as-
thousands of grams of mercury into the surrounding environment. bestos is a distinguishing WTC Dust Marker for WTC Dust.
These materials, properly contained and applied in their consumer
products and form, presented no particular environmental or health
hazard. It was, however, the pulverization of these items caused by
the WTC collapse that liberated and rendered them bio-accessible,
• Mineral wool was pervasively present in the Building. Mineral
wool is a WTC Dust Marker for WTC Dust. The WTC towers used con-
struction materials that contained mineral wool.
thus creating an environmental hazard.

The conflagration activated processes that caused materials to form

into spherical particles such as metals (e.g., Fe, Zn, Pb) and spherical
• Gypsum, also designated as a WTC Dust Marker for WTC Dust
based on its high abundance and small particle size (not its mere
presence), was ubiquitously present in the Building.
or vesicular silicates or fly ash. The heat generated during the WTC
Event caused some plastics to form residual vesicular carbonaceous
particles, and paints to form residual spherical particles. Some met-
als, plastics and other materials were vaporized thus producing new
• Particles of partially burned or melted plastic (vesicular carbona-
ceous particles), not expected in “normal” dust, were commonly ob-
served in WTC Dust due to the fire that accompanied the WTC Event.
chemicals that were deposited onto the surfaces of solid particulate Additionally, the concentrations of various burned phases and the
matter, such as asbestos, quartz, and mineral wool. These dust and characteristics of specific phases, also proved to be excellent “finger-
heat-processed constituents are not typically found associated with prints” for WTC Event dusts.
typical office building environments. To prove that the Building has
been contaminated with the fallout from the WTC collapse, RJ Lee
Group undertook a statistical sampling approach in collecting sam-
ples from various regions of the Building and analyzed them for the
• Particles of materials that had been modified by exposure to
high temperature, such as spherical particles of iron and silicates, are
common in WTC Dust because of the fire that accompanied the WTC
types and levels of contaminants. Event, but are not common in “normal” interior office dust.

Findings

Detailed characterization of WTC Dust revealed that it possessed a

SEM image of a strand of hair from the WTC dust • The investigation has established that WTC Dust is a carrier of tox-
ic substances.

unique set of characteristics by which it could be identified and differentiated to a reasonable degree of scientific As described above, the typical office dust is composed heavily of organic and other carbon-rich particulate mate-
certainty from dust that had other origins. Thus, dust that was found as a pervasive contaminant in the Building rials. WTC Dust, conversely, contains very little pristine organic fibrous or particulate material. Much of the organic
was unequivocally identified as coming from the WTC Event. The conclusions reached in this report regarding dust or polymeric content of the WTC Dust has been heat hydrolyzed and partially consumed or burned. Therefore, a
found in the Building are as follows: residual vesicular type of carbonaceous component persists in the WTC Dust. In addition to the vesicular carbon
components, the high heat exposure of the WTC Dust has also created other morphologically spe-
cific varieties of particulate matter including spherical metallic, vesicular siliceous and spherical fly
ash components. These types of particles are classic examples of high temperature or combustion
by-products and are generally absent in typical office dust.

WTC Dust Composition

A variety of analytical methods were used to characterize the dust collected from the Building and
to develop an understanding of the composition of WTC Dust. The analytical techniques discussed in
this report including optical microscopy (reflected and transmitted light), scanning electron micros-
copy (SEM) with associated energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectros-
copy (XPS) were utilized during the evaluation of the dust samples. A variety of particle compositions
and morphologies were identified during this analytical sequence that aids in differentiation of the
Building dust samples from the Background Buildings. The following discussion sets forth the major
analytical results from the SEM/EDS characterization:

Background Dust Characteristics

An important aspect of the characterization of WTC Dust is the ability to distinguish WTC Dust from
“background dust”, i.e., particulate matter that is typical in a normal office environment. This section
discusses the analytical results from efforts to define the composition, morphology, and abundance
(particle loading) of background or typical office environmental particulate content (See RJ Lee
Group’s Background Levels in Buildings report, December, 2003).

Typical interior office dusts possess a different morphological and mineralogical character from those
that generated produced from the WTC disaster. For example, many of the components typically asso-
ciated with office dust are internally generated by daily activities within the facility. One of the largest
contributors to the typical environmental particulate population is the occupying personnel. Indoor
dust commonly consists of skin flakes, hair, natural and synthetic textile fibers, plant and insect parts,
windblown soil-derived dust (silicate minerals), and various amounts of other materials.

Carbonaceous particulate and fiber components comprise a significant portion of the typical office
dust population. This description is based upon knowledge of indoor air quality and the analysis of
numerous background samples and other research performed over the course of many years. An un-
derstanding of the characteristics of typical office dust is critical to the development of a WTC Event
driven dust signature because it allows the identification of uncommon constituents in the dust.

Typical interior office dusts are sparsely distributed on surfaces compared to the heavy loading of WTC
Dust in the Building. The environment in a typical office complex is subjected to significant amounts
of control and conditioning such as filtering, heating and various distribution techniques. The envi-
ronment within the Building was rendered completely uncontrolled.

Pre-WTC Event Dust Characteristics Samples collected within the WTC towers in the spring of 2000
were examined to provide further evidence of the particle types expected within buildings surround-
ing the WTC site prior to the WTC Event. Figure 5 and Figure 6 include SEM images of “typical” dust par-
ticles that were indicative of the particles types present at the WTC site prior to the WTC Event. The left
image of each photomicrograph shows a field of view with a white box. The right image is at a higher
magnification and is the region within the box of the left image. The lower portion of the figure shows
the elemental spectrum acquired inside the small box seen in the right image. These background par-
ticles include common soil/mineral particles such as quartz, clays and even rust particles.
 Lymphoma Incidence In Italian Military Personnel Involved In Operations In Bosnia And Kosovo
By Chris Busby, PhD
Green Audit • Aberystwyth • April 2002

The question of whether there has been an increase in leukemia/lymphoma or other cancers in occupants of or In January 2001, Nippon TV were told of there were 7 leukemia deaths in Italian Kosovan peacekeepers (assume
peacekeepers deployed in the Balkans has been a source of argument of a similar order and type as the question 50,000) and more recently Eddie Goncalves, a journalist in Portugal, reported 5 deaths from leukemia in the Por-
of increases in leukemia/lymphoma and birth defects in Iraq. In the case of the Balkans, there is very little hard tuguese Kosovan peacekeepers (5 deaths in 10,000 with two in the 20-30 age group). Thus in those groups we
evidence (e.g cancer registry data) which is available for independent scrutiny, and indeed some of the prob- observe 12 leukaemia deaths where 0.9 are expected, a relative risk of 13. Even if we use a two-year period since
lems associated with the kinds of population movements that follow a major conflict would make such analy- the war the Relative Risk is still 6.5 However, there has recently been an official investigation of cancer in the Italian
ses very difficult. There has been a leak of a table of Balkan peacekeepers and the incidence of cancer in this
cancer incidence in Sarajevo from the cancer registry group has been tabled and assessed. The analysis of
there which suggests a more than 10-fold increase in the findings made by the Italian epidemiologists con-
leukemia and lymphoma (Table 1) even allowing for cluded that there was no significant increase in cancer
a doubling in the base population. This information but there was a confusing reference to a ‘non-signifi-
was given to the Royal Society as evidence last year cant’ increase in lymphoma. I want to look more closely
but was not included in their report or followed up by at these results and the analysis. But first I will briefly
them. Note: All Tables available in the Zip download examine the biologically likely consequences of DU ex-
linked on the last page. posure and develop a prior hypothesis.

In addition, there has been anecdotal evidence of The Radiological Consequence Of DU Exposure
increases in leukemia/lymphoma in the Italian and
Portuguese peacekeepers and these have led to mis- The dissonance between the conventional (ICRP/Roy-
leading statements from the authorities. Recently, in a al Society) analysis of the health effects of DU expo-
letter to Caroline lucas, MEP, a UK government minister, sure and those advanced by independent researchers
Dr Lewis Moonie suggested that 42 leukemia deaths and the new models of the European Committee on
per 100,000 peacekeepers was a reasonable sum and Radiation Risk (ECRR) pivots on the type of exposure
that therefore the handful of deaths observed should involved (Busby 2000, 2001) The ICRP model assumes
be seen as a normal situation. Table 1 at right shows uniform and averaged deposition of ionisation in the
the number of deaths from various cancers in Saraje- whole body or organ, leading to a very low overall
vo per 100,000 and calculates the overall rate. dose. The independent model argues that because
of the micron diameter particulate nature of the DU,
The value, 0.612 is for all ages 20-75 combined and there will be high local and fractionated doses to cells
is not correct for soldiers who are younger. Leukae- close to the particles and no doses to the majority of
mia rates increase markedly in people above 50 as cells more distant than the 30 micron range of the par-
you can see from the table and this would suggest ticles. This has two consequences. First, the cell dose
a higher expected number of deaths if this large is in the dose-squared region of the dose-response
age group were used as a basis for any comparison. curve, and thus unrepairable chromosome double
It is unlikely that there would have been many sol- strand breaks are very likely. Second, the fractionation
diers older than 40. Assuming an age range of 20-40 of doses in time, makes it highly probable that Second
(which is conservative) there should be 0.15 deaths per Event enhancement of mutation hazard will occur. These
10,000 exposed per year (i.e. the death rate in the men aged 20-40 is about 116/7832822 = 1.48 E-5 which is arguments are reviewed in Busby 2001. It is of some interest, however, to consider which of the organs/ tissues
0.148 per 10,000 per year. So in the year since the bombing we should expect approximately 0.15 per 10,000 or of the body will be most likely to suffer damage from particulate DU and thus predict the cancer sites most likely
1.5 deaths in 100,000). to suffer increased risk. From the particle inhalation route we might expect irradiation of the lung and upper

“It is clear that the number of lymphomas in our Italian study group ... is thus 7.9 times the value expected ...”
respiratory tract with possible increases in lung cancer and respiratory tract tumours and then following translo-
cation to the lymphatics, lymphoma and to a lesser extent leukemia. From the ingestion route, it is possible that
colon cancer might result, and excretion of the Uranium through the kidneys might result in increased incidence
of kidney cancer. Increases in incidence of cancer in any or all of these sites would be consistent with exposure to
particulate DU.
The Italian Report
Seconda Relazione Della Commissione
Institiuta Dal Ministro Della Difesa Sull’ Incidenza di Neoplasie Maligne tra I
Militari impiegati in Bosnia 28 Maggio 2001
David Coggon reviewed the results of this report for the members of the UK DU Oversight board and since he has
outlined the case made by the authors of the report, I give his comments below in full.
Coggons Review
I have now had a chance to look at a preliminary report of this study in English, dated 19 March 2001.
The report describes a cohort study of Italian military personnel who were followed up from the date
of their first mission to Bosnia or Kosovo until 31 January 2001. Cancer incidence, ascertained from var-
ious sources including voluntary unsolicited reports, was compared with that in the male populations
covered by Italian tumour registries. With allowance for a minimum latent interval of 12 months from
first deployment, there were 18 cases of cancer in the cohort as compared with 32 expected. These
cases of cancer included one non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (3.3 expected), six Hodgkin’s lymphoma (2.2
expected) and one acute lymphoplastic leukaemia (0.42 expected).
The study has two major but unavoidable limitations. First, cases of cancer in the cohort were ascer-
tained from different sources than for the comparison population. This could give rise to bias in either
direction. Second, the follow-up of the cohort was extremely short. This meant that there was greater
statistical uncertainty because relatively few cancers had occurred. Furthermore, if the cohort was
exposed to a cancer hazard in Bosnia or Kosovo, it is possible that the effects of that exposure would
not yet be manifest (because of the latent interval that often occurs between exposure to a carcinogen
and the subsequent manifestation of the disease)
Overall, the findings seem unremarkable. The statistically significant deficit of deaths from cancer
overall is probably in part because of a “healthy worker effect”. Military personnel known to have can-
cer would not have been sent on missions, and would have been selectively excluded from the cohort.
I would like now to examine these results and suggest, contrary to Prof. Coggon’s view that they show a highly sig-
nificant excess risk from lymphomas and that the temporal spectrum of the disease suggests that this was a result
of their periods of duty in the areas where DU had been used. The statistically significant excess of lymphoma was
recorded in Table 7 of the original Italian language version of the report which recorded 5 cases of non-Hodgkin
lymphoma and 11 cases of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, contrary to Prof Coggon’s assertion above.
There are 18 cases of lymphoma/leukemia and the peak in the lag curve of incidence minus exposure suggest that
it is the exposure that is the cause. This graph is shown in Fig 1, attached. The Italian researchers calculated the
expected numbers of cases based on the rates in the Italian population, which are not very different from rates in
the England and Wales population, which I have access to and will use. This will not introduce a significant error
into the analysis. What is not known, however, is the magnitude of the ‘healthy worker effect’.
There are three questions an epidemiologist must ask when examining the data in Table 3 in connection with a
hypothesis about cause. The first is, does the development of any disease follow the exposure with a pattern that
suggests a temporal clustering related to the exposure period? The second is, is the disease related to the expo-
sure in a biologically plausible way? Third, is there a significant excess number of cases, i.e. could the result have
occurred by chance? We shall examine these three questions in turn.
1. Does the development of any disease follow the exposure with a pattern that suggests a temporal
clustering related to the exposure period?
It is clear from the data that there appears to be an excess of lymphoma. The increase in lymphoma, Hodgkin plus
Non-Hodgkin lymphoma develops in younger cases in the period 10- 20 months following their exposure period.
Fig 1 shows a lag histogram and also the probability density distribution of the population in terms of the lag pe-
riod in months between exposure and clinical diagnosis. There is clear development of the lymphoma following
the exposure.
2. Is the disease related to the exposure in a biologically plausible way.
There is now a consensus that DU particles in the micron and sub-micron range are translocated to the lymphatic
system following inhalation. Although Serbia has not been studied, there is now sufficient evidence from the two
UNEP studies that DU particle contamination of Kosovo and Bosnia/Montenegro was widespread and in the latter
area, direct measurement confirmed the existence of DU particles in the atmosphere some two years after the
conflict. Urine tests carried out by Nick Priest for the BBC found significant levels of DU in urine samples from all
test cases in Kosovo and Bosnia 18 months after the use of DU weapons, and so the contamination of the territory,
the air and the people is considered proven. My own investigations and measurements of DU activity in Iraq and
Kosovo have led me to believe that DU resuspension in air is a real phenomenon and I believe that the recent UNEP
measurements in Montenegro confirm this. The doses from the resuspended and inhaled DU particles will affect
cells in the lymphatic system and the only argument is whether these doses are sufficient to cause malignant
transformation. Since these are models, they should not be allowed to influence considerations about epidemio-
logical observation. Scientific induction demands that the observation should define the risk, and in the case of
DU particle exposure the mechanism of action is still an area of contention.
3. Is there a significant excess number of cases, i.e. could the result have occurred by chance?
The age breakdown of the population at risk is given in the Italian report and is reproduced in Table 4 below which
also applies the age specific incidence risk per 100,000 for men in England and Wales in 1997 for Hodgkin and
non-Hodgkin lymphoma to calculate the annual numbers expected in the study population. Also calculated is
the expected annual numbers of cases of cancer excluding non-malignant skin cancer. The overall rates of these
diseases in the Italian population are similar to those in the England and Wales population so I do not imagine
that using the England and Wales population rates rather than Italian population rates (which I do not have) will
introduce a significant error.
The main increase in lymphoma related to the period of exposure was in the period 0-30 months and therefore
it is fair to use this period to investigate whether the increase could have occurred by chance. After all, we could
wait another thirty years and do the same study, and obtain no significant increase owing to the dilution of the
risk by normal incidence in the survivors after the high risk period was over. In 30 months, table 3 shows that there
were 14 cases of lymphoma made up of 4 cases of NHL and 10 of HL. The comparison of expected and observed
numbers are given in Table 5 together with the Risk Ratio and cumulative Poisson p-value.
There appears to be a significant excess risk of lymphoma, mainly Hodgkin’s disease. But this is based on a national
population. We have not allowed for the healthy worker effect. As Prof Coggon implicitly concedes, these soldiers
and peacekeepers will have been very fit, and much less likely than members of the general public to become
ill. There is a way we can examine this and see what effect it has on the analysis. It is clear from the data in
Table 3 that the ratio of lymphoma to all cancers is anomalous. In the England and Wales population (and all
other populations in Europe) lymphoma is a relatively rare condition compared with other cancers. Yet for
the 30 month period, in the Italian study group, there are 14 cases of lymphoma compared with 11 cases of
other cancers. Indeed the spectrum of cancer incidence in the Italian group is very strange. In Table 4 I have
calculated the expected number of all cancers excluding non-malignant skin cancer per year for the study
group. In the 30 month period following exposure there should be, by chance alone, in an average national
group of the same population distribution 54 cancers which includes 7.48 lymphomas. But our study group is
not an average group: it is a healthy group and we observe this in the total number of cases observed, only 11
cancers (including 2 leukemias) plus the 14 lymphomas. Thus the ratio of lymphoma to all cancers in the study
group is 14 divided by 11 or 1.27. This ratio in an average population is 7.48 divided by 46.5 which is 0.16. It is
clear that the number of lymphomas in our Italian study group in the 30 months following exposure is thus
7.9 times the value expected on the basis of a healthy population. If we extend the analysis to cover all the
cases we see 16 cases of lymphoma and 19 cases of ‘all cancer excluding lymphoma’, a ratio of 0.84. Using the
expected ratio of 0.16 for an average population we see that there is an excess of 5.25-fold in lymphoma. The
30 month period figures are summarised in Table 6.

Conclusions

The data support the belief that there is a significant excess risk of lymphoma in the Italian peacekeepers who
served in Bosnia and Kosovo. The increase in the disease was mainly in Hodgkins lymphoma and showed as a
peak in incidence between 10 and 25 months following the exposure. The excess relative risk based on the En-
gland and Wales rates in 1997 was 1.9 (p = 0.02) for all lymphomas and 3 (p = 0.003) for Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
This is a conclusion also agreed by the authors of the report who used a different analysis to obtain a figure of
Relative Risk of lymphoma of 3.69 (p = 0.0015; Table 7 p 12 of Italian version of report). The relative risk from
other cancers was low compared with the average population. This supported the belief that the study group
was a ‘healthy’ group. The ratio of lymphoma to all cancers except non-melanoma skin cancer was anomalous-
ly high and this could be used to quantitatively estimate the magnitude of the effect. Allowance for the effect
resulted in a relative risk from lymphoma in the 30 month period following the exposure of 7.9 (p = 0.0000).

The Italian study supports other anecdotal evidence of increases in types of cancer in Italian and Portuguese
peacekeepers in Kosovo, and together with other evidence supports the belief that DU exposure is a risk fac-
tor in lymphoma development but other possible causes associated with tours of duty in Bosnia and Kosovo
may contribute or be a main cause of the observed and reported effects. In addition, evidence supporting the
dangers of DU exposiure come from Gulf War veterans and the Iraqi population increases in cancer and other
morbidity. The conclusions of recent review of the Italian study by Coggon are not supported by either the
data or the present analysis and further investigation of Italian and other veterans is recommended.

References

Busby C.C (2000) Science on Trial: On the Biological Effects and Health Risks following exposure to aerosols produced by
the use of Depleted Uranium weapons. Invited presentation to the Royal Society, London July 19th 2000 and also given at
the International Conference against Depleted Uranium, Manchester 4th November 2000.
Occasional paper 2000/11 (Aberystwyth: Green Audit)
Busby C.C (2001) Health Risks following exposure to aerosols produced by the use of Depleted Uranium Weapons. Presentation
to Res Publica International Conference Prague 24th Nov 2001. Occasional Paper 2001/12 (Aberystwyth Green Audit)
Italian Report, (2001) Seconda Relazione Della Commissione Institiuta Dal Ministro Della Difesa Sull’ Incidenza di Neo-
plasie Maligne tra I Militari impiegati in Bosnia 28 Maggio 2001 Rome: Ministry of Defence
Coggon D (2002) Cancer Incidence in Italian Military Personnel Involved in Operations in Bosnia and in Kosovo: Review
for the Ministry of Defence Oversight Board on Depleted Uranium
 Transcript Of Testimony By EMT Patricia Ondrovic
A : And Vesey, yeah. I was still on Vesey, cause the building that blew up on me was on Vesey, it was on the corner
next to the West Side Highway. Cause I know I was running west, I didn’t run that way. Thank God, I would have
been dead had I run the other way. But I ran towards the West Side Highway, and I kept running up Vesey. As I
was running up Vesey, the first car blew up on me on the corner of Vessey and the West Side Highway. That set my
turnout coat on fire, that set my hair on fire, and that set my feet on fire. I kept running. I got news for you, those
turn out coats need to be called burn out coats, cause this thing caught up in flames. They cut two inches off my
hair in less that two minutes, my coat was completely engulfed, and that was the only way I could see where I
was running at that point, because I had a glow from my coat There’s hundreds of cops all running up there, and I
ended up running through this park, and I couldn’t even see where I was running anymore. I kept running North.
Q: Through North Park?
A: I guess that’s North Park. It’s a big green, grassy area, and there’s nothing there. As I was running up here, two
or three more cars exploded on me. They weren’t near any buildings at that point, they were just parked on the
street. The traffic guys hadn’t gotten a chance to tow anything yet, cause this was all during the first hour I guess of
this thing happening. So there were still cars parked on the street that were completely independent of that. Three
cars blew up on me, stuff was being thrown. I went home all bruised that day. Thank God it was only bruises. I just
ran into this park along with a bunch of other people, and stuff was still blowing up, I don’t think I looked back,
but you couldn’t see anything, everything was just black. I was running and I was falling over people, cause people
were crawling on the ground cause they couldn’t see anymore. I just kept on running north. I could smell water,
so I just kept on running towards the water, cause I knew that my coat was on fire, and I figured well, if I can see a
boat over the water, I’m just gonna jump onto the boat and take that thing to Jersey, cause no one wants to blow
up Jersey. Stuff is still blowing up behind me, as I’m running. I can hear stuff exploding. I could hear rumbling, the
street under me was moving like I was in an earthquake. I’ve been in those, so I know what they feel like. It felt like
an earthquake. There was no where safe to go. As I was running north in this park, and then I could start seeing
again a little bit, and I just kept looking in the sky. Cause the captain was saying there’s another plane heading
in our direction, I was looking for another plane. I saw something in the sky, it was a plane, but it was way out. It
looked like it was over Jersey or something, then it wasn’t there anymore. I saw a small fireball, and it was gone. I
saw two other planes. One came in one way, and the other came in the other way, andthere was a plane in the mid-
dle that was way far off in the distance. Then the plane in the middle just disappeared into a little fire ball. It looked
like the size of a golf ball from where I could see it. And the other two planes veered off into opposite directions. I
just kept on running north. About fifteen blocks later, I had no idea that that was just the first tower that had come
down. I had no idea at that time that that’s what that was, and the other buildings were being affected, of course,
by that building falling. I found another ambulance, I believe it was the 08 Adam, because it was Valdivia and Jose
Perez. Joseph Valdivia used to be my partner on tour 3, and when I finally caught up to them, I told them what was
happening. I told them whatever you do, don’t go back that way cause they just blew up triage. I thought that they
blew up our triage sector, cause that’s where the command was and everything. That was the only thing that I had
to go by, everybody that was there was gone. Cause a couple of the police officers that are now missing are guys
that I had known, and that’s where they were. The paramedic from Cabrini, that’s where he was. I was just talking to
him 20 minutes before everything blew up. I don’t know where he ran, I don’t know if he ran the wrong way, cause
I know I ran the right way. If you ran the opposite way, you were dead. As I got like 15, 20 blocks away, now I’m on
the West Side Highway cause I came out of this park and I found the other ambulance. I saw my ex-partner, and I
said get in this thing and drive it to Westchester.
I told him get the hell out of the city. Get everyone was can get in this, I said shit’s still blowing up down there.
Whatever you do, don’t go in that direction, start driving north. He was like, looking at me like I was insane. Cause
I don’t know if anyone saw what had happened. All you could see was black smoke and that’s all I can see at that
point. Now I’m in an area where all the reporters are coming up to me and asking what had happened, and I said
I don’t thinking I’m allowed to talk about it. Cause I don’t know what happened, and I wasn’t gonna tell anybody.
You know, it was surreal, like it wasn’t really happening. So then an EMS Lieutenant comes over, he sees me stand-
ing with 8 Adam, and he says okay, you guys are gonna go three blocks south. I looked at him, and I said are you
out of your mind? I found another guy from 8 David, Charles Gschlecht and we found each other as we were run-
ning. He couldn’t find his partner, and I couldn’t find mine, so we kind of synched up together, cause at least we
knew each other and it’s like, okay, we’re okay. He said I can’t find my partner. I said I can’t find mine either, I think
he got blown the wrong way. This guy was telling me that his partner went back in to help somebody, and that
was the last we saw of either of them for awhile. That was the last I saw my partner for six whole days, cause I didn’t
come back to work after that.
Q: Who was the lieutenant you saw, do you know?
A: Yeah, Bobby Deleon. Bobby Deleon comes up to me, and I know him cause he used to be a union rep up in the
Bronx when I worked up there a million years ago, he tells us to take the vehicle, put me and Charles in the back
of the vehicle and go three blocks south. Charles told him, are you out of your mind? We’re not safe where we are,
let alone three blocks south. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, I know. Get in the ambulance and go three blocks south.
At that point I got really upset. I said, do you realize they just blew up our triage sector? Everybody back there is
dead, everybody back there is gone. There is no reason for us to go back there, we don’t have the proper protective
equipment, we don’t have the proper vehicles. There’s no way I’m going back there, there’s no reason to go back.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, don’t be hysterical, just go back three blocks south. I’m not going three blocks south, he’s
not going three blocks south, this ambulance is not going three blocks south. Sean started telling him we’re not
safe where we are now, and we were fifteen blocks away. It was certainly not safe there. He was the whole time
saying ... cause at that point I was screaming at him, cause he wasn’t in there. We were telling him what we saw,
and he just wouldn’t listen. Yeah, yeah, I know.
Redacted …I still hadn’t realized that the first tower had fallen… Redacted …After I found out what actually hap-
pened, cause I found that out about a week ago, that that’s what I ran from. So then, I think it was an EMS chief, I’m
not sure who it was. Now more people were starting to come to this location, and he says okay, here’s what we’re
gonna do ... everybody’s gonna go back down that way on the West Side Highway, and it’s okay cause we have a
police escort.
Q: Back south?
A: Back south on the West Side Highway, it’s be okay cause we have a police escort. I don’t want any free-lancing,
we’re all gonna go back in a nice orderly fashion. At that point my chest started to hurt, I couldn’t breathe cause
all I was breathing in was this black crap, I started coughing up all this black crap, all this stuff that looked like goo,
and if I had to run another 15 blocks, I would have been dead.
There was no way I could do it. I saw Lieutenant Hanlon, who is a lieutenant out of this station at that point, and I
sat in the back of the ambulance. I started getting really scared, and really upset, cause people were telling me to
go back in and die. There was nothing else they were telling me to do at that point, cause that was all that was gon-
na happen. So I sat in the back of the ambulance, I was coughing up, I was coughing up. Everyone kept asking me
do you want oxygen? I was like no, I don’t want it to get pushed down, I want to bring it up. I took some cold water,
I put it on my face, I tried to cough up into it, and my chest really started hurting. Then my left arm started hurting,
then the whole left side of my body started hurting, and I was like no, there’s no way this is gonna happen.
Lieutenant Hanlon came over to me and said are you okay? I said no, and I don’t know where my partner is.
At that point I was crying cause I had no idea where my partner was, I thought I was having a goddamn heart
attack, and these people are telling me to go back in. So then when this EMS chief said what we’re gonna do I
said no, I have chest pain, I want to go to the hospital. So 8 Adam took me to the hospital, they took me to St.
Vincent’s. At the time we were setting up, getting ready to take me out, they took my blood pressure, which
was a little high at the time, it’s never been before in my life, but I think that’s a good time for it to be high.

Q: Did you take something?

A: They put me on oxygen, put me in the stretcher. As they put me in the stretcher, somebody came over
the EMS radio, said that the North Tower is leaning. As we started driving off, we saw the second tower fall.
As we’re driving away, debris is hitting the back of the ambulance. We were now about 20 blocks away, de-
bris was hitting the back of the ambulance as we were watching this thing come down, it was just this huge
cloud. It was me and Jose Perez in the back of the bus saying, I can’t believe we’re seeing this. When we saw
the towers start coming, I took the oxygen off my face, me and Jose are yelling up to the front to Joe just drive.
Put your foot on the floor and drive, drive as fast as you can out of here, it’s coming down. Joe was like, I know
I see it, and he had his foot on the floor, which meant we were going 30 miles an hour. Stuff was still hitting
the back of the ambulance. All I kept thinking of is if this much crap is hitting the back of the bus and we’re 20
blocks away, this lieutenant wanted us to go 3 blocks south, and I’m thinking what happened to everybody
who listened to this chief and went back? I don’t even know if they got a chance to go back. You know? Also,
after I was running, I remember running, and I remember somebody yelling on the radio May Day, May Day,
I’m trapped! Over the EMS radio. I was thinking May Day? That’s not a term we use, you know 10-13 or 85
forthwith, but somebody’s yelling May Day, I’m trapped. Then you heard this loud buzz, and you didn’t hear
anymore transmissions after that until I would venture to guess it was 20 minutes to a half our later, and the
first thing I remember hearing was somebody saying the North Tower is leaning. Within five minutes of that
statement, the second tower came down. I spent the rest of my day at St. Vincent’s hospital.

Q: Okay, is there anything else you would like to add to this?

A: I don’t know if it matters, but I took the next three days off after that. I didn’t go on… HEAVILY REDACTED
…I was okay with it until the lieutenant wouldn’t listen to me, and would not understand that it was danger-
ous to go back in. He wouldn’t accept that from me or the other guy that was with me. So I took the next three
days off sick. During that time I went to see two counselors, one that was set-up by the union. Cause needless
eviden
remov
to say, like everyone else in the city, I did not sleep, I was having nightmares, I think the first full meal I ate was
about last week… HEAVILY REDACTED …Then I went to go see an internist cause I started walking down

servic
the street and all of a sudden, I couldn’t breathe. I was trying to get back in the swing of things, … HEAVILY
REDACTED …His statements to two of my co-workers, as well as a lieutenant was, it’s part of the job. If I can’t
handle the job, I shouldn’t have it. I don’t think what any of us responded to that day was part of anyone’s job,
let alone ours. That was a military operation. Of course, what are you gonna do? It could have been my day
off. I could have been shopping at Border’s Books… HEAVILY REDACTED …I don’t think anyone’s ever been
exposed to something like this before here. Of course not, but we all know EMS has a high rate of suicide. Not
saying that that’s gonna be my case cause no, I refuse, I wouldn’t let anybody push me to that corner.

Q: I’m glad to hear that.

A: But, this is what happens. This is one of the reasons that I pushed up my resignation date a lot quicker.
Cause I was trying to hold out for another 8 months, as soon I can get another job I’m the hell outta here. It’s
not because of this event, cause other events like this will happen whether I’m on duty or off, it’s the way I’ve
been treated since.
~ I thank you very much for speaking to me, the time is 7:08 and this concludes the interview.
 TF 2-2 IN FSE AAR:
Indirect Fires In The Battle Of Fallujah
By Captain James T. Cobb,
First Lieutenant Christopher A. LaCour and Sergeant First Class William H. Hight
MEMORANDUM FOR RECORD:
FSE, TF 2-2 IN, 3d Brigade Combat Team
(BCT), 1st ID, Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) II, Forward Operating Base (FOB) Normandy, Muqdadiyah, Iraq APO AE 09392 (AETV-BGR-FSE), 1 December 2004
Subject: After-Action Review (AAR) for the Battle of Fallujah

Background and Mission Friendly Forces

The Battle of Fallujah was conducted from 8 to 20 November 2004 with the last fire mission on 17 November. The
battle was fought by an Army, Marine and Iraqi force of about 15,000 under the Ist Marine Expeditionary Force
(IMEF), sweeping from north to south. The joint and combined force cordoned the city and searched door-to-door,
clearing buildings and engaging insurgents in the streets — reputedly the most fierce urban fighting for Marines
since the Battle of Hue City in Vietnam in 1968.
Fallujah is roughly 40 kilometers west of Baghdad on the Euphrates River. Its popu-
lation before the battle was about 250,000 people; however, TF 2-2 IN encountered
few civilians in its attack south. TF 2-2 IN’s mission initially was to attack south to
Phase Line (PL) Fran (Highway 10) from the northeastern edge of the city to pro-
tect our eastern flank and destroy the anti-Iraqi Forces (AIF), keeping the lines of
communications open. For the attack, the city was sliced north and south into six
areas of responsibility (AORs): TF 2-2 IN on the northeastern slice of the city with TF
1-3 Marines on our western flank followed (east to west) by TF 1-8 Marines, TF 2-7
Cav, TF 3-5 Marines and, finally, TF 3-1 Marines in the northwestern AOR along the
Euphrates River.
During the attack, many fragmentary orders (FRAGOs) were issued, which pushed
TF 2-2 IN south of PL Fran to the southern edge of the city. TF 2-2 IN’ s rear tactical
operations center (RTOC) and two M109A6 Paladin howitzers were at Camp Fallu-
jah (22 kilometers SW of Fallujah) from which the Paladins fired during the Battle of
Fallujah.
The city is about five kilometers wide and five kilometers deep. It is divided east and
west by Highway 10 with residential neighborhoods to the north and the industrial
sector in the south. In the most southern sector of the city is a poor neighborhood
that was filled with foreign fighters, dubbed the “Martyr’ s District.” This was the
sector in which we encountered the heaviest resistance.
Enemy Forces
In TF 2-2 IN’s AOR, the AIF had emplaced many obstacles and fortified buildings as
strongpoints, dug trenches and established fighting positions and bunkers. Addi-
tionally, the enemy had rigged buildings and vehicles with explosives. Along the
southeastern portion of the city, the AIF emplaced rockets as remotely controlled direct fire weapons against any
Coalition Forces that attempted to attack from the south or east of the city. The enemy also emplaced improvised
explosive devices (IEDs) and mines along key routes and at intersections to impede and funnel Coalition Forces’
movement. Vast caches of AIF munitions had been positioned throughout the sector for tactical resupply.
TF 2-2 IN deployed to Camp Fallujah under the operational control (OPCON) of Marine Regimental Combat Team-
7 (RCT-7), 1st Marine Division. TF 2- 2 IN’ s task organization consisted of one mechanized infantry company, one
armored company, the brigade reconnaissance troop (BRT), one Iraqi Intervention Forces (IIF) Battalion, one engi-
neer platoon, two M109A6 Paladins (positioned on Camp Fallujah), four organic 120-mm mortars and two 81-mm
mortars. Four Air Force joint terminal attack controllers (JT ACs) were attached from
the 3d BCT headquarters and sliced out to the maneuver companies with one BALO
and an enlisted driver in the task force tactical command post (TAC).
Artillery Fires
As part of TF 2- 2 IN, the M109A6 Paladins and a platoon fire direction center (FDC)
were attached in direct support (DS) to the TF. For most of the fight, this was their
only role. Later, after TF 2- 2 IN had reached its limit of advance (LOA) at PL Fran, it
also was tasked to support RCT-7. The Paladins were in a position area (PA) in Camp
Fallujah adjacent to the Marine Corps and a battery of Paladins from the 1st Cavalry
Division, A/3-82 FA, that was attached to the IMEF. This facilitated the FA’s sharing
meteorological (Met) data and survey and relieved the platoon of self-security.
Organic To The TF
As an organic part of the TF, the howitzers provided accurate, timely fires through-
out the fight, delivering 925 rounds, mostly in danger-close fires. As dedicated as-
sets to the TF, Paladin fires were greatly expedited in a 360-degree fight with fluid
targets and a rapidly advancing maneuver force. Fire missions took less than two
minutes from the initial call-for-fire (CFF) to rounds down range.
Responsibilities Of TF FSE
The TF FSE assumed responsibility for coordinating with the TF 2-2 IN S4 for Class V
resupply, positioning the platoon and selecting shell-fuze combinations. The TF FSE
cleared fires at the TAC along with the TF battle captain or S3. Clearance of fires was
executed by demanding accurate company frontline traces and forward observer
(FO) locations at regular intervals and battle tracking in detail.
Role of the Artillery
The artillery was used in doctrinal roles, such as screening the initial point of penetration, preparatory fires, close
fire support and disruptive deep fires, well as in non-doctrinal roles, such as clearing routes of IEDs and breeching
minefields. Using Paladins directly attached to the TF gave us a tremendous advantage in the fight. Our tactics,
techniques and procedures (TTP) were effective and lethal and gave maneuver TFs greater flexibility, firepower
and mobility. The overall performance was outstanding. By using FOs and accurate intelligence-driven targeting,
the artillery was a driving force in the TF’s ability to attack through a large city with minimum casualties in six days.
Massing Fires
The only drawback was our inability to mass fires on targets due to having only two guns. While we did have gen-
eral support reinforcing (GSR) assets, they were slow, cumbersome and more difficult to coordinate with than our
organic systems. Trust was also an issue as the vast majority of our fires were danger-close, and we did not know
the proficiency level of the supporting guns. While it did not impact our operations overall, at times the physical
and psychological effects of massed artillery fires were the preferred effects. We could use our 120-mm mortars
when we wanted to mass fires, but additional 155-mm howitzers would have been more effective.
Mortars
The Thunder Mortar Platoon that is organic to 2-2 IN proved to be the equal of the
artillery in this fight in terms of accuracy and responsiveness and was an integral
part of the indirect fires used. When provided the five requirements for accurate
predicted fires, mortars were every bit as accurate and deadly as artillery. The fire-
power of the 120-mm munitions allowed us to respond quickly with overwhelming
firepower when needed. During the course of the battle, mortars fired 942 rounds
of timely, accurate fires.
Mortar Challenges
Our mortar platoon received two M252 81-mm mortars before deploying to the Fal-
lujah AOR. These were useful indirect fire weapons when close fires were required.
The only drawback was they had no sights. To use them, we had to take sights from
the 120-mm tubes and use the sights with the 81-mm mortars, taking two 120-
mm tubes out of the fight. The mortars’ high angle of fire was preferable for mil-
itary operations in urban terrain (MOUT), but there were times when the mortars’
maximum ordinate (MAXORD) exceeded the close air support (CAS) ceiling, limiting
mortar fires.
Platoon Security
The mortar platoon operated outside of Camp Fallujah at various firing points and
had to pull self-security. It was manned to do so with no degradation of fires. The
platoon received enemy indirect fires frequently during the fight and was forced
to displace. But due to superior training and good maneuverability, it quickly dis-
placed, re-set and resumed operations.
Danger-Close Fires
Danger-close missions were the rule, not the exception. 2/A/1-6 FA, our Paladin
platoon, and Thunder Base, our 120-mm mortar platoon, quickly earned our con-
fidence in their abilities to deliver timely and, more importantly, accurate fires. We
routinely had 155-mm and 120-mm fires within 200 meters of friendly forces. Less
frequently, 81-mm mortars fired within 100 meters.
Walking Fires In
We could deliver fires in various ways. The nature of MOUT actually helped us mitigate the risk of danger-close
missions because the houses and structures served as buffers for effects between friendly forces and the target.
The most widely used method when bringing fires in was to “walk” the fires in close, using adjustments sent from
an observer. Before going into the fire-for-effect (FFE) phase, friendly companies about to receive danger-close
fires were alerted and given time to button up or take cover.
Danger-Close Redefined
Per doctrine, the smallest munitions were used closest to the frontline traces of the maneuver element and larger
munitions at greater distances. Although this technique was used, rarely were any fires outside of the doctrinal
danger-close 600 meters. That was the “deep fight” in this environment, and to have considered it as danger-close
and followed all of the existing procedures for adjustment would have decreased the effectiveness of indirect fires.
FOs
The FOs played a key role in this fight. We placed a fire support team (FIST) with
A/2-2 IN, an FO with the BRT and a fire support officer (FSO) with A/2-63 AR. The FIST
with A/2-2 IN included a sergeant (promotable) as the FSO, a private first class as
radio-telephone operator (RTO) and a sergeant in two of the three platoons. One of
our team chiefs, a sergeant who was an experienced FO, became the BRT FO. We did
not have the manning to deploy full FISTs but compensated by deploying leaders
where they were most effective; the FSE platoon was at 50 percent strength.
BRT FO Positioning and Reconnoitering
A/2-2 and A/2-63 were deployed in the city for most of the fight with the BRT screen-
ing to the east. Due to the BRT’s position outside the city, the BRT FO Sergeant Ray-
mond Sapp had excellent observation from dominant terrain and was decisive in
the early fight. He was in position very early before the attack. This was excellent TTP
that allowed us to adjust the preplanned smoke fires for breeching operations and
destroy enemy observation posts (OPs). As any combat training center (CTC) fight
tells us, he who wins the reconnaissance fight will do well. Sergeant Sapp could
destroy enemy OPs early and refine target locations as well as confirm or deny that
targets we had planned were viable, such as AIF targets or buildings that did not
appear to have been recently inhabited. His location with the BRT outside the city
looking in enabled him to see the entire battlefield and service targets through-
out. He used the BRT’s long-range advanced scout surveillance system (LRAS3), an
excellent piece of equipment that allowed him to accurately locate targets, day or
night, with 10-digit grids. LRAS3 is superior to the ground/vehicular laser locator
designator (G/VLLD) in both optics and target location, has night-vision optics and
can be mounted on vehicles. If scout and BRT elements have this equipment, fire
supporters also should have it.
City FOs Kept Moving
The other observers were not as fortunate during the early phases of the fight be-
cause they were down in the city and could not readily occupy OPs on dominant
terrain. The platoons that included FOs could not afford the time or manpower to
establish an OP while they were conducting the attack. However, during halts or while the platoons occupied Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS)
strongpoints, the observers established OPs and destroyed targets. The platoon FOs came into play mainly before
the task force crossed the line of departure (LD) when they could occupy OPs on rooftops and adjust preparatory We used JSTARS as a targeting tool. The assistant FSO and S2 collected JST ARS data at the TOC and passed it to us
fires. Sergeant Randall Laird was very effective at adjusting rounds onto specific houses and destroying them be- as targeting data to be serviced with indirect fires.
fore we crossed the LD.
Advanced FA Tactical Data System (AFATDS)
FO Vehicles
We did not have AFATDS in the FSE, although 2/A/1-6 F A’ s platoon operations center (POC) did. The battalion-lev-
The FOs had to ride in the back of Bradley fighting vehicles (BFVs) or M113s to move around the battlefield, de- el FSE has only one AFATDS, and it was at FOB Normandy to support counter-strike operations. We need two
grading both their communications and ability to observe fires. The TF FSO chose not to bring our two FIST vehi- AFATDS at the task force level. Twice we’ve had to execute split operations and leave the AFATDS behind (Najaf,
cles (FISTVs) to the fight for the following reasons: they are mechanically unreliable; we could not man them, given April 2004). Fires were controlled at the TAC. With the vehicle available, we could not have used AFATDS, although
our personnel strength; and they cannot stay abreast of maneuver forces in Bradleys. Instead we had M1114 up-ar- with a BFIST, we would have been able to. We did not use the lightweight forward entry device (LFED); it was too
mored high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicles (HMMWVs) with all related equipment in them although time-consuming to input targets of opportunity, and there was no AFATDS at the battalion FSE.
they often were left in the combat trains with the FSO’ s riding
in the company commander’s Bradley. We could have used Munitions
the new Bradley fire support team vehicles (BFISTVs) with
the personnel to man them. The munitions we brought to this fight were 155-mm high-
explosive (HE) M107 (short-range) and M795 (long-range)
Attached Companies with No FISTs rounds, illumination and white phosphorous (WP, M110
and M825), with point-detonating (PD), delay, time and vari-
One of the biggest issues for FOs and manning was attached able-time (VT) fuzes. For the 120-mm mortars, we had HE,
companies from other battalions that did not bring their FIST illumination and WP with PD, delay and proximity fuzes. We
personnel. A/2-63 AR brought only one second lieutenant for also carried 81-mm HE with the same fuzes.
fire support — no other FISTers. This severely degraded its
ability to use fires during the battle, especially when its FSO Range of Munitions
was wounded in action (WIA). A company attached as part
of a TF must bring its entire FIST, particularly in a MOUT fight. The munitions at our disposal gave us excellent flexibility.
If not, the ability to support that company with fires is ex- The 81-mm munitions allowed us to deliver extremely close
tremely difficult. fires to friendly forces while we used larger caliber munitions
to engage and destroy heavily fortified houses and bunkers.
Other Equipment The standard table of organization and equipment (TOE) for
a mechanized battalion does not include 81-mm mortars,
Before deploying to Fallujah, we made deliberate choic- something the Army should examine and correct.
es about what equipment to bring and what to leave be-
hind, and there was equipment we should have had but White Phosphorous
did not have.
WP proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We
Fire Support Gear used it for screening missions at two breeches and, later as
a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in
The FOs had single-channel ground and airborne radio trench lines and spider holes when we could not get effects
systems (SINCGARS) manpacks, binos, a compass, Viper-2 on them with HE. We fired “shake and bake” missions at the
night-vision goggles and precision lightweight global position- insurgents, using WP to flush them out and HE to take them out.
ing system receivers (PLGRs). Communications were adequate. They were degraded when moving, but once OPs
were established, they worked well. The Viper-2 is an excellent tool for FOs. In conjunction with the PLGR, it reliably Hexachloroethane Zinc (HC) Smoke and Precision-Guided Munitions
provided accurate target location. The Blue Force Tracker was a good tool to use at the TF FSE. It provided a good
picture of forces on the battlefield, but could not give friendly unit locations consistently enough to clear fires. It is We could have used these munitions. We used improved WP for screening missions when HC smoke would have
useful for targeting when imagery is loaded. The flash, immediate, priority and routing (FIPR) messaging function been more effective and saved our WP for lethal missions. We had several important targets, often reinforced
of Blue Force Tracker was a good tool we did not use fully. It could have been very effective in communicating and houses that FOs had eyes on, that would have been more effectively engaged with a precision-guided munition,
passing fire support products from TOC to TAC and vise-versa. such as Copperhead with its shaped charge or the developmental Excalibur Unitary round that is concrete pierc-
ing (to be fielded in 2006). Barring the use of such precision-guided munitions, concrete-piercing (CP) fuzes would
have been more effective than delay and PD fuzes were, but the lat-
ter were satisfactory.
Ammo Resupply
The biggest challenge we had was ammunition resupply. The
amount of munitions expended was surprising, and we had to strug-
gle to keep our cannons and tubes supplied. The targeting officer
at the TOC and the S4 did a fantastic job of obtaining ammunition,
but in the future, it would be easier to over-anticipate ammunition
needs before the fight and stockpile it. The Marines gave us what
they had, and the location of the Paladin platoon on FOB Fallujah
helped greatly. The fact that the Paladin platoon brought a pallet-
ized loading system (PLS) was a huge plus. It allowed the S4 to coor-
dinate for ammunition and the Paladin platoon to pick it up. In the
final analysis, it all worked, but I recommend we not put ourselves in
that position again. We never ran out of ammunition, but we came
close several times.
CAS
We used CAS well in this fight, dropping more than 15 guided-bomb
unit-12s (GBU-12s), which are laser-guided 500-pound bombs; four
2,000-pound joint direct attack munition (JDAMs) penetrators; and
one Maverick. We also had more than six hours of AC-130 Specter
gunship support.
CAS Effectiveness
We had problems with the GBU-12s. At least five duds were
dropped, all from F/A-18s. The AC-130 was an awesome weapon,
operating at night and prepping our deep battlespace with out-
standing accuracy. The four JDAM penetrators were dropped on a
bunker complex with excellent results. The bunker and more than
20 AIF were destroyed. Initially, we had difficulty working with Ma-
rine air. However, once our JT ACs learned the system, it worked
rather well. An air liaison officer (ALO) from the Marines at the TOC
would have helped in the early stages and facilitated the use of
more Marine CAS.
Pulling Timely Air Assets
While the Air Force JTACs were useful on the ground, they had lim-
ited success pulling timely air assets. A TOC ALO is a must for two
reasons: first, a Marine ALO with direct access to higher will pull
air assets more quickly and be able to disseminate their fires faster
than an Air Force JTAC on the ground. Second, you need an officer
who understands the Marine system attached to the FSE for better
coordination. Air assets are requested through a different system
than indirect lethal fires. An ALO with two radios tied in to higher
and the battalion is a must and will cut air request times in half. Al-
though air was planned, it often was difficult for the battalion JTAC
to talk to the RCT-7 ALO and get air when needed.
CAS and Other Indirect Fires
A big lesson is that CAS was not a substitute for responsive artillery
and mortars. CAS was most effective in the deep fight, particularly
when used on intelligence-driven targets.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Tactical UAVs (TUAVs)
UAVs were an integral part of this fight and should be included in
any future planning. The UAVs in this fight — the Predator, Shad-
ow, Hunter and Pioneer—were very effective for precision, intelli-
gence-driven targeting. Their targets often were built-up strong-
points being fortified or occupied before our attack.
Targets in the Deep Fight
The UAVs gave us a great advantage in the deep fight, usually be-
yond the coordinated fire line (CFL). We engaged what the AIF
considered safe areas well in advance of the forward line of troops
(FLOT), destroying the AIF’ s command, control and communica-
tions (C3) nodes and denying them any respite from the fight, a
tremendous psychological advantage. Except for the Raven TUAV,
the UAVs provided 10-digit grids and accurate target descriptions,
allowing us to choose the most appropriate weapon for the targets.
The Raven also did not have enough loiter time to obtain the infor-
mation we needed.
Targets of Opportunity
We attempted to initiate and adjust fire missions against targets of
opportunity using UAVs as observation platforms and were unable
to do so in a timely and accurate fashion. It was difficult to coordi-
nate with the platform operators who were great distances away
(some stateside) to give us the viewing angles needed for adjust-
ments. The TF TOC used UAVs for targeting and as observers for fire
missions several times. But unless the UAVs were looking straight
down, the grid received usually was off by several hundred meters.
When adjusting from the Predator, the delay on the feed is about
20 to 30 seconds. The Shadow or Scan Eagle is a better platform for
battalion indirect fires as they are more responsive and more easily
adjusted. We displayed the UAV feed in the TOC on a projector so
the FSE could coordinate and call for fires. The easiest way to call
for fires is to create a fictitious observer and adjust through cardinal
directions (the operators flying the UAVs are not trained in calling
for fires). We need to develop TTP for adjusting fires with UAVs. The
way to use a UAV is for the TF FSE to have this asset under its control.
It was an almost insurmountable task to coordinate for and adjust fires accurately using UAVs because the con-
trolling element had to describe the rounds’ impact.
Personnel Manning
Big problems in this fight were lack of fire support personnel with concurrent operations in two separate geo-
graphical locations. The TF 2-2 IN FSE had 14 of 30 authorized personnel before the tactical road march to Fallujah.
Fire Support Personnel
TF 2-2 IN forward deployed with a 10-man FSE, including FIST personnel, leaving four personnel behind as part
of the S5 and operations sections. Even when the TF fire support NCO was able to join the FSE, the shortage of
personnel stretched the FSE. At the TOC, the targeting officer and RTO literally slept next to the radios. Until the TF
FSNCO arrived, the TF FSO was forced to maintain 24-hour operations for three days. The company FSO for A/2-63
AR was WIA on Day +3, leaving that company with no organic FSE to facilitate fires, effectively taking them out of
the indirect fire fight.
Manning Effects on the Fight
The shortage of fire support personnel put unnecessary strain on maneuver elements and damaged our ability
to detect, engage and destroy targets. In future combat deployments, it is imperative for the Army to ensure fire
support personnel are at or near 100 percent strength to avoid the problems we faced in this fight.
Training
The training that platoon, company and battalion personnel received at the various CTCs paid off richly. Our fire
supporters could handle any mission presented to them. TF 2-2 IN FSE conducted danger-close training several
times in Iraq that paid huge dividends in the Battle of Fallujah.
Confidence in Fires for the Force
FOs were confident in their ability to call for and adjust close fires and often did so. Training with our organic mor-
tar platoon facilitated our fire missions in Fallujah. We often worked with them, knew their capabilities and were
supremely confident in them. Although we had not worked with 2/A/ 1-6 F A before deploying to Fallujah, the
battery’ s performance early in the fight quickly won our confidence.
Importance of Danger-Close Live-Fire Training
In our time in the Army, we have had limited live-fire training for danger-close missions until last summer in Iraq.
The typical training of initiating and adjusting rounds on targets at great distances is vastly different from training
for danger-close fires. The results of our missions clearly indicate this type of training must be implemented across
the board for fire supporters.
Training for MOUT
We also learned that corrections in MOUT are much smaller, often smaller than the doctrinal minimum of add/
drop 50 and left/right 30 that we are trained on. We often found it necessary to make adjustments smaller than
these values to get rounds on target, particularly when engaging fighting positions, fortified houses, trench lines
and spider holes. The artillery and mortars showed outstanding flexibility in applying these corrections. The bot-
tom line is that before engaging in offensive operations in a MOUT environment, it is imperative that all fire sup-
port personnel are highly trained on call-for-fire and adjustment procedures and their equipment. The MOUT
environment is extremely fast-moving, and there is no time to waste. Fires must be initiated, adjusted and brought
to the FFE phase rapidly. Paladins and mortars are an integral part of this process, and must move as rapidly as the
observers. Combined live-fire training for observers, the FDC and the guns is the answer.
Conclusion
The contributions of indirect fires were a decisive part of the Battle of Fallujah and contributed tremendously to
the outcome of the fight. They allowed the maneuver forces to rapidly move through the city with minimum ca-
sualties and demonstrated what a joint and combined arms team can do. The effects were physically and psycho-
logically devastating. Not only did indirect fires destroy AIF personnel, but they also destroyed their will to stand
and fight. Indirect fires also positively influenced our forces by demonstrating to commanders on the ground that
overwhelming firepower was at their disposal. The Paladin platoon greatly increased the TF’ s firepower, timeliness
and flexibility, allowing us to move at an unprecedented pace through a fortified city. We learned to use indirect
fires early and often in large volumes. During the course of the battle, more than 2,000 artillery and mortar rounds
were fired and more than 10 tons of precision Air Force munitions were dropped. However, as successful as we
were, had the battle lasted longer it would have been difficult to sustain fire support operations. We must learn
from this fight to prepare for the future. At the end of the fight we thought back on some of the things we were
the proudest of. What jumped to the forefront was infantry and tank platoon sergeants, platoon leaders and com-
pany commanders telling us that the artillery and mortars were awesome. At the end of the day, that is what it is
all about: our maneuver brethren recognizing why we are called the “King of Battle.”
Captain James T. (Tom) Cobb has been assigned to 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery (1-6 FA), 1st Infantry Division,
and served as the Fire Support Officer (FSO) for Task Force 2d Battalion, 2d Infantry, (TF 2-2 IN) in Op- eration Iraqi
Freedom (OIF) II, including during the Battle of Fallujah. He also deployed with Kosovo Force (KFOR) 4B.
First Lieutenant Christopher A. LaCour, assigned to 1-6 FA, has been the Targeting Officer for TF 2-2 IN in OIF II,
including during the Battle of Fallujah. Also in OIF II, he was a Platoon Leader for 2/C/1-6 FA and, previously, a Fire
Direction Officer in the same battery.
Sergeant First Class William H. Hight, also assigned to 1-6 FA, has been TF 2-2 IN’s Fire Support NCO since Sep-
tember 2003, de- ploying in OIF II and fighting in the Battle of Fallujah. He also deployed to Bosnia as part of the
Implementation Force (IFOR) and to Kosovo as part of KFOR 4B.
 Bulletin Of Environmental Contamination & Toxicology who participated in this study did not take any medication and described their diet as ‘‘good’’ during pregnancy.
Only one couple was first cousins. Mothers did not drink or smoke during pregnancy. All families consumed water
Metal Contamination And The Epidemic Of Congenital Birth Defects In Iraqi Cities from local aqueducts or locally bottled waters. Siblings of the parents had no history of children with congenital
defects. Figure 1 shows a chronological increase in the percentages of birth defects and miscarriages in these
By M. Al-Sabbak • S. Sadik Ali • O. Savabi Fallujah families. Six photographs of Fallujah children and their conditions are provided in Fig. 2. Mercury and
G. Savabi • S. Dastgiri • M. Savabieasfahani Pb, two toxic metals readily used in the manufacture of present-day bullets and other ammunition, were 6 and 5
times higher in hair samples from Fallujah children with birth defects compared to Fallujah children who appeared
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology normal (Fig. 3). Uranium, Hg and Pb, (lg/kg, mean ± SD) in the hair samples of parents from Italy, Iran, and Fallujah
Al Basrah Maternity Hospital, Al Basrah Medical School, P.O. Box 1633, Basrah, Iraq (Iraq), are shown in Fig. 4. Though statistically not significant, the hair of parents of children with birth defects had
Department of Prosthodontics, School of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran more uranium, Pb and Hg than the hair of parents of normal children.
National Public Health Management Center, School of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Iran
M. Savabieasfahani & School of Public Health, University of Michigan The most common abnormalities in Fallujah children were congenital heart defects (n = 24 out of 46), neural tube de-
1415 Washington Heights, EHS Room Number M6016, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA fects (n = 18 out of 46), and cleft lip/palate (n = 4 out of 46). Cardiac defects, neural tube defects, and facial clefting are
e-mail: mozhgan@umich.edu known as folate-dependent birth defects since folate intake reduces their occurrence (MRC Vitamin Study Research
Group 1991; Wilson et al. 2003; Obican et al. 2010). The Fallujah study has highlighted the role of metals in the man-
Received: 27 July 2012 / Accepted: 30 August 2012 / Published online: 16 September 2012 ifestation of the current birth defect epidemic in that city. Recent data has linked metal exposure to oxidative stress
This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com and folate deficiency in humans (Wang et al. 2012). We also know that in utero metal exposure can culminate in birth
deformities by increasing oxidative stress in the womb as the fetus grows (Apostoli and Catalani 2011).
Abstract
In general, reports of health problems in the Iraqi population and in the surrounding countries have continued to
Between October 1994 and October 1995, the number of birth defects per 1,000 live births in Al Basrah Maternity surface (Rajab et al. 2000). News of increases in childhood cancers, of perinatal and infant morbidity and mortality,
Hospital was 1.37. In 2003, the number of birth defects in Al Basrah Maternity Hospital was 23 per 1,000 live births. and of unusual increases in congenital birth defects, have continued to emerge from across Iraq. Data from a cen-
Within less than a decade, the occurrence of congenital birth defects increased by an astonishing 17-fold in the tral Iraqi city, Al-Ramadi, have corroborated the Fallujah findings (Al-Ani et al. 2010).
same hospital. A yearly account of the occurrence and types of birth defects, between 2003 and 2011, in Al Basrah
Another Iraqi city where birth defects and cancers continue to climb is Al Basrah. The earliest data on the occur-
Maternity Hospital, was reported. Metal levels in hair, toenail, and tooth samples of residents of Al Basrah were
rence of congenital birth defects in Al Basrah came from an article entitled ‘‘Incidence of Congenital Fetal Anomaly
also provided. The enamel portion of the deciduous tooth from a child with birth defects from Al Basrah (4.19 lg/g)
in Al Basrah Maternity Hospital’’ (Alsabbak et al. 1997). This research reported on the total number of live births
had nearly three times higher lead than the whole teeth of children living in unimpacted areas. Lead was 1.4 times
(10,015) in Al Basrah Maternity Hospital between October 1994 and October 1995. The number of birth defects
higher in the tooth enamel of parents of children with birth defects (2,497 ± 1,400 lg/g, mean ± SD) compared to
per 1,000 live births during this period was 1.37. Table 1 contains the yearly account of the number of birth defects
parents of normal children (1,826 ± 1,819 lg/g). Our data suggested that birth defects in the Iraqi cities of Al Bas-
per 1,000 live births in Al Basrah Maternity Hospital from 2003 to 2011. Central nervous system related defects oc-
rah (in the south of Iraq) and Fallujah (in central Iraq) are mainly folate-dependent. This knowledge offers possible
treatment options and remediation plans for at-risk Iraqi populations. curred most frequently. Statistical analysis of this data has shown no significant difference between the number
of children born with anenceph-
The case study of 56 Fallujah aly and the number born with
families and the metal analysis Spina Bifida (p = 0.28). There
of hair samples from this popu- were significantly more cases
lation indicated public contam- of anencephaly than of hydro-
ination with two well-known cephalus, limb deformity, om-
neurotoxic metals, Pb and Hg. phalocele, or short extremities
Hair metal data from Fallujah (p = 0.009, p = 0.005, p = 0.000,
showed Pb to be five times p = 0.000). In addition, the num-
higher in the hair samples of ber of Spina Bifida cases was
children with birth defects (n = significantly higher than the
44; mean ± SD 56,434 ± 217,705 number of hydrocephalus, limb
lg/ kg) than in the hair of normal deformity, omphalocele, or
children (n = 11; 11,277 ± 27,781 short extremity cases (p = 0.05,
lg/kg). Mercury was six times p = 0.005, p = 0.000, p = 0.001).
higher (n = 44; 8,282 ± 25,844 Within 8 years, the occurrence
lg/kg Vs n = 11; 1,414 ± 3,853 “Within 8 years, the occurrence of congenital birth defects in Al Basrah Maternity Hospital increased by an astonishing 17-fold” of congenital birth defects in
lg/kg) (Fig. 3). Fallujah mothers Al Basrah Maternity Hospital
increased by an astonishing
17-fold. The prevalence of con-
genital hydrocephalus in Cali-
fornia (US) has been reported as
0.6 per 1,000 (Jeng et al. 2011).
Worldwide hydrocephalus af-
fects about one in every 1,000
live births. The reported num-
bers of hydrocephalus from Al
Basrah Maternity Hospital were
3.5 times higher than the world
average and six times higher
than in the United States. De-
fects of the abdominal wall, like
omphalocele and gastroschisis,
were also frequently reported
in Al Basrah. Omphalocele gen-
erally occurs in 0.25/1,000 live
births and is associated with a
high rate of mortality and se-
vere malformation, such as car-
diac anomalies and neural tube
defects. The average number of
omphalocele observed in Al Basrah
Maternity Hospital between 2003 and 2011 was 3.3/1,000 live births.
Neural tube defects (NTDs) occur very early in human development. The prevalence of NTDs in the mainland
United States is 1/1,000 live births (CDC; Williams et al. 2002). Some of the highest numbers of NTDs have been
reported from coal mining regions in China (10/1,000) (Li et al. 2006). The occurrence of NTDs in Al Basrah (12/
1,000) is the highest ever reported and it is increasing. Our data has shown that in Al Basrah, the total number
of birth defects more than dou-
bled between 2003 and 2009.
A comparison between the met-
al levels in the hair (n = 6) and
toenail (n = 7) of parents of chil-
dren with birth defects from Al
Basrah, and the associated p val-
ues, has been presented in Table
2. For most metals (Al, Mn, Co,
Cu, Zn, Mo, Pb, Th, and U), hair
contained significantly higher
amounts of the metal than did
toenail, suggesting that hair is
a better biomarker of exposure.
Examining the Pb hair levels of
parents from Al Basrah and Fal-
lujah revealed that the hair of
parents of children with birth
defects in Al Basrah had 6,500
± 8,589 (lg/kg); in Fallujah this
value was 3,950 ± 3,133 lg/kg;
both values being considerably
higher than Pb found in the hair
samples of parents of normal
children from Fallujah (2,012 ±
2,052 lg/kg). The 1.6-fold higher
Pb in the Al Basrah parents’ hair
compared to Fallujah parents’
hair may be explained by the
fact that Al Basrah is an oil-in-
dustry dominated area whereas
Fallujah is not. Overall, parents
of children with birth defects
from Al Basrah and Fallujah had
twofold, and one-fold, higher Pb
in their hair than did parents of
normal children respectively. Al
Basrah parents who had children
with birth defects also had 1.4
times higher enamel Pb (n = 5,
2,497 ± 1,400) than did parents
of normal children (n = 5, 1,826 ±
1,619). Additional samples of teeth
from the parents of children with and without birth defects from Al Basrah are necessary to help draw reliable
statistical conclusions for this population.
Table 3 contains a literature review of the metal levels in whole deciduous teeth of children from different
geographical locations. Enamel is a hard and dense material which is formed during fetal life and it receives
small amounts of systemic blood flow thereafter. For this reason it is considered to primarily reflect prenatal
exposure to metals. Whole-tooth
metal analysis would include
enamel, dentin, cementum, and
Within less than a decade, the occurrence of congenital birth defects increased by an astonishing 17-fold in the same hospital. dental pulp. The impact of living
in a large city with dangerous
levels of air pollution is evident
in the high levels of Pb in teeth
from Mexico City and Karachi.
Similarly, the level of Pb in teeth
from Canadian mining areas is
indicative of an exposed or im-
pacted population. Mean whole
tooth Pb reported from other lo-
cations was 1.5 lg/g. Hence, the
tooth Pb level of an unimpacted
population is more accurately
estimated by this 1.5 lg/g value.
The enamel portion of the de-
ciduous tooth from a child with
birth defects from Al Basrah (4.19
lg/g) had nearly three times higher Pb than the calculated value for a
whole tooth from an unimpacted population. Additional samples of de-
ciduous teeth from Al Basrah children with birth defects are necessary
to help draw reliable statistical conclusions for this population. Sam-
ples of deciduous teeth are currently being collected from impacted (Al
Basrah, Iraq) and unimpacted (Isfahan, Iran) areas to enable us to draw
meaningful conclusions in this regard. Interestingly, mining, smelting,
and living near industry or hazardous waste sites have all been associat-
ed with an increased risk of birth defects (Ahern et al. 2011; Zheng et al.
2012; Suarez et al. 2007).

Present knowledge on the effects of prenatal exposure to metals, com-

bined with our results, suggests that the bombardment of Al Basrah and
Fallujah may have exacerbated public exposure to metals, possibly cul-
minating in the current epidemic of birth defects. Large-scale epidemi-
ological studies are necessary to identify at-risk populations in Iraq. The
recognition that birth defects reported from Iraq are mainly folate-de-
pendent offers possible treatment options to protect at-risk populations.
 Possible Tactical Nuclear Strike (Neutron Bomb) In Yemen?
A Note On The Mother Of All Bombs (MOAB) And Tactical Nuclear Weapons By Michel Chossudovsky
By Global Research News
Global Research, June 01, 2015

GR Editor’s note: The report below is unconfirmed. The evidence is scanty. The analysis of this event requires fur- will burn out the chip. They had big problems with this in Japan with the Fukushima robots cameras failing due
ther examination. There is no proof that it was an Israeli IDF undertaking (M. Ch, GR Editor) to very high radiation counts.

Analysis By Jeff Smith Who Is A Nuclear Physicist And Former IAEA inspector
A video received from Yemen, believed to be taken May 20, 2015, of an explosion, when analyzed by nuclear weap-
ons experts is, by very high probability, a neutron bomb that could only have been an Israeli attack.
The Analysis
A. Its not a conventional 2k lb bomb. It’s much bigger.
D. Delivery is most likely by an IDF F-16 with a Saudi paint job on the plane. They are not even hiding their use
anymore, they just don’t publicly admit it and the IAEA does nothing or says nothing. That is the true war crime.
The UN just ignores it unless the US, France or GB complain. Russia and China say nothing.
E. The range of the camera is calculated to be about 4 to 5 miles from ground zero based on shock wave timing.
F. Saudi has no F-16’s. The aircraft reported to be used to drop the bomb in Yemen were F-16’s. Photos and acoustic
signature confirms that the jet engines noise is from a single engine jet fighter of the F-16 type.

B. Its either a very large MOAB bigger than 4,000 lbs. or; Max weight for an F-15 / 16 is about 2,000 lb payload per
bomb rack making the deployment of a MOAB impossible.
C. Lightning effect and duration of the fire ball being suspended in mid air and the very large mushroom cloud
is the main give away, that is because it is being hit by neutrons from the nuclear fireball blast. It overloads the
camera’s ccd’s electronic circuit producing white flashes (sparkles in images below). If the radiation is too high it
G. The US military contend that “mini-nukes” are “humanitarian bombs” which minimize “collateral damage”. Ac-
cording to scientific opinion on contract to the Pentagon, they are “harmless to the surrounding civilian population
because the explosion is underground”. The B61-11 is a bonafide thermonuclear nuclear bomb, a Weapon of Mass
Destruction (WMD) in the real sense of the word. It is worth noting that according to Air Force Magazine (quoted
by Wikipedia), USAF Lt. Gen. Phillip Breedlove (currently Commander in Chief of NATO) stated in June 2010 that “the
Next-generation Penetrator Munition should be about a third the size of the Massive Ordnance Penetrator so it could
be carried by affordable aircraft”.
Military documents distinguish
between the Nuclear Earth Pen-
etrator (NEP) and the “mini-nuke”
which are nuclear weapons
with a yield of less than 10 kilo-
tons (two thirds of a Hiroshima
bomb). The NEP can have a yield
of up to 1000 kilotons, or seven-
ty times a Hiroshima bomb. This
distinction between mini-nukes
and the NEP is in many regards
misleading. In practice there is
no dividing line. We are broadly
dealing with the same type of
weaponry: the B61-11 has sever-
al “available yields”, ranging from
“low yields” of less than one kilo-
ton, to mid-range and up to the
1000 kiloton bomb. In all cases,
the radioactive fallout is devas-
tating. Moreover, the B61 series
of thermonuclear weapons in-
cludes several models with dis-
tinct specifications:

B61-11
B61-3
B61- 4
B61-7
B61-10
Each of these bombs has several
“available yields”. What is contem-
plated for theater use is the “low
yield” 10 kt bomb, two thirds of a
Hiroshima bomb. The B61-11 tac-
tical nuclear weapon is deployed
by several European countries
including five non-nuclear states
(Belgium, Germany, Italy, Nether-
lands, Turkey).
5400
 5,400 Diagnosed With Cancers Linked To September 11 Attacks
By Laura Ly, CNN

Updated 5:42 PM ET, Monday, August 15th, 2016

Next month will mark 15 years since the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001, but
thousands of people across the country continue to feel its effects on their health. As of
June 30th, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s World Trade Center Health Pro-
gram enrolled more than 5,400 people who have been diagnosed with cancers linked to
the 9/11 attacks, according to statistics released by the program. That’s triple the number
of people enrolled with cancer diagnoses since January 2014, when 1,822 had signed up.

From January 2013 to January 2016, the number steadily increased by an average of 1,525
people per year. The number of people with 9/11-related cancers could be even higher; the
5,441 number reflects only the people who’ve chosen to enroll in the federal health pro-
gram. The program provides health care, medical monitoring and treatment to thousands
of people directly affected by the 9/11 attacks.

Number Of 9/11-Related Cancer Cases Is Growing

“We continue to do outreach efforts to see who is eligible and out there,” said Christy Spring,
public affairs specialist for the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Among those in the program, 4,692 are first responders, emergency responders, recovery
and cleanup workers, and volunteers who helped in the aftermath of the attacks on the
World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the crash site near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The
other 749 people are other survivors who lived, worked or went to school near the World
Trade Center on September 11th or in the subsequent months. Almost half of the 5,441
with cancer diagnoses range from ages 55 to 64. People enrolled in the program have been
s Li nked To Se ptem be r 11 th At ta ck s
diagnosed with 6,378 separate cancers, indicating that several people have been afflicted
with more than one type of cancer linked to 9/11. Many of the cancer diagnoses are be- 5,441 Diagnosed With Cancer
lieved to have resulted from exposure to known and suspected carcinogens and pollutants
after the attacks. The health program issues certifications when a person is approved for
treatment within the program. Although the number of cancer certifications issued by the
program stands at 6,378, a certification does not necessarily signify a new cancer diagnosis.

“It’s possible that the person had already been diagnosed and wanted to get treatment through
the program. Other members may have enrolled to get compensation through [the Septem-
ber 11th Victim Compensation Fund], and there are some new enrollees who are potentially
new cancer cases,” Spring said. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on September
11th. Since then, tens of thousands have experienced related health problems. The entire
World Trade Center Health program has approximately 75,000 members to date. In addi-
tion to those with 9/11-linked cancer diagnoses, more than 12,000 have been diagnosed
with 9/11-related mental health issues. 32,000 more have been diagnosed with aero-di-
gestive issues, such as asthma, chronic cough, gastroesophageal reflux disorder or chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), connected to the attacks. The World Trade Center
Health Registry, run by the New York City Department of Health, is expected to publish a
report in September 2016 on survivors with cancers linked to the 9/11 attacks.
 Chest • August 2012

Inflammatory Biomarkers Predict Airflow Obstruction After Exposure To World Trade Center Dust
By Anna Nolan, MD, FCCP; Bushra Naveed, MD; Ashley L. Comfort, BS; Natalia Ferrier, MD; Charles B. Hall, PhD; Sophia Kwon, MPH;
Kusali J. Kasturiarachchi, BA; Hillel W. Cohen, DrPH; Rachel Zeig-Owens, MPH; Michelle S. Glaser, MPH; Mayris P. Webber, DrPH;
Thomas K. Aldrich, MD, FCCP; William N. Rom, MD, FCCP; Kerry Kelly, MD; David J. Prezant, MD, FCCP; and Michael D. Weiden, MD

From the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, and Sleep Medicine

(Drs Nolan, Naveed, Ferrier, Rom, and Weiden and Mss Comfort, Kwon, and Kasturiarachchi)
Department of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York; the Bureau of Health Services and Office of Medical Affairs
(Drs Nolan, Webber, Kelly, Prezant, and Weiden and Mss Comfort, Zeig-Owens, and Glaser)
Fire Department of New York, Brooklyn; the Department of Epidemiology and Population Health (Drs Hall, Cohen, and Webber)
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx; the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (Ms Kwon) New York

On September 11th, 2001, the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York City collapsed after a terrorist attack, producing a dust
cloud with a particulate matter (PM) concentration of 100,000 mg/m3 that overwhelmed lung-protective mechanisms [1]. Even
1 month after the event, concentration of PM up to 2.5 mm in size was 196 mg/m3, three times the National Ambient Air Quality
Standards 24-h standard [2]. WTC dust was caustic. Fires burned for months after September 11th, 2001, exposing rescue and
recovery workers to products of combustion. New or increased self-reported respiratory symptoms occurred in large percent-
ages of Fire Department City of New York (FDNY) rescue workers, other WTC workers, and lost, on average, 439 mL of FEV1 in
the first year post-September 11th, 2001, followed by a mean annualized reduction in FEV1 of 26 mL/y in the 6.5 years following
September 11th, 2001 [3,14]. A majority of the 1,720 symptomatic FDNY rescue workers who presented for subspecialty pulmo-
nary evaluation (SPE) had airflow obstruction as their manifestation of lung disease [15]. There was a significant interindividual
variation in lung function, with some patients recovering and others suffering accelerated decline.

Airflow obstruction from PM-induced inflammation and smoke is poorly understood [16]. PM concentration in ambient air re-
mained high in the months after September 11th, 2001. Studies related to high-ambient PM exposure show that there is a sig-
nificant decrease in FEV1 after 5 to 7 days of sustained ambient PM exposure [17,18]. Upper respiratory symptoms increased by
3% per 10 mg/m3 of PM exposure [17,19]. Although the intensity of exposure produced by the WTC collapse was far greater than
that produced by most other ambient sources, the effects of WTC dust on lung function appear to be similar to those produced
by PM from other sources. A large proportion of exposed firefighters had cough and dyspnea with subsequent development of
airflow obstruction and reactive airway dysfunction syndrome [7].

FDNY rescue workers form a well-characterized cohort that has been a powerful resource for documenting the impact of WTC
exposure on the lung. Active workers (92%) had serial pulmonary function testing, mostly from before their WTC exposure.
A well-organized medical monitoring and treatment program helped to minimize longitudinal dropout. Serum samples were
drawn on a majority of the cohort from September 2001 to February 2002, at initial development of airflow obstruction.

Using a nested case-control study design, we identified cytokines and chemokines in the serum of FDNY rescue workers obtained
within 6 months of September 11th, 2001. We hypothesized that individuals highly susceptible to airflow obstruction, induced
by environmental irritants, would express different levels of proinflammatory cytokines than similarly exposed individuals with
an average susceptibility to irritants. Differentially expressed cytokines might serve as biomarkers of vulnerability to accelerated
decline of lung function produced by an irritant exposure and direct future research into development of airflow obstruction.
A Barge Headed To The Staten Island Landfill With 911 Debris
 BMC Public Health • 2011

9/11-Related Experiences And Tasks Of Landfill And Barge Workers:

Qualitative Analysis From The World Trade Center Health Registry
Christine C Ekenga1,2, Katherine E Scheu1,3, James E Cone1, Steven D Stellman 1,4 and Mark R Farfel1*

1. Division of Epidemiology, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, New York, USA
2. Division of Epidemiology, Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
3. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University at Albany, Albany, New York USA
4. Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA

The terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11th, health outcomes of Landfill and barge workers may dif-
2001 resulted in one of the largest disaster recovery and fer from those of Ground Zero workers. Exposures at Fresh
cleanup efforts in United States history, which involved Kills, including bacteria, diesel exhaust, dusts, heavy met-
an estimated 91,500 workers and volunteers [1]. Much at- als, and medical waste, have been a source of concern
tention has been focused on the First Responders and the among Landfill workers even prior to 9/11 [13]. This qual-
workers and volunteers who participated in rescue and itative study was designed to investigate the experiences
recovery activities at the World Trade Center site (Ground and perceptions of persons enrolled in the World Trade
Zero) in lower Manhattan [2-4] and experienced persistent Center Health Registry who performed 9/11-related work
new or worsening respiratory symptoms, pulmonary func- at the Landfill, on a debris loading pier or on a transport
tion abnormalities, and chronic mental health morbidity barge. This study was a crucial step in the development of
[4-11] after 9/11. Among rescue and recovery workers at a more in-depth job-exposure assessment for Landfill and
Ground Zero, the 3-year risk of newly diagnosed asthma barge workers.
after 9/11 was estimated at 3.6%, approximately 12 times
higher than the incidence of adult-onset asthma in the Transport of Debris
general U.S. population [4]. Early arrival after 9/11 and
long duration of work days at Ground Zero were significant Debris from Ground Zero was transported to lower Man-
predictors of newly diagnosed asthma [4,10], persistent hattan piers for loading onto barges (Figure 1). According
respiratory symptoms [6-8,11], and PTSD symptoms [5,9]. to one pier worker: “they fill them [barges] up in Manhattan
PTSD symptom estimates among World Trade Center and then they bring them over to Staten Island.” After the
(WTC) disaster workers have ranged from 6.2% to 21.2% barges arrived on Staten Island, the barges were off-load-
[3,5,9,10], with a greater risk for developing PTSD reported ed by crane into a holding pit. One barge worker com-
among workers in occupations less prepared for disaster mented on the unloading process: “They [officials] would
response, such as volunteers, construction workers, and at different times be over-seeing the unloading of a barge
sanitation workers [5]. Compared to Ground Zero workers, ‘cause they thought things might be in it ...but they were just
less is known about the experiences and health outcomes watching to see if there was anything of importance to them,
of barge and landfill workers who transported and pro- that they would want this operation stopped and get every-
cessed more than 1.8 million tons of debris removed from body out of there and then they would be digging around for
Ground Zero as part of the recovery effort and the post-di- whatever it was they were trying to find.” After the contents
saster criminal investigation [12]. Between September of the pit were inspected, the debris was loaded on trucks
12th, 2001 and July 31st, 2002, debris was transported by and driven to the Landfill.
trucks to loading piers and then by barges to the WTC Re-
covery Operation at Fresh Kills Landfill on Staten Island, NY Landfill
(hereafter referred to as the Landfill). Sifting and sorting
operations at the Landfill yielded 4,257 human remains, Multiple participants commented on how disorganized
54,000 personal items, and pieces of material evidence the Landfill operation was in the first couple of weeks after
from the terrorist attack [12]. Working conditions and the September 11, 2001: “In the beginning it was chaos ‘cause
nobody really knew what was ... they were doing the best they could to try
to get everything organized and set up.” A Landfill worker commented
on the debris piles at the Landfill: “I mean like the first time I was there I
mean the mounds of debris had to be ... I don’t know, it could be like three
or four stories high above you and they would shake out all the debris -
they would have these machines come and shake out debris and then we
would walk through the debris ...” Eventually, remarked another Landfill
worker, the Landfill became “a small city within itself.” Said a volunteer
at the Landfill: “It looked like about three football fields long and they
had a big tent up with detectives all dressed in their white uniforms, going
through all the debris and whatnot, finding evidence-whether it be body
parts or rings or wallets or whatever.”
Tasks and Responsibilities
Study participants were involved in a variety of activities at the Land-
fill. Reported tasks among Landfill workers included “driving trac-
tor trailers”, “fueling equipment”, “burning steel”, and “picking up plane
parts for the FBI.” Similar to Ground Zero work, some of the tasks in-
cluded searching for human remains and evidence: “We sifted dirt to
look through bones. Dug it up to put in pails, then you put the pails on
the conveyer belt and you shifted around to take out what you thought
were bones, bone fragments or whatever.” Reported one police officer:
“We were told to look for anything that would be of interest such as per-
sonal items to loved ones such as jewelry and we were looking for bone
fragments or plane parts or whatever it might be, something that would
help.” One Landfill worker described sorting through the debris with
rakes: “They had white buckets and you would put it in the bucket and
you would bring it over and you would hand it in to the morgue area and
hopefully they found out if it was somebody that they could identify.”
Volunteers provided support services to the workers: “Red Cross was
setting up food, massages, ‘cause we stood on average the first month, for
the first two months, you might have worked a 20-22- hour day. So they
gave out food, coffee, sandwiches, water, massages, sometimes aspirin
‘cause of course you have headaches because of no sleep.” A peer coun-
selor commented on his responsibilities: “[I] did some peer counseling in
which we spoke to anybody that would listen — policemen, firemen, EMTs,
civilians, construction workers, whoever wanted to listen we spoke to.”
Most participants commented on the coordination between the dif-
ferent agencies and organizations operating at the Landfill. Remarked
one firefighter: “We were all sorting and working together. Yes, I remem-
ber seeing police, construction workers and sanitation workers.” Said a
public agency official: “There was the fire, different police precincts from
all over the country, fire department, emergency service, environmental
protection, so many different agencies you can’t list them all.”
Reported Exposures
All participants had comments about the dust and odors present
during their recovery and cleanup efforts. One sanitation-affiliated par-
ticipant said that there was a dust storm every day. Another sanitation
worker reported that “it was a lot of dust and when the wind kicked up it
was like the desert — you see the tumble weeds with all the dust coming
around — it was like that.” The dust was described as powdery, snow-
like, chalky, and fine. Many were unsure about the sources of dust ex-
posure. One participant, who worked on a barge and at the Landfill,
noted: “Everything that was at the World Trade Center ended up ... on the
barge and came onto Staten Island. Everything that was there — the dust
... the plaster, sand particles, whatever it was. It got loaded and then it got
unloaded and it got put up on top of the hill.” Another barge and Land-
fill worker stated that “we had a little bit of dust when we dumped out
from the dust down at Ground Zero ... but most of that dust was just dirt
from driving over up to the top of the pile.” A Landfill worker, who sorted
through debris, said, “Occasionally there was some dust from machinery
moving around and stuff coming down the conveyer belt.”
The odor at the Landfill was reported as “indescribable,” a “sick smell,” a
“methane smell”, “the smell of garbage”, and “the smell of death”. A Land-
fill worker remarked that the mask protected him from smelling the
odors, but a worker who was stationed at a loading pier stated that
the smell, which he thought was from chemicals mixed with a powder
smell, penetrated his mask. Other exposures reported included smoke
exhaust, “toxins” in the air, smoldering steel, gasoline, welding fumes,
asbestos, and methane gas bubbling from the ground. One partici-
pant, who worked as a cook at the landfill for less than seven days, did
not view air quality as a problem.
Protective Measures
There were varying descriptions of the health and safety measures
undertaken during recovery and cleanup. A majority of study partic-
ipants reported that they wore protective suits at the Landfill (most
mentioned wearing Tyvek suits and one reported wearing a Nomex
suit), many reported wearing protective boots, several reported using
gloves, and one participant stated that helmets and goggles were dis-
tributed. One Landfill worker, who volunteered as a peer counselor,
mentioned not using any special uniforms or protective gear. More
than half of the participants who worked at the Landfill reported see-
ing or using wash stations that were set up for workers to use before
they entered and exited the Landfill itself or before they entered Land-
fill mess halls. According to one police officer, “We went into a shed and
I think we took off the gloves, took off the Tyvek suit, but left the boots on,
and somebody washed the boots with some sort of bubbly type of cleaner
in a bath, and then you went into a different foot bath where they washed that off, and then out into the area where we
were eating.” A sanitation worker noted that there were shower facilities on site: “It was part of our work site. We had
lockers rooms, showers, bathrooms, the whole works.” Though multiple participants reported using or seeing showers
at the site, three reported that they did not use or see any showers. Participants reported different approaches to
discarding their work clothing off-site. Some did not mention any special measures, whereas others went to great
lengths to separate their clothing from that of others: “My work clothes during that time was never washed in my
house. She would wash it downstairs in the laundry. My work boots, I would take them off and leave them in the car ...
But nothing from the actual 9/11... I didn’t bring any of that into my house.”
Mask and Respirator Use
The majority of study participants reported using a mask during at least some part of their post-disaster work; two
reported not being given a mask at all. One police officer was given a mask at Ground Zero, but not at the Landfill.
Of the participants who stated that they used a mask or respirator, most were fit-tested and trained on their usage.
Remarked one Landfill worker: “... they had people from I think OSHA there and they would fit. It was like maybe I would
say maybe a month or so after the original thing started. You’d walk over there and they would burn smoke in front of
you and they would have you have the mask on. If you had smoke coming in, breathing it, they would adjust the mask
accordingly.” Half of those who mentioned using masks remarked that they used “paper dust masks” for a period
of time before they were given respirators: “... in the beginning, we were just given the little dust mask, like you would
wear if you were in a shop or mowing your lawn or something, and ... that lasted for a long time before they started to
get these I don’t even know what ... they’re called ... anyway, advanced masks.” Four of the Landfill workers noted that
they received their masks the first day of work at the site.
According to study participants, enforcement of mask and respirator use varied: a Landfill worker in a supervisory
position was told a mask was not needed for his job: “I requested a mask but they had me speak into a walkie-talkie
all day. They told me it wasn’t required that I had one. Even though I requested one, I never got one.” Two participants
stated that OSHA or site supervisors could enforce mask use. According to one supervisor, “we were also told - oh
yeah, you got to make sure everybody wears their masks and suits and if they don’t, you can do whatever you got to do
to them, you know give them complaints or send them off the job or whatever it was.” A couple of participants reported
that they did not wear any masks or respirators because of their jobs and responsibilities: “the problem was, for me,
was that I was on the radio all the time ‘cause I was foreman ... for me I’d always have to pull the mask down and talk on
the radio, so it was very difficult to ... communicate with that on my face.”
Participant Concerns
A source of frustration mentioned by some participants was the lack of communication about potential health
and safety hazards associated with their recovery and cleanup responsibilities. A Landfill worker commented on
inconsistent information: “there were a lot of passenger vehicles that were brought out of the World Trade Center and
brought over there [to the Landfill]. And in the beginning everybody thought there was[n’t] anything wrong with this,
just rinse them off and let these people have their cars back. Well later on they said, oh not a good idea - there could be
all these contaminants in there, but again, in the beginning nobody realized this. But we were all told, it wasn’t there.
There was no contamination here, and then later on, it got to be a big thing.” Another Landfill worker described his
outrage at public officials: “I just don’t understand anything why, again, nobody knew anything for a month and a half,
we were all told that there’s nothing wrong here. This is just a dust problem, you know, protect your eyes and wear a dust
mask ... there’s nothing really bad here. And that’s not quite the case. And I never saw it followed up or anybody go back
and say, well why did you say this, or who told you to say this?”
Participants commented on their current physical health and mental well-being. Most reported that they were in
good health. Some reported post-9/11 physician-diagnosed illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis, and sleep ap-
nea. Two participants reported a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis after 9/11. Said one: “I’ve [got]
post-traumatic stress disorder. I was diagnosed with that, major depression, all that kind of stuff, counseling, all. I actual-
ly filed for disability related to the PTSD.” Some participants expressed concerns about future health outcomes. One
participant expressed concern about his health after participating in Landfill cleanup activities:
“... the only thing that changed since that happened is I have shortness of breath and stuff like that
but nothing I can’t deal with it. What concerns me is later on in life. Like I said, it never bothered me up
until I had a baby and now you start thinking about the future.” Another commented on his need
for counseling: “I’m also concerned about my mental well-being as time goes on as well. Even today,
I don’t know if I’m ready to talk to somebody about it, but I need to talk about this stuff in the future.”

Conclusions

The qualitative analysis of the narratives of landfill and barge workers allowed for a fuller un-
derstanding of the tasks and experiences of an understudied subgroup of World Trade Center
recovery and cleanup workers and volunteers. The perspectives of landfill and barge workers
have been largely missing from World Trade Center studies. The Registry has used these first-per-
son accounts to develop an exposure questionnaire that will further clarify our understanding
of the complex multi-step cleanup and recovery work conducted by landfill and barge workers
for nine months in the wake of 9/11 in a way that will inform subsequent risk assessments in this
population. Our findings may also provide guidance for designing evaluations of future disaster
response efforts. Our research highlights the utility of qualitative analyses in exposure assess-
ments after a disaster. Combined with epidemiologic studies, these narratives will contribute to
a better understanding of reported exposures and health outcomes among 9/11 recovery and
cleanup workers. Further studies are underway to examine the relationship between post-disas-
ter exposures and health outcomes in this population.
 The Non Hodgkin Lymphoma Of Steve Dornan And His Previous Exposure To Contamination From Uranium Weapons In Bosnia
Chris Busby PhD • Castle Cottage, Aberystwyth SY231DZ • December 10th 2009
I have been asked by Mr Steve Dornan to examine documents relating to his illness, non-Hodgkin lymphoma
(NHL) and to give my expert opinion on the relation between the development of this disease and his previous
exposure to uranium weapons contamination during his deployment as a weapons inspector in Bosnia. The ques-
tion which I shall address in this report is one of causality: is it more likely than not that his non-Hodgkin lympho-
ma was caused by exposure to uranium contamination originating in the NATO use of uranium weapons in the
Bosnia conflict in 1994-6.
There is no doubt that significant quantities of uranium weapons were employed in Bosnia, and particularly in the
early part, before December 1995. Depleted Uranium DU had been employed against armour in the 1991 Gulf war.
Later it has been demonstrated that weapons containing Depleted Uranium and also Natural and slightly Enriched
Uranium began to be employed in heavy weapons (Cruise missiles, smart bombs etc.) to destroy hard targets,
deep bunkers etc. I have found evidence of the use of non-Depleted Uranium in bomb craters in the Lebanon
and also Gaza (Busby 2007, 2009) and this was reported by the UN (Busby UNIDIR 2009) and also reported in the
national newspapers. The United Nations Environment Program UNEP visits to survey for uranium contamination
in Kosovo and Bosnia found widespread dispersion, shown by the data UNEP reported. I met with the UNEP leader
Pekka Haavisto in Sweden and also with his replacement Klaus Topfer in Slovenia. In 2001 in Strasbourg I advised
the project director for the Bosnia survey Dr H-O Snihs that, in view of my findings in Kosovo in 2001 of uranium
resuspension in the air, he should deploy air measuring devices, and this was carried out, first in Montenegro and
then in the Bosnia surveys. He agreed to do this. It’s an important matter as the route for exposures is mainly by
inhalation of resupended material. Although it was not until 2002/2003 that the Bosnia post conflict assessment
for uranium contamination was completed, seven years after the bombing, evidence of uranium weapons usage
was still found (UNEP 2003) and it was found, as I predicted, in the air. This was a surprise to UNEP.
Page 72 of UNEP 2003 states:
DU in air was detected in five of the samples, including inside a building in which contamination points were iden-
tified, in another building where no DU contamination was found with field instruments, and on the cobblestone
area where numerous contamination points and penetrators were found. This was a new finding as it was the first
time that contamination of air had been found in the natural environment.
Page 94 of UNEP 2003 states:
The amount of DU measured in the air inside the building was much higher than that measured outside. The con-
centration was about 50 times normal value for uranium and consisted of almost 100 per cent DU. The reason for
resuspension could be due to air coming through the openings in the building near the floor and blowing the DU
dust on the floor. However, as the dust was found to be highly contaminated with DU, it should be noted that any
regular activities occurring inside the barn would create further resuspension. The resuspended DU particles out-
side the storage barn are diluted in the open air, which explains the wide difference.
Soil contamination may be seen in UNEP 2003. This table, like many in the UNEP results in all their publications
is displayed in a way that makes it difficult to understand except for an expert in this field, and no explanation is
given for the units employed. Water samples were also analysed and results shown in Table E2, again with different
quantities and units to those used for the soil samples. In Table 1 below I have converted the results into the quan-
tities most usually employed in examining Uranium isotope ratios, the atom ratio of U238/U235. The normal value
for this in the environment is 137.88. Any deviation from this indicates uranium of man-made origin. I discuss this
matter at some length in the report of the UK Ministry of Defence Depleted Uranium Oversight Board (www.duob.
org). In Table 1 (below) I assign the result to Depleted Uranium, Natural Uranium and Enriched Uranium. It will be
clear that most of the water samples contain significantly Enriched Uranium and are therefore of man-made origin
and are not natural.
Table 1. Uranium in water samples from Bosnia reported by UNEP 2003. Ratios of activity converted to atom ratio.
Colour blocks assign the origin of the uranium on the basis of 2 SDs. Note that most of the uranium is significantly
Enriched.
Table 1
His
non-Hodgkin
lymphoma
was caused by exposure
to uranium contamination
originating in the NATO use
of uranium weapons
in the
Bosnia conflict
Enriched Uranium In Wars
The origin of Enriched Uranium in wars following the first Gulf War in 1991 is puzzling. It has been found in the
Balkans, in Lebanon and in Gaza, and urine measurements made by the UK military on personnel deployed in
the second Gulf War in 2003 suggest that there was Enriched Uranium employed there also (see www.duob.org).
A number of suggestions have been made. One is that EU has been substituted for DU in large bunker busting
bombs and Cruise missiles in order to disguise the use of DU so as to make later analysis impossible. The second
is that the EU is a component of a new weapon developed by the US (see Busby, UNIDIR 2009). There is also the
possibility in Bosnia that the EU originates in fuel particles from the Chernobyl accident, but this is unlikely since it
is found in Iraq and the Middle East areas where there was no Chernobyl fallout; in addition, survey measurements
made in the UK in 1997 showed no EU in more than 500 soil samples analysed by the University of Southampton.
Nevertheless, the existence of EU in the environment, whatever its origin, has one very important consequence. It
means that using the U238/U235 ratio as an analytical indicator for the existence of Depleted Uranium is no longer
possible. Therefore the results of all the surveys carried out by UNEP and others are meaningless.
 A Few Notes
By Jeff Prager

A Note On Building 7 A Note on Pulverization

There is evidence that three nuclear devices were detonated in the sub-basement of Building 7. It appears that
conventional demolition charges were used to take out the support columns in the building. But as the building
“collapses” massive pyroclastic clouds erupt once again covering Lower Manhattan with “very fine particles”.
Ed Ward observes: So, I went back and examined the thermal images – no evidence of tampering was noted (noth-
ing like the crude blackening of WTC 6). Indeed, there is minimal heat right after 7 was demolished and it still looks
more like WTC 2 residue. But, very shortly after that, 3 large heat zones appear – linear, even spaced – 1 dead center
and one on each side. It just took a while for the heat to transfer up. This would correlate with 3 surface to slightly
sub-surface nuclear devices in WTC 7. Set to explode just after/during the regular demolition would account for
the more lateral flow of the pyroclastic flow.
https://edwardmd.wordpress.com/
Jones collected dust samples from Janette MacKinlay’s apartment which was near the South Tower. Jones states
that “the dust contained larger chunks” so “that disproves the mini-nuke hypothesis.” A couple of points here: first, the
smallest particles would have been carried a mile or more away from Ground Zero yet samples were collected by
a number of researchers, all of whom found “very fine particles” in extremely large quantities. We are not claiming
that the buildings were completely pulverized into nano-sized particles. A 300 ton chunk of the north tower was
ejected 600+ feet into the Winter Garden. Yet three peer reviewed reports by atmospheric physicists clearly note
below-micron sized particles being “regenerated” by the pile, which was burning for 99 days. They also note that
the atmosphere was composed of a significantly high percentage of “very fine particles”. Jones’ use of particle size
to refute nuclear activity is either disingenuous or ill-informed and I refuse to believe Dr. Jones is ill-informed.
A Note On Uranium
Uranium, always radioactive, under scanning electron microscopy was found at 7.57 parts per million (93 Becquer-
els per kilogram) in the dust taken from the girder coatings by USGS personnel. Normal uranium content on earth
is between 12 Bq/kg as a low and 20 as a high with 40 Becquerels per kilogram as the maximum but 40 Becquerels
per kilogram would be unusual. This girder coating uranium levels are therefore between 2 and 7.75 times the
expected level. What is the source of the increased levels of uranium found in this girder coating dust that was pre-
viously surrounded by tons of earth and building foundation? There are significant uranium anomalies elsewhere.
Readings of 2.7, 3.2, 4.7 and 7.57ppm’s or 33, 40, 58 and 93Bq/kg are found in the USGS dust samples. All of these
levels are too high and can only be the result of nuclear activity.
A Note On Tritium
Tritium levels in the basement of WTC 6 are 55 times greater than background eleven days after 9/11 and after
substantial water had been sprayed into the area. Water severely and rapidly dilutes Tritium so we know that the
levels of tritium were considerably higher just days before. Only a thermonuclear (fusion) explosion can account
for tritium levels this high. Temperatures in Building 6 were so high that “cement flowed like lava.” Nothing but a
nuclear device can cause ‘tritium’ formation — basic physics fact.
A Note On Temperatures
1,500 °F and sometimes higher ground temperatures six months after 9/11 cannot be explained by nanothermite,
super-duper thermite or conventional explosives. Below ground nuclear detonations and nuclear criticalities re-
acting underground explain the high temperatures that persisted for months. An Impossible “Fire” (Combustion
Process). See Laws of Physics for Fire/Combustion Process and Dr. Cahill’s data on ‘Anaerobic Incineration’.
A Note On Health Effects
As of today, January 1st, 2019, over 7,500 First Responders have acquired various rare cancers of the blood, mouth,
liver, esophagus, brain, lungs and other organs — the unusual blood cancers are a tell-tale sign of brief radiation
exposure — leukemias, lymphomas and myelomas. A total of over 75,000 First Responders are registered with an
estimate of well over 35,000 being sick with an enormous variety of diseases and disorders including PTSD and
other neuropsychiatric difficulties, some far more ill than others. Over 1000 have died and over 7,500, with that
number growing by 4.17 daily, have cancer today, as of publication.
 A Note On Nuclear Events
Engineers estimate that 1/3 of the Twin Towers were completely vaporized. 3 billion pounds of building instantly
turned into 1 billion pounds of micronized dust. Only the nuclear hypothesis can explain this and all of the various
anomalies seen on September 11th, and there were many. First Responder Sgt. Matthew Tartaglia reported in 2005
that his teeth were falling out — a common symptom of nuclear radiation exposure. WTC employee Felipe David
reported “hanging skin” — another common symptom of nuclear radiation exposure — after the North Tower
was demolished. Numerous additional reports and the peer review simply confirm the anecdotal evidence.
A Note On September 11th, 2001
The event that occurred on September 11th, 2001, between 9am and 11am exhibits, in all ways, a nuclear
detonation(s) of some type. Likely hydrogen or neutron devices but maybe with advanced salting elements
— 3rd or 4th generation developments — we may never know exactly what kind of devices were deployed.
Yet the dust tells a story and both fission and fusion occurred that day in New York City. The only type of dem-
olition that can account for all anomalies such as atmospheric particle quantity and size, continued re-gener-
ation of very fine particles, two 9 to 11 second collapses of 100-story steel framed buildings, 30% of the build-
ings turned to micron-sized dust, stacks of thick metal I-Beams in the “pile” without any signs of burning from
thermite yet bent in half and further, the vectored damage to vehicles, the high levels of uranium in particular
but also strontium, barium, zinc, potassium, sodium and other elements and their unusual behavior in the
dust — increasing and decreasing in lock-step as would be expected in a nuclear event, the actinium series
found in the dust — and the 1000s of First Responders that have quietly died, alone, forgotten by the world —
This was nuclear.
This was a needless tragedy.
And this was state sanctioned mass murder.
 Radioactive Chlorine, Radioactive Technetium, Neptunium-237 With A Half-Life Of 6.5 Million Years
And All The Rest Of The 1000+ Radioactive Elements
By Jeff Prager
Everything we need to know about Fukushima was uncovered in the Chornobyl in-
vestigations. Unfortunately these international investigations weren’t really made
easily available to the public. The media was and has been silent.
One investigation that runs 349 pages was published by the New York Academy of
Sciences in 2009 and sold for $150.00 originally, out of reach for almost all of us. Both
books together provide a rare glimpse into the realities we’ll need to face from Chor-
nobyl and the new realities we’re now facing with Fukushima. These books provide
all of the answers to each and every one of the questions that now arise regarding
what the harm to humans, animals and plants will be, now and in the future, from the
fallout. It’s frightening. Chornobyl truth is equally terrifying.
The earth as a whole was dosed similarly in both events and the radioactive plumes
settled over vast areas of the planet during the days, weeks and months following each
event in very much the same ways although on different parts of the planet. Fukushi-
ma differs from Chornobyl in that it will be emitting radioactive fallout — 100s of ra-
dioactive elements — dumped into the ocean each and every day for years to come.
Some important information resulted from the Chornobyl investigations and one
thing that strikes me in particular is that we aren’t well informed as to the total num-
ber and variety of isotopes that we’re exposed to after a nuclear disaster or during an
ongoing disaster like Fukushima. The media discusses uranium, cesium (caesium) and
plutonium religiously as though they were the only elements capable of giving off
harmful ionizing radiation and they never mention any other isotopes, some of which
give off ionizing radiation for 1000s of years.
Even 20 years after the catastrophe at Chornobyl there are new thoughts about the
role of some of the radionuclides like Cl-36 (radioactive Chlorine) and Te-99 (radioac-
tive Technetium) with half-lives of nearly 30,000 years and more than 23,000 years,
respectively, and dozens of additional radioactive isotopes that are environmentally
active literally forever and exist as part of all radioactive fallout events. Where is the
media on this? On glyphosate? On BPA? BPS? BPAF? On PBDEs? On vaccine harm?
There are radioactive isotopes of cadmium, selenium, molybdenum, vanadium, bari-
um, lanthanum, yttrium and dozens more, all produced during ongoing fission events.
A standard radioactive cloud or plume is continually “fissioning” which is what’s pro-
ducing the ionizing radioactivity for 1000s, millions and billions of years. When plu-
tonium fissions into Americium-241 with a half-life of 432 years, the Americium then
fissions into Neptunium-237 with a half-life of 6.5 million years. That then decays into
Protactinium-233, with a half-life of 27 days. When a nuclear release occurs there are
many, many different isotopes being created each and every millisecond for many
1000s of years, all of which emit ionizing radiation. That radiation is always severely
dangerous and harmful even in the very lowest doses.
That’s another fact brought to the surface and secured as absolutely certain and with
a plethora of supporting data from Chornobyl — the global model used by the in-
ternational nuclear governing bodies for ionizing radiation doses is scientifically un-
sound. The model doesn’t account for internal low dose exposure and low dose expo-
sure, internally, may be even more harmful than a single but brief high external dose.
For example, a single molecule, a radioactive nuclide, ingested in food or even inhaled
that then gets lodged in and remains in the bodies tissue—continuously emitting ra-
diation to the surrounding cells—can cause death in a matter of years and sometimes
much sooner. Yet the global parameters for dosage are calculated externally. It’s an
absurd anomaly in the world of nuclear regulation that makes no sense at all unless
you’re supporting the growth of nuclear energy by sweeping the truth under the rug.
Another now recognized element of ionizing radiation is that cancer is far from the
only result after exposure. Gastrointestinal disease, ocular disease, psychological and
neurological diseases, diseases of the immune system, skin diseases, skeletal disease,
severe chronic fatigue and a complete collection of almost every illness known to
man is now known to be caused by exposure to ionizing radiation—even at exceed-
ingly low doses.
The media repeats and parrots the mantra of “uranium, plutonium, cesium” and “too
low to cause cancer” when we actually need to be concerned just as much or even
more about the host of non-cancer illnesses that exposure to ionizing radiation
causes. Animals, plants and humans are affected at the very genetic level by even
extremely low doses of ionizing radiation, far lower than we had ever before consid-
ered. Chornobyl revealed and yielded an enormous collection of new data regard-
ing human, plant and animal health as it’s affected by ionizing radiation. Everything
we need to know about Fukushima, our future and the future of our grandchildren
and their children was uncovered in the Chornobyl investigations and having read
them for a second time recently, that has become abundantly clear. Fukushima will
produce very few mysteries for people well-informed on Chornobyl. I can’t recom-
mend both of these books enough. They’re both included in the free Zip download
linked on the last page.
Two of the best books available on Chornobyl:
Chornobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment,
Alexey V. Yablokov, Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences:
www.tucradio.org/Yablokov_Chernobylbook.pdf
Chornobyl: 20 Years On, Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident,
Dr. Chris Busby, European Committee on Radiation Risk:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/171993405/chernobyl-Book

“Most Americans are not fully aware
of the wide range of workers and
community people who have been
afflicted by Ground Zero pollution;
this report describes these people,
their unmet needs and the continu-
ing risks that threaten them.”
Introduction
Many hundreds of people in New York City are sick today because of exposure to the pollution from the Sep-
tember 11th, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Some suffer from shortness of breath, loss of lung capacity,
chronic coughing, throat irritation or irritant-induced asthma; some suffer from gastroesophogeal reflux disease.
Many are so debilitated by their physical conditions that they can no longer do their jobs, and most of them no
longer enjoy life as they used to. It is possible that many more illnesses will emerge in the coming years. People
worry about cancer, weakened immunity, and reproductive effects, and many experts fear that these worries may
well be justified. No one knows what tomorrow will bring for this exposed population.
If our federal government had responded to the crisis of the terrorist attack with proper concern for people’s
health, many of the exposures that caused these illnesses could have been prevented. In August 2003, the Inspec-
tor General for the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a disturbing 165-page report docu-
menting the fact that the White House Council on Environmental Quality blocked health risk information that EPA
sought to release to the public following the September 11th, 2001 attack. That, however, is only part of the story.
This report picks up where the EPA Inspector General’s report left off. It shows how the federal government – EPA
and other key federal agencies – failed to take important actions after the attack to prevent more exposures to
contaminants. It demonstrates why the federal government’s failures cannot be excused by ignorance or surprise,
or by blaming workers who didn’t wear protective masks. It documents how independent researchers found a
group of toxic pollutants that cause cancer and other genetic effects, while EPA wrongly claimed that it did not
detect the presence of these pollutants at all. It exposes the fact that a survey of EPA’s own employees, in a building
several blocks from Ground Zero, showed that they were suffering health effects, yet EPA did not disclose its own
survey results to the public. This report explains how the federal administration’s reckless disregard for the toxic
hazards generated by the attack had disastrous consequences for many people who served on the front line of
terror response and lower Manhattan’s recovery. Most Americans are not fully aware of the wide range of workers
and community people who have been afflicted by Ground Zero pollution; this report describes these people,
their unmet needs and the continuing risks that threaten them.
Finally, this report alerts the public to a danger that should be of national concern: This report finds that the Bush
administration’s new emergency planning documents – from the Department of Homeland Security and the Oc-
cupational Safety and Health Administration – make some of the administration’s worst 9/11 response failures into
standard operating procedure for national emergencies. In other words, the prolonged harm that resulted from lack
of proper action at Ground Zero could happen again, in New York City or in another location in the United States.
People following news stories about the Ground Zero pollution may wonder whether federal agencies realized at
the time that health warnings were needed, or whether those who got sick were just recalcitrant individuals who
failed to follow safety directions. This report answers those questions.
• The Ground Zero health risk cover-up did not result from a poorly informed government. The World Trade Cen-
ter attack involved the open, uncontrolled burning and demolition of two huge buildings – conduct that would
be illegal in any state of the Union because of the known risks to human health. This report finds that the federal
government ignored its own long-standing body of knowledge about pollution from incineration and demolition.
The notion that EPA had to wait for test data before telling people that the pollution posed health risks is absurd.
EPA should have issued a health warning, based on its own knowledge of pollution, before any test data came in.
• EPA failed to investigate and disclose toxic hazards properly. Oddly, EPA’s website reports that it found no poly-
cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – cancer-causing chemicals generally released by combustion of mixed ma-
terials – “in any air samples,” although four independent tests found them at elevated levels and even EPA’s own
research scientists reported in a scientific journal that they found them at levels that Science magazine deemed
worthy of “the most serious kind of concern.”
• EPA failed to change its safety assurances even after it became clear that people were getting sick, and even
after a survey of EPA’s own office employees at 290 Broadway revealed that they were suffering health impacts –
a survey that, this report finds, EPA did not release to the public at the time. It was quietly published in a journal
• Its Department of Homeland Security emergency planning document solidifies the administration’s insistence
on centralized political control of all hazard communications during an emergency – without providing strong
almost a year later in 2002. policies to protect the public against false assurances.
• Many Ground Zero workers did not have proper protection, especially in early weeks. This report explains that
federal assurances of safety gave workers conflicting messages about the need for respirator masks, which are
difficult and exhausting to wear.
• OSHA refused to enforce worker safety standards at Ground Zero. It wrongly claimed that it had no authority
in national emergencies. It then continued this refusal long after the emergency had passed, and long after it
This means that the Bush administration
became apparent that serious health and safety problems were occurring despite efforts by OSHA staff to ad- has learned nothing from the illnesses and hardships
vise safety.
• EPA and FEMA, in concert with New York City’s own health department, told families that they could clean up
the contaminated dust themselves with wet rags. In fact, they actually discouraged area residents from wearing
suffered by the Ground Zero community. Rather,
safety masks. it plans to perpetuate them in any future national disaster,
The Bush administration’s conduct is hard to understand given the fact that it had only recently learned some im- anywhere else in the United States.
portant lessons in a community contamination issue. Earlier in 2001, the federal government had finally respond-
ed to families in Libby, Montana, who had long been trying to get their attention, after a Seattle Post-Intelligencer
reporter had exposed EPA’s prior inaction. The entire town – playgrounds, backyards and homes – was polluted by
Lesser Known Hazards from Ground Zero
asbestos from a mine. EPA promised a full clean-up. It was too late for some families; many people had already died
of asbestos-related illnesses. At the time, EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman told the community:
The attack on the World Trade Center (“WTC”) released toxic vapors and airborne particles that were hazardous
to human health, including a toxic, caustic dust that settled on outdoor and indoor surfaces and often became
“I also want you to know what effect your experiences here are having on our work at the EPA.
airborne again through disturbances at Ground Zero.
Because of what we’ve found in Libby, we are reviewing all of the scientific information about health
risks posed by asbestos. We want to know if there are other problem areas out there. And if there are,


we will take the appropriate steps to address them. I know it’s small comfort, but your experience and
your pain may help others facing similar situations.”
• The Ground Zero fire emitted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a group of chemicals including
substances that cause cancer and may cause other genetic impacts that can affect children subjected to
pre-natal exposure. PAHs generally are produced by combustion of mixed materials. (See below for details
Four days later, the September 11th, 2001 attack occurred, releasing asbestos-contaminated dust over lower Man- on EPA lack of disclosure.)
hattan and parts of Brooklyn. EPA ignored its own rules urging use of more modern asbestos testing equipment
and failed to reverse course even when independent tests showed that it was failing to detect asbestos accurately.
It failed even to alert the public that the dust was highly caustic.
• Much of the WTC dust was as caustic as ammonia, and in some cases as caustic as drain cleaner. The federal
government knew this, but did not tell the workers or the public. A carpenter and emergency medical technician,
John Graham, comments:
At the very least, our federal government should have considered the pollution dangerous unless rigorous testing
proved otherwise. It did not. Instead, EPA and OSHA – under the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s “I was at all the safety meetings, but they never told us what was really going on. Now I’m a walking pharmacy. I have a
direction – behaved as though they had never seen pollution before, as though they did not know their own reg- chest infection, ear, nose and throat problems . . . My tonsils look like strawberries – red and pitted. I guess drain cleaner
ulations, as though they were unfamiliar with current scientific knowledge, and as though the asbestos disaster of would do that to you.”
Libby, Montana, had never happened.

The Bush administration declared that no expense would be spared in helping the affected communities to recov-
er. Nevertheless, its action has fallen far short of the mark. It has resisted calls for proper cleanup of the toxic dust
still present in homes and buildings even though over 2,700 children under ten years old live in the community
around Ground Zero. Also, it has not provided adequate long-term health monitoring and care for the people ex-
posed to the pollution. These failures have prolonged the harm to this “Ground Zero community” and impaired New
York City’s recovery from the attack.
Now, the Bush administration apparently plans to turn its missteps at Ground Zero into standard policy for any
future national emergency.
• Its new occupational safety emergency planning document institutionalizes its failure to enforce safety and
health laws for response workers.
• Despite assurances that “most” WTC dust particles were too large to penetrate the lungs, evidence reveals that
some did. The larger caustic particles also “burned” the nose, throat and upper airways, and some people inadver-
tently swallowed WTC dust.
What The Federal Government Already Knew About the Hazards
No one expects perfect safety practices immediately following such an unexpected and devastating attack. Palm-
er Doyle, rescue worker and recently retired firefighter from Coney Island Engine number 254, Ladder number
153, explains: “During the first few days, we ran down there. I was there when the second building came down. I
worked from 9:45 to 2:30 AM. I came back again at 9 AM and worked until very late. By Friday, you could see the
shoulders sagging. We knew no more survivors were likely. By Sunday, the adrenaline was spent. Sunday was
torture. But we rallied ourselves. We said, “Let me get something for the family to bury.””
Unfortunately, the federal administration chose to respond in ways that further endangered human health. Its
conduct prolonged hazards from the attack and promoted unsafe work conditions at Ground Zero that increased
human exposure to pollutants.
The WTC disaster was new in scale but not completely new in character. The federal government already knew
many of the dangers from uncontrolled combustion and demolition, but did not warn the public against them.
Philip McArdle, Health and Safety Officer for the Uniformed Firefighters Association, points out:
“We talk about preparing for disasters, but if we don’t use what we already know, when are we going to be prepared
for a disaster? . . . The World Trade Center disaster was new in scale. But buildings have burned before. Planes have
crashed and burned. Structures have collapsed in earthquakes. We’ve seen these kinds of hazards before, and we look
to the agencies to tell us what the hazards are. These are things that federal agencies plan for all the time, so why
weren’t they ready?”
In fact, EPA knew from the outset that uncontrolled burning of building materials releases toxic chemicals, and
that cement dust typically is very caustic, because it has studied incineration, demolition, and the pollution
and debris that they generate for decades. For example, following the catastrophic year of 1989, when both
the California earthquake and Hurricane Hugo destroyed buildings and a steam pipe exploded in the Gramercy
Park neighborhood of New York City, EPA produced a document called Guidelines for Catastrophic Emergency
Situations Involving Asbestos, in which it warned of the potential for such emergencies to create asbestos con-
tamination problems.
What The Federal Government Failed To Disclose Or Find
• EPA misrepresented the meaning of asbestos test results by knowingly mis-characterizing its own technical de-
tection limits as health standards.
• The White House Council on Environmental Quality provided misleading data to U.S. Senators Hillary Rodham
Clinton and Joseph Lieberman in a letter which implied that only extremely few homes were contaminated by
asbestos from the WTC dust. (The senators were not dissuaded from pursuing their concerns about the need for
proper testing and cleanup.)
• EPA did not find health hazards because it did not look for them, or failed to look for them properly.
(1) As noted above, EPA did not report any testing of the WTC dust for harmful organic chemicals such as PAHs. In
fact, PAHs were present at high levels, according to an independent test. Also, this Report discloses that private
tests of dust from firefighters boots found toxic PAHs at levels 115 and 422 times higher than EPA’s health-based
criteria for soil cleanup. EPA’s website reports that it failed to detect PAHs in the air in any air samples, yet a recent-
ly released study of “window film” in lower Manhattan after the attack found PAH levels at 10 times greater than
urban background levels, and a new study analyzing the small dust particles gathered in EPA air samples revealed
significant levels of PAHs. Also, EPA researchers themselves published a study of PAHs in air in late September and
mid-October, finding levels higher than a serious photochemical smog episode in Los Angeles.
(2) As has been reported before, EPA used an older, less effective testing method for asbestos in dust even though
it had advised schools seven years earlier against using that technology. EPA did not change its method after in-
dependent tests found higher levels of asbestos using the newer method that EPA itself recommends for schools.
Yet, the federal government used the newer method at EPA’s own office building – and this Report finds that EPA
ordered an asbestos cleanup of its lobby without even waiting for test results, based only on the presence of visi-
ble WTC dust.
(3) EPA failed to test for the very tiny and more hazardous airborne particles that are likely to result from a hot
combustion, as occurred at Ground Zero, even though this Report finds that it knew of the more precise equip-
ment required to do so. Jimmy Willis, a 9/11 rescue worker and Assistant to the President for the Transport Workers
Union observed:
“What EPA did was like using a colander with giant holes, and then saying, ‘Look, there’s no spaghetti.’ It was a test to
find nothing.”
Very small particles are more dangerous because they are more easily inhaled deep into the lungs and also tend
to contain higher concentrations of toxic chemicals.
(4) EPA failed to conduct scientific sampling to determine the extent of indoor contamination from the WTC pol-
lution. It even neglected to test most of the apartments in its limited cleanup program before cleaning them. This
failure to measure WTC pollution in residences and made it impossible to assure their safety.
• The federal administration failed at least a dozen times to correct its improper assurances of safety even after
information and data on health risks became known and even after news began to emerge about people get-
ting sick.
By September 27th, 2001, the federal government had test results confirming that the WTC dust was highly caus-
tic – as caustic as ammonia, and in some cases as caustic as drain cleaner. The pH of ordinary urban soil generally
ranges from 6.7 to 7.3, but the pH of WTC dust ranged from 9.0 to as high as 11.5. This Report finds that EPA and
OSHA did not warn the public about this in a press release or, apparently, even in directives to union health and
safety officers.
This Report finds that EPA had direct information that area employees were at risk from the WTC pollution by early
2002, because a December 2001 survey of its own Region 2 office employees at 290 Broadway found that 65-69
percent of workers suffered worsened symptoms of cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness, wheezing, and
severe headaches, and 81 percent suffered worsened eye irritation following September 11th, 2001. EPA did not
notify area residents and workers of the results of this survey.
• Both FEMA and EPA failed to warn residents that they should not just clean up the contaminated indoor WTC dust
themselves – even though EPA has publicly denied this. Indeed, even after EPA launched an indoor cleanup pro-
gram, it continued to assure residents that such cleanup was not really needed. The federal agencies failed even
to give special instructions to prevent exposure of children and people with respiratory, immune system or heart
disorders, who would be more vulnerable to the WTC pollution.
The desire to reopen Wall Street cannot justify placing civilian safety at risk. The EPA Inspector General’s report
stated:
“[W]e fully recognize the extraordinary circumstances that existed at the time the statement was made about the air
being safe to breathe. It continues to be our opinion that there was insufficient information to support the statement.”
The government has a higher duty to protect its citizens’ health and safety. Civilians are not soldiers. They are
supposed to be protected, not put in harm’s way. And one of the most important jobs of the federal government
in the event of an attack on a civilian target should be to control and limit the harm to human health and safety
of that attack. Instead, the Bush administration’s response to the September 11th attack furthered the danger to
public health.
Speculative fear of public reactions does not justify suppressing warnings. Some may argue that there was a need
to “soften” the message about pollution to prevent public panic. Yet, no one would advocate keeping silent about
a fire in a building. People should be warned when they need to take action to protect themselves, and warn-
ing people about Ground Zero pollution would not have caused wide-
spread, uncontrollable frenzy. Despite the myth of public panic, experts
state that such conduct is rare, that people more consistently tend to
bind together in the aftermath of disasters to restore their communi-
ties. Many disaster experts urge that treating the public with respect
and forthrightness is the best approach. Albany Times Union columnist
Fred LeBrun made this comment:

“Did Washington think we’d panic over the toxic possibilities, or that Man-
hattanites would stop breathing? Or that the cops, firefighters and rescue
workers would stop sifting the rubble 24/7 for their comrades and other vic-
tims? Not a chance.”

There is no question that the rescue and recovery work would have pro-
ceeded. But if proper warnings had been given, it would have proceed-
ed more safely. Also, the emergency conditions of the first few days cer-
tainly cannot justify the continued suppression of health warnings that
this Report documents occurred during the many weeks and months
that followed the attack.

Most disturbingly, the Bush administration plans to make the mistakes

of Ground Zero into policy for all future national emergencies. A future
disaster could release toxic substances again. Most important buildings
nationwide contain asbestos, lead, plastics, and other substances that
could create hazards in a fire or collapse. For example, 84 percent of
tall office buildings, 64 percent of short office buildings and 43 percent
of transportation and government buildings in New York City contain
asbestos. Nevertheless:

• The Bush administration is eliminating OSHA’s enforcement role at

all future national emergency sites. Under OSHA’s new National Emer-
gency Management Plan, the agency will not enforce safety rules, but
rather will provide only technical assistance. The foreseeable result of
this approach is insufficient protection for the hard-working and coura-
geous Americans who respond to local disasters.

• Nothing in the Department of Homeland Security’s new national

emergency planning documents – the National Incident Management
System or Initial National Response Plan – provides the assurance that
the public should receive that the missteps of Ground Zero will not hap-
pen again in New York City or in some other town or city of our nation.
Indeed, Inside EPA reports that the Bush administration is considering
developing standards for toxic cleanup in national emergencies that
may be weaker than Superfund standards, thus leaving communities
at risk.

Based on the experience at Ground Zero, the Bush administration’s new

policies would dramatically increase the health risks to Americans un-
fortunate enough to experience future national emergencies.
The Power Sources
Of The 911 Event
911 Keeptalking • London
Tuesday, May 1st, 2018

By Heinz Pommer • Working Physicist

 During fission uranium-235 will split into a variety of radioactive elements (top left). The decay
chain of these elements is well known (bottom left) . The presence of these decay elements was
confirmed in the USGS dust sample analysis, however without indicating their radioactivity.

Camera Fails

A short EMP or radiation impulse provoked a camera glitch two times: at zero time and eight sec-
onds after. Source: @ 00:07: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz-_voimcG8
Source: http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/reCenter.jsp?z=26&n=30
Source: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0429/leach1/WTCleachtable.html

Source: @ 00:07: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz-_voimcG8

 Camera
Scintillation

Scintillation is a sign of direct exposure

to radioactivity. Reporters’ cameras that
were directly engulfed in the dust cloud
suddenly started recording white dot,
flashes and unusual video anomalies di-
rectly related to a nuclear detonation,
pictured at right.

Author

Heinz Pommer
heinz.pommer@yandex.ru

Institut de physique nucléaire

d’Orsay (Paris-Sud)

Diplom-Physiker
Advanced degree in physics
from a German university

Focus:
Material ejection patterns after
the impact of high-energy ions
in thin target layers
Typical for an underground nuclear explosion is the formation of a rising cloud stem
(above), 60 seconds after detonation, due to the hot centre.

Source @00:50: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9ahoAMAGL8

Melt Cavity @ 1 KT Yield

In case of a total containment in the hard rockbed [at –50 m] the melt cavity (at right)
created would have had the size of 8 m (plus a weak shockwave).

Source [data]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_nuclear_weapons_testing

 Pyroclastic Density Flow

For all three Towers a wave front of a hot solids-gas-dispersion followed

the collapse. The South Tower’s dust flow was powerful (above).

Source @16:19: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEwSHkQvTI8

The North Tower’s pyroclastic flow (at right) was extreme in its force.

Source @27:06: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEwSHkQvTI8

Solving The Radioactive Riddle Of 9/11
By Heinz Pommer • Graduate Physicist
bitplant.de GmbH & Co. ATD-Services KG
Fabrikstr. 15 D-89520 Heidenheim, Germany

Absorbed Radiation

Iron vapor (bottom left) excellently compensates and neutralizes neutron radiation
and other radioactive radiating isotopes. Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Neutron rays are
absorbed by the iron vapor created by the dissociation of the steel. Iron can absorb
a tremendous amount of radiation without becoming radioactive itself. A Geiger
counter would remain silent. The melting pot of yards of granite and the pile of
debris directly above Ground Zero were highly radioactive. Most of the 40,000+
First Responders have now fallen ill and thousands have died from various unusual
cancers — leukemias, myeloma’s, blood and brain cancers.

2009 — more than 900 had died from unusual cancers

2010 — more than 33,000 people suffer from “illnesses related to the attack”
2016 — more than 72,000 people suffer from “illnesses related to the attack”
2018 — more than 7,500 people suffer from unusual cancers

Free-Fall Of Building Seven

At 5:20pm a 190 meter tall NYC office building, Building 7, a tower made of steel,
unexpectedly collapsed to it’s base area. The tower accelarated for several seconds
at free fall while collapsing, similar to a stone suddenly released to fall through the
air. Free fall means that all load-bearing structures broke down suddenly, and all at
the same time, during the collapse:

• All steel beams were dissolved in the interior

• The entire outer shell was weakened considerably

Physicist Heinz Pommer, across over 100 pages, uses his grasp of the sci-
ence of physics to carefully explain, in his opinion, exactly how the tow-
ers were destroyed. Excerpts of Pommers work follow with the complete
works included in the free Zip download linked on the last page.

Physicist Frédéric Henry-Couannier and physicist Dr. Christopher Busby

have both written to me expressing the same opinions expressed here
by Dr. Pommer which clearly coincide with Dr. Andre Gsponer’s work. At
this point, I have to agree with all of them. We don’t know exactly what
kind of weapon was used but we do know that both fusion and fission oc-
curred at Ground Zero, possibly ternary or quaternary fission, but fission
and fusion nevertheless. Very little radioactivity and only for a few days.
How Did They Fool Us, The 9/11-Experts, The Paid Collaborators?
By Heinz Pommer

How is it that our institutions continue to fail us?

Denial and deception made us believe!

That we were shown all of the physical 9/11-evidence ... when so much remains hidden
from the public eyes, that we were told the truth about modern nuclear weapons ... when
they explain us the technology from 1945 – or fiction, that our modern country is gov-
erned by its legal civic institutions ... when the control of money resides in the hand of
private banks.

A Trip To London

On April 4th 2017, I traveled to the UK to give a presentation to the 9/11Keeptalking Group
at the Diorama Arts Centre in Central London. Although the subject was a fairly sinister one,
it was not my intention to discourage the public — I wanted to deliver a message of hope.

The Gift Of 9/11

Our knowledge has become dangerous to the power elite. We know that wars have been
started on basis of the 9/11-deception. We know that a future civil war in Europe is cur-
rently in the making, when the artificial migrant crisis spins out of ‘control’. The scenar-
io of a collapsing dollar, the implosion of the US and the simultaneous creation of the
’North American Union’ is ready to unfold. This is the gift of 9/11: to see behind the cur-
tain and stop the crimes. The two ruling parameters for any physical system are: energy
and momentum.

The 9/11-Energy Equation

Many organizations have observed that a plane and its fuel load can’t be the real cause
of a building’s extremely powerful eruption. Most of them come to the conclusion that
only pre-planted explosives inside the structure could account for the additional energy.
Inevitably, they start talking about floor-by-floor detonations, destroying the building
from top downwards.

The 9/11-Momentum And Material Ejection

However, pre-planted explosives in separate floors can produce only: circular shock-
waves out of the corresponding floor. As these circular shockwaves cannot change di-
rection after the explosion, they will NEVER form a uniform fountain.

The Hot Chambers In The Rockbed

Building 7 was the third skyscraper which collapsed and turned to dust on 9/11, although
it was not hit by an airplane. Infrared images taken in October 2001 still showed high
temperatures from scorching hot steel in the foundation of all three buildings. What
kind of explosive could have stored so much energy in the rock?
 By Heinz Pommer

3rd & 4th Generation Nuclear Weapons (FGNW) are particularly important military aspects on which there has been only limited public discussion so far. These aspects
concern the unique military characteristics of FGNWs which make them radically different from both nuclear weapons based on previous-generation nuclear explo-
sives and from conventional weapons based on chemical-explosives. Yields in the 1 to 100 tons range, greatly enhanced coupling to targets, possibility to drive pow-
erful shaped-charge jets and forged fragments, enhanced prompt radiation effects, reduced collateral damage and reduced radiation output are of serious concern.
 Energy

The observed or suspected 9/11 energy sources were:

1. impacting planes
2. burning jet fuel
3. explosives / incendiaries
4. radiation / electromagnetic weapons
5. nuclear process in the rockbed under the Towers

The sum of these energies must be higher than the energy needed for the
Towers’ destruction and must also explain the side effects [anomalies] on site !

Energy is measured in Joules

25 grams of chocolate = 500 kJ

1 million kilograms of TNT = 1 kt TNT = 4.1 x 1012 Joule
Duration of energy release in biology: several hours
Bombs: fractions of a millisecond

At right image shows Umbrella (water dome)

8 kt yield, 1958, depth of detonation: 46 m (sea floor)

100 times the speed means 10,000 times the energy!

Neutron Speed

Thermal neutron:

A thermal neutron is a free neutron with a kinetic

energy of about 0.025 eV (2.2 km/s)
Uranium nuclei: fissible or inflexible ?
for neutrons a question of speed !

Fast neutron:

A fast neutron is a free neutron

with a kinetic energy level close to 1 MeV (14,000 kilometers per second)!

Nature as the best mentor

What business has a bee sitting directly next to the nozzle of a small fountain ?
It escaped drowning:
The socket holding the nozzle is the safest place!
It will not be captured by the water jet –
and it will not be hit by the falling water droplets
This is an example for a “seemingly impossible” save place –
next to the upshooting material

[12 people survived in a stairwell which Dr. Pommer fully explains on the following pages]
 hiding in plain sight
the emperor nero phenomenA
 Building 7 And Its Pyroclastic Density Flow

For Building 7 extenuated overpressure waves developed that were channel-

ized by the urban canyons (top right).

Source 1 @05:31: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujps2oCA-nU

Source 2 @06:31: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ujps2oCA-nU

The Firemens’ Report (center right)

Source [extract]: http://www.911history.de/pdfs/Toronto_Report_p_230.pdf

THE 9 /11 TORONTO REPORT

Paramedic Manuel Delgado (bottom right)

Source [extract]: http://www.911history.de/pdfs/Toronto_Report_p_230.pdf

 The Directed Nuclear Weapon

It is unlikely that a first generation nuclear weapon was used on 9/11,

as its efficiency is only 2%, the fallout would have been enormous.

Source 1: http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/chart/reCenter.jsp?z=92&n=143
Source 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boy

The Khalezov Problem

It is also unlikely that a second generation nuclear weapon was used,

as a simple fission–fusion stage would have created overly strong
neutron radiation and an extremely powerful shockwave (“The
Khalezov-problem”).

Source 1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_weapon_design
Source 2: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Bravo
 X-Ray Slow Fusion Shaped Charge • Directed Energy Nuclear Warhead - DEW
However, A Third Generation Nuclear Weapon Type Uses:

•• artificial sources of neutron radiation, minimizing critical mass / fallout

••
strong neutron reflectors, thus further minimizing critical mass
strong neutron absorbers, preventing neutron activation [MRR]

••
shaped charge for influencing the direction of the energy [DEW]
strong X-ray emission by neutron scattering elements

•
nuclear fizzle / slow fusion for a long burn (underground)
neutron collimator tunnel (if the charge is buried underground)

These characteristics make the third generation nuclear weapon the prime suspect for being used on 9/11. Note: Fission-free fourth generation
nuclear weapons do exist only on a laboratory scale (anti-matter, pure directed nuclear plasma, black hole bombs, anti-proton devices, etc.).
Source [modified]: https://arxiv.org/pdf/physics/0510071
 The Weapon’s Effect On The Bathtub

The Bathtub protected the WTC from underground waters (top right)
and the bathtub was only slightly damaged.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/09/02/nuclear-demolition-of-the-world-trade-center-damage-to-bathtub/

These rocks were broken up and carried away (left).

Concrete was pumped into the fissures to seal the caverns (above left).
 The Weapon’s Effect On The Twin Towers
Seismic Shock • South Tower

The seismic shockwave was registered with:

signal magnitude = 2.1

signal duration = 10 seconds

Creation Of The Bathtub Caverns

Release of shockwave (top right) and neutron/x-ray flash [ignition, fission]
cavity sealed off, slow fusion and strong x-ray emission upwards

Source: Dimitri Khalezov (modified): https://wikispooks.com/wiki/File:SkyScraperScheme.jpg

Registered signals at Palisades from impacts and collapses (below):

Source: http://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/LCSN/Eq/20010911_WTC/WTC_LDEO_KIM.pdf Source: http://911truthout.blogspot.de/2017/04/more-hints-of-bigger-then-reported-911.html

 Conclusion

The eruption sound of gas jets – ejected and powered by highly fluid magma chambers
from the centre of the Stromboli volcano – is identical to the eruption sound heard during
the destruction of the North Tower – we HAVE: violently, vertically upshooting gas jets

Silverstein Valley

The understanding of Larry Silverstein’s glacier valley with its

“as-if-formerly-molten-rock-formations from a prehistoric era”
is the key to understand the power source of 9/11!

Assumption

The Towers’ destruction was a mere SIDE EFFECT of what happened in the rockbed!
90% of the energy remained in the earth!

In mid 2017 a professor from France mailed me:

“the energy in the rock explains everything !”

Exhorted by the university, they sought prohibition of
his teaching and exemption from service ... but he’s still active
The professor writes about a nuclear PROCESS on 9/11 (not a bomb)

World Trade Center

What Power P Was Emitted Into The Rock During 3 Months?

The actual value of total heat released at Ground Zero

is in the 1015 J, or Petajoule Range

Conclusion

We are fighting against each other, because we focus on different fragments

of the energetic riddle – the fragments of information are still in disorder,
distorted or incomplete: they make no sense

At right, the entire vehicle went up in flames yet the

lighting rack on the roof remains relatively intact

On the following pages, Dr. Heinz Pommer’s

SILVERSTEIN VALLEY & APPLES OF DISCORD Why are the lights on the roof relatively unharmed while the interior and exterior are
obviously badly burned? Because this car sustained a flash of heat that lasted just milli-
seconds — a flash of heat that was gone as quickly as it appeared. Had this car actually
sustained a lengthy fire for several minutes or hours, the roof-lights would have melted
completely. Lastly, ask yourself, where’s the front end and bumper? Dense metal ...
 Apple of discord: Silverstein Valley
Formerly semi-liquid granite or glacier valley?
Apple of discord: Silverstein Valley
Downwelling or leaching process?
 Apple of discord: Silverstein Valley
Vitrified vortex or water whirlpool?
 Apple of discord: Silverstein Valley
Settling down into the cavity or melt water valley?
 Apple of discord: Silverstein Valley
Concrete cover for sealing the ground or new foundations?
 Apple of discord: Silverstein Valley
Aquarium originating from 9/11 or >10,000 years old?
Why were hotspots
discovered in the
glacier valley?
 Apple of discord: Silverstein Valley
Why were three seismic shocks registered?
 Apple of
discord:
Silverstein
Valley
Why
on earth
did the
ground
stay
hot for
three
months ?

The pyroclastic flow of the WTC 7 dust and the hot, violently rising mushroom cloud (above) were never
reported or analyzed by “the experts”. Vortex formation (below): The central mushroom cloud rising up
from the foundation of Building 7 developed a vortex (tubular form of water vapor). A vortex can often
be observed during a nuclear weapon test (top right). The model assumes the nuclear energetic center
was approximately 50 meters below the foundation since a mushroom cloud did not emerge until after
the complete collapse of Building 7 after a time delay of approximately 60 seconds; the fact that side-
lines developed means that not all of the energy could escape in a bundle but had to find its way up
through side channels, articles such as rocks, debris and building remains; a circular distribution around
the center can be assumed; one main line is seen (H) with approximately 50% of the total energy and four
sidelines exist (A, B, C and D) with approximately 50% of the total energy. No explosions could be heard yet a
seismic wave was recorded. Main line ‘H’ (below) pushes through the cold air layers, a tube develops whose rise
is not decelerated until a mushroom develops at a height of 1,300 meters. At ‘A’ and ‘D’ the clouds billow up to
a height of approximately 800 meters. A cold air layer that can not be penetrated by low-energy dust clouds
appears to exist at a height of approximately 625 meters. The energy content can be concluded from the total
volume V of the cloud, the ascension height H, and the capacity to penetrate cold air layers/velocity V.
Local video: Rise of the mushroom cloud up to 1300 meters: www.911history.de/02.mp4
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnLcUxV1dPo
 Formation Of Dust Clouds Over The North Tower

Two different types of dust clouds coud be easily observed over both Twin Towers during their
disintegrations and the two types of clouds were obviously separated. Vaporized steel formed the Source @12:33: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnLcUxV1dPo
dark gray to black clouds and pulverized portions of the cement slab floors and facade could be Source @13:10: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnLcUxV1dPo
clearly seen in the white to light gray clouds. Source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Upshot-Knothole_Nancy_001.jpg

Source: http://www.911research.com/wtc/evidence/photos/wtc1exp6.html
Source: @07:35 (HD Cumulous and The Spire): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUgTG9LKzJ4
 911 And The New World Order
By Dr. Heinz Pommer
The Order Of The Illuminati: an attempt to make the rule of men over men obsolete — or just a banker’s tool to
overthrow the monarchies? Founded on May 1st, 1776 by Adam Weishaupt, the order aspired to the most noble
purposes:
“To bring justice and peace to mankind.
To make the rule of men over men obsolete.
To create a just and free society.”
However, Weishaupt was paid for his work by one of the most powerful bankers of that time so perhaps the real
purpose was exposed in the very first paragraph of his book about the order, hidden in plain sight for all of us, so-
to-speak. Weishaupt tells us in that first paragraph:
“Dear friend: you will be abused, you will be deceived.”
Source: (page 5): https://archive.org/details/DasVerbesserteSystemDerIlluminaten
~ Freund! Du läufst Gefahr, gehmisshandelt, gehmissbraucht zu werden ~
President Woodrow Wilson wrote in 1913:
“Some of the biggest men in the US, in the field of commerce
and manufacturing, are afraid of somebody, are afraid of something.”
“They know that there is a power somewhere so organized, so subtle,
so watchful, so interlocked, so complete, so pervasive, that they had better
not speak above their breath when they speak in condemnation of it.”
Source: http://www.michaeljournal.org/articles/world-government/item/a-history-of-the-new-world-order-part-i
The New World Order Is Old
• to the greedy it comes in the cloak of monetary success
• to the patriots or religious it comes in the cloak of ‘being part of the chosen people’
• to the environmentalist it comes in the cloak of ‘love for nature’
• to the liberals and the young it comes in the cloak of permissiveness
But the same force is behind it all:
• The decay of our values and our culture is deliberate! •
John F, Kennedy said in a 1961 speech “on secret societies,” the following:
“For we are opposed around the world by a monolithic and
ruthless conspiracy that relies on covert means for expanding its sphere of influence —“
“— on infiltration instead of invasion, on subversion instead of elections, on intimidation
instead of free choice, on guerrillas by night instead of armies by day.”
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8HTr-F-FVM
The current agenda of the New World Order is now unfolding rapidly, a belief system of extreme supremacists. Its
global agenda manifests itself:
••
by terror attacks like 9/11 in NY and 7/7 in London as a symptom
••
by secret societies and/or groups of oligarchs as a tool for power
by a mad, hidden — but well structured society
by the worship of evil as the real spiritual source of power
The Four Power Levels Of The New World Order
4. Luciferian Level: Spiritual-technological doctrine - hate against the living, beautiful and just exemplified by hu-
man enslavement by debt and ignorance; indoctrination.
3. Dark State Level: Profit by abuse exemplified by power & perversion oriented social system; the money printers
2. Deep State Level: Deception exemplified by a money oriented social system, big corporations and the war ma-
chine
1. State Level: Complete ignorance or confusion
As monstrous as the evaporation of three thousand people in New York was, as appalling it is to know that tens of
thousands will die of cancer needlessly by treason alone, one thing alone will remain inconceivable to the world:
The stupidity of the crime. How is it that a small group of Neo-fascist zionist criminals is able to take the entire
world hostage? It is by our own consent, based on disinformation. These crimes will not stop as long as the cre-
ation of money resides in the hands of powerful criminals and their private banks. However, if we — as a people
— stop cooperating and start to expose the system it will crumble by itself.
On A Personal Level We Can Simply Try To Resist The Agenda
1. To defend our freedoms
2. To hold our families in high esteem
3. To prevent indoctrination of false gender identity
4. To defend our cultures
5. To use cash not credit
6. To laugh at the ruling elite
7. To make them afraid of us
8. To laugh and make them afraid by the knowledge we hold
9. To take life as something sacred
10. To know our spiritual self
So let me finish my presentation with the words I used at the beginning.
We are all in this together. Truth, justice and peace are the only option.
For all of us. To disarm the devil — and not to serve him.
 Questions & Answers With Dr. Heinz Pommer
1. How Did They Control Radioactivity?
The chosen tactic was “controlling the controllers”. Over 4,000 First Responders and policemen were equipped with
small radiation detectors and any sort of alarm would have been immediately under the system’s control. In addi-
tion, radioactivity levels outside the WTC area were most likely quite low because of:
• a minimized primary (fission device for ignition)
• absorption of the radioactivity in the pit (the rock-bed below)
2. To What Extent Was Israel Responsible?
Even if Israel, or the neocon-fascist, zionist supremacists behind 911, can be regarded as the driving force, part of
the responsibility lies certainly also in the West and for the western elite. I would call it a joint venture operation, a
fifty-fifty business of the bankster cult and the military-industrial complex.
During an interview on NBC on September 13th, 2001, Benjamin Netanyahu stated:
“I said if we don’t arrest the militant … then the next thing
that will be is not a car bomb in the World Trade Center, but
a nuclear bomb.” He continues, “Now, it wasn’t a nuclear bomb,
it was a 350 ton conventional bomb.”
Indeed, the Twin Towers’ shockwaves correspond to:
• a 0.35 kiloton primary ignition charge (exempt the slow fusion burn,
which added to the yield through radiation).
3. How Could People Survive The Blast Within The Tower?
A small group of people survived the blast, being trapped on the fourth floor inside the North Tower. This “Miracle
Of Stairwell B” is often cited to refute the hypothesis of a nuclear blast: they would all be dead! Not so. If these peo-
ple were never exposed to the nuclear blast, the picture changes completely. The required eruption channel for
the nuclear plasma must have a size of only approximately 12 meters by 12 meters:
• Equivalent to the size of the central cavity of the “Memorial Pools”. This is similar to standing next to a rapid firing
machine gun — if you’re standing a few meters aside from it, you go unharmed.
4. What Temperature Was Reached Inside The Towers?
Temperatures well over 1,000,000º C are achieved in the centre of a nuclear burn. However, these extreme condi-
tions are limited to a tiny space where the nuclear burn takes place:
• the nuclear plasma exits the rock-bed with only 8,000º C
• the upshot is very focused and limited to the building’s core
• the pressure wave is also directed upwards, as if exiting a nozzle
5. How Was The Melt Out Of The Buildings Achieved?
Theoretically the weakening of the inner core could also have been achieved by a small research reactor (if it was
already installed). Highly critical reactors would also produce multiple radiation pulses. In the US, a number of
reactors were run supercritically and blown up deliberately for test purposes. After the neutron control rods had
been catapulted out of the fuel elements, the whole reactor exploded as expected.
William Tahill, the author of the book, “Ground Zero: The Nuclear Demolition Of The World Trade Center,” is convinced
that a pulsed nuclear reactor or enhanced radiation weapon was already built-in, in the sub-basement of each
tower. The mindset of the perpetrators is certainly open to everything, even blowing up a nuclear reactor, by
self-destruction or by triggering an additional nuclear weapon beneath it. However, I do not believe it simply be-
cause contamination levels would have been much higher and easily detectable.
6. Do The Seismic Shockwaves Indicate A Nuclear Process?
Underground explosions can be easily distinguished from an earthquake, as the different waveforms are scattered
in a unique pattern. The 9/11 signals clearly indicate an underground explosion, however surprisingly small in
magnitude for a nuclear weapon. This indicates that only part of the energy was released as a shockwave, a sort of
additional slow-and-powerful radiation device was therefore involved. Alternatively, this might also indicate a very
poor coupling of the energy in the ground (due to damping factors).
7. Why Did Concrete Blocks Transform To Dust At Free Fall?
Once the water inside the concrete crystal absorbed the radiation energy and turned to overheated steam it
ripped the crystal apart. From that point on, the concrete blocks were as brittle as a dry sand castle thrown into
the air. The nuclear radiation did not destroy or influence the concrete blocks during free fall — the destruction
was already done.
8. Is There Real Proof For An Additional Nuclear Fusion?
Yes. If the yield was the output from a first generation nuclear fission device alone, radioactive contamination
would have been extreme. Although the presence of the expected elements was confirmed in the dust, very little
information about isotopes was given. Yet gamma radiation in the actinium family was found, along with uranium
and thorium gamma and elevated levels of the nuclear fusion fuel 3H were found.
9. How Reliable Are The Findings of Professor Dr. Steven Jones?
In 2006 Jones published a letter, emphasizing:
• No traces of radioactivity (5 years after the event!)
• No extreme pulverization of the towers took place, they disintegrated mainly into small chunks.
Given the scope of the crime, having just one reference point and one analysis from one professor — although
perhaps with good intentions — is not what I would call “being on firm ground”. What’s needed are several indepen-
dent teams of international experts to analyze the rock-bed below the Memorial Pools.
“As we examined the WTC-debris sample, we found large chunks of concrete (irregular in shape and size, one was ap-
proximately 5cm x 3cm x 3cm) as well as medium-sized pieces of wall-board (with the binding paper still attached).
Thus, the pulverization was in fact NOT to fine dust …”
~ Professor Dr. Steven Jones
[Editors Note: This position Jones has taken is refuted by numerous mainstream peer reviewed atmospheric tests
and their findings — a large percentage of the dust was made up of “very fine particles,” particles in the micron and
below micron size. There is no argument on this issue regarding particle size and quantity. Jones is lying.]

Engaging in 911 means to uncover, layer by layer, the incredible story of a web of lies, so thick, so impenetrable, so
vast, so atrocious, that people simply refuse to believe the web exists. Each layer of deceit holds its own logic and
plot, uncovering needs courage and conviction, pertinence and spiritual power. As many dead alleys lie on the
way its easy to get lost, to become a victim in the devil’s game, turning from the path of truth to the path of the
perceived truth. This false narrative, the perceived truth, is the devil’s trap. It is constantly laid before us, constantly
changed and adapted, constantly refined. It is easy to become just a tool in the hands of the devil, who yearns for
war, violence and vengence.

Who would believe that this is an official NASA mission shoulder patch?

NON MORIERIS BELLO translates: to “You will not have a nice death”, says NASA!

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NRO_launches
 911
THE
KEY
TO
Silverstein Valley
 and The
Emperor Nero Complex
 911
step by step
By Heinz Pommer • Physicist
A 3D Sequenced Model Of The World Trade Center Demolition
By Dr. Heinz Pommer
 Secret Societies
By Jeff Prager

A “Secret Society” doesn’t need to have the sinister, ethereal, “unknown” connotations we attach to it. The Club of
Rome, the International Monetary Fund, the Trilateral Commission, the Warren Commission, the 911 Commission,
a hypothetical meeting between Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Henry Kissinger with a planned agenda for a par-
ticular outcome, a group of generals or admirals — members of the Joint Chiefs Of Staff organizing a planned
covert exercise or scheme — Operation Northwoods, The September Surprise, Iran-Contra, Operation Gladio, the
wholly propagandized and illegal brutal attacks against Iraq and Libya destroying their cultures, 911 — these are
all legitimate forms of secret societies meeting to discuss an agenda, develop and formulate an operational strat-
egy and carry out their wishes.

When the Federal Reserve Board convenes they’re essentially performing the ritualistic necessaries of a secret
society. When Congressional committees meet behind closed doors and publicly release only a partial synopsis of
their findings without publicly revealing key portions of the narrative — the Kashoggi case for example — we’ve
witnessed the meeting of a secret society and the secretive results or outcome. Throughout the ages humanity
has developed 1000s of what we would naturally refer to as “Secret Societies” of every size, shape and form.
These groups have represented all sorts of agendas and employed a wide variety of strategies over the cen-
turies yet we’re concerned with powerful, highly financially influential, politically oriented, “social groups” that
meet to discuss agendas and strategies that negatively affect humanity, entire countries and their popula-
tions — organizations that exercise vast control over certain sectors of the global community. Banking (the
IMF and World Bank), the US Banking community (Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Citibank, etc), Multinational
Corporations, the Military-Industrial-Congressional Complex, the Billionaires Clubs, with an “s” since there are
so many, such as the Bilderberg Group, the Think Tanks, elected officials, appointed officials — these are all
groups or organizations that exhibit all of the classic traits of “Secret Societies.” For what would a secret society be
if it weren’t for its ability to engage in productive dialogue, establish goals along an agenda, construct actionable
strategies, impart effective propaganda through total media control, form media disseminated indoctrination
memes and achieve their goals secretively by exercising enormous population-wide control? We live in the 21st
Century yet Aldous Huxley and many other predicted todays conditions many decades ago with virtually perfect
and prescient documentation in both fiction and non-fiction forms. The NDAA, the Patriot Act, Full Spectrum
Domination, Global Hegemony, Debt Servitude, sophisticated monitoring of the internet, smart phones and all
messaging services monitored, Bubble Economies, mass foreclosures, Wars for resources hidden by the Respon-
sibility To Protect (R2P), NGOs fronting for intelligence agencies, drug dealing by the upper echelon of society
(MBS, the Saudi King, has had 2 planes confiscated, both filled with drugs being prepared for sale in the Middle East),
Captagon fueled ISIS warriors trained, funded and armed by Israel, the US and Saudi Arabia and False Flag attacks
in western countries as well as all over the globe should all be expected.

Secret Societies aren’t really that secret after all. They publish their desires regarding global events prolifically and
with regularity — daily — and the dozens of think tanks post them to the internet. Anyone wishing to spend their
time reading agendas, strategies and methodology will have no shortage of material and documentation to ac-
cess. Predicting the future becomes rather easy when the history-makers write about it beforehand. What’s more,
they are copious builders of monuments of all shapes and sizes, from statues of celebrated and accomplished elit-
ists to edifices such as presidential libraries few can access fully and monolithic constructions such as the pools at
the base of the Twin Towers, the Washington Monument, the Smithsonian Institute, the Georgia Guidestones, the
Roman Coliseum, the Empire State Building, the Federal Reserve Buildings, the Statue of Liberty, even the Twin
Towers, when they were built, were a monument to the Rockefeller family as is Carnegie Hall and numerous NYC
Museums. Secret Societies have few secrets to those willing to closely examine the world we live in. Fortunately,
the Nero Syndrome allows us to see the thinly veiled realities even more clearly. Our country is now divided, dis-
course is polarized and the governing bodies are using national tragedies as a means to retain, obtain or simply
expropriate power. In the meantime, there are true threats looming over the horizon. First and foremost,
while withdrawal of troops from Syria sounds like a “feel-good” move by President Trump, the reality
is quite different. This allows Turkey, Israel and Iran to mobilize (they’re doing so right now, December
26th, 2018) and foment an attack on Syria while the United States plays “we’re not involved” on the inter-
national stage, and, should Israel suffer losses it also gives the US carte blanche to enter the fray without
international opposition and with unilateral international protection.

Our present social structure has evolved into a caste system with three tiers or levels. Tier one, the up-
permost level of society, is inhabited by monied and influential elites. The multimillionaires and primar-
ily the billionaires. This is the true governing class, operating behind the scenes, that sits astride the “social
order”. Civilians of every color, religion and nationality, the alleged and dwindling Middle Class, government
employees from Congress to the White House cook, Doctors, Lawyers, Walmart greeters and burger flippers
alike, provide the cash to operate the engines behind the social order controlled by the governing class —
an unseen group hiding behind wealth, affluence, personal security and greed. Then, there’s the rest of us.
Those of us that have been severely betrayed by a self-serving educational system that, as Charlotte Iserbyt
explains (Ronald Reagan’s head of the Department of Education) in her eBook, “The Deliberate Dumbing Down
Of America,” the system is specifically designed to dumb us down substantially. And it works. This segment of
society, the disabled, the elderly, the betrayed that flip burgers because they haven’t an education allowing
them to do more, are the unwashed masses, the unrepresented civilian population. Not only aren’t we need-
ed, exemplified by our crumbling infrastructure and severe and unending austerity measures, we’re expensive
to maintain. Unlike any other period in the nation’s history, one stratum of society, the American elites of the
past half-century, have by their control of education, entertainment, the media, and politics totally dominat-
ed and overwhelmingly and negatively influenced the culture and national character.  These elites are chiefly
responsible for what the national character is today. And it’s not good.

This American aristocracy is now entirely made up of those who have no recall or firsthand experience of
the years of adversity prior to 1940.  Their entire point of reference is never-ending affluence and the pursuit
of pleasure within an overall framework of world peace.  Yet this assemblage is dominated by comparatively
few committed ideologues and so-called intellectuals, who are dedicated to permanently altering the American
culture.  In defiance of their initial small number, these psychopathic individuals have been very successful in
attracting many others, equally deranged or willing to play along, by appealing to their vanity and avarice. Thus,
entrance into this class is not entirely a factor of birth or wealth, but rather that of developing a mindset of supe-
riority reminiscent of the evolution of cliques within a high school setting.  These are the kids that were all bullies.
This attitude is further reinforced and promoted in the incubator that is the college campus, wherein this mindset
is further enhanced by the academic elites waxing eloquent about the failings of the United States and the ideal
of a classless society led, of course, by the preeminent class ... themselves and their naïve recruits. Once having
left the bubble that is the university environment, the majority of these same recruits, still influenced by their
university experience and desirous of maintaining their standing within the circle, look to the anointed leaders in
the mainstream media, the entertainment industry, and politics to set the agenda and dialog.  Further, by being
an accepted member of this class, it is far easier to be ushered by the gatekeepers onto the path of making a sub-
stantial living, be it in government, in academia, on Wall Street, in the media, or in a myriad of nonprofit advocacy
groups. Therefore it becomes paramount for new acolytes to retain membership within the congregation and do
the leaders’ bidding rather than question what the pronouncements and policies of their titular leaders would
do to the culture and well-being of the country at large.  Thus, though these tyros proclaim to be independent
thinkers, no faction in American society is more acquiescent to groupthink and conformity.
The reality is that the majority of those in the ruling class are mind-numbed eternal adolescents, hell-bent on
pushing the boundaries of ethical and moral behavior and viewing all political and policy issues as a war between
their side and their opponents’.  While there are a few comparatively independent thinkers within the group who
do question the overreaching of a powerful central government, their opposition is muted and limited to a more
gradualist approach as their concession to remain within the fold. An all-powerful central government is vital to
maintaining the elites’ power, income base, and preeminent class status, and this government must be protected
at all costs.  In order to retain their supremacy, the tactics of outright lies, innuendos, character assassinations, and
exploitation of national tragedies to impugn their adversaries are utilized by the foot soldiers in the mainstream
media, the political establishment, and the entertainment industry.  The most recent example of this strategy is
the government shutdown over a wall that will scar the landscape, separate us from our natural fellow citizens
across the border and do little in the end to curtail human smuggling.
This end-justifies-the-means mentality abets the creation of an overall society devoid of trust, honor, and integrity
and a national dialog full of vitriol and animosity. The current dilemma the United States finds itself in is directly
traceable to today’s governing class and their irresponsible behavior, philosophy, and assumption of never-end-
ing prosperity.  The rest of society, while also benefiting from the overwhelming economic growth and absence
of national adversity over the past half-century, consciously chose to ignore what was happening to the culture
and future well-being of the country.  The dependent class, solely for their voting loyalty, have been bought off
with government largess.  The producer class were content to live their lives in isolation and naiveté as long as
the growth in prosperity appeared to be endless and entertainment was easily available.  Together they allowed
an elite class to develop that has not only left the country staring into an abyss, but also has no idea of how to
save the nation from disaster.  The privileged lives they have led, their ideology and self-centeredness, have not
equipped them to manage a country of this magnitude to successfully weather the upcoming storm and avoid
a destructive economic and societal upheaval replete with potential violence.  As befits a spoiled child, the elites
are capable only of desperately clinging to power.  The American character -- once epitomized by a fearless can-
do attitude, confidence in the future, honor, and self-reliance, as well as a firm belief in American exceptionalism
-- is being replaced by indecision, selfishness, a lack of integrity, acquiescence to an overreaching government,
and a foolish repentance for the nation’s historic successes. However, there still beats deep within the heart of
the American society the attributes that made the United States the greatest country in the history of mankind,
and it is to those citizens that the nation must turn. The responsibility to rescue the United States now rests with
the producers, or the second tier of our current society, and with them alone.  As the recent Tea Party movement
revealed, albeit on an embryonic basis, the people are motivated and can restore some sanity to the political pro-
cess.  But that is only a first step.  While more Americans are waking up, the majority have not.  The unvarnished
reality as to the future and the need for extensive citizen involvement must be made clear to all.  A national
leader and a Congress firmly rooted in the ideals and history of the country must emerge who can tell the
truth regarding the nation’s prospects, offer a viable solution and rally all segments of society to equally sac-
rifice for the overall good of the United States of America. The current ruling class, who will not willingly exit
the stage, must be replaced through the political process with a new ruling class whose underpinning is the
American character as envisioned and reflected by the founders of the country.  If not, then the past 65 years
of unprecedented peace and prosperity will be the high water mark in the history of the United States — war
with Russia and/or China is imminent. The use of nuclear weapons is likely. The rest is up to you.
 there’s no profit in curing cancer
the profit is in causing it
The Cancer Business
The same companies that profit from breast cancer treatments also manufacture cancer-causing toxins.
by Monte Paulsen, Mother Jones, May/June 1994
Here in the United States, where health care is a business rather than a right, the 182,000 women stricken by breast
cancer annually are not only an epidemic, but also a market opportunity. The market is dominated by some of the
world’s largest corporations — many of which also produce and release the toxic organochlorine chemicals now
suspected of causing breast cancer. These companies have a vested financial interest in keeping breast cancer
research and advocacy pointed away from possible causes — such as corporate pollution — and focused on the
profitable businesses of cancer detection and treatment. The relationships between these corporations and such
organizations as the federally funded National Cancer Institute and the nonprofit American Cancer Society are
complex, but many argue that industry has undue influence over the direction of cancer research. Here are a few
troubling examples:
Cures And Causes
United Kingdom-based Zeneca Group PLC is the undisputed leader in the breast cancer business, selling $470
million a year of a controversial treatment drug called Nolvadex. Zeneca also sells a carcinogenic herbicide called
acetochlor, whose market is estimated at $300 million annually. The company has been in hot water for allegedly
releasing organochlorines into the environment — in 1990 Zeneca (then a branch of Imperial Chemical Industries,
from which it demerged in June 1993) was named in a lawsuit by federal and state governments for allegedly
dumping DDT and PCBs into Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors. (The suit is pending.)
Nolvadex is Zeneca’s trade name for tamoxifen citrate, a synthetic hormone. Tamoxifen is not a cure for breast
cancer — it helps prevent recurrences in women who have been successfully treated for the disease. But tamoxi-
fen is also thought to cause uterine cancer and a number of other health problems. In a study at the University of
Pittsburgh that began in 1981, 23 of the approximately 4,000 women given tamoxifen contracted uterine cancer
(as opposed to two from the control group), and four of them died of it.
It is not clear how long Bernard Fisher, the lead scientist in the study, knew of the uterine-cancer deaths. But un-
til recently, women volunteering for Fisher’s new Breast Cancer Prevention Trial of tamoxifen were told that “no
deaths from uterine cancer were reported” as a result of the earlier study. (On March 29, Fisher stepped down as
principal investigator of 14 federally funded studies. He had been heavily criticized for his delays in disclosing
research fraud in several breast cancer studies, at least two of which recommended tamoxifen.)
Recruitment of additional women into the prevention trial has been temporarily halted, but the National Cancer
Institute continues to spend millions of taxpayer dollars giving tamoxifen to women who don’t have breast cancer
to see if it will prevent them from developing the disease. Tamoxifen is already the world’s best-selling cancer drug,
but if it is approved for use as a prevention drug, Zeneca will be able to increase sales dramatically. Zeneca is not
alone in simultaneously releasing organochlorines into the environment and selling questionable and potentially
dangerous breast cancer treatments. Du Pont and General Electric, which compete for the dubious distinction of
having the highest number of EPA Superfund hazardous waste sites, are also big players in the breast cancer busi-
ness. GE sells more than $100 million a year of mammography machines, while Du Pont makes much of the film
used in those machines.
There are about 14,000 mammography machines installed in the United States. That’s two to three times more
than are needed, according to an analysis by the National Cancer Institute. Those machines perform about 24
million mammograms a year, nine out of 10 of which are routine screenings performed on asymptomatic women.
Several scientific studies suggest that such routine mammography does not benefit women under 50, and some
researchers propose that it may actually increase breast cancer risk.
Still, both Du Pont and GE aggressively market mammography to younger women. A Du Pont TV ad even boasts
that the company’s new film “makes it safer to start mammography early.” Although the National Cancer Institute
recently stopped advising mammograms for women under 50, the American Cancer Society (to which both Du
Pont and GE contribute) continues to advise women to have screening mammograms in their 40s.
Cancerous Politics
Almost 15 years ago, in his book “The Cancer Syndrome,” Ralph Moss described the complex arrangement of in-
terlocking committees, boards of directors, funding, and investments that enable industry to exert substantial
influence over cancer research and advocacy. The types of conflict of interest which Moss described are still in
effect today, as are a few new ones. Zeneca is a pioneer in new ways of influencing breast cancer activism. Take
the example of the 10-year-old National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which causes a talk-show frenzy each
October and is supported by both the National Cancer Institute and the American Cancer Society. Few realize that
Zeneca is the founder and sole financial sponsor of awareness month, and has spent several million dollars on the
event. And the message awareness month spreads via hundreds of thousands of posters, pamphlets, radio spots,
newspaper ads, and promotional videos? “Early detection is your best prevention ... get a mammogram now.”
This year, Zeneca is turning its attention to the workplace. Together with fellow pharmaceutical makers Glaxo and
Merck, Zeneca launched the Industries’ Coalition Against Cancer in April. Its goal is to encourage corporations to
invest in “cancer screening/prevention programs” such as “a mammography unit on site, a mobile van program, or
perhaps a partnership with a cancer center.”
Through these forays into pseudo-activism, companies like Zeneca have made treatment, rather than root causes,
the issue. The bottom line is this: There’s little profit in preventing breast cancer.
Monte Paulsen is a reporter living in South Carolina. Research assistance was provided by Anna Snider
All rights reserved. Redistribution permitted with this notice attached. Redistribution for profit prohibited.

“So now I’m yelling for Andy, I’m picking things up, I’m looking —
I don’t know how long I was looking — but I heard the Scott Air-Pak
whistling to tell me he’s down, and I’m yelling, ‘Andy, tell me where you are,
tell me where you are Andy, so I can help ya, tell me where you are!’”
Once In Charge Of Keeping The World Trade Center Safe,
Security Expert Remains Troubled By Past Demons
Updated September 7, 2011 at 5:45 PM; Posted September 6, 2011 at 6:30 AM
By Jason Grant • The Star-Ledger • jgrant@starledger.com
George Tabeek, below, poses in his Brooklyn house with a model of the World Trade Center. On September 11th,
2001, he was the second ranking security di-
rector for the WTC. Today, George Tabeek,
the Port Authority’s second in command for
security at the World Trade Center 10 years
ago, is sitting in his dining room in Dyker
Heights, Brooklyn. His wife of 35 years is
relaxing upstairs. It’s a warm mid-August
night, his hands are trembling slightly. The
61-year-old man is telling a story he rare-
ly shares with anyone — about the rescue
effort inside the north tower of the World
Trade Center and the moment when the
glass, steel, dust and bodies rained down.
And always he remembers “Andy,” a fireman
who was standing beside him:
“I says, ‘Andy, come stand by me.’ He touch-
es his shoulder and all hell breaks loose. One
second he’s next to me, the next second he’s
gone.”
Then there are the buildings themselves,
whose safety gave him so much pride, two
shining goliath towers he spent his days and
nights thinking about until he believed he had thought of everything to protect them from evil. Only a few days
before the attack, he had gone over their safety with another security professional. “It was my home away from
home,” he says. For the past 10 years he has felt he let down his family, the one inside the towers. “Really, we were
the safest building in the United States,” he says referring to September 10th, not the 11th. On that clear, brilliant
morning, Tabeek arrived for work, as always, at 6:30. He parked his white ‘98 Cadillac below the north tower, in the
red lot, the same lot that was “demolished in the ‘93 bombing.”
“I used to park under the two main beams, the supporting beams, that they put in after ‘93,” he adds, shaking his head
ever so slightly. The veteran security manager went about his normal rounds, checking “critical” guard and Port
Authority police posts, before attending his daily meeting with the World Trade Center’s police captain, Anthony
Whitaker. Next he walked into a production trailer under the north tower. It was a summer Tuesday, which meant
a concert would play on the plaza later in the day, so a producer for a high-profile Latin band was waiting for him
with questions. Before ducking out of the trailer, Tabeek snagged a Krispy Kreme jelly doughnut, even though his
friend, plaza manager Bobby Lynch, disapproved. “That stuff’ll kill ya,” Lynch said. It was 8:45 a.m. and George Ta-
beek walked out across the wide expanse of the cement plaza, doughnut in hand. Suddenly, an accidental squirt
of red jelly went cascading down his dark suit, as a friend and co-worker, Joe Amatuccio, quipped, “I can’t take you
anywhere, can I, George?” Tabeek just smiled.
 The Rainbows
Then a noise … jet engines bursting from nowhere. “I turned … all I see is something large come
out of the building,” Tabeek says, his hands starting to move and tremble again. In the split-sec-
ond before he also heard an earthquake-like crash echoing out from the north tower.
“Things were coming down out of the building as big as refrigerators. It was unbelievable,” he says.
“So now I start running. And the other guys were running. And I don’t know where they died. I think
Joe died later in (the south tower). Where Bobby died, I’m not sure.” Tabeek is shifting in his chair. His
head turns slowly, left and right. “I remember seeing someone get decapitated in front of me as I was
running. Yeah, something fell right onto the person. It was awful.”
Tabeek was awarded a medal of valor for the rescue actions he would take that day. And he
says he remembers nearly every minute of a two-hour race to save lives amid a relentless series
of horrors. There was the moment he worked his way onto the West Street overpass near the
north tower and looked skyward. The 110-sto-
ry glass-and-steel building was “twisting vi-
olently,” heaving fire and smoke. In the next
breath, he saw the rainbows. But these were “I says, ‘Andy, come stand by me.’ “
different from the sort that bless the moments
after rainfall. Through these strange rainbows
He touches his shoulder and all hell breaks loose.
bodies were falling. “One second he’s next to me, the next second he’s gone.”
“I was going to go back” to get a better view, “see
from this corner of the building, a rainbow. It was
the glass shattering against the sunlight, and a guy came down, brown pinstripe pants and brown
shoes,” Tabeek says.
He believes the man fell from the building accidentally, after leaning over a heating unit at his
feet and planting his hand on the glass while looking out to see “what’s going on down below.”
“The building was twisting like this,” Tabeek explains, his voice becoming quicker, harried, his hands
turning through the air. “So the glass shattered by the extra pressure on the glass.”
Then, he says, “Somewhere around here,” he is pointing to a spot on a miniature north tower that
juts from a model of the World Trade Center he has placed on the table, “another body comes out.
Another rainbow, he hits VIP Drive. … I saw the guy’s brown suit. It’s awful.”
Andy
Tabeek and Andy Desperito, a Lieutenant with Engine Company 1 near Madison Square Gar-
den, met in the north tower lobby. The building rattled and elevator cables were “snapping
like rubber bands.” As bodies lay strewn across a blown-out lobby floor near the Marriott World
Trade Center hotel, Tabeek, Desperito and about six other firemen climbed Stairwell B on a res-
cue mission to the 22nd floor. They freed several trapped Port Authority contract employees,
and then Tabeek and Desperito, in their panicked rush to escape the writhing tower, found
themselves together on the nearby West Street overpass. “I said, ‘Andy, we’re getting hit from the
debris from the plane!’“ Tabeek recalls. “It was like a rumble, and a whistle. And loud. I mean, my
ears were hurting.” But it wasn’t jetliner pieces, at all, he realized later. It was 10:28 a.m. and the
north tower was starting to implode.
“Debris is coming down. That was this building … falling!” Tabeek goes on, pointing again to the
small steel north tower anchoring his model. “Just black — you couldn’t see nothing. You’re hearing
the rumble and you don’t see a thing. Everything is shaking around you.” His normally placid face is
drawn tight with a grimace.
“It’s like never-ending, things just keep hitting me and the building is like sucking me in. I’m holding on to
something on that column. I don’t know what it was, and I’m saying, ‘Please don’t break loose,’ because
the building is pulling me in. … Because the building is collapsing and sucking the air.”
“Then all the sudden I get hit with a blast of heat like I was being burnt in an oven — like a sun’s rays
just hitting you — and the next thing, dead, dead silence.” Then, “By the time I finally dug myself out, it
went from total darkness to lights of fire all around. And when I climbed out of the heap, I was search-
ing by the lights of fires and I heard Andy’s Scott Air-Pak whistling.”
“So now I’m yelling for Andy, I’m picking things up,
I’m looking — I don’t know how long I was look-
ing — but I heard the Scott Air-Pak whistling to
tell me he’s down, and I’m yelling, ‘Andy, tell me
where you are, tell me where you are Andy, so I
can help ya, tell me where you are!’”
Experienced Pro
A Farleigh Dickinson graduate and a top engi-
neer for 11 years with General Electric in the 1970s and ‘80s, Tabeek came to Port Authority in
1984. His first project was working on a runway design at John F. Kennedy International Airport.
He rose through the ranks at the agency, while also showing a deep knowledge of security and
“threat assessment” issues. At GE, Tabeek had headed a slew of projects in the Middle East, and
terrorism risks were factored into all of them.
By late 1993, Tabeek had become one of the key security and risk-assessment professionals
put in place after the north tower’s deadly terrorist truck-bombing that year. Along with his
boss, Douglas Karpiloff, who would die on 9/11, Tabeek helped devise a panoply of security
measures and physical barriers aimed at stopping another attack. Sitting at his dining-room
table, he recalls feeling helpless and angry after the truck bombing at the World Trade Center
on February 26th, 1993.
“My thought was: Now we’re going to be like the rest of the world,” he says. “All the projects I had
working at General Electric,” including airports, power plants and fuel-unloading stations in Bagh-
dad, Cairo, Mecca and Moscow, “we had terrorist threat assessments in there, and there was always
money set aside for security.”
Making It Safe
Immediately after the ‘93 bombing, Tabeek volunteered to work at the World Trade Center to get
a PATH train and substation there reopened. It was then he met Karpiloff, who was manager of
projects for security at the time. Referring to him today as simply “a genius” and a “true profession-
al,” Tabeek says he joined a Karpiloff-led team charged with securing six buildings on the massive
World Trade Center site. Both Andy and Doug Karpiloff were murdered on September 11th, 2001.
Molten Steel From Ground Zero
 One of the “meteors”.
“The concrete flowed like lava”.
Fourth Generation
Nuclear Weapons
By Andre Gsponer
 Fourth Generation Nuclear Weapons: deterrence-use is shifting towards the concept of very-high-precision and compact nuclear weapons for bat-
tle-field-use — with yields in the 1 to 100 tons [1] range, that is intermediate between conventional and
Military Effectiveness And Collateral Effects contemporary nuclear weapons. Moreover, another important paradigm shift [2, Endnote 39] is the move
to- wards “virtual nuclear weapons” and “virtual nuclear weapon States” [5], as well as to “factory deterrence” [6],
By Andre Gsponer
“technical deterrence,” or “deterrence by competence” [7]. This is because FGNWs do not need to be actually built
Independent Scientific Research Institute Box 30, CH-1211 Geneva-12, Switzerland
and deployed before that can play significant strategic and political roles. What matters, as in the case of the
Version ISRI-05-03.17 February 2nd, 2008
proliferation of so-called “peaceful nuclear energy,” is technological deterrence, that is the ability to master the
technology and to apply it if necessary to military ends.
The paper begins with a general introduction and update to Fourth Generation Nuclear Weapons (FGNW),
and then addresses some particularly important military aspects on which there has been only limited pub-
Finally, as can be seen by the references given in the bibliography, this paper is an opportunity to make a
lic discussion so far. These aspects concern the unique military characteristics of FGNWs which make them
synthesis of much of the work done at ISRI since 1982 (the year of its creation) on third and fourth generation
radically different from both nuclear weapons based on previous-generation nuclear-explosives and from
nuclear weapons. This does not mean that there are no other references to consult: quite the contrary, as can
conventional weapons based on chemical-explosives: yields in the 1 to 100 tons range, greatly enhanced
be seen from the numerous references cited in these ISRI documents. Similarly, there will be a special empha-
coupling to targets, possibility to drive powerful shaped-charge jets and forged fragments, enhanced prompt
sis on the use of microscopic amounts of antimatter to trigger FGNWs, even though other potent ignition
radiation effects, reduced collateral damage and residual radioactivity, etc.
technologies are concurrently under development. The main reason for this is that antimatter is the most
promising technology for achieving the extremely high energy-densities required to ignite thermonuclear
Introduction
detonation-waves in very compact thermonuclear explosives.
Sixty years after the only use of nuclear weapons in warfare, this paper is discussing the elaboration and
Fourth Generation Nuclear Weapons
characteristics of a forthcoming generation of war-fighting nuclear weapons which has been under serious
consideration for more than fifty years, and which may become a reality within a decade or two. Many tech-
There is no standard definition of fourth generation nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, for the purpose of this
nical and some political aspects of these fourth-generation nuclear weapons (FGNW) have been discussed in
paper, we may use either of the two definitions:
earlier reports [1, 2]. The present paper will recall some of them, while focusing on the military effectiveness
and collateral effects of the concepts which can currently be perceived as the most likely to move from the
laboratory to the battle-field. •
“Nuclear explosive devices based on atomic and nuclear processes

•
that are not restricted by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT),” or
“Nuclear explosive devices based on low-yield thermonuclear pellets
The paper will therefore not address the full spectrum of possibilities that exist for designing new types of
triggered by compact non-fission primaries.”
nuclear weapons (which in the professional scientific literature comprises many concepts, including very
hypothetical ones such as “quark” or “black hole” bombs) but only truly realistic designs which are at most
The second definition recognizes the technical fact that radically new, but realistic, types of nuclear weapons
a few decades away from being usable on the battle-field. Neither will the paper discuss more conservative
will most probably use highly-compressed deuterium-tritium pellets as the main source of their explosive en-
and near-term possibilities based on the refinement of existings weapons, such as “simple, rugged designs” [3,
ergy. This means that while fission was the main source of yield in the first three generations, the main source
p.11], or “robust earth penetrators” [4], even though some comments will be made when useful to put them
of yield in the fourth generation will be the fusion reaction:
in perspective with the development of FGNWs. In particular, we will specialize to explosive devices in which
the main source of militarily useful energy (i.e., yield) is the deuterium-tritium (DT ) fusion reaction. As will be
D+T 4 He4 (3MeV) +n (14MeV)
seen, when used as the dominant process in a nuclear weapon, this reaction leads to very different military
effects than those of first and second generation nuclear weapons (i.e., “A” and “H” bombs), where in fact the
The physics of the ignition and burn of such DT pellets is vigorously studies in all nuclear weapons states, as
dominant source of yield is fission, and where fusion plays only a secondary role in enhancing the fissioning
well as in a few other technologically advanced countries, most prominently in Japan and in Germany [1, 2].
of large amounts of fissionable materials.
Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiments And FGNW
This means that the discussion of FGNWs requires some intellectual effort — especially for non-technical
minded people — because FGNWs are in many ways very different from previous generation weapons. This
Inertial confinement fusion (ICF), which basically consists of exploding very small amounts of thermonuclear
can be illustrated by comparing a few salient features of typical first and fourth generation explosives:
fuel highly compressed by lasers or other means, enables to study the physics of thermonuclear secondaries
in the laboratory (see Fig. 2). While this technique has the potential to be used in a thermonuclear reactor
to produce energy, it has primarily been developed as an alternative to the underground testing of nuclear
weapons, and as a tool for designing new types of nuclear weapons [1]. The world’s two largest ICF facilities
are presently under construction in the USA at Livermore (NIF) [7] and in France at Bordeau (LMJ). However,

Consequently, going from the first to the fourth generation implies a total change of perspective about nu- 6. The fact that the development and deployment of fusion-based FGNWs is not restricted by the CTBT, and
clear weapons: A “change of paradigm” where the concept of very-large-yield and big nuclear weapons for that such weapons may also be developed and deployed by non-nuclear weapon States, is discussed in
Chap. 2 of Ref. [1].
the most powerful ICF facility presently in operation is in Japan at Osaka (ILE), with ambitious plans to up-
grade it. [8] Another powerful and flexible facility presently under construction is in Germany at Darmstadt
(GSI), which has the effect to put Germany in the same “club” as the other most advanced countries in this field,
i.e., the United States, France, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

Basically, as can be seen by comparing Fig. 1 and 2, ICF reproduces in the laboratory the same arrangement
than the one on which two-stage H-bombs are based: the “Teller-Ulam principle.” Provided the compression
and ignition of thermonuclear pellets is well understood, and yield in excess of a few tons can be obtained by
simple and reliable means, there is a possibility of using these pellets as the main explosive of a FGNW.

In practice, according to reasonable extrapolations of the present understanding of the physics of ICF, it is very
likely that ignition and burn of ICF pellets will be fully understood within the next decade or so, with the help
of experiments made at NIF, LMJ, and other facilities. [9] Moreover, advanced pellets containing about 5 mg of
DT such as depicted in Fig. 2 and 3, which are considered for use in future ICF power plants, will have yields on
the order of 0.1 ton, assuming a burn efficiency of 25%.

In order to use these pellets in a FGNW, the remaining problem — which of course is a formidable technical
challenge — will be to design a compact trigger, i.e., a non-fission primary, to compress and ignite them in a
weaponizable configuration. For this purpose, as is indicated at the top and bottom of Fig. 3, some of the most
attractive technologies are superlasers, nuclear isomers, and antimatter. Before discussing these technologies,
let us recall why such “high-energy-density” materials and processes are required.

Microexplosions And High Energy-Density

Let us consider a sphere of fission or fusion material of radius R and density ρ > ρ0, its normal density. If this
sphere is totally fissioned or fused, one will get a maximum possible yield “Ymax” proportional to its volume
and density. Therefore, if one introduces a burn efficiency η, the yield can be written as:

Y = ηYmax where Ymax x ρR3.

Figure 2 (At Right)

“In some ICF targets, radiation from the conversion of the focussed energy (e.g laser or particle beam) can be con-
tained and used to transfer energy to compress and ignite a physically separate component containing thermonu-
clear fuel. (February 1979)”.

Reference: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Declassification, “Drawing back the curtain of secrecy - Re-
stricted data declassification policy, 1946 to present”, RDD-1, (June 1, 1994) page 103.

7. For a recent appreciation of the progress on NIF see Ref. [12].

8. This was written before the author became aware of the latest progress made with the construction of NIF,
where in August 2005 the combined output of eight (out of 192) beams totaled 152 kilojoules, exceeding de-
sign specifications and becoming the higest ever reached energy output of a pulsed laser [13].
9. For a recent review of ICF physics see Ref. [14].
 Micro/Nano-Technology And Nuclear Bullets Pure Antimatter Bombs?
Possibly the most fascinating aspect of antimatter During 2004 a number of newspaper articles referred to a US Air Force program related to development of
technology is that it leads to the prospect of “nu- new types of explosives and high-energy fuels based on antimatter, which emphasized the use of positron
clear bullets,” i.e., thermonuclear explosive devices (i.e., anti-electron) rather than antiproton annihilation energy [38, 39]. The difference with antiprotons is that
that would have the size of an egg and an explo- positrons are 1876 times lighter, and therefore worth 1876 times less energy when annihilating. However,
sive yield of a few tons high-explosive equivalent. since positrons are much easier to be produced than antiprotons, and could even be efficiently produced
using superlasers, it could be that positrons may be competitive to antiprotons as an antimatter-based source
Figure 4 (at left): Small antimatter trap. (Dan of energy for certain applications.
Brown, Angels and Demons, Atria Books, 2005,
ISBN 0-7432-7506-3, p. 71. Credit: CERN/ Photo Re- Another major difference between positrons and antiprotons is that upon annihilation positrons produce
searcher, Inc.) two 0.511 MeV gamma-rays, while antiprotons produce on average four 187 MeV gamma-rays, and three 236
MeV pions which are directly suitable for heating a thermonuclear fuel. Nevertheless, by letting them simply
In order for this to become possible, it is necessary annihilate in any material, a small amount of positrons can produce quite a big bang: About 21.4 tons for one
to be able to store and deliver microgram amounts milligram of positrons.
of antimatter in well controlled manners. The most
likely solution to this problem will probably require It turns out that this latter possibility has been popularized by a highly successful novel, “Angels and Demons,”
that antimatter be stored within a condensed ma- in which a terrorist group called the illuminati is threatening to destroy the Vatican with 0.25 grams of posi-
terial, in which special sites will function as micro- or trons stolen from CERN, i.e., an amount worth 5 kt of explosive yield [40]. As a result, this novel has succeed-
nano-metric sized “traps” where particles of antimatter will be confined in a metastable state sufficiently ed in getting millions of people to understand that a new generation of nuclear weapons was scientifically
away from ordinary matter. Triggering the release of that antimatter could produce an explosion by inter- possible, therefore starting some kind of a public discussion on the prospect of such weapons. The irony is
actions with the condensed material, or could be controlled, and the antimatter moved to another place if that this is precisely one thing I have been trying to do in the past twenty years — without success. Moreover,
it could momentarily behave as a superconducting fluid within the condensed material [26, Appendix]. [13] there is only one CERN scientist mentioned by name in the novel: Nobel laureate Georges Charpak [40, Sec.8],
who was my first boss when I started working at CERN in 1971. Unfortunately, when I later published a book
Such a condensed-matter solution will be much more suitable and rugged than currently used electro- in which I mentioned my worries about the prospect of antimatter weapons [41], Charpak did not like it at all:
magnetic traps (see Fig. 4), and in line with the contemporary emphasis on micro-electromechanical en- In a 1997 book about nuclear energy and nuclear weapons he called me an illuminati because of these con-
gineering and nanotechnology [11]. Moreover, as already mentioned in the Sec. 2.4, the development of cerns [42, p.16]. Somehow the author of “Angels and Demons” picked-up the ideas of antimatter-weapons and
new high-yield earth penetrating weapons is also depending upon substantial development in the these illuminati — and took them as the basis for a bestseller ...
same technologies [11]: it is therefore not impossible that an antimatter-triggered earth penetrating weap-
on could be more robust than one fitted with a fission-pri- Returning to the subject of positron-based antimatter explosives, it should be stressed
mary — which would certainly result in a weapon that that by taking a suitable material and letting a large number of positrons annihilate
would be radiologically much cleaner since no fissile in it, that material could be brought to a sufficiently high temperature to become an
material would be used at all. effective source of soft X-rays that could be used to implode a secondary containing a
thermonuclear pellet. Therefore, just like with antiprotons, it makes much more sense
In summary, if it were not for a few electro-mechanical using positrons as a primary charge (i.e., a trigger) rather than as the main charge of
devices that may be necessary for some essential tasks an explosive. As a matter of fact, this is similar to the economics of three-stage second
such as increasing the security, safety, and reliability of a generation nuclear weapons, where minimal amounts of expensive Pu-239 (or U-235)
weapon, or for triggering the initiating system, it is quite and tritium are used to burn a sizable amount of inexpensive LiD and a lot of “low-
possible that future FGNWs could use no loose or mov- er-grade” uranium or plutonium: in the case of fourth generation nuclear weapons, a
ing parts at all (or else so much miniaturized that their minimal amount of very expensive antimatter or nuclear isomers will be used to trigger
ruggedness could be pushed to the limit). In that case the burn of a larger amount of “less-costly” thermonuclear fuel such as DT or Li2 DT .
the weapons could be essentially compact solid-state
devices, i.e., “full like eggs,” and therefore amenable to In conclusion, whether based on antiprotons or positrons, pure antimatter weapons
mass-production and scaling provided they would not are unlikely to be manufactured on a large scale because of the high cost of both types
use any process that is bound to a critical scale or mass. of antimatters. Moreover, in the case of positrons, high-density storage is less likely to
This is clearly possible in theory with techniques such be possible than with antiprotons. This is because positrons annihilate with electrons,
as inertial confinement fusion, antimatter, micro-elec- which implies that finding or designing an appropriate material in which they could be
tromechanical engineering, and nanotechnology. stably confined in large numbers is more difficult, something that is well known from
over sixty years of research on the interactions of positrons with materials.
 Nuclear Isomers
Nuclear isomers are long-lived excited states of an atom’s nucleus. Some nuclear isomers are naturally occurring,
but most of them are produced in artificial nuclear reactions by colliding beams of nuclei and particles. Nuclear
isomers decay back to the ground state after some time, which can vary from picoseconds to billions of years,
therefore releasing energy in the form of gamma radiation. If a method could be found to release that energy in-
stantaneously in a gamma-ray burst, rather then slowly and at random over time, one would have a new method
for controlled high-energy storage and release.
The possibility of practical applications of isomers, including for military purposes, has been highlighted in the past
few years by the claim that a method for the controlled energy release from one particular isomer, Hafnium-178m,
had been discovered. However, more precise experiments recently showed that this is actually not the case [21].
Consequently, the state of affairs with nuclear isomers is somewhat similar to that of “super-heavy elements” some
decades ago, when the theoretical prospect for the large scale synthesis of these elements was uncertain: it is only
recently that it has become definitely clear that the production cross-sections of stable super-heavy elements are
too small for any practical applications to be feasible.
In the case of nuclear isomers, the possibility of the existence of a suitable isomer for practical applications (such as
a compact energy sources for compressing and/or igniting thermonuclear pellets) is entirely open. It could be a mat-
ter of pure chance that such an isomer exists, and that a method for the controlled release of its energy could be
found. Research on nuclear isomers is extensively carried out at a number of facilities around the world, especially
in the USA, Russia, France, Japan, and Germany. These facilities are based on high-intensity radioactive beams and
are generally justified in view of their prospect for studying short-lived nuclear species, which are still not fully
understood from the fundamental nuclear physics point of view. But should an isomer suitable for practical ap-
plications exist, it is most likely that it would be found at one of these facilities. In this context it is important that
Japan is building an ambitious project to generate the world’s most powerful beams of protons, as well as a large
radioactive-ion-beam facility [22]; and that Europe is planning a next-generation radioactive-ion-beam facility
called EURISOL to come online sometimes after 2013 [23].
Antimatter
Antimatter has the distinctive feature of having a flavor of being a “science fiction technology” while in fact there is
no fundamental scientific problem with that technology and its potential applications [24]. The problems are that
antimatter is expensive to produce in large quantities at present, and that numerous engineering problems have
still to be solved before it can be used in practical applications. The situation is similar to that of microcomputers
or hand-held cellular telephones: their scientific feasibility was established in the 1950s, but their construction and
large-scale manufacturing required thirty to forty years of engineering research and development.
For example, the theory I presented at a 1986 conference, demonstrating the scientific feasibility of a new genera-
tion of nuclear weapons in which the few kilograms of fissile primary are replaced by microgram amounts of anti-
hydrogen, i.e., [25, 26, 27], has never been disputed. On the contrary, that presentation is now recognized as being
the first presentation at an open scientific conference of the correct physical processes leading to the ignition of
a thermonuclear explosion using less than a few micrograms of antimatter as trigger, and the correctness of the
theory has been confirmed in many reports, see, e.g., Refs. [28, 29].
As a matter of fact, antimatter is seriously considered as a potential energy source for a new generation of nuclear
explosives since at least the end of the 1940s, especially by Edward Teller and collaborators in the United States
[26]. Antimatter is currently a very active area of research, characterized by a considerable overlap with funda-
mental nuclear and sub-nuclear research because antiparticles are particularly powerful tools for studying the
fundamental laws of physics at very high energies. There is therefore a large consensus, as well as a convergence of
interests, which make that the development of antimatter science and technology does not need to be funded by
large defense programs, simply because it is a high priority item for pure scientific research as well. Consequently,
the number of antimatter-based research facilities has mushroomed around the world, with the result that some
large and primarily national facilities (e.g., in Japan [30] and Germany [31, 22]) are becoming directly competitive
with intergovernemental laboratories (such as CERN) which should be the proper place for conducting “pure sci-
ence” in a strictly international setting. It is also remarquable that in the past ten years a rather exotic field like an-
timatter- plasma physics has become a large subject of research, with several percent of all professional advanced
plasma-physics publications dedicated to it, including contributions from countries such as Brazil which has devel-
oped a strong theoretical basis for mastering the subject.
As a result, by 2010, the world’s two largest antiproton factories will be in Europe, at CERN near Geneva, and
GSI near Darmstadt, i.e., only about 1000 km apart from each other. This has not escaped the attention of US
scientists working on the practical applications of antimatter, who emphasized that “a dedicated antiproton
source (the main barrier to copious anti-hydrogen production) must be built in the US, perhaps as a joint NASA/
DOE/NIH project. This is because the only practical sources in the world are at CERN and the proposed facility at
GSI in Germany” [32].
This may look as a quite unusual situation: why would the world’s richest and most powerful country not have a
large dedicated antiproton source? Part of the answer to this is already contained in a twenty-years old report of
the RAND corporation which basically concluded that as long as US scientists would have full access to antimatter
produced at CERN “a production/accumulation facility, such as the one at CERN, although desirable, wouldn’t in the
near future have to be built in the United States” [33, p. 43]. In this spirit, one could also add that it could certainly be
in the interest of the United States to let Europe have a few unique advanced and costly facilities in order to moti-
vate its researchers, and to attract those from Eastern Europe and Russia.12
However, the main reason is more probably that the production of antiprotons is not the most difficult technologi-
cal problem in the way of practical applications of antimatter. In fact, the 1014 antiprotons per year to be produced
in 2010 at the AD facility at CERN, or at FAIR at GSI, correspond already to about 1 nanogram per year. If presently
available technology would be used to build a fully dedicated “antimatter factory,” rather than a general purpose
“research facility,” one could easily produce more that 1 microgram of antimatter per year right now [27]. As 1 mi-
crogram is sufficient to trigger one thermonuclear weapon, such a facility will only be a factor of 365 away from
the implicit goal that the US and Soviet governments set forth in the 1940s, namely to produce enough material
for making one atomic bomb every day!
As a matter of fact, the United States and other countries are still investigating the best technique for producing
very large quantities of antimatter. One such technique is based on the idea of creating a “quark-gluon plasma,”
which is studied in laboratories such as CERN, RHIC at BNL (the Brookhaven National Laboratory near New York),
and FAIR at GSI. Creating such a plasma is essentially trying to reproduce in the laboratory what happened at
the beginning of the universe, a tiny fraction of a second after the big bang. At that moment there were equal
amounts of matter and antimatter in the universe, all matter and energy being in a so-called “primordial plasma”
state. If the cooling-down process of the primordial plasma into either matter or antimatter could be controlled,
one would possibly have the most efficient method for producing antimatter on a large scale! There is therefore no
surprise that weapons-laboratory scientists are in fact much interested by this supposedly purely “astrophysical”
state of matter [35], especially since the idea itself originated from Edward Teller and collaborators in 1973 already
[36] (see also [37]).
There is also another serious and almost trivial question: How can antimatter safely be stored and manipulated as
it spontaneously interacts with any matter coming close to it? This is the subject of considerable research for which
many options are in competition. Clearly, there is little reasons for building a full scale antimatter factory before
this question is fully answered, and the related technologies sufficiently developed.
 Initial Energy From Conventional Or Nuclear Weapons
In non-nuclear weapons, as is well known, the lethal energy is initially in the form of heat and pressure, i.e., the
two basic manifestations of thermodynamic energy. This is because the chemical detonation reaction leads to a
very fast decomposition of the explosive material, so that the reaction products left after the detonation are very
hot and consequently under very high pressure. The detonation products will therefore tend to push the directly
adjacent materials away, launching a shock wave through all surrounding materials, which will warm up both
under the effect of this shock wave and because of the heat radiated away by the hot detonation products. In a
nuclear weapon the situation is quite different because the lethal energy that affects the immediately surrounding
materials is mostly in the form of a variety of radiations: electromagnetic radiations such as X- and gamma-rays;
nuclear radiations such as neutrons; and possibly sub-nuclear radiations such as pions if the weapon contained a
significant amount of hadronic antimatter (i.e., antiprotons rather than positrons). Consequently, since the kinetic
energy of the expanding materials of a nuclear bomb generally corresponds to a small fraction of the radiated
energy, the immediate vicinity of a nuclear explosive is that of an extremely-intense pulsed-source of radiations.
Depending on the type of the bomb, the dominant kinds of emitted radiations are as follows:
• Hot fission bomb: soft X-rays and some fission neutrons;
• H-bomb: soft X-rays and some fission and fusion neutrons;
• Pure fusion bomb: 14 MeV neutrons and soft X-rays;
• Pure isomer bomb: 0.1 to 5 MeV gamma-rays;
• Pure positron bomb: 0.511 MeV gamma-rays;
• Pure antiproton bomb: ≈ 200 MeV pions and gamma-rays.
In all these devices it is assumed that the explosive charge is contained in a casing such that any low-energy neu-
tral or charged particles — e.g., the X-rays from a fissioning material, or the He4 nuclei produced in the DT reaction
(1) — will not be able to escape, so that their energy will directly contribute to heating the bomb’s materials and
casing, which will thus radiate soft X-rays into the surroundings.
Initial Work From Conventional Or Nuclear Weapons
As we have recalled at the beginning of the previous subsection, the initial work of a conventional explosive on
the surrounding materials is primarily to launch a shock wave through them, and secondarily to warm them up
through the effect of this shock wave and the heat radiated by the hot detonation products. In the case of nuclear
explosives the situation is more complicated because the different kinds of radiations can have a variety of effects,
especially if they are very penetrating, as is the case for high-energy neutrons and gamma-rays. The most import-
ant of these effects are as follows:
• Generate a fire-ball (in air or a material). This is primarily the effect of the soft X-rays which have a relatively short
mean-free path in any material, including air. The material will heat up and the resulting fire-ball will radiate longer
wavelength electromagnetic energy, i.e., a heat wave leading to various thermal effects.
• Launch a shock-wave (in air or in a material). This is primarily the result of the expansion of the soft X-rays-gen-
erated fire-ball into the surroundings, which launches a shock wave leading to blast effects.
• Heat the surface of a material. Hard X-rays and low-energy gamma-rays able to propagate over some distances
in low-density intervening materials (e.g., air) will be absorbed at the surface of any high-density material.
• Ablate a material and produce a shock wave in it. If surface heating is sufficiently strong, the material will vapor-
ize (i.e., “ablate”) and by reaction (i.e., “rocket effect”) a large pressure will be exerted on it, launching a shock-wave
into the material.
• Accelerate or compress a material. If the ablation pressure is sufficiently strong, a material can be accelerated to
high velocity by rocket-effect; and if the ablation pressure is simultaneously exerted on all sides, a material can be
compressed to high-density as is the case of the secondary in a two-stage thermonuclear weapon.
• Transfer momentum to a material. Either directly through the effect of radiations, or indirectly by means of
shock waves propagating through an intervening medium, momentum can be transferred to a material which can
be directly accelerated to high velocity without being ablated.
• Heat the volume of a material. Penetrating high-energy radiations (neutrons, pions, [15] or high-energy gam-
ma-rays) will easily cross a low-density intervening medium such as air and deposit their energy deep into any
high-density material. As a result, a substantial (i.e., centimeter to meter-thick) layer of a bomb-irradiated material
can be brought to a temperature sufficiently high for it to melt, vaporize, or even explode.
• Energize a working material. A special case of volume heating is that in which a “working material” is intention-
ally placed near a nuclear explosive in order to heat it to high-temperature so that it can do mechanical work on
other materials. This is the nuclear analog of a steam machine, in which super-heated water (i.e., steam) is used to
produce motion.
• Forge and project missiles. A super-heated working material can be used to forge a material into a missile and
project it to a large distance.
• Form and send high-velocity jets. A super-heated working material can be used to form and send high-velocity
(plasma) jets to some distance.
This list calls for three remarks:
1. The above list includes only the primarily “mechanical” and “thermodynamical” effects of nuclear explosives. Im-
portant non-thermo-mechanical effects such as the production of an electromagnetic-pulse affecting electronic
equipments, and the prompt or delayed radiations affecting living bodies (and electronic equipments to some
extent), can be considered as collateral effects in that perspective.
2. As was stressed in the introduction to this section, many physical processes (such as energy and momentum
transfer, transformation of kinetic into internal energy, etc.) have to be simultaneously taken into account, so that
none of the effects in the list are “pure effects” that would be fully independent from the other effects.
3. Because they produce mainly blast and thermal effects, first and second generation nuclear weapons can ba-
sically be considered as gigantic conventional weapons — except of course for their radioactive fallout and other
nuclear-radiation effects.
In the case of fourth generation nuclear explosives, however, the coupling can be qualified as direct, unless the tar-
get is sufficiently far away from the point of explosion that the radiations are absorbed in the intervening medium
before interacting with the target. In other words, the fact that these weapons are primarily very intense sources
of penetrating radiations means that they can produce direct work on the target, and therefore induce a very dif-
ferent response than if the target was just hit by a shock wave.
The reason is that when a shock wave strikes a high-density material after propagating in a lower density medium
(e.g., striking the ground after propagating through air) most of the energy in the shock wave is reflected, and only
a small fraction of the energy of the initial shock wave is given to secondary shock waves propagating through the
target material. Consequently, as is well known, indirect coupling by means of shock waves is very poor, because
such waves are reflected at the boundaries between low and high-density materials. For example, for both con-
ventional and current generation nuclear weapons, less than 10% of the energy striking a relatively heavy target
(e.g., a main battle-tank, a bunker, or the ground) is actually coupled to it, even for explosions very close to the
target, i.e., “surface bursts.” As a matter of fact, for ideal (absolutely rigid) materials, incoming shock waves are fully
reflected. For this reason, other methods of indirect coupling than shock waves had to be invented in order to in-
crease target coupling. This led to the development of “kinetic-energy penetrators” and “shaped-charges” to defeat
tank walls and reinforced concrete bunkers, and of “earth-penetrators” to defeat underground targets [4].
To summarize, because of the importance of shock reflection at boundaries, one can classify typical military tar-
gets in essentially two categories — homogeneous and heterogeneous:
•
Homogeneous Targets: Slab Of Steel, Concrete Wall, Ground, Etc.
Most of the impinging shock wave energy will be reflected, and the reduced energy transmitted shock will prop-
agate through the target until it reaches the back surface — where part of its energy will be reflected again, and
some of it transmitted into the following medium. There will be damage only if the material’s response is inelastic,
i.e., in order of occurrence as function of shock strength: rear-side spall, crushing, melting, or vaporizing.
•
Heterogeneous Targets: Multi-Layer Or Composite Tank-Wall,
Well-Designed Bunker, Structure Deeply Buried Under A Geological Cover, Etc.
Because of the number of boundaries and possibly intentionally large differences in densities of the different lay-
ers, the secondary shocks will be reflected many times, and their energy diffused and absorbed in such a way that
only a small fraction of the initial energy will be transmitted behind a properly designed multilayer shield. Again,
there will be damage only if the materials’s yield strengths are exceeded, which may be of limited consequences if
it does not happen behind the shield.
Thermonuclear-Driven Jets And Projectiles
While the ten-fold greater target-coupling of Fourth Generation Nuclear Weapons (FGNW) is the first major dif-
ference between these weapons and those of the first and second generations, the second major difference is
that the radiations from FGNWs can easily be used to energize a working material and therefore to produce other
effects than just heat or blast. As a matter of fact, this second difference was already one of the militarily-attractive
features of third generation nuclear weapons, where radiations from advanced nuclear or thermonuclear explo-
sives were used in directed energy warheads (DEW) to produce powerful plasma-jets or X-ray laser-beams.
An implicit reason for considering such applications is that while about 50% of the radiations moving forwards
will directly interact with the target, the other 50% will be scattered through air unless somehow used. In other
words, if a sizable fraction of the backwards-radiated energy could be used to drive a forwards going device, the
coupling and hence the lethality of FGNWs could be substantially increased.
Moreover, as was already considered in the case of third generation nuclear weapons, the same technique could
be used for driving several such devices at once, possibly pointing in several directions, so that several targets
could be simultaneously engaged by the same FGNW. In this section we are therefore going to examing how
FGNWs can be used to drive jets and projectiles — leaving aside other possible applications such as driving
powerful laser beams or electromagnetic-pulse generators.
We have to first recall that many different physical processes are at work when something is irradiated by an in-
tense source of X-rays and neutrons. For instance, several distinct processes can lead to the acceleration of a pro-
jectile, and depending on its physical composition and geometry, one or another of these processes will provide
the dominant thrust mechanism accelerating the material to high velocity. For example, projectiles can be accel-
erated to very high velocities by means of X-ray ablation [47], or by means of neutrons from a nuclear explosion
[48, 49, 50].
“Nuclear” And “Thermonuclear” Shaped-Charges
When addressing the question of nuclear- or thermonuclear-driven shaped-charges, it is important to first dissi-
pate a possible misunderstanding due to the fact that in the 1950s the name “atomic hollow-charge” has been used
for a very different concept, namely the possibility of using conventional-explosive-driven shaped-charge jets to
compress and ignite a thermonuclear fusion fuel [54]. At that time this concept was thought to be plausible be-
cause jets of beryllium with velocities up to 90 km/s had been formed in some experiments. But with hindsight it
is now clear that any combination of such jets cannot be used to ignite a thermonuclear fuel because their kinetic
energy is far too low to focus sufficient energy in a sufficiently short time on a pellet.
The principle of a nuclear-driven-driven shaped-charge is to replace the energy from the conventional explosive
by the energy from a nuclear explosive. Since most of the energy from a fission explosive is in the form of X-rays,
this means using these X-rays to collapse a liner and form a jet, i.e., to replace the high-explosives’s detonation
products by a high-energy photon gas. In theory, this concept is perfectly sound, and can be seen as a simple
variation of the Teller-Ulam principle used to compress the secondary of a H-bomb. In practice, it seems that this
idea was studied in the context of third generation nuclear weapons, but it is not known whether it was fruitful
or not. In particular, it could be that since there is no “energy-multiplication” as in a H-bomb secondary, the energy
imparted to the jet was found to be too small to be of any use compared to the vast energy wasted in the fission
explosive needed to drive the jet.
Another concept which has been proposed is to replace the chemical explosive by a thermonuclear explosive. This
is because a thermonuclear detonation reaction is analogous to a chemical detonation reaction in the sense that
they can both support a detonation-wave propagating through the explosives. However, in comparison to chemi-
cal ones, thermonuclear detonation-waves are extremely thick in non-compressed fusion fuels [55]. Nevertheless,
provided the thermonuclear fuel could be somehow precompressed, and properly ignited, it may be possible to
conceive what could be called a “thermonuclear shaped-charge” [56, p. 121]. The trouble with this concept is that
the resulting device could be gigantic, with yields in the kt to Mt range, or more ...
FGNW-Driven Jets And Projectiles
Merging and generalizing the ideas developed in the previous subsections, it is obvious that both the X-rays and
the neutrons from a FGNW explosive can be used to heat and shock various working materials or fluids in order to
achieve several purposes. For instance:
1. The neutrons and/or X-rays can drive or forge one or several projectiles or fragments (thermonuclear-driven
“grenades” or “guns”). This can be achieved, for example, by absorbing the X-rays in a high density material which
by rocket-effect will be accelerated, or by absorbing the neutrons in a working fluid which will forge and project
a missile.
2. The neutrons and X-rays can heat a working fluid and form jets (thermonuclear-driven “jets”). In that case a
working fluid super-heated by the neutrons will replace the high-explosive detonation products to pinch a liner
and form a high-velocity jet.
3. The forwards and/or backwards X-rays and/or neutrons can separately or cooperatively drive the components
of a multi-warhead weapon.
In the first two cases it is evident that a single FGNW explosive can project several missile or drive several shaped- means that for kt-yield nuclear weapons, and FGNWs with yields between 1 and 100 tons, both effects should be
charges at once, resulting in a multi-warhead system. In the third case, reference is made to the possibility of taken into consideration.
using the radiation moving backwards relative to a target as a driver for one or several forwards moving jets
or missiles. To give an example of a A first significant difference between DT-based FGNWs and all other types of explosives is that up to 80% of the
possible design of a dual-warhead yield is in the form of high-energy neutrons, so that only about 20% of the total yield contributes directly to heat
system, one can refer to Fig. 7 and and blast effects. With proper scaling, this factor of 5 difference means that a FGNW will have a factor of 5 smaller
imagine that the hemispherical incendiary effect, and a factor 3√5 = 1.7 reduced blast effect [21] — provided one assumes that the energy of the
shell of high-explosives is replaced neutrons will be absorbed either in the intended target, or else in a large volume of air that will not be sufficiently
by a simple working-material such heated to significantly contribute to the heat and blast waves. One can therefore conclude that for a given total
as polyethylene. If we now suppose yield, FGNWs will have somewhat reduced collateral effects in terms of heat and blast.
that we have a very intense point
source of neutrons at the focal point The second significative difference between DT-based FGNWs and all other types of explosives is the high di-
of the hemisphere, these neutrons rect-coupling with intended targets made possible by the flux of high-energy neutrons. Since according to the dis-
will be able to super-heat the work- cussion in Sec. 4.4 this increased coupling corresponds to a factor of about 10 relative to a conventional or nuclear
ing-material which will function explosive, the factor of 5 considered in the previous paragraph is actually equivalent to a factor of about 50 when
just as effectively as high-explosive the comparison is not made in terms of total explosive yields, but in terms of the energy that is actually coupled to
detonation-products in driving the the intended target. Under these conditions, the reduction factors in collateral heat and blast effects become truly
shaped-charge jet. significant, i.e., 50 and 3√ 50 = 3.7, respectively.

Consequently, the target (which
is located on the left of Fig. 7) will
be first irradiated by the forwards
going neutrons, and then pene-
trated by the powerful jet driven
by the backwards going neutrons.
Of course, if the point source of
neutrons is replaced by a realistic
fourth-generation nuclear explosive, the nascent jet will have to traverse its debris in order to move towards the
target. However, there are several ways to circumvent this problem, and the example given here is just intended to
present the general idea.19 In order to develop such complicated fourth-generation warheads, it is clear that both
sophisticated computer simulations and numerous experiments at inertial confinement fusion facilities such as
NIF and LMJ will be necessary. It is only after such simulations and experiments, which will correspond to neutron
yields equivalent to at most a few kg of high-explosives, that it will be possible to envisage doing experiments at
neutron yields equivalent to a few tons. For this to happen much progress will have to be made, and it may turn
out that driving jets and projectiles with FGNWs could be not much more effective than with third generation
nuclear weapons. On the other hand, the large coupling efficiency of FGNWs discussed in the previous section
will remain, and still be one the the most important elements responsible for the military effectiveness of FGNWs.
However, direct-coupling to a finite-size target has a 1/r2 dependence on the distance r between the point of
explosion and the surface of the target, and this distance should be on the order of a few meters at most for a
circa 1 ton FGNW to be effective. This requires truly high accuracy in delivery, and a corresponding accuracy in the
knowledge of the target coordinates. Finally, as with all types of explosive weapons, debris will be sent at random
to large distances from the target. But since the kinetic energy available for sending these debris is directly related
to blast energy, this collateral effect should be proportionally reduced in FGNWs.
A June 1994 interview of Russian Nuclear Energy Minister Viktor Nikitovich Mikhailov is significant [22]. According
to a Reuter press release he said:
“a new generation of nuclear weapons could be developed by the year 2000
unless military research is stopped. [... This] fourth generation of nuclear weapons
could be directed more accurately than current arms. [... The] new weapons could be
programmed to wipe out people while leaving buildings standing. [... It is] a toss-up
whether Russia or the United States would be the first country to devise the new arms” [62].
[Editors Note: this applies only to weapons detonated above ground. A similar weapon, directed from a confined
underground space, will destroy buildings as well as people]

As a consequence of the accuracy of the latest-generation of precision-guided missiles, it has become more and
more important to reduce collateral damage, that is to “reduce destruction outside the radius of an intended target
— while enhancing destructive force on the target” [57], see Fig. 8.20 In this section we try to see to what extent the
characteristics of FGNWs correspond to this goal, especially in comparison to other types of weapons.
Mechanical And Thermal Effects
In conclusion, it is clear that FGNWs have a strong potential to be used as anti-personnel weapons, which in the
case of the neutron bomb debate of the 1980s created a lot of controversy and even political unrest. The corre-
sponding debate with FGNWs is likely to be controversial as well, even though the absence of a fission-trigger in
the weapon will make it more “acceptable” to some people. Further complications will arise since neutrons can be
rather effective against biological agents, and even against possible future “nanorobots” which could be designed
to selectively disperse chemical and biological weapons.

The mechanical and thermal effects of conventional and nuclear weapons are well-known [58, 59]. For instance,
their scaling laws with explosive yield are simple power laws: direct proportionally (x Y 1) for thermal effects, and
third-root dependence (x Y 1/3) for blast over-pressure. The factor of three difference in the exponent of these
power-laws makes that, in comparison to blast effects, thermal effects are generally negligible in conventional
explosives, but dominant in Mt-yield nuclear explosives — which are in fact gigantic incendiary bombs [60]. This
Delayed Radiological Effects
In assessing the delayed radiological effects of FGNWs, a somewhat surprising finding was made in trying to com-
pare the long-term radiological burden generated by their battle-field use to other forms of radioactive pollution
[63]. The reason is that the two main delayed radiological effects of FGNWs (i.e., the dispersal of the unburnt triti-
um, and the activation of the ground and other materials by high-energy neutron irradiation) are relatively simple
to estimate, which enables one to calculate the total “burden” due to the expenditure of a given yield by integrat-
ing these estimates over time. The same procedure can be applied to other weapons producing a different form
of radiological pollution, and comparisons can be made. Taking for example the use of depleted-uranium [23]
penetrators as anti-tank weapons, and assuming comparable battle- and post-battle circumstancies (e.g, total dis-
persal of all radioactive materials, no cleaning-up of the battle-field, etc.), one obtains the following equivalence in
terms of radiological burdens:

If one applies this equivalence relation to the 400 tons of U-238-munition which have been expended during the
1991 war in Iraq, one finds that the corresponding long-term radiological burden is equivalent to the hypothetical
use of hundreds of thousands of FGNWs, each with a yield of 1 ton.

Of course, both the methodology and the interpretation of the result can be criticized, especially if one focuses
on short rather then long term effects [24]. Indeed, there is a vast difference in the lifetime of tritium and uranium,
which is only partially compensated by the greater radio-toxicity of uranium relative to tritium.

Nevertheless, the comparison is useful to highlight the considerably smaller radioactive burden induced by FGN-
Ws relative to the previous generations of nuclear weapons. It can also be inferred that [63, 64]:

•• Tritium dispersal and induced ground-radioactivity will to a large extent not impair further military action;
Just as it was the case with the use of depleted-uranium weapons, it will be possible for the proponents of FGN-

•
Ws to argue that the radiological burden due to their use could be in some way tolerable;
Many political leaders and large fractions of the public opinion may not object to the long term radiological

•
impact of FGNWs;
In any case, with a tritium content of about 15 mg per ton explosive equivalent, there will be 15 kg of tritium in
an arsenal equivalent to one million 1-ton-FGNWs, [25] that is about the same tritium inventory as in one single
full-size thermonuclear reactor [65]. Acceptance of civilian fusion power will therefore be linked to that of FGNWS.

Electromagnetic Effects • EMPs

All explosive processes, chemical or nuclear, produce electromagnetic effects of varying duration and intensity
[58]. The best known of these is the “electromagnetic pulse (EMP) effect” which is most pronounced for fission ex-
plosions in the atmosphere where high-energy gamma rays generate a current of Compton recoil electrons, which
produce further ionization so that the air becomes conductive [66, 67].

But there are other electromagnetic effects, especially associated with high-altitude fission explosions, such as the
formation of man-made radiation belts around the Earth [68]. While in the first case the dominant source of the
effect are gamma rays from excited or activated nuclei and the decay of fission products, in the second case it is
the electrons and ions produced in these interactions and decays. This means that fission is the dominant source
of electromagnetic effects, so that pure fusion FGNWs will have significantly reduced effects of this type — unless
they are specially designed to use the fusion neutrons to drive an EMP generator, or to interact with a special ma-
terial to produce a tailored effect.

Conclusion

It is difficult to write a concise conclusion for this essentially scientific paper because the military, technical, and
political implications of FGNWs are so far reaching that it would take three other papers just to discuss each of
these aspects with a minimum of rigor. For this reason, instead of a true conclusion, there will be a list of “theses”
which are meant to summarize in a few words some of the most important points that should be discussed in
a comprehensive assessment of the prospect and implications of Fourth Generation Nuclear Weapons.

Military Aspects

1. FGNWS can have yields in the 1 to 100 tons gap which today separates conventional from nuclear weapons.
2. Compared to previous generations, FGNWs have enhanced direct coupling to dense targets and reduced
collateral effects, as well as the capability to drive powerful “jets” and “forged fragments.”
3. FGNWs are in line with the “increased precision” and “reduced collateral damage” trends of modern warfare.
4. Proponents will claim that FGNWs have a high-potential to destroy “biological and chemical” weapons, as
well as future “nanorobots ...”
5. The military “sweetness” of FGNWs is such that they will eventually be built by all technologically-advanced
countries, including non-nuclear weapons States such as Japan, Germany, Brazil, etc.

Technical Aspects

1. The development of FGNWs-related technologies does not require any “political decision” or “conspiracy”.
The current dynamics of technology is enough (E.g., scientific competition, priority to “hard” technologies,
aggressive commercialism, priority to military or “dual” technologies, etc.).
2. Even if FGNWs could be “very far in the future,” the disarmament dilemma is that it is precisely this “remoteness”
which is taken as the excuse for developing the technologies that will ultimately lead to their construction.
3. Apart from inertial confinement fusion (ICF), the main areas of science and technology leading to the de-
velopment of FGNWs are microelectromechanical engineering and nanotechnology.
4. The most promising technology for providing the high energy-density necessary to trigger very compact
FGNWs is antimatter.
5. As the main source of yield in FGNWs is the DT fusion reaction, large-scale (i.e., kg level) tritium technology
is required to deploy a full scale arsenal of FGNWs. This implies that the deployment of FGNWs is linked to that
of thermonuclear fusion reactors (See Ref. [65].)
6. The main alternative source of tritium is its production by means of high-energy particle accelerators, which
is at the same time the most matured technology for the large scale production of antimatter [27, 69, 70].

Political Aspects

1. As the United States are likely to take the lead in the development and deployment of FGNWs, a nuclear
arms race may result in which all advanced industrialized countries (e.g., Germany, Japan, France, China, etc.)
could compete to become the second largest military power in the XXIst century.
2. The development of FGNWs will most likely increase the attractiveness of previous generation nuclear
weapons to technologically less-advanced countries.
3. The most controversial aspect of DT-fusion-based FGNWs could be their use as anti-personnel weapons
against unprotected soldiers or people [If detonated above ground].
4. Finally, proponents will argue that FGNWs’ technologies may have significant medical, practical, and scien-
tific applications. While this could be true, one can also argue that such “spin offs” of primarily military technol-
ogies are not sufficient to justify a new major step in the arms race.
 RTI International • RTI Project Number 0208692
Contract No. 200-2002-M-00836

World Trade Center Health Registry

Sample Building and Denominator Estimation
Prepared for:
Robert Brackbill, Ph.D., M.P.H., Mark Farfel, Sc.D., and Deborah Walker, Ph.D.
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
And Sharon Campolucci and Jay Sapp, M.S.
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
Prepared by:
Melissa Dolan, Ph.D., Joseph Murphy, M.A., Lisa Thalji, M.A., and Paul Pulliam
Research Triangle Institute International

The World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR) is a database for following people who were ex-
posed to the disaster of September 11, 2001 (9/11). Hundreds of thousands of people were exposed
to the immense cloud of dust and debris, the indoor dust, the fumes from persistent fires, and the
mental trauma of the terrorist attacks on the WTC on 9/11. The purpose of the WTCHR is to evaluate
the potential short and long term physical and mental health effects of the disaster. It was con-
ceived as an imperative public health response to document and assess the potential impact on
physical and mental health resulting from the WTC disaster on large and diverse populations. It
is a collaborative scientific effort by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
(NYCDOHMH), Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), and external scientific,
labor, and community advisors. Funding has been provided by the Federal Emergency Manage-
ment Agency (FEMA) and ATSDR. WTCHR sample building and baseline data collection activities
were conducted by RTI International.

The objectives of the WTCHR are to collect information about physical and mental health effects
across a wide range of exposures; to provide data on potential health effects identified by the WTCHR
for more in depth follow-up studies; to provide a means for conducting long term follow-up of a large
group of exposed persons; and, to provide data that may assist in the development of screening and
intervention programs. Akin to a longitudinal cohort study, the goal of the WTCHR is to follow enroll-
ees for up to 20 years.

Groups most heavily exposed to the WTC disaster were targeted for outreach and recruitment into
the WTCHR. Populations were selected for the WTCHR based on the following exposure criteria: ex-
posure to the actual event; exposure to the immediate aftermath of the attack; ongoing exposures
related to rescue, recovery and clean-up of the WTC site; or living, working, or attending school in the
lower Manhattan area. A map of the target area for the WTCHR is provided at right. The WTCHR tar-
geted the following populations that met the exposure criteria described above, and are also referred
to as “sample types” for classification purposes:
• Workers and Volunteers: Workers and volunteers involved in rescue, recovery, clean-up, or other di-
saster-related activities at the WTC site and/or at the Staten Island Recovery Operations or on transport
barges for at least one shift anytime from September 11, 2001 through June 30, 2002.
• Residents: Persons whose primary residence was south of Canal Street on September 11, 2001.
• School Students and Staff: Students who were enrolled in a nursery school/daycare, elementary, mid-
dle, or high school south of Canal Street on September 11, 2001 and staff persons employed in a nursery
school/daycare, elementary, middle, or high school south of Canal Street on September 11, 2001.
• Building Occupants, People in Transit, and Pedestrians: Persons present south of Chambers Street in
Manhattan on September 11, 2001 any time between the first plane impact and noon (this includes per-
sons who were in collapsed or damaged buildings, people in other buildings, and people in transit or
outdoors).
The purpose of this technical report is to describe in detail the processes undertaken by the WTCHR proj-
ect team to build a sample of potential registrants and to estimate the total number of eligible individ-
uals, or denominator. Denominator estimation provides information on the extent to which the WTCHR
represents the true eligible population. Sample building on the WTCHR project was particularly challeng-
ing in that it required the compilation of a comprehensive list of entities representing people who were
exposed to a large-scale, human-made disaster, and communication with these entities in order to out-
reach to persons eligible for the WTCHR. Similarly, denominator estimation required the enumeration of a
retrospective population. The sample building and denominator estimation tasks had three key goals: 1)
to identify the universe of eligible entities, 2) to inform eligible individuals within these entities about the
WTCHR and encourage them to enroll, and 3) to accurately estimate the total number eligible, or denomi-
nator, for each group regardless of enrollment status. This report will describe the methods and processes
used to achieve these goals. It is intended as technical documentation of the methods employed and was
cleared through the ATSDR technical review process. A complete evaluation of the methods utilized or a
comparison of these methods with alternate techniques used on similar WTC- related projects is outside
the scope of the present report. These topics will be addressed in subsequent manuscripts to be submit-
ted to peer review journals. In addition, two other reports are expected to be posted on the WTCHR web
site (http://www.wtcregistry.org) in early 2006, including:
1) World Trade Center Health Registry Data File User’s Manual, and
2) World Trade Center Registry: Explanation and Calculation of Outcome Rates
Lists of Residents
Individuals whose primary residence was south of Canal Street on 9/11/01 were eligible for enrollment in
the WTCHR. To develop a sample of residents, RTI purchased lists of potentially eligible residents. Lists of
residents living in the catchment areas on 9/11/01 were provided primarily from sample files purchased
from Genesys Sampling Systems. Genesys’ primary source of data is Info-USA, which is a compilation of
White Pages listings and other public sources. Two lists were purchased based on proximity of residence
to the WTC site:
1) residents south of Chambers Street, and
2) residents south of Canal Street, but north of Chambers Street.
These lists were supplemented by lists received from targeted tenant organizations organized in residen-
tial buildings within the eligibility boundaries.
Lists of School Students and Staff
Students enrolled and staff working at schools or day care centers south of Canal Street on 9/11/01 were
eligible for enrollment in the WTCHR. Public and private school data for the 2000–2001 school year are
publicly available from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Public school enrollment and
staff data are available for all public schools in the catchment area from the Common Core of Data (CCD).
Private school data come from the Private School Survey (PSS). Each school in the eligible ZIP codes in
lower Manhattan was mapped to determine whether or not it fell within the catchment area. Preschools
and day care centers within the catchment area were identified through information from the NYC Bureau
of Day Care. These data sources were the primary means used to identify public and private schools and
preschools to be contacted for lists of eligible students and staff. Five private schools and 22 day cares and
preschools were identified and contacted directly. The 14 public schools identified were not contacted
through list building. A research protocol was submitted to the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at the
NYC Department of Education. The NYC Department of Education’s IRB determined that a list of parental
contact information could not be released to the WTCHR. Instead, they agreed to conduct a mailout to
parents on behalf of the WTCHR. RTI worked with the NYC Department of Education, which created a
database of eligible parents and printed address labels. Over 12,000 letters were mailed to all parents of
students meeting WTCHR eligibility — that is, enrolled in public schools south of Canal Street on 9/11/01.
Additionally, approximately four months after the large mailout was sent, a backpack letter describing the
WTCHR was sent home with students in nine of 14 public schools where the principal gave consent and
agreed to distribute those materials. This letter was intended to be a second reminder to parents to enroll
their children in the WTCHR before the deadline to register. Language-appropriate letters were sent to
parents. Each packet contained a letter printed in English and Spanish text (front and back), and an addi-
tional letter translated in Chinese.
Lists of Building Occupants
Organizations were eligible for inclusion in the WTCHR if they occupied space in one of 38 buildings and
structures identified by the New York City Department of Buildings as buildings that could not be occu-
pied after the 9/11/01 attacks and collapse of the WTC towers. Appendix A lists the 38 building addresses
(i.e., 35 buildings, one concourse, and two pedestrian bridges) and their damaged or destroyed status, as
categorized by FEMA (2002). It should be noted that the complete FEMA list contained 55 buildings and
structures, but was published subsequent to the initiation of list building and data collection activities on
the WTCHR. Of the 55 buildings and structures determined by FEMA engineers to have sustained dam-
age, 38 were consistent with the original data supplied by the New York City Department of Buildings. All
buildings and structures that FEMA determined to have fully collapsed, partially collapsed, or sustained
major damage were covered in the original data supplied by the New York City Department of Buildings.
Eligible building occupants were identified using employee lists collected from businesses and employers
in the targeted 38 damaged or destroyed buildings and structures. The first step in this process involved
defining the universe of businesses retrospectively. The primary source of businesses to be contacted for
the WTCHR was a list purchased from a sample vendor—Genesys Sampling Systems. Genesys was provid-
ed with specifications that included all address permutations and building names for the 38 damaged or
destroyed buildings and structures. Genesys searched their business database, primarily driven by InfoU-
SA, for all records with an address at one of the damaged or de-
stroyed buildings as of 9/10/2001. Business names, contact infor-
mation as of 9/10/01, and business size were compiled and sent
to the WTCHR team. Genesys provided contact information for
a total of 906 businesses. To maximize coverage for businesses,
two additional sources were identified and obtained. The Down-
town Alliance, a community organization that provides informa-
tion and services for residents of lower Manhattan, provided the
WTCHR team two lists, including:
1) A list of 587 businesses derived from Dun & Bradstreet listings
as of August 2001 — just prior to the 9/11 attacks. This file in-
cluded information on businesses south of Murray Street in low-
er Manhattan, with the exception of those located in Battery Park
City, and,
2) A list of retail businesses in the same area compiled by the
Downtown Alliance that were in business on or around 9/11/01.
Records that had an address in one of the 38 damaged or de-
stroyed buildings and structures were selected from each list.
Then, the lists were merged and deduplicated to create a new
list of businesses to be contacted.
Another key source for identification of businesses was the New
York Metropolitan Transportation Council (NYMTC) report enti-
tled “Post September 11th Impacts: Inventory of Affected Business-
es.” The businesses listed in the NYMTC report lost space in the
World Trade Center and adjacent properties destroyed and dam-
aged on September 11, 2001. Some, but not all, of the damaged
or destroyed buildings identified for the WTCHR are included in
the NYMTC report. The NYMTC report identifies 879 businesses,
but there is significant overlap with the Genesys and Downtown
Alliance lists.
Other resources were also used to identify potentially eligible
businesses. For example, list of businesses that were WTC tenant
lists were compiled by several organizations, including CNN and
the Wall Street Journal, and the DRI-WEFA (formerly Data Re-
sources Inc., and Wharton Econometric Forecasting Associates,
respectively) report to Congress noted the various businesses
that were impacted financially by the attacks. Building manage-
ment lists, such as a listing of the businesses and retail shops
located in the World Financial Center, were also examined for
additional eligible entities. In addition, all businesses that partic-
ipated in the WTCHR — via outreach or list submission — were
asked if they were aware of any other eligible organization(s)
that should be contacted and offered participation. These new
entities were contacted and folded into the list building process
throughout the sample building period.
Because businesses dissolved or merged with other companies
during the time period between September 11, 2001 and our
contacting effort which began in April 2003, it was necessary to
trace many entities in order to obtain current information. Both
formal and informal tracing and locating mechanisms were
utilized. RTI’s in-house Call Center tracing services conducted
batch and intensive tracing on businesses that could not be lo-
cated. All unlocatable entities were submitted to three vendors
(i.e., NCOA, Telematch, and Lexis-Nexis) for batch tracing before
being released to tracing staff: RTI sent over 1,100 identified
business cases to batch tracing via Lexis-Nexis and 100 cases
through intensive tracing. Intensive tracing refers to the second
phase of location, during which tracers receive the remaining
unverified cases from batch tracing, or cases that have proven
to be unreachable with current information, and begin more ex-
haustive efforts. Interactive consumer databases and credit bu-
reau reports serve as our primary resources for acquiring new
information.
In addition, Internet searches were conducted using sites such
as Hoovers (i.e., business name search engine) and TenantWise
(i.e., site providing information on where WTC complex tenants
relocated) and yellow pages services such as www.theultimates.
com. Several sources that provided a list of WTC complex ten-
ants or a search engine based on business name (see Table 2)
were used regularly to locate current information on organiza-
tions, such as phone number, address, and status (e.g., mergers,
companies out of business). These resources often provided
additional information on businesses, such as business size or
square feet of office space leased.
A total of 1,518 potentially eligible businesses were identified.
Due to resource constraints, the WTCHR team could not directly
contact over 1,500 businesses, in addition to the hundreds of
rescue, recovery, and clean-up, and school entities that required
contacting. Telephone contacting was prioritized by business
size. In order to maximize outreach, we opted to contact approx-
imately 470 small businesses via a mailout. In total, contact was
attempted with 862 businesses with known telephone and/or
address information via telephone and mail (n=392) or by mail
only (n=470). Those businesses with the fewest number of em-
ployees were contacted via mail only. Attempts to locate the remaining 656 businesses were unsuc-
cessful. This set underwent tracing and locating using the aforementioned vendors but any leads
that were returned did not result in an accurate address or phone number. tracking
the health of
Summary
197,952
The sample building effort for the WTCHR resulted in the identification of over 2,200 entities across people
the four sample types pursued and a sample of over 197,952 names of potentially eligible respon-
dents. Of the 197,952 preregistrants identified, 135,553 originated from lists sent to the WTCHR,
36,847 from inbound calls, and 25,552 from web site self-registrations. Of these, interviews were
completed with 71,437 eligible individuals. Each of the sample building modes significantly con-
tributed to the total number of completed interviews, with 28,581 originating with an inbound call
to the WTCHR, 22,039 from list cases, and 20,817 from web site self- registrations.

Sample building and denominator estimation for the WTCHR posed a unique challenge given the
sheer magnitude of organizations to be identified and contacted, as well as the need to reconstruct
the sample of eligible entities retrospectively. Denominator estimation indicated that as many as
62,092 building occupants, 91,469 workers, 15,197 students and school staff, 21,926 residents south
of Chambers Street, and 35,585 residents south of Canal Street may represent the true eligible pop-
ulation for the WTCHR. These data will be used to examine outcomes rates and coverage rates on
the WTCHR.

Results presented in this technical report are based on World Trade Center Registry data as of No-
vember 2005. The findings in this report have undergone external peer review as required by ATSDR
policy and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

References

Federal Emergency Management Administration. World Trade Center Building Performance Study: Data Collection,
Preliminary Observations, and Recommendations. Washington, DC: Federal Emergency Management Administra-
tion, 2002.
Langewiesche, William (2002). American Ground: Unbuilding the World Trade Center, Atlantic Monthly.
Kean, T.H. The 9/11 Commission Report. New York, New York: W.W. Norton and Company, 2004.
New York Metropolitan Transportation Council. Demographic and Socioeconomic Forecasting Post September 11th
Impacts. Technical Memoranda 3.1 & 3.2. September 10, 2002.
Sudman, S. and Kalton, G. (1986). New Developments in the Sampling of Special Populations. Annual Review of So-
ciology, Vol. 12, 401-429.
U.S. Bureau of the Census (2001). Introduction to Census 2000 Data Products.Washington, DC.
U.S. Bureau of the Census (2001). Report of the Executive Steering Committee for Accuracy and Coverage Evaluation
Policy on Adjustment for Non-Redistricting Issues. Washington, DC.
U.S. Bureau of the Census (2003). Technical Assessment of A.C.E. Revision II. Washington, DC.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (formerly the General Accounting Office). Testimony before the Subcommit-
tee on National Security, Emerging Threats, and International Relations, Committee on Government Reform, House of
Representatives. September 11: Health Effects in the Aftermath of the World Trade Center Attack. September 8, 2004.
Wolter, K. (1986). Some Coverage Error Models for Census Data. Journal of the American Statistical Association, Vol. 81,
No. 394.
 Chernobyl: Consequences Of The Catastrophe For People And The Environment
Introduction: The Difficult Truth About Chernobyl
By Alexey V. Nesterenko,a Vassily B. Nesterenko,a and Alexey V. Yablokovb
More than 22 years have passed since the Chernobyl catastrophe burst
upon and changed our world. In just a few days, the air, natural waters,
flowers, trees, woods, rivers, and seas turned to potential sources of
danger to people, as radioactive substances emitted by the destroyed
reactor fell upon all life. Throughout the Northern Hemisphere radio-
activity covered most living spaces and became a source of potential
harm for all living things.
Naturally, just after the failure, public response was very strong and
demonstrated mistrust of atomic engineering. A number of countries
decided to stop the construction of new nuclear power stations. The
enormous expenses required to mitigate the negative consequences
of Chernobyl at once “raised the price” of nuclear-generated electric
power. This response disturbed the governments of many countries,
international organizations, and official bodies in charge of nuclear
technology and led to a paradoxical polarization as to how to address
the issues of those injured by the Chernobyl catastrophe and the ef-
fects of chronic irradiation on the health of people living in contami-
nated areas.
Owing to the polarization of the problem, instead of organizing an ob-
jective and comprehensive study of the radiological and radiobiologi-
cal phenomena induced by small doses of radiation, anticipating pos-
sible negative consequences, and taking adequate measures, insofar
as possible, to protect the population from possible negative effects,
apologists of nuclear power began a blackout on data concerning the
actual amounts of radioactive emissions, the doses of radiation, and
the increasing morbidity among the people that were affected.
When it became impossible to hide the obvious increase in radia-
tion-related diseases, attempts were made to explain it away as being
a result of nationwide fear. At the same time some concepts of modern
radiobiology were suddenly revised. For example, contrary to elemen-
tary observations about the nature of the primary interactions of ion-
izing radiation and the molecular structure of cells, a campaign began
to deny non- threshold radiation effects. On the basis of the effects of
small doses of radiation in some nonhuman systems where hormesis
was noted, some scientists began to insist that such doses from Cher-
nobyl would actually benefit humans and all other living things. The
apogee of this situation was reached in 2006 on the 20th anniversary
of the Chernobyl meltdown. By that time the health and quality of life
had decreased for millions of people. In April 2006 in Kiev, Ukraine, two
a. Institute of Radiation Safety (BELRAD), Minsk, Belarus
b. Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
“apologists of nuclear power began a blackout on
data concerning the actual amounts of radioactive
emissions, the doses of radiation, and the increasing
morbidity among the people that were affected.”
international conferences were held in venues close to one another:
one was convened by supporters of atomic energy and the other by
a number of international organizations alarmed by the true state of
health of those affected by the Chernobyl catastrophe. The decision
of the first conference has not been accepted up to now because the
Ukrainian party disagrees with its extremely optimistic positions. The
second conference unanimously agreed that radioactive contamina-
tion of large areas is accompanied by distinctly negative health conse-
quences for the populations and predicted increased risk of radiogenic
diseases in European countries in the coming years.
For a long time I have thought that the time has come to put an end
to the opposition between technocracy advocates and those who sup-
port objective scientific approaches to estimate the negative risks for
people exposed to the Chernobyl fallout. The basis for believing that
these risks are not minor is very convincing.
Declassified documents of that time issued by Soviet Union/Ukraine
governmental commissions in regard to the first decade after 1986
contain data on a number of people who were hospitalized with acute
radiation sickness. The number is greater by two orders of magnitude
than was recently quoted in official documents. How can we under-
stand this difference in calculating the numbers of individuals who are
ill as a result of irradiation? It is groundless to think that the doctors’ di-
agnoses were universally wrong. Many knew in the first 10-day period
after the meltdown that diseases of the nasopharynx were widespread.
We do not know the quantity or dose of hot particles that settled in the
nasopharyngeal epithelium to cause this syndrome. They were proba-
bly higher than the accepted figures.
To estimate doses of the Chernobyl catastrophe over the course of a
year, it is critical to consider the irradiation contributed by ground and
foliage fallout, which contaminated various forms of food with short-
half-life radionuclides. Even in 1987 activity of some of the radionu-
clides exceeded the contamination by Cs-137 and Sr-90. Thus decisions
to calculate dose only on the scale of Cs-137 radiation led to obvious
underestimation of the actual accumulated effective doses. Internal
radiation doses were defined on the basis of the activity in milk and
potatoes for different areas. Thus in the Ukrainian Poles’e region, where
mushrooms and other forest products make up a sizable share of the
food consumed, the radioactivity was not considered. The biological ef-
ficiency of cytogenic effects varies depending on whether the radiation
is external or internal: internal radiation causes greater damage, a fact also neglected.
Thus, there is reason to believe that doses of irradiation have not been properly estimat-
ed, especially for the first year after the reactor’s failure. Data on the growth of morbid-
ity over two decades after the catastrophe confirm this conclusion. First of all, there are
very concrete data about malignant thyroid disease in children, so even supporters of
“radiophobia” as the principal cause of disease do not deny it. With the passage of time,
oncological diseases with longer latency periods, in particular, breast and lung cancers’,
became more frequent.

From year to year there has been an increase in nonmalignant diseases, which has raised
the incidence of overall morbidity in children in areas affected by the catastrophe, and
the percent of practically healthy children has continued to decrease. For example,
in Kiev, Ukraine, where before the meltdown, up to 90% of children were considered
healthy, the figure is now 20%. In some Ukrainian Poles’ territories, there are no healthy
children, and morbidity has essentially increased for all age groups. The frequency of
disease has increased several times since the accident at Chernobyl. Increased cardio-
vascular disease with increased frequency of heart attacks and ischemic disease are ev-
ident. Average life expectancy is accordingly reduced. Diseases of the central nervous
system in both children and adults are cause for concern. The incidence of eye prob-
lems, particularly cataracts, has increased sharply. Causes for alarm are complications of
pregnancy and the state of health of children born to so-called “liquidators” (Chernobyl’s
cleanup workers) and evacuees from zones of high radionuclide contamination. Against
the background of such persuasive data, some defenders of atomic energy look spe-
cious as they deny the obvious negative effects of radiation upon populations. In fact,
their reactions include almost complete refusal to fund medical and biological studies,
even liquidating government bodies that were in charge of the “affairs of Chernobyl.”
Under pressure from the nuclear lobby, officials have also diverted scientific personnel
away from studying the problems caused by Chernobyl.

Rapid progress in biology and medicine is a source of hope in finding ways to prevent
many diseases caused by exposure to chronic nuclear radiation, and this research will
advance much more quickly if it is carried out against the background of experience that
Ukrainian, Belarussian, and Russian scientists and physicians gained after the Chernobyl
catastrophe. It would be very wrong to neglect the opportunities that are open to us
today. We must look toward the day that unbiased objectivity will win out and lead to
unqualified support for efforts to determine the influence of the Chernobyl catastrophe
on the health of people and biodiversity and shape our approach to future technological
progress and general moral attitudes. We must hope and trust that this will happen.

The present volume probably provides the largest and most complete collection of data
concerning the negative consequences of Chernobyl on the health of people and on
the environment. Information in this volume shows that these consequences do not
decrease, but, in fact, are increasing and will continue to do so into the future. The main
conclusion of the book is that it is impossible and wrong “to forget Chernobyl.” Over the
next several future generations the health of people and of nature will continue to be
adversely impacted.

~ Professor and Dr. of Biology, Dimitro M. Grodzinsky

Chairman, Department of General Biology, Ukrainian National Academy of Sciences
Chairman, Ukrainian National Commission on Radiation Protection
 Very Fine Aerosols From The World Trade Center Collapse Piles:
Anaerobic Incineration?
By Thomas A. Cahill, Steven S. Cliff, James Shackelford, Michael Meier,
Michael Dunlap, Kevin D. Perry, Graham Bench and Robert Leifer

The DELTA Group, Departments of Applied Science and Chemical Engineering/Materials Science
University of California, Davis CA 95616
Department of Meteorology, University of Utah

Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National laboratory

Measurements Laboratory, 201 Varick Street, New York

By September 14, three days after the initial World Trade Center collapse, efforts at fire suppression and
heavy rainfall had extinguished the immediate surface fires. From then until roughly mid-December, the
collapse piles continuously emitted an acrid smoke and fume in the smoldering phase of the event. Knowl-
edge of the sources, nature, and concentration of these aerosols is important for evaluation and alleviation
of the health effects on workers and nearby residents. In this paper, we build on our earlier work to ascribe
these aerosols to similar processes that occur in urban incinerators. The simultaneous presence of finely
powdered (circa 5 μm) and highly basic (pH 11 to 12) cement dust and high levels of very fine (< 0.25 μm)
sulfuric acid fumes helps explain observed health impacts. The unprecedented levels of several metals in
the very fine mode can be tied to liberation of those metals that are both present in elevated concentra-
tions in the debris and have depressed volatility temperatures caused by the presence of organic materials
and chlorine.

Introduction

The collapse of the World Trade Center structures (South Tower, North Tower, and WTC 7) presented two
very different types of air pollution events:

1. Initial fires and collapse-derived “dust storm”

2. Continuing emissions from the debris piles

Both cases shared the unusual aspect of a massive ground level source of particulate matter in a highly
populated area with potential health impacts. EPA (Devlin, 2002) summarized 5 causal factors most likely to
explain the statistically solid data connecting fine PM2.5 aerosols and human health.

1. Biological aerosols (bacteria, molds, viruses...)

2. acidic aerosols
3. very fine/ultra fine ( < 0.1 μm) insoluble aerosols
4. fine transition metals
5. high temperature organics

The presence of fuels, including diesel and electrical insulating oils and combustible materials in the WTC
buildings, and lack of oxygen were two factors that allowed the fire to burn for over 3 months. In order to
better understand these aerosols, a DELTA Group rotating DRUM impactor was shipped to New York and set
up on the roof of the DOE Environmental Measurement Laboratory (EML) at 201 Varick Street, 45 m above
ground level and roughly 1.5 km NNE of the World Trade Center site. The DRUM operated until Late Decem-
ber, after the last surface fires had been extinguished. (Cahill et al, 2004)
 It’s surprising that Dr. Cahill
would include the chart below
with vanadium, chromium
and nickel spikes.

These plumes have the potential for health impacts, as potentially causal factors health in very fine particles
reached unprecedented ambient levels in the very fine aerosol plumes from the WTC collapse piles.

Figure 1, above, shows typical crustal elements (silicon, calcium, iron, and aluminum) in the very fine particle
(0.26 > Dp > 0.09 μm) mode from October 2 through October 30, 2001. On the top is shown the reflected light
picture of this DRUM stage, and below the plot the meteorological favored wind direction that would bring
the plume to Varick Street. Two rain events and an eastern ocean wind are also shown.

There are several important points to note in this figure. First, the other crustal elements (Al, Ca, and iron) seen
so abundantly in the coarser particles are essentially absent in this very fine mode. Thus, the signal is not some
sampling artifact, as is also shown by the low silicon values in the sub-micron sizes, and the mechanisms are
not simply mechanical grinding. Second, the silicon only appears when the wind is correct. Third, the peak
values trend downward in October, and even the color grows fainter. October 24 was by all accounts (meteo-
rology, coarse calcium) a very strong plume impact, but by then the silicon has gone. The same pattern is seen
in some other anthropogenic elements, notably vanadium), in both the coarse and fine modes. These data
then pose problems of the aerosol sources. We see aerosols typical of a high temperature industrial source,
yet the temperatures in the near sub-surface collapse piles were not very high. We see some elements vastly
enhanced over typical Earth crystal values and others, equally present in the dust, absent in the aerosols.
We propose a model derived from the theory and data on municipal incinerators. It was discovered that the
presence of organic matter and especially chlorine in the wastes liberated metals by greatly reducing their
volatility temperatures (Barton et al, 1990; Seeker at al, 1990, and references therein).
~ Thomas Cahill, Professor Emeritus of physics at the University of California, Davis, CA
 Airborne Fine and Ultrafine Particles
Near the World Trade Center Disaster Site
By Beverly S. Cohen,1 Maire S. A. Heikkinen,1 and Yair Hazi2

1. New York University School of Medicine

Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine, Tuxedo, New York
2. Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, New York, New York

Documentation of the airborne fine and ultrafine particles produced by the terrorist attack on
the World Trade Center (WTC), particularly while fires were burning, was essential for evalu-
ating the risk of adverse health effects in people who live and work in this area. We collected
airborne particles for 3 months at a site about 400 meters east of the former WTC.

Ultrafine particles were collected by deposition onto small detector chips for morphometric
analysis by atomic force microscopy. Some chips were coated with an iron nanofilm for detec-
tion of strong acids. A condensation nucleus counter and two impactors measured particle
number concentrations and size distributions. Collected particles exhibited a variety of glob-
ular forms, and most appeared to be agglomerates. No ultrafine acid particles were detected.
Particle number concentrations ranged from below 1×104 cm−3 to about 5×104 cm−3. Oc-
casional peaks reached values over 7×104 cm−3.

The average total mass concentration was about 17 μg/m3 in mid-October, about half that
value in November, and as low as 5 μg/m3 in mid-December. Particle size distributions were
mostly bimodal. The mass concentration of very fine particles (0.1 μm to 0.29 μm) ranged
from 4.3 μg/m3 to 0.7 μg/m3, and the ultrafine (d < 0.1 μm) ranged from 1.46 μg/m3 to non-
detectable after the 5th of November, 2001.

Some backup filters from the October sampling sessions were analyzed for organic and ele-
mental carbon (OC/EC) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). About 70% of the total carbon
was organic. The PAH levels ranged from 10 to 1500 ng m−3 .

Overall, our data for particle mass and number concentrations did not differ substantially from
data we had collected in Manhattan the previous year. The dominant organic compounds
found in these samples are those most common in urban environments. These data do not
suggest, but cannot rule out, an unusual risk of adverse health effects from the number, or
mass, of the fine ambient particles.

Particles derived from combustion form largely by condensation of volatile materials and
grow by further coagulation of the primary particles, although some primary particles are
released directly. The resultant airborne particles are thus found in the ultrafine- and fine-
size modes. The particle sizes will be below about 700 nm in diameter, and most of the par-
ticles will have diameters below about 200 nm (USEPA 1996). Under normal circumstances,
particles less than 200 nm represent about 90% of the number of airborne particles but, on
average, only about one half of one percent of the total airborne particulate volume and mass
(John 1993). Yet there is evidence that suggests they have an important role in health dec-
rements associated with ambient particulate matter (PM), and very recent evidence has also
shown that ultrafine particles are associated with human mortality (Wichmann et al. 2000).
 Chemical Characterization
Of Volatile Organic Compounds Near The World Trade Center:
Ambient Concentrations And Source Apportionment
By David A. Olson (1), Gary A. Norris, Robert L. Seila, Matthew S. Landis, Alan F. Vette

1. National Exposure Research Laboratory

United States Environmental Protection Agency
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, USA

Received October 20th, 2006; received in revised form February 16th, 2007;
accepted February 28th, 2007

The collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) stemming from the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 (9/11)
led to a cloud of dust and debris that dispersed over lower Manhattan. In addition to the release of air pollutants
from the initial collapse, fires at the WTC complex persisted for approximately three months after 9/11. Although
air pollutants released to the atmosphere were expected to be similar in nature to previous building collapses and
fires, the scale and duration of the WTC collapse and aftermath were without parallel. A more extensive discussion
of possible health outcomes stemming from environmental and occupational exposures after 9/11 is provided
elsewhere (Claudio, 2001; Berkowitz et al., 2003; Landrigan et al., 2004).

Preliminary sampling at the WTC complex focused on assessing occupational exposure, especially quantification
of asbestos levels (Landrigan, 2001). A National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) report (sum-
marized in McKinney et al., 2002) describes general area and breathing zone samples collected from September
to October 2001.

Recent studies (Lioy et al., 2002; Offenberg et al., 2003) have examined bulk dust samples collected within one
week of 9/11, where the sum of 37 PAHs comprised as much as 0.4% by mass of the dust samples (Lioy et al.,
2002). Researchers have also reported concentrations of particulate matter less than 2:5 mm ðPM2:5 Þ and its
constituents (Swartz et al., 2003; Olson et al., 2004; Pleil et al., 2004). Olson et al. (2004) reported concentrations of
elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon matter (OM), PM2:5, and reconstructed soil, trace element oxides, and sul-
fate from four locations near the WTC complex. Swartz et al. (2003) reported over 60 non-polar analytes, including
numerous combustion markers (e.g., 30 PAHs, pristane, and phytane). Pleil et al. (2004) analyzed archived PM2:5
filters for levels of stable PAHs (4–6 rings) and found the fires contributed a substantial portion of PAHs to the air in
lower Manhattan during the first 100 days following 9/11. Cohen et al. (2004) reported PM measurements collect-
ed for 3 months from a site approximately 400 m from the WTC site, where the sum of 37 PAHs ranged from 0.01
to 1.5 mg m/3 for October samples. Cahill et al. (2004) reported PM measurements from October 2001 from a site
approximately 1.8km from the WTC site and approximately 50 m above ground. Size fractions greater than 1mm
were comprised of concrete, gypsum, glass, soot-like materials, and metals.

Although several studies have reported concentrations of air pollutants after the WTC collapse, none have fo-
cused on volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In addition to the importance of VOCs on ozone production and
secondary organic aerosol formation, numerous individual VOCs have known or suspected health effects, e.g.,
benzene (IARC, 1987) and 1,3-butadiene (Jackson et al., 2000). Furthermore, published data are available for the
days and weeks following 9/11 for some air pollutants (especially PM), but no information is currently available on
VOC levels over longer time intervals. The objective of this research component is to better characterize temporal
and spatial trends in ambient VOCs near the WTC complex. To this end, ambient concentrations of 53 VOCs are
reported from four locations where canister samples were collected from September 2001 through January 2002.
The Unmix receptor model was also used to assess the impact of WTC fires and recovery efforts on ambient VOC
concentrations. A total of 85 samples were collected as grab samples in 6-L, evacuated, internal surface treated
(Summa electropolished), stainless steel canisters; all grab samples were collected at approximately 10:00 AM. Figure 1
Sampling strategies immediately after 9/11 focused on emergency response and multiple site coverage; for these
reasons, and due to the lack of secure sampling locations, only grab samples were collected for this study. Canister
cleaning and sample preparation were performed using US EPA compendium method TO-14A (U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1999).

Table 1 gives a statistical summary of ambient concentrations of 53 VOCs. Concentrations of n-hexane and meth-
ylcyclopentane are not included in Table 1 because these two chemicals were identified as possible artifacts as-
sociated with collocated PM sampling. A preliminary factor analysis with varimax rotation included a factor with
only n-hexane and methylcyclopentane. These same two chemicals were also detected from a headspace analysis
of the oil used for the impactor inlet used for PM sampling. Results of PM sampling are reported elsewhere (Ol-
son et al., 2004). Concentrations of all 53 VOCs for all samples analyzed in this study are included in Tables S1–S4
(Supporting Information). A preliminary evaluation of background effects was assessed using the AIRS database
(U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004) for the New Brunswick, NJ site (40º 25:820 N; 74º 24:990 W). For 34 of
the compounds in Table 1, mean concentrations from the WTC sites were at least three times those from the New
Brunswick, NJ site. Concentrations for select VOC compounds from the New Brunswick site (mean concentration
during 2001) include acetylene 0.9 ug m-3 Þ, benzene 0.9 ug m-3 Þ, toluene 6.0 ug m-3 Þ, and the sum of all PAMS
compounds 52.8 ug m-3 Þ. Thus, it is likely that samples collected near the WTC complex were influenced by local
sources and were not simply reflective of regional background influences.

Fig. 1 shows a plot of concentrations of select VOC species (acetylene, benzene, isopropylbenzene, and styrene)
as a function of sampling day. These compounds were selected as representative of temporal variability in VOC
concentrations and are potentially indicative of motor vehicle emissions (acetylene and benzene) and building fire
emissions (benzene, isopropylbenzene, and styrene). As shown in Fig. 1, species potentially associated with build-
ing fire emissions clearly decrease over time, whereas no clear pattern is evident with acetylene concentrations.

11 of the compounds listed in Table 1 (benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethylbenzene, MTBE, naphthalene, styrene, toluene,
1,2,4-trichlorobenzene, and xylenes) are also classified as hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), which are chosen be-
cause of known or suspected health effects. Fig. 3 shows a plot of these HAPs for each of the four identified sources.
For several of the compounds shown in Fig. 3 (e.g., benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and styrene), the combined
concentrations from the burning and recovery sources constituted a majority of emissions for that compound. The
burning source had the highest percentages of benzene, ethylbenzene, and styrene, while the recovery source
had the highest percentages of 1,2,4-trichlorobenzene and MTBE. The highest concentrations of 1,3-butadiene,
toluene, and naphthalene were from the motor vehicle source.

Although several studies have reported concentrations of air pollutants near the WTC (especially related to PM and
PM constituents), none have focused on VOCs. The findings described herein represent the largest study to date re-
porting concentrations of VOCs near the WTC complex. One major finding is that source apportionment modeling
results clearly indicates a source of burning building debris and that this source is confirmed by previous source
profiles on building fires. For several of the HAPs measured during this study (especially benzene and styrene),
the burning factor comprised a large percentage of emissions for that compound. Also noteworthy is that sources
attributable to urban background (especially motor vehicles) were present throughout the entire sampling period.
Figure 2
 Bomb, Opacity, Democracy
By Matteo Gerlini
A review of Avner Cohen’s book, “The Worst-Kept Secret: Israel’s Bargain with the Bomb” • Columbia University Press, New York, 2010

Israel’s nuclear policy is the nation’s last taboo. Avner Cohen’s book obviously, in the US. Cohen’s ability to find unclassified versions in
explains that the country’s posture of nuclear opacity is incompatible the Israeli archives had enabled him to overcome the secrecy clas-
with the values of a liberal democracy and that it undermines the sification restrictions still pending on some US documents. This was
norm of public accountability and oversight. However, in the name of the case of two letters sent by John F. Kennedy to David Ben Gurion
its special relationship with Israel, the US turns a blind eye to Israel’s and to his successor Levi Eshkol.
nuclear program.
Amimut As A Key To Understanding Israeli Nuclear Policy
Why shouldn’t Israel bomb Iranian nuclear facilities in order to frus-
trate the fulfillment of Iran’s nuclear option? The common sense an- The inner core of Cohen’s new book is political. He is dealing with the
swer is that, if such were to be the case, the Middle East would erupt. “nation’s last taboo”, as the title of his 2005 book in Hebrew suggest-
It might seem obvious, but some observers do not take this possibil- ed. The Worst-Kept Secret offers to English readers an analysis of the
ity into due consideration. However, even if we ignore for a moment Israelis’ governance of the bomb, a code of nuclear conduct that en-
the anti-Semitic speeches of the Ayatollah, and consider very closely compasses both governmental policy and societal behavior. This pos-
the hardware of nuclear power and the politics of nuclear deterrence, ture of nuclear opacity is called Amimut by Cohen, because only this
we might not see any other alternative but the termination of the Hebrew word “conveys the three characteristics indispensable to it: the
Iranian nuclear program. This could occur by a renunciation to this native approach of a Sabra [a native Israeli], a flavor of the Jewish ele-
program on the part of the Iranians themselves, along with a disman- ment of chutzpah [audacity], and a Talmudic love of pilpul [disputation]”.
tling of uranium enrichment plants as well as plutonium separation
facilities. Or, alternatively, this could occur by the destruction of the According to Cohen, this posture has allowed Israel to deemphasize, in
Iranian facilities by outside forces. As far as the logic of nuclear deter- its public opinion, the salience of living in a state with nuclear weap-
rence is concerned, tertium non datur, if Iran went nuclear, the Israeli ons capability. Israeli citizens were not informed that their state was se-
nuclear deterrent would become rather reduced in potency, if not curing a nuclear option. Not-acknowledging or, alternatively, not-de-
quite meaningless. If a reformist leader were to come to power in Iran nying the possession of nuclear weapons remains incompatible with
but the Iranian nuclear program was still to continue, the problem the norms and values of a liberal democracy. The author argues that
would remain for Israel. Amimut relies on secrecy, violates the public right to know, and un-
dermines the norm of public accountability and oversight. However,
The Rationale Behind The Opacity Posture it seemed quite problematic for the Israeli democracy to become nu-
clear in a more “publicly accountable” way without incurring isolation
Avner Cohen’s second book, provides a very stimulating analysis of in the international sphere – as it was contradicting emerging interna-
Israel’s past and present nuclear path. Cohen is doubtless a staunch tional nuclear norms – and also from her special ally, the USA.
supporter of the peace cause, but such a position does not leave
him complete latitude over the need for Israel to have nuclear weap- Washington, The Permissive Ally?
ons. Israeli deterrence capability is, in his eyes, the only assurance
against a (forthcoming?) nuclear Iran. This is a very crucial point for Israel and the Bomb concluded by sketching-out some elements
current debates on the role of nuclear weapons. Moving from an in- of the relations between Richard M. Nixon and Golda Meir, but The
triguing historical analysis, Cohen realizes a brilliant theoretical dis- Worst-Kept Secret investigates this more incisively. As Cohen wrote:
cussion on the nuclear opacity posture, in the international arena on “26 September 1969 Meir and Nixon struck a secret accord that al-
as well as in the domestic one. In 1998, Cohen’s book Israel and the lowed the US to look the other way at Israel’s nuclear weapons program
Bomb marked a watershed in the study of Israel’s nuclear program. as long as Israel kept the program invisible”. This is a crucial point in the
Cohen, a philosopher by education but with some historical pub- historical debate: the emphasis on the Nixon-Meir accord seems to
lications, undertook the study of the evolution of Israel’s nuclear be excessive, given that the final outcome of the tacit agreement –
posture. Thanks to a fruitful collaboration with the National Security the American turning a blind eye to Israel’s nuclear program – was in
Archive at the George Washington University of Washington, Cohen a certain sense already an accomplished fact. After a near diplomatic
realized in his first book an impressive archival research, undertak- crisis with the U.S., Ben Gurion stated, in December 1960, that the
en in various archives and collections held in Israel, Norway and, Israeli nuclear program was a peaceful one. The ‘lame duck’ admin-
istration of Eisenhower had put a lot of pressure on Ben Gurion to obtain
such a statement – press leaks about the ongoing construction of the Di-
mona nuclear installation were exciting Arabic fears. The Arabs believed Di-
mona might be a nuclear weapons building facility, and eventually it was.
But at the time Ben Gurion made his speech, the Israel nuclear program
was not properly a military one yet, in the sense that there was no actual
weapons production.

Washington and Tel Aviv also eventually agreed on the organization of visits
by US scientists to the Dimona site, which took place more or less on a yearly
basis. But the visits only quelled the fears of the Arab States, as they were in-
effective in averting Israel’s eventual turn towards nuclear weapons develop-
ment. According to some estimates quoted in Cohen’s Israel and the Bomb,
this happened at the end of the Sixties. The main change introduced by the
Nixon administration was the cessation of American visits to Dimona, as part
of his new Middle Eastern policy. The termination of visits was not due to
an Israeli renunciation of nuclear weapons, and nor was it due to secondary
interest of the Nixon administration in nonproliferation. But Nixon did not
consider it any more a priority to reassure Arab States on the outcomes of
the Israeli nuclear program. Cohen’s work is considered to be definitive on
the history of Israel’s relations with the US on the nuclear issue. But to un-
derstand what Israel’s nuclear stand meant in the international arena during
the Cold War, we still need a study that also encompasses the USSR’s attitude
toward Israel’s nuclear program.

At the exception of the US-Israel special relationship, Cohen focuses more

on the internal debate than on the international one. The book sheds more
light on Israel’s political struggle over the bomb and the way it might be
governed. For example, the history of Shalheveth Freier, the director-gen-
eral of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission, is part of this debate. Ytzhak
Rabin dismissed Freier in 1976, according to evidence quoted by Cohen,
on the insistence of Shimon Peres. This happened in the midst of a dispute
among Israel’s policy leaders about the advisability of developing tactical
nuclear weapons.

To sum up, through its nuclear program, Israel held both the ploughshare
and the sword, but, in Cohen’s opinion, it paid a high price in terms of the
democratic openness of information. There is no doubt that nuclear deter-
rence preserved Israel from a possible destruction due to a military defeat
(which has however never occurred). However, Israeli deterrence can only
work if no other Middle Eastern State is allowed to become nuclear; it ex-
plains why Israel is doing everything it can to avoid a situation similar to the
one existing between India and Pakistan.
 Questions & Answers
with Frédéric Henry-Couannier, Physicist & Admitted Conspiracy Theorist
Frédéric Henry-Couannier, Born March 28, 1969 in Perpignan, France
Physicist, Lecturer at the University of Aix-Marseille and at the Particle Physics Center of Marseille
Why dont you try to publish your analyses on 11/9 in Peer-reviewed journals?
The theory of the 11/9 Inside Job has an obvious corollary: the criminals are still in power and have the means to
control not only the apparatus of the state but also any newspaper having some importance in the broadcasting of
information. Particularly, this control is made possible by a constant propaganda giving conspiracies
the status of an ideologically nauseous paranoiac and revisionist frenzy and creating a taboo
in the collective consciousness. Mass medias but also scientific journals are subjected to
this pressure and it is mistaken to hope one can publish whatever more or less con-
spiracy rationale in a referee journal enjoying a certain prestige. Since Internet
cannot be so locked, the second no less obvious corollary is that many profes-
sional deceivers mission is to completely invest and saturate the conspir-
acy ground on the net to flood all the relevant arguments there, those
that could convince experts, under a stream of hardly credible stupid
things and mixed esoteric considerations: holographic no plane the-
ories, scalar field weapons, and so on ...
The list of evidences for a very unconventional planned destruc-
tion of the Twin Towers, which I am going to draw up now, thus
results from a long-term sorting between the truth, the false
and the idiot and especially from independent analyses which
I have carried out these last years.
Official reports support the official version by claiming to have
established that the damages caused by the planes impacts and
subsequent fires at the floors where the fire insulation of the steel
was destroyed, made the initiation of the collapse unavoidable.
The inescapable reference on the subject is the thousand pag-
es Nist report detailing the results of a 3 years study by more
than 100 extremely competent engineers, having benefited
from a $16 M budget, and means of computer assisted simula-
tions very beyond those of all other independent studies. The mis-
sion of these engineers was to get to the bottom of the collapses of
the WTC towers. Consequently it is rather reasonable to consider that
if the collapses were unavoidable, the Nist report had to establish this
beyond any reasonable doubt, otherwise there is a problem.
The first surprise however is that the exclusive collapse scenario supported by
NIST, is completely different from that supported previously by another official
study, the FEMA ($600k) one but also differs from those of all other independent engi-
neers studies who thought that the weakening of steel columns by the fires would suffice
to produce the conditions for an unavoidable collapse. To allow the collapse the Nist engineers
instead had to imagine a quite new and involved mechanism: the beams that supported the floors, bending at
high temperature, pulled the external columns and bowed them inward, producing the visible curvature on faces
opposite to the impacts in both towers. Unfortunately, the engineers are led to admit that in their detailed simu-
lations of the floors the expected pull in forces on the external columns, so crucial to explain the initiation of the
collapse, did not occur, because the connections between beams and columns broke at first. They
then give a long series of explanations to convince us that this negative result is only the
consequence of the imperfection of their simulations and confident in the fact that ev-
erything would work as expected with more complete simulations, they introduce
the pull in forces by hand in their global simulations to produce the destruction
of the external columns. Then they analyze the resulting load transfer and
merely argue that after a certain number of external columns so twisted
inward an instability likely propagated along the wall eventually leading
to the complete ruin of the towers.
We have to admit that the whole Nist demonstration, resting only
on a bet, is not convincing and that even if it was so, independent
researchers cannot check it, the Nist simulation codes having not
been published. We of course can’t take their words for it, words
of teams depending directly on the US executive and whose
numerous leaders work for the army. On the other hand, I no-
tice that it would have been very simple with incendiaries or
other technologies allowing to heat the steel at temperatures
much higher than those reachable by office and fuel fires, to
obtain the sure natural looking collapse initiation, especially
if the welds and bolts connecting beams to columns had be-
forehand been sabotaged and\or if remote jacks pulled the
external columns through cables to destroy them. To get to
the bottom of the matter, I decided to do what the Nist should
have done: analyze all the characteristics of the collapses which
followed the initiation to check if these were compatible with
the thesis of a collapse under gravity alone.
Are they compatible?
There are no blatant abnormalities to be found as regards the first three
seconds of collapse nor even the global collapse duration. On the other
hand, for a few seconds when the collapse is situated mid-term we establish
easily that the more advanced destruction front progresses faster than free-
fall in the case of the South Tower : the dust and metal ejection profile is directed
upward, in other words dust and steel fragments in free-fall are late on the destruction
front. As for the North Tower, the destruction front is only a bit late on free-falling steel col-
umns, and that is also an obvious violation of the laws of physics because the fastest theoretical
collapse one can imagine, taking into account conservation of momentum, should be much slower than what we
observe. In fact, if the more advanced local destruction front observed was actually due to pancaking portions
– An almost total (at least much more than half ) disappearance of the concrete in the ruins field but on the
other hand, 5 to up to 20 cms in thickness of fine dust spread all over Manhattan. Starting from this observation,
of floors, which is already hardly believable, considerable resistances had to show themselves since all reinforced even estimations by defenders of the Official Version end in more than 30% of the floors reinforced
concrete floors should have been teared apart instead of just a destruction of bolts and welding concrete, pulverized into dust, tenth of a millimeter sized, while the theory of comminution
connecting trusses to the exterior columns. Now, I was able to show on the contrary that by collisions between concrete slabs predicted only a ridiculous percentage as in usual
this destruction front propagates at the speed of a pile of floors pancaking without controlled demolition rubble piles which do not pulverize the main part of the
any resistance of the lower structure manifesting itself. Therefore, what we see concrete, far from it.
is actually not a collapse but a succession of violent ejections of tons of pul-
verized concrete and steel by a planned disintegration of the successive Therefore you claim that it was a controlled demolition by explosives, right?
floors from top to bottom. Let us stress that a piston effect (a ridiculous
idea put forward by some defenders of the Official Version ) would Not at all! If we exclude nuclear weapons (no radioactivity at GZ nor
obviously not chase away solid fragments and dust through the tritium concentrations compatible with the usage of nuclear fu-
bottom, creating another downward propagating ejections front sion weapons), the most powerful explosions today to destroy
numerous floors ahead of the destruction front. Indeed a huge big volumes of structures are thermobaric ones as the MOAB
column of clean air should be emptied before. (Mother Of All Bombs). These produce audible sounds of
explosions miles away without even being able to reach a
I could establish that a fragment of tens of tons was thrown pulverization degree of concrete structures comparable
45 degrees upward at an incredible speed of 90 km/h at the to what was observed at the WTC. On the contrary, the
very beginning of the collapse, thus at a stage when the towers were disintegrated by a process producing high
base of a pancaking pile of floors would not have reached temperatures but in an incredible silence with regard
more than 30km per hour. An immense section of wall to the noticed level of destruction: no huge acoustic
columns representing about ten floors and a third of a bangs made the inhabitants of Manhattan jump which
facade (100 tons: the mass of a Boeing 757) was thrown seems contradictory.
at 90km per hour, two soccer field lengthes away from
the North tower foot. Several observations and analyses “That is why the experts in explosives of the public research
end in the same conclusion: there was no pile of floors are completely disarmed in front of September 11th obser-
reaching the ground, the main part of the concrete mass vations which correspond to nothing they can interpret with
having been pulverized in midair and the steel columns their knowledge and experience in explosives. I showed that
thrown away with an incredible force in all directions as all characteristics of this destruction are those of a very prom-
videos already strongly suggested. ising fundamental domain of physics which was mediatically
discredited in the 90s, that of the very badly named “cold fusion”,
What are these observations? discredited so that the research could be pursued in secret in the
US military laboratories ending in what we saw on 11/9.”
– The extreme dispersal of fragments by comparison with
those of a controlled demolition as that of the Hudson building You argue it’s not an explosive demolition while most conspira-
for example. The WTC debris pile did not exceed 3% of the initial tionnist web sites speak about dozens of explosion witnesses.
height of the towers above the ground.
– Survivors who should have been crushed under a 90-storeyed pile These witnesses of many sounds and flashes of explosions after the
but instead miraculously found themselves on top of a debris pile, the planes impacts and even before are to be very seriously taken because we
floors where they went down running having been apparently saved by show easily that they can neither be explained by the fires, nor the fuel pour-
the sequence of disintegrations which had transformed into dust all floors ing in elevators wells, nor free-falling elevators impacts, cables of which would
above them. have been split by the planes. We know that these explosions actually destroyed fire-
– A recorded seismic signal 1000 times less powerful than the one a pile of floors colliding breaking doors, fire extinguishers, and almost all the elevators to prevent the firemen from
towards the foundations at 180km per hour would inevitably have produced, but on the other intervening effectively on floors on fire so that the floors could burn the necessary time to make
hand well corresponding to the spread in time fall of a large number of relatively small fragments of steel.
credible a collapse triggered by the weakening of the steal structure by the heat.
Other much more powerful subterranean explosions just before the collapses,
made the ground tremble in order to shake the towers, ultimate « pichenette » to
trigger the collapse initiation at the levels of the impacted floors which only waited
for that, weakened as they were by high temperatures, jacks and sabotages of the
connections between columns and beams. Other explosions which went through
the structure just before and during the “collapse” do not explain the reached level
of destruction and rather had typical powers of detonators.
What kind of evidences do you have for new physics at work in the destruction of the
twin towers?
First of all, the pulverizing of the main part of the concrete in an incredible relative
silence is a fact impossible to understand in the accepted frames.
Then we have very numerous witnesses including a video of firemen describing
red-orange molten metal rivers at Ground Zero as in a foundry, this being con-
firmed by photos and even a video of a flow of very high-temperature molten met-
al (about 1400°C according to its color) before the collapse of the South tower.
The molten metal was steel because genuine puddles of previously molten and
solidified steel were found as well as huge conglomerates of molten steel and
concrete fused by the heat (these were called meteorites), in fact sandwitches of
portions of several fused floors. Now steel melts at 1500°C whereas the office fires
peaked at only 1100°C according to the NIST report. These data alone do not nec-
essarily imply new physics but the puzzle begins when we learn that the extreme
temperatures spoke during weeks (99 days) in spite of incredible quantities of wa-
ter poured in the Bathtub of Ground Zero. Things become clearer when one comes
to study various results of WTC dust analysis by numerous laboratories which not
only confirmed the incredible temperatures reached but also that these tempera-
tures were not only reached locally but truly concerned almost all the destroyed
floors. For instance in some Manhattan samples, up to 5% of the dust mass is made
of myriads of previously molten iron droplets, and we learn that 40% of the WTC
dust weight is constituted of mineral fibers the laboratories identified to be rock
wool: this represents tens of thousands of tons, a completely absurd amount for
such an extremely light material usually used for insulating buildings.
Knowing that rockwool is made of slag fibers the same as the ones produced in
volcanos when hot gases pass through silicon rich lava, and in light of other ev-
idences for fantastic temperatures reached (liquefying molybdenum at 2600°C,
vaporizing alumino-silicates at 2760°C and lead at 1740 °C) another interpretation
becomes imperative: tens of thousands tons of concrete were disintegrated by the
heat, and some even turned into slag fibers. Numerous steel core columns were
also disintegrated into oxydized and half molten micron sized iron chips and iron
rich dropplets found in the dust.
[Editor’s Note: What Professor Frederic Henry-Couannier is saying here is that the
temperatures reached were so high that much of the concrete was turned into the
slag fibers seen on pages 71 through 75. Essentially, much of the chrysotile or rock
wool — far too many tons to account for building insulation — found in the dust
and attributed to asbestos was actually created by calcining the concrete, turning
the concrete into constituent elements, by applying incredible heat for just milli-
seconds. This created the “slag fibers,” not the asbestos and this also created the
iron droplets found in the dust as well].
The fact that the dense and extraordinarily expansive cloud of dust remained at
a livable temperature in this context is one of the most enigmatic aspects which
I explain by processes of new physics (those showing themselves in the so-called
“cold fusion“ experiments) described in details in my website. The concrete and
steel structures was actually submitted to an intense flux of micro-lighting-balls
(also called Ectons, Eve, Charged Clusters, Monopoles or Strange Radiations by
their numerous and independent co-discoverers). In short, because of the huge
temperatures and pressures reached inside the micro-lighting-balls, these are
very destructive when they eventually explode inside the matter of the structure
elements and though the elements the micro-lighting-balls release in the environ-
nment are at thousands of degrees, these are microscopic quantities hence able
to cool down to much lower temperatures very fast and efficiently. The existence
of these objects and the new phenomenology actually ensues from a new the-
oretical frame which i proposed and published in 2004, that of the Dark Gravity
theory which I also popularize in my web site, www.darksideofgravity.com where
the readers are invited to find the details.
What do you think about the recently published discovery of nanothermite in the
WTC dust?
I also observed in the WTC dust these, now famous, red-grey chips having all of
the characteristics including the chemical composition of those described by the
authors in their publication. But, even warmed far beyond 400°C, none of mine
reacted by producing molten iron which would have been the signature of a ther-
mitic reaction. However even if I had obtained this reaction I would inevitably
have asked a few questions to myself before concluding. Thermitic reactions can’t
be maintained for months: as these don’t need oxygen, these will rapidly burn all
the available fuel and stop and even if unactivated thermite could remain after
the collapse that could be ignited by normal fires (which alone do not melt steel),
these were lacking oxygen and flooded with a lake of water and pyrocool, would
hardly have remained effective for many weeks. Then, knowing that the bulk of
the towers were destroyed by new physics technologies, should’nt we expect that
in order to protect the secret of these technologies, the criminals would try to
confuse the issue for the independent researchers wondering about the origin of
all these metallic half molten chips in the dust? What is more likely in this context?
That samples sent to the independent researchers were beforehand sprinkled
with fresh nanothermite ready to react, or on the contrary that the researchers
managed to make more than 8 years old nanoparticles of aluminum from micro
red-grey chips collected in the WTC dust react in a thermitic way (really astound-
ing!)? In brief, while there are so many other evidences for which raw data sources
are reliable and accessible to everybody, the videos of the “collapses” lively broad-
casted for example, they try to focus our attention on a study under the pretext that it gave
rise to a publication in a peer-reviewed journal whereas this study cannot actually be inde-
pendently verified simply because the WTC dust is not accessible in self- service: as for me,
just because I declared my interest in exploring another explanation than nanothermite,
in particular processes of new physics, and refused to publish with the others, the punish-
ment decided by the authors against me was an immediate and definitive embargo on the
WTC dust. Strange behavior for so-called researchers!

Moreover, what would be the probability for a serious peer-reviewed journal to accept for
publication a study establishing in a really convincing way the use of great quantities of
explosives on 9/11? If it was on the other hand a scuttling, a planned operation in order
to discredit the whole 911 research, everything is much better explained. Anyway, i have
already given the reasons why explosives or incendiaries whatever they are, would not ex-
plain the main characteristics of the towers destructions, so why should we loose anymore
time on this inadequate and unverifiable hypothesis?

It seems now established that the red layer of the two kinds of red-gray chips found in the
dust have exactly the same composition and microscopic visual aspect as the two kinds
of red paints applied respectively to the steel columns and trusses of the towers. The nan-
othermite trap closes. It allowed to hide the simple and robust evidence for numerous
core columns having been pulverized in partly liquefied and oxydized iron micro chips,
evidence for highly energetic processes that disintegrated the towers from top to bottom.

You explain that the main characteristics of the towers destructions cannot be interpreted by ex-
perts in demolition or in explosives, which contributed to make the whole operation possible. On
the other hand, even if the purpose was the total destruction of the towers and a maximal trau-
ma to the population, why didn’t they opt for a more discreet plan consisting in merely weaken-
ing numerous key points of the structure rather than decide to literally disintegrate 110 floors?

A pile of 110 floors impacting the ground at more than 200 km/h would have been a seri-
ous menace for the bathtub, which destruction would have flooded Manhattan. Hence it
was mandatory to disperse the steel structure into small fragments in mid-air and pulverize
the concrete in order to spread in time the ground impacts and minimize as much as pos- the sorcerer’s apprentices
sible consecutive potentially catastrophic seismic effects on the town.

It is possible that we have to deal with a display of the US strength to impress other techno-
having only an empirical and not enough theoretical mastery
logically advanced nations, but we can also imagine that the sorcerer’s apprentices having
only an empirical and not enough theoretical mastery of the new weapon technologies, of the new weapon technologies,
did not correctly take into account some factors and that the reactions increased far be-
yond what was planned. did not correctly take into account some factors
Frederic Henry-couannier, Researchgate:
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Frederic_Henry-Couannier and that the reactions increased
Frederic Henry-couannier, website: far beyond what was planned
https://www.darksideofgravity.com/Presentation.html
“Further, the process of transformation (of the military),
even if it brings revolutionary change, is likely to be a long
one, absent some catastrophic and catalyzing event—like
a new Pearl Harbor.”

— PNAC policy report “Rebuilding America’s Defenses”, September 2000
(Source)

“We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our

own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judi-
ciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new
realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things
will sort out. We’re history’s actors…and you, all of you,
will be left to just study what we do.”

— Karl Rove
(Source)
 American Journal Of Industrial Medicine 47:475–483 (2005)

Physical And Mental Health Symptoms Among NYC Transit Workers Seven And One-Half Months After The WTC Attacks
By Loren C. Tapp, MD, MS,1, Sherry Baron, MD, MPH, Bruce Bernard, MD, MPH
Richard Driscoll, PhD, MPH, Charles Mueller, MS, and Ken Wallingford, MS, CIH

1. Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, Ohio
All work was performed at NIOSH, Cincinnati, OH
*Correspondence to: Loren C. Tapp, Medical Officer, Hazard Evaluations and Technical Assistance Branch
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Parkway, R-10, Cincinnati, OH 45226
E-mail: let7@cdc.gov
Accepted 18 March 2005

On September 11 2001, approximately 600 – 800 Metropolitan Transportation Authority, New York City Transit evaluation (HHE) to address these health concerns. In response to this HHE request, NIOSH conducted a study of
(MTA-NYCT) bus and subway workers were working in areas adjacent to the World Trade Center (WTC) towers. the MTA-NYCT workers employed in the stations, trains, and buses of NYC to document the extent of physical and
When the WTC towers collapsed, five subway stations and adjoining train tunnels were immediately closed due to mental health symptoms among these workers. This study focuses on employees who began by providing routine
structural damage and resulting instability. Buses near the WTC were evacuated and then, in some cases, crushed transportation services on the morning of the disaster and then were exposed to the physical and psychological
by falling debris. Transportation services provid- trauma of the WTC attacks. We describe the prev-
ed by approximately 4,500 buses along 200 bus alence of mental and physical health symptoms
routes and 700 trains through 470 subway stations reported by MTA-NYCT workers 71⁄2 months after
stopped for several hours, then resumed to un- the WTC disaster and evaluate the relationships be-
damaged areas later that day. There were no transit tween these symptoms and various exposures re-
employee fatalities, but approximately 115 inju- lated to the WTC event. This study was done in par-
ries were attributable to the collapse, including 49 allel with similar NIOSH HHE studies requested by
workers who sustained injuries from contact with other groups of employees working near the WTC
chemicals and 40 with smoke inhalation. During [Bernard et al., 2002].
the following days, an estimated 2,300 MTA-NYCT
workers participated in rescue and recovery activ- Prevalence of Physical Symptoms
ities at Ground Zero and provided transportation Since September 11th
services to and from the area.
Table II lists the prevalence of individual symptoms
After the WTC disaster, unions representing the and defined clusters of symptoms after September
MTA- NYCT employees received reports from mem- 11th and prevalence of persistent symptoms by ex-
bers concerned about health effects from expo- posure to the dust cloud. The most prevalent symp-
sure to airborne substances originating from the toms after September 11th among workers in the
collapse of the WTC buildings. Adding to employ- dust cloud (in descending order) were eye irritation
ee concerns were scattered reports of MTA-NYCT (67%), cough of any kind (62%), nose/throat irrita-
employees who had developed symptoms they tion (59%), headache (50%), and congestion (45%).
attributed to the WTC collapse. Several employees The most prevalent persistent symptoms since
reported breathing problems and throat irritation September 11th among those in the dust cloud (in
when returning to work after the WTC disaster and descending order) were eye irritation (25%), con-
some also experienced symptoms suggestive of gestion (22%), nose/throat irritation (20%), cough
depression and anxiety. In January 2002, the unions of any kind (20%), headache (18%), and shortness
contacted the Centers for Disease Control and Pre- of breath (17%). Of dust cloud-exposed workers
vention, National Institute for Occupational Safety, having at least one physical symptom, 16 (26%) re-
and Health (CDC/NIOSH) to request a health hazard ported taking time off work due to the symptom(s).
 Persistent lower respiratory symptoms by exposure
Workers in the dust cloud had significantly higher risk of persistent lower respiratory symptoms (OR 1⁄4 9.85; 95%
CI: 2.24, 58.93) compared to those not exposed to the dust cloud (Table III). Involvement in Ground Zero activities
was not significantly related to increased risk of lower respiratory symptoms (OR 1⁄4 2.63; 95% CI: 0.64, 11.19). Con-
trolling individually for potential confounders (age, gender, current smoking status, diag-
nosis of allergies prior to 9/11, and diagnosis of lung disease (asthma, chronic bronchitis,
emphysema, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) prior to 9/11) did not meaning-
fully change the relationships between these exposure variables and persistent lower re-
spiratory symptoms. Taking into account depressive symptoms, the associations between
persistent lower respiratory symptoms and the exposure variables were also essentially
unchanged.
Persistent mucous membrane symptoms by exposure
Workers in the dust cloud and those involved in Ground Zero activities had significantly
higher risk of persistent mucous membrane symptoms (OR 1⁄4 4.91; 95% CI: 1.53, 16.22;
and OR 1⁄4 2.88; 95% CI: 1.03, 8.02, respectively). Controlling individually for potential con-
founders (age, gender, current smoking status, and diagnosis of allergies prior to 9/11) did
not meaningfully change the relationships between the exposure variables and persistent
mucous membrane symptoms. The adjusted OR for the associations between persistent
mucous membrane symptoms and the exposure variables, taking into account depressive
symptoms, were similar to those obtained in the crude analyses.
Prevalence of Depressive Symptoms and Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome
The number of MTA-NYCT workers who reported witnessing events related to the disaster
or knowing a WTC victim were documented. Of the survey participants, 45 (17%) report-
ed witnessing one or both plane(s) crashing into the towers, 28 (10%) witnessed people
jumping from the towers, 57 (21%) reported witnessing the collapse of one or both WTC
tower(s), 23 (9%) witnessed plane parts amid the debris, 12 (4%) witnessed lifeless bodies
or body parts, and 110 (41%) reported knowing a WTC victim. Thirty-one (12 %) of transit
workers reported symptoms consistent with major depression and 21 (8%) reported PTSS.
Table IV illustrates the prevalence of depressive symptoms and PTSS by our four exposure
variables. Forty (16%) of 256 participants reported that they thought supportive coun-
seling would be helpful, however, when looking at only those workers with depressive
symptoms and/or PTSS, 12 of 35 (34%) felt counseling would be helpful. We were unable
to evaluate the effect of pre-9/11 physician-diagnosed mental disorders on these rela-
tionships because of the low number of subjects (13) reporting pre-9/11 diagnoses of
depression or PTSD.
Depressive symptoms by exposure
Our analyses found that persons in the dust cloud had significantly higher risk of depres-
sive symptoms (OR 1⁄4 2.48; 95% CI: 1.12, 5.51) compared to those not in the dust cloud
(Table III). We considered the effects of the following variables on the associations be-
tween exposure and depressive symptoms: gender, race, Hispanic ethnicity, having been
a witness to or victim of a prior traumatic event, amount of social contact,1 job satisfac-
tion, and perceived support from family, supervisors, and coworkers2. Adjustment for
these factors resulted in no meaningful differences in the relation- ship between depressive symptoms and two
of the four exposure variables (being in the dust cloud and participating in Ground Zero activities). Differences
emerged however for the exposure variables of witnessing the disaster and knowing a victim. When we controlled
for reported perceived support, we found a statistically significant association between witnessing the disaster
and depressive symptoms (OR1⁄42.31; 95% CI: 1.04, 5.15). For those subjects that reported being a victim of, or a
witness to, a prior traumatic event, the relationships between depressive symptoms and
knowing a WTC victim (OR 1⁄4 3.75; CI: 1.18, 11.94) and between depressive symptoms
and witnessing the disaster (OR 1⁄4 3.94; CI: 1.27, 12.17) were statistically significant.
Post traumatic stress symptoms by exposure
The risk of PTSS was significantly greater among those who reported knowing a victim
(OR 1⁄4 3.07; 95% CI: 1.20, 7.90) or being in the dust cloud (OR1⁄42.91; 95% CI: 1.003, 8.16)
(Table III).
We evaluated the effects of the following variables on the associations between the ex-
posure variables and PTSS: gender, race, Hispanic ethnicity, having been a victim of or
witness to a prior traumatic event, amount of social contact, and perceived support from
family, supervisors, and co-workers. Adjustment for these factors resulted in no meaning-
ful differences in the analyses involving being in the dust cloud, participating in Ground
Zero activities, and witnessing the disaster. For those subjects that perceived low support
from family, co-workers, and supervisors, the association between PTSS and knowing a
victim was statistically significant (OR 1⁄4 16.41; CI: 2.14, 722.96); among those subjects
who did not perceive low support there was no association between PTSS and knowing
a victim (OR 1⁄4 0.74; CI: 0.12, 3.66). We found that males had increased risk of PTSS when
they were in the dust cloud (OR 1⁄4 4.07; CI: 1.02, 15.97), but females had no such increase
in risk (OR 1⁄4 0.98; CI: 0.13, 6.29); however, these OR did not significantly differ for males
and females. Table III shows the OR for each exposure and outcome, controlling for con-
founders if appropriate.
Prevalence of Health Conditions Newly Diagnosed by a Physician
When comparing MTA-NYCT workers exposed to the dust cloud with those not exposed,
six (10%) reported being diagnosed with PTSD after September 11th compared to one
(<1%) of those not in the dust cloud, four (7%) were diagnosed with depression or mood
disorder compared to two (1%) of unexposed, two (5%) were diagnosed with allergies
compared to three (2%) of unexposed, and one (2%) was diagnosed with asthma com-
pared to four (2%) of unexposed. The medical conditions were reportedly diagnosed by
a physician and those reporting the conditions as pre-existing (prior to September 11th)
were not included.
Work Environment Assessment
Twenty underground subway stations representing typical worksites of MTA-NYCT work-
ers were evaluated. Two subway train yards, one each in Manhattan and Brooklyn, and a
bus depot in Staten Island were also visited. After completing the environmental assess-
ment for these sites, it was determined that there were no fundamental differences in the
work environments between workers within the same job types, regardless of the original
exposure category.
 Discussion cous membrane and respiratory tract irritation. Little is known about the health effects from complex exposures
such as occurred as a result of the WTC collapse and subsequent fires. Studies (such as the WTC Worker and Vol-
This is the first study to document the extent of physical and mental health symptoms among NYC transportation unteer Medical Screening Program coordinated by Mt. Sinai Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine
workers following the WTC disaster. Nearly 3,000 of the 45,000 MTA-NYCT workers had direct exposures to WTC [ http://911digitalarchive.org/items/browse ] last accessed December 2018] involving in-depth evaluations and
dust, smoke, and fumes, and personally experienced the events of the disaster. Hundreds of MTA-NYCT employees long-term follow-up of first responders, rescue and recovery workers, clean-up workers, and others who worked at
worked in the subway stations and drove the buses and trains that transported people to and from the WTC tow- Ground Zero should provide useful information for the affected individuals and for those involved with emergen-
ers on the morning of September 11th, and over 2,300 participated in search and rescue activities or transported cy response and preparedness. We found that 20% of transit workers in the dust cloud had symptoms consistent
Ground Zero workers to and from the site after the disaster occurred. In addition to the economic burden of search with major depression and those witnessing the disaster had a greater risk for depressive symptoms. The rate of
and recovery efforts, rubble removal, the loss of numerous businesses and jobs, and costly clean-up of residential major depressive disorder (using the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual [DSM-
and commercial property, the public health impact of the WTC attacks has been great. Studies of residents and III] criteria) in the general US population is 3% – 5%, with transportation worker depression rates falling within
working populations in the WTC area post-9/11 have shown an elevated risk of physical and psychological symp- this range [Eaton et al., 1990]. Although we used a different diagnostic tool, comparing our findings with these
toms resulting from exposures to the WTC collapse [Schuster et al., 2001; Banauch et al., 2002; Bernard et al., 2002; national rates suggests that the prevalence of major depression in MTA-NYCT workers exposed to the dust cloud
Galea et al., 2002a,b; Levin et al., 2002; Malevskaya et al., 2002; Prezant et al., 2002; Rom et al., 2002; Schlenger et was four to five times greater than the rate one would expect to see in a worker population [Eaton and Kessler,
al., 2002; Silver et al., 2002; Trout et al., 2002]. Occupational studies have found significant physical and psycho- 1981]. The CES-D scale we used to identify those with symptoms of major depression may have exaggerated the
logical symptoms in office workers and school staff who were working in the vicinity of the WTC towers [Bernard number of workers with these symptoms since it is used as a 20-question screening tool; a subsequent psychiatric
et al., 2002; Trout et al., 2002]. Medical screening and follow-up of volunteers and workers involved in search and interview (or the highly structured Diagnostic Interview Schedule used in the occupational depression study pre-
rescue efforts and clean-up at Ground Zero have found physical and psychological conditions related to WTC ac- viously referenced) would eliminate those individuals who do not fulfill the DSM-III (now DSM-IV) criteria for major
tivities that have persisted upto the current time, some severe enough to prevent return to work [Levin et al., 2002; depressive disorder. In addition, comparing our depressive symptom rates with that study’s rates may not be ap-
Prezant et al., 2002]. Our findings are consistent with these prior studies; although the number of persons identi- propriate since those populations had not recently experienced a major disaster. We attempted to balance these
fied in our survey with physician-diagnosed illness was relatively small, the impact of the WTC attacks was evident. discrepancies by using a more stringent CES-D score criterion. Fifteen percent of NYC transit workers with expo-
sure to the dust cloud had PTSS, and those knowing a victim of 9/11 had a higher risk for PTSS. The prevalence of
In this study, persistent physical and psychological symptoms reported by MTA-NYCT workers were significant- PTSS among these transit workers was nearly three times greater than that found six months post-September 11th
ly associated with WTC-related exposures. MTA-NYCT in a national population outside New York City (5.8%)
workers who were directly exposed to the dust cloud [Silver et al., 2002]; this latter population was cate-
had a significant risk of persistent mucous membrane gorized by a similar PTSD scale (the Impact of Events
and lower respiratory symptoms and PTSS. The major- Scale-Revised). A study which evaluated survivors 6
ity of symptomatic workers exposed to the dust cloud months after the bombing of the Federal Building in
had improvement of most of their physical symp- Oklahoma City found that 34% met the diagnostic
toms, but 10% – 25% reported that they continued criteria for PTSD [North et al., 1999]; these individuals
to experience persistent mucous membrane and/or had a greater severity of psychological trauma expo-
respiratory symptoms 71⁄2 months post-WTC disas- sure than the transit workers. Various studies of New
ter. The persistent physical symptoms associated with York City residents conducted since September 11th
exposure to the dust cloud are likely due to exposure have identified elevated prevalence of depressive
to multiple environmental contaminants (e.g., smoke, symptoms and PTSD using a variety of assessment
respirable airborne particulates, and fire combustion methods [Schuster et al., 2001; Galea et al., 2002a;
products) from the collapse of the towers and ensu- Schlenger et al., 2002].
ing fires. Environmental air sampling performed days
after the collapse of the WTC [Environmental Protec- Factors other than WTC-related exposures are also
tion Agency, 2002; McKinney et al., 2002] did not find important to the mental health of transit workers.
exposures above established criteria, but because of Social support influenced how the workers in this
initial lack of exposure data in the first hours and fol- study were affected by the psychological trauma of
lowing days after the collapse, airborne contaminant the WTC disaster. Prior studies evaluating psycholog-
concentrations, characteristics, and their relationship ical symptoms and sick days in subway drivers who
to resulting health effects remain unclear. Environ- experienced a person jumping or falling in front of
mental monitoring of undisturbed, settled dust at their train shows conflicting results. One study found
Ground Zero documented high levels of particulate that significantly more sick days were reported (asso-
matter composed of construction material, soot, and ciated with a high depression score) from 3 months
glass fiber that was highly alkaline in character (pH > to 1 year following the event than among those who
11) [Lioy et al., 2002]. Exposure to these types of par- did not experience such an event [Theorell et al.,
ticulate would likely account for the symptoms of mu- 1994]; the other found that those with psychological
symptoms 1 month post- event had a marked reduction of these symptoms 5 months later [Tranah and Farmer,
1994]. One might expect that these types of traumatic experiences would heighten the psychological impact of
a disaster such as the attack and collapse of the WTC; on the other hand, these experiences may serve to blunt
some individuals’ psychological reaction to other distressing events. It is difficult to predict the long-term effect
from this disaster on mental health. Responses to extraordinary traumatic events may provoke a range of reac-
tions, and symptoms alone are not adequate to fully diagnose medical conditions. Many of the symptoms, which
the transit workers experienced, may be normal and reversible reactions to a traumatic event. Researchers eval-
uating the Oklahoma City bombing found that most individuals directly involved did not develop diagnosable
psychiatric illness, but the majority reported experiences such as sleep disturbance, feeling emotionally upset
afterwards, and loss of concentration [North et al., 1999]. One additional aspect to consider is that metropoli-
tan transportation workers are a working population that may be more likely to experience a terrorist act (e.g.,
suicide bombings of Israeli buses, the release of nerve agent (Sarin) in the Tokyo subway) since they are easily
accessible, transport the general public, and do not have rigorous security measures, as seen in airports. This
could lead to added work-related anxiety. Further systematic investigations using full clinical diagnostic assess-
ment (such as the Mt. Sinai Medical Screening Program), though labor and resource intensive, would be useful
in sorting out the breadth and scope of illness in those with persistent symptoms. Strengths of our study include
the well-established measurement tools used to define the psychological outcome variables, the reasonably
good participation rate, and the method of defining exposure groups based on reported dust exposure instead
of proximity to the WTC area. The major limitation of the study was the potential for recall bias; self-reported data
was collected 71⁄2 months after the WTC disaster occurred and remembering circumstances and symptoms close
to the time of the event may have been difficult for some. Self-selection bias and reporting bias may have been
factors; those in the dust cloud may have been more likely to participate in the study and report symptoms be-
cause of early news accounts about the WTC disaster’s health effects. Additionally, there is potential for selection
bias with regard to the role of social support when selecting worksites with the greatest number of employees,
although only train operator and conductor worksites would have been affected. When developing a response
plan for possible future attacks, consideration should be given to public transportation systems and their work-
ers. In the event of a future catastrophe within a metropolitan area, it is critical to include transportation workers
in the process of evaluating the public health impact of the event and providing clinical follow up for physical
and psychological health conditions. MTA- NYCT workers providing routine public transportation services who
were directly exposed to the WTC disaster events during and shortly after the time of the tower collapses should
be included in the medical screening and follow-up programs offered to WTC workers and have access to com-
munity-based mental health services.
 Environmental Health Perspectives • Childrens Health • September 2004 Trade Center disaster were identi- fied as having higher levels of PTSD symptoms, as reported by a parent. Caution
is needed here, however, since it is possible that parents of more highly exposed children may have been paying
The Effects Of The World Trade Center Event On Birth Outcomes closer attention to their children’s behaviors. Alternatively, parents experiencing more trauma themselves may have
overreported their children’s distress and dysregulation. Beyond the expected dose-response relationship, our find-
Among Term Deliveries At Three Lower Manhattan Hospitals ings support the importance of considering the child’s larger ecology in understanding the impact of the disaster
on children’s mental health outcomes. Specifically, we examined the relationship between children’s experiences
By Sally Ann Lederman,1 Virginia Rauh,1 Lisa Weiss,1 Janet L. Stein,2 of their immediate environment, including their witnessing adult and parent reactions to the disaster, negative
Lori A. Hoepner,1 Mark Becker,3 and Frederica P. Perera1 changes in parenting behavior, and increased tension in the parenting couple, to the level of PTSD symptoms in
children. In addition to direct exposure to the disaster, the level of exposure children had to negative reactions in
1. Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health adults also predicted higher levels of PTSD symptoms. This finding suggests that not only is exposure to the disaster
Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, NY a risk for young children but also the reactions of adults around them can adversely affect child outcomes.
2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY
3. Center for International Earth Science Information Network, Columbia University, New York, NY The increased stress on parents resulting from the disaster included negative changes in parenting and increased
conflict and tension in parent couples. Because the mean scores for changes in parenting and increased couple
The effects of prenatal exposure to pollutants from the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster on fetal growth and sub- tension are low, we caution over-stating the data. However, from a clinical perspective, because young children
sequent health and development of exposed children are more heavily immersed in the family and home en-
remain a source of concern. We assessed the impact vironment than school-age children are, the poten-
of gestational timing of the disaster and distance tial influence of these stresses on the quality of par-
from the WTC in the 4 weeks after 11 September on enting and the tone of the immediate environment
the birth outcomes of 300 nonsmoking women who “Women in the first trimester of pregnancy at the are essential to consider. Furthermore, although par-
were pregnant at the time of the event. They were ent PTSD was not significant in the regression model
recruited at delivery between December 2001 and
June 2002 from three hospitals close to the WTC site. time of the WTC event delivered infants with signifi- predicting child PTSD (although it was at the bivari-
ate level), the impact of parent trauma symptoms on
Residential and work addresses of all participants for parenting behavior and on the quality of the parent–
each of the 4 weeks after 11 September 2001 were cantly shorter gestation (–3.6 days) and a smaller child relationship is a critical issue for screening and
geocoded for classification by place and timing of possible intervention.
exposure. Average daily hours spent at each location
were based on the women’s reports for each week.
head circumference (–0.48 cm), compared with wom-
Other variables were related to higher rates of PTSD
Biomedical pregnancy and delivery data extracted symptoms in children. Specifically, child’s history of
from the medical records of each mother and new- en at later stages of pregnancy, regardless of the dis- trauma prior to 9/11 predicted higher levels of report-
born included medical complications, type of deliv- ed PTSD symptoms. This is the first study of children
ery, length of gestation, birth weight, birth length,
and head circumference.
tance of their residence or work sites from the WTC.” in this age group following 9/11 to include a range of
previous trauma including violence. The finding con-
firms other reports linking prior trauma and response
Term infants born to women who were pregnant to disasters, reiterating the need to understand what
on 11 September 2001 and who were living within the child brings to the current situation. Past trauma
a 2-mile radius of the WTC during the month after the may weaken a child’s foundation and ability to cope with another traumatic situation. This is a little studied area
event showed significant decrements in term birth weight (–149 g) and birth length (–0.82 cm), compared with worthy of more attention. In particular, we note that 40% of the children in our study had been separated from a
infants born to the other pregnant women studied, after controlling for sociodemographic and biomedical risk parent for a week or more prior to 9/11. It is worth investigating whether a seemingly nontraumatic event like a
factors. The decrements remained significant with adjustment for gestational duration (–122 g and –0.74 cm, weeklong separation puts a child at risk during subsequent stressful conditions. Similarly, understanding the ways
respectively). Women in the first trimester of pregnancy at the time of the WTC event delivered infants with sig- in which different types of trauma (i.e., violence, illness or normative separations) affect a child’s response to sub-
nificantly shorter gestation (–3.6 days) and a smaller head circumference (–0.48 cm), compared with women at sequent trauma would be beneficial in developing interventions.
later stages of pregnancy, regardless of the distance of their residence or work sites from the WTC. The observed
adverse effects suggest an impact of pollutants and/or stress related to the WTC disaster and have implications for Finally, at the bivariate level, disruptions in the community environment were related to higher levels of child
the health and development of exposed children. PTSD symptoms. Although community level disruptions were controlled for in the model, it is noteworthy that
the postdisaster environment likely plays a role in children’s development of trauma symptoms. While many par-
Discussion ents and children adapted easily to the stark changes in their immediate physical environment, the loss of familiar
landmarks and gathering spaces (e.g., loss of playgrounds, known places to eat or shop) in the post 9/11 environ-
The aim of this study was to understand the impact of exposure, previous trauma, and family level variables on ment were common themes among focus group participants and may have contributed to children’s or parents’
children’s adjustment following the WTC disaster. Not surprisingly, children with greater exposure to the World adjustment in the postdisaster period.
 Clinical Implications

Mental health professionals and parents alike would like to believe that young children are immune to experiences of trauma either because of
resilience or developmental status or both (Bosquet, 2004; Osofsky, 1995). However, evidence from a variety of studies has documented clearly
that young children are indeed potentially even more vulnerable to traumatic experiences than older children and adults. Our findings sug-
gest that young children will benefit greatly from prevention and intervention efforts aimed at the child’s immediate social ecology, including
parenting strategies that might be affected by trauma and couple concerns. Specifically, given the consistent relationship found between ex-
posure and child trauma symptoms, parents and caregivers of young children can be educated and supported in efforts to eliminate or reduce
exposure in the event of catastrophic community trauma, such as 9/11. When this is not possible, parents, caregivers and communities must
be supported to reinstate safety and security for children, including routines and access to safe physical play space, as soon as possible in the
aftermath of a disaster. Finally, parents and young children may require specific intervention to address distress, which may or may not reach the
level of diagnosable PTSD but may still be disruptive to child and family functioning and within the parent–child relationship. Such dynamics
are likely to be distressing to children and their parents, and thus, are clinically important. Unfortunately, we have learned from September 11th
and Hurricane Katrina that the provision of services for families with young children in a disaster context is greatly hampered by the relative
invisibility of young children and the lack of infrastructure for screening, identification and intervention with the very youngest (Osofsky et al.,
2007). The findings from this study underscore the critical need to provide appropriate interventions and supports to the youngest children and
their families following a disaster if we want to support adaptive postdisaster family and developmental outcomes for young children.

significantly shorter gestation (–3.6 days)

and a smaller head circumference (–0.48 cm)

are examples of nuclear contamination

 Mount Sinai Journal Of Medicine • 2008
Impact of September 11 World Trade Center Disaster
On Children And Pregnant Women
By Philip J. Landrigan, MD, MSc,1 Joel Forman, MD,2 Maida Galvez, MD, MPH,1
Brooke Newman, BA,1 Stephanie M. Engel, PhD1 and Claude Chemtob, PhD3
1. Department of Community and Preventive Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY
2. Department of Pediatrics, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY,
3. Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, One Gustave L. Levy Place, New York, NY
Children are uniquely sensitive to toxic exposures in the environment. This sensitivity reflects children’s dispropor-
tionately heavy exposures coupled with the biologic vulnerability that is a consequence of their passage through
the complex transitions of early development.
To assess effects on children’s health associated with the attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) of September
11th, 2001, research teams at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and other academic health centers in New York
City launched a series of clinical and epidemiologic studies. Mount Sinai investigators undertook a prospective
analysis of pregnancy outcomes in 182 women who were pregnant on September 11th, 2001, and who had been
either inside or within 0.5 miles of the WTC at the time of the attacks; they found a doubling in incidence of intra-
uterine growth retardation (IUGR) among infants born to exposed mothers as compared to infants born to unex-
posed women in northern Manhattan. A Columbia research team examined pregnancy outcomes in 329 women
who lived, worked or gave birth in lower Manhattan in the 9 months after September 11th; they found that these
women gave birth to infants with significantly lower birth weight and shorter length than women living at greater
distances from Ground Zero. NYU investigators documented increased numbers of new asthma cases and ag-
gravations of preexisting asthma in children living in lower Manhattan. Mount Sinai mental health researchers
documented a significant increase in mental health problems in children who directly witnessed the attacks and
subsequent traumatic events; these problems were most severe in children with a past history of psychological
trauma. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene established a WTC Registry that has enrolled
over 70,000 persons of all ages in lower Manhattan and will follow the health of these populations to document on
a continuing basis the health consequences of September 11th.
The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) of September 11th, 2001 and the subsequent collapse
of the twin towers created an acute environmental disaster of unprecedented magnitude in New York City. The
combustion of more than 90,000 L of jet fuel at temperatures above 1,000º C released a dense and intensely tox-
ic atmospheric plume containing soot, metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and hydrochloric acid. The
collapse of the buildings pulverized cement, glass, and building contents and generated thousands of tons of
particulate matter (PM) composed of cement dust, glass fibers, asbestos, lead, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides, and polychlorinated dioxins and furans. [1 –
3] These materials dispersed over lower Manhattan, Brooklyn and for miles beyond. They entered nearby offices,
schools, and residential buildings. Much remained at the site to form Ground Zero, a six-story pile of smoking
rubble that burned intermittently for more than 3 months. [4] Workers at Ground Zero and the public in lower
Manhattan, including pregnant workers, infants and children, were exposed to smoke and dust in ambient air,
in their communities, in their schools, and in their homes. The release by government authorities of inaccurate
and misleading information on air quality in lower Manhattan may have aggravated the health impacts of these
airborne exposures by creating a false sense of security that deterred appropriate use of respiratory protection.
In the aftermath of September 11th, the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) gathered
together a consortium of academic research centers in environmental health for the purpose of organizing stud-
ies to examine the environmental consequences and human health impacts of the destruction of the WTC. These
studies included chemical analyses of the dust that settled at Ground Zero, air monitoring, study of the plumes
of smoke and dust released to the atmosphere, and health studies of exposed populations. The populations of
greatest concern were workers at Ground Zero, such as police, firefighters, construction workers and building
cleaners, and vulnerable populations living, working and attending school in lower Manhattan, especially preg-
nant women and young children.
Pregnancy Outcome Studies
To investigate health impacts in the vulnerable populations in lower Manhattan, researchers at the Mount Sinai
School of Medicine and the Columbia University Center for Children’s Health developed conjoint proposals to
examine infants born to women who were pregnant on September 11th, 2001 and who were either acutely or
chronically exposed to smoke and dust from the twin towers. In the Mount Sinai study, the acute exposure group
consisted of pregnant women who were actually in the WTC towers or in nearby office buildings at the time of
the attacks. The chronic exposure group consisted of women who lived, worked or delivered their babies in the
communities of lower Manhattan in the weeks and months after September 11th; this group has been followed
by researchers from Columbia.
To assess the exposures of these women and their infants to toxic chemicals released into the environment by the
destruction of the towers, samples of blood and other biological fluids were taken during pregnancy or at deliv-
ery. To further characterize exposures, efforts were made to reconstruct the women’s locations in the aftermath of
September 11th and then to correlate that information with geocoded data on environmental exposure levels. [5]
To assess infants’ growth, development and health status, each infant was evaluated at birth and periodically re-
examined over the first several years of life. Concomitant psychological examinations of mothers and their babies
have also been conducted.
Mount Sinai Pregnancy Outcome Study
To evaluate whether acute, high-level exposures to environmental toxins on and after September 11th were re-
lated to impaired fetal growth or other adverse pregnancy outcomes, researchers from the Mount Sinai School of
Medicine established a prospective epidemiologic study of 187 women who were pregnant and either within or
near the WTC on or immediately after the attacks; 12 of these women were actually in the towers, and nearly all of
the rest were within one-half mile. [6] All of these women were identified through their obstetricians, and they all
provided fully informed, written consent to participate in the study.
These highly exposed women experienced no increased frequency of miscarriages and no increases in incidence
of either premature or low-birth weight infants. However, a striking finding was that these acutely exposed women
experienced a twofold-increased risk of delivering small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants. SGA infants are defined
as infants with a birth weight below the 10th percentile for gestational age based on the nomogram by Brenner.
[7] This rate of SGA was significantly elevated compared to a population of more than 3,000 women of similar eth-
nic and socioeconomic background who delivered at Mount Sinai Hospital during the same 9-month time period,
and had no direct exposure to dust and smoke from the WTC.
Examination of potential confounders such as marital status, education, pre-pregnancy weight, and pregnancy-in-
duced hypertension did not materially alter the results. No significant difference in the frequency of SGA was ob-
served according to the trimester of pregnancy at the time of the attacks. This finding of an increased incidence
of SGA infants among women acutely exposed suggests that the WTC disaster had a detrimental impact on their
pregnancies. The Mount Sinai investigators speculated that women’s exposures to smoke and dust from the towers
may have contributed to this effect, and they noted that an increased incidence of SGA is seen among women who
smoke during pregnancy; intrauterine exposure to products of combustion is thought to account for that ef- New York University Health Assessment Of Community Residents
fect. [6] In addition to toxic chemical exposures, the destruction of the WTC was a source also of enormous
psychological trauma. To assess the potential impact of this psychological trauma on pregnant women and To assess prevalence of new-onset respiratory symptoms after September 11th, 2001 among previously
their fetuses, the Mount Sinai investigators undertook mental health assessments of women with singleton healthy persons in lower Manhattan as well as in residents with preexisting asthma, a team from New York
pregnancies included in the study described above. University Medical Center in collaboration with the New York State Department of Health and the New
York Academy of Medicine conducted a clinical and epidemiologic survey. [12] Symptoms were assessed
A total of 52 women completed at least one psychological assessment prior to delivery. In adjusted multi- by questionnaire, and pulmonary function was evaluated in a subset of the study population by standard
variable models, both post-traumatic stress symptomatology (PTSS) and moderate depression were asso- screening spirometry.
ciated with longer gestational durations. Further it was found that PTSS was associated with decrements in
infant head circumference at birth (β = −0.07, SE = 0.03, p = 0.01). The investigators opined that the impact A total of 2,166 residents of lower Manhattan living within a 1.6-km radius of the WTC were enrolled in this
of stress resulting from extreme trauma may be different from that resulting from ordinary life experienc- survey and compared with 200 persons living 1.6 – 8.0 km distant. Spirometry was performed in 52 resi-
es, particularly with respect to cortisol production. The observed decrements in head circumference may dents. Preliminary data indicate that previously healthy persons living near Ground Zero had a greater in-
influence subsequent risk of neurocognitive development. Long-term follow-up of these infants is needed crease in prevalence of respiratory symptoms after September 11th than did more distant residents. These
to evaluate the persistence of these effects. [8] symptoms were predominantly cough, wheeze, and shortness of breath. Symptoms were not associated
with abnormal screening spirometry. Preexisting asthmatic residents in the exposed area also reported a
Columbia Pregnancy Outcome Study higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms after September 11th. They also reported an increased use of
asthma medication relative to controls. These findings are consistent with observations in exposed workers
The Columbia Center for Children’s Environmental Health launched a study in December 2001 to examine and also with findings observed in laboratory animals exposed experimentally to WTC dust. [13]
effects on gestational age, birth size, respiratory health and neurocognitive development of chronic expo-
sure during pregnancy to WTC contaminants. This study was undertaken in a group of 329 women who New York City DOHMH Health Registry
lived, worked or gave birth in lower Manhattan during the months after September 11th.
In 2004, to facilitate continuing follow-up of the populations exposed in the aftermath of September 11th,
Of 738 women initially screened for eligibility, 369 women were eligible and gave their consent for partic- the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH), together with the Center for
ipation; 329 contributed at least one blood sample (cord or maternal blood), medical record information, Disease Control’s Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), established the World Trade
and a complete postpartum interview, all of which were Center Health Registry (WTCHR). To establish this Reg-
required for full enrollment in the study. [9] All provid- istry, baseline interviews were conducted on more
ed fully informed written consent to participate in the “Mothers who were in their first trimester of pregnancy on September than 71,000 highly affected eligible enrollees. [14–16]
study.
11th delivered infants with statistically significantly shorter gestation The WTCHR is a vital resource that will enable public
The researchers found that the participating women health and medical experts to systematically monitor
who lived within two miles of the WTC delivered infants
duration (−3.6 days) and smaller head circumference (−0.48 cm), com- the health of tens of thousands of persons potentially
with significantly lower weight (−149 g) and reduced pared to women who were in later stages of pregnancy on that date, re- impacted by the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the
length (−0.8 cm) at birth as compared to women who WTC. The WTCHR will make it possible for those who
lived at greater distances. Only part of this observed re- gardless of the distance of their residences or work sites from the WTC.” enrolled in the Registry and thousands of others who
duction could be accounted for by shortening of dura- may have been exposed to receive the information
tion of gestation. Mothers who were in their first trimes- Note: These are the same findings as in the previous report and advice they want and need to make informed de-
ter of pregnancy on September 11th delivered infants cisions about their health. In order for the WTCHR to
with statistically significantly shorter gestation duration (−3.6 days) and smaller head circumference (−0.48 fulfill its potential as a public health resource, an ongoing effort is needed to maintain contact with WTCHR
cm), compared to women who were in later stages of pregnancy on that date, regardless of the distance of participants and sustain their interest so that they can continue to provide information to the registry and
their residences or work sites from the WTC. [10] receive feedback on what is learned about the health impact of the September 11th attacks.

Further work in the Columbia Population has documented associations between biomarkers of exposure DOHMH will maintain contact and follow all Registry enrollees for up to 20 years to determine health ef-
and proximity to the site and has also found associations between exposure biomarkers and developmen- fects resulting from the environmental and mental health exposure to the attack. It has already document-
tal outcomes (http://www.CCCEH.org). ed a two-fold increase in new onset asthma in exposed children [17–18].
 Conclusions
The data that have emerged from lower Manhattan in the after-
math of September 11th indicate that health effects occurred in
vulnerable populations, but that these effects were in general
less severe and qualitatively different from the effects observed
in the heavily exposed worker populations.
Two major lessons emerge from the WTC experience that should
inform preparation and response to future disasters, whether
natural or man-made. The first of these lessons is that prepared-
ness is critical. There need to be prepositioned resources in place
before the occurrence of a disaster to deal with the inevitable
impacts on both the physical health and the mental health of
exposed populations, especially vulnerable subgroups. These re-
sources must include human resources – trained personnel and
robust organizations – as well as fiscal resources, such as contin-
gency funds in the budgets of CDC, NIH and the Department of
Homeland Security that can be rapidly and effectively deployed
to qualified organizations in the aftermath of a disaster.
A second lesson is that long-term, con-
tinuing follow-up will be needed to
fully assess and treat disaster-related
health effects. Thus, long-term follow
of the infants exposed inutero, and fol-
low-up through the World Trade Center
Registry of the general population who
resided in lower Manhattan in the days
and weeks after September 11th will
be required to characterize and man-
age the long-term and delayed con-
sequences of the disaster and thus to
chart the full magnitude of the health
impact of the attacks on the WTC.
 Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
© 2010 American Psychological Association 2011
Vol. 3, No. 1, 1–7 1942-9681/10
Young Children In The Aftermath Of The World Trade Center Attacks
By Ellen R. DeVoe • Boston University
William Bannon, Jr. • Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Tovah P. Klein • Barnard College
Claudia Miranda-Julian • Tufts University
The attacks of September 11th, 2001, on the World Trade Center were unprecedented acts of terrorism on U.S. soil.
The disaster provides an opportunity to understand the responses of young children to a traumatic event of this
proportion. This retrospective study took place within a year of the attacks and examined the relationship of levels
of exposure to the World Trade Center disaster and family level predictors to trauma symptoms in a highly exposed
sample of 180 young children in New York City. Data were collected through interviews with parents of children
five years or younger at the time of the attacks. Primary variables included direct exposure and post-9/11 child
and parent functioning, including trauma symptoms. Child trauma symptoms were related to direct exposure to
the disaster, previous trauma, negative changes in parenting, and increased couple tension. Findings support the
conceptualization that children’s responses to traumatic events must be addressed within the caregiving context
of family relationships. Clinical and preventive intervention for young children should be aimed at multiple levels
of the social ecology.
The unprecedented horror in this country of the attacks on the World Trade Center had the potential to profound-
ly affect young children’s adaptation, particularly among children whose families lived in close proximity to the
disaster site (Hoven et al., 2005). To date, however, we know very little about how young children are affected by
exposure to catastrophic community trauma (Osofsky, 2004) and what we do know is based on only a handful of
empirical studies (Osofsky, 1995; Scheeringa & Zeanah, 1995; Scheeringa, Zeanah, Myers, & Putnam, 2003). Be-
cause there is a paucity of research from the September 11th attacks concerning this age group, very young chil-
dren and their families remain without benefit of services informed by evidence in the wake of disaster (Osofsky,
Osofsky, & Harris, 2007). Thus, in this article, while we focus on the World Trade Center attacks, the data can inform
us about trauma and young children more generally. In light of Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Haiti, and the
number of families with young children affected by the Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the need for this information
is particularly pressing.
Developmental Vulnerability of Young Children in the Wake of Traumatic Events
Young children are particularly vulnerable in the face of traumatic events partly due to their dependence on care-
givers for security, both physically and psychologically. In addition to children’s cognitive appraisal of the event
in question (Arroyo & Eth, 1996; Scheeringa & Zeanah, 1995), young children have a unique set of factors that can
influence their postevent adaptation. For the very youngest, degree of threat to a caregiver, the influence of par-
ents’ reactions, and family cohesiveness may be of greater importance than direct exposure to the disaster (Green,
Korol, Grace, Vary, Leonard, Gleser, & Smitson-Cohen, 1991; Laor, Wolmer, & Cohen, 2001; Laor, Wolmer, Mayes,
Golomb, Silverberg, Weizman, & Cohen, 1996; Scheeringa et al., 2003). The child’s perceptions of the event and its
degree of threat can be mediated by important adults in the child’s life and can influence the child’s mobilization
of internal and external resources to cope with the traumatic stressor: “Older children are better able to confront
adverse situations cognitively, affectively, and socially and therefore may be less dependent on their closest human
and nonhuman environments for the regulation of their well-being” (Laor et al., 1996, p. 422). For young children,
however, the influence of important adults is thought to be central in influencing post-traumatic adaptation and
associations between parental and child functioning have been found in studies of war (Laor, Wolmer, & Cohen,
2001; Levy-Shiff, Holman, & Rosenthal, 1993). Similarly, studies of older children’s responses to natural and nuclear
disasters and war exposure have found an association between parental level of distress or psychopathology and
child outcomes (Green et al., 1991; Laor, Wolmer, & Cohen, 2001; McFarlane, Clayer & Bookless, 1987).
Young Children’s Responses to Traumatic Events and Disaster
One reason for the lack of studies of this age group may be that young children’s manifest responses to trauma ap-
pear different from those of adults. Researchers have documented unique patterns of post-traumatic adaptation
among young children through case studies and a handful of empirical investigations (Gaensbauer, 1995; Scheer-
inga & Zeanah, 1995; Sugar, 1992; Terr, 1979, 1988). For example, while young children may be less likely to display
recognizable symptoms of PTSD, they are more likely to have “global and disorganized responses to stress” (Laor et
al., 1996, p. 421) including high incidence of specific behavioral disturbance, trauma-specific fears, aggressive-
ness, separation difficulties, and regressive behaviors (e.g., Arroyo & Eth, 1996; Green et al., 1991; McFarlane, 1987;
Scheeringa, Zeanah, Drell, & Larrieu, 1995; Vogel & Vernberg, 1993). Very young children may also be expected to
demonstrate an increase in proximity-seeking to important adults, as opposed to avoidance of relationships, a
symptom of PTSD.
There is growing consensus among scholars of infancy and early childhood that DSM-based criteria for PTSD are
inadequate for assessing post-traumatic reactions in young children (e.g., Scheeringa et al., 1995) and that very
young children’s responses to trauma are best considered within the context of caregiving relationships (Lieber-
man, Van Horn, & Ippen, 2005; Scheeringa et al., 2003). For example, in the first empirical study of PTSD in chil-
dren under 48 months of age (N = 41), researchers found that when the traumatic event involved direct threat
to the child’s caregiver, and not directly to the child, children still had elevated levels of hyperarousal, as well as
more new fears and aggression. These scholars concluded that the diagnostic criteria for PTSD in young chil-
dren should include the symptom categories reflecting newly developed fears and aggressive behaviors in the
post-trauma period (Scheeringa & Zeanah, 1995). As an alternative to DSM-based definitions, criteria for assessing
trauma symptoms in young children have been developed to address these developmentally specific issues (Zero
to Three, 1994). These criteria include developmentally relevant behaviors, such as night terrors, separation anx-
iety, constriction in play, post-traumatic play and aggression, and have been incorporated in the current study.
Research on the Impact of 9/11
The horrific nature of 9/11 and the large numbers of people affected by the disaster spurred an emerging domain
of research about children’s responses to the disaster. Still, relatively few studies have been focused on youth di-
rectly exposed to the events of September 11th in New York City, and only one study of preschool age children has
been reported to date (Chemtob, Namura, & Abramovitz, 2008).
Research on children
Only one population-based survey of New York City children was conducted in the early aftermath of September
11th with oversampling of children living in high risk areas, including in close proximity to Ground Zero (Hoven,
Duarte, Lucas, et al., 2005). Six months post-9/11, a representative sample of 8,236 public schoolchildren (Grades 4
–12) in 94 public schools was surveyed about exposure to the disaster, pre-9/11 trauma, and post-9/11 adjustment.
Findings indicate that children in the city had higher than population rates of probable PTSD (10.6%), generalized
anxiety (10.3%), agoraphobia (14.8%), and separation anxiety (12.3%). Significantly, children with higher levels of
direct personal and “family” exposure to the disaster and previous trauma were at greater risk of developing PTSD
than children without these risk factors. Of particular relevance for the current research are the findings that young-
er children (4th and 5th grade girls) and those children who had family members with high exposure were more
vulnerable to developing post-9/11 symptoms. Specifically, family member’s exposure to the attacks was found to
be a highly significant risk factor in predicting the development of probable PTSD at 6-months post-event.
Studies of children younger than the 4th grade level in the most highly affected areas of the attacks are sparse.
Phillips and colleagues (2004) reported on an exploratory study of 147 elementary schoolchildren (K-6th grades)
in Washington, DC (Phillips, Prince, & Schiebelhut, 2004). Investigation based on parent report on all children and
child self report from 4th to 6th grade children focused on the following: a) the accuracy of parental reports about
their children’s reactions to the attacks; b) the relationship of child age and gender, parental stress, and media ex-
posure to children’s reactions; and c) the association between parent–child communication about the attacks and
children’s responses. Findings indicate that parental negative reactions and high media exposure were associated
with greater distress among children and that parents significantly underestimated the degree of negative reac-
tions experienced by their children. It is important to emphasize that children’s exposure within this sample was
limited to TV and other media coverage and discussion of the events with parents and at school.
Only one empirical study of outcomes for young children who were directly exposed to the events of September
11th has been reported at the time of this writing (Chemtob et al., 2008). In this research, parents reported on a
sample of 116 preschool children who were between ages 18 and 54 months at the time of the attacks. The study
began a year and a half after the disaster and was conducted over more than a two-year period. Findings indicate
that children with “high intensity” exposure to the disaster and who had lifetime history of other traumatic expe-
rience were more likely to be reported as having clinically significant problems on the Child Behavior Checklist,
including anxious/depressed and sleep problems. Significant limitations of this study include the length of time
elapsed from the disaster to the data collection period and the exclusion of abuse and violence-related items in
the assessment of lifetime trauma for children.
The Current Study
A primary aim of the current research was to examine the relationship between exposure and family level variables
and symptoms of post-traumatic stress within a sample of highly exposed young children (5 years or younger on
9/11/01) in New York City in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks. While we acknowledge that traumatic
impact is often manifested beyond PTSD symptoms (Aber & Gershoff, 2004), in this work, we focus on examin-
ing symptoms and patterns of acute traumatic stress in young children as reported by their parents, with the
recognition that this domain of mental health impact is defined narrowly by the current field of traumatic stress.
Specifically, we explore the correlates of child post-traumatic stress symptoms, including child’s exposure to the
disaster and to adults’ reactions on 9/11, parental mental health post-9/11, family level exposure, and child’s pre-
vious history of trauma, including separation from caregiver in an effort to better understand factors influencing
the outcomes in young children.
Discussion
The aim of this study was to understand the impact of exposure, previous trauma, and family level variables on chil-
dren’s adjustment following the WTC disaster. Not surprisingly, children with greater exposure to the World Trade
Center disaster were identified as having higher levels of PTSD symptoms, as reported by a parent. Caution is need-
ed here, however, since it is possible that parents of more highly exposed children may have been paying closer
attention to their children’s behaviors. Alternatively, parents experiencing more trauma themselves may have over-
reported their children’s distress and dysregulation. Beyond the expected dose-response relationship, our findings
support the importance of considering the child’s larger ecology in understanding the impact of the disaster on
children’s mental health outcomes. Specifically, we examined the relationship between children’s experiences of
their immediate environment, including their witnessing adult and parent reactions to the disaster, negative chang-
es in parenting behavior, and increased tension in the parenting couple, to the level of PTSD symptoms in children.
In addition to direct exposure to the disaster, the level of exposure children had to negative reactions in adults also
predicted higher levels of PTSD symptoms. This finding suggests that not only is exposure to the disaster a risk for
young children but also the reactions of adults around them can adversely affect child outcomes.
The increased stress on parents resulting from the disaster included negative changes in parenting and increased
conflict and tension in parent couples. Because the mean scores for changes in parenting and increased couple
tension are low, we caution overstating the data. However, from a clinical perspective, because young children are
more heavily immersed in the family and home environment than school-age children are, the potential influence
of these stresses on the quality of parenting and the tone of the immediate environment are essential to consider.
Furthermore, although parent PTSD was not significant in the regression model predicting child PTSD (although it
was at the bivariate level), the impact of parent trauma symptoms on parenting behavior and on the quality of the
parent–child relationship is a critical issue for screening and possible intervention.
Other variables were related to higher rates of PTSD symptoms in children. Specifically, child’s history of trauma
prior to 9/11 predicted higher levels of reported PTSD symptoms. This is the first study of children in this age group
following 9/11 to include a range of previous trauma including violence. The finding confirms other reports linking
prior trauma and response to disasters, reiterating the need to understand what the child brings to the current
situation. Past trauma may weaken a child’s foundation and ability to cope with another traumatic situation. This
is a little studied area worthy of more attention. In particular, we note that 40% of the children in our study had
been separated from a parent for a week or more prior to 9/11. It is worth investigating whether a seemingly non-
traumatic event like a weeklong separation puts a child at risk during subsequent stressful conditions. Similarly,
understanding the ways in which different types of trauma (i.e., violence, illness or normative separations) affect a
child’s response to subsequent trauma would be beneficial in developing interventions.
Finally, at the bivariate level, disruptions in the community environment were related to higher levels of child
PTSD symptoms. Although community level disruptions were controlled for in the model, it is noteworthy that the
post-disaster environment likely plays a role in children’s development of trauma symptoms. While many parents
and children adapted easily to the stark changes in their immediate physical environment, the loss of familiar land-
marks and gathering spaces (e.g., loss of playgrounds, known places to eat or shop) in the post-9/11 environment
were common themes among focus group participants and may have contributed to children’s or parents’ adjust-
ment in the post-disaster period.
Clinical Implications
Mental health professionals and parents alike would like to believe that young children are immune to experienc-
es of trauma either because of resilience or developmental status or both (Bosquet, 2004; Osofsky, 1995). However,
evidence from a variety of studies has documented clearly that young children are indeed potentially even more
vulnerable to traumatic experiences than older children and adults. Our findings suggest that young children will
benefit greatly from prevention and intervention efforts aimed at the child’s immediate social ecology, including
parenting strategies that might be affected by trauma and couple concerns. Specifically, given the consistent re-
lationship found between exposure and child trauma symptoms, parents and caregivers of young children can be
educated and supported in efforts to eliminate or reduce exposure in the event of catastrophic community trau-
ma, such as 9/11. When this is not possible, parents, caregivers and communities must be supported to reinstate
safety and security for children, including routines and access to safe physical play space, as soon as possible in the
aftermath of a disaster. Finally, parents and young children may require specific intervention to address distress,
which may or may not reach the level of diagnosable PTSD but may still be disruptive to child and family func-
tioning and within the parent–child relationship. Such dynamics are likely to be distressing to children and their
parents, and thus, are clinically important. Unfortunately, we have learned from September 11th and Hurricane Ka-
trina that the provision of services for families with young children in a disaster context is greatly hampered by the
relative invisibility of young children and the lack of infrastructure for screening, identification and intervention
with the very youngest (Osofsky et al., 2007). The findings from this study underscore the critical need to provide
appropriate interventions and supports to the youngest children and their families following a disaster if we want
to support adaptive post-disaster family and developmental outcomes for young children.
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 WORLD TRADE CENTER HEALTH IMPACTS ON FDNY RESCUE WORKERS
Fire Department, City of New York
Bureau of Health Services
WTC Medical Monitoring & Treatment Program

A SIX YEAR ASSESSMENT • September 2001 — September 2007

THE emperor NERO COMPLEX

“The lights directed skyward commemorating the destruction of the Twin Towers are equally reminiscent and more than directly related to the two X-ray solitons that demolished the towers”
~ Jeff Prager 2019
 NYC Bureau Of Health Services
History And Timeline Of NYC Fire Department Rescue Workers
One month after the attacks on the WTC, under the guidance of our Chief Medical Officers, Dr. Kerry Kelly and Dr.
David Prezant, FDNY-BHS began comprehensive medical screenings. Both doctors were caught in the collapse and
understood the potential short- and long-term health impacts of the unique exposures experienced at the WTC
sites by our FDNY rescue workers (Firefighters and EMS members). FDNY- BHS co-designed this program specifi-
cally for FDNY members, partnering with the Uniformed Firefighters Association (UFA), the Uniformed Fire Officers
Association (UFOA), the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) and Uniformed Emergency Medical Tech-
nicians and Paramedics (UEP), Uniformed EMS Officers (UEMSO) and the Supervising Officers Association (SOA).
The periodic medicals and treatment programs already in place for active members supplied the foundation for
the FDNY WTC Program and enabled FDNY-BHS to institute the program rapidly. We are proud that our BHS phy-
sicians were the first to identify and treat WTC-related illnesses and that the FDNY WTC Program helped to inform
other WTC medical programs, including those provided by the Mount Sinai Consortium’s [1] WTC Medical Mon-
itoring and Treatment Program for non-FDNY responders and the Bellevue Hospital WTC Environmental Health
Center’s Treatment Program. Recognizing the potential for long-term health consequences from the exposures
experienced at the WTC site, the FDNY WTC Program expanded its initial screening programs to include long-term
monitoring, disease surveillance for late-emerging problems and treatment. Over time, the FDNY WTC Program
also included many scientific partners, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Nation-
al Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the Mt. Sinai NY/NJ WTC Health Consortium for non-FDNY
responders, the Bellevue Hospital WTC Environmental Health Center, Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Ein-
stein College of Medicine. As of December 31st, 2006, more than 14,200 FDNY WTC rescue workers have had med-
ical monitoring examinations and more than 8000 have received follow-up monitoring exams. Outreach activities
continue in an effort to give monitoring examinations to all of the approximately 16,200 members with whom the
FDNY WTC Program has been in active contact. The FDNY WTC Program recently has expanded to provide WTC-re-
lated medications to active and retired members. The various treatment options available in the program will be
discussed in greater detail later in this publication. Treatment provided under the FDNY WTC Program includes
services only for WTC-related conditions. For those who did not participate in the WTC rescue and recovery effort
and are not eligible for these free medications, the FDNY WTC Program remains important because it has allowed
FDNY to provide increased monitoring, expanded treatment options, improved safety benefits and more robust
training programs to all members.
The FDNY WTC Program receives funding from the FDNY to provide most work-related treatment for our ac-
tive members. Since 2005, certain specialized WTC treatments have been provided by supplemental funding
through a September 11th Recovery Grant from the American Red Cross (ARC) Liberty Disaster Relief Fund. For
retirees, initial funding for WTC-related physical health treatment (respiratory, etc.) came from this ARC grant.
For retirees and family members, funding for WTC-related mental health treatment has come from multiple
sources, including the FDNY, IAFF, ARC, FEMA — Project Liberty, SAMSA and various philanthropies. A recent
(November 2006) influx of approximately $20 million from the federal government (NIOSH) now is being used
to continue these medical and mental health treatment efforts. We anticipate that this funding will support the
program for approximately 12 months.
The FDNY continues its efforts to secure additional federal funding to provide members with continued long-term
monitoring and expert treatment. Future federal funding is always contingent upon documented needs; there-
fore, member participation in the FDNY WTC Program is important.
The FDNY and its unions have been major supporters of this program. Every dollar we receive from the federal
government for the FDNY WTC Program is spent only on this program. Both the Fire Commissioner and union
leadership have been instrumental in helping FDNY-BHS obtain funding for the FDNY WTC Program.
City government also has played a crucial role. In September 2006, the WTC Health Panel was formed to make
recommendations to ensure sufficient funding of WTC health programs in the future. Its report, “Addressing the
Health Impacts of 9-11,” and the subsequent testimony given by Mayor Bloomberg before the U.S. Senate, vigor-
ously advocate federal funding to fully support the FDNY WTC Program, the Mount Sinai Consortium’s WTC Med-
ical Monitoring and Treatment Program for non-FDNY responders and the Bellevue Hospital WTC Environmental
Health Center’s Treatment Program.

Funding

In October 2001, only four weeks after the attack, FDNY- BHS began performing standardized medical screenings
on WTC rescue workers with funding provided by NYC and the FDNY. This was the first comprehensive post-WTC ex-
posure medical performed by any medical institution. In November 2001, the CDC granted $4.8 million to the FDNY
to help fund this program from 2002 to 2004. This allowed the FDNY WTC Program to include affected retirees, who
previously would have been excluded from BHS monitoring and treatment. By February 2002, FDNY-BHS had con-
ducted screening medical examinations on nearly 10,000 FDNY rescue workers (Fire and EMS, active and retired).

In July 2004, the FDNY received $25 million from CDC/NIOSH to expand its monitoring program for an addition-
al five years (2004-2009). This funding pays for standardized clinical exams, staffing, scheduling and follow-ups.
With this funding, every “annual” or periodic medical evaluation members receive at the FDNY has been improved
and expanded to be a WTC periodic medical to include higher quality pulmonary function tests and improved
medical and mental health questionnaires. It also supports an FDNY data management group to provide quality
assurance and data analysis, so that the FDNY WTC Program can plan for future needs and release its findings to
our members. This report, provided to every active FDNY member and affected retiree, is one example of the data
management group’s work.
 Long-Term Respiratory Symptoms In World Trade Center Responders
BY Matthew P. Mauer, Karen R. Cummings and Rebecca Hoen
Bureau of Occupational Health, Center for Environmental Health, New York State Department of Health, Troy, NY, USA
Correspondence to: Matthew P. Mauer, Bureau of Occupational Health, Center for Environmental Health
New York State Department of Health, Flanigan Square, Room 230, 547 River Street, Troy, NY 12180, USA. Tel: 11 (518)402 7900
fax: 11 (518)402 7909; e-mail: mpm08@health.state.ny.us

New York State (NYS) employees who responded to the World Trade Center (WTC) disaster on or after 11 Sep-
tember 2001 were potentially exposed to a variety of materials and chemicals [1–6]. These exposures continued
in the months that followed, resulting from the resuspension of dust from recovery activities and intermittent
smoke plumes from ongoing fires. Respiratory effects have been reported among WTC responder populations and
among residents and office workers near the WTC site [7–19].
This cohort study was designed to assess asthma and lower respiratory symptoms (LRS) among NYS employees
who responded to the WTC disaster (NYS responders), in comparison with a control group of NYS employees, in
similar agencies and job titles, who did not respond. Disaster responders were those employees directed by their
agency to fulfil one or more work roles in the area of the WTC disaster. They represent a more moderately exposed
population than typical first responders [13]. The results reported here include LRS reported in a telephone in-
terview 5 years post-9/11. In addition, data regarding persistence and severity of LRS reported during the study
period (2003–06) are presented.
Our findings indicate that a cohort of NYS employees who responded to the WTC disaster continued to report
a higher rate of LRS than a comparison group of unexposed NYS employees, 5 years after the disaster. Using an
exposure assessment method [21], those with an exposure score greater than the mean demonstrated a consis-
tently greater magnitude of effect than those with an exposure score equal to or less than the mean.
The WTC Health Registry has reported that the risk of newly diagnosed asthma in their cohort of responders was
12-fold higher than expected background 3 year risk in the general population [22]. We found that asthma was
reported in a similar proportion of exposed and unexposed participants, suggesting that asthma is not associ-
ated with WTC exposure in this cohort. This might be due to the moderate overall exposures experienced by this
cohort [13]. Considering the association found between exposure and several LRS, it may be hypothesized that
some participants have experienced mild obstructive air-ways disease but have not sought medical diagnosis and
treatment. However, symptoms reported as LRS could in fact have been caused by upper respiratory effects, which
could be impacted by conditions such as gastro-oesophageal reflux. It has been reported by de la Hoz et al. [23]
that 79% of their responder cohort have experienced upper airway disease, while 49% have experienced lower
airway disease.
Among those reporting a cough in the past 12 months, exposed participants were more likely to report symptoms
suggestive of chronic bronchitis. This suggests that lower respiratory effects experienced by some WTC respond-
ers may be due to a chronic obstructive process. WTC Cough Syndrome has been described as a chronic cough
syndrome, occurring as a consequence of upper and lower respiratory disease. Specifically, lower respiratory tract
disease has been due to RADS or irritant-induced asthma, types of asthmatic bronchitis that often result in chronic
obstructive airways diseases [24].
To avoid possible misclassification, we applied a conservative definition of persistence. Thus, the overall number
of participants with persistence of symptoms was relatively low, resulting in CI that are somewhat wide. However,
given the aforementioned association of symptoms with exposure 5 years post-9/11, our overall results suggest
that persistence of LRS is a concern for some WTC responders. This is consistent with reports of symptom per-
sistence in other WTC responder cohorts [10, 25].
Some WTC studies have reported increased severity of asthma in those with potential WTC exposures [14, 17, 26].
We evaluated the severity of symptoms in participants over time. Among participants with a history of asthma,
several indicators of increased severity were associated with exposure scores greater than the mean for dust and/
or smoke exposure. Changes in breathing medication use were also assessed among participants. Due to the
relatively low number of participants in each of the sub-groups, CI for these data are wide. However, the overall
results suggest greater severity of respiratory effects in some of the most highly exposed responders. The primary
strength of this study is the inclusion of a control group of similar but unexposed NYS employees. An additional
strength of this study is that it evaluates response personnel who were not first responders and presumably had
lower overall exposures. A limitation is the relatively small number of participants in some sub-groups, resulting
in wide CI. For those portions of the analysis, our findings are less precise and may be subject to type I error. How-
ever, we have attempted to draw broad conclusions based on multiple significant findings, thus avoiding an over-
emphasis on potentially spurious individual results. Our study cohort may have been affected by selection bias.
The exposed participants were all participants in a prior WTC medical monitoring programme. It is possible that
those who participated were more likely to have experienced health symptoms or were more highly exposed. Our
results may also be subject to recall bias. Responders may be more likely to remember health symptoms experi-
enced over time due to their history of exposure. In addition, ongoing media coverage about WTC-related health
effects may have caused some responders to develop concerns about their health, which could lead to a greater
likelihood of noticing even minor symptoms. These results should not be generalized to the overall community
because our study population consisted primarily of white, non-Hispanic males with some college education.
However, our findings may be applicable to other WTC responder cohorts with similar demographics and to re-
sponder groups in future disasters of a similar nature.
In conclusion, 5 years post-9/11 this moderately exposed cohort of WTC responders continued to demonstrate an
elevated risk of several LRS and symptoms suggestive of chronic bronchitis, in comparison with a control group.
However, exposure was not associated with reported diagnosis of asthma. Persistence of LRS through the study
period was associated with exposure. Results also suggest that asthmatic participants with the highest exposures
were more likely to experience increased severity of their asthma symptoms. Our findings suggest that even in a
moderately exposed responder population [13], lower respiratory effects have been a persistent problem that may
require ongoing monitoring. These results help to emphasize the importance of ongoing monitoring for all WTC
responders with respiratory symptoms, regardless of their presumed level of exposure. Furthermore, given the
lack of an association between exposure and asthma diagnosis, there may be responders with subtle persistent
symptoms who would benefit from medical evaluation. It seems prudent to encourage all responders, regardless
of arrival time at the disaster site or other measures of exposure, and to seek medical evaluation if they have been
experiencing any persistent LRS, even if minor in nature.
enriched uranium
in GAZA
 New Weapons Committee • May 2010

New Weapons Experimented In Gaza: Population Risks Genetic Mutations

Biopsies from 32 victims conducted at three universities: Rome, Italy, Chalmer, Sweden and Beirut, Lebanon

Toxic and carcinogenic metals, able to produce genetic mutations, have been found in the tissues of people potentially carcinogenic (cobalt and vanadium), others are also fetotoxic (alluminium, copper, barium, lead and
wounded in Gaza during Israeli military operations of 2006 and 2009. The research has been carried out on manganese). The first ones can produce genetic mutations; the second ones can have the same effect on animals,
wounds provoked by weapons that did not leave fragments in the bodies of the victims, a peculiarity that but they are not proven to do the same on people; the third ones have toxic effects on people ad can affect ei-
was pointed out repeatedly by doctors in Gaza. This shows that experimental weapons, whose effects are ther the embryo or the foetus in pregnant women. All metals found in high amounts have pathogenic effects on
still to be assessed, were used. The researchers compared the quantity of 32 elements present in the tissues human respiratory organs, kidney and skin and affect sexual and neurological development and functions. The
through ICP/MS (a type of highly sensitive mass spectrometry) . The job, carried out by laboratories of Sapienza combination of metals in each type of wound is referred to as a “metal signature”, as shown in the following picture:
University of Rome (Italy), Chalmer University (Sweden) and Beirut University (Lebanon), was coordinated by the
New Weapons Research Group (NWRG), an independent committee of scientists and experts based in Italy, who “Nobody” – says professor Paola Manduca, spokesperson for the New Weapons Research Group, genetics teacher
is studying the use of unconventional weapons and their mid-term effects on the population of after-war areas. and researcher at the University of Genoa – “had never conducted bioptic analysis on tissue samples from wounds. We
The relevant presence of toxic and car- have focused on wounds made by weap-
cinogenic metals found in the wound ons that do not leave fragments, as the
tissues points to direct risks for survi- doctors from Gaza reported on them re-
vors, but also to the possibility of envi- peatedly. We wanted to verify the pres-
ronmental contamination. Biopsies of ence of metals that remained on the
tissues were performed by doctors of skin and in the derma. It was suspected
Shifa hospital, in Gaza city, who select- that these metals were present in the
ed and classified the type of wounds. weapons that leave no fragments, but
Research was conducted on 16 tissue it had never been demonstrated be-
samples belonging to 13 victims. Four fore. To our surprise even the burns pro-
biopsies were taken in June 2006, voked by white phosporus contain high
during the operation “Summer Rains”, amount of metals. Moreover, the pres-
while the others were taken in the ence of these metals in the weapons im-
first week of January 2009, during the plies that they have been dispersed in
operation “Cast Lead”. All tissues were the environment, in unknown amounts
A = for amputation wounds
appropriately preserved and then ex- and range; they have been inhaled by
B = for burns
amined by each of the three univer- the victims and by bystanders, thus
C = for charred wounds
sities. Tissues belong to four types of constituting a risk for survivors and for
M = for multiple piercing wounds
wound: amputation (marked with an people that were not directly hit by the
by White Phosphorous
“A” in the study, above), charred (C), bombing.”
burns (B), multiple piercing wounds
by white phosphorus (M). The follow- The research follows two previous
ing elements were found in quantities studies conducted by Nwrg. The for-
well beyond what would be expected as normal: mer was published on december 17th 2009 and statued the presence of toxic metals in areas around the craters
provoked by the Israeli bombing on Gaza Strip. The latter was published on March 17th 2010 and it pointed out
• Alluminium, titanium, copper, strontium, barium, cobalt, mercury, vanadium, cesium the presence of toxic metals in hair samples of Palestinian children of Gaza Strip area hit by Israeli bombings. Both
and tin in samples of A and C wounds; point to the presence of environmental contamination, aggravated by the living conditions on the ground and
• Alluminium, titanium, copper, strontium, barium, cobalt and mercury in M wounds; often in shelters exposed to wind and dust, due to the impossibility to rebuild housing imposed by the Israeli
• Cobalt, mercury, cesium and tin in B wounds; blockade to the entrance of needed building materials and tools.
• Lead and uranium in all wound types;
• Barium, arsenic, manganese, rubidium, cadmium, chromium and zinc in all but M wounds;
• Nickel in A wounds. Fabio De Ponte
Tel. +39-347-9422957
Some of these elements are carcinogenic (mercury, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, nickel and uranium), others are Email: info@newweapons.org Sito: www.newweapons.org
Gaza
 Summary Of The Development Of A Signature
For Detection Of Residual Dust From Collapse
Of The World Trade Center Buildings
By Heather A Lowersa, Gregory P Meekera,
Paul J Lioyb,c, and Morton Lippmannd
a. US Geological Survey, MS973, Denver, Colorado, USA
b. Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute of New Jersey
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and
Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
c. Department of Environmental and Community Medicine
UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
d. Nelson Institute of Environmental Medicine
New York University, Tuxedo, New York, USA
Abstract
The collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC) towers on September 11th, 2001, caused
lower Manhattan and adjacent areas to be covered in millimeters to centimeters of dust.
WTC dust penetrated into indoor spaces, and public health concerns remain regarding
exposure to possible residual dust in the affected areas. The goal of the studies out-
lined in this review was to determine which, if any, components of the bulk WTC dust
are sufficiently above typical background dust levels in New York City to develop an
analytical method to screen for the component(s). Components of the <150-μm-size
fraction of the dust are gypsum, phases compatible with crushed concrete, man-made
vitreous fibers (MMVFs), silica, lead, chrysotile asbestos, and other materials. Slag wool
was the most common WTC MMVF, whereas soda-lime glass and rock wool were mi-
nor to trace constituents. Most background samples also contained gypsum, phases
compatible with concrete, and MMVF. However, the proportions of the various MMVF in
background samples are typically unlike those characteristic of bulk WTC dust. Results
indicate that slag wool can be used as a signature marker to identify areas that contain
“Slag wool was the most common World Trade Center man made vitreous fiber ... with the majority of the particles ranging from 0.3 to 3 μm2. ”
potential residual WTC dust contamination at concentrations that are less than average
background levels for the material.
WTC Dust Samples
The major constituents of the six WTC bulk samples are gypsum, phases compatible
with concrete, and MMVF (Table 2). In the outdoor samples, these components have
variable relative abundances. In particular, the relative abundance of gypsum is variable
when compared with the abundance of other major components. These variations are
likely related to the fact that some samples were exposed to moisture and precipitation
before sample collection, which caused variable amounts of gypsum dissolution. The
two indoor samples (USGS36 and L18-2), which were unaffected by precipitation, have
less variable compositions and more gypsum than the outdoor samples. Regardless of
sample location (indoor versus outdoor, or distance from the WTC site), the most con-
sistent particle-type abundance ratios occur within the MMVF category (Table 2). In all
samples, slag wool is the dominant MMVF component, whereas abundances of rock
wool and soda-lime glass fibers are below ~10% to less than 1% of total MMVF (Table
2). The one exception to this was sample L18-2 that had 26% soda-lime glass, but the
majority of MMVF were slag wool. The reason for this discrepancy may be the contribu-
tion of soda-lime glass from the sample location. Separate preparations of USGS 6, 12,
and 36 samples yielded similar relative slag wool fiber abundances (Table 3). Average
abundance is 9.4×106 slag wool fibers per gram; 1 sigma deviation is 1.3×106 fibers per
gram. Sample USGS 36, the indoor sample from the 30th floor, contains the lowest slag
wool abundance but is still comparable with values for the outdoor samples.
Particle size distributions for the non-MMVF major dust components are summarized
in Figure 2. The outdoor samples all have similar particle-size distributions (expressed
as the maximum dimension of the particle as measured on SEM images) with the ma-
jority of the particles ranging from 0.3 to 3 μm2. Indoor samples L18-2 and USGS 36
clearly deviate from the other samples with respect to size distribution. Sample L18-2,
the closest sample to the WTC site, shows a higher abundance of larger particles, and
sample USGS 36, collected on the 30th floor of a nearby building, shows a higher abun-
dance of smaller particles.
 American Chemical Society • 2006

Characterization Of Size-Fractionated World Trade Center Dust

And Estimation Of Relative Dust Contribution To Ambient Particulate Concentrations
By Polina B. Maciejczyk1, Rolf L. Zeisler2, Jing-Shiang Hwang3, George D. Thurston1, and Lung Chi Chen1

1. Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, Tuxedo, NY 10950
2. National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 3Institute of Statistical Science, Academia Sinica, Taiwan

After the collapse of the World Trade Center (WTC), bulk samples of settled dust were collected close to the
WTC. Each sample was separated into four fractions according to aerodynamic particle size. All samples <2.5μm
fraction were analyzed by X-ray Fluorescence, and some 2.5 - 10 μm and 10 - 53 μm fractions were analyzed by
Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. The10-53μm fraction contained the highest concentrations of ele-
ments used in construction materials (Al, Ca, Mg, Ti, Fe, Zn), while the <2.5μm fraction also contained combus-
tion related CI and Sb. Factor analysis of ambient samples (collected five blocks east of Ground Zero) was used
to predict the factor scores for the 28 dust samples of the <2.5 μm fraction. A new combined dust factor was
calculated and applied to predict the relative contribution of WTC dust to ambient PM2.5 concentrations in the
three months after the WTC collapse.
Experimental Methods
Sample Collection
Bulk samples of fallout dust that initially settled in downtown New York City (NYC) were taken from several undis-
turbed protected locations around the WTC site. Thirteen samples were taken on September 12, 2001 and addi-
tional six samples were collected on September 13, 2001. The locations of these sampling sites are shown in Plate
1. The samples were collected from protected external ledges and window sills around buildings surrounding the
WTC complex and from thick deposits on the top of cars. Indoor samples were collected on November 19 at vari-
ous floors of the apartment buildings located at Liberty Street and Trinity Place. In addition, several samples were
sent to our laboratory by residents on the 2nd and 3rd floors of an apartment building located at Nassau Street.
After collection, all samples were stored at room temperature in sealed bottles before being fractionated by size.
These processed samples were then sent to individual laboratories for analysis. Chain of custody procedures were
maintained throughout sample transferal and analyses.
Between September 14th and December 31st, 2001, ambient fine particulate samples (PM2.5) were collected daily
(sometimes twice daily) at New York University Downtown Hospital (NYUDT), located approximately five blocks
east of Ground Zero (see Plate 1). Since we could not attend to the sampling site daily due to the security precau-
tions around Ground Zero, we employed a new NYU-designed multichannel automated sequential sampler (2)
to collect PM2.5 samples on Teflon filters (Gelman “Teflo”, 37 mm, 0.2 pm pore size). Filter samples were stored at
constant temperature and humidity (21 ± 0.5°C, 40 ± 5%RH) until analyzed.
Size Fractionation of the WTC Settled Dust Samples
The cardinal feature that influences the toxicity of inhaled particles is their size distribution, as described in Chap-
ter 1. Very large particles, even with high intrinsic toxicity, would not be inhaled or penetrate deeply into the
respiratory tract and are not likely to cause effects in small airways. Therefore, the analytical plan was to first size
separate the WTC settled dust bulk samples into several size classes before qualitative and quantitative analyses
to identify components that may cause adverse health effects. The size fractionation method used for dust sam-
ples performed at NYU has been described previously (3). Briefly, dusts were first mechanically separated using a
sieve with a mesh size of 53 pm. The fractions of particles below 53 pm were further separated, aerodynamically,
into three size fractions (10-53 pm, 2.5-10 pm, and < 2.5 pm). Particles were resuspended by a jet of filtered air,
passing through an inlet (Wedding Inlet, 10 pm cut size, Andersen Instrument Co., Fultonville, NY) before entering
a cyclone with a size cut of 2.5 pm (BGI, Inc., Walthman, MA). Particles between 10-2.5 pm were collected by the
cyclone while particles smaller than 2.5 pm, which penetrated through the cyclone, were collected on Zefluor
filters (Pall, 47 mm). Filters were weighed before and after sample collection using a microbalance (Model MT5,
Mettler- Toledo) in a temperature and humidity controlled weighing room. Particles collected in the Wedding Inlet
and cyclone were swept into plastic test tubes and weighed. The average recovery rate was 89.4 ± 4.2%.
X-Ray Fluorescence
Ambient PM2.5 samples (n=155) and dust samples of fraction <2.5 pm were analyzed for 34 elements by
non-destructive energy dispersive X-Ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) spectroscopy (Model EX-6600-AF, Jordan
Valley, Israel) using five secondary fluorescers (silicon, titanium, iron, germanium, and molybdenum). The
ED-XRF instrument was calibrated with thin elemental layers deposited on Nuclepore film substrates (Micro-
matter Co., Eastsound, WA) for elements ranging from atomic number Z=l 1 (Na) to Z=82 (Pb) with deposited
masses gravimetrically determined to ±5%, and dual element polymer films (U.S. EPA and ManTech Envi-
ronmental Technology, Inc.). The gain and baseline of the instrument were checked before each batch of
samples using copper and tin foils. Additionally, check standards and NIST SRM 2783 were run in the middle
and at the end of each batch. Spectra were analyzed with the XRF spectral software package XRF2000v3.1
(U.S. EPA and ManTech Environmental Technology, Inc.).
 Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis

Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) was used to determine the elemental composition of the 2.5 - 10 pm, 1 0 - 5 3 pm fractions of 4 outdoor and 3 indoor
samples. Samples of dust (11 - 64 mg) were packaged in polypropylene film (SPECTRO-FILMTM, Somar International Inc., Tuckahoe, NY), heat sealed and irradiated,
together with element standards, control material NIST SRM 2702 and blank polypropylene at the NIST Center for Neutron Research reactor (RT-4 pneumatic tube, 3.4
X 1013 cm’V1 thermal neutron flux) in a sequence of irradiation and counting steps described as follows (8). Each sample was subjected to a short time irradiation (30
s) followed by 2 counts for elements with short-lived nuclides (counts A and B). After
several days of decay, this cycle was followed by a simultaneous long-term irradiation
of all samples, blanks, and controls, together with standards, for 4h + 4h with a 180
degree inversion of the irradiation capsule to insure flux homogeneity and 2 counts
for elements with intermediate and long-lived nuclides (counts C and D). Counts A ,
B , and C , were made with high-resolution high-purity germanium detectors (25% to
32% relative efficiency) equipped for a high count-rate acquisition and an electronic
loss-free counting correction (9), count D was made with a high-resolution detector
(42% relative efficiency) with conventional dead time and pile-up correction. Count-
ing conditions were as follows: A - 8 min decay, 5min count@20cm; B-15 min decay,10
min count@10cm, C - 3d to 4d decay, 2h@10cm, D - 20d to 25d decay, 6h count@5cm.
The spectral data files were evaluated with the Canberra neutron activation software
package (Canberra Industries, Meriden, CT) using the comparator method to arrive at
concentration values for each element included in the standards. The results obtained
for SRM 2702 indicated statistical control of all measurements.

Results
Size Fractionation

The relative contribution of each aerodynamic size fraction of the WTC settled dusts
is shown in Figure 1. More than 97% of the dust particles’ mass was larger than 10 pm
aerodynamic diameter. Only 0.43 ±0.13% and 0.57 ± 0.15% of the outdoor and indoor
dusts were fine particles less than 2.5 pm. Approximately equal percentages of the
dust were particles 2.5-10 pm: 1.32 ± 0.40% and 1.62 ± 0.46% of outdoor and indoor
samples, respectively. As expected, the fractions of particles larger than 53 pm were
much less for indoor samples (39.9 ± 14.8%) as compared to other outdoor samples
(53.9 ± 11.6%). Consequently, more 10-53 pm particles were found in the indoor sam-
ples (57.9 ± 14.3% compared to 44.3 ± 11.2% outdoors). However, the fractions <10
pm of the indoor samples (0.61%) were similar to those found outdoors (0.53%).

Morphological Composition of WTC Settled Dusts

The compositions of the outdoor bulk dust samples as well as the sized fractionated
settled dusts are shown in Table I. The content and distribution of material were indicative of the complex building debris and combustion plume formed. For the bulk
samples, 40% of the material was classified as non-fibrous, consisting of cement, gravel and road dusts. Fiberglass was 30 to 40%, carbon particles were 10%, and the
remaining material was cellulose. Only trace amounts (< 1%) of asbestos was found in these samples. The compositions of samples collected by other investigators were
similar to those found around the WTC sites, even though the other sampling locations were approximately 1 km away from Ground Zero (5). The compositions of dust
fractions <2.5pm were very different from those of the bulk samples. Non-fibrous material contributed 80%, the remaining were carbon particles (15%), and cellulose
(5%). No asbestos was found in this size class. The dusts collected at the apartment building were also different from the dusts collected around the WTC sites, except
for one sample collected from the roof of the building (data not shown). More non-fibrous material, less fiberglass, and various amount of cellulose were found in these
samples. Similar to other samples, only a trace or no asbestos was found in the indoor samples. [Emphasis mine]
 Preliminary Report On Environmental Conditions At Fiterman Hall Following The WTC Collapse
Conducted at:
Fiterman Hall, 30 West Broadway New York, New York
Prepared for:
Cambridge Horizon Consultants, 500 Greenwich Street, New York, New York
Prepared by:
Airtek Environmental Corp., 39 West 38th Street, New York, NY
Airtek Project # 02-0967 October 10th, 2002

Airtek Environmental Corp. (“Airtek”) has conduct- phenyls (PCBs). These contaminants have been well
ed a focused investigation of environmental con- documented by the scientific and medical commu-
ditions in Fiterman Hall at 30 West Broadway, New nities to have the potential to cause adverse human
York, NY following the World Trade Center (“WTC”) health effects.
collapse of 9/11/01. The investigation included re-
view of data generated by sampling and laboratory In addition to reviewing the type and extent of
analyses conducted by environmental consultants contamination reported by the Environmental
retained by the Dormitory Authority of the State of Consultants, Airtek conducted representative
New York (“DASNY”), The City University of New York confirmatory sampling throughout Fiterman Hall
(“CUNY”), The Borough of Manhattan Community for comparison to data from other WTC sites, and
College (“BMCC”), and Cambridge Horizon Consul- to published contaminant reference points. As
tants, Inc. (“CHC”). It also included visual inspection an additional point of reference, Airtek reviewed
of current Fiterman Hall conditions by Airtek staff, WTC-specific human health risk assessment find-
Airtek testing for contaminants known to be asso- ings for the levels and types of contamination
ciated with WTC-area conditions, and review of hu- detected at Fiterman Hall. The assessments deter-
man health risk assessment findings prepared for mined that the potential impact of this contamina-
similarly impacted sites adjacent to the WTC site. tion on healthy occupants and sensitive sub-pop-
The following report details the testing conducted, ulations including, but not limited to, pregnant
discusses the significance of the contamination in women, children, the elderly, and immuno-com-
Fiterman Hall, and presents recommendations for promised individuals was significant. The primary
remedial actions needed to return Fiterman Hall to drivers of risk in the reviewed data were dioxin and
its pre- 9/11/01 condition. lead. These are two of the contaminants of concern
detected at elevated levels at Fiterman Hall.
Executive Summary
Key Findings
Cambridge Horizon Corp. (“Cambridge”) retained
Airtek to assist the building owner in evaluating the WTC Dust: WTC dust was observed on every floor
environmental conditions in Fiterman Hall, located of Fiterman Hall.
at 30 West Broadway, following the WTC disaster.
Testing conducted by the building owner’s environ- Asbestos: Asbestos contamination was detected
mental consultants determined that Fiterman Hall is contaminated by materials originating from the collapse of in 17 of 20 samples collected by Airtek in Fiterman Hall. 7 Samples exhibited moderate contamination, 7 samples
the WTC towers. All the cited reports conclude that extensive abatement of interior finishes including, but not lim- exhibited heavy contamination, and 2 samples exhibited extreme contamination.
ited to, partition walls, ceiling tiles, and mechanical systems is required to ensure the elimination of WTC-related
health and liability risk. A wide array of contaminants detected throughout Fiterman Hall by the environmental Dioxins: Dioxins were detected in 28 of 28 samples collected by two different consultants. All samples exhibited
consultants, Applied Technology Services (“ATS”), Howard Bader Consultants (“Bader”), and Tiffany-Bader Envi- elevated dioxin levels compared to local reference points. Twenty of 28 samples exceeded the USEPA Residential
ronmental, Inc. (“TBE”) (“the Environmental Consultants”), confirm that the entire structure was contaminated. Cleaning Program clearance standard of 4 ng/m2. Twenty-seven of 28 samples exceeded the industry recom-
The contaminants detected include asbestos, lead, dioxin, heavy metals, mercury, fungi, bacteria, and particulate mended clearance standard of 1 ng/m2.
dust. Other contaminants known to be associated with the WTC dust that can be presumed to exist in areas of
Fiterman Hall, include polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pulverized glass dust, and polychlorinated bi- Lead: Lead was detected in 19 of 20 wipe samples collected by Airtek. Lead levels exceeded the site-specific clear-
ance level calculated by Airtek in 19 of 20 samples. Lead levels exceeded US Government risk assessment level of
25 ug/ft2 in 16 of 20 samples. Lead levels exceeded the USEPA Residential Cleaning Program lead clearance level
of 25 ug/ft2 in 16 of 20 samples.
Heavy Metals: As detailed herein, all metals tested for by Airtek exceeded their respective NYS TAGM 4046 Haz-
ardous Waste Site clean-up targets. In addition, all metals exceeded urban background levels. Indicating that the
contamination is the result of a specific event (the WTC collapse), rather than the result of normal human activity.
Fungi/Bacteria: Despite remedial activities conducted at Fiterman Hall to prevent the spread of microbiologi-
cal contamination, Airtek’s visual inspections revealed visible mold growth still present within many areas of the
building. As revealed by the microbiological testing conducted, microbiological contamination is widespread, and
the uncontrolled building climate allows for continued growth.
Risk Assessments: Human health risk assessments conducted with WTC dust data according to USEPA guide-
lines have determined that the type and levels of contamination at Fiterman Hall present a potential health risk to
healthy occupants and sensitive sub-populations.
Corrosion: Exposure of mechanical and electrical systems to the highly alkaline WTC dust and corrosive chlo-
rides resulting from WTC fires presents the possibility that electronic components are impacted to the point
where re-warranty and re-certification may be compromised. Airtek recommends that the building further
investigate this potential corrosion. Levels of specific contaminants alone are a concern, and combined they
form a contaminant “cocktail” that represents a significant health and liability risk. It is unknown at this time
whether all health and liability risks associated with the event have even been identified, let alone quantified,
and little is known about the potential synergistic effects of exposure to multiple contaminants. The unprece-
dented WTC contaminant “cocktail” represents burdensome and perpetual liability and risk if not aggressively
and completely eliminated from Fiterman Hall. As noted above, testing has been conducted throughout Fiter-
man Hall. Contamination has been identified throughout the building, and gut rehabilitation is the recom-
mended response action for the entire structure.
This response action is consistent with the response actions proposed by other similarly impacted structures adja-
cent to the WTC site. It is also imperative that response actions within the building be strictly coordinated so that
cross-contamination between spaces and re-contamination of cleaned spaces does not occur now, or in future.
Moving forward, the building must address and prevent the re-contamination of Fiterman Hall space by dust and
debris generated by the ongoing demolition, excavation, and construction to be conducted adjacent to Fiterman
Hall over the coming years.
Immediate Impacts of WTC Collapse
The collapse of each of the WTC towers and the related structures immediately adjacent to Fiterman Hall created
a contaminant-laden debris and dust cloud that caused physical damage and projected hazardous materials into
Fiterman Hall and throughout the entire building. The petroleum-fuelled collapse of WTC 7 directly across from the
building propelled debris into 30 West Broadway, tore off most of the South Facade of the building and produced
a major contaminant incursion into the Site. As a result of physical damage, the building’s fire-suppression system
discharged sprinkler water, impacted many areas, and continued to discharge water until the building tanks were
empty. Windows shattered on the West and South façades of Fiterman Hall, entire sections of the building were
torn away, and debris and dust were projected through the mangled façade and throughout Fiterman Hall by the
force of the collapse. Elevator shafts, stairwells, and other communicating pipe and airshafts within the building
provided additional pathways for dispersion of airborne contaminants from floor to floor within the building.

Contaminants of Concern / Health Effects

The evaluation of environmental health risk focused on a set of contaminants, with known sources within the WTC.
Sources of the contaminants within the WTC are detailed below, and a brief discussion of potential health effects
related to the contaminants is included.

Asbestos: Spray-applied asbestos-containing fireproofing was used from the 1st through the 40th floors of WTC
1. Asbestos-containing thermal system insulation was also used throughout the WTC structures. While it is un-
known how much of the asbestos material has been abated through the years, research indicates that 300 to
400 tons of asbestos were used in the construction of the towers.1 Vinyl-asbestos floor tiles were also installed
throughout the structure, and many were finely pulverized by the force of the collapse, adding the asbestos fibers
within them to the list of constituents of concern.

Potential health effects related to exposure to asbestos include, asbestosis (an accumulation of scar-like tissue in
the membranes that surround the lung), pulmonary hypertension, immunological impact, gastrointestinal cancer,
cancer of esophagus stomach and intestines, lung cancer and mesothelioma.

Heavy Metals: Potential sources of metals contamination are numerous due to the level of pulverization created
by the force of the collapse. Listed are some of the larger sources:

• Steel and corrosion-resistant steel coatings

• Galvanized steel – metal framing of interior partitions
• Printed circuit boards & other computer components
• Hundreds of miles of copper wiring and electrical conduit
• Plumbing piping & HVAC Ducts
• The WTC façade
• Metallic fixtures & furnishings
Metals detected within WTC dust include, but are not limited to, the following:
Lead Dust: Lead paint was used as a structural steel coating for most of the steel used in the construction of
the WTC. Video/computer monitors and CPUs have a lead content estimated to average four pounds of lead per
unit.2 It is estimated that the WTC towers contained up to 50,000 personal computers (resulting in approximately
200,000 lbs of lead from that source alone). Banks of lead acid batteries supported emergency power for security
and safety operations. An estimated 59,000 lbs. of lead-acid batteries were housed within the WTC.3
Potential health effects related to exposure to lead include brain damage, kidney damage, and gastrointestinal
distress; long-term exposure results in effects on the blood, central nervous system, blood pressure, kidney and
vitamin D metabolism. Exposure to lead is most dangerous for young and unborn children. Unborn children can
be exposed to lead through their mothers. Harmful effects include premature births, smaller babies, decreased
mental ability in the infant, learning difficulties, and reduced growth in young children. These effects are more
common if the mother or baby was exposed to high levels of lead.
Mercury: Mercury is a component of fluorescent light bulbs, thermostatic control equipment and personal com-
puters. An estimated 44,000 lbs. of fluorescent light bulbs were in service at the WTC4 office thermostats num-
bered in the thousands, and as noted above, mercury is a component of the 50,000 personal computers.
Potential health effects related to exposure to mercury include central nervous systems effects (hallucinations,
delirium, blindness, deafness and impaired level of consciousness). Chronic exposure affects the kidney and pro-
duced acrodynia in children. Long-term exposure also affects the central nervous system (erethism, irritability, ex-
cessive shyness, paresthesia, blurred vision, malaise, and speech difficulties). EPA has classified inorganic mercury
and methyl mercury as possible human carcinogens.
Dioxins: Dioxins are byproducts of the combustion of plastics including polyvinyl chloride (PVC). Plastics of note
within the WTC include: PVC wire insulation on hundreds of miles of copper wiring; components of an estimated
50,000 personal computers;5 220 floors of office furnishings. Even in low concentrations, dioxins represent a po-
tential cancer risk. Animal studies have shown that exposure to lower levels of dioxin can cause a variety of effects,
such as weight loss, liver damage, and disruption of the endocrine system. In other animal studies, exposure to
2,3,7,8-TCDD has caused reproductive damage and birth defects. Some animal species exposed to CDDs during
pregnancy had miscarriages and the offspring of animals exposed to 2,3,7,8-TCDD during pregnancy often had
severe birth defects including skeletal deformities, kidney defects, and weakened immune responses. Very few
studies have looked at the effects of CDDs on children. Chloracne has been seen in children exposed to high levels
of CDDs. It is not known if CDDs affect the ability of people to have children or if it causes birth defects, but given
the effects observed in animal studies, this cannot be ruled out.
 Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)
Byproducts of the combustion of petroleum products, PAH sources include fuel oil storage facilities located through-
out the WTC complex. Of note in this category were fuel storage facilities located in WTC 7, directly adjacent to the
Site to the south. WTC 7 housed the large (6,000 gallon) tanks of the NYC Office of Emergency Management (OEM)
command center, Salomon Smith Barney and Silverstein Properties, as well as other, smaller tanks. In total, over 40,000
gallons of fuel were housed in WTC 7.6 In addition, WTC 1, 2, 4 & 5 housed another 55,000 gallons of diesel fuel.7
Potential health effects related to exposure to PAHs include eye and skin irritation, headaches, fatigue and nausea.
The US Department of Health and Human Services has determined many PAHs to be possible human carcinogens.
Naphthalene has been proven to damage kidneys and liver, cause reproductive defects (fetal damage, decrease
in fertility), lung and skin tumors. Anthracene may cause alteration of skin pigments as well as cancerous growth,
bronchitis and genetic mutations. Phenanthrene is also considered a suspected carcinogen.
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
The WTC housed over 28,000 lbs. of PCB-containing fluorescent light ballasts.8 In addition, Con Edison operated
two large electrical substations within WTC 7 that contained approximately 130,000 gallons of transformer oil
contaminated with PCBs.9
Potential health effects related to PCB exposure include skin rashes and acne. Changes on blood and urine have
been noted that may indicate effects on the liver. The Department of Health and Human Services has concluded
that PCBs may reasonably be anticipated to be carcinogens. Effects on infants of PCB-exposed mothers include
impaired motor skills, a decrease in short-term memory, and immune system effects.
Fiberglass Dust
Fiberglass insulating materials such as pipe insulation, wall insulation, and ceiling tiles were used in large quanti-
ties throughout the towers. Additional glass sources include the WTC façades, computer monitors, interior glass
dividers, and decorative glass panels. Glass dust and fiberglass are acute respiratory, eye and skin irritants. Fiber-
glass is considered by manufacturers to be a potential carcinogen.
Fungi And Bacteria
Fiterman Hall was impacted by sprinkler water, fire suppression water, dust control water and rain water from the
basement through the fifteenth floor, resulting in microbial growth that has required specialized abatement, and
continues to spread. This presents a contamination source that threatens and may further impact the Site from
within. The building’s mechanical systems have been inoperable since September 11, 2001, and the building has
been open to weather resulting in elevated humidity levels that have contributed spread of microbial growth. In
addition to the microbial impact from within the building, outdoor airborne microbial levels have been high at the
WTC site since September due to the vast quantity of building materials continually soaked with water to control
dust and extinguish fires.
Fungi and bacteria found in the samples are known to produce adverse health effects in some individuals. Health
effects related to exposure to microbial contamination include allergic symptoms, difficulty breathing, hay-fever,
pulmonary hemorrhage or memory loss.
H.A. Bader Consultants, Inc. – Final Report - February 18, 2002
Bader conducted air testing for asbestos that detected airborne asbestos fibers even though the testing conduct-
ed was non-aggressive. This means that settled dust in the tested areas was not disturbed or accounted for in the
testing. Bader bulk testing detected asbestos in many locations as well. The Bader report concludes that asbestos
contamination is confirmed to be present on the 1st, 5th, 7th, 9th and 10th floors, but does not eliminate the pos-
sibility that other floors are contaminated as well.
Bader conducted testing for dioxin throughout the structure, and detected levels ranging from 0.65 to 22 ng/
m2. As a control, Bader referenced data from 2 buildings near the Staten Island Ferry that that were not similarly
impacted on September 11, 2001, and have not undergone dust remediation. This testing indicated much lower
dioxin levels (0.32 ng/m2 and 0.22 ng/m2). In addition, testing in a building on Barclay Street (50 yards west) that
had undergone a thorough particulate clean-up exhibited levels of 0.05ng/m2 to 0.54 ng/m2. The Bader report
concludes that all building surfaces and contents are dioxin contaminated.
Bader testing for heavy metals determined that elevated levels of lead, aluminum, copper, iron, magnesium and
zinc were detected. The report concludes that the previously recommended clean-up of asbestos and dioxin
should address metals as well.
Bader testing for mercury detected significantly elevated levels when compared to control testing in other local
buildings. This is indicative of an exterior source of building contamination.
The Bader Report Conclusion
“Based on the results and evaluation of the air and surface dust testing at 30 West Broadway,
H.A. Bader Consultants believes that the property has serious environmental contamination.
Contents should not be removed, and the building should only be entered for essential activities.
Appropriate respiratory protection (HEPA) must be worn by all personnel entering the building.
A thorough cleanup of all dust at the property (inside and outside) should be be performed.
Detailed abatement specifications should be developed to insure the work is properly performed.
Abatement procedures must insure that the workers and public are adequately protected from
contamination. All abatement and disposal methods must be in accordance with applicable
regulatory procedures. A final testing protocol must be established to insure the building is safe
for re-occupancy.”
Tiffany-Bader Environmental, Inc. – Final Report - May 24, 2002
TBE conducted testing for bioaerosol contamination on three floors representative of mold conditions noted visi-
bly (B, 11, 12). In summary, mold and mildew were evident on the south side of the building below the 13th floor,
Elevated levels of a variety of bio-organisms that produce potent mycotoxins, including Stachybotris and Asper-
gillus, were present.
The Report Concludes:
“The building represents a definite health hazard at this time, and should remain
unoccupied until completely decontaminated.”
Applied Technology Services - ATS – Preliminary Re-occupancy Evaluation
ATS conducted testing on representative floors (Basement, 1, 5, 10 and 15) and reported elevated levels of asbes-
tos, lead, dioxin and heavy metals.
 The ATS Report Concludes:
“The contamination in this building is pervasive and ubiquitous and presents
a clear hazard for occupation. This building should be closed to the public.
Further construction activity should be continued only if of an emergency nature
and then only if construction personnel have proper respiratory protection
and personal protective equipment.”
ATS Bacterial And Fungal Report
ATS also conducted limited microbial sampling for fungi and bacteria in air and bulk building materials
The Report Concludes:
“Results of laboratory analysis indicated high concentrations of bacteria and
fungi commonly found in a moist environment. These levels are not a health
concern at this time, because the building is not occupied. Bioremediation should
be performed by properly trained individuals wearing appropriate protective equipment.”
Airtek Environmental Corp. – Confirmatory Testing
Airtek site testing focused on specific contaminants with confirmed WTC sources that are known to be associated
with WTC environmental impact. Testing was conducted for heavy metals, asbestos, and lead dust. Visual inspec-
tions focused on identifying WTC dust vs. general construction dust and urban background dust. In addition to
environmental testing, Airtek conducted corrosivity testing of mechanical system components. Key findings in-
cluded the following:
Levels and types of contamination detected in occupied spaces, mechanical systems and interstitial spaces con-
firm the WTC as the source of the contamination. Levels of each contaminant tested for exceed published refer-
ence points throughout the structure. Visual inspection confirmed WTC dust on each floor of the structure, within
mechanical system components, and within interstitial spaces within Fiterman Hall. Building mechanical systems
were impacted and require an aggressive environmental abatement response. In addition, mechanical system
components have been exposed for an extended period of time to the corrosivity of the highly alkaline WTC dust
mixture, and pending testing may reveal that electronic components of mechanical systems are impacted with
levels of corrosive chlorides in excess of published reference points.
Heavy Metals: A summary of result ranges for metals is presented below. Airtek collected both wipe and bulk
dust samples for metals analysis from a variety of surface types. Bader wipe sample results are presented as well.
Antimony: Antimony analyses were conducted by Bader. Testing detected antimony.
Arsenic: Arsenic analyses were conducted by Bader. Testing detected arsenic levels ranging from <0.45 ug/ft2 to
22 ug/ft2.
Beryllium: Beryllium analyses were conducted by Bader. Testing detected beryllium levels ranging from 0.038
ug/ft2 to 0.14 ug/ft2.
Cadmium: Cadmium sampling was conducted by Airtek and Bader.
Airtek: Cadmium was detected in 20 out of 20 wipe samples collected. Detected levels ranged from 0.246 ug/ft2
to 14.7 ug/ft2. Cadmium was detected in 20 out of 20 bulk samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged
from 1.45 mg/kg to 30.3 mg/kg.
Bader: Bader reported cadmium wipe sample results ranging from <0.19 ug/ft2 to 7.2 ug/ft2.
Chromium: Chromium sampling was conducted by Airtek and Bader.
Airtek: Chromium was detected in 20 out of 20 wipe samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged from 1.98
ug/ft2 to 84.6 ug/ft2. Chromium was detected in 20 out of 20 bulk samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels
ranged from 11.5 mg/kg to 271 mg/kg.
Bader: Bader reported wipe sample results detecting chromium ranging from <0.45 ug/ft2 to 140 ug/ft2.
Copper: Copper sampling was conducted by Airtek and Bader.
Airtek: Copper was detected in 20 out of 20 wipe samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged from 18.2
ug/ft2 to 1630 ug/ft2. Copper was detected in 20 out of 20 bulk samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels
ranged from 198 mg/kg to 838 mg/kg.
Bader: Bader reported wipe sample results detecting copper ranging from <1.0 ug/ft2 to 1040 ug/ft2.
Iron: Iron sampling was conducted by Airtek and Bader.
Airtek: Iron was detected in 20 out of 20 wipe samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged from 492 ug/ft2
to 28000 ug/ft2. Iron was detected in 20 out of 20 bulk samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged from
7150 mg/kg to 27800 mg/kg.
Bader: Bader reported wipe sample results detecting iron ranging from <10 ug/ft2 to 132,000 ug/ft2.
Manganese: Manganese sampling was conducted by Airtek and Bader.
Airtek: Manganese was detected in 20 out of 20 wipe samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged from 12
ug/ft2 to 737 ug/ft2. Manganese was detected in 20 out of 20 bulk samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels
ranged from 114 mg/kg to 754 mg/kg.
Bader: Bader reported wipe sample results detecting manganese ranging from 0.20 ug/ft2 to 1,140 ug/ft2.
Nickel: Nickel sampling was conducted by Airtek and Bader.
Airtek: Nickel was detected in 20 out of 20 wipe samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged from 2.3 ug/
ft2 to 132 ug/ft2. Nickel was detected in 20 out of 20 bulk samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged from
8.07 mg/kg to 101 mg/kg.
Bader: Bader reported wipe sample results detecting nickel ranging from <0.6 ug/ft2 to 30 ug/ft2.
Zinc: Zinc sampling was conducted by Airtek and Bader.
Airtek: Zinc was detected in 20 out of 20 wipe samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged from 112 ug/
ft2 to 4700 ug/ft2. Zinc was detected in 20 out of 20 bulk samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged from
486 mg/kg to 13400 mg/kg.
Bader: Bader reported wipe sample results detecting zinc ranging from <3.3 ug/ft2 to 15,900 ug/ft2.
Lead: Lead sampling was conducted by Airtek, and Bader.

Airtek: Lead was detected in 20 out of 20 wipe samples collected by Airtek. Detected levels ranged from 1.59 ug/
• The average detected lead concentration was 240.67 mg/kg, which is almost 1.5 times the reported average
urban background level. The maximum lead level reported was 744 mg/kg, which is 1.2 times higher than the re-
ported maximum urban background level for lead.
ft2 to 526 ug/ft2. Lead was detected in 20 out of 20 bulk samples collected by Airtek from non-porous surfaces
within occupied space. Detected levels ranged from 68.7 mg/kg to 744 mg/kg.

Bader: Bader reported wipe sample results detecting lead ranging from <1.4 ug/ft2 to 1,226 ug/ft2.
Mercury: Mercury wipe sampling was conducted by Bader. Twenty-four wipe samples for mercury were collect-
ed. Mercury was detected in 22 of the 24 samples collected. Detected levels ranged from 0.68 ng/ft2 to 27 ng/ft2.
Dioxins: Dioxin sampling was conducted by Bader and ATS.
• The average detected manganese concentration was 454.85 mg/kg, which is 1.3 times the reported average
urban background level. The maximum reported manganese concentration was 754 mg/kg. This is greater than
the reported maximum urban background level for manganese.
• The average detected nickel concentration was 36.41 mg/kg, which is more than 2 times higher than the re-
ported average urban background level. The maximum reported nickel concentration was 101 mg/kg. This is al-
most 2 times the reported maximum urban background level for nickel.

Bader: Bader wipe sampling detected dioxins in 12 out of 12 wipe samples collected at Fiterman Hall. Detectable
levels reported ranged from 0.65 ng/m2 to 22 ng/m2.
• The average detected zinc concentration was 2010.9 mg/kg, which is more than12 times higher than the re-
ported average urban background level. The maximum reported zinc concentration reported was 13400 mg/kg.
This is almost 17 times the reported maximum urban background level for zinc.
ATS: ATS wipe sampling detected dioxin in 16 out of 16 samples collected. Detectable levels reported ranged from
1.25 ng/m2 to 64.69 ng/m2. Inhalation Exposure

Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs): PCB wipe sampling was conducted by Bader. 23 wipe samples for PCB’s
were collected. PCBs were not detected in any of the 23 samples collected.
Fungi & Bacteria: Fungi sampling were conducted by TBE and ATS.
TBE: TBE collected 23 spore trap air samples. Airborne fungi levels detected ranged from 3,280 Colony Forming
Units (“CFU”s) to 112,931 CFUs. TBE Bulk sampling yielded results ranging from 1,806,780 CFUs/g to >47,126,440
CFUs/g.
ATS: ATS conducted limited sampling swab sampling of areas impacted by visible mold and bacteria. Detected
levels of bacteria ranged from 5,670 CFUs/in2 to 13,200,000 CFUs/in2. Detected levels of fungi ranged from 5,000
CFUs/in2 to 351,000 CFUs/in2.
As previously noted, the detected contaminants represent only a fraction of the materials likely to have originated
from the collapse of the WTC. It is likely that many contaminants and combinations of contaminants exist that
have not yet been considered.
Those constituents that exceed urban background are summarized below:
Re-suspension of minute contaminant particles is highly likely if they are left unabated. General housekeeping
through vacuuming and dusting in the occupied space will result in re-suspension. Operation of the HVAC system
will result in the re-suspension of contaminants left in the ceiling plenum, HVAC duct systems, and partition walls.
Dermal Exposure
Associated with the danger of re-suspended particles is the fact that these particles will precipitate out of the air
and result in surface contamination. Surface contamination of workstations, kitchen areas, and restrooms presents
multiple opportunities for dermal exposure to contaminants for Fiterman Hall occupants and visitors.
Ingestion Exposure
As a result of dermal exposure and transfer by hand to mouth, ingestion exposure is another pathway of particular
concern.
All of the above-referenced exposures will be exacerbated by the frequent reconfiguration of Fiterman Hall result-
ing from funding and programmatic changes. Demolition of partition walls and sections of the ceiling plenum,
along with computer cabling upgrades are just a few of the site management activities that have the potential to

•
dislodge and re-suspend contaminants. Likewise, attention to communicating pathways to and from other floors
The average (arithmetic mean) detected concentration of cadmium detected at the Site is 4.06 mg/kg, which such as elevator shafts, duct and pipe shafts, and stairwells make coordination of a building-wide response action
is more than 6 times higher than the reported average urban background for cadmium. The maximum cadmium imperative.

heavy metal
level reported was 30.3 mg/kg. This is almost 13 times higher than the reported maximum urban background level
for cadmium.

• The average detected chromium concentration was 74.14 mg/kg, which is more than 6 times higher than the

exposure
reported average urban background level. The maximum level of chromium reported was 271 mg/kg. This is more
than 11 times higher than the reported maximum urban background level for chromium.

• The average detected copper concentration was 397.18 mg/kg, which is more than 9 times higher than the
reported average urban background level for copper. The maximum level reported was 838 mg/kg. This is more
than 5 times higher than the reported maximum urban background level for copper.
 Injuries And Illnesses Treated At The World Trade Center, 14 September – 20 November 2001
By Kara R. Perritt, MS;1 Winifred L. Boal, MPH;2 The Helix Group Inc.3
1. Division of Safety Research, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia USA
2. Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Cincinnati, Ohio USA
3. The Helix Group, Camp Springs, Maryland USA
On 11 September 2001, and for months following the terrorist attacks on the World
Trade Center (WTC), rescue and recovery workers, other responders, and the near-
by general public were exposed to numerous hazards including air contamination,
safety hazards, and psychological stress. [1–10] In response, the United States (US)
Public Health Service’s (USPHS’s) Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) and
Commissioned Corps were deployed to the WTC site to provide emergency prima-
ry medical care to anyone requiring attention. At any one time from 14 September
through 20 November 2001, up to a maximum of five USPHS stations provided care.
[11] Team members at these stations included physicians, registered nurses, para-
medics, pharmacists, mental health experts, administrators, and other professionals.
[12] In addition to medical care, the WTC-USPHS staff offered preventive care such
as providing non-medical supplies, distributing personal protective equipment
(PPE), and performing respirator fit testing. Patients who presented to the USPHS
stations included firefighters, police officers, construction workers, volunteers, and
other responders. Some members of the general public, such as nearby residents
and others who had access to the restricted site, also were treated.
For each patient visit, two separate forms were completed. The first form, designed
specifically for the WTC site response, was the New York City Department of Health
(NYCDOH) Rescue Team Injury/Illness Surveillance Patient Record Form (hereaf-
ter referred to as the NYC-DOH Form). The second form was the standard US De-
partment of Health and Human Services National Disaster Medical System Patient
Treatment Record OPHS-T-3 (hereafter the USPHS Form). After a patient was re-
leased or transferred from a USPHS station, the two forms were separated, with
all of the NYCDOH Forms eventually archived in New York City and all the USPHS
Forms archived in Washington, DC. This study presents findings from the process-
ing of the USPHS Form data abstracted for the period from 14 September through
20 November 2001.
The relative accessibility of the USPHS stations and the willingness of staff to treat
both minor and serious ailments may be factors that encouraged patients preferen-
tially to seek treatment at the USPHS stations. Furthermore, it has been suggested
that Fire Department of New York City rescue workers under-reported minor injuries
to their management in order to remain on the job at the WTC site; [14] if so, these
workers, and others in similar situations, may have sought treatment at USPHS sta-
tions where they could remain anonymous.
Other factors likely contributed to the relatively high number of USPHS visits clas-
sified in the lowest severity category. If the more severe injuries and illnesses were
sustained in the first few days following the attacks, then the fact that USPHS sta-
tions did not become operational until the fourth day may have increased the pro-
portion of minor complaints treated. Two other potential factors could be that
those with more serious conditions sought treatment elsewhere and, as the re-
sponse effort became prolonged, those with minor medical complaints or other
non-urgent needs became aware of and took advantage of USPHS services.
Since sharp declines in the number of visits over time did not directly coincide with
reductions in operating USPHS stations, other factors, such as improved conditions
and/or fewer individuals on-site, must have contributed to the declines in the num-
ber of visits. Also, it was not surprising, given the time of year (late fall and early
winter), that the subcategory of acute respiratory infections, which included the
common cold, showed a temporal increase in the proportion of visits.
Findings from evaluations of the data from the NYC-DOH Form, the companion
form completed concurrently with the USPHS form, were published by Berríos-Tor-
res et al. [15] In comparing the Berríos-Torres et al study to this report, the primary
difference is the number of patient records reviewed for the similar four-week pe-
riod of 14 September through 11 October 2001 (6,732 vs. 4,623 for Berríos-Torres
et al). This difference is due to the Berríos-Torres et al study’s focus on rescue work-
ers, which indicates that their study excluded approximately a third (n = 2,109) of
the total USPHS patients during that time period. Additional comparisons, though
complicated by a different scope and reference period, are informative. In general,
findings from the two companion data sets are similar. For example, the majority
of patients were male (78% vs. 89% for Berríos-Torres et al); the mean patient age
was 39 years; the majority of USPHS visits were classified in the lowest category
of severity (67% vs. 61% Berríos-Torres et al); and the three leading complaints
were traumatic injuries (generally recorded as musculoskeletal conditions in Ber-
ríos-Torres et al), respiratory ailments, and eye conditions. These similarities indi-
cate that, although the frequency of USPHS visits declined over time, the general
distributions found during the first four intense weeks of rescue and recovery op-
erations were similar to those found throughout the 10-week USPHS station de-
ployment. Furthermore, it appears that the general demographic and treatment
characteristics for the subset of WTC rescue worker patients were similar to those
for all USPHS patients.
A comparison between the distributions of traumatic injuries among WTC-USPHS
patients and rescuers in another domestic terrorist event, the Oklahoma City
bombing, shows both similarities and differences. [16] For example, the percent-
age of burns and fractures were similar, but a higher percentage of traumatic in-
juries among Oklahoma City rescue workers were due to strains/sprains (injuries
to muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints) (7% vs. 21% for Oklahoma City) and
foreign bodies in the eye (5% vs. 15% for Oklahoma City). The USPHS patients had
a higher percentage (42%) of cuts, lacerations, abrasions, contusions, punctures, and crushes than did the
Oklahoma City rescuers (27%). These comparisons should be viewed with caution given that Dellinger et al
concentrated on Oklahoma City rescue workers, while this report covers all USPHS patients, approximately a
third of whom were not rescue workers. Direct comparisons be-
tween these two studies are further complicated by differences
in the coding scheme, the magnitude of the damage, and the
nature and length of the on-site response.

Other studies have reported respiratory [2, 9, 13, 15, 17–23] and
eye [13, 15, 18, 19, 24] ailments among workers and residents
at or near the WTC site. In addition, the fine particulate matter
released during the collapse has been reported to cause respi-
ratory tract hyper-responsiveness in mice. [25] Consistent with
this, respiratory and eye ailments comprised the second and
third most common complaints among WTC-USPHS patients.

The psychological impact of this terrible event undoubtedly

was high. [2, 9, 14, 18, 19, 26] Although mental health experts
were available at USPHS stations, relatively few of the patients
were treated for emotional needs. It is not known whether those
who were in need went without treatment, experienced a de-
lay in the onset of symptoms, or sought treatment elsewhere
— mental health services were available to WTC responders
through the USNS Comfort [27] and the American Red Cross
facilities, [28] and other special arrangements for mental health
treatment were made for the local population. [9, 19]

A number of investigators have suggested a connection be-

tween disasters and an increase in hypertension and cardio-
vascular disease due to stress. [29–36] Without a comparison
group and additional information, it was difficult to determine
whether the requests for blood pressure monitoring and the
diagnoses of hypertension, ischemic heart disease, and stroke
among WTC-USPHS patients, many of whom were classified as
moderate or highly severe cases and/or were transferred to a
hospital, were part of this phenomenon, but further investiga-
tion into the possibility of these effects will be of value.

Conclusions

The USPHS visits were probably skewed to milder complaints

as compared to hospital cases or ailments reported to employ-
er medical departments; however, given the close proximity of
the stations to the damage, analyses of the USPHS visits do pro-
vide a more complete picture of the safety and health impact
on those who were at or near the WTC site. This is true especially
for milder, although still significant, respiratory, eye, headache,
gastroesophageal, and traumatic injury complaints. Emergency
planners may be able to use this information from the WTC tragedy as they prepare for future events.
semipalatinsk

The lake was formed as a result of the explosion of a

140-kiloton thermonuclear warhead in 1965. The diameter
of the lake is 500 meters, the depth from the water surface
to the bottom is 80 meters. In a similar way, Soviet strategists
planned to build reservoirs in arid regions of the Soviet Union
just as the US did although both countries eventually
abandoned the idea completely.
Experts from IRSE (Institute for Radiation Safe-
ty and Ecology of the National Nuclear Center
of Kazakhstan) say that the charge was “clean”
and therefore the scatter of radioactive iso-
topes at the facility is minimal.

It is curious that the water in the “atomic” lake

is clean, and even fish are found there. How-
ever, at the edges of the reservoir the level
of radiation is actually equal to radioactive
waste. At this point, the dosimeter (top left)
shows 1 microsievert per hour, which is 114
times more than the norm.

An interesting fact about the “atomic” lake:

the detonation of a thermonuclear device
with a capacity of 140 kilotons is equivalent to
the simultaneous detonation of 2 thousand
wagons with TNT.

During the explosion, the ground was thrown

out of the crater, and some pieces of neo-
phyte clay flew up a kilometer and then fell
at about the same distance from the site of
the explosion.

This vitreous mass, according to experts, was

in the immediate vicinity of the thermonucle-
ar charge. The enormous pressure and tem-
perature turned granite into a kind of volcanic
pumice (bottom left and right).
What is most surprising, near the lake, just kilometers away, two
people are living and raising horses and cattle (top left). Bred cat-
tle drink water from the contaminated river. Local authorities look
at it through their fingers, making believe nothing’s amiss.

The residents categorically refused to communicate with journal-

ists. In general, what is most striking at the landfill is the turbulent
economic activity. Moreover, this activity is happening in some of
the “dirtiest” places. It’s very hard to imagine something like this
somewhere in Nevada.

However, horses are quite smart. When they graze on grass, they
tear down only the upper part of the shafts, avoiding the soil
where radionuclides are stored. Therefore, koumiss, as they say in
IRBE, is clean on the test range.

The fox skull (top right) found near the well turned out to be clean.
The ruins (bottom left and right) are amazingly alive ...
Today, experiments are being conducted
at the underground reactor to simulate
the behavior of various materials in a se-
vere accident at a nuclear power plant,
such as Chernobyl or Fukushima.

The experiments are carried out under

the direction of the Japanese Atomic En-
ergy Agency. In a special underground
bunker, a corridor of almost a kilometer
in length (top left) leads to the reactor.

The reactor (top right) is a prototype of a

nuclear rocket engine. It heats the hydro-
gen to ultra-high temperatures, and a jet
thrust is created.

During Khrushchev’s rule such an engine

was considered for flights to Mars. The
spent nuclear fuel storage (DKHFR) at the
Baikal-1 facility (bottom left). The fuel is
235 uranium and 239 plutonium.
 The
Rescue
Dogs
Of 9/11
 The Dogs Of 911 Scott Shields’ golden retriever, Bear, located the body of a fire chief and many other victims at Ground Zero. The
Associated Press • 10/20/2006 4:06:43 PM 11-year-old dog died a year after the attacks of several types of cancer. “He had never been sick a day in his life” be-
fore going to the site, where he sustained a wound to his back from steel debris, Shields said. Shields, who heads
They dug in the toxic World Trade Center dust for survivors, and later for the dead. Their feet were burned by a search-and-rescue dog foundation named after Bear, said Bear “died from bad government” and the toxic air at
white-hot debris. But unlike thousands of others who toiled at ground zero after September 11th, these rescue Ground Zero. He said that studies under way should have included every dog that worked at the site, and that the
workers aren’t sick. Scientists have spent years studying the health of search-and-rescue dogs that nosed through Penn study is flawed because it tries to compare dogs that worked at the Pentagon as well as in New York. Otto
the debris at ground zero, and to their surprise, they have found no sign of major illness in the animals. They are said that some of the dogs that worked at the sites could not be found and other dogs’ owners were not willing
trying to figure out why this is so [Editors Note: All of the 911 Rescue Dogs had died by 2016, many from cancer to subject their pets to annual blood tests and X-rays. Mary Flood, whose 11½-year-old black Labrador, Jake, is
and other unusual disorders]. completely healthy five years after working at Ground Zero, said that dogs’ much shorter life span may also make
it harder to track long-term illness. “Maybe there’s not enough time to develop these things before they’re no longer
“They didn’t have any airway protection, they didn’t have any skin protection. They were sort of in the worst of it,” said with us,” she said.
Cynthia Otto, a veterinarian at the University of Pennsylvania, where researchers launched a study of 97
dogs five years ago. Although many ground zero dogs have died — some of rare cancers — re- The 9/11 Rescue Dogs:
searchers say many have lived beyond the average life span for dogs and are not getting
any sicker than average. Owners of the dogs dispute the findings, saying there is a
Portraits Of The Last Surviving Animals
definite link between the toxic air and their pets’ health. Otto has tracked dogs Who Scoured Ground Zero One Decade On
that spent an average of 10 days after the 2001 terrorist attacks at either the By Anna Edwards • Updated: 10:09 EST, September 5th, 2011
trade center site, the landfill in New York where most of the debris was
taken, or the heavily damaged Pentagon. During the chaos of the 9/11 attacks, where almost 3,000 people died,
nearly 100 loyal search and rescue dogs and their brave owners
As of last month, she said, 30 percent of the dogs deployed after scoured Ground Zero for survivors. Now, ten years on, just 12 of
September 11th had died, compared with 22 percent of those in these heroic canines survive, and they have been commemo-
a comparison group of dogs who were not pressed into service. rated in a touching series of portraits entitled ‘Retrieved’. The
The difference was not considered statistically significant, dogs worked tirelessly to search for anyone trapped alive in
Otto said. But she added: “We have to keep looking.” the rubble, along with countless emergency service workers
and members of the public. Travelling across nine states in
A separate study, to be published soon by a doctor at New the U.S. from Texas to Maryland, Dutch photographer Char-
York’s Animal Medical Center, focused on about two doz- lotte Dumas, 34, captured the remaining dogs in their twi-
en New York police dogs, and comes to similar conclu- light years in their homes where they still live with their
sions. The results have baffled doctors. A study released handlers, a full decade on from 9/11. Their stories have
last month found that 70 percent of the people who now been compiled in a book, called Retrieved, which
worked at Ground Zero suffer severe respiratory prob- is published on Friday, the tenth anniversary of the at-
lems; scientists thought that the dogs might have similar tacks. Noted for her touching portraits of animals, espe-
health problems. cially dogs, Charlotte wanted ‘Retrieved’ to mark not only
the anniversary of the September 2001 attacks, but also
Longer Noses May Serve As Filters as recognition for some of the first responders and their
dogs. “I felt this was a turning point, especially for the dogs,
The dogs’ owners and scientists have many theories why who although are not forgotten, are not as prominent as the
dogs aren’t showing the same level of illness as people. Their human stories involved,” explained Charlotte, who splits her
noses are longer, possibly serving as a filter to protect their time between New York and Amsterdam.
lungs from toxic dust and other debris, they say. The dogs were
at the site an average of several days, while many people who “They speak to us as a different species and animals are greatly im-
report lung disease and cancer spent months cleaning up after portant for our sense of empathy and to put things into perspective.”
the attacks. The research isn’t persuasive to many owners of dogs Most of the search and rescue dogs are Labradors or Golden Re-
that died after working at the trade center site. Joaquin Guerrero, a trievers and Charlotte feels that the title works across many aspects
police officer in Saginaw, Michigan, took two dogs, Felony and Rookie, of the story. “I found the dogs, I retrieved them, they were there to retrieve
to Ground Zero for 10 days after the attacks. While Felony remains healthy, the victims, it is nicely rounded,” explained Charlotte whose work is being
Rookie died at age 9 in 2004 of cancer of the mouth. Guerrero believes his death exhibited at the Julie Saul Gallery NYC opening on September 8, in time for the
was caused by exposure to Ground Zero. “If the people are getting it, you know dogs anniversary. After working on a project about police canines and other working
are showing signs of it,” Guerrero said. dogs, she was inspired to concentrate on the animals that played such a huge part in
seeking survivors. Contacting the NYPD, the New York Fire Department and the Federal Emergency Management the attacks of 9/11 and in the immediate days that followed nearly 100 search and rescue dogs and their handlers
Agency, Charlotte discovered that out of the nearly 100 dogs among the first responders deployed by FEMA, there scoured Ground Zero for survivors. The dogs began their search for the living but before long they were finding
were in fact only 15 still alive last year. “They were there for the first few weeks, they were trained to find people alive, only bodies or body parts. Some people were saved from the burning towers by Guide Dogs already in the build-
although that is ultimately not what happened,” said Charlotte, who will hold a fundraiser for the First Responder ing. Rescue dogs did find survivors in the rubble and, later, found items such as jewellery that could be returned
Alliance at Clic Bookstore in New York on September 29. to victims’ families. Many body parts were found by dogs trained to find cadavers - all helping to identify the dead
and bring some comfort to relatives. During the aftermath search and rescue dogs found so few
“I traveled across the United States to meet with the owners and portray the dogs. They are living people that it caused them great stress because they believed they had failed.
all retired and I spent time with each of their handlers learning about their ex-
periences.” It was moving talking to Denise Corliss, who is the handler Handlers and rescue workers had to regularly hide in the rubble in order
and owner of Bretagne, one of the Golden Retrievers. “She told me to give the rescue dogs a successful find and keep their spirits up.
a touching story of one fireman who was there in the rubble, and
how taken he was with Bretagne who comforted him as he Vets were stationed at the site to help care for these dogs.
sat down to catch his breath.” Working 12-hour shifts on the pile, the dogs needed to
have their paw pads, eyes and nose cleaned often.
‘Years later at a Remembrance Ceremony, the same
fireman recognised Bretagne and her handler The last living person rescued from Ground
and they had a touching reunion.” Zero was Genelle Guzman-McMillan who
was pulled from rubble 27 hours after the
“It developed that even though the dogs collapse after being found by one of these
couldn’t find people still alive, they could search and rescue dogs.
provide comfort for the brave firemen
and rescue workers of the emergency One of the unsung heroes of 9/11 was
services.” a guide dog, Roselle, who led her blind
owner, Michael Hingson, from the
Wishing to tell the other side of her- 78th story of the North Tower, a stag-
oism from 9/11, each of Charlotte’s gering 1,463 steps out of the building
encounters with dogs such as Gabriel to the safety of a subway station.
and Orion and Scout stayed with her.
Another guide dog called Salty, the
“The dogs are now old and they will guide dog for Omar E. Rivera, led Ri-
soon pass away. Even during the time it vera and his co-workers to safety from
has taken since my first work on the ‘Re- the 71st floor of the Twin Towers.
trieved’ portraits to now, three of the final
15 have died,” said Charlotte. Rivera recalled how they tried escaping
down the nearest flight of stairs, but it was
“These portraits are about how time passes, and filled with smoke and became very hot and
how these dogs and their portraits are offering us he thought it was too much for Salty so let go
a way to deal with the things that happened as well of his harness so the dog could head down alone.
as relying on them for comfort.”
“I tried to let him go down first for a few minutes, but he
said, ‘No’” Rivera said. “He refused to leave me. He came back
The Dogs Of 9/11: to me. He said, “We are together. As long as we are in here, we are
together.’”
Incredible Story Of Hero Animals
Who Searched For Life Among The Ruins They made it down to the street level, safe. One dog who was not so lucky was
Sirius an Explosive Detection Dog with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
By Steve Myall • 09:02, September 11th, 2018, Updated 15:48, November 16th, 2018 Police Department. He was the only police dog to die in the 9/11 attack as he was in his kennel at the
bottom of the World Trade Center when it collapsed.
When the World Trade Center collapsed on September 11th 2001 nearly 10,000 emergency rescue workers began
to search the rubble at Ground Zero helped by more than 100 hero dogs. Almost three thousand people died in
Today the dogs have all passed away but be-
fore they died Dutch photographer Charlotte
Dumas captured many of the remaining dogs
in their twilight years in their homes where
they lived with their handlers. In June 20016
the last surviving rescue dog Bretagne said
goodbye at aged 16 and was given a hero’s
farewell.
Firefighters and rescue workers lined the side-
walk as her body, draped in an American flag,
was carried out of Fairfield Animal Hospital by
her owner, Denise Corliss.
The Mirror’s Animal Hero Awards, in partner-
ship with Webbox and RSPCA, celebrate cou-
rageous and inspirational animals and the
people who make a difference to their lives
and welfare.
Bretagne (pronounced BRIHT’-nee) was euth-
anized at a veterinary clinic in Cypress, Texas
with handler Denise Corliss beside her, ac-
cording to Today.com.
The golden retriever, who would have turned
17 on August 25th, died of kidney failure.
She and about 300 other dogs spent about 10
days after the September 11th terror attacks
sifting through rubble to search for human
remains. In later years, Bretagne participated
in rescue efforts following Hurricane Katrina,
Hurricane Rita and Hurricane Ivan as part of
Texas Task Force 1.
She retired from service at age 9, but then
helped train other canines to be rescue dogs.
Later, Bretagne worked as a reading assis-
tance dog at an elementary school near her
Texas home. Bretagne celebrated her 16th
birthday in New York City last year. She was
feted with a billboard in Times Square and
there is a cobblestone in her honor in the
9/11 Memorial Plaza.
Veterinarians at Texas A&M University will per-
form a necropsy to study the effects of 9/11 on
her body, NYDailyNews.com reported.
Doggy Cam Equipment
CHAPTER THREE
September 11th, 2001, Cancers:
Death By Dust
What happens 10 years from now Skippy?
 death by dust
The Frightening Link Between The 9-11 Toxic Cloud And Cancer
[Editors Note: This series of articles, written in 2006, appeared when only a few First Responders had died of rare
cancers. It should be remembered that as of January 2016 5,441 First Responders had con-
tracted some form of cancer growing at the rate of 4.17 new cancer diagnoses per day.]
Want more evidence of the government’s criminal disregard for the healthy and safe-
ty of citizens? Consider: due directly to the lack of care shown for the lives of Ground
Zero First Responders by their leaders, more people will die from the toxic fallout at
Ground Zero than were killed in the initial attacks. A looming medical crisis could have
been mitigated by swift, decisive action on the part of the EPA. But rather than declare
lower Manhattan off limits until it performed a comprehensive evaluation of the haz-
ards posed by airborne toxins emitted from the “pile” and provide appropriate protec-
tive gear to volunteers sifting through the debris, the White House pressured the EPA
into declaring the air at Ground Zero safe.
And now that hundreds of Ground Zero first responders are dying from rare cancers,
diminished lung capacity, and toxins in their blood, the same politicians have yet to
respond to their plights and pleas for help. Apparently, there isn’t adequate funding
for monitoring, testing and treating the heroes politicians were all too happy to use
for political gain.
Even the medical community has been in denial about the connection between their
work after 9/11 and the rapid development of diseases that normally take significant-
ly longer to appear. When these diseases appear in clusters, as they have in those who
worked to clean up Ground Zero and those exposed to toxic clouds for months, it is
time to drop the word ‘coincidence’ and take responsibility for caring for the men and
women we lauded for their heroism and courage. We cannot let them become dispos-
able heroes. [Editors Note: Unfortunately, we did just that.]
By Kristen Lombardi
November 28th, 2006 5:22 PM
Village Voice Ernie Vallebuona
It was October 6th, 2004, three years after Ernie Vallebuona’s three-month stint as a rescue
and recovery worker at Ground Zero in the wake of the 9-11 terrorist attacks, and he was hunched over and trem-
bling, racked by a pain like nothing he had experienced in his 40 years of sound health. He had just returned to
his Rockland County home after finishing the midnight-to-8 a.m. shift in the NYPD vice unit, where he’d reported
to work for the last six years. Vallebuona had bought some fish from a street vendor near his office, on the Lower
East Side. And as he drove the 35 miles from Manhattan to New City, he chalked up a searing stomachache to food
poisoning. Maybe the vendor had filleted that fish with a dirty machete?
To date, 75 recovery workers at Ground Zero have been diagnosed with blood cell cancers that a half-dozen top
doctors and epidemiologists have confirmed as having been likely caused by that exposure. Ernie Vallebuona
(pictured) is one of them. Photo: Scott McDermott
By the time he pulled into his driveway, the pain had grown excruciating, too horrible for him to even lie in bed
that day. The chills swept over his body; so did the shakes. He called his doctor, who suggested ulcer medication.
His mother advised him to forget that diagnosis and consult a specialist instead, but like a lot of young, healthy
men, he didn’t listen right away.
Vallebuona isn’t much for complaining; what ailing cop is? But for six months, he had
noticed his body betraying him. His toes had reddened; his joints had stiffened. They
throbbed in prickly pangs, as if glass shards were wedged underneath his skin. When
his own heartbeat began to hurt, he had visited the family doctor, who diagnosed
him with gout. He was told to drink cherry juice and take anti-inflammatory medicine.
Neither worked.
Now as his stomach convulsed, Vallebuona listened to his mother at last. Later that
day, he found himself at a gastroenterologist’s office in Pomona, lying on a table,
watching a nurse poke at his abdomen. She felt a lump and ordered tests. It would
take a month to reach a definitive diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer
of the lymphoid tissue. Evidently, Vallebuona had developed a golf-ball-sized mass
in his abdomen that had grown so fast and so quick that pieces of it were dying and
depositing into his blood, causing gout-like symptoms.
One week after that, he was at a Manhattan hospital, meeting his oncologist, hearing
about the heavy-duty chemotherapy he would have to undergo over the next four
months. At the visit, a nurse explained he had an aggressive cancer — a rare stage-
three — and asked a battery of questions.
Did he ever do modeling with glue?
Did he ever handle insecticides?
Did he ever work with chemicals like benzene?
Vallebuona answered “no” to all the questions. He had led a clean life; before becom-
ing a cop, he’d worked in a bank.
Sitting in the examining room with him, Vallebuona’s wife, Amy, finally spoke up.
“What about 9-11?” she asked. “What about all that smoke and dust?”
Only then did Ernie Vallebuona first consider the possibility that the events of September
11th could be the cause of his cancer.
This is not the story of rescue and recovery workers at Ground Zero getting sick with respiratory illnesses from
their exposure; you have read those stories, and you have heard those cases.
This is the story of 9-11 and cancer. To date, 100s of recovery workers on or around what is now known as “the Pile”
— the rubble that remained after the World Trade Center towers collapsed on the morning of September 11th,
2001— have been diagnosed with blood cell cancers that a half-dozen top doctors and epidemiologists have con-
firmed as having been likely caused by that exposure. After all, this is Ground Zero.
Those 100s of cases have come to light in joint-ac- And that was before anyone knew of the appar-
tion lawsuits filed against New York City on behalf ent cancer link, first reported in the New York news
of at least 8,500 recovery workers who suffer from “the public ... is not being exposed to excessive levels media in the spring of 2004. Even more shocking
various forms of lung illnesses and respiratory is the incidence of cancer and other life-threaten-
diseases — and suggest a pattern too distinct to of asbestos or other harmful substances” ing illnesses that have developed among those
ignore. While some cancers take years, if not de- ~ Christine Todd Whitman, EPA participating in the recovery workers’ lawsuits.
cades to develop, the blood cancers in otherwise Given the fact that some cancers are slower to de-
healthy and young individuals represent a pattern velop than others, it seems likely to several doc-
that experts believe will likely prove to be more tors and epidemiologists that many more reports
than circumstantial. The suits seek to prove that of cancer and serious lung illnesses will surface in
these 8,500 workers, approximately 20 percent of the months and years to come. The fact that 8,500
the total estimated recovery force that cleared the recovery workers have already banded together
rubble from Ground Zero, all suffer from the debil- to sue, only five years later, with 400 total cancer
itating effects of those events. patients among their number, leads many experts
to predict that these figures are likely to grow,
The basis for the suits stems from the plaintiffs’ ar- meaning a possible death toll in the thousands.
gument that the government, in a desperate at-
tempt to revive downtown in the wake of the cat- In many ways, these illnesses suggest the slow but
astrophic events on 9-11, failed to protect workers deteriorating health issues that faced the atom-
from cancer-causing benzene, dioxin, and other ic-bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
hazardous chemicals that permeated the air for where thousands died in the years and decades
months. Officials made these failures worse by that followed the United States’ use of nuclear
falsely reassuring New Yorkers that they faced no weapons. And that similarity has not been lost on
long-term dangers from exposure to the air linger- David Worby, the 53-year-old attorney leading the
ing over Ground Zero. joint-action suits on behalf of those workers who
are already sick, and even dying.
“We are very encouraged that the results from our
monitoring of air-quality and drinking-water condi- “In the end,” Worby declares, “our officials might be
tions in both New York and near the Pentagon show responsible for more deaths than Osama bin Laden
that the public in these areas is not being exposed on 9-11.”
to excessive levels of asbestos or other harmful sub-
stances,” Christine Todd Whitman, the then admin-
“In the end,” Worby declares, In the five years since the attacks, much of the fo-
istrator of the EPA, told the citizens of New York City “our officials might be responsible for more deaths than Osama bin Laden on 911.” cus on the 9-11 health crisis has missed a broader
in a press release on September 18th — only seven question, the one that every Ground Zero worker
days after the attacks. “Given the scope of the tragedy fears most and the one that Ernie Vallebuona has al-
from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York . . . that their air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to ready had to ponder: What about cancer? What if all that pulverized concrete and ground glass and caustic mist
drink.” that Vallebuona inhaled while on the Pile didn’t attack his lungs but instead went straight for his lymph nodes?
Could this noxious mix have caused his lymphoma? [Editors Note: No one in the media writing about this issue
Those statements were not only false and misleading, but may even play into the basis for the city’s liability for mil- discusses the anomalous and very high levels of uranium in Open Source USGS report #01-0429.]
lions of dollars in the recovery workers’ lawsuits. U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts cited Whitman’s false statements
as the basis for allowing a different class-action lawsuit to proceed — this one, against the EPA and Whitman, is on No one has done a comprehensive study of the health consequences on the estimated 40,000 rescue and re-
behalf of residents, office workers, and students from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, many of whom suffer from covery workers who raced to ground zero after the attacks. A study by Mount Sinai Medical Center, one that
respiratory illnesses as a result of 9-11. received widespread but brief media attention, released statistics on the five-year anniversary of 9-11 that fo-
cused almost exclusively on respiratory problems and bypassed any mention of cancer today. But David Worby
“No reasonable person would have thought that telling thousands of people that it was safe to return to Lower Man- has tracked the cancer patients among his growing client base for the last two years (through 2006). Here are
hattan, while knowing that such return could pose long-term health risks and other dire consequences, was conduct the latest tallies (2006): Of the 8,500 people now suing the city, 400, or about 5 percent, have cancer. The big-
sanctioned by our laws,” Batts wrote in her February 2 ruling. “Whitman’s deliberate and misleading statements made gest group by far consists of people like Vallebuona, who have blood cell cancers. Seventy-five clients suffer
to the press, where she reassured the public that the air was safe to breathe around Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, from lymphoma, leukemia, multiple myeloma, and other blood cell cancers; most are men, aged 30 to 60, who
and that there would be no health risk presented to those returning to the areas, shocks the conscience.” appeared in perfect health just five years ago.
The field of cancer research is not known for consensus. But six promi-
nent specialists on cancer and the link to toxins on the faculty of the na-
tion’s top medical schools and public health institutions all come to the
same conclusions when told these statistics. They are Richard Clapp and
David Ozonoff, professors of environmental health at Boston University
School of Public Health; Michael Thun, director of epidemiological re-
search at the American Cancer Society; Francine Laden, assistant profes-
sor of environmental epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health;
Jonathan Samet, chairman of the epidemiology department at Johns
Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Charles Hesdorffer,
associate professor of oncology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
These doctors and epidemiologists agree that the incidence of cancer
among this subset of workers sounds shockingly high, that they can-
not and should not be dismissed as coincidence, and that the toxic dust
cloud that hung over downtown Manhattan, and particularly the Pile,
likely caused or promoted the diseases. Some even went so far as to say
that the blood cancer cases, especially, indicate what could become a
wave of cancer cases stemming from 9-11 over the next decades.
“Those numbers seem quite outrageous,” is how Hesdorffer puts it. Now
at Johns Hopkins, Hesdorffer directed until last year the tumor immu-
notherapy program at Columbia University Medical Center, where he
treated two recovery workers who got cancer post 9/11. He notes that
the average healthy adult person has a 20 percent risk of having cancer
over a lifetime. Calculate that risk over five years, the time frame from
the events of 9-11 until today (2006), and it drops to about 1 percent. Yet
5 percent of the suits’ workers — 1 percent of the overall worker pop-
ulation — have already been diagnosed with malignancies. And these
patients don’t include the thousands whose illnesses have yet to be re-
corded because they aren’t participating in the lawsuits or in the World
Trade Center medical-monitoring programs.
What the experts find most telling are the types of cancer now emerg-
ing. They say the blood cancer cases seem too disproportionate to be
random. Two percent of these workers have been diagnosed with what
amounts to related diseases, none of which fall into the “high-frequen-
cy” category, which includes prostate cancer. One out of 9,000 people
nationwide gets lymphoma a year; for myeloma, it’s one out of 30,000.
By contrast, the 75 blood cancer patients (as of 2006) translate into sev-
eral dozen new cases a year. Note: since 2006 the rate of blood cancers
among 9/11 First Responders has more than tripled.
“That’s not just a fluke,” says Ozonoff, who studies cancer clusters and
toxic waste sites.
Jonathan Samet fron Johns Hopkins, a worldwide expert on smoking
and cancer, notes that when so many cases of related cancers emerge, it
can signal a forming cluster. “It sounds like an impressive cluster of cancer
cases, and I would want to study it,” he says.
Due to mass and composition the signature of nuclear demolition
includes: Massive fires in large metal objects such as cars and
aluminum engine blocks and piles of paper untouched by the demolition
because paper has no mass. This is nuclear.
To be sure, the experts advise caution until more evidence is collected.
They acknowledge that the data needed to draw a definite link between
9/11 and cancer doesn’t exist yet. None of the cancers emerging now
are the kinds that come only from toxic exposures — like, say, asbesto-
sis, which is caused by asbestos and can take two decades to grow. This
sentinel cancer would go a long way toward proving a 9-11 connection.
Absent that, scientists would want to determine whether a higher pro-
portion of cancer patients exists among the workers than in the general
public. But because there are no independent data on the 40,000-strong
group, they can’t make this calculation yet. Meanwhile, the latency pe-
riods for most cancers from the time of a full-blown carcinogenic expo-
sure to a full-blown malignancy can take years, if not decades. Says Thun,
of the American Cancer Society: “It is the exception rather than the rule to
have cancers develop this quickly.”
Despite the lack of definitive data, we may still be in the midst of a can-
cer epidemic. Indeed, according to these experts, traditional data don’t
help much here because 9/11 represents such a singular exposure. No
one can deny that the workers were exposed to a blend of pulverized
and aerosolized toxins that had never existed in any occupational set-
ting before. And this mix of toxins alone is enough to cause more ag-
gressive cancers.
“It’s also enough to throw out prescriptions on timing,” Hesdorffer adds.
Back in May 2004, before most doctors even contemplated a 9/11 link
to cancer, Hesdorffer provided testimony to the federal government’s
September 11 Victim Compensation Fund on behalf of one police offi-
cer who had developed pancreatic cancer within a year after his recov-
ery stint. Hesdorffer finds it odd that two of his patients had been diag-
nosed with the rare cancer after working on the Pile. “It’s strange to have
two people who were subjected to the same exposure,” he says, “developing
the same cancer in the same time frame.” Now that he has learned of Wor-
by’s statistics, he is convinced that “there is definitely more than a likely
link between the 9/11 exposures and cancer.”
Francine Laden, who specializes in air pollution and cancer, agrees. Be-
cause so many of Worby’s clients have blood cancers which have faster
incubation periods than tumor cancers, forming in as little as five years,
Laden confirms that it’s not a stretch to attribute their diseases to the
dust cloud. “Blood cancers are different,” she says, noting the tie between
benzene and leukemia, as well as dioxin and lymphoma. “It’s not beyond
the realm of feasibility that these chemicals caused these cancers.”
Ozonoff puts it more firmly: “For an acute episode like this, it’s definitely
possible these blood cancers were caused by 9-11.”
Ozonoff echoes all five of his colleagues when he draws parallels be-
tween the aftermath of 9/11 and that of another massive exposure: the
atomic-bombs dropped on Japan. Bomb survivors had long viewed the post as the crowning achieve-
experienced excessive spikes in leukemia rates ment in his 31-year career, one that suited his desire
within the first five years, a surprising discovery to make a difference. When the first plane hit the
for epidemiologists in the mid 20th century. While north tower, he was sitting in an equipment room,
this outbreak resulted from radiation, both it and four floors below ground, running emergency drills.
9-11 involved a sudden and intense blast of car- No one had turned on the TV, so he remained obliv-
cinogens. For bomb survivors, leukemia appeared ious to the events unfolding in Manhattan. His wife,
first, followed by breast and lung cancer. “That could Alison, called him.
happen with 9/11,” says Samet, the Johns Hopkins
epidemiology department chair. “It might be what “Look at the TV,” she said, just as the second plane
we’re seeing today.” hit the south tower. Acker knew that New York City
officials would be calling AT&T for help almost im-
It’s also possible that the carcinogens in the Trade mediately. “Pack up your equipment,” he heard his
Center dust accelerated cancers already dormant wife say, “and get ready to ride.”
or developing in the recovery workers, epidemiol-
ogists say. According to Richard Clapp, who direct- Back in Manhattan, Jessy McCarthy was not about
ed the Massachusetts Cancer Registry from 1980 to roll anywhere. The Verizon field technician was
to 1989, toxins can not only instigate the genes sitting in his office on East 91st Street, listening to
that cause cancerous cells to divide, but also has- the news on the radio, when he heard about the
ten their dividing. That means that a person with planes hitting the towers. He froze in place, unable
an undetected cancer will develop it faster and in to pull himself away from the broadcast for hours
a more virulent manner. He calls this the “promo- that day. Only that afternoon did he manage to go
tional effect” and says some toxins associated with to a nearby work site to repair phone lines. Sitting
9/11 have been known to speed up lymphomas in his truck, he stared in disbelief at all the people
and leukemias. “The promotional effect could have doused in gray dust walking up Third Avenue from
happened already,” he says. downtown. His eyes locked on the caravan of peo-
ple who’d been caught in that cloud.
Either way, Clapp adds, “It’s hard not to attribute
these cancers to 9/11.” His gut, he says, is telling him Only the destructive forces of a nuclear demolition can produce the effects seen on 911
By the time McCarthy was taking in this ghostly
one thing: “We’ll be seeing a cancer explosion from 9/11, scene, Vallebuona and Walcott had joined thousands of
and we’re starting to see it today.” First Responders at the World Trade Center. Both arrived at the site shortly after the 110-story twin towers came
crashing down, and they spent the next 15 hours sifting through the wreckage. Racing to the scene from the
At 8:30 on the morning of the terrorist attacks, Ernie Vallebuona was driving with his three-year-old son, also Seventh Precinct, on Pitt Street, Vallebuona encountered a giant cloud of dust and smoke so hazy and dense, he
named Ernie, to a nearby Home Depot in search of the perfect paint color for the family bathroom. Vallebuona couldn’t see his hand in front of his face. He circled the periphery of what he thought was the scene, following
always listens to 1010 WINS in the car, so he turned on the radio. He soon heard the incredible news that a plane the blaring sirens and running past pumper trucks and police cruisers twisted up like discarded tin cans. The dust
had crashed into one of the twin towers. Instantly, he got the call to respond. caked his eyes and coated his lips. It filled his nostrils with a horrible smell, like burned plastic and flesh. Vallebuona
happened to have a bandanna in his pants pocket, which he wrapped across his face. It did little to ward off the
“We’re all mobilizing,” his NYPD supervisor told him via cell phone. “Get to work as fast as you can.” rancid odor.

Over in Pomona, some 36 miles away from Manhattan, 37-year-old NYPD detective John Walcott was at his subur-
ban home, killing time before a midnight tour on the narcotics unit, where he’d worked for a dozen years. He was
relaxing on the couch when a friend from St. Louis called.
“What the hell is going on in New York?” the friend asked, incredulously. Walcott had no idea what his friend meant.
He flipped on the TV, only to see flames raging from the Twin Towers. Minutes later, he was behind the wheel of his
minivan, speeding down the highway toward the World Trade Center.
Walcott was also experiencing the noxious effects of the chemical brew. While the massive cloud had dissipated,
the crystalline particles hung in the air like speckles in a snow globe. He waded though mounds of pulverized dust,
knee-deep, tasting it on his lips, spitting it out of his mouth. Without a mask, he was coughing immediately. First
came the black mucus and ashen chunks, then the dry heaves and blood. For hours, he wiped away dark gunk
dripping from his eyes. He couldn’t help but think that something was wrong. But he focused on the mission at
hand, on the faint hope of discovering survivors. That day, he stepped over the only human body that he would
find intact — a female, burned beyond recognition, a charred bra over her face.

Some 200 miles southeast of the Trade Center site, 49-year-old Gary Acker was working in a bomb shelter dubbed Acker arrived on the scene 24 hours later, after driving with 11 team members up the East Coast in a company
the “earth station,” an undisclosed location where AT&T keeps its large satellite dishes. At the time, Acker was trailer equipped with satellite transmission consoles and multiplex cables. He would spend the next 33 days in
managing the company’s disaster recovery team, which restores critical communications after catastrophes. He and around Ground Zero, first setting up a satellite at 1 Police Plaza, then manning phone lines across the street
from what came to be known as the Pile. The plume enveloped the area from the moment he set foot there until
he left. Many nights, he’d oversee the satellite atop 1 Police Plaza, just east of Ground Zero, and watch as the pre-
vailing winds subsided and the bright-blue smoke settled in. It hung so heavily on the city that he couldn’t see
the guards stationed across the street. In these early days, Acker, Vallebuona, and Walcott all struggled to protect
themselves from the toxic dust. The foul odor clogged the air for the three months that Vallebuona ended up
working at the site, first on the Pile, hauling rubble with buckets, then around the perimeter, providing security
and escorting residents to their dust-laden homes. When
he and Walcott searched the rubble as part of the initial
bucket brigade, they wore nothing over their faces but
surgical masks. Respirator masks came weeks into their
months-long recovery work; sometimes they came with
the wrong filters.
piled on top of consoles, crammed into corners. He had to wipe down the equipment with his bare hands to see the
wires. The dust had an orange hue; at times, it twinkled. And it always stunk, an unforgettable smell he struggled
to get past every time. Invariably, he’d find it in his hair, on his eyelashes, in his tool belt, even under his fingernails.
Sometimes, he’d gaze at the ceiling and get the sense of standing in the middle of a meadow thick with pollen. He
could see the soot and dust floating in the air. When it occurred to these responders that they might be sacrificing
their health for the sake of the cleanup, as it did to anyone who came in contact with the foul-smelling smoke
and dust, they took comfort in the official word at the time.
In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the EPA issued mul-
tiple statements on the air quality downtown. All were
reassuring in nature. On September 18th, the day after
the New York Stock Exchange reopened for business, the
EPA’s Whitman said the air was safe to breathe.

Because Walcott was a detective, he ended up spending It has turned out those words were, in fact, false. In Au-
his five-month stint not just at Ground Zero, but also at gust 2003, the EPA Inspector General issued a scathing
Fresh Kills NYC garbage land fill. As much as he choked 155-page report concluding that the agency hadn’t had
on the Lower Manhattan air, he dreaded the Staten Island the data to make such blanket declarations at that time.
landfill. Walcott knew everything in the towers had fallen; By then, more than a quarter of EPA samples showed un-
desks, lights, computers. But apart from the occasional safe levels of asbestos, and the agency had yet to com-
steel beam, the detritus that he sifted through there con- plete tests for mercury, cadmium, lead, dioxin, and PCBs.
sisted of tiny grains of dust, no furniture pieces, no light The Inspector General’s report went on to disclose anoth-
fixtures, not even a computer mouse. er disconcerting fact — that the White House had pres-
sured the EPA to sanitize its warnings about Ground Zero.
At times, the detectives would take shelter in wooden The Inspector General revealed that the White House
sheds, in an attempt to get away from what Walcott likes Council on Environmental Quality had taken a red pen
to call “all that freaking bad air.” One day, he was sitting to the agency’s press releases, adding reassuring state-
in the shed with his colleagues, eating candy bars and ments and deleting cautionary ones, creating the overly
drinking sodas, when some FBI agents entered. They rosy picture that the air was clean.
were dressed in full haz-mat suits, complete with head
masks, which they had sealed shut with duct tape to In reality, the 9/11 fallout was like nothing anyone had
ward off the fumes. As Walcott took in the scene, con- been exposed to before. Everything in the towers had
trasting the well-protected FBI agents with the New York been ground into a fine dust — concrete, steel, glass,
cops wearing respirator masks, one thought entered his insulation, plastic, and computers. Dust analyses would
mind: What is wrong with this picture? detect glass shards, cement particles, cellulose fibers,
asbestos, and a mixture of harmful components, includ-
The same thought would cross Acker’s mind only fleet- ing lead, titanium, barium, uranium, thorium, cerium,
ingly, and only after weeks of working near Ground Zero, yttrium, lanthanum, antimony, potassium, sodium, lead,
while he was hacking so hard he vomited something akin While pictures such as this provide anecdotal evidence previous copper, zinc, gypsum and more. In all, the dust contained
to chewed-up licorice. During his first days at the site, he chapters provide conclusive evidence that 911 was a nuclear event more than 100 different compounds, some of which have
wore the painter’s mask that an NYPD lieutenant had given never been identified. And then there were the fires that
him, but it soon became too filthy from debris. By October, smoldered for three months. They gave off not only the pu-
he was spitting up so much gunk that he called his doctor for an antibiotics prescription. But he wouldn’t leave the trid plume, but also a blast of carcinogens — asbestos, dioxin, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs.
site; when the fumes got bad, he’d sit in the company trailer and flip on the air conditioner. That had a filter, at least. They also emitted benzene.
AT&T had stocked its disaster trailers with almost everything; rubber boots, hard hats, rope, a first aid kit. Funny,
Acker thought, staring at the shelves. All this stuff, yet no one had ever considered respirators. In one disturbing analysis done by the U.S. Geological Survey, the dust had such high alkalinity levels it rivaled
liquid Drano.
Around this time, McCarthy was just beginning to report for recovery duty. When Verizon asked for volunteers to
restore phone lines near Ground Zero, he didn’t hesitate. He arrived for his first assignment in early October and Thomas Cahill, a physicist who sent a team to analyze the plume from a rooftop a mile away from Ground Zero,
wound up staying downtown for the next 13 months, going from basement to basement, moving from Wall Street says he got worried once he noticed the color of the smoke had turned a fluorescent blue. That’s a sure sign that
skyscrapers to Chinatown walk-ups. The first thing he saw in the company terminals was the Trade Center dust, ultra-fine particles (which can go deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream) were coming off the Pile and
Advertisement
permeating the air. When his team tested the plume, the scientists found higher levels of sulfuric acid, heavy met- His second warning came in the summer of 2003, as Walcott was getting chemotherapy. In August, Acker was
als, and other insoluble materials than anywhere else in the world, even in the Kuwaiti oil fields. “Not nice stuff,” says landscaping the backyard at his home, in Columbus, New Jersey, carrying two 50-pound buckets of stones, when
Cahill, a professor emeritus of physics at the University of California at Davis, who has published three papers on his body buckled under a jolt of pain. It felt as if somebody had jabbed a fishhook into his rib cage and was slowly
the 9-11 plume, “and it was all being liberated by that smoldering pile, so those people got the full force of it.” gutting him. He allowed for the possibility of a kidney stone and paid a trip to the doctor. Days later, he got a diag-
nosis that would stop his heart cold: multiple myeloma, a plasma cell cancer. Already, the super-advanced cancer
Today, Cahill is trying to identify what exactly the recovery workers were inhaling, but the data are incomplete. He had eaten its way through the bone marrow in his ribs, as well as many other bones in his body.
does know one thing for certain: “You’d have to stand by a busy highway for eight years to get what these people on
the site got in just four weeks.” He then adds, “These poor people are part of an enormous experiment, I think.” For a fleeting moment, Acker thought about that thick and foul plume hanging over the Pile; could it have caused
his cancer? But his optimism flooded back and he focused on his treatment instead, on the chemotherapy pills
In May 2003, John Walcott was 39 years old. He had just become a first-time father of his daughter, Colleen, and that he would take twice a day for the next 28 days. Only days later, after his oncologist confirmed that his myelo-
had proudly coached a Bedford high school hockey team to the state regionals. That spring, he had noticed his ma likely formed in the last two years, did he finally make the tie-in to 9/11.
energy fade. But he figured his 16-hour days juggling the narcotics beat, hockey practice, and parenthood were
finally catching up to him. Still, the fatigue would consume him for weeks. He’d fall asleep at his desk or behind By the spring of 2004, Acker and Walcott had endured not only months of chemotherapy, but also stem cell trans-
the wheel. Often he’d nod off in the middle of a conversation. plants. They experienced a series of life-threatening infections
and trips in and out of the hospital before beating their can-
Then he got the diagnosis: acute myelogenous leukemia, cers into remission.
a white-blood-cell cancer. He was ordered straight to the
hospital, where he underwent chemotherapy for the next For a fleeting moment, Gary Acker thought about that thick
28 days. and foul plume hanging over the Pile; could it have caused his
multiple myeloma?
Eventually, a nurse would ask Walcott questions similar to
those put to Vallebuona, the ones meant to pinpoint the pos- Meanwhile, Vallebuona had just begun noticing gout-like
sible causes for his cancer. Like Vallebuona, Walcott answered symptoms. They started in his big toes, which doubled in size
no to all the questions. And like Vallebuona, he didn’t connect and became hot to the touch, and then moved to his knees,
the dots between his time at Ground Zero and the cancer joints, and chest. For six months, he went back and forth to
growing in his body. the doctor, getting more medicine, seeking more remedies.
He wouldn’t doubt that diagnosis until October 2004, when
Visiting him in the hospital later, his sister, Debbie, did. the searing stomachache tipped him off to what had really
been causing pain in his abdomen.
“John,” she said, “what the hell do you think you were around at
Ground Zero?” When he got the cancer diagnosis, Vallebuona was relieved
about one thing. His doctor had been wrong about the gout.
It was a question that Gary Acker would also have to con- If nothing else, at least he wouldn’t have to live with that ex-
front that summer, in a visit to his own doctor’s office. The cruciating pain for the rest of his life. As Vallebuona was com-
AT&T manager had never shaken that World Trade Center ing to grips with his cancer in the fall of 2004, Jessy McCarthy
cough, struggling with sore throats and lung infections for 18 was still feeling healthy. The Verizon technician had managed
months after completing his recovery work, suffering through to evade the kinds of respiratory problems that have afflicted
all kinds of inhalers and antibiotic regimens. At one point, his so many Ground Zero workers; the cough, the sinusitis and
doctor diagnosed him with sleep apnea and ordered him to the asthma during the two years since his recovery assign-
wear a pilot-like mask strapped over his face at night, so as to Vehicles at top right and top left: engine compartments burned, visible oxidation, exteme rust ment had ended. He would experience nothing to suggest the
photo: Scott McDermott
reduce his roaring snores. It didn’t work. grave disease that would sneak up on him.

A perennial optimist, Acker ignored any hint that his health problems were 9/11 related. In September 2002, he
got the first warning that his health was deteriorating from exposure to the dust cloud when he underwent a pul-
monary test for the company. He was stunned by the doctor’s response.
“How many packs of cigarettes do you smoke a day?” the doctor asked Acker. “I don’t smoke. I never have in my life.”
“Well, you have a real breathing problem,” the doctor informed him.
At least not until one day in October 2004, while taking a shower, when he saw a swelling around the glands under
his arm, about the size of a marble. He thought: This is not right. In March 2005, after a biopsy of one of his lymph
nodes, Jessy McCarthy finally was given the definitive diagnosis of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. By then, the recov-
ery workers’ lawsuits had been more than a year in the making.
But McCarthy didn’t feel sick; there were no dizzy spells or nausea. A trip to the family doctor to ask about the lump
yielded little information, just something questionable about his
blood. So McCarthy plodded on with his life, holding down his
full-time job, taking care of his teenage son.
“There is going to be a cancer catastrophe
Suddenly, within weeks, he noticed the lump had grown, and
more had developed. His lymph nodes swelled all over his body, the likes of which we’ve never seen
underneath his arms, in his groin, around his neck and chest. The
lumps just seemed to sprout; they grew so big that they looked in this country ...”
like mini-baseballs. Suddenly, McCarthy found himself undergo- ~ David Worby
ing a battery of medical exams — CAT scans, PET scans, blood
tests, and anything else that would help narrow down the pos-
sibilities. It took six months to rule out every type of lymphatic
infection. In March 2005, after a biopsy of one of his lymph nodes,
McCarthy finally was given the definitive diagnosis of non-Hod-
gkin’s lymphoma.
Back in the winter of 2004, Walcott had just survived the worst
of his hospital stays, a 17-day stretch of 106-degree fevers, and
was confined to his home. Months had passed since he learned
that his leukemia likely resulted from his exposure to benzene
while on the Pile, but he went in search of legal advice. He started
with a lawyer friend, who encouraged him to keep looking. One
attorney offered to take Walcott’s case, as long as he put up his
modest house to cover the fees. “Forget it,” he said.
Eventually, parents of the kids on his high school hockey team
heard about his plight. During a visit, Walcott told some parents
about his fruitless search. They had an idea. They could contact a
trial lawyer whose son went to the same high school; his name
was David Worby.
“I took the case as a favor,” the lead attorney in the recovery work-
ers’ lawsuits says, sitting in his spacious penthouse office in White
Plains. A trim man whose brown hair is graying at the temples,
David Worby exudes confidence as he reclines in his chair and
recalls the early days of what has become his greatest legal cru-
sade. Long before the 9/11 suits, he had built a reputation as a
gladiator lawyer on personal-injury cases; in 1989, he set a West-
chester record by winning $18 million for a construction worker
run down by a car. Fifteen years later, he was settling into early
retirement when one of the Bedford parents told him about the
ailing Walcott.
“What was I supposed to do?” Worby asks.
What started out as a case for one sick recovery worker quickly
snowballed. Eventually a team of 20 attorneys at his firm of Worby “Worby was right.”
Groner Edelman Napoli & Bern is handling the suits, filed in U.S.
District Court in Manhattan, for the thousands of workers associ-
ated with the Trade Center cleanup — police officers, firefighters,
sanitation workers, iron workers, and Latino day workers. Federal
District Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected the city’s claim for im-
munity in the Worby lawsuits and recently capped its liability at
$1 billion. The judge is expected to appoint a special master to
settle the workers’ claims. Worby’s client list continued to grow.
It soon included Vallebuona, Acker, and McCarthy, all of whom
came to him after he filed the first suits in September 2004.
They found out about him as most of his clients do, by word
of mouth, one sick recovery worker to another, one worried
spouse to another. Others have called him after hearing about
the cases on TV or the radio or in the papers. Most of the clients
have grown ill from respiratory problems like asthma, sinusitis,
and bronchitis. But some have kidney failure, and 400 people
have developed cancer. As of 2006 a total of 83 clients had died.
The number of cancer patients has multiplied at a rate that Wor-
by says he never anticipated. Back in 2004, he represented only
20 workers who had cancer. But by 2006 he had watched that
number soar to over 200, and within six months after that, it
had doubled.
Like many trial lawyers, Worby has a penchant for talking in fer-
vent, breathless tones, as though his words were writ large, in
bright, blinking letters. Convinced that the 9/11 fallout has made
for a cancer explosion, he doesn’t hesitate to say so. “There is go-
ing to be a cancer catastrophe the likes of which we’ve never seen
in this country,” he says. “The numbers are going to be staggering.”
Worby was right.
Perhaps it’d be easy to dismiss him as another hot-aired plain-
tiffs’ attorney were it not for his own command of numbers. He
has become something of a gumshoe epidemiologist, compil-
ing the data on his cancer patients that are lacking in the larg-
er worker population, tracking their diseases, ages, diagnosis
dates, and their 9/11 exposures. “Look at the cancers my clients
have,” he says, flipping through a dozen pages of a document
entitled “Seriously Ill Clients.” It’s updated every month; this one
is dated September 13, 2006. The document outlines what he
calls his “cancer clusters” and lists rare cancers often associated
with the 9/11 toxins, such as thyroid (30 people), tongue and
throat (25), testicular (16), and brain (10). He keeps a separate
document on the 75 people with blood cancers. Two dozen of
them have various forms of leukemia; the remaining four dozen
have various forms of lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and other
blood cell cancers.
“If I had two blood cancers, it’d be a strong coincidence,” Worby
argues. “But 70? That defies coincidence. The word coincidence
should not be in anyone’s vocabulary.”
Worby contends that it wasn’t just the unprecedented “We don’t know if we’re seeing a spike in cancer rates,”
amount of toxins in the air that caused his clients to Herbert says, as they have in the rates of respiratory ill-
develop cancer; it was that the toxins worked together. nesses. Herbert confirms that the Mount Sinai doctors
Worby calls it a “synergistic effect,” and cancer specialists have seen some workers with cancer, including un-
say there is such a thing as toxic synergy, which occurs usual cancers, but says they’d expect some workers to
when chemicals combine. They can enhance the dam- develop malignancies over the last five years anyway.
age that the other ones would cause. Think of it this Is there more incidence of cancer among Pile workers
way: The benzene at Ground Zero may have caused than among those who didn’t toil on the Pile? “That’s
Walcott’s acute leukemia; the dioxin probably sped up the key question,” she says. The Mount Sinai epidemiolo-
its development.
“Two dozen of them have various forms of leukemia; the remaining four dozen gists have just begun to try to answer that by launching
have various forms of lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and other blood cell cancers.” an initiative to update medical records, document new
“This amount of toxicological exposure is going to speed diagnoses, and track less-common diseases like cancer.
up normal latency periods,” Worby argues. He makes It’s a slow process, with no timeline. Still, she says, “We
this assertion with the same zeal that he exhibits in are now aggressively investigating every case of cancer
the courtroom, citing medical studies on animals, rat- that has been reported to us.”
tling off the findings as if they were second nature.
Why would the doctors monitoring the effects of 9/11 But the WTC programs, funded by the federal govern-
on people’s health not understand this connection, he ment, have their share of critics, who wonder how in-
wonders. “Why would people not make this link?” terested the doctors are in the 9/11 and cancer issue. Al
O’Leary, the spokesperson for the Patrolmen’s Benevo-
Five years after September 11th, there’s no doubt that lent Association, says that many of its members feel as
the toxic dust cloud has devastated the lungs of those if the doctors are ignoring the signs of a growing can-
who participated in the Trade Center cleanup. In Sep- cer cluster. “It was our impression that no one in the med-
tember 2006, the Mount Sinai Medical Center released ical-monitoring programs believed the cancers could be
data from its WTC Worker and Volunteer Medical happening this early,” he explains.
Screening Program, which has tested 17,500 recovery
workers to date. In that analysis, doctors found that Over the past year, the police union has fielded a steady
nearly 70 percent of the 9,500 subjects they surveyed increase in calls from members who have developed
experienced new or worsened respiratory symptoms cancer since working at Ground Zero. Last July, the PBA
at Ground Zero; close to 60 percent saw those symp- started its own World Trade Center health registry for its
toms persist for years. Doctors have seen chronic si- members, listing seven cancer cases at the time. By 2006
nusitis, laryngitis, asthma, gastroesophageal reflux dis- there were 20 cases; they include the 35-year-old who
order, and disabling musculoskeletal conditions. Even worked on the Pile and at Fresh Kills and now has mul-
the famous World Trade Center cough has lasted much tiple myeloma, the 45-year-old who surveyed the Trade
longer than anticipated. Center site for two years and now has leukemia, and the
41-year-old who manned the landfill morgue for three
“All of us have been badly surprised by the persistence and weeks and now has myeloma.
the chronicity of the World Trade Center diseases,” says
Robin Herbert, the director of the screening program. “Now, don’t you think this is all very suspicious?” O’Leary
asks. “The medical community needs to be more
But at the Mount Sinai program (and at the WTC pro- open-minded about what diseases can be caused by 9/11.”
gram of the FDNY, which declined to comment for this
article), the link between the dust cloud and cancer is Some cancer specialists agree. Hesdorffer, of Johns
discussed more as a possibility than a reality. It’s not Hopkins, still remembers the reaction to his testimony
that doctors aren’t extremely concerned about the before the Victim Compensation Fund, back in 2004.
connection, Herbert says, given the cancer-causing He was called back about a half-dozen times to explain
agents and other toxins in the mix. While individual why he would attribute the pancreatic cancer in his two
cancer cases may be attributed to 9/11 toxins, she says, patients to the dust cloud so soon after 9/11. It was as
the doctors, so far, lack full epidemiological proof link- if no one wanted to make the connection; one patient
ing the two.
lost his claim despite the doctor’s opinion. “We’re in this period where no one wants to accept the link,” Hesdorffer ob-
serves. Maybe the official denial stems from economics, from a desire to limit the
amount of money owed to the thousands who have lost their health. Or maybe
it has to do with politics. Admitting a link, as he points out, “would mean that the
fallout from 9/11 was a lot bigger than we’d thought.”

What it would mean is that people got cancer from government decisions.
From the decision of Whitman to lie about the air quality in Lower Manhattan,
which gave the recovery workers and many other New Yorkers a false sense of
security. From the decision of the White House to put Wall Street ahead of pub-
lic health, which the EPA Inspector General found had influenced all those rosy
statements. And from the decision to let workers toil without proper respirators
for weeks, or without any respirators at all.

Photo by Aris Economopoulos

For Gary Acker, now 54 and still undergoing monthly chemical drips to heal
his bones, gone are the annual trips hunting for caribou in Canada and fishing
for trout in the Adirondacks. Those years in the late ‘90s when he threw the
javelin and shot put in the New York version of the Olympics seem like an ad-
olescent memory. No longer working at AT&T, he devotes his time to trying to
relax, watching mindless sitcoms on TV, anything to make himself laugh. “If I’m
laughing, I’m not stressed,” he says. His doctors tell him that no stress means less
chance of a cancer relapse.

Jessy McCarthy, now 48, had to work through his chemotherapy treatment,
juggling the 72-hour drips with his job and his son for six months. He didn’t
have much choice; otherwise he’d lose his medical benefits. He could never
afford the medical bills on his $65,000 salary; some of his medications cost
$5,000 a dose. Now in remission, he continues to fix phone lines, though he
knows the day will come when he can’t anymore. Already, he has had to call
for help on assignments he used to do alone. He also knows, in the back of his
mind, that his cancer is the kind that will likely return, and possibly kill him.

Walcott and Vallebuona, both retired from the force because of their cancer,
continue to live with the side effects of their treatments — the lost feeling in
their hands and feet and the extreme fatigue. While Vallebuona has undergone

death by
chemotherapy, radiation, and a stem cell transplant, he still hasn’t been able to beat his lymphoma into remission.
They also grapple with what they both like to call “chemo brain.” The drugs left Walcott too incoherent to witness or
recall the first time his daughter learned to walk or talk. For Vallebuona the littler things seem to escape him, like the

radioactive dust
weekend plans his wife mentioned earlier in the day. But even their foggy minds have not erased the memories of
two planes hitting the World Trade Center on that sunny September morning, when they had woken up healthy and
happy to be alive.
 Nuclear Demolition
In A Major Metropolitan Financial Center
By Jeff Prager

The nuclear detonation and radioactive effects of small, advanced weaponry employing uranium and
other elements, detonated in a major metropolitan city that wasn’t evacuated have never been studied
before until now. These nuclear devices were designed with technology far more advanced than the first
nuclear devices used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and left little radiation behind and only for a few days —
4 to 5 — at most. One can be certain that there are representatives in government agencies that are well
aware that this was a nuclear event, tied forever to secrecy based on National Security.

Studying The Herd

Currently, the government is studying a cohort of over 200,000 NYC 9/11 rescue workers and NYC residents,
including children, in a mapped and sectioned portion of the city most affected by the dust. Another 70,000+
First Responders from across the country are participants in another government supported study and there
are a host of additional studies, currently underway, regularly following the lives and health conditions of
more than half a million people. The data obtained will provide a full and complete understanding as to the
effects that can be expected from these types of nuclear devices — data only useful to the banking clowns
that run the planet with complete contempt and the military industrial complex that enforces their edicts.

Skousen On Quigley
explosive ejections
“As I see it, the great contribution which Dr. Carroll Quigley unintentionally made by writing ‘Tragedy and Hope’
was to help the ordinary American realize the utter contempt which the Network leaders have for ordinary peo-
ple. Human beings are treated en masse as helpless puppets on an international chess board where giants of eco-
nomic and political power subject them to wars, revolution, civil strife, confiscation, subversion, indoctrination,
manipulation and deception.”
~ Quote by W. Cleon Skousen in “The Naked Capitalist”

This was a test, but not only a test, a necessary part of the global chess game that plays out daily in front
of us, the bystanders, the truly unwashed, unclean masses — and as we watch, often baffled by the moves
made, as the players make history and the historians catalogue the events in a distorted playbook that never
aligns with reality, the majority remain hoodwinked, unable to any longer parse reality and determine truth
from fiction. History books with lie after lie between the covers, nuances and subtleties omitted, only one
side of every coins story told, a warped version of humanities planetary existence, provide the education,
the false background that makes up their unrealistic reality. The record of 9/11 having been nuclear there-
fore, lies here, for now, within these pages. A quarter of a million people are being carefully studied and doc-
umented. Like ants crawling over warmed feces there are government employees and medical researchers
in the know and even more that are clueless yet they’re all studying, cataloging, quantifying, graphing and
charting these people. The largest and most populated financial center in the world was irradiated with a
new, mostly survivable nuclear weapons and no one was the wiser. This is unconscionable behavior by the
people we elect to govern and protect us. Not only wouldn’t they protect us from a nuclear event, they
wouldn’t protect us afterwards either — and they designed, developed and orchestrated the experiment
purposely, without remorse and with impunity. We’re little more than Guinea Pigs for the military industrial
complex. Nothing more can be said.
 NINE ELEVEN
CANCERS
The 8th Anniversary: “Cancer Findings in 9/11 Rescue Workers & Soldiers in Iraq”
By R. B. Stuart • September 7th, 2009 08:05 PM

From Hell’s Kitchen on the morning of September must be destroyed because of contamination from
11th, 2001, I watched the horrifying slow motion ter- the air — so only pre-packaged store bought foods
rorist attack on the World Trade Center on television. were accepted.
An hour later, when the numbness and denial faded,
an urgency to volunteer swelled within. Needing to Mayor Giuliani and former N. J. Governor Christie
care for the city the way she comforted me over the Todd Whitman, EPA Director under President Bush, as-
years, I found myself entering the sandwiched 11th sured New Yorkers repeatedly that “the air and water
Avenue bus to Lincoln Center, where the American was safe and didn’t pose a health hazard.” But a contra-
Red Cross [ARC] held court in the auditorium of a local diction was evident, that the exposure of food to the
school (Ground Zero images FEMA Public Domain 2005). thickened, chalky white air — was toxic.

I would go to the city’s rescue in any way possible
and aid the two limbs that had been taken without
warning. The Mother of all cities, was herself, crum-
bling down to the marrow below her streets. The solid
bedrock which sprouted two of her tallest beauties,
were savagely destroyed — taking with them the
many children of her city. With the outpouring of vol-
unteers, from New York and beyond, it was a month
before the ARC called. They assigned a group of us for
a week at a location blocks away from the WTC. We
were immediately instructed that if anyone donated
homemade sandwiches, brownies, or cookies — they
Wary New Yorkers knew something was amiss — but
it wouldn’t surface until years later. On that Septem-
ber day, former 101st Airborne Army soldier John Feal,
“the exposure pictured at left, a supervisor for a Long Island demo-
of food to the lition company, was asked by the owner to supervise
the clean-up at Ground Zero’s site seven. The former
thickened, chalky military specialist didn’t flinch and went to the battle
white air — was toxic ... zone in lower Manhattan. His fateful course would
yet the air was allegedly change after a mere six days into the massive clean-
safe to breathe ...” up, when an 8,000 pound slab of steel fell atop his
left foot crushing it on impact. Feal spent the next 11
weeks in the hospital where his limb would develop
a bout of gangrene — and claim half his foot. The then 34 year-old spent the next few years observing the mis- fateful day in May 2007, Specht of Ladder 133 was injured in a fire and taken to L. I. Jewish Hospital. Still in his gear,
treatment of his colleagues, peers and New York’s bravest, the FDNY and NYPD, who had worked for the city at covered in black smoke and drenched in water, they took a CT Scan of his neck. The doctors found two nodules in
Ground Zero in an eight month clean-up effort. He witnessed their abrupt illnesses, and since 2004 a steady climb the thyroid area, one the size of a nickel, the other a dime. He was referred to an endocrinologist, who commented
of rescue workers being diagnosed with cancer. In 2005, with his anger over the treatment of 9/11 workers intact, that Specht didn’t fit the criteria for thyroid cancer ... and sent him home with the neck pain.
John Feal founded the not-for-profit FealGood Foundation. His love and compassion fuels the foundation to help http://www.huffingtonpost.com/r-b-stuart/the-8th-anniversary-cance_b_278914.html 16-Jun-10 05:48:40
those less fortunate. Since its inception, with $200,000 in aid, he’s helped over 600 families. The FealGood Founda-
tion advocates for all 9/11 responders with workmen’s comp., pensions, social security disability, the crime victims The next day while at work he was reading an article in the New York Post about thyroid cancer. His breath became
of New York, and most importantly Bill HR 847 they shallow as he read the symptoms — they were his.
hope is enacted soon [The Zadroga Bill passed]. Specht urged the specialist for immediate testing.
After a needle aspiration the results were neither
“Seventy percent have some sort of 9/11 illness,” Feal positive or negative. Baffled, the doctor sent him
stated from his Long Island office. “A lot of these “70% Have to another specialist. And after three opinions —
men and women are paying for their heroic actions Some Sort Of Illness” the 37 year-old was diagnosed with a stage I thy-
eight years ago. Over 800 have since died from a va- roid cancer on one tumor and stage II on the other.
riety of illnesses, and probably thousands have been “I bawled like a girl,” he admitted. “My body felt like
diagnosed with cancer.” [Well over 5000 to date]. I was 57.” With surgery they were both removed.
Specht, whose family isn’t predisposed to cancer,
FDNY, John McNamara was diagnosed with stage nor has he ever picked up a cigarette, did some re-
IV colon cancer resulting in the removal of his en- search online. He discovered that radiation expo-
tire colon. In August 2009 the 44-year-old lost his sure came up as one of the causes for his cancer.
life to cancer, as his wife lost the love of her life, and “I was a guinea pig,” he confided. “I strongly believe
his young son lost the only father he’d ever known. that my cancer diagnosis is a direct result to my six
“The cancers that have surfaced have been blood weeks of work at the WTC.”
cancers, kidney, lung, thyroid, testicular and brain
cancer,” Feal recounted. Greg Quibell, a NY State “Now I’m 40 and in the last three years I’ve been a
Corrections Officer was one of those to die from a medical mess. And the 17th firefighter to be diag-
blood cancer, the most aggressive, AML Leukemia nosed with thyroid cancer post September 11th. With
in August 2008. If you were a uniformed rescue a work force of 11,000 we don’t fit the criteria of the
worker, you were fortunate to have pension and national average,” he concluded.
health care. But those non-uniformed workers who
became sick and lost their jobs, are losing their “none of the The minute those buildings collapsed it turned
homes and going bankrupt reported Feal. “Sep- from a building fire to a hazardous materials inci-
tember 11th was unprecedented, none of the doctors doctors have dent he reported. “The equipment we were given to
have ever seen these illnesses,” he exclaimed. “The wear was for fire fighting only. Our gear is not rated
full effect won’t be felt for another 10 to 20 years.” ever seen these for haz-mat incidents. The city and the FDNY owed
us the proper equipment to mitigate those hazard-
“The truth be told, Whitman without an environ- illnesses.” ous conditions,” Specht exclaimed. Now retired,
mental background — lied. She said that the air and Specht advises those who worked rescue or clean-
water was safe because the White House told her to up at Ground Zero, to inform your doctor that you
— but it wasn’t true. She bears no responsibility — were involved in the World Trade Center clean-up,
but God will judge her,” he fumed. “There has been no FealGood Foundation co-founder John Feal, right, is pressing Donald Trump to reveal his tax returns in 2018-19 and were exposed to a variety of chemicals. “Ask
Federal legislation passed to ensure the welfare and him to look outside the box, taking into consideration
(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
healthcare of the men and women who risked their your exposure to toxic agents.”
life without prejudice eight years ago,“ Feal argued. “To
quote Abraham Lincoln, ‘Any nation that does not honor its hero’s — will not long endure.’ “ Since 2002 when The NYC Fire Department World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program was established, the
firefighters grievance of Dr. David Prezant who is in charge of the annual testing, is that they have not released
One of those forgotten hero’s, FDNY Corona, Queens Ladder 289, Kenny Specht spent weeks at the WTC in 2001. official statistics of their research. “The reports of 2002 and 2006, the only two to be released, were obscure and nearly
By that December he developed respitory ailments, in 2005 severe gastrointestinal problems followed. “In 2006 I identical. To me it’s suspicious,” Specht conceded. “Why when a NY firefighter is diagnosed with cancer does the burden
experienced a burning pain in my chest that radiated downward. Upon going to the ER, the doctor said my gallbladder of proof fall on the ill members shoulders?” he questioned. “Shouldn’t the results of what is now an eight year study by
was four times the size it should be, describing it “as rotten.” They removed it immediately,” he informed. Then on a the FDNY and the WTC monitoring program, have the proof that the cancer is a result of the WTC? Why have they never
released a report?” His frustration is a fraction of what the selfless caretakers of the WTC tend with on a daily basis
— his following comment is a poignant summarization. “By September 12th we’ll be forgotten for another year.”

Dr. Doug Rokke, Ph.D, retired, U.S. Army Major, served as the U.S. Army Depleted Uranium Project director 1994 -
1995. His military career has spanned four decades including combat duty during the Vietnam and Gulf War. Dr.
Rokke is a disabled and retired Army Reserve Medical Service Corps officer who specialized in Nuclear Medicine
and Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare Operations [NBC]. A member of the 3rd U.S. Army Medical Com-
mand he taught Hazardous Materials, Emergency Medicine, DU, Intelligence, Medical Operations and Emergency
Field Medicine as a former enlisted combat medic. Dr. Rokke says the culprit for cancer diagnosis of 9/11 workers
is, “A combination of toxic compounds from combustion and explosions and uranium ballast.” He explained, “Depleted
Uranium [DU] is used as ballast in commercial aircraft. And they [the airlines] are privy to that information.”

Since 2003, a portion of Soldiers deployed to Iraq are also being diagnosed with rare cancers 2 to 24 months
post deployment. Their exposure to carcinogens in the air, water and soil stem from Burn Pits and DU dust [and
enriched uranium]. Unprotected like the 9/11 workers, they are unknowingly inhaling and ingesting the toxins.
Although the battlefield has residue from munitions, Dr. Rokke states there is “very little difference. The soldiers
from Operation Dessert Storm [ODS], Operation Iraqi Freedom [OIF] and Operation Enduring Freedom [OEF] exposures
include uranium, and explosion/combustion byproducts; contaminated by explosives or radioactive wastes [DU].” And
remember that Dr. Busby found enriched uranium in the bomb blast craters in Iraq signifying the certain use of
nuclear weapons there.

The exposure is the same; through inhalation, ingestion, wound contamination and absorption. Dr. Rokke informs,
“Not much exposure is needed — just a few hundred micrograms.” Adding that there are “too many factors to specify”
when determining the length of time after exposure to diagnosis. “But on our original ODS DU team, including the
OIF and OEF exposures, the confirmed cancers have occurred within several months.”

There is medical testing that can be performed if you’ve been exposed — but there is a time limit. “Too many years
have elapsed. DoD orders for DU exposure is to test within 24 hours or so — not months or years,” Dr. Rokke advises. As
the original author and instructor for the [NBC and WMD] Emergency Response Course for the new Police and Fire
Department Emergency Services Unit developed at Ft. McClelland, Alabama in 1995 - 1996 he states: “They were
taught about risk exposures. But it was the responsibility of NYC officials to provide them with the essential and required
equipment in 2001 [OSHA /NIOSH Level A PE Protection]. There was an air of John Wayne / Rambo mentality apparent,”
Dr. Rokke observed, underlining that the NYPD, FDNY, NIOSH, CDC, EPA, OHA, DOD and VA were all informed of
those precautions. “The North American Emergency Response Guidebook, DOT, and Coast Guard Crisis Manual are
suppose to be on every fire truck or with a dispatcher. There is no excuse for not taking these precautions.”

While we mourn the 8th year of the traumatic WTC event, that day has never ended for the Rescue Workers — as
it’s still claiming their lives. In Dr. Rokke’s professional opinion he suggests independent tests of the air and surfac-
es at the WTC. “All structures both inside and out within at least a 20 miles radius should be tested.” He concludes, “The
medical problems mirror those of Gulf War Veterans.”

As a recognized national and international expert and educator, Dr. Rokke developed congressionally mandated
education and training materials and wrote U.S. Army Regulation 700-48, the U.S. Army PAM 700-48, and the U.S.
Army’s common task for DU incidents. Dr. Rokke serves or has served as an advisor for the Centers of Disease Con-
trol; Department of Defense; National Academy of Sciences; Institute of Medicine; Department of Transportation;
Federal Aviation Administration; Department of Veterans Affairs; British Royal Society; British House of Lords and
House of Commons; United Nations; President William J. Clinton’s Oversight Board; and local, state, and federal law
enforcement, fire, and medical agencies. His opinions are critically important.

“By September 12th we’ll be forgotten for another year.”

 A Review Of Dust To Dust: The Health Effects Of 9/11 • A film by Heidi Dehncke-Fisher
By Jerry Mazza • January 16th, 2008, 00:20

What makes this documentary, Dust to Dust: the health • Polycystic aromatic hydrocarbons that cause lung, la-
effects of 9/11, so special is not just the chilling statis- ryngeal and throat cancers
tics it displays onscreen about the poisonous brew of • 130,000 gallons of transformer oil with PCBs, causing
materials that fell on Ground Zero and the surrounding serious skin rashes and liver damage
neighborhoods; what makes this piece so affecting is the • Crystalline Silica from 420,000 tons of concrete, sheet-
heart-rending testimony of the warm-bodied victims of rock and glass, particulates lodge in the heart ...
9/11’s fall-out, now living through a second round of ... and so on and on and on ...
slaughter, sadly their own. These victims are struggling
to stay alive and sane, combating cancers, pulmonary Meet Life’s Cast
diseases, every conceivable kind of breathing disorder,
and the psychic shock of being misled, flat-out lied to During the film we meet John Graham, an EMT, and
by the US and New York City governments as to the risk carpenter, a strong, soft-spoken man battling with a
they were taking continuing to work, returning home or handful of life-threatening conditions; similarly there is
going to school in the area; this whether on the piles, silver-haired Richard Mulhern, a fiber optic technician;
in the surrounding neighborhoods, office buildings or Christ Baumann, an NYPD detective; Bonnie Giebfried,
even small businesses, directly and months after the EMT; Timothy Duffy, a New York firefighter; NYPD Detec-
apocalypse occurred. To make matters worse, the or- tive Zagroda who survives his lost son; Patrick Lynch of
ganizations designated to help these people, FEMA, the New York Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, and
the EPA, Workmen’s Compensation, private insurance others equally affecting. Detective Zagroda describes an
companies, municipal health providers, Social Security, incident in which his son, a police officer as well, already
Medicare, et. al, present these victims with a daily bar- suffering from a severe cough, stopped a lieutenant
rage of obstacles, largely red tape in paying (or avoiding who was carrying five respirators. He asked for one. And
to pay) for medical bills, including medications, surger- “We are the dust of 9/11.” the lieutenant told him, “Sorry, can’t do, these are for the
ies, organ transplants, physical or psychological thera- brass.”The young Zagroda died one morning on the floor
pies, plus well-deserved financial benefits to help vic- of a bedroom in his home from black lung disease as his
tims meet living expenses and literally keep a roof over child slept on the bed above, and his father discovered
their heads. The federal, city and corporate blockage by him. This is one of the most powerful moments of Dust
the very people who should be facilitating assistance to these victims compounds the inhumanity. The guilty par- to Dust, seeing this hulk of a man turn speechless with tears. We also meet deer-in-the-headlights Michael Brown,
ties range from functionaries in the various federal and city agencies and insurance companies to those who stand former director of FEMA; a truth-telling Hugh Kaufman, engineer/investigator and EPA critic. And we meet the
at the very helm of this nation. It’s no wonder one female EPA worker says, staring in the face of this conspiracy of unbelievable Christine Todd Whitman, the EPA administrator who consistently told New York and the world there
red tape and feet- shuffling, “We are the dust of 9/11.” was “No reason for the general public to be concerned.” Of course, we see George Bush, Dick Cheney, and Colin Pow-
ell, without facemasks, to make sure no one asks for one or uses even the meager paper masks that were available.
What Hit The Victims?
We meet Dr. Stephen Levin, head of the Mount Sinai Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine. He tells
Dust to Dust boldly superimposes on the screen some of the 2,500 contaminants that erupted from the explosions how he and his colleagues could see early on that these people were being exposed to cancer-causing materials
of the World Trade Center Twin Towers, tower Seven and the two fuel- laden jetliners, turning into a toxic gray dust that would end in disaster. This as Whitman kept reassuring everyone that we were “Not getting elevated levels caus-
that hung in the air as well as settled in people’s lungs and on area streets, vehicles, commercial buildings and ing concern.” Meanwhile, Dr. Cahill and others were absolutely astonished at the contents of the atmospheric dust.
residences, both outside and inside the city for months . . .
Nikki Tinsley, the former inspector general of the EPA, complained that there was no adequate access to get in
9/11’s Second Round Of Slaughter to evaluate, including no electricity, equipment or analysts. By 9/13 the inadequate ambient air samples led the
February 14th, 2010 EPA to claim the air was “Below levels of concern.” Yet, many contaminants were simply not tested for. As Robert
Martin, former ombudsman of the EPA, says, “You can’t find what you don’t look for. This is true. The agency could
• Over 400 tons of asbestos, which once inhaled in any quantity cannot be expelled by the lungs have done a much better job of looking.” This as Christy Whitman was repeating, “From a real health problem, we
• 90,000 liters of jet fuel with benzene, a carcinogen that suppresses the immune system and causes leukemia don’t have to worry.” Of course, we can’t lay it all on her because initial and ongoing statements were not based on
• Mercury from over 500,000 fluorescent lights - toxic to the nervous system, damaging especially to the kidneys science, but rather on White House policy. Ironically, the man who was appointed by George W. Bush as head of
• 200,000 lbs of lead & cadmium from personal computers, toxic to respiratory system, damaging to kidneys The White House Environmental Council, James Connaughton, formerly represented large corporations like ARCO
in disputes about cleaning up toxic waste sites. Adding insult to
injury, he had formerly worked against the EPA. So, as usual, the
crime starts at the top. And as Cate Jenkins, a science PhD for the
EPA, and Nikki Tinsley point out, the press releases that were writ-
ten by the EPA were then rewritten by the White House. One 9/11
press release that began “EPA Initiating Response Activities:
Testing Terrorized Sites for Environmental Hazards” changed to
“EPA Initiating Response Activities: Reassures Public about En-
vironmental Hazards”. That’s quite a difference.
And on 9/14, the following statement read “samples . . . showed
levels of asbestos ranging from 2.1% to 3.3% . . .” (The EPA concedes
a 1 percent level as a definition for asbestos-contaminating ma-
terial.) Thus the top line was changed to “samples contained small
percentages of asbestos . . . slightly above the 1 percent trigger for
defining asbestos material.” The difference between the numbers,
from 1 percent to 2.1 percent to 3.3 percent is major enough to
seriously hurt or kill you, given repeated exposure. So any number
cribbing is criminal. Of course, Rudy Giuliani is seen with a som-
ber faced, former Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik standing
behind him. Rudy tells us straight-faced that “The air quality is safe
and acceptable . . . That’s just the reality.” And we cut to a healthy
looking African American New Yorker who says, “If the mayor says
it’s okay, I believe him. It’s okay.” And there it is in a nutshell. Which
led one doctor to say, “Economic and political motivations rather
than a real concern for public health” were at play. True enough.
The Underlying Agenda
Perhaps the major agenda, as the filmmakers suggest, was to get
Wall Street up and running in a matter of days, no matter what the
cost to everyone else. In fact, in one interview of a young woman
Wall Streeter questioned as she walks briskly amidst the rubble
to work, she insists she’s okay; she’s happy to be back to work; it’s
no problem. It’s that same innocence, that same willingness to
jump into this polluted torrent of life that defies reality. An old-
er woman who is questioned does not display that enthusiasm.
She is worried about even being there. But these are just the little
people caught in the jaws of some larger beast. And thus, in ad-
dition to the 343 firefighters and paramedics, and the 78 police
offers who died that day among the nearly 3,000 who perished,
add to that the quietly disappearing numbers among the thou-
sands of “survivors.” I also reported on them in Online Journal in
“Ground Zero illnesses come back to haunt Giuliani,” and “No money
to treat 9/11 workers, $3 billion a week to fight Iraq?”. The ultimate
irony is that the rush to work these men and women on the piles
relentlessly aggravated in large part their nascent illnesses. The
compulsive push of Giuliani to wipe out this horrific crime scene
in eight months when we had 30 months to do the job is again
criminal. In sharp contrast, first responders in Washington, D.C.,
had to wear respirators to go to work at the Pentagon disaster
site, absolutely, no questions asked.
Thus, at the end of Dust to Dust, we are left with this second
tragedy. On a personal note, I recognized in the film an old
friend of my wife and myself, Lynda Caspe, an artist, who had
a loft near Ground Zero at the time. In the documentary she
tells us, she felt her loft might be contaminated with asbestos.
When, in fact, she called the EPA, the examiner found a deadly
2.6 percent level of asbestos. His next question to her was, “You
sure you didn’t plant this here?” Shocked, she answered, “What?
Where would I even find this?”
This personal connection to people lost and hurt, I might add, is
a component of the undying pain and anger we in this city feel.
September 11th happened in our backyard, among the build-
ings, the kids at Stuyvesant High School and the men and wom-
en working their hearts out. So it’s up close and personal to us,
no matter how much we get on with life.
This is why I suggest you savor this documentary, every word of
these gentle victims; every word of the innocent and the guilty.
They are all there for your scrutiny, and many are still in power.
And, whether you believe 9/11 was an Inside Job or not, Dust
to Dust will open your eyes to the punishable criminality of this
second round of slaughter. It will make your ire rise and demand
justice one more time, this time for the lingering hurt.
9/11 Cancer Cops
By Susan Edelman
Posted: 5:00 AM, May 31st, 2007
A group of 9/11 responders has contracted blood cancers at an
unusually young age, and top doctors suspect the disease was
triggered by an unprecedented “synergistic mix” of toxins at the
World Trade Center site. The WTC Medical Monitoring Program is
now studying a group of Ground Zero workers, including cops,
construction workers and volunteers, suffering from cancers
such as leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma.
“The kind of thing that worries us is that we have a handful of cases
of multiple myeloma in very young individuals . . . a condition that
almost always presents late in life,” said Dr. Robin Herbert, co-di-
rector of the program at Mount Sinai Hospital.
“That’s the kind of odd, unusual and troubling finding that we’re
seeing already,” she says in an interview with the New England
Journal of Medicine, which comes out today. The WTC monitor-
ing program has examined more than 20,000 workers, but so far
has focused on respiratory ailments. The mount- in the study. “Practitioners should be on the lookout
ing cancers, Herbert said, represent a “third wave” “conditions that we never actually saw in our lives before” for unusual disease patterns,” added Dr. Jacqueline
of sickness stemming from Ground Zero exposure. ~ Dr. Robin Herbert, co-director of the WTC Medical Monitoring Program, Mount Sinai Hospital, NYC, NY Moline, lead author of the report, which appears
First came immediate breathing problems, then in the August issue of the Journal of Occupational
chronic lung diseases. and Environmental Medicine. “Multiple myeloma is
usually a disease that occurs in the seventh or eighth
“We’re worried about a third wave, which is the possi- decade of life. A person is 10 times more likely to get
bility of cancer down the road,” she said. The Post has myeloma when they’re 70 than when they’re 45 or 48.
published several reports on the growing number Clinicians should be sensitized to patients coming in
of 9/11 responders with cancer. Doctors say a com- with unusual symptoms. They should think broadly.”
parison of cancer rates in 9/11 workers with normal
rates in the same age groups could prove whether And that includes being on the alert for other types
WTC dust and smoke caused an increase. Attor- of cancers as well, added Moline, who is director
ney David Worby, who filed a class-action suit for of the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and
9/11 workers in 2004, said yesterday about 105 of Treatment Program at Mount Sinai School of Med-
his 10,000 clients have gotten blood cancers, one icine in New York City. “Time is really going to give
as young as 30. Most range in age from 35 to 45, us the answer in terms of other exposures,” she said.
he said. Several have died, including a carpenter Rescue workers were heavily exposed to a toxic
and two NYPD cops. Worby has long argued that chemical soup released from the fires that raged
a “synergistic effect” — exposure to multiple toxins at the World Trade Center site for three months
— weakened the immune system and accelerated after 9/11. The chemicals included several known
the cancer process. He also explains the early on- carcinogens, some of which have been linked to a
set of cancer in firefighters, cops and construction heightened risk of multiple myeloma. Other health
workers as a result of “years of prior toxic exposure” issues arising from the disaster that have already
in their jobs. documented include a persistent “World Trade Cen-
ter cough” in firefighters, along with increased levels
“The argument that these diseases don’t happen so of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and asth-
fast does not take into account those predispositions,” ma. According to a study released last week, new
he said. “They’ve been using the wrong math to cal- symptoms of PTSD have been reported as long as
culate the latency periods.” Men without masks five and six years after the incident, although new
cases of asthma have nearly returned to baseline
For the first time publicly, Herbert said WTC doctors levels. However, there has been little information so
are “worried about the possibility of synergistic effect.” She said 9/11 workers were exposed to a mix of cancer-caus- far on cancer cases tied to the attack. Of 28,252 responders being followed [of the 40,000+ total] as part of the
ing agents plus an “unbelievable range of other chemicals.” World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program, eight cases of multiple myeloma were diagnosed
between Sept. 11, 2001 and Sept. 10, 2007 [excluding deaths].
“One of the things that surprised me, and many of my colleagues, is how often we’re seeing the so-called zebras, the
conditions that we never actually saw in our lives before,” Herbert said. Slightly more than six cases would be expected in the general population during a similar time frame, the re-
searchers noted. Even more intriguing, four of the cases were in men under the age of 45 when they were diag-
9/11 Responders May Be At Raised Myeloma Risk nosed. This compared to the 1.2 such cases that would be expected in the general population. There are actually
slightly fewer cases than expected among responders 45 and over, the researchers noted. All four cases were male
By Amanda Gardner
law enforcement officers. None reported any other occupational exposure that might have raised their risk for
Preliminary findings suggest that responders to the attacks on the Twin Towers on 9/11 may be at higher risk for this malignancy. Three were present at the site on the day of the attack, when the dust cloud was heaviest. One of
multiple myeloma, a cancer of the blood. Notably, half of the cases identified among law enforcement officers these spent 18 to 19 hours a day at Ground Zero, eating his meals there.
were under the age of 45. Multiple myeloma is usually a disease of the elderly.
The other man worked near the site for almost two weeks following 9/11. Their ages at time of diagnosis were 34,
“This is very preliminary,” cautioned Dr. Mitchell Smith, director of the Lymphoma Service at Fox Chase Cancer Cen- 37, 40 and 43 years, respectively. “In all fairness, it is unusual for this patient population to have multiple myeloma
ter in Philadelphia. “It could turn out to be a statistical fluke and means nothing or it could be the tip of the iceberg and but it’s not unheard of,” said Dr. Denise Pereira, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the University of Miami
we’ll see an increase in the next 10 years,” he said. “The concerning thing,” he added, “is it makes biological sense. There Miller School of Medicine. “But a lot of the things they were exposed to, such as benzene, have in the past possibly been
is certain data that multiple myeloma is associated with an increased exposure to certain chemicals. It has never been implicated with an increased incidence in the cancer. It does make theoretical sense.” According to the Leukemia &
shown with inhaled chemicals but this amount of exposure probably did get into the blood.” Smith was not involved Lymphoma Society, more than 15,000 Americans are diagnosed each year with multiple myeloma. The disease
 “No reason
for the general
public to be
concerned.”
~ Christine Todd Whitman, US EPA
affects blood cells called B- lymphocytes. While some myelomas are slow-moving and pose little immediate threat,
others can be very aggressive.
Sources: Jacqueline M. Moline, M.D., director, World Trade Center Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program,
Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City; Mitchell R. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., director, Lymphoma Service, Fox
Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia; Denise Pereira, M.D., assistant professor of clinical medicine, University of Mi-
ami Miller School of Medicine; August 2009 Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
9/11 Responders Suffer From Rare Blood Cancer
June 1st, 2007 2:03PM by Jonathon Morgan
In what’s been described as a possible “third wave” of illnesses for those exposed to toxic dust post-9/11, the World
Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program is expressing concern over the number of WTC site workers with lym-
phatic and blood cancers. While New York City’s health commissioner has said there is no evidence linking dust
exposure to cancer, the Medical Monitoring Program reports a “handful of cases of multiple myeloma in very young
individuals.” They add, “multiple myeloma is a condition that ... almost aways presents later in life.” However, because
the disease may take years to develop in some individuals, proof of a correlation most likely won’t emerge for de-
cades. This is all in addition to the confirmed respiratory illnesses found in 70% of the nearly 40,000 Ground Zero
workers.
9/11’s Delayed Legacy: Cancer For Many Of The Rescue Workers
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 by Ed Pilkington
A spate of cancer-related illnesses among New York’s rescue services
who worked at Ground Zero sparks fear of an epidemic
A spate of recent deaths of New York police and fire officers who took part in the emergency operation at Ground
Zero after the 9/11 attacks has heightened fears that it could be the start of a delayed epidemic of cancer-related
illness. Five firefighters and police officers, all of whom were involved in the rescue and clean-up at the site of the
collapsed Twin Towers, have died of cancer in the past three months, the oldest being 44. Three died last month
within a four-day period. Those three were Robert Grossman, a Harlem-based police officer who spent several
weeks at the emergency site and died of a brain tumour aged 41; fellow police officer Cory Diaz, 37; and firefighter
Richard Mannetta, 44. In addition, John McNamara, a 44-year-old firefighter, died in September; and Renee Dun-
bar, a police officer in her late 30s, died in August. The cluster of cancer deaths comes as Congress is under pressure
to pass legislation that would provide federal help to emergency workers who have contracted illnesses since
9/11. Campaigners hope that a bill will be put to the House of Representatives by the end of the year that would
set up a $10bn (£6bn) national fund for hundreds of people who now have cancer, respiratory illnesses and other
diseases that may be linked to their work at the World Trade Centre site. Up to 70,000 people took part in the mas-
sive operation at Ground Zero, including police, firefighters and construction workers who came to New York vol-
untarily from all over the US. Many worked for months amid a toxic soup of dust and chemicals. The chemicals and
toxic fumes from New York’s Twin Towers on September 11th, 2001 may have a long-term effect on rescue workers.
Amid the pollutants within the giant pile of 1.8 million tons of debris and the surrounding air were 90,000 litres
of jet fuel from the two stricken planes, about 1,000 tons of asbestos that was used in the construction of the
Twin Towers, pulverised lead from computers, mercury and highly carcinogenic by-products from the burning of
plastics and chlorinated chemicals. No official tally is available for the number of those who have died as a result
of the 9/11 clean-up. The New York state health department has recorded 817 deaths of emergency workers but
it cannot confirm categorically how many of those were directly linked to the site. Federal funds for ill emergency
workers ran out in 2003 and, since then, the onus has fallen on cash-strapped New York city, which is facing up to
10,000 claims for compensation through the courts. Families of those who have died say that the burden should
be shouldered by the nation as a whole.
Robert Grossman’s father, Stephen, drew a parallel with the $3bn the federal government spent this year on buy-
ing up old cars under the “cash-for-clunkers” scheme. “They spent that, but they don’t have a dime for people who
volunteered after 9/11 and ended up giving their lives for their country.”
The 911 Police Aid Foundation, a group run by and for sick police officers, says it is helping more than 100 officers
who worked at Ground Zero and who now have cancer. The group is receiving new cases at a rate of about one a
week, many of which are extremely rare at such young ages. Michael Valentin, who volunteers for the group, spent
about four months working around the pile of debris from the towers. He now has lymphatic tumours in his chest,
as well as asbestos poisoning.
“We all have terminal illnesses, we are all going to die. We just want to help others by showing them that they are not
alone,” he said.
The bill currently before Congress, which is named after James Zadroga, a police officer who died in 2006, would
provide for the health monitoring and treatment of an additional 15,000 emergency workers. Paradoxically, it
would not cover cancer, which was not perceived as a priority at the time the legislation was drafted though num-
bers have escalated since then. Claire Calladine, a campaigner who runs the organisation 9/11 Health Now, said
the fear was that the recent rise in cancer cases was just the start. “We have only seen the tip of the iceberg. How bad
will it get — that is the big question” [the Zadroga Bill passed and covered some cancers].
Hundreds Of 9/11 First Responders Die Of Cancer
By Susan Edelman • August 24th, 2009
Around 100 ground zero recovery workers have died of cancer, with a further 600 hundred diagnosed with the
disease. The 9/11 rescue workers are falling victim to a higher than average rate of life threatening diseases. They
blame it on their time spent in the giant dust clouds. New York’s emergency services were among the first on the
scene of the 9/11 disaster but where ignoring their personal safety. Those involved in the rescue and clean-up
operation quickly became national heroes. One of the firefighters was John McNamara. He was first on the scene
at Ground Zero. He battled to save lives that day but lost his own battle to cancer at just 44 — a victim of his own
bravery. His courage was commemorated at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where McNamara’s funeral took place. Today
his son Jack McNamara is still too young to understand his father’s actions that day. All he knows is that dad was
a firefighter. “I and the other families of the victims are so devastated that so many of these valiant firefighters who
struggled to find my son and to save others are now paying the price,” says Sally Reigenhardt whose son died in the
9/11 attacks. City, state and federal officials have not acknowledged a direct link between the cancer cases and
Ground Zero toxins. Congress has yet to approve 9/11 health legislation calling for federal financial coverage of
health costs for rescue workers.
John McNamara spent about 500 hours at Ground Zero aiding in rescue and recovery. Nearly eight years later,
the scene here is all about rebuilding. But as the hole in the ground grows smaller the list of 9/11 related deaths
is growing longer and longer.
Retired police officer Mike Valentine has had four biopsies for a precancerous tumor in his throat and has to take 15
pills a day. He calls 9/11 America’s Chornobyl. “The people that will die from illnesses will surpass the number of people
that were killed on 9/11. I am talking about thousands, tens of thousands of people that will come down with cancers,”
forecasts 9/11 First Responder Valentin. Valentin says he worked roughly 200 hours at Ground Zero wearing only
a bandana around his face — because U.S. officials said the air was safe. Mike says that “when they made the deci-
sion that after two weeks I’d be digging on that pile for a further four months ... that wasn’t about saving lives. That was
about greed. Wall Street needed to reopen.” Valentin, the father of three, sold his home to pay the medical bills the
government refused to cover, subsequently seeking shelter at his father’s home. He says U.S. leaders have turned
their backs on the heroes they promised never to forget. Mike Valentin, 9/11 first responder, Long Island/New York:
“Our families are not looking to put a Mercedes Benz on the front yard. We’re not looking to take European trips. We’re
not looking to bail out anybody on Wall Street,” says Valentin, “We’re looking to take care of our families when we die.
That’s all we want. I wanna die in peace.” With the time he has left, Mike Valentine vows to continue fighting for the
compensation he believes 9/11 first responders deserve.
Cancer Hits 283 Rescuers of 9-11
By Susan Edelman • Monday, June 12th, 2006
Since 9/11, 283 World Trade Center rescue and recovery workers have been diagnosed with cancer, and 33 of them
have died of cancer, says a lawyer for the ailing responders. David Worby, a lawyer for 8,000 World Trade Center
responders, including cops, firefighters and construction workers, said the cases include blood-cell cancers such as
leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s and myeloma. Doctors say the cancers can strike three to five years after exposure
to toxins such as benzene, a cancer-causing chemical that permeated the WTC site from burning jet fuel.
“One in 150,000 white males under 40 would normally get the type of acute white blood-cell cancer that strikes a healthy
detective,” said Worby, whose first client was NYPD narcotics cop John Walcott, now 41.
Walcott spent months at Ground Zero and the Fresh Kills landfill. The father of three is fighting leukemia.
“We have nearly 35 of these cancers in the family of 50,000 Ground Zero workers. The odds of that occurring are one
in hundreds of millions,” Worby said. Others suffer tumors of the “tongue, throat, testicles, breast, bladder, kidney,
colon, intestines, and lung,” said Worby, of Worby, Groner, Edelman, & Napoli, Bern, which filed the class-action suit.
WTC workers who have died of cancer include paramedic Deborah Reeve, 41 (mesothelioma); NYPD Officer Ron-
ald Weintraub, 43 (bile-duct cancer); and Stephen “Rak” Yurek, 46, a Port Authority emergency technician (brain
cancer). The families say they were healthy before 9/11. Dr. Robin Herbert, a director of WTC medical monitoring
at Mount Sinai Hospital, said some of the nearly 16,000 responders screened to date are getting cancer. “We do
not know at this point if they are WTC-related, but some are unusual cancers we see as red flags,” Herbert said. Dr. Iris
Udasin, principal investigator for the Mount Sinai screening of 500 in New Jersey, said the 9/11 link is “certainly a
possibility,” she said. “It’s what we worry about, and what we fear.”
Fallout
Colangelo went to see many doctors for her symptoms. None believed they had much to do with her apartment.
“They think we’re a bunch of hypochondriacs,” she says.
Colangelo finally moved out of her apartment in February 2002. Around the same time, she was diagnosed with
post-traumatic-stress disorder. She took time off work and went on partial disability. Today, though her headaches
and sinus problems are gone, she’s still suffering from a host of allergies, GERD, and a mysterious stomach ailment,
for which she was being tested the day after I saw her. “I feel like an 80-year-old,” she says, running a hand through
her cinnamon hair. “This governs my life.” It would seem logical to assume that the farther away from Ground Zero
you were on September 11th, the safer you were. But here’s the reality: No one knows for certain what the fallout
from the World Trade Center is or will be. Not for rescue workers. Not for residents. Not for anyone. Read the EPA
Inspector General’s report, in fact, and it’s official: No one in our government has a clue. In the weeks following the
attack, the outdoor air around Wall Street might have been safe; it might not. Today, the air indoors downtown
might be okay; it might not. The uncertainties outlined by the report are frank, real, and maddening. A represen-
tative statement: “[A] definitive answer to whether the air was safe to breathe may not be settled for years to come.” Or:
“The full extent of public exposure to indoor contaminants resulting from the WTC collapse is unknown.”
In the face of this uncertainty, Worby, Nadler, and other advocates believe the best recourse is to set up and fund
monitoring and treatment programs. Yet this doesn’t seem to be a priority for the city, the state, or the federal gov-
ernment — a conclusion shared by the Government Accountability Office in a report it issued last week. The only
city-run attempt at monitoring the health effects of 9/11 is something called the World Trade Center Registry, and
that’s not even a medical program but a list of people who submit themselves to a half-hour interview, describing
the ways they’re unwell. The Mount Sinai monitoring program sees only first responders, allows only three visits a
patient, and has only five years of funding. Its $1.5 million treatment program, a smaller effort involving just 880
patients, is funded entirely by philanthropy. Forty percent of its patients don’t have health insurance. “If we see
cancer among these people,” asks Robin Herbert, “who’s going to pay for their medical care?”
In March, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who along with Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton successfully pushed
for the money for the Mount Sinai monitoring program, introduced the Remember 9/11 Health Act, a bill that de-
mands a coordinated federal response to the terror attacks — not just in the form of monitoring potential victims,
but in treating them, and for a period of twenty years. Nadler, meanwhile, has been holding press conference after
press conference, demanding the EPA test downtown buildings in concentric circles for contamination. But given
Congress’s reluctance to spend money on New York, it’s hard to imagine Maloney’s bill ever getting traction. And
for three years, the EPA has maintained that cleaning indoor air from the disaster site is not its statutory responsi-
bility, but the responsibility of the city.
It’s difficult to assess whether downtown needs an expensive cleanup. When the EPA finally tested 3,405 apart-
ments, it didn’t find much — though private firms, Nadler says, found plenty of contaminated buildings that the
agency had said were clean. Joachim Pleil, an EPA scientist who studied PAH levels around the periphery of Ground
Zero, concluded that those breathing that outdoor air increased their risk of getting cancer by only one millionth
of a percentage point — though he concedes his numbers did not apply to indoor air, where the PAHs he stud-
ied may never have broken down. So Nadler is unappeased. Why, he argues, should New Yorkers live with this
question hovering above their heads like so much smoke? “If the government doesn’t do a proper cleanup,” he says,
“the officials who are resisting it will be responsible for excess deaths. They may never be held accountable legally, but I
wouldn’t want to be in their position when they meet their maker.”
This fall, the Deutsche Bank Building, which sits wrapped, Christo-like, on the periphery of Ground Zero, is sched-
uled for demolition. The bank claims parts of the building are glutted with asbestos and other contaminants; the
Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, which now owns the building and is responsible for the tear-down,
hasn’t yet made its assessment public. Will this be the moment when New Yorkers finally have a frank public dis-
cussion about World Trade Center fallout? And find the right balance between science and melodrama, precaution
and alarm? It’s something to think about — before the wrecking balls swing and the asbestos and bad memories
are rereleased into the air. Because of his “chemo brain,” as he puts it, John Walcott can no longer recall certain de-
tails of his life. He can’t remember exactly when he met his wife, for example — only that it was “the year it rained and
snowed.” The details of his daughter’s second year are fuzzy for a different reason. For much of the time, he wasn’t
home for them, or he was too weak to notice. After each chemotherapy session, Walcott didn’t have the strength
to pick up Colleen. Having so few white blood cells, he was also tremendously susceptible to infections and colds,
which children, of course, tend to attract. He says his daughter, now 2, understands that her father is unwell. “She
knows I take medicine,” he says. “Now that she takes those chewable vitamins, we take them at the same time.” Once,
when Walcott started having an uncontrollable nosebleed, she raced to get him cotton balls. Now she sometimes
offers him cotton balls even when he doesn’t need them, just as a show of affection. So you live in Battery Park.
Or maybe you live in Chelsea. Or Brooklyn, even. Should you worry? If you do worry, is it more sensible to indulge
your fears or to ignore them? There’s no right answer, of course — there are too many unknowns. But for what it’s
worth, EPA Inspector General Nikki Tinsley, who wrote that scathing report, says she’d live downtown: “We take
risks every day,” she says. This is just the 9/11 cleanup and recovery will run
one more. Another part of the new out in months, physicians and federal
normal. What about someone like officials said yesterday.”
John Walcott? Someone who was
“The city ran a generally slipshod,
right there, on the pile, and is now haphazard, uncoordinated, The amount necessary to keep care
sick? Do we indulge his fear, if you ongoing beyond that was “$256.6
can call it a fear, that 9/11 made him
unfocused response to million, including $163.6 million in
sick? Perhaps we should, if not for environmental concerns.” direct medical expenses for 19,200:
reasons of science, than for reasons $91.2 million for 9,6000 patients with
of philosophy. Perhaps the least we respiratory or digestive disorders, $58
owe him is to give him the benefit million for 8,000 patients with 9/11
of the doubt. That’s how Gregory related mental illnesses and $14.4
Fried, the former NYPD chief sur- million for 1,600 patients with mus-
geon, sees it. It’s not that he’s con- culoskeletal conditions. Medications
vinced cancer clusters are destined account for more than half of the
to develop around Ground Zero. treatment cost.”
Rather, it’s that he can’t say the op-
posite, and he knows enough about And now we find out that the major
the history of medicine to recog- reason for the extent of harmed re-
nize that one century’s orthodoxy sponders was no less than Hizzoner
is the next century’s folly. “For 400 Rudy Giuliani himself.
years, we thought leeches cured dis-
ease,” he says. “For 500 years, humors According to the Times’ Ground
were the mainstream explanation for Zero Illnesses Clouding Giuliani’s
most ailments. Up until ten years ago, Legacy, “The city ran a generally
ulcers were caused by stress. When I slipshod, haphazard, uncoordinat-
was chief resident, I must have tak- ed, unfocused response to environ-
en out 75 to 100 stomachs because mental concerns.” This is their quote
of this. And it turns out it’s a germ! A from David Newman, an industrial
germ! So just because something’s $163.6 million in medical expenses for 19,200 • $91.2 million for 9,6000 respiratory or digestive disorders hygienist with the New York Com-
not in the literature or demonstrated mittee on Occupational Safety and
or proven yet — so what?”
$58 million for 8,000 patients with mental illnesses • $14.4 million for 1,600 with musculoskeletal conditions Health, a labor group.
Medications account for more than half of the costs — it’s a business with shareholders after all.
Fried shifts in his chair. He’s an affable The Times adds “City officials and a
man, pleasant-faced and Long Island– range of medical experts are now con-
sounding, who looks people in the eye when he speaks. “What happened downtown has never been equaled except, vinced that the dust and toxic materials in the air around the site were a menace.” No kidding. Two 500,000-ton Towers
maybe, at Mount St. Helens,” he says. “But that was natural stuff. This was abnormal stuff from the late seventies, a were pulverized, vaporized into that mist.
highly toxic soup. No one has a clue how it comes together.” Too often, says Fried, the onus has been on the cops to
prove that 9/11 made them sick. “But what does proof, here, mean?” he asks. “With John Walcott, you got a cause, you “More than 2,000 New York City firefighters have been treated for serious respiratory problems. Seventy percent of near-
got an effect, and if you’re not going to link them, shame on you. The tie goes to the runner.” ly 10,000 recovery workers screened at Mount Sinai Medical Center have trouble breathing. City officials estimate that
health care costs related to the air at ground zero have already run into the hundreds of millions of dollars, and no one
Ground Zero Illnesses Come Back To Haunt Giuliani knows whether other illnesses, like cancers, will emerge.”
By Jerry Mazza
Additionally, as of May 24, 2004, the New York Times reports that For the First Time, New York Links a Death to 9/11
June 1st, 2007, 00:25
Dust. “In a letter made public yesterday [May 24, 2007], [New York City’s Chief Medical Examiner] Dr. [Charles S.] Hirsch
Alas, the man who is billed as 9/11’s hero, America’s sheriff, the man who would be President, is being faced today said that he was certain ‘beyond a reasonable doubt’ that dust from the twin towers contributed to the death of Felicia
with thousands of people who worked selflessly at Ground Zero and have become ill, and are now suing the city for Dunn-Junes, 42, a civil rights lawyer who was engulfed on September 11th as she ran from her office a block away from
health damages. I wrote about their plight in a December, 20th, 2006, Online Journal article: No money to treat 9/11 the trade center. She later developed a serious cough and had trouble breathing, and she died five months after the ter-
workers, $3 billion to fight Iraq? I quoted the New York Times which said that previously “roughly $40 million that was rorist attack. Her name will be added to the official list of World Trade Center victims, and the official number of people
set aside by the federal government to treat rescue workers, volunteers and firefighters who became ill after helping with who died as a result of the attack on the twin towers will be increased to 2,750 ...”
 A Mayor Out Of Control
The first Times’ piece tells us that while “the city had a safety plan for workers, it never meaningfully enforced federal
requirements that those at the site wear respirators.” It seems Hizzoner was obsessed with getting the job done post
haste at any cost. One official from the Army Corps said, “Mr. Giuliani acted like a ‘benevolent dictator.’“ I would strike
the benevolent from the dictator. He never let FEMA or the Army Corps take over the clean-up operation.
“The clean-up was expected to last 30 months,” according to the Times, but “the pit was cleared by June 2002, nine
months after the attack.” This is not just speed. It’s the elimination of the biggest most important crime scene in
American history, a crime itself, committed with a criminal intent by someone who knew better, a former US attor-
ney, Rudy Giuliani. And what possible reason could he have had for that miscarriage of justice? Aside from getting
Wall Street’s lights back on, could Giuliani have been aiding and abetting the cover-up of how and who and why
the Towers went down? Of course most of us who are reading more than the Times know it wasn’t two airliners
piloted by wild-eyed Muslim terrorists that brought those buildings down. First of all none of the terrorists’ names
were on the manifests. And FBI director Robert Mueller, who at first magically produced the terrorists’ names and
pix, later said they could not be definitively proven to have been there, at least not like the passport of Mohamed
Atta that was found in pristine condition in the massive smoldering ruin of Ground Zero. It is highly probable those
planes were piloted by remote control systems that kicked in as the transponders went down. Secondly, the ten
thousand gallons of jet fuel in each plane burned up brightly and swiftly in the open air of the cool September
morning. It could not and did not produce the temperatures necessary to melt the redundant steel foundations of
the towers. In fact it was the rocking explosions from the very tops, down through, and from the basements of the
Towers that brought the towers down. There was no pancaking of floors to slow the towers’ freefall at the speed of
gravity. Thus, each massive tower went down some 1,300 feet in about 10 seconds.
Ironically, the South Tower that was hit second went down first, after burning less than half an hour. The North
Tower, which was hit first, burned close to an hour and a half, and went down last. And so, could it be that the
mayor’s rush to clean up was a cover-up? Did he have some foreknowledge of these strange and bizarre events?
Did Hizzoner want all evidence gone of aerosolized metals, and explosive materials like thermite, or uranium, that
created this carcinogenic mixture of “dust,” more like a gray sky-soup of atomized concrete, iron, plastics, wood,
rubber, wire, flesh, blended into particulates, that would settle and calcify in the lungs and other body tissue? The
concrete’s 200,000 gallons of water was literally vaporized. Thus, in order to understand the enormity of these
explosions, read what Dr. Ed Ward, MD, reports below concerning The US Government’s usage of Atomic Bombs.
“The spectrum and percentages of cancer are massive. There are at least 4 classifications of blood-cell cancers: leukemia,
lymphoma, Hodgkin’s and myeloma. There are many more classifications of soft tissue cancers. There is brain cancer.
There is breast cancer. For most of these there are subclassifications of many different types of specific cancer in each,
so far not publicly disclosed. There are huge percentages of respiratory distress and loss of function. Multiple reports of
‘irregular cycles’ (miscarriages?). Most likely there will be several more types of cancer to follow. In particular, responders
should be checked for thyroid cancer and function. There has been no noting of birth defects which also needs to be
done. There is one thing and only one thing that can cause all these cancers and problems - RADIATION.”
Dr. Ed Ward , myself and Don Fox contend that “the factual evidence indicates that our government is using
and has used 3rd or possibly 4th generation hydrogen bombs domestically and internationally. The evidence for
international usage is just as strong as the domestic usage, but when domestic usage is considered, the interna-
tional usage seems inescapable. The process of exclusion based on the known facts leaves only one viable option
for the destruction of the World Trade Center.
Did Hizzoner Have Foreknowledge Of 9/11?
Perhaps Hizzoner had no idea of the punch that was to be packed. Yet, somehow he knew to evacuate his head-
quarters on the 23rd floor of Tower 7 at 9:15 AM. He said that he was told the building was going down. Seven did
not go down with the first two towers. But its owner, Lucky Larry Silverstein, had it “pulled” eight hours later by
internal demolition, and it went down neatly into its footprint, and Mr. Silverstein made an instant $500 million
profit on the original cost of the old Tower 7 versus the new one. As you may know, an internal demolition for a
building that size takes weeks to create, not eight hours.
Also, both Giuliani and Silverstein had foreknowledge of the fact that the Twin Trade Towers were asbestos “bombs,”
that is they were loaded with the less lethal chrysotile asbestos insulating material when they were built in the
early 70s — as opposed to the more lethal amphybole asbestos. The towers were not permitted to be leveled by
internal demolition because they were part of a public trust, The Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey,
established by the Rockefeller family. Nevertheless, the towers had to come down by law by about 2007. Unfortu-
nately, they would have had to be disassembled piece by piece at a cost of some $10 billion dollars plus.
Mr. Giuliani knew all this. Mr. Silverstein knew this when he leased the buildings less than two months before 9/11.
Perhaps that’s why Silverstein upped the insurance to $3.5 billion, with provision for coverage from “terror attacks.”
He later tried to collect for each hit separately, which would have given him more than $7 billion. As of, March 24,
2003, the Times reports on the final settlement in Insurers Agree to Pay Billions at Ground Zero. A second contract,
which provided for the double payment had not been fully completed when the acts occurred, and thus triggered
the six years of litigation. Yet consider how prescient it was of Mr. Silverstein to ask for it in the first place. This last
Times article also tells us that New York’s Governor Eliot Spitzer brokered the deal for the remaining seven (out of
two dozen insurers) who had not already settled. Allianz Global Risks, Travelers Companies, Zurich, Swiss Re, Em-
ployers, Insurance, Industrial Risk Insurers and Royal Indemnity, agreed to pay a total of $2 billion dollars. The other
insurers had already kicked in $2.55 billion, bringing the total to $4.55 billion, which will be awarded to Silverstein
and the Port Authority after millions in litigation were spent. Of this award, Silverstein will get $1.13 billion for
three large office towers (Towers 2, 3, and 4), to be built on Church Street, between Vesey and Liberty Streets, on
the east side of the WTC complex. The remaining $870 million will go to the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey, which actually owns the land at Ground Zero and is the original builder of the WTC. The new money will go
towards the building of both the $3 billion Freedom Tower, tallest of the buildings planned to be built, and Tower
5. The insurance money will cover half of the $9 billion cost of erecting five towers, retail space and conceivably a
hotel. Remember, the original down payment made by Silverstein and partners to secure the original 99 year lease
of the WTC @ $120 million a year was $125 million. Of this, Silverstein’s silent partner, Lloyd Goldman put up $80
million and Lucky Larry a mere $14 million in the deal. Not a bad deal for Larry. It is also interesting that Governor
Spitzer jumped in to settle the financial morass of 9/11 insurance coverage, while he has completely ignored all
the information presented to him several years ago by 9/11 scholars and scientists that prove 9/11 was an inside
job. One wonders why he did not apply his formidable talents to cutting through the morass of government disin-
formation to get to the truth that 9/11 was a false flag op, to go at the Muslim world. Could it be that Eliot Spitzer,
the ex-lawyer/partner of the Skadden Arps corporate law firm, which was also Larry Silverstein’s pre-9/11 firm, as
well as Hank Greenberg’s (Chairman of AIG) corporate law firm; could it be that crusader Spitzer might be unwilling
to tackle some bad people? Given these facts, plus the fact that Giuliani knew that FEMA was in town on the night
of 9/10/2001, supposedly for a series of terror-hijack drills, as stated in Paul Joseph Watson’s article “Wargames Were
Cover For the Operational Execution of 9/11”, Rudy Giuliani might have had a significantly more nefarious reason to
work those deadly 24-hour shifts he endured. That reason, as we stated earlier, was clearing away evidence for any
further investigation of the real perpetrators of 9/11, the highest-ranking members of our own government, who
have subsequently taken Rudy to their bosom.
Commenting on the Giuliani/Times story about the four large construction companies working round the clock,
Charles Blaich, in charge of safety for the Fire Department at the time of 9/11 said, “They should have backed off on
the night shift, when a very limited amount of work could be done.” But they (Hizzoner) didn’t. It was full steam ahead
regardless of the human consequences.
“A Conspiracy Of Purpose”
Also, in that same Times article, Suzanne Mattei, director of the New York office of the Sierra Club and a critic of
how the clean up was handled, said, “I would describe it as a conspiracy of purpose. It wasn’t people running around
saying, ‘Don’t do this safely.’ But there was a unified attempt to do everything as fast as possible, to get everything up
and running as fast as possible. Anything in the way of that just tended to be ignored.”
I, too, would describe Giuliani’s cleanup handling as “a conspiracy of purpose,” perhaps of a much larger conspiracy
with a much larger purpose: to be the Pearl Harbor of the New World Order’s hegemonic march to conquer the
world, beginning with its attacks on Afghanistan and subsequently Iraq. Times writer Anthony DePalma also men-
tions, “Records show that the city was aware of the danger in the Ground Zero dust from the start. In [a] federal court
deposition, Kelly R. McKinney, associate commissioner at the city’s health department in 2001, said the agency issued
an advisory on the night of September 11th stating that asbestos in the air made the site hazardous and that everyone
should wear masks . . .” Many workers refused, given the super-hyped need for speed. They also complained that
the respirators were unwieldy and made it hard for them to speak.
when Giuliani was running for and became mayor. Why provide broken radios? When the EMP rendered them
useless no one was the wiser. Obviously, the most damning issue to Rudy at this point is his criminal rushing of the
cleanup. Yet, it is part of a consistent pattern of Giuliani behavior, the self-appointed “dictator” more than willing
to play an illegal and/or slipshod role in accomplishing unholy business. And this is the man who stands before
us today as an attorney representing the President of the United States. Woe to those who don’t learn more about
him. Examine his personal life, especially philandering through three marriages. Examine his family’s mobster past.
Examine his shady post-mayoral business dealings in this recent Washington Post article: In Private Sector, Giuliani
Parlayed Fame Into Wealth. Examine Giuliani and you’ll see the snake in the grass. Hopefully, you’ll find out “What
Makes Rudy Run.” A relentless if not ruthless will to rule, not patriotism or a concern for the common good. And too,
reminiscent of the present dictator’s “I am the decider” obsession, he stands with Trump.
“We all have terminal illnesses, we are all going to die.
We just want to help others by showing them that they are not alone.”

DePalma adds “Violations of federal safety rules abounded, and no one strictly enforced them. OSHA did not play an
active role during the rescue phase, which is usually the case in emergency operations.” In another place, he tells us
that a Port of Authority of New York and New Jersey official, not authorized to speak for the agency, said “the focus
was always on preventing accidents, not protecting workers from the toxic dust.” In other words, speed above safety.

Additional Errors In Hizzoner’s Judgment

Wayne Barrett, a longtime critic of Giuliani along with fellow writer Dan Collins, condemned Giuliani’s oversight in
their revealing 2006 book, Grand Illusion. In an interview, Barrett commented that Giuliani “said all the right things,
but did all the wrong things.” Barrett also points to “a five- page memo from Jerry Hauer, who was the head of Emergen-
cy Management [under Giuliani]. He [Hauer] wanted it [the command center] to be located in Brooklyn in the Metrotech
complex. That happens to be roughly where Mike Bloomberg has since put it . . .” The command center could not be
put underground at the WTC. The Hudson River just a few blocks away would have flooded it. Thus, it was shoved
23 stories into the air in Building 7, right next to the Twin Towers, which already had been attacked in 1993. Not
smart, not smart at all. But ignoring facts is a key to Rudy’s modus operandi. It’s no wonder that the Times com-
ments that “The city’s handling of safety issues has been criticized by doctors, unions and occupational safety experts.”
Let’s add to the critics Kristen Breitweiser, 9/11 widow, Jersey Girl and former Republican, whose husband perished
in the North Tower. She has this to say on her website . . .

“Forgive me, but Giuliani is the person responsible for deciding to locate NYC’s Emergency Center in the World Trade Cen-
ter [23rd floor, Building 7]. . . . During the attacks, because the command center was rendered inoperable, NYC had no
clear chain of command and no physical command structure in place to coordinate the emergency response. Frankly,
the whole reason Giuliani was on television all day and available for interviews was because he was scrambling around
the streets trying to set up a command post since the one he had designed and located [against the advice of old friend
Police Chief Howard Safer and many others] was paralyzed during the attacks . . .”

Breitweiser adds, “Furthermore, Giuliani is also responsible for giving the FDNY inoperable Motorola radios. This, too,
cost hundreds of lives when firemen did not hear the order to evacuate the towers prior to their collapse.” By the way,
those radios were still not fixed for years after 9/11. In fact, they hadn’t been fixed since the 1993 first WTC attack,
 Immune System Cancer Found in Young 9/11 Officers
By David B. Caruso August 11, 2009

Researchers say a small number of young law enforcement officers who participated in the World Trade Cen-
ter rescue and cleanup operation after the September 11th, 2001 terror attacks have developed an immune
system cancer. The numbers are tiny, and experts don’t know whether there is any link between the illnesses
and toxins released during the disaster.

But doctors who coordinated the study, published Monday in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental
Medicine, said people who worked at the site should continue to have their health monitored. “What we are
trying to get out there is: Be alert,’’ said Dr. Jacqueline M. Moline, director of the World Trade Center Medical
Monitoring and Treatment Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. The researchers looked at 28,252
emergency responders who spent time amid Ground Zero dust and found eight cases of multiple myeloma
[with an incredibly substantial increase since then].

Those findings were no surprise. Multiple myeloma is the second most common hematological cancer in the
U.S. after non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Normally, researchers would expect to find about seven cases in a group
as large as the one examined in the study. However, four of the people who fell ill were under age 45, and mul-
tiple myeloma is thought to be more rare among people of that age. Under normal circumstances, researchers
would have expected to find only one case of the disease in that age group. Those four young multiple myelo-
ma patients included one officer who was caught in the dust cloud on 9/11 and then spent months working
long hours at the site. Another spent 111 days at the Staten Island landfill where the rubble was sifted. Two
others had different exposure, working 12 and 14 days each in the pit and rubble pile.

The study said it is possible the monitoring program was simply more effective at finding the illness among
people who wouldn’t ordinarily be subjected to intense medical tracking. Nevertheless, Moline said, “You
shouldn’t be seeing so many cases of myeloma in younger folks.’’ The median age of diagnosis for that cancer in
the general public is 71. Several groups are studying New Yorkers exposed to toxic dust when the skyscrapers
collapsed. To date, no study, including the one published Monday, has established a link between that dust and
cancer, said Lorna Thorpe, a deputy commissioner and epidemiologist at New York City’s health department.

The timing of the four cases examined by the team at Mount Sinai also raised questions about whether they
are related to their work at Ground Zero, she said. Most research on multiple myeloma indicates that it usually
takes 10 to 20 years for someone to develop that cancer after an environmental exposure to a carcinogen.
In these cases, the cancers were diagnosed in as little as three to four years after the attacks, suggesting that
something else caused the disease.

DuSt
caustic radioactive
“I am glad to reassure the people of New York . . .
that their air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink.”

PERMEATED EVERYTHING ~ Christine Todd Whitman, US EPA

 WTC Cancer Cluster “Like Hiroshima”
“This Is The Story Of 9-11 & Cancer” City in a press release on September 18 — only seven days after the attacks. “Given the scope of the tragedy from last
by Jeff Prager • November 28th, 2006 week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York . . . that their air is safe to breathe and the water is safe to drink.”

Those statements were not only false and misleading, but may even play into the basis for the city’s liability for mil-
Plaintiffs suing New York City for cancer spawned by destruction of the World Trade Center towers are subscribing lions of dollars in the recovery workers’ lawsuits. Last February, U.S. District Judge Deborah Batts cited Whitman’s
to an “interacting toxins” theory of their illness. This is because NYC is liable for approving the building materials of false statements as the basis for allowing a different class-action lawsuit to proceed — this one, against the EPA
the towers, but would not be liable if mercenary teams placed advanced nuclear devices in the towers. and Whitman, is on behalf of residents, office workers, and students from Lower Manhattan and Brooklyn, many of
whom suffer from respiratory illnesses as a result of 9-11.
Nevertheless, the report excerpted below does compare the cancer rate in post-9/11 Southern Manhattan to that
of Hiroshima following the nuclear device deto- Given the fact that some cancers are slower to devel-
nated and tested there: op than others, it seems likely to several doctors and
epidemiologists that many more reports of cancer
To date, 75 recovery workers on or around what and serious lung illnesses will surface in the months
is now known as “the Pile”— the rubble that and years to come. The fact that 8,500 recovery work-
remained after the World Trade Center towers ers have already banded together to sue, only five
collapsed on the morning of September 11th, years later — with 400 total cancer patients among
2001 — have been diagnosed with blood cell their number [Growing to 5,400 by late 2018] — leads
cancers that a half-dozen top doctors and epide- many experts to predict that these figures are likely
miologists have confirmed as having been likely to grow, meaning a possible death toll in the thou-
caused by that exposure. sands. In many ways, these illnesses suggest the
slow but deteriorating health issues that faced the
Those 75 cases have come to light in joint-action atomic-bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
lawsuits filed against New York City on behalf of where thousands died in the years and decades that
at least 8,500 recovery workers who suffer from followed the United States’ use of nuclear weapons.
various forms of lung illnesses and respiratory
diseases — and suggest a pattern too distinct The biggest group by far consists of people like Val-
to ignore. While some cancers take years, if not lebuona, who have blood cell cancers. Seventy-five
decades, to develop, the blood cancers in other- clients suffer from lymphoma, leukemia, multiple
wise healthy and young individuals represent a myeloma, and other blood cell cancers; most are
pattern that experts believe will likely prove to be men, aged 30 to 60, who appeared in perfect health
more than circumstantial. The suits seek to prove just five years ago.
that these 8,500 workers—approximately 20 per-
cent of the total estimated recovery force that The blood cancer cases seem too disproportionate
cleared the rubble from Ground Zero—all suffer
from the debilitating effects of those events.
“LIKE HIROSHIMA ... “ to be random. Two percent of these workers have
been diagnosed with what amounts to related dis-
eases, none of which fall into the “high-frequency”
The basis for the suits stems from the plaintiffs’ category, which includes prostate cancer. One out
argument that the government — in a desper- of 9,000 people nationwide gets lymphoma a year;
ate attempt to revive downtown in the wake of for myeloma, it’s one out of 30,000. By contrast, the
Take note that none of the First Responders pictured here working the ‘pile’
the catastrophic events on 9-11 — failed to pro- 75 blood cancer patients translate into several dozen
were provided with or wearing adequate breathing protection
tect workers from cancer-causing benzene, diox- new cases a year. Boston University’s Dr. David Ozo-
in, and other hazardous chemicals that permeat- noff echoes all five of his colleagues when he draws
ed the air for months. Officials made these failures parallels between the aftermath of 9-11 and that of an-
worse by falsely reassuring New Yorkers that they faced no long-term dangers from exposure to the air lingering other massive exposure: the atomic-bombs dropped on Japan. Bomb survivors experienced excessive spikes in
over Ground Zero. leukemia rates within the first five years, a surprising discovery for epidemiologists in the mid 20th century. While
this outbreak resulted from radiation, both it and 9-11 involved a sudden and intense blast of carcinogens. For
“We are very encouraged that the results from our monitoring of air-quality and drinking-water conditions in both New bomb survivors, leukemia appeared first, followed by breast and lung cancer. “That could happen with 9-11,” says
York and near the Pentagon show that the public in these areas is not being exposed to excessive levels of asbestos or Jonathan Samet, the Johns Hopkins epidemiology department chair. “It might be what we’re seeing today.” And of
other harmful substances,” Christine Todd Whitman, the then administrator of the EPA, told the citizens of New York course that’s precisely what we’re seeing today in exposed Ground Zero rescue workers.
 World Trade Center Insures ‘WA$TE’
$1Billion Dollar Fund Squanders Cash: Suit
By Susan Edelman • July 17th, 2007
The $1 billion insurance fund set up for the World Trade Center cleanup has violated its congressional mandate to
pay legitimate worker-injury claims and “squandered” millions on expenses, an explosive lawsuit is charging.

Controlled by Mayor Bloomberg, the WTC Captive Insurance Co. and its agents have “unethically profited” from the
federal fund, draining money available for ill workers, alleges the suit, to be filed today in Manhattan Supreme
Court. The WTC insurance fund has spent close to $74 million on overhead and legal bills so far — but paid just
$45,000 to one worker who fell off a ladder. While letting the fund pay fat salaries and fees to its employees,
consultants and lawyers, the mayor has wrongly exploited the unit to fight claims by thousands of workers with
illnesses blamed on toxic exposure, the suit says.

“Congress gave Bloomberg a billion dollars to cover for the mistakes he and his predecessor, Mayor Giuliani, made in
failing to protect tens of thousands of workers,” lawyer David Worby said. “Now, adding insult to injury, he refuses to use
the funds intended for that exact purpose — to help the sick and dying 9/11 heroes.”

The suit will be filed by Worby, Groner & Napoli Bern, a law firm already battling the city in a class-action negli-
gence suit on behalf of nearly 10,000 ill WTC responders. The plaintiffs in the new suit are former NYPD Detective
John Walcott, who has leukemia, NYPD Detective Frank Maisano, who has severe lung disease, and Mary Bishop, a
St. Vincent’s Hospital worker with cancer, lung and digestive diseases.

“If it wasn’t for the rescue workers and volunteers, our city would be in chaos,” said Walcott, 42, whose daughter was an
infant when he was diagnosed in 2003. “How can Mayor Bloomberg justify not releasing the funds Congress gave us
when he could save lives and homes and families?”

Besides the fund and Bloomberg, the suit names the outfit’s five-member board of directors — all appointed by
Bloomberg — and Christine LaSala, the company’s president and CEO. LaSala rakes in a salary of $350,000 a year,
plus $20,000 in health benefits. Citing city records, the suit traces the firm back to its origin to prove its claim that
Bloomberg has twisted its mission.

In May 2002, the city made a request to feds, saying “toxic chemicals emanating from the WTC debris site” made in-
surance “absolutely vital to protect the city and its contractors.”

Congress appropriated $1 billion through FEMA. Then-Gov. George Pataki pushed a bill to create the nonprofit
firm to manage the fund. “This legislation is necessary for the city to expedite the payment of claims,” Pataki and Gi-
uliani said in a 2003 press release. At a meeting in December 2004, minutes show, LaSala declared the firm’s main
purpose was to disburse the fund “in an equitable manner that maximizes compensation to those parties who suf-
fered damages as a result of the WTC debris removal program.”

Overall, the WTC fund has spent $73.8 million as of March 31, including $45.7 million on law firms, records show.
Much of the money has been poured into an ongoing court battle in which the city contends it has immunity
from all WTC suits because it was responding to a terror attack. Other expenses include $8.5 million paid to GAB
Robbins, a risk-management firm, for “claims adjusting.” But the firm has done little adjusting, the suit says — WTC
Captive Insurance has refused to review the medical records of sick workers. LaSala has said the firm has a “duty to
defend” the city and its WTC contractors, and has “faithfully followed its mandate.”
 The Battle Of 9/11’s Ailing First Responders
By Jerry Mazza • February 12th, 2010, 00:48

As Susan Edelman reported in the NY Post’s billable billions, the legal battle of ailing 9/11 first responders for
compensation at Ground Zero will bring literally billions in billable hours to defense lawyers. These fees could
amount to half of the money payable to some 10,000 first responders and recovery workers from toxic injuries,
whose suits could total some $4 billion.

Of course, the workers were not racking up triple- to four-digit hourly fees plus expenses. They did get to inhale
for some period of time Ground Zero’s toxic brew straight from Pandora’s open box. That would be . . .

• Over 400 tons of asbestos, which inhaled in any quantity, cannot be expelled by the lungs.
• 90,000 liters of jet fuel containing benzene, a carcinogen that causes leukemia.
• Mercury from over 500,000 fluorescent lights that is toxic to the nervous system and damaging to kidneys.
• 200,000 pounds of lead and cadmium toxic to the respiratory tract, especially damaging to kidneys.
• Polycystic aromatic hydrocarbons that cause lung, laryngeal and throat cancers.
• 130,000 gallons of transformer oil, which contains PCBs ad causes serious skin rashes and liver damage.
• Crystalline Silica from 420,000 tons of concrete, sheetrock and glass (tiny particulates that lodge in the heart,
causing ischemic heart disease).
[Editor’s Note: • Include uranium (7.57ppm’s), actinium series, thorium, zinc, cerium, chromium, antimony, ber-
rylium and a toxic mix of elemental dust and an unknown number of below micron-sized particles, smaller than
blood cells, that can pass through glass, metal and of course skin and bone, and enter any part of the body.]

The above facts come from filmmaker Heidi Dehncke’s amazing documentary, Dust to Dust: the health effects
of 9/11. I reviewed this film in my article 9/11’s Second Round of Slaughter. In fact, some 2,500 contaminants
erupted from the explosions of the World Trade Center that felled Towers One, Two and Seven, plus the two, fu-
el-laden jetliners, turning into a toxic gray dust that hung in the air as well as settled in people’s lungs, including
First Responders, and on area streets, vehicles, buildings, residences, both outside and inside the city for months.

You can add to the list of deadly pollutants the red dust of nanothermite [Editors Note: if you believe thermite
was found], an explosive [Editors Note: thermite is not an explosive] discovered in the pile by physicist Steven
Jones and his team of scientists. The red dust, aerosolized from the military explosive thermite by nanotechnolo-
gy, was likely sprayed on walls and girders within the Towers [if you choose to believe this]. Ironically, Tower 7, the
third tower to go down, was not hit by an airliner to ignite the heat-sensitive thermite. Actually, T-7 came down
at 5:20 PM at the request of the building owner, WTC lessee, Larry Silverstein. He claimed at 3 PM on 9/11 that
there was so much pain and suffering that “we decided to pull it,” the term for a planned internal demolition by
explosives. Yet, two hours and 20 minutes was not enough time to set up an internal demolition for that building.
It had to be done well in advance. Not so surprisingly, the red nanothermite dust was found in the Tower 7 ruins
as well [Editors Note: determined to be nothing more than paint by Dr. James Millette, PhD].

The original pieces of red dust nanothermite were picked up and stored by dedicated 9/11 Truthers, one of
whom, Jeanette MacKinlay, underwent brain surgery for a cancerous tumor in a Los Angeles hospital. May what-
ever force of truth and justice that we are blessed with be by her side and help her to recover. For, after all is said
and done, these are the people who give their lives for truth and justice. Try to put a price tag on that.

You can find a highly detailed analysis of Tower 7’s demise in David Ray Griffin’s book, The Mysterious Collapse of
World Trade Center 7, which I reviewed in Just Say No to NIST.

Returning to the lawyers for the plaintiffs, they also made a pile of money from the Victims Compensation Fund,
which dispersed some $7 billion to victim families, with a similar payment schedule, a 30 to 40 percent cut of
the settlements and judgments plus expenses. The VCP offered the option of a trial to sue or to take the money
and hush up. Just about all of the families took the money. The 90 or so families that didn’t were “convinced” over
some eight years to take the money. So far, one family is struggling still for a trial, as is the ever-heroic Ellen Mariani,
whom I have mentioned often. The hitch is Mrs. Mariani, whose husband Neil Mariani died on Flight 175, received
neither a trial nor any money. This is probably because she brought both a “suit for wrongful death” and a subse-
quent RICO suit against George Bush and his administration. Both were rejected for “national security reasons.”
Hardly a reason (besides vindictiveness) to then deny her the financial benefits non-challengers received.

* Editor’s note: 9/11 was declared a “National Security Event” by then president George Bush, meaning anyone
knowledgeable about anything related to 9/11 is still legally prevented from speaking or writing about it.

The presiding judge, Alvin K. Hellerstein already “hopes he will settle as many cases as possible” without going to
court. Funny, here is a judge to whom trials are anathema. What could it be that he and the court system fear so
much about trials? Would the discoveries of trials send a lot of people to jail? Could it possibly have been an inside
job, and the government is now totally occupied in a major Cover-Your-Ass/Ops? Or is it just one of those “conspir-
acy theories.” It would seem to this writer that the administration’s explanation of what happened on 9/11 was the
real conspiracy theory.

Lest I digress, it’s a matter of “cui bono,” who profits, asking you to follow the money. And the big money, the billable
billions, is with the big firms of defense attorneys, as it was with the airlines and their attorneys. Some $15 billion
was doled out by the US government to the airlines, half in cash and half in tax credits and subsidies. Remember,
too, hundreds of millions were made in the stock market on 9/11 in puts and calls, the puts for airline stocks to
fall, the calls for defense stocks to rise. Somehow, many knew this would happen, because an inordinate number
of individuals made big bucks on either puts or calls on 9/11. We should also remember that it was FEMA and the
EPA, both federal government agencies, that claimed it was safe for workers to toil in Ground Zero so quickly after
9/11, as it were all right for employees to return to their Wall Street jobs, and neighborhood residents to return to
their dust-laden homes. This is why I titled my article, “9/11’s second round of slaughter,” one not so obvious but that
surfaced later as a horrendous blowback the home-grown perpetrators neither banked on nor cared about.

Returning to the workers’ defense lawyers, the amount that they have already received to fight some 10,000 claims
is close to $200 million, plus $75 million for “administrative expenses.” I’d love some accounting transparency on
both figures. Yet, as Ms. Edelman points out, “How much money is up for grabs” from the remaining funds is the
question. There is a $1 billion taxpayer fund that could be worth $3 billion with liability-insurance coverage. There
is the WTC Captive Insurance Co., a nonprofit governed by Mayor Bloomberg, a managed $1 billion fund, including
the $600 million and policies held by WTC contractors.

At the same time the fund spent $275 million from 2004 to Dec 31, 2009, “it doled out only $320,000 to five workers
with minor injuries.” It’s no wonder “workers are livid.” Though the WTC insurance fund was down at $923 million
at the end of December, and dwindling through its investments since 2004, “expenses” took another $28 million
in the last three months of 2009 the records show. Yet “the fund recently won a $200 million settlement with city in-
surance companies to help cover legal expenses, which takes the total available to near $1.1 billion, though costs keep
accruing.”

Edelman’s most interesting point is, if that amount were distributed today, it could mean an average of $100,000
per worker, “many of whom have suffered debilitating illnesses or died.” Having seen and met these damaged work-
ers at WeAreChange benefits, I can safely say it is a heart-rending picture.

Yet the lawyers are out for “untold billions in liability insurance” to be squeezed out of the Port Authority of New York
& New Jersey, the former owner of the Twin Towers, and from construction companies and a barge operator which
transported all the evidence, i.e., rubble to Fresh Kills, from whence much of the steel was shipped to China to be
smelted into oblivion, even returning in the keel of a Navy vessel to flaunt in our faces. That was the
evidence of the largest crime scene in American history that was sent to the dump before any real
investigation took place. Given the levels of corruption, we now get some accusations via AP IM-
PACT that the first of the first responder cases include some with credibility problems. David Caruso
writes, “As the first cases in a massive battle over illnesses linked to 9/11 near trial, an Associated Press
investigation has found that several of the initial 30 suits contain inconsistent or exaggerated claims
about how the workers got sick or how much time they spent at ground zero. One demolition worker
who said he developed health problems after toiling for six months in the toxic ruins of the World Trade
Center has actually been severely ill since the 1990s. In a previous medical malpractice case, he said he
was so sick between 2000 and 2003 that he couldn’t work regularly. He never mentioned 9/11 during his
testimony in that lawsuit.”

It turns out that in over 9,000 legal claims filed against New York City about 60 have gotten close
scrutiny by the court. Thirty are now in consideration as candidates for trials in May. Judge Heller-
stein will be cutting the number for the first trials to 12. He’s counting on them to form “a road map
to settlements” for additional claims from rescue and recovery workers who claim they became ill
after the city “failed to protect them from poisonous trade center ash.” One billion-plus dollars in dam-
ages are in the offing.

The truth is, as also documented in Dust to Dust, workers were not encouraged to even wear pa-
per face masks, let alone respirators. Safety was the first casualty at the Ground Zero clean-up as
Mayor Giuliani, who had 30 months (two and a half years) to complete the clean-up, pushed work-
ers to work day and night to finish the project in a mere eight months. In sharp contrast, the first
responders in Washington, D.C., had to wear respirators to work at the Pentagon disaster site, no
excuses accepted. This was not mentioned in the AP article. This is not to say that there may not
be some workers padding hours at Ground Zero, exaggerating illnesses or seeking more than they
may deserve.

But I will bet my bottom dollar that the vast majority of these men and women gave unstintingly,
and under a criminal push for speed. I honor them as heroes despite any “bad apples” that may
turn up among the 10,000 workers. I would also advise those “apples” to straighten up and not dis-
honor their colleagues in opportunistic endeavors. Yet lord knows, seeing what they saw, hearing
the explosions on that day, realizing those Towers were really going down in pre-planned internal
demolitions, they had to suffer some loss of innocence in the line of duty, another tragic symptom.

Remember, in addition to the subsequent illnesses of the workers, some leading to death, you
had the deaths of 343 firefighters and paramedics, and 78 police officers on that awful day, plus
the nearly 3,000 civilians who perished. It had to be traumatic to any and all present on that day
and after, not to mention to the world at large. If AP or any other bona fide organization wishes to
further scrutinize workers’ applications for compensation, let them come forth and do so. No one
should be sheltered from scrutiny as no one should be denied justice, including the dispensers of
justice themselves and the Bush administration.
 Thyroid Cancer
a court report in February 2009. It listed 51 cases. It strikes mostly women. The National Cancer Institute puts the
incidence rate at 4.3 per 100,000 men. City defense lawyer James Tyrrell urged caution. “Based on the current med-
ical literature, we do not know of a connection between 9/11 exposure and thyroid cancer. We hope they consider all
relevant factors, including prior medical history,” he said.

by VERTEXNews A spokesman for the WTC program said, “We are closely monitoring the health of all the 9/11 responders using state-
of-the art statistical instruments for all forms of disease, including cancer and thyroid cancer.”
Health officials are investigating whether toxic conditions at Ground Zero may have triggered a wave of thyroid
cancer cases among 9-11 rescue and recovery workers. The disease affects the thyroid gland at the base of the In 2007, doctors noted blood cancers like multiple myeloma among unusually young 9/11 responders, including
neck. Hilaire, who suffered it after thyroid cancer.

The “New York Post” reports the WTC Medical Monitoring and Treatment Program has started contacting 9-11 re- NCI Completes Nationwide Study of Radioactive Fallout
sponders who have been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. From 1950s Nuclear Tests

Doctors are already looking into the high incidence of certain blood cancers in patients who worked at the former The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has completed a study to assess Americans’ exposures to radioactive iodine-131
World Trade Center site, but it’s believed this is the first such probe to focus on a tumor cancer. Court papers filed in fallout from atmospheric nuclear bomb tests carried out at the Nevada Test Site (NTS) in the 1950s.
February 2009 as part of a case brought against New York City by ten-thousand rescue and recovery workers cited 51
cases of thyroid cancer, making it the seventh most common type of cancer claimed by 911 responders. Depending on their age at the time of the tests, where they lived, and what foods they consumed, particularly
milk, Americans were exposed to varying levels of I-131. Because of the radioactive decay of I-131, such expo-
From Susan Edelman at the New York Post sures did not exceed two months following each test. Because I-131 accumulates in the thyroid gland, concerns
have been raised that the fallout could cause thyroid cancer in people who were exposed to it as children.
Doctors have begun probing whether 911 rescue and recovery work at toxic Ground Zero triggered thyroid can-
cer – apparently the first tumor cancer to come under close scrutiny, The Post has learned. The WTC Medical Mon- In 1982, Congress passed legislation calling for the Department of Health and Human Services to develop meth-
itoring and Treatment Program is contacting ods to estimate I-131 exposure, to assess I-131 exposure levels across the country from the Nevada tests, and to
Ground Zero responders who came down with assess risks for thyroid cancer from these exposures.
the disease. The thyroid is a gland at the base
of the neck. NYPD cop Reggie Hilaire, 39, and The fallout report fulfills the first two of these three requirements. The complete report includes estimates of av-
retired FDNY firefighter Kenny Specht, 41, both erage I-131 dose to the thyroid for representative persons in each county during 1951 to 1958, when the nuclear
diagnosed with thyroid cancer, hailed the study, tests were carried out in Nevada. Estimates of thyroid doses have been made for persons by age, sex, and source
saying the cases among WTC workers are alarm- and quantity of milk consumption. (For most people, the bulk of I-131 exposure came from drinking milk. Smaller
ing. “It’s a small victory,” Hilaire said. amounts came from eating other dairy products, eggs, and leafy vegetables, and through inhalation.) Although
the study was carried out with as much care as possible, a large degree of uncertainty is associated with these dose
Reggie Hilaire (right) stands outside the Memo- estimates, as they are based on a small number of radiation measurements made at that time and relied heavily on
rial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan. the use of mathematical models.
Hilaire, who clocked hundreds of hours at Fresh
Kills and Ground Zero as a rookie cop in the The average cumulative thyroid dose to the approximately 160 million people in the country was about 2 rads-less
months following 9/11, has been diagnosed with than the dose received from diagnostic thyroid scans in the 1950s. Persons living in heavy fallout areas, children,
multiple myeloma after recovering from thyroid and persons who drank large quantities of milk received higher doses. In general, persons living in Western states
cancer last year. to the north and east of the test site had the highest doses, averaging 5 to 16 rads. Children aged 3 months to 5
years generally received about three to seven times the average dose, because in general they drank more milk
than did adults, and because their thyroids were smaller.
Thyroid cancer is the seventh most common
of cancers claimed by 10,000 cops, firefighters, A summary of the fallout report will be published in September, and the complete report, including exposure esti-
hard hats and others suing the city, according to mates for each of the 3,071 counties in the 48 contiguous U.S. states, will be available later this year. The complete
report is about 100,000 pages. Although the fallout report was not intended to fulfill the third requirement, the
results will be linked with findings from relevant epidemiological studies, including some currently in progress, to
10,000 First Responders cited 51 cases of thyroid cancer estimate thyroid cancer risk.

The small number of studies on persons exposed to I-131 from NTS fallout have produced suggestive but not con-
clusive evidence that it is linked to cancer. The effects of radiation from other sources, such as medical X-rays, have
been studied much more extensively. This larger body of data suggests that the fallout radiation doses received Cancer Information From The Office Of Cancer Communications
by the vast majority of U.S. children in the 1950s are unlikely to be an important cancer risk factor. However, the ra-
diation doses among children who lived in areas with high fallout levels, and particularly those who drank a great National Cancer Institute news releases are available via the Internet through the World Wide Web:
deal of milk, or who drank milk from goats or family cows, may well have an increased risk of thyroid cancer, the
level of which is highly uncertain. http://rex.nci.nih.gov

In the 1960s, the U.S. Public Health Service conducted a study of children living in parts of Utah and Nevada that For additional information on this topic visit the rex site and click on mass media to obtain:
had high fallout to determine whether thyroid disease was associated with fallout exposure. This early study found
no evidence of harmful effects. • Fact Sheet on Thyroid Cancer
•Q&A
In 1993, researchers at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, published a report on thyroid disease among mem- • County-by-county exposures
bers of the same group who were still residing in the area. They found some evidence of an association between • US map with county-by-exposures
estimated dose and thyroid cancer, but this was not statistically significant. The level of uncertainty was high be- • Executive Summary
cause the number of cancer cases involved was very small. Reflecting this uncertainty, the researchers estimated • Technical Summary
that between zero and six cases of the eight observed thyroid cancers might have been caused by the fallout. • Table of Contents for full report

To provide more accurate information on the risk of thyroid cancer from radioactive fallout, NCI investigators, in
collaboration with other U.S. government agencies and international organizations, are working with the gov-
ernments of and scientists in Belarus and Ukraine to study thyroid cancer among children in those countries who
were exposed to fallout of various radioisotopes of iodine, mainly I-131, from the Chernobyl nuclear accident in
1986. This population had a wide range of exposures. The tens of thousands of children exposed to the fallout re-
ceived radiation doses to the thyroid that ranged from comparatively little to those that are ten times higher than
U.S. residents received from the Nevada tests. Because of the wide range of exposures and the larger numbers
of persons exposed, information from the Chernobyl studies is expected to be relevant to the assessment of the
impact of the U.S. exposures.
Cancer Information Service
The Cancer Information Service (CIS), a national information and education network, is a free public service of the
National Cancer Institute (NCI), the Nation’s primary agency for cancer research. The CIS meets the information
needs of patients, the public, and health professionals. Specially trained staff provide the latest scientific informa-
tion in understandable language. CIS staff answer questions in English and Spanish and distribute NCI materials.
Toll-free phone number: 1–800–4–CANCER (1–800–422–6237)
TTY: 1–800–332–8615

Researchers sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are studying the health effects of the CancerFax ®
radioactive iodine released from the Hanford, Wash., nuclear weapons plant from in the 1940s and 1950s. Results For NCI information by fax, dial (301) 402-5874
are expected next year. from the telephone on a fax machine and listen to recorded instructions.

The new fallout data from NCI could be used to correlate fallout levels with thyroid cancer rates in specific geo- CancerNet™
graphic areas; however, such studies will encounter difficulties. Thyroid cancer is a rare disease, particularly among For NCI information by computer:
children. The small number of cases in any one geographic area-particularly in sparsely populated areas-makes it
difficult to determine with confidence whether rates are significantly elevated. And while some states have regis- CancerNet Mail Service (via E-mail):
tries with historical data on all cancer cases in the state, most do not. In addition, many children in the 1950s were
exposed to medical X-rays at levels known to increase risk for thyroid cancer, and it is difficult to disentangle these To obtain a contents list, E-mail cancernet@icicc.nci.nih.gov with the word “help” in the body of the message.
effects from those of fallout exposure occurring during the testing program.
Internet:
In 1997, an estimated 16,100 Americans will be diagnosed with thyroid cancer and 1,230 will die from the disease.
The incidence rate for women is more than twice as high as that for men. Thyroid cancer is highly curable: The Information is also accessible via the Internet through the World Wide Web at ( http://cancernet.nci.nih.gov ) and
5-year survival rate is about 95 percent. Gopher ( gopher://gopher.nih.gov ) servers.

Lee, Hur and Ahn stated that thyroid malignancy is said to be an infrequent occurrence found in 0.5 to 3 patients per 100,000 in the general population. They noted that in a subgroup of patients
booked for mammography, a thyroid ultrasound was also performed. In this group, they found thyroid malignancy frequency was as high as 3 per 100,000. It is not known if their subgroup was
at a higher risk for malignancy. Mittelstaedt in the Globe and Mail states that thyroid malignancy was 15 per 100,000 yet in 2011 10,000 First Responders cited 51 cases of thyroid cancer

“or 510 cases of thyroid cancer per 100,000”

 • Kenneth George •
Kenneth George (right) was working for the city highways
department on September 11th, 2001, digging up and re-
surfacing roads. The next day, he was assigned to search
and rescue at the World Trade Center. In common with
most clean-up workers, he calls Ground Zero “the pile”.

“My job was to carry human remains to the makeshift

morgue,” he says. “When I was walking in, there were family
members there asking us to find their son, daughter, neph-
ew, uncle, father, whatever. But I could never find anyone in-
tact. All I found was parts. What sticks with me the most is I
stepped on half a torso. That and the people screaming for
their relatives.”

From September 12 until February 29, he worked double

shifts, seven days a week, only leaving the pile to go home
and collapse into bed. In November, he developed a dry,
hacking cough, but after reading Environmental Protec-
tion Agency chief Christine Todd Whitman’s infamous a long flight of steps, can’t play ball,” he says. “Even now I’m
assertion that the air was “safe to breathe” and the water having a hard time talking. The people that perished, at least
was “safe to drink” he never seriously considered that his they went quick. I’m just sitting here waiting. I’ve already got
health might be at risk. two feet in the ground.”

“I remember deeply, it was like snow, the ash falling from the
sky,” he says. Most of the time, he worked without a res-
pirator. He was given a mask and a single filter cartridge,
but it wasn’t fitted properly, clogged up within a couple
of hours and in any case “it’s very hard to dig on your hands
and knees with a mask on.”
He was treated for bronchitis, but the cough wouldn’t go
away. Eventually he was diagnosed with restrictive airway
disease, plus PTSD. The medications he was prescribed
caused a heart attack. He now takes 22 different pills each
day. There are dark marks on his temples, where he rubbed
his forehead with gloves contaminated with asbestos.
“I had lung disease and heart disease before I was 43-years-
old. I was forced to retire. I can’t go in the pool, can’t walk up
His union health insurance covers most, but not all of his
treatment – hospital co-payments have wiped out his
savings. He has received no compensation from the city
or the government and worries constantly about what
will happen to his wife, three children and grandchild, all
of whom live with him and depend on his pension. “You’re
gonna see a lot of homeless responders out in the street, like
you see the veterans,” he says. “It’s a sin.”
The September 11th Victims Compensation Fund, cre-
ated by Congress not long after the attacks, handed out
around $7 billion, primarily to the families of victims and
people who worked at the site, but it closed in 2005, well
before many of the most damaging health consequences
became apparent. A fortnight ago, it was announced that
a settlement had been reached in the lawsuit between a
group of around 10,000 rescue and clean-up workers and the city of New York. The WTC Captive Insurance Com-
pany would pay out up to $657 million, on condition that 95% of the litigants accepted the deal. The judge, Alvin
K. Hellerstein, then announced that he was taking “judicial control” because the settlement was “not enough”. Legal
fees, at one third of the total award, would take “a very large bite,” he said.
On a Wednesday, defence lawyers went to federal appeals court to challenge Hellerstein’s decision. For the time
being the settlement was in limbo. In any case, some of the most informed plaintiffs are far from sure that they
should accept the offer. Kenny Specht, founder of the New York City Firefighter Brotherhood Foundation, says it’s
“insulting and unacceptable” that after lawyers have taken $300 million and responders should be happy to divide
up the rest.
Plaintiffs who can show that they worked at the site would get $3,250 whether their health was affected or not.
Those with just a doctors note would get $6,500. People with more serious conditions would get substantially
more, but the list of ailments attributable to working at the site is in dispute. Litigants are being asked to sign up
without knowing how much they would receive in the end.
tract thyroid cancer,” he says. “I was the 17th New York city firefighter who was down at the Trade Center to get the
disease, in a workforce of 11,000” – more than 30 times the national average. Specht has known young firemen who
died of testicular cancer, colorectal cancer and gastro-intestinal cancer, but the link is still unproven.
The definitive study into the dust’s effects on lung function was released last week, putting to rest claims that
previous surveys were inadequate or politically-motivated. The report, published in the New England Journal of
Medicine, found that exposure left “a substantial proportion of workers with abnormal lung function.” Almost 40% of
the 13,000 rescue workers who took part in the research suffered from chronic shortness of breath, wheezing, sore
throat or sinus drip. On average, working in the initial clean-up operation aged their lungs by ten years or more.
New York state’s two Senators, Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, tried to engineer a deal in Congress – the
$11 billion James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act – but the administration has so far been lukewarm
in its support, particularly for plans to lock in funding for 30 years. A House Of Representatives sub-committee re-
cently approved a measure to set up a $5 billion fund for responders. Similar plans have been in the works for four
years already, without ever threatening to pass.

Specht is livid that lawyers Napoli, Bern & Ripka “What you have now is a settlement and a bill
are advising their 9,000 clients that the settle- in Congress,” says John Feal, of 9/11 advocacy
ment is the best possible deal. “If you tell some- group the Feal Good Foundation. “I’m an opti-
one who has been waiting for compensation for mistic person and I truly believe that responders
five years – maybe they’ve lost their house, maybe will have two options by the end of the year.” His
they got divorced – you tell them that this money left foot was crushed by a steel beam on his
is available now, then what are they going to do? fifth day at the pile – “the guy next to me faint-
They’re spreading fear.” ed because blood was shooting everywhere and
bones were sticking out of my sock” – but he con-
He worked at Ground Zero for the first six weeks, siders himself lucky.
whether he was supposed to be on duty or not.
“We stood on these piles of whatever burned and “The old saying that ‘there’s always someone
the smell was absolutely horrendous,” he remem- worse off than you’ is so evident in the 9/11 com-
bers. “But I didn’t feel like I was in danger.” Then munity,” he says. “I don’t have cancer, like so many
on October 21st he stood beneath two huge of these guys.” The Zadroga bill, named for the
grappling machines as they shook dirt from the first person to officially die from Ground Ze-
debris and wondered whether the dust parti- ro-related illness, cancer, includes cancer on
cles could be harmful. the list of eligible diseases — unlike the pro-
posed legal settlement.
He started to get sick in 2006, after the Congres-
sional Compensation Fund had closed. First his The mental toll of pulling body parts from the
gall bladder was removed. He developed joint wreckage is even harder to assess. PTSD is not
pain, acute memory loss and restless leg syn- included in any of the suggested compensa-
drome. In 2007 he was diagnosed with thyroid tion packages, despite increasing number of
cancer. “Everything that I have, I continue to be responders forced to retire by nightmares and
told by doctors at the fire department that it’s not flashbacks. “I suffer badly from night terrors,”
from my time at the Trade Center and that’s abso- says Kenneth George. “When I hear the crickets
lutely ridiculous,” he says. At 41 years old, he is at night in the summertime, it brings me back to
often too weak to get out of bed. Ground Zero, because the firemen, when they’re
down, they have a response beeper that’s beeping
His lawyers have told him that no court would and chirping. The sound of the crickets reminds
rule that his cancer was caused by exposure to me of being there.”
the toxic cloud. “In developed countries around
five in every 100,000 men can be expected to con- Developer Larry Silverstein recently signed a
deal to build two new towers at the site
with up to $1.6 billion in public money.
The National September 11th Memorial
And Museum won a new grant of $2.29
million as it continues to collect first-hand
testimony, pictures and videos from peo-
ple who were there that day.

There is no guarantee that sick respond-

ers will ever be suitably compensated. “It’s
incredible to believe that we’ve been left to
die,” says Specht. “But at least I’m still alive.
What about the people who died not know-
ing what would happen to their families?”

John Feal agrees that the proposed settle-

ment is far too small: “You can’t put a price
on what these men and women have been
through. You might as well give everyone
a WTC scratch card – find three Trade Cen-
tre symbols in a row and win $3,250. I find it
comical. The fact that men and women who
have cancer are only getting thousands of
dollars is insulting.”
 Advertisement

In 2011 Ten Thousand First Responders cited 51 cases of thyroid cancer, or 510 cases per 100,000
 What About The Facts And What Happens Ten Years From Now Skippy?

Sgt. Dawn Sorrento says she looks on the years since the September 11th terrorist attacks as a blur of doctor’s
visits, ambushes by illnesses she had never heard of and growing resentment toward the city that challenged her
injury claims. Yet on Friday, Sergeant Sorrento, a police officer who is among some 10,000 rescue and cleanup
workers at ground zero who sued the city for health damages, felt a grim sort of satisfaction. She had expected her
case to be among the first to go to trial this spring; instead, both sides announced a
legal settlement of up to $657.5 million Thursday night.
In a telephone conference with reporters Friday morning, the city’s corporation counsel, Michael A. Cardozo, said
city officials were “delighted” that the legal battle that pitted the “heroes” of the recovery effort against the city
could soon be over.
“We believe strongly that this settlement is fair not only to the city and its contractors
but to the plaintiffs,” he said.

“It’s nice that someone took responsibility, finally,” said Sergeant Sorrento, 43,
who helped coordinate the movement of cranes, dignitaries and cadav-
er-hunting dogs in and out of Ground Zero in September 2001. “The city fi-
nally acknowledges that 9/11 diseases do exist and that people are suffering.”
Officials cast the settlement as righting a historic wrong on Friday and pre-
dicted that it would assure speedy and just compensation to the workers,
who have waited more than six years for a legal resolution. But significant
hurdles remain. Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, of the United States District Court
in Manhattan, has made clear that he intends to play a role in assuring that
individuals are compensated fairly.
At a hearing on Friday, Judge Hellerstein said he would take a week to review
the terms of the agreement and convene again next Friday to give his “initial
impressions” and to hear from interested parties, including plaintiffs. He also
scheduled a formal “fairness hearing” on the agreement for April 12.
Lawyers from both sides have said that the settlement does not require the
judge’s approval. But Judge Hellerstein warned them in January that in the
event of a settlement, he would hold hearings to determine whether the set-
tlement treated individual 9/11 workers fairly. On Friday he also cautioned
them that he planned to review the fees going to the plaintiffs’ lawyers and
would reserve the right to reduce them as he has done in some other cases,
to as low as 15 percent. This means the lawyers, who stood to collect a third of
the settlement under agreements with their clients, could see their anticipat-
ed rewards more than halved. Initial reactions among the thousands of 9/11
workers have so far been mixed, and some will not venture an opinion until
they learn more details. A fuller picture of the range of sentiments is likely to
surface when plaintiffs turn out to address Judge Hellerstein at the hearing
next week. Still, lawyers for the plaintiffs said they were confident that the 95
percent consent threshold the agreement requires would be met and empha-
sized that most of the clients they had heard from were expressing relief.
“We’ve had numerous calls and by far the calls are very, very positive,” said Marc Jay
Bern of Napoli Bern Ripka, the law firm representing more than 9,400 of the plain-
tiffs. “The clients are quite relieved that there’s an end in sight.”
But John Feal, an advocate for 9/11 workers through his FealGood Foundation, said he had been inundated with
e-mail and phone calls from angry plaintiffs fretting about their potential individual compensation as word of the
settlement spread Thursday night. “A lot of people still want to see all the facts before signing on,” he said.
“I’m sick that I even participated” in the recovery effort at
Ground Zero, said Kenny Specht, 41, above, a firefighter
who received a diagnosis of thyroid cancer in 2008.
Here he expresses his anger publicly during
a televised media event in NYC.
“A lot of people still want to see all the facts before signing on,” he said.
“What happens 10 years from now?” she said.
On the same call, Kenneth R. Feinberg, the former special master of the fed-
eral compensation fund that paid awards to families of 9/11 victims in a sys-
tem similar to what the settlement for the workers now calls for, called the
settlement “long overdue.” He noted that the only reason many of the work-
ers had not been compensated under the Sept. 11th Victim Compensation
Fund was because they had not fallen ill by the time the fund closed in 2003.
Christine LaSala, chief of the WTC Captive Insurance Company, the city in-
surer that will pay the settlement out of a federally-financed $1.1 billion
fund, said a tort management firm has already been chosen to handle the
claims. The administrator responsible for evaluating the cases and decid-
ing the awards will be appointed within a few weeks, she added. Ms. LaSala
said that once the settlement is final, the first claimants will start receiving
payouts within months and the entire process could be completed within
a year. Each plaintiff must submit proof of medical history and presence at
Ground Zero to guard against fraud. Under the point system envisioned to
determine severity of illness, a serious condition such as pulmonary fibrosis
or scarring of the lung could result in an award of more than $1 million, ac-
cording to Mr. Bern, the plaintiffs’ lawyer.
Many plaintiffs have said they are not only hobbled by illness but also haunt-
ed by the idea that they could become 9/11 casualties themselves.
“I’m sick that I even participated” in the recovery effort at ground zero, said
Kenny Specht, 41, (at left) a firefighter who received a diagnosis of thyroid
cancer in 2008. “It was a dangerous thing to do, but I thought it was the place
to be.”
Sergeant Sorrento, who is single and lives on Staten Island, said she counts
herself among the lucky ones even as she struggles with “reactive airway
disease,” a condition similar to asthma involving a tendency to wheeze and
cough from exposure to irritants. Now a detective in Coney Island, she can
still work full time. But when her symptoms worsen in severe heat or the winter
cold, she said, her detectives have to pick up the slack.
Chornobyl (the correct spelling) is situated 80 miles north-west of Kiev, the ancient capital of Ukraine
and the Soviet Union’s third largest city. It was by far the worst nuclear reactor accident ever, which
immediately sent a radioactive cloud across neighboring Byelorussia, Poland and the Baltic Repub-
lics towards Scandinavia. Within days, borne by shifting winds, radioactive mists wafted beyond
Soviet borders and spread across most of Europe causing anxiety, apprehension and fear. The most
badly affected were the Republics of Ukraine and Byelorussia. They suffered large scale involuntary
irradiation, due to extensive secrecy to prevent great economic damage, which happened anyway.
Furthermore the contaminated air mass passed over large areas of Poland and also over parts of
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania and Yugoslavia and a number of West European countries. Even-
tually the radioactive waste circled the earth.

Till now the land remained abandoned, thousands of houses, thousands of acres of land, everything
stays almost the same as it was 20 years ago. Until now. A few people have moved back to Chor-
nobyl and there are even one or two renovations visible.

Nowadays there are also guided tours being conducted to this area. These photos are made by
Alexandr Vikulov, (pikul2001@mail.ru) while participating in such a trip. Still people are very rarely
seen on the streets of Chornobyl. All the pipes (below) are now laid above ground because the soil
is polluted by radioactive nuclear waste.

Next page - “The Dead Zone”: Dozens of gas masks (right) strewn about show the results of an
ill-prepared populace evacuated rapidly with few concrete explanations of the disaster at hand.
People left everything. Children left their toys (above and at left on next page). Their world was
altered forever in an instant.

Following page - “Nuclear Graffiti”: at some point early after the disaster an unknown artist visited
Chornobyl and painted black graphics across the city of people going about their daily lives, ala
Banksy. An entire city is virtually abandoned and for very good reasons. The city is death incarnate,
to all living things, inhabited by “Graffiti People”.

External Link:
http://englishrussia.com/index.php/2006/09/13/lost-city-of-chernobyl/
Dead Zone
NUCLEAR GRAFITTI
 CHAPTER FOUR
Smacsonic®, Captain McConnell, the QRS-11 Gyrochip
NASA’s Controlled Impact Demonstration (CID),
what year was that again, George? 1984?
There can be no
liberty
for a community
which lacks
the information
to detect
lies
- journalist and social philosopher Walter Lippmann, 1919
 SMAC
“Anyone watching the videos
would be left with the impression that
the planes just seemed to have melted into the towers ...”
 SMAC • ing
flight ninety-three
by Jeff Prager
November 14th, 2018
 SMACSONIC ® (SMACTANE)
A Viscoelastic Material With Energetic Nano-Composite Potential

Statement by Air force Top Gun and commercial pilot Captain Field McConnell:
Captain Field McConnell, pictured at right, was a friend who passed away recently and
he’ll be sorely missed. Captain McConnell was the first person to prove the planes
used on 9/11 were drones, specifically outlining all fight paths and when, where
and how the original flights were replaced with drones. Field exposed the QRS-
11 Gyrochip which was one of the most critical pieces of the 9/11 puzzle and
this story is dedicated to Captain Field McConnell. However, Captain McConnell
also pioneered data that provided the reason for the “bright flash” seen in every
video, from every angle, as the nose of the planes touch the skin of the towers.
That flash is crucial and Captain McConnell exposed why. Quoting Top Gun and
commercial pilot Captain Field McConnell:
“SMACSONIC can be installed in aircraft insulation because it looks like regular insulation
and it can be used as a thermal, a vibrational or a sound insulation, but also, if you hit it with a certain type
of electro-magnetic energy or electronic trigger, you can cause the entire fuselage of the aircraft
that’s surrounded by the insulation to reach fifty-eight hundred degrees Fahrenheit; literal-
ly instantaneously which blows the tail off the airplane like it did the seven fifty-seven at
Shanksville. It turns what’s left of the aircraft into a missile that burns up and turns into
plasma before any of the big parts hit the ground.”
This explains why each of the planes appeared to “melt” into the towers, leaving
no aircraft fuselage or wings visible within the buildings and yet still left an ob-
vious impression of the shape of the planes where they impacted the buildings.
The same occurred in Shanksville, below. The cockpit and tail were blown off of the
plane and the remainder of the plane was turned into plasma so that very little of the
plane was left to hit the ground. All 3 of these planes were turned into plasma, which
we discuss in more detail ahead.
 From the SMAC web site:

“SMAC personnel are specialists in bonding elastomer to other materials, including steel, cop- per, bronze, aluminum, titanium, composite, polyamid,
PTFE and glass. We develop our own compounds and finished products to verify compliance with customer specifications.”

Key here is the aluminum component which would, of course, allow for an energetic nano-composite — an explosive to be made out of an entire
commercial jet or in this case a droned aircraft. This would account for the fact that the planes that struck the Twin Towers appeared to be ab-
sorbed by the buildings. The planes, if you watch the many videos, simply melted into the buildings leaving no visible aircraft parts behind. These
planes did not display the normal characteristics of large jumbo jets hitting stationary building structures at all. Something else happened. Again,
the planes virtually disintegrated. Since few of us have ever actually witnessed a commercial jet hitting a stationary structure at speed, we haven’t
a clue what it “should” look like. There are numerous images of various plane crashes across the internet and studying them portrays reality. Com-
mercial jets do not disintegrate when they come into contact with stationary structures or even the ground, at speed, such as in the Shanksville
images below. This also accounts for the very brief but clearly visible flash seen just before each plane comes into contact with the Twin Towers
­— a flash visible in every video regardless of where the video originated — a split second flash at the nose of each plane just a millisecond prior
to impact (See page 383).
 Smac-down
AND THE C.I.D.
The QRS-11 Gyrochip (above) allowed the pilot to be locked out
from the ground and complete control of the plane taken over
by ground personnel to prevent hijackings, or in this case, to
hijack and control various aircraft on September 11th, 2001.
By Jeff Prager
Pictured: Flexible SMACSONIC ® (SMACTANE)
The Controlled Impact Demonstration (CID) proves that Boeings, full size
jumbo jets, could be taxied, take off and fully controlled by remote from
a computer terminal as early as 1984. Eight Boeings can be controlled
by one laptop computer terminal accessing the QRS-11 Gyrochip. The
QRS-11 Gyrochip and the legal controversy that surrounded Boeings sale
of aircraft with the QRS-11 Gyrochip to China proves that as early as the
mid-1980s we could commandeer commercial aircraft from the ground,
lock out the pilot and fly the aircraft at will. This is how the planes, drones,
were flown into the Twin Towers — by remote control.
The Controlled Impact Demonstration, operating Boeing’s
by remote control without live persons on board, took
place in 1984. In 2001, when asked publicly in a press brief-
ing at Ground Zero if Boeings could be flown by remote,
President George Bush replied that that technology was
years away. Obviously either he was clueless or he was ly-
ing through his teeth. You can decide which.

In a typical aircraft crash, fuel spilled from ruptured fuel

tanks forms a fine mist that can be ignited by a number of
sources at the crash site. In 1984 the NASA Dryden Flight
Research Facility (after 1994 a full-fledged Center again)
and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) teamed-up
in a unique flight experiment called the Controlled Impact
Demonstration (CID), to test crash a Boeing 720 aircraft us-
ing standard fuel with an additive designed to surpress fire.
The additive, FM-9, a high-molecular-weight long-chain
polymer, when blended with Jet-A fuel had demonstrated
the capability to inhibit ignition and flame propagation of
the released fuel in simulated crash tests.

This anti-misting kerosene (AMK) cannot be introduced

directly into a gas turbine engine due to several possible
problems such as clogging of filters. The AMK must be re-
stored to almost Jet-A before being introduced into the
 In 1984 We Learned To Taxi, Fly and ...
engine for burning. This restoration is called “degradation” and was accomplished on the B-720 us-
ing a device called a “degrader.” Each of the four Pratt & Whitney JT3C-7 engines had a “degrader”
built and installed by General Electric (GE) to break down and return the AMK to near Jet-A quality.
In addition to the AMK research the NASA Langley Research Center was involved in a structural
loads measurement experiment, which included having instrumented dummies filling the seats
in the passenger compartment. Before the final flight on December 1, 1984, more than four years
of effort passed trying to set-up final impact conditions considered survivable by the FAA. During
those years while 14 flights with crews were flown the following major efforts were underway:
NASA Dryden developed the remote piloting techniques necessary for the B-720 to fly as a drone
aircraft; General Electric installed and tested four degraders (one on each engine); and the FAA
refined AMK (blending, testing, and fueling a full-size aircraft). The 15 flights had 15 takeoffs, 14
landings and a larger number of approaches to about 150 feet above the prepared crash site un-
der remote control. These flight were used to introduce AMK one step at a time into some of the
fuel tanks and engines while monitoring the performance of the engines. On the final flight (No.
15) with no crew, all fuel tanks were filled with a total of 76,000 pounds of AMK and the remote-
ly-piloted aircraft landed on Rogers Dry Lakebed in an area prepared with posts to test the effec-
tiveness of the AMK in a controlled impact.
The CID, which some wags called the Crash in the Desert, was spectacular with a large fireball
enveloping and burning the B-720 aircraft (next page). From the standpoint of AMK the test was
a major set-back, but for NASA Langley, the data collected on crashworthiness was deemed suc-
cessful and just as important. The data learned from piloting full-sized Boeing’s by remote control
from a computer terminal was invaluable and provided the necessary test results to effectively
pilot droned Boeing aircraft on September 11th, 2001.
Last Updated: December 8th, 2018 by Jeff Prager
Crash Full-Size Boeings By Remote Control ...

And We Could Pilot 8 Planes Remotely Using A Single Laptop.

 QRS-11 Gyro-Chip Brokered Patent
This was a design implemented to thwart terrorism and aircraft hijackings which were popularized
in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. By accessing flight controls and locking out the pilot a ground controller
could land a hijacked plane — that was the theory behind the program anyway. By the mid- to late-
1980s the advanced flight remote control of Boeing commercial jets had been perfected. There were
planes used on 911 but they weren’t ordinary Boeing commercial jets. They were modified in hangars
in Texas. They had depleted uranium nose cones and they were outfitted from stem to stern with
Smacsonic®, a trademarked and patented subsonic dampener and insulating material that can also
turn a Boeing into a missile. We can see the flash that ignites the Smacsonic® as
the planes enter each tower, both planes, in every film from every angle on 911
(See page 109). The flash is always present. The flash ignites the Smacsonic®
which causes the plane to appear to “melt into the building”.
This explains the aircraft anomalies we saw on 911. The nose flashes ignited the
Smacsonic® and the planes turned into plasma. Flight 93 was literally blown out
of the sky and most of the plane was turned into plasma and burned up before
any larger pieces could hit the ground as asserted by Captain Field McConnell.
 The Enemy Is Inside The Gates
By Colonel Donn de Grand Pre U.S. Army (ret.)
A dedicated group of experienced civilian and military pilots, including combat
fighter pilots and commercial airline captains, just finished a marathon 72 hours
of non-stop briefings and debate over the current crisis evolving from the use
of commercial aircraft as cruise missiles against the World Trade Center and the
Pentagon on September 11th, 2001.
The so-called terrorist attack was in fact a superbly executed military opera-
tion against the United States, requiring the utmost professional military skill in
command, communications and control. It was flawless in timing, in the choice Colonel de Grand Pre U.S. Army (ret.)
of selected aircraft to be used as guided missiles, and in the coordinated deliv-
ery of those missiles to their pre-selected targets. As a tactical military exercise
against two significant targets (world financial center and the citadel of world stra-
tegic military planning), the attack, from a psychological impact on the American public, equaled the
Japanese “surprise” attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.
The Over-Riding Question: If We Are At War, Who Is The Enemy?
The group determined that the enemy is within the gates, that he has infiltrated into the highest
policy-making positions at the Federal level, and has absolute control, not only of the purse strings,
but of the troop build-up and deployment of our military forces, including active, reserve and Na-
tional Guard units.
Prelude To Panic
The 9-11 activity and horrific destruction of US property and lives was intentionally meant to trig-
ger a psychological and patriotic reaction on the part of the US citizens, which
is paving the way for “combined UN activity” (using the fig leaf of NATO) for
striking key targets in both the Middle East/ South Asia and the Balkans. The
goal continues to be the ultimate destruction of all national sovereignty and
establishment of the Rockefeller inspired global government. The trigger for
the 9/11 activity was the imminent and unstoppable world-wide financial
collapse, which can only be prevented (temporarily) by a major war, perhaps
to become known as WW III. In each of the major wars of the 20th century,
the financial manipulators (located in the City of London and New York City)
had placed the US (and much of the Western world) in a monetary expansion
mode, followed by an ever-tightening vice of a gigantic credit squeeze. We
now have two ongoing and tightly controlled simultaneous events emanating
from the two symbolic targets of 911:
1. Alan Greenspan, Fedchairman, promising to flood the market with up to
$200 billion in FRNs and to further lower interest rates, thus bringing about hy-
perinflation and dollar devaluation. Much of these multi billions in largess will
be dumped into the coffers of Wall Street, Defense, bankrupt airlines, insurance
companies and into the willing arms of debt-ridden third-world countries in
the form of debt repudiation (forgiveness). Call it bribery, in order to get these
often reluctant nations to join our coalition of “freedom fighters” in “the war
against terrorism”.
[Editor’s Note: The IMF and World Bank, controlled by the US, have implemented
precisely these procedures, debt forgiveness, to then create free-market econo-
mies where US, EU and Israeli multinationals usurp resources based on a staggered debt forgiveness
program requiring said countries to adhere to the rules or repay the debt — which they can’t, of
course. Since 2001, the last 17 years, this “debt forgiveness program designed to enslave the population
and usurp local resources” scheme, with a little help from high level bribery included, has been employed
or rather deployed against more than 25 countries, primarily in South America, the Middle East and Af-
rica. You can research legislation passed in Ukraine post-coup and/or legislation enacted by Paul Brem-
mer in Iraq as classic examples of usurpation and desperate resource grabs by greedy globalists.]
2. Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Defense Secretary, promised that the US will launch “sustained military strikes
against those behind the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington”. He said that the “military retaliation
would continue until the roots of terrorism are destroyed.” Again, the American publics been adequately
warned that we should be prepared for at least a “thirty-years war on terror,” perhaps even an “endless war”
on terror. This bit of saber rattling was seconded by select NATO allies (especially Britain), and by our chief
ally in the Middle East, the Butcher of Beirut, Ariel Sharon, while Secretary of Defense Don Rumsfeld, with
the blessings of President Bush II, is activated thousands of national guard and reservists, not only to
guard the vulnerable airports, but to do fly-overs of our Nation’s capital in F16s from the North Dakota Air
Guard. Other National Guard units were jockeyed into potential combat “hot spots” throughout the Middle
East/South Asia and the Balkans.
Who Is The Enemy?
Following is a summary of the near-unanimous views of the assembled military and civilian pilots con-
cerning certain critical factors relating to the WTC/Pentagon hit of 9-11:
Troubling questions arose about the alleged pilot-hijackers of the four aircraft, who were supposedly
trained on Cessna aircraft over the past year at fields in Florida and Oklahoma. One General officer re-
marked, “I seriously question whether these novices could have located a target dead-on 200 miles removed
from takeoff point — much less controlled the flight and mastered the intricacies of IFR (instrument flight rules)
— and all accomplished in 45 minutes.” The extremely skillful maneuvering of the three aircraft at near
mach speeds, each unerringly hitting their targets, was superb. As one Air Force officer — a veteran of
over 100 sorties over North Vietnam explained, “Those birds (commercial airliners) either had a crack fighter
pilot in the left seat, or they were being maneuvered by remote control.” Another pilot warned that “we had
better consider whether electro-magnetic pulse or radio frequency weapons were used from a command and
control platform hovering over the Eastern Seaboard... I’m talkin’ AWACS.” Another comment: “If there was
an AWACS on station over the targeted area, did it have a Global Hawk capability? I mean, could it convert the
commercial jets to robotic flying missiles?”
A hotly debated question: Who would be in command of such an Airborne Warning and Control System
(AWACS)? Were they Russians — US — Saudis — Israelis — NATO? All of these countries possess AWACS-
type aircraft. All except the Saudis have that specific capability to utilize electro-magnetic pulsing (EMP)
to knock out on-board flight controls and communications of targeted aircraft, and then, to fly them by
remote control. One of the Air Force officers explained that we had already flown a robot plane the size of a
Boeing 737 across the Pacific to Australia — unmanned — from Edwards AF Base in California to a success-
ful landing on an Aussie base in South Australia. It flies along a pre-programmed flight path, but is “mon-
itored” (controlled remotely) by a pilot from an outside station. He explained that the London Economist
(20 Sep 2001) published comments from the former CEO of British Airways, Robert Ayling, who stated that
an aircraft could be commandeered from the ground or air and controlled remotely in the event of a hijack.
Commercial Jets As Guided Missiles
An AP story, dateline Brussels • October 7th, 2001: “At Washington’s request, NATO will soon deploy sur-
veillance aircraft for anti-terrorist operations in the United States in response to the attacks on New York
and Washington, NATO officials said Sunday, an unprecedented use of foreign military forces to defend
the U.S. homeland.”
The assembled group of pilots debated why we would ask for foreign forces to fly AWACS over our sover-
eign territory when we have a fleet of 33 of them, of which 28 are stationed in Oklahoma. The debate also
centered on whether such NATO surveillance aircraft were already here prior to 11 September.
Could One Of Them Have Commandeered The Four Airliners?
There seems to be wide discrepancies between what the Federal government is proclaiming — and their
media moguls reporting — as opposed to the calm and reasoned and rational views of those men who
fly the planes and defend the nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This writer has been a
general aviation pilot since 1946. I have flown a variety of single engine prop aircraft since, and installed
an FAA-approved airstrip here on my farm in 1980. Two local pilots periodically joined me for short hops;
one, a Madison County lawyer, a graduate of the Air Force Academy, who flew for the Air Force before
coming home to practice law. The other, Kent Hill, who lives with his wife, Carol, on a farm close to mine,
is an American Airlines captain assigned to the European route. He was a lifelong friend of “Chic” Burlin-
game, They were graduates of the Naval Academy and flew F-4 Phantoms in Vietnam. Both left the Navy
28 years ago and joined American Airlines. Both planned to retire in 2002. Chic was the captain of AA flight
77, a Boeing 757, which departed Washington Dulles for Los Angeles at 8:10 am on 11 September, with 58
passengers and a crew of 6. Flight 77 [allegedly] crashed into the Pentagon at 9:41 am.
“We were totally trained on the old type of hijack,” Capt Hill said, “where you treat the hijacker cordially, punch
a 4-digit code into your transponder to alert ground control you’re being hijacked, and then get him where he
wants to go, set the plane safely on the ground and let them deal with it on the ground. However, this is a totally
new situation... Not one of the planes alerted ground control that they were being hijacked.” How come?
“The fact is, all the transponders were turned off on the doomed flights virtually at the same time.” Look at their
departure times — two from Logan (Boston), one from Newark, another from Dulles (Washington DC) —
all between 8 am and 8:15.
“Shortly after climb-out to flight level, their transponders are deactivated (they are no longer a blip on the radar
screens). This is something that really needs to be looked into. The only reason we turn them off is so they don’t
interfere with ground systems when we land.”
(Note: Transponders identify a particular aircraft in flight on the radar screens of FAA flight controllers lo-
cated throughout the country. Various codes are punched into the transponder, one displaying, “I am being
hijacked.”) Although there is much talk among the various flight crews, Hill says they are not privy to any
of the investigations into the events of 11 September. “We’re in the dark — very much so ... They’re playing it
pretty tight to the vest.” He is convinced none of the pilots had control of their aircraft when they were flown
into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The question then becomes, who was really in control?
“Even if I had a gun at my head, I’d never fly a plane into a building. I’d try to put it in anywhere -- a field or a
river — and I’d be scaring the hell out of them (the hijackers) by flying upside down first,” Hill said. In fact, the
pilot has the best weapon in his hand when threatened with imminent death by a hijacker, namely, the
airplane. Another airline pilot stated. “On hearing a major scuffle in the cabin, the pilot should have inverted
the aircraft and the hijackers end up with broken necks.”
[Editor’s Note: Flight 93 over Shanksville, PA was reported to have been flying upside down, meaning the
pilot, for some reason, retained control and inverted the aircraft which is specifically why it was shot down]
That none of the four pilots executed such a maneuver points toward the fact that none of them had
control of their aircraft, but had been overridden by an outside force, which was flying them by remote
control. As an old and not so bold pilot, I became more convinced that the four commercial jets were
choreographed by a “conductor” from a central source, namely an airborne warning and control system
(AWACS). They have the electronic capability to engage several aircraft simultaneously, knock out their
on-board flight controls by EMP (electro-magnetic pulsing) and assume command and remote control of
these targeted aircraft. As we consider all the options — and enemies — who performed this act of war,
whether from China, Russia, Israel, an Islamic country, or from NATO, we must also consider that the ene-
my may be within the gates. If so, then we are dealing with high treason.
Is There A China - Israel Connection?
Under a heading “High-Powered Microwave Weapons” (Regnery Publishing 1999), reported the authors
of Red Dragon Rising, high-powered microwave weapons (sometimes known as radio frequency weap-
ons) which China (the PLA) calls the ‘superstars’ of warfare, represent the new armaments that may
define twenty-first century warfare. These very dangerous weapons can jam electronic equipment by
emitting an extremely powerful pulse of electromagnetic energy over a wide area, or their energy can
be focused in a narrow beam for use against American satellites or commercial airliners. In that startling
and factual work, the authors highlight the exceptional efforts on the part of the PLA to acquire the lat-
est hi-tech data from the United States, especially for the “superstars of radio frequency and electro-mag-
netic pulse weaponry.” In their chapter on “Targeting America”, the authors refer to a bipartisan Cox-Dicks
Committee given the task to investigate “U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial concerns with
the Peoples Republic of China”.
They point out that the Clinton administration changed the export control regulations (Jan 1996) and
that by the end of 1998 the PRC had 600 American super computers. In 1997-98 the Congressional Joint
Economic Committee held hearings on “Radio Frequency Weapons and Proliferation: Potential Impact
on the Economy”. Several experts appearing before the Committee warned that these weapons pose
a distinct threat to the United States. It was revealed during the hearings that China (PLA) has had a
high-powered microwave weapon program for 25 years under the direction of one of many Chinese
students educated at Berkeley over the years. The key statement was that the PLA has access to Amer-
ican research -- “through espionage”.
Let’s fast-forward to 1999 and to a New York Times Op Ed piece by A. M. Rosenthal (22 Oct 1999), in which
he described the long-secret arms deals between Israel and Red China. He was the managing editor of the
New York Times for 15 years prior to that article appearing and a dedicated supporter of Israel. However,
as a result of that article, he was fired. The title of his Op Ed was “The Deadly Cargo”, and the lead sets the
theme: “More often now, the special cargo arrives in China from Israel — files from Israeli military computers,
crates with the makings of missiles and other weapons, and the men in the lab coats, the engineers and scien-
tists who know how to put it all together ...”
And now I see the Chinese minister of defense, who is one of the ranking Tiananmen killers, visits Israel. I
read obsequious Israeli speeches praising him and his government. The two countries talk openly about
bigger arms deals in the making. I learn that the Chinese have knit together Russian and Israeli special-
ties. The Russians are converting Ilyushin planes into the framework of U.S.-type flying command posts
(AWACS) and will ship them to Israel. In an astounding interview by Tom Valentine (24 Oct 1999) on Radio
Free America with Andrew St. George the two developed the emerging scandal of Israel’s secret arms deal
with Red China. They referred to the Cox Committee hearings and stated that “unfortunately , the official
Cox ‘investigation’ into China’s capture of American technology covered up Israel’s involvement.”
Valentine stressed that the Reagan administration allowed the trade to escalate in the 1980s, with the
help and encouragement of such officials as Richard Perle, Stephen Bryen, Fred Ickle and Paul Wolfowitz.
“They were the kingpins of the Defense Department in the Reagan years.”
In case you missed it, they came back as key advisers to President Bush II; in fact, the leading war hawk
pressing for our armed forces to go to war against the Muslim World is the Deputy Secretary of Defense,
Paul Wolfowitz. We are being deluged by the current crop of Israel Firsters, all shouting “It’s time to declare
war”. and “First war of 21st Century” ( Alan Dershowitz on CNN - William Kristol, Washington Times - Leonard
Piekoff, Washington Post)), and former Israeli prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, appearing before the
U.S. Congress.
Quo Vadis? (Whither Goest?)
To better grasp where we are heading (other than to the Khyber Pass), we can dip back to recent history
(Vietnam, Korea, Desert Storm, Kosovo) to get a better focus of the direction we are going, even though
no commander-in-chief has yet to define the specific enemy.
“Terrorism Is Like Sin; Everybody Is Agin’it.”
To those of us who have actually engaged an enemy (often contrived) on the battlefield, and/or who have
arm-chaired other wars from a vantage point, say, the E-Ring of the Pentagon, the pomposity and solem-
nity and the speechifying of our fearless politicians, as well as their favorite talking heads on the idiot box,
is eerily familiar. It is in fact déja vous all over again. Once again, we will rely on “perpetual war for perpetual
peace” to bring us out of the abyss of a major financial collapse. We either turn out the Barbarians Inside
the Gates, or we prepare for the long dark night of no return. There is no longer a third option.
It’s Curtain Call At The Little Theater Off Times Square ... Be There!
Donn de Grand Pre, a retired Army colonel, is the author of A Window on America, Confessions of an Arms Ped-
dler and his latest, Barbarians Inside the Gates.
the flash
the crash
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 Bush To Increase Federal Role In Security At Airports
September 27th, 2001
The troops will be stationed at airport metal detectors and machines screening carry-on luggage.
“Some airports already meet high standards, and you all know that,” Mr. Bush told a cheer-
ing crowd of thousands of airline pilots, flight attendants and other workers outside
a hangar at O’Hare International Airport here. “But for those airports that need
help, we will work with the governors to provide security measures, visible se-
curity measures, so the traveling public will know that we are serious about
airline safety in America.”
But the use of National Guard troops is intended to be only
a temporary measure until the federal government estab-
lishes what a Bush administration official described as a
new agency to oversee all domestic airport security. The
agency would take over supervision of the 28,000 work-
ers nationwide who screen passengers and baggage
at airports. It would contract out the work to private
companies. The airlines now hire the contractors.
The official said the new approach would give the
“... and new
government more control over training, perfor-
mance standards, wages and benefits. He added technology,
that the government would not necessarily hire probably
the lowest bidder, as the airlines do now, but the
far in the future,
company offering the best security. The adminis-
tration official said it was not certain whether the allowing air traffic
new airline security office would be part of the controllers to
homeland security office that the president an-
land distressed
nounced. The official could not say whether the
government would hire more than the existing planes by
28,000 workers or whether they would be paid remote
better than the minimum wage. Critics of airline
control.”
security workers have long said that the low pay
keeps away the best workers.
In addition, the president said he would give grants
to airlines to allow them to develop stronger cockpit
doors and transponders that cannot be switched off from
the cockpit. Government grants would also be available to
pay for video monitors that would be placed in the cockpit
to alert pilots to trouble in the cabin; and new technology,
probably far in the future, allowing air traffic controllers to
land distressed planes by remote control. Transponders, which
allow air traffic controllers to track aircraft, were switched off in some
cases in the Sept. 11 hijackings. Mr. Bush also said his administration had
ordered what he described as a major increase in the number of armed, plain-
clothes sky marshals on planes, although he would not provide numbers. The official
said that the administration would work with Congress on the new security agency, and
that establishing it would probably take four to six months. Until the agency is established, Mr. Bush made it clear
that he wanted the presence of the uniformed National Guardsmen at an estimated cost to the federal government
of $150 million to serve as a powerful psychological tool to get Americans back on airplanes. The troops, to be
trained in baggage and passenger screening by the Federal Aviation Administration over three or four days, would
augment, rather than replace, airport security personnel. How much additional security the National Guard troops
will add to commercial airports is an open question. Since the September 11th hijacking of four
jetliners, airports have on their own increased security, using local police, state troopers or
sheriffs’ deputies who stand by screening machines and metal detectors often with
little or nothing to do in half-filled airports. The administration official said the
National Guard troops also would not operate the screening machinery.
“Basically they’ll be standing there watching and making sure everybody
is operating in a safe way,” the administration official said. The an-
nouncement of enhanced security measures is the Bush admin-
istration’s latest effort to give a boost to the aviation industry,
which has been economically battered by the falloff in rider-
ship since the suicide hijackings. On September 21st, Con-
gress approved a $15 billion bailout package for the air-
lines. Mr. Bush also said he was setting aside $3 billion
for aviation security, which is to pay for the measures
he announced today. The White House, which rapid-
ly assembled its airline security plan as the nation’s
airlines were losing hundreds of millions of dollars
a week, did not offer a specific picture of how a
new airline security agency would work. The ad-
ministration official who briefed reporters in Chi-
cago, for example, described the security orga-
nization as either an agency or an authority and
said that it had not been determined whether it
would be part of an existing agency or cabinet
department. Although the president’s speech
today was intended to buttress a gasping indus-
try the Air Transport Association, the industry’s
trade association, quickly praised the measures
as an “aggressive aviation security plan” Mr. Bush
also was working hard as a cheerleader rallying
Americans to travel again. “Get on the airlines, get
about the business of America!” Mr. Bush shouted into
a brilliant Chicago morning as commercial airplanes
roared regularly overhead. The president was flanked
by two airplanes on the tarmac, one from United, the
other American. Two of the hijacked airlines were United,
and two were American. Mr. Bush spoke about his war on
terrorism, which he said took many forms.
The US military could pilot full-sized Boeing aircraft by remote con-
trol as early as 1984 ... we could taxi, take off, fly, land and we could
even crash these planes ... the QRS-11 Gyrochip was designed specifically
to prevent hijackings ... we could lock-out pilots and land their distressed and
hijacked planes ... what’s up with that 2001 statement to the media? Surely our
president was well informed regarding Boeing hijack-safety features?
CHAPTER fIVE
radiation, everything multiple myeloma,
the children of Chornobyl
and the Chornobyl cover-up,
the low dose issue, beryllium
radiation Tactical mini-nukes
have been deployed worldwide
for over a decade now.
 Are Myeloma and Leukemia The Same?
THERE ARE OVER 1000
Conventional Points Of Distinction Between Myeloma and Leukemia
RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES
1. Type of infiltration (whether circumscribed or diffuse). It has been maintained that whereas multiple myeloma produces circumscribed tumor masses, leukemia is charac-
terized by generalized diffuse infiltration of marrow. YET THE MEDIA ONLY

2. Bone destruction. The distinction made here is that multiple myeloma is characterized by the presence of multiple punched out areas of bone destruction, while in leuke- DISCUSSES THREE —
mia the infiltrative process in the bone marrow does not as a rule erode the bone cortex.
URANIUM, PLUTONIUM
3. Visceral involvement. It has been contended that in contradistinction to the myelomatous proliferation which was held to be typically limited to the osseous system, the
leukemic infiltration exceeds as a rule the boundaries of bone marrow and is found in visceral organs as well. AND CESIUM. WHY?

4. Invasion of peripheral blood. While leukemia is manifested, at least at some stage of its evolution, by massive invasion of the peripheral blood by the leukemic cells of the
bone marrow, the myeloma cells, it has been maintained, do not pass into circulation.
TO ALLEVIATE FEAR
5. Biochemical characteristics. Multiple myeloma is associated with abnormalities in protein metabolism manifested in Bence-Jones proteinuria and hyperproteinemia with
hyperglobulinemia. On the other hand, abnormal chemical metabolism in leukemia is manifested mainly in increased basal metabolic rate and elevated uric acid of the
BECAUSE THERE ARE
blood.
OVER 1000 MORE
6. Age incidence. It has been pointed out that while leukemia has been observed at all ages, including infancy, multiple myeloma is a disease of the middle
RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES
and older age groups.
THAT CAUSE SEVERE
7. Symptomatology. Bone lesions are the main basis of the clinical picture in multiple myeloma, while symptoms in leukemia are mainly
due to involvement of hematopoitic and visceral organs. HUMAN HARM FOR
Each of these points in the differential diagnosis between multiple myeloma and leukemia will be discussed. Evidence CENTURIES — 100s
will be brought to show that the listed points of distinction between multiple myeloma and leukemia cannot be
regarded as being of fundamental nature; i.e., there is no sharp demarcation line between the two diseases. OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS —
Instances are abstracted where cases of multiple myeloma show the various characteristics of leukemia
and vice versa. AND BECAUSE YOU
Based on this data we’ll continue with this report under the assumption that Myeloma CAN’T FEAR
and Leukemia are very much very similar diseases, with varying manifestations
but with the same or similar causation ­— when humans have contact with WHAT YOU DON’T
radiation. It can be stated that radiation is a causal factor in both ill-
nesses and that both illnesses are quite similar in the resulting KNOW ABOUT ...
radiation exposure symptoms.

MANY RADIOACTIVE EVENTS RELEASE

OVER 1000 RADIOACTIVE ISOTOPES.
RADIOACTIVE LANTHANUM-137 HAS A HALF-LIFE
OF 60,000 YEARS AND THE HALF-LIFE OF
VANADIUM-50 HAS TOO MANY ZEROS TO
FIT IN THIS SPACE.
THE MEDIA LIES
BY OMITTING CRITICAL FACTS
THE MEDIA NEVER MENTIONS THESE ISOTOPES.
 Mainstream Media • Lies By Omission
Some Of The Radioactive Poisons Resulting From Various Types Of Nuclear Reactions

adioactiv
lement
NAME HALF-LIFE NAME HALF-LIFE

Hydrogen-3 (tritium) 12 years Rhenium-187 50 thousand million years

Beryllium-10 1 million 600 thousand years Lead-205 14 million 300 thousand years
Carbon-14 5 thousand 700 years Lead-210 22 years
Silicon-32 500 years Bismuth-208 400 thousand years
Phosphorus-32 14 days Bismuth-210 5 days
Potassium-40 1 thousand million years Bismuth-210m 3 million years
Calcium-42 14 thousand years Polonium-210 138 days
Iron-55 3 years Radon-222 4 days
Cobalt-60 5 years Radon-223 11 days
Nickel-59 75 thousand years Radium-224 37 days
Nickel-63 10 years Radium-225 14 days
Selenium-79 65 thousand years Radium-226 1 thousand 600 years
Krypton-81 200 thousand years Radium-228 6 years
Krypton-83 10 years Actinium-225 10 days
Rubidium-87 47 thousand million years Actinium-227 22 years
Strontium-90 29 years Thorium-227 19 days
Yttrium-90 2 days Thorium-228 2 years
Zirconium-93 1 million 500 thousand years Thorium-229 7 thousand 300 years
Niobium-93m 14 years Thorium-230 77 thousand years
Niobium-94 20 thousand years Thorium-231 1 day
Molybdenum-93 3 thousand 500 years Thorium-232 14 thousand million years
Technetium-99 200 thousand years Thorium-234 24 days
Ruthenium-106 1 year Protactinium-231 32 thousand 800 years
Palladium-107 6 million 500 thousand years Protactinium-233 27 days
Cadmium-113m 14 years Protactinium-234 27 days
Tin-126 100 thousand years Uranium-232 72 years
Antimony-125 3 years Uranium-233 200 thousand years
Antimony-126 12 days Uranium-234 200 thousand years
Tellurium-125m 58 days Uranium-235 700 million years
Iodine-129 15 million 700 thousand years Uranium-236 23 million years
Cesium-134 2 years Uranium-238 4 thousand million years
Cesium-135 2 million 300 thousand years Neptunium-237 2 million years
Cesium-137 30 years Plutonium-238 88 years
Cerium-144 3 hundred days Plutonium-239 24 thousand 100 years
Promethium-147 3 years Plutonium-240 6 thousand 500 years
Europium-154 9 years Plutonium-241 14 years
Europium-155 5 years Plutonium-242 400 thousand years
Hafnium-182 9 million years Americium-241 400 years
Tantalum-182 1 hundred days Americium-242m 100 years
Curium-244 18 years

Source: Appendix of the Atomic Energy Of Canada Limited’s Environmental Impact Statement On Used Nuclear Fuel
The Uranium-238 Decay Process
Atomic Trail of Tears
by Vincent L. Guarisco
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Life is a journey, not a destination.”
This remarkable information is paramount for waking people up to the danger of radiation exposure. Jeff
Prager is a true American patriot for publishing this comprehensive book. My father, Anthony Guarisco, is a
World War II and Korea Navy Combat Veteran who founded and directed
the International Alliance of Atomic Veterans (IAAV) with the Alliance
of Atomic Veterans (AAV) here in the United States.
And, I suspect if Emerson were with us today and was forced to walk a
mile or more in my father’s shoes, he would probably say, “Life is a hor-
ror show, with no end in sight.”
For this extraordinary man struggled relentlessly his entire life to ex-
pose the callousness of the military industrial complex and to give
bone-chilling details about our cold-war history.
Anthony’s life is a virtual “X-Files” story replete with betrayal, courage
and sheer determination to change the U.S. Government’s wicked
ways. It is a portrayal of a family’s brave quest that overcame CIA in-
filtrations, death threats and vast political challenges that included -
making public one of the biggest smoking guns against the nuclear
industry – the papers of the late Colonel Stafford L. Warren, chief of the
Radiological Safety Section during Operation Crossroads.
The journey has been long and winding, mostly uphill and, more times
than not, painfully arduous for Anthony and for the 42,000 fellow nu-
clear fallout victims who were unfortunate enough to be used as guin-
ea pigs at Bikini Atoll in July 1946 when the U.S. Government unleashed 1955 A-Bomb Test in Nevada
radiological hell over the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific with two
atomic bombs, each twice the size of those ruthlessly dropped on Japan just a year before.
Just a month before the incineration of Japan – on July 16, 1945 – the United States catapulted the world
into the nuclear age with its test of the “Trinity,” a plutonium bomb exploded over New Mexico’s Alamogordo
Bombing Range dubbed “Jornada del Muerto,” or “Journey of Death,” 210 miles south of Los Alamos.
According to the government account...
“... the device exploded over the New Mexico desert, vaporizing the tower and turning the asphalt around the base
of the tower to green sand. Seconds after the explosion came a huge blast wave and heat searing out across the
desert. No one could see the radiation generated by the explosion, but they all knew it was there . . . As the orange
and yellow fireball stretched up and spread, a second column, narrower than the first, rose and flattened into a
mushroom shape, thus providing the atomic age with a visual image that has become imprinted on the human
consciousness as a symbol of power and awesome destruction.”
The United States embarked on its own journey of death with Trinity, followed by the monstrous “Little Boy”
and “Fat Man” of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – which effectively ended the war but left in its wake millions slaugh-
tered, maimed, poisoned – burned to a crisp. What a rush! Had the genie begged to be put back in the bottle
at this point, he would have been refused. We held the fate of the universe in our hands! We could determine
the road map for the world’s people – determine who lived or died. Who needed God?
Although Anthony was on site at the Bikini Atoll for Operation Crossroads, years later he admitted that, in Au-
gust 1945 after those in power ripped open the universe and the poisonous mushroom clouds subsided, for
him at least, there was nothing on the other side.
“I was raised a strict Catholic, but I lost my faith in God after the bombing of
Japan,” Anthony admitted sadly. “I didn’t believe a Jesus or a God could
allow any man to have something so horrible that could do what they did
over there in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
Operation Crossroads was sold to the public as merely a “test” to deter-
mine the effect an atomic bomb would have on enemy ships and forc-
es, and a target fleet of both US and foreign ships were brought into
the lagoon. It was a gala event, with hordes of media, Congress mem-
bers and government officials out in force, but at a safe distance of
20 miles. Not so for the American servicemen who watched from nine
miles (or less) offshore, tinted goggles their only protection and, within
hours of the blast, were sent to ground zero to record the damage. That
damage is still rampant, not only for those drenched with radioactive
waste from the 1946 operation, but from ensuing nuclear atmospheric
and underground tests for nearly 50 years wherein hundreds of bombs
were “tested.”
Sadly, my father never took up religion again. Except for the religious
fervor with which both he and Mary, my mother – after founding IAAV
– for the rest of their lives screamed into the vacuum in an effort to
awaken a slumbering public to the impending universal disaster. It
was a journey that pitted them against some of the strongest entities
known to man – an effort that, in the long run, resulted in helping mil-
lions of human beings globally.
As an old Indian wise man once said, “something lives only as long as the last person who remembers it. My people
have come to trust memory over history. Memory, like fire, is radiant and immutable, while history serves only those
who seek to control it. Those who would douse the flame of memory, in order to put out the dangerous fire of truth,
beware of these men...for they are dangerous themselves and unwise. Their false history is written in the blood of
those who might remember...and of those who seek the truth.”
My mother passed away peacefully in her sleep in May 2007. My father, still alive but suffering from severe
Alzheimer’s, is no longer tortured by pain or the memories that tore at him throughout his life. I have learned
many things from my father over the years, perhaps the most important is that we all must walk the road
upon which we find ourselves. I fervently hope this book will reach those who might make a difference in the
suicidal direction this nation is traveling.
Because Emerson also said, “Men walk as prophecies of the next age.”
The Prophecy That Nuclear Testing On Civilians Continues ... Like A Bomb Shelter
By Jeff Prager
Like a bomb shelter conceals and protects us, the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), works just as hard to conceal and
protect data and distort perceptions as it does to hide the results
of findings related to Chernobyl, Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Fukushima,
3-Mile Island and other radiation events. Protecting humanity from
the truth about the devastating health effects that atomic energy
in all its forms is responsible for is the IAEA agenda. The mutagenic,
teratogenic, carcinogenic default is hidden from view.

The public simply doesn’t read this type of material. If they did,
they would understand that the industry dollars, the nuclear ener-
gy industry dollars that are at stake here dictate opinions; and they
would understand that just as Big Pharma and the ‘too big to fail’
banks have managed to usurp their power and gain far more actu-
al control of social issues then they ever deserved, so too has the
nuclear energy industry through the IAEA, the military industrial
complex and the power generation industry. There’s also a rather
large medical nuclear industry involved in various sorts of medical
imaging. They all have money, big money, at stake. Like everything
else these issues surrounding radiation are nuanced and filled with
subtle shades of gray and they can be painted light or dark gray and
all shades in between depending upon who’s holding the brush. Of
course the media plays its part.

The real truth is that radiation has a dramatic effect on the human
body; an effect often not seen for many years. Yes, there is an im-
mediate effect when the dose is high enough and we see this in the
1,003 dead 9/11 Rescue Workers as of 2011 but the real horror is in
the many, many 1000s more who will succumb to an early and hor-
ribly painful death directly related to the events that occurred on
9/11. These are the “low dose” survivors, the still living, still breath-
ing, survivors. These are your friends, your relatives and your neigh-
bors. When they die they may not attribute their illnesses to 9/11,
but I will. And so will some of you reading here now. When nuclear
events occur across the world, some of us will recognize them for
the disaster for the survival of global humanity that they really are.

There is no such thing as a “safe” level of absorbed radiation.

They may tell us there is, but the peer reviewed reports
herein prove there is not.
 What Is Radiation?
In general, the following kinds of radiation are evaluated for purposes of radiation protection: alpha
rays, beta rays, gamma rays, X rays, and neutrons. Brief definitions of these follow:
Alpha Rays
A particle ray consisting of two protons and two neutrons (namely, a nucleus of helium). Alpha rays are
produced following spontaneous decay of certain radioactive atoms, such as radium, plutonium, urani-
um, and radon. Because of its large mass and positive charge, an alpha ray can usually pass only a short
distance--less than 1 mm ­­— in water. A single piece of paper can stop an alpha ray effectively. Therefore,
health effects of alpha-ray exposures appear only when alpha-emitting materials are ingested (i.e., in-
ternal exposure).
Beta Rays
A particle ray consisting of a fast electron whose mass is nearly 1/2000th of the mass of a proton or
neutron. Beta rays are produced following spontaneous decay of certain radioactive materials, such as
tritium (an isotope of hydrogen), carbon-14, phosphorus-32, and strontium-90. Depending on its ener-
gy (i.e., speed), a beta ray can traverse different distances in water — less than 1 mm for tritium to nearly
1 cm for phosphorus-32. As with alpha rays, the major concern for health effects is after their ingestion
(i.e., internal exposure).
Gamma Rays
An electromagnetic wave, a gamma ray is similar to ordinary visible light but differs in energy or wave-
length. Sunlight consists of a mixture of electromagnetic rays of various wavelengths, from the longest,
infrared, through red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, to the shortest in wavelength, ul-
traviolet. A gamma ray’s wavelength is far shorter than ultraviolet (i.e., it is far higher in energy). Gamma
rays are produced following spontaneous decay of radioactive materials, such as cobalt-60 and cesi-
um-137. A cobalt-60 gamma ray can penetrate deeply into the human body, so it has been widely used
for cancer radiotherapy.
X Rays
X rays have the same characteristics as gamma rays, although they are produced differently. When high-
speed electrons hit metals, electrons are stopped and release energy in the form of an electromagnetic
wave. This was first observed by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895, who considered it a mysterious ray, and thus
called it an X ray. X rays consist of a mixture of different wavelengths, whereas gamma-ray energy has a
fixed value (or two) characteristic to the radioactive material.
Neutrons
Neutron particles are released following nuclear fission (splitting of an atomic nucleus producing large
amounts of energy) of uranium or plutonium. In fact, it is neutrons that trigger the nuclear chain reac-
tion to explode an atomic bomb. The human body contains a large amount of hydrogen (a constituent
of water molecules that occupy 70% of the human body), and when neutrons hit the nucleus of hydro-
gen, i.e., a proton that is positively charged, the proton causes ionizations in the body, leading to various
types of damage. At equivalent absorbed doses, neutrons can cause more severe damage to the body
than gamma rays. (Neutrons hardly damage cells because they do not carry any electrical charge.)
Background Radiation
In our daily life, we are exposed to various types of naturally occurring radiation from cosmic
rays, from radioactive substances in the earth, and from naturally occurring radiation in our
bodies. This is commonly referred to as background radiation. The combined annual dose
from these sources is thought to range from 0.001 to 0.003 sievert (or from 1 to 3 millisievert
[mSv]).
Figure. Annual background radiation doses in the United States
In addition, the same level of radiation is thought to be received annually from radon, but
the amount varies considerably depending on the geographic area and the type of building.
The radiation dose from chest radiography is a fraction of the annual naturally occurring
background radiation dose, and the dose from fluoroscopy of the stomach is, at most, 0.05 Sv
on the skin of the back.
Shown in the figure above are the average annual radiation doses received per capita in the
United States from naturally occurring and man-made sources of radioactivity. The total year-
ly dose is approximately 0.0036 Sv (3.6 mSv).
References About This Subject:
1. United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation. Annex E: Medical
radiation exposures. In Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation, p 249, 1993. New York, UN.
2. US National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, NCRP Report No. 93, pp
53-55, 1987. Bethesda, Maryland, USA, NCRP.
Essentially, radiation and measuring radiation are not quite as simple as we think. People have
asked me, “why can’t we go to New York and measure for radiation?” and they’ve also stated, “if
there were radiation in New York on 911 it would have been measured.” The nuclear devices used
on September 11th, 2001, were of a type that produce no or little radiation or a radiation of a
type we’re less familiar with — there are over 1000 different radioactive isotopes. It’s just not
as simple as grabbing a Geiger counter. There are numerous different types of Geiger count-
ers and they’re used to measure a wide variety of radioactive isotopes. One would first have
to know what type of isotopes we’re measuring and then which style of Geiger counter to
bring. Having said that, any radiation would have only been detectable for 4-5 days at most.
 How Radiation Affects Cells
Ionizing radiation is energy transmitted via X rays, gamma rays, beta particles
(high-speed electrons), alpha particles (the nucleus of the helium atom), neutrons,
protons, and other heavy ions such as the nuclei of argon, nitrogen, carbon, and
other elements. X rays and gamma rays are electromagnetic waves like light, but
their energy is much higher than that of light (their wavelengths are much short-
er). Ultraviolet (UV) light is a radiation of intermediate energy that can damage
cells (the well known sunburn), but UV light differs from the forms of electromag-
netic radiation mentioned above in that it does not cause ionization (loss of an
electron) in atoms or molecules, but rather excitation (change in energy level of an
electron). The other forms of radiation — particles — are either negatively charged
(electrons), positively charged (protons, alpha rays, and other heavy ions), or elec-
trically neutral (neutrons).
Ionization
As an example of ionization, beta rays are fast electrons that lose energy as they pass
through cells and interact with molecules. The transferred energy is high enough to
disrupt chemical bonds, which results in radical formation (or ionization). Ioniza-
tion differs from the ion formation that occurs in ordinary chemical reactions. The
process that takes place when salt (sodium chloride, NaCl) is dissolved in water is a
good example of an ordinary reaction. Sodium and chloride bind together because,
separately, each atom is unstable. The sodium (Na) atom has only one electron in
its outermost orbit, and loss of that electron makes it more stable. In contrast, the
chloride (Cl) atom has seven electrons in its outermost orbit and gaining one elec-
tron to have a full complement of eight outer electrons makes it more stable. When
the two atoms bind to form NaCl, sodium shares its single outer electron with chlo-
ride, and so, both are stable. In ordinary chemical reactions, such as the binding of
Na to Cl, electrons that are lost or gained are always those on the outermost orbit.
When NaCl is dissolved in water, the two atoms separate, with chloride keeping the
extra outer electron; thus, the sodium has a net positive charge (hence Na+) and the
chloride has a net negative charge (hence Cl-), but the net charge (balance between
positive and negative) remains neutral. These charged atoms are called ions, and
they are stable in water despite their electrical charges.
In contrast, when an electron passes through a cell, it releases its energy along its
path (called a track) by interacting with the electrons of nearby molecules. The
released energy is absorbed by atoms near the track, resulting in either excitation
(a shift in the orbit of an electron to a higher energy level) or ionization (release of
an electron from the atom). What differs from an ordinary chemical reaction is that
when radiation donates energy to atoms or molecules, electrons other than those
on the most outer orbit can be released, which makes the atoms very unstable.
Such unstable atoms are called radicals and are chemically very reactive. Some
radicals are so reactive that they exist only for as short a time as a microsecond.
X and gamma rays differ from beta particles in that they release high-speed elec-
trons from atoms first. Positively charged particles transfer energy to molecules in
cells by essentially the same mechanisms. Neutrons are somewhat different since they
are electrically uncharged, and their main effect is to impact the nuclei of hydrogen at-
oms, namely protons. Since the masses of a neutron and a proton are similar, the impact
results in an elastic scattering process like in billiards. The ejected protons behave as
charged particles.
How Ionizations Affect Cells
Radiation-induced ionizations may act directly on the cellular component molecules or
indirectly on water molecules, causing water-derived radicals. Radicals react with near-
by molecules in a very short time, resulting in breakage of chemical bonds or oxidation
(addition of oxygen atoms) of the affected molecules. The major effect in cells is DNA
breaks. Since DNA consists of a pair of complementary double strands, breaks of either a
single strand or both strands can occur. However, the latter is believed to be much more
important biologically. Most single-strand breaks can be repaired normally thanks to
the double-stranded nature of the DNA molecule (the two strands complement each
other, so that an intact strand can serve as a template for repair of its damaged, opposite
strand). In the case of double-strand breaks, however, repair is more difficult and errone-
ous rejoining of broken ends may occur. These so-called mis-repairs result in induction
of mutations, chromosome aberrations, or cell death.
Characteristics Of DNA Damage By Radiation Exposure
Deletion of DNA segments is the predominant form of radiation damage in cells that
survive irradiation. It may be caused by (1) mis-repair of two separate double-strand
breaks in a DNA molecule with joining of the two outer ends and loss of the fragment
between the breaks or (2) the process of cleaning (enzyme digestion of nucleotides –
the component molecules of DNA) of the broken ends before rejoining to repair one
double-strand break.
Biological Effects Differ By Type Of Radiation
Radiations differ not only by their constituents (electrons, protons, neutrons, etc.) but
also by their energy. Radiations that cause dense ionization along their track (such as
neutrons) are called high-linear-energy-transfer (high-LET) radiation, a physical param-
eter to describe average energy released per unit length of the track. Low-LET radiations
produce ionizations only sparsely along their track and, hence, almost homogeneously
within a cell. Radiation dose is the amount of energy per unit of biological material (e.g.,
number of ionizations per cell). Thus, high-LET radiations are more destructive to bio-
logical material than low-LET radiations – such as X and gamma rays – because at the
same dose, the low-LET radiations induce the same number of radicals more sparsely
within a cell, whereas the high-LET radiations – such as neutrons and alpha particles
– transfer most of their energy to a small region of the cell. The localized DNA damage
caused by dense ionizations from high-LET radiations is more difficult to repair than the
diffuse DNA damage caused by the sparse ionizations from low-LET radiations.
 Early Effects On Survivors
• Within several months to several years after the atomic bombings •
Early effects include various acute radiation symptoms. Information on these symptoms was obtained by interviewing more
than 100,000 atomic-bomb survivors primarily from 1956 to 1961. Among the acute radiation symptoms recalled by sur-
vivors, epilation (hair loss) is regarded as the most reliably reported. That is, it is considered to be more objectively remem-
bered than other symptoms, such as vomiting, bleeding from the gums, diarrhea, and purpura, a rash of purple spots on the
skin caused by internal bleeding from small blood vessels.
In general, acute radiation symptoms do not appear at low-dose radiation exposures, giving rise to a concept known as a
threshold dose. That is, below a certain radiation dose, no acute symptoms occur. This is in contrast to a theory known as the
linear dose-response relationship, which is illustrated by malignant diseases, one of the most well established late effects of
radiation exposure. This concept implies that the higher the radiation dose, the greater the risk of developing a malignancy.
This does not mean low dose will not cause malignancy. Perhaps just the opposite. We’re learning, slowly, that even low
dose radiation exposure may lead to early onset cancers and many other related disorders.
The children no longer swim at Chernobyl. They don’t laugh either. There is no sound anymore. Just the wind.
Acute Radiation Syndrome
Illnesses collectively called “acute radiation syndrome” occur within a few hours
to months after exposure to high-dose radiation (from approximately 1-2 Gy to
10 Gy). The principal signs and symptoms include vomiting within a few hours,
followed within days to weeks by diarrhea, reduced blood cell counts, bleeding,
hair loss (epilation), and temporary male sterility. Diarrhea results from damage
to cells lining the intestines, reduction in blood cells from death of hematopoiet-
ic stem cells in bone marrow, and bleeding from declining blood platelets gen-
erated from such stem cells. Hair is lost due to damage to hair-root cells. Hairs do
not fall out but rather become thinner and eventually break off. Sterility occurs
in men from damage to sperm-generating stem cells.
Except for vomiting, these signs and symptoms are closely related to frequency
of cell division, rapid cell division being more sensitive to radiation than slow
division (e.g., muscle and nerve cells). If the radiation dose is low, the syndrome
will seldom if ever occur. Conversely, if the dose is high, death can occur within
10 to 20 days after exposure due to severe intestinal damage, or subsequently
within one or two months, mostly from bone marrow failure.
The Figure below shows the relation of severe epilation (loss of more than 2/3
of scalp hair) to radiation dose. Although there is only a small effect up to 1 Gy,
epilation increases sharply with dose thereafter. (Above 5 Gy, the declining fre-
quency probably reflects overestimation of dose.)
 Acute Death Due To Radiation

The probability of dying directly from radiation exposure depends on the dose re-
ceived. A commonly used index is the dose at which 50% of a population dies (LD50
= 50% lethal dose). Acute death is defined as death within about two months of
exposure. At the LD50 level, bleeding and infection due to immunodeficiency re-
sulting from bone marrow depletion are the main causes of death. Recovery from
such depletion sufficient to prevent death usually occurs within two months.

Early estimates from survivor interviews measured the LD50 in terms of the dis-
tance from the hypo-center at which 50% of people survived: 1,000 to 1,200 me-
ters in Hiroshima and 1,000 to 1,300 meters in Nagasaki. Dose estimation was not
possible at that time because of insufficient shielding information. Later analyses
of extensive records at RERF were able to make estimates of shielding and to cal-
culate that a bone marrow dose of 2.7 to 3.1 Gy caused 50% mortality within 60
days (with the new DS02 dosimetry system, the corresponding doses would be
2.9 to 3.3 Gy). The data came from about 7,600 survivors in 2,500 households ex-
posed inside Japanese houses located within 1,600 meters of the hypo-center in
Hiroshima. Survivors inside Japanese houses received special scrutiny because the
homogeneity of such housing structures allowed better estimation of individual
radiation doses. The closer one was to the hypo-center, however, the higher the
radiation dose received and the more severe the effects of blast and heat in terms
of destruction of houses and subsequent fires. It was thus impossible to classify
deaths that occurred within a few weeks after the bombings as due to radiation,
injuries, or burns. To avoid deaths from injuries and burns, the RERF analyses there-
fore focused mainly on delayed deaths; such deaths peaked at about one month
after exposure.

Based on this information from A-bomb survivors, together with other informa-
tion from cases involving exposure to accidental radiation or radiation therapy,
the United Nations’ Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation has
estimated the bone marrow LD50/60 at around 2.5 Gy when little or no medical
assistance is available and at 5 Gy or more with extensive medical care.

Reference About This Subject:

Fujita S, Kato H, Schull WJ: The LD50 associated with exposure to the atomic
bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Journal of Radiation Research (Tokyo) 1991;
32(Suppl):154-61. (A review of 45 years’ study of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atom-
ic-bomb survivors).
 Advertisement

SMERCK
Wednesday, March 03, 2010 by E. Huff

Several doctors and women’s groups in India are lambasting advertisements puts out by
drug giants GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Merck for their human papilloma virus (HPV) vac-
cine. Objecting to the claims being made that the vaccine protects against cervical cancer,
The Sama Resource Centre for Women and Health, Saheli Women’s Resource Centre, and a
group of doctors are sounding the alarm that the ads are misleading and inaccurate.

Marketed in the United States as Gardasil, the HPV vaccine is being touted by its manufac-
turers as the greatest thing since sliced bread as far as preventing cervical cancer. Even in
India, the marketing campaign for the vaccine has been so successful that pediatricians all
over the country are urging parents to have their adolescent daughters vaccinated.

Budev Chandra Das, a professor of biomedical research at Delhi University, and Dr. Sidharth
Sahni, a surgical oncology consultant at Artemis Health Institute, have both been question-
ing the legitimacy of the vaccine, noting that there are many different types of HPV that
the vaccine does not prevent and that there are other conditions that cause cervical cancer
besides HPV.

The vaccine is allegedly only effective on young girls who have never had sex, another im-
portant piece of information that doctors and researchers are saying GSK and Merck have
failed to effectively communicate. Rather than divulge the truth of the matter, the two drug
companies seem only to be interested in convincing as many people as possible to get the
vaccine.

Vani Subramaniam from the Saheli Women’s Resource Centre also pointed out that the
drug giants have concealed the truth about the many horrific side effects caused by the
vaccine. Merck’s public list of Gardasil’s side effects include headache, fever, vomiting, faint-
ing, breathing problems, seizures, chronic fatigue, chest pains, and stomach pain, just to
name a few.

Many young women and girls in the U.S. have developed severe, debilitating conditions
after receiving their Gardasil shots. Aside from the known side effects, some girls have be-
come paralyzed while others have developed chronic illness that has left them unable to
function properly. Many girls have actually died from receiving Gardasil shots.

The harm caused by Gardasil is obscene, leaving one to wonder how such a dangerous
product can continue to be marketed and sold legally with no repercussions on the villains
who are perpetrating it on the public. Not only is the vaccine a failure at accomplishing its
stated purpose, but it continues to destroy the lives of the next generation of young girls
who receive it.
 Figure 1. Cortical opacity of lens and radiation dose
Radiation Cataracts
(lens opacity)

Radiation cataract causes partial opacity or cloudiness in the crystalline lens and
results from damaged cells covering the posterior surface of the lens. Symptoms
can appear as early as one or two years following high-dose exposure and many
years after exposure to lower doses. It is unclear how frequently radiation cata-
racts advance to severe visual impairment, although we have documented in a
recent study about a 20-30% excess at 1 Gy of cataracts that prompted cataract
surgery. A low-dose threshold may exist below which radiation cataract does not
arise, although our recent analyses suggest that there may not be a threshold,
or if one exists, it is somewhere in the range of 0 to 0.8 Gy. The excess cataracts
seen are of the types generally associated with radiation: posterior subcapsular
and cortical cataracts. Figure 1 shows the relation between radiation dose and
cortical opacity of lens.

Figure 2 describes how lens opacity is caused by radiation. There is a transparent

layer of epithelial cells on the interior frontal side of the capsule that covers the
lens. This layer maintains the function of the lens by slowly growing toward the
center, achieved through cell division at the periphery (called the equator) of
the lens. Because radiation is especially harmful to dividing cells, exposed cells
at the equator are most prone to damage. For unknown reasons, damaged cells
move toward the rear of the lens before converging on the center. Such cells
prevent light from traveling straight forward, resulting in opacity.
Figure 2. Lens opacity at the posterior subcapsular region caused by radiation
(From Effects of A-bomb Radiation on the Human Body, ed by HICARE in 1991.
References About This Subject:
Courtesy of Bunkodo Co, Ltd., Tokyo.)
1. Otake M, Schull WJ: Radiation-related posterior lenticular opacities in Hiroshi-
ma and Nagasaki atomic-bomb survivors based on the T65DR and DS86 dosim-
etry system. Radiation Research 1990; 121:3-13

2. Minamoto A, Taniguchi H, et al.: Cataract in atomic bomb survivors. Interna-

tional Journal of Radiation Biology 2004; 80:339-45

3. Nakashima E, Neriishi K, Minamoto A: A reanalysis of atomic-bomb cataract

data, 2000-2002: A threshold analysis. Health Physics 2006; 90:154-60

4. Neriishi K, Nakashima E, Minamoto A, Fujiwara S, Akahoshi M, Mishima HK,

Kitaoka T, Shore R: Postoperative cataract cases among atomic bomb survivors:
Radiation dose response and threshold. Radiation Research 2007; 168:404-8
 COUNTING THE DEAD
Chaotic conditions made accurate accounts most difficult. Some victims were vaporized instantly, many survi-
vors were horribly disfigured, and death from radiation was uncertain—it might not claim its victims for days,
weeks, months, or even years.

The initial death count in Hiroshima, set at 42,000–93,000, was based solely on the disposal of bodies, and was
thus much too low. Later surveys covered body counts, missing persons, and neighborhood surveys during
the first months after the bombing, yielding a more reliable estimate of 130,000 dead as of November 1945. A
similar survey by officials in Nagasaki set its death toll at 60,000–70,000. (Its plutonium bomb was more pow-
erful, but its destructive range was limited by surrounding hills and mountains).

Additional counts indicated high levels of short-term mortality in both cities:

• Over 90% of persons within 500 meters (1,600 ft.) of ground zero in both cities died.
• At 1.5 km (almost one mile), over 2/3 were casualties, and 1/3 died.
• Of those at a distance of 2 km (1.2 mi.), half were casualties, 10% of whom died.
• Casualties dropped to 10% at distances over 4 km (2.4 mi.).

Most persons close to ground zero who received high radiation dosages died immediately or during the first
day. One-third of all fatalities occurred by the 4th day; two-thirds by the 10th day; and 90% by the end of three
weeks.

While casualty rates exceeded death rates, they both were highest near ground zero and declined at similar
rates by increasing distance from ground zero. But the cumulative death rates (%) in both cities rose dramati-
cally during the first two weeks, then leveled off in subsequent weeks.

Relation of casualty and mortality rates to distance from ground zero.

 Injury Phases

1. First two weeks: mainly burns from rays and flames, and wounds (trauma) from blast and falling structures.
2. 3rd week through 8th week: symptoms of damages by radioactive rays, e.g., loss of hair, anemia, loss of white
cells, bleeding, diarrhea. Approximately 10% of cases in this group were fatal.

3. Third and Fourth months: “some improvement” in burn, trauma, and even radiation injuries. But then came
“secondary injuries” of disfiguration, severe scar formations (keloids), blood abnormalities, sterility (both sexes),
and psychosomatic disorders.

4. Even now, after over half a century later, many after-effects remain: leukemia, A-bomb cataracts, and cancers
of thyroid, breast, lungs, salivary glands, birth defects, including mental retardation, and fears of birth defects in
their children, plus, of course, the disfiguring keloid scars.

Stages Of A-Bomb Illness

Acute Stages

Acute stages ran overall from initial exposure to 4th month, with both primary and secondary thermal burns.
Numerous A-bomb casualties (deaths) occurred almost simultaneously with explosion, but both injury and mor-
tality rates fell with increased distance.
Marked thermal burns on soldier exposed within 1 km of ground zero.
Atomic Bomb Trauma His waist was protected by a thick waist band.
• primary injury (blast injury)

• secondary injuries sustained from flying debris, burial

under rubble, and blast compression

A-Bomb Radiation Illness

Radiation injury penetrates deeply into the human

body and injures cells, and thus molecules, resulting
in cell death, inhibited cell division, and abnormalities
of intracellular molecules and membranes. Actively
regenerating and proliferating cells are most sensi-
tive to radiation, e.g., young blood cells, lymphocytes,
spermatogonia (of testicles), follicle cells (of ovaries)
are most sensitive; next are mucosal epithelial cells of
the mouth, the esophagus, and stomach, and epitheli-
al cells of the eye lens, and cells forming the hair bulb.
(Note: epithelial tissues cover surfaces or line cavities, as
well as perform various secreting, transporting, or reg-
ulatory functions.)
Exposed skin of a woman seared by intense heat whose skin was blown away by a
fierce wave (but white blouse deflected the intense heat). Most of those suffering
severe burns over more than 20% of their bodies died on the spot or a short time
later. Fortunately, the devices used on 9/11 were markedly different using a com-
pletely different composition of elements and causing considerably less human
damage — a desireable trait in advanced 21st century nuclear weaponry.
 Radiation Blood Injury - Lethal Dosage

Severe illness occurs with 1,000 rads, causing destruction of bone marrow, marked drop in white cell counts, anemia, bleeding,
destruction of stomach and intestinal fluids (mucosa). Most victims died within 30 days. (Note: Here “rad” indicates a single unit of
absorbed radiation.)

Immediate disorientation and coma occur with 10,000 rads, and death follows within hours.

Estimated air dose of gamma rays: Hiroshima: 10,300 rads; Nagasaki: 25,100 rads.
Estimated neutron dosages: Hiroshima, 14,100 rads; Nagasaki: 3,900 rads.

Degree of shielding can reduce dosage danger.

• acute radiation illness: extensive data show relation of distance to damage.
• three main symptoms are loss of hair, spotty skin discoloration (purpura), and “acute atomic illness,” though there are many other
symptoms.

Blood Injuries

Especially damage to bone marrow and lymphatic tissue. Severe cases subjected to 450–650 rads died within 14 days. Of all blood
injuries, severe cases died within 40 days after exposure.

General Conditions Of Blood Injury The black star in the middle shows the tracks of alpha rays emitted by a particle of
plutonium 239 in the lung tissue of an ape. These rays do not travel very far, but
• From day of exposure: nausea, vomiting, general malaise. once in the body, they can penetrate more than 10,000 cells within their range.
• From 10th to 14th day: loss of hair, marked malaise, persistent fever, decrease of white blood cells, followed by anemia, decrease of This set of alpha tracks (magnified 500 times) occurred over a 48-hour period. The
blood platelets, gingivitis (bleeding gums), oropharyngitis, and skin perpura. plutonium particle that emitted them has a half-life of 24,400 years.
• In persons surviving over 20 days: drop of red cell count, but symptoms began to improve with gradual recovery of white cell and
platelet counts.

Secondary Radiation Illness

People beyond the direct effects of primary radiation (near ground zero) suffered effects of radioactivity in fallout. Actual numbers
are unknown, but besides local residents, affected persons included relief and first-aid teams. One survey lists 57,839 early entrants
and 9,184 engaged in rescue activity for Hiroshima, and respective numbers of 21,315 and 3,035 for Nagasaki.

Unhealed Scars

Persons who suffered thermal burns within 1.0 to 2.0 kilometers of ground zero suffered serious flame and contact burns in addition
to moderate flash burns, which resulted in marked scar formation.

The majority of thermal injuries within 2.0–3.0 km of ground zero were flash burns that left simple, thin scars at first. But the flash-
burn scars altered markedly by thickening to become keloids after 3 to 4 months.

Keloids

Keloid is an overgrowth of scar tissue on the wound surface of a thermal burn during the reparative stage. It forms an irregularly
shaped protrusion that resembles the shell and legs of a crab, thus the term “keloid” (from Greek for crab), in contrast to a simple
heaping up of scar tissue (hypertrophic scar). The latter is usually caused by a secondary burn, and a keloid results from a primary
thermal burn. Plastic surgery was performed on many to remove keloid scars, though recurrence of these scars was not uncommon.
Keloid scars on a woman’s back. See page following ad for close-up detail.
 Advertisement

Just Ask
The Japanese
In the aftermath of a disaster, the strengths of any society be-
come immediately visible. The cohesiveness, resilience, tech-
nological brilliance and extraordinary competence once a
staple of Japanese culture have left the stage, replaced with
division, incompetence and the brilliant and extraordinary de-
sire to make believe what happened didn’t, as if it were all just
a dream, an abstract vision, maybe even an hallucination.

Radiation Deaths
Thanks to these social weaknesses, Japan may eventually re-
cover although that will take approximately 50-100 gener-
ations. Japanese goverment engineers are now flooding the
ocean seawater with trillions of tons of various radioactive
particles, effectively destroying our seas. By the time you read
this article, the situation will certainly be far worse. Unfortu-
nately it will also be forgotten. Fukushima is now officially off
humanities radar. Our sound-byte information system buries
news from one week to the next, guaranteeing nothing ever
happens as a result of non-existent public activism.
Close-up of photo on previous page.

Leukemia

Leukemia is a malignant tumor or cancer of the blood cells, with an excessive overgrowth of young white cells.
Consequently, there is a decrease in red cells and platelets, followed by anemia and a tendency to bleed. Further-
more, white cells lose their normal function, which leads to a decline in the individual’s resistance to infection
and death. While it is possible with medication to achieve periods of remission, there is unfortunately no radical
treatment or cure.

By 1975 a total of 1,838 cases were diagnosed as leukemia in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Of these, 512 were exposed
within 10 km from ground zero. Incidence peaked 6-7 years later in 1951-52 in both cities. Similarly, Myeloma and
Leukemia seem to have peaked 6-7 years after 9/11 and although this is far from a definitive statement, it adds to
the wealth of knowledge we’ve gained since 911 and forms the beginning of our picture.
 Cancers

• Thyroid: first case reported in 1957. High incidence among females. Some cases first discovered by autopsy.
• Breast: cases much higher among those exposed than in non-exposed. Exposure to 100 rads or more made
risk 3.3 times that of those unexposed. Peak incidence was found higher among women ages 20-30.
• Lung: First case noted in Hiroshima in 1954, with 37 cases in Nagasaki soon added. A 1972 large-scale survey
Another useful accounting of survivors is those treated under the A-bomb Victims Medical Care Law (1957),
revealed 3,778 lung cancers in 10,412 deaths, with correlation of high risks to high radiation dosage.
which showed a gradual increase in those treated. Survivors suffered a wide variety of physical complaints
and symptoms, as shown in the chart below, based on 1953 data.
Chromosome Changes

Chromosomes are present in constant numbers in the nuclei of cells, and can be seen as visible entities during
cell division. The count in humans is a constant 46. Chromosome aberrations were first noted in exposed
survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1960. Subsequent systematic surveys revealed a high frequency of
aberrations in blood cells and lymphocytes in fetuses exposed to large radiation doses in utero (in the womb)
or soon after birth.

Although chromosome aberrations increased with higher radiation doses, frequency of aberrations was con-
sistently high at all dose ranges. As late as 1985, chromosomal aberrations in somatic (body) cells persisted
among exposed survivors.

Exposure In Utero And Microcephaly

A Nagasaki survey of 98 pregnant women exposed at a distance of 2.0 km from ground zero and 113 pregnant
women exposed at 4.0 and 5.0 km from ground zero, showed a high percentage of neonatal and infantile
deaths for those exposed within a 2.0 km range, as well as signs of acute radiation illness such as loss of hair,
bleeding tendency, and inner mouth lesions. Mental retardation was noted in 25% of newborn survivors.

Besides high mortality rates, retarded growth and development was also indicated. Most notable in those ex-
posed within 1.0–5.0 km of ground zero were retarded stature, underweight, and smaller head circumference,
a condition called microcephaly, one of the most pathetic aftereffects of the atomic bombings, especially
when accompanied by mental retardation.

How Many Survived?

A broad accounting of survivors takes into account several groups

(1) directly exposed persons (primary victims),

(2) fetuses exposed in their mothers’ wombs,
(3) indirectly exposed persons affected by residual radiation (secondary victims), including
(4) early entrants into the two cities and
(5) fallout victims in areas where the “black rain” fell. Besides these, “victims” included another large group:
(6) “others affected” (tertiary victims) by loss of spouse, close relatives, and housing and household furnishings.

While it is impossible to tally all who fall within these various groupings, a national survey of October 1950
gives a national survivor total of 283,508, with 158,597 for Hiroshima, 124,167 for Nagasaki, and 10 persons
who experienced both bombings.

Of Hiroshima’s survivors, 79 percent lived in Hiroshima Prefecture, of whom 98,102 (79%) resided in Hiroshima
City. Comparable figures for Nagasaki survivors were 111,294 (89%) in its prefecture, with 96,582 (77%) living
in the city.
The main disorders detected by periodic health examinations of 11,470 ambulatory A-bomb survivors, as of
1971, are shown below.
Case counts by disorder among total of treated survivors in Hiroshima.
The number of patients with serious diseases hospitalized in Hiroshima A-bomb Hospital in the period 1956–
1965 was 2,259, and over the years to 1974 the grand total was 5,350 (yearly average: 296). These cases cov-
ered a wide range of malignancies and various blood, endocrinological, digestive, cardiovascular, respiratory,
neurological and renal diseases, as well as motor dysfunctions and sequelae due to foreign matter.
Marked Forever
“The fate of all survivors is to live with the stigma that the atomic bomb stamped permanent marks on their minds
and bodies.” It imposed on them an abhorrent lifelong burden, one to live with yet try to overcome. One way
of dealing with this burden was to write one’s own personal testimony about trying to get on with life.
“I hated for people to stare at me… Yet, every nerve in my body was attuned to the outside world; and to avoid even
the slightest sinister look, I walked with a rigid on-guard posture…. Even so, I secluded myself at home and spent
hours before the mirror, looking at my own face. What I saw was ugly hunks of flesh, like lava oozing from a crater
wall, covering the left half of my face, with the eyebrow burned off and my eye pulled out of shape. My neck was
pulled over to one side, and however much I tried to straighten it out, it wouldn’t move back to the normal position.”
(Nakayama Shiro, Shi no kage [The Shadow of Death]).
The care of orphans wandering and loitering in the city, as well as those left in countryside
evacuation sites, became an urgent problem. Teachers and Buddhists in Hiroshima took the
lead in helping them in that city; in Nagasaki, the Roman Catholics made stellar efforts in the
care of A-bomb orphans. Then in 1949, programs for financial support of some as “adopted”
foster children was initiated by Norman Cousins in the United States and from 1952 by Arata
Osada in Japan.
For teenagers in Hiroshima, Professor and Mrs. Seiichi Nakano formed the support group
called Ayumi (“Moving on”) to provide counsel and support for these A-bomb orphans. Even
so, many were beyond these helping hands; and while some managed to get along well in life,
not a few succumbed to delinquency, sickness, and even suicide. Fortunately, this population
group decreased over time; unlike the next, which increased as time passed.
The Orphaned Elderly
Thousands of older persons, whether they suffered the atomic bombings or escaped them by
being evacuated to the countryside, lost spouses and children and thus had no one to depend
upon. Their numbers increased with the passage of postwar years.
An October 1960 survey of A-bomb victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki showed that victims
age 70 and over were 6.6% of Hiroshima’s population and 5.8% of Nagasaki’s. The aged groups
as a whole were only 1.4% in Hiroshima and 1.3% in Nagasaki. Some had employment or were
self-employed; but many were without income sources. And many suffered illness or disability.
Of 31 suicides by A-bomb survivors nationwide in the five-year period 1970–75, Hiroshima
Prefecture claimed 25, of whom 8 were orphaned elderly victims, for whom illness was the
major motive.
Hiroshima’s population, down to roughly 83,000 soon after the bombing, swelled to 169,000
by February of 1946. But only some 6,500 lived in the city’s center, i.e., within Close space 1
kilometer of ground zero. For several years more, population growth was concentrated at the
same remove from the city’s devastated center. The increase was largely due to the return
of evacuated persons, civilians repatriated from overseas colonies, and demobilized military
personnel.
The sudden population expansion, however, caused acute shortages of food and shelter. Many
A-bomb survivors faced death from starvation and exposure unless something was done soon.
As early as December of 1945, however, a council of “war victims’ associations” had been con-
vened to regulate distribution of lumber, nails and glass panes, as well as charcoal and electrical
heating devices. The council also dealt with immediate issues such as care of orphans, commu-
nity bathhouses, and use of warehouses in neighboring towns for community housing.
When food scarcity became especially acute in the summer of 1946, the city imposed com-
pulsory evacuation of 50,000 people to surrounding farm villages, and arranged for relief rice
supplies to be provided.
In Nagasaki, reconstruction proceeded slowly. It was the latter half of 1946 before the first
simple emergency dwellings were provided in various communities. Such fell far short, how-
ever, of meeting desperate housing needs. As late as 1950, applicants for corporate dwellings
exceeded availability by ninety times.
 Hiroshima
Of the city’s 298 medical doctors, 270 (90%) became A-bomb victims. Casualty rates among pharmacists,
nurses, and other medical professionals ranged between 80% and 93%. Eighteen emergency hospitals and
32 first-aid clinics were destroyed, and most of the workers needed to restore these health facilities were
killed or injured. Nearby army medical facilities were also mostly destroyed.
In sum, approximately 90% of all medical personnel were dead or disabled, and remaining medical facili-
ties were thrown into great disrepair and confusion. All citizens faced desperate conditions; the young and
old, all the more so. A common scene depicting dying victims with no place to go is pictured below.
Nagasaki
In the 2-km zone of total destruction around ground zero
in Nagasaki’s Urakami valley, the city’s chief medical fa-
cilities were destroyed. These included Nagasaki Medical
University and its related hospital, the Urakami branch of
Mitsubishi Hospital, Urakami First Hospital, and some oth-
er smaller health care institutions.
Of the 70 or so doctors in private practice in the city, twen-
ty were dead and twenty more seriously wounded; only 30
were available to help the mass of A-bomb victims.
As a major port city, Nagasaki was surrounded by various
naval installations. Medical personnel from several naval
hospitals (Isahaya, Sasebo, Omura, and other places) came
with support personnel to give assistance, making the
overall situation somewhat better than in Hiroshima.
Even so, food, clothing, medicine, and other relief supplies
in Nagasaki were, as in Hiroshima, extremely scarce. More-
over, heavy rains hit both cities in September, making the
struggle to survive desperately difficult and miserable.
Local ability to mobilize health care personnel and restore
medical facilities was severely hampered by the overall
loss of non-military economic wealth (65 billion yen na-
tionwide). Of this total, Hiroshima (884 million yen) and Na-
gasaki (380 million yen) together suffered over 2% of the national total.
Political Restraints On Recovery
On top of the enormous physical, medical, and social damages imposed on Japan by the two atomic
bombings, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Occupation (SCAP) imposed another onerous handi-
cap: censorship. Formally termed the Press Code, officially issued by the Occupation GHQ on September
19, 1945, it prohibited the publication of all reports and studies of A-bomb damages, including medical
and scientific studies of all injuries and losses suffered by A-bomb victims in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
whether in newspapers, magazines, scholarly journals, books, or other public means. Thus the A-bombed
citizens struggled with ignorance of the many medical and social aspects of their decimated lives.
There were minor exceptions. The Hiroshima-based magazine, Chugoku Bunka, devoted its initial issue (March
10, 1946) to A-bomb damages. A Manhattan Project team published its
report, The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on June 29,
1946. And the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey Team completed its report,
The Effects of the Air Attack on the Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki the
following day. These official documents, however, were printed in En-
glish and, in any case, did not touch deeply on the sufferings of the two
A-bombed cities.
Most importantly, serious research on the extent and gravity of A-bomb
damages and injuries could not be publicly printed and distributed by
any Japanese persons or organizations, thus handicapping the surviving
medical personnel trying to heal and assuage the thousands of A-bomb
victims. The most revealing item, perhaps, is that the Japanese characters
for “atomic bomb” (genshi bakudan, or the short form, genbaku) could
not even be used in public print. This applied to all forms: newspapers,
magazines, books, public bulletins, and of course, movies.
Cameramen of the Japanese movie firm Nippon Eiga-sha were arrested by American MPs in Nagasaki on Oc-
tober 17, 1945, and two days later the photographing of A-bomb scenes was prohibited. A formal prohibition
was issued by GHQ on December 12. It would be almost seven years later until, after the Occupation ended,
the weekly magazine Asahi Gurafu (Asahi Graph) filled an entire issue with heretofore unpublicized photo-
graphs of A-bomb damages and victims—the first A-bomb-related photos to be published in the postwar era.
One of the most moving instances of resistance to the Press Code was a small volume of tanka (a Japanese
verse form of 31 syllables), penned by a hibakusha poet named Shinoe Shoda in Hiroshima. Titled Sange, it
decried the cruelty of the bomb. As publication of all A-bomb-related materials was strictly banned, she took
her manuscript to Tadao Nakamura, a clerk in the printing shop of a Hiroshima prison, who mimeographed 150
copies in December 1947. Shoda distributed copies to other hibakusha, all at her own expense and, of course,
without SCAP permis-
sion. A hand-written
copy of Sange was later
donated to the Hiro-
shima Peace Cultural
Foundation.
The front cover of the
initial issue of Asahi
Graph (top) when press
censorship ended in
1952. The title reads
“Record of the Atomic
Bombings, Hiroshima
and Nagasaki, 1945.”
Front cover and first
page of Shoda’s Sange,
image at left.
 Late Effects On Survivors
From several years after the atomic bombings to the present day
Early radiation effects, such as acute radiation syndrome, result from doses high enough to kill cells and thus
cause direct tissue damage (1 Gy or greater). In contrast, late effects, such as cancer (and possibly other dis-
eases), reflect DNA mutations induced in living cells by radiation exposure. While the exact mechanisms by
which such mutations lead to cancer are not clear, it is believed that the process requires a series of mutations,
accumulated over periods of years. Mutations can occur either spontaneously or as a result of exposure to any
of a wide range of environmental mutagens, including radiation. Since many years must pass before a given
cell and its progeny acquire sufficient mutations to result in clinical disease, excess cancers attributable to ra-
diation do not become evident until years after exposure (or somewhat fewer years in the case of leukemia).
Excess cancer risks in RERF data correspond broadly with the age-time patterns predicted by such hypothet-
ical considerations.
Solid Cancer Risks Among Atomic-Bomb Survivors
Increased risk of cancer is the most important late effect of radiation exposure seen in A-bomb survivors. For
cancers other than leukemia (solid cancers), excess risk associated with radiation started to appear about ten
years after exposure. This was first noted by a Japanese physician, Gensaku Obo, in 1956, and it led to con-
tinuing comprehensive analyses of cancer mortality and to the creation of tumor registries by the city medical
associations in both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
For most solid cancers, acute radiation exposure at any age increases one’ s cancer risk for the rest of life.
As survivors have aged, radiation-associated excess rates of solid cancer have increased as well as the back-
ground rates. For the average radiation exposure of survivors within 2,500 meters (about 0.2 Gy), the increase
is about 10% above normal age-specific rates. For a dose of 1.0 Gy, the corresponding cancer excess is about
50% (relative risk = 1.5).
Tumor registries were initiated in 1957 in Hiroshima and 1958 in Nagasaki. During the period from 1958 to
1998, 7,851 malignancies (first primary) were observed among 44,635 LSS survivors with estimated doses of
>0.005 Gy. The excess number of solid cancers is estimated as 848 (10.7%) (Table). The dose-response rela-
tionship appears to be linear, without any apparent threshold below which effects may not occur (Figure 1).
 Figure 2. Effects of age at exposure and attained age on the excess risk of solid
cancer (incidence) following exposure to 1 Gy. Left panel represents excess
relative risk (ERR) and the right panel excess absolute risk (EAR).

Figure 1. LSS solid cancer incidence, excess relative risk by radiation dose, 1958-1998. The thick solid
line is the fitted linear sex-averaged excess relative risk (ERR) dose response at age 70 after exposure
at age 30. The thick dashed line is a non-parametric smoothed estimate of the dose category-specif-
ic risks and the thin dashed lines are one standard error above and below this smoothed estimate.

The probability that an A-bomb survivor will have a cancer caused by A-bomb radiation (excess lifetime risk)
depends on the dose received, age at exposure, and sex. Figure 2 represents excess relative risk and excess
absolute risk (sex-averaged) exposed to 1 Gy. Both expressions of excess risk indicate that higher risks are
associated with younger age at exposure. Other analyses (not shown) indicate that females have somewhat
higher risks of cancer from radiation exposure than males do.

References About This Subject:

1. Preston DL, Shimizu Y, et al.: Studies of mortality of atomic bomb survivors. Report 13. Solid cancer and non-
cancer disease mortality: 1950-1997. Radiation Research 2003; 160:381-407

2. Preston DL, Ron E, et al.: Solid cancer incidence in atomic bomb survivors: 1958-1998. Radiation Research
2007; 168:1-64

3. Preston DL, Pierce DA, et al.: Effect of recent changes in atomic bomb survivor dosimetry on cancer mortal-
ity risk estimates. Radiation Research 2004; 162:377-89

4. Ron E, Preston DL, et al.: Cancer incidence in atomic-bomb survivors. Part IV: Comparison of cancer inci-
dence and mortality. Radiation Research 1994; 137:98-112
 Site-Specific Cancer Risks Among Atomic-Bomb Survivors
Significant excess risks are seen for many of the major types of solid cancer, including cancers of the stomach,
lung, liver, colon, bladder, breast, ovary, thyroid, and skin. Although not always statistically significant, excess
risks are also seen for most other types of cancer. Thus, the survivor data are consistent with the notion that
radiation is associated with excess risks for virtually all cancers. Since site-specific risks can differ by sex and Figure 2. Number of site-specific cancer cases occurring in the exposed group (≥0.005 Gy),
age at exposure, Figure 1 adjusts for such differences and compares risks among sites by presenting sex-av- 1958-1998. The white portion indicates excess cases associated with radiation.
eraged data showing the risk at age 70 after exposure at 30 years of age. Under these conditions, the excess
relative risk value (ERR) for all solid cancers combined is 47% following exposure to 1 Gy. While differences in
site-specific risks are apparent, the range of variation is not statistically significant, partly because the num-
bers of cancer cases at given sites are limited.

Figure 1. Excess relative risk per Gy for the incidence of site-specific
cancers in the LSS cohort. The risk is standardized as exposure at
30 years of age (sex-averaged) and diagnosed at age 70.
The horizontal bars indicate 90% confidence intervals.
Analyses of site-specific cancer incidence data are often superior to those of cancer mortality studies. This is
because incidence studies provide better diagnostic information and are better able to assess the occurrence
of less fatal cancers, such as thyroid and skin. For all solid cancers combined, the excess relative risks were
comparable for incidence (47% excess per Gy) and mortality (42%), but the excess absolute risk was 1.9 times
greater (52 versus 27 excess cases per 10,000 person-years per Gy, respectively).
Reference About This Subject:

Figure 2 presents similar site-specific data in terms of attributable risk (i.e., what percent of total cases are Preston DL, Ron E, et al.: Solid cancer incidence in atomic bomb survivors: 1958-1998. Radiation Research
associated with radiation). The largest excess number of cases (given in parentheses) were for cancers of the 2007; 168:1-64
stomach (150), female breast (147), lung (117), rectum (78), thyroid (63), and liver (54).
 Leukemia Risks Among Atomic-Bomb Survivors

Excess leukemia was the earliest delayed effect of radiation exposure seen in A-bomb survivors. Japanese
physician Takuso Yamawaki in Hiroshima first noted an increase of leukemia cases in his clinical practice in
the late 1940s. This led to the establishment of a registry of leukemia and related disorders and to the initial
reports on elevated leukemia risks published in the early 1950s.
Figure 1
Risks for radiation-induced leukemia differ in two major respects from those for most solid cancers. First, ra-
diation causes a larger percent increase in leukemia rates (but a smaller number of cases since leukemia is
relatively rare, even in heavily exposed survivors), and second, the increase appears sooner after exposure,
especially in children. The excess leukemias began appearing about two years after radiation exposure, and
the excess peaked at about 6-8 years after exposure. Today, little if any excess of leukemia is occurring.

Because the Life Span Study (LSS) cohort was based on the 1950 national census, quantitative descriptions
of leukemia risks in A-bomb survivors have been based on cases diagnosed from that year on. As of the year
2000, there were 204 leukemia deaths among 49,204 LSS survivors with a bone marrow dose of at least 0.005
Gy, an excess of 94 cases (46%) attributable to A-bomb radiation (Table). In contrast to dose-response patterns
for other cancers, that for leukemia appears to be nonlinear; low doses may be less effective than would be
predicted by a simple linear dose response. Even for doses in the 0.2 to 0.5 Gy range, however, risk is elevated
(Figure 1).

Table. Observed and estimated excess number of leukemia deaths

in LSS population, 1950-2000

PY = person-years, in this case the number of excess leukemias per 10,000 persons per year

Figure 1. DS02 and DS86 non-parametric dose response of leukemia, 1950-2000.

Shown is the sex-averaged risk in 1970 for exposure age 20-39.

Leukemia risk among LSS survivors has been increased only for acute and chronic myelocytic leu-
kemias and for acute lymphocytic leukemia. No evidence of increased risk is seen for adult T-cell
leukemia (endemic in Nagasaki but virtually non-existent in Hiroshima) or for chronic lymphocyt-
ic leukemia, which, in marked contrast to western countries, is extremely rare in Japan. As in solid
cancer risks, the leukemia risk also largely depends on the age at exposure (Figure 2). The different
age effect involves different types of leukemias; acute lymphoblastic leukemia is more common
among young people whereas chronic myelogenous leukemia and acute myelogenous leukemia
are more common among elderly people.

Figure 2. Effects of age at exposure and attained age on the excess deaths from
all types of leukemia (1-Gy exposure)
Because leukemia is a rare disease, the absolute number of leukemia cases among A-bomb survivors is rela-
tively small even though the relative risk is high. Leukemia accounts for only about 3% of all cancer deaths and
fewer than 1% of all deaths, although it presently constitutes about 16% of all excess LSS cancer deaths from
radiation exposure. In an unexposed Japanese population, the lifetime risk of leukemia is about seven cases
per 1,000 people. For typical survivors in the LSS, who received 0.005 Gy or greater (a mean dose of about 0.2
Gy), the lifetime leukemia risk increases to about 10 cases per 1,000 (or the relative risk is nearly 1.5).
References About This Subject:
1. Preston DL, Pierce DA, et al.: Effect of recent changes in atomic bomb survivor dosimetry on cancer mortal-
ity risk estimates. Radiation Research 2004; 162:377-89
2. Preston DL, Kusumi S, et al.: Cancer incidence in atomic-bomb survivors. Part III: Leukemia, lymphoma, and
multiple myeloma, 1950-1987. Radiation Research 1994; 137:S68-97
Deaths Due To Non-Cancer Disease
Analyses of the Life Span Study (LSS) mortality data (1950-1997) show a statistically significant dose-response
pattern for death from diseases other than cancer. The excess does not seem limited to any particular disease.
Among the 49,114 LSS survivors with colon doses of at least 0.005 Gy (DS86), 18,049 non-cancer deaths oc-
curred (excluding deaths attributed to diseases of the blood). Circulatory diseases account for nearly 60% of
these deaths, with digestive diseases, including liver diseases, and respiratory diseases accounting for about
15% and 10%, respectively. Aside from diseases of the blood, the number of excess non-cancer deaths asso-
ciated with A-bomb exposure is estimated at 150 to 300 cases. The death rate following exposure to 0.2 Gy
(the mean radiation dose for the 49,114 survivors with doses >0.005 Gy) is increased by about 3% over normal
rates. This is less than the death rate increase for solid cancers, where corresponding increases are 7% in men
and 12% in women (age 30 ATB). The dose-response pattern is still quite uncertain (Figure 1).
Figure 1. Non-cancer dose-response function for the period 1968-1997 (DS86). The solid straight line indicates
the fitted linear ERR model without any effect modification by age at exposure, sex or attained age. The points
are dose category-specific ERR estimates, the solid curve is a smoothed estimate derived from the points, and
the dashed lines indicate upper and lower one-standard-error bounds on the smoothed estimate. The right
panel shows the low-dose portion of the dose-response function in more detail.
A significant radiation dose-response pattern was also seen for non-cancer blood diseases. Such diseases
were studied separately since they may represent various hematologic malignant or premalignant conditions.
Among the 128 deaths for which medical records were available and in which hematologic reviews were per-
formed, about 45% were clearly classified as non-neoplastic blood diseases, 6% were diagnosed as leukemia
or other hematopoietic cancers, and the remainder were potentially preneoplastic. In the absence of known
biological mechanisms, it is important to consider whether these results might be due to biases or to diag-
nostic misclassification of cancer deaths. Investigations have suggested that neither of these factors can fully
explain the findings, especially for circulatory diseases that have been investigated more fully. The Adult Health
Study (AHS) incidence studies of non-cancer diseases show relationships with A-bomb dose for benign uterine
tumors, thyroid disease (e.g., thyroid nodules), chronic liver disease, cataract, and hypertension (Fig 2 on next
page). The LSS mortality data also show dose-related excesses for respiratory diseases, stroke, and heart diseas-
es (Fig 3 on next page).
Figure 2

Figure 2 & 3.
Excess risk of mortality in the LSS due to non-cancer diseases. The increase is
statistically significant for all non-cancer diseases, or specifically heart diseases,
stroke, respiratory diseases, and digestive diseases. The horizontal bars
indicate 90% confidence intervals.

Although the LSS data on heart disease mortality suggest that radiation is associated
mainly with hypertensive and congestive heart disease, AHS data also suggest an as-
sociation with myocardial infarction, as well as with a measure of atherosclerosis (aor-
tic arch calcification). There is particular evidence, therefore, from both AHS clinical
data and LSS mortality studies, that the rates of cardiovascular disease are increased
in A-bomb survivors, especially, it appears, for persons exposed at young ages. Studies
regarding possible underlying biological mechanisms are being conducted.

References About This Subject:

Figure 3
1. Preston DL, Shimizu Y, et al.: Studies of mortality of atomic bomb survivors. Report
13. Solid cancer and noncancer disease mortality: 1950-1997. Radiation Research 2003;
160:381-407

2. Yamada M, Wong FL, et al.: Noncancer disease incidence in atomic bombs survivors,
1958-1998. Radiation Research 2004; 161:622-32
 Effects On The Immune System
Immune cells are known to be vulnerable to radiation, through induced apoptosis (programmed cell
death) in mature T and B lymphocytes (long-lived white blood cells responsible for adaptive immuni-
ty) and by lethal damage in bone marrow stem cell precursors of monocytes and granulocytes (short-
lived white blood cells responsible for innate immunity) as well as natural killer cells (lymphocytes
responsible for innate immunity).
In persons receiving heavy doses of A-bomb radiation, both mature lymphocytes and bone marrow
stem cells were severely damaged, causing profound depletion of granulocytes and natural killer cells,
which together defend against microbial (or bacterial and viral) invasion. As a result,
many people died from active infections.
About two months after exposure, marrow stem cells recovered, and deaths
due to infection generally ended. Studies of survivors since the 1980s have
shown no abnormalities in monocytes, granulocytes, and natural killer cells,
indicating that damage to innate immunity occurred only during the early
period following the bombings.
The recovery of CD4 helper-T lymphocytes (a major subset of T lymphocytes
responsible for antigen-specific immunity) took longer, and studies have
shown that CD4 T lymphocytes recovered only incompletely. Even today,
the relative number of CD4 T cells is, on average, 2% lower per Gy.
More in-depth studies have shown that among those with higher radiation
doses a greater proportion of T cells are “memory” T cells rather than newly
formed naïve T cells, indicating reduced ability of the thymus to produce
new T cells. In contrast to diminished CD4 T-cell numbers and function, the
number of B cells is slightly higher in exposed persons, perhaps as a com-
pensation. Tests show that CD4 T cells from high-dose persons tend to have
less reactivity to an infectious agent.
Also, as a compensation for decreased T-cell function, cells responsible for
innate immunity are activated and produce inflammatory proteins, and our
studies have shown that persons with higher radiation exposures have lower
numbers of CD4 T cells and elevated levels of various inflammatory proteins in
their blood. These trends parallel what is seen with advancing age, suggesting that radiation exposure
may accelerate immune aging processes.
To date, there has been no clear evidence that any specific health effects have resulted from the per-
sistent abnormalities observed in the T and B lymphocytes of A-bomb survivors. The reason may
be that wide variations in specific immune responses make it difficult to identify persons with ra-
diation-impaired immunity to specific pathogens. For example, in tuberculin testing for vaccination
against tuberculosis, some people show immediate positive results, and others do not. There is also
no evidence of radiation effects on risks for chronic infectious diseases, such as tuberculosis, or auto-
immune diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. On the other hand, a slight dose-related decrease in
immunity has been observed against certain viral infections. For example, the proportion of people
who carry the hepatitis B virus increases by A-bomb dose.
References About This Subject:
1. Kusunoki Y, Kyoizumi S, et al.: Decreased proportion of CD4 T cells in the blood of atomic bomb sur-
vivors with myocardial infarction. Radiation Research 1999; 152:539-43
2. Yamaoka M, Kusunoki Y, et al.: Decreases in percentages of naïve CD4 and CD8 T cells and increas-
es in percentages of memory CD8 T cell subsets in the peripheral blood lymphocyte populations of
A-bomb survivors. Radiation Research 2004; 161:290-8
3. Kusunoki Y, Yamaoka M, et al.: T cells of atomic bomb survivors respond poorly to stimulation by
staphylococcus aureus toxins in vitro: Does this stem from their peripheral lymphocyte populations
having a diminished naïve CD4 Tcell content? Radiation Research 2002; 158:715-24
4. Hayashi T, Morishita Y, et al.: Long-term effects of radiation dose on inflamma-
tory markers in atomic bomb survivors. American Journal of Medicine 2005;
118:83-6
5. Kusunoki Y, Hayashi T: Long-lasting alterations of the immune system by ion-
izing radiation exposure: Implications for disease development among atomic
bomb survivors. International Journal of Radiation Biology 2008; 84:1-14
6. Fujiwara S, Sharp GB, et al.: Prevalence of hepatitis B virus infection among
atomic bomb survivors. Radiation Research 2003; 159:780-6
Effects On The Aging Process
Animal experiments have shown that radiation exposure shortens the lifes-
pan. The results were once interpreted as being due to radiation-induced
non-specific acceleration of aging, but later studies showed that tumor in-
duction accounted for essentially all of the life shortening. In studies of
A-bomb survivors, there is little or no evidence for non-specific accelerated
aging in most physiologic parameters or morphologic effects (e.g., radiation
dose is unrelated to breathing capacity, ability to focus vision, skin elasticity,
grip strength, and hearing ability, or to tissue differences at autopsy). How-
ever, radiation-related increases are seen in the prevalence of cataract and
atherosclerosis, as well as in altered immune-inflammatory serum protein
levels. Continued data collection is necessary to determine whether radiation
exposure leads to non-specific aging.
References About This Subject:
1. Sasaki H, Wong FL, et al.: The effects of aging and radiation exposure on blood pressure levels of
atomic bomb survivors. Journal of Clinical Epideiology 2002; 55:974-81
2. Yamada M, Naito K, et al.: Prevalence of atherosclerosis in relation to atomic bomb radiation expo-
sure: An RERF Adult Health Study. International Journal of Radiation Biology 2005; 81:821-6
3. Sasaki H, Kodama K, Yamada M: Aging. Journal of Radiation Research (Tokyo) 1991; 32(Suppl):310-26.
(A review of 45 years’ study of Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic-bomb survivors)
4. Sasaki H: Aging. Shigematsu I, Ito C, et al., eds. Effects of A-bomb Radiation on the Human Body.
Chur, Switzerland: Harwood Academic Publishers; 1995, pp 316-23

Life Span Study Report 13
Technical Report No. 24-02
Studies of mortality of atomic bomb survivors.
Report 13: Solid cancer and non-cancer disease mortality: 1950-1997
Preston DL, Shimizu Y, Pierce DA, Suyama A, Mabuchi K
Radiat Res 160(4):381-407, 2003
Summary
This continues the series of general reports on mortality in the cohort of atomic bomb
survivors followed up by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation. This cohort includes
86,572 people with individual dose estimates, 60% of whom have doses of at least 5 mSv.
We consider mortality for solid cancer and for noncancer diseases with 7 additional years
of follow-up. There have been 9,335 deaths from solid cancer and 31,881 deaths from non-
cancer diseases during the 47-year follow-up. Of these, 19% of the solid cancer and 15% of
the noncancer deaths occurred during the latest 7 years. We estimate that about 440 (5%)
of the solid cancer deaths and 250 (0.8%) of the noncancer deaths were associated with
the radiation exposure. The excess solid cancer risks appear to be linear in dose even for
doses in the 0 to 150-mSv range. While excess rates for radiation-related cancers increase
throughout the study period, a new finding is that relative risks decline with increasing
attained age, as well as being highest for those exposed as children as noted previously.
A useful representative value is that for those exposed at age 30 the solid cancer risk is
elevated by 47% per sievert at age 70. There is no significant city difference in either the
relative or absolute excess solid cancer risk. Site-specific analyses highlight the difficulties,
and need for caution, in distinguishing between site-specific relative risks. These analyses
also provide insight into the difficulties in interpretation and generalization of LSS esti-
mates of age-at-exposure effects. The evidence for radiation effects on noncancer mortal-
ity remains strong, with risks elevated by about 14% per sievert during the last 30 years of
follow-up. Statistically significant increases are seen for heart disease, stroke, digestive dis-
eases, and respiratory diseases. The noncancer data are consistent with some non-linearity
in the dose response owing to the substantial uncertainties in the data. There is no direct
evidence of radiation effects for doses less than about 0.5 Sv. While there are no statistically
significant variations in noncancer relative risks with age, age at exposure, or sex, the esti-
mated effects are comparable to those seen for cancer. Lifetime risk summaries are used to
examine uncertainties of the LSS noncancer disease findings.
Life Span Study Report 12. Part 1
Technical Report No. 11-95
Studies of the mortality of atomic bomb survivors.
Report 12, Part I. Cancer: 1950-1990
Pierce DA, Shimizu Y, Preston DL, Vaeth M, Mabuchi K
Radiat Res 146:1-27, 1996
Summary
This continues the series of periodic general reports on cancer mortality in the cohort of
A-bomb survivors followed by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation. The follow-up is
extended by the 5 years 1986-1990, and analysis includes an additional 10,500 survivors
with recently estimated radiation doses. Together these extensions add about 550,000
person-years of follow-up. The cohort analyzed consists of 86,572 subjects, of which about
60% have dose estimates of at least 0.005 Sv. During 1950-1990 there have been 3086
and 4741 cancer deaths for the less than and greater than 0.005 Sv groups, respectively. It
is estimated that among these there have been approximately 420 excess cancer deaths
during 1950-1990, of which about 85 were due to leukemia. For cancers other than leuke-
mia (solid cancers), about 25% of the excess deaths in 1950-1990 occurred during the last
5 years; for those exposed as children this figure is nearly 50%. For leukemia only about 3%
of the excess deaths in 1950-1990 occurred in the last 5 years. Whereas most of the excess
for leukemia occurred in the first 15 years after exposure, for solid cancers the pattern of
excess risk is apparently more like a life-long elevation of the natural age-specific cancer
risk. Taking advantage of the lengthening follow-up, increased attention is given to clari-
fying temporal patterns of the excess cancer risk. Emphasis is placed on describing these
patterns in terms of absolute excess risk, as well as relative risk. For example: (a) although
it is becoming clearer that the excess relative risk for those exposed as children has de-
clined over the follow-up, the excess absolute risk has increased rapidly with time; and (b)
although the excess relative risk at a given age depends substantially on sex and age at
exposure, the age-specific excess absolute risk depends little on these factors. The primary
estimates of excess risk are now given as specific to sex and age at exposure, and these in-
clude projections of dose-specific lifetime risks for this cohort. The excess lifetime risk per
sievert for solid cancers for those exposed at age 30 is estimated at 0.10 and 0.14 for males
and females, respectively. Those exposed at age 50 have about one-third these risks. Pro-
jection of lifetime risks for those exposed at age 10 is more uncertain. Under a reasonable
set of assumptions, estimates for this group range from about 1.0-1.8 times the estimates
for those exposed at age 30. The excess lifetime risk for leukemia at 1 Sv for those exposed
at either 10 or 30 years is estimated as about 0.015 and 0.008 for males and females, re-
spectively. Those exposed at age 50 have about two-thirds that risk. Excess risks for solid
cancer appear quite linear up to about 3 Sv, but for leukemia apparent nonlinearity in dose
results in risks at 0.1 Sv estimated at about 1/20 of those for 1.0 Sv. Site-specific risk esti-
mates are given, but it is urged that great care be taken in interpreting these, because most
of their variation can be explained simply by imprecision in the estimates.
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 Life Span Study Report 12. Part 2
Technical Report No. 11-98
Studies of the mortality of atomic bomb survivors. Report 12, Part II.
Noncancer mortality: 1950-1990
Shimizu Y, Pierce DA, Preston DL, Mabuchi K
Radiat Res 152:374-89, 1999
Summary
This report updates the data on non-cancer mortality for 86,572 atomic bomb survivors with dose estimates in
the Radiation Effects Research Foundation’s Life Span Study cohort. The primary analyses are based on more than
27,000 non-cancer disease deaths that occurred in the cohort between October 1, 1950, and December 31, 1990,
30% more than in the previous report. The present analyses strengthen earlier findings of a statistically significant
increase in non-cancer disease death rates with radiation dose. Increasing trends are observed for diseases of the
circulatory, digestive and respiratory systems. Rates for those exposed to 1 Sv are elevated about 10%, a relative
increase that is considerably smaller than that for cancer. However, estimates of the number of radiation-related
non-cancer deaths in the cohort to date (140 to 280) are 50 to 100% of the number for solid cancer. The data do
not yet clarify the shape of the dose response. There is no significant evidence against linearity, but the data are
statistically consistent with curvilinear dose-response functions that posit essentially zero risk for doses below 0.5
Sv. Similarly, while the data are consistent with substantial variation in the excess relative risk with age at exposure
or attained age, there is no statistically significant dependence on these factors. In view of the small relative risks
and the lack of understanding of biological mechanisms, we emphasize consideration of whether the findings
could be explained by mis-classification, confounding or selection effects. Based on available data, we conclude
that such factors are unlikely to fully explain the observed dose response. A significant dose response is also seen
for deaths from blood diseases with an excess relative risk that is several times greater than that seen for solid
cancer. Particular attention is paid to the possibility that this apparent effect is a consequence of the attribution
of leukemia or other cancer deaths to non-cancer blood diseases. We find that mis-classification does not explain
this excess risk. As in earlier reports, suicide rates tend to decrease with increasing dose.
Life Span Study Report 10. Part 1
Technical Report No. 1-86
Life span study report 10. Part 1.
Cancer mortality among A-bomb survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
1950-1982
Preston DL, Kato H, Kopecky KJ, Fujita S.
Summary
The present study extends the previous report on cancer mortality among atomic bomb sur-
vivors by adding data from four additional years of follow-up (1979-1982) and by expanding
the cohort (now designated LSS-E85) to include 11,393 Nagasaki survivors located between
2,500-9,999m from the hypocenter at the time of the bombing (ATB). Among 91,231 exposed
survivors with tentative 1965 (T65DR) dose estimates, there were 6,270 cancer deaths during
1950-1982. Among the 54,058 persons with T65DR dose estimates greater than 0.5 rad, there
were 3,832 cancer deaths during 1950-1982, an estimated 8% of which are excess deaths attrib-
utable to A-bomb radiation.
The results of analyses of mortality from specific cancers, in relation to T65DR dose estimates,
are generally consistent with the previous findings. Significant dose responses were observed
for leukemia, for cancers of the lung, female breast, stomach, colon, esophagus, and urinary
bladder, and for multiple myeloma. Four new categories of cancer were also investigated: the
results for cancers of the liver and intrahepatic bile ducts and of the ovary and other uterine
adnexa were suggestive of significant radiation effects, but the positive dose responses for can-
cers of the gallbladder and prostate were not significant. Due to diagnostic difficulties and the
lack of evidence for radiogenic effects at these sites, the results for liver and ovarian cancers do
not provide convincing evidence for radiogenic effects.
With the exception of multiple myeloma, the relative risk (RR) of radiation-induced cancer mor-
tality was greater for women than for men, for each nonleukemic cancer with a significant over-
all dose response. These differences can be attributed in large measure to differences in the
background cancer mortality rates, which are generally much higher for men than women. For
leukemia there was no significant sex difference in the RR, while for multiple myeloma women
had a slightly, though nonsignificantly, lower RR than males.
The rate at which the excess RR of leukemia mortality has decreased with age varies significantly
with age ATB (p = .03); the excess risk among young ATB groups has declined more rapidly and
from larger initial levels, compared to those who were older ATB. The present analyses also sug-
gest that the occurrence of radiation-induced leukemia death has persisted as late as 1979-1982.
A statistically significant interaction (p = .008) between the effects of age ATB and attained age
on radiation-related mortality was also observed for cancers other than leukemia. In particular,
the initially large RRs seen in those who were young ATB have decreased with time, while the
smaller RRs for those who were older ATB tended to increase. While this pattern was statistically
significant only for all nonleukemic cancers combined, a similar pattern was seen in separate
analyses for cancers of the stomach, lung, and female breast. The absolute risk of radiation-in-
duced nonleukemic cancer mortality has increased with time for all age ATB groups.
 Myeloma, 911 & The Medical Community Response
Years after the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centers, researchers are still trying to determine if there
is an increased rate of myeloma in 9/11 responders. Sources

Early responders to the site, including emergency, reconstruction, and rescue workers and volunteers, would have 1. Kyle, Robert and Rajkumar, S. Vincent “Multiple Myeloma” Blood 15 March 2008 111:2962-2972.
had the highest levels of exposure to the toxic dust cloud. Within weeks of the tragedy, medical screening of 9/11 2. Lin, Pei “Plasma Cell Myeloma” Hematology/ Oncology Clinics of North America 2009 23:709-727.
responders began. Many were noted to have health issues, breathing problems and coughs, as well as psycholog- 3. Nau, Konrad and Lewis, William “Multiple Myeloma: Diagnosis and Treatment” American Family Physician 1 Oc-
ical trauma. These have become widely acknowledged side effects from exposure at the Ground Zero site. tober 2008 78:853-859.

Through the medical screening programs, a number of 9/11 responders have

been diagnosed with myeloma. While the rates of myeloma in 9/11 re-
sponders is slightly higher than the regular population, the most striking
observation is the number of cases diagnosed in people under the age of
45. The rate of myeloma is significantly higher than doctors would expect
in this young age group. Myeloma is typically a disease of older persons,
occurring at the average age of 71.

Myeloma is a blood cancer that involves the over-production of plasma

cells, the antibody-producing cells that develop from B-lymphocytes in the
bone marrow. Myeloma is also called multiple myeloma or plasma cell my-
eloma.

When plasma cells are exposed to a foreign substance, or antigen, they

have the unique ability to create and excrete antibodies, or immunoglob-
ulins, to help the body fight off infection. Immunoglobulins are proteins
made up of heavy chains (G,A,M,D or E) and light chains (kappa or lambda).

In myeloma, there are mutations in the DNA of a single B-lymphocyte/plas-

ma cell, which then begins to multiply out of control. These cancerous plas-
ma cells are called myeloma cells.

As these malignant myeloma cells reproduce uncontrollably, they begin to

crowd the bone marrow and prevent it from doing its normal job of pro-
ducing healthy white cells, red cells and platelets. This leaves the patient
with fewer cells to carry oxygen to their organs, form blood clots, or fight
infection.

In addition, the myeloma cells will continue to produce the same immuno-
globulins as the original cancerous cell. This leads to an excessive amount
of one type of immunoglobulin (Ig), such as IgG or IgA being created. This
abnormal immunoglobulin is unable to function like a normal antibody
and help to fight infection. The accumulation of one type of immunoglob-
ulin is called monoclonal protein (M-protein). The myeloma cells will also
invade bone tissue, causing damage and areas of weakness in the bone.
Plasma cells and myeloma cells release chemicals called cytokines, which
also contribute to bone destruction. As a result, myeloma patients will of-
ten have characteristic bone damage called osteolytic lesions.
 Myeloma And 911
The Statistics As Of March 2011
As of March 13, 2011, there have been 134 deaths among First Responders that can be attributed directly to
Myeloma. This means that of 40,000 total First Responders the death rate from Myeloma is 1 in 298.507 or
rounded, 1 in 299.
In the general population the rate of Myeloma is 3.8 to 9.0 per 100,000 and 99% of those people afflicted with
this rare blood plasma cancer are over 65 with an average age of 71.
The First Responders that have died from Myeloma were all between 37 and 60.
Obviously the incidence of Myeloma in First Responders is alarming, to say the least. Rather, it’s simply unprec-
edented in human history. Not Hiroshima, nor Nagasaki, nor Chernobyl produced these dramatic figures and
these figures are the product of only the first ten years beyond the events of 911.
We’re seeing the effects of 3rd or 4th generation nuclear physics and the results of new devices never before
detonated within the confines of a major metropolitan city. The image below and the images throughout this
eMagazine are very obviously the results of nuclear demolition, as are the 5,441 known cancers.
Signs And Symptoms Of Myeloma
The signs and symptoms of myeloma are related to the effects from over-production of plasma cells in the
bone marrow crowding out other types of cell production, bone damage from myeloma cell invasion, and
increased immunoglobulin proteins accumulating throughout the body.
Signs and symptoms of myeloma may include:
• Bone pain or fractures, especially in the spine, breastbone and pelvis
• Tiredness that is not relieved with a good sleep or nap
• Dizziness or shortness of breath from decreased red blood cell production in the bone marrow
• Infections that you can’t seem to fight off from decreased white cell production in the bone marrow
• Excessive thirst, frequent urination or nausea caused by too much calcium being released into the blood
stream from bone breakdown
• Kidney problems from trying to filter extra calcium and light chain portions of immunoglobulins from the blood
These can also be symptoms of other conditions. If you are concerned about any health issues you may be
experiencing, you should seek help from a medical professional. There are different types of myeloma, and
classifications are made by the activity of the disease, as well as by the types of immunoglobulin proteins that
are being abnormally produced. Asymptomatic myeloma, also called smoldering or indolent myeloma, is a
slowly progressing/early form of the disease. Although there is an increased level of plasma cells in the mar-
row and/or an elevated M-protein, there is still no anemia or damage to the bones or kidneys. One particular
type of asymptomatic myeloma -- monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) – produc-
es low antibody levels, but no symptoms or problems. It can develop into active myeloma, but when it does,
it does so at a very slow rate. Not everyone with MGUS will go on to develop myeloma, but some may, which
is why annual monitoring is necessary. Because there are few signs of active disease, asymptomatic myeloma
is usually monitored, but does not require treatment.

Symptomatic, or active myeloma is characterized by an elevation of plasma cells in the marrow, M- protein
detected in the blood or urine, and resulting organ damage. In some cases of symptomatic myeloma, the
cancerous cells will collect in a single bone and form a tumor called a plasmacytoma.

Symptomatic myelomas are further classified by the types of immunoglobulin proteins in the blood. Immuno-
globulins are named by the type of heavy chain they contain (G, A, M, D, or E).

• The most common M- protein in myeloma is the the IgG type.

• Less common are IgA immunoglobulin myelomas.
• IgD and IgE myelomas are extremely unusual.
• Overproduction of IgM is a rare condition called Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia.

Some types of myelomas produce an incomplete immunoglobulin of light chains only. These are called light
chain myelomas. Light chain proteins are also referred to as Bence-Jones proteins. When Bence-Jones proteins
are in the urine, they accumulate in the kidneys and cause damage. There are also some rare diseases in which
the cancerous cells overproduce heavy chains only. These are called heavy chain disease and may or may not
share characteristics with myeloma. Approximately 1% of myelomas are called non-secretory myeloma. In
these patients, the production of M-proteins or light chains is not enough to be detected in the blood or urine.
Special testing is required to identify disease in these patients.

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 Center for Environmental Health Studies exposure to a suspected risk factor. Below are results reported from such studies of multiple myeloma among peo-
44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210 ple exposed to ionizing radiation. All of these studies found increases and possible increases in multiple myeloma
http://www.jsi.com (MM) among certain groups of exposed workers. Statistically significant is a term used to mean that the connection
between the health outcome and the exposure was strong enough that it was unlikely to be due to chance. The
Multiple Myeloma (MM) and research included incidence studies, which look at new cases of cancer. These can track health more quickly and
Exposure to Ionizing Radiation accurately than mortality studies of deaths due to cancer. Adding to the strength of the findings is that increas-
ing rates of MM were observed with higher doses in
Summary some studies.

Studies conducted at the Los Alamos National Lab- Studies Of Los Alamos
oratory and other nuclear facilities, as well as those National Laboratory (LANL) Workers
exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb sug-
gest an increased likelihood of developing multi- Research conducted of LANL workers provides
ple myeloma for those who have been exposed the most direct evidence about possible relation-
to ionizing radiation. These findings are consistent ships between a health problem and workplace
with the determination of the National Research exposures at LANL.
Council’s BEIR V committee that multiple myeloma
has been associated with exposure to ionizing radi- Study of Four DOE Sites: LANL contributed 37 cas-
ation. Multiple myeloma is a “specified” cancer un- es of multiple myeloma to a case- control study at
der the EEOICPA. Historically, multiple myeloma in- four DOE sites. All together, the rate of death due
cidence and mortality in Los Alamos County fall in to MM increased with increasing whole body dose
the middle of New Mexico counties while Rio Arri- of radiation received between age 40 and 50.
ba County is among counties with the highest rates
in the state. Incidence means new cases of cancer, Studies Of Other Nuclear Workers
while mortality means deaths due to cancer. In The United States

What Is Multiple Myeloma? The next most relevant evidence comes from
studies of workers in similar occupations with the
Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects same types of exposures. Listed below are studies
certain white blood cells called plasma cells. Plas- that looked at multiple myeloma and workplace
ma cells and other white blood cells are part of exposures among nuclear workers in other parts
the immune system, which helps protect the body of the United States.
from infection and disease. When cancer involves
plasma cells, the body keeps producing more and • Hanford: A possible increase in MM deaths was
more of these cells. The unneeded plasma cells – observed in 35,000 males employed between
all abnormal and all exactly alike – are called my- 1943 and 1972, and then followed through 1972.
eloma cells. Myeloma cancer cells tend to collect (51) In later studies, this finding has depended
in the bone marrow and in the hard, outer part of upon the assumptions used in the analysis. Under
bones. Sometimes they collect in only one bone certain assumptions, there are increasing rates of
and form a single mass, or tumor. In most cases, death due to MM with increasing doses of exter-
however, the myeloma cells collect in many bones, Los Alamos nal radiation.
often forming many tumors. When this happens, the
disease is called multiple myeloma. Although multiple myeloma affects the bones, they begin in cells of the im- • Mallinckrodt, St. Louis: A possible increase in deaths from MM was observed in a study of 2,514 males who were
mune system. These cancers are different from bone cancer, which actually begins in cells that form the hard, employed between 1942 and 1966, and then followed through 1993.
outer part of the bone.
• Oak Ridge Y-12: The disease category of “other lymphatic cancer,” which includes MM (ICD 203), showed a possi-
Findings Of Human Health Research Studies ble increase in deaths in a study of 8,116 workers who were employed between 1947 and 1974, and then followed
through 1990.
Human health research studies compare the patterns of disease among groups of people with different amounts of
 Studies Of Other Nuclear Workers World-Wide Is Multiple Myeloma A “Specified” Cancer
Under The Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act (EEOICPA)?
Below are studies of nuclear workers outside of the United States that looked at multiple myeloma in connec-
tion with radiation exposures. Yes. Multiple myeloma is a “specified” cancer under the EEOICPA consideration of Special Exposure Cohorts.
Policy makers have identified certain types of cancer among energy employees at nuclear facilities, including
• Sellafield, England: A possible increase in deaths was ob- those employed at Los Alamos National Laboratory, as be-
served due to MM in a study of 5,203 plutonium workers ing potentially related to occupational exposures under
who were employed between 1947 and 1975, and then the EEOICPA.
followed through 1992. A possible increase was seen
in incidence between 1971 and 1986 in plutonium What Are Other Risk Factors for Multiple Myeloma?
workers. In a study of 14,327 workers who were mon-
itored for external radiation during this time period, In considering the risks of occupational exposure to
there were increasing rates of death due to MM with ionizing radiation leading to multiple myeloma, it is im-
increasing doses of external radiation. The researchers portant to understand other risk factors. Below is a list
who conducted the study wrote: “This may represent a of other suspected risk factors for multiple myeloma.
true radiation effect.” Children and brothers and sisters of patients who have
this disease have a slightly increased risk.
• 3 Nuclear Workforces in England: Increasing rates
of death due to MM were found with increasing time • Hazardous chemicals. Farmers and petroleum workers
since first being monitored for plutonium in a study of exposed to certain chemicals also seem to have a high-
12,498 workers. er-than-average chance of getting multiple myeloma.

• Registry of Nuclear Workers in the U.K.: Increasing These factors may add to any risk due to workplace ex-
rates of death due to MM were found with increasing posure to ionizing radiation. Most multiple myeloma
doses of external radiation in a study of 95,000 workers. patients are between 50 and 70 years old. This disease
affects blacks more often than whites and men more
Studies of Other Ionizing Radiation Exposures often than women. Smoking has not been found to be
related to multiple myeloma.
Studies among other groups of people who were not
nuclear workers can also be significant as evidence of Rates Of Multiple Myeloma In Exposed Counties
possible increases in multiple myeloma among those
who have been exposed to ionizing radiation. Most Los Alamos County
other research has been conducted of people exposed There have been moderate rates of multiple myeloma
to atomic bombs. reported in Los Alamos County for both cancer inci-
dence and mortality. Los Alamos County:
• Atomic Bomb Survivors: Increasing deaths due to
multiple myeloma with increasing doses of radiation in • Ranked 19th in incidence of multiple myeloma and
a study of 86,572 A-bomb survivors. Los Alamos
• 19th in mortality among the 33 counties in New Mexico
Other Research And Policy Findings from 1970 to 1996.

The National Research Council advises the U.S. government on scientific matters. Their Committee on Biolog-
ical Effects of Exposure to Ionizing Radiations (BEIR) V reviewed sensitivity of parts of the body to radiation.
Their findings are based mostly on studies of cancer among atomic bomb survivors, as well as on some of
the available information on the biology of the body, animal studies, and other evidence. The greatest risk is
at high exposure levels. According to the National Research Council’s BEIR V committee, “[t]he incidence of
multiple myeloma has been observed to be elevated after widespread irradiation of the bone marrow in the
majority of populations studied to date.”
• In recent years there has been about one case per year in the county. 134 in NYC.
Rio Arriba County
There have been very high rates of multiple myeloma reported in Rio Arriba County for both cancer incidence
and mortality. Rio Arriba County:
• Ranked 5th highest in incidence of multiple myeloma and
• Highest in mortality among the 33 counties in New Mexico from 1970 to 1996
• All a part of nuclear industry related environmental pollution
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 Myeloma As A Form Of Leukemia
March 7, 2011 - www.bloodjournal.org
Features Of Leukemia In Multiple Myeloma
Diffuse infiltration in multiple myelotna, without circumscribed tumor formation
It has been shown by many observers that in addition to the well known circumscribed tumor formation, diffuse
infiltration of the bone marrow also exists in multiple myeloma. Such cases of diffuse infiltration without any evi- of the vessels. Amyloidosis was the most important extraskeletal finding. It was most generalized, involving all
dence of circumscribed tumor formation are known.
Occasionally cases of multiple myeloma have been
observed where the bones appear normal. The
spongy trabeculae are numerous and the cortices
For the Study at: http://www.leukemia.org/graphics/National/MyelomaSlideDeckOrlowski.pdf
are not noticeably thinned. The skeletal roentgen-
ograms taken during life in such cases may show at
most some diffuse osteoporosis, and do not reveal
anything even remotely suggestive of the picture
which is accepted as being typical of multiple my-
eloma. In these cases, only the marrow is modified
and replaced diffusely by a tissue which on histo-
logic examination of aspiration material is proved
to be nyelomatous tissue.
Other cases show some thinning of the cortices as
well as great reduction of the spongy trabeculae,
but they still may have smooth and undistended
bone contour. The roentgenograms show vague
mottled rarefaction and thinned cortices. These cas-
es are transitional to the full-fledged picture with
multiple areas of bone destruction in typical cases
of exuberant growth of myelomatous tissue. Lack
of circumscribed tumor formation does not rule
out the possibility of multiple myeloma. The case
reported below is an instance of such diffuse infil-
tration of bone marrow without apparent evidence
of bone destruction. It emphasizes the importance
of bone marrow studies in any case of atypical amy-
loidosis, with or without evidence of bone lesions.
The diagnosis of multiple myeloma was suggested. However, repeated x-ray examination of the skeleton showed
no abnormalities at any time, and the serum proteins were low (albumin 3.4 Gm per cent to 4.2 Gm. per cemt;
globulin 1.0 Gm. per cent to 2.2 Gm. per cent). The congo red test showed 45 percent retention. The patient’s
course was one of rapid deterioration marked by progressive azotemia (B.U.N. up to 150 mg. per cent). She died in
March 1945. Autopsy revealed no gross lesions in the skeleton. Microscopic examination of sections of rib sternum
vertebrae showed marrow largely replaced by plasma cells, trabeculae thin and amyloid deposited in the wallls
blood vessels, connective tissue in lungs, ovaries, kidneys, thymus, smooth muscles of most viscera, and the car-
diac muscle. The pathological diagnosis was plasma
cell myeloma, diffuse type; atypical amyloidosis.
So there’s credible data to suggest that Myeloma
and Leukemia are quite similar cancers one often
mistaken for the other with highly detailed analy-
sis necessary to make an accurate diagnosis.
Disease Complications
Myeloma patients may have problems with:
• Infections. Myeloma patients may have more
infections. This is because myeloma cells do not
make antibodies to fight infection. Patients should
follow the doctor’s advice about how to reduce
their risk. The doctor may give antibiotics to treat
infections.
• Bone pain. Myeloma may cause bone pain. Drugs
called bisphosphonates (Aredia® or Zometa®) may
help. Bisphosphonates work by blocking the my-
eloma cells from making the bones weak.
• Kidney problems. Myeloma patients have a pro-
tein called light chains or Bence Jones protein.
Myeloma patients may also have high levels of
Is Myeloma A Form Of Treatable Leukemia? calcium in their blood. Each of these can damage
the kidneys. The doctor will check the patient’s
kidneys.

Case 1. M. S. 38462., white female, admitted with signs of renal insufficiency. In 1944, • Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). A small number of myeloma patients develop AML.
bone marrow aspiration repeatedly revealed from 12. to 27 per cent plasma cells.
Soon Bence-Jones proteinuria was also noticed. External Links:

Blood examination showed moderate normocytic anemia, and occasional plasma cells in the smear. Later a leu- http://www.leukemia.org/all_page?item_id=7032
kemoid picture developed: white blood count 25,000; myelocytes 5 percent; nonsegm neutroph 55 percent; http://www.leukemia.org/graphics/National/MyelomaSlideDeckOrlowski.pdf
lymph 3 percent; plasma cells 1 percent. Terminally plasma cells increased to 20%. The plasma cells in the blood
were morphologically of the same type as those in the bone marrow. http://bloodjournal.hematologylibrary.org/cgi/search?sortspec=relevance&fulltext=Myeloma+Ground+Zero&x=0&y=0
Beryllium
AND
Poetry
By John Lerch

BERYLLIUM
Fly you to the stars,
we said we would.
Kill us all,
you said you could.
So find we did
another way;
and here on earth,
you do stay.

children
the
of
ChOrnobyl
 Beryllium’s Public Relations Problem:
Protecting Workers When There Is No Safe Exposure Level
David Michaels, PhD, MPH
Celeste Monforton, MPH
In a dramatic announcement on a national television news magazine in April 2000, Bill Richardson, Secretary of
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), acknowledged that his agency collaborated with the beryllium (pictured
at center) industry to defeat a 1975 attempt by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to
reduce workers’ exposure to beryllium, a collaboration that was brought to public attention in a 1999 investiga-
tion by Toledo Blade reporter Sam Roe. “Priority one was production of our nuclear weapons,” Richardson stated.
“[The] last priority was the safety and health of the workers that build these weapons.” The Secretary’s declara-
tion was remarkable; rarely do the most senior officials in government admit deception that resulted in death
and disability of its own citizens. Yet, for those in the public health community, the Secretary’s candid an-
nouncement was long overdue.
Scores of workers employed in the production of nuclear weapons had been diagnosed with
chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a progressive and irreversible inflammatory lung disease,
and there was increasingly powerful evidence that CBD was associated with exposure at
levels below the permissible exposure limit in place at the time. In response to this evi-
dence, the beryllium industry waged a concerted campaign to delay a more protective
workplace exposure standard.
Eventually, when the scientific evidence became so great that it was no longer cred-
ible to deny that workers developed CBD at levels permitted by an outdated expo-
sure limit, the beryllium industry responded with a new rationale to delay promulga-
tion of a more protective standard. In the television interview, Secretary Richardson
described how DOE was changing course, lowering the level that triggered protection
for beryllium-exposed workers in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex from 2.0 μg/m3 to 0.2
μg/m3. The agency’s new Chronic Beryllium Disease Prevention Program was designed to
provide further protection for workers from a substance so insidious that no safe level of expo-
sure has ever been established.
The DOE rule covers only workers employed in the nuclear weapons complex. Although OSHA has acknowl-
edged the inadequacy of its present workplace beryllium exposure standard, which generally applies to work-
ers in the private sector, the agency has not updated it. Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational
Safety and Health (NIOSH) have estimated that there are between 28,000 and 107,000 private-sector workers
potentially exposed to beryllium in the U.S.; all but 1,500 of these workers are employed outside the primary
beryllium industry.
This case study presents a history of the knowledge and public policy concerning the prevention of beryllium-re-
lated disease, focusing primarily on the role of the U.S. beryllium industry in shaping the policies of the regulatory
system. A similar investigation has been performed in the United Kingdom. The present study is based on a review
of documents and on the personal knowledge of one of the authors, who, as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Envi-
ronment, Safety and Health, directed the agency’s efforts to issue a stronger beryllium exposure limit and develop
a program to provide compensation payments to workers with CBD. Some of the documents cited were obtained
from government files and others were provided by attorneys who obtained them in litigation.
The First Beryllium Workplace Exposure Limit
The first significant industrial use of beryllium occurred in the 1930s, in the production of fluorescent lamp tubes.
Soon after the metal was first introduced, at least 45 workers from fluorescent lamp factories in Massachusetts
developed a form of chemical pneumonitis now known as acute beryllium disease (ABD); some died from the
disease. It quickly became apparent that workers could not safely work with beryllium without respiratory pro-
tection. Beryllium’s importance grew dramatically with the Manhattan Project — the secret initiative to construct
atomic weapons — and the subsequent growth of the nuclear weapons industry, fueled by the Cold War. This
lightweight metal is a vital component of nuclear weapons. Beryllium slows down the speed of neutrons released
when the uranium atom is split in the atomic chain reaction; this action facilitates the splitting of more atoms,
thereby increasing a weapon’s power or “yield.”
External Link:
http://www.defendingscience.org/David-Michaels-bio.cfm
Berylium At Ground Zero And Lower Manhattan:
The chart on the following page shows Berylium levels for Lower Manhattan of from
1.8ppm to 4.2ppm with an average of 2.96ppm • think that over
Final Report on Carcinogens
Background Document for Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds
December 16 - 17, 1999
Meeting of the NTP Board of Scientific Counselors Report
on Carcinogens Subcommittee
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Public Health Service National Toxicology Program
Prepared by Technology Planning and Management Corporation
Durham, NC under Contract Number NOI-ES-85421
Carcinogenicity
Beryllium and beryllium compounds are known to be human carcinogens, based on
findings of increased risk of lung cancer in occupational groups exposed to beryllium
or beryllium compounds (Steenland and Ward 1991; Ward et al. 1992) and supporting
animal data (IARC 1993; Finch et al. 1996). The epidemiologic evidence supports a conclu-
sion that beryllium and beryllium compounds are carcinogenic to humans. An association with
lung cancer has been consistently observed in several populations, with an excess risk of 1.2 to 1.6. Higher risks
are found in groups with greater exposure or longer time since first exposure, which are dose-response patterns
that support a causal relationship. Acute beryllium pneumonitis, a marker for high exposure to beryllium, is asso-
ciated with elevated lung cancer rates, with an excess risk of 2.3 (Steenland and Ward 1991). Although smoking is
a potential confounder, no evidence was found in any of the published epidemiology studies to indicate that the
prevalence of smoking in any of the exposed cohorts was substantially greater than in the referent populations.
Animal experiments have shown consistent increases in lung cancers in rats, mice and rabbits chronically exposed
to beryllium and beryllium compounds by inhalation or intratracheal instillation. Osteosarcomas have been pro-
duced in mice and rabbits exposed to various beryllium salts by intravenous injection or implantation into the
bone. Other Relevant Information Beryllium compounds were not mutagenic in a variety of Salmonella tester
strains. However, beryllium compounds induced genetic transformations in a variety of mammalian cells, in vitro.
The genetic transformation effects of beryllium may be mediated by binding of ionic beryllium to nucleic acids
that can produce infidelity in DNA replication.
 Identification Of Metabolites

Beryllium metabolites per se have not been identified or studied. Snow (1992), however, reviewed effects of
beryllium and beryllium compounds on cellular immunity and nucleic acid metabolism. This analysis com-
pared beryllium with the carcinogenic metals, nickel and chromium. It was suggested that insoluble berylli-
um, engulfed by activated phagocytes, can be ionized by myeloperoxidases. Reactive oxygen intermediates
formed in this inflammatory reaction to beryllium can bind to nucleic acids and interfere with the fidelity of
DNA synthesis (Lansdown 1995, Leonard and Lauwerys 1987).

Uses

Beryllium’s earliest application was as a window for X-ray tubes. Because beryllium is relatively transparent
to X-rays, these tubes were of the highest standard. Beryllium was then used in aircraft brake manufacturing
because of its high specific heat (four times that of steel). Beryllium has a low density yet is very stiff, which
results in dimensional stability. Because of these unique properties, it is used in missile, aircraft, and spacecraft
guidance systems. Beryllium also is used in test reactors, tokamak reactors, and fusion reactors because it has
a combination of high neutron multiplication, low absorption, and high scattering characteristics (Rossman et
al. 1991). Around 72% of all beryllium is used to produce beryllium-copper alloys (WHO 1990). While the alloy
retains copper’s desirable properties (corrosion resistance and thermal and electrical conductivity), addition
of beryllium significantly increases the strength of the alloy. Few, if any, other types of copper alloy exhibit as
great an increase in strength as beryllium-copper alloy. Because of the strength of this alloy, it can be used
in many demanding applications, from military and commercial landing gear to oil field drill collars and drill-
ing bit friction bushings (Rossman et al. 1991). Beryllium-copper alloys do not spark and are nonmagnetic.
Non-sparking tools made of beryllium-copper alloy can therefore be used in explosive environments where
sparks from steel-to-steel contact must be avoided (IARC 1993).

Soil

Beryllium is the 44th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust (IARC 1993). Beryllium concentrations in the
Earth’s crust are estimated at 2.6 ppm.

Atmosphere

Atmospheric background concentrations of beryllium have been reported to be less than 0.1 and 0.2 ng/m3.
Air samples taken over 100 cities in the U.S. from 1964 to 1965 did not contain detectable amounts of beryl-
lium. From 1977 to 1981, average air concentrations of beryllium were around the limit of detection (0.03
ng/m3). From 1981 to 1986, beryllium concentrations at urban monitoring stations exceeded of 0.03 ng/m3,
ranging from 0.11 to 6.7 ng/m3. Atmospheric concentrations of beryllium are higher around beryllium pro-
cessing plants than in other areas. The concentration of beryllium in air near a Pennsylvania factory averaged
15.5 ng/m3, with a maximum of 82.7 ng/m3, whereas the background concentrations in several locations in
the area averaged only 0.2 ng/m3 (IARC 1993). The average air concentration of beryllium in the United States
is 0.03 ng/m3, and the median concentration in cities is 0.2 ng/m3. According to a survey by the National Air
Surveillance Network, atmospheric concentrations of beryllium (between 1977 and 1981) were > 0.1 ng/m3
in 50 U.S. cities, with the highest average being 0.4 ng/m3 in Dallas, Texas, in 1979 (ATSDR 1993).

The mean level of 2.96ppm for Beryllium in the USGS sampling data from Ground Zero is shown in the chart
at right along with highs and lows. Uranium, at 7.57ppm, the high found in the Girder coatings, is also shown.

External Link:
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/newhomeroc/roc10/BE.pdf
 Inside Chernobyl

I’m not a great fan of video but the few videos linked below provide interesting views inside the various Chernobyl reactors and you’ll find more videos listed alongside these so that you can get
a better idea of the current state of the reactor site. Chernobyl is a conveniently forgotten human error of vast proportions that will remain uninhabitable for 10s of 1000s of years.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yry8oH__sM&feature=related • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gmn8La6AD-0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otFQcmE3G5s&feature=related • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2Z3wlT5vWA&feature=related
 The Low Dose Issue 20 Years After Chernobyl
By Keith Baverstock
~ The Ongoing Health Effects ~
For more than 110 years we have been able to generate ionizing radiation and for 3.8 billion years life has been
exposed to natural radioactivity. We know that exposure to high doses at high dose rates is detrimental to The IAEA wants to downplay the consequences
health and we still appear to be on a learning curve in that respect. From believing in the early 1970s that he- An Interview with Keith Baverstock
reditary disease and leukemia were the only late health effects we now know that solid cancers and non-cancer
diseases are also caused. This is primarily due to the study of the survivors of the atomic bombings in Japan. Long-time head of the Department for Radiation and Health of WHO

What is much more debated is “what are the effects of low doses of radiation delivered at low dose rates”? This
is the kind exposure that arises from the environment both in the form of natural radiation and man made
sources, such as releases from nuclear reactors. This is an exposure range in which epidemiology is rather a
limited and blunt tool. Regulatory bodies which control the exposure of the public to these sources of ra-
diation assume that no exposure, however small, is without a finite risk. This is
known as the “Linear No Threshold” or LNT, hypothesis.
IPPNW: What do you think about the current WHO/IAEA study on the consequences of Chernobyl?
Baverstock: My main criticism is that the study claims to close the case on Chernobyl. But only 20 years have passed
so far. This period of time is a much too short to make final conclusions. Just consider that twenty years after the
atomic bombing of Japan, we only knew that leukemia was a consequence of radiation. 24 years later, we saw the rise
in other types of cancer and 45 years later we saw the non-cancer diseases appear.

There is much misunderstanding as to what this means but essentially

we can say that it dictates that at low doses, <50mGy, the dose response
will be linear from zero dose. What LNT does not stipulate is the slope
of that line and there is no implications regarding how to interpolate
from this dose range to the higher doses (>200mGy) where the epi-
demiological data are more secure. The International Commission on
Radiological Protection, ICRP, assumes, for cancer, that this initial dose
response would have half the slope of the direct linear extrapolation of
the Japanese bomb survivor data. This is contested as there is no spe-
cific evidence to support it.

Dr. Keith Baverstock Some argue that there is evidence that at low doses there is in fact a
threshold and some even that low dose exposures can be beneficial.

My current view is that although there are a few specific circumstances where
there appears to be a threshold, bone cancer after internal exposure to radium-226 is an example, in gener-
al the LNT hypothesis applies. In this area selective use of the evidence can be used to support almost any
argument. Of course for very low doses the risks are also very low and thus, there being few aspects of life
that are without risk, some level of risk should be regarded as acceptable. This emphasizes the importance of
understanding the effects of ionizing radiation in order to confidently assess risk in the many circumstances
in which unavoidable exposures might arise.

“what are the effects of low doses of radiation delivered at low dose rates?”

Today, in 2019, we know that the effects of low dose radiation

delivered at a low dose rate can be deadly
Furthermore, the authors claim that thyroid cancer can be healed in 99% of all cases. That is not the point, Lessons From Chernobyl
because we don not yet know if more lethal types of thyroid cancer might develop. Already, we see changing By Paul Webster, “The Nation,” June 8th, 2003
patters of histological samples and types of thyroid cancer. We see different latencies, which could suggest
different types of cancers. A disease like thyroid cancer is not something trivial, as the study suggests. For a Many scientific questions arising from the disaster “have been largely ignored,” according to Keith Baverstock, a
child, this is a severe burden during its childhood. The damage associated to this is being underestimated. It is senior World Health Organization (WHO) radiation scientist.
much too early to close the case on Chernobyl. (…) Another strange effect is the micro-satellite instability that
has been discovered in children of fathers who were exposed to radioactivity in Chernobyl. A similar phenom- In man ways, the story of the scientific response to Chernobyl reads like an intellectual echo of the disaster
enon was also established in mice. We do not know if a health deficit is directly connected with this genetic itself. Soviet efforts to cover up the disaster prevented immediate collection of basic data, while its failed ef-
mutation, but it is a sort of “transgenetic genome instability” that gets weaker and weaker each generation. forts to relocate people from radioactive areas in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine left 200,000 people still living in
the affected areas today. In 1989, its credibility shattered, the Soviet government invited the UN-sponsored
IPPNW: What about other health effects? International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to review health impacts. Working with inadequate Soviet data, in
1991 the IAEA reported that no health problems could be linked to the disaster. And yet, according to Baver-
Baverstock: There have not been any serious and large enough studies done on the appearance of solid tu-
mors, like breast cancer, gastric cancer or lung cancer. No one has dedicated himself in an objective way to
the potential effects. Instead, you can find within WHO a blindness and condescending way of treating the
subject. This worries me a lot, also because it has led to an atmosphere where the WHO study is being cited by
the press to convey a sense of “it’s not as bad as we thought after all”.

IPPNW: The IAEA has published a press statement on the study. What is your role?

Baverstock: The IAEA wants to downplay the consequences of the accident. The press release diminishes the
effects of Chernobyl even more than the study itself. This is completely unacceptable. During the meeting of
the Chernobyl Forum in Vienna in September of 2005, there was immediate criticism from the audience after
the press release was presented. Many were very surprised.

IPPNW: Does the IAEA have an inherent conflict of interest? According to its statutes, the agency’s job is to
promote the use of civil nuclear energy around the world.

Baverstock: Officially , the IAEA would say that it is completely neutral regarding nuclear energy and that her
mandate only refers to the promotion of nuclear technology – such as medical radiation therapy. But many
of the really competent members of IAEA are strong proponents of nuclear energy. They almost religiously
believe that nuclear energy is a good cause – of course such people are attracted by an organization like IAEA.

IPPNW: Has the contract between IAEA and the WHO, which created a type of censure, led to a suppression
of information?

Baverstock: I don’t know much about that. I find the contract relatively benign, compared to the real life coop-
eration between the two organizations. The problem is that the top level of the IAEA is competent in regards
to nuclear questions while the WHO is not. The WHO is subdued in discussions with IAEA and due to hierar-
chical reasons, the low-level WHO-experts are not included in the relevant sessions. This leads to a situation,
where, for example, water-experts led the radiological project of WHO.
IPPNW: Who could run objective studies on the health effects of Chernobyl?
Baverstock: The WHO can not. She does not have the competence and has become much too political in
recent years. There would have to be an international consortium with international cooperation. A single
country cannot do this.
The Interview above was conducted by Dr. Ute Watermann, Spokeswoman of IPPNW Germany
stock of the WHO, in 1990 the IAEA experts knew of twenty cases of rare childhood thyroid illness in Ukraine.
Next came the WHO, backed with $20 million from Japan to gather data and address thyroid disease, blood
disease and brain damage in utero. But funds ran out in 1995. An international thyroid project launched by the
WHO and the European Union in 1992 had similarly stalled, as did later efforts by other international bodies,
including the G7 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Baverstock notes that
about the only interested party that has never participated in Chernobyl research is the nuclear industry itself.
The latest piece of bad news comes from the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation,
which, while charged with monitoring Chernobyl science, appears to be disintegrating. UN funding slashes
meant UNSCEAR had to cancel its annual meeting last year, and commission member Lars Eric Holm warns
that cuts will “seriously affect” future research. Governments in Japan, the United States, the Netherlands and
Germany all currently support worthy short-term studies, mostly focusing on thyroid cancer. But with decades
of impacts ahead, and local officials concerned that breast cancer and genetic irregularities are emerging,
there remains no concerted long-term research plan. Nor have governments in the directly affected countries
helped much. Russia recently declared its radioactive zone “clean,” despite high radiation readings in many
populated areas. In Belarus, the government’s approach is to try to lure people back into the radiation zones
with tax breaks. Ukraine is investing in new Russian reactors while ignoring calls for more research.
Last year, UN Undersecretary General Kenzo Oshima expressed the hope that “the international community
may be moved to action by a healthy combination of compassion and enlightened self-interest.” But nobody has
committed any cash in response. At the Bryansk diagnostic center in Russia’s radioactive zone, chief geneticist
Nikolai Rivkind said recently, “The Chernobyl experience--tragic as it is--should be a goldmine for world science.”
Standing in a threadbare lab where Internet access is as severely rationed as every other research tool, he
added, “We’ve got maybe two years at most left to get organized. I’m losing hope.”
The Cover Up
By Alex Rosen
The first catastrophe of Chernobyl was the meltdown itself. The second catastrophe of Chernobyl was and still
is the subsequent cover-up. Hans Blix, former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, charged with
the promotion of nuclear energy, stated after the Chernobyl meltdown became public that “the atomic indus-
try can take catastrophes like Chernobyl every year”. This cynical slap in the face to the hundreds of thousands
of victims of the accident seems to remain the dogma of the IAEA until today. The effects of the accident are
still being suppressed, played down and minimized. Even today, the IAEA claims there were only 56 deaths.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people are still are being affected: in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Poland
Reactors Around The World
and other western and northern European countries. Many victims have been neglected and remain without
any help at all. Even worse: the IAEA has just recently called for a stop of aid to the victims in order to prevent
what it calls victim-mentality. In reality, the organization’s sole aim is to promote nuclear energy and the pic-
tures of tens of thousands of irradiated children with leukemia don’t really fit into the picture of clean energy.
The IAEA, an organization founded and funded in order to “promote safe, secure and peaceful nuclear technol-
ogies” claimed in its report in 1991 that the population of the areas surrounding Chernobyl were “generally”
healthy and there was nothing to fear. Another IAEA report in 2000 again took this stand, stating that with
only a few cases of treatable, non-lethal thyroid cancer amongst children, no scientific evidence could be
found to support the belief of rising cancer incidence or mortality. Following a recent conference of the Cher-
nobyl Forum, an expert panel staffed with government envoys of the three directly affected countries and
some UN agencies including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the following excerpts could be
read in the world press:
“No evidence or likelihood of decreased fertility among the affected population has been found, nor has there been
any evidence of increases in congenital malformations that can be attributed to radiation exposure.”
“Poverty, lifestyle diseases now rampant in the former Soviet Union and mental health problems pose a far greater
threat to local communities than does radiation exposure.”
Dr. Michael Repacholi, Manager of WHO’s Radiation Program was quoted as follows: “The sum total of the Cher-
nobyl Forum is a reassuring message.” He explains that “there have been 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer, mainly in chil-
dren, but that except for nine deaths, all of them have recovered - a survival rate of almost 99%. Otherwise, the team
of international experts found no evidence for any increases in the incidence of leukemia and cancer among affected
residents. (…) The health effects of the accident were potentially horrific, but when you add them up using validated conclusions from
good science, the public health effects were not nearly as substantial as had at first been feared. (…) If we do not expect health or envi-
ronmental effects, we should not waste resources and effort on low priority, low contamination areas,” he explains. “We need to focus
our efforts and resources on real problems.” IPPNW and many other organizations, states and institutions like the Belarus National
Cancer Registry or the Centre for Russian Environmental Policy of the Russian Academy of Sciences have strongly objected to
this cynical way of treating the Chornobyl meltdown, including the government of Ukraine. In many cases, the IAEA report is
based on studies of more than 10 years of age, without taking into account newer scientific research. Numbers for dosimetry
counts of the population are not available and the report thus relies on approximations, without clearly stating this. Mean aver-
ages are being created over vast
populations in huge territo-
ries without knowing any con-
crete numbers. Health effects
outside of the three countries
were not even considered
and significant amounts of
data still remain classified
and cannot be reviewed by
outside scientists. Therefore,
the results of the IAEA studies
cannot be formally disproved
but have to either be believed
or not. Even UN Secretary
General Kofi Annan apparent-
ly did not really take the IAEA “I hope
report seriously: “… the exact
number of victims may never I will not
be known, but 3 million chil-
dren require treatment and …
many will die prematurely …” have
Not until 2016, at the earliest,
will be known the full num-
ber of those likely to develop children
serious medical conditions
… because of delayed reac-
tions to radiation exposure
who look Kurmanova, Russia
… many will die premature-
Ramzis Faisullin (left), 16 years old: “I don’t like to go to school because the boys
ly. Despite frequently cited like me.” call me bad names. The girls avoid me and don’t want to go out with me. I hope I
statistics about the rate of
will not have children who look like me.”
cancer screenings and other
medical follow up, few official
Gomel, Belarus
attempts were undertaken to
truly assess the results of radi-
Sisters Irina (19) and Yelena (24) Patuchenko (above) were both diagnosed with
ation and many NGOs in the area, as well as the institutes cited in this paper criticize the publication of IAEA statistics, which
brain tumors in 1998. Both girls now have thyroid problems. Mother Marina
are not based on any real facts. Fact is that a vast majority of the population is not being screened for cancer, is not receiving
Pattuchenko: “We didn’t eat mushrooms. We didn’t swim in the river. After the
regular check ups, ultrasound exams or other types of secondary preventive measures. What’s worse, the IAEA is going public
Chornobyl accident we went as far away as possible. We went to Russia and even
these days with statements ridiculing the so called “radiophobia” of the population and calling for an end to aid programs,
to Dagestan, but we should never have returned to this terrible place.”
which, according to the IAEA report of 2005, only serve to instill a victim mentality in a totally healthy population — a claim not
only cynical, but potentially dangerous for the health of the affected population.

the IAEA is going public these days with statements ridiculing the so called “radiophobia” of the population and calling for an end to aid programs
 Arguments Against Nuclear Energy
By Alex Rosen
Subsidies for nuclear research have by far exceeded
the subsidies for any other type of energy in the last 50 years
From a speech delivered in the former German Parliament building
at the opening of the scientific congress “Time-bomb Nuclear Energy - 20 years of Chornobyl”

Nuclear energy is not a smart alternative to fossil fuels

Nuclear Power Is Limited

Like fossil fuels, nuclear power depends on non-renewable and finite resources. The world’s resources of Urani-
um will not last more than a few decades, especially now that the US is building new plants, China is expand-
ing rapidly and countries like India are also talking about increasing their nuclear energy production. The fast
breeders have proven not to work efficiently and so the reprocessing of nuclear waste produced by the plants
does not seem to be an alternative for the future. Why bind ourselves to a limited resource, which could spur
similar conflicts over spare resources like oil is doing now when we can ensure the use of unlimited natural
resources for generations to come? The motto should be: “Peace through sun and wind instead of wars through
uranium and oil”…

Nuclear Power Is Not Clean

People often times think that nuclear energy is the “clean alternative” to fossil fuels, but that’s not true … only
because it doesn’t produce CO2 doesn’t mean that it’s healthy. In fact, radiation is pretty much the most un-
healthy thing you can imagine and it’s still not clear how safe nuclear plants really are or how nuclear waste
is best stored away. Scientists have shown increased rates of leukemia in the children of nuclear power plant
workers. Every month, accidents happen in power plants. In fact, experts say that it’s only a matter of time
before we have another accident like 3-Mile Island, Chornobyl, Fukushima — or worse. In the end, there is no
100% safety anywhere and the risks attached to nuclear power with its long half life and its effects for genera-
tions to come are so much graver than with any other form of energy.

Nuclear Power Is Expensive

Subsidies for nuclear research have by far exceeded the subsidies for any other type of energy in the last 50
years. The nuclear industry knows it: without the heavy state and federal subsidies, nuclear power would not
be a very good product to invest in. Nuclear power produces costs incomparable to any other type of energy –
environmental costs, health detriment, tons of radioactive material that needs to be carried around the country
and hidden in salt mines for thousands of years, millions of dollars worth in costs carried not by us but by future
generations, not by the companies producing “cheap energy”, but by society, the state and our children.

Nuclear Power Is Superfluous

Right now, nuclear power plants produce a little more than 2% of the world’s power. A dispensable power
source, if you ask experts. It’s not the future — it’s the past. Why invest in a technology that supplies energy for
only 40 years when there are numerous opportunities to harness the renewable energy sources like wind, solar
power, water and terrestrial heat? The EU is already calculating the development of energy supply and demand
without nuclear energy for the next few decades — most companies have also realized that the nuclear age
is over. Nuclear power plants can only be built in states where there is the political will to pay the higher price
in order to appease the nuclear industry (Finland) or develop nuclear weapons (USA, Israel, Iran, North Korea). “24 years later, we saw the rise in other types of cancer and
45 years later we saw the non-cancer diseases appear.”
 Nuclear Energy Is A Health Hazard
The Risk Of Another Meltdown In Europe Is 16%
Sellafield, Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima, these names ring in most people’s ears. Just four examples of
nuclear accidents, which proved to the world that the mantra of safe nuclear power is nothing more than that — a
mantra. The German Risk Study on Nuclear Power Plants showed that the risk of a worst-case meltdown in a mod-
ern German nuclear power plant running for 40 years is 0.1%. Taking into account that there are more than 150
power plants in operation around Europe, the risk of a meltdown occurring in one of these within the time span
of 40 years is therefore 16%.
Another Spill In Sellafield
This decade (2004) the thermal Oxide Reprocessing Plant (THORP)
in Sellafield reported an 83,000 litre leak of a highly active urani-
um-plutonium-mix over the course of 9 months starting in August “... the exact
of 2004. This amount of radioactive material would have been
enough for twenty nuclear bombs. In 1983, an independent team number of victims
of investigators found that in the village of Seascale, where a lot of may never be known,
the workers families of the nearby Sellafield Nuclear Engineering but 3 million children
Centre live, the rate of childhood leukemia is 10 times that of the
national average. The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation require treatment
in the Environment (COMARE) had earlier found strong evidence and ...
for a correlation between the work in the nuclear plant and the
rate of childhood leukemia in workers’ children. (www.comare.org.
uk) Going even further, a clear dose-effect relation between the
amount of irradiation of the father and the rate of leukemia in the
children was established (Gardner, Martin et al. Results of case-con-
trol study of leukemia and lymphoma among young people near
Sellafield nuclear plant in West Cumbria, BMJ 1990; 300:423-9).
many will die prematurely ...”
The nuclear energy industry countered these scientific findings by
arguing that the increased rate of leukemia in the village of Sea-
scape, where many of the workers of the nuclear plant live, was
caused by migration of urban population to the countryside and
not local factors like irradiation and genome instability, an argument not held up by scientific evidence, but prom-
inently featured by local media as the explanation for the increased leukemia rates. However, other scientific re-
search also adds to the suspicion that radiation of the workers could be the cause for increased mortality in the
region. A study by Parker and Pearce confirmed the increase in stillbirths amongst families working for the plant
(Parker, L., Pearce MS. Stillbirths among offspring of male radiation workers at Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant.
Lancet 1999; 354:1407-14) To read more about the Sellafield case, take a look at the following scientific journals:
New Scientist 29 May 1999, New Scientist, 15 November 1997 and CORE Briefing 10.99, 10 June 1999.
See also: Living in the Shadow of Sellafield
The Meltdown Of Chernobyl
The first catastrophe of Chernobyl was the Meltdown itself. On Saturday, April 26th, 1986 at 1:23 am, Block 4 of the
nuclear power plant at Chernobyl explodes. 180,000 kilograms of highly radioactive material is inside the reactor
at the time — an amount equal to 1,000 Hiroshima bombs. At least 200 different radioactive isotopes are catapult-
ed into the atmosphere and contaminate 23% of the state of Belarus, some parts of Russia and Ukraine, as well
as regions of Poland, the Czech Republic, Scandinavia and southern Germany. Most of Europe receives additional
radiation and even as far as North America, a significant rise in the daily intake of radiation can be noted. 800,000
people were used by Soviet authorities to clean up the rubble of Block 4 — exposing them to radiation doses com-
parable to the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Up to this day, children in the region eat contaminated food, live
in contaminated houses, play in contaminated woods and breathe contaminated dust.
The effects: a significant rise in all types of cancer, thousands of deaths, a sharp increased in the number of spon-
taneous abortions, stillbirths, and childhood mortality, a growing number of birth defects and genetic abnor-
malities, disturbance and retardation of mental development, a growing number of neuropsychiatric diseases,
blindness, endocrine diseases, diseases of the respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, urogenital systems as
well as higher depression and suicide rates.
The second catastrophe of Chernobyl is the subsequent cover-up.
The effects of the accident are still being suppressed, covered up,
played down, minimized. Even today, the IAEA claims there were
only 56 deaths. Hundreds of thousands were and still are being
affected: in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, Poland and other western and
northern European countries. Many victims have been neglected
and remain without any help at all. Even worse: the IAEA has just
recently called for a stop of aid to the victims in order to prevent
what it calls victim-mentality. In reality, the organization’s sole aim
is to promote nuclear energy and the pictures of tens of thousands
of irradiated children with leukemia don’t really fit into the picture
of clean energy.
Chornobyl should have been the beginning of the end of nuclear
energy. The Chornobyl catastrophe should be synonymous with
the understanding that nuclear energy is neither technically under
our control, nor can it prevail politically. The civilian use of nuclear
energy is inextricably linked with severe health, security, ecolog-
ical, political, economic and social risks. See also: Chernobyl Re-
~ UN Secretary General Kofirelation
a clear dose-effect Annan search and Power Point Presentation
Nuclear Power Powers The Bomb
With most technologies used in nuclear energy being dual-use technologies, the sharp line between civilian
and military nuclear research doesn’t exist. Examples like North Korea, Iran, Pakistan, Israel, the USA and/or India
should have shown the world that countries possessing nuclear energy programs have absolutely no problem of
developing military nuclear projects without a lot of trouble and develop nuclear weapons under covert civilian
nuclear programs. See also: Two sides of the same coin
Nuclear Power Contributes To War
Like stated above, the chances of a resource-driven aggression over uranium could well be ahead of us if we rely
on this finite source of power. Also, with so much nuclear waste around, the easy disposal in the form of deplet-
ed uranium shells and ammunition is a sociopathic means of getting rid of radioactive material. Because nuclear
weapons require highly enriched uranium, a civil nuclear program is a good way for a country to acquire nuclear
weapons. Countries like the USA, Russia, Israel, India, Pakistan, Iran and North Korea have shown how it works —
and how the right to civil nuclear programs has greatly contributed to restarting the Nuclear Arms Race. As long as
there is nuclear power and as long as countries persist on their right to acquire civilian nuclear energy programs,
 the
which the NPT gives them, the number of nuclear weapons states will
increase. Already, the number has risen from just five to seven (with In-
dia and Pakistan) and now to eight (with North Korea) and possibly to

second
nine (with Iran) in the next few years — always keeping in mind that
Israel also has nuclear weapons but doesn’t admit it and that countless
other countries have the “nuclear option” of turning their civilian into a
military program, dropping out of the NPT like North Korea has done
and begin testing. Instead of addressing its starving populations and

catastrophe
investing in development and education, countries like China, India, Pa-
kistan or North Korea are spending billions on nuclear programs aimed
at gaining more political clout and of course, protection. Also, in the
days of international terrorism, nuclear power plants have become at-

of
tractive targets for people seeking to cause harm to innocent people
just to make a statement.

chornobyl
On 26 April 1986, reactor # 4 at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Station
(left), 100 km north from Kiev, blew up during a routine daily opera-
tion. Nearly nine tons of radioactive material — 90 times as much as
the Hiroshima bomb — were hurled into the sky. Winds over the fol-
lowing days, mostly blowing north and west, carried fallout into Belarus
is the

cover
as well as Russia, Poland and the Baltic region. The radioactive fallout
affected 23% of Belarus, with 4.8% of Ukrainian territory and 0.5% of
Russian land exposed. About 135,00 people were evacuated from a 30-
km radius around the plant, with the peripheral areas remaining at a
high risk of radioactive exposure. The reactor was enclosed in a con-
crete-and-steel sarcophagus. Over the following years about 800,000
people known as “the liquidators” worked on clean-up operations inside

up
the 30-km zone. Although scientists agree that there is no risk of the sar-
cophagus exploding, the status of the estimated 180 tons of radioactive
material trapped inside the nuclear power plant is still, and always will
be, unclear.

While Chornobyl was covered with a cement and steel sarcophagus,
the World Trade Center bombing was covered by media lies alone
The status of the 800,000 “liquidators” is just now being studied and the
data learned is being compiled but this is not a well-funded or large-
scale government study. It’s carried out by civilians, physicians, re-
searchers, chemists, people with empathy, a quality missing from the
lives of those promoting nuclear energy as a safe alternative energy
source. There is no safe nuclear energy source at this time.
 Agenda For Research On Chernobyl Health

This is included to show that the research regarding Chernobyl

is still ongoing because much is still to be learned and even more kept secret
[The “agenda” includes data that won’t be released]

Project Proposals For Urgent Priorities

The accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 1986 took place in a European country, the radiation from
the accident badly affected three European countries, and fallout from the accident reached every European
country. Many hundreds of people were affected by direct whole body radiation through their work on the plant
during and after the accident. Millions of people were exposed to significant levels of radiation from fallout, mak-
ing this accident unique. The health consequences of radiation exposure may be long delayed, as shown from the
study of atomic bomb survivors in Japan. The type and tissue distribution of the radiation from the bombs differs
from that from fallout making the long term consequences of Chernobyl unpredictable. Without proper study of
the consequences information of great potential scientific value and of great importance to radiation protection
will be lost. In addition speculation will be unconstrained, and will influence public attitudes to the perceived dan-
gers of radiation. With this background the EC sought advice on the requirements for future work on the health
consequences of the accident. The ARCH programme was supported by the EC in 2008. The main deliverable
was the production of a strategic research agenda (SRA) for studies of the health consequences of the Chernobyl
accident. This would be carried out through the interaction of a core group with an international group of experts
and advisors. During the development of the SRA some topics would be identified as of urgent high priority;
these would be reported to the EC as the Work Package 1 deliverable. The Core Group has met on 4 occasions;
it has identified 26 possible areas for research. Draft papers outlining the background, aims, details of a possible
approach and methods that could be applied, together with potential roadblocks were prepared for each topic. Justification
The topics and the papers have been discussed at two meetings of the Expert group and Advisors, modifications
were suggested and two additional subjects proposed by the experts. At the last meeting the priority to be This is the first (and hopefully last) occasion on which population exposure to non-negligible levels of radiation
given to each topic was assessed using agreed criteria, and five research proposals of the 28 were considered to has occurred on such a scale. The number of thyroid cancers diagnosed among those who were children and
be of short term priority. In addition, the experts regarded it as urgent to carry out small scale exploratory work adolescents at the time of the accident is unprecedented and the future of the endemic is an important public
in order that the feasibility and scope of three other projects could be adequately assessed for the SRA. Finally health and health services concern in the most contaminated countries, which must be evaluated. Surveillance
one infrastructure project was regarded as very important, but this part of this proposal involved international of incidence trends for other cancers is also an important priority both in terms of public health and health care
cooperation, including the USA. No progress could be made without an initial approach to the US National Can- delivery planning and radiation protection research.
cer Institute, followed by approaches to the authorities in Belarus and Ukraine to see whether current US funded
programmes in those countries which are being scaled back could be extended as joint programmes with the EC. Proposal
The recommended projects are set out below.
To conduct routine surveillance of cancer incidence and mortality trends using existing data from population
Background based cancer registries.

The main health effect of radiation from the Chernobyl accident observed to date is a dramatic increase in the
incidence of thyroid cancer in persons exposed as young people. Increases in the incidence of a number of other
types of cancer, in particular breast cancer, have also been reported but have not yet been conclusively demon-
strated to be related to radiation from the accident. Continued surveillance of trends in the incidence of cancers,
including thyroid cancer, is an important priority to evaluate the public health impact of the accident and should
continue until the complete burden of this disease caused by the accident has been fully characterized.
Study Approach
Trends in diseases are most efficiently studied using ecological designs, relying on existing data from population
based cancer registries to continuously monitor trends in those exposed at different ages. Incidence studies are
more informative than mortality studies in capturing the full burden of diseases, in particular for cancers such as
thyroid cancer that typically have very good survival.

Objective Dosimetry

To monitor trends in overall and site-specific cancer incidence in the affected areas including Europe as a whole. Simple monitoring of tumor trends in populations does not require individual level doses. Average doses to the
thyroid (so-called “passport doses”) have been calculated at the level of individual settlements in Belarus and
 contaminated regions of Russia and
Ukraine and used in ecological studies
to date. In Europe outside of the most
contaminated countries, average dos-
es have also been estimated. Thus ad-
equate dose estimation is possible and
available for future ecological studies.

Feasibility

Ecological studies are routinely con-

ducted to examine disease trend over
time. Given the existence of population
based cancer registries in Belarus and
in the most contaminated regions of
Ukraine and Russia, as well as in many
other European countries it is quite fea-
sible to conduct this type of study in the
Chornobyl context to determine future
trends. Such studies are generally quite
economical and can be conducted pe-
riodically in the future as the necessary
data are collected routinely.

Abandoned military vehicles and helicopters dot the Russian irradiated landscape surrounding Chornobyl
Nuclear Night
Do not take well-loved pets (including birds) into your shelter - they will consume fresh air.

Leave the old and bed-ridden, you can do nothing for them.

Remember to press the sealing switch when everyone is in the shelter.

Set the radiation aerial, turn on the Geiger barometer.

Turn off your television now.

Turn off your radio immediately

The broadcasts end.

At the same time secure explosion plugs in the ears of each member of your family.

Take down your plasma flasks.

Give your children the pills marked one and two in the green container, then put them to bed.

Do not break the inside air-lock seals until the radiation ‘All Clear’ shows.

(Watch for the cuckoo in your Perspex panel), or your District Touring Doctor rings your bell.

If before this your air becomes exhausted or if any of your family is critically injured,

administer the capsules marked ‘Valley Forge’ (Red pocket in No. 1 Survival Kit),

For painless death.

 Next Steps
A project to monitor cancer trends should:
• Arrange a meeting of staff responsible for maintaining Chornobyl registries to review comparability of informa-
tion and feasibility of harmonizing data collected and approach-
es, and,
• Establish a trans-national steering committee to overview har-
monization, plan joint analyses and review proposals from oth-
er groups for use of data.
Molecular Evolution and
Molecular Epidemiology of Thyroid Tumors
The greatly increased incidence of thyroid carcinomas in those
exposed to fallout from the Chornobyl accident in the 3 most
affected countries is well established. The WHO/IAEA 20 year
conference estimated the numbers as 4,000 and these have
been described as the largest numbers of tumors of one type
due to one cause on one date that have ever occurred. A dose
effect relationship has been demonstrated. The situation how-
ever is more complex than the simple statement that radia-
tion to the thyroid causes thyroid cancer. It was shown in the
first few years after the increase was noticed that the risk of
developing thyroid cancer was strongly correlated with age at
exposure, with the youngest exposed having the highest risk.
The morphological type of thyroid cancer was virtually always
papillary carcinoma, and the commonest molecular change
identified was rearrangement of the RET oncogene. With in-
creasing latency there have been changes in the morphology,
in the molecular pathology and in the clinical behaviour of the
tumors. In the first 20 years papillary carcinomas remain by
far the most dominant type, the small drop in proportion that
they form of all thyroid carcinoma could reflect a fall in the at-
tributable fraction. However both the subtype of papillary car-
cinoma and the type of RET rearrangement have changed with
increasing latency, with the solid type of papillary carcinoma
linked to RET-PTC-3 becoming less frequent, and the classic
type of papillary carcinoma linked to RET-PTC-1 becoming
more frequent. The clinical behavior of the papillary carcino-
mas has also become less aggressive with increasing latency.
Gomel, Belarus - Alexandra Prokopenko, 9, with her father Vitaly.
These changes make forecasting the future course of the epi- Alexandra has hydrocephalus. Her father is the only one strong
demic difficult; it is likely that the subtypes of papillary carcino-
enough to hold Alexandra when she sits up to eat
ma and the molecular findings will continue to change, and it is
also possible that follicular tumors, both benign and malignant,
or other thyroid tumor types such as anaplastic carcinomas or
medullary carcinomas may show a radiation related increase in incidence. It is therefore important that as well as
following the overall incidence of thyroid carcinoma, the changes in the morphology, molecular pathology and
clinical behavior continue to be followed, to give a complete understanding of the consequences of exposure of
a large population to fallout from a nuclear accident. These studies however do not directly address two other
important questions – are there specific changes in the tumor genome that are markers of radiation exposure,
and are there germ-line changes which confer susceptibility to radiation induced thyroid cancers. Work so far
has in general identified changes in the thyroid carcinomas found in populations exposed to Chernobyl fallout
without adequate unexposed controls for the same ethnic back-
ground, so that for example it is difficult to know whether the
relative lack of BRAF point mutation in the radiation related
papillary carcinomas is due to the tendency of radiation to in-
duce double strand breaks, a necessary precursor to the devel-
opment of oncogenes activated by rearrangement, or solely to
the young age of the patients investigated. The presence in a
minority of the thyroid cancer patients exposed to Chernobyl
fallout of a family history of thyroid cancer would suggest that
germ-line changes conferring susceptibility to the develop-
ment of thyroid cancer could be relevant. Germ-line mutations
conferring susceptibility specifically to radiation induced thy-
roid carcinoma might not be associated with a family history
of thyroid carcinoma, other than an increased risk for exposed
siblings. Little is known of the genes associated with non-radi-
ation induced familial papillary thyroid carcinoma other than
in certain specific types, current studies are investigating the
role of germ line DNA polymorphisms in the susceptibility
to thyroid cancer. A great deal is known about the genes in-
volved in repair of radiation induced damage to DNA, see for
example recent reviews. Polymorphisms in two genes involved
in double strand break repair, CHEK2 and XRCC3, have been
associated with an increased risk for thyroid cancer. The sug-
gestion that the increased incidence of thyroid cancers after
radiation exposure is primarily due to the induction of double
strand breaks which give rise to oncogenic mutations, and that
the presence of germ-line changes reducing the efficiency of
double strand break repair confers increased susceptibility to
radiation induced thyroid cancer is an attractive and testable
hypothesis.
Objective
To understand the mechanisms by which radiation-induced
DNA damage gives rise to thyroid cancer by:
a) Studying the sequential molecular changes in Chernobyl
related thyroid carcinomas with increasing latency, correlating
these with changes in tumor type and morphology, and with
clinical behavior.
b) Analyzing the molecular changes in thyroid tumors for radiation
specific changes.
c) Studying germ-line DNA in patients with thyroid carcinomas to identify changes conferring increased
susceptibility to thyroid carcinogenesis
 Breast Cancer
Breast cancer is the most common cancer and one of the leading causes of death from cancer in women world-
wide. The female breast is considered to be one of the most radiosensitive organs/tissues. There is mounting ev-
idence that women carriers of pathogenic DNA repair and damage recognition genes may have an increased risk
of breast cancer following exposure to ionizing radiation even at low doses. Worldwide increase in use of medical
diagnostic and therapeutic radiation raises the question as to whether women are sufficiently well protected from
developing iatrogenic breast cancer. The descriptive epidemiological study conducted by Pukkala et al observed
an increase in breast cancer risk, in particular among women who were below the age of 45 at the time of the
accident and resided in the most contaminated districts of Belarus and Ukraine after the Chernobyl accident, and
suggested that this increase may be radiation- related.
Objectives
To determine whether the reported increased rates of breast cancer in regions contaminated after the Chernobyl
accident are related to dose to the breast. If this is demonstrated, to study potential risk modifiers in this popula-
tion, including possible genetic predisposition.
Justification
Women residing in the most contaminated districts near the Chernobyl NPP form an informative population to
better quantify risks of breast cancer associated with low and protracted exposures and possibly identify factors
that may contribute to increased individual sensitivity to these exposures because of their important numbers
and because they received relatively high doses from the Chernobyl fall-out. Eastern European populations carry
important founder mutations in CHEK2, a gene involved in DNA damage recognition and repair. If an increased risk
does exist after the Chernobyl accident, the population exposed is particularly well suited to study the possible
role of individual susceptibility in radiation-induced breast cancer risk. The results of this study have important
public health implications in countries affected by the Chernobyl accident.
Radiation Induced Cataracts In Liquidators
The lens of the eye is considered a radiosensitive tissue, posterior subcapsular and cortical opacities are associated
with exposure to ionizing radiation. The results of recent epidemiological studies showing an increased cataract
risk after low-dose dose exposure provoked considerable debate about the deterministic or stochastic nature of
radiation-induced cataracts. It was believed that cataract development is a deterministic effect which has a dose
threshold of 0.5 – 2.0 Gy for acute exposure and of 5.0 Gy for protracted or fractionated exposure. A recent study
found a statistically significant dose-response increase in the prevalence of cataracts with a threshold dose of 0.6
Sv After the Chernobyl accident a prospective study of the cohort of 8,607 Chernobyl clean-up workers at 12 and
14 years after the exposure (median lens dose 0.12 Gy) revealed a statistically significant odds ratios (OR) per 1 Gy
of lens dose were found for stage 1 superficial posterior cortical changes, for early posterior subcapsular changes
and for stage 1 posterior subcapsular changes. The dose thresholds were within the range of 0.3 – 0.5 Gy which is
a much lower threshold than was accepted previously.
Objectives
• To confirm the observed risk in developing radiogenic cataracts in Chernobyl liquidators;
• To estimate the value for dose threshold, in particular for higher grade cataracts;
• To clarify if some fraction of radiation-associated Grade I opacities progress to become more severe, vision-disabling.
Justification
As a number of studies on cataracts conducted at the low-to-medium-dose range is limited and a controversy
exists about deterministic or stochastic nature of the radiation- induced cataracts, it makes it important to con-
tinue investigation of radiation-induced cataracts following the Chernobyl accident. Results of the previously
performed studies indicated that cataracts arising in the population of Chernobyl liquidators, corrected for
the most important confounding factors, were related to the dose received. For the most part, the doses were
less than 0.5 Gy of low-LET radiation acquired in a protracted/fractionated manner. A key finding was that the
data were not compatible with a dose-effect threshold of more than 0.7 Gy. Studies of Chernobyl liquidators
therefore provide a unique opportunity to assess the risk of the radiation induced cataracts following exposure
to low doses, to find out about magnitude of such risk, about rate of progression from early lens lesion to more
advanced visual-impairing lesions, to evaluate possible threshold following the exposure at a wide range of
doses, with dose to the lens to be within low-to-medium range. The duration of the follow-up of 23 years is
sufficient for detecting a time since exposure effect on cataract occurrence.
Cardiovascular and Cerebrovascular Diseases
The significant burden from diseases relating to the circulatory system represents a major population health
concern and a challenge for public health risk management in many countries world wide. High (radiotherapy)
doses of radiation have also been shown consistently to increase the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascu-
lar diseases. In recent years, evidence has also emerged suggesting moderate doses of ionizing radiation can
contribute to excess cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease risks. In the absence of a proper understand-
ing of the biological mechanism(s) that would lead to a radiation-related risk at low doses, it is not possible at
present to draw conclusions about implications for the risk (if any) at low doses. The risk of cardiovascular and
cerebrovascular diseases related to lower doses of radiation has become a topic of substantial concern in radia-
tion protection as the existence of a risk at low doses would challenge the current radiation protection system.
Objective
To determine whether morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are associat-
ed with low to moderate doses of ionizing radiation.
Justification
Currently, there is great uncertainty regarding the effects of low to moderate doses on cardiovascular and
cerebrovascular diseases risks. The Chernobyl exposed populations – particularly the liquidators and possibly
the evacuees – are particularly suitable to address this knowledge gap because of their large size and relatively
higher dose levels (hence higher statistical power) than other low dose populations. Knowledge to be gained
from analyses of data from Chernobyl will be invaluable for radiation protection.
Cohorts Of Children With Measured Thyroid Activity
Two specific general population cohorts have been established in Belarus (the BelAm cohort) and Ukraine (the
UkrAm cohort) based on a sample of all individuals aged younger than 18 years who lived in the most con-
taminated regions (oblasts) of these countries and whose thyroid activity was measured within two months
after the accident. Sampling included all individuals with measured thyroid activity doses of 1 Gy or more and
a random sample from two lower dose groups (0-0.29 and 3.39-0.99Gy). The cohorts, which include about
15,000 subjects from Belarus and the same number from Ukraine who have been traced and have agreed to be
screened, have been supported financially by the US NCI and are administered jointly with the country con-
cerned. They have been periodically screened for thyroid disease with ultrasound examination and palpation
since 1998 and have provided valuable information on thyroid cancer and thyroid disease risk. The NCI is now
discontinuing support for the active follow-up of the Bel-Am and Ukr-Am cohorts and only passive follow-up
through cancer and mortality registries are planned.
Objective
To establish and commit to the long-term follow-up of these populations which can be the basis for studies of
the long-term biological and health consequences of the accident.
Justification
This is a well defined cohort of 25,000-30,000 children from Belarus and the Ukraine exposed to radiation
emitted from the Chernobyl accident. By design, it includes a large proportion of children from the most
contaminated territories. It is rich in information necessary to study all types of thyroid diseases including, but
not limited to, thyroid cancer. Active follow-up conducted in the past included systematic collection of blood
and urine samples, thyroid palpation, ultrasound examinations to determine structural abnormalities of the
thyroid, medical history and analysis of thyroid hormone levels. The existence of this cohort makes it a unique
source of information not only for the study of thyroid diseases but also for a number of other outcomes for
which screening is needed in a well-defined population with individual dose estimates. It would also be in-
valuable for the conduct of clinical and health services research.
In principle, nuclear reactors are a pretty good way to generate energy. In reality, they aren’t. Common sense
should tell you that if you plan to use a technology that must never ever fail - because of disastrous conse-
quences - then you look for something else. Unfortunately, common sense is not all that common. And then,
twenty years ago, the then Soviet nuclear power station in Chernobyl blew up. I remember this event very
vividly; back then I was living in what used to be West Germany, and part of the radioactive cloud made it all
the way to Germany. Needless to say, it wasn’t nearly as bad as in the immediate vicinity of the reactor, but
still… the invisible threat, “in the air, for you and me” (as German electronic act Kraftwerk had described it just
ten years before Chernobyl) made you wonder whether we - as humans - were really just too damn stupid
to survive. Needless to say, what we got to hear from those people interested in nuclear power, politicians
and those making good money from it, was something like “Oh, it can’t happen here”, with a variety of utterly
ridiculous reasons added. I never believed that incompetence, neglect, and technological malfunctions ad-
here to ideologies or are things that only happen to “them”. In any case, watch the Magnum in Motion essay
Chernobyl Legacy to see the results of the world’s worst nuclear disaster yet. I have to warn you, though, some
of the images are pretty rough.
 Genetic Effects of the Atomic Bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Genetics Conference, Committee on Atomic Casualties, National Research Council
The Atomic Energy Commission recently formally signified its intention of supporting long-range medical
studies of the survivors of the atomic bombings in Japan, to be conducted by the Committee on Atomic Casu-
alties of the National Research Council. One aspect of these studies will concern the much-discussed potential
genetic effects of the bombs. The background of this program begins shortly after Japan’s surrender, when a
Joint Army-Navy Commission made extensive observations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the survivors of the
bombings. At the conclusion of the Commission’s work its chairman, Col. A.W. Oughterson, M.C., AUS, recom-
mended to the Surgeon General of the Army that the Council be requested to undertake a long-range study
of the medical and biological effects of the atomic bomb, and this recommendation was transmitted by Sur-
geon Gen. Norman T. Kirk to Lewis H. Weed, chairman of the Division of Medical Sciences. As a result, in June
1946 a conference group was convened by the Council, and in November, following its recommendation, a
five-man commission composed of representatives of the Council, the Army, and the Navy left for Japan for
the purpose of determining the current status of Japanese work on atomic bomb casualties, evaluating the
feasibility of American participation in continued research on these casualties, and indicating the lines along
which such studies should proceed. This commission, known as the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission and
composed of Austin Brues, Paul S. Henshaw, Lt. Melvin Block, M.C., AUS, Lt. James V. Neel, M.C., AUS, and Lt.
(j.g.) Frederick Ullrich, (MC) USNR, submitted a report of its findings to the Council in January 1947.
Council on June 24, 1947, but with certain additional considerations which grew out of the deliberations of
the Conference.
It must first be recognized that, inasmuch as the majority of mutations occurring in animals are recessive, only
the relatively small proportion of mutations which are dominants may be expected to show effects in the first
postbomb generation. The potential range in their effects is very wide. Dominant mutations with large, clear-
cut manifestations can be expected to be much rarer than those with smaller, but possibly quite significant,
effects on bodily dimensions, life span, etc. But the detection of these latter is a matter of great difficulty with
present techniques. For practical considerations investigation will have to be concentrated chiefly on the class
with such large effects as may lead to stillbirths, to live births with gross external abnormality, or to internal
defects causing death or serious illness in infancy.
External Link:
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1800&page=9

The June 1946 conference group had recommended that appropriate action be taken to obtain a Presidential
Directive authorizing the National Research Council to initiate a long range study of the atomic bomb effects.
This Directive was issued at the request of the Secretary of the Navy, James T. Forrestal, in November 1946,
and on its authority the Council, in January 1947, established a Committee on Atomic Casualties, composed
of Thomas M. Rivers (chairman), George W. Beadle, Detlev W. Bronk, Austin Brues, George M. Lyon, C.P. Rhoads,
Shields Warren, Stafford L. Warren, George H. Whipple, and Raymond E. Zirkle.

The potential genetic effects of the atomic bomb were apparent to all interested students from the day the
first bomb was dropped—in fact, to some, well before that time. A consideration of genetic studies was one
facet of the work of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, and a section of its January 1947 report was de-
voted to this subject. This phase of the work was to a large extent the responsibility of Lt. James V. Neel.

On June 24, 1947, the Committee on Atomic Casualties arranged a conference on the potential genetic effects
of the atomic bombs. At this meeting, which was attended by George W. Beadle (chairman), Donald R. Charles,
Charles H. Danforth, Herman J. Muller, Laurence H. Snyder, and Lt. Neel, the latter submitted a report of prelim-
inary genetic studies, based on his observations in Japan during the preceding six months. Following a thor-
ough appraisal of the problem, the conference voted to recommend to the Committee on Atomic Casualties
that a program be undertaken in Japan along the lines sketched out in the Neel report. This recommendation
was accepted at a meeting of the Committee on June 26, 1947. The conference also recommended that a
statement be prepared, briefly summarizing the current status of the problem. This statement follows.

genetic
“Whether the Atomic Bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki will have detectable genetic effects on the Japa-
nese is a question of widespread interest. The purpose of the present note is to show briefly that (1) many difficulties

effects
beset any attempt to obtain a valid answer to this question and (2) even after a long-term study, such as that out-
lined below, it still may not be possible to determine just how much genetic damage was done at Hiroshima and
Nagasaki.”

This memorandum is essentially a partial summary of the material presented by Lt. James V. Neel at the meet-
ing of the Conference on Genetics convened by the Committee on Atomic Casualties of the National Research
Advertisement
 Some Further Observations on the Sex Ratio Among Infants Born
to Survivors of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
William J. Schull, James V. Neel and A. Hashizume

Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor

Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission, Hijiyama-koen, Hiroshima, Japan

SOME YEARS AGO, we presented the evidence then existing pertinent to the association in man of the sex
ratio with parental exposure to ionizing radiation (Schull and Neel, 1958). At that time, we tentatively conclud-
ed that “the sex of children born to the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki reveals
significant changes in the sex ratio of these children, changes in the direction to be expected if exposure had
resulted in the induction of sex-linked lethal mutations.” This conclusion was reached through a somewhat
tortuous line of reasoning, for no single study, in Japan or elsewhere, offered unequivocal evidence of a radia-
tion-induced change. In the years which have intervened, there have been two developments which warrant
a reinspection of this association and, of course, the earlier conclusion. First, further data are available. Sec-
ond, we now recognize additional complexities in the problem, in particular that non-disjunction of the sex
chromosomes can occur in man and, if increased by ionizing radiation, could complicate the interpretation
of any changes in the sex ratio. Specifically, a radiation-induced increase in the frequency of non-disjunction
conceivably could either obscure an increase in sex-linked lethal mutants or lead to a spuriously high estimate
of their frequency.

The purpose of this paper is to record some 47,624 observations made in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the years
1956 through 1962 relevant to the functional relationship between the sex ratio and parental exposure to
atomic radiation and, in the light of these further observations, to review the evidence presently available on
this issue. In terms of the total radiation dose represented, these new data increase the observations previ-
ously available by about 70%.

External Link:
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1800&page=280

The Sultanat family has a farm near Lake Balapan, the location of 115 nuclear tests.
During one of the tests, their house collapsed. The children go to school in Semipalatinsk because
it is less contaminated there. Two daughters were born mute; the mother has severe problems
with her immune system and her thyroid glands.

“The WHO/IAEA 20 year conference estimated the numbers as 4,000 and these have been described
as the largest numbers of tumours of one type due to one cause on one date that have ever occurred.”
 Malignant Tumors during the First 2 Decades
of Life in the Offspring of Atomic Bomb Survivors
From the American Journal of Human Genetics Volume 46

Y.Yoshimoto, J.V.Neel, W.J.Schull, H.Kato, M.Soda, R.Eto, and K.Mabuchi

Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima and Nagasaki; Department of

Human Genetics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor; and ‡Cen-
ter for Demographic and Population Genetics, University of Texas, Houston.

Summary

The risk of cancer (incidence) prior to age 20 years has been determined for
children born to atomic bomb survivors and to a suitable comparison group.
Tumor ascertainment was through death certificates and the tumor registries
maintained in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The rationale for the study stemmed
from the evidence that a significant proportion of such childhood tumors as
retinoblastoma and Wilms tumor arise on the basis of a mutant gene inherited
from one parent plus a second somatic cell mutation involving the allele of
this gene. Gonadal radiation doses were calculated by the recently established
DS86 system, supplemented by an ad hoc system for those children for one or
both of whose parents a DS86 dose could not be computed but for whom an
ad hoc dose could be developed on the basis of the available information. The
total data set consisted of a cohort of 31,150 live-born children one or both of
whose parents received >0.01 Sv of radiation at the time of the atomic bomb-
ings (average conjoint gonad exposure 0.43 Sv) and two suitable comparison
groups totaling 41,066 children. Altogether, 43 malignant tumors were as-
certained in the children of exposed parents, and 49 malignant tumors were
ascertained in the two control groups. A multiple linear regression analysis
revealed no increase in malignancy in the children of exposed parents. How-
ever, examination of the data suggested that only 3.0–5.0% of the tumors of
childhood that were observed in the comparison groups are associated with
an inherited genetic predisposition that would be expected to exhibit an al- Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
tered frequency if the parental mutation rate were increased. There is thus far
no confirmation of the positive findings that Nomura found in a mouse sys- Ardak, 33 years old, is suffering from a rare bone disease that makes his body shrink.
tem. (next page disputes this finding) His doctors don’t know what is wrong.

External Link
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1800&page=389
 Congenital Malformations, Stillbirths, and Early Mortality among
the Children of Atomic Bomb Survivors: A Reanalysis
Masanori Otake, William J. Schull and James V. Neel

Department of Statistics, Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), Hiroshima, Japan; RERF,
and The Genetics Centers, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Texas Health
Science Center, Houston, Texas; and Department of Human Genetics, University of Michigan,
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Congenital Malformations, Stillbirths, and Early Mortality among the Children of Atomic Bomb
Survivors: A Reanalysis. Radiat. Res. 122, 1– 11 (1990).

Of all the data sets pertinent to the estimation of the genetic risks to humans following ex-
posure to ionizing radiation, potentially the most informative is that composed of the cohort
of children born to atomic bomb survivors. We present here an analysis of the relationship
between parental exposure history and untoward pregnancy outcomes within this cohort,
using to the fullest extent possible the recently revised estimates of the doses received by
their parents, the so-called DS86 doses. Available for study are 70,073 terminations, but DS86
doses have not been or presently cannot be computed on the parents of 14,770. The fre-
quency of untoward pregnancy outcomes, defined as a pregnancy terminating in a child
with a major congenital malformation, and/or stillborn, and/or dying in the first 14 days
of life, increases with combined (summed) parental dose, albeit not significantly so. Under
a standard linear model, when the sample of observations is restricted to those children
whose parents have been assigned the newly established DS86 doses (n =55,303), ignoring
concomitant sources of variation and assuming a neutron RBE of 20, the estimated increase
per sievert in the predicted frequency of untoward outcomes is 0.00354 (±0.00343). After
adjustment for concomitant sources of variation, the estimated increase per sievert in the
proportion of such births is 0.00422 (±0.00342) if the neutron RBE is assumed to be 20. A
“one-hit” model with appropriate adjustments for extraneous sources of variation results in
an almost identical value, namely, 0.00412 (±0.00364). When the sample is extended to in-
clude parents lacking the full array of dose parameters necessary to calculate the DS86 dose,
but sufficient for an empirical conversion of the previously employed T65DR dose system to
its DS86 equivalent, we find under the linear model that the estimated increase per sievert in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan
untoward pregnancy outcomes is some 31% higher than that published previously, 0.00264
(±0.00277), assuming an RBE of 20, after adjustment for extraneous sources of variation. Bayan Beisengalieva is 15 years old in this image. She was 6 years old when doctors found a
(Since a dose could not be calculated in 367 of the 70,073 outcomes, the n=69,706.) The cor- brain tumor. This picture was taken a year after a second brain tumor has been discovered.
responding value with the one-hit model is 0.00262 (±0.00294).
Is the data being carefully managed to produce the desired results or are these methods
and test criteria the best we can do under the circumstances? Do the test results match the
External Link: known physical results? We see various cancers, birth defects and other medical anomalies
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=1800&page=377 among the populations of radiation exposed individuals. This can’t be denied. We also see
the very same disorders among the 9/11 First Responders and people living in and around
the Ground Zero destruction and clean-up site.
 The Russian Federation & The United States Of America whole body measurements (Kozheurov 1995). Available instrumentation permits evaluation of minimum de-
Second Workshop tectable activity in whole body in terms of Sr-90 at about 120-150 nCi. So the Sr-90 content of the skeleton for
about 80% of the living Techa River residents is at present under 200 nCi.
Studies Of Radiation Effects On Populations In Ural And Other Regions
Final Report
Individual Specific Dose Reconstruction
St. Petersburg
Just as certain sources and pathways as adequately dealt with in generic terms, certain doses must be recon-
July 11-13, 1995
structed specifically for the individual, because the doses are sufficiently large to be important and because
individual habits are sufficiently variable that a generic answer will not provide adequate detail to support
epidemiological studies.
The Kyshtym explosion, creating the East Urals Radioactive Trace, resulted in cumulative external doses to
Data Currently Available
unevaluated populations reaching 4 to 50 rad (Romanov 1995).
The Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine (URCRM) has been studying the consequences of radiation
Major Pathways of Exposure
accidents in the south Urals region for the last 44 years. There are two computerized registries of people ex-
posed to chronic radiation The first registry includes 26,437 people who were exposed to radiation wastes
The large releases to the Techa River created a number of exposure pathways. Radionuclide concentrations
released into the Techa River between 1949 and 1956. For these people, the estimated red bone marrow doses
exceeded 100 ~Ci/L in the early 1950s, with consequent concentrations in sediments as high as 10 mCi/kg
range from 20 to 4000 mSv. The second registry includes information about 20,463 individuals living in the
and concentrations in garden soils also very high (Goloshchapov et al. 1995). The external dose rates were
region of the East Urals Radiation Trace (EURT) who were exposed to radiation from the “Kyshtym” accident.
quite high (Burmistrov et al. 1995); cumulative doses as measured using environmental thermoluminescent
The estimated doses for these people are between 15 and 900 n~Sv. This registry also includes information on
dosimeters and exceed 100 rad. The people living in villages downstream frequently had no other sources of
3,500 persons exposed in utero and 32,941 children of exposed parents. The computer base includes demo-
drinking or sanitary water. Direct ingestion of drinking water is a straightforward pathway. Consumption of
graphic and residency information. The medical data base includes information about vital status, causes of
milk from cows feeding the region also lead to large doses. Anecdotal evidence also indicates that fish from
death, and morbidity. These data bases are currently being documented in detail.
the river were frequently consumed. It is apparent that there are several sources that should be followed, and
that the timing, pathways, and magnitude depend on both the source and individual habits.
The reader can draw her or his own conclusions. Are these aggressive, well-funded studies designed to pro-
duce the most concrete data? Are actions designed to minimize future risk? Are current conditions being
Minor Pathways Of Exposure
properly mitigated to preserve the sanctimony of humanity? Or are we all disposable humans being used in
“one big experiment” as Dr. Cahill, UC Davis DELTA Group stated, because there are over seven billion of us?
Initial calculations indicate that the routine releases of plutonium did not result in lung or bone doses to mem-
bers of the public in excess of 10 rads. Similarly, the total release by resuspension from Lake Karachai beyond
the boundaries of the Mayak facility were not sufficient to result in large depositions. (However, there is still
some question about the inhalation doses resulting from this release.) Although numerous pathways can be
postulated for use of Techa River water in the homes of local residents (e.g., washing clothes, washing floors),
most will result in doses less than ingestion and direct external exposure. While scoping studies to refine the
dose estimates for these various pathways should be performed, resources should be conserved to deal with
the major pathways.

Bioassay Data Supporting Dose Reconstruction

The majority of the environmental exposures to short-lived radionuclide’s have not left currently-detectable
signals in the exposed populations. However, some of the longer-lived radionuclide’s, with long biological res-
idence times, still maybe detected. Human body burdens of plutonium have been measured at levels above
global background in the population out to distances of 100 km (Suslova et al. 1995). A small amount of data
is available for people (whole body counts) following the Kyshtym release. This is not a sufficient amount upon
which to base dose estimates, but it may be used to validate release and uptake estimates.

Strontium 90

Strontium-90 also has a long biological residence time in the body. The levels of environmental contamina-
tion are sufficient that Strontium/Yttrium bremmstrahlung may be detected from outside the body. Measure-
ments of individuals have been made for many years - over 15,000 people are enrolled in the registry with
CHAPTER six
Plasma & The Energy Surplus
 Ground
Zero And The

Energy
SURPLUs By Jeff Prager & Don Fox

The Energy Surplus at Ground Zero is no better exemplified than by the image at right.
The concrete stairway is literally blown away. Notice that the force road either up or down
the stairway leaving the side-walls untouched. The strength of the blast or force and the
searing heat, just milliseconds — left the stairway stripped of its upper layers of cement.
This isn’t an image that received much play within the mainstream or alternative medias,
something we all might consider since the images available to me were available to every-
one when they were released. FEMA had three image releases — 2005, 2012 and 2017 —
and they released 1000s of images and 1000s of videos, all of which I collected. Why didn’t
the media do the same and then use the images and video? Every picture tells a story ...
right? This picture certainly tells a plainly obvious story ...
Let’s read the remainder of the story ...
 Ground Zero Energy Surplus
Analysis and Discussion
Having first recognized the vast energy surplus accompanying the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11,
and having then connected the dots on the evidence that points to widespread molecular dissociation at Ground
Zero, we now consider the possibility of the simplest and thus most likely potential source of the form of energy
capable of accomplishing that feat: fission activated fusion energy, re-
leased from multiple very-low-yield thermonuclear devices — perhaps
neutron bombs. The uranium, thorium and actinium family gamma
radiating isotopes found in the Ground Zero dust make this perfectly
clear — it couldn’t be more obvious.
released at “Ground Zero” by fission-activated fusion devices, also known as tactical nuclear weapons, or Directed
Energy Nuclear Weapons commonly referred to in military circles as DEW, that had been placed inside the build-
ings — a technologically simpler explanation which better fits the evidence. We also note that the Scaler and Laser
DEW proponents remain inconsistently and thus strangely mute regarding the best visual evidence in support of
the use of military nuclear DEWs at “Ground Zero”: the incredibly brief bright burst of light which preceded/accom-
panied the intersection of an aircraft the government claims to have been Flight 11 with the North tower wall. For
those DEW proponents to go out of their way to connect invisible dots while willfully blinding themselves to visi-
ble ones calls into question whether their behavior is truly motivated by
an honest desire for full disclosure of all the lies of 9/11, or has Wood’s
propaganda been so successful?.
A Brief History Of Nuclear Weapons

It is to the eternal shame of early-21st century physicists, engineers, sci- The first nuclear explosions (over New Mexico and Japan in 1945) were
entists, and other supposed luminaries and intellectuals that the huge, known as atom bombs, or A-bombs. Technically speaking, they were all
physically impossible lies of 9/11 persisted. On 9/11, we witnessed an fission devices, since the energy they released came from the fissioning,
unprecedented display of highly unconventional technological de- or splitting, of heavy atoms such as uranium. This unleashes a lot of en-
structive capability. The conventional explanation we were provided, ergy, and also leaves behind a lot of radioactivity. The second genera-
by government and media, for a top-down highly destructive gravita- tion of nuclear explosions (many over atolls in the Pacific) were known
tional collapse, in near-free-fall times, is physically impossible, and is as hydrogen bombs, or H-bombs. Technically speaking, they were all
thus about as worthy of discussion as is the belief that the Earth is flat. fusion devices, since the energy they released came from the fusing,
or combining, of hydrogen atoms into helium atoms. This is how the
In our opinion, the deafening silence in confronting such an impossi- Sun works. This unleashes even more energy, without a lot of linger-
ble lie amounts to a hugely dishonest lie of omission, and complicity ing radioactivity. Fission and fusion reactions are difficult to get started.
in a monstrous crime against humanity. If our scientists and educators Just as a conventional explosive needs some kind of triggering event, so
and political leaders and other authority figures and tax-exempt foun- do nuclear explosions. It takes a special trigger to create the conditions
dations and corporate sources of information can lie to us about this, necessary to get a fission chain reaction to commence. The threshold
what else might they be hiding? Everything, actually. for starting a fusion reaction is even higher. In fact, for decades, hydro-
gen bombs used atom bombs for their triggers — there was simply
Many of us know what we think about the otherwise-good German The Limited Hangout Biography no other way to achieve the extremely high temperature at which fu-
scientists and intellectuals and opinion-leaders who failed to confront sion occurs. Obviously, then, the first H-bombs were significantly larg-
Nazi lies in Germany 70 years ago, and the huge costs to mankind re- Dr. Steven E. Jones, the Physicist who was first to discover alleged Nano-ther- er than A-bombs. They were capable of destroying entire cities. Their
lated to that failure, and like to think that we are wise enough to learn mitic explosives in the WTC dust, co-authored the paper concluding his dis- TNT-equivalences were measured in megatons rather than kilotons.
from history. Sadly, that does not seem to be the case. What we have covery. Dr. Steven E. Jones is a respected Physicist, who has authored numer-
now is ~ 75% who just keep their heads down, complicity silent; ~ 20% ous peer-reviewed papers that have been published in prestigious scientific The 20th Century History Of Steven E. Jones
who (would like us to) believe that chemical explosives, in a kind of journals, including Nature, Scientific American, and the Journal of Physical
oversized but conventional controlled demolition, brought down the Chemistry. Dr. Jones was Professor Emeritus of Physics at Brigham Young Uni- In 1989, from Utah, news broke in the mainstream media of an energy
towers, and ~ 5% who claim that only exotic weaponry, typically Direct- versity and a pioneer in the scientific research into cold fusion. The evidence breakthrough that would change the world. It was called Cold Fusion.
ed Energy Weapons (DEW), can account for the highly unconventional does NOT indicate the presence of thermitic based explosives but the evi- It was announced that scientists had discovered that it was possible for
“Ground Zero” evidence. dence clearly indicates that the paint found by Dr. Jones is incapable of the fusion to occur on a small, non-destructive scale, at room temperature.
demolition anomalies we see at the World Trade Center demolition of Sep- The long-standing promise of the nuclear power generating industry
We agree that only exotic weaponry can account for the “Ground Zero” tember 11th, 2001. Further, the evidence indicates with clarity that both fu- — electricity too cheap to meter — might finally be realized. Scientists
damage, but consider the DEW claims regarding scaler or laser weap- sion and fission occurred simultaneously at Ground Zero on September 11th. were skeptical. Within months, a U.S. Department of Energy fusion ex-
ons wholly unwarranted and gratuitously complex and vague, probably pert authoritatively had denounced cold fusion as nothing more than
intentionally so (ie, noise), to not only stoke the enigma and stifle reso- bad science, a kind of fool’s gold. On behalf of the U.S. DoE, he basically
lution but also to make any other discussion in any similar direction seem like the rantings of “yet another one” who insisted that the media had been taken in, and had reported the existence of something which was impossible,
seems intent on blurring the lines between reality and “science fiction”. Scaler and Laser DEW proponents seem and that therefore there was nothing to the cold fusion story. Except, there’s the Radioactive Boyscout ...
to believe that it is no more of a problem to direct than to produce the enormous amount of energy necessary
to mostly annihilate a large skyscraper in less than half a minute. We disagree, based upon general technological The name of that U.S. DoE scientist calling Cold Fusion “bad science” is Steven E. Jones, pictured above.
principles and scientific analysis that there are unarguable reasons to believe that the destructive energy was
The media, friendly to the powers that be, retracted their stories about the potentially huge new energy break-
through, and apologized to the public for its apparent mistake. And, for the most part, the story went away.

The History Of 911 Truth Physics

In the wake of the 9/11 attack, up sprang a 9/11 “truth movement”. Back in 2003, its leading voice when it came to
the energy surplus at “Ground Zero” was Jim Hoffman. Hoffman published an analysis of the energy requirements
to have driven the expansion of the pyroclastic flow (what he termed a dust cloud) following the ‘collapse’ of the
North Tower, and found it to be at least 10 times more than what the tower could have provided gravitationally,
thus disproving and invalidating the government’s and media’s claims regarding the cause and “gravitational”
nature of its destruction. Jim’s work was quickly forgotten.

Despite the clarity and correctness (except for one large, energy-downplaying, assumption about the expansion
ratio) of Hoffman’s analysis, and despite the fact that he was embraced and promoted by the so-called 911truth
‘movement’, neither Hoffman nor the ‘movement’ ever did much with it. Even more puzzling is the fact that even
though Hoffman had proved that we could not blame the demise of the twin towers on airplanes (hijacked or
otherwise), he insisted that we could all still take the government’s and media’s word for what hit the towers and
why. He went further, publishing web pages that, while they appeared to be critical of the government’s and me-
dia’s claims, actually supported the core lies about hijackers and hijacked airliners, even when that meant willfully
omitting contradictory/exculpatory evidence.

Is It Honest To Continue To Blame 9/11 On Hijackers Even After We Know That We

Can Not Blame The Too-Rapid Too-Energetic Demise Of The Twin Towers On Airplanes?

In retrospect, it appears that Hoffman’s physics analysis was intended merely to imbue him with credibility and
standing among 9/11 skeptics as a leading powerful critic of the government and media regarding 9/11, so he
would be trusted (and not suspected, but followed) when he subsequently turned around and declined to de-
nounce, and even defended, some of the related, more central enemy-creating lies of 9/11. This is where Adnan
Kashoggi’s early 2002 purchase of most alternative media “9/11 Truth” web sites paid off in spades.

The 21st Century Behavior Of Steven E. Jones

Suddenly, in late 2005, a self-professed “good friend” of Jim Hoffman’s appeared on the 9/11 scene (and even in the
mainstream media). He was a PhD physics professor and fusion expert at BYU who’d decided that he could breathe
new life into a stale old WTC “thermite” controlled demolition limited-hangout that had been kicked around the
internet for years without ever gaining much popularity.

There were at least two problems with his approach: the highly-unconventional “Ground Zero” evidence clearly
pointed to some kind of exotic weaponry or energy release, and, same as Hoffman, he continually sided with the
government and media regarding what hit the towers, even as he insisted – proved – that “planes” could not ac- Rechitsa, Belarus
count for what had happened to the towers.
Zhenya Podgol, 9, Liuba Alekseyenko, 11 and Kristina Vitanova, 9, are mentally handicapped.
The Name Of That Physicist, Again, Is Steven E. Jones Socially and economically isolated, many parents are unable to care for their children and are
forced to place them in state institutions. People like Professor Jones are responsible for
So then we had two very intelligent men, Hoffman and Jones, both well-promoted by the “truth movement”, both conditions like this because they are Gatekeepers, preventing the truth from emerging.
behaving inconsistently (ie, selectively and/or intellectually dishonestly) regarding their opposition to the gov-
ernment’s and media’s lies of 9/11. But the publics understanding of physics and chemistry and especially as it
applies to nuclear devices is virtually zero. Further, Doctor Professor Jones has insisted that we can rule out all
possibility of any kind of nuclear devices having been involved in the annihilation of the World Trade Center sky-
scrapers due to the fact that no large radioactive signature had been detected at Ground Zero.
But the logic behind that is based upon the 50 year old truth that a (radioactively dirty) fission reaction is needed
to trigger a (relatively clean) fusion reaction. However there is little reason to believe that nuclear technology had
not, as of 2001, advanced beyond that of the 1950s. Nevertheless, that seems to be the basis for Jones’ having told
people that they can rule out all nuclear possibilities — technologically, we haven’t moved past 1950.

It is our opinion that this constitutes a pattern, a history of deceit; of having falsely ruled out the possibility of fusion
triggered by fission, and Dr. Jones has been dishonest. He’s a gate keeper. A radioactive event is odious and the
public simply can’t know the truth. National Security requires silence — absolute control of information. Except
that control isn’t working very well anymore — the internet can’t yet be stifled.

Fissionless Fusion

Physicists and well-informed individuals had been aware, since the 1990s, of the then-newfound possibility of
achieving fusion without fission. It was not a secret, and some of that information remains in the public domain:

Here is a quote from a publication of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) referring to high energy laser
fusion developments from the mid-1990s. It concludes with, “several years of hard work lie ahead in exploring the
fast-ignitor concept with the Petawatt. The overall goal, as it was with the development of Livermore’s first generation of
lasers, is to speed the arrival of laser fusion as a source of virtually inexhaustible energy for society.”

This quote from a publication of the U.S. Navy refers to “a krypton-fluoride (KrF) laser to produce thermonuclear burn
in small spherical pellets” as the energy source for a commercial fissionless fusion nuclear power plant.

And here (following pages) is an article about a high school student, Thiago Olson, having achieved 200 million
degree (ie, certainly not cold) fusion, without fission, in his garage in 2006, using parts mostly found on eBay. Since
then, that feat has been replicated by high school student Eric Foss (following pages).

So, armed with this information, and the resulting knowledge, or at least belief, that Professor Jones was lying, we
felt encouraged to consider the very possibility that Dr. Steven E. Jones, PhD, U.S. DoE fusion expert, had told us to
pay no attention to a nuclear possibility because he’s tasked with keeping that secret. With the data exposed in this
eMagazine the secret is now out of the box permanently.

Once the requirement (and tell-tale radioactive signature) of a fission trigger is eliminated, a fusion reaction needn’t
be large enough to destroy a city. Given that a high school student has non-destructively achieved a 200 million
degree plasma (“star in a jar”) in his garage, it is no longer impossible to imagine a fissionless fusion-based tactical Chelyabinsk, Russia
nuclear “hand grenade” (or a modern, fission-free H-bomb trigger) whose thermal output is capable of turning to
plasma everything within a 50 foot radius with any radiation completely disapating within 4 or 5 days. According to professor Gennady Vasilievich Brukhinat at the medical facility of Chelyabinsk,
Russia, most of the congenital diseases are caused by “debilitating circumstances in the unborn
Energy: Quantity Versus Intensity child’s environment.” This is a reference to debilitating circumstances in the female womb as
the fetus develops, which are, after radiation exposure, beyond our ability to control.
If you’ve ever lit a match or cigarette lighter, you’re probably well aware that there is a big difference between hav-
ing an 1800 degree flame in a room and having all the air in a room at 1800 degrees. In the case of the former, the
closer you get to the flame, the hotter the air is. Or if you’re soaking in a bathtub, and the water gets a little cool,
you can add a little bit of very hot water to make the tub water warmer. You won’t get burned by the very hot water
unless you get too close to the hot water supply.
In other words, heat disperses. A high-intensity heat source dissipates en-
ergy — by conduction, convection, radiation — through its surroundings.
Thermodynamics tells us that heat moves from hotter matter to colder mat-
ter. So a source of heat will cause a region of hotter temperatures, typically
hottest at the center, where the source is.

Recall the problems with trying to use conventional causes (including chem-
ical explosives) to account for the unconventional evidence at “Ground Zero”:

• Pyroclastic debris flows = volcano-like energy amount

• Molecular dissociation = Sun-like energy intensity
• Enduring “hot spots” = persistent energy release

The first two are a study in energy quantity versus energy intensity: a little
more “star” (plasma) than can fit in a “jar” could contain as much energy as
a volcanic eruption, by (initially) containing much higher temperatures in a
much smaller region.

Few civilians had much experience observing the effects of a small thermo-
nuclear detonation in an urban setting. So if they saw one, and were given
some other explanation for its strange appearance, would they know they’d
been deceived? How? What does a region of plasma look like, and how does
it behave at the boundary between 2 regions, one where molecules exist
and a more energetic one where they don’t? And what does that boundary
look like? A soliton explains it all.

It is part of our dot-connecting hypothesis that the sources of energy re-

sponsible for the hot spots reported in the media — molten and yellow
and red-hot metal weeks after 9/11, “fires” which could not be extinguished
for 99 days despite constant dousing with water and 1000s of gallons of
the ultraviolet absorber, Pyrocool — were some damaged small thermo-
nuclear devices (IOW, the 5% that were duds) among the ruins, which re-
leased their energy slowly, at tens of thousands of degrees, instead of all
at once, at hundreds of millions of degrees. Dr. Cahill’s (an atmospheric nu-
clear physicist) atmospheric data from UC Davis Delta Group confirms this
hypothesis in terms of the particles generated by the ‘pile,’ which were at
nano-scale. Only a nuclear event can reduce matter to that size. The first
televised videos of the ‘collapse’ events were aired uncut, and provide
a continuous look at the fall of the towers and the rise and expansion of
the monstrous, heavier-than-air pyroclastic flows of debris which imme-
diately followed. It appears the ground-hugging pyroclastic flows began
as the fall of the towers was near-
ly complete as the leading edge
of the shroud of falling debris was
reaching ground level. The discrep-
ancy between the timing of the
end of the “collapse” event and be-
ginning of the flow event is anoth-
er indication that they occurred in-
dependently, and the expansions
of the large pyroclastic flows were
driven by separate, significantly
larger energy releases emanating
from the basements, around the
time the towers had come all the
way down (or their height had
been reduced to ground level,
depending upon how one thinks
of it). The huge vertical particle
plumes briefly left behind where
the towers had stood moments
earlier offer mute testimony to the
fact that solid floors did not se-
quentially pancake downward —
that would have taken significantly
longer, been far less destructive,
and appeared far different than
what was observed.

Don Fox
Jeff Prager
The Good Candidate Hypothesis By Jeff Prager
The “Good Candidate Hypothesis” accounts for ALL anomalies. It doesn’t avoid any element of the conditions being
examined. The mere presence of so much dust — even ordinary dust — has never been explained or addressed
adequately. Over 30%, minimum, of the concrete making up the floors of the towers was calcined — turned into
it’s molecular components. It is unlike anything ever before seen in any previous building failure, including from
collapse, explosion or bombing. The incredibly tiny size of the Ground Zero particles — and that they were contin-
ually re-generated — is key to understanding the 911 demolition and the incredible and unprecedented health
effects we saw as early as 2002, 3 and 4, and the enormous number of unusual blood cancers, including Myelomas
and Leukemias, that are appearing at an unprecedented rate still today. We know today well over 5,500 Ground
Zero First Responders have cancer. Regardless of how tall the skyscrapers were, gravity is not sufficiently powerful
to cause them to disintegrate into nano-particles. Nor are conventional explosives or the very slow incendiary
Energetic Nano Compounds allegedly found by Dr. Jones, et al. The upturn in the plots in the graph (top right) as
the WTC particle sizes approach zero is definitive evidence of molecular dissociation. In every other destructive
physical event including volcanic eruption which resulted in pyroclastic flows, the plots approach zero, reach zero
and stay there. The WTC physical evidence reveals that destruction was occurring from the other end of the scale,
indicating widespread destruction on a molecular level. There is no known “pulverization” mechanism which can
account for so many unnaturally-tiny nanoparticles at Ground Zero other then nuclear. There are also other highly
unconventional aspects to the devastation of the 3 WTC skyscrapers at Ground Zero, all of which indicate the re-
lease of an enormous amount of excess energy (heat), which has never been accounted for. So once we confirm
evidence of widespread molecular dissociation having occurred at Ground Zero in New York City, we have a very
strong indication that only exotic, unconventional weaponry could have released that much extremely — un-
imaginably — high intensity energy which suddenly appeared just as the towers disintegrated from top to bottom
and disappeared just as quickly. This understanding means we cannot blame the highly unconventional Ground
Zero devastation on “thermite/thermate/superthermate and controlled demolition” any more than we can blame it
on “jet fuel or box cutters”. This was an unusual nuclear event employing sophistiated devices.

Three physicists, Dr’s Christopher Busby, Dr Heinz Pommer and Dr Frédéric Henry-Couannier have all weighed in
with unequivocal data that 911 was a nuclear event and included both fission and fusion — perhaps even cold
fusion — but fusion nevertheless. A sophisticated device that employed fission as a trigger, used Uranium, Deute-
rium and Tritium in a fission-triggered fusion event and therefore left little radiation behind and what little radia-
tion was left behind was rapidly absorbed by the micron-sized iron spheres caused by the detonation. Collapse as
part of a controlled demolition accompanied by fires which continued to burn and as Dr. Cahill at UC Davis states,
“re-generate” particulates and aerosols at nano-size for 99 days straight at below-micron size, while continually
being doused with water and Pyrocool™ has never before occurred in human history.

Any hypothesis that doesn’t take into account and/or downplays the uranium levels, the actinium series iso-
topes and the gamma measured, the unusual cancers, the unexpected nano-particles seen in the dust, fails. The
‘pile’ at ground zero generated aerosols, very fine particles better known as nano-particles. Steel was melted
into pools of molten metal. Temperatures reached over 4500º F. Only a nuclear event accounts for these rarely
discussed anomalies. According to nuclear atmospheric physicist and UC Davis Professor Emeritus Dr. Thomas
Cahill, the ‘pile’ at Ground Zero “regenerated” aerosols and “glass and soil boiled” producing infinitely fine par-
ticles, nano-scale, never before seen in the world in a building demolition of any kind. Any hypothesis must
account for these anomalies with proofs.
 Plasma Definition Of A Plasma

Plasma is loosely described as an electrically neutral medium of positive and negative particles (i.e. the overall charge of a
plasma is roughly zero). It is important to note that although they are unbound, these particles are not ‘free’. When the charges
move they generate electrical currents with magnetic fields, and as a result, they are affected by each other’s fields. This gov-
erns their collective behavior with many degrees of freedom. A definition can have three criteria:

1. The plasma approximation: Charged particles must be close enough together that each particle influences many nearby
charged particles, rather than just interacting with the closest particle (these collective effects are a distinguishing feature of
a plasma). The plasma approximation is valid when the number of charge carriers within the sphere of influence, called the
Debye sphere whose radius is the Debye screening length, of a particular particle is higher than unity to provide collective
behavior of the charged particles. The average number of particles in the Debye sphere is given by the plasma parameter,
using the Greek letter Lambda.

2. Bulk interactions: The Debye screening length (defined above) is short compared to the physical size of the plasma. This
criterion means that interactions in the bulk of the plasma are more important than those at its edges, where boundary effects
may take place. When this criterion is satisfied, the plasma is quasineutral.

3. Plasma frequency: The electron plasma frequency (measuring plasma oscillations of the electrons) is large compared to the
electron-neutral collision frequency (measuring frequency of collisions between electrons and neutral particles). When this
condition is valid, electrostatic interactions dominate over the processes of ordinary gas kinetics.

Plasma Goes Beyond Vaporization

At temperatures at or above 10s of thousands of degrees Fahrenheit, molecules are reduced to their component atoms. You
can think of Plasma as a 4th state of matter after liquids, solids and gases.

When a solid is overheated it liquifies.

When a liquid is overheated it vaporizes.

When a gaseous vapor receives too much heat energy it’s molecules dissociate into a plasma.
 FIGHTING THE EFFECTS
OF RADIATION EXPOSURE
Radiation Side Effects - Protection From Nuclear Fallout
Ionizing radiation directly destroys the bone marrow’s ability to produce white blood cells, red blood cells, and
platelets. Patients experience side effects from low numbers of white blood cells (neutropenia), red blood cells
(anemia), and platelets (thrombocytopenia). A person exposed to “fallout” can suffer from a myriad list of ail-
ments, among them thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer, due to radiation poisoning, is caused by the uptake (through
inhalation or ingestion) of radioiodine (a radioactive isotope of iodine). Governments world-wide are now stock-
piling potassium iodide (KI). Amongst them are Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Po-
land, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Austria, Sweden, etc., but not the U.S. After Three
Mile Island and Chernobyl, all available potassium iodide supplies disappeared for
months, almost overnight.
March 13, 2011 - David Brownstein, M.D.
“As the Japanese nuclear reactors release radiation into the air, the jet streams
will push this radiation to the Western U.S. and Canada. There are estimates
that the radiation fallout will reach the Western side of N. American in six
to ten days. Furthermore, I have seen estimates that it is expected that 750
RADS may contaminate these areas. How much is 750 RADS? One chest
x-ray is approximately 3/100 RADS. One CT scan is 1 RAD. The CDC recom-
mends using iodine to prevent injury from radioactive iodine fallout.”
Potassium Iodide
Adults and women who are breastfeeding should take 130mg of potas-
sium iodide. Children who are between 3 and 18 years of age should take
65mg of potassium iodide. Children who are adult size should take the adult
dose. Infants and children between 1 month and 3 years of age should take 32mg
of potassium iodide. Newborns from birth to one month of age should be given 16mg of
potassium iodide. When should you take iodine? For an acute exposure, you want to take iodine just be-
fore the exposure hits. Iodine is cleared out of the body within 24 to 72 hours after taking it. There are two types
of radiation, according to Lita Lee, author of Radiation Protection Manual. They are ionizing and non-ionizing
radiation. The ionizing radiation is more damaging because it is of a higher energy than non-ionizing radiation
and produces charged particles called ions, either negative ions (the good “guys”) or positive ions (the bad ones).
Ionizing radiation is produced from nuclear bombs, nuclear reactors, medical and dental x-rays, and is the type of
radiation used to irradiate food. The non-ionizing radiation includes electromagnetic radiation produced by elec-
tric current, radio waves, microwave ovens, radar stations, television (cathode ray tube), video display terminals
(VDT’s) computers, high voltage lines, infrared and fluorescent lights, and sunlamps (e.g. tanning booths which
emit ultraviolet light).
Side Effects Of Potassium Iodide
You may take potassium iodide to combat an overactive thyroid. Potassium iodide also is approved by the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration as a thyroid blocking agent that can be used during radiation emergencies.
This drug can be obtained without a prescription. However, it’s best to discuss taking potassium iodide
with a doctor and to take it under medical supervision---espeically if you have other medical prob-
lems, according to the Mayo Clinic. There’s also the potential that you’ll experience side effects.
Minor Side Effects
You may experience some minor side effects when taking potassium iodide drops, liq-
uid or syrup. Common effects include diarrhea, appetite loss, upset stomach, nausea
or vomiting, and acne. If these effects become especially bothersome, or are espe-
cially persistent, drugs.com advises that you speak with your doctor.
Severe Side Effects
Severe side effects that warrant immediate medical attention can occur when
you take potassium iodide, according to drugs.com.
These include black and tarry stools, fever, confusion, mouth sores, having
a metallic taste in your mouth, having numbness or tingling in your feet or
hands, swelling in your throat or neck, a skin rash, unusual tiredness or weakness, a
feeling of heaviness in your legs, or stomach pain. You also may experience a burning feeling in your mouth or
throat, sore gums or teeth, a severe headache, an irregular heartbeat, or symptoms that resemble a head cold,
advises the Mayo Clinic.

Allergic Reaction
It’s possible to suffer a severe allergic reaction when you take potassium iodide. Symptoms may include hives,
a rash, a feeling of tightness in your chest, difficulty breathing, and a swollen mouth, tongue, face or lips,
according to Drugs.com. Swollen lymph glands or joint pain are other signs. You need immediate medical
attention if you suffer an allergic reaction, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Body System Effects
Potassium iodide has the potential to affect your endocrine system by causing either hyper- or hypothyroid-
ism; causing skin inflammation; inducing metabolic acidosis due to raised lactic acid levels; impairing kidney
function; and rarely, affecting your immune system, according to drugs.com.
External Links:
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/EmergencyPreparedness/BioterrorismandDrugPreparedness/ucm072265.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/drug-information/DR601129/DSECTION=side-effects
http://www.livestrong.com/article/122251-side-effects-potassium-iodide/#ixzz1GY6LjTWs
Chemotherapy: Afraid Of Their Own Medicine
In one survey, most oncologists specializing in lung cancer reported that they would not take chemotherapy
if they had the disease. Yet, every day these doctors give their patients chemotherapy. In conversation with an
investigative reporter, one brain cancer specialist admitted that he would never submit to radiation if he had a
brain tumor. Nevertheless, he continues to send patients for radiation, because he would be kicked out of the
hospital if he didn’t follow the accepted protocol. Based on information in: Townsend Letter for
Doctors and Patients, January 1998; Spectrum, Mar/April 1998.
At the time of the atomic bombing, Tatsuichiro Akizuki, M.D. was Director of the Department of
Internal Medicine at St. Francis’s Hospital in Nagasaki and he fed his staff and patients a strict
diet of brown rice, miso and tamari soy soup, wakame, kombu and other seaweed, Hokkaido
pumpkin, and sea salt. He also prohibited the consumption of sugar and sweets since they
suppress the immune system.
By imposing this diet on his staff and patients, no one succumbed to radiation poisoning
whereas the occupants of hospitals located much further away from the blast incident suf-
fered severe radiation fatalities. Much of this positive result has to do with the fact that the
sea vegetables contain substances that bind radioactive particles and escort them out of the
body. This is why seaweed sales usually skyrocket after radiation disasters, and why various
seaweeds and algae are typically used to treat radiation victims.
In Chernobyl, for instance, spirulina was used to help save many children from radiation poi-
soning. By taking 5 grams of spirulina a day for 45 days, the Institute of Radiation Medicine in
Minsk even proved that children on this protocol experienced enhanced immune systems,
T-cell counts and reduced radioactivity. Israeli scientists have since treated Chernobyl children
with doses of natural beta carotene from Dunaliella algae and proved that it helped normalize
their blood chemistry. Chlorella algae, a known immune system builder and heavy metal detoxifier, has also
shown radioprotective effects. Because they bind heavy metals, algaes should therefore be consumed after
exposure to any type of radioactive contamination. (Note: Marine phytoplankton is also a powerbul detoxifier
and nourishing product). In 1968 a group of Canadian researchers at McGill University of Montreal, headed
by Dr. Stanley Skoryna, actually set out to devise a method to counteract the effects of nuclear fallout. The
key finding from their studies was that sea vegetables contained a polysaccharide substance, called sodium
alginate, which selectively bound radioactive strontium and eliminated it from the body.
Sodium alginate is found in many seaweeds, especially kelp, and since that time the Russians have been seri-
ously researching the use of their own kelps from Vladivlostok, from which they have isolated the polysaccha-
ride U-Fucoidan, which is another radioactive detoxifier. Because miso soup was so effective in helping pre-
vent radiation sickness, the Japanese have also done research identifying the presence of an active ingredient
called zybicolin, discovered in 1972, which acts as a binding agent to also detoxify and eliminate radioactive
elements (such as strontium) and other pollutants from the body.
The kelps and algaes aren’t the only natural foods with radio-detoxifying effects. In terms of fluids to drink,
black and green tea have shown “radioprotective effects” whether consumed either before or after exposure
to radiation. This anti-radiation effect was observed in several Japanese studies, and studies from China also
suggest that the ingredients in tea are radioactive antagonists.
In short, after any sort of radioactive exposure you want to be eating seaweeds and algaes along with almost
any type of commercial heavy metal chelating formula to bind radioactive particles and help escort them out
of the body. Whether you’re worried about depleted uranium, plutonium or other isotopes, this is the wise
thing to do which can possibly help, and certainly won’t hurt. Many nutritional supplements have been devel-
oped for the purpose of detoxifying heavy metals, most of which contain the algaes and plant fibers and other
binding substances. Basically, an anti-radiation diet should focus on the following foods:
· Miso soup
· Spirulina, chlorella and the algaes (kelp, etc.)
· Brassica vegetables and high beta carotene vegetables
· Beans and lentils
· Potassium, calcium and mineral rich foods
· High nucleotide content foods to assist in cellular repair including spirulina, chlorella, algae,
yeast,
sardines, liver, anchovies and mackerel
· cod liver oil and olive oil
· Avoid sugars and sweets and wheat
· A good multivitamin/multimineral supplement
Yet another benefit of the sea vegetables rarely discussed is their high mineral content, which
is a bonus in the case of radioactive exposure. Consuming natural iodine, such as in the sea-
weeds, helps prevent the uptake of iodine-131 while iron inhibits the absorption of plutoni-
um-238 and plutonium-239. Vitamin B-12 inhibits cobalt-60 uptake (used in nuclear medi-
cine), zinc inhibits zinc-65 uptake and sulfur is preventative for sulfur-35 (a product of nuclear
reactors) incorporation by the body.
Since nuclear workers are potentially exposed to radioactive sulfur, this means that workers
in the atomic power industry need a higher content of sulfur in their diet. MSM supplements
provide a source of dietary sulfur, but thiol supplements such as cysteine, lipoic acid and glu-
tathione serve double-duty in this area because they help detoxify the body and attack all
sorts of other health problems as well. Depleted uranium is currently in the journalistic spotlight because US
weapons are made from this material, and after being fired they leave a legacy of depleted uranium dust in the
environment, which anyone can absorb. Because the kidneys are usually the first organs to show chemical dam-
age upon uranium exposure, military manuals suggest doses or infusions of sodium bicarbonate to help alkalinize
the urine if this happens. This makes the uranyl ion less kidney-toxic and promotes excretion of the nontoxic uranium
carbonate complex.
In areas contaminated by depleted uranium dusts, it therefore makes sense to switch to drinking slightly alkaline
water and to favor a non-acidic diet to assist in this detoxification. Any of the heavy metal detoxifiers, such as miso
soup, chlorella, spirulina and seaweeds, are also commonsense warranted.
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories
The official could only have known about the diabetes link to de-
pleted uranium from the U.S. State Department and the source of
it all: the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab, “managed”
for 61 years by the University of California. The University of Cali-
fornia nuclear weapons labs are the core of the nuclear weapons
program in the U.S., the only remaining superpower. Leuren Moret
charged the University of California and the Los Alamos and Liver-
more Nuclear Weapons Labs with engineering the largest global
increase of diabetes in history and trying to cover it up. Fine ura-
nium dust, vaporized into a poison radioactive gas by exploding
uranium bombs, missiles and bullets, hitches a ride on dry desert
winds to circle the globe in days. Dr. Chris Busby, a leading British
radiation expert, got data from a nuclear weapons air monitoring
facility at Aldemaston, England, which identified depleted urani-
um in the British atmosphere only nine days after the “shock and
awe” carpet bombing of Baghdad, started in March of 2003. The
embassy official had just let the cat out of the bag and confirmed
the link between the global epidemic of diabetes and the use of
depleted uranium by the U.S.-U.K. expeditionary forces in Iraq, Af-
ghanistan and the former Yugoslavia.
Depleted uranium is a genocidal radioactive metal used for bul-
lets, bombs and missiles by the United States and Great Britain as
munitions in Iraq, Afghanistan, the former Yugoslavia and now Ye-
men and Syria. Millions of pounds of weaponized radioactive ura-
nium gas and dust have been dispersed by US/UK military forces
across the globe. The use of uranium weapons has caused a glob-
al diabetes epidemic since 1991, according to scientist Leuren
Moret. It is enough uranium dust to cause an estimated twenty
five million additional cancers in Iraq in the next decade. The US
and UK military still use uranium munitions. There are only 24 mil-
lion Iraqis. Many Iraqis now have multiple cancers.
BBC News
“The toll of thyroid cancer carried by the fallout from the Chernobyl
nuclear disaster could have been prevented, new evidence suggests.
And a British cancer expert agrees that had a simple drug been given
to young children in the former Soviet Union who were in the path of
the radioactive cloud which covered much of Eastern Europe, much
suffering could have been prevented. The disaster, in 1986, happened when a reactor at Chernobyl, in the now-indepen-
dent state of Ukraine, melted down, throwing large quantities of radioactive isotopes into the atmosphere. One of these,
radioactive iodine, is absorbed by the thyroid gland, particularly in very young children, where it can cause cancer, in
some cases many years later.”
USA FDA
“It is also notable that the thyroid radiation exposures after Cher-
nobyl were virtually all internal, from radioiodines. Despite some de-
gree of uncertainty in the doses received, it is reasonable to conclude
that the contribution of external radiation was negligible for most
individuals. This distinguishes the Chernobyl exposures from those of
the Marshall Islanders. Thus, the increase in thyroid cancer seen after
Chernobyl is attributable to ingested or inhaled radioiodines. A com-
parable burden of excess thyroid cancers could conceivably accrue
should U.S. populations be similarly exposed in the event of a nuclear
accident. This potential hazard highlights the value of averting such
risk by using KI as an adjunct to evacuation, sheltering, and control
of contaminated foodstuffs.”
What Does The Thyroid Gland Do?
The gland produces a hormone (thyroxin) that regulates the me-
tabolism of the body. From there, the thyroid gland has an influ-
ence in affecting many functions of the body including increasing
heart rate and body temperature, mental alertness, enhancing
energy, and increasing secretion of Growth Hormone.
Where Does Iodine Come Into Play? The thyroid’s primary “fuel” -
as it were - is iodine. It uptakes the iodine and converts it into the
necessary hormones for bodily function. This feature is wherein
the danger lies. The thyroid gland, as previously stated, wants io-
dine. Wherever it can get it, it will. This makes it extremely vulner-
able to the uptake of radioactive iodine. This fact is both a cure
and a crux.
Radioiodine, in controlled dosage, is the preferred treatment for
thyroidal ilnesses such as thyroid cancer, hyperthyroidism, and
Grave’s disease. The key is “CONTROLLED DOSAGE”. Treatments
are, ideally, under supervision and the threat of overexposure is
limited. This is not the case in a radioactive fallout. Overexposure
to radioiodine would be almost a certainty. The destroyed/dam-
aged thyroid is then succeptible to the development of cancer. An
interesting irony!
So What Does All Of This Have To Do With Potassium iodide (KI)?
Since the thyroid is such a glutton for iodine, the best thing to
do is to let it have it! If a nuclear emergency should occur, be it
from a reactor or attack, the preferred way to block the uptake of
radioiodine is by making certain that the gland is already saturated with iodine. Insert KI here! potassium iodide
(KI) supplies the thyroid with the over-abundance of iodine it needs and prevents it from absorbing the radioac-
tive iodine. Believe it or not most of you have consumed potassium iodide, that is if you’ve ever used table salt. It’s
added to salt to help stave off iodine deficiency. Of course there’s less than 0.01% so it’s ineffective as a treatment.
It will do you no good to consume huge quantities of salt in a radioactive emergency - you’ll just end up with high
blood pressure and will still have the threat of thyroid cancer.
In Case Of Emergency
We keep many things around the house, in case an emergency should
arise, from rubbing alcohol to syrup of ipecac. If it expires, you throw it
out and get more. The same goes for fire extinguishers, smoke detec-
tors and flashlights. And the same should go for Potassium iodide! The
concept is not one we like to let slip into our conscious minds — that of
a severe nuclear emergency. But it is possible, especially under current
conditions. It’s always best to be prepared.
What Do I Do If I’m Exposed?
In the event of a nuclear emergency, local officials will have the task of
instructing the public on the immediate actions to take. In relation to
radioactive iodine, the consumption of KI within 3-4 hours of exposure
is necessary to help prevent the radioiodine uptake from occurring.
FDA - “In the Federal Register of December 15, 1978, FDA announced its
conclusion that KI is a safe and effective means by which to block uptake
of radioiodines by the thyroid gland in a radiation emergency under cer-
tain specified conditions of use. In the Federal Register of June 29, 1982,
FDA announced final recommendations on the administration of KI to the
general public in a radiation emergency. Those recommendations were
formulated after reviewing studies relating radiation dose to thyroid dis-
ease risk that relied on estimates of external thyroid irradiation after the
nuclear detonations at Hiroshima and Nagasaki and analogous studies
among children who received therapeutic radiation to the head and neck.
Those recommendations concluded that at a projected dose to the thyroid
gland of 25 cGy or greater from ingested or inhaled radioiodines, the risks
of short-term use of small quantities of KI were outweighed by the benefits
of suppressing radioiodine-induced thyroid cancer.”
In November 2001, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a
final “Guidance on Potassium Iodide as a Thyroid Blocking Agent in Radi-
ation Emergencies.” The objective of the document is to provide guid-
ance to other Federal agencies, including the Environmental Protec-
tion Agency (EPA) and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and
to state and local governments regarding the safe and effective use of
potassium iodide (KI) as an adjunct to other public health protective
measures in the event that radioactive iodine is released into the envi-
ronment. The adoption and implementation of the recommendations
are at the discretion of the state and local governments responsible for
developing regional emergency-response plans related to radiation
emergencies. The recommendations in the guidance address KI dosage and the projected radiation exposure at
which the drug should be used. This guidance updates FDA’s 1982 recommendations.
KI Use In Radiation Emergencies: Treatment Recommendations By The FDA
After careful review of the data from Chernobyl relating estimated thyroid radiation dose and cancer risk in ex-
posed children, FDA is revising its recommendation for administration of KI based on age, predicted thyroid expo-
sure, and pregnancy and lactation status.
According To The Mayo Clinic
Some side effects may occur that usually do not need medical atten-
tion. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body
adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be
able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side
effects. Check with your health care professional if any of the following
side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions
about them
Warning!
Tincture of iodine and concentrated iodine widely sold for water puri-
fication are not safe for internal use. The small typical one ounce bottle
of tincture of iodine contains about one tablespoon or approximate-
ly 30 ml of fluid. (The larger pint bottles contain 473 ml.) To a small
child, ingesting the small 1 ounce bottle, even if well diluted to make
it palatable, could prove fatal. Everyone needs to understand that all
‘tincture of iodine’ bottles are clearly marked “POISON” for a very good
reason. Ingesting elemental free iodine, such as ‘tincture of iodine’, in
quantities sufficient to attempt thyroid-blocking in a nuclear emer-
gency is not a safe, nor an effective, alternative.
Regarding ingesting (drinking/swallowing) iodine, iodine tablets
(widely sold for water purification), tincture of iodine, or Povidone-io-
dine solutions (like the Betadine® brand solution): Cresson H. Kearny,
the author of Nuclear War Survival Skills, Original Edition Published
September, 1979, by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a Facility of the
U.S. Department of Energy (Updated and Expanded 1987 Edition)
states on page 115: “Elemental (free) iodine is poisonous, except in the
very small amounts in water disinfected with iodine tablets or a few drops
of tincture of iodine. Furthermore, elemental iodine supplied by iodine
tablets and released by tincture of iodine dropped into water is not effec-
tive as a blocking agent to prevent thyroid damage. If you do not have
any potassium iodide, DO NOT TAKE IODINE TABLETS OR TINCTURE OF
IODINE. Iodine is normally used in doses of 8 PPM to treat clear water for a
10 minute contact time. The effectiveness and safety of this dose has been
shown in numerous studies.
As far back as 1953 in the study “Test of chronic toxicity of iodine as relat-
ed to the purification of water,” U.S. Armed Forces medical journal, 1953,
4:725-728 Morgan DP, Karpen RJ., it was shown that: “No adverse health effects were reported
in men who drank water providing iodide at doses of 0.17-0.27 mg/kg of body weight per day for
26 weeks” That works out to a reported safe ingestion of elemental iodine via treated water of
between 14 and 22 mg per day for an 180 lb adult. To attempt to achieve a thyroid-blocking dose
of nearly 100 mg of iodine (the iodine content of a 130 mg KI tablet) would thus require exceed-
ing that proven safe level by a factor of at least four to seven times for an 180 lb adult. And, this
would be with potentially poisonous elemental free iodine that is also claimed above by Cresson
H. Kearny to be “...not effective as a blocking agent to prevent thyroid damage.”

USP tincture of iodine contains 2% iodine and 2.4% sodium iodide dissolved in 50% ethyl al-
cohol and according to the National Academy of Sciences in Drinking Water and Health. Vol. Conscience
Shocking
3. Washington, DC, National Academy Press, 1980. Doses of 30-250 ml of tincture of iodine
(about 16-130 mg of total iodine per kg of body weight) have been reported to be fatal.

Potassium Iodide (KI) Is Safe

From The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Office Of Nuclear Material Safety & Safeguards

“The FDA has evaluated the medical and radiological risks of administering potassium iodide
(KI) for thyroid blocking under emergency conditions. The FDA has concluded that FDA-ap-
proved “radiation emergency potassium iodide” is safe and effective and has approved it for
over-the-counter sale for this purpose (Federal Register, Vol. 50, No. 142, p. 30258, July 24, 1985).
Potassium iodide is effective as a thyroid blocking agent. It reduces thyroid gland accumulation
of radioiodine that has entered the body through inhalation or ingestion if the potassium iodide
is administered before, or immediately after, exposure to the radioiodine. If potassium iodide is
administered later than four hours after an individual has suffered an acute ingestion or inhala-
tion of radioiodine, its effectiveness as a thyroid blocking agent is less than 50 percent.”

EPA And 911 - Conscience Shocking!

The administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency at the time, Christie Whitman,
assured New Yorkers their air was “safe to breathe”. Several groups have since filed class ac-
tion lawsuits against her and her agency, and a federal judge called her statements “con-
science-shocking.” Even the EPA’s own inspector general has criticized the agency’s handling
of the crisis. A 2003 report found that on the basis of early tests for asbestos, which had been
reassuring, the EPA made misleading pronouncements about air quality. And the White
House, the report said, removed cautionary language from the agency’s press releases.

A further study by the US general accounting office in 2004 found that the federal govern-
ment had taken no comprehensive actions to study the health effects of 9/11 pollution and
“the full health impact of the attack is unknown”. This is what concerns doctors the most. Dr.
Moline who is running a screening program for these workers at Mt. Sinai Hospital in New
York said that “diseases could take years to develop.” Her concerns start with cancer, but ex-
tend to potential effects on the heart and a variety of lung and respiratory problems. She
advises screening exposed workers every 18 months for at least 20 years.
Advertisement
 FDAs Guidance On Protection Of Children And Adults
Against Thyroid Cancer In Case Of Nuclear Accidents

The Food and Drug Administration has issued a guidance on the use of potassium iodide (KI) to re-
duce the risk of thyroid cancer in children and adults in emergencies involving the release of radioac-
tive iodine into the environment.

The document advises other federal agencies and state and local governments on safe and effec-
tive dosages of KI as an addition to other protective measures, such as evacuation, sheltering, and
assurance of uncontaminated food and milk for infants and children, who are most susceptible to
radiation-induced thyroid cancer.

The FDA guidance, which was developed in collaboration with experts from the National Institutes of
Health, supersedes recommendations issued by the agency in 1978 and 1982. At that time, the FDA
was guided mostly by studies on the risk of thyroid disease that used estimates of external thyroid
irradiation resulting from the WWII nuclear detonations in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The agency’s new
recommendations are derived from a review of the much more comprehensive and reliable data in
studies conducted after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in April 1986.

These studies included measurements of thyroid exposure to radiation in hundreds of thousands of

children and other individuals in Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation. The studies also pro-
vided information about the large-scale use of KI in Poland, where it was administered to millions of
children and adults affected by the Chernobyl radiation fallout.

The data clearly demonstrate the risks associated with thyroid radiation from radioiodines that are
inhaled or ingested with contaminated food. When such exposures are likely, KI can be used to block
thyroid uptake of radioactive iodine species and thus provide safe and effective protection against
thyroid cancer caused by such irradiation when exposure can not be prevented by other measures.

External Link:
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/EmergencyPreparedness/BioterrorismandDrugPreparedness/ucm133711.htm

This is not an Apple. It’s not an Orange. It’s a nuclear demolition.

September 11th, 2001 9am-11am
 An article coauthored by Drs. Tenforde, Schauer and several current and distinguished emeritus
members of Council was published in the National Academy of Engineering’s publication, The Bridge.
The title of the article is “Health Aspects of a Nuclear or Radiological Attack” and is found on the
National Council on Radiation & Protection Measurements web site.
External Link:
http://www.ncrponline.org/
Health Aspects of a Nuclear or Radiological Attack
Preparedness for responding to a radiological or nuclear attack requires dedicated resources, a sustained vision,
and measurable performance requirements.
radiation exposure can vary greatly. For example, there could be a non-explosive dispersion of radioactive ma-
terials, such as the introduction of radionuclides into a municipal water supply or as contaminants in food. The
resulting radiation exposure doses would likely be low, but many people could be affected because recognition
of a radiological threat would be delayed until responders arrived with detectors or public health officials noticed
radiation-induced symptoms in affected individuals (NCRP, 2001).
An alternative to active dispersal would be a radiological exposure device (RED), that is, a radiation-emitting source
hidden in a public space (DHHS, 2010). For example, an RED placed in a heavily frequented area would surrepti-
tiously expose the civilian population to radiation. A carefully disguised RED on a train or in a shopping mall could
expose large numbers of people before the source was discovered.
A Nuclear Attack

Since September 11, 2001, the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) has produced Although detonation of an IND is considered less likely than an attack using an RDD or RED, it would be the most
several publications related to: the detection and interdiction of nuclear and radiological materials and weapons devastating scenario. A nuclear weapon in terrorist hands might range from a 1-kiloton (kT) device the size of a
(NCRP, 2003a,b, 2007, 2010a,b); preparation, training, and countermeasures to acts of nuclear or radiological ter- large backpack to a 10- to 20-kT device analogous in power to the nuclear weapons used by the US in World War II.
rorism (NCRP, 2001, 2005a,b, 2009, 2010c,d); and cleanup and restoration of contaminated sites (NCRP, 2010e).
Information on these publications is available at: http://NCRPpublications.org Detonation of a nuclear device would lead to prompt exposures to both gamma and neutron radiation. The ratio
of neutron to gamma radiation would vary with weap-
This brief paper provides a summary of key issues fac- on yield, distance from the blast, and shielding. With a
ing local, state, and national responders in preparing surface-level burst, soil and water would be vaporized
for and counteracting acts of nuclear or radiological by the heat of the explosion, activated by neutrons,
terrorism, including medical management and fol- and dispersed as fallout. The distribution of the fall-
low-up care for victims. We also provide a brief look at out would depend on the height of the burst and the
important issues that remain to be addressed. specific meteorological conditions. External radiation
from fallout is predominantly from gamma and beta
A Radiological Attack radiation. Doses from fallout would likely be lower
than prompt doses and could be delayed because
As part of the government’s preparations for respond- of the time required for the radiation to reach down-
ing to radiological or nuclear attacks by terrorists, Na- wind locations (NCRP, 2001). There are also hazards
tional Planning Scenarios have been developed for from internalized radioactive material. A 10-kT nucle-
two types of attack: (1) a radiological-dispersal device ar device would also cause moderate to severe blast
(RDD)—a so-called “dirty bomb”; and (2) an improvised damage to structures within a mile of the detonation.
nuclear device (IND) (NPS, 2005). An attack with an
RDD is considered the more likely of the two because Responding to Terrorist Incidents
explosives and radioactive materials from waste, hos-
pitals, and test sources are widely available (Hamilton The ability of federal, state, and local response author-
and Poston, 2004; Med-alia, 2002; NPS, 2005; Zim- ities to plan and prepare for managing terrorist inci-
merman and Loeb, 2004). Radiation exposure from dents is complicated by limited resources (e.g., fund-
an RDD can be either from an external source (i.e., ing, personnel, and equipment). In addition, these
radioactive contamination) or from internalized ra- organizations are already called upon to respond to
dioactive materials inhaled as aerosolized particles or a great many incidents and crises, and terrorist in-
embedded fragments. Pedestrians and vehicles mov- cidents are generally agreed to be low-probability,
ing through contaminated areas can re-suspend and though high-consequence, events.
redistribute radioactivity for hours after an explosion
thus greatly expanding the contaminated area (NPS, On the one hand, not planning a response to terror-
2005). In addition to radiation exposure, many people ist incidents would leave communities vulnerable
would suffer burns and wounds from the explosion. and totally unprepared. On the other hand, adequate
Because of the large variety of radioactive materials planning without dedicated resources and a sus-
and possible dispersal mechanisms, the specifics of tained vision can have an adverse effect on the quality
of response. The easiest way to ensure preparedness for a terrorist incident is for government authorities to make not benefit much from grants that provide one-time funding to build competence that is not sustainable. The re-
it a high priority, which would entail dedicated budgets and measurable performance requirements. Response sponder’s mantra, “You lose what you don’t use,” applies to every aspect of response preparedness. Therefore, future
planners would then be able to staff and gather resources at appropriate levels. grant programs must provide measurable, sustainable approaches to preparedness.

Without government support, even if an organization has dedicated program requirements for terrorism pre- Unfortunately, a well organized government program that provides an ideal pathway to response preparedness
paredness, the funding would have to be taken from is not likely to emerge soon. Nevertheless, numerous
another part of its asset base. Thus preparation would local and state communities around the nation have
be a zero sum game for them; they would be faced shown tremendous ingenuity when it comes to ter-
with meeting extra job requirements using the same rorism response preparedness. These communities
resource base. have realized that building competency through job
function would be ideal, but given the low-probability,
Because the recent financial crisis has forced cutbacks high-consequence nature of a terrorist attack, training
in response personnel and critical programs, the situa- and routine exercises will be necessary to refine and
tion today is even worse than it was several years ago. maintain the skills necessary for an effective response.
With no guidance available, response organizations
must manage as best they can with whatever resourc- To advance preparedness and training programs,
es they can muster. communities should first assess their ideal end states
according to the threats they face. They should then
Clearly, for preparation and training for terrorist inci- seek support from all levels of government and from
dents to become a reality, we must have a paradigm all available funding sources. If requirements have not
shift in the thinking of communities and organizations been developed or are not available, they must estab-
that support emergency responders. These organi- lish them and develop a strategic plan to describe how
zations, which include local, state, and federal offices Chernobyl and when the requirements will be met and how they
with preparedness assets, such as the U.S. Department will work.
of Homeland Security and professional organizations
(e.g., NCRP) and societies (e.g., Health Physics Society), The community will then have to implement the stra-
must help response communities articulate a sus- tegic plan step by step. Training, exercises, and equip-
tained vision of terrorism response preparedness. ment maintenance should be integrated into a compre-
hensive plan for sustaining the state of preparedness.
Even if the state of preparedness is not ideal, the vision The community must regularly assess its progress and
should be translated into specific requirements. For ex- ensure that the resources for supporting preparedness
ample, a requirement should be established that first- remain available.
on-scene responder vehicles be equipped with spe-
cialized chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear Potential Health Effects of a Nuclear Incident
(CBRN) detection equipment so that suspected threat
agents can be detected within a specified number of Health effects are most likely to result from localized
minutes after they arrive. CRBN requirements should or whole-body exposures to radiation rather than from
also be established for medical triage and treatment the internal or external deposition of radionuclides
capabilities, population monitoring, decontamination, and so on. (contamination). Localized, deep exposure to radiation caused by handling highly radioactive sources may result
in a localized radiation burn manifested initially by reddening of the skin (erythema) and later by desquamation,
The requirements should be developed by a process that engages stakeholders at all levels and should be tai- blistering, and, potentially, necrosis.
lored to meet the needs of individual communities. The requirements should include: the number of personnel
required to perform necessary functions; training requirements; equipment needs; desired end states; and other Because the dose rate drops rapidly with distance from the source, systemic manifestations are not as severe as
detailed information. Planners should leverage multi-use job functions, equipment, and training whenever possi- local injuries. Erythema in the first hours or days indicates an acute skin dose of > 2 gray1 (Gy). Dry or moist des-
ble. Preparation and training do not have to be the same for every community. The Urban Area Security Initiative quamation occurs at doses of more than 10 Gy; doses of more than 15 Gy can result in permanent injury, including
(UASI) has identified cities at risk to encourage regional preparedness. The UASI model could also be used to pri- atrophy, telangiectasia (dilated superficial blood vessels), and ulceration. Large acute doses (more than about 2
oritize regions at greatest risk, and those communities should then insist that terrorism preparedness and train- Gy) of whole-body penetrating radiation can result in various forms of acute radiation syndrome (ARS), which be-
ing be made a priority. The federal government provides grants to response communities through competitive comes manifest over a period of hours to weeks. In the first few hours, the prodromal phase of ARS may include
processes to bolster preparedness for terrorism response. As a result, there are storage rooms filled with necessary nausea, vomiting, fever, and diarrhea. In the following weeks, at doses of > 2 Gy, there may be mild bone marrow
equipment, but many responders are not adequately trained to use or maintain it. Response communities do depression; with doses of 10 to 30 Gy, there will be severe bone marrow depression and damage to the gastroin-
testinal mucosa resulting in infection, sepsis, and bleeding. At acute doses of more than 30 Gy, changes will be ap-
parent sooner (hours to days) related to injury to the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Patients exposed
to acute doses of > 5 Gy to the lens of the eye are likely to develop some degree of cataract within a few years.
Internal contamination can occur transdermally or through inhalation, ingestion, or wounds. For the most part,
acute health effects will be minimal, although an IND or reactor accident would release radioiodine that could
result in hypothyroidism or late thyroid nodules or cancer. External contamination, particularly from intense
high-energy, beta-emitting radionuclides, can result in significant widespread skin injuries, which then become
portals for infection. If present with ARS, widespread skin injury significantly increases mortality.
In the event of a ground-level detonation of an IND, exposure to fallout in the first few hours could cause beta
burns but also enough penetrating radiation to cause ARS and lethality. Any combination of thermal or traumatic
injuries with radiation increases complications and mortality.
Late health effects are predominantly radiation-induced car-
cinogenesis. Radiation can induce many (but not all) types of
cancer and leukemia, which often take years, even decades to
develop. The risk of fatal cancer in acutely exposed populations
is on the order of 5 percent per sievert.2 There is little evidence
of hereditary effects in humans.
Prompt Treatment and Long-Term Monitoring
Victims of acute radiation-related events will require prompt
diagnosis and treatment of emergency medical and surgical
conditions, as well as of conditions related to possible radia-
tion exposure. Traditional medical and trauma criteria should
be used for triage. Radiation doses to patients can be estimat-
ed by rapid automated biodosimetry and clinical parameters,
such as the history and timing of symptom complexes, the time
to emesis, lymphocyte depletion kinetics, chromosomal dam-
age, and multi-parameter biochemical tests.
Acute high-level radiation exposure should generally be treat-
ed medically as involving multi-organ failure (MOF). Radia-
tion-induced multi-organ dysfunction (MOD) and MOF are
defined as progressive dysfunction of two or more organ sys-
tems as a result of radiation damage to cells and tissues over
time. Radiation-associated MOD appears to develop partly as
a consequence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome
and partly as a consequence of radiation-induced loss of func-
tional cell mass in vital organs (for more detail see Fliedner et al., 2009). The Strategic National Stockpile Radiation
Working Group recently issued recommendations for medical management of ARS (Waselenko et. al., 2004), and
a website on medical management http://www.remm.nlm.gov/ provides guidelines for the management of acute
radiation injury (Bader et al., 2008).
An IND incident would result in victims with both radiation injury and conventional trauma. In a recent report on
the scientific aspects of combined injuries (radiation + burns or trauma), the authors concluded that two (or more)
injuries that are sublethal or minimally lethal when they occur individually act synergistically with radiation injury,
resulting in higher mortality (DiCarlo et al., 2008).
Proper supportive care of ARS can significantly prolong survival. The lethal dose for survival of 50 percent of con-
taminated persons for 60 days (LD50/60) is approximately 3 to 4 Gy in persons managed without supportive care.
The LD50/60 can be increased to 6 to 7 Gy with antibiotics and transfusion support. The lethal dose appears to be
even higher with early administration of hematopoietic colony stimulating factors.
Patients most amenable to treatment will have received doses of 2 to 6 Gy. If there are people who have been sub-
ject to doses of more than 6 to 8 Gy, and they also have significant blast or thermal injuries, the combined injuries
will preclude survival. For patients with few or no other injuries, however, many authorities would consider stem
cell transplants (peripheral or cord-blood) for victims irradiated in this dose range.
It is common practice to distinguish late physiological effects from early effects of radiation exposure. Determinis-
tic effects are acute and typically show a sigmoid dose-response
curve; the severity of harm from the radiation exposure increas-
es with dose. Effects are non-neoplastic and are rather prompt-
ly expressed in exposed individuals. In contrast, late stochastic
effects (i.e., non-threshold effects) represent a probabilistic tis-
sue response to radiation exposure. Stochastic effects are gen-
erally expressed later.
Follow-up medical care of an irradiated individual will, there-
fore, focus on late effects, most significantly the detection of
cancer. In addition, late psychological effects from radiation
exposure should always be considered in continuing medical
surveillance. For patients with relatively low-dose exposures,
the long-term psychological trauma may be more medically
significant than radiation-induced organ damage.
Issues to be Addressed
The number of key issues remaining to be resolved is much
greater than the number of issues considered to date by NCRP
or other expert groups. Several important issues have received
little or no consideration:
• retaining proficiencies in responder communities; gaps in
the training of these individuals; and training new responders
• maintaining equipment and supplies in a state of readiness
over long periods of time
• training for responding to attacks with weapons of mass de-
struction (WMD) as opposed to “dirty bombs”
• ensuring the coordination of all responder organizations at the local, state, and national levels
• addressing late-phase issues after a nuclear or radiological incident, such as reentry, reoccupancy, and recovery
of the affected area
• communications with the public before, during, and after an incident
• dealing with psychological impacts and restoring public trust.
 Communications leukemia (less than 10 years after exposure). Immediate and sustained investments by the U.S. government in
infrastructure development (e.g., radiation detectors), education, training, communication, and medical counter-
Effective communication prior to an incident, during an incident, and after an incident has been brought under measures will be essential to ensuring the nation’s ability to address the immediate and long-term health effects
control will be extremely important. Decision makers must issue directives to the public with recommendations of a radiological or nuclear incident.
for certain areas based on the size and dimensions of the incident. This will require that the general public be able
to understand the information and respond appropriately.
References
For example, many people still to do not understand the term “shelter-in-place,” and only about half of the general
public understands the difference between a WMD (e.g., an IND) and a “dirty bomb.” Thus significant efforts, be- Bader, J.L., J. Nemhauser, F. Chang, B. Mashayekhi, M. Sczcur, A. Knebel, C. Hrdina, and N. Coleman. 2008. Radiation
ginning now, should be made to “educate” the public. These challenges have been addressed by nuclear utilities event medical management (REMM): website guidance for health care providers. Prehospital Emergency Care
in the United States as part of their emergency planning, and local, state, and federal officials could learn a great 12(1): 1–11.
deal from their efforts. So far, however, useful, readily under-
standable information has not been widely distributed on Chen, S.Y., and T.S. Tenforde. 2010. Optimization approach-
a national scale. es to decision making on long-term cleanup and site res-
toration following a nuclear or radiological terrorism inci-
Late-Phase Activities dent. Homeland Security Affairs VI(1). Available online at
https://www.hsaj.org/?article=6.1.4.
To date, efforts have focused mostly on early-phase re-
sponses to a terrorist incident. Few have considered the DHHS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services).
reentry, reoccupancy, or recovery issues. Sullivan et al. 2010. Radiological Exposure Devices (REDs). Available on-
(2008), who have considered dose assessments to guide line at http://www.remm.nlm.gov/red.htm. Accessed April
decisions in the event of an RDD incident, emphasize the 2, 2010.
need for a consensus approach to cleanup and recovery
efforts. NCRP agrees that there must be total stakeholder DiCarlo, A.L., R.J. Hatchett, J.M. Kaminski, G.D. Ledney, T.C.
“buy-in” for late-phase recovery efforts (NCRP, 2001). Chen Pellmar, P. Okunieff, and N. Ramakrishnan. 2008. Medical
and Tenforde (2010) have discussed the involvement of countermeasures for radiation combined injury: radiation
stakeholders in planning for the cleanup and restoration with burn, blast, trauma and/or sepsis. Report of an NIAID
of contaminated sites. Workshop, March 26–27, 2007. Radiation Research 169(6):
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response phase. To plan for late-phase recovery, careful J. Chute, D.L. Confer, A. Ganser, N.C. Gorin, P. Gourmelon,
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Coleman. 2009. Stem cells, multiorgan failure in radiation
Today, both cities are once again thriving, and their re- emergency medical preparedness: a U.S./European Con-
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Footnotes
1. Gray (Gy) is the special name for the SI unit of absorbed dose (1 Gy = 1 J kg–).
2. Sievert (Sv) is the special name for the SI unit of equivalent dose and effective dose (1 Sv = 1 J kg–).
Radiological Terrorism: First Responders and Communicating Risk
Effective communication is essential to informed decision making about radiological risks
by John F. Ahearne
During the cold war, school children were taught what to do in case of a nuclear attack, and some people built un-
derground shelters to enable them to outlast the long-term effects of such an attack. When the cold war ended, so
did the exercises and the digging. However, since 2001, the public has again heard a great deal about the dangers
of nuclear and radiological terrorism. In 2008, the National Academy of Engineering published Grand Challenges
for Engineering in which 14 grand challenges were identified, including nuclear terror (NAE, 2008). That report
states:
Long before 2001, defenders of national security worried about the possible immediate death[s] of 300,000 peo-
ple and the loss of thousands of square miles of land to productive use through an act of terror. From the begin-
ning of the nuclear age, the materials suitable for making a weapon have been accumulating around the world.
Even some actual bombs may not be adequately secure against theft or sale in certain countries. Nuclear reactors
for research or power are scattered about the globe, capable of producing the raw material for nuclear devices.
And the instructions for building explosive devices have been widely published, suggesting that access to the
ingredients would make a bomb a realistic possibility.
In the event of such an attack, responders will be called upon to go into areas where they may be exposed to ra-
diation. In addressing potential exposures of soldiers on the battlefield, an Institute of Medicine report cautioned
that although “there is a general ethical principle that one should not put individuals at risk of harm, . . . [c]ertain roles
. . . carry with them an obligation to bear risk for the benefit of others.” In those cases, there “must be an analysis that
supports . . . that no more risk than . . . necessary is . . . imposed or placed on the individual. . . . This includes disclosure of
the risks to the person both before and after the exposure . . . .” (IOM, 1999).
The same applies to responders to a radioactive event, who should be trained to explain radiation, measure expo-
sures, and understand the risk of entering contaminated areas following a radiological attack. Responders must
also be aware of public fears of chemicals and radiation. Studies have shown that as many as 60 to 75 percent of
people believe that if an individual is exposed to a chemical that can cause cancer, that person will someday de-
velop cancer. A similar number believe that exposure to radiation will probably lead to cancer (e.g., Slovic, 1996).
Communicating Risk
The definition of “risk” depends on culture and context. Risk in the financial world is different from risk in bridge
construction and from risk in the world of religion. According to a recent definition, the factors that determine
risk in the context of radiological terrorism include “(1) the hazardousness of the material, (2) its quantity, (3) the
probability of release, (4) the dispersion of the hazard, (5) the population exposed, (6) organism uptake, and (7)
[the] response of officials to the hazard before, during, and after release” (Greenberg et al., 2009). That description,
although probably too complex to be of use for the average person, can serve as a framework for educating re-
sponders.
In addition to learning the framework for risk analysis, effective risk communication requires understanding the
audience. Officials often believe the public does not and cannot understand complex situations. While the general
public may not have an understanding when a crisis arises, according to Professor Baruch Fischhoff of Carnegie
Mellon University, “...lay risk perceptions may be judged unfairly, leading professionals to be unduly critical of lay-peo-
ple’s decision-making capabilities” (Fischhoff, 2009). He notes that “Citizens can, typically, acquire the understanding
to reach reasonable conclusions, given well-prepared communications, presented at appropriate times” (personal com-
munication). The key is having well prepared communications ready when needed. More than two decades ago,

the National Research Council recognized the necessity of taking special care when communicating risk during a
crisis (NRC, 1989):
Risk managers should ensure that (1) where there is a foreseeable potential for emergency, advance plans for
communication are drafted, and (2) there is provision for coordination among the various authorities that might
be involved and, to the extent feasible, a single place where the public and the media can obtain authoritative and
current information.
In the aftermath of the Three Mile Island accident, it became apparent that these principles should be incorporat-
ed into regulations for all nuclear power reactors, and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has since done so.
The likelihood of panic following a radiological terrorist attack should be a strong motivator for federal, state, and
local authorities to develop and practice using a communication hub. The National Council on Radiation Protec-
tion and Measurements advises that: “In preparing for or responding to terrorist incidents involving radioactive
releases, it is crucial to recognize the centrality of social and psychological issues” (NCRP, 2001).
There are many other sources of information on addressing stressed individuals in a radiation incident. The Inter-
national Radiation Protection Association, for example, has identified the most important issues that should be
addressed in planning with responders (IRPA, 2008):
• initiation of the process as early as possible
• seeking out and involving relevant stakeholders and experts
• ensuring that the roles and responsibilities of all participants are well understood and
that the rules for cooperation are clearly defined
Effective risk communication is central to informed decision making about radiological risks because it establishes
public confidence in the ability of individuals and organizations to deal with a radiological emergency. The keys to
successful risk communication are anticipation, preparation, and practice.
High-concern situations change the rules of communication. At a recent conference the director of the Center for
Risk Communication provided 12 templates for crafting messages, such as, “When responding to any high stress or
emotionally charged question: provide information at four or more grade levels below the average grade level of
the audience [and] be brief and concise in your first response: no more than 27 words, 9 seconds, and 3 messages”
(Covello, 2010).
For examples of what not to do, we need only look back to the weeks and months following the 1986 Chernobyl
accident in the Ukraine. Communication after the event was summed up by Slovic (1996): “Communication about
Chernobyl was dreadful in Europe. Information messages were peppered with different terms (roentgens, curies,
bequerels, rads, rems, sieverts, grays) which were explained poorly or not at all.”
A recent review of research on public understanding of issues important in a radiological emergency reported that
only about 50 percent know the difference between a nuclear bomb and a “dirty” bomb and that common terms
for protective action, such as “shelter in place,” are not always understood (Becker, 2010). Among responders, the
review found low levels of technical knowledge and a low comfort level with radiation, which raises “serious con-
cerns about individual and organizational preparedness for a terrorist event involving radioactive materials.” “Top
Hat” exercises have been conducted to test the ability of responders.
Understanding Radiation and Hazards
Radiological terrorism is not just a theory. Attacks have been carried out in Russia and have been defined in a study
by the Nuclear Safety Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (2005): “Radiological terrorism is carrying out
technological terrorism where ionizing sources are used as defeating agents.” The Russian study describes a broad
range of possible methods and devices for dispersing radioactive substances over a city or infrastructure, includ-
ing placing sources of ionizing radiation in the public transport system, in subway stations or stadiums, in air flow
intakes in buildings, in water supply systems, and so on.
In the same study, some possible scenarios, which could be
realized in the United States as well, were analyzed:
• the planting of a cobalt-60 gamma radiation source under a seat in a subway car
• the detonation of a strontium-90-based dirty bomb in a subway station during rush hour (This high,
but not nuclear, explosive was used in the two subway attacks in the Moscow metro in late March
2010, demonstrating terrorists’ ability to carry out such attacks.)
• contamination of an asphalt roadway, before it enters a highway, with a liquid solution of cesium-137
The fear and stigma associated with radiation and the term “nuclear” underlies opposition to nuclear power plants.
The same fears have led to the well known public-relations name change from “nuclear magnetic resonance,” an
accurate description, to the more palatable “magnetic resonance imaging” (MRI); the closing of a Brookhaven re-
search reactor after very small amounts of tritium were detected in groundwater; and opposition to the proposed
Yucca Mountain nuclear spent fuel repository (Slovic, 1996). The fear of tritium, which has a 13.7 year half-life, also
led the Vermont senate to vote overwhelmingly to shut down the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant after tritium leaks
were found in ground measurements. The utility compounded the problem by issuing inaccurate and misleading
statements.
Radiation Exposure
In a radiological event, first responders and later responders will face a serious obstacle. Although the average Amer-
ican is exposed to radiation every day, half of which is unavoidable, most people, including some responders, fear
radioactivity and do not understand it. Table 1 shows the effective dose per individual in the United States in 2006.
The total for an individual is 6.2 milliSieverts (mSv). As a reference point, a typical dental x-ray gives a patient about
0.005 mSv per image, or about 0.02 mSv—or 2 mR—for a four-image examination (NCRP, 2010). Not every indi-
vidual is subject to medical exposures, but everyone is subject to background exposures. Nevertheless, as anyone
who has tried to argue the insignificance of an extra milliSievert of exposure knows, routine exposures do not
seem to make the general public more understanding of, or more willing to tolerate radiation.
“Dirty Bombs”
Constructing a nuclear weapon requires well trained personnel and careful construction, of course, but, most of
all, it requires either plutonium or highly enriched uranium (special nuclear materials [SNMs]), which are quite dif-
ficult to obtain. Plutonium must be chemically separated from nuclear fuel that has been used in a nuclear reactor.
Highly enriched uranium (HEU) can be obtained by enriching natural uranium. (The enriching process, in which
Iran is currently engaged, is the reason for international concern.)
As mined, uranium is less than 1 percent U235, the fissionable isotope. The uranium used in most reactors has knowledge and some experience on which they can rely in times of emergency. These exercises should be repeat-
been enriched to 3 to 5 percent U235. The uranium most useful for a nuclear weapon (weapon-grade uranium) ed at least every three years.
requires more than 90 percent U235.
Providing a primer on radioactivity would be a useful contribution to public education. A first step would be to
Whereas SNMs to make a nuclear weapon are extremely difficult to obtain, radioactive material for a dirty bomb provide the primer and a short course for public school teachers. Perhaps one of the National Science Foundation
is not. The capability of packaging conventional explosives with radioactive material and detonating a radiolog- or U.S. Department of Education programs could be adapted for that purpose.
ical dispersal device to kill and terrorize people—the “dirty
bomb” scenario—is, unfortunately, within the means of References
some terrorist groups (NRC, 2007). Strong ionizing radiation
sources (IRSs), such as cobalt used in medical devices and Becker, S.M. 2010. Risk Communication and Radiological/
cesium used to power remote devices (e.g., navigation bea- Nuclear Terrorism: A Strategic View. Presentation at Commu-
cons in isolated locations), are but a few of the sources of nication of Radiation Benefits and Risks in Decision Making,
radiological materials. According to a 2007 report by the Na- 46th Annual Meeting of NCRP, March 8–9, 2010, Bethesda,
tional Research Council, “Hundreds and perhaps thousands of Md.
inadequately protected IRSs . . . are present in many countries.
Some are in use, some are in storage, and some are awaiting Covello, V. 2010. Presentation by director of the Center for
permanent disposal . . . [S]ome IRSs have simply been aban- Risk Communication at Communication of Radiation Ben-
doned . . . because there were no financially affordable disposal efits and Risks in Decision Making. The 46th NCRP Annual
pathways for those that had exceeded their useful lifetimes or Meeting, March 8–9, 2010, Bethesda, Md.
were no longer needed.”
Fischhoff, B. 2009. Risk Perception and Communication. Pp.
Radiological material could also be obtained because of lax 940–952 in Oxford Textbook of Public Health (5th ed.) R. De-
security. For example, at one facility in Russia two installa- tels, R. Beaglehole, M.A. Lansang, and M. Gulliford, eds. Ox-
tions contain 27 sources of cobalt-60 and 15 sources of ce- ford, U.K.: Oxford University Press.
sium-137. These materials are not being used, only stored,
and there are no restrictions on approaching the facility. Greenberg, M.R., B.M. West, K.W. Lowrie, and H.J. Mayer. 2009.
Another facility in Russia has 42 sources that have not been The Reporter’s Handbook on Nuclear Materials, Energy, and
used for years and are located “in a tumbledown building . . Waste Management. Nashville: Vanderbilt University Press.
. .” with no closed fence around it. The same report reveals
that in the United States, “hundreds of unwanted IRSs have IOM (Institute of Medicine). 1999. Potential Radiation Expo-
not been under adequate control, but DOE [U.S. Department of sure in Military Operations: Protecting the Soldier Before,
Energy], with the assistance of other federal and state agencies, During, and After. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
has mounted an aggressive program to find, collect and secure
these orphan sources . . . .” (NRC, 2007). IRPA (International Radiation Protection Association). 2008.
Guiding Principles for Radiation Protection Professionals on
A “dirty bomb” used by terrorists would cause great alarm, Stakeholder Engagement. Available online at www.irpa.net.
even though the physical damage from such a device, caused by the high explosive, might be limited. Placing a ra-
dioactive source, such as Cs137, around or on the outside of a high explosive does not make a nuclear weapon, but NAE (National Academy of Engineering). 2008. Grand Challenges for Engineering. Available online at http://www.
the message that such a device has exploded may lead to public panic and understandable fear in responders. For engineeringchallenges.org/cms/challenges.aspx. Hard copy available from NAE Program Office, 500 Fifth Street,
these reasons, it is important that police and fire organizations be trained in responding to radiation-laden attacks. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20001.

Conclusions NCRP (National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements). 2001. Management of Terrorist Events In-
volving Radioactive Materials. Report No. 138. Beth-esda, Md.: NCRP.
Radiation remains a topic of fear to much of the public, including first responders. While a nuclear weapon deto-
nated in a U.S. city would be catastrophic, a dirty bomb would not be. But unless the public and responders are NCRP. 2008. NCRP Composite Glossary. Bethesda, Md.: NCRP. Available online at http://www.ncrponline.org/PDFs/
educated in radioactivity, a dirty bomb could cause havoc.
NCRP Composite Glossary.pdf.
Planning exercises for responders should include a short course on radioactivity and the use of measurement
equipment. Giving responders opportunities to question experts can alleviate understandable concerns. Estab- NCRP. 2010. Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States. Report No. 160. Bethesda, Md.: NCRP.
lishing rules of communication and periodically rehearsing these in table-top exercises can give responders the
NRC (National Research Council). 1989. Improving Risk Communication. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Medical Preparedness and Response to Nuclear Terrorism
by Georges C. Benjamin
NRC. 2007. U.S.-Russian Collaboration in Combating Radiological Terrorism. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
Nuclear Safety Institute. 2005. Opportunities for U.S.-Russian Cooperation in Combating Radiological Terrorism. Note: When this essay refers to a nuclear weapon it is referring to the types and sizes of the weapons detonated
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. above Japan.
Slovic, P. 1996. Perception of risk from radiation. Radiation Protection Dosimetry 68 (3-4): 165–180.
Author: John F. Ahearne The medical and public health community is still in its infancy in terms of
preparedness for the detonation of a nuclear device.

The atomic age began in the 1900s and brought with it the promise
of using nuclear technologies for peaceful purposes. It also brought
with it the reality of nuclear weapons and a potential catastrophic
public health threat. Early nuclear weapons were large, heavy, and
complicated to make and use. Most important, only nation states
had them. As technology advanced, nuclear weapons have become
smaller, lighter, and more potent. In addition, terrorists are now
working diligently to get their hands on them.

Today, detonation of a compact, portable nuclear device by a small

group of terrorists is a real threat. These devices, known by a variety
of names—suitcase nukes, mini-nukes, or improvised nuclear devic-
es (INDs)—are small enough to put in a backpack or suitcase and
can yield an explosion of up to 20 kilotons.

Challenges to Emergency Medical Response

All nuclear detonations result in significant structural and environ-

mental destruction from the blast, heat, and radiation. The level of
physical destruction in and beyond the response area and the poten-
tial loss of critical medical infrastructure in surrounding areas at rela-
tively remote distances will create significant barriers to normal emer-
gency medical responses. In addition, dangerous levels of radiation
in the immediate response area and downwind from the radiation
plume will make it difficult to respond rapidly to victims of the blast.
Opera-tional and logistical problems with the delivery of supplies,
patient transport, and emergency communication will further com-
plicate emergency medical response. The medical effects will be cata-
strophic, both for people in the immediate area and for people within
a radius of several miles. Survivability in the short and intermediate
term will depend on the degree and type of physical injury combined
with the degree of exposure to radiation (Waselenko et al., 2004). The
radiation effects will have immediate, delayed, and long-term health
consequences for both victims and emergency response personnel.

Under any scenario that includes the release of a nuclear weapon,

there will be thousands, possibly tens of thousands, of casualties. In
the immediate aftermath, there will be an urgent need for a large
number of specialized beds for patients with burns, blunt and pen-
etrating trauma, eye injuries, and other injuries that would quickly
overwhelm the existing overtaxed health system. The number and
variety of casualties, the lack of adequate emergent health care infrastructure (e.g., burn and trauma beds, respira-
tors, supplies, and trained staff ) in many areas, and the expectation of long-term disruptions of routine emergent
and urgent health care services represent significant challenges to planners.
Preparing for the Worst
With these challenges in mind, how does one address the need for public health preparedness? First, achieving pre-
paredness is a process, not a point in time. Preparedness requires training, practice, and an organized approach to the
development of an emergency medical system. The investment in emergency preparedness must be persistent and
sustained in a way that creates dual-use systems that will serve the needs of the public on a daily basis but can also
be scaled up quickly to address a surge of patients in case of an overwhelming event.
Since the horrific events of September 11, 2001, the nation has been working toward improving preparedness to
threats to public health ranging from infectious diseases to weapons of mass destruction. Preparing for any emer-
gency begins with asking “what if” security officials fail to prevent the release of a biological or chemical weapon
or the detonation of an IND in an urban area or a highly populated American city. The medical and public health
community is still in its infancy in preparing to respond to such an unthinkable event (IOM, 2009).
Public health preparedness activities have been undertaken to address unintentional outbreaks of infectious dis-
ease, such as pandemic influenza (H1N1) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS); large outbreaks of food-
borne illnesses from pathogenic bacteria, such as E-Coli 0157:H7 and Salmonella; and intentional threats from
potential bioweapons, such as smallpox and anthrax. These measures have improved the nation’s capacity to re-
spond to infectious outbreaks and a variety of other basic health emergencies.
However, they are not sufficient to address a disaster with the
range and scope of destruction that would be caused by the deto-
nation of an IND. The profound loss of critical medical and response
infrastructure would profoundly diminish the effectiveness of the
emergency response. The only recent experiences that approach
the scope of an IND event are Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and, pos-
sibly, the earthquake in Haiti, which also caused the acute loss of
significant critical infrastructure.
The detonation of an IND would cause a level of destruction and
risk to health that would be a mega-disaster of national signifi-
cance (Figure 1). In such an attack, federal authorities would have
to be immediately engaged in the emergency response and not
wait for requests from state or local officials, as they would in a typ-
ical scenario. Medical preparedness for a nuclear detonation will re-
quire using all of the measures taken for many types of natural and
manmade disasters. It will also require a radical change in think-
ing about how we provide emergency medical care. In addition to
planning a response to the effects of a large explosion, prepara-
tion will require addressing the problems faced in a radiologic haz-
ards material (Hazmat) spill. Because of the radioactive cloud, the
contaminated area would include not only the blast area, but also
communities that may be many miles from the site. Planners must
also be prepared to mount an emergency response in conditions
that mimic an earthquake or tornado, such as the loss of physical
infrastructure and widespread physical blockages of ingress and
egress routes.
Finally, because this would be an intentional attack, planners must
include preparations to respond to multiple detonations or the
release of biological or chemical weapons. These challenges will
require an all-hazards approach to emergency medical prepared-
ness, which will be only one component in the general emergency
response plan for a major disaster.
 Response Plans for Weapons of Mass Destruction
Metropolitan Medical Response System Program
One of the earliest efforts to plan for responding to weapons of mass destruction was the Metropolitan Medical
Response System Program (MMRS), which was started in 1995. This federal program was an early attempt to en-
courage integrated planning for large-scale disasters in several urban cities. The intent was to link first responders
(e.g., police, fire, and emergency medical services) with public health and emergency management officials.
The MMRS program depended on local control and decision making.
Although it was a good effort, because of the magnitude of planning
and program needs, MMRS has remained generally undeveloped for re-
sponding to an event of the size and scope of an IND detonation.
Urban Area Security Initiative
Many other public and nonpublic efforts have been undertaken by a
variety of federal, state, and local agencies to prevent, mitigate, or re-
spond to the threat of a nuclear weapon. The Urban Area Security Ini-
tiative (UASI), for example, provided funds to multiple urban areas to
address preparedness specifically for detonation of a nuclear weapon.
The program was designed to improve capabilities and preparedness
planning in response to improvised explosive devices in high-density,
high-threat urban areas.
Like MMRS, this program is also still in its infancy in terms of planning.
Although some progress has been made, it has not yet developed the
kind of preparedness plans necessary to respond to a catastrophic
event, such as the detonation of an IND in one of these cities.
Other Government Programs
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has a
range of programs to support preparedness, including the Public
Health Emergency Preparedness Program and the Hospital Prepared-
ness Program. Both are designed to achieve all-hazard preparedness
for public health emergencies. Additional programs that support
emergency medical planning and response are run by the Federal
Emergency Management Agency.
Training Health Professionals
Unlike health professionals trained to respond to bioterrorism or
Hazmat spills, very few health professionals have received training in
the management of nuclear emergencies. This is a major gap in our
medical preparedness. The anthrax release in October 2001, followed
by concerns about smallpox and an influenza pandemic, resulted in in-
WEAPONS OF
tensive efforts to educate people in a large number of health disciplines
in medical responses to these emerging threats. We need similar efforts
MASS DESTRUCTION
for the emergency management of radiation and nuclear threats. But
it will take federal leadership to jump start the process through public
health and professional associations and educational institutions. Examples of such training include programs
supported by the National Disaster Life Support Foundation (www.ndlsf.org) and others, which provide a variety
of courses on the management and treatment of mass casualties. We will also need specialized training for lead-
ers in emergency medical services, lay emergency managers, and public health directors to manage the unique
aspects of nuclear emergencies.
Health Effects of a 10-Kiloton Nuclear Device
Our understanding of the full health effects of an IND detonation in an
urban setting is still evolving. Real-life scenarios of nuclear and radia-
tion events are limited to the military airbursts at Nagasaki and Hiroshi-
ma, nuclear weapons tests, the civilian tragedy of Chernobyl, the Three
Mile Island accident, and occasional laboratory accidents.
Because there have been few experimental ground-level detonations,
most of what we know comes from sophisticated models estimating
the effects of an IND. Based on these models, current estimates for a
10-kiloton release (a small suitcase bomb) are about 40,000 to 50,000
people killed within the first 24 hours from blast effects and burns and
more than 130,000 injured from radioactive fallout (Marrs, 2007). Fac-
tors that modelers use to estimate human casualties include popula-
tion density, time of day, geographic location, wind speed, and so on.
Thus, even with conservative estimates, the health care system would
quickly be overwhelmed (Bell and Dallas, 2007). The immediate types
of injuries sustained from an explosion of this type would include a
combination of blast, burn, and penetrating traumas. For initial sur-
vivors, acute and chronic radiation illness would be another problem,
which, when combined with traumatic injuries, is known to increase
mortality (Flynn, 2006). There are therapies for radiation exposure, but
survival depends on the dose of radiation received.
The First 72 Hours
The management goal in a typical disaster is to move from chaos to
controlled disorder as quickly as possible. In a disaster like an IND,
the period of chaos would be magnified because of fear, the size of
the affected area, and the loss of local response capacity, that is, re-
sponders who are used to working together. Traditional preparedness
planning is based on the assumption that local communities will be
the responders for the first 48 to 72 hours. Thus planning focuses on
optimizing the response until outside assistance arrives, as needed.
The mobilization of meaningful federal assistance is expected to take
from 48 to 72 hours.
The explosion of an IND or other weapon of mass destruction, howev-
er, would be immediately understood as an event of national impor-
tance, and local, state, and federal planners must harmonize their plans
in a way that immediately nationalizes the response. Although the local
community may be on its own for some period of time for logistical rea-
sons, it is clear that, without immediate nationalization, there cannot be a reasonable emergency medical response.
Because of the loss of a significant amount of the local critical infrastructure (e.g., ambulances, hospitals and clinics,
and associated personnel), the response plan should be designed to use regional and national health resources for
the most severely affected patients. Medical standards of care may also change dramatically, under appropriate
medical supervision and ethical guidelines, in disaster situations. For example, critically ill patients might have to
be treated in a school gymnasium instead of a hospital because of the volume of patients, and non-physician care-
givers might be authorized to give injections and perform other procedures, even minor surgical procedures (IOM,
2010).
First responders will have to address the early loss of command and control and operational communications
(mostly because of blast or burn effects, less so from the electromagnetic pulse). Situational threat awareness, ac-
curate weather information, and the status of the medical system infrastructure are critical pieces of information
essential for effective control and command of the medical response.
safe for first responders to enter the affected area. Planners must be clear about the level of radiation exposure a res-
cue worker will be allowed to receive and must maintain a system so that they know when a worker is approaching
that limit. The level of personal protective equipment will depend on the level of risk and should also be predeter-
mined as part of the operations plan.
Making decisions that limit exposure to ground radiation, airborne particles, and gases will be crucial for survivors
in the affected area. Evidence clearly shows that sheltering in place is an effective strategy for limiting exposure
and improving the chances of survival. Thus, finding shelter, or remaining sheltered, should be strongly empha-
sized in event planning and in the dissemination of plans and information. The science behind sheltering in place
and when to evacuate a shelter to minimize exposure is clear, but communicating this to populations on a wide
scale to achieve an orderly evacuation will be difficult.
The Federal Response

Risk communication to the public will be a major chal- Early activation and prepositioning of national re-
lenge; messages must be clear, consistent, and as sponse assets upon notification of a threat warn-
accurate as possible. Maintaining public trust will ing will be critical. Rapid mobilization of medical
be of great importance for health officials, who will response assets, such as the strategic national
have to make difficult decisions based on incom- stockpile, military airborne patient transport, the
plete information. Managing fear, post traumatic National Disaster Medical System (about 1,500 hos-
stress disorders, as well as traditional mental health pitals and 34,000 beds), blood collection and de-
concerns (e.g., depression) will also be critical (Koe- livery systems, and radiation detection devices will
nig et al., 2005). also be essential (Coleman et al., 2009).

In an emergency, immediate care (first aid) is often
provided by bystanders and others in the general
area of the event. In the case of an IND explosion,
however, the area will be contaminated with radia-
tion, and even able-bodied survivors may be unable
or unwilling to assist because of concerns about the
risk of lethal exposure. Significant search and rescue
may also be delayed because of contamination of
the site.
The decontamination of victims will be an essen-
tial medical procedure, not only to protect patients,
but also to protect care providers from continued
radiation exposure. In general, however, most ex-
perts recommend that emergency care not be de-
layed because of fear of a contaminated patient. Re-
moving a patient’s clothing will usually reduce the
amount of contamination by 90 percent.
Historically, emergency providers have recognized
that the first few hours in a mass causality situation
require sorting patients into priority groups, rang-
ing from people who require care first to those who
are not expected to survive and are, therefore, made
comfortable and treated last. The biggest barrier to
providing immediate care will be ensuring that it is
Regulatory action by DHHS to authorize the emer-
gency use of pharmaceuticals and emergency hos-
pital transfer rules to optimize medical care should
be taken soon. Medical transportation systems for
large-scale evacuations should be activated and
implemented immediately.
Beyond the First 72 Hours
The mapping of contaminated areas, continued
search-and-rescue operations, and later recovery
operations of remains will last long past the first
72 hours. These may seem like almost routine ac-
tivities until one understands the complexity of
mapping a contaminated area in a blast zone and
that changes in the prevailing winds can make
predicting the path of the fallout plume extremely
difficult, except with computer models and on-the-
ground radiation detectors. Simply put, relying on
the traditional unidirectional plume model will not
be adequate for determining which areas to avoid.
The The
Federal
FederalResponse?
Response? Medium- and long-term health effects of radiation
There Was None! exposure, combined with disabilities from trauma,
There Was None! will mean that the direct health effects will per-
sist for several years or more. Long-term planning
should address these issues. Cleaning the environment of contaminants, radioactive materials, and other toxic References
debris will create significant health hazards. Safe removal and disposal methods must be included in the remedi-
ation plan. 1. Bell, W.C., and C.E. Dallas. 2007. Vulnerability of populations and the urban health care systems to nuclear weap-
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2. Coleman, N.C., C. Hrdina, J.L. Bader, A. Norwood, R. Hayhurst, J. Forsha, K. Yeskey, and A. Knebel. 2009.
A great deal of work has been done in the last several years to help communities become more resilient in the
3. Medical response to a radiologic/nuclear event: integrated plan from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for
face of emergencies. Resilient communities are characterized by the ability to mitigate the effects of a significant
disaster and return to normal or near normal quickly. However, resilience in the face of a disaster means adding Preparedness and Response, Department of Health and Human Services. Annals of Emergency Medicine 53(2):
an element of human capital to planned systems that promote a rapid return to normalcy once the disaster is 213–220.
over. Communities where poverty levels are high, the built environment is dilapidated or not kept up, and the 4. Flynn, D.F., and R.E. Goans. 2006. Nuclear terrorism: triage and medical management of radiation and com-
underlying health status is poor are less likely to rebound quickly. In the case of the recent earthquake in Haiti, for bined-injury casualties. Surgical Clinics of North America 86(3): 601–636.
example, even a return to a baseline level of profound poverty is going slowly. 5. IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2009. Assessing Medical Preparedness to Respond to a Terrorist Nuclear Event: Work-
shop Report, G.C. Benjamin, M. McGeary, and S.R. McCutchen, eds. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
A community with significant resources, good under- 6. IOM. 2010. Crisis Standards of Care, Summary of a
lying health, and a solid, practiced emergency plan
Workshop Series. C. Stroud, B.M. Altevogt, L. Nadig,
will have the capacity to recover more quickly
(NRC, 2006). However, after an attack with an and M. Hougan, rapporteurs. Washington, D.C.:
IND, even a resilient community will face many National Academies Press.
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of infrastructure, the degree of community dis- Mettler Jr., T.A. Schumacher, E.K. Noji, and D.G.
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Conclusion
rorist Nuclear Detonations. Report No. UCRL-
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The black smoke at the top of the image is the steel and the white smoke is the cement floors and facade
CHAPTER seven
Crossing the Petawatt Threshold
Fissionless Fusion, Star in a Jar
and The Radioactive Boyscout
 Advertisement

CROSSING
THE PETAWATT
THRESHOLD

FISSIONLESS FUSION
The Petawatt
For more than three decades, Lawrence Livermore’s Laser Programs
have earned a worldwide reputation for pushing the limits of laser
technology. But few accomplishments have rivaled the one celebrated
in the early morning hours of May 23, 1996, by an exhausted but ex-
uberant crew that just used a revolutionary laser that produced more
than a quadrillion watts of energy, a world record.

The extraordinarily powerful laser is called the Petawatt because the

prefix “peta” refers to a quadrillion. The laser reached a peak of 1.25
petawatts of peak power, about 25% more powerful than expected
and more than ten times the peak power of Lawrence Livermore’s
Nova laser, the world’s largest. The historic shots shattered the existing
record for laser power (125 trillion watts) by more than a factor of 10,
set by Livermore researchers using a Petawatt prototype during the
summer of 1995.

Although the shots exceeded by more than 1,200 times the entire
electrical generating capacity of the U.S., they lasted less than half a
picosecond (a trillionth, or 10 to the twelfth power of a second). In
that exceedingly fleeting moment, nearly 10,000 times shorter than
the typical Nova laser shot, only enough energy (about 600 joules) was
generated to keep a 100-watt light bulb burning for about 6 seconds.

By crossing the petawatt threshold, the laser heralds a new age in Figure 1: With the Petawatt laser in the background, Livermore’s Michael Perry (left) shows
laser research. Lasers that provide a petawatt of power or more in a how far the technology has come to UC Berkeley Professor Charles Townes,
picosecond may make it possible to achieve fusion using significant- who co-invented the laser.
ly less energy than presently envisioned, through a novel Livermore
concept called fast ignition. (See Science & Technology Review, Sep-
tember 1995, for more information.) The Petawatt laser will also enable
researchers to study the fundamental properties of matter, thereby
aiding the Department of Energy’s stockpile stewardship efforts and
opening entirely new physical regimes to study.
 Figure 2:
Crossing The Petawatt Threshold Milestones in
laser development;
An extraordinarily powerful new laser promises to help make fusion power more easily attainable early lasers
with “fast ignition.” The laser beam’s ultrashort pulses and extremely high intensities will also enable (yellow), long-pulse
researchers to advance their understanding of the fundamental nature of energy and matter: technology (green),
and chirped-pulse
amplification
technology (blue).

Coincidentally, University of California at Berkeley professor Charles Townes was visiting the
Laboratory on the same day, May 23, as a member of a panel reviewing the Laser Programs (see
Figure 1 previous page). Townes was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1964 for co-inventing the first
laser, which generated only a few thousandths of a watt.

“When the laser first came along, I never imagined it getting up that high,” Townes told report-
ers. “When we first invented them, I was thinking about very modest powers. It never occurred
to me it would be in this kind of ballpark.”

Indeed, the Petawatt is only the latest of a family of lasers with increasing irradiance (power
per unit area) that began in the 1970s with LLNL’s Argus, Shiva, and then Nova laser systems
(see Figure 2 above). The introduction in the mid-1980s of a unique new laser material – tita-
nium-doped sapphire (Ti:sapphire) – offered high gain over a broad range of wavelengths. To-
gether with a new technology – chirped-pulse amplification (CPA) to minimize laser materials
damage – they offered the possibility of creating high-power subpicosecond pulses directly
from a solid-state laser. Lawrence Livermore researchers began work on short-pulse lasers in
the mid-1980s and completed a 10-terawatt (TW) laser in 1989. The embodiment of most of the
advances since that time resides in the Petawatt.
With its full-aperture beam of 58 centimeters in diameter (to be installed in early 1997 to replace a 46-cm beam),
the Petawatt will produce about 1 kilojoule of energy in less than 0.5 picosecond. In contrast, one beamline of
Nova typically produces 10 kilojoules of energy in 1 nanosecond (billionth of a second), some 1,000 times slower.
Nova and the National Ignition Facility (NIF) planned for Livermore are long-pulse lasers (nanoseconds and lon-
ger), specifically designed to produce high-pulse energy.
Petawatt Development
The Petawatt Advanced Fusion Project was proposed in 1992 as a high-risk, potentially high-payoff project to
develop the capability to test the fast-ignitor concept for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and to provide Liver-
more--and the world--with a unique capability in high-energy-density physics. Michael Perry, leader of Lawrence
Livermore’s Short-Pulse Lasers, Applications, and Technology Program, won a competitive grant in 1993 from LL-
NL’s in-house Laboratory Directed Research and Development program to begin building the laser.
Perry formed a core team of physicists, engineers, and technicians with backgrounds in laser physics, optics, en-
gineering, materials science, and atomic physics. Team members knew that success required advances in knowl-
edge of the basic behavior of optical materials, development of new diffraction grating technology, substantial
improvements in short-pulse laser technology, and advancement of a sound theoretical basis for the fast-ignitor
concept. Finally, they recognized that although an all-Ti:sapphire laser could not provide sufficient power, a hy-
brid system starting with a Ti:sapphire laser and using new, smaller, and more efficient neodymium glass amplifi-
ers could provide the necessary pulse energy and bandwidth to
achieve a petawatt.
Much of the Petawatt’s early effort was devoted to further de-
veloping CPA technology. CPA was first developed to increase
the power of radar systems and was discussed for use in la-
sers in the middle 1970s. The first successful demonstration
occurred for solid-state lasers in the late 1980s at the Universi-
ty of Rochester. Further developments at Rochester, Lawrence
Livermore, and elsewhere along with the introduction of new
laser materials (e.g., Ti:sapphire) have revolutionized (Figure 3)
high-power laser research.
CPA is critical because laser pulses of extremely high pow-
er density (gigawatts/centimeter2, or GW/cm2) can severely
damage optical components such as amplifiers, lenses, and
mirrors. With CPA technology, it became possible to generate
very short laser pulses with extremely high peak powers by
stretching a low-energy laser pulse more than 10,000 times
its duration prior to amplification and then recompressing the
pulse back to near the original duration after amplification. Be-
cause passage through the laser optics occurs when the pulse is
long, there is no damage.
Using this technology, the Petawatt laser begins with a broad-bandwidth, low-power pulse lasting less than0.1
picosecond in a temperature-controlled clean room in the basement of the Nova building. Instead of consisting of
a single, very specific wavelength (color) produced in conventional lasers, these ultrashort pulses contain a broad
spectrum. Before amplification, the short-pulse beam is sent to the pulse stretcher. Here, the pulse is stretched by
using a diffraction grating to spread out the different wavelengths (colors), separating each frequency compo-
nent. By passing each color through a different optical path length (the red components travel a shorter length
than the blue), the pulse is stretched in time by a factor of 30,000 to 3 nanoseconds. The pulse is then amplified
more than a trillion times without damaging the laser glass as the pulse travels through a series of amplifier mod-
ules, including a portion of one arm of the Nova laser for the final amplifier stage.
After amplification, the beam is then sent to the vacuum chamber 3 ¥ 11 meters long, where the pulse is com-
pressed using a pair of diffraction gratings each 74 centimeters in diameter. By reversing the process of the stretch-
er (now the red components travel a longer length than the blue), the pulse is compressed down to less than half
a picosecond (nearly its original duration), thereby increasing its peak power nearly 10,000 times to more than a
petawatt. Such pulses must be compressed in a vacuum because the irradiance of the beam leaving the second
grating is over 700 GW/cm2, far too great to pass through any material (including air) without resulting in damage.
The Grating Challenge
One of the most challenging tasks was the fabrication of pulse compression gratings of sufficient size, optical qual-
ity, and ability to withstand the enormous power of the Petawatt laser pulse. Said Perry, “When the project began,
there wasn’t a facility in the world capable of making the required gratings, so we created one.”
The diffraction gratings that are used in the Petawatt laser are nearly 1 meter in diameter, some eight times larger
and twice as resistant to damage as the previous state of the art. Livermore’s successful development of diffrac-
tion grating technology for the Petawatt led to the selection of
gratings for many uses on the National Ignition Facility (NIF), a
192-beam laser facility planned for Livermore.
Initially, achieving a petawatt of peak power was expected to
require an entirely new optical component--a high-efficiency,
Figure 3: The concept multilayer dielectric grating. That advanced technology was
of how chirped-pulse developed by the Petawatt team in 1993 and 1994, an achieve-
amplification and other ment recognized in 1994 with an R&D 100 Award. However,
new technologies en- the dielectric gratings were not used in the current experi-
able the production of ments because new metallic gratings developed by the team
the petawatt (quadril- have proven satisfactory for petawatt pulses at 0.5-picosec-
lion watt) pulses. ond durations. These metallic gratings are simpler to manu-
facture than the multilayer gratings. Multilayer gratings would
be required to achieve the multikilojoule pulses necessary to
achieve ignition if fast-ignitor capability is added to the NIF.
Interestingly, the multilayer dielectric grating technology has
already produced its own spinoff. (See this and other spinoff
technologies discussed in the box below.)
Petawatt Spinoffs
The technology developed for the Petawatt has provided many
unexpected spinoffs. In particular, Lawrence Livermore’s experimental and theoretical studies of laser-induced
damage, carried out in support of the Petawatt laser’s development, have created valuable new technologies.
Researchers, led by Brent Stuart, using the petawatt front end made pioneering measurements of the laser
damage threshold for a multitude of optical materials (crystal and glass) lasting from 0.1 picosecond to 1 nano-
second. A fundamental change in the damage mechanism is observed when the pulse length is less than ap-
proximately 20 picoseconds. This change in mechanism is accompanied by a dramatic change in the morphol-
ogy of the damage site.
The discovery and explanation of this difference formed the basis of a collaborative program with medical re-
searchers on the interaction of short laser pulses with human tissue. Laser ablation of tissue (removal of tissue by
its being “blown off”) has great promise in a number of therapeutic situations requiring precise material removal
with minimal disturbance of the surrounding tissue. Potential applications include precision cutting (as in keraton-
omy), perforation (applicable to middle ear surgery), pressure release for hydroencephaly, and dental drilling. The
advantage for surgery with lasers whose pulses last less than a picosecond is that the duration is far too short to
transfer heat to surrounding tissue. (See the October 1995 S&TR for more on LLNL efforts to develop short-pulse
lasers as safe and painless surgical tools.) The ability to cut and drill material with no heat or shock has also found
important application in LLNL’s role in nuclear weapon stockpile management.
Two R&D 100 Awards were earned as a result of the need to manufacture diffraction gratings to a size, precision,
and resistance to optical damage never before attained. The first, earned in 1994, was the development of mul-
tilayer dielectric gratings for use in dispersing light into constituent colors, or wavelengths, for many different
applications. These gratings, made of multiple layers of thin dielectric film, have much higher damage thresholds
than metallic gratings and can be custom designed for narrow- or broad-bandwidth use. Besides their use in new
generations of extremely high-powered lasers, they may be used in entirely new products in such areas as remote
sensing and biomedical diagnostic systems. (See the September 1994 E&TR for more information.) Furthermore,
the grating development laboratory and technology will be used for developing the extensive diffractive optics
used throughout the final focus assembly of the planned National Ignition Facility. The technology developed to
produce the multilayer and metallic gratings with extremely small features (down to 0.1 micrometer) may also give
a dramatic boost to American producers of flat-panel displays. The LLNL process to laser interference lithography
enables the production of large-area field-emission displays (FEDs). This display can be thinner, brighter, larger,
and lighter and can consume less power than traditional active matrix liquid crystal displays. The new technology
earned its inventors an R&D 100 Award in 1996 (see the October 1996 S&TR).
With the grating technology in hand, the focus of the Petawatt team moved to installation of the petawatt sys-
tem on the Nova laser. Numerous large-scale optical and mechanical components capable of working at extreme
precision under vacuum had to be designed, fabricated, and installed. Significant modifications to the ten-beam
target bay were performed over many weekends, when the Nova laser is usually not used for target experiments.
Figure 4: The
Livermore crew
after the first
successful
accomplishment
of petawatt
peak power
(1,250 trillion watts)
on May 23, 1996.
A new beamline was installed to route the beam from the Petawatt’s master oscillator room to the disk amplifier
section of Nova’s beamline number 6 for final amplification. A particularly challenging task was installation of the
enormous compression chamber in the target bay without disrupting the normal operation of the Nova system.
With everything in place, three series of experimental shots were performed. In the first series, performed in De-
cember 1994, the Petawatt’s beam was propagated to Nova’s two-beam target bay to study CPA effects. For the
second shot series, performed in March 1995, the beam was propagated into the newly constructed compression
chamber to produce a short pulse length. Following the March 1995 shot series, the new injection beamline be-
tween the Petawatt’s master oscillator room and the Nova preamplifier was activated, along with the compression
chamber vacuum system and a full suite of optical diagnostics. The final test series performed in May 1996 pro-
duced the record-shattering result, but not without exceptionally hard work. “We had to work 16-hour days, 7 days
a week for more than a month to make sure everything was ready for the demonstration shots. It was a true team
effort between the Nova engineers, operations crew, and the Petawatt project team,” recalls Perry, who furnished
non-alcoholic champagne for the historic night. (See Figure 4., below left)
Four Options
As the Petawatt laser is now configured, the beamline from the underground master oscillator room can take one
of four courses. First, it can be injected into the Nova chain to the Petawatt’s compressor chamber and used along
with nine of Nova’s ten beams as a large-scale hybrid system to test the fast-ignitor concept and investigate new
concepts in laser-matter interactions and plasma physics. Second, the beam can be shunted to a small room next
door to the master oscillator room, where it is used for researching issues related to the use of lasers in medicine
and material processing, development of plasma mirrors, and harmonic conversion to a shorter wavelength for
Nova x-ray diagnostics development.
Third, through early next summer, the laser can be used as the core of a 100-trillion-watt laser to study plasma
physics and begin research on fast-ignitor physics. Finally, early this winter, a target chamber will be installed be-
tween the Petawatt’s compression chamber and Nova’s ten-beam chamber. It will permit the Petawatt laser to be
used independently of Nova.
The decision to develop a target chamber exclusively devoted to petawatt laser use, while retaining the ability to
perform experiments in Nova’s ten-beam target chamber, was prompted by the high level of interest expressed by
researchers at LLNL and other centers.
Building a petawatt target chamber makes good sense, says Perry, “because it will allow us to work the bugs out of
the Petawatt’s focusing system and enable simple, single-beam experiments without impacting operation of the
Nova chamber.”
The 100-TW laser was constructed in early 1995 as a crucial stepping stone to the Petawatt. Using most of the
Petawatt’s components, but not taking advantage of the full complement of Nova’s amplifiers, the 100-TW is con-
nected to Nova’s two-beam target area. It was successfully test fired for the first time on July 31, 1995, surpassing
the 120 trillion watts produced by Nova and making it the most powerful laser ever tested at the time.
“The 100-TW was only a warm-up for the Petawatt,” says project engineer Greg Tietbohl, noting that the laser has
been used to test some of the basic concepts and advanced components underlying the Petawatt. Laser-plasma
experiments being performed on the 100-TW laser are producing data that enable the design of a more compre-
hensive series of experiments to test the fast-ignitor concept on the Petawatt. The 100-TW laser continues to op-
erate as the world’s second most powerful laser, and it is now used extensively by researchers from LLNL and the
international university community. The 100-TW operations will end in July 1997 because Nova’s two-beam target
bay will be disassembled in order to build an optics assembly area for NIF.
 Focusing Petawatt Pulses

A significant problem with petawatt

pulses is how to focus them. Conven-
tional approaches such as lenses or mir-
rors with debris shields cannot be used
because these both involve transmissive
optics that would be damaged by the
extreme power density of the petawatt
pulse (over 700 GW/cm2).

A radical concept proposed by Perry

and Associate-Director-at-Large John
Nuckolls was the use of a so-called “plas-
ma mirror.” The intense petawatt beam
strikes the front surface of a piece of pol-
ished glass, creating a very-short-lived
critical-density plasma in the early part
of the pulse. Because the petawatt pulse
is so short, the plasma does not have
time to expand during the pulse. The
remainder of the pulse then reflects off
the critical-density plasma and strikes
the target of interest.

The resulting detonation of the target

creates a large amount of debris (typical
of all target experiments) that hits the
plasma mirror substrate instead of sen-
sitive and expensive diagnostic equip-
ment and optics. (See Figure 5 for the
difference in optical- and plasma-mirror
irradiances.) The curvature of the mir-
ror can be easily changed to accom-
modate a wide variety of experimental
conditions and targets. To date, over
90% reflectivity has been demonstrated
in small-scale experiments conducted
with the Petawatt’s front end.
 Possible Key to Fast Ignition

The Petawatt provides researchers with their first tools to explore the fast-ignitor fusion concept, conceived by Liv-
ermore’s Max Tabak and others in 1992. Focusing a high-power laser pulse gives rise to an extremely high density
of energy, or light pressure. This light pressure can enable the laser pulse to interact with very-high-density materi-
al at the core of an imploded fusion pellet instead of being stopped by lower-density plasma in the corona. These
intense pulses also generate large amounts of energetic electrons. These high-intensity phenomena form the basis
of the patented fast-ignitor fusion concept.

In this scheme, laser energy compresses a spherical volume of fusion fuel to high density--exactly as in the con-
ventional approach to ICF. However, conventional ICF relies on the formation of a hot central core within the dense
deuterium-tritium fuel to spark ignition. This condition is achieved by the rapid, highly symmetrical and spherical
implosion of the capsule driven by pulses delivered either directly by many laser beams or indirectly by x rays. Be-
cause of the extreme requirements on symmetry and the necessity to achieve both high temperature and density in however, upcoming fast-ignition tests prove successful, a petawatt laser could be added to the NIF for fast-ignitor
the implosion, conventional ICF requires substantial energy and precision from the laser. capability at a moderate additional cost.

By contrast, the fast-ignitor concept adds two laser beams that are timed to strike the target at the moment of max-
imum compression. Because the Petawatt was conceived to use Nova, eight of Nova’s ten beamlines would strike
the target and form a plasma. Then a 1-TW, 100-picosecond channeling beam supplied by the Petawatt laser bores
through the plasma and pushes the deuterium-tritium fuel in its path toward a higher density near the core of the
target. At the optimum moment, a petawatt ignitor beam propagates through the channel formed by the channel-
ing beam, striking the high-density, preimploded core. The petawatt pulse generates hot, high-energy electrons,
which instantaneously raise a small region on the periphery of the core to over 100 million degrees Celsius. The
fusion burn propagates from this small volume on the edge throughout the remaining fuel before hydrodynamic
disassembly of the core.
The fast-ignitor technique offers, in principle, a method of reducing the energy and precision required to achieve
ignition compared with conventional ICF. Perry cautions that, compared with the firm scientific foundation of con-
ventional ICF, the fast-ignitor concept is still in its infancy because it resides in a region of untested physics. If,
The Petawatt’s beam would be fired to inject energy into a small region of the deuterium-tritium target capsule to
initiate ignition a few billionths of a second after NIF’s beams are fired. A Petawatt-NIF combination might enable
the achievement of a higher fusion energy gain than currently envisioned.
A New Chapter in Physics
The ultrashort pulses and extremely high irradiance of the Petawatt laser will also enable researchers to advance
their understanding of laser-matter interactions and, indeed, advance understanding of the fundamental nature of
energy and matter. The enormous irradiance that will be generated by the Petawatt, some 1021 W/cm2, will make
possible an irradiance unlike any produced in the laboratory to date. These unprecedented laboratory conditions
will be characterized by electric fields about 100 times stronger than the field that binds electrons to atomic nuclei.
Such fields have the potential to trap electrons and accelerate them to high energies within just a few centimeters,
instead of many kilometers as in conventional particle accelerators.
The enormous electric fields created by the Petawatt will
impart enormous oscillatory (“quiver”) energy to the free
electrons in the plasma. At 1021 W/cm2, the quiver energy
of a free electron would be more than 10 million electron
volts. The electrons would be moving at speeds approach-
ing the speed of light and at densities never before seen in
the laboratory.

These plasmas will be similar to those believed to exist in

many astrophysical objects. Scientists could then study con-
ditions predicted to exist in the center of stars and surround-
ing celestial bodies such as black holes and brown dwarves.

Additionally, high-energy photons (0.1 to 10 megaelec-

tron volts) produced from the interaction of the petawatt
pulse with high-atomic-number targets offer the potential
for time-resolved radiography of dense objects. The short-
pulse duration, potentially small source size, and simple
production of multiple pulses separated in time make this
an attractive source for multiple-exposure flash x-ray radi-
ography. The plasmas themselves can provide important
information to Lawrence Livermore scientists supporting
DOE’s Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program.

The Petawatt laser is currently undergoing a long series of

tests as it is transformed into an operational facility for tar-
get experiments. Its development is expected to continue
into the next decade as LLNL scientists continue to advance
the state of the art in optics and the technology of short-
pulse lasers. Perry notes that several years of hard work lie
ahead in exploring the fast-ignitor concept with the Pet-
awatt. The overall goal, as it was with the development of
Livermore’s first generation of lasers, is to speed the arrival
of laser fusion as a source of virtually inexhaustible energy
for society. Another goal, admittedly closer at hand, is to aid
the nation’s Stockpile Stewardship Program.

Michael Perry joined Lawrence Livermore National Labo-

ratory as a physicist in October 1987. He is a graduate of
the University of California at Berkeley with a B.S. in both
nuclear engineering and chemical engineering (Summa
Cum Laude, 1983), an M.S. in nuclear engineering (1984),
and a Ph.D. in nuclear engineering/physics (1987). He is
currently the leader of the Petawatt Laser Project and
Associate Program Leader for Short-Pulse Lasers, Appli-
cations, and Technology. He has authored more than 70
professional publications.
the radioactive boyscout Teenager Achieves Nuclear Fusion At Home
By Stephen Ornes

Published Online March 6, 2007

In 2006 Thiago Olson joined the extremely sparse ranks of amateurs worldwide who have achieved nuclear
fusion with a home apparatus. In other words, he built the business end of a hydrogen bomb in his basement.
The plasma “star in a jar” — pictured below — demonstrated his success.

For two years, Olson researched what he would need and scrounged
for parts from eBay and the hardware store. Flanges and piping?
Check. High-voltage X-ray transformer? Check. Pumps, deuteri-
um source, neutron bubble dosimeter? Check, check, check. “I have
cross-country and track, so during those seasons I don’t have much time
to work on it,” says Olson, a high school senior in Michigan. “It’s more of
a weekend project.” Last November the machine finally delivered the
hallmark of success: bubbles in the dosimeter. The bubbles indicate
the presence of neutrons, a by-product of fusion—an energy-releas-
ing process in which two hydrogen nuclei crash together and form
a helium nucleus. Fusion is commonplace in stars, where hydrogen
nuclei fuse in superhot plasma, but temperatures that high are hard
to achieve on Earth. Still, the prospect of creating all this energy while
forming only nonradioactive helium and easily controlled neutrons
has made harnessing fusion one of the most sought-after and heavily
funded goals in sustainable energy.

Olson’s apparatus won’t work for generating commercial power

because it takes more energy to run than it produces. But he has
succeeded in creating a “star in a jar,” a tiny flash of hot plasma. “The
temperature of the plasma is around 200 million degrees,” Olson says
modestly, “several times hotter than the core of the sun.”

Robert Bussard, a nuclear physicist who has spent most of his career
investigating fusion for both the government and private compa-
nies, applauds Olson’s ambition. “These kids are studying much more
useful physics than what the country is spending billions on,” he says. “It
causes them to think. They’re not going down the mainstream path to
oblivion.” And, aside from using high voltage and emitting low-level
radiation, the machine has been deemed harmless. “About a week
ago, the department of health from Michigan called my principal,” Ol-
son says. “They wanted to come over and inspect it. They did that, they
were impressed, and it checked out.”
 Star In A Jar
Operating Parameter Relationships In An Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) Fusion Reactor
Eric Foss, Kentwood High School, Covington, WA
Science Project for 2009

In a fusion reaction, two light atomic nuclei fuse together and release a large amount of energy. With an
unlimited supply of deuterium fuel available from the oceans, fusion could supply the world’s future energy
needs in a clean, sustainable way. Most current fusion research efforts are directed towards magnetic and
inertial confinement, but a lesser known method called inertial electrostatic confinement (IEC) accelerates
deuterium plasma to a temperature of 180 million degrees C using only a strong electric field in a vacuum
chamber. I designed and built a tabletop IEC fusion reactor using commonly available materials. I built an
electrolysis system to supply deuterium gas from heavy water. To study the important operating parame-
ter relationships, I programmed a LabView data acquisition system to measure electric field voltage, current,
reactor chamber pressure, and temperature. For visualization, I wrote a MATLAB script to plot the three di-
mensional operating surface. I found that the control difficulties reported with this type of reactor are due to
operation in the asymptotic region of the operational curve. I found that the classical Paschen model and a
more recently proposed empirical model of the voltage-pressure relationship did not match parts of my data.
I built an empirical model of the relationship with a sixth order Laurent polynomial. Multivariate linear regres-
sion worked better than downhill simplex for estimating the coefficients. My final three dimensional model
fits my measured three dimensional data with a correlation coefficient of 0.88. (P<6.5e-134). This is the report
that got me started (at right). The rest of the information I obtained to build my project came from a number
of different publications both off and on the internet. The most helpful information that I found was located @
fusor.net. Here is a link to a one page PDF handout that describes the entire project:

http://home.comcast.net/~garyfoss3/fusor_handout.pdf

About My Reactor

• An IEC reactor is basically a radially focused particle accelerator driven by high voltage
• Operates in a vacuum chamber at about 1/100,000 of an atm.
• Deuteron plasma at 180 million deg. C
• Particle velocity 600,000 meters/sec
• Fusion is made possible under these conditions by means of Quantum Tunneling
• Quantum Tunneling Basics

Construction

• Fusion chamber made from a 2 gallon glass cookie jar purchased at Wal-Mart
• Cut ports with a carbide water cooled drill, sealed parts with silicone.
• Anode made out of stove pipe from Ace Hardware, cathode from steel wire.
• Found a good 2 stage vacuum pump on E-bay
• Auto spark plugs for high voltage feedthroughs into my chamber
• High voltage DC power supply (35KV) made from an old cable test system
• Electrolysis of heavy water supplies the deuterium gas
• National Instruments donated LabView and a USB-DAQ to read voltage, pressure, current, and temperature
Mom, we have fusion in the basement ...
Plasma Behavior During Pumpdown
 Operating Parameter Relationships

The white dots are the measurements I made with my LabViewdata system,
as I turned the high voltage power control up and down during pumpdown.

The colored surface is a MATLAB interpolation of the measured data, with the voltage scale colored as shown.
 Advertisement

Make Believe Was Never So Much Fun!

 Nuclear Fusion-Fission Hybrid Could Make Carbon-Free Energy
Physicists at The University of Texas at Austin have designed a new system that, when fully developed, would use
fusion to eliminate most of the transuranic waste produced by nuclear power plants.The invention could help
combat global warming by making nuclear power cleaner and thus a more viable replacement of carbon-heavy
energy sources, since nuclear power is carbon-heavy itself during construction.
“We have created a way to use fusion to relatively inexpensively destroy the waste from nuclear fission,” says Mike
Kotschenreuther, senior research scientist with the Institute for Fusion Studies (IFS) and Department of Physics.
“Our waste destruction system, we believe, will allow nuclear power-a low carbon
source of energy-to take its place in helping us combat global warming.”
Toxic nuclear waste is stored at sites around the U.S. Debate surrounds the
construction of a large-scale geological storage site at Yucca Mountain in Ne-
vada, which many maintain is costly, dangerous and carbon intensive.
The storage capacity of Yucca Mountain, which is not expected to open until
2020, is set at 77,000 tons. The amount of nuclear waste generated by the U.S.
will exceed this amount by 2010. The physicists’ new invention could drastical-
ly decrease the need for any additional or expanded geological repositories.
“Most people cite nuclear waste as the main reason they oppose nuclear fission as
a source of power,” says Swadesh Mahajan, senior research scientist.
The scientists propose destroying the waste using a fusion-fission hybrid
reactor, the centerpiece of which is a high power Compact Fusion Neutron
Source (CFNS) made possible by a crucial invention. The CFNS would provide
abundant neutrons through fusion to a surrounding fission blanket that uses
transuranic waste as nuclear fuel.
The fusion-produced neutrons augment the fission reaction, imparting effi-
ciency and stability to the waste incineration process. Kotschenreuther, Ma-
hajan and Prashant Valanju, of the IFS, and Erich Schneider of the Department
of Mechanical Engineering report their new system for nuclear waste destruc-
tion in the journal Fusion Engineering and Design.
There are more than 100 fission reactors, called “light water reactors” (LWRs),
producing power in the United States. The nuclear waste from these reactors
is stored and not reprocessed. (Some other countries, such as France and Japan, do
reprocess the waste.)
The scientists’ waste destruction system would work in two major steps. First, 75 percent of the original reactor
waste is destroyed in standard, relatively inexpensive LWRs. This step produces energy, but it does not destroy
highly radiotoxic, transuranic, long-lived waste, what the scientists call “sludge.”
In the second step, the sludge would be destroyed in a CFNS-based fusion-fission hybrid. The hybrid’s potential
lies in its ability to burn this hazardous sludge, which cannot be stably burnt in conventional systems. “To burn
this really hard to burn sludge, you really need to hit it with a sledgehammer, and that’s what we have invented here,”
says Kotschenreuther. One hybrid would be needed to destroy the waste produced by 10 to 15 LWRs. The process
would ultimately reduce the transuranic waste from the original fission reactors by up to 99 percent. Burning that
waste also produces energy. The CFNS is designed to be no larger than a small room, and much fewer of the devic-
es would be needed compared to other schemes that are being investigated for similar processes. In combination
with the substantial decrease in the need for geological storage, the CFNS-enabled waste-destruction system
would be much cheaper and faster than other routes, say the scientists.
The CFNS is based on a tokamak, which is a machine with a “magnetic bottle”
that is highly successful in confining high temperature (more than 100 million
degrees Celsius) fusion plasmas for sufficiently long times.
The crucial invention that would pave the way for a CFNS is called the Super X
Divertor. The Super X Divertor is designed to handle the enormous heat and
particle fluxes peculiar to compact devices; it would enable the CFNS to safely
produce large amounts of neutrons without destroying the system.
“The intense heat generated in a nuclear fusion device can literally destroy the
walls of the machine,” says research scientist Valanju, “and that is the thing that
has been holding back a highly compact source of nuclear fusion.”
Valanju says a fusion-fission hybrid reactor has been an idea in the physics
community for a long time.
“It’s always been known that fusion is good at producing neutrons and fission is
good at making energy,” he says. “Now, we have shown that we can get fusion to
produce a lot of neutrons in a small space.”
Producing an abundant and clean source of “pure fusion energy” continues to
be a goal for fusion researchers. But the physicists say that harnessing the
other product of fusion-neutrons-can be achieved in the near term.
In moving their hybrid from concept into production, the scientists hope to
make nuclear energy a more viable alternative to coal and oil while waiting
for renewables like solar and pure fusion to ramp up.
“The hybrid we designed should be viewed as a bridge technology,” says Mahajan.
“Through the hybrid, we can bring fusion via neutrons to the service of the energy sector today. We can hopefully make
a major contribution to the carbon-free mix dictated by the 2050 time scale set by global warming scientists.”
The scientists say their Super X Divertor invention has already gained acceptance in the fusion community. Several
groups are considering implementing the Super X Divertor on their machines, including the MAST tokamak in the
United Kingdom, and the DIIID (General Atomics) and NSTX (Princeton University) in the U.S. Next steps will include
performing extended simulations, transforming the concept into an engineering project, and seeking funding for
building a prototype. Source: University of Texas at Austin, featured on physorg.com
CHAPTER eight
Litigating Death, Selling Doubt,
Violating Due Process,
Abrogating Constitutional Amendments
The Crime Of The Millenium
 Litigating liVES Screwing Our American Heroes — To Death
We litigate life and we litigate death and in between we litigate illness. We set rules, we set financial bound-
aries and we set responsibility. We also set “no responsibility” legally. Even worse, we resolve and reduce and
often times dismiss completely any future obligations for those responsible to meet those obligations, even
when death or severe disability and a lifetime of pain is a possible result. We legislate the parameters sur-
rounding the financial responsibility for those we injure irretrievably. This is not an indication of an empathetic
society. It’s an indication of a sick society with awkward and feeble attempts towards social responsibilities. It’s
what happens when we insert the legal profession between the civilian population and the political elite. We
screw the little guy. There’s no other way to see it.

No one said, “hey, you might very well become ill at some point in the future from radiation poisoning and we want
you to know you’ll be cared for.”

What was said was that, “if you do get sick in the future we want no responsibility for it. We recognize you won’t be
able to work, that you won’t have adequate medical coverage and that you’ll die a slow and painful death and we
want nothing to do with you when that happens so don’t come back to us for help, we won’t be there for you.”

This is the way it works in the United States of America

Disgusted officials from the “forgotten borough” and beyond scolded U.S. Senate lawmakers today, charging
that Washington’s delay in passing the 9/11 health bill showed that they’d forgotten the American heroes who
got sick and died after responding to the World Trade Center site. Conservative Borough President James P.
Molinaro said that lawmakers were breaking the promise to “never forget” made to 9/11 victims and others,
and were “betraying the real heroes of 9/11.”

“Get this done,” Molinaro said at Borough Hall, where he was joined by all of the borough’s elected Republican
officials and by Brooklyn GOP state Senator Martin Golden.

“We want to send a message to everyone in Washington.”

The $7.4 billion health bill, known as the “Zadroga bill” in honor of the late NYPD Detective James Zadroga,
needs one more GOP vote in order to pass the Senate.

But, Is The Zadroga Bill Really Adequate? Or, Is It Just “Cover”

Council Members Surprised That Zadroga Law Won’t Help Cancer Victims
“At least at the present time, there’s no support for those who develop cancer through this Zadroga Bill or any other
Monday, February 14, 2011 source?” asked Councilman G. Oliver Koppell.

Cancer victims who believe their illness was caused by exposure to World Trade Center dust and debris are not
slated to get any help from the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act that passed late last year.
The news came as a surprise to several City Council members during a briefing of several committees Monday
on the federal legislation and the most recent research regarding 9/11 illnesses.
“A person would have to access their private health insurance, if they have it,” answered Tamiru Mammo, the may-
or’s Senior Adviser on Health Policy. “And if they don’t have it, then through the public health system.” Mammo
said that the Administrator of the Zadroga Act in theory could add cancer to the list of covered illnesses. But
that person — who hasn’t been appointed yet — only has six months to finalize what gets covered and what
doesn’t. Such a decision would also have to be approved by a scientific panel, and it’s not considered likely
that there will be enough scientific evidence to support including cancer as a 9/11 illness.

Activist Catherine McVay Hughes said officials in Washington won’t have current data on
which to base their decision because the government is working off health research that’s
a few years old.

“The cancer registry data — the most current available online — is from 2007,” McVay-Hughes
said. ”Clearly, we’re in 2011. There’s a multi-year lag.”

Council members repeatedly asked one Health Department official about the cancer con-
nection, given all the news reports and anecdotal evidence that it’s killing people who
worked at Ground Zero. She replied several times that it’s too soon to establish a pattern,
but that people who worked or lived near the Twin Towers site should monitor their health
closely. She also said cancer is the second leading cause of death in New York State — im-
plying that many people would die of the disease, regardless of exposure.

The lack of a clear cause-and-effect connection is why Congress intentionally omitted can-
cer from the list of ailments eligible both for health coverage and for victims compensation
— the two main parts of the Zadroga law. Several backers of the bill wanted it to include
cancer, but with the bill’s passage precarious, stripping the provision was an important
compromise.

I don’t believe it was an important compromise for anyone other then those responsible for
the payouts. Based on the evidence provided in this report, the incidence of cancer will rise.
What’s being carefully guided here is the incidence of payout so that parties judged to be
responsible can eliminate a certain level of responsibility which would increase dramatically
were cancers to be covered thoroughly.

[Editors Note: the Zadroga Bill eventually covered some cancers but the process to receive
coverage is onerous and lengthy as one might expect]

Zadroga Stipulation Of Voluntary Dismissal for Plaintiff’s claiming compensation for illness.
 YOU ARE
Part Of
The
Settlement Grid
You’re now a part of the grid,
the grating, the mesh, the grille,
the lattice, the network,
the gauze of payments,
the reticulation of your pain,
the arrangement of interlacing lines
that resemble the net of your existence.
The medium and structure surrounds you,
expressions in rows and columns define you,
you are a single entity
manipulated according to particular rules.
You are part of an organizational structure,
the lines of command, responsibility and communication
run through each seemingly same individual.
You are a mold, cast and shaped.
You’ll die a set of numbers and statistics,
unrecognized with horrid pain
expounding,
interpreting,
elucidating,
describing,
clarifying;
giving the meaning of and putting into
silently spoken words
your final prevailing breathe.
you inhale and you exhale,
numbered,
litigated,
legislated,
defined into nothing.
You’re part of
the Settlement Grid now.
 Release And Covenant Not To Sue
I found this section of the Zadroga Bill very interesting. Not because of the the length, breadth and detail of
the wording but rather because of the list of corporations at the end, all of whom ostensibly fear losing some-
thing if the Plaintiff’s were to be able to sue. Most probably have little understanding that they participated in
the clean-up ofa radioactive site but within the list of those potentially responsible is Tully Construction who,
in my opinion, would have had to know the full extent of the conditions at ground zero. At the very least one
would think that the principals at this firm would have known. Following is the actual wording of the Release
And Covenant Not To Sue from the web site maintained by Parker, Waichman, Alonso, LLP, a legal firm with
offices in New Jersey, Florida, New York City and Washington DC handling some of the paperwork related to
claims for injury by First Responders.
EXHIBIT P – RELEASE AND COVENANT NOT TO SUE
I, the undersigned Releasor (as defined below), am eligible to participate in the settlement of World Trade
Center-related rescue, recovery, debris removal and clean-up litigation which settlement is known collectively
as the World Trade Center Litigation Settlement Process Agreement and Final Settlement Agreement (herein-
after, “Final Settlement Agreement”).
I am signing this Release and Covenant Not to Sue (hereinafter, “Release”), which is an exhibit to the Final Set-
tlement Agreement, resolving my claims, and the claims of oth-
ers. I understand that this Release incorporates terms defined in
the Final Settlement Agreement, and I have read the Final Settle-
ment Agreement and this Release and discussed each and all of On my own behalf and on behalf of each other Releasing
their respective terms and conditions with my counsel or have edge and agree that the releases set forth in this Release are irrevocable and
had the opportunity to discuss them with my counsel but elect- unconditional, inure to the benefit of each Released Party, and are intended
ed not to do so. to be as broad as can possibly be created.
I understand that the binding terms and conditions of my agree-
ment to settle are set forth in the Final Settlement Agreement
and that certain of those binding terms and conditions are not repeated in this Release. I hereby represent
and warrant that I am signing this Release and thereby opting into the Final Settlement Agreement, purpose-
fully and intentionally, understanding that I may or may not be entitled to any payment under the Final Settle-
ment Agreement or to enroll in the Cancer Insurance Policy (as referenced in the Final Settlement Agreement)
as set forth more fully in the Final Settlement Agreement and the other exhibits thereto.
In addition, I understand and agree that, in order to become eligible for any payment(s) under and/or to en-
roll in the Cancer Insurance Policy under the Final Settlement Agreement, I am required to release any and all
Debris Removal Claims (as defined in the Final Settlement Agreement) that I and the other Releasing Parties
(collectively, “Releasors” as defined below) had, have, or may have in the future, against the City of New York
and the various entities that contracted with and/or provided services and/or assistance to the City of New
York during and in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001,
with respect to rescue, recovery, debris removal and clean-up operations at the WTC Site (as defined in the
Final Settlement Agreement) and at other locations.
In consideration for the releases and covenants in this Release, I am electing to opt into the Allocation Process
(as defined in the Final Settlement Agreement), to accept payments, if any, due to me pursuant to the terms,
conditions and limitations of the Final Settlement Agreement, and to enroll for coverage under the Cancer
Insurance Policy, subject to its terms, conditions and limitations. I understand that by signing this Release, I am
releasing, fully, finally and forever, and as set forth more fully below, all of my past, present and future Debris
Removal Claims (as defined in the Final Settlement Agreement) against the WTC Captive Insurance Company,
Inc. (hereinafter, “WTC Captive”) and all of the entities listed on Schedule A to this Release (hereinafter, “Set-
tling Defendants” or, as defined in the Final Settlement Agreement, “Insureds”), as well as all of my past, pres-
ent and future claims of any kind against them or any of them, also as more fully set forth below.
In consideration for the WTC Captive’s and the Insureds’ agreement to establish the Allocation Process, the
expenses being incurred by the WTC Captive on its Insureds’ behalf with respect to the Allocation Process, the
WTC Captive’s and its Insureds’ waiver of defenses (except as reflected in the Allocation Process criteria them-
selves) in the context of the Allocation Process and for settlement purposes only, and the opportunity to sub-
mit my claim into the Allocation Process under the terms and conditions of the Final Settlement Agreement, I
hereby give and make the following releases, waivers, acknowledgements, covenants and agreements for the
benefit of the Released Parties.
This Release is also entered into by any Derivative Plaintiff (as more fully defined below) whose claims corre-
spond to mine and who is eligible for payment, if any, as set forth in the Final Settlement Agreement and who
executes a signature page hereto, in which case the agreement of such Derivative Plaintiff is incorporated in,
and is part of, this Release. By signing this Release, any such De-
rivative Plaintiff and I understand and acknowledge that there is
no assurance as to (i) the amount, if any, of payment to be made
Party, I acknowl- to either of us under the Allocation Process or (ii) my eligibility
for benefits, if any, under the Cancer Insurance Policy, and these
facts shall in no way affect the validity or effect of this Release.
Releases: On my own behalf and on behalf of each other Re-
leasing Party, as defined below, and intending to be legally
bound, I hereby knowingly and voluntarily release, remise,
acquit and forever discharge the Released Parties and each of them from (i) any and all known and un-
known rights, remedies, actions, claims, demands, causes of action, suits at law or in equity, verdicts,
suits or judgments and Liens (as defined under “Liens and Other Third-Party Payor Claims,” below), of
any kind whatsoever relating in any way to or arising out of my Debris Removal Claims or any New De-
bris Removal Claims (as defined in the Final Settlement Agreement) I may purport to bring, which I or
any other Releasing Party may have ever had, may now have or at any time hereafter may have against
the Released Parties or any of them (hereinafter, “Claims”) and (ii) any and all known and unknown
debts, liabilities, obligations, covenants, promises, contracts, agreements and obligations, of any kind
whatsoever (hereinafter, “Liabilities”), which the Released Parties or any of them may have ever had,
may now have or at any time hereafter may have to me or any other Releasing Party with respect to such
Debris Removal Claims or New Debris Removal Claims. These Claims and Liabilities are the “Released
Claims and Liabilities.” In addition, on my own behalf and on behalf of each other Releasing Party, and
intending to be legally bound, I hereby knowingly and voluntarily promise and covenant not to sue the
Released Parties or any of them with respect to any known or unknown past, present or future injury or
injuries relating to or arising out of my World Trade Center-related rescue, recovery, debris removal and/
or clean-up work and/or volunteer service on and/or after September 11, 2001, at the WTC Site and/or
at any other location, including without limitation for any and all unknown future injuries relating to, in
whole or in part, or unrelated to my current injury or injuries, if any.
The remainder of the release can be found at the following
web site (scroll down for a complete selection of all documents
associated with Plaintiff’s Settlement of Claims):

http://www.yourlawyer.com/topics/overview/world_
trade_center_emergency_workers

I would like to add that the following paragraph is a part of this

“Release And Covenant Not To Sue” section. It simply shows
the lengths people go to in order to assure that they have no
or limited liability for the lives of the First Responders, the only
real heroes attached to the events of 911, and the only real
heroes attached to any of the events that have occurred since
911 including all of the fraudulent wars and conflicts that re-
sulted from it:

WITHOUT LIMITING ANY OF THE FOREGOING, THIS RELEASE

IS SPECIFICALLY INTENDED TO OPERATE AND BE APPLICABLE
EVEN IF IT IS ALLEGED, CHARGED OR PROVEN THAT SOME OR
ALL OF THE RELEASED CLAIMS AND LIABILITIES ARE CAUSED
IN WHOLE OR IN PART BY THE NEGLIGENCE, NEGLIGENCE PER
SE, GROSS NEGLIGENCE, BREACH OF WARRANTY, VIOLATION
OF LAW, DEFECTIVE PRODUCT, MALICE, AND/OR CONDUCT OF
ANY TYPE. THIS RELEASE IS SPECIFICALLY INTENDED TO AND
DOES INCLUDE, BUT IS NOT LIMITED TO, A RELEASE OF, AND
COVENANT NOT TO SUE FOR, ANY WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIM
THAT MAY BE BROUGHT AT ANY TIME BY OR ON BEHALF OF
ANY OF THE RELEASING PARTIES IN CONNECTION WITH ANY
OF THE FACTS, EVENTS AND/OR INCIDENTS THAT GAVE RISE TO
ANY OF THE RELEASED CLAIMS AND LIABILITIES.

The white circle above outlines Silverstein Valley and the crater being slowly uncovered. Smoldering fires burn underground
in the background as excavation gets underway, while emitting “very fine particles,” aerosols that are capable of moving through
glass, wood, metal and even the human body. Below micron-sized particles smaller than red blood cells.
Who Was Released From Future Law Suits Related To 911 First Responder Liability?
 Advertisement

HICKS

Hicks Nasal Spray ... Breathe Free!

 The
millstone
nuclear
reactor
 Toxic
Chemical Nuclear Waste
In Connecticut Radiation Exposure Is The New Normal

Distinguished radiation physicist Dr. Ernest J. Sternglass appeared at a press conference at the State Capitol on June
The Millstone Nuclear Reactor Generating Station
15, 2006 with the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone to debunk the recent report by Connecticut’s Department of
Environmental Protection which concluded that Millstone is certainly not responsible for high levels of strontium-90
found in goat milk sampled near Millstone.

Dr. Sternglass highlighted two graphs in the DEP’s own report which prove that Millstone is most certainly the likely
culprit which poisoned Katie’s pasture at 120 Dayton Road in Waterford five miles north-northeast of Millstone.

DEP Did Not Understand Its Own Data? Oh, They Surely Did

Or did DEP think that no one would read its report hastily compiled for release the day of the Coalition’s Millstone
Insecurity Rally and the NRC’s annual inspection of Millstone on March 29, 2006? Connecticut news media dutifully
reported that day that Millstone is not responsible for poisoning goat milk. The media always lies, but if you’re reading
this report, you know that.

Read Dr. Sternglass’s report on the following pages. Millstone’s radiation releases exceeded federal limits by 13 times.
Millstone’s continued operations are destroying our health and safety. Our government is perpetuating the myth that
Millstone generates clean energy.

Our government is perpetuating the myth that nuclear power stations in general produce clean energy. In fact, over
the lifetime of a nuclear power station, from initial construction through operation and waste disposal, MORE petro-
leum is used then is replaced. That’s correct. A nuclear power generating station uses more petroleum then it replaces
over the course of it’s lifetime based on construction, concrete manufacture, steel manufacture, incidental compo-
nents and waste disposal.

This section is included to highlight the fact that the nuclear power generating industry and the nuclear weapons in-
dustry are responsible for a significant overall global increase in total radiation exposure to the human population of
the world and until all nuclear industries are eradicated this radioactive airborne toxic load will continue to increase,
plague humanity and cause endless and needless suffering in the form of a continued proliferation of the incidence
of cancers across the planet. The myth that 911 wasn’t nuclear is just another in a long line of government hoaxes that
prey on the ignorance of the public. Educate yourself. Turn off the TV, get rid of the indoctrination box and read books,
access peer review or whatever excites you. Your brain will thank you. Your children will too. “Millstone’s radiation releases exceeded federal limits by 13 times”
Advertisement
 E. J. Sternglass, Ph. D., Professor Emeritus of Radiological Physics
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Response to the Reassessment of Millstone Nuclear Power Station’s Environmental Monitoring Data
Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Radiation, March 2006
lowed to decay to the permissible levels set by NRC regulations. The operators arrange these releases to take place
whenever the wind is blowing toward Long Island Sound away from the peninsula on which the plant is located.
This explains why the levels of strontium-90 remained so low for farm #21 over the years since 1995 despite the
fact that it is only 2 miles north of Millstone, and why cancer mortality rates in Rhode Island only 18 miles to the
east rose to higher levels than in the state of Connecticut.

June 15, 2006 The report’s claim that all measurements indicate that the strontium-90 measurements in the milk are due to
Overview old fallout is also inconsistent with the large rise of one of the TLD readings labeled #7 for a location close to
Millstone from a low of 27 millirads in the first quarter of 2001 to a high of 47 millirads in the fourth quarter while
The evidence presented in the Reassessment of Millstone [Nuclear] Power Station’s Environmental Monitoring the control TLD labeled # 13 located 50 miles NNW rose only from 20 to 28 millirads. Since normal gamma ray
Data [Ref. 1] by Connecticut Department of Environmen- background from rocks in the ground does not vary in
tal Protection strongly points to the conclusion that a few months and cosmic rays would give the same
the Millstone Nuclear Power Station is most likely re- dose to all dosimeters in an area within fifty miles,
sponsible for the recent record high of strontium-90 the TLD readings alone show that there had to be
concentrations in local goat milk in 2001 and a sim- large local airborne releases of radioactive elements
ilar peak in external gamma radiation from deposit- that settled on the ground. Moreover, the gamma
ed radioactive material on the ground distributed by radiation dose rise by 20 millirads in a single quar-
airborne releases. ter by itself exceeds the allowed annual dose of 10
millirads listed in the report. Such high releases are
The evidence is contained in two graphs presented consistent with the fact that during the preceding
in the report, one on the yearly levels of strontium-90 years, the capacity factor and thus the energy pro-
in the milk for four different farms in the area [Ref. 1, duced by Millstone per year was greatly increased,
page 22] , and the other in the yearly levels of four- with less time for adequate inspection, maintenance
teen thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) around and repair that resulted in numerous accidents and
Millstone which measure external gamma radiation rising releases, as independently supported by the
exposure [Ref. 1, page 16]. Contrary to the conclu- rising concentrations of strontium-90 in Connecticut
sions of the report, these levels resulted in radiation baby teeth. [Ref. 2]
doses to the public that violate the permissible levels
set by the Federal Government. The scientifically unsupported claim that natural
background radiation, old bomb fallout or the acci-
The report claims that the levels of strontium-90 in dent at Chernobyl are the sources of all radiation ex-
goat milk as high as 55 picoCuries per liter (pC/l) posures to the public is clearly the crucial argument
measured in September 2001 at the Moran farm lo- in the effort to deny the role of Millstone.
cated at 120 Dayton Road in Waterford do not reflect
emissions from the Millstone Nuclear Power Station Thus, the report contrives to find ways to make the
but represent old atmospheric bomb-test fallout that lay public believe that there are numerous reasons
ended in 1980 and releases from the Chernobyl acci- why these high levels of strontium-90 in the local
dent in 1986. However, this explanation is clearly in- milk could not possibly be from Millstone.
consistent with the large rise of strontium-90 in this
farm 5.2 miles downwind to the north-north-east of Therefore, the claim that the ratio of strontium-90 to
Millstone that took place from a low of close to 10 that of strontium-89 and that of cesium-137 to cesi-
pCi/l in 1995 to 55 pCi/l in 2001 shown labeled #22 um-134 with their different half-lives are inconsistent
in the graph on page 22 of the report, while the control with those known to be produced in nuclear reactors is
farm milk #24 located upwind to the north-north-west remained low and nearly flat well below 10 pCi/l through- completely misleading, as are the arguments that different soil conditions, different temperatures and the false
out this period. Old fallout would have resulted in the same concentrations in both locations, and both would claim of a lack of other radioactive elements all make it impossible for Millstone to be the source.
have led closely to the same steady value.
Likewise, the claim that only a major break in the containment building due to a large accident could give rise
Moreover, no such rise as for location #22 occurred for the other farm labeled #21 in this graph for which data to the observed levels of strontium-90 in the milk is clearly false since the principal source is the routine planned
are shown since 1995 and which is located directly to the north. This direction is away from the direction of the releases from the holding tanks when the right conditions for release exist. Nor can this claim explain the steady
planned releases of radioactive gases from the storage tanks where the most intense short-lived radioactivity is al- rise of strontium-90 in the milk over a period of some six years for the one location downwind in the northeastern
direction towards Long Island Sound and Rhode Island for any of the other reasons cited when old bomb test are only small seasonal variations of the order plus or minus 2 to 3 pCi/l, despite large differences in rainfall and
depositions are said to be the source. temperature or other factors. Thus, this graphical presentation makes it clear that the extremely large concentra-
tions in the Moran farm #22 cannot possibly be explained by such variations as temperature and precipitation or
Finally, it is found that both the levels of fission products such as strontium-90 and others listed in the yearly op-
erating reports produce internal and external doses to the population large enough to be consistent with those size of the animal, abundance of grass and changes in farming practice as the DEP report suggests since such large
known to produce adverse effects on human health such as childhood cancer, low birth weight and infant mortal- concentrations of strontium-90 did not occur on the other two farms during the same period of time.
ity that showed a highly abnormal rise in New London County where the plant is located only after it started, and
much larger than in Connecticut as a whole. Therefore, there is no other explanation for the large rises of strontium-90 in the goat milk from the Moran Farm
than releases from nearby Millstone. Furthermore, the doses produced in bone by the measured levels of stron-
The Pattern of Strontium-90 in Goat Milk tium-90 exceed the 15 millirem per year legal limit to any organ quoted on page 17 of the DEP report. This can be
seen from the fact that NRC regulations published in NUREG 1.109, March1976 give a dose factor of 0.0172 milli-
One of the key pieces of evidence linking Millstone to rem per pCi of strontium-90.
high levels of nuclear fission products in the envi-
ronment is the graph of strontium-90 concentra- Thus, in the month of September 2001 for which 55
tions in four farms from 1988 to 2004 on page 22 of pCi per liter of milk were recorded in location #22, a
the DEP report. child drinking one liter per day from the milk alone,
not considering drinking water and intake of other
Most important is the data for the period 1995 to food that also contains strontium-90, would receive
2004 during which the milk for the nearby Moran a bone dose of 55x30x0.0172 or 28.38 millirem,
farm 5.2 miles to the north-north-east labeled #22 nearly twice the permitted dose of 15 millirem in
reached the highest concentration in of 55 pci/l late a year from strontium-90. This calculation does not
in 2001. It is seen that the initial concentration was take into account the internal and external doses
just under 10 pCi/l, rising to values as as high as 22 from cesium-137 and all the other fission products
by 1997, 26 by 2000 followed by 45 and finally by that are emitted from Millstone.
the record high of 55 in 2001.
Since the other sample of milk measured that year
By itself, such a pattern of a large recent rise cannot in June as listed in Table 8 of the 2001 Annual Ra-
be reconciled with old fallout that would have to diological Environmental Operating Report [Ref. 3]
show low and slightly declining concentrations of contained 13.2 pCi per liter of milk, using the aver-
strontium-90 which decays to half its activity in 28 age of these two samples of 32 pCi/l to estimate the
years. But such a low and slightly declining concen- intake over 12 months, one obtains a yearly dose
tration in the milk is in fact seen for the control farm of 32x365x0.0172 or 200 millirem to bone, thirteen
labeled #24 located 29 miles to the north-north- times the permitted annual dose.
west in the town of Hebron, with readings never
higher than 5 pCi/l, clearly consistent with domi- In terms of the risk of childhood leukemia or other
nant old fallout. forms of cancer, the studies of Dr. Alice Stewart at
Oxford University showed that developing infants in
The third farm for which data is shown in this graph their mother’s womb just before delivery showed a
labeled #21 is located directly north at a distance of doubling of this risk when exposed to X-rays for a
2 miles, with concentrations lower than 6pCi/l, and dose of about 1200 millirem, and only about 80-100
declining to less than 1pCi/l by 2003, clearly con- millirem when the exposure took place in the first
sistent with the expected behavior for old fallout. The three months of development [Ref. 4][Ref. 5].
explanation for such low and declining concentrations is that there are mainly controlled permitted releases of
airborne radioactive gases and particles from the hold-up tanks that take place only when the wind blows away The Pattern of Gamma Radiation Detectors Turning next to an examination of the graph for the quarterly levels of
from Millstone towards the eastern direction from the Millstone peninsula toward the Long Island Sound. Only the thermoluminescent gamma ray detectors or TLDs shown on page 16 of the DEP report for the years 1999 to
rarely are there significantly large accidental releases, and since the prevailing movement of air masses is from 2002, it is clear that there were very large variations in all the detectors. But of greatest interest is the pattern of the
the southwest to the northeast along the Atlantic Coast, such unplanned releases are very unlikely to go directly rise during 2001 when the large peak occurred in the strontium-90 concentration for the goat milk from farm #22
north. measured in the latter part of the year.

Inspection of the graph further shows that for predominantly old fallout as for the case of farms #24 and #21, there These detectors measure the penetrating gamma rays similar to high energy X-rays emitted by both natural ra-
dioactivity in the ground from such elements as uranium and its daughter products as well as gamma rays due to The Ratio Of Strontium-89 To Strontium-90 And Other Points
cosmic rays and gamma rays emitted by radioactive material distributed by airborne releases from nuclear reac-
tors such as Millstone. Among the reasons why the DEP report claims that the levels of strontium-90 in goat milk found in the local farms
could not have come from the Millstone Power Station as stated in the conclusion of the report is that the ratio
As the table on page 18 of the DEP report shows, typical doses produced by gamma rays from the ground are 28 of Sr-90 to Sr-89 that would be present if the material was from a nuclear power station such as Millstone was not
millirem per year and the same 28 millirem due to cosmic rays in low altitude areas such as Connecticut, for a total present in any of the samples.
of 56 millirem per year or 14 millirem per quarter.
Radon gas does not make a significant contri- The report cites studies that show that the ratio of Sr-89 to Sr-
bution outdoors although it can be important 90 in reactor cores such as that at Millstone ranges from a low
in the basement of houses in certain areas of of ten to a high of twenty-five to one, depending on the power
the country depending also on the amount history of the reactor. In contrast, this ratio for the fission yields
emitted from cement and bricks. Thus, typi- from atomic weapons are variable in fallout, making it difficult
cal outdoor gamma radiation doses are in the to use this technique for determining the source.
range of 60 to 80 millirems per year in low alti-
tude areas of the U,S., or 15 to 20 millirem per The DEP report goes on to show a plot of Sr-90 and Sr-89 at
quarter, half of this or 7.5 to 10 millirem from Location #22 at 120 Dayton Road in Waterford for the period
cosmic rays, with little seasonal variation in the 1979 to 2004 in which all the readings of Sr-89 in milk instead of
absence of massive snow falls in winter that being 10 to 25 times higher than those for Sr-90 are much less
can absorb some gamma rays from the ground. than those for Sr-89 with one exception.
On very rare occasions, there can be variations
in cosmic ray produced gamma radiation, by But the argument that the concentration of Sr89 must be much
a few millirem lasting for a short time, but the higher than for Sr90 in the milk because 10 to 25 times more
large rises in 2001 by some of the 14 detectors Sr89 is produced in the reactor core than Sr90 is misleading
shown to have taken place for those located because Sr89 decays much faster than Sr90. Half of the orig-
near Millstone could not be due to cosmic rays. inal activity of Sr89 disappears in only 50 days, while it takes
28 years for the activity of Sr90 to decrease to half its original
The reason that these rises cannot be due to value. Thus, strontium90 remains active 1,700 times as long as
cosmic rays are the following. First is the fact strontium89.
that the most distant control detector #13
some 50 miles to the west rose by only some As a result of this enormous difference in the half-lives of these
7 millirem from the first to the fourth quarter, two fission products, there will be much less Sr-89 reaching
while 13 out of 14 of the others within just a few the environment than Sr-90 when the radioactive elements are
miles of Millstone rose much more, with #7 rising stored before they are released from storage tanks, as is the case
by the enormous amount of about 20 millirem between the first and fourth quarter. for all nuclear reactors of the pressurized water type (PWR) such as Millstone Units 2 and 3. Moreover, once they
are in the environment, Sr-90 will gradually accumulate in the soil, in the grass, and in the body of animals such as
Since cosmic rays typically do not produce more than a total of 7.5 to 10 millirem in any quarter, a rise that is 20 cows and goats as the plant operates, while no such accumulation can take place for the short-lived Sr-89. Thus,
millirem cannot possibly be due to cosmic rays. Moreover, if there were an enormously large burst of cosmic rays, there can be enormous differences in the ratios of these two chemically similar substances in different nuclear
all the detectors within the fifty mile radius would go up by very nearly the same amount, and not just the detec- power stations, depending on the storage and treatment of the gaseous and liquid releases that they are allowed
tors close to Millstone. to discharge, as published by the U.S. Department of Commerce for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). As
an example, in the publication entitled “Radioactive Materials Released From Nuclear Power Plants” for the year
Thus, the conclusion that the large rise of strontium-90 at location #22 could not be explained by other than due 1993 typical ratios for Sr-89 to Sr-90 in liquid releases for which the data is available show that some are large while
to releases from Millstone is independently supported by the simultaneous rise of external gamma rays greatest others are very small. For the Diablo Canyon Unit 1, the ratio is 2.78, while for Braidwood 1 it is as small as 0.023, a
near the nuclear plant as measured by the 14 TLD detectors. difference by a factor of 120 [Ref. 6].

In fact, some of the large-rise quarterly gamma doses shown themselves violate the standards set by the Federal
Government, as cited in the DEP report on page 16, which state that the dose from the release of radioactive mate-
rial shall not result in an annual air dose in an unrestricted area in excess of 10 millirads or millirem. This compares
with the recorded dose of 47 millirem in the fourth quarter above the low of 27 millirem in the first quarter for
TLD#7, a rise of 20 millirem.
Even bigger differences will occur depending on whether the animals that produce the milk are fed stored feed or
whether they graze on grass, as well on the length of time the animals were exposed.
The DEP report also argues that the observed large levels of Sr-90 in the milk could only occur if there were a major
fuel damage event together with a break in the massive containment structure consisting of reinforced concrete
The Millstone Nuclear Reactor Generating Station
three to six feet thick, as illustrated on page 10 of the report. But this argument completely misrepresents how
radioactive gases and particles are actually released from storage tanks used in all pressurized reactors, or are
discharged from the stacks of the plant when there are cracks in the steam generator piping. This piping is
intended to keep the steam driving the turbines and electric generators in a separate
building from being contaminated by fission and neutron activation products.

Thus, levels of strontium-90 in milk were observed to be of the same order of mag-
nitude around other nuclear power stations such as the Trojan reactor as recent-
ly found in the case of Millstone, declining in concentrations with distance away
from the reactors without a massive break in the concrete containment wall [Ref.
7]. Furthermore, radioactive elements known to be produced by neutron activation
or other nuclear reactions in iron rust and sludge found in nuclear reactors such as
beryllium-7 have been measured and reported in recent Millstone Environmental
Reports together with other elements found in the steel of nuclear reactors such as
Manganese-54, Cobalt-58 and Iron (Fe-59), though in much smaller amounts than
the fission products strontium-90 and cesium-137 [Ref. 7].

Conclusion

It follows from these considerations that the ratios of various isotopes of different
half-lives and different origins in the complex environment of a reactor core and
the treatment of the wastes cannot be used to counter the enormously strong ev-
idence reviewed above that the recent rise of strontium-90 in milk and the parallel
rise in external gamma doses cannot be explained by old fallout. Moreover, as de-
scribed in detail in a 2004 report by Mangano [Ref. 2], both the changes in cancer
rates in Connecticut counties near Millstone and the changes in infant and child-
hood mortality as energy production by Millstone declined and rose, all support re-
leases from these reactors being the dominant sources of the recent environmental
radiation rises rather than fallout from nuclear weapon testing or from the accident
at Chernobyl.

References

1. Reassessment of Millstone [Nuclear] Power Station’s Environmental Monitoring

Data, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Radiation,
March 2006.
2. J.J. Mangano, Radioactive Strontium-90 in Baby Teeth of Connecticut Children and
the Link with Cancer: A Special Report, May 18, 2004.
3. Annual Radiological Environmental Operating Reports, Millstone Point. Dairy, Goat Milk and Pasture Grass,
Tables 8, 1995-2002.
4. A. Stewart and G. W. Kneale, Radiation Dose Effects in Relation to Obstetric X-Rays and Childhood Cancers,
“all support releases from these reactors
Lancet, I , 1185-1188 (1970)
5. E. J. Sternglass, Cancer: Relation of Prenatal Radiation to Development of the Disease in Childhood, Science
being the dominant sources of the
140, 1102-1104 (1963)
6. J. Tichler, K. Doty, K. Lucadamo. Radioactive Materials Released from Nuclear Power Plants, Annual Report.
recent environmental radiation rises”
(NUREG/CR-2907, BNL-NUREG-51581, Vol. 14)(1993)
7. E. J. Sternglass, Cancer Mortality Changes Around Nuclear Facilities in Connecticut, Radiation Standards
and Health, Proceedings of a Second Congressional Seminar on Low-Level Ionizing Radiation February 17,
1978, 174-212, Published by The Environmental Policy Institute.
Job Creation Per $1 Million Infrastructure Investment • Nuclear Is At The Bottom

Nuclear Creates Radioactive Waste • Not Jobs

 Advertisement

it never stops because it’s the new normal

1.5 million children die every year from drinking polluted water

If one closely examines exactly who it is that’s dying, and if one understands these deaths from the perspective of the
owner of the herd, the owner of the particular plantation, whether it be an African or Asian plantation, this is a natural and
desireable culling of the herd, which is why it ocurrs every year and no one hears about it and nothing is done about it.
 World Trade Center Fires Finally Put Out
December 20, 2001 Posted: 9:06 a.m. EST (1406 GMT)

Summary Stem
Formation
More than three months after two hijacked planes slammed into the World
Trade Center towers, firefighters Wednesday extinguished the fires in the rub-
ble now known as Ground Zero.
Explosive
Blimps and traffic helicopters are expected to be seen again in the skies above Ejections
30 metropolitan areas. The Federal Aviation Administration lifted restrictions
implemented after September 11 that prohibited aircraft from flying over ma-
jor cities if air traffic controllers could not monitor those crafts.
Circular
Update Symetrical
Fountain
Firefighters remain on the scene at the World Trade Center rubble in case clean-
up crews uncover more hot spots, but fire officials report that fires no longer
burn at that site. “We’ve stopped putting water on them and there is no smoking,”
said Chief Brian Dixon from the New York Fire Department.

Workers have removed more than 710,000 tons of debris and more than 135,000 Requires A
tons of steel from the site. Single Energy
Source Below
After the terrorist attacks, the FAA restricted the use of private planes, news and
Ground
traffic helicopters, banner towers, blimps and commercial sightseeing aircraft
that fly according to visual flight rules. The agency banned those aircraft from
flying near major cities, including Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Dallas,
Miami and Atlanta. The ban allowed planes to fly only according to instru- This is
ment-rated rules, flights that could be tracked by air traffic controllers. Wednes- the result of
day, the FAA lifted that ban. a pencil thin soliton
riding up
and then
External Link: reflecting back
http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/12/20/rec.athome.facts/ down the
steel frame
liquifying the center of the tower with an X-ray soliton
riding up and reflected back down the very center of the steel framed building
in less than a second, just milliseconds — and just 10-20 meters in diamter.
Selling Doubt Doubt Is Their Product

Industry Groups Are Fighting Government Regulation By Fomenting Scientific Uncertainty

by David Michaels

Few scientific challenges are more complex than understanding the health risks of a chemical or drug. Investigators cannot feed toxic compounds to people
to see what doses cause cancer. Instead laboratory researchers rely on animal tests, and epidemiologists examine the human exposures that have already
happened in the field. Both types of studies have many uncertainties, and scientists must extrapolate from the evidence to make causal inferences and
recommend protective measures. Because absolute certainty is rarely an option, regulatory programs would not be effective if such proof were required.
Government officials have to use the best available evidence to set limits for harmful chemicals and determine the safety of pharmaceuticals.

Uncertainty is an inherent problem of science, but manufactured uncertainty is another matter entirely. Over the past three decades, industry groups have
frequently become involved in the investigative process when their interests are threatened. If, for example, studies show that a company is exposing its
workers to dangerous levels of a certain chemical, the business typically responds by hiring its own researchers to cast doubt on the studies. Or if a pharma-
ceutical fi rm faces questions about the safety of one of its drugs, its executives trumpet company- sponsored trials that show no significant health risks while
ignoring or hiding other studies that are much less reassuring. The vilification of threatening research as “junk science” and the corresponding sanctification
of industry-commissioned research as “sound science” has become nothing less than standard operating procedure in some parts of corporate America.

In 1969 an executive at Brown & Williamson, a cigarette maker now owned by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, unwisely committed to paper the perfect
slogan for his industry’s disinformation campaign: “Doubt is our product since it is the best means of competing with the ‘body of fact’ that exists in the mind of
the general public.” In recent years, many other industries have eagerly adopted this strategy. Corporations have mounted campaigns to question studies
documenting the adverse health effects of exposure to beryllium, lead, mercury, vinyl chloride, chromium, benzene, benzidine, nickel, and a long list of other
toxic chemicals and medications. What is more, Congress and the administration of President George W. Bush have encouraged such tactics by making it eas-
ier for private groups to challenge government-funded research. Although in some cases, companies may be raising legitimate arguments, the overall result
is disturbing: many corporations have successfully avoided expense and inconvenience by blocking and stalling much needed protections for public health.

The Taxicab Standard

A good example of the current battles between industry and science is the controversy over beryllium. This lightweight metal is vital to the production
of nuclear warheads because it increases the yield of the explosions; throughout the cold war, the U.S. nuclear weapons complex was the nation’s largest
consumer of the substance. Beryllium and its alloys are now used to make electronics equipment and even golf clubs. But the metal is also extremely toxic
— breathing in tiny amounts can cause chronic beryllium disease (CBD), a debilitating ailment that scars the lungs. Victims have included not just the ma-
chinists who worked directly with the metal but others simply in the vicinity of the milling and grinding processes, often for very short periods. One accoun-
tant developed CBD after working for a few weeks each year in an office near where beryllium was being processed. CBD has also been diagnosed in people
living near beryllium factories.

External Link: http://www.powerlinefacts.com/sciam_article_on_lobbying.htm

 Nuclear Energy Is Dirty Energy
and does not fit into a clean energy standard
Nuclear Information And Resource Service
6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 340, Takoma Park, MD 20912
301-270-NIRS (301-270-6477); Fax: 301-270-4291
nirsnet@nirs.org; www.nirs.org

The nuclear power industry has spent more than $650 mil- power. To call nuclear power “clean” is an affront to science, to
lion on lobbying, campaign contributions and advertising common sense, and to the English language itself.
over the past 10 years in its persistent effort to achieve a nu-
clear “renaissance.” Carbon Dioxide Is Not The Only Pollutant On The Planet

One of the industry’s primary goals has been to convince Carbon dioxide is definitely a pollutant and is a leading cause
Congressmembers and the media that nuclear power is of global climate change. There is no question — except
somehow “clean” energy, because nuclear reactors emit little among a few climate deniers who prefer, like the ostrich, to
carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. But this disregards the hide their heads in the sand and shun reality — that we must
alphabet soup of other cancer-causing pollutants spewed drastically cut our carbon releases to the environment.
into our air and water by nuclear facilities. Unfortunately,
lobbying campaigns backed by so much money often attain But that is not the same as saying — as does a “Clean Energy
some success. Standard” based entirely on carbon releases — that carbon
dioxide is the only pollutant that matters to the health and
Thus, there are increasing calls from nuclear industry backers, safety of our people and planet.
inside and outside of government, to establish a new “Clean
Energy Standard” to promote nuclear power (and for some By basing a “Clean Energy Standard” on a simplistic carbon
proponents, coal and natural gas as well) to the detriment of formula, its backers simply ignore the past fifty years of accu-
genuinely clean and affordable technologies like wind, solar, mulated knowledge of the effects of other long-lasting and
geothermal, energy efficiency and others. toxic pollutants on the public.

In fact, if the toxic radiation emitted daily from every nucle- Nuclear power facilities release a variety of cancer-causing
ar reactor and other commercial nuclear facilities were the radionuclides, including Tritium, Strontium-90, Cesium-137,
color and texture of oil, or smelled like natural gas, or came Plutonium-239 and dozens more. Nuclear reactors also re-
out as black soot, no one would ever again confuse nuclear Nuclear power is courting some new friends as it pushes for government subsidies in the sweeping lease other toxins into our air and water. While nuclear pow-
power with “clean.” climate bill being debated in the Senate. For the last decade, the biggest players in the nuclear indus- er qualifies, barely, as a “low-carbon” technology (although it
try lent most of their financial backing to Republican candidates and lawmakers, who have been the is not carbon-free), the presence and release to the environ-
Proposals to include nuclear power as part of a Clean Energy strongest supporters of nuclear energy. But this year, as the Senate takes up cap-and-trade legislation ment of these other pollutants, not to mention the radioac-
Standard suffer from three fundamental misconceptions: 1) to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, moderate Democrats have become the industry’s prime target. tive waste every nuclear facility generates, clearly disquali-
that carbon dioxide is the only pollutant that matters when fies nuclear power as being in any sense “clean.”
defining “clean energy;” and 2) that because radiation is invis-
ible and odorless, it is not a toxic pollutant; and 3) that nuclear power is carbon-free. None of these are true. Many “Clean Energy Standard” backers also would include “clean” coal in such a standard, ignoring the fact that
burning coal (even if its carbon could be captured, which is by no means clear) also releases mercury into the
Only one of the many technologies that can produce electricity is capable of a catastrophic accident that can kill environment, creates toxic coal ash, and increasingly entails mountain top removal mining that devastates large
tens or even hundreds of thousands of people, presents a security threat of unprecedented proportions because portions of our beautiful nation.
of this vulnerability, and creates a lethal byproduct that will be toxic for hundreds of thousands of years: nuclear
Policymakers and others who support a “Clean Energy January 2009, that level has been met or exceeded by
Standard” that includes nuclear power or coal are either releases into groundwater (not necessarily drinking wa-
insincere or misinformed. Given the amount of money ter) at 37 reactor sites (out of 65). Radiation levels have
the nuclear industry has spent to promote its pollut- ranged from 20,000 picocuries/liter to an astonishing
ing agenda, it appears that too many are insincere. It is 15,000,000 picocuries/liter (at New Jersey’s Salem reac-
our hope that it is not too late for those who have been tor complex). Radioactive tritium levels above 1,000,000
misinformed to recognize the reality and act to prevent picocuries/liter were measured at nine nuclear sites cov-
establishment of such a standard that includes nuclear ering 18 reactors. Like all radionuclides, radioactive triti-
power or coal. um causes cancer. With a half-life of more than 12 years,
the tritium released by these reactors over the past two
Radiation Is A Toxic, Persistent, years will remain hazardous in the environment — and
And Long-Lasting Pollutant likely be added to by new tritium releases — for the
next century (hazardous life of a radionuclide is gener-
Nuclear radiation seems “clean” only because you can- ally considered to be ten to twenty half-lives).
not see, feel, touch or smell it. But that doesn’t mean it
isn’t released by nuclear reactors and other facilities. It Nuclear Accidents And Security
is. It doesn’t take an accident: nuclear reactors emit radi-
ation into our air and water as part of their routine, dai- Nuclear power holds the potential for a catastrophic ac-
ly operations. And that it cannot easily be detected or cident that is unique among all energy sources — even
avoided makes radiation even more dangerous. failure of the largest dam would be unlikely to cause the
same level of permanent destruction of a nuclear reac-
A typical nuclear reactor contains a myriad of different tor meltdown. Fortunately, major reactor accidents are
types of radionuclides, amounting to some 16 Billion cu- few and far between, with the most recent being the
ries of radiation (by comparison, a typical large medical explosion at Ukraine’s Chernobyl reactor in 1986. Unfor-
center may hold a total of two curies of radiation and a tunately, more nuclear accidents cannot be ruled out.
household smoke detector contains a miniscule fraction
of one curie—and even that must be shielded to pre- The Chernobyl accident has caused anywhere from
vent human exposure). Three Mile Island on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania 4,000 to 900,000 deaths, depending on which estimates
one finds most compelling. By any assessment, it was the
Since the dawn of the Atomic Age in the 1940s, the U.S. Na- most devastating industrial accident in history. Economical-
tional Academy of Sciences has done periodic reviews of the dangers of radiation to determine acceptable ex- ly, the accident has caused damages in excess of $300 Billion — in a region where average wages are a fraction of
posure levels for nuclear workers and the general public. Over the years, estimated risks from radiation exposure those in the U.S.– and made significant sections of Ukraine and Belarus uninhabitable while perhaps permanently
increased. In their most recent report, released in 2005, the Academy determined that there is no safe level of radi- ending agriculture in the most highly contaminated zones.
ation exposure — every exposure to radiation increases the risk of cancer, birth defects, and other disease. While
it is impossible to avoid exposure to natural radiation from the sun and earth, it is essential that society not allow While nuclear manufacturers and operating utilities take great pains to prevent nuclear accidents, all major ac-
unnecessary additional exposures. In practical terms, this means curtailing the use of nuclear power as quickly as cidents so far share one attribute: at their root is some form of component failure compounded by human error.
feasible — not encouraging new reactor construction. And human error is the one thing that is impossible to design around. It is simply folly to believe that because
there have been no major new nuclear accidents in the 25 years since Chernobyl, there will never be another. The
Tritium Releases From Nuclear Reactors odds, in fact, are precisely opposite (Japan 2011) — the longer reactors operate and the more reactors there are,
• Standard Operating Procedure • the more likely another catastrophic accident will occur.

The federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission has acknowledged that, in recent years, there have been releases of
radioactive tritium from existing nuclear reactors, exceeding safe drinking water standards, at 37 sites, or more
than half of the nation’s nuclear sites. The NRC argues that no actual drinking water supplies have been affected;
that since the tritium has been released into groundwater, the problem is not so severe. That is small comfort to
the millions of Americans who live near these sites.
Normal background levels for radioactive tritium in drinking water are 3 to 24 picocuries per liter. By contrast,
the Environmental Protection Agency’s “allowable” standard (note that “allowable” does not necessarily equal
“safe”) for radioactive tritium in drinking water is 20,000 picocuries per liter of water. According to the NRC, since
Moreover, nuclear reactors pose a massive security threat compared to other energy sources. No terrorist or ene-
my state would attack a windmill or solar facility, why bother? There is no possibility of mass destruction or even a
widespread power outage. But a successful attack on a nuclear power reactor could cause both mass destruction
and lead to widespread and prolonged power outages, crippling our nation’s ability to function.
Nuclear Power Is Not Carbon-Free
A common fallacy advanced by those who would declare nuclear power a “clean” energy source is that the tech-
nology is “carbon-free.” It is not. Nuclear reactors themselves are low carbon-emitters — they do release small
amounts of radioactive carbon. But they are carbon-in- Clean-up estimates for the hundreds of abandoned
tensive to build, since they require enormous amounts mines run into the many hundreds of millions of dollars.
of concrete, steel and carbon-based fuels for transport Enriching uranium 235 from the mined and milled ura-
of materials, workers, etc. And the nuclear fuel chain nium is enormously energy intensive and creates long
necessary to support reactor operations, which consists lasting, deadly solid, liquid and gaseous wastes. Similarly,
of uranium mining, milling, processing, enrichment and at the end of the fuel chain, after nuclear reactors split at-
fuel fabrication, then shipment of fuel to reactors, then oms, making them millions of times more radioactive, ra-
reactor operation and finally millennia of radioactive dioactive waste is generated for which there is no known
waste storage, results in fairly substantial and unavoid- permanent isolation from the environment.
able carbon emissions.
Efforts are underway to release some “low-level” radio-
More than 100 studies have been done about nuclear active waste—radioactive metal, concrete, soil, wood,
power’s carbon footprint, and many have come to con- chemical, plastic and other nuclear waste into the every-
tradictory conclusions. A major study that sought to day commercial recycling supply and consumer goods.
make sense of all the other studies was conducted in Most uranium used nowadays by U.S. reactors is — like
2008 by Virginia Tech and University of Singapore pro- oil — imported. While renewable energy sources are se-
fessor Benjamin Sovacool. His conclusion is that nuclear cure as long as the sun shines and the wind blows, nu-
power is responsible for about six times the carbon emis- clear power, like other technologies requiring extraction
sions of wind power, and 2-3 times the carbon emissions of fuel, remains an insecure means of power production,
of various types of solar power technologies. At such a dependent on the whims of other nations.
disparity in carbon emissions, nuclear should not qualify
as a “clean energy” technology even based only on car- Nuclear Power And Water Pollution
bon releases, much less other pollutants.
Nuclear power’s pollution of our nation is not limited to
The Nuclear Fuel Chain Is Necessary releases of radioactive materials. Nuclear reactors are
For Nuclear Reactors, And Polluting also responsible for significant damage to marine en-
vironments and diversion of increasingly scarce water
Today, there are 104 nuclear power stations in the USA, which supply 20 percent of
Nuclear reactors cannot, of course, operate without ura- supplies. Nuclear reactors require vast amounts of water
our electricity needs but they produce dozens and dozens of harmful emissions, some emissions
nium fuel. In that respect, nuclear power is much more for cooling their red-hot nuclear cores as well as simply
that are totally beyond our ability to control as we’ve learned from Three Mile Island, Chernobyl
like fossil fuels, which are extracted from the earth, than to produce electricity. Those with cooling towers take
and now Fukushima, the Japanese disaster pictured above and below.
like renewable power, which produces energy from natural in some 20,000 gallons per minute of water from rivers,
and omnipresent phenomena like wind and the sun. lakes, or oceans. Reactors without cooling towers, which
use “once-through” cooling systems, take up to 500,000 gallons per
Mining uranium, processing it, milling it, enriching it and producing minute of water before spewing it back out again. When the water
uranium fuel pellets from gaseous enriched uranium is both car- comes out and is discharged back to its source, it is five to ten degrees
bon-intensive and dirty business at every step of the way. Perhaps warmer than it was when it went in.
the dirtiest part of this lengthy process is the mining, which, like coal
mining, leaves massive quantities of “tailings” that are often left either This causes havoc among marine environments. The huge amount
as mountainous piles, or as slag in “empoundments” that pose sub- of water taken in, and the rate at which its taken, also results in mas-
stantial threats to miners, local communities, and to the larger envi- sive fish kills at reactors that use once-through cooling systems —
ronment. often numbering in the billions of fish and fish eggs per year at a
single reactor.
Because of the widespread contamination and health effects caused
by uranium mining on its land in the Southwest, for example, the Na- Further, because the water discharged is so much hotter than the wa-
vajo Nation has banned any more uranium mining. But 500 to 1300 ter taken in, it can cause problems downstream for other industrial
abandoned uranium mines from the Cold War era remain on its land uses, and even civilian public drinking water uses.
awaiting cleanup. At one mine abandoned years ago near Cameron,
Arizona, for example, the EPA found in November 2010 that radiation Finally, when evaporated in cooling towers, or made unusable through
levels were higher than its equipment could measure. heating, water use by reactors can use up a significant amount of mu-
 fukushima
nicipal and regional water supplies. This will become increasingly important in coming
years, as the Department of Energy already has predicted droughts in about 2/3 of the
United States over the next decade. Electricity generation and agriculture are the two
predominant consumers of water in the U.S., and nuclear power is by far the largest
consumer among electricity producers.

No assessment has yet been conducted as to the effects on water supplies, especially
drinking water supplies, of the kind of major reactor construction endeavor including
nuclear power in a “clean energy standard” would seek to encourage. The Gift That Keeps On Giving - For Thousands Of Years
Muon scans confirm complete reactor meltdown at Fukushima Reactor #1
In France, which obtains nearly 80% of its electricity from nuclear power, summer heat
waves in recent years — which increased river water temperatures to the point reactors
could not legally use the water for cooling — forced reactors to close at the exact time
electricity was most needed for residential cooling. But France had no back-up supplies
of electricity to provide that cooling. In the summer of 2003, thousands of people died
because of the heat and related blackouts.

But it’s not just a French problem: in recent years in the U.S., reactors, such as those at
the Browns Ferry complex in Alabama, have been forced to close or reduce power be-
cause of rising river temperatures. In an era of global warming, it is folly to encourage
new reactor construction without a thorough, scientific assessment of water availabili-
ty for reactor operation, taking into account drinking water needs.

Conclusion

No source of electricity generation is absolutely “clean.” Every source requires use of

resources, some of which are toxic. Every source of electricity results in some level of
carbon emissions. The only “clean” electricity is the electricity that is not used. Ensuring
the use of energy as efficiently as possible should be the number one goal of any “clean
energy standard.”

Nuclear power, compared to the viable renewable alternatives like wind, solar, geo-
thermal, etc, coupled with smart grids, distributed generation and other 21st century
energy technologies, does not even come close to “clean.”

Nuclear power releases toxic radiation on a routine basis; it is not carbon-free — its
carbon footprint is substantially higher than its competitors; it uses far more water in
an era of water scarcity; it requires a vast and polluting nuclear fuel chain simply to
Image provided by Australian Radiation Services
function.

Inclusion of nuclear power in a Clean Energy Standard would make a mockery of the
concept. Moreover, although beyond the scope of this paper, nuclear power’s enor-
mous costs and typical reactor size would discourage use of genuinely clean, safe and
affordable renewable technologies were nuclear chosen as a means of meeting a “clean
energy standard.”
The United States wants, needs and deserves clean energy.
Nuclear power does not fit the bill.
By Joel Hruska on March 20, 2015 at 3:28 pm
The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has announced that its muon tomography scanning efforts at Fukushima have borne fruit, and
confirmed that nuclear plant’s Reactor #1 suffered a complete meltdown following the earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan on March
11th, 2011. Thus far, the muon tomography scans haven’t revealed anything that scientists and cleanup crews working at Fukushima didn’t
expect. But that doesn’t make the work any less important. The only way to safely clean the site and dispose of the highly radioactive slag
that’s now believed to fill the bottom of the Pressure Containment Vessel, or PCV, is to first map out what melted within the core and where
the flow went afterwards. Muon tomography was used to scan the damaged reactor because muons can penetrate materials that absorb oth-
er imaging wavelengths, like X-rays, in their tracks. Muons have also been used to image buildings and structures like the Great Pyramid in a
search for secret chambers, and to examine volcano magma chambers for evidence of
imminent eruptions. Superman’s X-ray vision is actually more like muon vision, except
for that whole can’t-see-through-lead restriction.

What today’s findings confirm is that nuclear fuel rods inside the reactor underwent
complete meltdown. The image above shows a before-and-after shot of what a reactor
looks like in normal operation and then after partial meltdown has begun. Note that
the water level inside the Reactor Pressure Vessel (RPV) has dropped and the rods are
melting as a result. This began to happen in Reactor #1 within hours of the tsunami. core melts
Subsequent analysis over the past few years has confirmed that there seemed to be through
very little nuclear fuel remaining inside the RPV. Maybe. floor
After first denying that a melt-through had occurred, TEPCO later changed its tune and
said that it most likely had, at least at Reactor #1. This means that molten corium flowed Corium
completely through the RPV and into the PCV before being stopped by the several
meters of concrete within the base. This wasn’t an entirely settled question, howev-
er, since radiation measurements and water testing have not found the isotope levels
that would be expected if the majority of the corium were in direct contact with the
concrete layer beneath the PCV. One alternate theory is that the seawater that was MELTDOWN
pumped into Reactor #1 after the disaster may have cooled the corium before it fin-
ished burning through the reactor pressure vessel.
Scans like the one at right appear to support TEPCO’s position that
melt-through occurred in the reactor core, but the organization’s
trustworthiness and understanding of the conditions at Fukushi-
ma Daiichi have been called into question multiple times since the
accident. Conditions at the facility have been repeatedly misrepre-
sented (or were simply inaccurate), and the company ignored mul-
tiple safety reports and warnings that the plant was vulnerable to a
tsunami in the first place.

What happened to the fuel rods is more than an academic ques-

tion. Reactor #1 contained an estimated 125 tons of uranium diox-
ide, zirconium, steel, boron carbide, and inconel, and finding out
where the corium flowed is critical. TEPCO has announced that un-
like Chernobyl, which is slowly being sealed inside a layer of con-
crete, they intend to scrap reactor Daiichi 1, 2, 3, and 4. This makes
it particularly critical to understand where the corium is in order to
facilitate its eventual removal. The scrapping process is a long one
— it’ll take an estimated 30-40 years to finish, and the company
won’t start removing reactor fuel until ten years after the accident.
 Fukushima Fallout: Worse Than Hiroshima Or Chernobyl?  Why The Fukushima Disaster  Is Worse Than Chernobyl
 
By Gordon Edwards, August 29, 2011 Japan has been slow to admit the scale of the meltdown.
  But now the truth is coming out.  
No one has ever before experienced the extensive radioactive contamination of air, water, soil, and food that now  
faces the Japanese people after the Fukushima disaster. It is important to realize that each nuclear reactor con- By David McNeill, The Independent, Monday, 29 August 2011 
tains  more than a thousand times as much radioactive material as the radioactive fallout from a Hiroshima-type http://tinyurl.com/3fka982  
atomic bomb. The dropping of the atomic bombs on the cit-  
ies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 caused enormous de- Yoshio Ichida is recalling the worst day of his 53 years: 11
struction, brought  about by the blast and by the fireball.  It March, when the  sea swallowed up his home and killed his
also caused massive radiation exposures, mainly neutron and friends. The Fukushima fisherman    was in the bath when
gamma radiation, most of it delivered at the very instant of the huge quake hit and barely made it to the open sea  in
the explosion. his boat in the 40 minutes before the 15-metre tsunami
  that followed. 
But the fallout in the area of the bombed cities was relative-  
ly  little, because in both cases the bombs were deliberate- When he got back to port, his neighbourhood and nearly ev-
ly  detonated high in the air so that the concussive shock erything else was gone. “Nobody can remember anything like
wave would do the most damage on the ground.  Thus no this,” he says.
crater was  created by the blast, and most of the fallout was  
carried high  into the atmosphere by the heat of the fireball Now living in a refugee centre in the ruined coastal city of
and the burning  of the cities.  It became global fallout more Soma, Mr Ichida  has mourned the 100 local fishermen killed
than local fallout. in the disaster and is trying to  rebuild his life with his col-
  leagues. Every morning, they arrive at the ruined    fisheries
At Chernobyl, there was an explosion in the core of one re- co-operative building in Soma port and prepare for work.
actor followed by a very hot graphite fire that raged for days, Then they    stare out at the irradiated sea, and wait. “Some
lofting much ofthe radioactive fallout high into the air, and day we know we’ll be allowed  to fish again. We all want to
sending it across vast distances. A lot of it was deposited in believe that.”
Belarus and other  European countries; it contaminated the  
sheep in Northern England and Wales for two decades, and This nation has recovered from worse natural – and man-
the wild boar in Germany’s Black Forest area. Some of it made made – catastrophes.  But it is the triple meltdown and its
its way  across the ocean to contaminate the lichen in North- aftermath at the Fukushima nuclear power    plant 40 km
ern Canada, which resulted in measurable increases of radio- down the coast from Soma that has elevated Japan into un-
active  cesium in the bodies of the Inuit people who fed on known,  and unknowable, terrain. Across the northeast, mil-
the caribou  that fed on the lichen. But at Fukushima, not one lions of people are living  with its consequences and search-
but three nuclear reactors melted down -- Units 1, 2, and 3 ing for a consensus on a safe radiation level  that does not
-- as well as a spent fuel pool in Unit 4 that caught fire and exist. Experts give bewilderingly different assessments of
spewed radioactive debris directly into the atmosphere. Be- its  dangers.
cause there was no fireball, no burning cities, and no burning  
graphite, much of the radioactive fallout rained out quickly and Some scientists say Fukushima is worse than the 1986 Cher-
stayed closer to the ground and contaminated everything that it came in contact with in large swaths of territory nobyl accident,  with which it shares a maximum level-7 rating on the sliding scale of nuclear  disasters. One of
surrounding the plant.   the most prominent of them is Dr Helen Caldicott, an  Australian physician and long time anti-nuclear activist who
  warns of  “horrors to come” in Fukushima.
The local contamination at ground level is as extensive and as insidious as anything that has previously been ex-  
perienced.  Radioactive iodine has already done its worst, though the results will not be seen for decades in terms Chris Busby, a professor at the University of Ulster known for his alarmist  views, generated controversy during
of  thyroid cancers and developmental abnormalities caused by  thyroid damage to embryos, infants and chil- a Japan visit last month when he said  the disaster would result in more than 1 million deaths. “Fukushima is
dren.  But the radioactive cesium and strontium and plutonium and americium and dozens of other radioactive still  boiling its radionuclides all over Japan,” he said. “Chernobyl went up in one go. So Fukushima is worse.” On
species will be in the soil and the food and the bodies of Japanese living near the affected areas and even those the other side of the nuclear fence are the industry friendly scientists  who insist that the crisis is under con-
further away for decades, even centuries to come. No one truly knows the full long-term effects of chronic expo- trol and radiation levels are mostly  safe. “I believe the government and Tokyo Electric Power [Tepco, the  plant’s
sure of such a huge population to these radioactive poisons, for the degree of local radioactive contamination  re- operator] are doing their best,” said Naoto Sekimura, vice-dean of  the Graduate School of Engineering at the
sulting from Fukushima is indeed unprecedented. University of Tokyo. 
Mr. Sekimura initially advised residents near the plant that a radioactive    disaster was “unlikely” and that they The young, the wealthy, mothers and pregnant women left for Tokyo  or elsewhere. Most of the remaining 6000
should stay “calm”, an assessment  he has since had to reverse. people have since evacuated,  after the government accepted that safe radiation limits had been  exceeded.
   
Slowly, steadily, and often well behind the curve, the government has  worsened its prognosis of the disaster. Mr Shoji, 75, went from shock to rage, then despair when the government told him he would have to destroy his
Last Friday, scientists affiliated  with the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency said the plant had  released 15,000 vegetables, kill his six cows and move with his wife Fumi, 73, to an apartment in Koriyama, about 20 km away. “We’ve
terabecquerels of cancer-causing Cesium, equivalent  to about 168 times the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, heard five, maybe 10 years but some say that’s far too optimistic,” he says, crying. “Maybe I’ll be able to come home to
the event that  ushered in the nuclear age. Professor Busby says the release is at least  72,000 times worse than die.” He was given initial compensation of one million yen (£7,900) by Tepco, topped up with 350,000 yen from the
Hiroshima. government. It is the fate of people outside
  the evacuation zones, however, that caus-
Caught in a blizzard of often conflicting es the most bitter controversy. Parents in
information, many Japanese    instinctively Fukushima City, 63 km  from the plant, have
grope for the beacons they know. Mr Ichida banded together to demand that the gov-
and his  colleagues say they no longer trust ernment  do more to protect about 100,000
the nuclear industry or the officials    who children. Schools have banned soccer and
assured them the Fukushima plant was other outdoor sports. Windows are kept
safe. But they have faith in  government ra- closed.  “We’ve just been left to fend for our-
diation testing and believe they will soon selves,” says Machiko Sato, a  grandmother
be allowed back  to sea. who lives in the city. “It makes me so an-
  gry.” Many parents have already sent their
That’s a mistake, say sceptics, who note children to live with relatives or friends
a consistent pattern of official    lying, hundreds of kilometres away. Some want
foot-dragging and concealment. Last the government  to evacuate the entire
week, officials finally admitted  something two million population of Fukushima Pre-
long argued by its critics: that thousands fecture.  “They’re demanding the right to be
of people with homes    near the crippled able to evacuate,” says  anti-nuclear activist
nuclear plant may not be able to return Aileen Mioko Smith, who works with the
for a generation    or more. “We can’t rule parents.    “In other words, if they evacuate
out the possibility that there will be some they want the government to support them.”
areas    where it will be hard for residents to So far, at least, the authorities say that is
return to their homes for a long time,”    said not necessary. The official line is that they
Yukio Edano, the government’s top gov- are safe.
ernment spokesman.  “We are very sorry.”  
  But many experts warn that the crisis is
Last Friday, hundreds of former residents just beginning. Professor    Tim Mousseau,
from Futaba and Okuma, the  towns near- a biological scientist who has spent more
est the plant, were allowed to visit their than a  decade researching the genetic im-
homes – perhaps for  the last time – to pick pact of radiation around    Chernobyl, says
up belongings. Wearing masks and radiation he worries that many people in Fukushima
suits,  they drove through the 20 km contaminated zone around the plant, where hundreds of animals have died are   “burying their heads in the sand.”  His Chernobyl research concluded that biodiversity and the    numbers of
and rotted in the sun, to find kitchens and  living rooms partly reclaimed by nature. “It’s hard to believe we ever insects and spiders had shrunk inside the irradiated  zone, and the bird population showed evidence of genetic
lived  here,” one former resident told NHK. defects, including smaller brain sizes.
   
Several other areas northwest of the plant have become atomic ghost  towns after being ordered to evacuate – “The truth is that we don’t have sufficient data to provide accurate  information on the long-term impact,” he says.
too late, say many residents,  who believe they absorbed dangerous quantities of radiation in the  weeks after the “What we can say, though, is that there are very likely to be very significant long-term health impacts from pro-
accident. “We’ve no idea when we can come back,”  says Katsuzo Shoji, who farmed rice and cabbages and kept a longed exposure.”
small  herd of cattle near Iitate, a picturesque village about 40 km from the plant.  
  In Soma, Mr. Ichida says all the talk about radiation is confusing.  “All we want to do is get back to work. There are
Although it is outside the exclusion zone, the village’s mountainous  topography meant radiation, carried by wind many different  ways to die, and having nothing to do is one of them.”
and rain, lingered,  poisoning crops, water and school playgrounds.
 
 Three Mile Island
The Three Mile Island accident was a partial core meltdown in Unit 2 of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station in Dauphin
County, Pennsylvania near Harrisburg, United States in 1979. It was the most significant accident in the history of the US nuclear
power generating industry, resulting in the release of an admitted 481 PBq (13 million curies) of radioactive gases,
and 740 GBq (20 curies) of the particularly dangerous iodine-131, as far as we know ...

The Lasting Fallout Of A Nuclear Meltdown’s Data Gaps

by Alexis Madrigal

Thirty years ago, half the core of a reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear complex melted down, but government
officials and the utility running the place didn’t know that. And they wouldn’t know for six more years.
In fact, as the crisis extended from its start on March 28, 1979, the amount of information available about the na-
ture of the accident remained slim. Key pieces of data were missing. Nobody knew exactly what was happening
inside the containment vessel and, more importantly, what was coming out of it. The sensors designed to measure
radioactive release were overwhelmed.
The limitations of data collection and computation made precise predictions and good decisions difficult to make.
As intermittent emissions of radioactive gas tumbled into the sky, the uncertainty about how severe the accident
had been rose with them.
We only truly built its capability in the aftermath of the worst nuclear power accident in American history. In one
of the most underrated outcomes of the disaster, Three Mile Island confirmed the value of having better data, and
the geeks who could understand it.
Without it, the authorities found themselves scrambling. The utility was trying to figure out what had gone wrong.
The public was fearful and angry. The government was in damage-control mode. Everyone wanted to know the
thing that no one could provide: Exactly how much of the tasteless, odorless, invisible radiation was released and
where was it heading? The impact of the confusion would have much longer-lasting impacts than anyone could
have imagined.
Walter Cronkite led off the CBS Evening News broadcast by delivering the bad news to the world.

The information vacuum didn’t just impact what was happening on the ground during that frightening week.
It has rippled down through time as the debate over what the Three Mile Island accident meant to society be-
came clouded with doubts over what actually happened out in the Susquehanna River. Both pro- and anti-nuclear
groups used the accident to illustrate their points, but material facts about the reactor’s core were still coming out
six years after the partial meltdown.
“The world has never known a day quite like today,” he said from beneath his bushy eyebrows. “It faced the consider-
able uncertainties and dangers of the worst nuclear power plant accident of the atomic age.”
Those words reflected the terror that a fundamentally new kind of danger had entered the world, one that we
manifestly were not prepared to measure. Into the data vacuum rushed fear and DOE staff.

“The instrumentation that was put in that plant and in several other plants at the same time, was not designed to han-
dle the scope, the scale of the release that happened at that plant. Even though it was small, it was beyond the range
of the instruments that were in the containment vessel,” said Tom Sullivan, a former Livermore scientist who helped
respond to the disaster. “So, what happened is that the accident moved into the realm of the unknown and as soon as
that happened people started to imagine things.”
Marv Dickerson, another former Livermore scientist, got the call in the United Red Carpet Room at O’Hare Airport.
“We cleared out an area and started work right there in the airport,” Dickerson said. Shortly thereafter, he was on a
plane bound for Harrisburg, where he’d become intimately involved in the response to the accident, briefing de-
cision makers.

If a Three Mile Island-like accident happened today, we have a datacenter-full of new capabilities to assess any
damage. The accident, in part, called into being a new force within the Department of Energy: a group of me-
teorologists whose sole job is to model how dangerous particles from anything from nuclear fallout to chemi-
cal explosions will cross a landscape. Headquartered at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the National
Atmospheric Release Advisory Center is an under-appreciated link in our chain of defenses against nuclear and
chemical accidents or attacks.
Meanwhile, Sullivan headed back to Livermore to crank out calculations based on the data that was beginning
to flow into the system. They pushed everyone else off the Lab’s computers and started working. The setup back
then was crude.
“The big computers were at the other end of the lab, and we had no electronic connections. People would run back and
forth with a big reel of tape,” Sullivan said, recalling a time when memory was stored in BPI, or bits per inch of tape.
“We would run it from the big computers to the little computers we had that would then make [a map] that we would no melting had occurred — and that was a major reason for claiming the coverage of the affair was overblown.
make a hard copy of, hand label, and put in a fax machine. Talk about primitive.”
“Little, if any, fuel melting occurred, even though the reactor core was uncovered. The safety systems functioned reliably,”
Even with that ’70s setup, which is about as foreign to us now as a polyester leisure suit, they were able to produce said D.B. Trauger, a nuclear engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, at an engineering conference eight months
a rudimentary model of the release in Harrisburg, after the accident. “Based on the conservative licens-
but it was missing some key details. ing analyses, the core was subjected to conditions
that would have produced a total melt…. This acci-
“When we first responded to Three Mile Island, we dent has revealed that reactors are orders of mag-
didn’t even have topography in the model,” Sullivan nitude safer than previously assumed.”
said. “Basically it was a Flat Earth Society model. We
were very worried about that. The first 48 hours, we In fact, it took excavation of the containment ves-
probably put in 24 man hours trying to get the to- sel in the mid-’80s to glimpse the true extent of
pography into the little grid.” the damage. What workers found was shocking.
The Washington Post’s Three Mile Island timeline
There was no accounting for turbulence, and the summarized the new severity estimates, “Core
resolution wasn’t too high, either. But their pro- temperatures reached 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit; as
jections were still immensely valuable in guid- much as 50 percent of the fuel melted.”
ing the measurement taking of helicopters and
ground crews. On the other hand, fears of massive radiation re-
leases and increased cancer, though they contin-
At Livermore’s modern NARAC facility, they are ue to surface, have not played out. No one died
several orders of magnitude more precise in their from the initial accident and the official line is
calculations now, and they’ve responded to more that no deaths can be statistically attributed to
than 150 events. What used to take hours now the radiation released in the area.
takes minutes. Real-time data availability might
not have headed off the divisive clash over what In other words, both sides got pieces of the sto-
happened at Three Mile Island, but it would have ry right, but neither of them could have known
helped protect citizens while providing a com- exactly what was happening at the time of the
mon basis for argument over the atomic energy’s event. What’s more unclear was the impact that
risks. TMI had on the nuclear industry as a whole. The
public reaction to the accident was clearly real,
As it was, the confusion made having a real con- but Three Mile Island’s importance could be over-
versation about the meaning of the accident at estimated.
Three Mile Island’s second reactor impossible.
While the accident was certainly not as bad as the Tens of thousands of protesters took part in a huge anti-nuclear rally as the first shipment of waste in two years was slowed While it’s true no new nuclear plant has been
darkest fears of some, it turned out to be consid- on its way back to Germany. The transport has become a tense political issue this year due to anger over Chancellor Angela built since the accident, the industry’s problems
erably worse than industry and government offi- Merkel’s decision to extend the lifespan of Germany’s 17 nuclear power plants (since rescinded in the wake of the Japa- began years earlier, and the chief reason for its
cials believed (or let on) at first. nese disaster) in the face of overwhelming public opposition. A convoy of trains transporting the waste was held up for declining momentum in the United States was
hours by an earlier demonstration near the German-French border when thousands of activists blocked the tracks. While economic.
Richard Lyons, reporting on the front page of The Germans are well known for nuclear activism, Americans seem preoccupied with shopping.
New York Times, wrote that John G. Herbein, Met- The myth continues, though, because it serves
ropolitan Edison vice president, said “that the mishap was not all that unusual in his eyes since similar accidents had everyone to blame the nuclear industry’s problems on the meltdown and subsequent increased anti-nuclear pow-
happened ‘two or three times’ to the first reactor unit at the plant that opened in 1974. But he conceded that there was er protests. Environmental groups get to claim victory in slowing nuclear construction projects and the nuclear
one major difference: the leak of contaminated water into the building next to the reactor this time.” power industry gets to blame their failure to fulfill the promise of “the nuclear age” on the irrational response to a
“minor” accident.
It’s clear, in retrospect, that Herbein didn’t really understand what had happened in the three-month old reactor.
“It was a bit of an engineering nightmare because they didn’t understand how the plant was functioning at that time,” But the industry was showing major signs of weakness before the accident. Plants were turning out to be expen-
Sullivan said. At first, utility and government officials contended that only 180 or maybe 360 of the 36,000 contain- sive and taking exceedingly long times to build. There was (and remains) no solution for the long-term storage of
ment rods had melted. Those numbers were up to 9,000 rods shortly after the accident, but the cooler heads pre- radioactive waste. And the public had already begun to lose trust in the government-industrial complex to regu-
vailed a little too well in this case. For a while in the early 1980s, nuclear power industry officials maintained that late itself adequately.
On Feb. 27, 1979, two months before the accident, influ-
ential New York Times columnist, Tom Wicker, noted the
trouble the industry was having, particularly with the
credibility of its safety assessments.

“Now the industry is paying the price in reduced public

support and confidence and a nuclear energy construc-
tion program slowed almost to a standstill,” Wicker wrote.
Regulators had touted a landmark 1975 safety study,
which Marcus Rowden, a Nuclear Regulatory commis-
sioner said showed “the risks from potential nuclear ac-
cidents would be comparable to those from meteorites.”
But as doubts continued to surface about the report’s
methodology and intellectual independence, the NRC
was forced to back away from the report. Later, a 1982
report found that the old safety study had underesti-
mated the risk of a nuclear accident by a factor of 20.
Perhaps, if there is a nuclear renaissance, the increase
in our computational power and the commitment to
transparency that the Obama government espouses
will create a more rational national discourse about the
atomic age (I’m laughing here). The New York Times
opinion page, in the wake of Three Mile Island, actually
struck exactly the right tone in its critique of the indus-
try, “Credibility Meltdown.”

“For years, the industry and its supporters in Government

and elsewhere have insisted that nuclear energy is safe.
Relatively speaking, they are right. But under the pressure
of emotional protests, the nuclear spokesmen have gone
further. Nuclear power, they have proclaimed, is The An-
swer; it is not just reasonably safe but comfortingly so; a
serious accident is a million-to-one shot,” they wrote.

The truth be told, we have these million-to-one shot’s

less then every 20 years and between 3-Mile Island,
Chernobyl and the current problems in Japan we’re
adding to the total radiation burden of the civilian pop-
ulation of the world. In the near future and at this rate
the planet will eventually be uninhabitable.
United In Discontent: An aerial view shows the scale of the anti-nuclear protest in Dannenberg, Germany.
Merkel urged those taking part in the rally to refrain from committing criminal acts while attempting to stop the
convoy of 11 train cars carrying 154 tonnes of waste. The waste transported on Saturday originated in Germany
and was reprocessed at the French nuclear group Areva’s processing plant at La Hague for storage in a site in the
northern German town of Gorleben. The waste shipment is expected to arrive in Gorleben, near the central city
of Dannenberg, on Sunday. At the mass rally in
Dannenberg, thousands listened to speeches
and music while others made plans to at least
temporarily stop the convoy before it reaches
the town of Gorleben.

“Merkel provoked society by extending the

lifespan of nuclear power and this is the peo-
ple’s answer,” said Juergen Trittin, a leader in
the Greens party.

Merkel’s government has slumped in popular-

ity due in large part to its decision to extend
nuclear power by about 12 years beyond the
original shut-down set for 2021. Germany gets
23 percent of its energy from nuclear power.Or-
ganisers estimated 50,000 took part in the rally
on Saturday, but police said between 10,000
and 20,000 people attended. Demonstrators
had to march across soggy fields and roads af-
ter days of heavy rain to reach the rally but spir-
its were high.

“We’re here to show we’re not going to accept

the government’s nuclear policies,” said Gisel-
her Kuehn, riding on one of some 600 farm
tractors taking party in the rally.

Pensioner Elke Hinrichsmeyr, 71, from the town

of Buchholz, added: “We’re horrified that this
government wants to extend the use of nuclear
power. They’ve ignored the will of the people.”

“We’re against nuclear power because the waste

will remain radioactive for thousands of years,”
said Renate Komm, 72. Anti-nuclear protest in Germany

Anti-nuclear activists have often clashed with police in pitched battles in the past and a police force of some
20,000 was on hand to secure the shipment. Scenes of violence in previous transports have contributed to Ger-
many’s strong anti-nuclear mood. Protesters fear the depot at Gorleben, built as an interim storage site, could
become permanent. Greenpeace says the site, in a disused salt mine, would be unsafe over the long term.
 Japanese Tragedy
Is An Eye Opener On
Nuclear Energy
The crippling of a number nuclear facilities in Japan as a result of the mega-earthquake and subsequent tsunami should
be an eye-opener for those who still advocate the use of nuclear energy. It wasn’t. And it won’t be.

Carmel Cacopardo AD Spokesman on Sustainable Development and Local Government said, “on the eve of the 25th an-
niversary of the Chernobyl disaster, (which occurred on the 26th April 1986) the myths on the safety of nuclear energy have
been shattered once and for all.”

As a result of the Japanese nuclear crisis and in particular after various explosions in the Fukushima nuclear power
station various European governments have decided to revise their use of nuclear energy. Western governments are
headed in the opposite direction with plans on the table for additional nuclear energy generating facilities. We need
the various isotopes generating energy produces for our nuclear arms industry.

In Germany as a result of the continuous campaigning of the Greens German Chancellor Angel Merkel has decided to
re-examine plans to extend the life of Germany’s 17 existing nuclear power stations and announced the temporary
closure of its two oldest ones. Switzerland has likewise announced putting on hold its plans for new nuclear power
stations whilst Austria Minister for the Environment has called for checks on the safety of nuclear facilities. In the light
of the above, Carmel Cacopardo added, “it is very fortunate that the agreement between Nicolas Sarkozy on behalf of the
French Republic and Colonel Gadddafi on the supply by France to Libya of nuclear technology to be used for the desalinisa- But Aunt Eve’s
tion of water along Libya’s Mediterranean coast has not to date materialised. In the ongoing civil war in Libya access to and
misuse of nuclear material would be an added worry.” Well there’s something we don’t need to worry about anymore. Any
Never Been To
nuclear fuel in Libya is under the control of the Libyans today. Comforting. Japan!
Prof. Arnold Cassola, AD Spokesperson on EU and International Affairs, said, “The Maltese Government should take note
of the statement of Italian Minister Romani who has affirmed that, despite the catastrophe in Japan, Italy will not go back
on its nuclear programme. The Maltese Government should take the necessary steps at EU level to ensure that the Berlusconi
government through its construction of a nuclear facility in Sicily does not put the safety of all the people living in the central
Mediterranean region at risk.” Now there’s a thought — one that comes as fast as it goes ...

Michael Briguglio, AD Chairperson, added, “The Japanese tragedy confirms that we are living in a global society of man-
made risks, as is the case with nuclear energy. Such energy might solve short and medium term problems related to demand
for energy, but is ultimately unsustainable because of the dangers it presents, and because global supply of uranium – its
basic raw material, is limited. while the long term storage of the highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a major source of
concern.” Actually, storage is no longer a concern. Twenty-first century technology, invented by the Japanese, means
dumping radioactive waste with dozens of nucleides into the Pacific Ocean, daily, works — for the whole world!

“Global subsidies towards nuclear energy should be progressively diverted towards clean alternative energy such as solar and wind
energy. Such energy has unlimited supply, is totally safe and does not contribute towards climate change.”
Advertisement
Advertisement
 How The White House Covered Up
Post–September 11 Hazards
by Carl Pope

Why would our government lie to us about something

this big? Immediately after the collapse of the World
Trade Center, scientists at the EPA gathered as much
data as they could on the health risks caused by the
fires and airborne debris. Based on that research, the
agency quickly drafted a press release warning of high
asbestos levels in lower Manhattan, and of risks to “sen-
Li e s The inspector general’s report came too late for thou-
sands of people like Pat Moore, who cleaned up the
three feet of dust and debris in her apartment herself
because “no one told us about the possible risks.” It was
too late for the Ground Zero workers, 78 percent of
whom, according to Mount Sinai Hospital, suffered
from lung ailments. A private testing firm found asbes-
tos levels of 850,000 fibers per square centimeter in the
Woolworth Building, just across from city hall—more
than eight times the level considered to be “high.” Oth-
er tests found heavy asbestos loads in a stairwell used
by employees of the Securities and Exchange Commis-
sion. Robert Gulack, senior counsel for the SEC, who
sitive populations” such as the elderly and asthmatics. developed bronchitis after the attack, charged that
The EPA also intended to caution property owners that the stairwell had been recontaminated by the failure
their homes and businesses would need professional to clean the exterior of the building. “They rushed us
cleanup to remove asbestos, heavy metals, and other back into contaminated playgrounds and schools and
contaminants. places of business,” Gulack said. “They took it upon them-
selves to decide what we would be told, and what might
But when the EPA ran its press release by the White be too upsetting for us to know.” And when New York
House, it was rejected for fear it would hamper the “re- City firefighters asked to have their stations tested for
turn to normalcy.” Even while Bush expressed compas- toxic contamination, the administration refused.
sion for the victims and support for the rescue workers
and residents of lower Manhattan, including a dramat- The EPA responded to the furor over the inspector gen-
ic visit to Ground Zero, his White House spin doctors eral’s report in the same way the Bush administration
took their blue pencils to the agency’s announcement. responds to all criticism: by refusing to admit that any-
Rather than the EPA, the White House–controlled Na- thing had ever gone awry. Even in retirement, former
tional Security Council was put in charge of the final By the time President George Bush appeared at Ground Zero the area was relatively safe EPA administrator Christie Whitman continued to be a
release, with the rationale that it had expertise in weap- good soldier for the administration that had routinely
ons of mass destruction. ignored her and overridden her agency’s scientists. She
blamed the rescue workers themselves for their failure
“Our tests show that it is safe for New Yorkers to go back to work in New York’s financial district,” announced the re- to wear protective equipment: “If they had worn the devices,” she told the New York Post, “we’d see a lot less problems.”
written statement, released on September 16. The reference to sensitive populations was deleted. The asbestos
warning was replaced with an assurance that “ambient air quality meets OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health “When she said that everything was OK, the firefighters believed those statements,” shot back Steve Cassidy, the
Administration] standards and consequently is not a cause for public concern.” OSHA standards, however, assume head of the firefighters’ union. “For her to say now that we are responsible is outrageous.” In his confirmation
limited hours in a workplace, as well as appropriate protective equipment. The need for professional contractors to hearings to succeed Whitman as EPA administrator, Utah governor Mike Leavitt (R) was questioned about
clean homes and offices was watered down to a general recommendation that people should follow instructions the scandal. Would the Bush administration provide funding to complete the cleanup of lower Manhattan?
from city officials. Two years later, in August 2003, the EPA’s Office of Inspector General concluded that the find- Would it provide long-term health monitoring and care for those who had been exposed to toxic pollutants
ings had been manipulated: “Competing considerations, such as national security concerns and the desire to reopen because they had relied on the EPA’s doctored public statements? Leavitt’s nonresponsive answers led sev-
Wall Street... played a role in EPA’s air quality statements.” (Another “competing interest,” apparently, was the desire eral senators to put his nomination on hold while they awaited an explanation of why the federal govern-
to downplay New York’s need for federal help and to protect the president’s cherished tax cuts. When New York ment deliberately misled those on the front line of the first battle in the war against terrorism. It never came.
officials complained that promised federal aid was slow in coming, White House budget director Mitch Daniels If the EPA and the White House are willing to lie about something as visible, and emotionally uniting, as Ground
accused them of playing “money-grubbing games.”) Zero, how can we trust what they tell us about pollution in our own neighborhoods, or ANYTHING else?
 the dirt on nuclear power:
A FEW accidents and incidents

Japan’s nuclear crisis is a nightmare, but it is not an

anomaly. In fact, it is only the latest in a long line of Indeed, when compared to other energy sources,
nuclear accidents involving meltdowns, explosions, nuclear power ranks higher than oil, coal, and natu-
fires, and loss of coolant accidents that have oc- ral gas systems in terms of fatalities, second only to
curred during both normal operation and emergen- hydroelectric dams.
cy conditions, such as droughts and earthquakes.
There have been 57 accidents since the Chernobyl
Nuclear safety demands clarity about terms. The Nu- disaster in 1986. While only a few involved fatalities,
clear Regulatory Commission in the United States those that did collectively killed more people than
generally separates unplanned nuclear “events” into have died in commercial United States airline acci-
two classes: “incidents” and “accidents”. Incidents are dents since 1982.
unforeseen events and technical failures that occur
during normal plant operation and result in no off- Another index of nuclear-power accidents, this one
site releases of radiation or severe damage to equip- including costs beyond death and property dam-
ment. Accidents refer to either off-site releases of age, such as injured or irradiated workers and mal-
radiation or severe damage to plant equipment. The functions that did not result in shutdowns or leaks
International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale documented 956 incidents from 1942 to 2007.
uses a seven-level ranking scheme to rate the signif-
icance of nuclear and radiological events: levels 1-3 And yet another documented more than 30,000
are “incidents” and 4-7 are “accidents”, with a “Level mishaps at US nuclear power plants alone, many
7 Major Accident” consisting of “a major release of with the potential to have caused serious melt-
radioactive material with widespread health and downs, between the 1979 accident at Three Mile
environmental effects requiring implementation of Anti-nuclear activists wearing ‘‘Scream’’ masks hold a protest in Manila on Mar 15, 2011. They were rallying against Island in Pennsylvania and the year 2009. Mistakes
planned and extended counter-measures”. revival of the mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant (BNPP), amid the danger of a nuclear meltdown in Japan. are not limited to reactor sites. Accidents at the Sa-
vannah River reprocessing plant released 10 times as
Under these classifications, the number of nuclear ac- much radioiodine as the accident at Three Mile Island,
cidents, even including the meltdowns at Fukushima Daiichi and Fukushima Daini, is low. But if one redefines an and a fire at the Gulf United facility in New York in 1972 scattered an undisclosed amount of plutonium, forcing the
accident to include incidents that either resulted in the loss of human life or more than US$50,000 (1.5 million plant to shut down permanently. At the Mayak Industrial Reprocessing Complex in Russia’s southern Urals, a stor-
baht) in property damage, a very different picture emerges. At least 99 nuclear accidents meeting this definition, age tank holding nitrate acetate salts exploded in 1957, releasing a massive amount of radioactive material over
totaling more than $20.5 billion in damages, occurred worldwide from 1952 to 2009 — or more than one incident 20,000 square kilometres, forcing the evacuation of 272,000 people. In September 1994, an explosion at Indone-
and $330 million in damage every year, on average, for the past three decades. And, of course, this average does sia’s Serpong research reactor was triggered by the ignition of methane gas that had seeped from a storage room
not include the Fukushima catastrophe. and exploded when a worker lit a cigarette. Accidents have also occurred when nuclear reactors are shut down
for refueling or to move spent nuclear fuel into
storage. In 1999, operators loading spent fuel
into dry-storage at the Trojan Reactor in Or-
egon, found that the protective zinc-carbon
coating had started to produce hydrogen,
which caused a small explosion.

Unfortunately, on-site accidents at nuclear re-

actors and fuel facilities are not the only cause
of concern. The August 2003 blackout in the
northeastern US revealed that more than a doz-
en nuclear reactors in the US and Canada were
not properly maintaining backup diesel gener-
ators. In Ontario during the blackout, reactors
designed to unlink from the grid automatically
and remain in standby mode instead went into
full shutdown, with only two out of 12 reactors
behaving as expected.

As environmental lawyers Richard Webster

and Julie LeMense argued in 2008, “The nucle-
ar industry is like the financial industry was prior
to the crisis” that erupted that year. “There are
many risks that are not being properly managed
or regulated.”

This state of affairs is worrying, to say the least,

given the severity of harm that a single seri-
ous accident can cause. The meltdown of a
500-megawatt reactor located 48 kilometres
from a city would cause the immediate death
of an estimated 45,000 people, injure roughly
another 70,000, and cause $17 billion in prop-
erty damage.

A successful attack or accident at the Indian

Point power plant near New York City, possi-
bly part of al-Qaeda’s original plan for Sept 11,
2001, would have resulted in 43,700 immediate
fatalities and 518,000 cancer deaths, with clean- Protesting along the railroad tracks in Germany
up costs reaching $2 trillion.

To put a serious accident in context, if 10 million people were exposed to radiation from a complete nuclear melt- be enough to stop the nuclear renaissance from materializing.
down (the containment structures fail completely, exposing the inner reactor core to air), about 100,000 would die
from acute radiation sickness within six weeks. About 50,000 would experience acute breathlessness, and 240,000 As of January of 2019, the Japanese disaster at Fukushima Daichi has been relegated to the historic dustbin as
would develop acute hypothyroidism. About 350,000 males would be left temporarily sterile, 100,000 women though it never happened at all. The mainstream media is silent. Maybe it was all a dream after all ...
would stop menstruating, and 100,000 children would be born with cognitive deficiencies. There would be thou-
sands of spontaneous abortions and more than 300,000 later cancers. Advocates of nuclear energy have made
considerable political headway around the world in recent years, touting it as a safe, clean and reliable alternative
to fossil fuels. But the historical record clearly shows otherwise. Perhaps the unfolding tragedy in Japan will finally
Destroyed: A satellite image of the Fukushima nuclear station shows the destroyed reactor buildings and radioactive steam rising form the plant Boiled dry: This shot shows of the inside of reactor number four at the
Fukushima nuclear plant before the disaster. The spent fuel storage pool is
seen at the front of the shot. The rods are at the bottom of the pool,
which has now boiled dry
A social activist participates in a rally to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the world’s
first atomic bombing in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, in Mumbai August 6, 2010
 Myeloma And The Attack Of September 11th, 2001
As a reminder, as of March 13th, 2011, there had been 134 deaths among First Responders that were
attributed directly to Multiple Myeloma. This means that of 40,000 total First Responders the death rate
from Myeloma is 1 in 298.507 or rounded, 1 in 299. In the general population the rate of Myeloma is 3.8
to 9.0 per 100,000 and 99% of those people afflicted with this rare blood plasma cancer are over 65 with
an average age of 71. The First Responders that have died from Myeloma were all between 37 and 60.

The CDC performed a study of nuclear industry workers titled, “Multiple Myeloma: A Study Of K-25 Work-
ers”. This study found that, “Workers who had swallowed or breathed-in radioactive particles had a 4% high-
er chance of dying of multiple myeloma compared to workers not exposed this way.”

The study was initiated because, “Multiple myeloma is a rare type of cancer that starts in the bone marrow.
Causes of this cancer are not known. Studies have been done to see if radiation exposure may cause this type
of cancer in certain workers, such as radiologists, veterinarians, and uranium miners. The findings from these
studies were not clear. Some found radiation exposure may cause multiple myeloma, others did not. The K-25
site (also known as the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant) was used to enrich uranium, a radioactive mate-
rial. Workers at K-25 may have been exposed to uranium. Because of this, we felt it was important to find out
if workers from K-25 have a higher chance of dying of multiple myeloma.”

Multiple Myeloma (MM) and Exposure to Ionizing Radiation

Center for Environmental Health Studies

44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210
(617) 482-9485 http://www.jsi.com

Studies conducted at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and other nuclear facilities, as well as those
exposed to radiation from the atomic bomb suggest an increased likelihood of developing multiple my-
eloma for those who have been exposed to ionizing radiation. These findings are consistent with the de-
termination of the National Research Council’s BEIR V committee that multiple myeloma has been asso-
ciated with exposure to ionizing radiation. Multiple myeloma is a “specified” cancer under the EEOICPA.
Historically, multiple myeloma incidence and mortality in Los Alamos County fall in the middle of New
Mexico counties while Rio Arriba County is among counties with the highest rates in the state. Incidence
means new cases of cancer, while mortality means deaths due to cancer.

Findings of Human Health Research Studies

Human health research studies compare the patterns of disease among groups of people with different
amounts of exposure to a suspected risk factor. Below are results reported from such studies of multiple
myeloma among people exposed to ionizing radiation.

All of these studies found increases and possible increases in multiple myeloma (MM) among certain
groups of exposed workers. Statistically significant is a term used to mean that the connection between
the health outcome and the exposure was strong enough that it was unlikely to be due to chance. The
research included incidence studies, which look at new cases of cancer. These can track health more
quickly and accurately than mortality studies of deaths due to cancer. Adding to the strength of the
findings is that increasing rates of MM were observed with higher doses in some studies.
 Studies of Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) Workers

Research conducted of LANL workers provides the most direct evidence about possible relationships between
a health problem and workplace exposures at LANL.

Study of Four DOE Sites

LANL contributed 37 cases of multiple myeloma to a case-control study at four DOE sites. All together, the rate
of death due to MM increased with increasing whole body dose of radiation received between age 40 and 50.

Studies of Other Nuclear Workers in the United States

The next most relevant evidence comes from studies of workers in similar occupations with the same types of
exposures. Listed below are studies that looked at multiple myeloma and workplace exposures among nucle-

Fukushima
ar workers in other parts of the United States.

Hanford: A possible increase in MM deaths was observed in 35,000 males employed between 1943 and 1972,
and then followed through 1972. In later studies, this finding has depended upon the assumptions used in
the analysis. Under certain assumptions, there are increasing rates of death due to MM with increasing doses
of external radiation.

Mallinckrodt, St. Louis: A possible increase in deaths from MM was observed in a study of 2,514 males who Destroying The Planet With Impunity!
were employed between 1942 and 1966, and then followed through 1993.

Oak Ridge Y-12: The disease category of “other lymphatic cancer,” which includes MM (ICD 203), showed a
possible increase in deaths in a study of 8,116 workers who were employed between 1947 and 1974, and then
followed through 1990.

Studies of Other Nuclear Workers World-Wide

Below are studies of nuclear workers outside of the United States that looked at multiple myeloma in connec-
tion with radiation exposures.

Sellafield, England: A possible increase in deaths was observed due to MM in a study of 5,203 plutonium
workers who were employed between 1947 and 1975, and then followed through 1992. A possible increase
was seen in incidence between 1971 and 1986 in plutonium workers. In a study of 14,327 workers who were
monitored for external radiation during this time period, there were increasing rates of death due to MM with
increasing doses of external radiation. The researchers who conducted the study wrote: “This may represent a
true radiation effect.”

Nuclear Workforces in England: Increasing rates of death due to MM were found with increasing time since
first being monitored for plutonium in a study of 12,498 workers.

Registry of Nuclear Workers in the U.K.: Increasing rates of death due to MM were found with increasing dos-
es of external radiation in a study of 95,000 workers.

Turning On The Pressure

The White House put pressure on the EPA to delete cautionary information about the air quality in New York
City around Ground Zero following the September 11, 2001 attacks. According to the report: a September
18th, 2001 EPA statement saying that the air was “safe” was made without sufficient reliable data avail-
able; the White House Council on Environmental Quality influenced the EPA to make reassuring com-
ments to the public; and on September 12th the EPA Administrator issued a memo saying that all state-
ments to the media must be cleared by the National Security Council.

First, we know that EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman misled the public on September 18th, Fuels America’s Economic Growth
2001 when she said she was “glad to reassure the people of New York that... their air is safe to breathe, and
their water is safe to drink.””
“The air from Ground Zero was laden with ex-
The Extremely CAUSTIC Nature Of The Ground Zero Dust tremely high amounts of very small particles,
There is another source of caustic agents that would have raised the pH in the dust: the radioactive oxides probably associated with high temperatures in
of Calcium, Barium, Strontium and Zinc produced by the nuclear fission and decay. These oxides all form the underground debris pile. Normally, in New
an alkaline solution on contact with water. We have seen that the jet fuel could not possibly have calcined
enough concrete to turn the dust caustic. The shock wave itself from the nuclear blast would not calcine
York City and in most of the world, situations like
the concrete either, but there were eyewitness accounts of the pyroclastic dust “sizzling” as it passed, so this just don’t exist.”
evidently the dust was at a high temperature – whether it was hot enough to have calcined the concrete
we don’t know at this time.

However, if we say that the intense volcanic heat was localized to the sub-basement levels under the
tower, coming from the molten core of some type of nuclear event, and that this heat had no effect on
the majority of the dust from the disintegrating towers, the radioactive fallout in the dust would be
caustic. Therefore, the caustic nature of the dust could yet be another indication that the towers were
subjected to a nuclear explosion. We can certainly agree we would expect to find caustic dust, caused
by the presence of alkali forming oxides of the common nuclear fission products – Barium, Strontium,
Zinc and also Calcium.

There is overwhelming evidence that extraordinarily high temperatures were produced during the col-
lapse of the World Trade Center and that they persisted for weeks if not months after the collapse.

University of California at Davis Aerosol Analysis

While
The UC Davis DELTA Group (Detection and Evaluation of Long-range Transport of Aerosols) is a collab-
orative association of aerosol scientists at several universities and national laboratories in the United Destroying
States. The DELTA Group has measured aerosols’ emissions from the 1991 Gulf War oil fires, volcanic
eruptions, global dust storms and the Asian smogs. Life As
The head of the DELTA Group is Professor Thomas Cahill, who due to his background in nuclear physics We Know
is an international expert in atmospheric sciences and the properties of aerosols.
It
From October 2nd, 2001 until mid-December 2001, a volunteer research team from the DELTA Group
monitored the levels of atmospheric particles and aerosols in the atmosphere of New York, following
the collapse of the World Trade Center. An automated particle collection system was set up on the roof
of 201 Varick Street, one mile north-northeast of the World Trade Center site. On February 11th, 2002,
Professor Cahill gave a press conference to describe some of his findings. He made the following com-
ments, quoted here from the UC Davis press release:

“The air from Ground Zero was laden with extremely high amounts of very small particles, probably associ-
ated with high temperatures in the underground debris pile. Normally, in New York City and in most of the
world, situations like this just don’t exist.”
 He further stated:
“Even on the worst air days in Beijing, downwind
from coal-fired power plants, or the Kuwait oil fires,
we did not see these levels of very fine particulates.”
The amounts of very fine particles, particularly
very fine silicon, decreased sharply during the
month of October.
“The US Davis DELTA Group’s ability to measure
and analyze particle size, composition and time
continuously, day and night, is unequalled. There
were numerous events when bursts of wind last-
ing 6 to 8 hours carried unprecedented amounts of
very fine particles to the sampling site. In the larg-
est spike, the DELTA Group analysis found 58 mi-
crograms per cubic meter of very fine particles in
one 45-minute period – “an extremely high peak”
Cahill said.
Metals
So we can understand that Professor Cahill
would want to draw attention to the fine partic-
“VERY FINE PARTICLES” ARE CREATED BY BOTH FISSION & FUSION ulates for health and safety reasons. But is there
more to it? Prof. Cahill also explained the mean-
ing of the generation of the particles to report-
ers more clearly:
“The presence of coarse particles immediately
after days of rain indicated that they were being
continually re-generated from a dry, hot source,
not re-suspended from roadways and other sur-
faces.” Cahills words: “Continually Regenerated.”
“The very fine particles were high in a number of
species generally associated with combustion of
fuel oil – such as Sulfur, Vanadium and Nickel, and
incineration of plastics and other organic matter.”
“There were also an unusual, very fine, silicon-con-
taining aerosol. This latter type of aerosol can be
produced only by very high temperatures, includ-
ing vaporisation of soil and glass.”

Many different metals were found in the sam-
ples of very fine particles, and some were found
at the highest levels ever recorded in air in the
United States. However, there are few estab-
lished safety guidelines for airborne metals. One
“The air from Ground Zero was laden with extremely high amounts of “very fine particles”
metal for which there is a guideline, lead, was
present at low levels in fine and very fine parti-
cles. Some of the metals for which there are no
guidelines that were present in very fine particles
in relatively high concentrations were Iron, Titanium (some associated with powdered concrete), Vanadium,
Nickel (often associated with fuel-oil combustion), Copper and Zinc. Mercury was seen occasionally in fine
particles but at low concentrations. Many of those metals are widely used in building construction, wiring and
plumbing. Some are common in computers. The metal of the coarse particles is still being analyzed.
What are these small very fine particles that Cahill was making such a point about? How could a metal aerosol
be produced? Very high temperatures would be required indeed. Very small particles are particularly dan-
gerous since they can bypass the bodies natural defence mechanisms and if breathed in, enter directly into
the bloodstream. They can also pass through HEPA filters, the finest grade of gas mask available and they can
even enter the body through the skin. They are a serious hazard. Anything with a diameter of less then 2.5
millionths of a meter is to be considered dangerous for these reasons. The press release further states:
“There are no established safe limits for inhaled very fine particles. The closest reference is the US EPA “PM2.5” stan-
dard, which limits the allowable mass of airborne particles 2.5 micrometers to (0) Zero micrometers. That standard
is based on health studies of typical air samples, in which very fine particles are a small fraction of the total mass.
In contrast, in the World Trade Center dust samples analyzed at UC Davis, the very fine particles are a large fraction
of the total mass.”
“We had seen this previously, but at much lower
concentrations, in the plumes of coal-fired power
plants in the EPA BRAVO study in Texas, the burn-
ing oil fields of Kuwait, and Beijing during the win-
ter coal heating season.”
“In the case of metals, we saw many different spe-
cies in the very fine particles. Most, including Lead
and Mer- cury, were at low concentrations at our
site, but some, such as Vanadium, were the highest that we have seen recorded.”
This is very important. Cahill was saying that the ground under Ground Zero was so hot that the soil itself was
vaporized. Glass was not just being melted, but boiled away – and this was still happening weeks later. Even
after rain had dampened down the site, these aerosols were being regenerated by the intense underground
heat sources. An Ongoing Fission Process. The presence of Vanadium is very interesting. Cahills comment
about Vanadium and Nickel being associated with the combustion of fuel oil, plastics or organic matter is
completely incorrect and draws immediate attention to this incongruity. Sometimes people tell little white
lies. Where would this Vanadium have come from in the highest concentration they had ever seen? Vanadium
is not a common element and certainly not a common component of skyscrapers.
Quoted from Cahill’s PowerPoint file:
1. Initial fires and collapse-derived “dust storm”
2. Continuing emissions from the debris piles
Both cases shared the unusual aspect of a massive ground level source of particulate matter in a highly popu-
lated area with potential health impacts. Why do we care about very fine (0.26 > Dp > 0.09 μm) aerosols?
EPA (AAAR, 10/2002) summarized 5 causal factors most likely to explain the statistically solid data connecting
fine PM2.5

Aerosols And Human Health

1. Biological aerosols (bacteria, molds, viruses...) 2. acidic aerosols

3. very fine/ultra fine ( < 0.1 μm) insoluble aerosols 4. fine transition metals
5. high temperature organics

Four of the five reached unprecedented ambient levels in the very fine aerosol plumes from the WTC collapse
piles. On most days, the plumes lofted above NYC so that only those on or near the WTC site breathed these
aerosols.

Problems

We see very fine aerosols typical of combustion temperatures far higher than the WTC collapse piles. We see
some elements abundantly and others hardly at all, despite similar abundances in the collapse dust. We see
organic species in the very fine mode that would not survive high temperatures.

Explanation

The hot collapse piles are converting some species to gasses that can escape to the surface of the piles and
then form aerosols, a process that yields very fine particles.

Where Did The Vanadium Come From?

We’ve seen previously that Vanadium is a decay product of radioactive fallout. It is associated with Nickel and
Chromium in its decay series. The graph from Cahill’s report, shows that on the 3rd of October a high spike of
Vanadium was detected, 60 ng/m3. On the 26th of October there was a massive spike in the concentration
of Chromium which goes off the scale (over 150 ng/m3) and to a lesser extent Nickel. Vanadium, Chromium
and Nickel are radioactive decay products from the same decay pathway. It is interesting that on the 3rd and
4th of October, the spikes in Vanadium concentration are accompanied by Silicon spikes, but on the 26th the
enormous Chromium/Nickel spike is not matched by the Silicon or Sulfur. Whatever happened on the 26th of
October must have been a major event of some kind, to create this enormous Chromium emission without
the normal building materials present. We can speculate that on the 26th of October, 2001, perhaps the core,
the location where fission was still active, was exposed, allowing high amounts of Chromium and Nickel to
escape into the atmosphere.

Stainless Steel

These spikes recorded by Cahill of Chromium, Nickel and to a lesser extent Vanadium are also interesting from
another point of view. Surrounding the fissile core of a nuclear device is an enormous amount of stainless
steel. The pressure vessel itself is normally made of stainless steel 6 inches thick. For reactors, all of the cooling
pipes, heat exchangers and condensers carrying coolant water are made of stainless steel. As an example, the
Indian Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) contains about 3300 tonnes of stainless steel in its core material
and accessories, not including the steam turbines. The main element alloyed with steel to create stainless steel
is Chromium. Normally, between 9% and 12% of Stainless Steel is Chromium. Other major alloying elements
include Nickel, Vanadium, Molybdenum and for specialized nuclear applications, Titanium and Zirconium. In
fact, the single big- gest industrial use of Nickel is in the manufacture of stainless steel. Given the extremely
high temperatures that we know existed below the rubble, high enough to continually vaporize soil and glass, and
the existence of molten pools of steel, it can be hypothesized that the enormous Chromium and Nickel spike on
the 26th of October may have been caused by the vaporization of a pool of stainless steel, exposed by recovery
operations on that day. If the temperature reached over 700 degrees C at the surface, it would have been substan-
tially higher below. We know that the underground temperatures were high enough to vaporize glass. The boiling
point of Silicon Dioxide is 2230 degrees C, which would be achievable underground if the surface temperature
were 700 degrees C. The boiling point of steel is about 2800 degrees C, which is about the same as the melting
point of Uranium or the temperature expected in the core melt of a reactor melt-down. Even if the molten steel
was not boiling, it would still vaporize at the temperatures we know existed of over 2000 degrees C. The evidence
that glass was being vaporized strongly supports the possibility that stainless steel, if it was present, was also be-
ing vaporized.
Diphenyl
An interesting observation is made in the New Scientist article on the following page — of the 400 organic com-
pounds detected after the collapse, many have never been detected in the air before. One of these rare, never before
seen compounds detected by the EPA was diphenyl propane. Where did the diphenyl come from?
Mixtures of diphenyl and diphenyl oxide have been used as the coolant for certain nuclear reactors – organic sol-
vent cooled reactors. Diphenyl apparently never became as popular as water as a reactor coolant mainly due to
the sensitivity of these solvents to radiation. If diphenyl is so rare, that the EPA have never seen it as an air pollutant
before, its presence may provide evidence that a diphenyl cooled nuclear reactor was under the towers or that
some new and advanced form of nuclear devices were used.
New Scientist.com
Two Years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, which claimed almost 3000 lives,
researchers have gathered to assess the legacy of the giant plume of smoke and dust caused by the atrocity.
The makeup of the plume was unique in its chemical composition and unprecedented in its complexity. As a re-
sult, no one yet knows the health effects of breathing them in and therefore how many more people may have
been affected by the collapse of the Twin Towers.
“This was a fully functional building that was completely smulched into a burning pit,” says Thomas Cahill, an atmo-
spheric physicist at the University of California Davis, who has focused on the composition of the finest particles in
the plume for the past two years.
“That’s never happened before, so we are in completely new territory. All we can say is we are worried about it,” he says.
“It may take years before these effects show up, just like with radiation,” stated Cahill
Astonishing Complexity
The gathering Wednesday at the American Chemical Society’s meeting in New York was the first time chemists,
atmospheric physicists and doctors from over 20 US institutions had got together to pool their results.
Paul Lioy, of the Univeristy of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, emphasized to the meeting the sheer diversity
of chemicals that were present in the dust. A mixture of plastics, computer hardware, synthetic furniture and hun-
dreds of miles of wire burned to produce an aerosol of astonishing complexity. Out of 400 organic alkanes, pthal-
ates and polyaromatic hydrocarbons he identified, the majority had never before been detected in the air, he says.
One such compound, detected by researchers from the Environmental Protection Agency, was Diphenyl Propane,
thought to have come from burning plastic. The health consequences of breathing it are totally unknown, says EPA
scientist Leonard Stockburger.
Scientists from the US Geological Survey showed that even among the well-known molecules and crystals, new
shapes of particles were thrown up by the plume. “They detected fibrous, cylindrical materials, which have a totally
different behavior to spherical particles,” says Michael Hays of the EPA, who attended the meeting. “How does that
influence inhalation routes?”
But the scientists were careful to be clear about their “we don’t want people to get the wrong impression. For long
term effects, we are simply in an area of unknowns,” says Lioy.
Next, the chemists hope to produce a map of exactly what was in the air and when in the weeks and months after
the September 11th attacks. Then, if people develop symptoms, the doctors will know exactly what they were
likely to have inhaled. The New York City Department of Health launched a survey last Friday that will follow the
health of up to 200,000 people who were in the vicinity of the Twin Towers when they collapsed. Some evidence of
ongoing effects has already surfaced. A study published in August showed that pregnant women who were near
Ground Zero on September 11th or up to three weeks later were twice as likely to give birth to smaller babies as
women who were not.
Low birth weight of neonates is a well known symptom of exposure to radiation
NY Air Hazards
EPA Assurances Contradicted by UCD Scientists
Dr. Cahill, a 65 year old professor emeritus of physics and atmospheric sciences has used his background in nucle-
ar physics to pioneer methods and tools for analyzing aerosols – tiny particles suspended in the air – and has led
more then 40 studies on pollution around the world, including several in national parks and in the basins of Lake
Tahoe and Mono Lake.
The Ground Zero monitoring showed the fallout had subsided by late December, when Cahill’s team stopped
sampling. He said rain probably has cleared the air outside, but he is concerned about New Yorkers returning to
contaminated buildings.
“These size particles travel like a gas. They penetrate windows, doors, everywhere,” he said. “You don’t feel it, and you
can’t see it.”
Cahill is whistleblowing here, with his comment that these gas-like aerosol particles “penetrate windows, doors”
and that you cannot see it or feel it. Is this not an exact description of radiation? In fact, a gas could not pass
through glass windows or through the structure of a door – the only thing that can penetrate in that way is radi-
ation. Cahill was hinting strongly as he dare that the fallout is radioactive, to people that can decipher what he
means. In the New Scientist article, he has also commented that the effects will be long term, “just like radiation”.
Here are more revealing extracts:
“The September 11th collapse of the 110-story skyscrapers crushed concrete, glass, computers, electrical wiring, carpet-
ing, furniture and everything else in the building, then burned and broiled the compressed pulverized mass for weeks.
In the super-heated rubble the material disintegrated into extremely small particles, which were released into the air for
weeks. It’s like having a large power plant at ground level with no stack,” said Cahill. By Cahill’s own assessment, the
super-heated core of the building, buried under a giant pile of rubble with little to no oxygen, created a pressure
cooker that broiled the concrete, glass, computers and everything else into infinitesimally small particles that
were exuded in a gassy, lingering haze. The article goes on to quote Bruce case, former Head of the EPAs Center for
Environmental Epidemiology;
“This was a unique event in many ways and one of those ways was the types of human exposure produced.”
The emphasis on Asbestos turned out to be misplaced
Case predicted that the health fallout from the World Trade Center attack will continue indefinitely. “Regrettably,”
he said, “what we have here is a human experiment on a grand scale.”
Beryllium’s Public Relations Problem:
Protecting Workers When There Is No Safe Exposure Level
David Michaels, PhD, MPH Celeste Monforton, MPH
In a dramatic announcement on a national television news magazine in April 2000, Bill Richardson, Secretary of
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), acknowledged that his agency collaborated with the beryllium industry to
defeat a 1975 attempt by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to reduce workers’ exposure
to beryllium, a collaboration that was brought to public attention in a 1999 investigation by Toledo Blade reporter
Sam Roe. “Priority one was production of our nuclear weapons,” Richardson stated. “[The] last priority was the safety
and health of the workers that build these weapons.” The Secretary’s declaration was remarkable; rarely do the most
senior officials in government admit deception that resulted in death and disability of its own citizens. Yet, for
those in the public health community, the Secretary’s candid announcement was long overdue.
Scores of workers employed in the production of nuclear weapons had been diagnosed with chronic beryllium
disease (CBD), a progressive and irreversible inflammatory lung disease, and there was increasingly powerful evi-
dence that CBD was associated with exposure at levels below the permissible exposure limit in place at the time.
In response to this evidence, the beryllium industry waged a concerted campaign to delay a more protective
workplace exposure standard.
Eventually, when the scientific evidence became so great that it was no longer credible to deny that workers
developed CBD at levels permitted by an outdated exposure limit, the beryllium industry responded with a new
rationale to delay promulgation of a more protective standard. In the television interview, Secretary Richardson
described how DOE was changing course, lowering the level that triggered protection for beryllium-exposed
workers in the U.S. nuclear weapons complex from 2.0 μg/m3 to 0.2 μg/m3. The agency’s new Chronic Beryllium
Disease Prevention Program was designed to provide further protection for workers from a substance so insidious
that no safe level of exposure has ever been established.
The DOE rule covers only workers employed in the nuclear weapons complex. Although OSHA has acknowl- edged
the inadequacy of its present workplace beryllium exposure standard, which generally applies to workers in the
private sector, the agency has not updated it. Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and
Health (NIOSH) have estimated that there are between 28,000 and 107,000 private-sector workers potentially ex-
posed to beryllium in the U.S.; all but 1,500 of these workers are employed outside the primary beryllium industry.
This case study presents a history of the knowledge and public policy concerning the prevention of beryllium-re-
lated disease, focusing primarily on the role of the U.S. beryllium industry in shaping the policies of the regula- tory
system. A similar investigation has been performed in the United Kingdom. The present study is based on a review
of documents and on the personal knowledge of one of the authors, who, as Assistant Secretary of Energy for Envi-
ronment, Safety and Health, directed the agency’s efforts to issue a stronger beryllium exposure limit and develop
a program to provide compensation payments to workers with CBD. Some of the documents cited were obtained
from government files and others were provided by attorneys who obtained them in litigation.
The First Berryllium Workplace Exposure Limit
The first significant industrial use of beryllium occurred in the 1930s, in the production of fluorescent lamp tubes.
Soon after the metal was first introduced, at least 45 workers from fluorescent lamp factories in Massachusetts
developed a form of chemical pneumonitis now known as acute beryllium disease (ABD); some died from the
disease. It quickly became apparent that workers could not safely work with beryllium without respiratory protec
tion. Beryllium’s importance grew dramatically with the Manhattan Project — the secret initiative to construct
atomic weapons — and the subsequent growth of the nuclear weapons industry, fueled by the Cold War. This
lightweight metal is a vital component of nuclear weapons. Beryllium slows down the speed of neutrons released
when the uranium atom is split in the atomic chain reaction; this action facilitates the splitting of more atoms,
thereby increasing a weapon’s power or “yield.”
External Link:
http://www.defendingscience.org/David-Michaels-bio.cfm
Berrylium At Ground Zero And Lower Manhattan
Berrylium levels for Lower Manhattan ranged from
1.8ppm to 4.2ppm with an average of 2.96ppm.
Final Report on Carcinogens
Background Document for Beryllium and Beryllium Compounds December 16 - 17, 1999
Meeting of the NTP Board of Scientific Counselors Report
on Carcinogens Subcommittee
Prepared for theU.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program
Prepared by Technology Planning and Management Corporation Durham, NC
under Contract Number NOI-ES-85421 Carcinogenicity
Beryllium and beryllium compounds are known to be human carcinogens, based on findings of increased risk of
lung cancer in occupational groups exposed to beryllium or beryllium compounds (Steenland and Ward 1991;
Ward et al. 1992) and supporting animal data (IARC 1993; Finch et al. 1996). The epidemiologic evidence supports
a conclusion that beryllium and beryllium compounds are carcinogenic to humans. An association with lung can-
cer has been consistently observed in several populations, with an excess risk of 1.2 to 1.6. Higher risks are found in
groups with greater exposure or longer time since first exposure, which are dose-response patterns that support
a causal relationship. Acute beryllium pneumonitis, a marker for high exposure to beryllium, is associated with
elevated lung cancer rates, with an excess risk of 2.3 (Steenland and Ward 1991). Although smoking is a potential
confounder, no evidence was found in any of the published epidemiology studies to indicate that the prevalence
of smoking in any of the exposed cohorts was substantially greater than in the referent populations. Animal exper-
iments have shown consistent increases in lung cancers in rats, mice and rabbits chronically exposed to beryllium
and beryllium compounds by inhalation or intratracheal instillation. Osteosarcomas have been produced in mice
and rabbits exposed to various beryllium salts by intravenous injection or implantation into the bone. Other Rel-
evant Information Beryllium compounds were not mutagenic in a variety of Salmonella tester strains. However,
beryllium compounds induced genetic transformations in a variety of mammalian cells, in vitro. The genetic trans-
formation effects of beryllium may be mediated by binding of ionic beryllium to nucleic acids that can produce
infidelity in DNA replication.
Identification Of Metabolites

Beryllium metabolites per se have not been identified or studied. Snow (1992), however, reviewed effects of beryl-
lium and beryllium compounds on cellular immunity and nucleic acid metabolism. This analysis compared beryl-
lium with the carcinogenic metals, nickel and chromium. It was suggested that insoluble beryllium, engulfed by
activated phagocytes, can be ionized by myeloperoxidases. Reactive oxygen intermediates formed in this inflam-
matory reaction to beryllium can bind to nucleic acids and interfere with the fidelity of DNA synthesis (Lansdown
1995, Leonard and Lauwerys 1987).

Uses

Beryllium’s earliest application was as a window for X-ray tubes. Because beryllium is relatively transparent to X-rays,
these tubes were of the highest standard. Beryllium was then used in aircraft brake manufacturing because of its
high specific heat (four times that of steel). Beryllium has a low density yet is very stiff, which results in dimensional
stability. Because of these unique properties, it is used in missile, aircraft, and spacecraft guidance systems. Berylli-
um also is used in test reactors, tokamak reactors, and fusion reactors because it has a combination of high neutron
multiplication, low absorption, and high scattering characteristics (Rossman et al. 1991). Around 72% of all beryllium
is used to produce beryllium-copper alloys (WHO 1990). While the alloy retains copper’s desirable properties (corro-
sion resistance and thermal and electrical conductivity), addition of beryllium significantly increases the strength of
the alloy. Few, if any, other types of copper alloy exhibit as great an increase in strength as beryllium-copper alloy.
Because of the strength of this alloy, it can be used in many demanding applications, from military and commercial
landing gear to oil field drill collars and drilling bit friction bushings (Rossman et al. 1991). Beryllium-copper alloys
do not spark and are nonmagnetic. Non-sparking tools made of beryllium-copper alloy can therefore be used in
explosive environments where sparks from steel-to-steel contact must be avoided (IARC 1993).

Soil

Beryllium is the 44th most abundant element in the Earth’s crust (IARC 1993). Beryllium concentrations in the
Earth’s crust are estimated at 2.6 ppm.

Atmosphere

Atmospheric background concentrations of beryllium have been reported to be less than 0.1 and 0.2 ng/m3. Air
samples taken over 100 cities in the U.S. from 1964 to 1965 did not contain detectable amounts of beryllium. From
1977 to 1981, average air concentrations of beryllium were around the limit of detection (0.03 ng/m3). From 1981
to 1986, beryllium concentrations at urban monitoring stations exceeded of 0.03 ng/m3, ranging from 0.11 to 6.7
ng/m3. Atmospheric concentrations of beryllium are higher around beryllium processing plants than in other
areas. The concentration of beryllium in air near a Pennsylvania factory averaged 15.5 ng/m3, with a maximum
of 82.7 ng/m3, whereas the background concentrations in several locations in the area averaged only 0.2 ng/
m3 (IARC 1993). The average air concentration of beryllium in the United States is 0.03 ng/m3, and the median
concentration in cities is 0.2 ng/m3. According to a survey by the National Air Surveillance Network, atmospheric
concentrations of beryllium (between 1977 and 1981) were > 0.1 ng/m3 in 50 U.S. cities, with the highest average
being 0.4 ng/m3 in Dallas, Texas, in 1979 (ATSDR 1993).

Again, Beryllium concentrations at Ground Zero were 1.8 ppm to 4.2 ppm with a mean of 2.96 ppm

External Link:
http://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/newhomeroc/roc10/BE.pdf
Economic
Terrorism
A Six-Part Series
By David DeGraw
 “Economic Terrorism”:
The Consequences Are Poverty And Mass Unemployment
By David DeGraw • Amped Status • February 15th, 2010

“The American oligarchy spares no pains in promoting the belief that it does not exist, but the success
of its disappearing act depends on equally strenuous efforts on the part of an American public anxious
to believe in egalitarian fictions and unwilling to see what is hidden in plain sight.”

~ Michael Lind, To Have and to Have Not

Yes, of course, we all have very strong differences of opinion on many issues. However, like our Founding Fathers
before us, we must put aside our differences and unite to fight a common enemy. It has now become evident to a
critical mass that the Republican and Democratic parties, along with all three branches of our government, have
been bought off by a well-organized Economic Elite who are tactically destroying our way of life. The harsh truth
is that 99% of the US population no longer has political representation. The US economy, government and tax
system is now blatantly rigged against us.
Current statistical societal indicators clearly demonstrate that a strategic attack has been launched and an analysis
of current governmental policies prove that conditions for a large majority of Americans will continue to deterio-
rate. The Economic Elite have engineered a financial coup and have brought war to our doorstep . . . and make no
mistake, they have launched a war to eliminate the US middle class. Unless and until we all unite and organize on
common ground, our very way of life and the ideals that our country was founded upon will continue to unravel.
have already lost their homes, in total 13 million US families are expected to lose their home by 2014, with 25% of
current mortgages underwater. Deutsche Bank has an even grimmer prediction: “The percentage of ‘underwater’
loans may rise to 48 percent, or 25 million homes.” Every day 10,000 U.S. homes enter foreclosure. Statistics show that
an increasing number of these people are not finding shelter elsewhere, there are now over 3 million homeless
Americans, the fastest growing segment of the homeless population is single parents with children.
One place more and more Americans are finding a home is in prison. With a prison population of 2.3 million
people, we now have more people incarcerated than any other nation in the world – the per capita statistics are
700 per 100,000 citizens. In comparison, China has 110 per 100,000, France has 80 per 100,000, Saudi Arabia has
45 per 100,000. The prison industry is thriving and expecting major growth over the next few years. A recent
report from the Hartford Advocate titled “Incarceration Nation” revealed that “a new prison opens every week
somewhere in America.”

Before exposing exactly who the Economic Elite are, and discussing common sense ways in which we can defeat
them, let’s take a look at how much damage they have already caused.
“Economic Terrorism”: Surveying the Damage
America is the richest nation in history, yet we now have the highest poverty rate in the industrialized world with
an unprecedented amount of Americans living in dire straights and over 50 million citizens already living in pover-
ty. The government has come up with clever ways to down play all of these numbers, but we have over 50 million
people who need to use food stamps to eat, and a stunning 50% of US children will use a food stamp to eat at
some point in their childhood. Approximately 20,000 people are added to this total every day. In 2009, one out of
five US households didn’t have enough money to buy food. In households with children, this number rose to 24%,
as the hunger rate among US citizens has now reached an all time high.
We also currently have over 50 million US citizens without healthcare. 1.4 million Americans filed for bankruptcy in
2009, a 32% increase from 2008. As bankruptcies continue to skyrocket, medical bankruptcies are responsible for
over 60% of them, and over 75% of the medical bankruptcies filed are from people who have healthcare insurance.
We have the most expensive healthcare system in the world, we are forced to pay twice as much as other countries
and the overall care we get in return ranks 37th in the world. In total, Americans have lost $5 trillion from their pen-
sions and savings since the economic crisis began and $13 trillion in the value of their homes. During the first full
year of the crisis, workers between the age of 55 – 60, who have worked for 20 – 29 years, have lost an average of
25% off their 401k. “Personal debt has risen from 65% of income in 1980 to 125% today.” Over five million US families
Mass Unemployment
The government unemployment rate is deceptive on several levels. It doesn’t count people who are “involuntary
part-time workers,” meaning workers who are working part-time but want to find full-time work. It also doesn’t
count “discouraged workers,” meaning long-term unemployed people who lost hope and don’t consistently look
for work. As time goes by, more and more people stop consistently looking for work and are discounted from the
unemployment figure. For instance, in January, 1.1 million workers were eliminated from the unemployment total
because they were “officially” labeled “discouraged workers.” So instead of the number rising, we will hear deceptive
reports about unemployment leveling off. On top of this, the Bureau of Labor Statistics recently discovered that
824,000 job losses were never accounted for due to a “modeling error” in their data. Even in their initial January
data there appears to be a huge understating, with the newest report saying the economy lost 20,000 jobs. Trim-
Tabs employment analysis, which has consistently provided more accurate data, “estimated that the U.S. economy
shed 104,000 jobs in January.”
When you factor in all these uncounted workers — “involuntary part-time” and “discouraged workers” — the unem-
ployment rate rises from 9.7% to over 20%. In total, we now have over 30 million US citizens who are unemployed
or underemployed. The rarely cited “employment-participation” rate, which reveals the percentage of the popula-
tion that is currently in the workforce, has now fallen to 64%. Even based on the “official” unemployment rate, just
to get back to the unemployment level of 4.6% that we had in 2007, we need to create over 10 million new jobs,
and most every serious economist will tell you that these jobs are not coming back. In fact, we are still consistently
shedding jobs, on just one day, January 27th, several companies announced new cuts of more than 60,000 jobs.
Due to the length of this crisis already, millions of Americans are reaching a point where the unemployment bene- The American Nightmare:
fits that they have been surviving off of are coming to an end. More workers have already been out of work longer
than at any point since statistics have been recorded, with over six million now unemployed for over six months. A
US Economic Elite Wages War On The American People
Part II
record 20 million Americans qualified for unemployment insurance benefits last year, causing 27 states to run out
of funds, with seven more also expected to go into the red within the next few months. In total, 40 state programs
This is the second-part of a six-part report
are expected to go broke. Most economists believe that the unemployment rate will remain high for the foresee-
able future. What will happen when we have millions of laid-off workers without any unemployment benefits to
“The war against working people should be understood to be a real war ... Specifically in the U.S., which happens
save them?
to have a highly class-conscious business class ... And they have long seen themselves as fighting a bitter class
war, except they don’t want anybody else to know about it.” — Noam Chomsky
Working More for Less
As a record number of US citizens are struggling to get by, many of the largest corporations are experiencing re-
The millions struggling to find work are just part of the story. Due to the fact that we now have a record high six
cord-breaking profits, and CEOs are receiving record-breaking bonuses. How could this be happening; how did
people for every one job opening, companies have been able to further increase the workload on their remain-
we get to this point?
ing employees. They have been able to increase the amount of hours Americans are working, reduce wages and
drastically cut back on benefits. Even though Americans were already the most productive workers in the world
The Economic Elite have escalated their attack on US workers over the past few years; however, this attack began
before the economic crisis, in the third quarter of 2009, average worker productivity increased by an annualized
to build intensity in the 1970s. In 1970, CEOs made $25 for every $1 the average worker made. Due to techno-
rate of 9.5%, at the same time unit labor cost decreased by 5.2%. This has led to record profits for many compa-
logical advancements, production and profit levels exploded from 1970 – 2000. With the lion’s share of increased
nies. Of the 220 companies in the S&P 500 who have reported fourth-quarter results thus far, 78% of them had
profits going to the CEOs, this pay ratio dramatically rose to $90 for CEOs to $1 for the average worker.
“better-than-expected profits” with earnings 17% above expectations, “the highest for any quarter since Thomson
Reuters began tracking data.”
As ridiculous as that seems, an in-depth study in 2004 on the explosion of CEO pay revealed that, including stock
options and other benefits, CEO pay is more accurately $500 to $1. Paul Buchheit, from DePaul University, revealed,
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national median wage was only $32,390 per year in 2008, and me-
“From 1980 to 2006 the richest 1% of America tripled their after-tax percentage of our nation’s total income, while the
dian household income fell by 3.6% while the unemployment rate was 5.8%. With the unemployment rate now at
bottom 90% have seen their share drop over 20%.” Robert Freeman added, “Between 2002 and 2006, it was even worse:
10%, median income has been falling at a 5% rate and is expected to continue its decline. Not surprisingly, Amer-
an astounding three quarters of all the economy’s growth was captured by the top 1%.”
icans’ job satisfaction level is now at an all time low. There are also a growing number of employed people who,
despite having a job, are still living in poverty. There are at least 15 million workers who now fall into this rapidly
Due to this, the United States already had the highest inequality of wealth in the industrialized world prior to the
growing category. $32,390 a year is not going to get you far in today’s economy, and half of the country is making
financial crisis. Since the crisis, which has hit the average worker much harder than CEOs, the gap between the top
less than that. This is why many Americans are now forced to work two jobs to provide for their family to hopefully
one percent and the remaining 99% of the US population has grown to a record high. The economic top one per-
make ends meet.
cent of the population now owns over 70% of all financial assets, an all-time record. As mentioned before, just look
at the first full year of the crisis when workers lost an average of 25 percent off their 401k. During the same time
A Crime Against Humanity
period, the wealth of the 400 richest Americans increased by $30 billion, bringing their total combined wealth to
$1.57 trillion, which is more than the combined net worth of 50% of the US population. Just to make this point
The mainstream news media will numb us to this horrifying reality by endlessly talking about the latest num-
clear, 400 people have more wealth than 155 million people combined. Meanwhile, 2009 was a record-breaking
bers, but they never piece them together to show you the whole devastating picture, and they rarely show you
year for Wall Street bonuses, as firms issued $150 billion to their executives. 100% of these bonuses are a direct
all the immense individual suffering behind them. This is how they “normalize the unthinkable” and make us be-
result of our tax dollars, so if we used this money to create jobs, instead of giving it to a handful of top executives,
come passive in the face of such a high causality count. Behind each of these numbers, is a tremendous amount
we could have paid an annual salary of $30,000 to 5 million people.
of misery, the physical toll is only outdone by the severe psychological toll. Anyone who has had to put off
medical care, or who couldn’t get medical care for one of their family members due to financial circumstances,
So while US workers are now working more hours and have become dramatically more productive and profit-
can tell you about the psychological toll that is on top of the physical suffering. Anyone who has felt the stress
able, our pay is actually declining and all the dramatic increases in wealth are going straight into the pockets of
of wondering how they were going to get their child’s next meal or their own, or the stress of not knowing how
the Economic Elite. If our income had kept pace with compensation distribution rates established in the early
you are going to pay the mortgage, rent, electricity or heat bill, let alone the car payment, gas, phone, cable or
1970s, we would all be making at least three times as much as we are currently making. How different would
internet bill. There are now well over 150 million Americans who feel stress over these things on a consistent ba-
your life be if you were making $120,000 a year, instead of $40,000? So it should come as no surprise to see that
sis. Over 60% of Americans now live paycheck to paycheck. These are all basic things that every person should
we now have the highest inequality of wealth in the industrialized world and the highest inequality of wealth in
be able to easily afford in a technologically advanced society such as ours. The reason why we struggle with
our nation’s history. The backbone of America, a hard-working middle class that has made our country a world
these things is because the Economic Elite have robbed us all. This amount of suffering in the United States of
leader, has been devastated.
America is literally a crime against humanity.
Now that we have a better understanding of how our income has been suppressed over the
past forty years, let’s take a look at how the economy has been designed to take the limited
money we receive and put it into the hands of the Economic Elite as well.
Costs of Living
Outside of the workplace, in almost all our costs of living the system is now blatantly rigged
against us. Let’s take a look at it, starting with our tax system. In total, the average US citizen
is forced to give up approximately 30% of our income in taxes. This tax system is now strate-
gically designed to flow straight into the hands of the Economic Elite. A huge percentage of
our tax dollars ultimately ends up in their pockets. The past decade proves that — whether
it’s the Republicans or the Democrats running the government — our tax money is not go-
ing into our community; it is going into the pockets of the billionaires who have bought off
both parties – it is obscene.
For an example of how this system flows to the Economic Elite, just look at the Wall Street
“bailout.” The real size of the bailout is estimated to be $14 trillion – and could end up costing
trillions more than that. By now you are probably also sick of hearing about the bailout, but
stop and think about this for a moment… Do you comprehend how much $14 trillion is?
What could be accomplished with this money is almost beyond common comprehension.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg that has hit us. On top of the trillions given to the Wall
Street elite, we already have a record $12.3 trillion in national debt – and we now have to pay
$500 billion in interest to the Economic Elite on this debt every year, yet another way they
are milking us dry. When you add in unfunded liabilities owed, like social security payments,
we actually owe a stunning $74 trillion. That adds up to a debt of $242,000 for every man,
woman and child in America.
Trillions more, 25% of taxpayer dollars allocated to military spending goes unaccount-
ed for every year, not to mention the billions spent on overcharging and outright fraud.
During the War on Terror, the Economic Elite have used our tax money to build a private
army that has more soldiers deployed than the US military – a congressional study re-
vealed that 69% of the “US” fighting forces deployed throughout the world in our name
are in fact private mercenaries, 80% of them are foreign nationals. Private contractors
regularly get paid three to five times more than our soldiers, and have been repeatedly
caught overcharging and committing fraud on a massive scale. A congressional inves-
tigation revealed this and strongly recommended that we seize wasting tax dollars on
these private military contractors. However, under Obama, there has actually been a
drastic increase in total tax dollars spent on them.
In 2009, just over $1 trillion tax dollars were spent on the military. It’s safe to say that at least
$350 billion of that was needlessly wasted. When you research our tax system you see an
unprecedented level of waste and fraud rampant throughout most expenditures. Our tax
system is a national disaster of epic proportions. It is literally an organized criminal operation
that continues to rob us in broad daylight, with zero accountability. Politicians and main-
stream “news” outlets will not tell you this, but most every serious economist knows that due
to so much theft and debt created in the tax system, the only way to fix things, other than
stopping the theft and seizing the trillions that have been stolen, will be for the government
to cut important social funding and drastically raise our taxes. Other than the record na-
tional debt, many states are running record deficits and “barreling toward economic disaster,
raising the likelihood of higher taxes, more government layoffs and deep cuts in services.” Our
nation’s biggest state economies, like California and New York, are the ones in most trouble.
To merely say that things will not be improving economically is to be a delusional optimist.
The truth that you will not hear: we have been hit by an economic deathblow and the United
States lays in ruins. It’s not just this criminal tax system; the theft is now built into all our costs
of living. Trillions more in our spending on food and fuel have been stolen due to fraudulent
stock transactions and overcharging. Just ten years ago, in 2000, American families paid 7%
of our income on food and fuel. We now pay 20%. This drastic increase is primarily driven
by fraudulent market manipulation that drives up stock prices. Congress uncovered this in
2006, as part of the Enron investigation. They found that companies manipulated the oil
market to create major spikes in stock values, but then Congress didn’t do anything about it.
Nothing to see here, just move on.
As mentioned before, we have the most expensive health care system in the world and we
are forced to pay twice as much as other countries, and the overall care we get in return
ranks 37th in the world. On average, US citizens are now paying a record high 8% of their
income on medical care. One of the reasons why foreclosure rates are so high is because the
percentage of income Americans pay on their housing has risen to 34%.
So for these basic necessities – taxes, food, fuel, shelter and medical bills – we have already
lost 92% of our limited income. Then factor in ever-increasing interest rates on credit cards,
student loans, rising prices for cable, internet, phone, bank fees, etc., etc., etc. We are being
robbed and gouged in all costs of living, in every aspect of our life. No wonder bankruptcies
are skyrocketing and the number of people suffering from psychological depression has
reached an epidemic level.
The American worker is screwed over every step of the way, and it all starts with the ex-
plosion in the cost of a college education. This is one of the Economic Elite’s most dev-
astating weapons. To have any chance of succeeding in this economy, it is commonly
believed that you must attend the best college possible. With the rising costs involved,
today’s students are graduating with record levels of debt from student loans. At the
same time, the unemployment rate among recent college graduates has risen higher
than the national average, and those who do find work are making significantly less
than they expected to make. This combination of extreme debt and reduced pay has
crippled an entire generation right from the start and has put them in a vicious cycle
of spiraling debt that they will struggle with for the rest of their lives. The most recent
college graduates are now known as a “lost generation.”
The American dream has turned into a nightmare. The economic system is a sophisticated
prison cell; the indentured servant is now an indebted wage slave; whips and chains have
evolved into debts.
“There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation. One is by sword. The other is by debt.”
~ John Adams
Concealing National Wealth
“Liberty in the concrete signifies release from the impact of particular oppressive forces;
emancipation from something once taken as a normal part of human life but now expe-
rienced as bondage…. Today, it signifies liberation from material insecurity and from the The Axis Of Greed:
coercions and repressions that prevent multitudes from participation in the vast cultural
resources that are at hand.” — John Dewey
The Nature And Structure Of The Economic Elite
Part III
When you take the time to research and analyze the wealth that has gone to the economic
top one percent, you begin to realize just how much we have been robbed. Trillions upon U.S. Elite
trillions of dollars that could make the lives of all hard-working Americans much easier have Institutions:
been strategically funneled into the coffers of the Economic Elite. The denial of wealth is Federal Reserve
the key to the Economic Elite’s power. An entire generation of massive wealth creation has Business Council
been strategically withheld from 99% of the US population. The US public doesn’t have any Bilderberg Group
understanding of how much wealth has been generated and concentrated into the hands of Conference Board
the Economic Elite over the past 40 years; there is no historical frame of reference. This with- Brookings Institute
holding of wealth is truly the greatest crime against humanity in the history of civilization. Advertising Council
Heritage Foundation
What could be done with all the money that has been hoarded by the Economic Elite is ex- Trilateral Commission
traordinary! Let’s consider what we could do with the money that has been stolen from us. Business Round Table
On top of what should be our average six-figure yearly income, we could have: Chamber of Commerce
Federal Trade Commission

•• Free health care for every American,
A free 4 bedroom home for every American family,
Council on Foreign Relations
American Petroleum Institute

•• 5% tax rate for 99% of Americans,
Drastically improved public education and free college for all,
American Enterprise Institute
American Bankers Association
• Significantly improved public transportation and infrastructure, Pharm Research & Manufacturers
Public Relations Society of America
The list goes on… American Psychological Association
Project for a New American Century
This is not some far-fetched fantasy. These are all things that Franklin D. Roosevelt talked Securities and Exchange Commission
about doing in the 1940s, long before the explosion of wealth creation in our technological- Committee for Economic Development
ly advanced global economy. The money for all this is already there, stashed into the claws National Association of Manufacturers
of the Economic Elite. The denial of wealth to the masses is the key to the Economic Elite’s Carnegie / Ford / Rockefeller Foundations
power. Outside of outdated and obsolete economic models and theories — and incredibly Military / Media / Prison Industrial Complex
short-sighted greed — there is no reason why all this money should be kept in the hands of
a few, at the immense suffering and expense of the many. I don’t view the Economic Elite as a small group of men who meet in secrecy to control the
world. They do feature elements of conspiracy and are clearly composed of secretive or-
If Americans could just understand how much wealth is being withheld from us, we would ganizations like the Bilderberg Group – this is not a conspiracy theory, this is a conspiracy
have a massive uprising and the Economic Elite would be swept away, into the history books fact – but as a whole the Economic Elite are primarily united by ideology. They’re made up
alongside the evil despots of the past. of thousands of individuals who subscribe to an ideology of exploitation and the belief that
wealth and resources need to be concentrated into the fewest hands possible (theirs), at the
“For if leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who expense of the many.
are normally stupefied by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for
themselves; and when once they had done this, they would sooner or later realize that the That being said, there are some definite lead players in this group and it is important that
privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away. In the long run, a hier- we are not too vague and expose the individuals who publicly lead them. Focusing on the
archical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance.” — George Orwell fundamental structure of the US economy, we have people like Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner,
Ben Bernanke, Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Alan Greenspan, Lloyd Blankfein, Jamie Dimon,
Now that we have a better understanding of how the Economic Elite dominate our lives, let’s John Mack, Vikram Pandit, John Thain, Hank Greenberg, Ken Lewis, John J. Castellani, Ed-
take a look at exactly who they are ... ward Yingling and Tom Donohue.

In total, the Economic Elite are made up of about 0.5% of the US population. At
the center of this group is the Business Roundtable, an organization representing
Fortune 500 CEOs that is also interlocked with several lead elite organizations.
Most Americans have never heard of the Business Roundtable. However, in my
analysis, it is the most influential and powerful Economic Elite organization.
“The Business Roundtable joined the Business Council at the heart of both the corpo-
rate community and the policy-formation network and now has the most powerful
role…. The Roundtable’s interlocks with other policy groups and with think tanks are
presented [below].” `~ G. William Domhoff, Who Rules America?
The Roundtable’s first year of operation was 1972, which coincided with the be-
ginning of the CEO salary explosion, and has been the driving force behind the
unprecedented concentration of wealth since their inception. Their dominance
over the US economy and government is unparalleled. Their members are a Who’s
Who of everything that is wrong with our economy. A partial list of some of their
lead members appear in the chart at center.
The Business Roundtable is the most powerful activist organization in the United
States. Their leaders regularly lobby members of Congress behind closed doors
and often meet privately with the President and his administration. Any legisla-
tion that affects Roundtable members has almost zero possibility of passing with-
out their support.
For three major examples, look at healthcare and financial reform, along with
the military budget. The healthcare reform bill devolved into what amounts to
an insurance industry bailout and was drastically altered by Roundtable lobbyists
representing interests like WellPoint, Aetna, Cigna, Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Johnson &
Johnson. Obama and Congress are trying to please the Roundtable with a bill that
supports their interests. This led to the dropping of the public-option put forth
in the House bill. However, when it came to finishing the bill, Roundtable mem-
bers began to walk away from the process. That’s the real reason why the reform
bill has stalled. Obama will be meeting with the Roundtable on February 24th, in
hopes of getting healthcare reform back on track. After that meeting, he will then
hold a bipartisan healthcare meeting with members of congress.
Also being addressed in Obama’s upcoming meeting with the Roundtable are
issues concerning financial reform. Almost every aspect of financial reform has
been D.O.A. thanks to Roundtable lobbyists representing the interests of Gold-
man Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Bank of America, HSBC, Master
Card and American Express. They even pushed to make sure Ben Bernanke was
reconfirmed as the head of the Federal Reserve and they have also guided Obama
into focusing on deficit reduction, now that their member companies are healthy
again and making record profits after receiving trillions in government subsidies.
The Roundtable played a pivotal role in the appointment of Hank Paulson, for-
merly the CEO of Roundtable member Goldman Sachs, who replaced Roundtable
member John Snow as US Treasury Secretary. The Roundtable also strongly lob-
bied on behalf of current Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and White House Na-
tional Economic Council Director Larry Summers. Although there has been recent
Lloyd C. Blankfein, Goldman Sachs
James Dimon, JPMorgan Chase & Co.
James P. Gorman, Morgan Stanley
Vikram S. Pandit, Citigroup, Inc.
Brian T. Moynihan, Bank of America
Brendan McDonagh, HSBC
Robert W. Selander, MasterCard Incorporated
Kenneth I. Chenault, American Express Company
Rupert Murdoch, News Corporation
Glenn A. Britt, Time Warner Cable Inc.
Philippe Dauman, Viacom, Inc.
Jeffrey R. Immelt, General Electric Company
Brian L. Roberts, Comcast Corporation
Steven A. Ballmer, Microsoft Corporation
John T. Chambers, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Randall L. Stephenson, AT&T Inc.
Ivan G. Seidenberg, Verizon Communications
David G. DeWalt, McAfee, Inc.
Steven R. Loranger, ITT Corporation
Paul T. Hanrahan, AES Corporation, The
Riley P. Bechtel, Bechtel Group, Inc.
W. James McNerney , Boeing Company, The
Rex W. Tillerson, Exxon Mobil Corporation
Marvin E. Odum, Shell Oil Company
John S. Watson, Chevron Corporation
James J. Mulva, ConocoPhillips
John B. Hess, Hess Corporation
James E. Rogers Duke Energy Corporation
J. Larry Nichols, Devon Energy Corporation
Ronald A. Williams, Aetna Inc.
David Cordani, CIGNA
Jeffrey B. Kindler , Pfizer Inc.
Angela F. Braly, WellPoint, Inc.
John C. Lechleiter, Eli Lilly and Company
Edward B. Rust, Jr., State Farm
Andrew N. Liveris, Dow Chemical
James W. Owens, Caterpillar Inc.
Ellen J. Kullman, DuPont
Edward E. Whitacre Jr., General Motors Company
talk of Geithner being replaced at the Treasury, the lead choice to replace him is
Jamie Dimon, Roundtable member and CEO of JP Morgan Chase. The drastic rise
in military spending is also a result of Roundtable lobbyists pushing the inter-
ests of large military companies like Boeing and Bechtel, along with the largest oil
companies like ExxonMobil, Shell, Hess and Chevron.
The Roundtable tells politicians what they want done, and the politicians do
it. At times, Roundtable members even write the laws themselves. On financial
reform alone, those representing Wall Street firms gave “$42 million to lawmak-
ers, mostly to members of the House and Senate banking committees and House
and Senate leaders.” During the 2008 election cycle, they gave $155 million: $88
million to Democrats and $67 million to Republicans. Keep in mind, this is the
spending on just their financial reform initiative. When it came to health reform,
they gave even more.
When it comes to getting elected, over 90% of the time the candidate who simply
spends more money on their campaign wins the election. The Roundtable and
politicians recognize this fact, so the overwhelming majority of current elected
officials relied heavily on campaign funding from Roundtable members, including
President Obama.
Shortly after Obama’s inauguration he held a meeting with Roundtable members
at the St. Regis Hotel. The president of the Business Roundtable is John J. Cas-
tellani. Throughout the first nine months of Obama’s presidency, Castellani met
with him at the White House more than any other person, with the exception of
Chamber of Commerce CEO Tom Donohue. If you look at the records of people
who have spent the most time with Obama in the White House, other than these
two, another frequent visitor is Edward Yingling, the president of the American
Bankers Association.
These organizations – the Business Roundtable, Chamber of Commerce and the
American Bankers Association – along with the Federal Reserve, a secretive qua-
si-government private institution, form the center of the Economic Elite’s power
structure. Since the bailout, the Federal Reserve has been working closely with
private firm BlackRock. Due to this relationship, BlackRock has emerged as the
world’s largest money manager and now manages more assets than the Federal
Reserve. They also “manage many of the Treasury Department’s big investments.”
On a global level, you have economic institutions like the World Trade Organiza-
tion (WTO), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, and inter-
national treaties like NAFTA. These organizations already form a de facto world
government that has rights beyond our constitutional rights and national sover-
eignty. If the WTO makes a ruling that goes against US law, the WTO ruling super-
sedes US law and wins out.
Here is how Global Exchange explains these global institutions:
“The World Trade Organization is the most powerful legislative and judicial body
in the world. By promoting the ‘free trade’ agenda of multinational corporations
above the interests of local communities, working families, and the environment,
the WTO has systematically undermined democracy around the world … Unlike United Nations treaties, the
International Labor Organization conventions, or multilateral environmental agreements, WTO rules can be en-
forced through sanctions. This gives the WTO more power than any other international body. The WTO’s author-
ity even eclipses national governments.”
“When the Bank and the Fund lend money to debtor countries, the money comes with strings attached. These
strings come in the form of policy prescriptions called ’structural adjustment policies.’ These policies—or SAPs,
as they are sometimes called—require debtor governments to open their economies to penetration by foreign
corporations, allowing access to the country’s workers and environment at bargain basement prices. Structural
adjustment policies mean across-the-board privatization of public utilities and publicly owned industries. They
mean the slashing of government budgets, leading to cutbacks in spending on health care and education … And,
as their imposition in country after country in Latin America, Africa, and Asia has shown, they lead to deeper in-
equality and environmental destruction.”
In addition to dominating our political and economic system, the Economic Elite have already created their own
private military. Their private military is now more powerful than the US military. As mentioned earlier, private
mercenaries now outnumber US soldiers and receive the lion’s share of military spending.
Corporations like SAIC, Blackwater, Bechtel, Raytheon and Halliburton are composed of the most elite worldwide
intelligence and military officers. These are the highly profitable and powerful entities that the Economic Elite turn
to when national militaries and intelligence agencies – like the CIA, FBI or other government run entities – can’t
get the job done.
For instance, SAIC, a “stealth company” that most people have never heard of, is considered to be the brains of the
entire US intelligence apparatus, more powerful than the much more popularly known CIA, NSA and FBI – all agen-
cies that SAIC is deeply intertwined with. I urge you to research SAIC to get a crash course in how the true power
structure functions. You can start by reading an excellent investigative report by Donald L. Barlett and James B.
Steele titled, “Washington’s $8 billion shadow.”
The Economic Elite dominate US intelligence and military operations. Other than the obvious geo-strategic rea-
sons, the never-ending and ever-expanding War on Terror’s objective is to drain the US population of more re-
sources and further rob US taxpayers, while using our tax money to create a private military that is more powerful
than the US military. I think any logical person can see the ominous implications of having such a vast and power-
ful private military and intelligence complex, created for and used, in secrecy, by the Economic Elite. Outside of the
blatant economic policy attacks, heavily armed and sophisticated covert powers led by small groups of Economic
Elite are now a serious risk and present danger. In conclusion, these economic and government policy forming
organizations, along with their private military and intelligence corporations, form the core of the Economic Elite
power structure.
“I think one has to say it’s not just simply a matter of capturing people and holding them accountable, but removing the
sanctuaries, removing the support systems.” ~ Paul Wolfowitz
The Financial Coup d’Etat:
Consolidation Of America’s Economic Elite
Part IV
Although most of the Economic Elite live and operate inside the US, they are not concerned for our future. To them,
the entire world is theirs and they work intimately with other elites throughout the world against the interests
of the US public. Ever since the days of Henry Ford, the Economic Elite have needed a thriving US middle class
to increase growth and profits, but now, in the global economy, they view the US middle class as obsolete. They
increasingly look globally for profits and they would rather pay cheap labor in countries like China and India. On
top of the millions of jobs they have already shipped overseas to increase profits at our expense, they are planning
to ship an additional 25% of current US jobs overseas as well. They now see us as the biggest obstacle to their
continued consolidation of wealth and resources. This is why they have stepped up their attack on us. If you want
further proof of this, all one needs to do is study the Wall Street bailout. The entire bailout is strategically designed
to eliminate the US middle class. Every time you hear the word “bailout,” you should think “coup d’état.” Here is the
definition of coup d’état:
“A coup d’état or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a government, usually by a small group of
the existing state establishment… to replace the deposed government with another…. A coup d’état succeeds when the
usurpers establish their legitimacy if the attacked government fail to thwart them, by allowing their (strategic, tactical,
political) consolidation and then receiving the deposed government’s surrender; or the acquiescence of the populace
and the non-participant military forces.”
“Typically, a coup d’état uses the extant government’s power to assume political control of the country. In Coup d’État:
A Practical Handbook, military historian Edward Luttwak says: ‘A coup consists of the infiltration of a small, but critical,
segment of the state apparatus, which is then used to displace the government from its control of the remainder’, thus,
armed force (either military or paramilitary) is not a defining feature of a coup d’état.”
The bailout was a financial coup, an intelligence operation to seize control of the US economy and tax system.
It is similar to what the Economic Elite have done through the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in many other
countries throughout the world. It is clearly a case of economic imperialism. When financial coups are carried out
in other countries, they call it aStructural Adjustment Program (SAP). The end result is the theft of working class
wealth, the privatization of public functions and resources, rising unemployment, the elimination of the middle
class and increasing taxation and debt that turns the overwhelming majority of the nation into a peasant class.
This is exactly the track we are on now.
Just look at how they have already done this in many other countries, and then look at the “bailout.”
The success of the coup is clear by the control of the US Treasury by Goldman Sachs criminal masterminds Hank
Paulson and Tim Geithner, and the continued control of the Federal Reserve by Ben Bernanke.
In 1970, Hank Paulson began his career in the Pentagon working for Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. In 1972, he
then moved to the White House, where he worked for the Nixon Administration. He was “the assistant to John Eh-
rlichman during the events of the Watergate scandal for which Ehrlichman was convicted, and sentenced to pris-
on.” After Paulson’s disgraced exit from the political world, he joined Goldman Sachs in 1974, eventually becoming
CEO in 1999 when he led an effort to force out Goldman’s previous CEO John Corzine. While leading Goldman,
Paulson developed very intimate relations with members of the Chinese elite, visiting the country over 70 times.
In 2004, during his time as Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, Paulson personally led a successful effort to get
the SEC to remove the “net capital rule,” which was a “requirement that their brokerages hold reserve capital that lim-
ited their leverage and risk exposure.” This was the biggest reason why the economic crisis happened. With the “net
capital rule” out of the way, Goldman Sachs and other major Wall Street firms with over $5 billion in assets were free
to engage in high risk/high reward behavior. This led to the housing bubble with the creation of high risk specu-
lation, essentially rigged Ponzi-style scams like “mortgage-backed securities, credit derivatives, and credit default
swaps… and other exotic structured finance instruments that only highly-trained mathematicians understand,
based on models that are beyond the comprehension of most traders.”
After making over $700 million on these shady high risk activities that created a ticking time bomb in our econo-
my, Paulson left Goldman Sachs to run the US Treasury. Shortly after that, the speculative trading scams blew up,
and there was the man who played the most pivotal role in causing the economy to crash now running the US
Treasury and in charge of “maneuvering” trillions of dollars in national wealth to “fix” the economy. It was time for
Paulson, along with his close confidant Tim Geithner, then heading the NY Federal Reserve Bank, and Federal Re-
serve Chairman Ben Bernanke, to engineer the greatest theft of wealth in history with the “bailout.”
Paulson quickly brought in several former Goldman Sachs partners to help him engineer the coup. A pivotal Paul-
son asset was former Goldman executive Dan Jester, who Paulson quickly hired as a “contractor.” As Robert E.
Prasch recently reported, “Jester was never appointed by Congress or otherwise vetted before taking up his role
as the Treasury’s de facto central player in the crucial decisions that marked that fall’s bailout of Wall Street.”
Paulson’s most publicized move was the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). This was a blatant
no-strings attached giveaway of taxpayer money, handed directly to Wall Street’s biggest players. To oversee the
TARP operation, Paulson brought in Goldman Sachs Vice President Neel Kashkari. Another egregious unilateral
move by Paulson was installing Edward Liddy, one of his former board members at Goldman Sachs, as CEO of AIG.
Liddy was the Chairman of Goldman’s Audit Committee, making him the most knowledgeable person regarding
Goldman’s collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). Paulson knew these CDOs would go bust because they were
based on fraudulent activities, essentially a massive Ponzi scheme. So Paulson and Goldman Sachs covered their
risk by insuring them through AIG, making it pivotal to save AIG and have one of his most trusted allies run the
company. With Liddy in place, billions of taxpayer dollars were secretly funneled by the Geithner-led NY Federal
Reserve through AIG to Goldman Sachs and several other Wall Street elite counterparties. Without the AIG bailout,
Goldman Sachs would have collapsed as a result of their own Ponzi scheme.
The assassinations of Goldman rivals Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, and the forced Bank of America acqui-
sition of Merrill Lynch were all equally scandalous actions as well. The hidden hand of the Bernanke-led Federal
Reserve’s secret “black magic” tactics — which created and distributed trillions of dollars — turned Morgan Stanley
and Goldman Sachs into bank holding companies overnight, which gave them access to trillions of dollars to fur-
ther manipulate the market and create record setting profits.
Every step of the way, the economic terrorist organization led by Paulson, Geithner and Bernanke held our econo-
my hostage by declaring that all their demands must be met or the entire economy would be destroyed, as a result
of the very actions the players being rewarded had taken. I don’t use the words “economic terrorists” as hyperbole.
The threat posed by them and the amount of death, destruction and misery they have already caused the United
States is much greater than that caused by Bin Laden and Al-Qaeda – it’s not even close.
Through the crisis, the fundamental structure of the stock market has been proven to be a scam. The Ponzi scheme
activities, outright market manipulation and massive worldwide fraud perpetrated by Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan,
Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, AIG, the three major ratings agencies and several other Wall Street elite firms are bla-
tant. Just in the housing and oil futures markets alone, the criminal activity and economic theft is in the multi-tril-
lions. By looking the other way, the SEC, Congress and Presidents Bush and Obama are complicit. An analysis of
actions taken, or most often not taken, by the leaders of both the Republican and Democratic parties prove that
they are now accomplices. They have not only let it happen; they continue to look the other way and have been
stonewalling laws, investigations and prosecutions in what is clearly criminal activity. If we had a nation of law,
none of these things would have happened. This proves to anyone who cares to look that we now live in a Banana
Republic. Our democracy has clearly become a farce. The overwhelming majority of our politicians are now on the
Economic Elite payroll. This financial coup started under Hank Paulson in the Bush Administration and has been
carried through, without even the slightest hitch, under Geithner in the Obama Administration, and all along Ben
Bernanke has been leading the Federal Reserve. Bernanke’s reconfirmation shows you who the co-conspirators are
– just look at the members of Congress who voted for it. All three branches of our government are now complicit
in what is literally the greatest theft of wealth in history, along with a mainstream “news” media that keeps going
about their “reporting,” as if this wasn’t a crime, business as usual. Nothing to see here…
Obama’s Role
As hard as it is for many Americans to admit, after a year in office it is now obvious, to those who study policy
decisions, that Obama’s rhetoric is very far from the reality of his actions. Outside of the tough talk Obama gives
concerning “Wall Street Bankers,” all evidence clearly demonstrates that he is their puppet. The list of decisions that
he has made to support the Economic Elite at our expense is already extensive.
As mentioned before, the fact that the bailout started under Bush and went straight through without a hitch under
Obama is proof enough. On top of this, Obama’s campaign was heavily financed by Goldman Sachs, and prior to
the election Obama often spoke with Paulson. An analysis of phone records shows that Obama and Paulson en-
gaged in 26 direct calls prior to the election. “Paulson placed more than twice as many individual outgoing calls to
[candidate] Obama (14) as to President Bush (6).”
As soon as Obama was elected, he got rid of all the economic advisors he had during his campaign and replaced
them with Wall Street insiders who were committed to “turning the bailout into an all-out giveaway.” He took the
main players that caused the economic crisis to begin with, and put them in charge of economic policy. Right from
the start he appointed Tim Geithner, Paulson’s right-hand man, to run the US Treasury. Mark Patterson, a former
Goldman Sachs lobbyist, then became Geithner’s Chief of Staff with the direct approval of Obama. Geithner has
surrounded himself with many aides that formerly worked for Goldman Sachs, “none of whom faced Senate confir-
mation.” Obama also allowed Adam Storch, a Goldman Sachs VP, to become “the first chief operating officer of the
Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division.” Obama even “nominated Goldman Sachs executive
Gary Gensler to head the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which regulates futures markets.” Gensler was
“a high-level Treasury official in a 2000,” when he helped create a “law that exempted the $58 trillion credit default
swap market from oversight.” Another major player in the economic collapse was Larry Summers, who Obama
quickly appointed as White House National Economic Council Director.
All of this is, in essence, the final stage of a coup d’état, with Obama now serving as their puppet. Obama clearly
has not held the thieves accountable. He has emboldened them in ways that led to record setting profits and
bonuses – bonuses that are 100% a direct result of our tax money. He let them take the money, keep the money,
and now he lets them continue to makeeven more money. Even now, with all his new anti-Wall Street talk, his pro-
posals are extremely misguided and weak. Obama always deceptively frames the bailout discussion in relation to
the $700 billion TARP program. He, along with the mainstream media, always seems to gloss over the fact that the
bailout is much more than just the TARP program. TARP is a mere 2% of this multifaceted scam.
His proposal of a tax on Wall Street firms to get some of our tax money back is estimated to bring in $90 billion over
the next ten years. That works out to $9 billion a year, compare that to the $150 billion in bonuses handed out by
these same firms… just in the past year! The top Wall Street firms would no longer even exist if we didn’t bail them
out. Their profits are a direct result of our tax money. If Obama is serious about getting our money back, 100% of
the record-breaking bonus money that these thieves gave themselves should be going back into the tax system
that it came from to pay down our national debt, lower our tax rates and create jobs.
The $150 billion in bonuses handed out this year cost you $500 of your hard-earned money. For a family of four,
that’s $2000 that was taken from you and your family just this year and given directly to Wall Street bonuses. Think
about that… Your personal money was taken from you and your family, and given directly to Goldman Sachs CEO
Llyod Blankfein. In fact, your direct gift to Wall Street is much more than that; the $2000 your family lost was just for
this year’s bonuses, much more of your money was given away in the bailout. The real size of the bailout is estimat-
ed to be $14 trillion, which works out to be $46,662 for every man, woman and child in America. On top of being
bailed out with our tax money, Goldman Sachs, which just had its most profitable quarter in its 140-year history,
only paid 1% in taxes in 2008! And now that Obama has given trillions of our dollars to Wall Street, he is all of a sud-
den soconcerned about our national deficit. That is disgraceful! When it came to the Economic Elite he could give
away trillions, but when it comes to the social infrastructure of the American public and creating job programs,
we all of a sudden have to be tight with our tax money and make “painful choices.” When looking at Obama’s latest
$100 billion jobs program, again, compare that to the $150 billion in bonuses. If you want to know if Obama is
serious about creating jobs, just look at where he gave his big “Jobs Speech” – at the Business Roundtable affiliated
Brookings Institution. Thus again, confirming where his true loyalties lie.
Obama’s sudden change of heart after the Massachusetts Senate election defeat is still more empty rhetoric. His
new found support for Paul Volcker, and his proposals to bring back Glass-Steagall type laws to prevent another
economic catastrophe sound great on the surface, but then you find out that Wall Street firms have already figured
out ways around these proposed laws. While it would be great to have Volcker creating the rules over the Goldman
Sachs-led team at the Treasury now, he is himself a former Federal Reserve Chairman who represents JP Morgan
Chase interests. Jamie Dimon, current JP Morgan Chase CEO and Business Roundtable member, is considered by
Obama to be a possible replacement for Geithner at the Treasury. Replacing Goldman Sachs interests with JP Mor-
gan interests is hardly change for the 99% of Americans who have seen their interests ignored thus far. JP Morgan
and Goldman Sachs are two heads of the same monster. An analysis of the “Volcker Rules” shows you the essence
of what Obama is all about. The “Volcker Rules” are just more propaganda. First off, the rules do not go far enough.
Simon Johnson testified before the Senate Banking Committee and summed them up by saying: “while the princi-
ples behind these proposed rules are exactly on target… the specific rule changes would need to be much tougher if
they are to have any effect.” Johnson earlier exposed the “Volcker Rules” to merely be a “marketing slogan.”
Jeff Madrick, writing for the Roosevelt Institute, rightly questioned if Obama’s economists even did their home-
work when putting together the rule. “What is disturbing is how poorly the Volcker rule has been thought through.
When first announced, it sounded like a worthy and needed step in the right direction, and a suggestion the Obama
team was waking up to reality. But I also expected more sophisticated details to come. So far, there are none… it looks
like they didn’t give it much thought before announcing the plan. This is a critical error in judgment.” Even if the flawed
laws make it to the Senate floor, the Banking Committee has come out strongly against them as being too little,
too late. To sum this all up, this is another case of Obama trying to make it look like he’s doing something, when in
reality, he isn’t doing anything. This is similar to Obama’s $75 billion taxpayer funded foreclosure-prevention pro-
gram that has been a spectacular failure in stemming the foreclosure crisis. The Obama Administration knew the
program wasn’t working from the start, but they just sat back and let it continue to fail, wasting billions of taxpayer
dollars in the process. Even Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the TARP program, said the following in
his January 30th report to Congress: “It is hard to see how any of the fundamental problems in the [financial] system
have been addressed to date…. Even if TARP saved our financial system from driving off a cliff back in 2008, absent
meaningful reform, we are still driving on the same winding mountain road, but this time in a faster car.” Now that the
“Too Big to Fail” Wall Street elite know that the government will come in to bail them out, they are engaging in even
riskier behavior than before.
As President Theodore Roosevelt once declared in a situation much like our current crisis, “Corporation cunning
has developed faster than the law of nation or state. Corporations have found ways to steal long before we have
found that they were susceptible to punishment for theft. But sooner or later, unless there is a season of read-
justment, there will come a riotous, wicked, murderous day of atonement…. These fools on Wall Street think that
they can go on forever! They can’t!”
It is hard to face the fact that we have been so taken advantage of and abandoned by the very people we sup-
ported and had put our hope and faith into. Americans need to understand that Obama, along with most of the
Democrats and Republicans are not looking out for our best interests.
Overcoming The Divide And Conquer Strategy:
The Economic Elite Vs. The People
Part V
“The conflicting propaganda of opposing parties is essentially what leads to political abstention. But this is not the
abstention of the free spirit which asserts itself; it is the result of resignation, the external symptom of a series of inhi-
bitions. Such a man has not decided to abstain; under diverse pressures, subjected to shocks and distortions, he can
no longer (even if he wanted to) perform a political act. What is even more serious is that this inhibition not only is
political, but also progressively takes over the whole of his being and leads to a general attitude of surrender.”
— Jacques Ellul, Propaganda: The Formation of Men’s Attitudes
The primary reason why the Economic Elite have gained such dominance is their commitment to psychological
operations that divide-and-conquer the US public. They use their overwhelming influence over mainstream media
outlets and political candidates in very clever ways to divide us.
It is known among political scientists that powerful forces always seek to gain control of pre-existing social and
political institutions so they can usurp their powers. The Economic Elite gained control of both the Democratic
and Republican political parties because they knew that hardworking Americans loyally followed these parties,
and we believed these parties were looking out for our best interests. We have, for the most part, been lifelong
Republicans or lifelong Democrats, but until we see that our favored party has been seized by power and greed
addicted interests, we will all continue to lose. These are extremely hard truths to face, but until we face them, we
will continue our decline.
With half the US population loyal to Democrats and the other half loyal to Republicans, gaining control of both
these parties meant total control for them. The past decade is testament to their total control of both parties.
In manufactured public opinion, Obama represented a far left swing in US politics, and Bush represented a far
right swing, and these two supposed polar opposites also had a Congress overwhelmingly run by members of
their own party. Did we get drastically different policies? In what matters most, in both cases, the results were the
same: more money and power for the Economic Elite and the continued decline of the US middle class. This fact
is now undeniable.
Yes, there are definite differences in their rhetoric and on some social issues, but this is the key to the psychological
operations, to the divide-and-conquer strategy that they use so effectively.
To distract and divide us, they use rhetoric on social issues like religion, gay marriage, abortion, etc., all serious and
significant issues that we bitterly disagree on, but in the overall picture, these issues are secondary to the larger,
more fundamental political and economic issues that lead to our wealth being stolen from us, and ultimately, our
lives being increasingly dominated by a small few.
Bush appealed to conservative Republicans and then ran up the deficit to record levels. Obama appealed to lib-
eral Democrats, but increased war spending and support for Wall Street billionaires. In both cases, the candidates
severely divided the US middle class, but in the policy decisions that mattered most, they both sided with the
economic top one percent at the expense of hardworking Americans.
Just look at the last few election cycles. In 2006 and 2008 US citizens rose up in record-breaking numbers to kick
out the Republicans in power, whom they felt had betrayed them. Now, with the Democrats in power, the consen-
sus seems to be that in the 2010 mid-term elections we will vote for Republicans and kick out the Democrats who
have failed to deliver on the much needed and promised changes.
Do you not see the ridiculous nature of this divide-and-conquer strategy? This is a vicious cycle that will continue
to lead to our destruction.
Psychological Operations 101: Obama Vs. Fox News
For those of us who are strong enough to see beyond our propaganda-induced preconceptions and prejudices,
the insidious nature of the Economic Elite’s divide-and-conquer strategy is on full display in the feud between
Obama and Fox News. About half of the country loves Obama and hates Fox News, and the other half loves Fox
News but hates Obama. They both use very effective propaganda to seduce their followers. However, as hard as it
is for people who love one of them to admit, they both serve the same masters.
Once again, let’s look at Goldman Sachs. They financed Obama’s campaign and he has rewarded them with poli-
cies that have led to them making record-breaking profits, instead of investigating them for the many illegal activ-
ities they participated in and continue to take part in.
On the other side of this psychological operation, you have Fox News. When was the last time you saw Fox News
doing an investigation into the illegal practices of Goldman Sachs? Even the Obama-appointed Tim Geithner, the
Economic Elite’s main man on the economy, escapes the significant focus of Fox News’ powerful attack force.
Looking at the Business Roundtable, a significant majority of Obama’s campaign funding came from Roundtable
members and, as mentioned earlier, he frequently meets with Roundtable members. On the other hand, Fox News
is owned by Roundtable member Rupert Murdoch, and Fox relies heavily on advertising money from Roundtable
members. Rupert Murdoch even supported Obama over McCain. As someone who monitors Fox News, I can’t re-
call the last time I heard Fox reporting on the activities of the Business Roundtable, not that any mainstream “news”
companies do.
The list of similarities between the two, when it comes to exposing and holding the Economic Elite accountable, is
extensive. So here you have an excellent divide-and-conquer psychological operation. Fox News declares Obama
the enemy, and Obama declares Fox the enemy, yet the Economic Elite remain in the shadows, behind the scenes,
untouched and continuing their plunder.
Just think of all the misplaced outraged spent on these two puppets. Sure, people have many reasons to like and
dislike both, but imagine if all the diehard Obama-haters focused their rage on the people who put Obama in pow-
er, and if the diehard Fox-haters stopped criticizing everything Fox says and focused on the Economic Elite who
control the media environment in which Fox News operates.
If the Fox-haters and the Obama-haters united and focused their combined outrage on the common forces behind
the both of them, we would all be much better off.
The most significant bias in the mainstream media is not the liberal or conservative views propagated to divide,
distract, confuse and create apathy among the populace; the ultimate bias is in what is missing from the coverage.
The investigative reporting on the most powerful forces within our society is left out of the discussion.
McClatchy, one of the few real journalism news organizations, has repeatedly reported on the illegal activities
of Goldman Sachs and the crime syndicate they operate in. Yet, an overwhelming majority of mainstream news
outlets ignore these reports and nothing is done to hold Goldman Sachs accountable. In fact, two of the leading
figures in the outright theft of our money have recently been lauded in their propaganda press. When you see
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke become the Person of the Year in Time Magazine and Goldman Sachs
CEO Llyod Blankfein become the Financial Times Man of the Year, you begin to see where the real media bias lies.
The main bias is in favor of the thieves who stole our country and economy, and own the mainstream media com-
panies. The omni-present mainstream media is the greatest weapon of oppression humanity has ever known.
Although the Internet has had an impact, television news is still by far the most influential news medium. Despite
all the new information platforms, this year we have set a new record by watching an average of four hours and
49 minutes of TV per day. We have been subjected to heavy doses of propaganda on a daily basis, for hours a day,
every day of our lives.
The mainstream media creates what is known in mass psychology as the “spectrum of thinkable thought.” By con-
stantly discussing and debating surface issues, they limit the range of debate. Having the Republican vs. Democrat
paradigm leads us to never debating the underlying Economic Elite who control both of the parties, not to men-
tion their ownership of the media platform on which this debate is taking shape. The more important underlying
issues are never discussed, and therefore never enter public consciousness.
The censorship that is most prevalent today is the most dangerous form. Not the censorship of explicit words, sex,
or violence, but the censorship of any thoughts outside of elite corporate ideology. Any debate that leads to crit-
ical thought on prevailing elite economic dominance is not allowed to enter into the mass media or mainstream
public consciousness.
We must conclude that a changeover is imminent and ineluctable in the co-opted caste who serve the interests
of domination, and above all manage the protection of that domination. In such an affair, innovation will surely
not be displayed [in the mainstream media]. It appears instead like lightning, which we know only when it strikes.
— Guy Debord, Comments on the Society of the Spectacle
The Economic Elite Versus The People Of The USA:
In Our Nation’s History, The Stakes Have Never Been Higher
Part VI
Throughout this report, I have presented statistical and fact-based evidence to demonstrate that a strategic attack
has been launched against 99% of Americans. Despite the efforts of the mainstream media and most current pol-
iticians, awareness of this reality is spreading throughout the United States. A recent Rasmussen poll found that
only 21% of Americans think that the government has the consent of the governed. An Opinion Research Corp.
survey revealed that 86% believe “the system of government is broken.”
An overwhelming majority of the population has come to the realization that our government doesn’t effectively
represent us anymore. It is just a matter of time before people start taking it upon themselves to begin organizing
on a mass scale. Our survival instinct will soon overwhelm our conditioned passivity and erupt into a powerful
countervailing force. However, the longer we hesitate and delay action, the harder it will be to obtain economic
and political justice.
We cannot continue to stand by and watch our nation be raped and pillaged like this. We can no longer remain
idle and passive while our families’ futures are destroyed as we are sentenced to a slow death. It’s time for 99% of
Americans to mobilize and move on common sense political reforms.
We will obviously have many differences on how our country should be run, but we can all come together to dis-
mantle the Economic Elite by making several pivotal political reforms. As long as the game is rigged in favor of the
Economic Elite, we will all lose. So let’s find common ground and focus on several obvious battles that we need to
win, and can win:
Election Reform
“The right of voting for representatives is the primary right by which all other rights are protected.
To take away this right is to reduce a man to slavery.”
~ Thomas Paine, Dissertation on the First Principles of Government
• Electronic Voting: First and foremost, no private corporation should be able to tell us who has won an election
without providing an auditable paper trail. Many Democrats felt that Bush stole the 2000 and 2004 elections, and
many Republicans felt Obama stole the 2008 election. Of course people are going to feel that elections are stolen
when you have a private corporation secretly counting the votes; it is the inevitable result when you can’t verify
the election results. In the past few years companies that count the votes have been consolidating, and one com-
pany, ES&S, now secretly controls the majority of all our votes. As voting watchdog Brad Friedman stated, “With
the ES&S takeover of Diebold/Premier, their nearest competitor, the privately-run election Goliath now has an
un-overseeable lock on virtually every election in the United States of America.” It is common sense to say that this
is way too much power to be put into one private corporation.
• Campaign Finance: The stunning ruling by the Supreme Court to allow unlimited political spending by the Eco-
nomic Elite has made a bad situation even worse. We must level the playing field by enacting laws to prevent the
overwhelming influence of big money interests in controlling politicians who are forced to pander to them for the
ever-increasing need to raise more and more money to have any shot at winning public office. Statistics show how
much the Economic Elite already dominate this process: over 90% of the time the candidate who simply spends
more money on their campaign wins the election.
• The Two-Party Oligarchy: We must end the two-party system by funding and voting for alternative parties. It is
absurd and completely outdated to only have two dominant political parties in a technologically advanced nation
of 309 million people. The two-party paradigm is obsolete and creates a system easily manipulated, as the past de-
cade proves with the co-option of the Democratic and Republican parties. We can give our money and support to
whomever we like – Libertarians, Tea Party, Progressives, Greens, Independents and the many soon-to-be-created
political groups. However, it is pivotal that we immediately cease support for both the Republican and Democratic
parties. We understand that there are representatives from both parties who are fighting for our interests, but they
are very few and easily marginalized by paid-off party leaders.
• Getting on the Ballot: Republicans and Democrats have created rules to make it increasingly difficult for opposing
political parties to even get on the voting ballot. We must make this process easier and invite new parties onto the
ticket.
• Debate Commission: The Democratic and Republican control over who is allowed to participate in the nationally
televised debates gives the two parties an insurmountable advantage over any other parties. If you are not even
allowed to participate in them, you have no shot at winning. Along with this, all candidates should be given a fair
share of television coverage.
Voter Registration: If you are a citizen, you should be automatically registered to vote.
Governmental Policy Formation
• Secrecy, Transparency and Accountability: Government secrecy is at the root of most of our current societal and
economic problems. When decisions are made in secrecy, corruption will most often be the result. By throwing
light and investigation on the government policy process, we can easily expose the Economic Elite’s agenda and
limit their influence. As part of this, all legislation and conference reports must be posted online prior to Congres-
sional debate and vote.
• Lobbying: Along with campaign finance, political lobbying is another way the Economic Elite can easily manipu-
late our political process financially, in what amounts to legalized bribery. In 2009, a record amount of money was
spent lobbying Congress, and now with the new Supreme Court ruling, lobbyists will have even more power to
manipulate the political process with what amounts to buying the laws of our nation. Lobbying activities behind
closed doors must cease entirely and equal time must be given, transparently, to all the parties directly affected
by the law being written.
• Shutting the Revolving Door: No politician should be allowed to profit from government laws or policies which
they have written or supported. The practice of leaving a major company to become a politician who then creates
and/or supports laws that directly benefit the corporation he or she used to work for, or, conversely, politicians
who leave public office to take a high-paying job for a company they have benefited, is a grotesque abuse and
manipulation of the democratic process. The revolving door between politics and big business is worse than it has
ever been and has corrupted the government like never before.
Information Platforms
• Media Concentration: Having a few large multinational corporations dominating the overwhelming majority of
our news and information system will never lead to an informed citizenry. Only ten multinational corporations
dominate our mainstream media system. These companies are run by 118 individuals who actively work to propa-
gate Economic Elite rule. The people who run these media companies also sit on other corporate boards that often
represent a major conflict of interest. Having only 118 people in ten companies dominating a system that creates
public opinion for 309 million people is absurd. We must break up this information cartel and support a more di-
verse and vibrant independent press that fosters real investigative journalism.
• Net Neutrality: The free and open architecture of the Internet is vital to our success. Without an open Internet our
most powerful medium for research and communication, and key organizing tool, will be lost. The Internet must
be protected from growing forces that seek to control it by limiting our access to information and our ability to
communicate on a mass scale.
Healthcare
• Medical Costs: We have disagreements on how to best provide healthcare, but we all agree that whatever the
method, the result needs to be lower costs. We have the most expensive healthcare system in the world and we
now pay twice as much as other nations. Other than creating huge salaries for health industry-related executives,
there isn’t any reason why we should be forced to pay such outrageous sums of money for second-rate care. No
American should die due to lack of money, or have to face bankruptcy in order to get life-sustaining treatments.
• Food and Water Supply: Our food and water supply systems have become a major health hazard. The amount of
harmful chemicals found in both our food and water have reached record levels and is causing alarming levels of
sickness in a growing number of people.
Real Economic Competition
• Most Americans Believe in Competition: If a person works hard, is productive and good at what they do, most ev-
eryone believes that they should make more than a person who sits around looking for handouts. However, just as
in sports, to maintain a competitive environment you have to have rules in place that prevent people from having
an unfair advantage. For those who believe in competition, in capitalism and free markets, you have to acknowl-
edge that what we have now is not a free market based on fair competition. It is a rigged market, where larger
institutions like Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan have an unfair advantage. We cannot allow them to be beyond
the law, manipulate the market and then receive taxpayer funds to increase profits and risk-taking while smaller
companies, outside of Economic Elite circles, have to play by a much stricter set of rules.
You can’t have free market capitalism when you have government policies favoring companies that have more
political clout than others. What we have is socialism for the rich and trickle down economics for the rest of us. We
have a market systemically designed to funnel money into the pockets of the richest. If the past few years have
proved anything, they have proved that our economy is much more like a pyramid scheme than a free market,
where the more money you have, the more money you make. So whatever your economic beliefs and theories
might be, let’s all come together to admit that our “free market” is an illusion. We need to make the economic play-
ing field fair so we that can have real competition.
• Redistribution of Wealth: Due to the rigging of our economic and political system, vast sums of wealth have been
hoarded by the Economic Elite over the past 40 years. This money must be redistributed to the 99% of Americans
who have been robbed and exploited. There will be much heated debate over how this money should be distribut-
ed, but we all need to agree that we must first hold the Economic Elite accountable and our wealth must be seized
from them.
• Investigations and Prosecutions: The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission has the power to reveal the inner work-
ings of the financial coup. We must apply intense public pressure and scrutiny to force the Commission into con-
ducting a real investigation. Another urgent priority needs to be a much wider-ranging look at war profiteering.
There has been some investigation, but not nearly enough and hardly any prosecution. These are just two of the
many investigations that need to be launched. As long as we keep letting the Economic Elite get away with out-
right theft in broad daylight, we will never be able to restore a nation of law.
Here are obviously other vital issues that need to be addressed, but these are the core common-ground issues that
we must urgently rally around and support. Unless we organize and take decisive action on all these issues, we will
all suffer the consequences of our collective inaction. Any politician who does not urgently move on these issues
must be voted out of office and replaced by people who will aggressively fight on these fronts.
These are the core issues that keep the Economic Elite in power. As famed military strategist Carl von Clauswitz
wrote in his study “On War,” it is pivotal to strike at this core structure, at “the hub of all power and movement, on
which everything depends.”
To those Americans who feel powerless to change things, I say that your feelings are only a result of your induced
delusion. You have become so propagandized that you do not even understand the significant position that you
are in. We are not peasants trapped in a Third World existence. We are still a mass of people who have the power to
change the course of history. The Economic Elite realize this, which is why they are attacking us with an increased
intensity.
Why We Must Take Mass Organized Action Now:
The Devastation Ahead
Market Watch recently ran an article entitled, “Death of American Capitalism: The 10 final scenes.” The article refer-
ences Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s long-time investment partner, stating: “Munger is warning us ‘It’s Over’ for
America. Yes, ‘o-v-e-r,’ America’s in decline, at the end-of-days, coming to ‘financial ruin,’ says Munger.” As a result of the
Economic Elite’s attack on us, the inequality of wealth between the economic top one percent and the remaining
99% of the population is the highest it has ever been in our nation’s history. The Robber Barons of the Gilded Age
have now been overtaken as America’s most depraved and despotic class.
As this attack continues, social safety nets and important public functions that are already reaching a breaking
point will collapse under the weight of prolonged decline. With the national deficit now at an all-time high, econ-
omists are expecting major cutbacks in vital government programs and tax increases “that aren’t even imaginable.”
President Obama put together a “Deficit Commission” and is prepared to make “painful choices.” Many state econ-
omies are already running high deficits and preparing for deep cuts in Medicaid and retirement pensions. Major
cuts in Social Security payments are also a real possibility.
On top of the 160 banks that have already failed in the past year, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
has listed another 702 banks as being in danger of failing. These banks “collectively hold more than $400 billion in
assets” and the FDIC is already operating at “a deficit of nearly $21 billion as of Dec. 31, or more than double the pre-
vious quarter.”
With 30 million Americans now unemployed and underemployed, over the next few months five million people
will lose the unemployment benefits which they have been surviving off of. Unemployment benefits in 27 states
have already gone into the red. In total 40 state programs are expected to go broke. Even the most optimistic
economists believe high unemployment rates will continue for the foreseeable future.
Millions more will be added to the five million families who have already been kicked out of their homes, as the
number of foreclosures is expected to reach 13 million within the next few years. Food and homeless shelters
are already overwhelmed, and there will be millions more in need of these life-sustaining services. 50 million
Americans are currently in need of food stamps for survival and approximately 20,000 new people are added to
this total every day.
Despite all the healthcare reform talk, the bill still being discussed will do little to reduce costs and extend
coverage to those who urgently need it, as insurance rates continue to rise. The number of Americans without
health insurance continues to skyrocket to now well over 50 million, with 45,000 preventable US citizen deaths
occurring per year. Due to economic hardship, the number of people suffering from psychological depression
has hit an all-time high, as suicide rates keep rising.
With a prison population of 2.3 million people, we now have more people incarcerated than any other nation
in the world. Our per capita rate of 700 people imprisoned per 100,000 citizens is higher than the darkest days
of the Soviet Union. On top of this, the prison industry is expecting major growth over the next few years, as
a “new prison opens every week somewhere in America” and Obama commits more tax dollars for the federal
Bureau of Prisons.
All told, the death and destruction wrought by this economic crisis is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every single
week! And the attacks continue unabated, with no significant measures taken to defend against them and hold
those responsible accountable.
With almost 200 million Americans now living paycheck to paycheck, and over 50 million already living in pov-
erty, people are quickly running out of options. The clock is ticking loudly for them, and time delayed is time
closer to death.
At the same time, Americans are arming themselves at an alarming rate. The demand for guns and ammunition
has hit a record high, and the gun industry cannot produce enough bullets to keep up with orders. In the past year,
100 new armed militia groups have been formed, as militia members have doubled in numbers. Federal authori-
ties are gravely concerned about the “uptick in militia activities.” One federal authority recently said, “All it’s lacking
is a spark. I think it’s only a matter of time before you see threats and violence.” With the election of Donald J.
Trump we’re seeing exactly that.

The suicide-bomber who hit the IRS building in Texas will be the first of many similar violent acts if we don’t
demonstrate that justice and the rule of law can be restored in a non-violent manner. Suicide-bombers have
already reeked havoc in many countries across the globe. As the last act of revenge and desperation, people
throughout the world have increasingly resorted to this method of violence and terror.

Fate has placed us in our nation’s most pivotal moment. If we do not take it upon ourselves to lead in deci-
sive non-violent mass action, our country will soon be torn apart by violence and destruction.

In our nation’s history, the stakes have never been higher. It is vital that we recognize the urgent gravity of
the situation. What happens over the next few years will determine the fate of our very way of life, of our
families’ very existence. We have been attacked, and we are now at war. This is the unfortunate reality of our
current crisis. Our enemy is extraordinarily powerful. However, we are 99% of the US population, and they
are only 1%. If we fight, we win!

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never has, and it never will.” ~ Frederick Douglass

“All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government,

when its tyranny or its inefficiency is great and unendurable. And oppression and robbery are organized, I say; let
us not have such a machine any longer. I think that it is not too soon for honest men to rebel and revolutionize.”
~ Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

“We have no choice left…. A concealed yes drives us that is stronger than all our no’s. Our strength itself will
no longer endure us in the old decaying soil. We venture away, we venture ourselves! We know of a new world.”
~ Friedrich Nietzsche

“The money powers prey upon the nation in times of peace and conspire
against it in times of adversity. It is more despotic than a monarchy, more
insolent than autocracy, and more selfish than bureaucracy. It denounces as
public enemies, all who question its methods or throw light upon its crimes…
As a result of the war, corporations have been enthroned and an era of cor-
ruption in high places will follow, and the money powers of the country will
endeavor to prolong it’s reign by working upon the prejudices of the people
until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed.”

~ Abraham Lincoln
 chapter nine
the extra chapter
Mom, meet POPs,
all about EDCs & PBDEs,
the global birth-rate plummets,
fertility is monetized and over-rated anyway
and hey, have you been spayed or neutered yet?
 Mom, meet
POPS By Jeff Prager

Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) like PBDEs are primarily flame retar-
dants added to plastic and foam products to make them difficult to burn,
which is controversial itself since these chemicals give off toxins under fire
conditions. The family of PBDEs consists of 209 possible substances all of
which are referred to as congeners. As an example, the number of isomers
for mono-, di-, tri-, tetra-, penta-, hexa-, hepta-, octa-, nona-, and decabro-
modiphenyl ethers are 3, 12, 24, 42, 46, 42, 24, 12, 3 and 1, respectively.

In the United States, PBDEs are marketed with trade names: DE-60F, DE-61,
DE-62, and DE-71 applied to pentaBDE mixtures; DE-79 applied to octaBDE
mixtures; DE 83R and Saytex 102E applied to decaBDE mixtures. The avail-
able commercial PBDE products are not single compounds or even single
congeners but rather a mixture of congeners each denoted by its correspond-
ing number. PBDE-209 is one of the most egregious human poisons known to
humankind, equivalent in many ways to the damage caused to human beings
by radiation.

Because they’re mixed into plastics and foams and don’t actually bind to them,
PBDEs can leave the product that contains them and enter the environment—your
home, the classroom, the day care center and anywhere else, and that’s exactly what
they do. They also enter the environment and are significant pollutants of our soil, rivers,
streams and oceans.
Polybrominated-Biphenyl-Ethers or PBDE’s are known for being hormone disruptors which can accumulate in
the placenta and even contaminate a mother’s breast milk. Another danger connected to these compounds
is the fact that they aren’t biodegradable. They accumulate in the air in your house, contributing to constant
dust pollution in the home.

We’re surrounded by chemicals all day, all the time, and our bodies are literally attacked all day, every day—not
just by all sorts of bacteria but by the invisible environmental chemicals we all come into contact with. From
automotive exhaust, perfumes, colognes and soaps, the unseen industrial pollution in the air we breathe, the
indoor dust we’re constantly surrounded by and even the food we eat and
the water we drink — these are all contaminated with various neurotoxins,
obesogenics, mutagens, genotoxins, endocrine disruptors and carcino-
gens from flame retardants, Bispehnol analogues (A,B,S,F,AF), Pharmaceu-
tical And Personal Care breakdown products (PPCPs) and transformation
products (DBPs), and 100s of other massively produced chemicals that are
now environmentally ubiquitous.

The peer review is clear, even the food and water are contaminated with
industrial chemicals like Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and Persistent
Organic Pollutants. Yet we all have, we hope, an active and robust immune
system, an effective internal supply of antioxidants and other functional
systems within our bodies that fight these attacks effectively every mo-
ment of every day. If we didn’t we’d be sick all the time, or worse. That
doesn’t mean these various 100s of chemicals won’t eventually make us
sick, and some of us are more susceptible than others, so we should all
be aware of them and work proactively to avoid contact and mitigate our
exposures and especially that of our developing children.

As of June 1, 2006 the State of California began prohibiting the manufac-

ture, distribution, and processing of flame-retardant products containing
pentabrominated diphenyl ether (pentaBDE) and octabrominated diphe-
nyl (octaBDE). PBDEs are so pervasive in the environment that according to
the EPA, exposure may pose health risks. According to U.S. EPA’s Integrated
Risk Information System, evidence indicates that PBDEs may possess liver
toxicity, thyroid toxicity, and neurodevelopmental toxicity. In June 2008,
the U.S. EPA set a safe daily exposure maximum of 7 ug per kg body weight
per day for 4 most common 209 PBDEs.

In April 2007, the legislature of the state of Washington passed a bill ban-
ning the use of PBDEs. The State of Maine Department of Environmental
Protection found that all PBDEs should be banned. In August, 2003, the
State of California outlawed the sale of penta- and octa-PBDE and prod-
ucts containing them, effective January 1, 2008. In May 2007, the legislature of the state of Maine passed a bill
phasing out the use of DecaBDE.

The European Union decided to ban the use of two classes of flame retardants, in particular, polybrominat-
ed diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and polybrominated biphenyls (PBBs) in electric and electronic devices. This ban
was formalized in the RoHS Directive, and an upper limit of 1 g/kg for the sum of PBBs and PBDEs was set. In
February 2009, the Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) released two certified refer-
ence materials (CRMs) to help analytical laboratories better detect these two classes of flame retardants. The
reference materials were custom-made to contain all relevant PBDEs and PBBs at levels close to the legal limit.
At an international level, in May 2009 the Parties of the Stockholm Convention for Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) took
the decision to list commercial penta-BDE and commercial octa-BDE as POP substances. This listing is due to the properties of
hexa-BDE (hexabromodiphenyl ether) and hepta-BDE (heptabromodiphenyl ether) which are the main components of com-
mercial octa-BDE, and due to the properties of tetra-BDE (tetrabromodiphenyl ether) and penta-BDE (pentabromodiphenyl
ether) which are the main components of commercial penta-BDE.

With 209 different congeners and extraordinary bio-persistance and environ-

mental persistance, Persistant Organic Pollutants, POPs, like Polybrominated
Diphenyl Ethers, PBDEs, aren’t going away any time soon and the human body
burden for those that don’t become actively involved in simple mitigation
procedures will likely increase in most areas via food and dust alone.

If you’re raising children then you probably know that your children are ex-
posed to a wide variety of chemicals also, even more so because they’re clos-
er to the ground, and from an unimaginable number of sources every day
primarily because small children put things in their mouths. The peer review
helps us understand the dangers of chemical exposure in the day care envi-
ronment. For this reason alone it’s imperative that you shield your children
from obvious, easily avoidable and very dangerous chemicals without affect-
ing their ability to enjoy their playtime, friends and youth.

Get rid of any pillows and mattresses that are at least 2 years old. Replace any
hypoallergenic pillow stuffed with synthetic fiber and get untreated pillows
that are made out of feathers or wool. If allergies are a concern, you can opt
for a pillow made out of latex foam. There are many available on the internet.
Consider organic mattresses that are either made up of naturally fire retar-
dant wool, organic cotton and coils that are completely untreated. Avoid mat-
tresses containing PBDE. These can now be easily found in many online stores.
Also, check your local retailer. One brand is the bioposture but this is not an
endorsement, I’ve never used it, and there are many other quality products
available.

Choose sheets made out of organic and unbleached hemp, cotton or linen.
These will cost more but rest assured they’re safer and will last longer too,
especially compared to chlorine treated pillowcase and bed sheets, which is
what a majority of people have. Your duvets should also be made of natural
materials. Opt for those with silk, hemp, feathers or down. Change out plastic
shower curtains for washable cloth curtains. The initial expense may be great-
er but you won’t have to continually replace plastic shower curtains. Have you
smelled the odor from new plastic shower curtains? You’re breathing PBDEs.

For a budget friendly options IKEA may be able to help. The company has been known to sell PBDE free mattresses, pillows
and bedroom furniture since 2002. Make it a habit to clean and vacuum your bedroom regularly. Change your bed linens every
week. Another way to detox your bedroom is to simply air your mattress. The simple act of opening your windows as wide as
possible to allow fresh air inside can do wonders for your health. Every once in a while, especially when the weather is warm
and sunny, take your mattress outside and leave it sitting in the sun for a couple of hours. This will ventilate the mattress and al-
low for evaporation of some Persistent Organic Pollutants and result in a cleaner mattress. In view of its widespread use, toxicity
and volatility, exposure to formaldehyde is also a significant consideration for health. Formaldehyde is known to cause tiredness,
insomnia, headaches, coughing and skin irritation. In June 10, 2011, the US National Toxicology Program described formaldehyde
as “known to be a human carcinogen”.
Formaldehyde-based resins are used as adhesives and resins in the manufacture of particle-board, plywood, furni- Not all flame retardants present concerns, but the following types often do:
ture, kitchen cabinets and other wood and simulated wood products. It’s also used for the production of material
like appliances, electric controls, telephones, wiring services and it’s used in the textile, leather, rubber and cement • Halogenated flame retardants (also known as organohalogen flame retardants) containing chlorine or bromine
industries. Other uses are as binders for foundry sand, stonewool and glasswool mats in insulating materials, abrasive bonded to carbon.
paper and brake linings.
• Organophosphorous flame retardants containing phosphorous bonded to carbon.
Dust furnishings regularly with a damp cloth and launder the cloth afterwards. Vacuum regularly and clean filters and
discard bags before they’re over-filled. Vacuums with a hepa filter are most helpful. You might consider shampooing For these types of flame retardants some are associated with health and environmental concerns, many are inade-
the carpet once a year. Wear only 100% cotton or wool clothing and always wash new clothing alone in the washer quately tested for safety and they provide questionable fire safety benefits as used in some products. The major uses
once with normal detergent and once again with water alone to fully rinse them. Avoid dry cleaning your clothing. of flame retardant chemicals by volume in the U.S. are: Electronics, Building insulation, Polyurethane foam and wire
Don’t wear your shoes in the home. Wearing shoes in the and cable manufacturing. These chem-
house brings not just a host of microscopic chemicals in- icals are persistent, they don’t easily
side but radiation as well. Best to leave all shoes in the break down into safer chemicals in the
foyer. Place them on a mat outside the front door before environment and often remain stable
entering your home and don’t allow others to wear shoes and dangerous or create dangerous
in your home either. Open windows year around, even if breakdown or transformation products.
just briefly and keep your home aired out sufficiently. They’re capable of long-range trans-
port— they travel far from the source
A study published in Environmental Health Perspectives of release and are distributed around
in March of 2010 titled, “Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers the world. They’re bio-accumulative so
(PBDEs) and Hexabromocyclodecane (HBCD) in Compos- they build up in people and other an-
ite U.S. Food Samples” by Schecter, et al., stated: imals, becoming most concentrated
at the top of the food chain, you and I.
“Total PBDE concentrations in food varied by food type, Most important, they’re toxic. They’re
ranging from 12 pg/g wet weight (ww) in whole milk to harmful to life. Flame retardants often
1,545 pg/g ww in canned sardines and 6,211 pg/g ww have long-term (chronic) rather than
in butter. Total HBCD concentrations also varied sub- immediate harmful effects. The Stock-
stantially within and among food groups, ranging from holm Convention is a global treaty be-
23 pg/g in canned beef chili to 593 pg/ g in canned sar- tween over 150 countries which aims to
dines. HBCD was not detected in any dairy samples. Di- eliminate or reduce the release of POPs.
etary intake of all PBDE congeners measured was esti- The Convention has listed 23 chemicals
mated to be 50 ng/day, mostly from dairy consumption to be banned globally, all of which are
but also from meat and fish. HBCD intake was estimated organohalogens, and several of which
at 16 ng/day, primarily from meat consumption. PBDEs are organohalogen flame retardants
and HBCDs currently contaminate some food purchased or their by-products. PBDEs, a class of
in the United States, although PBDE intake estimated in chemicals used primarily as flame re-
this study is lower than reported in our previous market tardants in furniture and plastics, are
basket surveys. HBCD is in food at higher levels than ex- structurally similar to the known hu-
pected based on previously reported levels in milk and man toxicants PBBs, PCBs, dioxins, and
blood compared with PBDE levels and is comparable to furans, all of which have been banned
European levels.” under the Stockholm Convention.
 The San Antonio Statement
The San Antonio Statement on Brominated and Chlorinated Flame Retardants was first presented at the 30th Internation-
al Symposium on Halogenated Persistent Organic Pollutants (Dioxin 2010), September 2010 in San Antonio, Texas, USA.
This consensus statement has over 200 signatories from 30 countries, representing expertise on health, environment and
fire safety. The statement was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, December 2010. The state-
ment is a joint project of the International Panel on Chemical Pollution (IPCP), International POPs Elimination Network
(IPEN), and Green Science Policy Institute.

The San Antonio Statement on Brominated and Chlorinated Flame Retardants was authored by:

Joseph DiGangi1, Arlene Blum2,3, Åke Bergman4, Cynthia A. de Wit5,

Donald Lucas6, David Mortimer7, Arnold Schecter8, Martin Scheringer9,
Susan D. Shaw10 and Thomas F. Webster11 from:

1. International POPs Elimination Network, Berkeley, California, USA

2. Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA
3. Green Science Policy Institute, Berkeley, California, USA
4. Department of Materials and Environmental Chemistry, and
5. Department of Applied Environmental Science, Stockholm University
Sweden 6. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, USA
7. Food Standards Agency, London, United Kingdom
8. University of Texas School of Public Health, Dallas, Texas, USA
9. Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
10. Marine Environmental Research Institute, Center for Marine Studies, USA
11. Dept. of Environmental Health, Boston University School of Public Health, USA

The authors declare they have no actual or potential competing financial interests.

We, scientists from a variety of disciplines, declare the following:

1. Parties to the Stockholm Convention have taken action on three brominated flame retardants that have been listed in
the treaty for global elimination. These substances include components of commercial penta- bromodiphenyl ether and
commercial octabromodiphenyl ether, along with hexabromobiphenyl. Another brominated flame retardant, hexabro-
mocyclododecane, is under evaluation.

2. Many commonly used brominated and chlorinated flame retardants can undergo long-range environmental transport.

3. Many brominated and chlorinated flame retardants appear to be persistent and bioaccumulative, resulting in food
chain contamination, including human milk.

4. Many brominated and chlorinated flame retardants lack adequate toxicity information, but the available data raises
concerns.

5. Many different types of brominated and chlorinated flame retardants have been incorporated into products even
though comprehensive toxicological information is lacking.

6. Brominated and chlorinated flame retardants present in a variety of products are released to the indoor and outdoor
environments.
7. Near-end-of-life and end-of-life electrical and electronic products are a growing concern as a result of dumping in de-
veloping countries, which results in the illegal transboundary movement of their hazardous constituents. These include
brominated and chlorinated flame retardants.

8. There is a lack of capacity to handle electronic waste in an environmentally sound manner in almost all developing
countries and countries with economies in transition, leading to the release of hazardous substances that cause harm to
human health and the environment. These substances include brominated and chlorinated flame retardants.

9. Brominated and chlorinated flame retardants can increase fire toxicity, but their overall benefit in improving fire safety
has not been proven.

10. When brominated and chlorinated flame retardants burn, highly toxic dioxins and furans are formed.

11. Therefore, these data support the following:

12. Brominated and chlorinated flame retardants as classes of substances are a concern for persistence, bioaccumulation,
long-range transport, and toxicity.

13. There is a need to improve the availability of and access to information on brominated and chlorinated flame retar-
dants and other chemicals in products in the supply chain and throughout each product’s life cycle.

14. Consumers can play a role in the adoption of alternatives to harmful flame retardants if they are made aware of the
presence of the substances, for example, through product labeling.

15. The process of identifying alternatives to flame retardants should include not only alternative chemicals but also in-
novative changes in the design of products, industrial processes, and other practices that do not require the use of any
flame retardant.

16. Efforts should be made to ensure that current and alternative chemical flame retardants do not have hazardous prop-
erties, such as mutagenicity and carcinogenicity, or adverse effects on the reproductive, developmental, endocrine, im-
mune, or nervous systems.

17. When seeking exemptions for certain applications of flame retardants, the party requesting the exemption should
supply some information indicating why the exemption is technically or scientifically necessary and why potential alter-
natives are not technically or scientifically viable; a description of potential alternative processes, products, materials, or
systems that eliminate the need for the chemical; and a list of sources re- searched.

18. Wastes containing flame retardants with persistent organic pollutant (POP) characteristics, including products and
articles, should be disposed of in such a way that the POP content is destroyed or irreversibly transformed so that they do
not exhibit the characteristics of POPs.

19. Flame retardants with POP characteristics should not be permitted to be subjected to disposal operations that may
lead to recovery, recycling, reclamation, direct reuse, or alternative uses of the substances.

20. Wastes containing flame retardants with POP properties should not be transported across international boundaries
unless it is for disposal in such a way that the POP content is destroyed or irreversibly transformed.

21. It is important to consider product stewardship and extended producer responsibility aspects in the life-cycle man-
agement of products containing flame retardants with POP properties, including electronic and electrical products.
 chapter TEN
Parting Shots - Images From A Nuclear Event
Israel & The Bomb

The Dimona Reactor Dome (courtesy Mordechai Vanunu)

 Israel’s Involvement With Nuclear Technology
From the Nuclear Weapon Archive

Israel’s involvement with nuclear technology literally extends
back to the founding of the country in 1948. A host of talented
scientists emigrated to Palestine during the thirties and for-
ties, particularly one Ernst David Bergmann – later the direc-
tor of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission and the founder
of Israel’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons. The Weizmann
Institute of Science actively supported nuclear research by
1949, with Bergmann heading its chemistry division. Also in
1949, Francis Perrin – French nuclear physicist, atomic ener-
gy commissioner, and personal friend of Bergmann’s – visited
the Weizmann Institute, after which Israeli scientists were in-
vited to the newly established French nuclear research facility
at Saclay. A joint research effort was subsequently set up be-
tween the two nations.
At this time France’s nuclear research capability was quite
limited. France had been a leading research center in nucle-
ar physics before the war, but had fallen far behind develop-
ments in the U.S., the USSR, Britain, and even Canada. Israel
and France were thus at a similar level of expertise at the time,
and it was possible for Israeli scientists to make valuable con-
tributions. Consequently the development of nuclear science
and technology in France and Israel remained closely linked
in the early fifties, for example Israeli scientists were involved
in the construction of the G-1 plutonium production reactor
and UP1 reprocessing plant at Marcoule.
In the 1950s and early 1960s, France and Israel had very close
relations. France was Israel’s principal arms supplier, and as in-
stability spread in France’s colonies in North Africa, Israel pro-
vided valuable intelligence obtained from its contacts with
sephardic Jews in those countries. The two nations even col-
laborated (along with Britain) in planning and staging the joint
Suez-Sinai operation against Egypt in October 1956. The Suez Crisis, as it became known, proved to be the genesis
of Israel’s nuclear weapons production program.
from the two superpowers alone. Soviet premier Bulganin is-
sued an implicit threat of nuclear attack if Israel did not with-
draw from the Sinai. On 7 November 1956, a secret meeting
was held between foreign minister Golda Meir, Peres, and
French foreign and defense ministers Mssrs. Christian Pine-
au and Maurice Bourges-Manoury. The French officials were
deeply chagrined by France’s failure to support its ally in the
operation, and the Israelis were very concerned about the So-
viet threat. In this meeting the initial understanding about a
research reactor may have been substantially modified, and
Peres seems to have secured an agreement to assist Israel in
developing a nuclear deterrent.
After some further months of negotiation, the initial agree-
ment for assistance took the form of an 18 MW (thermal) re-
search reactor of the EL-3 type, along with plutonium separa-
tion technology. At some point this was officially upgraded to
24 MW, but the actual specifications issued to engineers pro-
vided for core cooling ducts sufficient for up to three times
this power level, along with a plutonium plant of similar ca-
pacity. How this upgrade came about remains unknown.
The reactor was secretly built underground at Dimona, in the
Negev desert of southern Israel near Beersheba. Hundreds of
French engineers and technicians filled Beersheba which, al-
though it was the biggest town in the Negev, was still a small
town. Many of the same contractors who built Marcoule were
involved, for example the plutonium separation plants in
both France and Israel were built by SGN. The Ground was
Control room of the Machon 2 plutonium separation plant broken for the EL-102 reactor (as it was known to France) in
(photo courtesy Mordechai Vanunu) early 1958. The heavy water for the reactor was purchased
from Norway, which sold 20 tons to Israel in 1959 allegedly for
use in an experimental power reactor Norway insisted on the
right to inspect the heavy water for peaceful use for 32 years, but was permitted to do so only once, in April 1961,
prior to it being loaded into the Dimona reactor tank.

Six weeks before the operation Israel felt the time was right to approach France for assistance in building a nuclear
reactor. Canada had set a precedent a year earlier when it had agreed to build the 40 MW CIRUS reactor in India.
Shimon Peres, a key aide to Prime Minister (and Defense Minister) David Ben Gurion, and Bergmann met with
members of the CEA (France’s Atomic Energy Commission). An initial understanding to provide a research reactor
appears to have been reached during September.
On the whole the Suez operation, launched on 29 October was a disaster. Although Israel’s part of the operation
was a stunning success, allowing it to occupy the entire Sinai peninsula by 4 November, the French and British
invasion on 6 November was a failure. The attempt to advance along the Suez canal bogged down and then col-
lapsed under fierce U.S. and Soviet pressure. Both European nations pulled out, leaving Israel to face the pressure
Israel used a variety of subterfuges to explain away the activity at Dimona – calling it a “manganese plant” among
other things (although apparently not a “textile plant” as most accounts claim). U.S. intelligence became aware
of the project before the end of 1958, took picture of the project from U-2 spy planes, and identified the site as a
probable reactor complex. The concentration of Frenchmen was certainly impossible to hide.
In 1960, before the reactor was operating, France, now under the leadership of de Gaulle, reconsidered the deal
and decided to suspend the project. After several months of negotiation, an agreement was reached in November
that allowed the reactor to proceed if Israel promised not the make weapons and announced the project to the
world, work on the plutonium plant halted. On 2 December 1960, before Israel could make the announcement,
the U.S. State Department issued a determination that Israel had a secret nuclear installation. By 16 December this
became public knowledge with its appearance in the New York Times. On 21 December Ben Gurion announced
that Israel was building a 24 MW reactor “for peaceful purposes”.
Over the next year the relationship between the U.S. and
Israel was strained over the issue. The U.S. accepted Israel’s
claims at face value in public, but exerted pressure privately.
Although Israel did allow a cursory inspection by physicists
Eugene Wigner and I.I. Rabi, PM Ben Gurion consistently re-
fused to allow international inspections. The final resolution
was a commitment from Israel to use the facility for peaceful
purposes, and an agreement to admit a U.S. inspection team
once a year. These inspections, begun in 1962 and continued
until 1969, were only shown the above-ground part of the
buildings, which continued down many levels underground.
The above ground areas had simulated control rooms, and
access to the underground areas was kept bricked up while
the inspectors where present. The most favorable interpre-
tation that can be given to adherence to the pledge is that
it has apparently been interpreted by Israel to mean that nu-
clear weapon development is not excluded if they are used
strictly for defensive, and not aggressive purposes. It should
be remembered though that Israel’s security position in the
late fifties and early sixties when the nuclear program was
taking shape was far more precarious than it subsequently
became after the Six Day War, the establishment of a robust
domestic arms industry, and a reliable defense supply line
from the U.S.. During the fifties and early sixties a number
of attempts by Israel to obtain security guarantees from the
U.S., thus effectively placing Israel under the U.S. nuclear um-
brella in a manner similar to NATO or Japan, were rebuffed. If
an active policy to restrain Israel’s proliferation had been un-
dertaken, along with a secure defense agreement, the devel-
opment of a nuclear arsenal might have been preventable.
In 1962 the Dimona reactor went critical, and the French re-
sumed work on the plutonium plant, believed to have been
completed in 1964 or 1965. The acquisition of this reactor
and related technologies was clearly intended for military
purposes from the outset (not “dual use”) as the reactor has
no other function. The security at Dimona (officially the Ne-
gev Nuclear Research Center) is stringent, an IAF Mirage
was actually shot down in 1967 for straying into Dimona’s
airspace. There is little doubt then, that some time in the
late sixties Israel became the sixth nation to manufacture
nuclear weapons.
According to Seymour Hersh, PM Levi Eshkol delayed start-
ing nuclear weapons production even after the Dimona facil-
ity was finished. The reactor remained in operation so the plutonium continued to accumulate, whether it was
separated or not. It is generally believed that the first extraction of plutonium occurred in 1965, and that enough
plutonium was on hand for one weapon during the Six Day War in 1967 although whether a prototype weapon
actually existed or not is unknown. Hersh relates that Moshe Dayan gave the go-ahead for starting weapon pro-
duction in early 1968, which is when the plutonium separation plant presumably went into full operation. After
this Israel began producing three to five bombs a year. Wil-
liam Burroms and Robert Windrem, on the other hand, assert
in Critical Mass that Israel actually had two bombs available
for use in 1967, and that Eshkol actually ordered them armed
in Israel’s first nuclear alert during the Six Day War.
Israel began purchasing Krytrons in 1971. These are ultra high
speed electronic switching tubes that are “dual use”, having
both industrial and nuclear weapons applications.
At 2 p.m. (local) on 6 October 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked
Israel in a coordinated surprise attack, starting the Yom Kip-
pur War. Caught with only their standing forces on duty, and
these at a low level of readiness, the Israeli front lines were
overrun. By early afternoon on 7 October no defensive forces
were left in the southern Golan Heights and Syrian forces had
reached the edge of the plateau, within sight of the Jordan
River. It has been widely reported that this crisis brought Is-
rael to its first nuclear alert. Hersh reports that the decision
was made by PM Golda Meir and her “kitchen cabinet” on the
night of 8 October. This resulted in the Jericho missiles at
Hirbat Zachariah and the nuclear strike F-4s at Tel Nof being
armed and prepared for action against Syrian and Egyptian
targets. US Sec. of State Henry Kissinger was apparently noti-
fied of this alert several hours later on the morning of 9 Octo-
ber, which helped motivate a U.S. decision to promptly open
a resupply pipeline to Israel (Israeli aircraft began picking up
supplies that day, the first U.S. flights arrived on 14 October).
Though stockpile depletion remained a concern, the mili-
tary situation stabilized on October 8 and 9 as Israeli reserves
poured into the battle and disaster was averted. Well before
significant resupply had reached Israeli forces, the Israe-
lis counterattacked and turned the tide on both fronts. On
11 October a counterattack on the Golan broke the back of
Syria’s offensive, and on October 15 and 16 Israel launched a
surprise crossing of the Suez Canal. Soon the Egyptian Third
Army was faced with encirclement and annihilation, with no
protective forces remaining between the Israeli Army and
Cairo. This prompted Leonid Brezhnev to threaten, on 24 Oc-
tober, to airlift Soviet troops to reinforce the Egyptians. Pres.
Nixon’s response was to bring the U.S. to world-wide nuclear
alert the next day, whereupon Israel went to nuclear alert a
second time (according to Hersh; Burrows and Windrem do
not recognize this alert). This sudden crisis quickly faded as
PM Meir agreed to a ceasefire, relieving the pressure on the Egyptians. Considerable nuclear collaboration be-
tween Israel and South Africa seems to have developed around 1967 and continued through the 70s and 80s.
During this period SA was Israel’s primary sup- nium production. The only inside account of the
plier of uranium for Dimona. An open question program from a publicly named source is that of
remains regarding what role Israel had (if any) in Mordecai Vanunu, whose story was published by
the 22 September 1979 nuclear explosion in the the London Sunday Times on 5 October 1986. Va-
south Indian Ocean which is widely believed to nunu was a mid-level technician in the Machon 2
be a SA-Israel joint test. complex at Dimona for 9 years, who claimed that
Israel possessed 100-200 nuclear weapons (im-
Hersh relates extensive (and highly successful) ef- plying some 400-800 kg of plutonium) and can
forts by Israel to obtain targeting data from U.S. produce 40 kg of plutonium a year. This produc-
intelligence. Much satellite imaging data of the tion figure indicates an average operating power
Soviet Union was obtained through the Ameri- of 150 MW thermal. Analysts generally discount
can spy Jonathan Pollard, apparently indicating figures this high, and the consensus is that it was
Israel’s intention to use its nuclear arsenal as a initially operated at 40 MW and was upgraded to
deterrent, political lever, or retaliatory capability 70 MW sometime before 1977. A 1996 study by
against the Soviet Union itself. the Stockholm International Peace Research In-
stitute (SIPRI) produced a somewhat lower range
Satellite imagery from a U.S. KH-11 satellite for of estimates, concluding that Israel has produced
example was used to plan the 7 June 1981 at- 330-580 kg of plutonium through 1995, enough
tack on the Tammuz-1 reactor at Osiraq, Iraq. This for a stockpile of 80-150 efficient weapons (the
attack, carried out by 8 F-16s accompanied by extreme estimate range was 190 to 880 kg).
6 F-15s punched a hole in the concrete reactor
dome before the reactor began operation (and Vanunu provided information indicating that
just days before an Israeli election) and delivered the uranium fuel is subjected to burnups of 400
15 delay-fused 2000 lb bombs deep into the re- MW-days/tonne, a figure similar to that used by
actor structure (the 16th bomb hit a nearby hall). the U.S. early in its weapons production pro-
The blasts shredded the reactor and blew out the gram. This results in a high grade plutonium
dome foundations, causing it to collapse on the with a Pu-240 content of 2%. According to Va-
rubble. This was the world’s first attack on a nu- nunu 140 fuel rods are irradiated for periods of
clear reactor. about three months before discharge for pluto-
nium extraction. At 70 MW the Dimona reactor
Since 19 September 1988 Israel has had its own would consume some 48 tonnes of fuel a year
satellite reconnaissance system and thus no lon- and produce about 18 kg of plutonium.
ger needs to rely on U.S. sources. On that day
the Offeq-1 satellite was launched on the Shavit Vanunu also claimed that Israel possessed fusion
booster, a system closely related to the Jericho-2 boosted weapons, and has developed hydro-
missile. Offeq-2 went up on 3 April 1990. The gen bomb technology. He provided information
launch of the Offeq-3 failed on its first attempt about both lithium-6 and tritium production.
on 15 September 1994, but was retried success- He stated that initially tritium was produced by
This is an image of the Dimona facility taken by a US Corona spy satellite in 1971 (Mission 1115-2, 29 Sep-
fully 5 April 1995. On 22 January 1998 an attempt a facility in Machon 2 called Unit 92 by separat-
tember 1971, Frame: 52, 53). It is physically impossible to take a similar image within the atmosphere as
to launch the Offeq-4, timed to coincide with the ing it from the heavy water moderator where it
Israel jealously protects the airspace above Dimona. In the 1960s an Israeli Airforce Mirage was shot down
ending of service by Offeq-3, also failed. is produced in small amounts as a by-product. In
when it accidentally ventured too close to Dimona.
1984 production was expanded when a new facili-
Both Hersh and Burrows and Windrem agree that Is- ty called Unit 93 was opened to extract tritium from
rael went on full scale nuclear alert again on the first day of Desert Storm, 18 January 1991, when 7 Scud missiles enriched lithium that had been irradiated in the reactor. The large scale production of tritium by Israel has been
were fired against the cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa by Iraq (only 2 actually hit Tel Aviv and 1 hit Haifa). This alert appar- confirmed by South Africa, which received shipments of tritium totaling 30 g during 1977-79. This clearly indicates
ently lasted for the duration of the war (43 days). Threats of retaliation by the Shamir government if the Iraqis used tritium production on a scale sufficient for a weapon boosting program. It is difficult to find any other rationale for
chemical warheads are interpreted to mean that Israel intended to launch a nuclear strike if gas attacks occurred. such a large tritium production capability except some sort of thermonuclear weapon application.

The principal uncertainty in evaluating Israel’s weapon production capability is the actual power level of the Di- It is quite difficult to develop gas fusion boosting technology like that used in U.S. weapons and weapons tests
mona reactor. It has long been believed that Israel has upgraded the reactor repeatedly to increase its pluto- are probably essential. Although radiation implosion weapons could be developed without testing, they would
tend to be large and heavy and would perhaps be incompatible
with Israel’s available delivery systems. It is quite possible then
that a Sloika/Alarm Clock type system has been developed using
lithium-6 deuteride fuel surrounding the plutonium core (in fact
a weapon mock-up photographed by Vanunu appears to be this
type of weapon). Tritium could be used to spike the fusion fuel and
boost the yield, just as the Soviets did with the 400 kt “Joe-4”.

Bomb components made of plutonium, lithium-6 deuteride, and

beryllium are fabricated in level 5 of Machon 2. They are transport-
ed by convoys of unmarked cars to the warhead assembly facility,
operated by Rafael north of Haifa.

Hersh reports (without any stated source) that Israel has developed
an extensive array of tactical nuclear weapons: efficient compact
boosted fission bombs, neutron bombs (allegedly numbering in
the hundreds by the mid-eighties), nuclear artillery shells, and nu-
clear mines. With an arsenal that is quite possibly in excess of 100
weapons it is likely that some of the nuclear materials would be
applied tactical weapons. Boosted bombs are doubtful, as are neu-
tron bombs, due to problems with development in the absence
of a significant testing program. Neutron bombs also require very
large amounts of tritium (20-30 g per weapon) which would im-
pact the production of plutonium quite seriously (each gram of tri-
tium displaces 80 grams of plutonium production). Artillery shells
are also doubtful due to their wastefulness in plutonium. Tactical
weapons are probably aircraft or missile delivered, or are pre-em-
placed mines.

Burrows and Windrem claim (without indicating a source) that Israel

has produced 300 warheads, including those that have since been
dismantled. They place the current arsenal at about 200 weapons.

Several reports have surfaced claiming that Israel has some ura-
nium enrichment capability at Dimona. Vanunu asserted that gas
centrifuges were operating in Machon 8, and that a laser enrich-
ment plant was being operated in Machon 9 (Israel holds a 1973
patent on laser isotopic enrichment). According to Vanunu the
production-scale plant has been operating since 1979-80. The
scale of a centrifuge operation would necessarily be limited due
to space constraints, and might be focused toward enriching de-
pleted reactor fuel to more efficiently use Israel’s uranium supply.
A laser enrichment system, if developed to operational status,
could be quite compact however and might be producing weap-
on grade material in substantial quantities. If highly enriched
uranium is being produced in substantial quantities, then Israel’s Inset, Shavit space launch vehicle,
nuclear arsenal could be much larger than estimated solely from Offeq-2 launch on April 3rd,1990
plutonium production.
Reports that Zalman Shapiro, the American owner of the nuclear fuel processing company NUMEC, supplied en- The Jericho 1 and 2 are deployed near Kfar Zachariah and Sderot Micha in the Judean foothills, about 23 km west
riched uranium to Israel in the 1960s seems to have been authoritatively refuted by Hersh. Israel produces uranium of Jerusalem (and about 40 km southeast of Tel Aviv). Located a few kilometers to the northwest is Tel Nof air base.
domestically as a by-product of phosphate mining near the Dead Sea but this amounts to only 10 tons a year, and Images of the missile complex made by commercial satellites have been published in recent years, and September
is grossly insufficient for its needs. Israel has addressed this shortfall by reprocessing the low burnup spent fuel to 1997 Jane’s Intelligence Review published a 3-D analysis of high resolution pictures taken by the Indian IRS-C sat-
recover uranium (which most nations do not do). It is also known to have purchased at least 200 tons of natural ellite. The complex is compact – smaller than 6 km x 4 km. The missiles are mobile, being deployed on transport-
uranium on the world market under an alias. A major source though was some 600 tons of uranium provided by er-erector-launchers (TELs), and are based in bunkers tunneled into the side of the limestone hills. There are no
South Africa in a quid pro quo for Israel’s assistance on its signs of missile silos. TELs require firm, accurately leveled
weapons program. Combined with uranium recycling, and ground in order to launch, and maximum missile accuracy
the possible use of enrichment to stretch the uranium sup- requires pre-surveyed launch points. Consequently there
ply, these quantities may be sufficient to account for Dimo- are a number of prepared launch pads (paved culs-de-sac)
na’s fuel supply to the present date (1997). connected to these bunkers by paved roads. Images of an
actual Jericho 2 TEL indicate that it is about 16 m long, 4
Israel can undoubtedly deploy nuclear weapons using its m wide, and 3 m high. It is accompanied by three support
capable air force. The aircraft and crews dedicated to nu- vehicles (probably a power supply vehicle, a firing control
clear weapons delivery are located at the Tel Nof airbase. vehicle, and a communications vehicle). The Zachariah
Originally the F-4 Phantom II acquired in 1969 was probably missile base was enlarged between 1989 and 1993 during
the designated carrier, today it would be the F-16. The F-16 the Jericho-2 deployment. A few kilometers north of Tel
has an unrefueled radius of action of 1250 km, extending Nof is the IAI’s MLM Division plant in Be’er Ya’acov where
out to western Iran, the shores of the Black Sea, Riyadh, or the Jericho and Arrow missiles and the Shavit are manu-
the Libyan border. With refueling it can travel much farther factured. In April 1997 this factory suffered a serious fire.
of course, and an unrefueled one-way mission could take it
as far as Moscow. From its deployment location in central Israel the Jeri-
cho-1 missile can reach such targets as Damascus, Aleppo,
Israel also possesses medium-range ballistic missiles: the and Cairo. The Jericho-2 can reach any part of Syria or Iraq,
Jericho-1 (Ya-1 “Luz”) with a 500 kg payload, and a range and as far as Teheran, and Benghazi, Libya. The Jericho-2B
of 480-650 km (operational since 1973); and the Jericho 2 will be able to reach any part of Libya or Iran, and as far
(either Ya-2 or Ya-3) with a 1000 kg payload and a range of as southern Russia. The short range of the Lance limits it
over 1500 km (operational since 1990). Under development mainly to battlefield use, although the Syrian capital of
is the Jericho-2B with a range of 2,500 km. These missiles Damascus is in range from much of northern Israel. Ac-
were almost certainly developed specifically as nuclear cording to Jane’s World Air Forces, Israel has three Jeri-
delivery systems (although chemical warheads cannot be cho-equipped missile squadrons.
ruled out). About 50 Jericho-1s and 50 Jericho-2s are be- Also located at the site are a group of 21 bunkers thought
lieved to have been deployed. Israel also has a 100 or more to contain nuclear gravity bombs. Five of the larger ones
U.S. supplied Lance tactical missiles, with a range of 115 km are about 15 m wide and 20 m long, and rise 6 m above
(72 miles). Although these were supplied with conventional ground.
warheads, they could have been outfitted with nuclear or
chemical ones. Israel has taken active steps to prevent nations that are of-
ficially at war with it from acquiring nuclear capabilities.
Both the Jericho 1 and 2 are two stage solid-propellant The bombing of the Tammuz-1 reactor at Osiraq in Iraq
missiles. The Jericho-1 is about 10 m long, 1 m wide, and in 1981 is the most famous case, but an earlier successful
weighs 4500 kg. The Jericho-2 is about 12 m long, and 1.2 sabotage of the reactor core in France prior to shipment is
m wide with a launch weight of 6500 kg. The Jericho-1 was no doubt attributable to Mossad. Israel’s official policy is that
developed in the mid-sixties with French assistance. It is believed to be based on the Dassault MD-600. Jericho-2 it will not be the first nation to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East. In contrast to the coy hinting prac-
development is indigenous, and started soon after the Jericho-1 was deployed. Test launches began in 1986 and ticed in the past by some undeclared weapon’s states, Israel thus actively denies possessing nuclear weapons. Its
the first two had ranges of 465 km (1986) and 820 km (1987). The Jericho-2 shares the first two stages of the civilian obvious capability in this regard has thus established de facto deterrence, while minimizing (but not eliminating)
Shavit (Comet) space launch vehicle, which launched Israel’s first satellite, the Offeq-1, in September 1988. domestic and international controversy.
Mordechai Vanunu
Clocked at over 35mph, this image and the next four show the ferocity and enormity of the
Pyroclastic Cloud that engulfed lower Manhattan on September 11th, 2001
Precisely the effects physicist Andre Gsponer discusses in Chapter 2
Pictured at far left are the stairs inside one of the build-
ings demolished on 911. Examine the stairway carefully.
This is a cement stairway that was literally stripped of
several centimeters of it’s surface — hardened cement
used to construct stairways capable of supporting re-
peated heavy use — turned to dust. Even the metal rebar
is visible on the lower right-hand side of the staircase.
On September 11th, 2001, the world watched examples
of 3rd generation nuclear warheads purposely deto-
nated in a major metropolitan city. Today the scientific
and medical communities are hard at work following a
quarter of a million people and the health and medical
results of this cruel experiment — a National Security
event necessitated by greed and psychopathy alone.
BUILDING 6
 the PIT

Coating and filling the craters ...

the steel

This steel girder was bent in milliseconds by temperatures exceeding 8000º F

Temperatures that dissipated as quickly as they appeared
The extreme rust visible on the following pages
is an example of the results of a nuclear demolition
the rust
parting shots
With plastic parts still intact and dense metal parts vaporized, this NYPD
rescue vehicle provides us with a classic example of a nuclear demolition
Building 6
How this can be justified as a “National Security” event is beyonf belief
It’s been argued that there were no bodies on the ground. There are no images of bodies in this eMag however
the Zip File available for download on the last page of this eMag contains a folder with those images.
The world was told that the air was clean to breathe. Dr. Thomas Cahill would argue otherwise, writing as he did in the peer review, and he warned us all.
A significant percentage of the Twin Towers and Buildings 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 were carried out to sea by the prevailing winds
 The buildings located at Ground Zero did not collapse into their footprints. Enormous portions of the buildings weighing tons were strewn about lower Manhattan and a significant portion of the
vaporized buildings were lofted across the city with the finer particles floating out to sea on the prevailing winds as seen in numerous images. A large percentage of the buildings simply turned to dust.
 BUILDING SIX
Six World Trade Center was an eight-story building in Lower Manhattan in New York City. It opened in 1973 and was the
building in the World Trade Center complex that had the fewest stories. Six World Trade Center was first proposed in 1968 as
part of the original World Trade Center complex. The building was designed by Emery Roth & Sons, along with Yamasaki As-
sociates. Construction was completed in 1973. The original Six World Trade Center was home to the U.S. Customs Service for
the state of New York, from 1974 to 2001. It was a 537,693-square-foot (49,953-square-meter), eight-story building, the short-
est in the World Trade Center complex. From the Austin J. Tobin Plaza level, on which the main structure was built, it had a
height of 92 feet (28 m) but was 105 feet (32 m) above the actual ground level. It was demolished following the destruction
of the World Trade Center during the September 11th attacks. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF),
also housed in Building Six, is a federal law enforcement organization within the United States Department of Justice. Its
responsibilities include the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and
possession of firearms and explosives; acts of arson and bombings; and illegal trafficking and tax evasion of alcohol and to-
bacco products. The ATF also regulates via licensing the sale, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and ex-
plosives in interstate commerce. Many of the ATF’s activities are carried out in conjunction with task forces made up of state
and local law enforcement officers. The ATF operates a unique fire research laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, where full-scale
mock-ups of criminal arson can be reconstructed. The ATF has 4,770 employees and an annual budget of $1.15 billion (2012).

List Of Tenants In Six World Trade Center

• Internal Revenue Service Inspection Service (Internal Affairs)

• United States Customs
United States Service
• Bureau of Alcohol,
Department of Commerce
• United States Department
Tobacco and Firearms
• United States Department ofof Agriculture – Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
• The Peace Corps (New York Regional Office)
Labor
• Export-Import Bank of the United States
• Eastco Building Services (building management)
•
The building’s ruins were demolished to make way for reconstruction of the current World Trade Center site. AMEC Construc-
tion handled the demolition, in which the building was weakened and then pulled down with cables. The new One World
Trade Centerstands at the site where Six World Trade Center originally stood.

At right, a crane working inside what was left of Building Six lifts what became the infamous 9/11 cross.
Southwest Corner of Building Six
in the news
The following 4 pages contain print edition newspaper covers.

The covers on the left are dated March 20th, 2003 and the covers on the right are dated March 20th, 2011.

All wars are predicated upon falsehoods.

Think about that ... same exact day, 8 years later ...
Jet Fuel, at right, was sprayed out across the
skies and not enough fuel was left within the
towers to cause the damage we saw on 9/11.

Speculation
By Preston James, PhD

What if “micro-nukes” were not gamma ray

emitters at all and were not fusion based in the
conventional sense like a hydrogen bomb. Air
fuel technology was alleged to have been dis-
covered by the Nazi scientists and alleged to be
later used in the first Gulf War. Neutron bombs
were developed to maximize kill rates without
major damage to buildings. Have positron an-
ti-matter devices been developed to maximize
maximum blast damage with minimal radia-
tion? Have they been miniaturized?

That would render all of the satellite platform

based, aircraft born, truck born, seaport, and
airport sensors ineffective. Suppose the mech-
anisms were anti-matter positron based tech-
nology with either catalytic or laser operated
matchbox sized detonators. Suppose that very
small levels of tritium were the only byproducts
other than the pure energy release at the speed
of light which implodes instead of explodes
creating a back-blast which does the damage.
Suppose that these were apple sized. Suppose
that this technology was developed at secret
labs in the SW USA by USG approved private
contractors beyond the rule of law. Suppose
that anyone that does some detailed searching
of the Net could find trails exposing this. It is in-
teresting that published articles from the past
suggest major R&D and then everything stops
cold, no more articles, the whole matter just dis-
appears into a black hole. Then articles start ap-
pearing of how difficult it is to create anti-matter
traps, perhaps more deflection and cover. Is it
reasonable to assume that’s when it went oper-
ational? Could such an apple sized device have
been placed every ten floors or so in the twin
trade towers on 9-11-01 and detonated in se-
quence from the top down? Would this explain
the weird blast effects, which included ejection
of structural steel chunks sideways, complete
pulverization of concrete and steel?
This image can be enlarged repeatedly
a note on From Frédéric Henry-Couannier To Jeff Prager:

I’m Frederic Henry-Couannier, a French physicist and was invited by Steven Jones and his team (since I had
confirmed in 2009 some of their most important observations with the dust samples they sent to me) to
co-sign their now famous publication: the “Nanothermite Discovery” article.

Finally I refused because I could not reproduce the main result (ignition of red chips), “because I was not
confident in the origin of my samples, and because I already had in mind many of the kind of arguments
that you have published here (your Facebook Posts) but also others.”

Neither chemical nor nuclear in the ordinary sense (would imply too much radiations and much more tri-
tium than the small anomaly actually observed), the WTC destruction is for me the result of “cold fusion”
advanced weapon technologies (See Chapter 2).

I have an article in very bad English http://www.darksideofgravity.com/nexus_gb.pdf a French version more

actualized (in red) http://www.darksideofgravity.com/nexus.pdf and a synthesis called Grand Unified Su-
perConspiracy Theory (sounds like a joke but it’s not) written in good (my best effort so far) French (hence
difficult for me to translate into as good English). http://www.darksideofgravity.com/TGUSC.pdf where I try
to explain that there are actually several conspiracies among which cold fusion cover up and 911 cover up
that can be unified and better understood in that way.

Best Regards, F. H-C

cold fusion
 Arms Trafficking
Stolen Missiles
Soviet Submarines
Nuclear Detonations & 911
Dimitri Khalezov is a former Soviet commissioned officer of the “military unit 46179”, otherwise known as “the Spe-
cial Control Service” of the 12th Chief Directorate of the Defense Ministry of the Soviet Union. [1] He has agreed to
this exclusive interview and it is our pleasure to be able to offer readers of www.danielestulin.com another quality
first. Dimitri is a crucial piece of the puzzle in the case of Victor Bout. It is safe to say that had it not been for Dimitri´s
dedication to helping Mr. Bout, his incorruptibility and brilliance, Victor, might very well have found himself today
behind bars in some high-profile American prison. Dimitri is the first man to see Mr. Bout after his world famous
arrest in Bangkok and he is the man who has given more headaches to the United States government than anyone
else in the world. Furthermore, Dimitri Khalezov is the first person in the world to have uncovered the true reasons
for the United States government’s dogged pursuit of Victor Bout. Mr. Bout´s arrest is directly linked to 9/11, and
Mr. Khalezov, because of his unique vantage point as a former member of the Soviet “atomic” and later “nuclear”
intelligence says that he knew about the in-built so-called “emergency nuclear demolitions scheme” of the Twin
Towers as long back as early 1980´s, while serving in the Soviet Special Control Service.
How did you get involved in the case?
Both Victor Bout and I are Russian. We are both former Soviet military officers. Moreover, we actually come from
the same village. I think, these are good enough reason to try and help him with his case, considering that Victor
was arrested in Bangkok and I happened to have been living in Bangkok at the time of his arrest. Furthermore, I
have extensive experience with the Thai legal system, especially when you consider that the United States govern-
ment has tried to have me arrested and extradited to America too in connection with 9/11. It happened back in
2003. So, I have enough motivation to try to help Victor.
In March 2008, Victor Bout was Osama bin Laden´s equal as far as notoriety on the world´s stage. How did you
manage to see Victor Bout on the very first day of his detention in Bangkok?
what hit the pentagon?
Under the Thai Criminal Procedure any person under arrest has his or her undeniable right to be visited by friends
while under arrest. Victor Bout, despite being the so-called “Merchant of Death” and the so-called “Lord of War”,
was not excluded from the provisions of the Thai Criminal Procedure Code. I simply came to the police station
where he was detained and requested to visit my friend. They had to let me see him as much as it might have
pained them. In fact, the police went out of their way to help. They seated both of us on a sofa in the corridor and
let us chat nicely. Usually they only allow visitors to talk to detained persons through bars of a detention cage, but
for Victor and me they made an exception to this rule.
Is there a link between your case, 9-11 and Victor Bout?
Apparently yes. I was wanted by the United States allegedly in connection with 9/11, and with the 2002 Bali bomb-
ing (which was a mini-nuke bombing), while Victor Bout is apparently wanted by the Americans in connection
with 9/11 and in connection with the 2003 El-Nogal bombing. Incidentally, El-Nogal is known to have been a mini-
nuke bombing – at least known to appropriate security officials. As you can see there are a lot of similarities.
Who are the main players: US and Bout’s camp?
It might appear that a certain alleged ‘Bout camp’ exists, it is a totally false impression. The so-called ‘Bout camp’
consists of Victor Bout, his wife, his brother, his mother, his daughter, me (Dimitri Khalezov), a couple of Victor’s per-
sonal friends from the Soviet Union, his Thai lawyer – Mr. Lak Nittiwatvicharn, his Russian lawyer, of course, Daniel
Estulin, and, perhaps, a few journalists who came to know Victor and his family during their investigation of the
case. If you can call this rag-tag army “Bout´s camp”, then yes, there are two main players – “Bout’s camp” and the US
camp. Aside from the US government, however, there are quite a few other powerful players who have positioned
themselves against Victor.
Who are these powerful players and why have we not heard anything about them?
One branch of the Russian Secret Service: FSB. First of all, the Russian Government (at least certain powerful indi-
viduals within the Russian Government), and the Russian secret service.
What? Are you serious? You have just accused the Russian government of working against Victor Bout when the
entire world is convinced that had it not been for Putin and Medvedev, Victor Bout, most likely would have been
extradited to the United States a long time ago!
You will not be able to hear anything about them, because they are not so stupid as to show off. They would rather
show you something entirely opposite – that they are allegedly “helping” Victor Bout. But make no mistake – from
the very beginning of this unprecedented set-up, the Russian side was heavily involved with the Americans in
the entire operation in framing Victor and in luring him to Bangkok. It was conceived and conducted by both –
the Russian and the American secret services working together. In addition to the Russians, other players were
involved as well. Primarily, the Israeli secret services – the Mossad and Sayaret Matkal. They have keen interest in
this case, too. It was demonstrated by the unprecedented Sayaret Matkal’s involvement in the case of one of the
FARC leaders – Raul Reyes and “his” weapon-grade Uranium that was planted by “someone” around his camp in
the Ecuadorian jungle. Don’t miss this point – Raul Reyes was murdered on March 1, 2008, while Victor Bout was
scheduled to be lured to Bangkok on March 4, 2008, in direct connection with the FARC and Uranium affairs, while
all legal paperwork that requested the Thais to arrest him has been submitted to the Thai side by the Americans in
the last day of February – that is BEFORE the murder of Raul Reyes.
And, please, note that it was the Israeli Sayaret Matkal (a highly tailored organization that deals exclusively with
nuclear weapons of enemies and with nothing else but that) involved in the actual murder of Reyes and in the “dis-
covery” of “his” Uranium. Don’t miss to notice also that Victor Bout arrived in Bangkok not alone, but in a strange
company of his alleged “friend” – a certain colonel from the Russian FSB, who was initially arrested with Victor and
then strangely released and sent back to Moscow on the first available flight. To understand how improbable it is,
try to imagine the following situation. Let´s say that a certain secret service (the French, for example) arranged to
lure Osama bin Laden to Paris, promising the Saudi terrorist that he will meet in Paris with his Muslim brothers and
in the meeting they will discuss how to demolish the Eiffel Tower with a stolen Soviet mini-nuke. But Osama bin
Laden arrives to the meeting in Paris not alone, but accompanied by a certain colonel from the Taliban counter-in-
telligence service who decided to travel together with Osama just for the occasion – to have a chance to see the
Louvre, and the Eiffel Tower (before it is nuked).
The French secret service arrests both – Osama bin Laden and the colonel from the Taliban. Except that the French
realize that the one they want is Osama bin Laden, and not the colonel from the Taliban’s counter-intelligence
who indeed came to Paris to see its attractions and who simply kept his friend Osama bin Laden company on the
flight to France´s capital. So, the French police decide to release the colonel and send him back to Kabul on the
next available flight, detaining only Osama bin Laden, because ONLY he was the target of their sting-operation.
Does this version sound believable to you? Just as “believable” sounds the explanation why the Thai police and
the U.S. DEA so quickly released Victor Bout’s casual companion – the FSB colonel – who strangely arrived with
the infamous “Merchant of Death” and “Lord of War” on the same plane and in the same taxi and checked into the
same hotel, but in reality did not want to help the latter to sell “portable anti-aircraft missiles” to the blood-thirsty
narco-dealers from FARC – he only wanted to see Bangkok and to have a chance to try the famous Thai massage.
Of course, this FSB colonel arrived to Bangkok by “mistake”, so this “mistake” was promptly corrected by the hon-
orable and honest Thai police who quickly realized that the friend of the “Merchant of Death” was innocent and
sent him back home immediately. Do you believe this nonsense? I don´t. At least four countries were heavily in-
volved in Victor Bout´s frame up: Russia, United States, Israel and Thailand. There is plausible evidence that other
nations were involved in this disgusting frame-up, but involved to a lesser extent than the above-mentioned four.
It appears that the Danes, the Dutch and the Romanians were involved too; at least, it appears so from the legal
paperwork available in Victor’s case-file at the Thai Criminal Court.
The entire world has the impression that the Russian government and Russian Embassy in Thailand have gone
above and beyond the call of duty to help Mr. Bout?
In fact, the United States government has bitterly complained publicly about the apparent behind-the-scenes
pressure Putin and Company are allegedly applying on the Thais to release Mr. Bout. Unfortunately, this is one
of the biggest mistakes to think that the Russian Government is allegedly involved in Victor Bout’s extradition
case in the Thai court on the side of Victor. Indeed, the “official line” in many hysterical publications in the Western
and even in the Russian press imply that the Russian officialdom is allegedly “trying hard to help Victor” as Victor
could, allegedly, implicate “certain Russian politicians” in some alleged “wrongdoings”. This impression is somehow
supported by the fact that Russian Embassy officials regularly attended Thai court during Victor’s extradition case
hearings, and also as a result of a number of statements coming from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But
this leaves one with a false impression. Russian Embassy officials visiting Victor Bout and attending court hearings
are nothing but a regular consular assistance to a Russian citizen; be it to a citizen named Victor Bout or an un-
known Sergei Ivanov.
That said, I can assure you that even though the Russian Consul attended every court hearing, the Thai judges
were not “pressured” by the Russian delegation. It is normal for consuls to attend hearings of foreign defendants
and the judges are used to it. So by no means the fact that the Russian Consul has diligently performed his duties
could be considered as a kind of an “extra-judicial assistance” to the Defendant Victor Bout in the courtroom.
When it comes to the apparent statements of unflagging support made by the Russian Foreign Ministry they
should not mislead you either into believing that the Russian officials are allegedly “helping Victor Bout”. They were
not and are not helping him at all, but are rather doing their best to harm his position in the Thai court. It sounds
strange to a lay Westerner, but you have to understand some peculiarities when it comes to the Russians. First of
all, besides Putin, Medvedev and Co., there are other political powers in Russia – so-called “patriots” led by Vladimir
Zhirinovsky, for example, or “communists”, just to mention a few. Some of the “old Russians” sincerely believe that
the United States government must not be allowed to arrest a Russian citizen abroad, especially in a third country.
Because if allowed to do so with impunity, it will set a dangerous precedent. Today they dare to frame and arrest
an alleged “Merchant of Death” who knows no government secrets. But tomorrow, they might arrest a real colonel
from the Russian Strategic Missile Forces who decided to spend his holidays in Thailand. The United States govern-
ment can accuse this colonel of “planning to annihilate the United States as an entity with a massive thermo-nu-
clear strike” and to demand his extradition to America. What´s more, such a hypothetical accusation would in fact
be correct – because such a colonel could indeed plan to annihilate the US due to his service duties.
Please understand, a great majority of Russian citizens as well as Russian Armed Forces, are extremely unhappy
that the United States can arrogantly claim their alleged jurisdiction over territories that are not part of the United
States and they are especially annoyed when such bullying directly affects Russian citizens. Medvedev, Putin and
Company are aware of this and they have to take it into account when making their public statements.
Hence the public pledges of support from the Russian Foreign Ministry which sound like they really care about
Victor Bout and his case in Thailand. But nobody should be fooled by these tearful pledges of support. They are
nothing but a publicity stunt. In reality, they are no more harmful to the Americans and their cause than barking
of stray dogs around the Criminal Court in Bangkok. All these actions of the Russian Foreign Ministry are merely
intended to appease Russian population by creating an impression that the Russian Government allegedly “works
for Russia” and still “constitutes a challenge to the US hegemony in the world”. However, neither of these is true in
reality. Moreover, if the Russian Government did nothing at all to help Victor Bout fight his extradition case in the
Thai courts, he would have had a much better chance at winning his case.
Does the United States want Victor Bout for being an arms merchant as he is portrayed by the UN and US journalist
Douglas Farah or is there more to his case?
In reality, Victor Bout is not wanted for being an alleged “arms merchant” as he is portrayed and as he is perceived
by the people who put more stock into a newspaper article than they do into facts. If Victor was really wanted for
what you suggested, then the Americans would not wait until March 2008 to arrest him – they would have initiat-
ed criminal proceedings against Victor Bout back in the ‘90s, or, at the latest, at the very beginning of the new mil-
lennium. The problem is, Victor is NOT wanted for being the “arms merchant”, at least in the sense he is portrayed
in the infamous movie or described in the irresponsible UN report by a former United Nations weapons inspector,
Johan Peleman. Victor is wanted for something totally different, but, perhaps, we will discuss that further in more
detail.
How strong of a case does the United States government have?
From the judicial point of view, US government’s case is very weak and Victor could easily have won it. Can you
imagine that the accusers (US government) failed to bring to the Thai court even a single “portable anti-aircraft
missile” that Victor was alleged to have been illegally selling to “the highest bidder”? But the main problem was
that the Russian Government and the Russian secret service did their best to harm Victor’s position in the Thai
court, to force him to defend himself in the wrong way from the judicial point of view, to make false promises
that would dull his vigilance, and, moreover, to deprive Victor of funds, so that he would have simply no money to
conduct his defense in the Thai court in an effective manner. If the Russian Government were indeed concerned
about Victor’s defense as believed by most people, then it would have at the very least subsidize his legal expens-
es. It would be normal to expect for the Russian Government to at least provide the best legal experts from the
Russian side free of charge and contribute a couple of millions US dollars to cover the legal expenses on the Thai
side. At least, it is logical to expect it. What is the two million US dollars for the government of a country with over
150 millions populations that sells gas and oil and brandishes nuclear weapons capable of destroying the Earth a
hundred times over? Such petty cash is a small price to pay for Mother Russia to defend its famous citizen in such
a notorious case, isn’t it?
But in reality not only the Russian Government did not pay anything either openly or covertly (in disguise through
a “private donation”) to Victor Bout and his family; the Russian secret service did their best to force Victor’s brother
and Victor’s wife into absolutely unnecessary expenses that drove them into total bankruptcy. Instead of helping
them financially, the Russian Government indeed sucked out their last savings. If you also add that it was the
Russian officials who advised Victor to conduct his defense in the Thai court in the most wrongful manner and if
you add that one of Victor’s lawyer – a proven shill for the American DEA – was also recommended by the Russian
officials, you will understand the travesty and injustice and treason involved. Let me say it again, the Russian Gov-
ernment, from the very beginning was secretly, but very efficiently working with the Americans to get Victor Bout
to the United States to stand trial, and at the same time, to create an impression that Russia is still “great” and could
still “defend its citizens”.
Let´s go over the basic facts of the case. First of all, the Russian secret service managed to convince Victor and his
wife Alla, not to conduct the defense in the Thai court by proving the fact that there were no actual portable an-
ti-aircraft missiles available to be sold to the FARC. Solely based on this evidence alone, the case should have been
dismissed. The Russian officials proposed, instead, to conduct the defense by proving to the Thai court that the
case was allegedly “political”, because the FARC is a political organization, the Communist party. This was a suicidal
method of defense if looking at the case through the eyes of a professional lawyer. By proving that the case was
“political” Victor automatically proved that he agreed with the existence of the actual “case”, that is missiles and
such. This case could have been easily won by proving that there were “no case at all” and as such a non-existent
“case” can not be “political” because there was nothing to be “political”.
Instead, Victor and his wife agreed with the proposal of the Russian officials and limited the defense in the Thai
court by claiming that the case of dealing with the FARC was “political” without challenging the actual “case” what-
soever. The most important point of the entire case – that there was not even a single alleged “portable anti-air-
craft missile” captured – was not voiced in the court-room. And no questions have been asked by Victor’s lawyer
from the witnesses of the prosecution as to WHY the arresters failed to go after the alleged “missiles” in order to
seize them and to deprive the so-called “Merchant of Death” of his deadly arsenal. Therefore, from the way Victor´s
lawyer conducted the actual defense, it appeared to the judges that Victor was indeed selling the missiles, but the
matter to consider was only if the FARC was a terrorist organization (as claimed by the Americans) or a political one
(as claimed by Victor). As you may expect, the court eventually disagreed with such an interpretation and ruled
that the case was NOT political, while Victor and his then lawyer (who was a shill for the Americans) did absolutely
nothing to prove to the court that there were no case, no missiles, and no FARC – instead of proving that so-called
“FARC” was represented by the US citizens while the “missiles” was merely a product of their sick imagination and
existed only in their bogus paperwork, Victor and his then lawyer managed to prove by default that the actual
accusations of the Americans had some grounds.
Secondly, the Russian secret service promised Victor and his wife that if Victor conducted his defense in the Thai
court in the above-mentioned manner (by proving that the case was “political” without challenging the actual
claims and the total absence of any evidence of the Americans) then the Russian Government would guarantee
that Victor would win the case. As you may expect this promise and this “guarantee” was just a cheap ploy invented
by the Russian secret service in order to blunt his vigilance and to ensure that Victor would lose his case in the Thai
court despite total absence of the alleged missiles and despite an absolute presence of abundant evidence that
the entire “case” was merely a frame-up by the American DEA.
Furthermore, Victor’s wife, at my insistence made a very efficient complaint against her husband’s illegal detention
(because the actual detention of Victor was indeed illegal due to technicalities and during the entire extradition
hearings in the Thai court Victor must have been freed, and not behind bars). Submission of such a complaint by
Victor’s wife caught all Victor’s enemies – the Thais, the Russians and the Americans – virtually with their pants
down. The problem was that the detention of Victor was indeed technically illegal and he must have been released
immediately – the technicalities of the illegality of the detention were obvious, if not to say self-evident, and were
presented in the written complaint by Alla Bout in such a clear manner that they could not have been challenged
even by the best lawyers in the world. The only way left to the judges was to consider the case and to rule to re-
lease Victor Bout from unlawful custody and to continue the extradition hearings with him released from prison.
Apparently, it was not an option for the Russians, Americans and Thais who worked too hard to get Victor arrested,
thrown behind bars, and deprived of any income. But what could they do in this situation? Unfortunately, they
found a way out: the “trusted guys” from the Russian secret service approached Victor’s wife and convinced her to
voluntarily withdraw her complaint against her husband´s illegal detention (claiming that it puts the Thai court in
a difficult position and the court does not like this at all – which was indeed true) in exchange for the deal: once
the complaint is withdrawn, the “grateful” Thai court would immediately rule to release Victor on bail – as a kind of
a “settlement” that allows everyone “to save face”.
Victor and his wife again put their faith in the Russian government and agreed to withdraw the complaint. Except
that the “grateful” Thai court never released Victor on bail as promised. This is just another example of how the
Russian officials actually “helped” Victor Bout. The list of their “help” is very long, but I don’t want to make it too
long and too boring. I would mention that on the recommendation of the Russian secret service, Victor’s brother
has paid U.S. $120,000 for Victor’s bail, but the money was stolen, the bail has never been granted and the money
was never returned. Again, on the recommendation of the Russian secret service, Victor’s brother paid $250,000
dollars allegedly for an “out of court settlement” whereas Victor would be released before conclusion of the case.
According to the promise of the Russian officials, if the 250 thousand USD were paid, Victor Bout will be freed by
May 1, 2008. The money was paid as demanded, but nothing happened in the Thai court – the case just continued
and nobody bothered to return the money or take responsibility for the false promise.
As a result of this despicable behavior on the part of the Russian officials, “Victor Bout’s camp” as you call it, ran
out of money to such an extent that when it became necessary to translate several important court documents
from Thai to English in order to understand what the Thai witnesses said in court, Victor could not afford to pay the
2,000 USD for the translation and till today, some of the important papers from the case-file remain only in Thai
language. I hope this is more than enough to establish how the Russian Government is actually “helping” Victor
Bout to lose his extradition case in the Thai court.
Then, why is the Russian government working against Victor Bout?
Because of the Russian, to be more exact the Soviet-made missile that hit the Pentagon on 9/11.
This missile deems to be totally indestructible, because NATO lacks any means to shot down this missile even if
they detect it in advance. In fact, it was demonstrated in the case of the Pentagon attack on 9/11 – NORAD man-
aged to detect the upcoming “Granit” missile at least 6 minutes before it struck the Pentagon. NORAD’s opera-
tional officers managed to ring the atomic alert, scramble the so-called “Doomsday plane” in response, but were
not able to prevent the actual strike – the missile managed to successfully approach Washington DC and hit the
wall of the Pentagon despite being detected by NORAD 6 minutes in advance. Make you own conclusions – as to
the danger of this weapon. I would also like to note, that according to the Soviet and Russian strategic plans, the
submarines armed with the “Granite” missiles could be used as a “back-up” option for the retaliatory nuclear strike
against the United States (while the primary role in such a strike belongs to strategic intercontinental- and subma-
rine-launched ballistic missiles, of course).

What? I think you better explain that and, please go slowly.
The Americans, understandably, demand from the Russians to
find a fall guy or a patsy (or a group of fall guys) who is/are re-
sponsible for the missile that was found in the middle of the
Pentagon. Considering that the missile was actually nucle-
ar-tipped (with a half-megaton thermo-nuclear warhead that is
more than 25 times the size of the Hiroshima bomb) you can
imagine that the Americans are quite insistent with their de-
mands to the Russians to find, at last, the culprit and to surren-
der him to the US Justice.
It is indeed serious. But when it comes to the Russians, they
can not admit the truth – that the “Granit” missile with its ther-
mo-nuclear warhead was stolen from the sunken “Kursk” sub-
marine, because Putin back in 2000 solemnly declared to the
world that there were no nuclear weapons on board of the
sunken submarine.
What is a “Granit”?
The P-700 “Granit” missile (also known by its  NATO  classifica-
tion as “Shipwreck” or “SS-N-19” – where “N” apparently stands
for “Navy”) is the most advanced Soviet-era Navy missile. It is
intended to be fired from submarines in submerged position
and is primarily intended to destroy the US aircraft-carrier
battle-groups. This is a highly sophisticated and highly “intel-
ligent” missile. The “Granit” missiles could be used to strike bat-
tle-groups and other ship orders while fired in swarms of 12
missiles in one salvo, but could be as well used in single shots
– fired against single naval targets, as well as against stationary
ground targets (as was demonstrated in the case of the Penta-
gon strike on 9/11). Each “Granit” missile weighs about 7 tons, has
length of about 10 meters, could fly up to 625 km at the super-
sonic speed at 2.5 Mach. Each missile is typically equipped with
a standard “Navy-type” 500 kiloton thermo-nuclear warhead; con-
ventional warheads for this missile even though exist in theory, are never used in reality – so that all without any
exception “Granit” missiles in service are nuclear-tipped.
For the reason of possible usage in the retaliatory strike the
“Granit” missiles are also designed to produce air bursts above
the US cities – so they are equipped with special non-contact
detonators for such reason, in addition to the usual contact
detonators. I should mention also that the “Granit” missile
has a very advanced inertial guidance system that also has a
list of pre-loaded most important NATO targets. While flying
above the ocean the “Granit” missile will scan and reconnoi-
ter the operational theater and try to distinguish ship orders
and especially aircraft-carrier battle-groups and to select the
most important targets in the ship orders and to strike them
in automated manner. If flying above the territory the missile
will reconnoiter it too and will try to detect the most important
stationary targets by comparing their coordinates with those
pre-loaded in its warhead. Once encounter such targets the
missile’s on-board computer will immediately select the most
important target by the order of priority and the missile will
strike it. So, once the missile was fired towards Washington
D.C. it compared the two most important targets – the White
House and the Pentagon and “preferred” to strike the latter one
as being in its “opinion” the more important target. Perhaps I
should mention that this is the most heavily armored missile in
the world – it is made from very thick steel and in fact it could
be compared with a flying tank or with a giant bullet. Due to its
tremendous speed, weight and strength of its body this missile
managed to penetrate six capital walls of the Pentagon build-
ing when it struck it on 9/11.
The P-700 Granite projectiles are equipped with anti-missile systems and suc- Ok, please continue.
cessful penetration through the layers of its defense. In the final phase of the
attack, each of the missiles passes to a special, predefined course and attack You have to understand that now Putin can not afford to take
profile that for each cruise missile is different. This way the attack can make less his noble presidential words back and to admit that he was out-
predictable and close defense with CIWS systems is almost impossible. right lying to the world community and that all nuclear missiles
from the “Kursk” were indeed stolen. Some other solution is bad-
ly needed to meet the US demands for the “culprit” behind the
Pentagon attack. And this “solution” was eventually found. The
problem is that all “Granit” missiles, despite being made in the Soviet days, could only belong to Russia and to no
other former Soviet republic.
Can you prove this? are allegedly guilty. Now they need the actual “bad guys”. Who, do you think, fits the bill? You guessed it, the infa-
mous “Merchant of Death” and the “Lord of War”, thanks to the fact that his personality has been demonized long
Absolutely. The ‘Granit” is the Navy missile; it is not used by anyone except the Navy. In the Soviet Union there were ago and everyone would easily believe that it was indeed Victor Bout who sells not only weapons, but NUCLEAR
four Navy fleets – the Arctic Fleet, the Pacific Fleet, the Baltic Fleet, and the Black See Fleet. Out of the four Russia and even THERMONUCLEAR weapons to the highest bidder. That is exactly why the Russians and the Americans
inherited in its entirety the three fleets – the Arctic, the Baltic, and the Pacific ones. Only the Black See Fleet has got into this seemingly strange agreement – to frame Victor Bout. It is not so strange in reality, if you try to analyze
been divided between Russia and Ukraine. However, the “Granit” missiles were in service only on the Pacific Fleet the actual circumstances – because both parties badly need to close the Pentagon case and they simply can not
and on the Arctic Fleet; so such missiles could not have ended up in the hands of Ukrainians, even theoretically. All find any one better than Victor Bout for the role of the scapegoat who could sell such a missile to the terrorists.
the “Granits” must have been inherited by Russia alone. However, to shift blame away from Russia for the Pentagon There is simply no one else in the world who could fit this role.
strike, the Russian officials had no chance than to blame that some “Granit” missiles were allegedly a part of the
Black See Fleet and for sometime they were allegedly in the temporary possession of the Ukrainians during the Let´s move to Bout´s alleged partner in the FARC deal, Andrew Smulian, who was arrested along with Victor. What
turmoil caused by the Soviet Union collapse and by the consecutive dividing of its property (nuclear weapons and happened to him?
the Black See Fleet inclusive). For this reason the Russian secret service concocted a bogus back-dated paper-work
which “revealed” that one of the heavy cruisers of the Black See Fleet was allegedly scheduled to be re-armed with The so-called “co-conspirator Smulian” was Bout´s former friend and a former business-partner. But in this particu-
the “Granit” missiles and for that reason in the last years of the Soviet rule several “Granit” missiles were allegedly lar case, Smulian was a “co-conspirator” of the DEA agent-provocateurs who framed Victor, rather than a Victor Bout
transferred to the Black See Fleet and were kept there and eventually they allegedly ended up with the Ukraini- “co-conspirator”. Unlikely you can be a “co-conspirator” to the one who is innocent. This is a clarification of termi-
ans after the break up of the Soviet Union. nology usage, if you don’t mind me being
And, from these Ukrainians these “Granit” pedantic with such a correction. Andrew
missiles were allegedly “stolen” and thus Smulian was the one who visited Victor
ended up with the terrorists (who even- in Moscow several times and presented
tually fired one of such missiles into the him with business offers – particularly,
Pentagon on 9/11). This version is ridic- he promised to find good customers for
ulous because even if you imagine that the last plane in Victor´s possession, still
several “Granit” missiles were indeed kept parked in UAE and which Victor dreams
in Ukraine, intended for the re-armament to get rid of in exchange for badly need-
of that heavy-cruiser, as claimed, these ed cash. As an aside, keep in mind that
missiles would never be kept in storage Victor was totally broke even before his
with their nuclear warheads attached. arrest in Bangkok and to sell his last air-
In accordance with the rules, in the So- craft was a big deal for him.
viet Union, missiles were kept in one
place, while the nuclear warheads were Eventually Smulian lured Victor to Bang-
kept in another location, moreover, un- kok – to finally negotiate with the pro-
der control of a different department of spective buyers. During the negotiations,
the military. Only lay people who know according to the US government doc-
nothing about the Soviet Armed Forces uments presented in his case, Smulian
and their rules could believe such a ver- introduced Victor to several people who
sion that it was allegedly possible for the allegedly looked Latin American and
“reckless Ukrainians” to lose the missiles who allegedly spoke Spanish. These peo-
and the nuclear warheads at the same ple were alleged to be from a Colombian
time. The missiles with the attached nu- revolutionary organization named FARC
clear warheads could only be stolen from – which is basically a Marxist guerrilla
one place – from a submarine in service. movement fighting the capitalist gov-
However, it seems that some responsible ernment of Colombia for decades. The
security officials believe (or “pretend to deal to sell the plane was held in the ho-
believe”) this ridiculous version with the tel business-center. A few minutes after
“Ukrainian trail” which seems to success- the meeting began, the Thai police and
fully exonerate the Russians. the American DEA agents from the US
local Embassy barged in and arrested
In this case the Russians are not guilty at everyone – Victor Bout, his “friend” from
all. Some “bad guys” who stole the mis- Moscow (who was found to be an FSB
siles from Ukraine (and not from Russia) colonel), and Andrew Smulian. Out of the
three only Victor was naturally arrested and detained. Victor’s FSB colonel friend was immediately released, put on
the first available flight and appeared in Moscow the next morning.
Andrew Smulian allegedly escaped (i.e. escaped from the custody of the Thai police) and disappeared. Keep in
mind, he allegedly escaped from a locked down hotel guarded by over 150 Thai commandos. Then, without any-
one noticing his disappearance, he alleged flagged a taxi to the airport, with his hands handcuffed behind his
back. Once at the airport, he allegedly bought a ticket with no money and no passport to the United States, the
only country in the world that if arrested, he would be looking at 30 years to life in prison. This is the American
version of the events. Mr. Andrew Smulian suddenly “appeared” in America and was arrested in New York for being
an alleged “co-conspirator” of Victor Bout. There is confirmed information that Andrew Smulian has been turned
to be a prosecution witness who would testify against his former friend. Smulian is not in jail in America – he is in
a “protective custody”.
What is your opinion of Bout’s two lawyers: Lak and Chamroen?
Lak has been my lawyer for many years and naturally, I know him very well. I am the one who recommended him to
Victor for his case in the first place. Lak was introduced to Victor on March 7, 2008 when Victor was first brought to
the police station, i.e. before he was first brought to the court. When he was brought to the court Lak was there and
the first defense statements – both spoken and written – were made by Lak. Lak was also the one who managed
to get back Victor’s passport and all his personal belongings – mobile phones and Victor´s personal computer,
even though the Americans demanded these items to be transferred to the United States. Lak managed to make
a good deal with the local police to get all of these invaluable items back almost immediately to the United States
government’s chagrin and disbelief. Later Lak was also working hard on Victor’s further defense in the criminal
case and also on the extradition case, as well as on Victor’s own complaint for illegal detention. However, thanks to
clandestine efforts of the Russian secret service, Lak was dismissed from the case and replaced with a new lawyer
– Chamroen.
Chamroen was a shill for the American DEA and was introduced to Victor through a long chain of people who
worked for the DEA as unofficial agents. But make no mistake – Chamroen, being a 100% proven shill for the
Americans, was introduced by none other than the Russian secret service officials who were well aware of what
they were doing: the Russians who introduced Chamroen to Victor KNEW FOR SURE that he was the American shill
and, DESPITE this KNOWLEDGE, they still introduced him to Victor and highly recommended to use his services.
Chamroen was the one who resisted and blocked all positive attempts to defend Victor and who conducted Vic-
tor’s defense in the extradition case in the most wrongful manner. He managed to make Victor to technically lose
a 100% winnable case. In addition, Chamroen did his best to prevent what you called above “Bout’s camp” from
submitting to the Thai court documents that might clarify the ridiculousness of the US charges and to serve as a
real defense for Victor.
As you might sincerely expect, Chamroen was not cheap either – he cost Victor well over 100 thousand US dollars
which is an absolutely fabulous amount of money by Thai standards. During the time when lawyer’s work was im-
portant – i.e. during the time the court of first instance was hearing witnesses and accepting documents – the case
was under control of Chamroen. I was able to re-introduce Lak back to the case by a strange trick: he was no longer
a lawyer of Victor, but a lawyer of Victor’s wife Alla, who submitted to the court an additional complaint against the
illegal detention of her husband that was joined with the main extradition case.
In this capacity, Lak managed to get back to the case at the last moment; however, it was too late by then – the
case was effectively lost by Chamroen, who intentionally failed to call right witnesses for the defense and who
sabotaged cross-questioning of the witnesses of the prosecution. Despite being only Alla’s lawyer and not Victor’s,
Lak, nonetheless, managed to somehow turn this case into something more favorable in the very last moment:
instead of making Alla only a witness in the illegal detention’s case, he managed to make her the most important
witness in the extradition case, despite all efforts of Chamroen to the contrary.
Alla’s testimony was probably the most powerful evidence ever added to the extradition case, thanks to Lak. Fur-
thermore, Lak managed to object to the latest set of new “evidence” that the Americans attempted to submit to
the judge at the last moment, when the hearing of the case was almost over. The Americans actually submitted the
last set of new “evidence” under the silent approval of Chamroen, but Lak managed to stand up and loudly voice
his objections (despite actually being a lawyer in a different case – i.e. technically having no right to do so) and
thus the most dangerous addition to the case by the Americans was not accepted by the Thai court. So, you can
make you own conclusions what is Lak and what is Chamroen. And eventually when Victor lost the case and was
about to be extradited to America, Chamroen simply disappeared and it was Lak who managed to prevent Victor
from being immediately extradited to the United States.
Just to clarify, did the jet actually arrive to Bangkok or did it turn back shortly after taking off from the United
States?
The actual jet with the armed US court marshals arrived, but, thanks to Lak, went back empty.
What you are saying is absolutely shocking. Not as much for the treason of both the Russian government and
Victor´s lawyer, but for the collective stupidity of people involved in the case. Why on Earth didn´t you say some-
thing and how is it possible that Victor and his wife didn’t realize what was being done to them? I am sorry, but
this sounds utterly implausible.
For me it also sounds implausible and I could only wonder how could it happen that way. But, taking into consid-
eration purely psychological aspects of the problem and also the fact that Victor and his wife are not seasoned
criminals, but merely innocent people, it could be explained. The problem is that Victor does not know that he is
the one who allegedly “sold” the missile that hit the Pentagon to the “terrorists”. It seems that only now, when he
lost the case in the Court of Appeal (as I told him he would a long time ago), he began to slowly realize what really
happened with him and who stood behind the entire affair with this frame-up. But before, he was confident that
he was winning the case because his vigilance was effectively lulled by the false promises and by the irresponsible
assurances of the Russian officials, which Victor, nonetheless, took seriously. Just imagine yourself in his shoes. You
are behind bars and you are being constantly assured by officials from your country that everything is “OK” and
everything is “under control”, moreover, you wife also constantly conveys you similar messages from the Russian
officials in Moscow who promise the same things (don’t forget that while in Moscow Alla Bout was always invited
by high-ranking government- and secret service officials and the mere fact that such “big guys” condescended to
talk to her and, moreover, to assure her that everything was allegedly “under control” created the desired effect).
Just imagine yourself in such a situation: would you doubt when the secret service officials and the government
officials promise you all help possible and they promise it on behalf of the president of the state and all of it is be-
ing accompanied by corresponding public statements of the Foreign Ministry. Wouldn’t such a performance blunt
your vigilance too?
Victor and his wife had simply no reason to suspect the Russian officials in any wrongdoing in those days. You must
be a cynic to be able to suspect the Russian officials in this situation, but Victor is simply too nice and too innocent
for this. Furthermore, the Russians appointed to harm Victor’s position in the Thai court were professionals from
the secret service and they know their job very well. They know how to make their lies sound plausible and con-
vincing. It is difficult to deal with this type of the professionals when you yourself are simply an innocent person
who has no criminal background, no previous convictions, not even encounters with the legal system prior to this,
and no experience with the inner workings of the secret service. When you are an innocent person you simply
can´t realize how dirty the actual world of the secret service is. Add here that neither Victor, nor his wife are law-
yers and therefore the ridiculous method of defense that the Russian officials enforced on them might look quite
“reasonable” for them and they failed to notice the dirty game behind it.
You know more about this case than anyone else. USG knows how dangerous you are. So does the Russian gov-
ernment. Have these governments tried to buy your silence or threaten you?
Yes, they have. The Americans on several occasions tried to either threaten me with the prospect of being arrested
and charged with something or with some offers of cash. At first, they promised me an undisclosed amount of
money if I would help them to get Victor to America by secretly harming his case in the court – in the same man-
ner Chamroen did. When I refused, they said that they could still pay me for doing nothing, as long as I withdrew
from this case, stopped visiting Victor in prison, stopped attending the court hearings and giving Victor and his
wife advise. I refused that as well.
But when it comes to the Russian Government, they did not dare to offer me any money or to try to threaten me,
because it would be just too dangerous for their own story. Don’t forget that while the Americans were open
enemies of Victor, the Russians were openly “Victor’s friends”, so while the Americans could afford to offer money
or to try to threaten someone who helps Victor and it would look natural, the Russians could not afford doing so,
because otherwise they would betray themselves.
The Russians have never showed their dissatisfaction with my activities openly, they rather tried to harm my rep-
utation by spreading vicious rumors about my alleged “cooperating with the Americans” and “Dimitri can not be
trusted” and so on. In fact, these efforts yielded some result in the initial stage of the case – at one point I noticed
that Victor’s wife suddenly stopped trusting me, and also as I have said that the Russians managed to get Lak dis-
missed and replaced with a new lawyer based on the same thing.
How valuable is Victor Bout to the United States?
If you mean that Victor Bout is allegedly “valuable” to America as an alleged “Merchant of Death” and a “Lord of
War” you are dead wrong. Many people, who believe Western propaganda, think that Victor Bout is allegedly
wanted in America for his involvement with illegal weapons trade as alleged by the Hollywood film, the book,
and by hysterical Western publications. It is not true at all. You have to understand that Victor has never sold any
weapons, whether legally or illegally, in Africa, in Asia or anywhere else. In his entire life he has never sold even a
single Makarov pistol or a single AK-47, not to mention large quantities of Soviet-made or any other weapons. Yes,
on several instances airlines controlled by Victor Bout and by his brother Sergei Bout indeed transported weapons,
munitions, and even armed troops, but the problem is that these were NOT THEIR weapons, these were weapons
of THEIR CUSTOMERS. Moreover, all of such customers were LEGAL CUSTOMERS. Wherever Victor’s or Serguei’s air-
lines transported weapons or armed troops it was ALWAYS governmental troops and the weapons always belong
to the governments! Not once, did Victor Bout´s or his brother Serguei´s aircraft transported weapons of any illegal
customers!
But people seem not to realize this obvious fact. Victor Bout can´t be turned into “an illegal weapons trader” by the
hysterical Western media. Only the court verdict could do this. But not once during all these years has Victor Bout
receive a summons to any court of law whereby someone sued him for being an illegal weapons dealer. There was
not even a single attempt by any government, or by any public prosecutor, or by UN, or by any other organization,
or by even a private individual to sue Victor Bout for his being an alleged “Merchant of Death”.
Why not, you ask? The answer is very simple: because no solid evidence exists that could be admissible in a court of
law. The image of Victor Bout being an alleged “Merchant of Death” is based exclusively on the Hollywood movie,
on Douglas Farah’s book, and on the bogus “UN report” concocted by a certain unscrupulous inspector, Johan Pe-
leman. A number of Mr. Peleman´s former associates are willing to come forward and testify in the court of law that
in every UN report, Victor Bout´s name was added to the final version of the report and that his name was absent
in every preliminary UN report on arms trafficking. You simply can’t sue Victor Bout for being an illegal weapon
trader based on the evidence compiled by the shameless Johan Peleman or bring to court the movie “Lord of War”
as a substitute for the evidence. That is exactly why the Americans do not want Victor Bout for any illegal weapons
trade as appears to many people around the world. If they really wanted him for that they would have done it long
time ago. The evidence is simply not there.
The Americans wanted Victor for something else. And for this “something” his apparent Hollywood-inspired image
of the “Merchant of Death” was not enough due to this being legally inadmissible in the American court of law. Cer-
tain REAL and PROVABLE charges must have been created in order to get him arrested for real. And the American
officials found nothing better than to employ the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) for that reason. Since
the DEA area of operations are drugs and drug dealers, their modus operandi is corresponding – to plant drugs
on a victim and thus, to get the victim arrested. The very same approach was used in Victor Bout’s case: the DEA
agent-provocateurs created a certain provocation that looked perhaps “normal” for a typical drug-policeman, but
ridiculous to anyone else. The DEA sent their agent to meet Victor Bout. This agent, turned out to be Bout´s former
friend, Andrew Smulian, who offered him a deal. But, instead of planting drugs on Victor Bout, the DEA planted bo-
gus documents and falsified “intercepts” of alleged e-mail exchanges and alleged telephone conversations claim-
ing that Victor Bout allegedly: 1) had in his possession portable anti-aircraft missiles; 2) was willing to sell them
to FARC rebels in Columbia; 3) in doing so he was planning of- and willing to participate in murdering (sic) the US
citizens/US officials working in Columbia.
Despite the fact that compared to the typical planting of real heroin on their clients the DEA failed to plant any
actual anti-aircraft missiles on Victor, this ridiculous case was judged by the DEA superiors to be “solid” enough to
be brought to court. And only after THIS provocation of the DEA, the US officials dared, at last, to arrest Victor Bout
and to pass this matter to the court of law. Before that, they have simply nothing in their hands that would be ad-
missible in the court-room. Therefore we can not even talk about alleged former “criminal activities” of Victor Bout
in Africa or elsewhere in connection with his current case in the court. The current case is purely about his alleged
attempt to sell the alleged “portable anti-aircraft missiles” to FARC in Columbia and nothing else besides that.
This is the official “open” part of the story. However, there is also an official but “secret” part of the same story. Victor
Bout is not really wanted in America for these absurd and non-existent portable anti-aircraft missiles. This ridicu-
lous frame-up could never be successfully won by the US government in the US court. Victor, in reality, is wanted
for something far more serious that can not be made public and can not be discussed in the courtroom in any
open proceedings. I mean you can compare it with the case of the infamous nuclear bomber Timothy McVeigh
who was openly indicted of using the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD, but in a form of the Ryder truck loaded
with cheap fertilizer) against US citizens, but whose case was strangely conducted behind closed doors. The same
thing is with Victor Bout’s case.
Of course, the US officials and especially those US officials responsible for legal matters are apparently reasonable
enough to realize that they would never be able to win the ridiculous case against Victor based on the proceeds of
the above-mentioned DEA provocation primarily because no actual anti-aircraft missile have ever been found and
not even an attempt to find such missiles has been made by the DEA.
Why do you think that is?
Because they knew that the entire story was invented and no missiles would be found anywhere. That is why
they did not even attempt to go after the missiles. The real cause of the extradition attempt against Victor Bout is
not these non-existent portable anti-aircraft missiles. The real cause is that the US Government in collaboration
with the Russian Government secretly blamed an individual named “Victor Bout” for selling to the terrorists a So-
viet-made “Granit” missile that struck the Pentagon on 9/11. And THIS is the real truth behind Victor’s case. And
THIS secret part of the case the American legal experts plan to win in the US court behind closed doors. Because it
appears that the Russian FSB has secretly concocted some “plausible” evidence that implicates Victor Bout in that
alleged deal and the US officials appear to be gullible enough to believe the Russian colleagues and to believe
that such “evidence” would lead to the successful conclusion of the still pending 9/11 Pentagon case. In addition,
Victor is being secretly accused of selling portable nuclear weapons – known as “mini-nukes” or “suite-case nukes”
to various terrorist organizations, ranging from the Columbian FARC to Osama bin Laden´s Al-Qaeda. Apparent-
ly, several recent real and alleged mini-nuclear bombings are secretly being blamed on Victor Bout. The most
important of them is the infamous “El Nogal” nuclear bombing in Bogotá that was presented to the uninitiated
as a “car-bombing”, in which, according to the US security officials, the same type of a mini-nuke was used as in
the 1995 Oklahoma bombing.
Dimitri, you are a former nuclear intelligence officer of the 12 Chief Directorate of the Russian armed forces. Public
Prosecutor’s August 26, 2009 appeal stated that BOUT conspired to provide GUIDED BALLISTIC MISSILES to the
FARC. Are they suggesting that BOUT is involved in nuclear terrorism?
Yes. This is just a slip of the tongue. The Freudian syndrome. In the official paperwork of Victor Bout’s case in the
Thai court, as well as in the official (a/k/a “public”) part of the US extradition request they do not talk about any
“guided ballistic missile”. They talk about “portable anti-aircraft missiles” (that are small enough to be launched
from one’s shoulder). However, behind closed doors, the US officials tried to convince their Thai colleagues that
while the anti-aircraft missiles provocation against Victor Bout was indeed very crude and ridiculous, the real cause
of the extradition for which Victor is wanted are far more serious, but, unfortunately, can not be disclosed to the
general public or discussed in the court-room in open proceedings.
So, the US officials in order to convince the Thais to accept the extradition case despite total lack of evidence and
despite numerous violations of Thai law, had no choice but to reveal the “awful truth” to at least some of the Thai
officials. Therefore high-ranking Thai police and security officials, as well as a select few amongst Thai public pros-
ecutors, know very well that Victor is wanted not for selling the small portable anti-aircraft missiles, but for selling
the cruise missile with an unexploded 500 kiloton thermo-nuclear warhead that hit the Pentagon on 9/11 and
narrowly missed incinerating the entire Washington D.C. thanks to its broken detonator.
But since Thailand is a non-missile and non-nuclear state, the Thais don’t see much difference between a cruise
missile and a ballistic missile, so the public prosecutor mistakenly believed that the Pentagon was hit by a ballistic
missile with a thermo-nuclear warhead, while in reality it was hit by a cruise missile with a thermo-nuclear warhead.
But it is forgivable for the Thais to make such a mistake, because it is not really a big difference in this sense. How-
ever, there is a big difference when you compare a portable shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missile that weighs
just a few kilograms with a tens-of-meters-long ballistic missile that weighs many tons. While it is forgivable for a
Thai public prosecutor (who is a military officer, by the way) to confuse the first two, considering that he is Thai, it
is not forgivable for him (considering that he is a military officer) to mistake the second two with each other.
In the Security Council of Thailand there was a discussion that Bout is being blamed for the entire Pentagon attack
on 9/11 – for both the missile and its thermo-nuclear warhead. Apparently, the public prosecutor picked up this
idea from them and as a slip of the tongue, when he composed his appeal, he accidentally mentioned the “guid-
ed ballistic missile” instead of the “politically correct” “portable anti-aircraft missile(s)”. To answer the second part
of your question – yes, Victor Bout is apparently wanted for nothing less then NUCLEAR TERRORISM. He is being
secretly blamed for at least: 1) selling the Soviet-made “Granit” missile with the half-megaton thermo-nuclear war-
head to the terrorists who later launched it against the Pentagon on 9/11; 2) selling at least 3 or more Soviet-made
mini-nukes known as “RA-115” and “RA-116” to terrorists prior to 9/11 (at least so it appears from the “El-Mundo”
newspaper’s article as of 16 of September, 2001, and also from John D. Negroponte’s [the former director of the
US National Intelligence] official communiqué released right after Victor Bout’s arrest in Bangkok in March, 2008
– available here [2]; and 3) selling of weapon-grade enriched Uranium to terrorists – as appears from the actual
course of actions against the FARC and particularly against Raul Reyes’ group in the Ecuadorian jungle only 5 days
before Victor was actually lured to Bangkok to be arrested there.
For our readers’ benefit, can you explain the difference between ballistic missile with the thermo-nuclear warhead
and cruise missile with the thermo-nuclear warhead.
A ballistic missile is launched vertically and it travels with speeds comparable to the first cosmic velocity well
above the Earth atmosphere on a ballistic trajectory – meaning its engines bring the ballistic missile into what
we call “space” and then its warhead falls towards its target from space in the same manner as would a meteorite.
You can roughly compare a trajectory of a ballistic missile with a trajectory of a football when a goalkeeper strikes
it from his area into the other half of the football pitch. A cruise missile is much slower when compared to the
ballistic missile – its speed is just sub-sonic or slightly super-sonic and a missile travels to its target (and delivers
its warhead to it) in the atmosphere – in the same manner as would do a typical jet-fighter. In the case of particu-
larly the “Granit” missile which is very expensive and very advanced, its speed is about 2.5 Mach while traveling in
the cruise altitude and it is decreased to only 1.5 Mach when the missile descends and sets itself to the final path
of attack – that is parallel to the ground (exactly as it was demonstrated in the actual 9/11 Pentagon strike). But
when it comes to the actual thermo-nuclear warhead there is no difference. You will not feel any difference when
a half-megaton thermo-nuclear warhead suddenly produces a blinding white flash and in the next few millisec-
onds incinerates you with its intensive thermal radiation. It does not matter if such a half-megaton warhead was
delivered by a ballistic missile falling from space, or by a horizontally flying cruise missile. The effects of the actual
thermo-nuclear explosion and the destruction caused by it will be indistinguishable.
Victor Bout’s name is often mentioned along with the alleged sale of X-55 missiles to Iran and China. Can you tell
us more?
This is a kind of “controlled leak of information” that was afforded on purpose in order to create some “grounds”
and so to convince some officials who are not entitled to know the full truth, but who could be fed some half-
truth. The story with the X-55 illegal sale was just a cover-up story that was concocted to distract attention from
the real culprit – the awful “Granit” missile. To talk about the “Granit” missile that hit the Pentagon is TABOO. It is
off limits. Only very few high-ranking US security officials (as well as high-ranking security officials of Russia and of
some highly-trusted US allies) are entitled to know that it was the “Granit” missile. For the rest, it is taboo to know
this word. But many people know that it was the missile (and many also know that it was a certain Russian- or
Soviet-made missile) that hit the Pentagon. But the problem is that those who know or suspect the awful truth
are much more than those who are entitled to know it in full detail. Therefore to feed the “half-truth” for those not
entitled to know the full truth, the story with the alleged X-55 has been concocted.
Secondly, even from the technical point of view the story with the X-55 can not be true – that missile is not tech-
nically capable of penetrating 6 (six!) capital walls of the Pentagon as was demonstrated in the 9/11 attack. Only
one missile in the world – the “Granit” – could achieve such a penetrating feat. That is to say that the Americans
and the Russians together are trying hard to cover up the real truth behind the Pentagon attack, while trying in the
same time to apprehend and to bring to justice someone [allegedly] responsible for the actual attack. Hence the
persecution against Victor Bout. Hence the ridiculous stories about the alleged illegal deal with the X-55 missiles
(that are also nuclear-capable, by the way – don’t miss this point: the fact that X-55 missiles are nothing less than
“nuclear-capable” is always being diligently mentioned along with the claims that Victor Bout and his companions
allegedly sold these missiles from Ukraine to Iran).
I understand that the first question the DEA asked Bout during their interrogation of him is the name of the cruise
missile he had sold to Iran. Why would they ask him that?
Yes, it is true. The first question asked of Victor after his arrest was not about the ridiculous deal with the non-exis-
tent shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles that were allegedly intended for the Columbian FARC. The first ques-
tion was about the alleged cruise missile Victor allegedly sold to Iran. This was because those mid-ranking DEA
operatives were low enough not to be entitled to know the full awful truth – about the “Granit” cruise missile, but
were fed by their superiors the half-truth – about the alleged “X-55” cruise missile that was discussed in the previ-
ous question.
A great deal of effort has been made by mainstream US and European press to link Bout with FARC and uranium.
What do they have to do with Bout?
The US security officials have a double task actually. One: they have to close the case with the missile that hit the
Pentagon on 9/11. Two – they also have to close several cases where mini-nukes were really or allegedly used
in disguise of the so-called “suicide” and “non-suicide” “car-bombings”. The most important – the case of nuclear
bombings of the US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 on an anniversary of Hiroshima bombing, the 1996
Khobar Tower nuclear bombing, the 1995 Oklahoma nuclear bombing, the 2002 Bali nuclear bombing, the 1993
first nuclear bombing of the World Trade Center in New York, several recent nuclear bombings in Iraq, Pakistan,
Algeria and Saudi Arabia that were reported to the gullible plebs as “car-bombings”, and also the El-Nogal nuclear
bombing in Bogotá in 2003, as well as the previous nuclear bombing in Bogotá in November 1999, both blamed
on the FARC. As not too many specialists in nuclear weapons are available for consultation, it is possible to present
to the lay people a notion that it is allegedly possible to produce a self-made low-caliber nuclear bomb made out
of Uranium (while in reality all mini-nukes are made exclusively out of Plutonium and have nothing to do with any
Uranium).
Well, is it possible to produce a homemade low-caliber nuclear bomb?
Thanks to the general ignorance of the people (many security officials and high-ranking politicians inclusive) in
regard to the nuclear weapons, the above-mentioned mistaken belief is widespread: indeed many security of-
ficials and politicians sincerely believe that it is possible to obtain 50 kg (single critical mass) of highly-enriched
Uranium-235 on the black market and to make a mini-nuke out of it. In reality it is impossible to make any “mini-
nuke” out of Uranium even in an industrial process, not to mention in the cottage industry, but many gullible folks
believe to the contrary. Therefore a few unscrupulous individuals who really stood behind those nuclear “car- and
truck-bombings” shamelessly exploit such gullibility. In the particular case with the FARC group led by Raul Reyes
they planted on them almost 50 kg of weapon-grade Uranium-235 that was hidden around Reyes’ camp in the
Ecuadorian jungle, then they murdered Reyes and additionally created some bogus computer files planted into
Reyes’ computer where it was claimed that Reyes and his group were allegedly responsible for the 2003 nuclear
bombing in Bogotá and were also seeking more weapon-grade Uranium. The gullible security officials who un-
derstand little about the real nuclear weapons technology would not miss the point as was suggested – when
they encounter the 50 kg of REAL weapon-grade Uranium around Reyes’ camp while knowing for sure that both
– 1999- and 2003- bombings in Bogotá were indeed mini-nukes bombings. However, this theater should not mis-
lead serious people: both bombings in Bogotá, as well as 1995 Oklahoma bombing and the rest of well-known and
little-known nuclear “car-bombings” was made with mini-nukes made out of PLUTONIUM and NOT URANIUM, and
so the 50 kg of Uranium-235 planted to Reyes’ camp should not dupe any serious person into believing otherwise.
When it comes to Victor Bout if you carefully review available public sources you will find out that: 1) Victor Bout’s
alleged connection with the FARC was mentioned in the same list of “evidence” allegedly “found” in Reyes’ com-
puter right next to Reyes’s attempt to buy 50 kg (single critical mass enough to make one atomic bomb of Hiro-
shima yield) of weapon-grade Uranium-235 and alleged Reyes’ responsibility for the El-Nogal “car-bombing” (that
is known to be nuclear to any and every security official); and 2) Alleged “international channels” by which the
alleged “portable anti-aircraft missiles” of Victor Bout were allegedly transported – namely: Russia-Armenia-Roma-
nia-Denmark-Netherlands’ Antilles-Columbia strangely coincides to the country with the alleged rout of transpor-
tation of the weapon-grade Uranium that was obtained by Reyes and indeed found around his camp after Reyes
was murdered by the Americans on March 1, 2008 – just 5 days prior to Victor Bout’s arrest in Bangkok. Anyone is
welcome to make his own conclusions.
Add here that the US officials actually exploit two levels of the “truth” in regard to the WTC demolition during 9/11
events. Just imagine that there are quite a lot of mid-ranking security officials and politicians who are advanced
enough to know that kerosene can not “melt steel” into fluffy microscopic dust and that “ground zero” in pre-9/11
English language had no other meaning than “a place of a nuclear explosion”. Therefore these types of people
would not swallow the plebeian version of the “planes brought down the towers 9/11 truth”. Some “higher” and
more plausible version of the “truth” needed to be invented to satisfy them. So according to the intermediate level
of the 9/11 “truth” (that is intended to satisfy the mid-ranking security officials and mid-ranking politicians both
in America and abroad), the Twin Towers of the WTC, as well as the building #7 of the WTC, were demolished by 3
mini-nukes that allegedly belonged to Osama bin Laden’s operatives. You can find a confirmation of what I mean
in the article “Mi Hermano bin Laden”, published in the Spanish daily, El-Mundo, on September 16, 2001. However,
once you claim that the WTC was demolished by the three Soviet mini-nukes allegedly bought by Osama from
Ukraine, then, being a responsible security official, you should also find Russian or Ukrainian nationals who first
stole these mini-nukes for the Soviet nuclear arsenals and who actually sold such awful weapons to the terror-
ists. Isn’t’ it? Hence another attempt of the Americans – to implicate Victor Bout into trading in mini-nukes and
in weapon-grade nuclear materials, in addition to the missiles with half-megaton thermo-nuclear warheads that
usually fly around and strike pentagons. It appears that Victor Bout was made a scapegoat just for everything that
is nuclear. Add here is where the Americans began their unprecedented persecution against Victor Bout only after
9/11 and in an apparent connection with 9/11. Read the “nuclear” communiqué of John D. Negroponte [2] that was
released immediately after Victor’s arrest in Bangkok in March 2008 and that was directly connected to his arrest
and moreover, entirely devoted to his arrest. And compare that communiqué by John D. Negroponte with the
above-mentioned “El Mundo” article about the 3 mini-nukes bought by Osama from Ukraine and allegedly used
for destroying the three WTC buildings on 9/11 and surely you will not miss the main point. There are two more
additional moments that could clarify the alleged “nuclear” connections of Victor Bout, FARC, and actual so-called
“car-bombings” and “truck-bombings” (spots of which are being strangely called by the strangest nuclear name
“ground zero”). First of them occurred soon after Victor Bout’s arrest.
About two weeks after his arrest there was a video published on YouTube showing Russia Today footage titled
“Merchant of Death denied bail in Bangkok”. As you know, anyone registered as a YouTube user could post a com-
ment under a video. Guess what was the very first comment published by some alleged “Victor Bout’s friend” un-
der that video? This is what the comment said: “180 Compact Russian Nukes are missing, soon US will get a nuclear
apocalypse up its ass”. How do you like the comment? Or you prefer to believe in coincidences? In the world of
intelligence there is a saying: There are well made and badly made operations. Coincidences do not exist. Espe-
cially when soon after this comment appeared, a real nuclear explosion occurred in Dubai on March 26, 2008 – in
the city where Victor Bout was kicked from and where he lost all his former airline business. You can see details of
this nuclear explosion on YouTube [3] or you can read (between the lines) here [4] – please notice words such as
“mushroom cloud” and “civil defense” in that article. By the way – when I noticed that YouTube provocation and
compared it against the mini-nuke’s explosion in Dubai a few days later I immediately complained about this to
the security official at the local Russian Embassy in Bangkok. And what do you think happened? The next day the
provocative comment/promise about “180 stolen mini-nukes” and the “nuclear apocalypse” was removed from
YouTube.
Luckily, I made a screenshot of the YouTube web page with that comment still there, so I still have it. Oh, I almost
forgot it. Since I was involved with Victor Bout’s legal defense here in Bangkok right from the next day following
his arrest – i.e. from March 7, 2008, I understandably attracted a lot of attention from the US side. The local DEA
officer – Mr. Derek Odney, responsible for Victor’s apprehension in Bangkok on March 6, 2008, invited me to drink
coffee and to “discuss something” around mid-April. Since I was curious to know what they would ask me about
Victor and also perhaps I could have a chance to ask them something that would clarify the mystery of the case I
agreed “to drink coffee”.
Derek showed up with someone who appeared to be from another department, perhaps from the US military
intelligence or may be from the CIA. The conversation began in a roundabout way and with no mention of Vic-
tor Bout. They asked me to help the DEA to catch certain drug
dealers in Bangkok. On the surface it may seem logical, consid-
ering what the DEA does, but certainly not normal, considering
the actual circumstances – I was helping Victor Bout and his case
had nothing to do with drugs. Anyway, this discussion about the
drugs and drug-dealers slowly moved on to something different:
Derek´s companion asked me if I knew anything about a black
market nuclear materials, particularly enriched Uranium and
how much, in my opinion, such weapon-grade Uranium could
cost on such a black market. Out of politeness I expressed my
humble opinion on the subject, adding that it is only my humble
opinion, but I don’t know the exact figures, because I am not in-
volved in illegal trade in nuclear materials.

In turn, I asked them if they were asking me this question be-

cause of highly-enriched Uranium that was found around Reyes’
camp in the Ecuadorian jungle? They told me that yes, they
wanted to know the answer to that question for exactly that rea-
son, because the US Government took that matter very seriously.
The most laughable was that no alleged “portable anti-aircraft
missiles” were mentioned during that conversation, but only the
FARC Uranium alone (and neither any “portable anti-aircraft mis-
siles” in connection with Victor Bout were mentioned in Reyes’
computer, but only the weapon-grade Uranium purchase deal
and the FARC responsibility for the nuclear “car-“bombings…)
This was my first conversation with Mr. Derek Odney. The most
provocative, prohibited and proven 9/11 video.

Let´s fast forward to today, Dimitri. Where is Victor at and what´s

left for him as far as his defense options?

Victor Bout is still in Bangkok, to be more exact in Nonthaburi

province (on the outskirts of Bangkok) inside the high-security
Bangkwang prison, known to many people as “Bangkok Hilton”
thanks to the famous movie of the same name. He was trans-
ferred there from the Bangkok Remand Prison on August 20, the
day his court verdict which ordered the extradition was read.

To answer the second part of your question is not so easy. Sever-

al defense options are available but I would prefer not to disclose
them publicly, because the Americans will read this interview
with great interest and they might take certain countermea-
sures. But surely something is pending when it comes to the le-
gal means to defend Victor Bout. His lawyer, Lak, is still there and
he is working hard on his defense. Despite Victor´s extradition
case appearing to be “final” after the Appeals’ Court verdict, it is
not so “final” in reality. Many things can still be done, God willing.
Why is “Intelligence” the Mother of All Stupidity?
By Gordon Duff • September 12th, 2018
When listening to political leaders in the West, particularly when describing Syria or “Palestinian
terrorists” or the threat from Russia and China, for those with critical thinking ability the statements
heard are puzzling. One can’t help but ask, “How do humans get this stupid?
One might also ask, “How do they get elected to public office in supposedly ‘freedom loving democ-
racies,’ but we don’t need to go there now.” One way of understanding how those who represent the
collective efforts of multi-billion-dollar information gathering organizations and the virtual armies
of analysts, advisors and experts, and how they get nearly everything so wrong requires an under-
standing of “process,” or rather “lack thereof.”
Perhaps this is why Donald Trump won’t listen to the FBI or CIA and has, and this author believes
quite mistakenly, turned to the Fox News organization or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanya-
hu. Trump, as with many, is susceptible to crafted narratives that resemble TV fiction. This might well
be because the “news” from Fox and other networks, networks that also produce heavily propagan-
dized fictional entertainment as well, is as “fake” as Trump says but even more fake at Fox but told
with a more compelling narrative.
As for Israel, their motives are always suspect, a 60 year plus history of ethnic cleansing of what had
been 85% of their population, continual bombing and strafing within their own borders and broad
involvement in regional mischief, supporting terrorists and working closely with repressive regimes
around the world. The description above, the one regarding Israel, might also be a broader descrip-
tion of the typical behavior of a “western democracy.” One easily forgets that the roots of these
“democracies” are the monarchical nation states that grew up after the “dark ages,” lightly touched
by renaissance and reformation but more boldly formed by industrialization and the ensuing rape
of the planet’s resources and population. These are strong words, they are also words that describe
“history” with uncanny accuracy. The issue at hand, however, is how, in this “age of information,” has
“wrong-headedness” become so endemic among political circles?
The easiest target, of course, are intelligence agencies, and topping that list is the CIA. The real
history of the CIA is as secretive as the history of the American Federal Reserve Bank or the Bank
of England, real secrets so secret no one knows they are secrets at all. You see, a secret isn’t a se-
cret if people are aware they are so misinformed they don’t even know there is a question to ask.
Supposedly, the CIA grew up out of the OSS, an organization the public has been told fought the
Nazi’s in France, blowing up trains, facing torture and death. Though some in the OSS actually did
that, the group itself was made up of Americans close to Hitler including the Dulles brothers, Allan
and John Foster, who ran the law firm that represented Nazi Germany in American courts. Allan
later “founded” the CIA and his brother, John Foster Dulles, was Secretary of State under Eisenhow-
er and one of the chief architects of the Cold War. In truth, the OSS managed financial relations
throughout the war between Nazi Germany, Britain and the US. Allan Dulles served in Switzerland,
laundering billions in profits for American companies doing business with the Nazis, through the
Vatican. Rockefeller owned Standard Oil, Lockheed, General Motors, Dupont, Alcoa Aluminum, Ford
Motor Company and the Bush family owned the majority of Nazi Germany’s defense industry while
the British royal family holdings were significant as well, secrets still classified. When American and
British owned plants were bombed inside Germany or Czechoslovakia, the American government
paid reparations to the corporations that owned the Nazi war plants. Thus, after the war, the CIA was
formed from the OSS, which worked hand in hand with Nazi Germany and with the Gehlen organi-
zation, the Nazi intelligence organization that had targeted the USSR. We could go further and tell
of how America brought Japanese war criminals from Unit 731 into the US to develop germ warfare
programs or how, under Operation Paper Clip, run by Allan Dulles and a young Richard Milhouse
Nixon, the worst war criminals from Europe were resettled in the US, but an excess of real history
can be dangerous for one’s mental health.
It was Allan Dulles, along with his brother John Foster Dulles, that planned the Bay of Pigs invasion
of Cuba. Allan Dulles was fired from the CIA by John Kennedy, who is believed to have planned to
disband the CIA. When Kennedy was murdered, Allan Dulles was tasked with investigating a killing
he is believed to have planned. This investigation resulted in the Warren Commission Report which,
during the 1970s, Congress rejected as “fake” after their own investigation by the House Select Com-
mittee on Assassinations, now something also erased from history. Suffice it to say, the CIA and its
children, including two dozen agencies some of which no one has heard of, is the creation of the
marriage between Nazi Germany and Wall Street. That the CIA’s efforts would serve global banking
interests and the enslavement of the planet to financial criminals should be no surprise to anyone.
What are we saying? It is simply this, that all information, be it from “the press,” or owned and ma-
nipulated social media, from intelligence organizations or that which is infused into our culture
through fake narratives, endless propaganda as public education, as entertainment and culture,
from every source, every day in the life of anyone who simply opens their eyes in the morning, is
fake. From the standpoint of the people of Syria or China, of Russia or the Palestinian people, and
the list could go on forever, the drone strikes, the economic war so many are targeted with, the
arms race, the endless threats, the idea of seeking redress, of seeking an end to the senseless cycle
of events is hopeless.
Gordon Duff is a Marine combat veteran of the Vietnam War that has worked on veterans and POW
issues for decades and consulted with governments challenged by security issues. He’s a senior ed-
itor and chairman of the board of  Veterans Today, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern
Outlook.”
Source: https://journal-neo.org/2018/12/09/why-is-intelligence-the-mother-of-all-stupidity/
 Do Loan Sharks Run America?
Gordon Duff • October 11th, 2018
Everyone knows America is bankrupt, $21 trillion in debt, adding a trillion a year to that figure under
Trump’s voodoo economics. Yet, America is on not just a massive military buildup, but expanding its
global military presence at levels not seen since the end of World War II.
Is America controlled by an international cabal of “loan sharks?”
Everyone knows America’s military is beaten, worn down, “in over its head” in Afghanistan, defeat-
ed time and time again every time America has entered a battlefield, every conflict since Korea
and Vietnam. Is a game “afoot” as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle would say of his fictional hero, Sherlock
Holmes? What is America’s game? “We shall see,” quoting Dr. Watson, Doyle’s fictional “sidekick.”
America under Trump is escalating military confrontations with Russia and China. Global arms races
are ramping up as former conventions limiting weapons are tossed aside and even the militariza-
tion of outer space is “on the table.” Why now? Who can win when war can only mean planetary
destruction? Can it all simply be fake? Let’s examine these questions and more. We begin with a
look at the world we were dealt with the end of the Cold War. You see, the old paradigms of endless
vigilance, endless conflict, great standing armies, economies dependent on irrational defense pos-
turing, not only exist, they define our era.
In order to inject a tone of reality, we must reject, out of hand, the post 9/11 “global war on ter-
ror” as contrived. America’s behavior in Yemen, Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, the CIA’s “ham handed”
puppeteering of al Qaeda and ISIS is inexcusable as even third-rate drama. The Syrian and Russian
people aided by Iran and Hezbollah put an end to that neocon farce though Washington and Tel
Aviv haven’t yet gotten the message. Now, something else is going on, a different war, certainly in
some ways a world war but one where defining winning and losing isn’t going to be easy. The los-
ers won’t be hanged after fake war crimes tribunals, there will be no occupation armies, no treaties
redefining the world map under the watchful guise of Europe’s ancient banking masters as we saw
twice during the 20th century. There will be no world wars, there are no enemies like in the past, no
rival royal families, no real democracies left to oppose imaginary tyranny, it’s all memory, nothing
more. Replacing it, and war continues, not just as before but as never imagined, is something very
different. Analysts tell us about war as economics, about “globalism” and the new low and medium
intensity conflicts that break all the old rules.
Analogous to this is the same old fake “white hat vs black hat” or “East vs West” struggle, as though
a real NATO, long a shadow of its former self, and a “communist bloc” still existed. Before that, two
world wars killed off generations based on similar coalitions, struggles for world resources overtly,
always something darker underneath, hypocrisy, propaganda, leaving the root causes for conflicts
unknowable.
There is another question that, though never asked, as we so often note, must be addressed. How
can a bankrupt nation keep borrowing and yet keep falling further and further in debt? Why would
America’s currency be the world’s primary vehicle of trade, America’s trade protocols the world’s
standard when America herself is unable to manage affairs at home? Were one to examine the visi-
ble currency reserves banks claim to hold, including the US Treasury certificates held by three dozen
nation states to varying degrees, the wherewithal to underwrite the drowning American economy
simply doesn’t exist. The money isn’t there, no bank has it, no government could, would or should
invest in America, so who is paying for America’s war on the world?
Moreover, what if, and this is where we move into more “unspoken ground” as it were, those who
underwrite America’s debt, including and especially the trillion-dollar military budget, were those
who rig the elections, bribe the congressmen, compromise the corrupt “perfumed princes of the
Pentagon, to quote Colonel David Hackworth, what if? There, we’ve done it, we are looking under
rocks for secret cabals, treading on ground that has given way under veritable armies of academics
and experts who had trod the same paths we do now. This opens another door. If America can’t exist
as it does, a “fake democracy,” without secret infusions of cash that can’t possible exist under known
economic principles, where do we go from here? One method is to watch, to observe, look for
patterns and ask the age-old question, “que bono,” who benefits? Is it a cabal of oil companies and
bullet makers? Then we look at the scope of America’s military moves, pushing NATO into Georgia
and Serbia, perhaps to Armenia and Afghanistan. We see new American bases in Poland and Roma-
nia, Belarus targeted, Marines in Norway. Drone bases now dot the African Sahel. American bases
dot Syria and American carrier battle groups, all funded with “impossible money” from unknown
sources, prowl the seas challenging any and all and we still ask the same question, who benefits?
What resources need to be controlled? What political movements need to be stifled? What tyran-
nies need to be replaced with an “American branded” version? After speculation, we must return to
what we know, what we observe, what can be safely assumed. We see American confronting China
and Russia. What is clear to the most casual observer is how blatantly America is pushing both
nations to redirect national resources toward defense. America generally assumes that the Soviet
Union was crushed by Ronald Regan’s massive military spending spree. Reagan’s weapon systems
generally never materialized. A trillion dollars was spent on “Star Wars” yielding nothing. America is
still two decades behind Russia in missile interception.
The result of the financial collapse of the Soviet Union may well have been a hidden collapse of the
US. It is almost as though a bill has become due, but the date of collection has been put off as long
as Americans are willing to die in wars around the world on behalf of the international cabal of “loan
sharks” who seem to be pulling the strings.
 where
are
we
now? By Jeff Prager

We now know, beyond any doubt, that 3rd generation nuclear de-
vices, directed energy nuclear warheads, were responsible for the
demolition of the Twin Towers and Buildings 6 and 7. This is the
only conclusion conceivable based on uranium, thorium and ac-
tinium series isotopes and measured gamma radiation, the tritium
measured 55 times normal and the “very fine particles” that “boiled
soil and glass” reaching temperatures above 4500º F. We under-
stand how a soliton that was formed underground delivered an
X-ray burst at 1 million degrees for just milliseconds, disappearing
as fast as it developed, in a pencil thin form melting the center of
each tower and causing the fountain-like explosive event we all
watched. We know there was neutron activation, much of it ab-
sorbed by the iron rich spheres and we recognize the now obvi-
ous Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) effects. Geiger counters would
not have registered with this thermonuclear hybrid fission-fusion
device. This is the only clear explanation for the many, many anom-
alies presented to us during the two hours — between 9am and
11am on September 11th, 2001. And it feels good to know.

This Can’t Go On Forever

It is believed that in 2009 a secret meeting between some of the

richest people in the world developed a strategy to partially de-
populate the planet. The meeting included Warren Buffet, Bill and
Melinda Gates, Ted Turner and others. CNN founder Ted Turner
accidentally revealed the elaborate scheme in a public interview,
stating that the rich agreed that the reduction of the population
by two billion people is necessary for the survival of the
planet and the perpetuation of the dynasty’s created by
extraordinary wealth. With billions of people roaming
the earth searching for sustenance — food, water and
housing — the world becomes a dangerous place for ev-
eryone. Yet the world becomes especially fearsome for
the super rich. They stand out like a sore thumb enjoy-
ing wealth and excess beyond our wildest dreams while
other human beings across the planet — here in the USA
too — starve to death or die as a result of lack of clean
water , food, housing and heat and cooling for protec-
tion from the weather.

The scheme — vaccines, food additives and junk food

— food stores for the poor located in poor neighbor-
hoods are selling nutrition-free food stuff while med-
ical care for the poor stands as the most expensive in
the world yet providing the least benefits. We are left
with few choices — Walmart, Walgreens or CVC — and
what set of side effects those expensive pharmaceuti-
cal concoctions have is buried deep within the peer re-
view, which no one reads.

In 2018 the most financially successful Americans were

24 times richer than the average American family. In
2007 the gap was 16.5. The rich are continually getting
richer and the poor or Middle Class are continually find-
ing it harder to make ends meet.

With false flag terror attacks, an income gap growing

exponentially, wars on the horizon, climate change and
human migration presenting enormous challenges and
global governing bodies that are no more than self-serv-
ing enrichment schemes, the human race is in trouble.

More recently, the Special Rapporteur on extreme pover-

ty and human rights, published a report in which he stat-
ed that under President Donald Trump, the United States
became the world’s champion in extreme inequality. This
is facilitated by the recently adopted tax reform and cuts
in social care. According to Alston, the American dream
has turned into an American illusion under Trump.

If an American Revolution is not just around the corner,

American impoverishment, loss of freedoms and liber-
ties, a cashless society and a fully monitored and con-
trolled social system is.

Another 911? Expect it. Traumatizing the population pe-

riodically is the most effective way to produce successful propa-
ganda that works. This has been written about extensively in the
medical literature and trauma facilitates successful propaganda.

John Kennedy’s murder, Robert Kennedy’s murder, Martin Luther

King’s murder, the 2008 bailout, 11 million foreclosures, eliminat-
ing social safety nets, immigration issues, abortion, food adulter-
ated with petrochemical additives and vaccines? These are just a
very few of the tactics used to disorient, medically burden, sick-
en, confuse, impoverish, divide and traumatize the population of
the USA and the world at large. 9/11 was traumatizing, until you
PEACE
recognize the truth. Then, as Dr. Heinz Pommer states, the whole
idea of 911 just becomes stupid and reveals the complete lack of
intellect shared by the ruling elite.

~ Jeff Prager
The central cloud stem extends skyward and stops at a cold
layer of air that it’s unable to pierce, seen in other images

The soliton has destroyed the central steel columns and

a significant portion of the cement floors, seen here.

A major portion of the cement is now dust

THE
END
 2 hours Jeff Prager, former founder and publisher of
Senior Magazine, brings to the world the first
book on the events of September 11th, 2001,
that includes unarguable peer reviewed reports
proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that 9/11
was, in fact, a nuclear event. With isotopes dis-
covered in the Ground Zero dust revealed in a
mainstream and respected peer reviewed report
authored by a world renowned nuclear physicist
we now know that the Twin Towers and Build-
ings 6 and 7 were demolished with 3rd gener-
ation directed energy nuclear warheads that
emitted an X-ray soliton, for just milliseconds,
that then road the steel cage to the top and was
reflected back down. The soliton, at 1 million
degrees and pencil thin, perhaps 12 meters or
so in diameter, liquefied the steel in the central
core of the building, calcined the cement slabs
and produced the “fountain” effect we all saw.
With documents and peer review from more
than half a dozen respected and accomplished
nuclear physicists, the question of how the tow-
ers at Ground Zero were destroyed has been ful-
ly and intimately addressed. 9/11 Solved.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QZjMeGTrBENnOtYeuJqz43G-ha-DvHqr/view?usp=sharing