Author: R Y

Hibakusha: Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivor Furious at Railroading of Security Bills

R Y

Discusses hibakusha Sumiteru Taniguchi, chairman of the Nagasaki Council of A-Bomb Sufferers, his experiences in surviving the bombing of Nagasaki, and his advocacy work, despite ailments of age, at the recent NPT Review Conference in New York.  The article continues by discussing his opposition to the recently proposed security bills in Japan, and his anger that Nagasaki’s Prefectural Assembly had passed a resolution in support of these bills.

July 30, 2015 – The Mainichi

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/features/news/20150730p2a00m0na012000c.html

U.S. Commission Director Suggested Treatment for A-Bomb Survivors as Cold War Strategy

R Y

Details attempts by Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission (ABCC) Director Robert Holmes to change ABCC policy to allow for the treatment of Hiroshima/Nagasaki hibakusha as a means in which to forestall any possibility of the USSR from using the hibakusha against the U.S.  Despite his protestations, ABCC policy remained unchanged, and studies of the aftereffects of the nuclear bombing on the survivors of Hiroshima/Nagasaki continued to fail to include treatment.

July 30, 2015 – The Mainichi

http://mainichi.jp/english/english/newsselect/news/20150730p2a00m0na002000c.html

This Dome in the Pacific Houses Tons of Radioactive Waste – And It’s Leaking

R Y

Article describes the Runit Dome on Runit island in the Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands which is a cement dome that covers some 110,000 cubic yards of radioactive waste (mostly plutonium) generated by 12 years of nuclear weapons testing by the U.S.  The article describes how the dome is at sea level, and addresses concerns related to leakage of radioactive contamination, the manner in which the compact of free association between the Marshall Islands and the U.S. seemingly foreclosed claims by the Marshalese to responsibility for cleanup, notes how the Marshall Islands government lacks the fund and resources necessary for comprehensive cleanup, and how the Marshalese are pushing the U.S. government to take responsibility for cleanup procedures.

July 3, 2015 – The Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/03/runit-dome-pacific-radioactive-waste?CMP=ema_565

Hollywood and the Downwinders Still Grapple with Nuclear Fallout

R Y

Describes the nuclear bomb tests at the Nevada Test Site which caused nuclear fallout that affected numerous “downwinder” communities in the U.S., including St. George, Utah.  The article describes the high incidence of radiation related effects in the affected areas.  The article also describes the use of the area as a film set for “The Conqueror,”  a movie starring John Wayne, the production of which may have exposed numerous case and crew to radiation poisoning, and which may have contributed to their deaths.

June 6, 2015 – The Guardian

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jun/06/downwinders-nuclear-fallout-hollywood-john-wayne?CMP=fb_gu

Toxic Legacy of US Assault on Fallujah ‘Worse than Hiroshima’

R Y

Article describes impacts of usage of depleted uranium weapons by U.S. military forces on Fallujah, Iraq, and the evidence of the impacts of nuclear radiation on residents.  Higher rates of cancer, birth defects, and imbalances in sex ratio suggest lingering impacts of nuclear materials.

July 24, 2010 – The Independent

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/toxic-legacy-of-us-assault-on-fallujah-worse-than-hiroshima-2034065.html

The Marshall Islands and the NPT

R Y

Details of the Republic of the Marshall Islands and two suits that they have filed, one in U.S. federal courts against the U.S. and the other in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against all nine countries that possess nuclear weapons (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel).  Citing violations of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and customary international law, the Republic of the Marshall Islands contends that these countries have failed to move towards timely nuclear disarmament.  The U.S. federal case has been dismissed and is awaiting a decision on appeal.  Also discusses quotes from Tony DeBrum, Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and his experiences as a hibakusha from the Marshall Islands.

May 27, 2015 – Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

http://thebulletin.org/marshall-islands-and-npt8341

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Talks End Without Agreement

R Y

Describes the breakdown of a final action plan at the 2015 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference in New York due to the unwillingness of a number of countries, including Israel, the U.S., The U.K., and Canada to back a proposal to develop a Middle East nuclear weapons free zone.

May 23, 2015 – AFP/Japan Today

http://www.japantoday.com/category/world/view/nuclear-non-proliferation-talks-end-without-agreement