ABC News Smuggles Uranium
Comments: 5
While the press certainly undoubtedly “plays an important role in testing how well government is protecting its citizens” [Paul Friedman, ABC News executive vice president], I’m not sure playing around with 15 pounds of depleted uranium is an ideal method. Perhaps all precautions were taken, but what if it had been stolen?
ABC News smuggles uranium into U.S.
Salon.com wire reportABC said it borrowed 15 pounds of depleted uranium from an environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, to send on its journey. The network said it consulted with experts to make sure it was safe; the Customs Service said such material has less radiation than a typical chest X-ray.
[Correspondent Brian Ross] carried it by train from Austria to Istanbul, Turkey. The contents clearly marked, it was packed in a container with wooden horse carts and terra cotta vases and shipped overseas to New York. Through it all, the uranium went undetected.
“Seven countries, 25 days and 15 pounds of uranium,” Ross said, “and not a single question.”
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Posted to Oh, the Humanity • 2002.09.09 (Mon) • 12:49
Comments
Posted by Christopher Walker 2002.09.09, 22:15
“the Customs Service said such material has less radiation than a typical chest X-ray.”
Yes, but a typical chest X-ray only lasts for seconds, whereas the reporter may have been exposed to the material for a hell of a lot longer.
And what does this say to potential terrorists? I shudder to think how they may extrapolate from this. Sometimes self-censorship is a good idea.
And yes, what if it had been stolen? Or they had been involved in an accident of some kind, like a train derailment or something, and the material had made its way into the water supply? I think they would need more than just a slow news day to warrant it all.
Posted by John 2002.09.10, 05:01
It’s depleted uranium, not spent fuel rods or something of that sort. Unless it’s burned (and it takes extreme temperatures, outside the range of conventional explosives, to do so), it’s pretty harmless stuff.
Environmentalists harp on the dangers of DU ammunition because when it impacts at high speed some of the penetrator flakes off and oxidizes to UO6, which causes cancer if inhaled. But you could walk around for months with some of it strapped to your crotch and be fine (not that I’d recommend it, of course).
This is a “something out of nothing” story, using the word “uranium” to scare people. It’s pretty shameful reporting, but I can’t say I expect much more out of America’s Big-3 networks these days.
Posted by Jenny 2003.09.12, 08:37
ABC stated that having snuck depleted uranium past security means that they could have gotten the harmful stuff past security which makes it something, not nothing.
Posted by Jim 2003.09.12, 10:45
This is not a something out of nothing story. ABC managed to get through seven countries with 15 pounds of uranium,and not a single question asked along the way. I found this story deeply troubling. I don t care whether the stuff they were carrying was depleted, treated, baked or steamed… It s still Uranium and it could have made it´s way into a bomb.
Posted by Roger 2003.09.13, 13:26
ABC’s done it again!!!!
So tell me: Is there any doubt in anyone’s mind that Homeland Security is a total joke? And we are spending literally BILLIONS and BILLIONS (sorry, Carl Sagan) on worthlessness…..
So what about the recent power outage in NY?
I say we need to fire these guys. We DO need security; but obviously: President Bush and company are simply not doing the job.
It all started with the deregulation of the Airline Industry….6-dollar-an-hour security officers is NOT Homeland Security.
So the Airline Industry saved money…and cost several thousand people their lives…..
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