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Show r ChuoNicU TtesdAy, DECEMbER 8, 1987 Paqe FivE EDDT0R1AL Don't lose sight of higher goals i V WHO PO POO THINK THE BEST CAD MUVDATT 100KSUK6 f 7 J fU Ml 1 ll 1 III 1 ( C"&MMW The big party is already underway in D.C. Washington, ' The public seems to be enthusiastic about the summit. The prospect of a media are going wild. Nancy and Raisa have already made plans to meet again for tea. Hard-lin- e conservatives are labeling President Reagan a "useful idiot for Soviet propaganda." Politicians and pundits alike offer their own interpretations of the historic meeting between President Reagan and Soviet Premier Mikhail Gorbachev. And a number of folks in the United States are voicing protest against the treatment of Soviet-Americ- an Jewish people in the Soviet Union. There's just one important thing missing from festivities: a serious the gala Soviet-Americoutline for nuclear disarmament. summit In some ways the Soviet-Americdoes mark a historic first. Unlike past superpower shindigs, which simply limited the production of nuclear weapons, this summit is focusing on actual nuclear disarmament. That's the good news. The bad news is the intermediate nuclear forces (INF) treaty only covers short and medium-rang- e ground-base- d missiles, which comprise less than five percent of all nuclear warheads on this planet. There are still 40,000 small battlefield weapons and large warheads remaining. But a major loophole exists in the INF treaty. Both superpowers have indicated they will replace the disarmed weapons with other missiles of different types. The treaty fails to prevent this doublespeak tactic from occurring. Another problem arising in the talks and the treaty involves the people of Europe. For years, they have been caught in the middle of a rowdy ar match between the two superpowers. The European people have had virtually no say in the future of their own countries. Leaders of the Western European countries are afraid that when the U.S. Pershing-- 2 missiles are a gone, that will tip the scales in favor of conventional military attack by the Soviet Union. Those same fears exist in the Eastern Bloc as well. On the other hand, many people in Western Europe, especially in France, Great Britain and West Germany, have vociferously protested the presence of foreign missiles on their soil. Other problems getting in the way of an an an tug-of-w- effective disarmament treaty include endless verification battles, human rights gripes and infighting among politicians. While many of these concerns are legitimate and should be addressed at some point, they are not the issue. The issue at stake is nuclear weapons and the fate of human beings, as well as our planet. The concept of nuclear arms transcends all other social, political and economic issues. If there is ever going to be a solution to human rights States and the Soviet problems in both the United and Union, an end to the wars in Afghanistan Defense Initiative, Nicaragua and the Strategic there first has to be a planet to resolve these conflicts on. . the foremost in and first be should This idea minds of Gorbachev and Reagan. , Andrew Hunt Shut , down-nuclea- Buried deep within the bowels of the Salt Lake Tribune Saturday was a microscopic article announcing the third nuclear reactor at Chernobyl, the same one that melted down last year, is alive and well and operating again at almost full capacity. A year and a half has lapsed since the Chernobyl-nucleapower plant accident occurred in the Soviet Union, spewing out radioactive cesium-13- 7 throughout the atmosphere. Sadly, the attention span surrounding the disaster, as well as the issue of . nuclear power, was very brief. When it comes to nuclear reactors, public apathy is literally the shovel digging our own graves. According to a November, 1986, report issued by the Switzerland-base- d International Atomic Energy-Agenc(IAEA), virtually everyone around the world received doses of radiation from the Chernobyl mishap. The explosion at the Chernobyl plant on April 26, 1986, sent some 95 million curries of radiation into the atmosphere in the first 11 days after the accident released from (by contrast, 13 million curries were Three Mile Island in 1979). Emergency crews and 200 and 800 firefighters at the site received between is rads (500-600 fatal). Eventually, rads of radiation 31 emergency workers died and 237 others developed radiation sickness. Estimates of the final death toll from the Chernobyl accident vary. Shortly after the mishap, released from the Soviets estimated the cesium-13- 7 the plant will cause approximately 40,000 deaths. Morris Rosen of the IAEA estimated 10,000 people would eventually die of cancer from the leak. And Daniel Beninson of the International Commission on Radiological Protection estimated only 5,100 deaths. Critics of nuclear energy have alleged the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has in downplayed the effects of the Chernobyl disaster United the in order to protect the nuclear industry States from those who are opposed to it. Just prior to the accident, the NRC released a report concluding that steam explosions in nuclear power plants are not a hazard. The Chernobyl accident proved to be an embarrassment to the NRC when it was discovered the cause of the leak was a steam explosion. While the ongoing legacy of the Chernobyl leak has been forgotten by many people, critics ot nuciear r plants r power continue to point out the danger of such an accident occurring again. And indeed, the danger does exist. On Sept. 22, 1987, the General Accounting Office (GAO) charged that the NRC permitted nuclear power plants which are known to have unsafe reactors to continue operating in the United States. The findings of the GAO are very unsettling. For instance, over the course of the last 25 years, only five reactors have been shut down. Those reactors, according to the GAO, were the Davis-Besplant in Oak Harbor, Ohio; Rancho Secco near Sacramento, Calif.; the Pilgrim reactor near Plymouth, Mass.; Brunswick at Southport, N.C.; and Browns Ferry at Decatur, Ala. According to the Nuclear Information Service, the plant at Davis-Beswas closed as it was on the verge of meltdown. Since the Chernobyl leak, some public attention has turned toward the Hanford nuclear plant, a veritable timebomb located in Washington state. Hanford, one of the oldest nuclear power plants in into the world, converts crude uranium-23- 8 plutohium-23- 9. And, unlike the plants weapons-grad- e at Chernobyl, Hanford has no containment. systems, report according to yet another stomach-churnin- g released by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in November 1987. Richard Meserve, head of the NAS, questioned whether the safety standards at the Hanford plant into the could prevent a release of plutonium-23- 9 from cesium-13leaked 7 that atmosphere. Unlike the half-lif- e 30 of years, Chernobyl, which has a se se of 24,000 years. And, has a half-lif- e unlike the Chernobyl reactors, which are almost brand new, the Hanford reactor lacks proper safety systems, such as emergency core cooling systems, according to the report. The NAS report also pointed out that people living downwind of Hanford have already received hazardous doses of radiation. Whether it's Chernobyl or Hanford, the choice is simple. Either we completely shut down the reactors before a major catastrophe. Or we can sit idly by and plutonium-23- 9 accident, which wait for another Chernobyl-scal- e render and thousands of kill tens could large sections of the planet uninhabitable. Oh, by the way, Merry Christmas! Andrew Hunt, a sophomore majoring in economics, is assistant editorial editor of the Chronicle. . Chronicle The Daily Utah Chronicle is an independent student newspaper published during fall, winter and weeks and quarter spring quarters, excluding test Council. Publications the University breaks, by editorial board, the of Editorials reflect the opinion and not necessarily the opinions of the student are S25 a body or the administration. Subscriptions All subscriptions academic S10 an quarter. year, corresmust be prepaid. Forward all subscription the Busto of address, pondence, including change iness Manager, Daily Utah Chronicle, 240 Union, Utah 841 12. University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Editorial Board: Kent Anderson, Shauna Bona, Andrew Hunt, Bryant Larsen, Dee NaQuin, Rosemary Reeve, Fara Warner Editor in Chief Managing Editor News Editor Editorial Editor Sports Editor Feature Editor Photography Editor Chief Copy Editor . . . Investigative Editor Campus Editor Assistant News Editor Assistant Editorial Editor Assistant Sports Editor Assistant Feature Editor . .......... Shauna Bona Kent Anderson Fara Warner Dee L. NaQuin Laury Livsey Rosemary Reeve Steven C. Wilson Bryant Larsen Dennis Romboy Lori Bona Darren Hawkins Andrew Hunt Glenn Seninger Loreen Erickson Assistant Feature Editor Assistant Photography Editor Assistant Copy Editor Reporters John Pecorelli Erin Calmes Edward Ruiz Kent Condon Todd Curtis Sharon Deckert Ellen GarfT W. Scott Hall Business Manager Accountant Classifieds Accounting Clerk , Kelly Hindley Amber McKee Deanie Wimmer Robert McOmber Kay Andersen darlene Kim Collins Bartel Michael Allsop Collections Account Executives John Hausknecm Kris DeBry Tammie Bostick Todd Butler Sara Wilson Typesetters Production Manager Assistant Production Manager Production Staff Distribution James A. Beck Tracey L. Heinhold Michael Q. Geary Kenny Watanabe Abbie Hall Maria Lisieski James Olsen Todd Matsuda David Orchard Christopher Stratford .... |