(December 3, 2004) The occurrence of leukemia in children near the German Geesthacht/Krümmel installations is found to be three times higher than expected. Recently, the chairman and the several members of the study commission resigned in protest against alleged concealment by responsible state authorities. In the September 2004 concluding statement, the commission confirmed the suspicion of radioactive contamination apparently caused by nuclear experiments.
(619.5652) WISE Amsterdam - The chairman and five scientific members of the commission resigned claiming that the authorities of the state of Schleswig-Holstein had concealed evidence. Chairman Professor Dr. Otmar Wassermann told the media, on 1 November, that the group did not believe the state government was really willing to seek clarification on the causes of the leukemia cases.
The Schleswig-Holstein Ministry of Social Affairs established the eight-member commission in 1992, although it was also responsible for supervision on nuclear installations, following the discovery of increased incidences in childhood leukemia near the Geesthacht and Krümmel installations. (See also WISE News Communique 487: "German leukemia commission: Krümmel NPP cause of high leukemia rate"). After the unexpectedly rapid increase in 1990, archives of the cancer registry for German children shows that the number of childhood leukemia cases has increased threefold, especially for those within five kilometers of Krümmel NPP. Since 1995, new cases have only been discovered among children younger than five years old. The state has spent 4.5 million Euro (US$ 5.7 million) funding studies and projects on the issue.
In the concluding statement, the commission chairman and resigned members concluded that Krümmel NPP could be one of the causes of leukemia because of a number of inexplicable incidents and local climate conditions. It is also believed that secret nuclear experiments are linked to the contamination and leukemia.
Commission members and a number of scientific study groups have supported this theory, in particular by the four-member Study Group Physical Analysis and Measurement Technique (ARGE PhAM).
Wassermann and other commission members consider the suspicion of radioactive contamination with fissionable material (enriched uranium and thorium), fission products and activation substances (plutonium and americium) to be proven. The elements were found in small airborne particles (see also WISE News Communique 568.5406: "Hanau, the particles mystery and illegal dumping in Sweden"). ARGE PhAM claims that these small particles are linked to nuclear experiments for combined nuclear fusion and fission energy.
Another possible cause of the radioactive release is said to be a fire on a piece of land between Krümmel and Geesthacht in September 1986. The date of this fire coincides with the increase in leukemia and during the fire, military personnel were observed using measuring equipment and wearing full protective suits. Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to discover all the circumstances related to the fire. Its location, which is outside the boundaries of the nuclear facilities, is fenced off and at one point even housed a building. In addition, a fire at the local fire station in 1991 destroyed all documentation on the 1986 accident, making further investigation impossible.
In September 1986, an observed increase in air radioactivity near both installations was explained by the authorities as being caused by (natural) radon accumulating under local climate conditions. The commission considered this to be unlikely further supporting the theory that the 1986 fire was a possible cause of the increased radiation. Such radon accumulations are negligible in the north German lowlands.
The resigned commission members have expressed regret that it took so long time for the current knowledge status to be reached and accuse state and federal authorities of obstructing the commission's work. One of the difficulties was that the state authority for nuclear installations (Reactor Safety Division of the ministry of Finance and Energy) had also been the contact point for the commission. The state authority denied irregularities by nuclear operators and its own defective past controls but the commission members accused it of having constructed evidence to support this.
The appointment of Dr. W. Wolter to a special state-sponsored study brought the situation to a climax. Wolter had been a high-level official in the Reactor Safety Division and was in a position of responsibility when Krümmel NPP was constructed and during the years of rapid leukemia increases. As an "independent" researcher he was requested by the state government to prepare arguments to counter the commission's findings. In fact, Wolter was mandated to make judgments on the work he himself had done in the past!
The obstruction of the state authorities was however compensated by support of non-governmental groups, such as the German section of the International Physicians for the Protection against a Nuclear War (IPPNW) and the Citizens Initiative against Leukemia in the Elbmarsch region. These groups had made financial resources available for independent radiation research over the past years.
Sources: concluding statement by Prof. Dr. O. Wassermann (in German), 15 September 2004; Strahlentelex, 4 November 2004; Deutsche Welle, 4 November 2004.
Contact: WISE Amsterdam