Maurizio
Torrealta presents a new documentary
KHIAM SOUTHERN LEBANON
A
BOMB’S ANATOMY
By Flaviano Masella, Angelo Saso, Maurizio Torrealta
The special report was triggered by the radioactivity
measurements reported on a crater probably created by
an Israeli Bunker Buster bomb in the village of Khiam,
in southern Lebanon. The measurements were carried out
by two Lebanese professors of physics - Mohammad Ali
Kubaissi and Ibrahim Rachidi. The data - 700 nanosieverts
per hour – showed remarkably higher radiocativity
then the average in the area (Beirut = 35 nSv/hr ). Successivamente,
on September 17th, Ali Kubaissi took British researcher
Dai Williams, from the environmentalist organization
Green Audit, to the same site, to take samples that were
then submitted to Chris Busby, technical adisor of the
Supervisory Committee on Depleted Uranium, which reports
to the British Ministry of Defense. The samples were
tested by Harwell’s nuclear laboratory, one of
the most authoritative research centers in the world.
On October 17th, Harwell disclosed the testing results
- two samples in 10 did contain radioactivity.
On November 2nd, another British lab, The School of
Oceanographic Sciences, confirmed Harwell’s results – the
Khiam crater contains slightly enriched uranium. Rainews24
also took a sample taken by Dai Williams for testing
by the Department of Earth Sciences of the University
of Ferrara. The testing - which is still ongoing - found
an anomalous structure: the sample’s surface includes
alluminium and iron silicates, normal elements in a soil
fragment. Yet, looking inside, estremely small bubbles
can be found with high concentration of iron. Further
testing will clarify the origin of these structures:
what seems to be certain at the moment is that they are
not caused by a natural process.
What kind of weapon is this? What weapon leaves traces
of radiation and produces such lethal and circumscribed
consequences?
Researcher Dai Williams believes this is a new class
of weapons using enriched uranium, not through fission
processes but through new physical processes kept secret
for at least 20 years.
Physicist Emilio del Giudice form the National Institute
of Nuclear Phisics came to the same conlcusion: “There
are two ways to explain the origin of the enriched uranium
found in Khiam:
About the origin of enriched Uranium there are two possibilities:
1) this material was present already in the structure
of the bombs, but I am puzzled since one should explain
the rationale of the use of a material which is both
expensive and dangerous , because of its enhanced radioactivity,
to people handling it , including military personnel
of Israeli Army.
2) the enrichment has been the consequence of the use
of the bomb; this possibility is hardly compatible with
the known effects of conventional nuclear weapons and
should imply that some newly discovered nuclear phenomenon
could be at work.
The Israeli army denied the use of uranium-based weapons
in Lebanon. So, how can people defend themselves from
potential uranium-related harm? What precautions will
the Unifil troops in the area take, and what kind of
testing has been carried out to prevent the risks? The
documentary directly covers those qestions.
Translation by Desiree Berlangieri and Maria Letizia
Tesorini |
