Pollution Science X (Pollution Science 101)
Uranium News
Uranium Trade 101 - India & Pakistan
( Pollution Science 101 - India )
Michael James Ross
Published: October 9, 2017
Updated: August 4th, 2025
PollutionScience.com
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The following article will detail the worldwide Uranium trade, including the current environmental damage in India.
Keep in mind that some of this uranium is used for energy and traded legally. The problem is that many of these countries have illegal uranium while using unsafe methods to mine uranium for energy or the type of uranium used in weapons. Much of this Uranium mining continues to be a problem for the environment. Many have questioned what the best source to use for clean energy, including with new technology could make uranium safer to use. The problem is that
mining for uranium continues to cause pollution from uranium mining.
To read an additional article about the pollution going on in India, click on the following link. This link is considered an additional section to this article.
Pollution Science 101 - India - Ecological Collapse
( PollutionScience101india.Blogspot.com ).
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Chapter 1: The Uranium Trade
Chapter 2: Pesticides
Chapter 3: Corruption
Chapter 4: India vs Pakistan
Chapter 5: History
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Chapter 1: The Uranium Trade
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Pakistan threatens a nuclear war with India
October 04, 2016
With the West distracted by entertainment, professional sport and the
U.S. presidential elections, the war clouds that started gathering over
the Indian subcontinent in September have now thickened after a threat
from Pakistan that it will use nuclear weapons to “annihilate” India.
The latest flare-up in the 70-year-old India-Pakistan conflict began
after an attack on an Indian army base by jihadi suicide bombers
infiltrating from Pakistan that left 19 Indian soldiers dead.
India responded with what it called a “surgical strike” on the
terrorist camps inside the Pakistan-administered part of Kashmir,
resulting in “significant casualties” among the jihadi militants, in
addition to some regular Pakistan troops.
http://www.torontosun.com/2016/10/04/pakistan-threatens-a-nuclear-war-with-india
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India could strike Pakistan with nuclear weapons if threatened, says expert
Mar 21, 2017
India could junk its no-first use policy to launch a preemptive first strike against Pakistan if it feared a nuclear attack was imminent, a leading nuclear strategist has said.
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Pakistan and weapons of mass destruction
Pakistan is one of nine states that possess nuclear weapons. Pakistan is not party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. As of 2025, multiple unofficial sources indicate a stockpile of 170 warheads (fission-type). Pakistan maintains a doctrine of minimum credible deterrence instead of a no first-use policy, promising to use "any weapon in its arsenal" to protect its interests in case of an aggressive attack.
Pakistan is not widely suspected of either producing biological weapons or having an offensive biological programme. Pakistan has ratified the Geneva Protocol, the Chemical Weapons Convention, as well as the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction
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How and Why Pakistan Acquired Nuclear Weapons
June 23, 2025
https://scientificorigin.com/how-and-why-pakistan-acquired-nuclear-weapons#google_vignette
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Pakistan’s Growing Uranium Enrichment Program
May 30, 2018
https://isis-online.org/isis-reports/pakistans-growing-uranium-enrichment-program
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NUCLEAR WEAPONS – How Pakistan Sustains Its N-weapons Supply Chain
February 15, 2025
Pakistan’s Khushab nuclear complex, located in Punjab province, sits at the heart of the country’s weapons-grade plutonium production effort. This facility stands apart from standard nuclear power plants, thanks to its specialized heavy-water-moderated reactors – four in total – that collectively produce significant amounts of both plutonium and tritium, two essential ingredients for modern nuclear weapon designs. Estimates suggest that Pakistan currently maintains a stockpile of around 170 nuclear devices, each requiring on the order of 10 grams of tritium to achieve boosted fission yields. By leveraging short irradiation cycles, uranium metal fuels, and potentially lithium-6 doping, these reactors can generate not only the desired high-purity 239Pu (weapons-grade plutonium) but also tritium-albeit at levels that may be constrained by operational inefficiencies.
A pivotal enabler in this setup is heavy water (D2O), produced onsite using hydrogen sulfide (H2S) exchange technology. Heavy water allows the use of natural or low-enriched uranium, making the process more flexible and cost-effective for weapons purposes. Additionally, these reactors can be tuned to shorter burnups – around 5-6 MWd/kg – to keep the plutonium at 239Pu 90 wt%. Tritium emerges from two main pathways: neutron capture in deuterium (within the D2O) and irradiation of lithium-6 (either in targets or doped into reactor elements). Because tritium decays at a rate of 5.6% per year, Pakistan must replenish its stockpile constantly to keep existing warheads operational, which, in turn, shapes how Khushab’s reactors might be run-whether in single-batch modes or partial/ continuous recycling to maximize throughput of weapons-usable materials.
https://imrmedia.in/nuclear-weapons-how-pakistan-sustains-its-n-weapons-supply-chain/
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Against All Odds
May 29, 2025
How Pakistan Enriched Uranium and Entered the Nuclear Club
https://medium.com/united-front-for-global-resistance/against-all-odds-1fc9a9a37f62
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Islamabad Uranium Conversion Facility
The Uranium Conversion Facility in Islamabad is a uranium conversion site in Islamabad, Pakistan.[1] The plant is owned by the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission and has a nominal capacity of producing uranium hexafluoride (UF6).
Despite its existence being known since 1990 following investigations by the United States government, there are no official reports of its operations by the Government of Pakistan and about the technical data of the facility.
Overview
Believed to be built between 1974–76, the Uranium Conversion Facility is the only uranium hexafluoride conversion facility in Pakistan.: 166–167 [4] The facility is known for its many names such as POF Uranium Conversion Facility by Federation of American Scientists (FAS) and other sources.: 110 [5][3] The plant feeds U3O8 yellowcake received from local uranium mines and produces uranium hexafluoride gas for enrichment at one of the primary enrichment sites around the Pakistan. After being enriched, product is fabricated into nuclear fuel used for generating electricity at a nuclear power plant.: 166
For such purposes, the facility employs unique vacuum technology, which was imported from East Germany (possibly via Leybold GmbH), to process by which it converts powdered yellowcake into uranium tetrafluoride (UF4) to uranium trioxide (UO3), and uranium dioxide (urania) to convert to uranium hexafluoride (UF6) gas.: 167
Despite operating in secrecy, the uranium conversion facility was identified by the United States' Export Administration Regulations (EAR) for export controls in 1999.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamabad_Uranium_Conversion_Facility
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Yes, We Should Still Be Worried About Illicit Nuclear Markets
21.Aug.2024
For many, the fall of the Soviet Union was cause for celebration; from the end of the nuclear arms race to the emergence of the United States as the superior economic power, an era of prosperity emerged. However, as nations evolve, so do the threats they face. Without a strong, central government to exert control over the Soviet stockpile of nuclear weapons, the emerging peaceful world order faced a new existential problem: “loose nukes.”
In the 1990s, over one million Russians worked in nuclear facilities that possessed over 1.5 million kilograms of plutonium and uranium. Those one million Russians also lived in a nation facing compounding economic, political, and social crises. Thus, a new worry began to plague Russian and US nuclear experts: desperate Russians being persuaded to share classified nuclear material with the highest bidder.
The US and Russian governments immediately sprang into action. Containment efforts were created and funded, such as the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Act. Barriers to scientific collaboration were dismantled, leading to collaborative efforts between US and Russian scientists. Because both sides recognized the catastrophic risks posed by loose nukes, a commitment to solve emerging nuclear threats emerged. Thus, nuclear threats were never realized during the 20th century.
Although several decades have passed since the impetus for worry surrounding illicit nuclear markets, the threat remains. From Ukraine to Taiwan to North Korea to Pakistan, the stability of the nuclear order is continuously being called into question by leaders who seem willing to plunge the world into full-scale nuclear war. As the world enters this period of nuclear instability, the geopolitical risk of unpredictable nuclear developments cannot be overstated.
Experts agree that the highest risk of nuclear catastrophe stems from new nuclear states. These nations lack the sophisticated and time-tested capabilities to ensure stability and are unpredictable, having never before possessed the power of a nuclear arsenal. Illicit markets also allow for terrorist acquisition of nuclear materials. These actors are not constrained by the logic of mutually assured destruction nor international agreements of restraint. Their operation at a sub-state level compounds risks of miscalculation and inadvertent escalation, demonstrating the high costs of allowing these markets to operate.
The world may have evaded the formation of an illicit nuclear market in the 20th century, but more recently, we have not been as lucky.
In 2001, a single man threatened to upend the continued tradition of nuclear non-use: Abdul Qadeer Khan. Considered a hero in the East and a terrorist in the West, Khan was the father of the Pakistani nuclear program. He used his extensive knowledge of nuclear materials and processing to successfully acquire Pakistan’s first nuclear weapon. However, Khan did not stop there. He then sold his knowledge on the black market, resulting in the export of nuclear materials to states including Libya, Iran, and North Korea.
These developments suggest that—despite the scare of the 1990s—the international community did not subsequently eradicate illicit nuclear markets.
The Man Who Almost Broke the World
In 1974, India performed its first test of nuclear weapons. Immediately, the Pakistani government felt threatened. Tensions have been strained between the two nations since the creation of the Pakistani state by the British in 1947. Territorial disputes between the Muslim-majority Pakistan and Hindu-majority India continue even to this day.
Thus, after word of Indian nuclear weapons spread, Khan was quickly overcome with nationalist sentiment. He wrote to Pakistani leadership to offer his services in the quest for a domestic Pakistani nuclear deterrent.
Khan had been working in the Netherlands at Urenco, the world’s largest uranium enrichment company. Now, Dutch officials were certain Khan was not just wanting to improve his work—he was observed asking “suspicious questions” to experts on the enrichment process. Thus, in early 1975, Khan was moved off of projects related to enrichment. In response, Khan returned to Pakistan, bringing copies of classified blueprints that would later become his own nuclear bible. His work on the Pakistani weapons began almost immediately, and by 1978, Pakistan enriched uranium for the first time.
Unbeknownst to international agencies at the time, other non-nuclear nations began to approach Khan to aid their own domestic nuclear programs. In 1987, Khan closed a deal with Iran, agreeing to sell the necessary knowledge for the construction of a uranium enrichment facility. His business dealings did not end in the Middle East—throughout the 1990s, Khan traveled throughout Africa, visiting countries including Kenya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sudan, and Tunisia.
In 2000, Khan took his black market operation above ground and decided to advertise his nuclear weapons at the Karachi arms fair in a mushroom cloud-shaped brochure. This decision led to an immediate investigation into Khan’s business dealings, and in the early 2000s, Khan finally confessed publicly to supplying illicit nuclear weapons. Despite being charged with a multitude of crimes, Khan was ultimately pardoned by the Pakistani leadership. Unable to be captured by Western authorities, he lived the rest of his days under house arrest until he finally passed away in 2021.
However, threats to global stability did not fade away with Khan.
Future of the Illicit Trade
In 2021, there were 146 incidents globally involving the transfer of items related to illicit nuclear weapons development. This number is only projected to increase as global tensions rise and technology removes barriers that previously blocked entry into the nuclear domain.
Specifically, reports warn of the growing accessibility of illicit nuclear goods to growing terrorist networks. Groups like Al-Qaeda are expected to continue their attempts to acquire the bomb, and with new momentum, pose a unique threat to the nuclear order.
When one pictures a facility that houses nuclear weapons, one likely thinks of military bases overflowing with security personnel and advanced anti-theft systems. Unfortunately, however, many nuclear facilities remain vulnerable to theft. Experts agree that lack of access to nuclear materials is the largest roadblock to terrorist acquisition of nuclear weapons; therefore, insecure nuclear sites currently pose an incredibly large risk.
Turkey
At present, the United States and NATO store 20 B-61 gravity bombs at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, which has been the center of continued controversy in the past few years. In 2010, activists easily entered the compound and walked freely through the nuclear vaults for over an hour before security arrived. This incident raises critical questions. If an unarmed group can get inside a military compound, what will happen if a small army of dangerous actors knocks on the door?
What is more worrying is that Turkey is entering a period of political instability. A crumbling economy and questions of electoral legitimacy are plaguing the nation. In past years, this turbulence has led to power being cut off to certain regions of the nation, including Incirlik. In 2016, a blackout occurred right as anti-US protestors arrived at the base’s perimeter. Later, the base’s commander was arrested after authorities realized he had helped the protestors organize an attempted coup.
Clearly, 20 unguarded nuclear weapons in an unstable region pose significant security risks. These bombs also provide little military utility—the United States possesses a litany of other similar weapons in other bases that are more secure.
Libya
Problems of nuclear material security do not start nor end with the United States. In early 2023, the United Nations reported that 2.3 tons of uranium had gone missing in Libya. That amount can be converted into 12 pounds of weapons-grade material if one possesses the requisite capability—a capability made easier to acquire with Khan’s exporting of nuclear knowledge.
While there are reports that the materials have since been found, any uncertainty about their security for any amount of time is dangerous. Even if a group lacked the ability to enrich the materials, natural uranium could be packed into conventional weapons, resulting in catastrophe. According to Libyan government officials, the barrels were found by groups from neighboring Chad that abandoned the barrels after realizing they were not full of weapons. It was sheer luck the barrels were not found by groups with more insidious motives.
The Age of Nuclear Insecurity
As we enter an age of unknowns, we cannot risk adding loose nuclear weapons to the growing list of pressing global issues. Although the United States has increased radiation detection equipment, monitored exports and imports, and provided assistance to developing nations in order to curtail illicit access to nuclear materials, ongoing security issues suggest that these efforts are falling short.
After the USSR fell, regulating loose nuclear weapons catalyzed cooperation between two superpowers otherwise extremely divided. Currently, those tensions are escalating due to the failure of arms control agreements as well as the ongoing war in Ukraine. Hopefully, leaders in charge will recognize that the illicit trade of nuclear materials poses a threat to everyone and be willing to cooperate.
Domestic regulations are insufficient because the nuclear trade is a global issue. International agencies—such as the International Atomic Energy Agency—need to be granted much greater authority to ensure the safety of nuclear material. In addition, more research needs to be done to create a mechanism capable of effectively deconstructing nuclear weapons after their disarmament.
Now is the time to prevent the greatest threat to the nuclear order. Preventing the illegitimate proliferation of nuclear weapons is the only way to preserve the nuclear taboo.
https://hir.harvard.edu/illicit-nuclear-markets/
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CHINESE NUCLEAR EXPORTS TO PAKISTAN (Senate - February 07, 1996)
https://irp.fas.org/congress/1996_cr/s960207b.htm
Mr. PRESSLER. Mr. President, I want to bring to the attention of my colleagues some very disturbing developments in weapons proliferation in south Asia. Last year may go down in history as one of the worst years for the cause of nuclear nonproliferation. New evidence released this week merely reinforces this grave conclusion.
On February 5 the Washington Times reported that, in 1995, Chinese defense industrial trading companies exported 5,000 ring magnets to Pakistan. Under the terms of an international agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the export of ring magnets is strictly controlled because of the magnets' critical use in the production of nuclear weapons. Specifically, ring magnets are used in gas centrifuges, which are used to extract enriched, weapons-grade uranium from uranium gas.
Just this morning, Mr. President, the Washington Post reported a similar story, finding that American intelligence officials believe there is no doubt that the transfers occurred. Chapter 10, section 101, of the Arms Export Control Act contains very severe penalties that are to be imposed on both the exporting country and the importing country for illicit nuclear transfers of this type. Specifically, the law states that no Federal assistance--economic or military--may be made available to either country. In the case of the receiving country, Pakistan, this would mean the suspension of economic and military assistance, including military training or the transfer of defense articles. In the case of the delivering country, the People's Republic of China, the operations of the United States Export-Import Bank would be blocked.
These shocking revelations raise three fundamental issues:
First, numerous officials in the Government of Pakistan have been quoted, as recently as 1995, that it was no longer enriching uranium for nuclear weapons production. In other words, Pakistan claimed it had frozen its bomb program. We could never verify those statements, but that was what we were led to believe. We now know differently.
Second, the People's Republic of China has made a series of pledges to the United States with regards to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Again, we now know differently.
Finally, during most of 1995--when the transfer of nuclear technology from the People's Republic of China to Pakistan was taking place--representatives of the Government of Pakistan and the Clinton administration were actively lobbying the Congress to weaken United States non-proliferation law to allow for a one time transfer of military equipment valued in excess of $370 million, as well as the resumption of nonmilitary aid. As we all know, last year the Senate passed the so-called Brown amendment, which authorized the transfer of this military equipment to Pakistan. It also repealed portions of the so-called Pressler amendment, a law which prohibited any United States assistance to the Government of Pakistan because of its possession of nuclear explosive devices.
This last point--the passage of the Brown amendment--is particularly disturbing. I opposed the Brown amendment. I opposed it in part because it called for the transfer of military equipment without obtaining one single concession from Pakistan on the issue of nuclear proliferation. Frankly, if Members of Congress were aware of the ring sale--this violation of U.S. law --I do not believe the Brown amendment would have passed.
It is unfortunate enough that our Nation would transfer to Pakistan, United States-made military equipment without any non-proliferation concession. Now we face the real and embarrassing prospect of having weakened United States non-proliferation law for Pakistan's benefit at the same time Pakistan was expanding its nuclear weapons capability in violation of United States law. This irony would be humorous if the issue wasn't so serious.
Accordingly, in view of the confirmations of these transfers, I have written today to President Clinton urging that he enforce the law. Specifically, any contemplated transfer of military equipment to Pakistan, as called for in the Brown amendment, should cease immediately. Further, sanctions called for under the law also should be applied to Chinese exporting companies.
Finally, Mr. President, it may be worth exploring if officials within the Clinton administration knew of this blatant violation of U.S. nonproliferation law while the administration was lobbying to pass the Brown amendment. And if they did, in fact, know it would be important to determine if they informed Members of Congress of this development. I intend to raise this matter with the chairman of the Intelligence Committee in the very near future.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that articles in the Washington Times of February 5 and the Washington Post of February 7 as well as my letter to the President of this date be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the articles were ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
[Page: S1071] From the Washington Times, Feb. 5, 1996
China Nuclear Transfer Exposed
HILL EXPECTED TO URGE SANCTIONS
The CIA has uncovered new evidence China has violated U.S. antiproliferation laws by exporting nuclear weapons technology to Pakistan.
Evidence that China has transferred ring magnets--used in gas centrifuges that enrich uranium for weapons--is likely to intensify congressional pressure on the Clinton administration to impose sanctions as required by law.
Last week, several senators asked the president in a letter if China's sale of advanced cruise missiles to Iran, disclosed Tuesday by Vice Adm. Scott Redd, commander of U.S. naval forces in the Persian Gulf, also violates counterproliferation laws.
State Department officials are expected to confront Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing, who arrives in Washington today, over the nuclear technology and other weapons-proliferation exports.
The administration in the past has sought to minimize Chinese nuclear and missile-proliferation activities. But senior State Department officials are said to be very worried that China's proliferation activities can no longer be ignored without undermining the credibility of U.S. efforts to halt the spread of nuclear arms technology and missiles.
`The Chinese are their own worst enemy,' a White House official said when asked about the new proliferation activities by Beijing.
The CIA in 1992 obtained intelligence indicating China had transferred M-11 missiles to Pakistan, including photographs of missile canisters. But the State Department ruled there was no proof missiles were inside, thereby avoiding having to invoke tough sanctions.
Instead, the department in 1993 applied much milder sanctions for transferring what is said was M-11 technology, and then lifted the sanctions after a year.
According to intelligence sources, the CIA recently notified the State Department that China sold 5,000 ring magnets to the A.Q. Khan Research Laboratory in Kahuta, Pakistan, last year.
Officials did not further identify the originating firm in China, but one congressional source said the magnets were probably produced by the China National Nuclear Co., a government-owned firm that makes nuclear-related products.
CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield declined to comment when asked about the Chinese transfer of nuclear technology. Spokesmen for the Chinese and Pakistani embassies could not be reached for comment.
According to congressional sources, State Department officials believe China's export of ring magnets violates the Arms Export Control Act. Under an amendment to that law, the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act, the president is required to impose sanctions on any country that `transfers to a non-nuclear weapon state any design information or component' used in building nuclear arms.
Gas centrifuges are used to extract enriched uranium from uranium gas. Intelligence officials believe the magnets sent to Pakistan will be used in special suspension bearings at the top of a spinning chamber in the centrifuges.
`This is another example of the ruthless way the Chinese are violating every nonproliferation pledge they've made to us,' said William C. Triplett, former chief counsel of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
On Wednesday, Sens. Larry Pressler of South Dakota, Alfonse M. D'Amato of New York, Connie Mack of Florida and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania wrote to President Clinton about Iran's test-firing a Chinese C-802 advanced anti-ship cruise missile.
`Clearly, Adm. Redd's acknowledgment of the C-802 test-firing would appear to be an official recognition of an illegal transfer to Iran to advanced conventional weapons by Chinese defenses industrial trading companies,' Mr. Pressler said in a statement. `This is a vital national security matter and demands immediate attention.'
In their letter, the four senators asked the president either to `enforce the sanctions pursuant to federal law or to seek a waiver.'
Under an amendment to the fiscal 1993 defense authorization law, the president is required to impose sanctions on any nation that transfers advanced conventional weapons to either Iran or Iraq. The measure was sponsored by Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, and Sen. Al Gore, Tennessee Democrat and now vice president.
Mr. McCain, in a separate letter to Undersecretary of State Lynn Davis, the department's top arms-control policy-maker, asked whether the Chinese cruise missile transfer to Iran violates federal law and contributes to Iran's efforts to acquire destabilizing advanced conventional arms.
In the House, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, asked the committee last week to hold hearings on China's proliferation activities.
It also was a key topic when several members of the House International Relations Committee met last week with Peter Tarnoff, undersecretary of state for political affairs.
The disclosures about export of missile and nuclear weapons components come at a time of increased tensions between Washington and Beijing.
The State Department announced last week that it has granted a visa to Taiwan's vice president, Li Yuan Zu. China protested the action and has been threatening to use force to recapture Taiwan, which it regards as a renegade province, not an independent country.
Other Chinese activities that have severely eroded support in Congress for a waiver of sanctions:
The expulsion last week of three Chinese nationals from Ukraine for trying to obtain secret technology on SS-18 ICBM boosters from a missile-production facility in Dnipropetrovsk.
Ongoing copyright violations involving U.S. goods.
Continued nuclear weapons testing.
Dispatching missile technicians to Pakistan in 1994, indicating the transfer of M-11 technology was still under way at a time when China was denying such activities.
[Page: S1072] From the Washington Post, Feb. 7, 1996
China Aids Pakistan Nuclear Program
PARTS SHIPMENT REPORTED BY CIA COULD JEOPARDIZE U.S. TRADE DEALS
U.S. intelligence officials have concluded that China sold sensitive nuclear weapons-related equipment to Pakistan last year, an act that could lead the Clinton administration to halt U.S. government financing for nearly $10 billion worth of American business deals in China.
President Clinton's advisers are studying the intelligence report to determine how they should respond, according to several officials. Legislation approved by Congress in 1994 requires that he either approve the sanctions, which would block loan guarantees by the U.S. Export-Import Bank, or formally waive the penalties, once such an intelligence report is received.
In a previous arms transfer case, involving the alleged sale of Chinese missiles to Pakistan, the State Department ducked imposing sanctions by concluding that the evidence was not strong enough. A senior official commenting yesterday at the State Department about the new report of nuclear aid to Pakistan, said that `as of now' the United States has not determined that China has `done anything that would trigger sanctions under U.S. legislation.'
But several other U.S. officials privy to the new intelligence report said there is no doubt about its conclusions, a circumstance that could put the administration in a bind because it prefers to avoid damaging extensive U.S. trade ties with China.
The aim of the sanctions would be to punish China for assisting Partisan's production of highly enriched uranium, a key ingredient of nuclear weapons. But U.S. officials say the nuclear transfer is only one of several recent actions by China that may wind up disrupting its commercial and diplomatic relations with the United States.
China's export to Iran late last year of anti-ship cruise missiles--confirmed last week by a senior U.S. Navy official--may also qualify as a sanctionable offense, according to some U.S. officials and lawmakers. Another U.S. law requires broad economic penalties against any nation that gives `destabilizing numbers and types of advanced conventional weapons' to Iran, which Washington has branded a terrorist nation.
U.S. officials said that the number of missiles sold by China may not be large enough to force the drastic cutoff of development bank assistance, technical assistance, military exchanges and sensitive exports mandated by the law. But four senators recently wrote to Clinton to say that either sanctions or a waiver are required in this case.
In yet another sign of increasingly rocky U.S. relations with China, some administration officials have raised the prospect of imposing tariffs later this year on billions of dollars in trade to protest China's refusal to halt illicit copying of U.S. trademark goods.
Washington is also trying to persuade China to adopt a less threatening posture toward Taiwan. Beijing views the island as a renegade province, but Taiwan receives U.S. arms and is supported by many U.S. lawmakers because of its considerable prosperity and political openness relative to China.
`There's a recognition that this is going to be a very difficult year in U.S.-China relations,' a senior State Department official said. He explained that with China in the midst of a difficult transition to new political leadership, and `our own domestic environment' affected by an upcoming presidential election, the two nations may find themselves being pulled toward opposing positions on matters they previously sidestepped or settled through compromise.
Washington has long had concerns about Chinese military assistance to Pakistan, which Beijing regards as an erstwhile political ally and military counter-weight to India. U.S. intelligence officials have long alleged that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is largely derived from design information supplied by China, a charge that Beijing denies.
U.S. intelligence reports have also pinpointed the apparent location in Pakistan of crated, Chinese-made, medium-range missiles, which if confirmed would force a cutoff of billions of dollars worth of U.S.-China trade. But the administration has decided that no sanctions need be invoked until the missiles are sighted outside their crates.
The latest Chinese nuclear-related transfer to Pakistan was recently detected by the CIA and first reported publicly in Monday's editions of the Washington Times. It involves a shipment of 5,000 specialized magnets to the Abdul Qadeer Khan Research Laboratory in Kahuta, named for the father of the Pakistani nuclear bomb program.
According to two knowledgeable officials, the magnets are clearly meant to be installed in high-speed centrifuges at the plant that enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.
Several congressional sources said that the shipment thus triggers provisions of the 1994 Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Act, which forces `a cutoff of Export-Import Bank assistance' involving trade with China.
Among the large U.S. companies that would be affected by a loan guarantee cutoff are Boeing Co., AT&T, and Westinghouse Electric Corp.
`We do have genuine concerns about any possible nuclear-related transfers between China and Pakistan and we have raised these concerns . . . at very senior levels,' the senior official said at the State Department.
`We will do whatever is required under U.S. law, but . . . we have to have a very high degree of confidence in our evidence,' the official added. `As of now we have not determined that China . . . has done anything that would trigger sanctions under U.S. legislation. But this is obviously under continual review.'
U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC, February 7, 1996.
The President,
The White House,
Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. President: The United States Intelligence Community is confirming on background that the People's Republic of China (PRC) has violated U.S. non-proliferation laws by exporting nuclear weapons technology to Pakistan. According to today's Washington Post, our intelligence officials believe `there is no doubt' that an illicit transfer has taken place.
Specifically, the Washington Times first reported on February 5 that, in 1995, Chinese defense industrial trading companies sold 5,000 ring magnets to the Abdul Qadeer Khan Research Laboratory in Kahuta, Pakistan. Under an international agreement sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the export of ring magnets is severely restricted because of their critical use in nuclear weapons production.
This reported sale of nuclear technology raises two key concerns many in Congress have held for some time: Contrary to the most solemn declaration of the Government of Pakistan, Pakistan is attempting to expand its supply of weapons-grade enriched uranium, and Chinese companies are actively fueling and profiting from a dangerous nuclear arms race in South Asia.
Chapter 10 of the Arms Export Control Act contains a set of specific prohibitions governing illicit nuclear transfers. If the President determines that a country has delivered or received `nuclear enrichment equipment, materials or technology,' no funds may be made available to that country under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. This would include all civilian and military equipment, including that provided by the Brown Amendment to the Fiscal Year 1996 Foreign Operations Appropriations Act. The prohibitions also extend to military education and training.
I ask that you make the determination called for by Chapter 10. Unquestionably, this sale of nuclear technology represents a serious violation of federal law, as well as international nuclear non-proliferation agreements.
No issue is more important to the security of all people than nuclear non-proliferation. For that reason, I urge your Administration to take immediate and certain action to enforce the law with respect to this sale of nuclear technology and freeze all assistance, civilian or military, to Pakistan. The sanctions called for under the law should be applied to Chinese exporting companies.
Sincerely,
Larry Pressler,
U.S. Senator.
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Uranium and Nuclear Power: Energy, Ethics, and Investment Considerations
Uranium and nuclear power prompt a wide range of responses. For some, the topic recalls pop culture portrayals such as The Simpsons, while for others, it evokes the serious historical events of Chernobyl or Fukushima. More recently, concerns around Iran’s nuclear infrastructure have placed uranium in the spotlight again, especially amid military tensions that raise the risk of radiation exposure.
These associations often shape public opinion and investor sentiment, which can lean toward caution. However, uranium also plays a central role in nuclear energy, a form of power generation that produces large-scale electricity with minimal carbon emissions. As governments seek to meet climate targets, nuclear energy is being re-evaluated globally for its potential to contribute to a lower-emission energy mix.
Understanding Uranium and Nuclear Power
Uranium is a naturally occurring metal used as fuel in nuclear power plants. In these reactors, uranium undergoes fission, releasing heat that is used to produce steam and generate electricity. This process is emissions-free at the point of generation.
Nuclear power offers high energy density. Small quantities of uranium can produce large amounts of energy and is capable of providing consistent baseload power, unlike intermittent sources such as solar or wind.
Uranium Mining and Global Supply
Uranium is extracted through conventional mining, in-situ leaching, or by-product recovery from other mining activities. Key uranium-producing countries include Kazakhstan, Canada, Namibia, and Australia.
Over the past decade, global uranium production has been lower than demand, resulting in a drawdown of inventories and increased reliance on secondary sources. Market observers note that new supply will be required to meet rising demand from both existing and planned nuclear reactors.
Benefits and Uses of Nuclear Power
Some of the commonly cited advantages of nuclear power include:
- Low greenhouse gas emissions over the lifecycle of energy generation
- Stable energy output, making it suitable as baseload generation
- Compact land use, compared to solar or wind projects of similar scale
More than 400 nuclear reactors are in operation worldwide, with additional units under construction, particularly in Asia and the Middle East.
Market Dynamics: Demand, Deficits, and Investment Interest
In recent years, the uranium market has gained renewed attention due to:
- Increased global interest in clean energy
- Concerns over energy security, particularly following geopolitical events
- Expectations of a structural supply deficit as utilities look to secure long-term fuel contracts
This supply-demand dynamic has led to increased interest from institutional and retail investors, particularly through physical uranium funds and uranium mining equities.
What is Sprott?
Sprott Asset Management is a Canadian investment firm that manages the Sprott Physical Uranium Trust (SPUT). This trust purchases and stores physical uranium, offering investors exposure to the commodity without holding mining equities. SPUT’s activities effectively reduce available market supply and have become a factor in uranium price dynamics.
Paladin Energy’s Role
Paladin Energy (ASX: PDN) is an Australia-based uranium mining company. Its principal asset is the Langer Heinrich Mine in Namibia, which has recently restarted production after being on care and maintenance due to historically low uranium prices.
Paladin is among a small group of near-term uranium producers and is often viewed by investors as a way to gain direct exposure to potential uranium market upside.
Ethical Considerations: A Multifaceted Debate
The ethics of uranium investment are subject to ongoing debate, shaped by perspectives on environmental impact, public safety, and global security.
Concerns often raised include:
- Nuclear waste: Long-lived radioactive materials require long-term storage solutions
- Safety risks: Although rare, nuclear accidents can have severe consequences
- Weapons proliferation: Civilian nuclear infrastructure may be linked to military capabilities in some contexts
- Impact on communities: Mining operations, especially in remote or Indigenous areas, can raise social and environmental concerns
Arguments in favour often include:
- Climate mitigation: Nuclear power provides a low-emission alternative to fossil fuels
- Energy reliability: It supports grid stability alongside renewables
- Technological progress: New reactor types (e.g. Small Modular Reactors) aim to address waste and safety issues
Risks of Uranium Mining and Investment
Like any resource sector, uranium carries both operational and market risks:
- Price volatility: Uranium markets are historically cyclical and thinly traded
- Geopolitical exposure: Supply is concentrated in countries that may be politically or economically unstable
- Regulatory risk: Government policy can shift suddenly, affecting project approvals or reactor usage
- Environmental scrutiny: ESG frameworks may exclude uranium, limiting its inclusion in some portfolios
Areas for Further Development
As nuclear power regains attention, several areas may benefit from further development:
- Public engagement and education: Addressing misinformation and improving understanding of nuclear energy
- Waste management innovation: Long-term solutions to reduce and safely store nuclear waste
- Advanced nuclear technologies: Research into safer and more efficient reactors
- Policy clarity: Consistent regulatory frameworks to support long-term investment
Conclusion
Uranium plays a complex role in the global energy system. It has significant potential as a low-emission energy source but also carries risks and ethical considerations that vary by perspective. As demand for clean, reliable energy grows, uranium and nuclear power are likely to remain part of the broader energy conversation for policymakers, environmental groups, and investors alike.
https://cadrecapital.com.au/uranium-and-nuclear-power-energy-ethics-and-investment-considerations/
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Not All Uranium Can Be Used in Weapons. Here's What 'Enrichment' Means.
27 June 2025
When most people hear the word uranium, they think of mushroom clouds, Cold War standoffs or the glowing green rods from science fiction(kasezo/iStock
But uranium isn't just fuel for apocalyptic fears. It's also a surprisingly common element that plays a crucial role in modern energy, medicine, and geopolitics.
Uranium reentered the global spotlight in June 2025, when the US launched military strikes on sites in Iran believed to be housing highly enriched uranium, a move that reignited urgent conversations around nuclear proliferation.
Many headlines have mentioned Iran's 60% enrichment of uranium, but what does that really mean?
As a biochemist, I'm interested in demystifying this often misunderstood element.
What is uranium?
Uranium holds the 92nd position on the periodic table, and it is a radioactive, metallic element. Radioactivity is a natural process where some atoms – like uranium, thorium and radium – break down on their own, releasing energy.
The German chemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth initially identified uranium in 1789, and he named it after the newly discovered planet Uranus. However, its power was not unlocked until the 20th century, when scientists discovered that uranium atoms could split via a process known as nuclear fission.
In fission, the nucleus of the atom splits into two or more nuclei, which releases large amounts of energy.
Uranium is found almost everywhere. It is in rocks, soil and water. There are even traces of uranium in plants and animals – albeit tiny amounts. Most of it is found in the Earth's crust, where it is mined and concentrated to increase the amount of its most useful radioactive form, uranium-235.
The enrichment dilemma
Uranium-235 is an isotope of uranium, which is a version of an element that has the same basic identity but weighs a little more or less. Think about apples from the same tree. Some are big and some are small, but they are all apples – even though they have slightly different weights. Basically, an isotope is the same element but with a different mass.
Unprocessed uranium is mostly uranium-238. It only contains approximately 0.7% uranium-235, the isotope that allows the most nuclear fission to occur. So, the enrichment process concentrates uranium-235.
Enrichment can make uranium more useful for the development of nuclear weapons, since natural uranium doesn't have enough uranium-235 to work well in reactors or weapons. The process usually contains three steps.
The first step is to convert the uranium into a gas, called uranium hexafluoride. In the second step, the gas gets funneled into a machine called a centrifuge that spins very fast. Because uranium-235 is a little lighter than uranium-238, it moves outward more slowly when spun, and the two isotopes separate.
It's sort of like how a salad spinner separates water from lettuce. One spin doesn't make much of a difference, so the gas is spun through many centrifuges in a row until the uranium-235 is concentrated.
Uranium can typically power nuclear plants and generate electricity when it is 3%-5% enriched, meaning 3%-5% of the uranium is uranium-235. At 20% enriched, uranium-235 is considered highly enriched uranium, and 90% or higher is known as weapons-grade uranium.
This high grade works in nuclear weapons because it can sustain a fast, uncontrolled chain reaction, which releases a large amount of energy compared with the other isotopes.
Uranium's varied powers
While many headlines focus on uranium's military potential, this element also plays a vital role in modern life. At low enrichment levels, uranium powers nearly 10% of the world's electricity.
In the US, many nuclear power plants run on uranium fuel, producing carbon-free energy. In addition, some cancer therapies and diagnostic imaging technologies harness uranium to treat diseases.
In naval technology, nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers rely on enriched uranium to operate silently and efficiently for years.
Uranium is a story of duality. It is a mineral pulled from ancient rocks that can light up a city or wipe one off the map. It's not just a relic of the Cold War or science fiction. It's real, it's powerful, and it's shaping our world – from global conflicts to cancer clinics, from the energy grid to international diplomacy.
In the end, the real power is not just in the energy released from the element. It is in how people choose to use it.
https://www.sciencealert.com/not-all-uranium-can-be-used-in-weapons-heres-what-enrichment-means
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Enriched uranium: types, uses and obtaining
Enriched uranium is uranium that has undergone a technological process to increase the proportion of the isotope uranium-235. As a result, natural uranium is divided into enriched uranium and depleted uranium.
Natural uranium contains three isotopes of uranium:
Uranium-238 (99.2745%)
Uranium-235 (0.72%)
Uranium-234 (0.0055%).
The uranium-238 isotope (with 238 neutrons) is a relatively stable isotope, incapable of generating an independent nuclear chain reaction, unlike the fissile isotope U-235.
Currently, uranium-235 is the main fissile material used in nuclear power plants and in some types of nuclear weapons such as the atomic bomb. However, for many applications, the proportion of fissile uranium (U-235) in natural uranium is small and fuel preparation generally includes a uranium enrichment process.
What is uranium enriched for?
Enriched uranium favors nuclear chain reactions within atomic reactors.
The nuclear chain reaction implies that at least one neutron released during a fission reaction hits another atom and generates another fission reaction. This requires that the uranium concentrate be compact enough to increase the probability that the released neutron will find a next uranium atom.
On the other hand, as reactions occur within nuclear reactors, uranium-235 is wasted reducing the likelihood of a collision.
Uranium enrichment is an inexpensive solution to increase the proportion of uranium-235 in nuclear fuel.
Enriched uranium is also used in nuclear weapons. In the design of the atomic bomb it is required that in the extremely short time of a nuclear explosion, the maximum number of uranium-235 atoms find its neutron, fission and release energy.
Classification according to the degree of enrichment of uranium
Uranium can be classified into:
1. Natural
Natural uranium with a uranium-235 content of 0.72% is used in some power reactors (eg Canadian CANDU), in reactors producing plutonium (eg A-1).
2. Little enriched
Uranium with a uranium-235 content up to 20% is called low enriched. Uranium with 2-5% enrichment is now widely used in power reactors around the world. Uranium enriched up to 20% is used in research and experimental reactors.
3. Highly enriched
Uranium with a uranium-235 content above 20% is called highly enriched or weapon.
Highly enriched uranium can be used in a thermonuclear weapon.
Furthermore, highly enriched uranium is used in nuclear power reactors with little or no refueling, for example in spacecraft reactors.
4. Impoverished
Depleted uranium has 0.1-0.3% uranium-235 content. It is generally the residue from the uranium enrichment process.
This material is widely used as cores for armor-piercing projectiles due to the high density of uranium and low cost.
In the future, it is proposed to use depleted uranium in fast neutron reactors.
How is uranium enriched?
The enrichment process begins with the uranium cleaned of impurities.
Many methods of isotope separation are known. Most of the methods are based on different masses of atoms of different isotopes: 235 is slightly lighter than 238. This manifests itself in different inertia of the atoms.
Electromagnetic methods and gas diffusion are based on this principle.
Today almost all uranium enrichment facilities are based on gas centrifugation. Uranium is in the form of uranium hexafluoride. After enrichment, chemical plants transform uranium hexafluoride into uranium dioxide.
https://nuclear-energy.net/nuclear-power-plants/nuclear-fuel/uranium/enriched-uranium
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What is the difference between natural, enriched, and depleted uranium?
9.5.2023
Natural uranium is found in the Earth’s crust, enriched uranium has a higher concentration of 235U for nuclear purposes, and depleted uranium is a byproduct with various industrial applications.
Understanding Uranium: Natural, Enriched, and Depleted
Uranium, a naturally occurring heavy metal, plays a significant role in the nuclear industry. To better understand its applications, it is essential to know the differences between natural, enriched, and depleted uranium. In this article, we’ll explore the properties and uses of these three types of uranium.
Natural Uranium
Natural uranium is found in the Earth’s crust and primarily consists of three isotopes: 238U (99.2745%), 235U (0.7200%), and 234U (0.0055%). The isotope 235U is the most significant due to its ability to sustain a nuclear chain reaction. As a result, it is commonly used as a fuel for nuclear reactors and atomic bombs. However, its low concentration in natural uranium requires an enrichment process to increase its percentage for practical applications.
Enriched Uranium
Enriched uranium is produced by increasing the concentration of the 235U isotope, thereby enhancing its fissile properties. This process involves separating 235U from 238U using various methods such as gas diffusion, gas centrifugation, or laser isotope separation. Enriched uranium has two main applications:
Nuclear fuel: Typically, nuclear reactors use low-enriched uranium (LEU) containing 3-5% 235U. This concentration is sufficient to sustain a controlled chain reaction in light water reactors, the most common type of nuclear power plants.
Atomic weapons: Weapons-grade uranium has a much higher concentration of 235U, typically above 90%. This concentration is necessary for the rapid, uncontrolled chain reaction that results in a nuclear explosion.
Depleted Uranium
Depleted uranium is a byproduct of the enrichment process. As 235U is separated from natural uranium, the remaining material primarily consists of 238U, with a reduced concentration of 235U (usually below 0.3%). Depleted uranium is less radioactive than natural uranium, but its high density and availability make it valuable for various applications:
Armor-piercing ammunition: Due to its density and pyrophoric properties, depleted uranium is an effective material for armor-piercing projectiles, capable of penetrating heavily armored targets.
Radiation shielding: Depleted uranium is used as a shielding material in some radiation protection applications, such as containers for transporting radioactive materials.
Counterweights and ballast: The high density of depleted uranium makes it suitable for use as counterweights in aircraft or ballast in ships and submarines.
In summary, the primary differences between natural, enriched, and depleted uranium are the concentrations of the 235U isotope and their respective applications. While natural uranium requires enrichment for use in nuclear reactors and weapons, depleted uranium finds applications in military and industrial sectors due to its high density and reduced radioactivity.
https://www.nuclear-power.com/what-is-the-difference-between-natural-enriched-and-depleted-uranium/
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LEU vs. HEU: A Simple Guide to Uranium Enrichment Levels
15 Jun, 2024
Uranium enrichment plays a critical role in both civilian nuclear power generation and military applications around the world1. Understanding the difference between Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) and Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) is essential for grasping the fundamentals of nuclear technology.
https://fordow.net/blog/posts/leu-vs-heu-uranium-enrichment-guide
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What is High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU)?
December 3, 2024
HALEU is enriched between 5% and 20% in U-235 and is required for most U.S. advanced reactors to achieve smaller designs.
https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/what-high-assay-low-enriched-uranium-haleu
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High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium (HALEU)
https://www.nrc.gov/materials/new-fuels/haleu.html
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Highly Enriched Uranium Blend Down to High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium, at the Savannah River Site
07/25/2025
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/07/25/2025-14017/highly-enriched-uranium-blend-down-to-high-assay-low-enriched-uranium-at-the-savannah-river-site
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What is Low Enriched Uranium (LEU) and how it is stored at the IAEA LEU Bank?
https://www.iaea.org/topics/leubank/what-is-leu
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Canada, India agree to $350-million uranium supply deal
April 15, 2015
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Chapter 15 - Moral Dilemmas of Uranium and Thorium Fuel Cycles
2013
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/B9780080450155000150
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Canada and India: The nuclear genie, 40 years on
April 15, 2015
After an absence of 40 years, Canada is once again selling uranium to
India. The deal is a good one for Saskatoon-based Cameco Corp., which
has won a lucrative five-year contract to supply more than seven million
pounds of uranium concentrate to one of the few major countries intent
on expanding its nuclear generating capacity...
https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/canada-and-india-the-nuclear-genie-40-years-on/article23978162/
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Uranium sale
Last week there was a big international story in the news. I know what
you're thinking; President Obama visited Australia, right? Well that was
a big story in fact it was so big that it took attention away from
another important story that the government is thinking about exporting
uranium to India. In any other week that would have been massive news
but with the President coming to town you might have missed it and that
might have been just what the Prime Minister was aiming for.
http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3370382.htm
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Russia set to team up with India on NUCLEAR REACTOR as relations deteriorate with the West
Nov 2, 2016
RUSSIA is cosying up to India amid heightened tensions between Moscow and the West as the two potential allies consider collaborating on the development of an atomic reactor.
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Uranium shipment signals end of US-Russian nuclear deal
November 14, 2013
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Strategic trade with India ‘to push third outbreak of nukes’
June 18, 2017
http://nation.com.pk/national/18-Jun-2017/strategic-trade-with-india-to-push-third-outbreak-of-nukes
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37% of All the Illiterate Adults in the World Are Indian
2014
http://world.time.com/2014/01/29/indian-adult-illiteracy/?iid=gs-article-mostpop1
----------------------------
Russia signs fuel supply contract with India
11 February 2009
Russian nuclear fuel producer TVEL and
India's Department of Atomic Energy have signed long-term contracts
worth more than $700 million for the supply of nuclear fuel to India's
nuclear power plants.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=24645
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The truth about the Hillary Clinton-Russia-Uranium 'scandal'
Apr. 28, 2015
The basic facts: This story is about the sale of a controlling stake in a Canadian company called Uranium One to Rosatom, the Russian atomic energy agency. Because Uranium One controlled uranium mines in the United States, the sale had to be approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment In the United States (CFIUS), part of the executive branch.
A number of investors in Uranium One gave donations to the Clinton Foundation during the time the sale was being considered (between 2008 and 2010), in part through the participation of Frank Giustra, a Canadian mining magnate who was a large donor to the Foundation and who had controlled a company that eventually bought Uranium One (according to the Times, Giustra sold his interest in the company in 2007, before the Rosatom deal).
http://www.businessinsider.com/everything-we-know-about-the-hillary-clinton-russia-uranium-scandal-2015-4
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Terrorism and the Soviet Union
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism_and_the_Soviet_Union
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How the KGB Created Arafat and PLO
August 9, 2007
https://pamelageller.com/2007/08/how-the-kgb-cre.html/
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The Communist Roots of Palestinian Terror
December 14, 2007
http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=29207
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THE ROOTS OF ISLAMIC TERRORISM
March 2002
http://users.jyu.fi/~aphamala/pe/issue5/roots.htm
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The Russian Roots of Terrorism
September 30, 2014
I learned about the passing of former Washington Times columnist John Lofton
as I was looking through an old file of clippings and found a Lofton
gem entitled, “Where terrorism is rooted,” from the July 5, 1985, issue
of the paper. It’s a reminder of Lofton’s important style of writing and
the fact that the Islamists we face today learned their style of
warfare from the Soviets, who established the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) as “the fulcrum of the Soviet Union’s strategic
approach” to world revolution, especially control of the Middle East.
http://www.aim.org/aim-column/the-russian-roots-of-terrorism/
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Australia quietly makes first uranium shipment to India three years after supply agreement
Three years after signing a civilian nuclear supply treaty, the Federal Government confirmed overnight the first shipment of Australian uranium has left for India.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-19/australia-quietly-makes-first-uranium-shipment-to-india/8722108
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Why is India buying uranium from Australia when we have (possibly) the world's largest uranium reserve in Tummalapalle, AP?
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-India-buying-uranium-from-Australia-when-we-have-possibly-the-worlds-largest-uranium-reserve-in-Tummalapalle-AP
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North Korea tests ‘H bomb’: Why it raises security concerns for India
Sep 04, 2017
North Korea carried out a powerful nuclear test on Monday, claiming to have developed an advanced hydrogen bomb that could sit atop an intercontinental ballistic missile.
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Pakistan’s sale of nuclear materials to N Korea hushed up by China
June 22, 2016
The Chinese Government hushed up the matter as it could have consequences for Beijing's bid to support Pakistan at the NSG.
Pakistan is continuing to sell nuclear materials to North Korea, while at the same time urging the international community to accept its membership to the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), according to highly placed US sources who are involved with the tracking of nuclear commerce...
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Who Created Pakistan’s Nuclear Arsenal?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jamyang-norbu/who-created-pakistans-nuc_b_864124.html
In the wake of the successful American operation to take out Bin
Laden, the issue of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons has once again come the
fore, especially when latest reports indicate that Pakistan’s nuclear
arsenal is growing at a rate that will make it the fourth-largest in a
decade behind only the United States, Russia and China. Newsweek (May 16, 2011) has just come out with an interview
with A.Q. Khan, the “father” of Pakistan’s bomb, in which he claims
that “... it was an Indian nuclear explosion in May 1974 that prompted
our nuclear program, motivating me to return to Pakistan to help create a
credible nuclear deterrent and save my country from Indian nuclear
blackmail.”
Pakistanis may proudly hail Khan as the father of the “Islamic bomb,”
but what is generally not mentioned is that Khan’s PhD is in
metallurgical engineering. Khan was certainly responsible for stealing
blueprints for the manufacture of enriched uranium from a Dutch
laboratory in 1972, but he was not involved with the actual design,
development and testing of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons. He wasn’t even
living in the country when Pakistan’s nuclear weapon program was
secretly launched in 1972. Khan was only put in charge of Pakistan’s
uranium enrichment program in 1976.
A New York Times report describes China’s vital contribution to the genesis of Pakistan’s nuclear program:
“China, a staunch ally of Pakistan’s, provided blueprints for the bomb, as well as highly enriched uranium, tritium, scientists and key components for a nuclear weapons production complex, among other crucial tools. ‘Without China’s help, Pakistan’s bomb would not exist’ said Gary Milhollin, a leading expert on the spread of nuclear weapons.”
According to a survey of WMD proliferation published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace:
“China’s assistance to Pakistan’s nuclear program over the past 15 years may have been critical to Pakistan’s nuclear weapon breakthroughs in the 1980s. China was believed to have supplied Pakistan with the plans for one of its earlier nuclear bombs and possibly to have provided enough highly enriched uranium for two such weapons.”
The Carnegie Endowment supported survey also details China’s
assistance to Pakistan in the construction of plutonium production
reactor at Khusab and an unsafeguarded plutonium reprocessing facility
at Chasma, giving Pakistan, for the first time, a dependable source of
plutonium for use in nuclear weapons.
India was initially ahead not only of Pakistan, but even China, in
the nuclear field. In the fifties the Indian leadership and scientific
community generally subscribed (somewhat naively in retrospect) to the
Nehruvian vision of the upliftment of the third world through the
peaceful harnessing of nuclear energy, while from the start China’s
“...nuclear effort (aided substantially by the USSR) remained almost
exclusively military.” In 1955, India’s top nuclear scientist, Homi
Bhabha, was president of the landmark international Atoms for Peace
Conference in Geneva. India’s first nuclear plant (1957) at Trombay
“seemed open and aboveboard. There was no secrecy about it.”
The irony is that India’s nuclear weapons program resulted directly
from two Chinese actions: the 1962 military attack on India and the 1964
explosion of China’s first nuclear bomb. “The Chinese bomb hurt
Bhabha’s pride as much as his patriotism.” (Peter Pringle & James
Spigelman, The Nuclear Barons) Within weeks Bhabha was calling
for a nuclear deterrent, and in a few months Indian prime-minister Lal
Bahadur Shastri gave the go-ahead. But Bhabha’s death and the strong
political and moral opposition to the program kept it on hold till 1974
when under Mrs. Indira Gandhi, India conducted its first test.
Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and superior delivery system has in a real
sense neutralized India’s overwhelming advantage in conventional
military terms that it enjoyed over Pakistan. By building up Pakistan’s
nuclear arsenal and missile systems, China has effectively checkmated
India and blind-sided its challenge as China’s main Asian rival.
China has also in a sense checkmated America and its Asian allies,
South Korea and Japan, by providing, through its proxy, Pakistan,
nuclear weapons technology to North Korea. In June 2002, the CIA
delivered a comprehensive analysis
of North Korea’s nuclear ambitions to President Bush “that Pakistan,
one of the Bush Administration’s important allies in the war against
terrorism, and chief recipient of Chinese nuclear technology, was
helping North Korea build the bomb.” Pakistan’s “A.Q. Khan, is known to have paid at least 13 visits to North Korea.”
Furthermore it has given the Beijing the opportunity to assume the
moral high ground and set itself up as an honest broker between the USA
and North Korea. It has organized a couple of fruitless meetings in
Beijing, assigning to itself an assertive mediating role, and never
failing to condemn American lack of cooperation for the collapse of the
talks.
On February 17, 2004, the Washington Post came out with the story
that Libya’s nuclear weapon design had come from China. The discovery
was made by international inspectors after they studied a package of
documents turned over to U.S. officials in November last year by Libyan
authorities. “The bomb designs and other papers turned over by Libya
have yielded dramatic evidence of China’s long-suspected role in
transferring nuclear know-how to Pakistan.” The Post story also
mentioned that “the packet of documents, some of which included text in
Chinese, contained detailed, step-by-step instructions for assembling
an implosion-type nuclear bomb that could fit atop a large ballistic
missile. They also included technical instructions for manufacturing
components for the device, the officials and experts said.”
China’s actions “were irresponsible and short-sighted, and raise
questions about what else China provided to Pakistan’s nuclear program,”
said David Albright, a nuclear physicist and former U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq.
It might be noted that the bomb design for Saddam Hussein’s aborted
nuclear weapons program was also of Chinese origin. (Tom Zeller,
“Psssst...Can I Get A Bomb Trigger?”, (case overviews compiled by Jordan
Richie and Gary Milhollin of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms
Control) The New York Times, September 15, 2002.)
On June 15, 2004, Reuters reported
that congressional investigators from the US-China Economic and
Security Review Commission had accused China of sending nuclear
technology to Iran in exchange for oil. Pakistan and China signed
long-term nuclear cooperation agreements with Iran in 1987 and 1990,
respectively. Accords with both countries involved training personnel,
and in the case of China, the accord included an agreement to provide
Iran with a 27KW miniature neutron source reactor (MNSR) and two 300MW
Qinshan power reactors. Western intelligence suspected that Pakistan,
which many estimated had succeeded in manufacturing a nuclear bomb in
1986, provided Iran with nuclear assistance. Reports in Western press
and leaks from Western government and intelligence sources indicated
that Pakistan had trained Iranian scientists in plutonium extraction and
possibly gas centrifuge enrichment research.
-------------------------------------------------
Nuclear power in Pakistan
As of 2017, nuclear power in Pakistan is provided by 5 commercial nuclear power plants.[1] Pakistan is the first Muslim country in the world to construct and operate civil nuclear power plants.[2] The Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), the scientific and nuclear governmental agency, is solely responsible for operating these power plants.
International co-operation
People's Republic of China
The People's Republic of China
has been a strong vocal and avid supporter of Pakistan's nuclear power
generation programme from the early on. The history of Chinese-Pakistan
cooperation dates back to the 1970s when Zulfikar Ali Bhutto,
as prime minister, first visited China. The strong academic interaction
between Chinese and Pakistan scientists was begun in the 1970s. In
1986, the scientists from KRL and military engineers of Pakistan Army Engineering Corps built a HEU enrichment plant in Hanzhong
province of PRC, and provided technical assistance to China in
weapon-grade centrifuge technology for Chinese nuclear weapons. From the
1980s to the present, China has contracted with Pakistan to use of
civil and electricity purpose use of nuclear technology.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Pakistan#People.27s_Republic_of_China
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Pakistan has world's fastest growing nuclear stockpile
Jan 18, 2013
LONDON: Pakistan has the fastest growing nuclear arsenal with
around 115 warheads, MIT-educated Pakistani scientist Pervez Hoodbhoy
says in a book Confronting the Bomb published by Oxford University
Press, which is to be launched in London next week.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/pakistan/Pakistan-has-worlds-fastest-growing-nuclear-stockpile/articleshow/18069272.cms
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Will Pakistan Soon Have the World’s Third-Largest Nuclear Arsenal?
August 31, 3015
Just how many nuclear weapons does Pakistan have?
----------------------------------------------------
Report: Pakistan will have 150 to 200 nuclear warheads in the next decade
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Pakistan’s army is building an arsenal of ”tiny” nuclear weapons—and it’s going to backfire
Pakistan has the fastest growing nuclear arsenal and, within the next five to ten years,
it is likely to double that of India, and exceed those of France, the
United Kingdom, and China. Only the arsenals of the United States and
Russia will be larger.
In recent years, Pakistan has boasted of developing “tactical nuclear weapons”
to protect itself against potential offensive actions by India. In
fact, Pakistan is the only country currently boasting of making increasingly tiny nuclear weapons (link in Urdu).
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Surprise: Pakistani generals helped sell nuclear secrets
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/07/surprise-pakistani-generals-helped-sell-nuclear-secrets
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Thug-In-Chief: “Iran is ready to reinforce its cooperation with Pakistan in every field”
------------------------------------------------------
Billions Of Lives Are At Stake As China Threatens India With War
There several powerful nations that could spark a global conflagration without America’s input.
July 20, 2017
https://www.infowars.com/billions-of-lives-are-at-stake-as-china-threatens-india-with-war/
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Is India turning its nuclear focus toward China?
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China, India raise alumina sales to Iran after sanctions push others out
August 2013
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Extradited Chinese national guilty of supplying Iran with goods used to make nuclear weapons-grade uranium
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India–Iran relations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India%E2%80%93Iran_relations
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P5 Plus 1 – Iran Nuclear Deal: What It Means for India
April 2015
Lausanne witnessed a historic moment on April 2, when Iran and the P5
+ 1 (United States, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany)
announced the interim agreement
on the Iranian nuclear programme. The agreement is currently in
progress and the final deal is scheduled to be signed on June 30
(fingers crossed). If the agreement does transform into a deal, the
development is set to bring a monumental shift to the global strategic
landscape.
The deal will restrict the
scope of Iran’s nuclear programme, with severe reductions in terms of
its installed enrichment centrifuges, size of uranium stockpile, etc.
Additionally, Iran will have to turn its second enrichment facility,
Fordow, into a physics research centre and end all enrichment activities
there. Tehran will also be expected to provide greater access to the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to “inspect any facility, declared or otherwise, as long as it is deemed to be suspicious.” As long as Iran abides by these and many more terms, strict economic sanctions that have been levied on the country, both internationally and bilaterally, will be eventually lifted.
Much to the relief of Iran and many other countries (minus the
sulkers such as Saudi Arabia and Israel), Tehran would return to the
global arena as a ‘normal state.’
Iran’s homecoming will be greatly significant for New Delhi. The
announcement of the Lausanne agreement was met with jubilation in
India’s political circles. Hailing the development as a “significant step,”
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said, “India has
always maintained that the Iranian nuclear issue should be resolved
peacefully by respecting Iran’s right to peaceful uses of nuclear energy
as also the international community’s strong interest in the
exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear programme.”
A culmination of the agreement into a deal will resolve a lot of
issues for India and Iran in multiple aspects, and facilitate greater
political and economic interaction between the two countries. The
following are some of the areas (with no order of significance) wherein
India would benefit from the P5+1-Iran nuclear accord:
https://southasianvoices.org/p5-plus-1-iran-nuclear-deal-what-it-means-for-india/
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India, Iran and Afghanistan sign historic land transit trade agreement
May 2016
India,
Iran and Afghanistan sign historic three-way land transit agreement on
Iran’s strategic southern port of Chabahar. It was signed by Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani in Teheran, Iran.
Under
the agreement, India will invest up to 500 million dollars in a deal to
develop a strategic port in Iran. Chabahar port is strategically
located in the Sistan-Balochistan Province on the energy-rich Persian
Gulf nation’s southern coast. It lies outside the Persian Gulf and is
easily accessed from India’s western coast, bypassing Pakistan...
https://currentaffairs.gktoday.in/india-iran-afghanistan-sign-historic-land-transit-trade-agreement-05201633120.html
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WikiLeaks: Alliance of Hillary, Iran, Soros and left-wing Catholics
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/10/wikileaks-alliance-of-hillary-iran-soros-and-left-wing-catholics
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Obama will veto counter-terror measures to save the Iran nuke deal
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Obama administration has given Iran $700 million each month since nuke deal signed, totaling over $10 billion
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/01/obama-administration-has-given-iran-700-million-each-month-since-nuke-deal-signed-totaling-over-10-billion
------------------------------------------------------
Obama administration approves huge shipment of uranium to Iran
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/01/obama-administration-approves-huge-shipment-of-uranium-to-iran
------------------------------------------------------
India mulls key investment to set iron ore plants in Iran
Feb. 3, 2016
State-owned Indian firm KIOCL may invest an initial $59 million to build an iron ore pellet complex in Iran, with the objective of offering cheaper supplies of the processed material to Iranian steel mills...
http://www.mining.com/india-mulls-key-investment-to-set-iron-ore-plants-in-iran/
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Report: Iran and North Korea working together to build nuclear missile
------------------------------------------------------
Iran to accelerate uranium enrichment, France says program has “no credible civilian application”
------------------------------------------------------
Iran says it has 3,000 advanced centrifuges
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/03/iran-says-it-has-3000-advanced-centrifuges
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Iran starts moving centrifuges to bunker for production of higher-grade uranium
------------------------------------------------------
Iran will start using fastest centrifuges on day deal takes effect
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Iran’s President brags about deceiving the West over nuclear program
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Iran’s FM: “American and Canadian inspectors cannot be sent to Iran”
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Iran says the nuke deal will help it target Israel
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/08/iran-says-the-nuke-deal-will-help-it-target-israel
------------------------------------------------------
Sanctions relief at work: Islamic Republic of Iran now offering $7,000 to families of “Palestinians” killed while murdering Israelis
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Video: Netanyahu blasts UN’s “deafening silence” on Iranian threats to wipe out Israel
------------------------------------------------------
Prince Turki: Saudis will get nukes if Iranians do
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/05/prince-turki-saudis-will-get-nukes-if-iranians-do
------------------------------------------------------
Seven Iranians with nuclear components arrested
Germany and Turkey arrested seven suspected Iranian smugglers who
were transporting materials for that country”s nuclear program from
India and Germany, according to a UPI report about an article in the
Turkish Haberturk newspaper.
The components were to be delivered to the Iranian nuclear facility in Arak, Iran.
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/03/seven-iranians-with-nuclear-components-arrested
------------------------------------------------------
Obama pushing Israel to stop assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/03/obama-pushing-israel-to-stop-assassinating-iranian-nuclear-scientists
------------------------------------------------------
This calls for some champagne: A second Iranian nuclear facility has exploded
------------------------------------------------------
Yet another report of Iran funneling weapons to Iraq, Afghanistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/07/yet-another-report-of-iran-funneling-weapons-to-iraq-afghanistan
------------------------------------------------------
Iranian ayatollah: “Death to America is the first option on our table”
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Iranian Navy commander vows to sink U.S. warships as Iranian war vessels enter U.S. waters
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Iranian warships confront U.S. Navy on ‘daily basis’
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Fears over Iran’s missing 400kg of uranium
23 June 2025
Satellite images show line of trucks at Fordow before strikes, with analysts suggesting materials were frantically moved
Iran claims to have smuggled almost all of the country’s highly enriched uranium to a secret location before the US launched strikes on its nuclear bases.
Three of Tehran’s most critical enrichment facilities, including its underground facility at Fordow, were pummelled by B-2 stealth bombers and a barrage of submarine-launched missiles early on Sunday morning.
But officials believe that most of the material at Fordow and Iran’s other facilities had been moved elsewhere before the strikes.
Iran has vowed to continue enriching uranium in defiance of Donald Trump, raising further concerns over its nuclear programme.
Takht Ravanchi, Iran’s deputy foreign minister, rejected claims that Tehran would abandon its nuclear programme, telling the Germany broadcaster ARD: “No one can tell us what we should and should not do.”
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2025/06/23/iranians-moved-enriched-uranium-before-us-strikes/
------------------------------------------------------
Fears Over Iran's Missing 400kg Of Uranium. Enough To Make 10 Nukes, Says US
Jun 24, 2025
There are reports Iran may have moved the stockpile days before the attack to a secret location, a claim repeated by Israeli officials to The New York Times.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/fears-over-irans-missing-400kg-of-uranium-enough-to-make-10-nukes-says-us-8746894
------------------------------------------------------
Experts react: Israel just attacked Iran’s military and nuclear sites. What’s next?
June 12, 2025
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BREAKING: Trump State Department Officially Calls On Israel To Stop Launching “Terror Attacks” On Ancient Christian Communities In Their Country
July 30th, 2025
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Israel fights resolution that would force nuclear inspections
August 03, 2015
Israeli diplomats have launched a campaign against a resolution that would force it to open its nuclear facilities to international supervision, Israeli daily Haaretz reported Monday.
--------------------------------------------------------
Armed Israeli settlers set fire to ancient church in West Bank's last Christian town
07/24/2025
Israeli settlers armed with leaf blowers have set fire to a fifth-century Greek Orthodox Church in the West Bank's last Christian-majority town.
Residents watched on as the blaze spread from the outer walls towards the ancient Church of St George.
Despite the flames being extinguished, settlers returned to the town of Taybeh with assault rifles.
The group of settlers returned the following day and three days after that.
Parish priest Bashar Fawadleh told The Telegraph the police did not come after calling them each instance.
“If they attack our sacred site, they can attack anything of ours," Fawadleh said.
It comes as settler attacks on Palestinians across the occupied West Bank are on the rise.
About half a million Israelis live in Jewish settlements, with three million Palestinians also residing in the area.
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee (second left) and the Palestinian mayor of the village of Taybeh, Suleiman Khourieh (left), tour the fifth-century Church of St George in the Palestinian Christian village of Taybeh..
Donald Trump's administration reacted furiously to the news, prompting a diplomatic fall-out with Israel over the now-disputed origins of the blaze.
Despite most violence in the West Bank primarily occurring between Jews and Muslims, settlers have turned their attention to Palestinian Christian villages.
Christians were once a prominent community in the West Bank, however, they have since shrunk to less than two per cent of the population with many leaving to escape violence and religious discrimination.
Catholic nuns and clergymen stand at the fifth-century Church of St George which was reportedly set on fire by Israeli settlers
The situation is similar in Gaza, where 1,000 Christians have been forced to shelter in the Strip's three remaining churches.
Three people died last week after one of those churches was attacked by Israeli forces..
Taybeh was first attacked by settlers just before the October 7 massacre in southern Israel and it has since worsened.
However, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian and staunch settlement advocate, condemned the attacks as an "act of terror".
--------------------------------------------------------
Anti-Christian incidents in Israel rising: Spitting on clergy, damage to church properties
April 02, 2025
Incidents of anti-Christian bigotry in Israel increased in 2024, according to a recently released report.
There were 111 attacks against Christians that the Rossing Center for Education and Dialogue included in its annual report, titled “Attacks on Christians in Israel and East Jerusalem” and published last Thursday.
The Rossing Center is an interreligious organization based in Jerusalem, which works to improve relationships between Christians, Jews and Muslims.
https://www.christianpost.com/news/anti-christian-incidents-in-israel-rose-in-2024-report.html
--------------------------------------------------------
Concerns grow over rising attacks against Christian sites in Israel
AUGUST 4, 2023
Dozens of incidents, ranging from spitting to vandalism to assault, have been committed by extremist Jews against Christians and their sites this year.
https://www.jpost.com/christianworld/article-753659
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Christian communities in Israel face growing hostility, annual report reveals
Mar 29, 2025
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Trump says US will 'take over' Gaza: 'We'll own it'
February 4th, 2025
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-palestinians-leave-gaza-us-rebuild/story?id=118463249
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Trump Proposes U.S. Take Over Gaza, Level It and Build Resorts
February 4, 2025
First it was buy Greenland, then make Canada a state. Now Donald Trump wants to own the Gaza Strip.
The
President proposed on Tuesday that the U.S. should “own” the Gaza
Strip, “level the site” and develop it, explicitly calling for
displacing 2 million Palestinians from their homeland as the region’s
leaders struggle to maintain a fragile ceasefire.
https://time.com/7212848/trump-gaza-own/
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Trump on Israel, Iran continuing fight: ‘They don’t know what the f‑‑‑ they’re doing’
06/24/25
https://thehill.com/homenews/5365719-trump-israel-iran-ceasefire/
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Netanyahu-Trump relationship strained over differing Middle East solutions
MAY 11, 2025
https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-853559
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Report: Trump ‘disappointed’ with Netanyahu, will continue Middle East policy objectives without Israel
8 May 2025
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/report-trump-disappointed-with-netanyahu-will-continue-middle-east-policy-objectives-without-israel/
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Trump ‘frustrated’ with Gaza war, wants Israel to ‘wrap it up’ – report
20 May 2025
https://www.timesofisrael.com/trump-frustrated-with-gaza-war-wants-israel-to-wrap-it-up-report/
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Donald Trump Orders Israel, Faces Global Embarrassment As Ceasefire Violated
24 June 2025
Washington:
Donald Trump has said that he's not happy with Iran and Israel for
violating the ceasefire day after he announced that a truce deal was
reached between the two countries.
Donald Trump in a direct
message to Israel asked them not to bomb Iran and bring the pilots back.
The US President further said, “Do not bomb Iran. If you bomb, it will
be a serious violation of the ceasefire. Bring the pilots back home
now.”
Don't violate ceasefire: Donald Trump appeals to Israel-Iran
Earlier
today, Donald Trump appealed both Israel and Iran not to violate the
ceasefire after both the nations targeted each other after the US
President announced that a truce deal has been reached.
“The
ceasefire is now in effect. Please do not violate it! Donald J Trump,
President of the United States! We couldn’t have made today’s “deal”
without the talent and courage of our great B-2 pilots, and all of those
associated with that operation. In a certain and very ironic way, that
perfect “hit,” late in the evening, brought everyone together, and the
deal was made," Donald Trump posted on Truth Social.
https://www.republicworld.com/world-news/stop-dropping-bombs-donald-trump-says-not-happy-with-iran-israel-for-violating-ceasefire
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A century after its founding, the Israeli Communist Party is at a crossroads
July 28, 2023
For
100 years, Maki has been the leading force for Jewish-Palestinian
equality in Israeli politics, yet it has failed to unite Arab and Jewish
workers into a viable movement. Was it doomed from the start?
https://www.972mag.com/israeli-communist-party-maki-century/
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Stalin’s responsibility in the creation of Israel and its disastrous consequences
30 August 2024
In
1948, the Israeli state was founded, and millions of Palestinians were
expelled from their homeland. Scandalously, the Stalinist bureaucracy
supported the creation of Israel – a move which had a disastrous impact
on the world communist movement.
The USSR votes for the creation of Israel
The
following month, on 29 November 1947, the USSR voted in favour of the
partition of Palestine. Resolution 181 was passed in the UN General
Assembly with 33 votes in favour, 13 against, and 10 abstentions. The
Zionists could not have asked for more from Stalin!
It must be
remembered here that for such a UN Resolution to be legally binding, a
two-thirds majority was required in the Assembly. Stalin controlled
Byelorussia, Ukraine, Poland, and Czechoslovakia, as well as the USSR –
all of which were members of the UN with voting rights at the time, and
all of which voted for partition.
Had these five countries voted
against partition, the vote would have been 28 in favour, 18 against and
10 abstentions. The resolution would have thus fallen. There is no
escaping this fact.
What happened subsequently is well known. The
Arab countries refused to recognise the UN resolution; the Zionist
armed forces filled the vacuum by launching a campaign of terror against
the Palestinians, aimed at pushing them out and establishing Israel,
and war broke out with the nascent Jewish state.
In the process,
700,000 Palestinians were ‘ethnically cleansed’, to use a sanitised term
for the brutal and bloody expulsion of a whole people from their
homeland. The present genocidal onslaught of Israel against Gaza has its
roots in those tragic events.
The Soviet Union not only assisted
the Zionists by voting for the UN resolution. It also provided arms,
albeit indirectly via one of its satellites.
In 1948, Stalin
allowed Czechoslovakia to ship heavy weapons to the newly formed Israeli
army. From the end of 1947 through to 1948, the Zionists and the Jewish
Agency in Palestine bought $22 million worth of weapons from
Czechoslovakia. This would be the equivalent of one quarter of a billion
dollars in today’s money.
At the same time, the USSR blocked the Czechoslovak government from going ahead with planned arms sales to the Arabs.
Many years later, in 1968, referring to the help provided by the USSR and Czechoslovakia, Ben-Gurion admitted that:
“They saved the country; I have no doubt of that. The Czech arms deal
was the greatest help we then had, it saved us and without it I very
much doubt if we could have survived the first month.” (Uri Bialer,
Between East and West: Israel’s Foreign Policy Orientation, 1948-1956,
Cambridge University Press, 1990).
The Soviet Union also helped
by facilitating the migration of Jews from Eastern Europe prior to 1948,
with significant numbers coming from Poland, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria
and Czechoslovakia.
The bonds forged with the Zionists were so
strong that the USSR was the first country to legally recognise the
state of Israel after Ben-Gurion proclaimed the new state in May 1948.
In a telegram sent on 17 May 1948 to Shertok, the Foreign Minister of
the Provisional Government of Israel, Molotov (Soviet foreign affairs
minister, and Stalin’s closest ally) wrote:
“This is to
inform you that the Government of the USSR has decided to extend
official recognition to the State of Israel and its Provisional
Government. The Soviet Government believes that the creation by the
Jewish people of its sovereign state will serve the cause of
strengthening peace and security in Palestine and the Middle East and
expresses confidence that friendly relations between the USSR and the
State of Israel will develop successfully.” [My emphasis]
“Peace
and security” were the last things guaranteed by the creation of Israel.
But Stalin’s cynicism went even further in December 1948 when
Resolution 194-III was presented to the UN. The resolution posed the
right of Palestinian refugees to either return to their homes or to
receive compensation for loss or damage to their property. The Soviet
Union and its East European satellites all voted against, while the US
and British imperialists voted in favour!
Of course, nothing concrete was ever done to implement the resolution by any of the powers that voted for it.
When
Israel was finally allowed to become a member of the UN in 1949, one of
the conditions was that it must agree to implement Resolution 194.
One
of Israel’s representatives verbally accepted, after which they
continued to ignore the resolution, arguing that people who had fled and
abandoned their properties had no right to compensation, and
implemented in 1950 the infamous Absentees’ Property Law, in direct
violation of the UN resolution, to expropriate the homes of all
displaced Palestinians.
The Soviet Union was so tied to its
pro-Zionist position that it refused to even go through the motions of
support for the rights of Palestinian refugees who had been brutally
expelled from their homeland.
Why Stalin supported partition
What we have listed above are the facts. But what we have to ask ourselves is: why did Stalin adopt such a policy?
We
can only begin to answer this question if we understand that Stalin was
not guided by the interests of the world working class.
His
decisions were not determined by a revolutionary perspective for the
overthrow of the capitalist system. His actions were not determined by
what was best for promoting socialist revolution globally. His interests
were much narrower than that.
His thinking was determined by the
national interests of the bureaucracy that had usurped power from the
working class in the Soviet Union, and represented the backbone of
Stalin’s regime.
This process of degeneration of the revolution –
due to its isolation in a single, underdeveloped country – was very
well outlined by Trotsky in his classic text, The Revolution Betrayed.
This explains how the Stalinist-led Soviet Union could align with both US imperialism and the Zionists in 1947.
The
US, for its part, had an interest in allowing the emergence of a Jewish
state of Israel, as it saw this as a way of pushing out the British
from the Middle East, replacing them as the dominant power in this
important, oil-rich region.
Stalin also saw the Jews in Palestine
as a useful lever to weaken British imperialism, while hoping to
establish a point of support for the USSR in the Mediterranean.
Stalin
is presented by his supporters as a great strategist, and those in the
communist movement who try to justify his policy in Palestine at the
time, do so by trying to show that there was some kind of clever plan
behind all this.
But the truth is that because he had no
perspective of a socialist transformation of the Middle East, the best
he could come up with was the prospect of a Soviet-friendly Jewish state
in Israel, i.e. a capitalist Israel with friendly relations with the
USSR.
There was nothing clever in all this. In an essay published
in Diplomatic History in 1989, titled, Intelligence, Espionage, and
Cold War Origins, John Lewis Gaddis explains that:
“What is
often forgotten about Stalin is that he wanted, in his way, to remain
‘friends’ with the Americans and the British: his objective was to
ensure the security of his regime and the state he governed, not to
bring about the long-awaited international proletarian revolution; he
hoped to do this by means short of war, and preferably with Western
cooperation.” [My emphasis]
Gaddis is considered an expert in
Cold War history and writes from the point of view of the interests of
US imperialism. His appraisal of Stalin confirms our understanding of
what moved the man.
Ever since he adopted the theory of
‘socialism in one country’ shortly after the death of Lenin in 1924, his
thinking represented the interests of the conservative bureaucracy and
not that of the world working class.
The bureaucracy was made up
of many non-communist elements, many people who had joined the party as a
means of promoting their own careers. They had acquired material
privileges in the process and desired a quiet life in which they could
enjoy these privileges. The last thing they were concerned about was
world revolution.
The theory of ‘socialism in one country’ also
resonated with a growing nationalist outlook of the great-Russian
bureaucracy. They viewed the Soviet Union and its planned economy not as
an outpost of the world proletarian revolution, but as the means of
maintaining their own material interests as a caste.
They
identified the ‘national interests’ of Russia in narrow nationalist
terms with their own interests, rather than with the struggle for a new
worldwide socialist society, which the Bolsheviks under Lenin had
aspired to. And the policy of the Soviet Union in the Middle East was
determined by these interests.
Initially, Stalin believed an
agreement could be reached and maintained between the Great Powers,
whereby each would have its sphere of influence, and each would respect
the interests of the others.
In this context, he believed that
Israel could become an ally of the Soviet Union. So much for an
‘intelligent’ policy on the part of Stalin! Within a very short time, it
became abundantly clear that Israel was becoming a key ally of US
imperialism in the region.
Many of the founders of Israel dressed
themselves in ‘socialist’ clothing, Ben-Gurion being a prime example.
In the early days of the creation of Israel, the state, and even the
Histadrut trade union federation, which was linked to the state, played a
key role in developing its economy, nurturing the consolidation of an
Israeli capitalist class, which was initially weak. All this was used to
spread the myth that Israel was some kind of ‘socialist experiment’.
Among
the Jews of Eastern Europe, there had been a strong socialist tradition
and many of the Jewish migrants arriving in Israel came from this
background. The kibbutzim – settlements established around collective
farms – were presented as examples of socialist organisation. At their
peak, they represented a significant percentage of agricultural
production and even industrial production, with hundreds of kibbutz
factories.
The idea that Israel could be a ‘socialist experiment’
ignores the fact that the kibbutzim were often armed outposts of
Israel, and played an important role in colonising the land that had
previously belonged to Palestinians. As some have described it, it was a
‘socialism only for the Jews, not the Arabs’.
One cannot build
socialism in this way. Socialism either comes from a united movement of
the whole of the working class – in this case, both Jewish and
Palestinian – or it will turn out to merely cloak and assist in the
oppression of one section of society by another, to the ultimate benefit
of the capitalist class.
What was being built was capitalism,
and precisely because of its isolation and oppressive nature, it soon
became an entrenched outpost of imperialism in the Middle East. That
also explains why the most powerful imperialist country on the planet
had no problem with this kind of ‘socialism’.
The damaging effects on the Communist Parties in the Middle East
As
could be expected, Stalin’s decision to support the partition of
Palestine and the creation of Israel had a devastating effect on the
Communist Parties in the region. As Mohammed Shafi Agwani, an Indian
professor, explained in his book, Communism in the Arab East (London,
1969):
“The precipitous decision of the Soviet Union to back
up partition, therefore, had a stunning effect on the Palestinian
Communists… the drastic change in Soviet attitude – from denouncing
Zionism as an ‘imperialist conspiracy’ to conceding its basic claim –
gave a severe jolt not only to the Palestinian Communists but to all the
Arabs. (…)
“Whatever the reason for the Soviet somersault,
it was no easy task even for the most ingenious among the Communists to
sustain it ideologically. But once the Soviet Union had stated its
position in unmistakable terms, the Communists had no option but to make
adjustments.”
The Stalinist bureaucratic degeneration of the
Soviet Union – a process that had started in the mid to late 1920s, and
which was consolidated in the 1930s with the Stalinist Purges – also led
to the transformation of the Communist International itself from being a
genuine organisation of world revolution into one totally controlled by
the Soviet government.
The latter dictated its line, with all
its unexplained zig-zags, determined by the momentary needs of the
bureaucracy in the USSR.
This meant all the original internal
democracy of the Communist International of the period of the first four
congresses was crushed. Dissent was no longer tolerated. A line was
laid down, and it had to simply be obeyed and applied.
Thus, once
the Soviet Union had voted for the partition of Palestine, the
Communist Parties in the region had to defend the new position of the
USSR. But as Agwami explained:
“…the Arab Communists had an
immensely difficult time explaining to their followers the reasons
underlying the Soviet posture. (…) The Communists emerged from this
final act of the Palestinian tragedy severely bruised and battered,
morally as well as politically. There was acute confusion in the
Communist ranks.”
It led to a tragic situation, in which Jewish
and Palestinian Communists ended up on opposite sides of the war that
followed the formation of Israel, with the former actually supporting
Israel’s “defensive war”.
In Iraq, the local Communists, loyally
supporting Stalin’s position, actually organised demonstrations in
support of the UN partition resolution, and called for cooperation with
the “democratic forces” in Israel!
Those Arab Communists, on the
other hand, who had the courage to oppose Stalin’s line, joined the war
against Israel. Thus, Communists ended up on opposite sides of the
barricades to one another, in a real armed conflict.
In early
1944, shortly after the official dissolution of the Communist
International in 1943, the Palestinian Communist Party split along
ethnic lines, with the Palestinians breaking away to form the Arab
‘League for National Liberation’ (LNL).
The LNL opposed the
partition of Palestine but was in favour of granting Palestinian
citizenship to Jews who had emigrated to the country. Emil Tuma of the
LNL wrote to Moscow shortly after Gromyko had made his infamous speech
in May 1947, criticising the position of possibly supporting partition.
He explained that:
“…the speech aroused suspicion and distrust in the Arab world among
the wide Arab masses, and Arab reactionaries managed to throw doubt on
the attitude of the Soviet Union towards the Palestine problem, which is
regarded as an integral part of the Arab problem in the Middle East.
(…)
“Gromyko’s statement has aroused great speculation among
communists. It has been badly received by the Arab masses and a
clarification would give hope not only to communists but to all Arab
people in the Middle East. The revolutionary potential in the Arab
countries cannot be ignored in the present international situation.”
Tuma
also criticised Gromyko for having, “…ignored completely the Arab
people in Palestine, their aspirations, their anti-imperialist national
movement and their traditional associations and bonds with the Arab
people in the Middle East.”
Tuma’s main criticism of Gromyko’s
speech, however, was directed against his open support for the Zionist
cause. He explained that:
“We have always fought against the
Zionist conception and have viewed Zionism as an imperialist venture
directed by British imperialism in order to create a Trojan horse in the
Middle East. Consequently we have always discredited the historical
claims of Zionism as reactionary and did not accept the historical roots
of the Jews as realistic. (…)
“Comrade Gromyko by his
statement has strengthened Zionist ideology and the Zionist grip over
the Jewish masses. Such strengthening will help imperialism to continue
to use the Jewish masses as instruments in its opposition to the
liberation movements in the Arab Middle East.” (Moscow’s Surprise: The
Soviet-Israeli Alliance of 1947-1949)
Once partition was carried
out, the LNL campaigned for a Palestinian state to be set up in
accordance with the partition resolution passed by the UN General
Assembly in November 1947.
This was never to be achieved,
however, as the outcome of the war in 1949 meant that what is known
today as the West Bank was annexed to Jordan, while Gaza was placed
under Egyptian administration. These territories would later be occupied
by Israel in 1967, and have remained so ever since.
We see here
how even Gromyko’s “two independent States” in reality meant a powerful
Jewish state, and the denial of any kind of statehood for the
Palestinians. It was, in fact, his fourth option – one Jewish state with
no regard for the rights of the Palestinians – that became the reality.
It was a betrayal of the Palestinian people in every sense of the word.
We
must state it clearly here: Stalin’s support for the creation of Israel
created a disastrous situation for the Communists in Palestine and for
the Communist Parties in the whole of the Arab world. It proved to be a
huge setback for the ideas of Communism throughout the region.
And
it was not just an ideological setback. There were actually physical
attacks on Communist offices in places like Aleppo and Damascus, and
Soviet diplomatic missions were also targeted. In Lebanon and Syria, the
authorities exploited the general mood to legally ban the Communist
organisations.
All this weakened the Communist Parties, not just
in terms of their political and moral authority, but also in terms of
their actual strength on the ground.
Between August 1947 and June
1949, the membership of the Lebanese Communist Party fell from 12,000
to 3,500, while in Syria membership declined from 8,400 members to
4,500. Thus, their forces were reduced by between two-thirds and one
half.
In Iraq, the first half of 1948 witnessed a revolutionary
wave, led by the Iraqi Communist Party. The declaration of the state of
Israel and its recognition by the USSR in May was exploited by the
authorities to declare martial law, crush the movement, to politically
isolate the Iraqi Communist Party, the leaders of which were arrested,
condemned to death, and executed in February 1949. This is the tragic
balance sheet of Stalin’s “clever strategy”.
The impact of
Stalin’s policy lasted for years in the region. But it also affected the
Communist Parties in many other countries. Everywhere, the Communists
had had a policy of opposition to the partition of Palestine, but when
the USSR voted for partition at the end of 1947, confusion was sowed
among their ranks.
Unprincipled shift of the Communist Parties in the West
Describing
the effect it had in the United States, Dorothy Zellner – the daughter
of parents who “were secular, non-Zionist Jewish immigrants and lifelong
followers of the Soviet Union” – wrote in Jewish Currents in 2021: “The
US Communist left was dumbfounded.” She describes how generalised
confusion was stirred up among US Communists at the time.
To take
another case, the Italian Communist Party (PCI) came out openly in
support of the UN partition of Palestine. Ironically, the Christian
Democratic government headed by Alcide de Gasperi at that time
maintained an ambiguous stance on whether to officially recognise the
state of Israel, not wishing to damage relations with the Arab regimes.
As
in Britain, the Italian ruling class was mainly concerned with the
supply of oil, which was essential to its own economic interests after
the Second World War. It was also trying a one last ditch attempt to
keep the colonies it had before the Second World War, and to this end,
hoped for Arab support in the United Nations. For this reason, the
Italian government did not officially recognise the state of Israel
until February 1949.
The PCI, on the other hand, gave full
support to Israel, completely in line with the position adopted by the
Soviet Union. A study of its organ, L’Unità in the years 1946-48 is very
revealing. It presented the Zionists as fighting an anti-imperialist
struggle for national independence against British imperialism.
In
one issue, on 29 May 1948, an unsigned statement – although most likely
drafted by the then-editor of the paper, Pietro Ingrao – refers to “The
heroic resistance of the Jews” (“L’eroica resistenza degli ebrei”),
when what was actually taking place was ethnic cleansing of the
Palestinians by Zionist terror on a grand scale.
In an editorial
in L’Unità, on 29 May 1948, Pietro Ingrao lambasted the Italian
government for not recognising the newly-formed state of Israel.
Only
two days earlier, on 27 May, an official statement of the party
leadership was published in which they called for the immediate
recognition of Israel as “a manifestation of international justice and a
sign of solidarity with a people who are heroically defending their
existence, threatened yesterday by the Hitlerites, and today by the
leaders of Western democracies”.
In Britain prior to 1947, the
Communist Party had stood for one single state in Palestine, with equal
rights for the different ethnic groups, living side by side, as part of
an Arab federation. But once the Soviet government came out in support
of partition, the party switched accordingly.
In 1948, the organ
of the Communist Party in Britain, the Daily Worker, came out in support
of the creation of a Jewish state. It called for the implementation of
the UN resolution on the partition of Palestine.
In May 1948, it
saw in the establishment of Israel, “a big step toward fulfilment of
self-determination of the peoples of Palestine” and “a great sign of the
times”. (Daily Worker, 15 May 1948) And they declared that the armed
Jewish militias in Palestine fighting against British forces as an
anti-imperialist struggle, stating that ‘the days of imperialism are
numbered’. (Daily Worker, 22 May 1948)
When Israel was finally
created, they said that it should be championed by all “progressive
forces”. And when the Arab countries attacked Israel as it was being
established, the Daily Worker denounced this as imperialist aggression!
William Gallacher, Communist Party MP for West Fife, called for the
recognition of Israel and recommended the immediate end to military aid
to the Arabs.
All this changed once the position of the Soviet
Union again changed. A few years later, we find the PCI leadership
describing Israel as a bridgehead of western imperialism in the Arab
world, and the British Communist Party suddenly discovered that Israel
had always been a tool of US imperialism.
This was all in line
with Soviet policy, which in the early 1950s went through another
180-degree turn, now becoming anti-Zionist. And in February 1953,
diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Israel were broken
off, after the outbreak of the infamous ‘Doctors’ Plot’, an antisemitic
campaign that was launched in the Soviet Union, when a group of mostly
Jewish doctors were accused of conspiring to assassinate Soviet leaders.
As
we can see, Stalin’s ‘principles’ were extremely flexible in such
matters! The ‘principles’ of the leaders of the Communist Parties around
the world were equally flexible, merely amounting to “say and do what
Stalin tells you to do”, although it could prove to be difficult to act
swiftly without prior warning. If Stalin supported the creation of
Israel, they merely jumped into line. And when he turned completely in
the opposite direction, they once more jumped accordingly.
Return to Lenin!
These
are not the methods of Lenin, they are not the methods of the Communist
International in its first four congresses, when Trotsky described it
as “a school of revolutionary strategy”. They are the methods of a
bureaucracy that had given up on the perspective of world revolution and
only sought its own narrow national interests.
But in so doing,
they weakened the Communist Parties for decades to come, and stained the
banner of Communism in the eyes of the working masses in this region
and throughout the world.
This, in part, explains how radical
Arab nationalism was able to dominate the revolutionary movements that
exploded after the Second World War in many countries in the region. It
also partly explains the rise of phenomena such as ‘Ba’ath Socialism’,
and so on.
As the Arab masses became radicalised through their
struggles against imperialism, this was reflected in a number of
countries, including Iraq, Egypt and Syria, in, now active, now passive
mass support for revolutionary anti-imperialist measures taken by a
layer of the radical intelligentsia, and even a layer of army officers,
that expressed these ‘left’ nationalist ideas.
The idea of
centralised economic planning, of state ownership of the means of
production, exerted an attraction on some of the more radical elements
among these petty-bourgeois layers.
They saw how the planned
economy in the Soviet Union, despite its bureaucratic deformations, had
allowed it to develop into a modern industrialised power. We should add
that they were also attracted by the fact that a privileged bureaucracy
was in power in the USSR.
Ironically, however, while all this was
unfolding, in many countries – such as Egypt and Syria for example –
the local Communists were heavily repressed.
Had the Soviet Union
and the Communist Parties in the Middle East maintained a firm stance
in defence of the idea of one state for two peoples, had they not
betrayed the cause of the Palestinian people, these parties could have
played a key role in the region, taking up the leadership of the working
masses and the youth.
This tragic episode in history
demonstrates that the ideas a party defends, the way a party acts, and
the positions it adopts on key questions, can either strengthen or
weaken it. It can literally mean the difference between building or
destroying the party’s forces.
Stalin’s policy in the period
1947-49 in the Middle East massively weakened the Communist Parties, and
therefore prepared the ground for defeats of revolutionary movements
and the rise of reaction.
In that period of history, however,
there were other Communists of a different type – we would say true
Communists – who, in spite of the brutal Stalinist repression, continued
to adhere to the methods and ideas of Lenin. These were the followers
of Leon Trotsky.
In Britain they were organised in the
Revolutionary Communist Party. In their journal, Socialist Appeal, they
took a principled stand. In A clean banner: British Trotskyists opposed
1948 partition of Palestine, we published two articles from the
Socialist Appeal in November and December 1947, just after the UN
adopted the resolution on partition. The articles warned against the
consequences of partition, and concluded:
“Partition of
Palestine is reactionary from every aspect – neither the Jews nor the
Arab masses have anything to gain from it. It pits Jew against Arab,
diverts the struggle against imperialism into a struggle between those
whose common interest it is to struggle against imperialism. It plays
into the hands of the Arab landowners and capitalists by diverting the
attention of the Arab peasants and workers from their exploiters. The
only solution to the problem of Palestine and the Middle East is the
scrapping of the imperialist plans of partition, the immediate and
complete withdrawal of all troops from Palestine and the Middle East.
There can be no real independence or safety for the Jews or Arabs in
partitioned Palestine.”
Those comrades would be proven right many
times over in the subsequent 76 years. Since 1948, we have borne
witness to a history of bloody conflict after bloody conflict. The
Palestinians have been denied a homeland ever since, while Israel has
proved to be anything but a safe haven for Jews.
We stand today
on the shoulders of our RCP comrades back in 1947-48 in advocating a
homeland for both people, which could only be achieved in the form of a
socialist state across the whole of historical Palestine, within a
Socialist Federation of the Middle East, in which both Jews and
Palestinians could live in peace on the basis of the socialist
development of the economy.
https://communist.red/stalins-responsibility-in-the-creation-of-israel-and-its-disastrous-consequences/
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Marx and the Jewish Fingerprint Question
Spring 2020
Karl
Marx acquired his last name—the very name that would become synonymous
with a whole school of thought and conjure the specter of revolution—as a
result of the revolutionary changes that swept across Europe in the
decades leading up to his birth. In the 1790s, following its victory in
battle, France annexed Marx’s native city of Trier, along with the rest
of the German Rhineland, and emancipated its Jews. Jews responded by
(among other things) adopting non-Jewish names and “civil” surnames, as
required by French law. Marx’s paternal grandfather, Mordechai Levi, the
chief rabbi of Trier, came to be referred to in official French
documents as “Marcus Lewy” and then as “Marx Lewy”; his father, né
Heschel Lewy, eventually took the name Heinrich Marx. Thus, Karl was
born into the Marx family.
The only article-length work Marx ever
wrote on Jewish concerns was his “On the Jewish Question,” which he
published in the lone issue of the Deutsch-Französische Jahrbücher
(Franco-German Yearbooks)printed in early 1844. It was a response to the
Young Hegelian theologian Bruno Bauer’s two essays on Jewish
emancipation published in the early 1840s. From the left, Bauer had
argued against granting Jews equal rights on the grounds that they
adhered to a religion that was obstinately particularist and was
therefore incompatible with the universalism demanded by modern
citizenship. Only if Jews first converted to Christianity, which
approached this outlook more closely, could they qualify for
emancipation. Marx’s two-part essay rejected this argument
unequivocally. Distinguishing between “political emancipation” and
“human emancipation,” Marx claimed Jews were entitled to the former,
which required nothing of those who lived in the state’s boundaries save
that they be law-abiding citizens. Avineri suggests that Bauer’s
insistence on conversion may have struck a raw nerve for Marx because of
his family history. It may have, but we should underline the radicalism
of Marx’s reasoning. As Amos Funkenstein once noted, Marx was one of
the few thinkers in the 19th century to decouple political emancipation
not simply from conversion but from assimilation altogether.
“Had
[Marx] published only Part I of his essay,” Avineri observes, “he would
be remembered as a champion of Jewish emancipation and equal rights.”
In Part II, however, he demonstrated that his support for Jewish
political emancipation coexisted with a strong aversion to Judaism.
Asserting that he wished to consider not the “Sabbath Jew” but the
“everyday Jew,” Marx proceeded to attack Judaism as a mere derivative of
a money-grubbing culture. “What is the secular cult of the Jews?” he
asked. “Huckstering. What is his secular god? Money. . . . What, in
itself, was the basis of the Jewish religion? Practical need, egoism.”
Because “practical need” and “egoism” were “the principle of civil
society”—and because money, “the jealous god of Israel, in the face of
which no other god may exist,” had become “the god of the world”—Marx
concluded that Judaism was colonizing modern life. “Human” or social
emancipation would bring about real equality as opposed to the merely
abstract (if still prerequisite) “political” emancipation of universal
citizenship. As Marx notoriously closed Part II of his essay, “the
social emancipation of the Jew is the emancipation of society from
Judaism.” This was code, Avineri maintains, for “the emancipation of
modern society from the power of money.”
While acknowledging that
Marx’s language was “utterly unacceptable,” Avineri proposes a host of
mitigating explanations. In the German lexicon of the time, Judentum
could also mean “commerce, trade, huckstering in general,” just like the
English verb “to jew” that used to (and, in some quarters, still does)
denote haggling or swindling. Furthermore, Marx may have derived his
identification of Judaism with money from his German Jewish socialist
colleague Moses Hess’s “On Money,” which appeared in 1845 but which Marx
had read in manuscript form before writing his essay. Avineri even
suggests a psychological motive for Marx’s rhetorical ambush,
speculating:
because the argument followed by Marx in Part I
for equal rights is so powerful, he might have felt that he had to bend
over backward and distance himself as much as possible from Jews and
Judaism so as not to be accused of supporting Jewish rights because of
his own Jewish background.
This reading would be more plausible
were it not for the fact that Marx repeatedly used anti-Jewish slurs in
his letters. Avineri notes perhaps the most egregious example of
this—Marx’s suggestion that Ferdinand Lassalle, the founder of the first
working-class mass movement in Germany, represented a “combination of
Judaism and Germanism with the basic negro substance” because of “the
shape of his head and the growth of his hair.” Yet this is only the tip
of the iceberg. Marx also commonly referred to Lassalle in his
correspondence as “Jüdchen” and “Jüdel” (little Jew) or “Itzig” and
“Baron Itzig.” And Lassalle wasn’t the only object of Marx’s anti-Jewish
scorn.
To be sure, Marx was famously polemical, caustic, even
hateful in his writings about a host of people. He sought no revocation
of Jewish rights (on the contrary), nor did he mean any harm to Jewish
individuals or seek to suppress Jewish religious practice. He was
capable of forming warm relationships with Jews, as he did late in life
with the pioneering modern Jewish historian Heinrich Graetz. In his
strongest argument for ascribing a more nuanced view of Jewishness to
Marx, Avineri points to Marx’s revisiting of the question of Jewish
emancipation one year following “On the Jewish Question” in The Holy
Family. There, Marx forcefully repeats his case for Jewish political
emancipation while omitting the invective. Moreover, he vigorously
defends Bauer’s Jewish critics such as Samuel Hirsch and Gabriel
Riesser. Did Marx come to feel, Avineri asks, “that his equation of
Judentum with modern capitalism was misguided?” He concedes that there
is no clear answer to these questions but leaves open the possibility
that Marx made a conscious decision to disavow the vitriolic
anti-Judaism of his earlier essay.
It may indeed be that Marx was
trying to repair things in The Holy Family. But in light of the
considerable evidence of anti-Jewish feeling in his private writings, it
is not clear to me that his remorse was more than tactical. The
likeliest explanation for Marx’s treatment of Judaism in “On the Jewish
Question” is that he shared the derogatory stereotypes of Jews as
exploiters and Judaism as an “egoistic” religion that were common even
among European liberal and revolutionary thinkers at the time. While it
is possible that he was seeking to strategically distance himself from
his Jewish origins, it is equally, if not more likely that this was
simply Marx, unplugged.
https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/articles/7219/marx-and-the-jewish-fingerprint-question/
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Iranian and Israeli Communists join forces to stop war
June 18, 2025
https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/iranian-and-israeli-communists-join-forces-to-stop-war/
--------------------------------------------------------
The history of the Israeli Communist Party holds lessons for Israel’s current crisis
September 27, 2023
https://therealnews.com/the-history-of-the-israeli-communist-party-holds-lessons-for-israels-current-crisis
--------------------------------------------------------
The Communist Party of Israel (Maki)
https://maki.org.il/en/
--------------------------------------------------------
Maki (political party)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maki_(political_party)
--------------------------------------------------------
China–Israel relations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China%E2%80%93Israel_relations
The
People's Republic of China (PRC) and the State of Israel formally
established diplomatic relations in 1992. While the Republic of China
had de jure recognized Israeli sovereignty in 1949, it eventually lost
the Chinese Civil War, bringing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to
power across mainland China. In 1950, Israel became the first country in
the Middle East to recognize the PRC as the sole government in mainland
China,[3] but the CCP did not reciprocate by establishing diplomatic
ties due to Israel's alignment with the Western Bloc during the Cold
War. This discontent persisted until the Cold War came to a close with
the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
China has been
Israel's third largest trading partner globally and its largest trading
partner in East Asia. Bilateral trade volume increased from $50 million
in 1992 to over $10 billion in 2013. Israel has traded significantly
with China in technology and arms. Some commentators note similarities
between the culture and values of the two nations, as well as their
shared economic interests. Following the October 7 attacks, commentators
generally note a worsening in relations between the two countries. In
the United Nations, China has long voted in support of the State of
Palestine and against Israel. In 2024, public opinion polling showed a
majority of Israelis consider China to be unfriendly or hostile toward
Israel. In 2025, China's top diplomats condemned Israel's strikes on
Iran.
Israel maintains an embassy in Beijing and
consulates-general in Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hong Kong, and Shanghai, while
China maintains an embassy in Tel Aviv.
History
In the
1930s, David Ben-Gurion, then leader of the Yishuv in Palestine,
proclaimed that China would be one of the great world powers of the
future.
During the 1930s and 1940s, Shanghai was an important
haven for Jewish refugees. Along with the legacies of individuals such
as Ho Feng-Shan who protected Jews, this history continues to be a
shared positive point of reference for contemporary relations between
China and Israel.[18]: 128 Major Israeli officials including Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have emphasized this history during visits
to the Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum.
For some time after the
Chinese Communist Revolution in 1949, the People's Republic of China
(PRC) was diplomatically isolated, because the United States and its
allies, including Israel, recognized the Republic of China (ROC,
commonly known as Taiwan after 1949) as the sole legitimate government
of China. The Nationalist government of the ROC had been historically
sympathetic to the Zionist cause, while ROC founder Sun Yat-sen affirmed
his support for the creation of a Jewish state.
In 1947,
however, the ROC abstained from voting in the United Nations Partition
Plan for Palestine. During the 1955 Bandung Conference, the PRC
expressed support for the Palestinian right of return, but refrained
from denying Israel's right to exist and secretly pursued trade ties
with the Israelis. In January 1950, Israel formally recognized the PRC,
becoming the first Middle Eastern state to do so.
In 1975, the
PRC supported United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3379 that
stated that Zionism was a form of racism.[14] Until the 1980s, China
refused to grant visas to Israelis unless they held dual citizenship and
carried a passport of a country other than Israel. However, following
the Sino-Soviet split and China's 1979 establishment of diplomatic
relations with the United States, China began to develop a series of
secret, non-official ties with Israel.
--------------------------------------------------------
‘Made in Wuhan, shipped by Beijing’: A story of how Communist Party of China gave world Covid-19 pandemic
December 31, 2024
If
it were not for the actions of the Chinese regime, the Covid-19
outbreak in Wuhan would have never turned into a global pandemic that
killed millions, experts are increasingly reaching this conclusion.
China’s government stands charged with keeping the coronavirus’ genome
hidden from the world, withholding human-to-human transmissibility of
the virus, punishing doctors who spoke out, and misleading the world
about the origin of the virus.
https://www.firstpost.com/world/made-in-wuhan-shipped-by-beijing-a-story-of-how-communist-party-of-china-gave-world-covid-19-pandemic-13848872.html
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Holding the Chinese Communist Party Accountable for Its Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak
May 12, 2020
https://www.heritage.org/asia/report/holding-the-chinese-communist-party-accountable-its-response-the-covid-19-outbreak
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Russia criticises Israel’s exemption from nuclear inspections
June 23, 2025
Russia’s
Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, has
criticised Israel for not being subject to the International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection programme, as it is not a signatory to
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Nebenzia
made the remarks during an emergency session of the UN Security Council
held on Sunday to discuss the recent US attacks on Iran.
He
warned that accepting the recent US actions would undermine all the
progress the international community has made in the field of nuclear
non-proliferation.
He stressed that Israel’s non-membership in
the NPT means the IAEA cannot implement a comprehensive inspection
regime on its territory.
Describing the situation, the Russian envoy said it was “ugly and cynical.”
He
also described the US strikes on Iran as “irresponsible, dangerous and
provocative acts,” and confirmed that Russia “condemns these attacks in
the strongest terms.”
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250623-russia-criticises-israels-exemption-from-nuclear-inspections/
--------------------------------------------------------
Shrouded in secrecy: Israel’s hidden nuclear power could be larger than estimated
Jun 19, 2025
https://interestingengineering.com/military/israel-hidden-nuclear-power-could-be-larger
--------------------------------------------------------
Israel and weapons of mass destruction
Biological weapons
Israel
is suspected to have developed an offensive biological warfare
capability, per the US Congress Office of Technology Assessment. Israel is not a signatory to the Biological Weapons Convention
(BWC). It is assumed that the Israel Institute for Biological
Research in Ness Ziona develops vaccines and antidotes for chemical and
biological warfare. It is speculated that Israel retains an active
ability to produce and disseminate biological weapons, likely as a
result of its extremely complex biodefense program. Israel has
taken steps to strengthen its export control regulations on dual-use
biotechnologies. Israel has conducted biological warfare previously,
in the 1948 operation Cast Thy Bread.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction
--------------------------------------------------------
Nuclear Disarmament Israel
Sep 10, 2024
Non NPT State with Nuclear Weapons
Arsenal Size
Estimated arsenal: Approximately 90 nuclear weapons. As Israel does
not officially acknowledge its possession of nuclear weapons, stockpile
estimates are based on those provided by the U.S. Intelligence Community
and approximations from experts.
https://www.nti.org/analysis/articles/israel-nuclear-disarmament/
--------------------------------------------------------
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
The
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as
the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose
objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons
technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear
energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and
general and complete disarmament.[3] Between 1965 and 1968, the treaty
was negotiated by the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament, a United
Nations-sponsored organization based in Geneva, Switzerland.
Opened
for signature in 1968, the treaty entered into force in 1970. As
required by the text, after twenty-five years, NPT parties met in May
1995 and agreed to extend the treaty indefinitely.[4] More countries are
parties to the NPT than any other arms limitation and disarmament
agreement, a testament to the treaty's significance.[3] As of August
2016, 191 states have become parties to the treaty. North Korea which
acceded in 1985 but never came into compliance, announced its withdrawal
from the NPT in 2003--the only state to do so--and carried out its
first nuclear test in 2006.[5] Four UN member states have never accepted
the NPT, three of which possess or are thought to possess nuclear
weapons: India, Israel, and Pakistan. In addition, South Sudan, founded
in 2011, has not joined.
The treaty defines nuclear-weapon states
as those that have built and tested a nuclear explosive device before 1
January 1967; these are the United States (1945), Russia (1949), the
United Kingdom (1952), France (1960), and China (1964). Four other
states are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons: India,
Pakistan, and North Korea have openly tested and declared that they
possess nuclear weapons, while Israel is deliberately ambiguous
regarding its nuclear weapons status.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_on_the_Non-Proliferation_of_Nuclear_Weapons
--------------------------------------------------------
Lawsuit claims US aid to Israel violates nuclear pact
12 August 2016
A
lawsuit filed in a US district court claims that American aid to Israel
is illegal under a law passed in the 1970s that prohibits aid to
nuclear powers who don’t sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
https://www.timesofisrael.com/lawsuit-claims-us-aid-to-israel-violates-atomic-pact/
--------------------------------------------------------
U.S.
Government Documents Acknowledge Illegal Israeli Nuclear Weapons — Yet
Weapons Continue to Flow in Contravention of U.S. Law
10/23/2024
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-government-documents-acknowledge-illegal-israeli-nuclear-weapons-yet-weapons-continue-to-flow-in-contravention-of-us-law/ar-AA1sNCIk
--------------------------------------------------------
Explained: Israel's secretive nuclear weapons programme
June 19, 2025
Israel is only Middle East country believed to have nuclear arsenal
https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/06/19/explained-israels-secretive-nuclear-weapons-programme/
--------------------------------------------------------
As the Israel-Hamas war escalates, Israel refuses to acknowledge its nuclear program
October 23, 2024
https://www.npr.org/2024/10/23/nx-s1-5124713/as-the-israel-hamas-war-escalates-israel-refuses-to-acknowledge-its-nuclear-program
--------------------------------------------------------
Nuclear inspection of Israel rejected
13 February 2015
A draft resolution before the International Atomic Energy Agency was rejected by 13 votes
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/nuclear-inspection-israel-rejected
--------------------------------------------------------
‘There is a country that won’t allow any international inspectors…ISRAEL!’
19.06.2025
https://usa.news-pravda.com/usa/2025/06/19/346394.html
--------------------------------------------------------
Iran-Israel crisis: IAEA chief calls for access to damaged nuclear sites
23 June 2025
https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/06/1164766
--------------------------------------------------------
Allegations of Depleted Uranium Use in Gaza
4. September 2024
https://www.icbuw.eu/allegations-of-depleted-uranium-use-in-gaza/
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Israel used 'banned bombs' containing depleted uranium in Lebanon: chemists
2024
The
Syndicate of Chemists in Lebanon says use of these weapons, especially
in densely populated Beirut, leads to massive destruction and may cause
many diseases.
https://www.trtworld.com/middle-east/israel-used-banned-bombs-containing-depleted-uranium-in-lebanon-chemists-18216698
--------------------------------------------------------
Israel accused of using illegal bombs in Beirut
10 October 2024
https://nordictimes.com/world/israel-accused-of-using-illegal-bombs-in-beirut/
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Lebanon: Evidence of Israel’s unlawful use of white phosphorus in southern Lebanon as cross-border hostilities escalate
31 October 2023
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/lebanon-evidence-of-israels-unlawful-use-of-white-phosphorus-in-southern-lebanon-as-cross-border-hostilities-escalate/
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Israel: White Phosphorus Used in Gaza, Lebanon
October 12, 2023
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/10/12/israel-white-phosphorus-used-gaza-lebanon
--------------------------------------------------------
Israel Allegedly Used White Phosphorus Munitions in Gaza and Lebanon. Here’s What to Know
October 13, 2023
https://time.com/6323482/israel-white-phosphorus-gaza-lebanon/
--------------------------------------------------------
Human Rights Watch says Israel used white phosphorus in Gaza, Lebanon
October 13, 2023
https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/human-rights-watch-says-israel-used-white-phosphorous-gaza-lebanon-2023-10-12/
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Libya confirms buying “A-bomb” plan from Pakistan
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NEWS | India & Mongolia to Commence Talks on Uranium Trade
March 2017
India and Mongolia plan to begin
governmental talks in March 2017 on trading in uranium, a mineral
abundant in the land-locked Asian country and a key attraction for New
Delhi as it seeks new sources of fuel for its ever-growing chain of
nuclear plants by indulging into a tighter partnership with a nation on
China's periphery.
Also, With these talks, Mongolia
will be testing its traditional dependence on China by increasing its
engagement with other countries i.e., going beyond China's dominion.
http://www.indrastra.com/2017/03/NEWS-India-Mongolia-to-Commence-Talks-on-Uranium-Trade-003-03-2017-0031.html
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Dayton, Ohio — where all nuclear bomb blasts begin
January 16, 2016
A recent underground blast that North Korea claims was an
experimental hydrogen bomb is a disquieting reminder that Dayton’s story
of aviation heritage has a cautionary side.
Dayton is justifiably
proud that its two most famous sons, Wilbur and Orville Wright,
invented the airplane in their West Third Street bicycle shop and built
America’s first airplane factory, also along West Third. Dayton
International Airport reminds travelers that Dayton is “where every
flight begins.”
But in that same West Third Street corridor, between the site of the
Wrights’ bicycle shop and their factory, is another historic site: the
place where every nuclear bomb blast begins.
Several countries
have tested hydrogen bombs, and a few have produced H-bomb arsenals. But
the path to the H-bomb begins with mastery of the smaller and simpler
atomic bomb. During World War II, scientists working in Dayton played a
crucial role in producing the all-important initiator for the bomb.
Dayton’s
atom-bomb heritage began with two research chemists, Charles Thomas and
Carroll Hochwalt, who formed Thomas and Hochwalt Laboratories in Dayton
in 1926. A string of creative new products prompted the Monsanto
Chemical Company to buy the firm, making it the company’s Central
Research Department with Thomas as its director.
In 1943, the Army
turned to Monsanto for help with the Manhattan Project, the secret
program to build an atomic bomb. It was a two-track program to develop
both a uranium bomb and a superior but more complex plutonium bomb.
Each bomb used a different kind of initiator to
kick-start the atom-splitting process that causes a nuclear blast, but
both depended on the same key ingredient: polonium-210, a highly
radioactive metal that was also extremely rare. Nobody knew how to
produce it in useful amounts.
Monsanto handed the problem to its
Central Research Department in Dayton. Thomas and Hochwalt formed what
became code-named the Dayton Project...
http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/opinion/dayton-ohio-where-all-nuclear-bomb-blasts-begin/oQEkVkZDB168m00rZIyc2O/
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Dayton Project
The Dayton Project was a research and development project that was part of the larger Manhattan Project to build the first atomic bombs. Work took place at several sites in and around Dayton, Ohio. Those working on the project were ultimately responsible for creating the polonium-based modulated neutron initiators which were used to begin the chain reactions in the atomic bombs. The Dayton Project ran from 1943 to 1949, when the Mound Laboratories were completed in nearby Miamisburg, Ohio and the work moved there.
The Dayton Project began in 1943 when Monsanto's Charles Allen Thomas was recruited by the Manhattan Project to coordinate the plutonium purification and production work being carried out at various sites. Scientists at the Los Alamos Laboratory calculated that a plutonium bomb would require a neutron initiator. The best-known neutron sources used radioactive polonium and beryllium, so Thomas undertook to produce polonium at Monsanto's laboratories in Dayton.
The Dayton Project developed techniques for extracting polonium-210 from the lead dioxide ore in which it occurs naturally, and from bismuth targets that had been bombarded by neutrons in a nuclear reactor. Ultimately, polonium-based neutron initiators were used in both the gun-type Little Boy and the implosion-type Fat Man used in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki respectively. The fact that polonium was used as an initiator was classified until the 1960s, but George Koval, a technician with the Manhattan Project's Special Engineer Detachment, penetrated the Dayton Project as a spy for the Soviet Union.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dayton_Project
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Impacts of nuclear waste
Nuclear wastes are normally classified as low, medium or high-level, according to the amount and types of radioactivity they contain. The high-level waste produced by nuclear reactors is the longest lasting contamination risk of a nuclear power plant.
The European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) is a so-called ‘Generation III’ design of nuclear reactor, designed to use fuel more efficiently. But the amount of dangerous materials in spent nuclear fuel increases significantly with the time the fuel stays in the reactor. Studies have shown that nuclear fuel from EPRs will be up to seven times more hazardous per unit of electric output because of the drastic increases in the amount of easily released, dangerous and long-lasting isotopes such as iodine-129 (1) that that produced by existing nuclear reactors(2).
All of the options for handling nuclear waste have potentially large environmental and health impacts: waste disposal sites have the potential to contaminate the environment for hundreds of thousands of years(3) if the radionuclide dispersion barriers fail; transports of high-level waste or plutonium are at risk from accidents or deliberate attacks and reprocessing facilities have large routine emissions of radioactive substances.
The impacts of a chosen method of waste management should be included in the EIA; if one has not yet been selected then impacts of all possibilities – whether waste is buried on site, transported elsewhere for disposal or reprocessed - should be assessed.
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Destroying nuclear waste to create clean energy? It can be done
Nov 16, 2018
If not for long-term radioactive waste, then nuclear power would be the ultimate “green” energy. The alternative to uranium is thorium, a radioactive ore whose natural decay is responsible for half of our geothermal energy, which we think of as “green energy.” More than 20 years of research at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN), the birthplace of the internet and where Higgs boson was discovered, demonstrate that thorium could become a radically disruptive source of clean energy providing bountiful electricity any place and at any time.
Coal and gas remain by far the largest sources of electricity worldwide, threatening our climate equilibrium. Non-fossil alternatives, such as solar power, use up a forbidding amount of land, even in sunny California, plus the decommissioning will pose a serious recycling challenge within 20 years. Solar is best used on an individual household basis, rather than centralized plants. Wind requires an even larger surface area than solar.
As Michael Shellenberger, a Time magazine “Hero of the Environment”, recently wrote: “Had California and Germany invested $680 billion into nuclear power plants instead of renewables like solar and wind farms, the two would already be generating 100% or more of their electricity from clean energy sources.” Correct, but the disturbing issue of long-term nuclear waste produced by conventional, uranium based, nuclear plants still remains.
In the early 1990s, Carlo Rubbia, Nobel prize winner in physics (1984) and then CERN’s director general, launched a small experiment applying cutting-edge accelerator technologies toward energy production. The First Energy Amplifier Test (FEAT), funded by the European Commission, successfully demonstrated the principles of a clean and inherently safe process of energy production, based on widely available thorium. Since then, numerous experiments have demonstrated the feasibility of a large scale-up for industrial use. They also demonstrated that existing long-term (240,000 years or more) nuclear waste can be “burned up” in the thorium reactor to become a much more manageable short-term (less than 500 years) nuclear waste.
An Accelerator-Driven System (ADS), as the process is called, comprises an assembly of key technologies developed at CERN: an accelerated proton beam focuses on a metal target, usually lead, in a process called spallation. This spawns neutrons that in turn convert thorium into fissile uranium233, producing heat by way of nuclear fission. The heavy uranium233 nuclei divides into smaller nucleus such as zirconium (think Shopping Channel jewellery) or xenon (used in camera flash bulbs), with only minimal radioactive waste produced.
The advantages of an ADS over other energy production process are many:
Clean: No emissions are produced (CO2, nitrogen or sulphur oxides particles, among others), unlike with fossil fuel. Heat is generated from the transmutation of thorium into the highly radioactive uranium233 and its subsequent fission into smaller particles.
Feasible: ADS technology development has been proven to be a bounded problem with a realistic development timeline. In comparison, fusion is an unbounded problem that does not have a constrained development timeline.
Transmutation of nuclear waste: the ADS process has been proven to transmute long-term nuclear waste, harmful for 240,000 years or more, into short-term radioactivity waste of less than 500 years toxicity. The technology would solve the intractable problem of very long-term radioactive waste storage.
No military usage: The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly stated that the technology is “intrinsically proliferation resistant.”
Large thorium reserves: enough for 20 centuries at 2018 level of global electricity consumption. Thorium is well distributed around the globe, with no nation having a monopoly.
High energy density: 1 tonne of thorium would provide the energy equivalent of 3 million tonnes of coal, or 200 tonnes of natural uranium enriched for use in a nuclear reactor.
Inherent safety: the process operates at atmospheric pressure therefore the plant can’t explode (unlike Chernobyl). The reaction is also stops immediately when the proton beam is interrupted, providing inherent safety.
Smart grid friendly: Immediate ON/OFF capability would make ADS power plants ideal for base load energy production for smart grids.
Small footprint: A 500MW ADS plant would only be as large as a mediumsize factory, compared to 26 km2 (10 mi2) for the 550MW Topaz solar farm in the sunny California desert. In the wintery north-west, an equivalent solar farm would be almost three times larger, approximately 62 km2. Wind turbines require even more space.
Proximity: inherent safety and small size make ADS ideally suited for any use, industrial or urban, and able to be located in remote regions, including high latitudes with little sunshine.
Decarbonized hydrogen production: reactors could be set close to abundant freshwater at high latitudes for clean hydrogen production, allowing the conversion of electrons into a green gas used for transport, heating and industrial processes.
DS technology advances the double promise of boundless clean electricity, together with the destruction of highly toxic long-term nuclear waste. Its inherent safety will allow power plants to be located anywhere, even close to urban areas, and in any climate. ADS offers the possibility to provide sustainable energy on demand and with easy integration into smart grids. Combined with the production of green hydrogen, it could decarbonize our entire energy needs, from transport to industrial.
The development of this promising technology offers hope for a paradigm shift in clean energy production, achievable in years instead of decades, helping the fight against global warming.
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Radioactive nuclear waste is a global threat. These scientists may have a new solution
Aug 8, 2018
The US and Russia have approximately 7000 warheads each, enough to destroy humanity many times over. The US has enough highly radioactive plutonium, left over from the Cold War and generated by its nuclear power plants, to produce 10,000 more warheads. What are we to do with this unnecessary, deadly remnant of our belligerence?
There are “two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important", as President Dwight Eisenhower said in his 1954 speech at Northwestern University.
"The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent." Plutonium waste is not on the urgent pile of world leaders’ agendas. But it’s top of the important pile for humanity. We are already failing our future generations.
In February 2014, an explosion shook the main plutonium storage facility near Carlsbad, New Mexico, resulting in extensive damage. Its cause was an innocent typo and poor oversight, according to Patrick Malone of the journal New Mexican. Absorbent clay is used to neutralize potential acidic chemical reactions from diverse neutralizing compounds in the waste drums. Probably to cut costs, relying on cat litter as a source of clay was recommended.
But a slight typo in an update memo changed the specifications from "kitty litter/zeolite clay" to simply "kitty litter (clay)", as the official report noted. The result was the use of a highly reactive organic wheat-based cat litter (sWheat Scoop brand), instead of an inorganic clay-based litter, to stabilize the drum mixture. This led to a slow but relentless chemical reaction inside the drum, causing it to overheat and finally explode. The cost of repair and delays was estimated at $1.4 billion.
In May 2017, a storage tunnel collapsed at the Hanford nuclear waste storage facility in Washington state. Maintenance was at fault, not only of the infrastructure but of the waste drums themselves. Leakages of highly radioactive waste have happened before in that facility, according to The Atlantic. On the Department of Energy’s website, it announces the removal of “radioactive sludge stored near the Columbia River”, where “near” means “about 400 yards” (360 metres) from the river. There are 53 million gallons of such radioactive sludge stored at Hanford, with no clear measure of the current level of leakage so close to a precious water resource.
Such contamination has already taken place, for example in Coldwater Creek, north of Saint Louis, Missouri. A report published in June 2018 by the US Department of Health and Human Services concluded: "children and adults who regularly played in or around Coldwater Creek or lived in its floodplain for many years in the past (1960s to 1990s) may have been exposed to radiological contaminants. ATSDR estimated that this exposure could increase the risk of developing bone or lung cancer, leukemia, or (to a lesser extent) skin or breast cancer." Coldwater Creek does not have near the level of radiation of Chernobyl or Fukushima, but its contamination was more insidious because there was no warning to residents, who unknowingly played around radioactive shores.
Nuclear waste is a global problem. France, one of the countries most reliant on nuclear power, still has no long-term storage plan in place. In the meantime, it generates 2kg of radioactive waste per person annually, a small but not insignificant part of which will remain dangerous for at least 200,000 years. The oldest known illustrative cave paintings are only 40,000 years old. The first writing system appeared 10,000 years ago. It’s impossible, if not recklessly hubristic, to make any plan on a timescale of 100,000 years.
What are we to make of similar radioactive waste storage predicaments in Russia, Japan, China, Ukraine, or any of the more than 30 nations relying on nuclear power? Such waste must be secured for a minimum of 300 years, some of it for hundreds of thousand of years. But after only a few decades, our institutions are already showing signs of fatigue.
Vitrification, a method of encasing waste in glass to make it leakproof, is the consensus proposal to remedy leakage issues. But such an irreversible process will forever limit access to the waste, thereby nullifying any future remediation solution. Intense radioactivity will still be toxic through the glass. Vitrification is a solution steeped in our limited scientific knowledge that will burden humanity with man-made radioactivity longer than any of our institutions, or even forms of government, can reasonably be expected to last.
Giving us hope, a team of current and former CERN scientists in Geneva, among them Nobel Prize winner Carlo Rubbia, suggest a different approach. They simulated and partially tested a system to transform highly radioactive waste lasting hundreds of thousands of years into mildly radioactive waste with less than 300 years of toxicity, a more manageable time frame. Relying on a proton beam, which is common technology at CERN, and a little-used natural element called thorium, which is almost as common as lead, they propose to neutralize the world’s highly radioactive waste in as little as a few decades.
They call their detailed design the "Accelerator Driven System" (ADS), and they have partnerships in place to prove its efficacy. The estimated budget to take it from computer modelling to actual demonstration within five years is $70 million. But while the Bechtel corporation is starting construction on a $17 billion vitrification plant, the CERN team of eminent scientists have yet to receive any significant funding. A corollary of the radioactive waste neutralization reaction could be CO2-free electrical energy, if coupled with a heat exchanger. Sometimes, as Steve Jobs marvelled, the right technology is generous and feels magical.
Wouldn’t it be fair to our great-great-great-grandchildren to try a new approach to radioactive waste management? We have already failed our oceans from a lack of political will to face plastic pollution. Let’s not risk allowing our entire planet to face a similar fate from radioactive waste.
https://www.weforum.org/stories/2018/08/radioactive-nuclear-waste-global-threat-cern-scientists-new-solution/
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Uranium in drinking water: Health risks and detection methods
Uranium in drinking water is a serious concern for many communities. This naturally occurring element can seep into groundwater from rocks and soil.
It poses health risks when consumed over time.
https://watersciencehub.com/uranium-in-drinking-water/
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A non-polluting method for rapidly purifying uranium-containing wastewater and efficiently recovering uranium through electrochemical mineralization and oxidative roasting
2021
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0304389421008499
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Using Graphene Foam To Filter Uranium and Other Heavy Metals From Drinking Water
August 9, 2021
Some kinds of water pollution, such as algal blooms and plastics that foul rivers, lakes, and marine environments, lie in plain sight. But other contaminants are not so readily apparent, which makes their impact potentially more dangerous. Among these invisible substances is uranium. Leaching into water resources from mining operations, nuclear waste sites, or from natural subterranean deposits, the element can now be found flowing out of taps worldwide.
In the United States alone, “many areas are affected by uranium contamination, including the High Plains and Central Valley aquifers, which supply drinking water to 6 million people,” says Ahmed Sami Helal, a postdoc in the Department of Nuclear Science and Engineering. This contamination poses a near and present danger. “Even small concentrations are bad for human health,” says Ju Li, the Battelle Energy Alliance Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering and professor of materials science and engineering.
Now, a team led by Li has devised a highly efficient method for removing uranium from drinking water. Applying an electric charge to graphene oxide foam, the researchers can capture uranium in solution, which precipitates out as a condensed solid crystal. The foam may be reused up to seven times without losing its electrochemical properties. “Within hours, our process can purify a large quantity of drinking water below the EPA limit for uranium,” says Li.
A paper describing this work was published in last week’s Advanced Materials. The two first co-authors are Helal and Chao Wang, a postdoc at MIT during the study, who is now with the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Tongji University, Shanghai. Researchers from Argonne National Laboratory, Taiwan’s National Chiao Tung University, and the University of Tokyo also participated in the research. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (U.S. Department of Defense) funded later stages of this work.
Targeting the Contaminant
The project, launched three years ago, began as an effort to find better approaches to environmental cleanup of heavy metals from mining sites. To date, remediation methods for such metals as chromium, cadmium, arsenic, lead, mercury, radium, and uranium have proven limited and expensive. “These techniques are highly sensitive to organics in water, and are poor at separating out the heavy metal contaminants,” explains Helal. “So they involve long operation times, high capital costs, and at the end of extraction, generate more toxic sludge.”
To the team, uranium seemed a particularly attractive target. Field testing from the U.S. Geological Service and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has revealed unhealthy levels of uranium moving into reservoirs and aquifers from natural rock sources in the northeastern United States, from ponds and pits storing old nuclear weapons and fuel in places like Hanford, Washington, and from mining activities located in many western states. This kind of contamination is prevalent in many other nations as well. An alarming number of these sites show uranium concentrations close to or above the EPA’s recommended ceiling of 30 parts per billion (ppb) — a level linked to kidney damage, cancer risk, and neurobehavioral changes in humans.
The critical challenge lay in finding a practical remediation process exclusively sensitive to uranium, capable of extracting it from solution without producing toxic residues. And while earlier research showed that electrically charged carbon fiber could filter uranium from water, the results were partial and imprecise.
Wang managed to crack these problems — based on her investigation of the behavior of graphene foam used for lithium-sulfur batteries. “The physical performance of this foam was unique because of its ability to attract certain chemical species to its surface,” she says. “I thought the ligands in graphene foam would work well with uranium.”
Simple, Efficient, and Clean
The team set to work transforming graphene foam into the equivalent of a uranium magnet. They learned that by sending an electric charge through the foam, splitting water and releasing hydrogen, they could increase the local pH and induce a chemical change that pulled uranium ions out of solution. The researchers found that the uranium would graft itself onto the foam’s surface, where it formed a never-before-seen crystalline uranium hydroxide. On reversal of the electric charge, the mineral, which resembles fish scales, slipped easily off the foam.
It took hundreds of tries to get the chemical composition and electrolysis just right. “We kept changing the functional chemical groups to get them to work correctly,” says Helal. “And the foam was initially quite fragile, tending to break into pieces, so we needed to make it stronger and more durable,” says Wang.
This uranium filtration process is simple, efficient, and clean, according to Li: “Each time it’s used, our foam can capture four times its own weight of uranium, and we can achieve an extraction capacity of 4,000 mg per gram, which is a major improvement over other methods,” he says. “We’ve also made a major breakthrough in reusability, because the foam can go through seven cycles without losing its extraction efficiency.” The graphene foam functions as well in seawater, where it reduces uranium concentrations from 3 parts per million to 19.9 ppb, showing that other ions in the brine do not interfere with filtration.
The team believes its low-cost, effective device could become a new kind of home water filter, fitting on faucets like those of commercial brands. “Some of these filters already have activated carbon, so maybe we could modify these, add low-voltage electricity to filter uranium,” says Li.
“The uranium extraction this device achieves is very impressive when compared to existing methods,” says Ho Jin Ryu, associate professor of nuclear and quantum engineering at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. Ryu, who was not involved in the research, believes that the demonstration of graphene foam reusability is a “significant advance,” and that “the technology of local pH control to enhance uranium deposition will be impactful because the scientific principle can be applied more generally to heavy metal extraction from polluted water.”
The researchers have already begun investigating broader applications of their method. “There is a science to this, so we can modify our filters to be selective for other heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium,” says Li. He notes that radium is another significant danger for locales in the United States and elsewhere that lack resources for reliable drinking water infrastructure.
“In the future, instead of a passive water filter, we could be using a smart filter powered by clean electricity that turns on electrolytic action, which could extract multiple toxic metals, tell you when to regenerate the filter, and give you quality assurance about the water you’re drinking.”
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TiO2 Nanoparticles Simultaneously Remove Arsenic and Uranium from Groundwater
March 26, 2025
A research team led by Prof. Luan Fubo from the Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has uncovered a novel mechanism involving a ternary surface complex on titanium dioxide (TiO₂) that improves the simultaneous removal of arsenic (As) and uranium (U) from contaminated groundwater. This study was published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Groundwater contamination by arsenic and uranium is a severe environmental and public health concern, linked to cancer, kidney damage, and other chronic diseases. Conventional remediation methods typically target either arsenic or uranium, often proving ineffective when both contaminants coexist due to competitive adsorption effects.
In this study, the researchers demonstrated that TiO₂ nanoparticles can simultaneously and efficiently adsorb both As(V) and U(VI). Notably, uranium enhanced arsenic adsorption, increasing removal efficiency by up to 3.4 times compared to arsenic-only systems.
Using in situ ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, the researchers identified the formation of a ternary surface complex, [Ti–U(VI)–As(V)], as the critical mechanism. In this process, arsenate ions displace carbonate ligands in uranyl-carbonate complexes adsorbed on TiO₂, forming a stable ternary structure that facilitates co-removal of both pollutants.
The adsorption process proved effective under typical groundwater conditions, achieving >99% removal efficiency for both contaminants. Post-treatment residual concentrations fell below the safety limits of the World Health Organization for drinking water.
An advantage of this method is the regenerability and reusability of the TiO₂ adsorbent. The captured arsenic and uranium can be recovered using a mild sodium hydroxide solution, allowing the material to be reused multiple times without significant loss of performance.
This study provides a cost-effective, scalable, and eco-friendly approach to remediating dual-contaminated groundwater, offering the potential for improving global drinking water safety.
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Enhanced uranium extraction from seawater using bifunctional-modified molecular sieves with high selectivity and adsorption capacity
2025
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0011916424011792
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Uranium removal from environmental water and nuclear waste: Nanomaterial solutions and their environmental sustainability
2025
Highlights
Nanomaterial-based extraction methods show promise for removing uranium from a variety of aqueous streams.
Nanomaterials have high adsorption capacity, dense active sites, excellent selectivity, and are easy to reuse.
Carbonaceous, magnetic, functionalized, silicon-based, metallic oxide, and biological nanomaterials are discussed.
The stability (chemical, thermal, and mechanical) and toxicity of nanomaterials are important concerns.
The sustainability and transformation of nanomaterials in aquatic and terrestrial environments are analysed in depth.
Abstract
The separation and extraction of uranium from mining waste water, contaminated surface water and groundwater, and even from seawater hold significant importance in various applications. Nanomaterial-based extraction methods have been quickly developing and offer a promising means of removing and recovering uranium from a variety of aqueous streams. Nanomaterials possess distinct advantages such as high adsorption capacity, dense active sites, ease of reuse, and excellent selectivity. In this comprehensive review, we conduct an in-depth examination of a wide range of nanomaterials, including carbonaceous, magnetic, functionalized, silicon-based, and metallic oxide/hydroxide nanomaterials, each exhibiting diverse morphologies. Additionally, we offer detailed discussions on mixed oxides and bio-nanocomposites. Carbonaceous nanomaterials demonstrate superior chemical stability in strongly acidic nuclear wastewaters than common inorganic sorbents like hydroxyapatite and hydrous oxides. Furthermore, they are more resilient to radiation and thermal conditions than organic exchange resins. Extraction using recyclable functionalized magnetic nanomaterials offers high selectivity and reduces the complexity of the required equipment. We delve into the challenges and opportunities associated with employing nanomaterials for uranium separation, discussing them in detail. The control of their structures and the stability (chemical, thermal, and mechanical) and toxicity of nanomaterials are important concerns. Finally, we perform an in-depth analysis of the environmental sustainability of nanomaterials. These materials can enter aquatic and terrestrial environments through direct industrial discharges, wastewater effluents, surface runoff, and indirectly via land-applied products like sludges or biosolids. Once in the environment, nanomaterials undergo transformations influenced by their properties and the surrounding medium, involving processes like aggregation, dissolution, and redox reactions.
1. Introduction
Finding sustainable energy supplies poses a significant challenge for human development. Nuclear energy, as a clean and scalable source, offers a solution to the global energy problem. The urgency of addressing global warming has prompted certain countries to develop their nuclear industries, thus highlighting the potential for nuclear energy to revolutionize the global energy structure.
Scientists and Scholars on Nuclear for Climate Change, in their Open Letter to Heads of Governments of G-20 countries [13], emphasize the pressing need for rapid nuclear infrastructure development in the next 20–30 years to meet the demands of our “burning” planet. Presently, there are over 430 nuclear reactors worldwide, generating 400 GWe (Gigawatt Electrical), which accounts for 11 % of global electricity output. By 2040, it is projected that nuclear capacity will reach 516 GWe. For instance, China has set ambitious plans to construct 80 nuclear reactors by 2030 and a total of 230 reactors by 2050.
Uranium plays a crucial role in nuclear energy. Fig. 1 illustrates the fluctuation of uranium prices from 1968 to 2020. In 2007, due to increasing demand, particularly from emerging economies like India and China, uranium reached its highest recorded spot price of $140 per pound. However, the global economic crisis in 2008 resulted in a significant drop in uranium prices to below $50 per pound. In early 2011, as the world economy recovered from the financial crisis, uranium prices experienced a notable increase, reaching $75 per pound. However, following the Fukushima Daiichi incident in the same year, the shutdown of all 54 Japanese nuclear power plants caused a global collapse in uranium prices. This led to a 13 % reduction in global uranium demand. Moreover, the sale of uranium from offline Japanese nuclear power plants' inventory had a substantial impact on the uranium market, causing prices to plummet from $75 to $21 per pound. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 further disrupted the uranium supply from mining companies, resulting in a price surge to $34 per pound, marking the highest price in the past four years.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) categorizes uranium resources as conventional and unconventional. Conventional resources refer to those from which uranium is extracted as the primary product, co-product, or significant by-product. Within this category, there are two main types: Reasonably Assured Resources (RAR) and Inferred Resources (IR), which can be recovered at a cost of less than $260 per kilogram of uranium (kgU). Unconventional uranium resources encompass those from which uranium is recoverable as a minor by-product. The primary unconventional source of uranium resources is phosphate rock, while other sources such as black shale, non-ferrous ore, carbonate, lignite, and seawater are less significant.
The Republic of Kazakhstan is the world's leading producer of uranium. In 2015 Kazakhstan produced 23,800 tons of uranium (tU), accounting for 39 % of global uranium production. This surpassed the combined production of the second and third largest uranium producers, Canada and Australia. It is projected that the global annual uranium requirement will increase from 67,000 to 105,000 tU by 2035. Fig. 2 provides a visual representation of global uranium production and reactor requirements from 1946 to 2015.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1385894725011039
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Radioactive Wastes, Impacts, and International Tension
July 2014
Gonpo Thondup, who escaped from Tibet to Dharamsala in India in March 1987, visited two nuclear weapons production departments code-numbered 405 in Kyangtsa and 792 in Thewo, Amdo region. His statement was presented by Tsewang Norbu at the World Uranium Hearing in Salzburg, Germany, on 14 September 1992. It reads: “The effects of experiments and waste from 792 and 405 have been devastating. Before 1960, in this region of Amdo harvests were plentiful and domestic animals healthy. Now the crop yield has shrunk and people and animals are dying mysteriously, and in increasing numbers. Since 1987 there has been a sharp rise in the number of deaths of domestic animals and fish have all but vanished. In the years of 1989 and 1990, 50 people died in the region, all from mysterious causes. Twelve women gave birth in the summer of 1990, and every child was dead before or died during birth. One Tibetan woman, Tsering Dolma (aged 30), has given birth seven times and not a single child has survived.”
http://www.tibetnature.net/en/radioactive-wastes/
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The neurotoxicology of uranium
2015
Abstract
The brain is a target of environmental toxic pollutants that impair cerebral functions. Uranium is present in the environment as a result of natural deposits and release by human applications. The first part of this review describes the passage of uranium into the brain, and its effects on neurological functions and cognitive abilities. Very few human studies have looked at its cognitive effects. Experimental studies show that after exposure, uranium can reach the brain and lead to neurobehavioral impairments, including increased locomotor activity, perturbation of the sleep-wake cycle, decreased memory, and increased anxiety. The mechanisms underlying these neurobehavioral disturbances are not clearly understood. It is evident that there must be more than one toxic mechanism and that it might include different targets in the brain. In the second part, we therefore review the principal mechanisms that have been investigated in experimental models: imbalance of the anti/pro-oxidant system and neurochemical and neurophysiological pathways. Uranium effects are clearly specific according to brain area, dose, and time. Nonetheless, this review demonstrates the paucity of data about its effects on developmental processes and the need for more attention to the consequences of exposure during development.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26277741/
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Uranium is safe compared to this...
April 5, 2022
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/JRL_Tvazw2I
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A deeper understanding about the role of uranium toxicity in neurodegeneration
2023
Highlights
Uranium exposure can cause several health issues.
Uranium can enter the central nervous system either via BBB or olfactory bulb.
Uranium can trigger several neurodegenerative diseases.
The probable mechanism of action of Uranium exposure in the central nervous system.
Abstract
Natural deposits and human-caused releases of uranium have led to its contamination in the nature. Toxic environmental contaminants such as uranium that harm cerebral processes specifically target the brain. Numerous experimental researches have shown that occupational and environmental uranium exposure can result in a wide range of health issues. According to the recent experimental research, uranium can enter the brain after exposure and cause neurobehavioral problems such as elevated motion related activity, disruption of the sleep-wake cycle, poor memory, and elevated anxiety. However, the exact mechanism behind the factor for neurotoxicity by uranium is still uncertain. This review primarily aims on a brief overview of uranium, its route of exposure to the central nervous system, and the likely mechanism of uranium in neurological diseases including oxidative stress, epigenetic modification, and neuronal inflammation has been described, which could present the probable state-of-the-art status of uranium in neurotoxicity. Finally, we offer some preventative strategies to workers who are exposed to uranium at work. In closing, this study highlights the knowledge of uranium's health dangers and underlying toxicological mechanisms is still in its infancy, and there is still more to learn about many contentious discoveries.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0013935123012343
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Study shows strong relationship between prolonged, low-level radon exposure and lung cancer
Jun 15 2022
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20220615/Study-shows-strong-relationship-between-prolonged-low-level-radon-exposure-and-lung-cancer.aspx
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Ionizing radiation injury
Ionizing radiation injury, tissue destruction or changes caused by deeply penetrating electromagnetic waves of high frequency or subatomic particles that form positively and negatively charged particles in the tissues, including individual cells that receive the radiation. Sources for radiation may be natural, such as the elements radium, thorium, and actinium, or radiation may be liberated from such energy-producing devices or substances as X-ray machines, particle accelerators, nuclear reactors, atomic bombs, and human-made isotopes.
Ionizing radiation injury can affect the whole body system or be localized in one small area. Although the lasting effects of nuclear weapons used in war have been responsible for tens of thousands of deaths due to radiation injury, today nearly all radiation cases result from medical or industrial accidents and overexposures. Acute radiation sickness occurs after high-dose exposures of large areas of the body, whereas chronic effects may persist over a number of years. Damage done to tissue by radiation is not unique—the same types of injuries may be caused by electrical currents and by some drugs and toxins—but the effects of radiation are usually far more devastating and longer-lasting.
The main structures affected by radiation are cells. Radiation energy is not spread diffusely throughout the tissue; rather, the energy rays penetrate into localized areas of tissue, affecting only the cells contacted by the rays. Whether a cell dies immediately or develops molecular changes depends upon the dose of radiation and the length of exposure. Molecular changes in a cell are reflected in its ability to grow and divide to form a normal generation of daughter cells. When the radiation dose is high, cell death is rapid and extensive; there is usually no reserve tissue left to replace that destroyed. If the cell changes are more subtle, the cell may be unable to reproduce altogether or the new cells produced may be abnormal and not viable. The tissues most affected by radiation are those that undergo rapid replacement, such as bone marrow, the lining of the gastrointestinal tract, and skin. Slower-growing tissues, such as those of the brain and liver, require either high doses of radiation or prolonged exposure before they show symptoms of degeneration. The overall direct complications of radiation are cell depletion, inability to reproduce new tissue, lessened body resistance to infections, decreased numbers of blood cells, hemorrhages from disrupted blood vessels, body poisons from tissue breakdown, and a slower blood-clotting time. Indirect effects can be tumour growths, leukemia, a shortened life span, recurrent bacterial infections, anemia, and body ulcers.
Local tissue injuries from radiation may manifest a number of months after the initial exposure or several years after a sequence of exposures. The skin may ulcerate, scale, swell, and slowly deteriorate. Systemic symptoms appear only after the whole body or numerous parts of it have been exposed. Radiation sickness with systemic symptoms can exhibit four stages in milder cases or cause immediate convulsions, high blood pressure, shock, fever, skin reddening, and death. The first phase in the slower form develops within a few minutes or hours after exposure; symptoms are nausea, vomiting, weakness, and diarrhea. A day or two after exposure, the symptoms depart, and there is a second phase of apparent recovery that may last a week or longer. Third-stage symptoms are fever, infection, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, hemorrhages, dehydration, weight loss, hair loss, and ulcers. Death usually occurs in this phase if the damage has been sufficiently severe. If the patient survives the third phase, the fourth phase (slow recovery) begins about six weeks after the exposure. The recovery may take several months, and there may be permanent disability, such as sterilization, extensive scar tissue, cataracts, bone disintegration, cancer, and blindness.
https://www.britannica.com/science/ionizing-radiation-injury
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Radium Girls: The Women Who Fought for Their Lives in a Killer Workplace
Jun 13, 2025
Being poisoned by their employer led these women to fight back.
At the onset of World War I, several factories were established across the United States to produce watches and military dials painted with a material containing radium, a radioactive element that glows in the dark. Hundreds of young women were hired for the well-paying painting jobs because their small hands were well suited for the exacting, detailed work.
Radium had been discovered just 20 years earlier by French physicists Marie Curie and Pierre Curie, and its properties were not well known. Because it had been used successfully in the treatment of cancer, many considered radium a miracle element, and a variety of commercial products were manufactured in which radium was an ingredient, including toothpaste and cosmetics.
The women hired to paint dials came to be known as “ghost girls” because the radium dust to which they were exposed daily made their clothes, hair, and skin literally glow. Many of the women wore their best dresses on the job so the fabric would shine brilliantly when they went dancing after work. Some even applied the paint to their teeth because it gave them radiant smiles.
What’s more, the painters ingested the radioactive substance as part of their job. Because some of the watch dials on which they worked were extremely small, they were instructed to use their lips to bring their paint brushes to a fine point. When they asked about radium’s safety, they were assured by their managers that they had nothing to worry about.
Of course, that wasn’t true. Radium can be extremely dangerous, especially with repeated exposure. Marie Curie suffered radiation burns while handling it, and she eventually died from radiation exposure. Other researchers also perished.
It wasn’t long before the “Radium Girls” began to experience the physical ravages of their exposure. Among the first was Amelia (“Mollie”) Maggia, who painted watches for the Radium Luminous Materials Corp. (later the United States Radium Corp.) in Orange, New Jersey. Maggia’s first symptom was a toothache, which required the removal of the tooth. Soon the tooth next to it also had to be extracted. Painful ulcers, bleeding and full of pus, developed where the teeth had been.
The mysterious malady spread throughout Maggia’s mouth and lower jaw, which had to be removed, then into other parts of her body. Maggia died on September 12, 1922, of a massive hemorrhage. Doctors were puzzled as to the cause of her condition, and, oddly, they determined that she had died of syphilis.
In growing numbers, other Radium Girls became deathly ill, experiencing many of the same agonizing symptoms as Maggia. For two years their employer vociferously denied any connection between the girls’ deaths and their work. Facing a downturn in business because of the growing controversy, the company finally commissioned an independent study of the matter, which concluded that the painters had died from the effects of radium exposure. Refusing to accept the report’s findings, the company commissioned additional studies that came to the opposite conclusion, and it decried the girls who had taken ill. The public continued to assume that radium was safe.
In 1925 a pathologist named Harrison Martland developed a test that proved conclusively that radium had poisoned the watch painters by destroying their bodies from the inside. The radium industry tried to discredit Martland’s findings, but the Radium Girls themselves fought back. Many knew that their days were numbered, but they wanted to do something to help their colleagues still working with the deadly substance.
In 1927 attorney Raymond Berry agreed to accept their case. Many of the watch painters had just months to live and were forced to accept an out-of-court settlement. Still, their experiences made the issue of radium safety a front-page story across the world. But, even then, the United States Radium Corp. denied its role, and women continued to get sick and die. It wasn’t until 1938, when a dying radium worker named Catherine Wolfe Donohue successfully sued the Radium Dial Co. over her illness, that the issue was finally settled.
The legacy of the Radium Girls can’t be understated. Their case was among the first in which a company was held responsible for the health and safety of its employees, and it led to a variety of reforms as well as to the creation of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
https://www.britannica.com/story/radium-girls-the-women-who-fought-for-their-lives-in-a-killer-workplace
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Vaseline and Uranium Glass (ca. 1930s)
https://orau.org/health-physics-museum/collection/consumer/glass/vaseline-uranium-glass.html
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Is Uranium Glass Dangerous? Here’s How To Spot the Radioactive Glassware
Jul 26 2023
https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/45081/20230726/uranium-glass-dangerous-here-s-spot-radioactive-glassware.htm
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U.S. Mines Race to Restart As Uranium Prices Skyrocket
- Decline in uranium prices and fallout from the Fukushima disaster led to the shutdown of American uranium mines, but a recent surge in prices is prompting their restart.
- Major industry players convene at mining conferences, emphasizing the increasing importance of uranium in the context of climate change and rising nuclear power demand.
- With projections of a significant rise in uranium demand, the reopening of U.S. mines signifies a comeback for an industry that nearly vanished, driven by geopolitical tensions and the need for supply security.
It's been a long time coming, but the bulls are finally back in uranium. And with them comes the restart of multiple uranium projects that have been taken offline in the years while the commodity slouched in price.
We have long stated here on Zero Hedge that nuclear power is an obvious win/win: it's clean, it's safe, it provides robust power and, most importantly to our liberal friends, it has minimal emissions. So why isn't it more prominent?
In the wake of the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster, uranium mining in the United States, particularly in Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, and Utah, experienced a significant downturn.
This decline wasn't helped by uranium prices plummeting and nations such as Germany and Japan moving away from nuclear energy. However, as global efforts to reduce emissions renew interest in nuclear power, and as leading uranium producers face challenges in meeting demand, prices for the metal have risen sharply, a new Bloomberg report says.
This resurgence in prices is offering previously unprofitable American uranium mines an opportunity to re-enter the market and address the supply shortfall.
With participants including major uranium firms like Denison Mines Corp., Fission Uranium Corp., and IsoEnergy Ltd., the event highlights the growing importance of uranium in the context of climate change and nuclear power.
The International Atomic Energy Agency predicts a significant rise in uranium demand, foreseeing a need for over 100,000 metric tons annually by 2040, necessitating a near doubling of current mining and processing efforts.
https://oilprice.com/Metals/Commodities/US-Mines-Race-to-Restart-As-Uranium-Prices-Skyrocket.html
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How We Make Uranium Mining Safer and More Eco-Friendly
August 27, 2024
https://williamsheriff.com/make-uranium-mining-safer-and-more-eco-friendly/
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Big Tech Needs and Environmental Concerns Make the Case for Uranium Investments
Jan 27, 2025
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India's uranium mines expose villages to radiation
25.06.2014
http://www.dw.com/en/indias-uranium-mines-expose-villages-to-radiation/a-17730703
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Why Supporting Controversial Uranium Mining is Dangerous?
26 May 2023
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Radiation from uranium mines in Jharkhand village is crippling its children
Aug 08, 2016
Residents of Jadugoda say that many are born with deformities, but the government denies that there is a problem.
Uranium Corporation of India Limited, a public sector unit, has been scraping tons of uranium ore annually out of six mines spread across the hills in Jadugoda. Uranium mined from here is used in making fuel pellets that fire the reactors in nuclear power plants.
“Uranium-related health hazards are endemic to the area,” said Ghanshyam Birulee, president of Jharkhandi Organisation Against Radiation, a local activist group working on indigenous rights in this verdant land. The organisation was registered in 1998 and has been raising the issue of impact of radiation in this tribal belt.
Noxious waste
The mines
are guarded by barbed wire and masonry walls but the plant’s tailings
ponds – dug to hold the waste slurry from the plant – are not out of
reach for the villagers. Villages flank the mines that hold mildly
radioactive waste in the form of slurry after the production of yellow
cake, a concentrate obtained during the processing of uranium ore.
Uranium
Corporation of India Limited claims that it treats the slurry with lime
to remove the heavy metals from it, but Birulee doubts if that can
remove traces of radioactivity. In 2008, Jharkhandi Organisation Against
Radiation tested water samples from around Jadugoda and found that 70%
of the samples had excess heavy metals like lead and mercury in them.
https://scroll.in/article/813267/radiations-from-uranium-mines-in-jharkhand-village-are-crippling-its-children
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Uranium Mining & Milling Industry in India
http://www-pub.iaea.org/mtcd/meetings/PDFplus/2009/cn175/URAM2009/Session%201/9_63_Gupta_India.pdf
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Baseline survey of trace metals in ambient PM10 at Tummalapalle uranium mining site
Oct, 2014
Abstract
Trace metals (Ag, Al, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Sr, Tl, U, V and Zn) in PM10 were measured at 10 different sites in the surrounding areas of Tummalapalle Uranium Mining (India). The PM10 samples were collected on glass fiber/EPM 2000 filter using high volume air samplers in 10 different sampling sites during November–2010 to February–2012. Trace metals in PM10 were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (ICP–MS). The observed trace metal concentrations varied from 0.01 to 2 640 ng/m3. It was found that metals associated with crustal sources like Al and Fe were in higher concentrations. The elements Tl, U, Cs and Co were found to be in very low concentrations. Obtained trace metal data in PM10 were subjected to statistical analyses using correlation matrices and factor analysis to examine the interrelationship between the investigated trace elements and possible source identification of the elements. Enrichment factors of trace metals were also determined to determine the anthropogenic contribution to ambient PM10. The daily intake of analyzed trace metals by the adult population in the surrounding of Tummalapalle Uranium mining (30 km radial distance) was estimated and it was found to be in the range of 1 to 13 401 ng/day through the inhalation route.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1309104215302671
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Screening for Strontium accumulator plants in the vicinity of
Tummalapalle uranium mining site Kadapa District, A.P, India
2015
http://www.ipublishing.co.in/ijesarticles/fourteen/articles/volsix/EIJES6005.pdf
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Villages around Tummalapalle uranium mines hit by water, soil pollution
Dec 3, 2016
HYDERABAD: The quality of water in uranium-rich Tummalapalle and
surrounding villages in Kadapa district has deteriorated with high
levels of heavy and trace metals. Researchers suggest that the state
government should immediately initiate remedial measures to prevent
further deterioration of the environment.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Villages-around-Tummalapalle-uranium-mines-hit-by-water-soil-pollution/articleshow/55764521.cms
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India uranium mining fuels health crisis
August 2014
Radioactive waste generated in three government owned mines spurs health fears in eastern Jharkhand state.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/08/india-uranium-mining-sparks-crisis-2014810113718812574.html
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Seasonal Variation of Air Quality and CAQI at
Tummalapalle Uranium Mining Site and
Surrounding Villages
2014
The air quality levels of Tummalapalle Uranium mining site is studied using Combined Air
Quality Index (CAQI) and Z – score. Samples of PM10, TSP, SOx and NOx were collected
by installing high volume samplers at Ten locations of Tummalapalle Uranium Mining site
and its surrounding villages. The locations are selected based on the wind roses and
these are classified as core zone, buffer zone – 1 and buffer zone – 2, based on radial
distance from the mining site. The samples were collected twice a month during
November - 2010 to February – 2012, of all the seasons i.e., winter, summer and
monsoon. The CAQI has been estimated to assess the air pollution in ten selected
sampling
locations using concentrations of four common pollutants (PM10, TSP,
SOx and NOx). The spatial concentration distributions of pollutants were
standardized by means of Z - scores to avoid any effects of unity scale
on the distance measurements. These Z – scores are used to assess the
air quality in three spatial zones (core zone, buffer zone – 1 and
buffer zone – 2). The evaluated CAQI values for all the three seasons
are varying in the range of 20–50 at all the sampling
locations. T
he CAQI values indicate moderate air pollution at the locations of UCIL–Mining site and
Tummalapalle
during winter and summer seasons. This is also supported by the high
Z–scores obtained for the core zone containing these two locations.
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/29630/18/18_publication%203.pdf
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Andhra uranium mining project gives locals short shrift
October 2006
Widespread resistance to a new uranium mine
and processing plant in his long-time Pulivendula assembly constituency
in Kadapa district of Andhra Pradesh has come as a shock to chief
minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. People from his pocket borough have dug
in against his pet project a 26.79-million tonne uranium mining project
in Tummalapalle village. Particularly at issue are the strong-arm
measures employed to ram it down the throats of the people.
A public hearing conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (appcb)
for environmental clearance at the 300-household village, Tummalapalle,
on September 10 turned out to be a farce hundreds of people from the
four affected villages who opposed the project were chased away from the
venue. Rapid Action Force personnel were deployed in force since the
morning along all routes leading to the venue to scare away protestors.
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/andhra-uranium-mining-project-gives-locals-short-shrift-8486
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Nalgonda Uranium Mining, Andhra Pradesh, India
2021-10-14
Description
https://ejatlas.org/conflict/nalgonda-uranium-mining-andhra-pradesh-india
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Uranium deposits found in Rajasthan
August 29, 2012
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/uranium-deposits-found-in-rajasthan/article3836119.ece
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Groundwater contaminated, Punjab battles uranium curse
July 13, 2012
The high incidence of cancer and other diseases in Punjab’s Malwa
belt has been highlighted over the last decade. Now, union Rural
Development Minister Jairam Ramesh has confirmed the presence of uranium
and other heavy metals in groundwater in the state, particularly the
Malwa region, and serious efforts are afoot to control the damage.
The worst affected is southwest Punjab’s fertile Malwa belt -- the
area south of the river Sutlej -- comprising the districts of Mansa,
Bathinda, Moga, Faridkot, Barnala, Sangrur and some parts of Ludhiana.
Ramesh, during a visit here last week, admitted that substantial
quantities of uranium, arsenic, mercury and other heavy metals had been
found in the tested samples of groundwater in Punjab.
“The level of uranium in the ground water is 50 percent over the WHO
norms. The source of this is not yet known. Punjab is the only state to
have uranium in its water,” Mr. Ramesh said.
Of the 2,462 samples of water collected from tube wells across
Punjab, 1,140 samples had tested positive for the presence of uranium
and arsenic...
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/medicine-and-research/groundwater-contaminated-punjab-battles-uranium-curse/article3635131.ece
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Uranium and other heavy toxic elements distribution in the drinking water samples of SW-Punjab, India
January 2017
Abstract
In the present investigations, Laser Fluorimetry technique has been used for the microanalysis of uranium content in drinking water samples collected from different sources like the hand pumps, tube wells of various depths from wide range of locations in the four districts of SW-Punjab, India. The purpose of this study was to investigate the uranium concentration levels of ground water being used for drinking purposes and to determine its health effects, if any, to the local population of this region. Corresponding radiological and chemical risks have also been calculated for the uranium concentrations in ground water samples. Some other heavy elements have also been analysed using the Atomic Absorption Spectrometry. In this region, uranium concentration in 498 drinking water samples has been found to vary between 0.5–579 μgl−1with an average of 73.5 μgl−1. Data analysis revealed that 338 of 498 samples had uranium concentration higher than recommended safe limit of 30 μgl−1 (WHO, 2011) while 216 samples exceeded the threshold of 60 μgl−1 recommended by AERB, DAE, India, 2004.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1687850715000035
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Uranium mine waste imperils villages in Jaduguda
15 March 2008
Radioactive waste from three government-owned uranium mines has put
about 50,000 people in Jharkhand's Jaduguda at risk. The people, mostly
tribal communities, suffer from serious radiation-related health
problems. But the mines in East Singhbhum district continue without
adequate safety measures.
On studying more than 9,000 people (over 2,000 houses) in five villages
near the mines owned by the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (ucil),
researchers found cases of congenital deformities, sterility,
spontaneous abortions and cancer were alarmingly high among the
villagers, mostly from the Ho, Santhal, Munda and Mahali tribes.
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/uranium-mine-waste-imperils-villages-in-jaduguda-4306
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(a)
http://www.dae.nic.in/writereaddata/rssq280.pdf
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The half-life of Kokbahal village
November 29, 2013
Rusted handpumps, ruins of houses and cases of radioactive poisoning are all that remain of attempts to extract uranium deposits in a Chhattisgarh village
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Paradise Lost – Indigenous tribes in Jharkhand fight against uranium mines (Tarun Kanti Bose and P.T. George)
24/01/2014
Sixty-five year old Siyaram Besra was born in the Dhodanga village of
India's East Singhbhum District and has been living here all his life.
But now he feels that his future is very bleak. A uranium mine and mill
are very close to his village and the mining and dumping has reached the
edge of his hamlet. The sound of blasting echoes in the mountains and
disturbs the serenity and peace that he had experienced all his life.
The uranium mine waste rocks are
carelessly dumped on to the paddy fields and grazing grounds, a few
metres from his home where he sits all day. He is frail and sick.
Doctors say he has tuberculosis and have been giving him medicines for
that. He says the medicines have not helped cure his illness. Unable to
do any work, he quietly sits on the verandah of his hut and stares
blankly.
https://www.wiseinternational.org/nuclear-monitor/776/paradise-lost-%E2%80%93-indigenous-tribes-jharkhand-fight-against-uranium-mines-tarun
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Korba: how the power hub of Chhattisgarh became a pollution hub
25 July 2017
The Central Pollution Control Board
has ranked Korba, in Chhattisgarh, fifth in the ‘critically polluted
area’ category. It is time thermal power companies wake up to pollution
control mandates to avoid an environmental disaster in the region...
https://yourstory.com/2017/07/power-hub-chhattisgarh-becomes-pollution-hub/
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Uranium Mining in Meghalaya: Simmering Problem
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Uranium in food, water in Bathinda
July 2009
Granite in Haryana a possible source
Uranium has contaminated milk, wheat, pulses
and water in Bathinda district in Punjab, a study by scientists of
Amritsar's Guru Nanak Dev University has found. Of the 22 villages the
study covered, three villages, Giana, Malkana and Jajjal, had very high
uranium traces (see box). The daily intake of uranium in food, excluding
water, was highest at Giana at 41.09 g and with water it was 138.41 g.
The acceptable limit of uranium in dietary intake is 5 g per day.
"The uranium traces are because of groundwater contamination," said
Surinder Singh Parmar, the supervisor of the study. The groundwater
could have been contaminated by granite found in Tusham hills in
Bhiwani, Haryana. Granite contains radioactive metals like uranium.
"There is
some granite that lies exposed in Bhiwani but most of it is underground
and spreads to Rajasthan and Punjab as well.Since it is underground,
only the groundwater gets contaminated. If it were above the surface,
the soil and air too would be contaminated," he said.
The university will study adjoining Mansa, Mukhtsar and Faridkot
districts in Punjab and Hissar and Fatehabad districts in Haryana.
"Hissar and
Fatehabad lie between Bathinda and Bhiwani and are also likely to have
high groundwater contamination," Parmar said. There is reason for
concern, he added, because chemical toxicity of uranium causes damage to
the internal organs. It causes kidney problems and cancer. "The
villages in Bathinda have a high incidence of cancer," he said.
The study also provides a lead to a probable source of the uranium
traces among autistic and mentally retarded children in the Baba Farid
Centre for Special Children in Faridkot. Uranium was found in the hair
samples of the children (see 'Uranium traces in Punjab children', Down
To Earth, April 30, 2009).
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/uranium-in-food-water-in-bathinda-3580
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Will Kolar become India's nuclear waste dumpyard?
November 2012
Centre plans to dump hazardous waste from Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant
in Tamil Nadu in the disused mines at Kolar Gold Fields (Credit:
indiacurrentaffairs.org)
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/will-kolar-become-indias-nuclear-waste-dumpyard-39658
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India: Toxic Hotspot of Uranium & Nuclear Wastes
February 13, 2013
Last year Asian giant has made significant increase of 17.6 percent
over the previous amount of defence budget for 2011-12. Her defence
budget for 2012-13, was US $40.3 billion for the Defence Services that
include the three armed forces (Army, Navy and Air Force), the Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Ordnance Factories.
The major portion of the Civil Estimate is however accounted for by
defence pensions, which amounts to $8.1 billion in 2012-13. If we
include it in the allocated budget then total defence budget would be
$49.6 billion.
Increase in defence spending has posed direct threat to China and
Pakistan. India is maintaining one of the of the top militaries of the
world, She has 3.8 million troops being the 2nd largest army on earth,
4th largest air force in the world, and 5th Largest Navy in the world,
The Indian Armed Forces also have a large Coast Guard but the rank is
not known. Ultimately, India’s Militaries strength is 3rd ranking in the
world.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute,
India has developed nuclear warheads which can be launched on
strategically and tactically vital targets from land, sea and air. She
is also holding over 100 nuclear bombs and conducted 17 missile tests
this year to prove her supremacy in Asia.
Notably, India is running 22 nuclear, chemical and Biological plants for
hegemonic design in addition of spending huge amount on arms and
aircraft purchases’ deals with U.S. and Russia.
But unfortunately, Indian top brass failed to take measures of
stopping gas leakage, uranium theft cases and disposal of nuclear
wastes. In fact, self-styled ‘Shining India’ is portraying a false image
of exemplary patriotism, largest democracy and prosperity, whereas the
UN reports reveal that nearly 69% of the Indians are living under $2 PPP a day.
Moreover, most of the people living surrounding areas nuclear plants are
facing horrible nuclear pollution and demanding shifting and closing of
these plants. In this regard, Indian doctors and scientists from
various parts of the country have attended three-day Punjab Science
Congress Bathinda, in the second week of February of this year.
According to the Indian media, some scientists were of the opinion that
all the three major types of toxicity —chemical, radiation and
biological — were rampant in Punjab. They said that the adverse effects
of toxicity on animals and humans are visible and some studies have
proved this. Dr SS Gill, Vice Chancellor, Baba Farid University of
Health Sciences (BFUHS) has also confirmed the spresence of uncontrolled
chemical, radiation & biological toxicity in thickly populated
“Punjab”.
In this connection a top German laboratory revealed that hair samples
of 80% of 149 neurologically-disabled children, mainly from Malwa
region, had high levels of uranium, a study by Greenpeace suggested that
all the three major types of toxicity — chemical, radiation and
biological.? Among villages with high levels of nitrate pollution in
drinking water is Doda, a village of Gidderbaha, the constituency of
Punjab’s finance minister Manpreet Badal. ‘Anti-pollution laws only on
paper in Punjab’
Bathinda: The fertile state of Punjab now battles grave chemical
toxicity. Gidderbaha, the constituency of finance minister Manpreet
Badal, is known for high prevalence of cancer cases. Two water samples
in Doda found the nitrate levels at 94.3 mg/l and 72.8 mg/l, much above
the WHO safety limit of 50 mg/l.
In Muktsar, the home district of Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal, a
state health department survey revealed that 1,074 people died of cancer
between 2001 and November 2009 and 668 others are on their deathbed. In
Lambi, the home constituency of Badal, 211 residents lost their lives
and 164 got afflicted with cancer in the last eight years, revealed
health department survey report.
Earlier too, on August 23, 2012 global nuclear experts went into
shock after reading the Indian national auditors’ report on India’s
nuclear safety and declared that Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), a
weak regularity body. Indian Comptroller and Auditor General have also
confirmed the auditor’s report and warned a Fukushima or Chernobyl-like
disaster, if the nuclear safety issue is not addressed by the
government. IAEA, an independent regularity authority is one of the
report also mentioned “out of the 168 standards, codes and guides
identified by AERB for development under various thematic areas, 27
safety documents still remained to be developed. The report said
off-site emergency exercises highlighted the inadequate emergency
preparedness to deal with situations involving radiological effects from
a nuclear power plant which may extend to public areas. It is also a
matter of concern that approach road to the plant site of Tarapur Atomic
Power Station was highly congested, which would pose serious problems
in dealing with any future emergency.
Nevertheless, on 28 February, 2012 an expert committee appointed by
the Tamil Nadu government on submitted its report on the safety aspects
of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project (KKNNP) to Chief Minister
Jayalalithaa, marking a crucial stage in the debate over the project.
Precisely, commenting the major incident in nukes pants, theft cases
of enriched Uranium, murdering and harassing of nuclear staff by
intelligence agency and leakage of gases are in increase. Reportedly,
because of poor safety and security arrangement on May 14 2010, another
incident of poor radiation security green place radiation experts have
identified eight hotspots in New Delhi Mayapuri area which have 5000
times the natural background radiation defined as safe by the department
of atomic energy. In this incident one individual died and eleven
others were injured. The nukes experts always have shown strong concern
over Indian poor safety and nuke arrangements on the nuclear plants and
handlers. In this reared New Delhi never paid heed to IAEA concerns over
nukes safety and security. Almost 160 cases of theft, loss and
misplacement of radioactive source have been registered in the local
police. In April 2007 a radiography Camera stolen from Jadadishphir near
Lucknow could not be found till to date. In November 2009, fifty five
employees consumed radioactive material after titrated founded its way
into the drinking water cooler in Kaiga Nuclear plant in Karnataka. The
leakage of 4-14 tones of heavy water from the pipes at madras atomic
processing plant in Tamil Nadu. Six workers have been exposed to high
doses of radioactive radiation.
Indian police found dead body of the nuclear scientist, Lokanathan
Mahalingam from Kali River in Jun 2009. The scientist was in possession
of highly sensitive / classified information. Anantha Narayanan, a
scientific working in the computer department of Indira Gandhi Centre
for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam is missing since Feb 2010. A 48 year old
Madhadevan lyer, scientist of the BARC was found dead in his official
residence in Feb 2010. Reportedly, all these scientists and employees
have been killed as result of RAW’s torture.
Mr. Thirumala Prasad Thenka, a scientist of Raja Ramanna Centre for
Advance Technology (RRCAT) committed suicide by hanging himself on 12
Apr 2010. On 28 April 2010, Delhi Police traces Cobalt – 60 to DU
Chemistry Department. Coming back to the current report, the most
serious problems relate to ensure the safe use of radiation in medical
and industrial facilities across India. In this context, the AERB was
ordered by the Supreme Court in 2001 to set up radiation safety
directorates in 35 administrative areas, but by July 2012 it had
achieved this in only two. The AERB has never set out standard
inspection periods for radiation facilities and the comptroller’s report
noted an 85% shortfall in inspections at industrial radiography and
radiotherapy units, compared to IAEA norms. For diagnostic radiobiology
facilities the shortfall was “over 97%”. There is no detailed inventory
of radioactive sources to help ensure safe disposal and no “proper
mechanism” to check the safe disposal of radioactive waste. It is also
worth mentioning here that the Indian state nuclear establishment has
not drawn on the services of the IAEA to peer-review its regulatory
system and comment on its effectiveness.
Indian scientists and authorities are lacking expertise in handling
sensitive and dangerous material related to nukes and gases. IAEA should
send some team to inspect the plants for saving Asian masses form
nuclear pollution since India has become a Toxic Hotspot of Uranium
& Nuclear Wastes.
http://www.dianuke.org/india-toxic-hotspot-of-uranium-nuclear-wastes/
---------------------------------------------------
More uranium reserves found in Kadapa mine, to last till 2050
Jan 20, 2017
KADAPA: Tummalapalle village in Kadapa district hosts more uranium
reserves than believed. Researchers have now found uranium reserves
buried at 1,000 metres in the earth at Tummalapalle and surrounding
areas. Earlier, uranium reserves were found only up to a depth of about
250 metres. The finding could mean that the Tummalapalle uranium mine
may last beyond 2050. The present reserves are expected to last between
20 and 30 years depending on the quantum of uranium oxide ore excavated
per year.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/vijayawada/more-uranium-reserves-found-in-kadapa-mine-to-last-till-2050/articleshow/56681218.cms
---------------------------------------------------
A silent horror in our midst
Apr 2011
Radioactive hazards are not confined to our nuclear plants. They are
everywhere, including Sterlite’s copper smelter, due to lax regulators,
says Nityanand Jayaraman
LAST JANUARY, Australia declined India’s request for
uranium supply citing non-proliferation concerns. But in the 20 months
ending September 2010, Australia had supplied at least 2.2 tonnes of
uranium to India as part of copper concentrates it exported to Sterlite
Industries’ controversial copper smelter in Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu.
Tainted with up to 60 parts per million of uranium, these concentrates
came with a contamination discount for the buyer. Sterlite saved more
than $1.15 million by opting to import radioactive ore. The company has
been importing concentrate since 1995.
These imports and handling of uranium- tainted concentrates, and the
subsequent emissions from the copper smelter to air, water and land are
not on the radar of Indian regulatory agencies. The exports don’t seem
to have Australia’s authorisation either. In 2007, Australian miner BHP
Billiton sought the government’s permission to export uranium-tainted
copper concentrates to China. No such permission seems to have been
sought for exports to India.
At a time when the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan is focussing our
fly-like attention spans to the dangers of the nuclear cycle, the above
anecdote suggests that more than just the dangers of radiation, we
should be fearful of the lax enforcement of regulation in this country.
http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main49.asp?filename=Ne230411SILENT.asp
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Uranium in groundwater in India: A review
24 April, 2017
Abstract
Uranium is a naturally occurring radioactive element that is both radiologically and chemically toxic. However, the chemical toxicity of natural uranium is much more pronounced than its radiological toxicity. The average concentration of uranium in the Earth's crust is 2.7%. The main source of uranium is granitic rocks though type other rocksuch as volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic also contain uranium in trace amounts. Apart from the natural sources various anthropogenic activities viz. use of phosphate fertiliser, nuclear industry, mill tailings and combustion of coal are also responsible for uranium contamination in the environment. Excess intake of uranium in drinking water leads to several diseases like kidney damage, multi-organ targeted cancers, brain and neurological disorders etc. In India ground water is mostly used for agricultural and drinking purposes. Uranium levels vary from region to region depending on the geological, geochemical and hydrological conditions. There is an unevenness in the concentration of uranium in groundwaters of India due to the various type of geological formations. To get an overview of the concentration variation a review has been carried out in some selected states of India. According to Yadav et al., (2008) an uraniferous horizon has a higher uranium concentration than the WHO and USEPA limits of 15 and 60 μgL−1 respectively in drinking water. Some studies also have been focused on the assessment of consumption of uranium at higher than the permissible limits. Main objective of this overview is to figure out theuranium contamination scenario inground waters in selected parts of Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh where ground water contains a higher concentration of uranium than the permissible limit and hence not fit for drinking purposes and the various possible sources for contamination of uranium in ground water.
http://www.indianjournals.com/ijor.aspx?target=ijor:jag&volume=19&issue=2&article=003
---------------------------------------------------
What happened to the Rs 60 lakh crore thorium scam?
Apr 28, 2014
A few years ago, a story appeared in the Indian press that a massive scam involving the illegal mining and covert export of thorium
was taking place in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Then, two
things happened: one, the story died out quickly without anyone
investigating it further (but repeating the allegations over and over
again), and two, many just assumed it was true. Given the opacity of the
Indian state, particularly in matters involving nuclear materials,
there is a tendency for suspicions to become allegations and allegations
to become guilty verdicts. In an era of scams, government denials made
little difference to the public discourse.
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/standpoint-what-happened-to-the-rs-60-lakh-crore-thorium-scam-1982959
---------------------------------------------------
Assessment of sources for higher Uranium concentration in ground waters of the Central Tamilnadu, India
2015
Abstract
http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1757-899X/121/1/012009
---------------------------------------------------
Villagers oppose uranium mining, proposed nuclear plant at Gogi
February 17, 2017
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/Villagers-oppose-uranium-miningproposed-nuclear-plant-at-Gogi/article17314926.ece
---------------------------------------------------
An Underground Radioactive Waste Laboratory Coming Up In Gogi Village In Yadgir District Of Karnataka
05 March, 2015
http://www.countercurrents.org/makkolil050314.htm
---------------------------------------------------
India's Underground Radioactive Waste Disposal site at Gogi in Karnataka?
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13530-017-0305-5
---------------------------------------------------
Assessment of bacterial community composition in response to uranium levels in sediment samples of sacred Cauvery River.
Abstract
http://europepmc.org/abstract/med/27812801
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Pakistan has 1,000 uranium reserves: report
April 14, 2007
Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission has claimed to have
discovered around 1,000 uranium favourable sites, which could provide
the required fuel for its proposed nuclear power plants...
http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/apr/14pak.htm
-----------------------------
India–Kazakhstan relations
India is working towards the development of its civilian nuclear energy industry as a clean alternative to satisfy its huge energy needs. Since Kazakhstan has plenty of the uranium required for nuclear energy, India is developing a strong relationship with Kazakhstan. India invited the Kazakh President for the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi, in January 2009.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India%E2%80%93Kazakhstan_relations
-----------------------------------------------
Major uranium reserves found in Srisailam forests
Jul 23, 2015
HYDERABAD: India's plan for a 'strategic uranium reserve' received a
shot in the arm with a joint research team of the city-headquartered
Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) and Osmania University discovering
significant quantity of uranium reserves in the Srisailam forests...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Major-uranium-reserves-found-in-Srisailam-forests/articleshow/48181983.cms
----------------------------------
Uranium mining gets nod in Amrabad tiger reserve
Dec 7, 2016,
HYDERABAD: The Department of Atomic Energy
is likely to begin exploration for uranium deposits in Amrabad tiger
reserve following an approval of a exploration proposal by the State Board for Wildlife here on Tuesday...
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/Uranium-mining-gets-nod-in-Amrabad-tiger-reserve/articleshow/55846278.cms
---------------------------------------
Uranium contamination threatens Nalgonda water
May 7, 2014
Hyderabad: Researchers assessing the pre-mining
contamination of the environment at Nalgonda have found high levels of
Uranium contamination in the groundwater and fair levels of gamma
radiation, which will increase drastically once mining commences.
About
41 per cent of the groundwater samples collected from sample sites in
Nalgonda were found to have contamination levels higher than permitted.
Scientists say the Krishna river water and Nagarjunasagar will not be
affected by the mining activity, although activists vehemently dispute
it...
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/140507/nation-current-affairs/article/uranium-contamination-threatens-nalgonda-water
---------------------------------------
Issues at Jaduguda Uranium Mine, Jharkhand, India
3 Apr 2017
Current Issues
Suspended Jaduguda uranium mine obtains forest department clearance
BJP MP Bidyut Baran Mahato today said Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), which recently got approval from the Central forest department, will soon commence mining activities in Jadugora near here.
Mahato, who had earlier held several rounds of meeting with top forest
department officials and Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave had
recently met the forest officials.
"The forest department after a meeting with forest advisory committee
gave the nod last week," Mahato said at a press conference.
A lease for 50 years has also been granted to the oldest uranium mine,
he said.
Asked when the mining will start, Mahato said, the file related to lease
renewal of Jadugora mine is with the Union Environment Minister who is
likely to give his approval in the next few days.
Mining activities had come to a standstill after the lease licence
expired in September, 2014.
(Business Standard Apr. 3, 2017)
http://www.wise-uranium.org/umopjdg.html
----------------------------------------
Dying kids in Jharkhand’s Jadugora, uranium mines and a mystery
----------------------------------------
Uranium waste contaminates water in Jharkhand
Jun 8, 2013
Reckless dumping of radioactive waste in Jharkhand is contaminating
surface and ground water, putting thousands of locals at risk of
developing cancer, according to a report by independent researchers.
The Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL), a subsidiary of the
Department of Atomic Energy, supplies uranium (yellow cake) to nuclear
power plants in the country. It mines and processes uranium at seven
mines in Jharkhand’s Jaduguda area. According to atomic experts, sludge
and waste from uranium mines has to be scientifically disposed of as it
contains around 85% radioactive substances.
http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-uranium-waste-contaminates-water-in-jharkhand-1845207
----------------------------------------
Leaking Jaduguda mine poses radioactive risk: US report
Dec 2015
NEW DELHI: A Washington-based news organisation on Monday released a report that claims radioactive and toxic waste have been leaking out of India's oldest and most important uranium mine, affecting people, livestock, rivers, forests and agricultural produce in the area.
The report, which also appeared in a US news website, accuses India's nuclear establishment of systematically overlooking evidence that points to a radiation hazard at the Jaduguda uranium mine in Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district.
The state-owned Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) has been operating the mine since 1967, extracting around 1,000 tonnes of uranium ore per day, which accounts for 20% of the raw material for India's nuclear power generation. It has, however, remained closed since September 2014, following a Centre's directive to suspend activity till UCIL's lease is renewed.
The damning report was written by journalist Adrian Levy for The Center for Public Integrity and is the first of a four-part series critical of India's nuclear programme...
One of the "hard evidence of the toxic footprint" the report cites is a 2009 paper authored by a team lead by physicist Dipak Ghosh from Kolkata's Jadavpur University. The study had collected water from Subarnarekha and adjacent wells, and found some of the samples had levels of radioactive alpha particles that were 160% higher than safe WHO's safe limits.
Quoting the study, the report says adequate measures had not been taken to prevent toxic leaks from the site. Ghosh's team had found the tailing ponds in the mine were neither lined with special material nor had a cap, which increased the chances of toxins leaching into the ground and into the air in the form of dust.
The report also details tests done by a Hiroaki Koide, a Japanese nuclear engineer who carried back samples from the area to Japan. Koide said radiation levels in villages close to the mines and in residential areas near the tailing ponds exceeded international safe limits by a factor of 10. The report says Koide also confirmed that uranium rock and finely ground mine tailings had been used as ballast for road leveling and house building.
The report also documents incidents of "radioactive leaks", such as the bursting of a pipe carrying toxic slurry on December 24, 2006. It says the slurry poured into a tributary of the Subarnarekha for nine hours, "causing shoals of dead fish to float on the surface. No government investigation was undertaken".
The author claims to have seen a corporation report that said "1.5 tonnes of solid radioactive waste and 20,000 litres of liquid radioactive waste" had spilled from a new pipe, close to Jaduguda town, on April 10, 2007.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Leaking-Jaduguda-mine-poses-radioactive-risk-US-report/articleshow/50178791.cms
----------------------------------------
Radon emanation from low-grade uranium ore.
Dec 2013
Abstract
Estimation of radon
emanation in uranium mines is given top priority to minimize the risk of
inhalation exposure due to short-lived radon progeny. This paper
describes the radon emanation studies conducted in the laboratory as
well as inside an operating underground uranium mine at Jaduguda, India.
Some of the important parameters, such as grade/(226)Ra activity,
moisture content, bulk density, porosity and emanation fraction of ore,
governing the migration of radon through the ore were determined.
Emanation from the ore samples in terms of emanation rate and emanation
fraction was measured in the laboratory under airtight condition in
glass jar. The in situ radon emanation rate inside the mine was measured
from drill holes made in the ore body. The in situ(222)Rn emanation
rate from the mine walls varied in the range of 0.22-51.84 × 10(-3) Bq
m(-2) s(-1) with the geometric mean of 8.68 × 10(-3) Bq m(-2) s(-1). A
significant positive linear correlation (r = 0.99, p < 0.001) between
in situ(222)Rn emanation rate and the ore grade was observed. The
emanation fraction of the ore samples, which varied in the range of
0.004-0.089 with mean value of 0.025 ± 0.02, showed poor correlation
with ore grade and porosity. Empirical relationships between radon
emanation rate and the ore grade/(226)Ra were also established for quick
prediction of radon emanation rate from the ore body.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23974076
----------------------------------------
Roro Hills: Legacy Asbestos Mines
The problem
About 20 kilometers west of Chaibasa, the headquarters of West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, lies the Roro hills-- home to an abandoned chrysotile asbestos mine. The Roro mines were closed down in 1983 after Hyderabad Asbestos Cement Products Ltd. (now known as Hyderabad Industries Limited) decided that they were no longer profitable.
Nearly 0.7 million tons of asbestos waste mixed with chromite-bearing
host rock lies scattered here and in 20 years no study has been
conducted to assess the fate of this hazardous waste dumped improperly
on top of Roro hills. The waste material extends several meters down
slope spreading into the paddy fields on the foothills of Roro. About 40
centimeters of thick silty waste of crushed rocks is spread over the
paddy fields and poisoning the local residents.
Health Impact
The preliminary health survey of 14 villages around the Roro hills, with 45% of the respondents being former workers of the Roro asbestos mines, indicates a highly probable link between the asbestos exposures and several adverse health effects, such as low back pain, dyspnea (shortness of breath and difficulty breathing), hemoptysis (blood in the sputum), and blindness.
Old local newspaper clippings from Singbhumi Ekta, a weekly from
Chaibasa, published between January and August 1981, include a press
release from the late P. Mazumdar, the leader of the United Mine Workers
Union (AITUC), which says that 30 workers from Roro mines had died of
asbestosis.
The fact-finding team's interview with ex-workers from the Roro mines
from Roro and Tilaisud villages revealed that most of them had suffered
or are suffering from low back pains, blindness or severely reduced
vision, and respiratory illnesses. Several of those interviewed
complained of coughing blood in sputum. The team examined three chest
radiographs (taken between 1998 and 2000) of workers who complained of
chest pain and respiratory distress. The chest radiographs revealed
several radio-opaque opacities in the middle and lower lobes of both
lungs. These suggest some form of interstitial lung disease
(pneumoconiosis, pulmonary tuberculosis as co- morbid conditions).
Physical examinations were not carried out. Most patients described
their conditions as tuberculosis but given their occupational histories,
pneumoconiosis as either the principal diagnosis or a co-morbid
condition cannot be ruled out and merits further investigation. Several
workers with history of working in the asbestos mines complained of low
back pain. One worker, who had worked at the pumping station for over 10
years, was suffering from epigastria hernia (A hernia is a protrusion
of an organ or tissue through an abnormal opening in the body). These
findings suggest presence of ergonomic musculo-skeletal disorders.
http://www.blacksmithinstitute.org/projects/display/94
----------------------------------------
IMPACT OF MINING IN JHARKHAND STATE, INDIA
2008
http://nitishpriyadarshi.blogspot.com/2008/05/impact-of-mining-in-jharkhand-state.html
----------------------------------------
Assessment of Natural Uranium in the Ground Water around Jaduguda Uranium Mining Complex, India
2011
https://file.scirp.org/pdf/JEP20110700018_97266353.pdf
----------------------------------------
Distribution
of naturally occurring radionuclides uranium and 226Ra in groundwater
adjoining uranium complex of Turamdih, Jharkhand, India
2014
http://www.currentscience.ac.in/Volumes/108/12/2266.pdf
----------------------------------------
Distribution of pollutants in ground water samples collected from uranium mining area
2013
Abstract
Environmental pollution by chemical pollutants such as heavy metals,
radionuclides, and anionic constituents such as sulfate and nitrate
originated from mines and mining operations can become a very important
source of contamination in water. Pollutants mainly present in the
chemical industrial wastes as well as in the low level liquid releases
from the nuclear fuel cycle. The solid hazardous radioactive wastes
arising are usually disposed of in near surface/shallow land burial
facilities. The heavy metals components of these solid wastes
(radioactive and stable) could find their way either into the ground
water through infiltrating water or to the soil by runoff. In this
study, an approach is made for distribution of pollutants in ground
water collected from seven locations around the premises of a uranium
mining site, Turamdih located at Jharkhand state of India. Major and
trace elements such as Na, K, Zn, Ni, Mn, Fe, Pb, Cu, Al, Ba, Mo, and U,
etc., were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission
spectrometry and differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry.
Sulfate, nitrate, chloride, and fluoride were analyzed using ion
chromatogram. Bicarbonate was analyzed by titration method.
http://www.rpe.org.in/article.asp?issn=0972-0464;year=2013;volume=36;issue=3;spage=106;epage=108;aulast=Maity
----------------------------------------
Meghalaya: To mine or not to mine- Uranium
The attitude of the current Meghalaya state government in ‘daring’
the UCIL to mine at their own risk is flabbergasting in response
to the tender notice related to the expression of interest (EOI)
issued by Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) on the 2nd July,
this year. Isn’t the state government elected by the people to look
after their interests and well-being of its people? How can the state
government just sit around and wait until the law and order goes out
of control? How can the state not make any explicit intervention
and assert its stand or at least have a stand in this regard.
An article published in the Financial Times by Arinda Sinha
on 27th October, 2007 indicated that UCIL had announced that it
would invest in mining units in the state even though the project had
not yet received the necessary environmental clearances. This
highlights the callous and insensitive attitude of UCIL not only
towards the environment but also to the livelihood of the people who
would be displaced due to the project. UCIL may be facing hurdles
in procuring fuel material supply for its nuclear reactors but the
nuclear behemoth needs to first assess and
understand the concerns and apprehensions of the people regarding
the mining of this radioactive metal before coercing its diktat on the
state.
The state of Meghalaya is said to possess the third largest
reserves of uranium in the country after Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand.
According to the announcement by the minister for mining and geology at
the Meghalaya state legislative assembly held on 21st June, 2004,
the state of Meghalaya had 9.22 million tonnes of ore which would yield
about 9500 tonnes of uranium, given the quality of ore expected.
The uranium deposits in the state occur along the southern frontier
of the plateau in Domiasiat, Tyrnai and Wahkyn regions. These
deposits have an average grade of about 0.10 per cent (U3O8) which
indicates that 1000 kilograms of ore will have to be processed at a
uranium milling plant in order to obtain a kilogram of uranium for
which a large volume will be discarded as waste material. Such wastes
material which are also known as mill tailings are contaminated with
toxic heavy metals, such as molybdenum,
vanadium, arsenic and with radioactive materials, principally
thorium-230 and radium-226.According to the Committee on Biological
Effects of Ionizing Radiation under the aegis of the National Research
Council of the National Academy Press at Washington, the radium-226
decays into radioactive radon gas and epidemiological studies of
underground miners from around the world have conclusively shown
that inhalation of radon increases the risk of lung-cancer with
supporting evidence from experimental studies of animals and from
molecular and cellular studies.
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency,
tailings have contaminated the groundwater across all uranium sites
in USA while leftover tailings are stored in tailing dams which are
subject to the risk of dam failures due to earthquakes or strong
rains. For instance, in the case of Jaduguda uranium mines in
Jharkhand, one of the pipes carrying radioactive wastes from the
uranium mill to a tailing pond burst on 24th December, 2006 where
thousands of liters of radioactive waste spilled into a nearby creek
for nine hours before the flow of the radioactive waste was shut off.
The attitude of the officials of the Department of Atomic Energy
(DAE) was so indifferent and insouciant and stated that it was
merely a “small leak” which was of no risk to anyone.The
pipeline burst with radioactive slurry has taken place a number
of times in April 2007, February 2010 and as recently as March
2015. In response to right to information (RTI) queries filed by
the members of an NGO, Jharkhand Organization against Radiation
(JOAR), UCIL refuted indicating that they have adopted the best
technologies to save the local population. The latest
pipeline burst resulted in forced evacuation of half the village
of Chattikocha of which all the rice fields and livelihoods of the
residents were destroyed.
The Center for Public Integrity which is a Washington
based news organization indicated in a 2015 report that radioactive
and toxic waste have been leaking out of Jaduguda, Jharkhand affecting
people, livestock, rivers, forests and agricultural produce in
the area. A 2009 paper published by Kolkata’s Jadavpur University
collected hard evidence of the toxic footprint and found that some
of the samples had levels of radioactive alpha particles that
were 160% higher than World Health Organization (WHO) safe limits.
According to an article published by Down
to Earth in 1999 titled ‘ A deformed existence’, Jaduguda has witnessed
an increase of incidents of births with congenital deformities
and other undesirable outcomes of pregnancy among women living near
the industry’s facilities. A review of clinical reports and testimonies
by the Center for Public Integrity in Washington point out to
levels of radiation that in some places reach almost 60 times the safe
levels.
The Jharkhand Organization against Radiation (JOAR) spearheaded a
health study in nearby villages had some staggering and astounding
statistics to report which stated that one in every five women reported
a miscarriage or stillbirth. Almost 4.5% reported deformities at
birth as compared to similar villages a little further away that
reported 2.49% and there was also an increase in incidences of cancer
which was a common occurrence in all the affected villages.
The UCIL and India’s Atomic Energy Commission have consistently
refuted and defended these claims and maintained that operations
at Jaduguda in Jharkhand are safe. The corporation faces a real
credibility and integrity issue. UCIL’s claim that uranium mining will
be safe has not been accepted by the public at large with the
majority of the populations who do not perceive the project as being
beneficial and are against mining. This is also evident in Meghalaya
with vast opposition and protest from tribal
leaders, local institutions of governance, opposition political parties
and the citizens of the state etc. The major grounds for these
protests arise out of concern for ecological balance, negative
externalities on the environment and the threat of health hazard
anticipated from the proposed uranium mining. UCIL needs a rethink
on how it proposes to mine uranium deposits in Meghalaya as strong arm
tactics in a democracy is anti- people. While the country’s energy
concerns are indeed pressing and immediate
enough to require quick action by the state, on this particular issue
the state of Meghalaya needs to reconsider its options and strategy.
By Jonathan Donald Syiemlieh
https://thenortheasttoday.com/meghalaya-to-mine-or-not-to-mine-uranium/
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Meghalaya Uranium Effect: This picture of Ranikor river will worry you!
https://thenortheasttoday.com/meghalaya-uranium-effect-this-picture-of-ranikor-river-will-worry-you/
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India's generation of children crippled by uranium waste
August 2009
Observer investigation uncovers link between dramatic rise in birth
defects in Punjab and pollution from coal-fired power stations
Health workers in the Punjabi cities of Bathinda and Faridkot knew
something was terribly wrong when they saw a sharp increase in the
number of birth defects, physical and mental abnormalities, and cancers.
They suspected that children were being slowly poisoned.
But it was only when a visiting scientist arranged for tests to be
carried out at a German laboratory that the true nature of their plight
became clear. The results were unequivocal. The children had massive
levels of uranium in their bodies, in one case more than 60 times the
maximum safe limit.
The results were both momentous and mysterious. Uranium occurs
naturally throughout the world, but is normally only present in low
background levels which pose no threat to human health. There was no
obvious source in the Punjab that could account for such high levels of
contamination.
And if a few hundred children – spread over a large area – were
contaminated, how many thousands more might also be affected? Those are
questions the Indian authorities appear determined not to answer. Staff
at the clinics say they were visited and threatened with closure if they
spoke out. The South African scientist whose curiosity exposed the
scandal says she has been warned by the authorities that she may not be
allowed back into the country.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/30/india-punjab-children-uranium-pollution
----------------------------------------
How India’s Nuclear Industry Created A River Of Death, According to Court Case Claims
Dec 2015
Scientists say nuclear workers, village residents and children living near mines and factories are falling ill after radiation exposure.
On Aug. 21, 2014, however, a justice in this state’s court ordered an official inquiry into allegations that the nuclear industry exposed tens of thousands of workers and villagers to dangerous levels of radiation, heavy metals or other carcinogens, including arsenic, from polluted rivers and underground water supplies that have percolated through the food chain — from fish swimming in the Subarnarekha River to vegetables washed in its tainted water....
The company crushes the ore below ground and treats it with sulfuric acid, transforming it into magnesium diuranate, or yellowcake, which is then loaded into drums and taken to the Rakha Mines railway station. From there, it is transported to the Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad, 861 miles to the southwest. Workers ultimately process it into uranium dioxide pellets that are stacked in rods and inserted into reactors all over India.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/india-uranium-mine-jadugoda_us_566b2d2ce4b0fccee16e8dcd
----------------------------------------
Uranium Corporation of India
Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL) is a centrally owned Public Sector Undertaking (PSU), under the Department of Atomic Energy for uranium mining and uranium processing. The corporation was founded in 1967 and is responsible for the mining and milling of uranium ore in India. The firm operates mines at Jadugora, Bhatin, Narwapahar, Turamdih and Banduhurang
Controversies
There
was criticism from certain sections of the local community that the
mining operations of UCIL were resulting in harmful radiation to the
public.
UCIL was also among the 63 Indian establishments put under sanction by USA in 1998.
The mining activities of UCIL in the Khasi Hills were also fiercely opposed by the local tribals protesting against potential health effects.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranium_Corporation_of_India
----------------------------------------
Jaduguda uranium mine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaduguda_uranium_mine
The Jaduguda Mine (also spelt as Jadugoda or Jadugora) is a uranium mine in Jaduguda village in the Purbi Singhbhum district of the Indian state of Jharkhand. It commenced operation in 1967 and was the first uranium mine in India.
The deposits at this mine were discovered in 1951. As of March 2012
India only possesses two functional uranium mines, including this
Jaduguda Mine. A new mine, Tummalapalle uranium mine is discovered and mining is going to start from it.
Mining activities were suspended in 2014
following an inquiry into the lease renewal of the mine. Uranium
Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) expects mining activity to resume at
Jaduguda in 2017.
The Jaduguda mine produces up to 25% of the raw materials needed to fuel India’s nuclear reactors.
Smuggling of uranium
On 18 February 2008 police of Supaul district in the eastern Indian state of Bihar seized 4 kg of low-quality uranium and arrested one Indian and five Nepali smugglers. According to media reports the uranium was smuggled out of the Jaduguda mines and the smugglers were trying to sell it to Nepal. The market value of the seized uranium was estimated at ₹50,000,000 (US$780,000) on the international market.
Pollution
When uranium ore is extracted from the ground, 99,28% of the mined ore is treated as waste as the uranium isotopes used in nuclear power plants mainly is uranium-235 leaving behind the major portion of the ore which constitutes of uranium-236 and uranium-238 as well as some other components. This waste (also referred to as tailings) is then neutralised with lime and carried through pipelines to a tailing pond. This transport is made possible through the provision of clean water (in the pipelines) out of decantation wells which is then taken through a closed channel to an effluent treatment plant for the removal of radium and manganese. The solid tailings are then retained in the ponds (tailing ponds).
There were reports coming from the locals around the tailing ponds :
In a report in CSE-Down to Earth Feature Service, entitled "A
deformed existence" and dated June 4, 1999, Manish Tiwari quoted Biruli
as saying, "Many women in the area complain of disrupted menstrual
cycles. This area also has a high rate of either miscarriages or
still-born babies... Biruli claims that nearly 30,000 people living in
15 villages in the five-km radius of the tailings ponds are exposed to
radiation. 'Earlier, children were still-born. Now they die within few
days of their birth,' he says . He also claims that nearly one-third of
the women living in these areas are suffering from loss of fertility.
Even animals such as cows and buffaloes are suffering from rare
diseases.[13]
The BARC committee came to Jaduguda in November 1998 at the request of the State Government, due to these reports.
The committee concluded: "The consensus of all the doctors was that
the cases examined had congenital anomalies, diseases due to genetic abnormalities like thalassaemia major and retinitis pigmentosa, moderate to gross splenomegaly due to chronic malaria l infection (as this is hyperendemic area), malnutrition, post encephalitis, post head injury sequelae
and certain habits (alcohol) and have no relation to radiation." Its
report adds: "The team was convinced and unanimously agreed that the
diseases' pattern cannot be ascribed to radiation exposure in any of
these cases."
Controversies
The
mine itself is still prone to some controversies as the introduction of
the mine resulted in the loss of land for many villagers surrounding
its location, as well as some issues regarding protective gear :
"A population of around 35,000 people living within a 5-kilometer
radius of the mines are adversely affected by radiation from the tailing
ponds. Many villagers lost land and jobs when they were displaced by
the mining operations, and many now work in the uranium mines as daily
wage labourers. They often do not get proper protective gear to handle
radioactive materials and work with bare hands, exposing themselves to
heavy doses of radiation. UCIL,
the company responsible for the health of its workers, on the other
hand, always refutes any allegations of violations of labour laws and
human rights. The company is outright defensive about its protective
measures and refuses to acknowledge the problems faced by the
labourers."
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Gujarat farmers protest proposed nuclear park
News this week - Gujarat farmers oppose nuclear plant, drought hits Bihar and an eco-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi in Surat.
Gujarat farmers oppose Mithivirdi nuclear plant
Farmers of Bhavnagar district, where the Mithivrdi nuclear park is supposed to come up, refuse to part with their agricultural land.
877 hectares of land needs to be acquired for the 6,000 mega watt
project that will have six nuclear power plants. The project will be set
up by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) while the
reactors will be supplied by Westinghouse, an American atomic power
major. Farmers say they will not give away their highly fertile land for
a hazardous venture.
Drought in Bihar
Even as 200 people died and seven million were displaced by floods in
the state this year, 33 out of 38 districts in Bihar have now been declared drought-hit.
The state had a 25% rainfall deficit this year. Land rent and cess,
irrigation charge and electricity bills from farmers in drought-hit
districts will be deferred for 2013-14. Measures to create rural
livelihood and grow alternate crops will also be taken.
Kalpakkam nuclear plant operating without environment clearance
A public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the Madras High Court
says that the Kalpakkam atomic power station has been running its two
units without environment clearance for about three decades.
The court has issued notice to the central government and the Tamil
Nadu state Pollution Control Board. Information recieved under a Right
to Information (RTI) application show that the plant has not followed
recommendations of the NPCIL issued after the Fukushima disaster in
Japan. The plant has also not taken any clearance for the storage of
fuel spent by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board of India.
Tsunami wall threatens mangroves in Mumbai
Boulders dumped on a beach in Mumbai to prevent sea erosion and lessen the impact of disasters like tsunami threatens the mangrove species
there. The Maharashtra Maritime Board is buidling a wall in Bandra from
Joggers' Park to Chimbai beach. According to a local counsellor and
fishermen opposing the wall, construction within 100 metres of the
mangrove line requires forest clearance which the Board has not
obtained.
A clean Ganesh Visarjan in Surat
Surat residents refrained from immersing Ganesh idols
made with plaster of Paris in the Tapi river this year, resulting in a
much cleaner river bed. As per the advice of the city municipal
authorities, people either used idols made of clay or went up to the sea
shore to immerse them. Nearly 34,000 idols were immersed in the sea on
the last day of the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.
This is a weekly roundup of important news from September 16-22.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/gujarat-farmers-protest-proposed-nuclear-park
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Teratogenicity of depleted uranium aerosols: A review from an epidemiological perspective
May 2005
https://ehjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1476-069X-4-17
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Who owns DU weapons and who has used them?
Nov 2007
DU arsenals (selected countries)
*Britain*
The development of the 120mm ‘CHARM 1’ and ‘CHARM 3’ tank ammunition together cost $75 million. The UK also used 20mm shells as part of the US-built Phalanx Close-In-Weapon-System until the manufacturer Raytheon stopped producing them after the US Navy cancelled its contract with them.
*India*
A declassified UK Ministry of Defence paper on DU suggests that India was developing DU weapons in the early 1990s. It is now thought that they are manufacturing 125mm 3BM32 shells under licence from Russia.
*Israel*
Palestinians allege that Israel has been using ammunition containing DU in Gaza and the West Bank. Israel has tanks capable of firing DU rounds, and has received limited exports of US-made DU ammunition.
https://newint.org/features/2007/11/01/the-facts
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Uranium deal could make Indian nuclear power safer
Australia is poised to export more than just uranium to
India, but also the knowledge and expertise to make its nuclear power
industry safer, writes Catherine Mei Ling Wong.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-05/mei-ling-wong-uranium-deal/5722862
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Depleted Uranium, the Trojan Horse of Nuclear War.
http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ciencia/ciencia_uranium23.htm
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"The Legality of Depleted Uranium Munitions under International Humanitarian Law"
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/journals/VicULawJJl/2015/6.html
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Nuclear Weapons and 'Fourth Generation' Reactors
July 2009
A version of this article was published in FoE Australia's magazine Chain Reaction, August 2009.
'Integral fast
reactors' and other 'fourth generation' nuclear power concepts have been
gaining attention, in part because of comments by US climate scientist
James Hansen. While not a card-carrying convert, Hansen argues for more
research: "We need hard-headed evaluation of how to get rid of
long-lived nuclear waste and minimize dangers of proliferation and
nuclear accidents. Fourth generation nuclear power seems to have the
potential to solve the waste problem and minimize the others."
Others are less
circumspect, with one advocate of integral fast reactors promoting them
as the "holy grail" in the fight against global warming. There are two
main problems with these arguments. Firstly, nuclear power could at most
make a modest contribution to climate change abatement, mainly because
it is used almost exclusively for electricity generation which accounts
for about one-quarter of global greenhouse emissions. Doubling global
nuclear power output (at the expense of coal) would reduce greenhouse
emissions by about 5%. Building six nuclear power reactors in Australia
(at the expense of coal) would reduce Australia's emissions by just 4%.
The second major
problem with the nuclear 'solution' to climate change is that all
nuclear power concepts (including 'fourth generation' concepts) fail to
address the single greatest problem with nuclear power − its
repeatedly-demonstrated connection to the proliferation of Weapons of
Mass Destruction (WMD). Not just any old WMDs but nuclear weapons − the most destructive, indiscriminate and immoral of all weapons.
http://www.foe.org.au/anti-nuclear/issues/nfc/power-weapons/g4nw
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Depleted Uranium
Contents
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Depleted_Uranium
-------------------------------------------
8 Shocking Facts You Never Knew About Uranium
Apr 4, 2017
If you thought uranium was all about nuclear bombs, think again. It does so much more than that, on both sides of the nuclear equation.
1. More common than you realize
2. You need a lot of it
3. All uranium is created equal
4. Weapons-grade depleted uranium?
5. A little protection
6. Do the locomotion
7. Back to power
8. Reliable "clean" energy
https://www.fool.com/investing/2017/04/04/pub-april-4-8-shocking-facts-you-never-knew-about.aspx
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2009
http://mvramana.yolasite.com/resources/annurev.environ.033108.092057.pdf
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Nuclear power in India
Nuclear power is the fourth-largest source of electricity in India after thermal, hydroelectric and renewable sources of electricity.As of 2016, India has 22 nuclear reactors in operation in 8 nuclear power plants, having an installed capacity of 6780 MW and producing a total of 30,292.91GWh of electricity while 6 more reactors are under construction and are expected to generate an additional 4,300 MW.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_India
-----------------------------------------
2006
http://fissilematerials.org/library/rr01.pdf
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Depleted
Uranium And International Law
23 October, 2004
https://www.countercurrents.org/du-shah231004.htm
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Green tribunal bans sand mining in Kerala, Tamil Nadu sea coast
August 2013
After banning mining of river sand and other minor minerals without the mandatory environment clearance, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has now banned beach sand mining from the sea coasts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The ban was in response to a petition filed by the NGT Bar Association,
which among other environmental risks enumerated risk of radiation from
the mining of beach minerals, mostly consisting of rare earths—crucial
for nuclear power. Studies show that separation of beach sand, which
usually consists of rare earth ores like monazite, is a hazardous
process in which workers and people living next to the mining sites are
exposed to radiation.
A five-member bench headed by Justice Swatanter Kumar directed the chief
secretaries of the two states, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, to file
affidavits before August 29, as there have been many instances of
illegal beach sand mining recorded in both the states. The affidavit
filed by NGT Bar Association states that the Tirunelvelli, Tuticorin and
Kanyakumari districts in Tamil Nadu are among areas worst affected by
mining of beach minerals. It was pointed out to the tribunal that
Viapar, a village on the Tamil Nadu coast in Tuticorin, witnessed
illegal mining of 230,000 tonnes of beach sand minerals in the past one
year.
Retired Tamil Nadu bureaucrat V Sundaram, who in 2012 had sought
information under Right To Information Act, said that India is the third
largest producer of monazite, an ore mostly found in the coastal parts
of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is from monazite that thorium is extracted
through a separation process. In view of the allegations levelled by
Sundaram and many environmental activists from Tamil Nadu, the state
government has appointed a three-member team to investigate illegal
mining of monazite without environmental clearances from Kanyakumari,
Tirunelvelli and Tuticorin. Sundaram estimates that Rs 96,000 crore
worth of monazite may have been exported illegally to various countries
by private beach sand manufacturers over the past decade. According to
Atomic Minerals Directorate, monazite contains 0.2–0.4 per cent uranium
in the form of uranium oxide and 4.5–9.5 per cent thorium as thorium
oxide, depending on the region of origin or occurrence....
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/green-tribunal-bans-sand-mining-in-kerala-tamil-nadu-sea-coast-41938
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Background radiation and radioactivity in India
May 5, 2011
We live in a sea of radiation. In any city, an unsuspecting owner of a 0.1 acre backyard garden may not know that the top one metre of soil from his garden contains 11,200 kg of potassium, 1.28 kg which is of potassium- 40 (K-40, a radioactive isotope of potassium), 3.6 kg of thorium and one kg of uranium.
These values may be higher or lower depending on the soil. Uranium and thorium decay through several radio-nuclides to lead, a stable element. The presence of radioactive nuclides does not pose any significant risk.
Total dose
The total annual external dose from sources in soil and cosmic rays in Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Delhi and Bengaluru is 0.484, 0.81, 0.79, 0.70 and 0.825 milligray respectively. Gray is a unit for absorbed dose; when the radiation energy imparted to a kg of material is one joule, it is called a gray. Since gray is very large, milligray (one thousandth of a gray), and microgray (one millionth of a gray), are commonly used.
Cosmic rays come from outer space. Their intensity at a place depends on the altitude. Cosmic rays alone contribute 0.28 milligray at the first three cities as they are at sea level; the column of air helps to reduce their intensity. At high altitudes, the protection from the column of air is less.
The cosmic ray contributions are higher at 0.31 milligray and 0.44 milligray respectively at Delhi and Bengaluru as these cities are at altitudes of 216 metre and 921 metre. Air passengers receive 5 microgray per hour from cosmic rays.
Parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu are high background radiation areas (HBRA) because of the presence of large quantities of monazite in the soil. Thorium content in monazite ranges from 8-10.5 per cent. Researchers found that the radiation levels in 12 Panchayats in Karunagappally varied between 0.32 to 76 milligrays per year; the levels in 90 per cent of over 71,000 houses were more than one milligray per year.
The average value of population dose in HBRA is 3.8 milligray per year. One milligray is the average value for areas of normal background radiation. The units milligray and millisievert are the same in these instances. Study at the HBRA during 1990-99 by the researchers from the Regional Cancer Centre and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre did not show any health effect attributable to radiation.
Radon, which occurs in uranium series present in soil seeps into homes. In temperate areas radon decay products build up in air due to poor ventilation and deliver high doses to the lungs of millions of people. In tropics ventilation is adequate to disperse radon .In the United Kingdom persons in 5 per cent of the homes are exposed to doses above 23.7 mSv/year. One per cent of the population receives doses above 55.8 mSv/year. The highest estimated dose was 320 mSv/year in Cornwall.
All foodstuffs contain potassium-40 (K-40). We need potassium for sustenance. K-40 is 0.012 per cent of potassium. Once ingested, most of the potassium enters the blood stream directly and gets distributed to all tissues and organs.
Homeostatic control
The potassium content in the human body is strictly under homeostatic
control. The body retains only the amounts in the normal range
essential for its functioning; it is independent of the variations in
the environmental levels.
The body excretes excess amounts with a biological half life of 30
days. K-40 delivers a constant annual radiation dose of 0.18 mSv to soft
tissue. This dose is unavoidable as potassium is an essential element.
Every time we eat a banana, we are introducing 14 Bq of K-40 in to our
body. Trucks containing bananas have triggered radiation alarms at
border posts in the U.S.
Brazil nut
Brazil nut is probably the most radioactive food. Scientists have measured 700Bq of radium per kg of Brazil nut.
The roots of the Brazil nut tree pass through acres of land; They
have a tendency to concentrate barium; along with barium, the roots
collect radium as well. Radium appears in the nuts. Many vegetables like
brinjal, carrot etc. also contain the radioactive isotope.
Indian researchers have measured polonium-210 in fish and other
marine organisms. Our whole body is hit by particles coming from all
sides. Radiation is a part of our life. We cannot avoid eating food just
because it contains radioactivity
http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/background-radiation-and-radioactivity-in-india/article1991190.ece
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New Uranium Mining Projects - India
http://www.wise-uranium.org/upin.html
General
General, Import
India in talks with Uzbekistan to create uranium reserve
India is engaging with various countries, including Uzbekistan, to
procure nuclear fuel as part of its plan to create a strategic uranium
reserve to ensure long-term security.
The plan is to have a stockpile of nuclear fuel for its strategic
uranium reserve that can sustain the country's reactors for the next
five years so that they do not stop functioning because of the lack of
uranium.
In the past, the Indian power reactors were under- performing due to
shortage of uranium, owing to the sanctions imposed by the West post
1974 Pokhran nuclear tests.
Talks are currently being held with Uzbekistan, a senior government
official said, and a delegation from the Central Asian country had
visited India last month to discuss the issue in detail.
"We have been looking to import uranium from Uzbekistan in the past.
Back then, they had refused to transport uranium to an Indian port. But
now they have agreed to do so and negotiations are on," said a senior
government official requesting anonymity.
(NDTV Sep. 24, 2017)
India to begin talks on uranium supply with Mongolia
> View here
India imported 600 tonnes of uranium from Russia, Canada in 2015-16
Under bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreements, India imported
over 345 tonnes of uranium from Russia and 250 tonnes from Canada during
2015-16 to fuel Indian nuclear plants, parliament was told on Wednesday
(July 20).
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha [lower house of India's parliament],
Minister of State for Atomic Energy Jitendra Singh said that India has
earlier imported 297 metric tonnes (MT) of uranium in 2014-15 also from
TVEL, the fuel company of Rosatom, Russia's state-run atomic energy
corporation.
During 2014-15, 283.4 MT of uranium was imported from the state-run Kazatomprom of Kazakhstan, the minister added.
(ZeeNews July 20, 2016)
First Canadian uranium shipment to arrive in India in December 2015
> View here
Kazakhstan to supply India with 5,000 tonnes of uranium
> View here
India has imported 4458 metric tonnes of uranium since 2008
Around 4458 metric tonnes (MT) of uranium has been imported to fuel nuclear power reactors in the country since 2008, the government today said. Of the 4458 MT, India ordered 2058 MT of uranium from M/s Tvel Corporation of Russia, followed by 2100 MT from M/s NAC Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan from 2008 till date, Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Department of Atomic Energy, said in a written response to a question in Rajya Sabha today. From M/s Areva France, India has ordered 300 MT from in 2008-09 and 2009-10. (PTI Dec. 11, 2014)
India government cites "public interest" for not divulging annual uranium production figures
> View here
Uzbekistan to supply 2,000 tonnes of uranium to India
> View here
Uganda seeks India's assistance to develop its uranium deposits
> View here
India's nuclear power plants no longer experiencing fuel shortage
> View here
India close to importing uranium from Uzbekistan
India is very close to importing uranium from Uzbekistan and an agreement in this regard is nearing completion, official sources said today. The issue came up for discussion during talks here between visiting External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and his Uzbek counterpart Abdulaziz Kamilov, the sources said. The agreement will not be a civil nuclear deal but a contract like the one with Kazakhstan, under which India will import a little over 2,000 tonnes of uranium by 2014, they said. (Economic Times Sep. 14, 2013)
India has to purchase nuclear reactors from Russia and other foreign countries in order to get uranium from these countries
In an informal chat with reporters, Shekar Basu, director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), when queried why India is using nuclear reactors from Russia and other foreign countries said: "There is shortage of uranium in India and the country in order to buy uranium has to purchase nuclear reactors from these countries as it gives business to their domestic firms." (Times of India Jun 2, 2013)
India to explore possibility of getting uranium from Uzbekistan
Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari said India would explore the possibility of getting uranium supplies from Uzbekistan, which has rich reserves of the heavy metal. (The Hindu May 22, 2013)
India considers setting up new company to acquire foreign uranium mines
India may soon set up a new company to acquire uranium mines in foreign countries to ensure fuel supplies to its burgeoning nuclear power programme. The Atomic Energy Commission has recommended setting up of a joint venture company between Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) and Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) to explore the possibility of acquiring uranium assets abroad, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V Narayanasamy informed the Parliament. (PTI Aug. 23, 2012)
India working out mechanisms with South Africa to access its uranium
> View here
India shows interest in stakes in Areva's African uranium mines
French energy major Areva, which is supplying nuclear fuel for Indian reactors, has offered partnership stakes to the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) in its uranium producing mines abroad. "We have offered to NPCIL and the Atomic Energy Commission to invest with us in our new and existing uranium mining projects," chairman and managing director, Areva India, Arthur de Montalembert told HT in an exclusive chat. "NPCIL has shown interest and talks are progressing for a stake in some uranium mines in Africa." (Hindustan Times July 7, 2011)
India and Kazakhstan sign nuclear agreement, including joint uranium mining
> View here
India seeking interest in Russia's proposed Elkon uranium mine
> View here
India's Nuclear Power Corporation and Uranium Corporation to form joint venture to acquire uranium mines abroad
Nuclear Power Corporation (NPC) would soon sign an agreement with
Uranium Corporation of India (UCI), both state-run companies, for a
joint venture to acquire mining assets abroad to procure uranium.
They're looking at mining assets in Nigeria [?!], Namibia, Mongolia and
Kazakhstan. The JV would also focus on the procurement of uranium from
these assets, as well as other sources.
NPC's chairman and managing director, S K Jain, told Business Standard;
"UCI has domain knowledge in uranium mining, while NPC has the necessary
funds for the proposed investments. NPC will have a majority stake of
74 per cent, while 26 per cent would be held by UCI in the proposed JV.
The JV would have a working capital of Rs 15 billion [US$ 336 million]
and it expects to invest Rs 50 billion [US$ 1.12 billion] over the next
five years in the acquisition of mining assets in the four shortlisted
countries."
(Business Standard Oct. 6, 2010)
Imminent Canada-India nuclear pact heightens tensions
> See here
India to mine uranium in Mongolia
> See here
India's need for uranium to grow 10-fold by 2020
India's need for uranium will increase 10-fold by 2020 as Asia's third-largest energy consumer boosts nuclear power generation, the country's monopoly atomic generator forecast today. India will need about 8,000 tons of uranium annually, said Jagdeep Ghai, finance director at state-owned Nuclear Power Corp. of India. The nation has signed civil nuclear agreements with six countries, including Canada, Kazakhstan and Namibia, to secure stakes in overseas uranium mines, Ghai said. (Bloomberg Dec. 21, 2009)
Treaty of Pelindaba prohibits African uranium exports to India
The African Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone Treaty 
- also known as the Treaty of Pelindaba after a nuclear research
facility in South Africa - requires that African countries do nuclear
trade only with countries that agree on the full scope of nuclear
safeguards for all their nuclear sources and associated facilities.
The treaty stands in the way of India sourcing uranium from several
African countries, including Namibia, Gabon, Niger, Uganda and Angola
and clinching a nuclear research arrangement with South Africa.
(The Hindu Nov. 17, 2009)
[The treaty entered into force on July 15, 2009. South Africa, Gabon,
Malawi, among others, have ratified it, while other (potential) uranium
exporters, such as Namibia, Niger, have only signed but not ratified it
yet.]
Cameco hopes to supply uranium to India
> See here
India signs uranium supply agreement with Mongolia
> See here
India, Namibia sign uranium supply deal
> See here
Areva offers India stakes in African uranium mines
Areva SA has offered India stakes in African uranium mines to ensure supplies for fuel-starved plants, the head of the nation's monopoly nuclear generator said. State-run Nuclear Power Corp. of India is considering investing in as many as four mines, including projects in South Africa and Nigeria, Chairman Shreyans Kumar Jain said in a telephone interview in Mumbai. "Some of the mines that we have been offered stakes in are already producing and some have yet to be developed," Jain said. "We may invest up to 26 percent of the project cost," he said, declining to give more details about the mines or how much the company would spend on the proposed acquisitions. (Bloomberg June 5, 2009)
India to receive up to 2500 t of uranium from Kazakhstan
India could soon receive up to 2500 tonnes of uranium from Kazakhstan as an agreement in this regard is set to be signed between the two sides by the month-end. (PTI May 11, 2009)India to get first imported nuclear fuel consignment
India will receive this week the first consignment of natural uranium imported from French and Russian companies for its fuel-starved reactors after it got the NSG waiver for nuclear commerce in September 2008. Around 60 tonnes of natural uranium from French company AREVA is expected to arrive at Nuclear Fuel Complex in Hyderabad in a day or two and around the same quantity from Russian company TVEL in a week's time, sources in the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) said on Monday. (Economic Times March 30, 2009)India to enter joint venture for uranium mining in Kazakhstan
> View hereAreva signs agreement for uranium supply to India
French energy firm Areva has signed an agreement with government-run monopoly Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) to supply about 300 tonnes of uranium annually. This is the first major nuclear fuel supply agreement by the Indian firm after the approval of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal early this year. (Economic Times Dec. 16, 2008)Russia signs agreement on supply of uranium to India
On Dec. 5, 2008, India and Russia signed agreements that would eliminate the supply-demand mismatch in uranium and enable the setting up of more state-of-the-art nuclear power plants in India. At a summit meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev put the final touches on a mega agreement to supply nearly 2,000 tonnes of uranium. (The Hindu Dec. 6, 2008)Russia and India planning joint uranium extraction
> View hereKazakhstan prepared to supply uranium to India
> View hereSouth Africa ready to supply uranium to India
> View hereNuclear Suppliers Group lifts ban on nuclear trade with India; decision deplored by international disarmament network
On Sep. 6, 2008, forty-five nations (organized in the Nuclear Suppliers Group)
approved a U.S. proposal to lift a global ban on nuclear trade with
India in a breakthrough towards sealing a U.S.-Indian atomic energy
deal.One hurdle remained before the U.S.-India deal can take force -- ratification by the U.S. Congress. It must act before adjourning in late September for elections or the deal could be left to an uncertain fate under a new U.S. administration. The U.S.-India deal raised international misgivings since India has shunned the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) meant to stop the spread and production of nuclear weapons and mandate gradual disarmament, and a companion test ban pact. (Reuters Sep. 6, 2008) The US-India Deal Working Group of the international disarmament network, ABOLITION 2000
,
deplores the decision of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) to
approve a special exemption for India from its nuclear trade rules.The exemption will allow India to participate in international nuclear trade, but, contrary to the claims of its advocates, it will not bring India further into conformity with the nonproliferation behavior expected of the member states of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Unlike 178 other countries, India has not signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). It continues to produce fissile material and expand its nuclear arsenal. As one of only three states never to have signed the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it has not made a legally-binding commitment to achieve nuclear disarmament, and it refuses to allow comprehensive, full-scope International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. (CNIC Sep. 7, 2008)
Nuclear Suppliers Group defers decision on resumption of nuclear trade with India
On Aug. 22, 2008, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) deferred a decision on a U.S. draft proposal on a statement on civil nuclear cooperation with India.
Participating governments of the NSG are: Argentina,
Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China,
Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France,
Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Republic of
Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand,
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia,
Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine,
United Kingdom, and United States and the EC as an observer.
First consignment of enriched uranium from Russia arrives at Koodankulam nuclear power plant (India)
> View here
India seeks uranium from Namibia
> View here
Gabon willing to supply uranium to non-NPT signatory India
> View here
Indian company granted uranium exploration and mining permit in Niger
> View here
Export of Australian uranium to India
> View here
US company ready to deliver uranium to India
> View here
NGOs urge Japanese Government to oppose India-US nuclear deal
On September 6, 2006, 48 Japanese NGOs submitted a petition to Prime Minister Koizumi calling on the Japanese government to oppose lifting Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) restrictions on nuclear trade with India.
The possible supply of nuclear fuel to India would, in fact, add to its nuclear weapons capabilities by freeing-up its existing and limited domestic capacity to produce highly enriched uranium and plutonium exclusively for weapons. > View CNIC release Sep. 6, 2006
Nuclear Power Corp. of India to spend $1.2 billion on stake in Canadian and Australian uranium mines
India's nuclear power company plans to spend $1.2 billion on a stake in a uranium mine to support an expanded atomic power program. Nuclear Power Corp. of India approached Australian and Canadian companies on a possible joint venture in uranium mining, Chairman S.K. Jain said, without naming them. India may compete with China for deposits of the metal, he said. Nuclear Power Corp. is seeking a joint venture in which the state-owned company and the foreign partner will each invest $200 million and $800 million will come from loans, Jain said. "We are looking at investments of $1.2 billion per mine." (Bloomberg May 29, 2006)
India to continue uranium mining, even if imports for civilian purposes would become possible
The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) wants to mine uranium in the
country, irrespective of whether it would import the radioactive ore
from abroad or not, only for the 'sake of self-sufficiency'.
Chances of India importing uranium from abroad are more. This, after New
Delhi and Washington signed an agreement for nuclear cooperation early
this year. The deal once cleared by the US Congress would enable India's
import of uranium from abroad.
Under the accord, India agreed to separate its civilian and non-civilian
nuclear programme. The civilian facilities would be subjected to
international scrutiny, under the deal.
However, the imported nuclear fuel 'would not be allowed to be used in
non-civilian facilities'. This was informed by the head of the Public
Awareness Division of DAE, Swapnesh Kumar Malhotra. He further added
that this was reason enough for 'India to continue with its own
programme to mine uranium in the country, apart from for the sake of
self-sufficiency'.
(Assam Tribune May 29, 2006)
Change emerging in India's nuclear fuel procurement policy?
India should find a political solution to access latest reactor
technology and uranium in international market even while steadfastly
adhering to its stated position on Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT), says the outgoing Chairman of the Nuclear Fuel Complex (NFC), C.
Ganguly.
He has stressed the need for finding a political solution through
diplomacy if India has to expand its nuclear power programme in a big
way. "Better buy uranium abroad if you can get it cheaper and not waste
time by rediscovering the wheel."
Foreign companies should also be allowed to undertake mining and produce
uranium in the country by amending the laws, if necessary, and, in
return, India should buy from them at a lesser rate than the prevailing
international market price.
(The Hindu Aug. 13, 2004)
General, Domestic
India performs uranium exploration in Madhya Pradesh without consultation of tribal residents
Uranium exploration in Madhya Pradesh's Betul district has adversely
affected the lives of around 4,000 people in 13 villages that fall under
three panchayats-Khapa, Kachchar and Jhapri. Most of the people belong
to the Korku and Gond tribes. The problem started when the surveyors,
who are from the Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and
Research (AMDER), stopped village residents from entering the
surrounding forests to collect firewood and started to drill in their
farms.
"Since the villages are in a Fifth Schedule area, they are governed by a
special administrative system, and any exploratory activity without the
permission of all the concerned gram sabhas is illegal," says Anil
Garg, a Betul-based advocate and forest rights activist. But this has
not been the case.
(Down To Earth July 31, 2017)
Indian government formulates action plan to upgrade exploration of uranium
The Government of India has prepared an action plan to upgrade the exploration and research capacity of Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD). AMD is a constituent unit of Department of Atomic Energy
(DAE), with a mandate to identify and evaluate mineral reserves
including uranium required for the successful implementation of atomic
energy programme of the country, for discovering new uranium deposits.
For enhancing the atomic mineral resources including uranium, the
Government has formulated new projects involving Rs. 831.48 crores [US$
125 million] during XII Plan period (2012-2017). The capacity increase
includes enhancement of (i) drilling meterage by departmental rigs, (ii)
heliborne and ground geophysical surveys, and; (iii) analytical support
with the help of latest state-of-the-art instruments/equipments. This
has helped AMD to augment the uranium reserve of the country by 60,164
tonnes U3O8 [51,019 t U] during the XII Plan (as on 29.02.2016).
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of
North-Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances
& Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh in informed
in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha [lower house of India's parliament] today.
(Indian Awaaz Apr. 27, 2016)
India's nuclear power plants no longer experiencing fuel shortage
The capacity utilisation of Indian nuclear power plants was low in the past because of shortage of fuel but after efforts in augmenting indigenous fuel supply and international cooperation, it has increased to 80 per cent, the Lok Sabha was informed today. (Economic Times Dec. 18, 2013)
India eyes thorium and uranium recovery from monazite tailings
India's Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) would permit private miners to process beach sand and supply monazite tailings to the government-owned Indian Rare Earths Limited
(IREL) to increase latter's capacity to extract thorium and uranium.
At present, private miners were allowed to extract rare earths from
beach sand but not process radioactive monazite, which under the Atomic
Energy Act, was categorised as a 'prescribed substance' and the sole
domain of the government.
According to an official in Mines Ministry, the DAE proposed to make
amendments to the Atomic Energy Act so that beach sand miners could hand
over the monazite tailings to IREL for further processing into thorium
and possibly uranium, if economically feasible.
Data from the Atomic Mineral Directorate for Exploration and Research
has shown that India's monazite reserve was estimated at 10.70-million
tons.
(Mining Weekly July 18, 2012)
Uranium shortfall still idles India's nuclear power plants
The shortfall in the supply of domestic uranium has affected the operation of nuclear plants and none of them is working at full capacity, the government admitted in the Lok Sabha (lower house of the Parliament of India) on Wednesday (Dec. 9). Of the 17 nuclear power reactors, 11 are not operating at optimum capacity because they use indigenous uranium which is not available in the required quantity, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan said in a written reply. Three reactors use imported uranium and operate at maximum capacity, while three other reactors are currently under long term maintenance and are shut down. Mr. Chavan said the government had taken steps to increase the supply of indigenous uranium and the use of imported fuel for reactors under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards. As a result, overall capacity utilisation of the nuclear plants is progressively improving. The capacity utilisation, which was about 50 per cent in 2008-09, is higher at about 60 per cent for April-November 2009. (The Hindu Dec. 10, 2009) The country's largest nuclear reactors are running at half of their capacity due to uranium shortage resulting in cutting down electricity supply to western India. The two 540 MWe units at Tarapur ran at 57 per cent of their capacity in January and on an average they were running at 55-70 per cent of their total capacity due to a shortfall in the availability domestic uranium, Union science and technology minister Prithviraj Chavan said in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (Mar. 4). Chavan admitted a shortage of 324 MWe in nuclear power generation for the whole country, making it clear that the government is running behind schedule to operationalise new mills and mines in Jharkhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. There are 18 operational nuclear plants across the country with a total installed capacity of 4340 MWe. (Deccan Herald Mar. 4, 2010)
Rally in New Delhi against nuclear power and uranium mining
The National Alliance of Anti-Nuclear Movements (NAAM) today (Oct. 2) organised a rally in Delhi, widening the ambit of the Khasi Students Union’s anti-uranium mining crusade. Nearly 200 NAAM activists carrying placards and banners were joined by some Khasi students led by KSU president Samuel Jyrwa. They blended anti-nuclear power plant protests with the uranium mining issue. At Jantar Mantar, speakers from Meghalaya, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand highlighted the ill effects of uranium mining and the dangers of setting up of nuclear power plants. (The Telegraph Oct. 2, 2009)
U.S. willing to share technical know-how on uranium mining with India
The United States is keen to share technical expertise with India on uranium mining, US Consul General Beth A Payne said here today. "We can certainly explore options and opportunities available. Maybe we can partner with the government and share our experience and expertise on how to mine uranium safely," Payne, who is on three day visit to Meghalaya, said. The uranium mining project in the state was yet to start due to opposition from organisations apprehending health and environmental hazards. (SamayLive Sep. 3, 2009)
India to achieve uranium self-sufficiency by 2013
India is expected to achieve self-sufficiency in uranium production to feed its existing nuclear power projects and proposed plants by 2013, Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar said. With the Jadugoda Uranium mill in Jharkhand expanded and the proposed expansion of Turamdih mill expected to be over next year, uranium production would go up. Besides, exploration of uranium is underway at Tummalapalle in Andhra Pradesh and it is expected to go on stream by 2013, he told reporters here. "We are also working to explore uranium at Gogi near Gulbarga in Karnataka," he said and expressed the hope that a proposed project at Meghalaya would also be cleared soon. (Indian Express Aug. 2, 2009)
India to invest $150 million in domestic uranium exploration
Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar said an amount of Rs 7 - 8 billion [US$ 142 - 162 million] would be invested in exploration of uranium deposits in the country during the 11th Five Year Plan period. (Business Standard Nov 19, 2008)
India aims to double uranium reserves
India aims to more than double uranium reserves for its nuclear energy programme and will spend 2 billion rupees ($47.5 million) on aiding exploration and prospecting, a minister said. Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal said the federal cabinet had approved steps to boost uranium supplies by an additional 75,000 tonnes. India has an estimated 61,000 tonnes of uranium reserves, according to the Department of Atomic Energy. (Reuters Aug. 8, 2008)
ONGC to enter uranium mining in India
Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
(ONGC), the country's largest oil and gas producer, plans to enter uranium mining in alliance with public-sector Uranium Corporation of India,
aiming to tap the business opportunity from nuclear fuel shortage in
Asia's third largest economy.
ONGC is aligning with Uranium Corporation as the latter is the only
entity allowed to undertake uranium mining in India, and has the power
to allot mining leases to others like ONGC, said two analysts tracking
the nuclear industry.
(Business Standard July 25, 2008)
The Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. has signed a memorandum of
understanding with the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. for cooperation
in uranium exploration and development.
(domain-b Dec. 12, 2008)
State run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) is all set to take up the new challenge of uranium exploration in Tripura. AK Hazarika in Agartala, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of ONGC says a pilot project is being launched to explore fields for uranium mining in the riverbed of rivers Krishna and Godavari. (ANI July 24, 2011)
The state-run company has started mining for uranium in the Cauvery area in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu in partnership with Uranium Corp. of India and plans to explore in Andhra Pradesh state, the ONGC chairman said. (Bloomberg Aug. 4, 2011)
India's Department of Atomic Energy demands commercialisation of all exploratory uranium mines in the country to fill nuclear fuel supply gap
To minimise the mismatch of uranium fuel for the Indian nuclear power industry, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) today said that all uranium mines that were discovered and explored so far by the Atomic Minerals Division of the department should be commercialised. "All the exploratory uranium mines of the department should be converted into commercial mines without any delay in order to boost the Indian nuclear power industry which is currently running at 50 per cent capacity inspite of Nuclear Power corporation of India limited, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) of the DAE that had achieved a 95 per capacity of their plants since late 1990s," department's spokesperson and Head, Public Awareness Division, S K Malhotra told PTI. Both State and Central government should help in carrying out this commercialisation of the exploratory mines without any more delay, he said. (PTI May 28, 2008)
India investing "heavily" in uranium exploration
To ensure that the country's nuclear programme is not dependent on the implementation of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, the government is investing heavily in uranium exploration, a top official of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) said on May 11, 2008. "Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Meghalaya and other regions are among those we are looking at for uranium exploration," Anil Kakodkar, Secretary, DAE, said here. Approximately Rs 7 billion (US$ 168 million) is being invested in using the latest technology to explore multiple states for uranium, he said. (Times of India May 11, 2008)
India aims at uranium extraction from phosphoric acid
In an effort to sustain the first phase of nuclear power programme, which is currently facing shortage of fuel, the Heavy Water Board (HWB) is setting up a Technology Demonstration Plant (TDP) in Mumbai to get Uranium from secondary sources like phosphoric acid. The phosphoric acid, manufactured using rock Phosphate, contains about 60-150 ppm of Uranium and the TDP is under advanced stage of construction at the Rashtriya Chemical and Fertilisers (RCF) Ltd at Chembur in northeast Mumbai and will be completed by the end of this year, A L N Rao, Chairman and Chief Executive of HWB, told PTI.
The TDP will operate by taking freshly prepared Wet Phosphoric Acid (WPA) from phosphoric acid plant at RCF. After the extraction of Uranium in TDP, the WPA will be returned to Phosphoric Acid Plant for production of phosphatic fertilisers, he said. TDP has been integrated with Phosphoric Acid Plant for supply and return of WPA, supply of utilities like power, process water, fire water, and return of effluents, Rao said. (The Hindu 21 Oct 2008) The Heavy Water Board
,
a state-owned utility under the DAE, is setting up an industrial-scale
Technology Demonstration Plant for the recovery of uranium from
phosphoric acid, manufactured using rock phosphate, at Rashtriya
Chemicals and Fertiliser's Trombay facility.
The Board's Technology Demonstration Plant (TDP) at Trombay aims to
squeeze traces of uranium from phosphoric acid, basically taking
advantage of the fact that rock phosphate contains 60-150 parts for
every million parts of uranium.
The plant would be located adjacent to Rashtriya Chemicals and
Fertiliser's wet phosphoric acid plant in Trombay and would produce
uranium in the form of ammonium di-uranate. This material would be
processed further by DAE's nuclear fuel complex at Hyderabad to prepare
enriched uranium that can, subsequently, be used by nuclear power
stations. Indian Rare Earths Ltd
,
another public service utility under DAE, is also setting up
demonstration plants to recover uranium from phosphoric acid, in
addition to recovering uranium from various secondary sources such as
thorium hydroxide concentrate and other metallurgical process residues,
Government sources involved in the exercise said.
(The Hindu June 30, 2008)
Addressing the Heavy Water Board (HWB)
officials and engineers, he said "now NPCIL is hungry for uranium and
we expect nuclear grade uranium from HWB soon," said S K Jain, chairman
and managing director of Nuclear power Corporation of India (NPCIL).
"Since HWB has accepted the challenge to produce nuclear grade uranium
from phosphoric acid, the day may not be far when NPCIL will get uranium
from HWB and India can go for electricity from PHWR beyond the current
limit of 10,000 MW," Jain said.
(Economic Times Feb. 17, 2008)
No Foreign Direct Investment permitted in uranium mining in India
In a move that sets a precedent for mining firms, the government has
ruled out the entry of foreign players in the business of uranium
mining, saying it is a strategic sector where it could not take chances.
Following objections from the department of atomic energy, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board has turned down a proposal from UK's GoldStone Resources
to hunt for the mineral, initially in Karnataka. GoldStone had proposed
to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary in India to engage in exploration
of diamond, gold and uranium palaeoplacers.
(The Times of India July 23, 2007)
Canadian firm ready for uranium exploration in India
Canadian exploration firm Magnum Uranium Corporation today said it plans to enter the country once the Indo-US nuclear cooperation deal is cleared.
"India's current consumption of Uranium is only 1,334 tonnes per year,
which is expected to go up manifold once the US-India pact on civil
nuclear cooperation comes into force. Hence, there is a big scope for us
in India," MUC's President and CEO Craig Lindsay told PTI here.
(New Kerala Nov. 24, 2006)
UCIL investing in new uranium mines and uranium exploration
Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) will invest roughly Rs 31
billion [US$ 679 million] to open new mines and set up processing plants
in Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya.
UCIL chairman-cum-managing director Ramendra Gupta said that the UCIL is
investing Rs 6.5 billion [US$ 142 million] in Jharkhand alone.
In addition, UCIL is exploring uranium deposits in Chhattisgarh,
Rajasthan and Karnataka. (PTI June 6, 2006)
An investment of Rs 18 billion [US$ 393 million] is proposed for setting
up two uranium mining and milling plants in Nalgonda and Kadapa
districts in Andhra Pradesh, Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission
Anil Kakodkar said on June 8, 2006. (The Hindu June 9, 2006)
India's nuclear generation stays behind due to uranium shortage
Another new unit at Kaiga in Karnataka has now been delayed on account of fuel shortage: According to minister of state for power Jairam Ramesh, unit four (220 MW) at Kaiga was scheduled to be commissioned in June 2008, but is now delayed by at least six months. Ramesh said that the June target of adding around 1300 MW of fresh capacity has "completely gone haywire" on account of fuel shortages. (Indian Express June 4, 2008) Fuel shortage has forced the Nuclear Power Corporation (NPCIL) to delay commissioning of two new units at the Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS). The two new units - RAPS 5 and 6 of 220 MWe each - were to be commissioned by February 2008 (RAPS 5 in August 2007 and RAPS 6 in February 2008). NPCIL officials told The Indian Express that fuel shortage has already forced nuclear power units to cut production levels from an average 80 per cent PLF (plant load factor) a couple of years ago to an average 40-50 per cent PLF. (Indian Express May 8, 2008)
Five of the 17 nuclear power plants in the country had been shut down and the remaining are operating at an average of less than 50 per cent capacity for want of fuel, a top official of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited said. (PTI Oct. 21, 2007)
The fuel shortage situation has started telling on the performance of the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL). Currently operating nuclear power stations with a capacity of around 4,000 MWe, it has been forced to slash power production levels. The overall plant load factor (PLF) has come down from a high of 80-90 per cent to around 60 per cent in some three years - a drop of 30 per cent when there's power shortage in the country.
A delay in the commissioning of the milling system at the Jaduguda mines in Jharkhand is a major factor behind the current fuel shortage. Any further delays would lead to NPCIL cutting generation further "from 18 reactors" to around "50-55 per cent" in the next few months. If the fuel supply situation does not improve, generation from some units can stop in the next one or to two years. (Indian Express Aug. 20, 2007)
A mismatch between supply of fuel by the Uranium Corporation of India (UCIL) and demand triggered by India's fast-expanding nuclear power programme could hamper the progress of the Pressurized Heavy Water (PHWR) programme, nuclear industry sources said.
Due to the shortage of fuel, the 12 PHWRs run by Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL)
,
a public sector undertaking of Department of Atomic Energy, are running
at 65 per cent capacity (the new 540 MW plants Tarapur Atomic Power
Project (TAPP) units 3 and 4 running at full capacity but after four
months may face problems due to fuel) and this would definitely reduce
the profitability of the company, NPCIL sources said. The mismatch has been created due to NPCIL's demonstration to the world that it could have the power plant capacity up to 95 per cent and also its demonstration of reducing the gestation period of construction from 10 years to four and a half to five years, according to Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) sources. (PTI Aug. 25, 2006)
In its mid-term appraisal of the 10th Plan
,
the Planning Commission had mentioned that the plant load factor
achieved by the nuclear power stations had "gone down to 73.70 per cent
in 2003-04, after reaching a high of 79.40 per cent in 2001-02.
This is primarily due to non-availability of nuclear fuel because the
development of domestic mines has not kept pace with addition of
generating capacity." (p.329/330)
However, the situation is likely to improve as Nuclear Power Corporation
India Ltd. (NPCIL) anticipates import of uranium soon as the nuclear
deal with the United States is approved. In the ongoing 10th Plan (2002-2007), the 2,720 MW nuclear power capacity was to be augmented by 1,300 MW. But, capacity addition is likely to be 2,620 MW, twice the targeted increment. The 9th Plan had seen 880 MW capacity addition. The 11th Plan (2007-2012) would target an additional 3,000 MW in nuclear power generation, according to reports. (Project Monitor, June 2, 2006)
New uranium deposits discovered in central India
The department of atomic energy (DAE) has discovered uranium at three locations in central India and assessments suggest there are adequate mining reserves. Baldev Raj, a DAE director, said prospecting may be completed in the next 18 months, although he declined to divulge the locations for security reasons. "The DAE's atomic mineral division is in talks with all related parties and we are trying to expedite the whole process. At DAE, we are sure that these locations hold enough reserves for viable mining," he said. (Times of India, Dec. 6, 2005)
India investing in new uranium mines
Uranium Corporation Of India Limited (UCIL) will invest Rs 20 billion
(US$ 460 million) to open new mines and set up processing plants in
Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Meghalaya, UCIL Chairman-cum-Managing
Director R K Gupta said on March 19, 2005.
In Jharkand, apart from opening new mines at Bandurang, Bagjata and
Moldih in the district, the construction for the processing plant at
Turamdih has already begun; about Rs 7 billion (US$ 160 million) will be
invested for these new projects, which were likely to be completed
during the 10th Five Year Plan in 2007-08. The processing plant at
Turamdih were likely to be completed by 2006-07.
(PTI March 19, 2005)
Uranium recovery from sea water (India)
India's BARC and France's CEA cooperate on development of uranium recovery from desalination plant brines
Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and the Commissariat à l'Energie Atomique (CEA) ,
France, are collaborating to develop three innovative and efficient
methods of uranium extraction from the concentrated brine rejected by
integrated nuclear desalination systems, which both partners are
currently developing.
The first method uses resin-grafted with calixarene (a synthetic
material, indecently expensive!); magnetic separation is the second
method and the third uses a canal system using absorbents.
These methods are highly selective but need further research and
development.
(The Hindu 12 Nov 2009)
India tests new method to extract uranium from sea water
Japan developed a technology by using plastic sheets to which amidoxime,
which is capable of selectively absorbing uranium from seawater, is
grafted by high energy electron beam irradiation.
Scientists from the Desalination Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
recovered uranium at milligram levels from sea water using electron
beam grafted amidoxime.
They developed a semi pilot scale facility to produce radiation grafted
sheets of 1 metre x 1 metre size.
They collected about 800 microgrammes of uranium in five campaigns from
CIRUS Jettyhead; about 1.8 milligrammes from the seawater intake and
outfall canals at the Tarapur Atomic Power Station and around 200
microgrammes from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Though these amounts are
trivial, it gives confidence in the technology.
Field trials carried out at the three locations gave concentration
factors of 300, 600 and 700 for the submergence of the absorbent
material for 12, 14 and 23 days respectively.
(The Hindu 12 Nov 2009)
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
has reported "significant progress" in its attempts to bio-recover
uranium from sea water and dilute nuclear waste using natural and
genetically-engineered microbes.
BARC's attempts to viably extricate uranium from sea water have also
begun yielding "very positive" results, according to officials.
Sea water is known to contain uranium but the low concentration of the
nuclear fuel and high cost of its extraction has traditionally inhibited
the option of commercial sourcing of uranium from the seas. The BARC
method involves passing sea water through a specially made polymer that
will absorb uranium selectively.
According to estimates, nearly 4.6 billion tonnes of uranium are
estimated to be present in sea water, with Japanese scientists in the
1980s having demonstrated that extraction of uranium from sea water
using ion-exchangers was feasible.
(The Hindu June 30, 2008)
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC)
in Mumbai has developed a method for extracting uranium from sea water,
according to the BARC annual report.
The BARC method involves passing sea water through a specially made
radiation induced polymer that will selectively absorb uranium.
Laboratory studies showed that the material could absorb as much as 45
per cent of uranium present in sea water.
The report said that on the basis of laboratory data, BARC is getting
ready to build, in the first step, a bench scale plant that will produce
100 grams of uranium per year from sea water. Bigger plants will be
decided after working out the cost benefit analysis.
(Times of India Feb. 25, 2003)
Jharkhand
General · Mohuldih · Baghjanta · Bandugurang
> See also Issues for: Operating Mines · Decommissioning Projects · Legislation & Regulations
> See also Data for: Deposits, Proposed and Active Mines · Old Mines and Decommissioning
General
UCIL proposes uranium recovery from copper tailings in Jharkhand
UCIL "proposes to construct two uranium recovery plants for recovery of uranium from copper tailings of M/s Hindustan Copper Ltd's operations at Rakha and Surda mines." (48th Annual Report 2014-15, Uranium Corporation of India Limited)
Uranium Corporation of India gets lease for four mines in Jharkhand
The East Singhbhum district administration has finally okayed a
long-delayed mining lease for the Uranium Corporation of India Ltd
(UCIL) opening up over 1,500 acres of virgin territory for the Public
Sector Undertaking (PSU) on the threshold of expanding its operations.
The lease has identified 433.42 acres of land in Banduhurang-Kerudungri,
253.44 acres in Kerudungri-Talsa, 303.14 acres in Bagjata-Phuljhori and
557.18 acres in Purihata-Kerudungri of East Singhbhum.
"The Centre had approved the expansion project way back in 2003. The
file for lease agreement was pending with the mining department for
quite sometime. The lease has finally been finalised and UCIL can now go
ahead and start mining operations in these areas," said an official of
the district mining department.
The official explained the delay by citing various "procedures" that
needed to be followed before granting a mining lease.
Most of the areas opened up for UCIL are near the company's mining
facility at Jadugoda that was operationalised in 1967, making it the
oldest uranium mine in the country.
(The Telegraph Aug. 7, 2008)
Even as Delhi was agog with high-voltage drama and controversy over what
is being described an effort to secure steady supply of nuclear
resources for the nation, major progress was made here on July 22, 2008,
in clearing the way for lease deeds for four new uranium mines of Uranium Corporation of India Limited
(UCIL) and all other pending outstanding issues between it and the
state.
Sources told that a high-level meeting, chaired by Jharkhand chief
secretary AK Basu, decided that all hindrances in the way of speedy
accomplishment of land acquisition for UCIL would be removed.
(Ranchi Express July 23, 2008)
Mohuldih project (Jharkhand)
(also spelled Mahuldih) > View deposit info
> View more recent issues
Mohuldih uranium mine commissioned
On April 17, 2012, Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL)
commissioned its last mining project in the state - an underground mine
at Mohuldih in Rajnagar block of Seraikela-Kharsawan district, about 25
km from Jamshedpur.
Speaking after the commissioning, chairman-cum-managing director of the
public sector unit Diwakar Acharya said the uranium ore found during
exploration at the site was not high grade, but the proximity to a
milling unit at Turamdih
7 km away, made UCIL opt for the project.
"The reserve at the mine is around 6.2 MT but it is of a low grade
(0.034 per cent uranium). The only thing working for this project was
the proximity to Turamdih. The ores after mining would be taken for
processing at the milling unit," said Acharya, adding that the project
was UCIL's last in the state.
(The Telegraph Apr. 18, 2012)
UCIL investing in new uranium mines and uranium exploration
According to UCIL chairman-cum-managing director Ramendra Gupta, the Mahuldih project is likely to be completed by 2010. (PTI June 6, 2006)
Hearing held on Mahuldih uranium mine project
On Dec. 20, 2005, another hearing was held at Mahuldih on the proposed uranium mine. Access of outside environmentalists was prevented by non-official armed persons. Jharkhandi Organisation Against Radiation (JOAR) was not even permitted to file a written submission. The radiation issue was nevertheless raised by several local villagers. It appeared that more villagers than at the previous hearing were ready to sell their land to UCIL, but they made several demands regarding financial compensation. UCIL has not decided yet on these and announced to hold another meeting within 15 days. (Hindustan Times 21 Dec. 2005; JOAR)
Ranchi University teachers join campaign against Mahuldih uranium mine
Eight professors and lecturers from various colleges of Ranchi University have joined the Anti-Nuclear Power Plant and Mining Front, an organization of academics and social activists, vowing to undertake research work on the harmful impact of radiation on workers and people living in the vicinity of UCIL's Jadugoda and Rakha mines. They have categorically voiced their opposition to UCIL's proposed uranium mines at Mahuldih. (Hindustan Times 19 Dec. 2005)
Jharkhand state Pollution Control Board sides with Mahuldih residents on uranium mine project
The Jharkhand state Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) has turned a
sympathizer of the villagers and termed their demands 'just' and
'genuine'. JSPCB has also won several hearts in Mahuldih village by
promising them to fight for their causes before holding the public
hearing to get their 'invaluble' land for uranium mining.
Speaking to the media persons, the board chairman, Tileshwar Sahu, made
it clear that JSPCB would not issue No Objection Certificate (NOC) to
the UCIL until it settles the compensation issue with the residents of
Mahuldih.
(Ranchi Express Aug. 31, 2005)
Residents keep Pollution Control Board from holding hearing on proposed Mohuldih uranium mine project
On August 29, 2005, the struggle against radioactivity of JOAR
(Jharkhandi Organisation Against Radiation) reached a new dimension at
the occasion of the public hearing scheduled for the proposed Mohuldih
mines. The villagers of Mohuldih and more than 10 other affected
villages unanimously declared that they do not want uranium mines at the
expense of their land and livelihood.
They forced the Jharkhand Pollution Control Board (PCB) officials and
officials of UCIL to retreat when they had come for conducting the
public hearing at Mohuldih. "We will give our lives but not our land"
was their united slogan.
The public hearing which was initially scheduled to be held on the 5th
of August had already once been postponed to the 29th by the demand of
the people of the area. However, even today when the PCB and UCIL
officials arrived for the hearing, they were not even allowed to enter
the site of the public hearing by the villagers. Men and women from
more than 12 villages around Mohuldih, which would be affected by the
proposed Mohuldih mines, opposed the hearing, stating that
they neither need a hearing nor a uranium mine. They declared to the
officials that they would not let go of their land in any
circumstance. "The mine will last for 30 years; what will happen to us
after that? Our land has supported us for generations and will
continue to do so", they stated. "We have seen what has happened to
the villagers who have been displaced by the other uranium mines. They
have not got any facilities, which were promised to them, none of the
promises made of rehabilitation has been fulfilled. We cannot rely on
their false promises and lose our livelihood", they said.
The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project is riddled
with faults, according to JOAR. It was prepared by Mecon Consultants on
behalf of UCIL. "Nowhere in the entire report has any mention been made
of the radioactive health hazards, not even to state that there will be
no hazard, completely denying the health aspects of uranium radiation,"
says an
activist from the Human Rights Law Network.
(JOAR Aug. 29, 2005)
Baghjanta project (Jharkhand)
(also spelled Bagjata)
> View deposit info
> View more recent issues
On Dec. 1, 2008, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) chairman Anil Kakodkar
inaugurated the Bagjata mine belonging to Uranium Corporation of India
Ltd (Ucil). The Bagjata mine, which took three years and a capital
investment of Rs 950 million [US$ 19 million] to be built, will have a
500-tonne per day output that will be transported to nearby Jadugoda for
processing.
(Financial Express Dec. 1, 2008)
According to UCIL chairman-cum-managing director Ramendra Gupta, the
Bagjata project is likely to be completed by 2008. (PTI June 6, 2006)
Public involvement obstructed for Baghjanta uranium mine project
A public hearing by the Jharkhand Pollution Control Board (PCB) on the
proposed underground uranium mine at Baghjanta, East Singhbhum District
of Jharkhand, originally scheduled for August 20, 2004 has been
postponed to Sep. 18, 2004. Intervenors have not been able to obtain
copies of the full Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the
project, let alone any copies in native language, in spite of repeated
requests to the PCB. Also, details on the planned resettlement scheme
have not been made available.
A site visit at the Baghjanta village on Aug. 20, 2004, showed that UCIL
had already started construction work on the mine without having
obtained a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from PCB.
(JOAR Aug. 20, 2004)
UCIL had begun underground mining at Baghjanta in 1986, but had to close
down production in 1991. At the public hearing held on Sep. 18, 2004,
the villagers welcomed the resumption of uranium mining at Baghjanta for
its economic effects, but placed certain demands to UCIL, most of which
rotated around development of the region. "We would prefer to suffer
from radiation than die of hunger", said Thakura Hansda, president of
the local village committee.
Environmentalists who wanted to attend the hearing were not enabled to
raise their concerns. They had found that the Executive Summary of the
EIA, which was obtained after much argument, were environmentally blind.
Supposedly a report for a uranium mine, it had only two small
paragraphs on the radiation aspects, with no mention whatsoever about
the effects which uranium radiation might have on health of the
population, the environment or the agricultural ecology, and the means
taken to address them is not a part of the report.
(The Hindustan Times, The Telegraph, JOAR Sep. 18, 2004)
Bandugurang project (Jharkhand)
(also spelled Banduhurang, Bandurang) > View deposit details
> View more recent issues
Bandugurang open pit mine inaugurated
Bandugurang, UCIL's first open pit mine, was inaugurated on June 25, 2007. It would produce 2,400 tons uranium ore per day. (Times of India, June 25, 2007)
UCIL seeks police help as displaced people disrupt mining
The Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) has sought the help of
East Singhbhum district administration after displaced people stalled
mining at Bandhuhurang-Keuradungri opencast mines from May 1, 2007.
Villagers told mediapersons that alleged difference in land rates being
offered to the displaced had provoked the villagers to come under the
banner of Turamdih Displaced Committee (TDC) being led by Demka Soy and
force the closure of Banhuhurang-Keuradunglri mines.
(Ranchi Express 5 May 2007)
Bandugurang project to be completed by 2007
According to UCIL chairman-cum-managing director Ramendra Gupta, the Banduhurang project is likely to be completed by 2007. (PTI June 6, 2006)
State Pollution Control Board has No Objection to Bandugurang uranium mine project
The Pollution Control Board (PCB) of Jharkhand State, India has given
the No-Objection Certificate (NOC) to the Uranium Corporation of India
Limited (UCIL) to undertake opencast uranium mining at Bandugurang,
East Singhbhum District of Jharkhand State on 8th April 2004. The
Jharkhandi Organisation Against Radiation (JOAR) considers this as a
case of clear violation of the existing rules of the PCB and
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) public hearing, since no
full-length copy of the EIA had been made available.
UCIL plans to construct an additional uranium mill at Turamdi (5 km from
Bundugurang), where an underground uranium mine is already operating.
Telangana
> View extra pageAndhra Pradesh
> View extra page
Karnataka
> See also Issues for: Operating Mines · Decommissioning Projects · Legislation & Regulations
> See also Data for: Deposits, Proposed and Active Mines · Old Mines and Decommissioning
General
Uranium drilling to move out of village after complaints about drinking water pollution: Uranium mining is being moved out of Gujanal village in Gokak taluk of Belagavi district after complaints from villagers that deep drilling was making borewell water smell foul.
Scientists from the central Atomic Minerals Directorate For Exploration And Research (AMDER)
have confirmed to The Hindu that drilling would be moved out of
inhabited areas in the village. Officers on site have clarified,
however, that it is not a case of leakage of radioactive material and
there was no need for alarm. "We are shifting, and this has been
communicated to the district administration," an officer said. The
directorate has been doing a pilot study of uranium mining in Gujanal
and two other villages in Belagavi district. While mining in Deshnoor
and Suladhal are far from inhabited areas, the drilling points in
Gujanal are within settlements.Gujanal residents have been complaining that the mining was polluting groundwater. "Water in around five wells in the village has a foul smell. We are unable to drink it or use it for washing or bathing," they said, in their complaint to the government. They suspect that coolant and other chemicals used in drilling have seeped into the water. Balesh Mugalihal, a resident, said some families who had consumed the water were suffering from acidity and headache. (The Hindu June 9, 2017) Uranium mining to start in Bhima belt soon: Rich uranium deposits, a major element in nuclear power generation and its related activities, has been found in the Bhima river belt of Karnataka, ranging from Sedam in Gulbarga district to Muddebihal in Bijapur district.
According to Regional Director Ashwini Kumar Rai of the Atomic Mineral Directorate for Exploration and Research, Southern Region, Bangalore, uranium deposits found at Gogi in Shahapur taluk, about 80 km from here, are the second best in quality, only after deposits found in Jharkhand.
At present, Ashwini Rai said uranium mining was going on only in about eight acres of land and it has been decided to carry out mining in 238 acres of land in Gulbarga district, Gogi and its surroundings. A proposal has been sent to the Deputy Commissioner for acquiring 238 acres of land to carry out uranium mining. Deposits have been found in Uakkanal, Darshanapur, Hotapet in Shahapur taluk apart from Gogi, and in and around Tinthini in Surapur taluk.
Replying to a question, Rai said that right now the uranium extracted in Gogi will be utilised for nuclear power generation. However, he did not rule out the possibility of utilising it for other purposes. (Deccan Herald Nov. 17, 2009)
Retired additional director of Central Nuclear Mineral Directorate Dr S A Pandit said, that uranium deposits are found at four places in the state namely Balkunjagudde in Andar near Karkala, Chikmagalur, Arabail in Uttara Kannada and Gogi in Gulbarga district.
Speaking at a symposium on Indo-American nuclear deal organized in the city by Energy Support Initiatives here on Thursday August 21, he said that uranium deposits were detected near Karkala as far back as in 1978 itself. Mining has commenced at Gogi recently [?] and the uranium found there is of the highest quality among the ores found anywhere in the country, he explained. (Daijiworld, Aug. 22, 2008)
Gogi mine (Yadgir district, formerly Gulbarga district)
> View deposit info
Villagers oppose proposed uranium mine and mill at Gogi:
Activists of Bhoomi Tayi Horata Samiti and residents of Gogi village
staged a protest outside the Deputy Commissioner's office in Yadgir on
Thursday (Feb. 16) and urged the Union and State governments not to
resume uranium mining in the village. They also opposed the proposed
nuclear power plant in the village.
(The Hindu Feb. 17, 2017)
UCIL restarts process to obtain environment clearance for suspended Gogi uranium mining project:
The fallout of India's attempts to get into the Nuclear Suppliers Group
(NSG) seems to have caused ripples in the arid hinterlands of Yadgir
district.
Four years after the ambitious large-scale uranium mining project was
suspended in the Bhima Basin in and around Gogi village, the mining
project seems to be finally picking up steam.
With their eyes set on an estimated 500 tonnes of high-grade Uranium-238
- the critical fuel of nuclear power plants in the country - Uranium
Corporation India Ltd. (UCIL) has restarted the process to obtain
environment clearance.
Explaining the sudden thrust for the long-suspended project, Ajay Ghade,
General Manager (Technical Services & Planning), Mines, UCIL, said:
"There are doubts over NSG, so the Union government is focusing on
uranium deposits in the country itself. A string of nuclear power
stations will be going online in the next few years, and we need to
ensure a constant supply of nuclear rods."
(The Hindu July 8, 2016)
State resumes land acquisition for Gogi uranium mine in spite of Union government order to scrap the project:
Upset with the decision of authorities of the revenue department to
resume acquisition of land around Saidapur, Diggi and Gogi villages for
extraction of Uranium, farmers of Yadgir district have decided to resume
their agitation as well as approach the court for justice.
Farmers were relieved when the Union ministry of environment and forests
issued an order scrapping the mining unit three months ago. District
authorities, however, continued with the process of acquisition of land
after halting it temporarily.
(Deccan Chronicle Sep. 8, 2013)
People's court orders new hearing for Gogi uranium mine and mill project:
A regional Lok Adalat (People's court) on environment chaired by High
Court Judge Justice D V Shailendrakumar has directed Pollution Control
Board and Department of Environment to hold public hearing once again on
uranium mining at Gogi village of Shahapur taluka.
Chairing the Regional Lok Adalat on Saturday (Sep. 15), Shailendrakumar
observed that norms were not followed when the public hearing was
conducted on uranium mining earlier at Gogi village.
(IBN Sep. 16, 2012)
UCIL, state sign MoU for Gogi uranium mine and mill project:
The Uranium Corporation of India Ltd and Karnataka has signed a
Memorandum of Understanding to set up a uranium ore mining and
processing Plant in Karnataka.
UCIL proposed to invest Rs 5.5 billion [US$ 98 million] in the plant at
Gogi, Saidapur, Diggi and Umardoddi villages at Shahapur taluk of
Karnataka's Yadgir district, a UCIL release said here today.
The Karnataka government would help UCIL to obtain permissions,
registrations, approvals and clearances from the concerned departments
as per the existing policies and rules and regulations of the state
government, it said.
The project was expected to begin in 2013 and provide employment to 361,
it said.
(Outlook India June 18, 2012)
Environmental clearance issued for Gogi uranium mine project:
Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) has secured environmental
clearance for the development of its Gogi uranium reserves in the
southern Indian province of Karnataka, and would adopt mobile mining
technology for the project.
“Gogi has a very small deposit but of very high-grade uranium and it
would be most cost effective to use mobile mining for extraction of the
resource,” UCIL chairperson Diwakar Acharya said.
The mobile or retractable mining technology to be adopted would
incorporate a feeding, screening, crushing and processing plant on a
single mobile platform.
(Mining Weekly Mar. 1, 2012)
Karnataka Minister wants state government to halt uranium exploration at Gogi:
Opposing uranium mining at a village in Karnatka on grounds of health
hazard, state Minister for Small Scale Industries Raju Gowda today said
he would press the BJP Government to cancel the permission given to
Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) for the project.
The project for mining uranium in Gogi village in the newly created
Yadgir district in the northern part of the state if allowed would pose
"a grave health hazard" to the people, Gowda, who is also minister
in-charge of the district, said.
Speaking to reporters after holding consultations with people of the
Gogi village, elected representatives from the area, scientists and
experts here, the Minister said he would soon meet Chief Minister D V
Sadananda Gowda to cancel the permission given to UCIL for undertaking
uranium mining.
The state Government in July last accorded in-principle approval to UCIL
to undertake mining uranium and consented to allot 102 hectares in Gogi
village for the purpose. When his attention was drawn to the consent
given by some farmers to part with their land for uranium mining, Gowda
said they were unaware of the health hazard the activity posed and its
impact on environment.
He said the UCIL had already commenced its operations and dug up 273
metre-long tunnel and was discharging effluents into a nearby tank. He
claimed that the exploration work had caused health problems to several
people.
UCIL has been engaged in uranium exploratory work in the village since
2007.
(Deccan Herald Nov. 16, 2011)
State Task Force report points at health hazard from effluent releases at proposed Gogi uranium mine site:
The Western Ghats Task Force
(a special initiative of Govt. of Karnataka) has alleged that the
Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) has created serious health
hazards at Gogi village in Yadgir district, by letting out effluents
from its uranium testing site into a lake, which is a source of drinking
water to the villagers.
In a nine-page 'feedback' report, prepared by the Task Force on the
proposed uranium mining and processing project at Gogi, Task Force
Chairman Anant Hegde Ashisar said the villagers are worried about the
contamination of the drinking water source.
Besides, several borewells drilled by the UCIL to ascertain the density
of uranium deposits have caused harmful effects on the ecology. "The
villagers are, therefore, facing severe health problems. The drinking
water contamination problem should be addressed immediately," he has
said.
The Government should look into the concerns raised by the people before
giving final clearance to the project. The State High Level Clearance
Committee headed by the Chief Minister has already accorded in-principle
approval to the project.
The Task Force has also recommended to the Government to stop
acquisition of land for the project, until people's apprehensions were
addressed. The Government should also consider the views of the local
body, on priority. The Gogi gram panchayat had requested the Government
to stop the survey and mining work in the village, as several were
suffering from skin diseases due to contamination of the drinking water,
the report stated.
The Task Force recommended the Government to get “authentic” and
“reliable” reports on health and environment safety issues before taking
the final decision on giving permission to the proposed project.
(Deccan Herald Nov. 11, 2011)
State gives approval for uranium mining at Gogi:
Even as concerns of health and environmental hazards remain unsettled,
the State government has given its much-awaited approval for the project
proposal - uranium ore mining and processing plant - of the Uranium
Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) at Gogi and other villages in
Shahapur taluk of Yadgir district, about 80 km from Gulbarga.
With this, the controversial project has crossed a major hurdle although
it is required to obtain the all-important environmental clearances
from the State and Central agencies.
The State accorded the 'in-principle approval' at the recent State
High-Level Clearance Committee meeting to the Central undertaking for
carrying out mining and processing operations at Gogi, Saidapur, Diggi,
Umardoddi Khanapur and Shakapur villages of Shahapur taluk.
The UCIL has proposed to invest Rs 5.5 billion [US$ 111 million],
generating employment to only 361 persons. The State has also decided to
extend infrastructure facilities like land, water and power, besides
incentives and concessions as envisaged in the industrial policy of the
State.
The company is permitted to acquire 306.40 acres of land under Section
109 of the Karnataka Land Reforms Act in the said villages while
obtaining permission from the Shahapur Town Planning Authority. The UCIL
will require 1.08 million litres a day of water for its activities and
the same will be made available from River Bhima.
The project proponent will have to file a separate application to the
Water Resource Department for water allocation. It will require 8100 kVA
of power, which will have to be serviced by the Gulbarga Electricity
Supply Company.
The State government has put forth certain conditions, which are general
in nature and applicable to all other project proposals. They include
securing Consent For Establishment from the Karnataka State Pollution
Control Board and environmental clearance from the Union Ministry of
Environment and Forests. The UCIL has been asked to prepare a plan for
development of human resources required for the project, train local
people and provide employment.
"The company should take all measures with regard to environment, well
being of the persons living in and around the project. The local people
should be educated and informed about the project, safety measures
adopted and the steps taken by the company to avoid any environmental
hazards," an order issued by the Commerce and Industries Secretariat
said.
The UCIL has plans to extract 150 tonnes of uranium per year in the form
of sodium diuranate (SDU) salt for about 15 years. The uranium ore
reserves of Gogi are approximately 3,077 tonnes. Uranium mining lease is
spread over 39.13 ha of Gogi while the site of processing is spread
over 102.23 ha under Saidapur, Diggi, and Umardoddi.
It will produce 150,000 tonnes of uranium ore, which will be processed
to extract 150 tonnes of SDU per year. The uranium extracted as crude
salt will be trucked to the Nuclear Fuel Complex at Hyderabad for
further processing. The minerable reserves of uranium ore are adequate
for 15 years with a rated capacity of 500 tonnes a day.
(Deccan Herald Nov. 8, 2011)
Gogi residents demand relocation before start of uranium mine:
People of K Gogi village in Yadgir have demanded that they should be
shifted out before starting the uranium processing plant there.
"We have no objection if the unit comes up in the village. Causing loss
to the nation is also not our intention. Also, we are not strong enough
to face big companies. We are worried about the consequences for our
future generations. Please shift our village," the people told Ananth
Hegde Ashisara, chairman of the Western Ghats Task Force and
vice-chairman of the Bio-Diversity Board, who visited the village on
Saturday (Sep. 10).
Allauddin Babu Pasha, who spoke on behalf of the people in Gogi, said
uranium testing had begun in the village and many people here were
already suffering from various ailments because of this.
Effluents from the uranium testing site are being let into the tank in
the village, thereby contaminating the water. If this is the situation
in the initial stages, Pasha feared a worse scenario when full-fledged
uranium mining begins.
(Deccan Herald Sep. 10, 2011)
Local committee clears uranium mining in Gogi:
The hurdles placed by Gogi and surrounding villages of Shahapur taluk to
uranium mining in the area were cleared after a local committee
consisting of two prominent doctors of Yadgir district submitted a
report on the safety aspects of uranium mining.
The committee opined that uranium mining and ore processing can be
carried out with minimum or little hazard to the operating personnel and
people with good technology, commitment to personnel and environmental
safety and sound environmental management practices.
After visiting both proposed Gogi uranium mine site and Jaduguda,
the committee recommended to the government to allow UCIL to carry out
uranium mining on condition that it should follow 20 recommendations
made by it.
(ExpressBuzz Sep. 10, 2011)
UCIL to invest US$ 124 million in Gogi uranium mine project:
Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) will invest at least Rs 25
billion [US$ 561 million] during the 12th plan in new mine projects in
Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
"The investment [...] will cost [...] Rs 5.5 billion [US$ 124 million]
for a new mine [in] Karnataka," UCIL Director, Technical D Acharya said
here today.
(PTI July 27, 2011)
Gogi uranium mine gets state approval, before report of expert committee is discussed:
Karnataka is closer to having India's next uranium mine as Chief
Minister B S Yeddyurappa approved mining at Gogi village in Yadgir
district's Shahapur taluk on Thursday (July 14).
The approval comes after nearly four years of exploration in the area.
The uranium mine will have a life of 15 years during which it will
supply fuel to nuclear power plants in southern India.
Though the approval by the state government's High Level Clearance
Committee (HLCC) brings the project closer to implementation, it still
needs to get clearance from Union Ministry of Environment and Forestry
before Uranium Corporation of India Ltd can carry out commercial mining
and set up processing mills.
“The total deposit of uranium oxide is 4,250 tonnes. It's a high grade
deposit with 0.1 per cent uranium. This is as good as the deposit in Meghalaya. In comparison the ore in Jadugoda
(Jharkhand) is inferior with only 0.05-0.06 per cent uranium,” a senior
official in the department of atomic energy who does not wished to be
named, told Deccan Herald.
The mine and mills, which would be spread over 40 hectares, had been
opposed by local residents and elected representatives who feared it
would cause health hazards.
(Deccan Herald July 15, 2011)
The approval has come as a huge surprise to the people, even as the
committee of experts submitted its report last week over the ill-effects
of uranium mining and precautions to be taken.
The committee was formed following an unanimous decision taken at a
meeting jointly organised by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board
and the Uranium Corporation of India on November 16, 2010, at Gogi.
Following an appeal by the Yadgir Deputy Commissioner, a team led by Dr
Madhukavi and cancer specialist Dr Shekhar Patil had visited the mining
areas on February 2, 2011.
Mallanna Parivana, convenor of the Bhoomitayi Horata Samiti, said that
the government's approval, even before studying the pros and cons
mentioned in the report, would sound the death knell for the people.
People in Gogi said that 500 borewells drilled to look for and ascertain
the density of the uranium deposits in the area had led to harmful
effects on the people.
Contaminated water had also been released from the mining areas, allege
the people.
(Deccan Herald July 15, 2011)
UCIL denies access to detailed project report on Gogi uranium mine project, releases summary (!) of EIA upon appeal:
The proposed uranium mining and processing plant at Gogi in Shahapur
Taluk of Yadgir District is expected to extract 150 tonnes of uranium a
year in the form of sodium diuranate (SDU) salt for about 15 years.
The Uranium Corporation of India Limited
(UCIL) is all set to exploit the techno-commercially viable deposits at
Gogi, said to contain uranium ore of higher quality among all the
existing mines in the country.
Although the UCIL has refused to part with a copy of the detailed
project report (DPR) sought by Deccan Herald under the Right To
Information Act, the former, however, has made available a copy of
executive summary of Environment Impact Assessment (EIA).
After the UCIL Public Information Officer denied access to DPR and EIA,
an appeal was made before the appellate authority and subsequently UCIL
Director (Technical) D Acharya who is the appellate authority has
provided the summary of the EIA. According to him, the DPR was under the
consideration of Government of India.
The preliminary exploration conducted by the Atomic Mineral Directorate
(AMD), a constituent of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) for
exploration and research has established mineralisation over a strike
length of 2 km.
The ore reserves of Gogi are approximately 3,077 tonnes of uranium. The
UCIL, however, is yet to obtain a few important statutory clearances for
uranium mining such as environment clearance, Atomic Energy Regulatory
Board clearance, grant of mining lease, etc. Once clearances are
obtained, mining and processing will begin.
As many as four villages of Shahapur taluk will come in direct contact
of the mining and processing activities. Uranium mining lease is spread
over 39.13 hectares of land of Gogi village while the site of the
proposed ore processing plant is spread over 102.23 hectares under
three villages Saidapur, Diggi and Umardoddi.
The mine will produce 150,000 tonnes of uranium ore a year that will be
processed to extract 150 tonnes of uranium as SDU a year. The uranium
extracted as crude salt will be trucked to Nuclear Fuel Complex,
Hyderabad, which is about 250 km from Gogi, for further processing. The
minerable reserves of uranium ore are adequate for 15 years mine life
with rated capacity of 500 tonnes a day.
Presently, exploratory mining is being carried out at Gogi Uranium Mine.
Shaft sinking of five-metre diameter has already been started and a 135
m shaft has been sunk. The total length of 225 metres of the shaft will
be sunk before mining begins.
(Deccan Herald May 3, 2011)
Karnataka State government commits to permit uranium mining at Gogi only if posing no health or environmental hazards:
The State government will allow Uranium Corporation of India (UCI) to
mine uranium at Gogi village in Shahapur taluk in Gulbarga, only after
confirming that the operation does not pose any health or environmental
hazards.
Higher Education Minister V S Acharya told the Legislative Council on
Tuesday (Mar. 8) that UCI had sought permission to conduct uranium
mining on 39.13 hectares in Gogi village, which has about 2,681 metric
tonnes of uranium deposits.
The application seeking mining lease is under the government's
consideration, he said.
Acharya was replying - on behalf of the chief minister who holds the
mining portfolio - to a question raised by Manohar Maski who alleged
that UCI had started mining in the area and the local people were
complaining of health problems.
The minister said UCI had also filed an application before the Union
Ministry of Mines seeking permission to set up an uranium processing
unit at Gogi. The Karnataka State Pollution Control Board held a public
hearing in this regard on November 16 last year.
Denying allegations that UCI had already started mining operations at
Gogi, Acharya said the company was only conducting a few tests and
experiments. The State government had not sanctioned the lease to the
firm, he said.
Besides, he said, the government had issued directions to the Health
Department officials to send a detailed report on complaints that local
residents were facing health problems because of uranium mining.
(Deccan Herald Mar. 8, 2011)
Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. (UCIL) is all set to begin mining
uranium ore in 40 hectares of land in Gogi village of Shahapur taluk in
Yadgir district. The public hearing on the proposed project was held in
Gogi village on November 18, and UCIL is now awaiting final clearance
from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
Official sources told The Hindu here on Thursday (Nov. 25) that the
ministry had already given environmental clearance for the exploratory
mine in May 2007, and a formal application for mining in 39.133 hectares
was submitted on February 24.
Initial processing of the uranium ore will be done at the processing
plant to be set up at Saidapur, Diggi and Umaradoddi villages, 6 km from
the mining area.
Sources said there was no threat of radiation from mining uranium ore in
Gogi. The initial study conducted by UCIL said there would not be any
significant radiological impact on the local population.
(The Hindu Nov. 26, 2010)
The Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) is all set to start the
long-awaited uranium mining at Gogi in Shahapur taluk of Yadgir
district.
After having successfully carried out a series of field trials the UCIL
has now come to the final stage and the uranium processing unit will be
established at the nearby Diggi village.
Based on positive results of exploration activities performed near Gogi,
UCIL has prepared a feasibility report and has sent a proposal to the
Centre seeking clearnace for putting up a 500-TPD (tonnes per day) mine
and a uranium processing unit, UCIL Executive Director N M Bahl has
stated in a communication to Ramannagouda Kollur, a resident of Gogi.
The actual mining and processing of uranium is likely to start in about
two years after completing all the formalities. Uranium deposits
sufficient for mining for a period of 15 years are available in Gogi. In
future, UCIL plans to utilise the uranium deposits in the Bhima belt
from Sedam in Gulbarga to Muddebihal in Bijapur.
The Gogi unit, estimated to cost Rs 5.5 billion [US$ 122 million], is
expected to make the country self-sufficient in uranium. The clearances
from the State and the Central governments are expected to be obtained
in October this year. Gogi uranium unit is the third in the country,
after Jaduguda in Jharkhand and Pulivendula in Andhra Pradesh.
Rich uranium deposits have been found in the Gogi belt covering the
villages of Gogi, Ukkinal, Darshanapur in Shahapur taluk, and Thinthini
and other places in Surapur taluk. Uranium processed here will be used
for defence and power generation purpose.
The UCIL has sent a proposal for acquiring 200 acres of land of Saidapur
and Umaradoddi villages and 4 (1) notification has already been issued.
The site surrounded by hillocks on three sides is stated to be ideal
for processing. In Gogi village trial mining has been done in an area of
4.27 acres.
(Deccan Herald May 14, 2010)
Shahapur taluk (county) tax collector Janardhan Upadhya confirmed that
they had received a letter from Atomic Research Centre (ARC), Hyderabad,
asking for requisition of 100 acres of land. He said the revenue
department would submit a proposal to the Karnataka government so that
they could acquire the land, using the "Urgency Clause", under section
17 of the Land Acquisition Act since the Union government needed the
land.
But the Gogi gram panchayat (local government) is up in arms over the
proposal to mine uranium in the village. It has decided to request the
government to instruct ARC to close its survey/mining work in the
village.
The local government in its resolution has said that many people were
suffering from skin diseases as effluents from drilling were mixing with
the drinking water; they said that drilling was polluting water in the
bore-wells as well.
(ExpressBuzz June 30, 2009)
Exploration by the Hyderabad-based Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMDER) has found large traces of uranium in Gogi village in the Bhima River basin in Shahapur taluk (county).
"Experts say we have one of the richest grade of uranium in the world
below us," sources in the district administration said. AMDER officials
have written to the state government that the Gogi project has yielded
large deposits of high-quality uranium. They have also said uranium
mining at this site would turn out to be economically viable.
According to a report submitted to the DC's office, a borehole dug to
the depth of 80 metres revealed more than 0.1% uranium oxide, the
highest value of uranium deposit found outside Canada [!?].
Following this, AMDER has called for tenders from experienced miners to
develop an underground mine. The work, estimated to cost Rs 13.5 crore
[US$ 2.8 million], is expected to be completed in 36 months.
(Times of India June 30, 2009)
Evaluation of economic viability of the uranium deposit at Gogi in Gulbarga
district of Karnataka is in progress. (UCIL Annual Report 2005-2006)
Rajasthan
> See also Issues for: Operating Mines · Decommissioning Projects · Legislation & Regulations
> See also Data for: Deposits, Proposed and Active Mines · Old Mines and Decommissioning
General
Village water claimed to be contaminated by uranium exploration
Jahaj village panchayat area of Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan has been devastated with contamination of water resources and sinking water tables. The locals have been alleging the situation on uranium exploration exercise held in the region by central government agencies. Amid the deteriorating situation, the public health engineering department minister of the state on Monday (Mar. 20) announced to get the issue investigated. (The Statesman Mar. 20, 2017)
Uranium exploration approved at Khandela and Raghunathgarh in Sikar district, Rajasthan
The Union forest and environment ministry has given the green signal to Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMDER) to explore uranium in Sikar district. Since it is a forest area, it needed the environmental clearance from the Centre. After approval, the state forest department has allowed AMDER to conduct the exploration. State principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) Abhijeet Ghosh said that the exploration work, spread over an area of 1,000 hectares of forest land in Khandela and 150 hectares in Raghunathgarh, is expected to be completed in two years. (The Times of India Jan. 11, 2009)
Rohil - Ghateswar deposit (Sikar district)
> View deposit info Evaluation of economic viability of the uranium deposit at Rohil - Ghateswar in Sikar district of Rajasthan is in progress. (UCIL Annual Report 2005-2006)
Chhattisgarh
General · Bodal
> See also Issues for: Operating Mines · Decommissioning Projects · Legislation & Regulations
> See also Data for: Deposits, Proposed and Active Mines · Old Mines and Decommissioning
Bodal deposit (Rajnandagaon district)
> View deposit info Evaluation and resource estimation of the Bodal uranium deposit, Rajnandagaon district, Chhattisgarh was completed in 1985. (UCIL Milestones)
Assam
> See also Issues for: Operating Mines · Decommissioning Projects · Legislation & Regulations
> See also Data for: Deposits, Proposed and Active Mines · Old Mines and Decommissioning
General
ONGC zeroes in on Assam site for uranium exploration
In a boost to the flagging domestic uranium mining effort, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has zeroed in on a location in Assam and has submitted a proposal to Uranium Corporation of India Ltd (UCIL) for jointly exploring the resource.
The public sector oil major has an agreement in place with UCIL to pursue exploration and exploitation of uranium resources.
(The Hindu Sep. 29, 2009)
Tamil Nadu
> See also Issues for: Operating Mines · Decommissioning Projects · Legislation & Regulations
> See also Data for: Deposits, Proposed and Active Mines · Old Mines and Decommissioning
Cauvery
The state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) has started mining for uranium in the Cauvery area in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu in partnership with Uranium Corp. of India, the chairman said.
(Bloomberg Aug. 4, 2011)
Rasimalai
The Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) for Exploration and Research (Southern Region) of the Department of Atomic Energy, has extended its exploration activity in Rasimalai hilltop in Vellore Forest Division till September 2014, to collect bulk samples for discovering deposits of rare minerals. (Indian Express Jan. 8, 2014)
Meghalaya
> View extra page
http://www.wise-uranium.org/upin.html
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India’s nuclear industry pours its wastes into a river of death and disease
December 17, 2015
Scientists say nuclear workers, village residents, and children living near mines and factories are falling ill after persistent exposure to unsafe radiation
On August 21, 2014, however, a justice in this state’s court ordered an
official inquiry into allegations that the nuclear industry has exposed
tens of thousands of workers and villagers to dangerous levels of
radiation, heavy metals or other carcinogens, including arsenic, from
polluted rivers and underground water supplies that have percolated
through the foodchain — from fish swimming in the Subarnarekha River to
vegetables washed in its tainted water....
The Indian commission argues all problems at the nuclear complex have
been corrected and that no cases of radiation poisoning have been
proven. But the court files include compelling stories of how residents
have been stonewalled and criminalized, and their communities
strong-armed, to ensure that nothing gets in the way of India’s nuclear
dream.
Poor conditions for those who work or live near nuclear facilities have
been largely unchanged for decades. When we drove into Jadugoda, we
quickly spotted laborers, barefooted, and without protective clothing,
riding trucks laden with uranium ore through villages, their tarpaulins
gaping and dust spewing. Ore was scattered everywhere: on the roads,
over the fields and into the rivers and drains. Uranium tailing ponds
that dribbled effluent into neighboring fields were readily accessible,
and children played nearby as their parents gathered wood. Washed
clothes hung from tailings pipes carrying irradiated slurry. Four months
after we left, last March, some of these pipes burst, again sending
toxic slurry into Chatikocha village, where residents were supposed to
have removed, but remain.
Alarms about these activities were circulating as long ago as 2005, when
India and the United States began work on a pact expanding cooperation
on civil nuclear power. A joint statement that
year by President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
about the pact included a promise to safeguard the environment, but
hailed reactors as a way to meet “global energy demands in a cleaner and
more efficient manner...”
https://www.publicintegrity.org/2015/12/14/18844/india-s-nuclear-industry-pours-its-wastes-river-death-and-disease
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Tonnes of fish die in Kelo river, Chattisgarh due to toxic industrial waste - Update from CGNetSwara
2011-03-29
Savita Rath from Raigarh says when people went to take bath this morning in Kelo River they found many dead fish.
After exploration she found that more than 3 ton fish have died in Kelo River in last one week.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/tonnes-fish-die-kelo-river-chattisgarh-due-toxic-industrial-waste-update-cgnetswara
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Canal water for drinking, toxic groundwater for irrigation!
May 2016
While Punjab is increasingly increasing using
canal water for drinking on account of high toxicity in the ground
water, it will now pump out this water for irrigation purposes.
The new tubewell connections – 1.25 lakh - will not just deplete the
state’s already depleted water table, but water pumped up from these
tubewells pose a risk of contaminating the food grains and vegetables
grown in the fields.
Sources in the Water Supply and Sanitation Department said that with
high concentration of heavy metals in water pumped from the tubewells -
lead, fluorides, nitrates, selenium, arsenic, iron, aluminum and
mercury- they are sourcing canal water for drinking purposes in many
parts of the state.
A sum of Rs 310 crore has been set aside for this purpose for 140 villages in Moga and 36 villages in Barnala.
While such projects in these two districts are ready for implementation,
four other districts - Sangrur, Hoshiarpur, Gurdaspur and parts of
Amritsar- too have to be shifted to canal based drinking water supply.
Sources say that once drinking water supply is drawn from canals the
water from tubewells can be used only for washing clothes and for
bathing- that too only in cases where the fluoride and mercury content
is within permissible limits.
According to the latest data available from Bhabha Atomic Research
Centre and Punjab Biotechnology Incubator, Moga has 111 habitations
having uranium, 47 habitations having aluminum and 24 having lead - all
beyond the permissible limits. In Barnala, the uranium content in 95
villages, aluminum in 19 villages and lead in two habitations were found
to be beyond the permissible limits.
In these two districts, even the basic parameters in water, fluoride and
iron were higher than the permissible limit forcing the department to
switch over to canal water as is prevalent in most parts of Malwa
region.
In Doaba and Majha regions of the state, the drinking water supply is
mainly through 5000 tubewells. Even in these regions, the first aquifer
and second aquifer (the water strata underground) have a high
concentration of heavy metals...
http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/community/canal-water-for-drinking-toxic-groundwater-for-irrigation/238301.html
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The poisoned waters of Punjab
2015-08-29
A study found that drinking water samples in SW Punjab were highly
contaminated with uranium, thereby increasing the radiological and
chemical risks to human health.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/poisoned-waters-punjab
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Uranium distribution study in the drinking water samples of
SW Punjab, India
http://www.imedpub.com/articles/uranium-distribution-study-in-the-drinking-water-samples-of-sw-punjab-india.pdf
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Regulation of nuclear radiation exposures in India.
2004
Abstract
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15162860
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Impact of particle size, temperature and humic acid on sorption of uranium in agricultural soils of Punjab
2015 Jun
Batch experiments were conducted to study the sorption of uranium (U)
onto soil in deionised water as a function of its dosage, temperature
and humic acid (HA). Furthermore, soils were characterized for particle
sizes in the form of sand (>63 µm), silt (>2–<63 µm) and clay
(<2 µm). The textural analysis revealed that soils were admixture of
mainly sand and silt along with a small abundance of clay. X-ray
diffraction analysis indicates that clay factions ranging from 2.8 to 5%
dominated by quartz and montmorillonite. Experimental results indicated
that soil with high abundance of clays and low sand content has
relatively high U sorption which could be due to availability of high
exchange surfaces for metal ions. However, at low concentration of HA,
sorption of U was maximum and thereby decreased as the HA concentration
increased. The maximum sorption may be due to increase in the negative
active surface sites on HA and further decrease could be attributed to
saturation of sorption site and surface precipitation. Conversely, the
thermodynamic data suggested that the sorption is spontaneous and
enhanced at higher temperature.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4469604/
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A study on the impact of phosphate fertilizers on the radioactivity profile of cultivated soils in Srirangam (Tamil Nadu, India)
2014
Abstract
Phosphate fertilizers are enriched with 238U
during its production from phosphate rocks. Since, application of
phosphate fertilizers in modern agriculture is ever on the increase, the
present study investigated the impact of phosphate fertilizers on the
radioactivity profile of cultivated (fertilized) soils as against virgin
soils. Thirty soil samples each from cultivated fields and virgin
fields were collected from Srirangam taluk and analyzed for the activity
concentrations of 238U, 232Th and 40K
employing gamma ray spectrometry. Similar analysis was also undertaken
in commonly used phosphate fertilizers. Among the phosphate fertilizers
analyzed single super phosphate (396.3 Bq/kg) and triple super phosphate
(284.2 Bq/kg) registered higher level of 238U. The mean activity level of 238U in cultivated soil (8.4 Bq/kg) was 25% higher than that of virgin soil (6.8 Bq/kg), while the mean 232Th and 40K
activities in cultivated soil (98.4 Bq/kg & 436 Bq/kg) were
elevated by 12.4% and 4% respectively as compared to virgin soil
(87.5 Bq/kg & 419 Bq/kg). The mean radium equivalent (Raeq)
value for virgin and cultivated soil samples was found to be
164.5 Bq/kg and 181.7 Bq/kg respectively. It is evident that the
application of phosphate fertilizers elevated 238U level of the soil. However, the mean Raeq
value for soil samples is well below the permissible limit of 370 Bq/kg
and hence cultivated soils do not pose any radiological risk.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1687850714000879
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Actinides in the environment
Actinides in the environment refer to the sources, environmental behaviour and effects of actinides in Earth's environment. Environmental radioactivity is not limited solely to actinides; non-actinides such as radon and radium are of note.
Thorium in the environment
In India, a large amount of thorium ore can be found in the form of monazite in placer deposits of the Western and Eastern coastal dune sands, particularly in the Tamil Nadu
coastal areas. The residents of this area are exposed to a naturally
occurring radiation dose ten times higher than the worldwide average.
Occurrence
Thorium is found at low levels in most rocks and soils, where it is about three times more abundant than uranium, and is about as common as lead. Soil commonly contains an average of around 6 parts per million (ppm) of thorium. Thorium occurs in several minerals, the most common being the rare earth-thorium-phosphate mineral, monazite, which contains up to about 12% thorium oxide. There are substantial deposits in several countries. 232Th decays very slowly (its half-life is about three times the age of the earth). Other isotopes of thorium occur in the thorium and uranium decay chains. Most of these are short-lived and hence much more radioactive than 232Th, though on a mass basis they are negligible.
Effects in humans
Thorium has been linked to liver cancer. In the past thoria (thorium dioxide) was used as a contrast agent for medical X-ray radiography but its use has been discontinued. It was sold under the name Thorotrast.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actinides_in_the_environment
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Coal Ash Is More Radioactive Than Nuclear Waste
By burning away all the pesky carbon and other impurities, coal power plants produce heaps of radiation
December 13, 2007
At issue is coal's content of uranium and thorium, both radioactive
elements. They occur in such trace amounts in natural, or "whole," coal
that they aren't a problem. But when coal is burned into fly ash,
uranium and thorium are concentrated at up to 10 times their original
levels.
Fly ash uranium sometimes leaches into the soil and water surrounding
a coal plant, affecting cropland and, in turn, food. People living
within a "stack shadow"—the area within a half- to one-mile (0.8- to
1.6-kilometer) radius of a coal plant's smokestacks—might then ingest
small amounts of radiation. Fly ash is also disposed of in landfills and
abandoned mines and quarries, posing a potential risk to people living
around those areas.
In a 1978 paper for Science, J. P. McBride at Oak Ridge
National Laboratory (ORNL) and his colleagues looked at the uranium and
thorium content of fly ash from coal-fired power plants in Tennessee and
Alabama. To answer the question of just how harmful leaching could be,
the scientists estimated radiation exposure around the coal plants and
compared it with exposure levels around boiling-water reactor and
pressurized-water nuclear power plants.
The result: estimated radiation doses ingested by people living near
the coal plants were equal to or higher than doses for people living
around the nuclear facilities. At one extreme, the scientists estimated
fly ash radiation in individuals' bones at around 18 millirems
(thousandths of a rem, a unit for measuring doses of ionizing radiation)
a year. Doses for the two nuclear plants, by contrast, ranged from
between three and six millirems for the same period. And when all food
was grown in the area, radiation doses were 50 to 200 percent higher
around the coal plants.
McBride and his co-authors estimated that individuals living near
coal-fired installations are exposed to a maximum of 1.9 millirems of
fly ash radiation yearly. To put these numbers in perspective, the
average person encounters 360 millirems of annual "background radiation"
from natural and man-made sources, including substances in Earth's
crust, cosmic rays, residue from nuclear tests and smoke detectors.
Dana Christensen, associate lab director for energy and engineering
at ORNL, says that health risks from radiation in coal by-products are
low. "Other risks like being hit by lightning," he adds, "are three or
four times greater than radiation-induced health effects from coal
plants." And McBride and his co-authors emphasize that other products of
coal power, like emissions of acid rain–producing sulfur dioxide and
smog-forming nitrous oxide, pose greater health risks than radiation.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains an online database of fly
ash–based uranium content for sites across the U.S. In most areas, the
ash contains less uranium than some common rocks. In Tennessee's
Chattanooga shale, for example, there is more uranium in phosphate rock.
Robert Finkelman, a former USGS coordinator of coal quality who
oversaw research on uranium in fly ash in the 1990s, says that for the
average person the by-product accounts for a miniscule amount of
background radiation, probably less than 0.1 percent of total background
radiation exposure. According to USGS calculations, buying a house in a
stack shadow—in this case within 0.6 mile [one kilometer] of a coal
plant—increases the annual amount of radiation you're exposed to by a
maximum of 5 percent. But that's still less than the radiation
encountered in normal yearly exposure to X-rays.
So why does coal waste appear so radioactive? It's a matter of
comparison: The chances of experiencing adverse health effects from
radiation are slim for both nuclear and coal-fired power plants—they're
just somewhat higher for the coal ones. "You're talking about one chance
in a billion for nuclear power plants," Christensen says. "And it's one
in 10 million to one in a hundred million for coal plants."
Radiation from uranium and other elements in coal might only form a
genuine health risk to miners, Finkelman explains. "It's more of an
occupational hazard than a general environmental hazard," he says. "The
miners are surrounded by rocks and sloshing through ground water that is
exuding radon."
Developing countries like India and China continue to unveil new coal-fired plants—at
the rate of one every seven to 10 days in the latter nation. And the
U.S. still draws around half of its electricity from coal. But coal
plants have an additional strike against them: they emit harmful greenhouse gases.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste/
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Uranium series dating of Allan Hills ice
March 30, 1986
Uranium-238
decay series nuclides dissolved in Antarctic ice samples were measured
in areas of both high and low concentrations of volcanic glass shards.
Ice from the Allan Hills site (high shard content) had high Ra-226,
Th-230 and U-234 activities but similarly low U-238 activities in
comparison with Antarctic ice samples without shards. The Ra-226, Th-230
and U-234 excesses were found to be proportional to the shard content,
while the U-238 decay series results were consistent with the assumption
that alpha decay products recoiled into the ice from the shards.
Through this method of uranium series dating, it was learned that the
Allen Hills
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19860049995
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1.2 Billion-Year-Old Groundwater in South African Mine Has the Highest Radioactive Products Ever Discovered in a Fluid
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1.2-Billion-Year-Old Groundwater System Found in South African Mine
Jul 6, 2022
Geologists have discovered 1.2-billion-year-old groundwater about 3 km below surface in Moab Khotsong, a gold- and uranium-producing mine in South Africa. This ancient groundwater is enriched in the highest concentrations of radiogenic products yet discovered in fluid. The discovery have implications beyond Earth, where on rocky planets such as Mars, subsurface water may persist on long timescales despite surface conditions that no longer provide a habitable zone.
Uranium and other radioactive elements naturally occur in the surrounding host rock that contains mineral and ore deposits.
These elements hold new information about the groundwater’s role as a power generator for chemolithotrophic, or rock-eating, groups of co-habitating microorganisms previously discovered in the Earth’s deep subsurface.
When elements like uranium, thorium and potassium decay in the subsurface, the resulting alpha, beta, and gamma radiation has ripple effects, triggering what are called radiogenic reactions in the surrounding rocks and fluids.
At Moab Khotsong, a gold and uranium mine located in the Witwatersrand Basin, within the Kaapvaal Craton, South Africa, University of Toronto researcher Oliver Warr and colleagues found large amounts of radiogenic helium, neon, argon and xenon, and an unprecedented discovery of krypton-86 — a never-before-seen tracer of this powerful reaction history.
The radiation also breaks apart water molecules in a process called radiolysis, producing large concentrations of hydrogen, an essential energy source for subsurface microbial communities deep in the Earth that are unable to access energy from the sun for photosynthesis.
http://www.sci-news.com/geology/moab-khotsong-groundwater-10972.html
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Alpha decay
Alpha decay or α-decay is a type of radioactive decay in which an atomic nucleus emits an alpha particle (helium nucleus). The parent nucleus transforms or "decays" into a daughter product, with a mass number that is reduced by four and an atomic number that is reduced by two. An alpha particle is identical to the nucleus of a helium-4 atom, which consists of two protons and two neutrons. It has a charge of +2 e and a mass of 4 Da. For example, uranium-238 decays to form thorium-234.
While alpha particles have a charge +2 e, this is not usually shown because a nuclear equation describes a nuclear reaction without considering the electrons – a convention that does not imply that the nuclei necessarily occur in neutral atoms.
Alpha decay typically occurs in the heaviest nuclides. Theoretically, it can occur only in nuclei somewhat heavier than nickel (element 28), where the overall binding energy per nucleon is no longer a maximum and the nuclides are therefore unstable toward spontaneous fission-type processes. In practice, this mode of decay has only been observed in nuclides considerably heavier than nickel, with the lightest known alpha emitter being the second lightest isotope of antimony, 104Sb.[1] Exceptionally, however, beryllium-8 decays to two alpha particles.
Alpha decay is by far the most common form of cluster decay, where the parent atom ejects a defined daughter collection of nucleons, leaving another defined product behind. It is the most common form because of the combined extremely high nuclear binding energy and relatively small mass of the alpha particle. Like other cluster decays, alpha decay is fundamentally a quantum tunneling process. Unlike beta decay, it is governed by the interplay between both the strong nuclear force and the electromagnetic force.
Alpha particles have a typical kinetic energy of 5 MeV (or ≈ 0.13% of their total energy, 110 TJ/kg) and have a speed of about 15,000,000 m/s, or 5% of the speed of light. There is surprisingly small variation around this energy, due to the strong dependence of the half-life of this process on the energy produced. Because of their relatively large mass, the electric charge of +2 e and relatively low velocity, alpha particles are very likely to interact with other atoms and lose their energy, and their forward motion can be stopped by a few centimeters of air.
Approximately 99% of the helium produced on Earth is the result of the alpha decay of underground deposits of minerals containing uranium or thorium. The helium is brought to the surface as a by-product of natural gas production.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_decay
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Synchronous Measurements of Alpha-Decay of 239 Pu Carried out at North Pole, Antarctic, and in Puschino Confirm that the Shapes of the Respective Histograms Depend on the Diurnal Rotation of the Earth and on the Direction of the Alpha-Particle Beam
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Antarctica's Sunrise, Sunset & The Green Flash Phenomenon
May 23rd, 2024
The Green Flash at Sunset (or Sunrise)
Speaking of mirages: Among the most famous and elusive optical phenomena that can be observed in Antarctica’s pristine skies is the rarely observed and much-coveted green flash. The green flash describes a generally very fleeting smudge, disc, or rim of emerald—or, sometimes, blue—flaring out above the Sun when it’s nearly or entirely below the horizon.
Clear, clean, still air and a very level horizon provide the best conditions for observing the green flash. The White Continent’s icy seascapes and high, flat (and little-visited) Polar Plateau offer a prime setup, even if the odds of spotting the green flash during any given Antarctica sunset are low.
Indeed, so uncommon and unpredictable is the green flash that over the centuries it’s sometimes been passed off as a mariner’s myth. Yet photographs exist that prove its existence, and some Antarctic tourists have indeed lucked out with a once-in-a-lifetime glimpse.
The 1929 Green Flash Observation at Little America in Antarctica
On October 16, 1929, members of Admiral Richard Byrd’s first Antarctic expedition enjoyed one heck of a green-flash spectacle—perhaps the most impressive ever recorded by human observers—from the Little America base on the Ross Ice Shelf.
They saw the green flash on and off for more than a half-hour, much longer than the usual momentary, don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it firing. An academic analysis in 2015 suggested that a combination of factors likely accounted for this extended show. These included “strong atmospheric refraction” facilitating a so-called Novaya Zemyla-style mirage—which can produce a distorted image of the Sun when it’s actually several degrees below the horizon—as well as the expedition members effectively landing themselves two sunsets by climbing up Little America’s radio towers during the event.
https://www.antarcticacruises.com/guide/antarctica-sunrise-sunset-and-the-green-flash
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Someone Detonated a Nuclear Weapon And We Don't Know Who
Jun 20, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijaeqm7pHzc&t=9s
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Nuclear Explosion seen from New Zealand!
2022
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2kU-OzhexUk
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Vela incident
The Vela incident was an unidentified double flash of light detected by an American Vela Hotel satellite on 22 September 1979 near the South African territory of Prince Edward Islands in the Indian Ocean, roughly midway between Africa and Antarctica. Today, most independent researchers believe that the flash was caused by a nuclear explosion[1][2][3]—an undeclared ocean surface nuclear test of an Israeli device, carried out jointly by South Africa and Israel.
The cause of the flash remains officially unknown, and some information about the event remains classified by the US government.[5] While it has been suggested that the signal could have been caused by a meteoroid hitting the satellite, the previous 41 double flashes detected by the Vela satellites were caused by nuclear weapons tests. The conclusion is also supported by subsequent US hydroacoustic and meteorological satellite data.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vela_incident
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The Vela Incident: Did Israel and South Africa Secretly Test a Nuclear Bomb?
Jul 24, 2025
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JbkekaHvYU
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The Israel-South Africa nuclear arms story
Jul 5, 2014
https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-israel-south-africa-nuclear-arms-story/
In the growing campaign to delegitimize Israel, exaggerated accusations of military cooperation and recklessly false allegations of nuclear cooperation are again beginning to surface. It has therefore become important to look at the facts.
On May 24 2010 the Guardian published what it described as a sensational revelation titled “Revealed: how Israel offered to sell South Africa nuclear weapons.
Exclusive: Secret apartheid-era papers give first official evidence of Israeli nuclear weapons”
The article by Chris McGreal described documents, said to be uncovered by Sasha Polakow-Suransky, purporting to provide evidence of a secret military agreement signed by Shimon Peres and P W Botha under which Israel allegedly offered to sell nuclear warheads to the apartheid regime,. It alleged that “top secret” minutes of meetings between senior officials from the two countries in 1975 show that South Africa’s defense minister, PW Botha, asked for the warheads and Shimon Peres, then Israel’s defense minister responded by offering them “in three sizes”.
Below is my response which The Guardian refused to publish
To the editor, The Guardian
From Maurice Ostroff May 29, 2010
Response to the Guardian’s sensational article
“Secret apartheid-era papers give first official evidence of Israeli nuclear weapons”
The above May 24 article demands a right of reply because it is blatantly misleading, as evidenced by the hero of the story himself, Sasha Polakow-Suransky. He is quoted as having uncovered evidence of an Israeli offer of nuclear arms to South Africa (SA), although he contradicted this claim during a TV interview with Al Jazeera, in which he said categorically that the alleged discussions in SA were not about nuclear arms. They were about the Jericho missile and there was no actual offer mentioned in the documents; South Africans only PERCEIVED there was an offer on the table.
All pretences of academic integrity are thrown to the winds when a researcher claims that nuclear arms were offered knowing, as he admitted, that that this was not the case and when he presents as factual, a “PERCEIVED” offer.
This is what was said:
Interviewer: “..is it actual nuclear material that was to come from Israel, or was it knowledge, know how, advice?
Pokalow-Suransky: ..The topic of these meetings was Jericho missiles….Shimon Peres has now denied that he ever made an explicit offer. However, what’s clear from reading these documents and subsequent South African documents that were written later that day and in the following days is that the South Africans perceived there was a nuclear offer on the table”.
Interviewer: Ok, let me stop you there. A Jericho missile- is that a nuclear-capable missile or is that a specific nuclear weapon? Just to be very clear?”
Polakow-Suransky: “It’s a missile that can carry a nuclear warhead”.
And further on
Interviewer : “So is there actually, to coin a phrase here, a “smoking gun” that we can see here?… Is there the definitive thing here that says a nuclear weapon was going to be sold to South Africa if this plan had gone through?”
Polakow-Suransky: “There is not a smoking gun in the sense that you just laid out. What there is, is evidence that this was discussed at the very highest levels between two defense ministers and that the issue of nuclear weapons was broached and the South Africans believed it was on the table. “
The Context
First of all it is important to stress that the alleged
negotiations took place in 1975, at a time when the USA and other
countries were dealing freely with South Africa and exchanging high
level visits, e.g. in 1984 PM Thatcher invited SA’s PM P.W. Botha to
visit Britain. Secondly, Suransky admits that there is not the slightest
suggestion in the documents he refers to, that the nuclear warhead he
assumes the South Africans had in mind, would be supplied by Israel.
In the circumstances the title,
“Secret apartheid-era papers give first official evidence of Israeli nuclear weapons” is glaringly inaccurate.
The inference that
“the issue of nuclear weapons was broached and that the South Africans believed it was on the table”
is nothing more than Mr. Suransky’s opinion, formed, in his words, by” connecting the dots” and inexcusably presented as factual.
But good journalism precludes presenting of opinion as fact and should be accurate and balanced. Accuracy requires not only avoidance of misinformation but also presentation of all relevant facts that assist the reader to understand the topic even when some of them conflict with the writer’s preconceived views. Omitting relevant information distorts the perception of events and misinforms the public. Balance requires the presentation of a perspective, so that the reader can evaluate the event in relation to surrounding circumstances.
Any reader who takes the trouble to listen to the Al Jazeera interview with Mr. Suransky will be convinced that this article lacks both accuracy and balance.
The article creates the false impression that Israel was the principal supporter of apartheid SA and this intense focus on Israel’s involvement with the South African nuclear program while ignoring the total context deserves an examination of the facts.
Israel’s alleged involvement in SA’s nuclear program is based on two main factors.
1. In 1977 SA was reported to have bartered 50 tons of yellowcake for 30 grams of Israeli tritium that the South Africans did not use in manufacturing nuclear devices. Tritium can only be used to amplify the output of an implosion bomb not a gun type bomb. According to the nonproliferation Review, SA Africa opted for a gun type, rather than an implosion device. The tritium was therefore not used in SA’s nuclear weapon program and instead it was eventually used in devices such as road signs.
2. In 1979 SA and Israel allegedly conducted a joint nuclear test in the South Atlantic that was believed to have been detected by the US Vela reconnaissance satellite, but a panel of experts ordered by President Carter, concluded in May 1980 that the signal was more likely due to a meteoroid hitting the satellite. Other experts concluded that Vela had detected a nuclear detonation but there was no certainty as to the whether the originator was Israel, SA or perhaps Russia. An unclassified report issued by the US National Security Council may be viewed at http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB190/04.pdf
By any standard, Israel’s involvement is insignificant by comparison with major players like Norway which supplied 6 to 7 kg of heavy water, the USA, Britain, Pakistan France, Belgium, Switzerland, China, the Federal Republic of Germany and Western Germany who supplied enriched uranium and complete reactors as cataloged by The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI).
SA was among several main nodes of the Pakistani nuclear-related network headed by the infamous Pakistani, A.Q Khan that exported know-how on uranium enrichment and centrifugation technology. On May 2, 2007 the Johannesburg Mail and Guardian reported that in the trial of Gerhard Wisser and Daniel Geiges Wisser they admitted involvement with A.Q.Khan and that their company, set up in 1966, supplied parts imported from Germany to SA’s state Uranium Enrichment Corporation (Ucor) during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In return for supplying about 40,000 tons of uranium oxide to the US, SA sent over ninety scientists and technicians for training in the US and the US supplied SA with a nuclear research reactor (SAFARI-I) plus about 100 kg of weapon-grade uranium fuel over a ten year period, including 1975 when the alleged meeting with Peres took place. The US ineffectively halted its support in 1976 in response to SA’s refusal to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In 1976 the French Framatome-Framateg undertook to supply nuclear fuel and services for Koeberg atomic power station and between 1980 –1982, two German firms, exported an ultrasound device used in the fuel fabrication process. In 1981, China supplied SA with 60 tons of unsafeguarded enriched uranium that enabled SA to triple weapons-grade uranium output.
Others involved were the Franco-Belge de Fabrication de Combustibles (FBFC), MAN-Energie of the Federal Republic of Germany, Synaton of Belgium and the Kaiseraugst nuclear power firm – a joint venture of Switzerland, France and West Germany and French Thomson-CSF. As late as 1990, Framatome was still supplying nuclear fuel and Scandiflash of Sweden sold SA a “roentgen absorber” which made it possible to carry out a nuclear explosion under laboratory conditions.
The Guardian’s insistence on ignoring all the above readily available information must be ascribed either to overt bias or perhaps to implicit or hidden bias, a concept which postulates that our social behavior is not completely under our conscious control as described by Americans for American Values, a consortium of researchers and social justice advocates. See http://americansforamericanvalues.org/unconsciousbias/
-------------------------------------------------------
Flash from the past: Why an apparent Israeli nuclear test in 1979 matters today
September 8, 2015
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Chapter 2: Pesticides
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Dupont India, Rallis to market each other's pesticides
2004
-----------------------------------------
Syngenta and Bayer sell ‘dangerous’ pesticides in India
Oct 2015
Swiss agrochemicals firm Syngenta and Germany’s Bayer have been accused
of distributing dangerous pesticides in India’s Punjab region without
sufficient safety information. The Basel-based firm says it is
investigating the claims.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/pesticides_syngenta-and-bayer-sell--dangerous--indian-pesticides/41717088
------------------------------------------
Pesticides suspected to be carcinogenic escape govt ban list
Feb 14, 2016
A clutch of pesticides that could be carcinogenic and banned in many countries will continue their run in India, though a government panel has recently decided to ban 18 insect killers hazardous to human health and prohibited abroad.
A clutch of pesticides that could be carcinogenic and banned in many countries will continue their run in India, though a government panel has recently decided to ban 18 insect killers hazardous to human health and prohibited abroad.
This is the first time a decision to ban such a big number of pesticides was taken. There are 261 pesticides registered in India but only 28 had been banned so far.
It followed an agriculture ministry expert committee’s findings that 19 of 66 pesticides, most of which are used in India for the past four decades but banned in foreign nations, are “likely/probable carcinogenic in nature”. The results were based on studies conducted worldwide.
The panel constituted in 2015 said in its report to the government last December that chemicals used in these pesticides are highly toxic.
Environmental activists called the measure too little, late too. “For 40 years we had been eating these chemicals. It’s a failure of the regulatory mechanism. We first allow such chemicals to enter our food chain and then conduct tests on them,” said Sridhar Radhakrishnan, the programme director of Thanal, a non-profit working on pesticide-affected communities in Kerala.
Hazardous pesticides include Butachlor, Mancozeb, Carbaryl, Benomyl, Alachlor, Diuron, and Trichlorfon — popularly used in controlling pests in wheat, paddy, maize, groundnut, grapes, banana, tomato and brinjal and insecticides like DDT and Fenthion, used for household-pest control and public health programmes.
Several other pesticides on the list cause depression, birth defects and damage to kidneys, liver and the nervous system. These are toxic to honey bees, fish and birds too, says the report.
“There are no instances to directly link health hazards to the use of these pesticides in the field but they might be causing long-term health impacts,” said Anupam Verma, adjunct professor at the Indian Agriculture Research Institute, who headed the committee.
“We recommended continuing pesticides which are extremely crucial for good production of crops. Where enough data is not available, we recommended further studies and review.”
The committee recommended immediate ban on production and import of 13 pesticides, prohibit their use by 2018 and phase out additional six pesticides by 2020.
It recommended continuation of the remaining 47 pesticides, asking for a review of 28 in 2018.
Most of the recommendations have been accepted by the registration committee of the agriculture ministry, which decides on the use of the pesticides in the country.
But the suggestion to completely ban DDT was deferred. It asked the health ministry for its comments as DDT’s use is restricted to public health programmes.
A senior agriculture ministry official said a final call on implementing the decision was pending.
The recommendations were not based entirely on health and environment impacts. Consider this. While the committee recommended a ban on eight “likely/probable carcinogenic” pesticides, it has left 11 such chemicals to be continued for now.
These include Chlorothalonil, Iprodione, Propineb, Thiodicarb, Thiophanate Methyle, Oxyfluorfen, Mancozeb, Malathion, Diuron, 2, 4-D and Butachlor, used in various cereal, vegetable and fruit crops.
Agriculture ministry data say the 18 banned pesticides constitute 11% of the total pesticide consumption in the country in the past five years. But the ones allowed to continue make for 34%.
“It is a fact that the turnover volume of a pesticide is one of the criteria in considering the ban. There are also other conditions,” said JS Sandhu, deputy director general, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, who is also the chairman of the registration committee.
The ban would hit the Indian pesticide sector, industry captains felt.
“The expert committee members were stuck with old reports and old information gathered from one or two countries as well as from NGO websites. Most of the data submitted by various companies have not been studied. We have appealed to the agriculture ministry to give us an opportunity to discuss our case product by product,” said Pradip Dave, the president of the Pesticides Manufacturers and Formulators Association of India.
----------------------------------------
India ignored warnings on lethal pesticides that killed pupils
2013
MUMBAI // Nearly a decade ago, the Indian government ruled out a ban
on the production and use of monocrotophos, the highly toxic pesticide
that killed 23 children this month in a village school providing free
lunches under a government-sponsored programme.
Despite its being labelled highly hazardous by the World Health
Organisation, a panel of government experts was persuaded by
manufacturers that monocrotophos was cheaper than alternatives and more
effective in controlling pests that decimate crop output.
India, which has more hungry mouths to feed than any other country in
the world, continues to use monocrotophos and other highly toxic
pesticides that rich and poor nations alike, including China, are
banning on health grounds.
Although the government argues the benefits of strong pesticides
outweigh the hazards if properly managed, the school food poisoning
tragedy underlined criticism that such controls are virtually ignored on
the ground.
According to the minutes, the 2004 meeting of the Central
Insecticides Board and Registration Committee - the Indian government
body that regulates pesticide use - concluded that: "The data submitted
by the industry satisfies the concerns raised ... Therefore, there is no
need to recommend the ban of this product."
Government scientists continue to defend the pesticide and insist the decision to not ban it remains good.
According to records on the agricultural meteorology division's
website, just weeks before the school tragedy in Bihar state, the Indian
government advised farmers via text message to use monocrotophos to
kill borer pests in mandarin fruits and rice.
"It is cost effective and it is known for its efficacy ... some even
call it a benevolent pesticide," said TP Rajendran, the assistant
director general for plant protection at the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research.
"I can say that pesticides currently permitted in the country are
safe provided they are used as per specifications and guidelines. We
have exhaustive and detailed guidelines. They need to be followed."
A senior official directly involved in the decision-making on
pesticide use said: "You have got to understand that all pesticides are
toxic but they are essential for maintaining or increasing agricultural
production.
"Can we afford to lose 15 per cent to 25 per cent of output? One
cannot afford to lose such a large percentage of agricultural produce.
The answer lies in judicious use."
The official declined to be identified.
The WHO has cited a 2007 study that about 76,000 people die each year
in India from pesticide poisoning. Many of the deaths are suicides made
easy by the wide availability of toxic pesticides.
In the school tragedy, police suspect the children's lunch was cooked
in oil that had been stored in a container originally used for
monocrotophos.
The Indian government has issued 15 pages of regulations that need to
be followed when handling pesticides, including wearing protective
clothing and using a respirator when spraying. Pesticide containers
should be broken when empty and not left outside to prevent them being
reused.
But in a nation where a quarter of the 1.2 billion population is
illiterate and vast numbers live in far-flung rural districts,
implementation is almost impossible. For instance, monocrotophos is
banned for use on vegetable crops, but there is no way to ensure the
rule is followed.
According to the WHO, swallowing 1,200 milligrams - less than a
teaspoon - of monocrotophos can be fatal to humans. In 2009, it called
for India to ban the product because of its extreme toxicity.
"It is imperative to consider banning the use of monocrotophos," it
said in a 60-page report. "The perception that monocrotophos is cheap
and necessary, have prevented the product from being taken off the
market" in India.
WHO officials say the school tragedy reinforces the dangers of the pesticide.
"We would advocate that countries restrict, ban, or phase out ...
those chemicals for which they can't ensure that all aspects of use are
safe," said Lesley Onyon, WHO's South-east Asia regional adviser for
chemical safety. "If they can't ensure safety, it's our policy to say
that these chemical or pesticides shouldn't be used."
Indian government officials refuse to address the WHO's findings directly.
https://www.thenational.ae/world/asia/india-ignored-warnings-on-lethal-pesticides-that-killed-pupils-1.475721
-------------------------------------
Centre to ban use of 18 pesticides harmful to humans and animals
Jan 8, 2017
------------------------------------
Pesticides (India)
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/pesticides
---------------------------------------
India, Dead Children, and the Lessons of a Dangerous Pesticide
2013
Last week, 23 children - some as young as five, none older than 12 - died after eating the free lunch
provided at their school in a village in the state of Bihar in northern
India. Another two dozen remain hospitalized. They'd reportedly
complained about the oddly blackened look of the meal, the bitter taste.
But their principal insisted that they finish their food - a dish of beans, potatoes and vegetables - as good children should.
In fact, the very pesticide that killed the children
https://www.wired.com/2013/07/india-dead-children-and-a-dangerous-pesticide/
------------------------------------
Pesticide Poisoning in South India – Opportunities for Prevention and Improved Medical Management
2005
Abstract
Objective
Methods
Findings
Conclusions
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1762001/
----------------------------------
Does Indian tea have hazardous pesticides?
July 02, 2015
The industry began to upgrade its practices even before the NGO alleged Indian tea contained harmful pesticides.
http://www.rediff.com/business/report/pix-special-does-indian-tea-have-hazardous-pesticides/20150702.htm
---------------------------------
Endosulfan
Endosulfan is an off-patent organochlorine insecticide and acaricide
that is being phased out globally. The two isomers, endo and exo, are
known popularly as I and II. Endosulfan sulfate is a product of
oxidation containing one extra O atom attached to the S atom. Endosulfan
became a highly controversial agrichemical[2] due to its acute toxicity, potential for bioaccumulation, and role as an endocrine disruptor.
Because of its threats to human health and the environment, a global
ban on the manufacture and use of endosulfan was negotiated under the Stockholm Convention in April 2011. The ban has taken effect in mid-2012, with certain uses exempted for five additional years.[3] More than 80 countries,[4] including the European Union, Australia, New Zealand, several West African nations,[5] the United States,[6][7] Brazil,[8] and Canada[9]
had already banned it or announced phase-outs by the time the Stockholm
Convention ban was agreed upon. It is still used extensively in India,
China, and few other countries. It is produced by Makhteshim Agan
and several manufacturers in India and China. Although, the Supreme
Court had, by an order dated 13.05.2011, put a ban on the production and
sale of endosulfan in India till further orders.
Status by region
India
Although classified as a yellow label (highly toxic) pesticide by the Central Insecticides Board, India is one of the largest producers[62] and the largest consumer of endosulfan in the world.[11]
Of the total volume manufactured in India, three companies — Excel Crop
Care, Hindustan Insecticides Ltd, and Coromandal Fertilizers — produce
4,500 tonnes
annually for domestic use and another 4,000 tonnes for export.
Endosulfan is widely used in most of the plantation crops in India. The
toxicity of endosulfan and health issues due to its bioaccumulation came under media attention when health issues precipitated in the Kasargod District (of Kerala) were publicised.[63][64]
This inspired protests, and the pesticide was banned in Kerala as early
as 2001, following a report by the National Institute of Occupational
Health. In the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
of 2011, when an international consensus arose for the global ban of
the pesticide, India opposed this move due to pressure from the
endosulfan manufacturing companies.[21][65] This flared up the protest,[66][67][68]
and while India still maintained its stance, the global conference
decided on a global ban, for which India asked a remission for 10 years.
Later, on a petition filed in the Supreme Court of India,
the production, storage, sale and use of the pesticide was temporarily
banned on 13 May 2011, and later permanently by the end of 2011.[69][70]
The Karnataka
government also banned the use of endosulfan with immediate effect.
Briefing presspersons after the State Cabinet meeting, Minister for
Higher Education V.S. Acharya said the Cabinet discussed the harmful
effects of endosulfan on the health of farmers and people living in
rural areas. The government will now invoke the provisions of the
Insecticides Act, 1968 (a Central act) and write a letter to the Union
Government about the ban. Minister for Energy, and Food and Civil
Supplies Shobha Karandlaje, who has been spearheading a movement seeking
a ban on endosulfan, said, "I am grateful to Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and members of the Cabinet for approving the ban.[71]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endosulfan
--------------------------------
Poison in your food
June 15, 1989
Repeated surveys have shown that Indian food is now laced with one of the highest amount of toxic pesticide residues in the world. This has now become a serious health hazard. Yet pesticide usage continues to grow, there is rampant misuse, and virtually no action is taken to control the menace.
----------------------------------
All pesticides harmful; Govt bans only a few
Jan 13,2017
The decision to ban 18 pesticides in
India brings hope, but it should be extended to include all the
pesticides which are banned or restricted elsewhere but are still used
in India. The Centre has issued an order Banning of Pesticides Order,
2016 to ban manufacture, import, formulate, transport, sell and use of
18 of the 66 pesticides which are still registered for domestic use in
India.
http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/News-Analysis/2017-01-13/All-pesticides-harmful-Govt-bans-only-a-few-/273471
----------------------------------
Report Finds 34 Pesticides in Tea From India
Aug 2014
The report reveals the systematic presence of mixtures of multiple pesticides, many classified as highly or moderately hazardous by the World Health Organisation (WHO), in tea grown and sold in India as well as exported abroad [1] by leading international and national brands such as Tetley, Lipton and Twinings. These brands belong to companies like Tata Global Beverages, Hindustan Unilever and Twinings, among others.
Practically all the samples taken from packaged tea purchased on the Indian market over the last year contained residues of at least one pesticide, and more than half of them contained "cocktails" of more than 10 different pesticides, including one sample, which contained residues of 20 different pesticides!
https://www.ecowatch.com/report-finds-34-pesticides-in-tea-from-india-1881941206.html
------------------------------
2013
https://www.ripublication.com/ijafst_spl/ijafstv4n8spl_18.pdf
-------------------------------
Highly toxic pesticides in Indian fruits, vegetable, organic food: Report
Oct 01, 2015
Ministry of Agriculture conducted a study to trace pesticides and
contaminants in samples collected from various outlets across India. The
samples included vegetables, fruits, spices, red chili power, curry
leaves, rice, wheat, pulses, tea and milk. Samples were also collected
from farms and organic outlets and tested in 25 participant laboratories
for pesticides such as organo-chlorine, organo-phosphorous, synthetic
pyrethroids, carbamates and herbicides.
Test results revealed that 18.7 percent of total 20,618 samples
contained pesticide residues and 2.6 percent were above Maximum Residue
Limits (MRL) prescribed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of
India (FSSAI). About 12.5 percent of samples had high level of
non-approved pesticide, which raises question over awareness among
India’s agrarian community.
http://www.planetcustodian.com/2015/10/01/7862/highly-toxic-pesticides-in-indian-fruits-vegetable-organic-food-report.html
----------------------------
18 pesticides banned, 48 pesticides like Monocrotophos, Paraquat Dichloride, Glyphosate yet to be banned
January 13, 2017
http://www.toxicswatch.org/2017/01/18-pesticides-banned-48-pesticides-like.html
-----------------------------
Oct 2016
http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jpbs/papers/Vol11-issue5/Version-1/Q110501131137.pdf
------------------------------
Germany: NGOs file complaint against Bayer for mislabeling of hazardous pesticide products sold in India
Oct 2016
The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights has lodged a
complaint with the regional Chamber of Agriculture in Bonn, Germany,
against Bayer CropScience AG and Bayer AG. The reason: labels on
pesticides must contain warnings about risks to health and the
environment. In Europe Bayer sells the hazardous product Nativo 75 WG
with the warning: “suspected of damaging the unborn child”. This warning
is not included on the same product after it is exported to and made
available in India. In a complaint to the Chamber’s department of plant
protection, ECCHR calls on the authorities to determine whether Bayer is
breaching rules on the export of pesticides. The department has the
power to impose a fine or ban the export of Nativo. The complaint was
co-signed by ECCHR partner organizations Kheti Virasat Mission, PAN Germany, and FIAN Deutschland...
https://business-humanrights.org/en/germany-ngos-file-complaint-against-bayer-for-mislabeling-of-hazardous-pesticide-products-sold-in-india
------------------------------
2012
http://www.pan-germany.org/download/Big3_EN.pdf
-------------------------------
Conditions of Paraqut use in India
2015
-------------------------------
Greenpeace calls on the industry to save Indian tea from pesticides
August 2014
New study reveals the extent of pesticide residues found in tea
------------------------------
Modern Agricultural Practices: A dilemma of farmer and farm worker's health in cash crop zone in the Maharashtra State.
2010
https://www.slideshare.net/Z3P/m3q87
------------------------------
Organophosphate pesticides eyed as cause of India poisoning: How toxic?
July 24, 2013
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/organophosphate-pesticides-eyed-as-cause-of-india-poisonings-how-toxic/
--------------------------------
2005
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2005.01412.x/pdf
--------------------------------
The impact of pesticide exposure on child labourers in agriculture
22 June 2011
http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/features/WCMS_158425/lang--en/index.htm
--------------------------------
Organic Pollution in India
2016
Problems with Pollution
Pollution in India’s waters has long been a great concern and topic
of international environmental discussions. On January 15th, three
blocks within the populous city Meerut were declared sensitive zones:
The water there is highly contaminated. As the Pollution Control Board
(PCB) later found out, the reason for this contamination was due to high
levels of total dissolved solids (TDS), almost four times the normally
permitted levels. Why such large numbers? A PCB member later remarked
that it could be due to the “higher content of the organic material or
industrial effluents that pass through the area via Kali Nadi, the
highly polluted stream that flows around the city”.
These organic pollutants were traced back to many slaughter houses
that were stationed near the river. Often these slaughterhouses use
water from wells around them for processing the meat, and instead of
treating it as wastewater, it gets sent back to the ground. This tainted
groundwater is now used as drinking water in neighboring villages.
Therefore, cities and villages like Meerut suffer because of the
inadequacies of these effluent industries.5
It turns out that this area wasn’t the only one affected by
industrial based organic pollutants. In fact, these pollutants have long
been intertwined with India’s water history. Most organic pollutants
are categorized as POP(s) or Persistent Organic Pollutants. These POPs
range from intentionally created chemicals that were used by industries
and agriculture, to unintentional toxins that result from industrial
combustion. All of these have certain common characteristics: First,
organic pollutants have high lipophilicity, or the ability to accumulate
in fat. Secondly, they are all persistent, as their name suggests, in
the environment. This means that they do not degrade very easily and
tend to circulate for a long time. As they circulate, they tend to cover
great distances, and can travel from one side of the world to another.
When organic matter increases in a body of water, the number of
decomposers will increase. These decomposers grow rapidly and use a
great deal of oxygen during their growth. As more and more decomposition
occurs, dissolved oxygen (DO) levels decrease. A lack of oxygen can
kill aquatic organisms. As the aquatic organisms die, they are broken
down by decomposers which further decrease DO levels. Of course, the
quality of water is affected largely by the presence of organic matter.
Polluted water may have undesirable color, odor, taste, turbidity,
pesticides, industrial waste products, high levels of TDS, acids,
alkalies, and other domestic sewage content.2
Organic pollutants have an impact on people and aquatic life whose
survival is dependent upon water. Because organic pollutants have a high
lipophilicity, they bioaccumulate in the food chain. This eventually
affects many organisms, including humans, that depends on the fragile
balance of the chain. Organic pollutants disrupt the endocrine,
reproductive, and immune systems. The developing brain and nervous
system may be most vulnerable. They play a role in the development of
Parkinson’s disease and the destruction of nerve cells in certain
regions of the brain. In marine life, they have been seen to bring about
metabolic imbalance and long-term toxicity.1
http://savethewater.org/2016/02/01/organic-pollution-in-india/
-------------------------------
2006
http://www.ipen.org/sites/default/files/documents/4ind_india_country_situation_report-en.pdf
--------------------------------
Evaluation of the concentration of HCH, DDT, HCB, PCB and PAH in the sediments along the lower stretch of Hugli estuary, West Bengal, northeast India
2004
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/7948021_Evaluation_of_the_concentration_of_HCH_DDT_HCB_PCB_and_PAH_in_the_sediments_along_the_lower_stretch_of_Hugli_estuary_West_Bengal_northeast_India
--------------------------------
India Environmental Portal (Thesaurus)
http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/2521/thesaurus/pcbs/
---------------------------------
ENDOCRINE DISRUPTORS
2012
Male reproductive and developmental health: the human evidence
http://apiindia.org/pdf/medicine_update_2012/endocrinology_01.pdf
-------------------------------
PCBs and organochlorine pesticides in phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean
May 2004
Samples of phyto- and zooplankton were collected in the Indian sector of
the Southern Ocean (38–67°S, 18–84°E) and analysed for organochlorine
residues (PCBs and pesticides). The PCB concentration in particulate
matter (mainly phytoplankton) appeared to be high and similar to that of
temperate zones: 0.7 μg g−1 dry weight.
Contamination levels were more constant expressed per water volume than
per dry weight, and seven times lower (1.2 μg m−3) than in northern temperate zones (8.8 μm−3
in the North Sea). The Antarctic ecosystems are thus less contaminated
than temperate ones — as expected — but the very low phytoplankton
biomass present cause high PCB levels per unit of biomass. These results
confirm the necessity of using different systems of units in order to
correctly express the contamination levels and to identify the main
mechanisms responsible for the accumulation of stable pollutants. PCB
levels in netplankton samples (mainly zooplankton) were comparable with
phytoplankton on a dry weight basis (0.7 μm−3), lower on a lipid weight basis (5.8 μg g−1 lw for netplankton, 16.3 for particulate matter) and were much higher per seawater volume (27.2 μg m−3 for netplankton, 1.2 for particulate matter). Netplankton contamination is comparable in the Antarctic (0.35 μg g−1
dw) and the North Sea (0.70) since zooplankton feeding on phytoplankton
has similar levels of contamination in both ecosystems. Lindane,
heptachlor epoxide, dieldrin, DDE and DDT were observed in various
samples at trace levels. The high DDE/DDT ratio reflects the more recent
origin of Antarctic organochlorines.
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/div-classtitlepcbs-and-organochlorine-pesticides-in-phytoplankton-and-zooplankton-in-the-indian-sector-of-the-southern-oceandiv/F554AAD1C6785F9E8A4208B191BC42E9
-----------------------------
DDTs, PCBs and PBDEs contamination in Africa, Latin America and South-southeast Asia—a review
December 2014
http://www.aimspress.com/fileOther/PDF/environmental/20150216.pdf
------------------------------
Pollutants buried under glaciers surface to haunt India
September 22, 2015
Pollutants carried from lands far away and buried for decades under
glaciers in the Himalayas are now finding their way into the Ganga and
its tributaries, a new study has found. The pollutants are being
released as the glaciers are melting faster due to climate change.
Melting glaciers in general are ‘redistributors’ of legacy pollutants
stored in them. While they have been shown to release these pollutants
in Europe and the US, there had been no study on the Himalayan glaciers.
Now, a study by researchers from India, Norway and the Czech Republic
shows that melting Himalayan glaciers can be “major contributors” of
two classes of pollutants – polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and
polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – to the Ganga and its tributaries
during the dry season. PCBs are man-made chemicals that were widely used
in electrical wires and paint, plastics and rubber products. PAHs occur
naturally but are also released into the environment due to burning of
coal, coal tar, asphalt, hazardous waste and from vehicle exhausts.
During the non-monsoon dry months in South Asia – eight months of
the year – these pollutant loads released by glacier melting can exceed
the loads from other sources in the catchment areas of these river
basins, says the new study, according to its report in the Environmental Pollution journal.
The scientists, from the Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment (RECETOX) at Masaryk University in the Czech Republic and The Energy Resources Institute (TERI), India, analysed air and river water samples, as well as deposits along the Ganga and its major headwaters.
In the central Gangetic plains, compared to pollutants discharged
from lower parts of the river basin, the pollutant load from glacial
meltwater can be as low as 2% but also as high as 200%, the scientists
found. “By remobilising legacy pollutants from melting glaciers, climate
change can enhance exposure levels over large and already heavily
impacted regions of northern India,” the report says.
“The study provides evidences of high pollution levels of various
emerging and legacy hazardous chemicals even in the regions which are
far from the dense industrial and agricultural areas,” TERI researcher
Girija Bharat explained to thethirdpole.net.
At different sections of the river, the Ganga receives varying
amounts of glacial meltwater and industrial effluents, Bharat pointed
out. The pollutant load from each source is different. This means that
at different sections of the river, the percentage of the pollutant load
from each source – glacier or local – is different. The study could not
quantify this percentage at various places along the Ganga, as the
scientists did not measure the pollutant levels in industrial wastewater
and agricultural runoff.
https://www.thethirdpole.net/2015/09/22/pollutants-buried-under-glaciers-surface-to-haunt-india/
------------------------------
Studies of the global baseline pollution XIII
Summary
High-volume air sampling by adsorption on silica gel on the island Réunion (21°S, 56°E) in the southern Indian Ocean was done for analyzing typical southern hemisphere air for semivolatile organohalogens such as α-hexachlorocyclohexane (13) and g-hexachlorocyclohexane (406), hexachlorobenzene (7), polychlorobiphenyls [PCB 28 (3.2); PCB 52 (4.9) PCB 101 (6.0); PCB 138 (5.0); PCB 153 (5.0); PCB 180 (1.5)], 4,4′-DDT (8), 4,4′-DDE (19), cis- (4) and trans-chlordane (9), trans-nonachlor (3) and heptachloroepoxide (6) in the lower troposphere. The values in parenthesis are mean concentrations in picogram per m3 air. Local input and long range transport could be distinguished in most cases. The 2,4-, 2,6-, 2,4,5-, 2,4,6-, the tetra- and pentachloro-congeners of the chloroanisoles (phenylmethyl-ethers) were detected. 2,3,5,6-Tetrachloro-1,4-dimethoxy-benzene was found in the 100–280 pg/m3 range, while 2,4,6-tribromoanisol was detected in the 8–30 pg/m3 range together with traces of 2,4- and 2,6-dibromoanisole. The sources and the fate of the latter compounds are not yet understood, since both anthropogenic emissions and biogenic origin are possible.
The ratios of the concentrations in the southern and northern hemisphere (south/north ratio) of the semivolatile organochlorine compounds are discussed. The south/north ratio ranges from 0.05 to 0.09 for HCB and α-HCH, respectively, to 0.74 for the PCBs and 0.9 for g-HCH, to 3 for 4,4′-DDE and up to 8 for 4,4′-DDT. This indicates that there is no significant interhemispheric exchange for compounds such as HCB and α-HCH in the atmosphere, and as a consequence the same must be true for other semivolatile compounds.
Present address: BASF, Ludwigshafen, Federal Republic of Germany.
Persistent organochlorine residues in foodstuffs from India and their implications on human dietary exposure
1992
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/jf00015a032
------------------------------
Toxic chemicals pollute Pakistan’s rivers
2014
[ISLAMABAD] Scientific studies conducted on the Ravi and Chenab rivers in Pakistan show that the sediment in these tributaries of the Indus is heavily contaminated with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) originating with pesticides and industrial effluents.
http://www.scidev.net/south-asia/environment/news/toxic-chemicals-pollute-pakistan-s-rivers.html
---------------------------------------------------
Pesticide residues in blood of Punjab farmers
Pesticides are commonly used in India but this comes at great cost to
human health. The Centre for Science and Environment decided to
investigate the matter and looked at the agricultural heartland of
Punjab. It found that 15 different pesticides in the 20 blood samples
tested from four villages in Punjab. But what is more important to find
out is how much of pesticide in blood is ‘safe’. Does a safety threshold
level exist? If yes, how do scientists — and the industry — compute it?
As we delve into such questions, it becomes clear that science claims
more, but understands much less.
All pesticides are tested to establish toxicity — a dose necessary to
produce a measurable harmful effect — usually established through tests
on mice, rats, rabbits and dogs. Results are then extrapolated on
humans, and safe exposure levels predicted. The value commonly used to
measure acute toxicity is LD 50
(a lethal dose in the short term; the subscript 50 indicates the dose
is toxic enough to kill 50 per cent of lab animals exposed to the
chemical). LD 50 values are measured zero onwards; the lower the LD 50 the more acutely toxic the pesticide. To illustrate, we compare DDT — most used in India up to the early 1990s — with monocrotophos, currently most used. DDT’ S LD 50 is 113 mg/kg; monocrotophos, 14 mg/kg. But let us never forget that lower LD 50 means higher acute toxicity.
Pesticides once ingested, accumulate in the body fat or pass through.
Organochlorine pesticides, for instance, accumulate in body fat and
blood lipids. These fat-soluble chemicals persist in the body for many
years. CSE found that pesticide residues of DDE and DDT in
the Punjab samples were 35 times and 188 times higher than in samples
collected by US based Centre for Disease Control and Prevention
which analysed blood and urine levels of 116 environmental chemicals.
CSE calls for urgent action to regulate use of pesticides. It calls
for action to monitor human bodies –a biomonitoring programme – to
ensure that this chemical invasion is stopped.
http://www.cseindia.org/content/pesticide-residues-blood-punjab-farmers-1
-------------------------------------
Pesticide on your plate
A report, how growers & consumers may not even be aware of the scale of these toxins.
Jan 2015
Vegetables are the noble folk of food world, loved equally by doctors and grandmothers. Vegetarians live off them and meat-eaters are told to live off them. But in Delhi, under every crunchy leaf of radish or the shiny brinjal hide dangerous amounts of pesticides that can slowly kill, shows a new study by JNU.
Pritha Chatterjee and Aniruddha Ghosal report how growers, consumers and the authorities may not even be aware of the scale of these toxins threatening people with coughs to cancer
When you eat your leafy greens and those elegant bhindis, you are doing yourself and the earth a world of good. Universally accepted as repositories of vitamins and minerals crucial to keeping good health, vegetables also help us do our bit for the environment and turn us into animal rights champions by default.
But Delhi could be committing serious offence to its long-term health by biting into that innocent-looking gobhi. A recent study by JNU’s School of Environmental Sciences is the latest among many to establish there is contamination from pesticides in vegetables grown and consumed in Delhi-NCR.
The JNU study tested in particular a category of toxic pesticides
known as organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) over a year in winter and
summer in seven agricultural areas in Delhi-NCR. Most vegetables
exceeded limits set by different international regulatory agencies —
meaning your vegetables are in fact a daily health hazard.
OCPs are included under a group of toxic compounds called persistent
organic pollutants (POPs), which cause cancer and other health risks,
including symptoms like vomiting and dizziness, according to many
studies. The United Nations Environment Programme, through the Stockholm
convention on POPs, listed 12 organochlorine pesticides as POPs. All of
these were tested in the latest JNU study and found to exist beyond
maximum residual levels in Delhi’s vegetables. The study was published
in the international journal Environmental Science Pollution Research
late last year.
As the authors point out in the study, since many of these vegetables
are consumed raw or without much processing, the health risks can be
compounded. “Regular consumption of these vegetables even with modest
contamination can cause health problems in the long run,” the report
says.
“Though we are continuing to do many projects on different categories
of pesticides, this is the first ongoing study on OCPs because they are
a particularly toxic category with 12 of 20 named by the UN as POPs,”
Dr P S Khillare, professor and corresponding author of the study, said.
He added that OCPs are also “very persistent in nature” because they are
retained in the atmosphere, soil, water and in the vegetables for very
long periods. Studies have also established that dietary consumption
accounts for over 90 per cent OCP intake in humans, compared to
respiratory or skin-based entry from atmosphere.
The authors conducted gas chromatography tests — a test used to
separate and analyse compounds — to measure presence and levels of
residues of 20 different banned OCP compounds on vegetable samples taken
directly from fields in cultivated areas in Delhi-NCR. Six vegetables —
radish, radish leaf, cauliflower, brinjal, okra and smooth gourd, all
belonging to different vegetable categories such as root, leafy and
fruit type — have been studied by JNU scientists.
Sapna Chourasiya, research scholar from JNU school of environmental
sciences who is working on OCPs for her doctoral thesis, says tests
found most of the OCPs were found to exceed national and international
limits. The levels of pesticides in agricultural produce considered safe
for consumption are defined as maximum residue limits (MRLs). In the
study, the authors compared the levels of pesticides with MRLs set by
the European Commission (EC), WHO and Prevention of Food Adulteration
Act of India. “Comparison of our results with MRL values established by
various agencies clearly indicates that OCP levels were above the
established guideline value. It could be done to continued application
of OCPs in vegetables to eradicate pest infestation,” the authors have
said.
One lab to test over 100 toxins
For years, 42-year-old farmer Lokesh Singh has grown vegetables like
gourds, potatoes and cauliflowers in his fields along the Yamuna
riverbed in Shahdara. He has heard of the harmful effects of pesticides
but says seasonal pest infestations leave him no choice. “I contact my
dealers and they recommend a medicine for the crops. Who knows what is
in the medicine? Should I worry about the crop or side-effects?” he
asked, stocking a pile of cauliflowers, leftovers from his morning sale
at the Ghazipur wholesale mandi, to be sold on the ITO bridge.
Delhi has just one government laboratory for testing pesticide
residues. With a capacity of 100 samples per month, it is capable of
testing for only 28 pesticides. A six-member health ministry committee,
constituted on the directions of the Delhi High Court, submitted a
report in May 2013 to frame a policy for monitoring of pesticide
residues in fruit and vegetables. The report said the capital’s only
pesticide testing lab was “meagre for the state in view of the quantum
of fruits and vegetables”. The same report identified 205 selling points
for pesticides in Delhi, including 10 under the department of
agriculture, eight under cooperatives and 187 private traders.
The committee recommended establishment of three to five government
labs near Delhi’s nine wholesale vegetable markets, and testing more
samples in private labs. The findings of the committee also recommended
random checks, raising frequency of tests, starting smaller labs in the
vicinity of mandis so that testing can be immediate, testing of seasonal
and non-seasonal fruits and vegetables at least on a quarterly basis,
among others.
But nearly two years after the report, little progress has been made.
In March 2013, the Delhi High Court directed the Delhi government to
institute a committee to monitor pesticides and in April, the Delhi
government formed the Pesticide Residue Management Cell (PRMC) under the
control of the Food Commissioner, but maintained that only 28 types of
pesticides could be tested in government labs. The cell held its first
meeting only on May 2 and since then, officials said, little work has
been done. “We are framing guidelines for better regulation and
including the private sector in the testing process. We will also be
preparing a publicity campaign around subzi mandis and retail vegetable
markets in the city to educate farmers and vegetable dealers,” a senior
official from the department of environment told Newsline.
So how do banned pesticides continue to be available to farmers? The
May 2013 health ministry report stated that the “building up of
pesticide residues above MRLs (maximum residue limits) should not
normally arise. But findings by several research workers/institutions
belie this position, indicating there is something wrong somewhere”.
Indiscriminate use, non-observance of prescribed waiting periods, use of
mis-branded or spurious pesticides, continued use of restricted or
banned pesticides and wrong disposal practices were identified as some
possible reasons for contamination.
Sapna Chourasiya, research scholar from the JNU School of
Environmental Sciences, explained that a survey of pesticides and
fertilisers in shops in the areas from which vegetable samples were
collected for the recent study showed that none of the specific banned
pesticides were being sold. “We, however, found several pesticide
mixtures in powder form where the components were not identified in the
packets. These are marketed as one-size-fits-all mixtures which will
work on different categories of vegetables. When we tested them and
identified separate compounds, the banned pesticides were identified,”
Chourasia said.
A senior official of the state environment department said the
problem that the continued use of banned pesticides represented is only
the tip. “Increasingly we find that pesticides that are banned or
restricted in most countries in the world end up in India. With
increasing competition for larger produce amongst farmers, it’s not
surprising that they turn to a readily available alternative, which
might be slightly expensive, but is guaranteed to ensure increase
produce. The need of the hour is for the government to look for greener
alternatives. But the government is stuck in a pro-pesticide bias and is
not looking at the long-term health impact of such practices,” the
official said.
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/pesticide-on-your-plate/
------------------------------------------------
Mix of chemicals and sewage in major Indian city creates river of menacing froth
9/30/2015
When it rains in the Indian city of Bangalore, it foams. While this phenomenon may lend itself to pretty pictures and entertaining videos, at its core it is an extreme example of pollution gone amuck.
http://projectearth.us/mix-of-chemicals-and-sewage-in-major-indian-city-create-1796423409
-----------------------------------
Flaming river redux: Fire erupts from polluted froth on India lake (Video)
June 19, 2015
Mohamed Attaulla Khan won’t forget the night the lake he used to fish on as a boy caught fire.
The
pollution in Bellandur Lake was well-known: Every summer for more than a
decade, a white froth as thick as shaving cream had carpeted the water,
a chemical reaction caused by untreated waste. But standing on a bridge
one evening last month, Khan, a 56-year-old high school principal, saw
small orange flames flickering at the lake’s surface amid the toxic
suds.
http://www.latimes.com/world/asia/la-fg-fire-springs-forth-on-india-lake-20150619-story.html
-----------------------------
Flammable foam hits the streets of Bangalore after river has so much sewage pumped into it that it creates a toxic 'clouds' of bubbles
- The foam comes from the vast and highly polluted Bellandur Lake
- It is caused by ammonia, phosphate and low dissolved oxygen in the water
- The white mixture has also been known to catch fire due to the grease in it
- Bangalore residents have started up a Facebook page to save the lake
------------------------
The Silent Fields – Pesticide Poisoning in Punjab
2013
A man sprays pesticides on a field in the Punjab region of northwest
India. Scientists believe that excessive pesticide use in the region
over the past 30-40 years has led to the accumulation of dangerous
levels of toxins such as uranium, lead and mercury which are
contributing to increased health problems in rural communities.
ollecting 149 hair samples from children at the Baba Farid Centre,
they examined toxic metal concentrations, finding that the hair of the
children contained dangerously high amounts of Barium, Cadmium,
Manganese, Lead and Uranium, signifying long-term exposure.
“They are drinking very polluted water. We can say it is a toxic
cocktail in our food chain”, explains Dr. Singh as he cradles yet
another child at his centre.
“We have polluted the environment. Since the green revolution we have
used lots of fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides and that’s why
our soil, water and air has been totally polluted”, he exasperates.
Outside of Faridkot, it does not take long to reach the nearby
countryside. Encapsulating all of the small villages in the area are
vast expanses of flat, green fields. This area is the heart of the
country’s bread basket and the endless expanse of fields is only broken
by the odd dirt track, or small road, upon which small tractors chug or
bicycles meander.
“Many of the villages have cancer patients but nobody talks about it.”
Jarnil Singh sits in a small courtyard at the centre of his home in
the small village of Jajal, a small community of some 3000 people near
Faridkot.
It’s a typical village in the region. Single story homes connected by
dusty tracks that lead only to other villages. Everywhere you look
there are the ubiquitous green fields.
A retired school teacher, he has watched for decades as illnesses,
notably cancer, have increased in his community, taking the lives of
local farmers and slowly tearing families apart....
“Punjab is now becoming a hotspot of cancer cases in India”, says
Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general of the Center for Science and
Environment in Delhi. “There are a lot of studies which now link cancer
in Punjab to use of pesticides. Punjab is one of the largest users of
pesticides in India. In fact, on a
per acre basis it is the largest user of pesticides.”
“In 2005, we did a study. We checked the blood samples of the people
of Punjab and we found multiple pesticides in their blood”, explains
Bhushan. “Now, after these tests we couldn’t say that these pesticides
were causing cancer [but] what we essentially said was that we are
finding large amounts of these chemicals in the bodies of people. It
cannot be allowed. We cannot allow chemicals to trespass our body.
Therefore India needs a chemical trespass law. A law that says we are
not going to allow chemicals into our body and accumulate [where] they
might cause numerous diseases in the future.”
http://gallagher-photo.com/environmental-stories/pesticide-poisoning-punjab-india/
-------------------------------------
Technology and business: When a global Swiss agribusiness giant becomes Chinese-owned
April 21, 2016
Syngenta’s global chief executive officer tells The Indian Express why it chose to be acquired by ChemChina and not Monsanto
-------------------------------------
'Monsanto Activities Are Illegal Under Indian Law': Dr. Krishan Bir Chaudhary
September 02,2016
http://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/NewsDetail/index/2/8614/Monsanto-Activities-Are-Illegal-Under-Indian-Law-Dr-Krishan-Bir-Chaudhary
-------------------------------------
Monsanto’s India Problem (MON, BAYN.DE)
What’s a seed-maker to do in countries that don’t have America’s take on intellectual property, patents or free market economics ? Negotiate, as in the case of Argentina, or withdraw.
http://www.investopedia.com/news/monsantos-india-problem-mon-baynde/
---------------------------------------
Why India’s Competition Commission Must Stop the Dow and DuPont Merger
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) is currently assessing the
likely adverse effects on competition of the proposed merger of Dow
Chemical Company (Dow) and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont).
If it goes through, the combined entity will likely be the world’s
biggest chemical and materials company.
The two companies have submitted
the necessary details of their merger plans to CCI in the prescribed
Form IV. The CCI has consequently opened up the procedure for
investigating the merger, as per the letter and spirit of Section 29 of
the Competition Act of India.
https://thewire.in/122855/indias-competition-commission-must-stop-dow-dupoint-merger/
-----------------------------------------
Bayer has bought and acquired Monsanto for 66 billion dollars.
------------------------------------
Bayer makes offer for Monsanto India stake
Sep 20 2016
------------------------------------------
Illegal seeds overtake India's cotton fields
2004
http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v22/n11/full/nbt1104-1333.html?foxtrotcallback=true
-------------------------------------------
Monsanto loses millions of dollars after Indian farmers switch to indigenous seeds
March 20, 2017
http://www.fooddemocracynow.org/blog/2017/mar/20-2
--------------------------------------------
Monsanto and the Poisonous Cartel of GMOs in India
Sep. 09, 2016
India is steeped in a synthesized controversy created by Monsanto
on the first GMO crop supposedly approved for commercialization.
Engaged in litigation on many fronts, Monsanto is trying to subvert
India's patent laws: Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right Act, Essential Commodities Act and Competition Act.
It is behaving as if there is no Parliament, no democracy, no sovereign
laws in India to which it is subject. Or it simply doesn't have any
regard for them.
In another theatre, Monsanto and Bayer are merging.
They were one as MoBay (MonsantoBayer), part of the poison cartel of
I.G. Farben. The controlling stakes of both corporations lie with the
same private equity firms. The expertise of these firms is in war. I.G.
Farben, Adolf Hitler's economic powerhouse and pre-war Germany's highest
foreign exchange earner, was also a foreign intelligence operation.
Hermann Schmitz was president of I.G. Farben, Schmitz's nephew Max
Ilgner was a director of I.G. Farben, while Max's brother Rudolph Ilgner
ran the New York arm as vice-president of Chemnyco.
Paul Warburg,
brother of Max Warburg (board of directors, Farben Aufsichtsrat),
founded the U.S. Federal Reserve System. Max Warburg and Hermann Schmitz
played a central role in the Farben empire. Other "guiding hands" of
Farben Vorstand included Carl Bosch, Fritz ter Meer, Kurt Oppenheim and
George von Schnitzler. Each of them was adjudged a "war criminal" after
World War II, except Paul Warburg.
Monsanto and Bayer have a long
history. They made explosives and lethally poisonous gases using shared
technologies and sold them to both sides in the two world wars. The same
war chemicals were bought by the Allied and Axis powers, from the same
manufacturers, with money borrowed from the same bank.
MoBay
supplied ingredients for Agent Orange in the Vietnam War. Around 20
million gallons of MoBay defoliants and herbicides were sprayed over
South Vietnam. Children are still being born with birth defects, adults
have chronic illnesses and cancers, due to their exposure to MoBay's
chemicals. Monsanto and Bayer's cross-licensed Agent Orange resistance
has also been cross-developed for decades. Wars were fought, lives lost,
nations carved into holy lands — with artificial boundaries that suit
colonization and resource grab — while Bayer and Monsanto sold chemicals
as bombs and poisons and their brothers provided the loans to buy those
bombs.
More recently, Bayer CropScience AG and Monsanto are
believed to have entered into a long-term business relationship. This
gives Monsanto and Bayer free access to each other's herbicide and
paired herbicide resistance technology. Through cross-licensing
agreements, mergers and acquisitions, the biotech industry has become
the I.G. Farben of today, with Monsanto in the cockpit.
The global chemical and GMO industry—Bayer,
Dow Agro, DuPont Pioneer, Mahyco, Monsanto and Syngenta—have come
together to form the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) to try
and become bigger bullies in this assault on India's farmers,
environment and democratically-framed laws that protect the public and
the national interest. This is in addition to Association of
Biotechnology-Led Enterprises (ABLE), which tried to challenge India's
seed price control order issued under the Essential Commodities Act in
the Karnataka high court. The case was dismissed.
The new group is
not "seed industry;" they produce no seeds. They try to stretch patents
on chemicals to claim ownership on seeds, even in countries where
patents on seeds and plants are not allowed. This is the case in India,
Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and many other countries.
All Monsanto
cases in India are related to Monsanto un-scientifically, illegally and
illegitimately claiming patents on seed, in contempt of India's laws,
and trying to collect royalties from the Indian seed industry and
farmers. The FSII is an "I.G. Farben 100-Year Family Reunion," a coming
together of independent and autonomous entities.
The Farben family
chemical cartel was responsible for exterminating people in
concentration camps. It embodies a century of ecocide and genocide,
carried out in the name of scientific experimentation and innovation.
Today, the poison cartel is wearing G-Engineering clothes and citing the
mantra of "innovation" ad nauseam. Hitler's concentration camps were an
"innovation" in killing; and almost a century later, the Farben family
is carrying out the same extermination—silently, globally and
efficiently.
Monsanto's "innovation" of collecting illegal royalties and pushing Indian farmers to suicide
is also an innovation in killing without liability, indirectly. Just
because there is a new way to kill doesn't make killing right.
"Innovation," like every human activity, has limits—set by ethics,
justice, democracy, the rights of people and of nature.
I.G. Farben was tried in Nuremberg. We have national laws to protect
people, their right to life and public health, and the environment.
India's biosafety and patent laws and the Plant Variety Act are designed to regulate greedy owners of corporations with a history of crimes against nature and humanity.
Industry
is getting ready to push its next "gene," the GMO mustard (DMH-11). The
GMO mustard, being promoted as a public sector "innovation," is based
on barnase/barstar/gene system to create male-sterile plants and a bar
gene for glufosinate resistance. In 2002, Pro-Agro's (Bayer) application
for approval of commercial planting of GM mustard based on the same
system was turned down.
Although banned in India, Bayer finds ways
to sell glufosinate illegally to Assam's tea gardens and the apple
orchards of Himachal Pradesh. Sales agents show the sale of glufosinate
under the "others" category to avoid regulation. These chemicals are
finding their way into the bodies of our children without government
approval. Essentially, all key patents related to the bar gene are held
by Bayer Crop Science, which acquired Aventis Cropscience, which itself
was created out of the genetic engineering divisions of Schering, Rhone
Poulenc and Hoechst. Then Bayer acquired Plant Genetic Systems and
entered into cooperation agreement with Evogene, which has patents on
genome mapping.
Before any approval is granted to
genetically-engineered mustard, the issue of limits to patentability
needs to be resolved on the basis of Indian laws and patents on plants
and seeds and methods of agriculture must not be allowed. Deepak Pental,
a retired professor and GMO-Operative, will not commercialize GMO
mustard seed. His officers at Bayer/Monsanto/MoBay will.
Given our experience with GMO cotton, The Ministry of Environment & Forests
is considering the option of putting in place guidelines for
socio-economic assessment to judge proposed GMO varieties on the basis
of factors such as the economy, health, environment, society and
culture.
At the core of socio-economic assessment is the issue of
monopolies and cartels, and their impact on small farmers. Even though
patents on seeds are not allowed, for more than a decade and a half,
Monsanto has extracted illegal royalties from Indian farmers, trapping
them in debt and triggering an epidemic of farmers' suicides. Monsanto's
war on India's foot soldiers—farmers—is a war being waged by the Farben
family, on our Earth family.
https://www.ecowatch.com/monsanto-gmo-india-2001038793.html
---------------------------------------------
Foreign seed firms rally behind Monsanto in Indian alliance
August 26, 2016
-----------------------------------------------
‘Not scared of Monsanto threat’
March 17, 2016
The
>U.S.-based seed company Monsanto
is welcome to leave India if it does not want to lower prices of
>genetically modified cotton seeds
as directed by the government, a minister said on Wednesday, in a sign the rift between New Delhi and the firm is widening.
The comments come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nationalist
government expects to develop its own genetically modified (GM) cotton
varieties early next year to end Monsanto's dominance; it controls over
90 per cent of cotton seed supply.
http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/not-scared-of-monsanto-threat/article8366329.ece
----------------------------------------------
Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta exploiting child labour in India, says report/Poor, but pedicured
May 2003
Monsanto, Bayer, Syngenta exploiting child labour in India, says report/Poor, but pedicured
The
very companies which claim to be intent on transforming the lives of
the world's poor are, according to a new report, perpetuating child
labour in India "in a big way".
---------------------------------------------
How an Indian cotton seed producer took on US giant Monsanto
March 28, 2017
http://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/how-an-indian-cotton-producer-took-on-seed-giant-monsanto/story/248852.html
-------------------------------------------------
Toxic Valley: A documentary that brings the stories of victims of pesticide poisoning and farming communities.
-----------------------
Government bans project clearance in eight critically polluted industrial areas
Policy matters this week - No more project clearance in critically
polluted areas, Tamil Nadu government launches 'Amma' mineral water and
Guwahati to get 24*7 water supply.
No environment clearance in eight critically polluted areas
The Environment Ministry will not grant clearance to
any more projects in eight critically polluted industrial areas of the
country. In january 2010, the Ministry had imposed a ban on project
clearance in 43 industrial clusters, which was later lifted in 26
locations. However, eight of these have registered an alarming rise in
pollution as per a Central Pollution Control Board study. Industry
lobbyists claim that the move will hurt industrial growth
Amma bottled water hits the market
The Tamil Nadu state government-owned bottled water, Amma mineral water,
was launched this week. Priced at Rs 10 for a litre, 'Amma' drinking
water is said to be the cheapest available bottled water in the country,
next only to the 'Rail Neer' brand of the Railways that sells at Rs 15
per litre. Carrying a picture of state Chief Minister Jayalalitha, the
mineral water will be marketed by the Tamil Nadu State Transport
Corporation and sold in long route buses and at bus stations.
24*7 water supply for Guwahati
A new project by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority aims to provide round-the-clock treated water supply with
adequate pressure in the capital town of Assam. A new grievance
redressal cell and a customer care centre have been set up to address
the residents' complaints and queries regarding the scheme.
Survey to catch Periyar polluters
The Kerala state Pollution Control Board will carry out a survey of
residential buildings and canals around the Periyar river to identify
the agents that are polluting the river, which is one of Kochi
district's main source of drinking water. The river is plagued by
organic waste that has reduced its dissolved oxygen and thus affected
its aquatic life. Environmentalists however feel that industrial
effluents are the cause of the pollution and not household waste.
Tamil Nadu government orders probe into beach mineral mining
The state government has suspended mining operations
in 71 quarries where mining of beach minerals like Garnet, Illmenite
and Rutile takes place. The government has also ordered an investigation
into allegations of illegal mining in Kanyakumari, Tiruchi, Madurai and
Tirunelveli districts. A committee set up to investigate the complaints
of illegal mining in Tuticorin district earlier will conduct the probe
in these districts.
This is a weekly roundup of policy matters from September 16-22.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/government-bans-project-clearance-eight-critically-polluted-industrial-areas
--------------------
Cochin estuary has high level of insecticides
Cochin estuary high on insecticides: Study
Cochin estuary has one of the highest concentration of organochlorine insecticides in the world, revealed a study by the Cochin University of Science and Technology.
Poo to power Bangalore
Around 100 megawatt will be produced from methane emitted by 1000 MLD sewage. This can meet 75% of the city's power demand.
Air force seizes trucks carried illegally mined sand in Noida
Drivers of the 23 trucks fled the scene. The Uttar Pradesh Police, which was handed over the case, claims the trucks were coming from Haryana.
Hyderabad's IT hubs may face dry days
Residents of Cyberabad, Hiltech city and Gachibowli are a worried lot as groundwater goes down and areas are not served by distribution network of the Water Boardr.
Plugged leaks get good results for Bangalore
The city's Water Authority prevents wastage and generates revenue by replacing worn out pipelines and installing water metres in the southern part of Bangalore.
India loses 6% forest in 30 years
A report by the National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad also states that more than 90% forest area in the country is in fragments of less than one square kilometre.
Water awaits taps in Kerala
Pipelines have been re-laid on flood-ravaged coastal area of Thiruvananthapuram, but state and private agencies shift responsibility of providing taps.
Census to woo migratory birds at Ropar Wetland
May help devise conservation plans to revive the habitat affected by heavy siltation, pollution and hectic human activity.
Norway eager to invest in Himachal's hydropower
The Country's ambassador met Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister to talk about two projects already operational in Kullu district.
Pharma industry makes Hyderbad lakes sick
More than 300 pharmaceautical industries discharge their effluents directly into lakes polluting water beyond permissible limits.
This is a news roundup of January 20, 2014.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/news/cochin-estuary-has-high-level-insecticides
--------------------------
Chemical fertilizers spelling death for infants
Chemical fertilizers spelling death for infants: Study
Death of babies less than one month old in rural areas may be due to exposure to chemical fertilizers that percolate into water, says a study published in the Journal of Development Economics.
No toilets in 25% of Odisha's government schools
50% schools have no seperate toilets for girls and boys while 25% schools have no toilets at all, says a report by the Odisha Primary Education Programme Authority.
392 anganwadis run without drinking water in Hubli
Teachers in the anganwadi centres fetch water from public taps or ponds before children come in.
World Bank money to fortify dams in Tamil Nadu
The Bank has allocated Rs 63 crores to strengthen and increase the capacity of 11 dams in Tamil Nadu that will support more power generation, irrigation and drinking water needs.
Manual scavengers to get Rs 40,000 each for rehabilitation
The National Safai Karamchari Commission will launch a scheme that involves cash incentive to be deposited directly in their bank accounts.
Domestic water tariff may rise by 8% in Maharashtra
Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority proposes hike in tariff for domestic water use while that for industrial use will be cut drastically.
Manchester University researcher working on fluoride in Bihar
Sandra Downes is developing a water purification technology to treat fluoride contamination in collaboration with AN College of Patna.
Politics decides the flow in Maharashtra
Those with political connections benefit from state government's move to allocate water from 23 dam projects in the state for industrial purposes.
Delhi survives ammonia scare
Water treatment plants return to normal operations as level of ammonia in Yamuna water reduces to permissible limits. The amount had increased due to discharge of untreated sewage in Haryana cities.
Andhra lecturer develops low-cost defluoridation method
Using bio-waste like grass and prosopis juliflora, a lecturer in Vijayawada has developed a low cost powder that can be used to make fluoride-contaminated water potable.
Drip irrigation compulsory for cash crops
Maharashtra farmers growing cash crops have to shift to drip irrigation to avoid high tarrif while Vidarbha farmers will get incentives.
Violations during public hearing for Arunachal dam
People were not allowed to speak and many were beaten up during public hearing for the 1200 MW Kalai II project on the Lohit river.
Flash floods, water logging on rise in Guwahati: Study
During the next 10 years, many areas in the city will have eight-feet deep water every monsoon, says a study conducted by ENVIRON, an environmental group.
Bangalore to recycle construction debris
The unit will process construction debris for use in place of sand, reducing the dependence of the construction industry on sand mining from rivers.
This is the news roundup of January 18 and 19, 2014.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/news/chemical-fertilizers-water-causing-neo-natal-deaths
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Poisoned by water
2015-06-18
Endosulfan, a harmful pesticide, is banned in Kerala but other such
chemicals continue to be used. Groundwater contamination leading to
unsafe water supply is but one of its consequences.
Endosulfan, a pesticide, has been banned in Kerala after its adverse effects were first realised in 1981. Shree Padre,
a freelance environmental journalist, first brought out the
consequences of using the pesticide by reporting on the various
disabilities it caused among domestic animals and on the people of his
village in Enmakaje panchayat of Kasaragod District. A study done by CSE
on poisoning due to endosulfan confirmed the same [1]. Later studies
also found that groundwater contamination with endosulfan continued to
be high over the years and that the villages affected continued to lack
safe water supply.
The article titled 'An Invisible Disaster - Endosulfan Tragedy of Kerala' published in the Economic and Political Weekly, describes
the processes and the struggles that followed the controversy in
Kasargod, and the economic and political forces that came together to
push aside the struggles of affected individuals and communities, whose
experiences contradicted the science-dominant public discourse in the
state.
The anti endosulfan movement and the scientific debates used to challenge it
Public resistance to endosulfan started in 1985 following the report
from Kasargod district. The main demands of the anti endosulfan movement
were that it be banned, and that affected people be provided with
proper compensation. Although the Government of Kerala temporarily put
aerial spraying on hold in 1998, and a permanent ban on it came
following a lower court verdict in 2001, there is still no agreement on
the after-effects of the spraying in Kasaragod District for more than 20
years now.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/poisoned-water
---------------------------------------------
Slow poisoning of the Harike wetland
2015-03-09
Considered a Ramsar site since 1990, the Harike wetland in Punjab is on
the verge of a serious crisis, as contamination of its waters from
effluents has reached critical levels.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/slow-poisoning-harike-wetland-0
--------------------------------------------
Environment Ministry lied to Supreme Court about the Uttarakhand dam report
2015-02-24
Centre presents an opposite picture in the Uttarakhand dam case
With respect to the six specific hydroelectric projects on the upper Ganga basin in Uttarakhand, the Environment Ministry had informed the Supreme Court that experts have given a clean chit to the six dams and
that the latter can also approve these projects. However, in reality,
the Expert Committee Report has warned that these dams will have a huge
impact on the people and ecology of the region and hence should not be
permitted at all on the basis of the clearances that were given prior to
the Uttarakhand tragedy of 2013.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/environment-ministry-lied-supreme-court-about-uttarakhand-dam-report
--------------------------------------------
Groundwater resources race against time
2015-02-21
Development and urbanisation have already put pressure on groundwater
resources in the fragile Himalayan region. So, what is the current
status of groundwater resources of this unique region?
The Himalayas, an important part of the geography of India, extend
along the entire Northern and North-Eastern boundary of the country. It
spans six Indian States namely, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttaranchal, West Bengal, Sikkim and a major part of Arunachal Pradesh
from west to east.
The Himalayan mountain system has a profound effect on the climate of
the Indian subcontinent. It shields South Asia from the dry Arctic
winds and keeps the region warm. More importantly, the Himalayas play a
very vital role in bringing precipitation to the subcontinent by acting
as a barrier to the monsoon winds and preventing their northward escape...
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/groundwater-resources-race-against-time
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Poisonous encounters in Maharashtra
2014-11-23
The water in Jamwadi village, Yavatmal has been severely contaminated by
the Raymond Company but quality tests only confirm this when the
villagers changed the name of the village on the test sample...
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/poisonous-encounters-maharashtra
-------------------------------------
Poisonous cocktail in the Cauvery
2014-10-20
Leachate from thermal plants in Mettur flows straight into the Cauvery
river polluting cotton fields along the way. What else is this
affecting?
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/poisonous-cocktail-cauvery
------------------------------------
The slow death of a river
2014-10-15
See the impact of pollution on the Kshipra in Madhya Pradesh through the eyes of the residents, many of whom depend on the river for their livelihoods.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/slow-death-river
------------------------------------
Toxic water increases cancer victims in Punjab: A documentary
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/news/toxic-water-increases-cancer-victims-punjab-documentary
------------------------------------
Dumpsite pollutes groundwater
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/news/dumpsite-pollutes-groundwater
------------------------------------
No nitrogen and phosphorus in soil due to excessive use of fertilisers
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/news/no-nitrogen-and-phosphorus-soil-due-excessive-use-fertilisers
------------------------------------
The curse of copper
Chemicals contaminate water bodies, causes environmental pollution and
acute health problems in a village close to Hindustan Copper Limited
project
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/news/curse-copper
------------------------------------
20 villages in Bastar suffer from fluoride contamination
Ground water non-potable in 15 of 27 Chattisgarh districts; administration supplies tankers to affected areas
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/news/20-villages-bastar-suffer-fluoride-contamination
------------------------------------
60% tap water in Bangalore not potable
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/news/60-tap-water-bangalore-not-potable
------------------------------------
Living rivers, dying rivers: Rivers in the Western Ghats
2012-02-10
The sixth lecture in the series titled "Living Rivers, Dying Rivers" was delivered by Parineeta Dandekar and Pandurang Hegde.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/living-rivers-dying-rivers-rivers-western-ghats
------------------------------------
India's Toxic Landfills: A Dumping Ground for the World's Electronic Waste
2006
http://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1351&context=sdlp
------------------------------------
Water quality monitoring of lakes in and around Bangalore city
2012-02-07
This report by the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) both
in Kannada and English highlights the deteriorating condition of the
lakes in and around Bangalore city.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/water-quality-monitoring-lakes-and-around-bangalore-city
------------------------------------
Mining poisons South Goa waters: The case of the Salaulim reservoir shown in a film
2012-02-04
It raises questions about the negative impact that excessive mining can
have on the health of population in the area through contamination of
water resources. The film presents the case of the Salaulim reservoir,
situated in the Sanguem taluka, which is the largest dam in Goa. It
supplies water to almost entire South Goa, comprising 55% of the state's
population.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/mining-poisons-south-goa-waters-case-salaulim-reservoir-shown-film
------------------------------------
Investigation and assessment report: Arsenic in drinking water sources and related problems of Ballia district of Uttar Pradesh
2011-12-28
Following media reports about arsenic contamination in Ballia, and a complaint addressed by the people of Ballia to the Ministry of Rural Development, a National Level Monitor was requested to enquire into the issue of water quality.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/investigation-and-assessment-report-arsenic-drinking-water-sources-and-related-problems
------------------------------------
Chemical fertilizers in our water - An analysis of nitrates in the groundwater in Punjab by Greenpeace
2011-10-31
This study by Greenpeace India Society is an initial investigation into
the effects of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer on groundwater pollution in
intensive agriculture areas in Punjab.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/chemical-fertilizers-our-water-analysis-nitrates-groundwater-punjab-greenpeace
----------------------------
Feared groundwater contamination due to bauxite mining in Vizianagaram, AP - What are the health risks?
2011-06-02
I am from a voluntary organization - SAMPARKA- at Vizianagaram,Andhra
Pradesh. There is some apprehension in the area that as a consequence
of the proposed bauxite mining and refining operations would pollute the
groundwater.
Concerns are mostly about the dissolved alumina and runoff from mine
tailings and refinery waste that would result in the ground water
carrying dissolve alumina. Is that correct ? Are the concerns valid? How
can the local community address these issues.
Some of the Homeopathic literature refer to the deleterious effects of alumina.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/questions/feared-groundwater-contamination-due-bauxite-mining-vizianagaram-ap-what-are-health-risks
----------------------------
Transportation behavior of lindane in different types of soil – A research report by National Institute of Hydrology
2010-07-17
The report deals with the transportation behaviour of lindane, a
pesticide used commonly in the agricultural and public health sectors in
India, through sandy and loamy soils.
http://www.indiawaterportal.org/articles/transportation-behavior-lindane-different-types-soil-research-report-national-institute
--------------------------
Metal pollution assessment through aquatic sediments - A research report by National Institute of Hydrology
2010-06-29
The study attempts to compile and evaluate the status of metal pollution assessment through aquatic sediments in rivers and lakes, which could be natural or artificial.
------------------------
Organophosphates: A Common But Deadly Pesticide
July 18, 2013
Organophosphates attack the nervous system in the same way as nerve agents like sarin.
---------------------------------------
5 eco issues that could cripple India
1. Emissions, rain and climate refugees
2. Land degradation
3. Pollution of fresh water resources
4. Deforestation
5. Unbridled urbanization
http://travel.cnn.com/mumbai/life/cnngo-asks-greenpeace-what-ails-india-656173/
---------------------------------------
Bayer (India)
Bayer CropScience ES Division has been involved in the manufacture of
Public Health pesticides since decades in India. It has been our
constant endeavor to develop and launch innovative products that will
suite the needs of vector control programs.
https://www.environmentalscience.bayer.in/
--------------------------------------
Comprehensive New Review of Monsanto’s Glyphosate Underscores Urgent Need for Global Action
Every month we get a new story of how glyphosate is harming people in the farms and off farms in rural India. It is clearly damaging people and planet.” Sarojeni V. Rengam, PAN Asia and the Pacific “Glyphosate is a highly hazardous pesticide. There are other ecosystem based non-chemical alternatives that do not require the use of such hazardous herbicides. We therefore urge Monsanto and other agrochemical corporations to stop the production and marketing of glyphosate in order to ensure the health of people and the environment.” Dr Angeliki Lyssimachou, PAN Europe “This remarkable compilation of scientific studies reveals that glyphosate-based pesticides -despite what their manufactures’ claim- are far from ‘safe’. Hundreds of non-industry funded studies show that these products are gradually poisoning our people, our environment and its ecosystems. Regulators must stop playing blind and take action to ban all uses of glyphosate.”
http://www.pan-india.org/tag/roundup/
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Harmful Effects of the Green Revolution
Updated April 25, 2017
Inside the Green Revolution
One primary mission of the Green Revolution was to improve the production of wheat and rice -- two high-yield plants. The program required farmers to use pesticides to kill pests and fertilizers to give extra nutrients to the plants, to take advantage of efficient irrigation techniques, and to learn new management techniques. Not only did food production increase, but statistics show that the production of maize, wheat and rice almost doubled between the 60s and 90s.
Pesticides: Handle with Care
Many of the pesticides used during the heady days of the green revolution (60s to 90s) are very toxic to humans and other non-target organisms. Even pesticides advertised as "green," are not necessarily 100% safe. While many pesticides used in organic farming are safer than common chemicals we come into contact with every day, it is important to be careful. The Environmental Protection Agency does not allow companies to use terms such as "green" or "non-toxic" on pesticide labels.
Toxicity of the Green Revolution
Four decades after Indian farmers began increasing production using pesticides and fertilizers, they are starting to have second thoughts about the change. In 2008, Researchers at Punjabi University discovered DNA damage in 30 percent of Indian farmers who treated plants with herbicides and pesticides. An additional study found heavy metals and pesticide chemicals in drinking water. These substances are harmful and can cause serious health problems. Some of these problems may occur because some farmers may not know how to handle and dispose of toxic chemicals. They may also harm the environment by using too many of those products.
Loss of Genetic Diversity
In traditional farming, farmers plant a variety of crops that typically have a large supply of unique genotypes. People using Green Revolution farming methods plant fewer crop varieties in favor of those that produce high yields. This type of cultivation causes an undesirable loss in crop genetic diversity. You can witness this problem in India, where about 75 percent of their rice fields contain only 10 varieties of plants. This is a significant drop compared to the 30,000 rice varieties that were planted 50 years ago. Traditional crops have the highest gene diversity and as they dwindle, those genes vanish. These genetic diversity losses can be seen all over the world in locations that implemented Green Revolution farming methods.
Impacts on Rice Production
Rice fields are a vital source of food for individuals around the world. Because these fields often have mineral-rich soil, they are resilient and people have farmed them successfully for centuries. However, after the Green Revolution changed the way people farm, rice field sustainability declined, even though rice yields increased. Causes for the decline include loss of biodiversity and fish deaths due to toxicity from pesticide use.
Other Side Effects
Because the Green Revolution required learning new water management skills, some farmers that didn't have these skills could not take full advantage of the new irrigation techniques. The Green Revolution's original mission was to focus on areas with significant rainfall or irrigation. This meant that in drier locations, wheat yield gains often fell below 10 percent, while yields in irrigated areas reached 40 percent. By the mid 80s, locations with high irrigation fully adopted high-yield crop production methods, while areas with little rainfall and a limited water supply experienced low adoption rates.
http://sciencing.com/harmful-effects-green-revolution-8587115.html
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India environment - current issues
Definition: This entry lists the most pressing and important environmental problems. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
Acidification - the lowering of soil and water pH due to acid precipitation and deposition usually through precipitation; this process disrupts ecosystem nutrient flows and may kill freshwater fish and plants dependent on more neutral or alkaline conditions (see acid rain).
Acid rain - characterized as containing harmful levels of sulfur dioxide or nitrogen oxide; acid rain is damaging and potentially deadly to the earth's fragile ecosystems; acidity is measured using the pH scale where 7 is neutral, values greater than 7 are considered alkaline, and values below 5.6 are considered acid precipitation; note - a pH of 2.4 (the acidity of vinegar) has been measured in rainfall in New England.
Aerosol - a collection of airborne particles dispersed in a gas, smoke, or fog.
Afforestation - converting a bare or agricultural space by planting trees and plants; reforestation involves replanting trees on areas that have been cut or destroyed by fire.
Asbestos - a naturally occurring soft fibrous mineral commonly used in fireproofing materials and considered to be highly carcinogenic in particulate form.
Biodiversity - also biological diversity; the relative number of species, diverse in form and function, at the genetic, organism, community, and ecosystem level; loss of biodiversity reduces an ecosystem's ability to recover from natural or man-induced disruption.
Bio-indicators - a plant or animal species whose presence, abundance, and health reveal the general condition of its habitat.
Biomass - the total weight or volume of living matter in a given area or volume.
Carbon cycle - the term used to describe the exchange of carbon (in various forms, e.g., as carbon dioxide) between the atmosphere, ocean, terrestrial biosphere, and geological deposits.
Catchments - assemblages used to capture and retain rainwater and runoff; an important water management technique in areas with limited freshwater resources, such as Gibraltar.
DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane) - a colorless, odorless insecticide that has toxic effects on most animals; the use of DDT was banned in the US in 1972.
Defoliants - chemicals which cause plants to lose their leaves artificially; often used in agricultural practices for weed control, and may have detrimental impacts on human and ecosystem health.
Deforestation - the destruction of vast areas of forest (e.g., unsustainable forestry practices, agricultural and range land clearing, and the over exploitation of wood products for use as fuel) without planting new growth.
Desertification - the spread of desert-like conditions in arid or semi-arid areas, due to overgrazing, loss of agriculturally productive soils, or climate change.
Dredging - the practice of deepening an existing waterway; also, a technique used for collecting bottom-dwelling marine organisms (e.g., shellfish) or harvesting coral, often causing significant destruction of reef and ocean-floor ecosystems.
Drift-net fishing - done with a net, miles in extent, that is generally anchored to a boat and left to float with the tide; often results in an over harvesting and waste of large populations of non-commercial marine species (by-catch) by its effect of "sweeping the ocean clean."
Ecosystems - ecological units comprised of complex communities of organisms and their specific environments.
Effluents - waste materials, such as smoke, sewage, or industrial waste which are released into the environment, subsequently polluting it.
Endangered species - a species that is threatened with extinction either by direct hunting or habitat destruction.
Freshwater - water with very low soluble mineral content; sources include lakes, streams, rivers, glaciers, and underground aquifers.
Greenhouse gas - a gas that "traps" infrared radiation in the lower atmosphere causing surface warming; water vapor, carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, hydrofluorocarbons, and ozone are the primary greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere.
Groundwater - water sources found below the surface of the earth often in naturally occurring reservoirs in permeable rock strata; the source for wells and natural springs.
Highlands Water Project - a series of dams constructed jointly by Lesotho and South Africa to redirect Lesotho's abundant water supply into a rapidly growing area in South Africa; while it is the largest infrastructure project in southern Africa, it is also the most costly and controversial; objections to the project include claims that it forces people from their homes, submerges farmlands, and squanders economic resources.
Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC) - represents the 145,000 Inuits of Russia, Alaska, Canada, and Greenland in international environmental issues; a General Assembly convenes every three years to determine the focus of the ICC; the most current concerns are long-range transport of pollutants, sustainable development, and climate change.
Metallurgical plants - industries which specialize in the science, technology, and processing of metals; these plants produce highly concentrated and toxic wastes which can contribute to pollution of ground water and air when not properly disposed.
Noxious substances - injurious, very harmful to living beings.
Overgrazing - the grazing of animals on plant material faster than it can naturally regrow leading to the permanent loss of plant cover, a common effect of too many animals grazing limited range land.
Ozone shield - a layer of the atmosphere composed of ozone gas (O3) that resides approximately 25 miles above the Earth's surface and absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation that can be harmful to living organisms.
Poaching - the illegal killing of animals or fish, a great concern with respect to endangered or threatened species.
Pollution - the contamination of a healthy environment by man-made waste.
Potable water - water that is drinkable, safe to be consumed.
Salination - the process through which fresh (drinkable) water becomes salt (undrinkable) water; hence, desalination is the reverse process; also involves the accumulation of salts in topsoil caused by evaporation of excessive irrigation water, a process that can eventually render soil incapable of supporting crops.
Siltation - occurs when water channels and reservoirs become clotted with silt and mud, a side effect of deforestation and soil erosion.
Slash-and-burn agriculture - a rotating cultivation technique in which trees are cut down and burned in order to clear land for temporary agriculture; the land is used until its productivity declines at which point a new plot is selected and the process repeats; this practice is sustainable while population levels are low and time is permitted for regrowth of natural vegetation; conversely, where these conditions do not exist, the practice can have disastrous consequences for the environment .
Soil degradation - damage to the land's productive capacity because of poor agricultural practices such as the excessive use of pesticides or fertilizers, soil compaction from heavy equipment, or erosion of topsoil, eventually resulting in reduced ability to produce agricultural products.
Soil erosion - the removal of soil by the action of water or wind, compounded by poor agricultural practices, deforestation, overgrazing, and desertification.
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation - a portion of the electromagnetic energy emitted by the sun and naturally filtered in the upper atmosphere by the ozone layer; UV radiation can be harmful to living organisms and has been linked to increasing rates of skin cancer in humans.
Water-born diseases - those in which bacteria survive in, and are transmitted through, water; always a serious threat in areas with an untreated water supply.
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2,4-D: The Most Dangerous Pesticide You've Never Heard Of
This toxic herbicide comes with known health risks, but it's still being used on crops, in parks, and maybe even in your own backyard.
Also problematic: 2,4-D sticks around in the
environment. Depending on the formulation, it can drift through the air
from the fields where it is sprayed or be tracked inside homes by pets
or children. By the EPA's own measure, 2,4-D has already been detected
in groundwater and surface water, as well as in drinking water.
Australian scientists reported in 2012 that it was found in more than 90
percent of samples taken from agricultural catchments bordering the
Great Barrier Reef—bad news for many fish, for whom the herbicide can be
toxic. It can also poison small mammals, including dogs who can ingest
it after eating grass treated with 2,4-D.
The pesticide, which allows not just
grasses but also fruits and vegetables to flourish, can attack both the
roots and leaves of weeds by making the unwanted plant's cells grow out
of control—sort of like inducing cancer in the plant to kill it or
drastically slow its spread. It's used widely in agriculture in soybean,
corn, sugarcane, and wheat fields, and it turns up in most "weed and
feed" products as well as in many lawn treatments. The problem is, the
herbicide that was once considered clean and green may no longer be safe
by today's standards.
The evidence is slowly mounting—but not yet
conclusive. It's not always easy to determine whether a particular
substance is causing harm or just happens to be present when some other
agent is to blame. Public health experts can't always draw a firm
conclusion from studies whose methodologies are lacking in scientific
rigor. Take the link between chronic exposure to 2,4-D and cancer: "The
evidence isn't clear enough to draw conclusions with confidence, but it
is better to take precautions to prevent possible cancers than to wait
for more evidence," says Jennifer Sass, an NRDC senior scientist.
Researchers
have observed apparent links between exposure to 2,4-D and
non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (a blood cancer) and sarcoma (a soft-tissue
cancer). But both of these can be caused by a number of chemicals,
including dioxin, which was frequently mixed into formulations of 2,4-D
until the mid-1990s. Nevertheless, in 2015, the International Agency for
Research on Cancer declared 2,4-D a possible human carcinogen, based on evidence that it damages human cells and, in a number of studies, caused cancer in laboratory animals.
More
conclusive is the proof that 2,4-D falls into a class of compounds
called endocrine-disrupting chemicals, compounds that mimic or inhibit
the body's hormones. Laboratory studies suggest that 2,4-D can impede
the normal action of estrogen, androgen, and most conclusively, thyroid
hormones. Dozens of epidemiological, animal, and laboratory studies have
shown a link between 2,4-D and thyroid disorders. "That's really
important when we're thinking about development," says Kristi Pullen, a staff scientist in NRDC's Health program. "Our thyroid works to ensure the proper timing and development of the brain."
There
are reports that 2,4-D can decrease fertility and raise the risk of
birth defects. But even though fetuses, infants, and children are at
highest risk of these, no studies have looked directly at the effects of
2,4-D on those groups.
Despite concerns about potential health
risks, in 2014 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency approved the
combined use of 2,4-D and the popular weed killer Roundup (also known as
glyphosate, a whole other—and in many ways more worrying—story when it
comes to health and the environment). Enlist Duo, as the combo is
called, was already legal in several states.
It is used mainly on big farms, where it is sprayed on genetically
modified crops called Enlist soy and Enlist corn that have been
engineered to be resistant to the poisons...
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/24-d-most-dangerous-pesticide-youve-never-heard
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2015
https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/2015-049.pdf
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Chapter 3: Corruption
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India, Connected
2017
How the Rockefeller Foundation is bringing electricity to hundreds of villages across India
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Rockefeller Foundation Launches Smart Power Initiative in India
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Smart Power for Rural Development India Foundation
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These 6 thermal power plants are polluting Indian rivers
1:
Tenughat Vidyut Nigam Limited, the Jharkhand government's thermal power
plant, discharges all ash into the Katel river, which
ends up choking its entry into Tenughat dam.
2:
Ash water discharge from Raichur thermal power station is polluting the
Krishna river, says Raghavendra Kushtagi of jan Sangram
Parishat. There have been many instances of crocodile deaths in the river, due to rising pollution levels.
3: Singrauli power plant: National Thermal Power Corporation's Singrauli power plant in Madhya Pradesh is discharging
unsettled supernatant water from the ash pond into Rihand dam, polluting the only water source in the area.
4:
Obra thermal power station: Uttar Pradesh's state-owned Obra thermal
power plant discharges ash slurry directly into the Son River.
Dehli based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment found mercury accumulation in the fish of this polluted river.
5:
Anpara thermal power station: Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam
Limited's Anpara plant discharges ash slurry directly into Rihand dam.
Water in the reservior is entirely contaminated by effluent discharges
from industries in the area. The National Green Tribunal in May 2014,
ordered installation of zero discharge facilities in all industries of
the area.
6: The ash pipes of Chandrapur thermal power
station in Maharashtra have several leaks. "The river runs white during
monsoons due to ash washing into it. Though complaints have been sent to
authorities, the leaks continue," says Shankar Jadhav, a farmer from
Chandrapur.
http://www.downtoearth.org.in/gallery/these-6-thermal-power-plants-are-polluting-indian-rivers-50499
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2010 Mumbai oil spill
The 2010 Mumbai oil spill occurred after the Panama-flagged MV MSC Chitra (IMO: 7814838) and MV Khalijia 3 (IMO: 8128690) collided off the coast of India near Mumbai on Saturday, 7 August 2010 at around 9:50 A.M local time. MSC Chitra, which was outbound from South Mumbai's Nava Sheva port, collided with the inbound Khalijia-III, which caused about 200 cargo containers from MSC Chitra to be thrown into the Arabian Sea. Khalijia-III was apparently involved with another mishap on 18 July 2010.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Mumbai_oil_spill
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2017 Ennore oil spill
The 2017 Ennore oil spill was an oil spill that occurred outside the Kamarajar Port in Ernavoor, Tamil Nadu, India, on 28 January 2017. The spill occurred when the outbound empty LPG tanker M.T. BW Maple collided with the inbound fully loaded oil tanker M.T. Dawn Kanchipuram around 04:00 local time.
A report said the volume of the spill could be estimated at 9.9 million US gallons (37,000 m3)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Ennore_oil_spill
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Four Environmental Disasters Worse Than Gulf Spill
6/10/10
Bhopal, India, Gas Leak
On a December morning in 1984, a
cloud of toxic gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India,
killing more than 3,000 people in a span of days and poisoning hundreds
of thousands more in the years to come. The Indian government’s count of
fatalities caused by the accident stands at about 15,000, making it the
deadliest man-made environmental disaster in history.
http://www.newsweek.com/four-environmental-disasters-worse-gulf-spill-73449
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The Chlorine Gas Leak at Jamshedpur
May 31, 2008
On
the afternoon of May 27, the people of Jamshedpur were caught unaware.
They were exposed to a dense, pale green, pungent and poisonous gas,
Chlorine. This gas had leaked from an unused cylinder lying in the Tata
Motor’s water treatment plant for the past 10 years. By the next day,
around 150 to 200 people had been hospitalised. The affected people also
included company employees and their family members. So far no deaths
have been reported. Later, in a statement, Tata Motors claimed that the
chlorine leak has been plugged and about 60 to 70 residents who reported
breathing difficulty were admitted to the Tata Motors hospital in
Jamshedpur. The Chief Minister of Jharkahnd, Madhu Koda, alleged that
negligence by Tata Motors had led to the leakage of chlorine gas.
http://www.idsa.in/idsastrategiccomments/TheChlorineGasLeakatJamshedpur_MJoshi_310508
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Oil spill off Mumbai worse than estimated
October 09, 2013
Initially the MPCB estimated that 1,000 litres of oil had washed into the sea. On Wednesday, it said the figure could be thrice more. “The leakage started at 8.30 p.m. on Sunday and it was arrested around 11 a.m. the following day. This means that a lot of oil has seeped into the sea. It is definitely more than thrice the amount the ONGC estimated,” said Dr. Y.B. Sontakke, MPCB’s regional officer for Navi Mumbai.
The MPCB has sought a report from the Directorate of Industrial Health and Safety which has gathered samples from Uran to study the concentration of oil in the water and soil.
ONGC spokesperson S.K. Pathak, however, maintained that the slick was minor.“The leakage was contained in the channel itself. A minor amount went into the sea,” he said.
When The Hindu visited the area on Tuesday, several fishermen said they would not be able to go to sea for a few weeks because the fish would be either dead or unfit for consumption. Deepak Apte from the Bombay Natural History Society said whether the slick was big or small, the impact on marine life is always there.“This spot, especially, is where oil spills have occurred earlier. It will definitely have some impact on mangroves. This is also the period soon after seeding, so the impact will be greater,” he said.
In the recent past, major oil spills have caused major damage to the ecology.In August 2010, the collision of merchant ships MSC Chitra and MV Khalija 3 off Mumbai’s coast spilled over 800 tons of oil into the sea. Over 8.57 lakh mangroves along the coastlines of Mumbai, Thane and Raigad districts were severely affected.
In January 2011, ONGC’s Mumbai-Uran trunk pipeline burst spilling oil across four sq.km. off the Mumbai coast.
In August 2011, MV Rak which was carrying 60,000 metric tons of coal, 290 tons of furnace oil and 50 tons of fuel oil, sank.
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http://indiancoastguard.gov.in/WriteReadData/Bulletin/201512290521575317057Spillssince1982.pdf
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Status of oil pollution in Indian coastal waters
http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/9582/1/fc.pdf
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Oil Spill Disasters: Why Indian Disaster Management Process needs a Review?
http://www.clearias.com/oil-spill-disasters/
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Chennai oil spill 10 times bigger than reported, companies whose ships collided misled government
February 3, 2017
Talking exclusively to India Today, Coast Guard IG S Paramesh said the ships involved in collision tried to minimize the scale of the spill.
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/chennai-oil-spill-10-times-bigger-than-reported/1/873789.html
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Case studies of some major oil spills around India
2000
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/1641
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Oil spill threatens India's nesting turtles
February 3, 2017
https://phys.org/news/2017-02-oil-threatens-india-turtles.html
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After Oil Spill, Unique Mangrove Forest Faces More Threats
A new report calls the December 2014 accident a “serious wake-up call”—although its effects appear less serious than first feared.
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India's Reliance hires Rothschild banker as M&A head-sources
September 7, 2011
Reliance struck three shale gas
joint ventures in the United States last year, including a $1.7 billion
deal with Atlas Energy to own 40 percent of its Marcellus Shale
operations in the eastern United States. (Reporting by Sumeet
Chatterjee and Prashant Mehra; Editing by Aradhana Aravindan)
http://www.reuters.com/article/reliance-rothschild-ma/indias-reliance-hires-rothschild-banker-as-ma-head-sources-idUSL3E7K72N820110907
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BP, Mukesh Ambani tie up for Rs 40,000 crore oil plan for India
Jun 16, 2017
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/energy/oil-gas/bp-mukesh-ambani-tie-up-for-rs-40000-crore-oil-plan-for-india/articleshow/59162067.cms
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We can see how the oil companies are still behind many of the private companies that deal in the cleaning up of toxic waste, such as Cleantech. We can see how companies such as BP, continue to profit off of oil spills, while investing in companies that make money cleaning up the toxic waste left by these companies.
This is criminal what many of these companies and people are doing, and these people need to be stopped.
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Bp Ventures Portfolio
BP Ventures identifies and invests in private, high growth, game-changing
technology companies, accelerating cutting edge innovations across the entire energy spectrum.
The
investment portfolio is primarily focused on emerging technologies in
oil and gas exploration and production and downstream conversion
processes. BPV also partners with entrepreneurial companies specialising
in biotech, water, advanced materials, low carbon, mobility and digital
technology.
http://www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/en/corporate/pdf/bp-ventures-portfolio-2017.pdf
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Israel Offering to Help Clean Up India's Filthy Ganges River
Jul 20, 2015
The holy river streams from the Himalayas, passing through 29 Indian cities and picking up more contaminants in each.
Israeli
cleantech might yet come to the rescue of the sacred but polluted
goddess river Ganges, an Israeli envoy told the Indian press Sunday. An
Israeli delegation of water experts, from government and private
enterprise, has been invited to visit India next week to meet with
officials and presumably to gain a first-hand impression of the problem -
which is vast.
http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/science/1.666846
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The Rothschilds in India (BRICS?)
Mar 4, 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2ci0WJzAfw
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Had it not been for the Rothschild, India wouldn’t be so poor today. How?
Jan, 2016
http://thevoiceofnation.com/latest-news/had-it-not-been-for-the-rothschild-india-wouldnt-be-so-poor-today-how/
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The Rothschild Plan To Develop India – FDI Series Part III
-----------------------------------The Rothschilds of India
March 16, 2014
'Bombay: Exploring the Jewish Urban Heritage' tells the story of the Baghdadi Jews of Bombay, more specifically those of the Sassoon family, through the buildings and monuments they built and left behind.
When Prof. Shaul Sapir, an Israeli of Indian Baghdadi origin, came to my office and asked me to release his book entitled Bombay: Exploring the Jewish Urban Heritage, I was skeptical. Did he really mean urban heritage? As I went through his meticulously researched and visually appealing book, I realized that he did. The book tells the story of the Baghdadi Jews of Bombay, more specifically those of the Sassoon family, through the buildings and monuments they built and left behind.
Sapir
says that urban historians have neglected the Jewish connection to
Bombay’s landscape and he hopes his book will fill this gap. How many
Mumbaikars know, for instance, that the famous Flora Fountain, a
landmark in the heart of today’s Mumbai (Bombay), is probably named
after Flora Sassoon? The Sassoons, who trace their ancestry to Spain,
came to be known as the “Rothschilds of India” because of their wealth
and philanthropy. The first Sassoon came to Bombay from Baghdad in 1832.
The family flourished in the tolerant environment of Bombay and amassed
a fortune, initially through their involvement in the opium trade
between the British and China.
http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Books/The-Rothschilds-of-India-345506
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India – Crime of the Century: Narendra Modi & Rothschild’s BIS Failed Financial Coup
21 Jan 2017
On 8 November, Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, brutally declared all 500 (US$ 7) and 1,000 rupee-notes invalid, unless exchanged or deposited in a bank or post office account until 31 December 2016. After this date, all unexchanged ‘old’ money is invalid – lost. Barely half of Indians have bank accounts. India’s Great Rupee Fail ~ Bloomberg
If it works in India, it works throughout the developing world.
That’s the evil thought behind it. “Tests” are already running in
Europe.
The Nordic countries, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, are moving rapidly
towards cashless societies. Electronic money, instead of cash, allows
the hegemon to control the entire western world, all those who are
enslaved to the dollar monetary system.
Meaning literally everybody outside the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) that includes, China, Russia, most of Central Asia,
Iran, Pakistan and – yes, India is an apparent candidate to join the SCO
alliance. Japan Shares Plunge Day Before China Releases New Gold Backed Yuan
https://politicalvelcraft.org/2017/01/21/india-crime-of-the-century-narendra-modi-rothschilds-bis-failed-financial-coup/
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H146 - Desh ab Rockefellar-Rothschilde lobby chalate hain ; Ambani ya Bharat Sarkar (Govt.) nahi
Feb 17, 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0XftK_lH8A
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Colonization of India
British Colonization of India was a Rothschild Venture, through The Crown.
India was already a highly "developed" and advanced civilization
for 4000+ years when the British stepped on Indian shores and it is
entirely because of the British that India became backward and
underdeveloped, and remains so to this day.
In 1600, the East India Company was granted the Charter to trade with India.
The Rothschild family owned the trading company British East
India Company. In 1857, they decided to merge with the British Empire.
After conquering Bengal in India, the Rothschilds set up a
notoriously corrupt system of administration, whose sole objective was
to shamelessly plunder the countless riches of Bengal which was the
richest province in the entire world during that time.
Bengal was literally turned into a graveyard of death and desolation.
Millions of the poor were eliminated through the spread of diseases like the bubonic plague.
In 1757 at the Battle of Plassey, Clive and British troops
secured Bengal under the control of the East India Company, and
therefore British rule. The Nawabs(dukes) and the Rajas(Kings) and
Zamindars(Landowners) were robbed of their priceless treasures.
The Rothschilds then moved this entire horde of tons of gold
looted from the people of Bengal to London. It was with this gold looted
from Bengal that the Rothchild family set up the privately owned Bank
of England.
In the decades that followed, the Rothschild banking family set
up the Federal Reserve Bank of America which to this day indulges in day
light robbery of the American people.
The Rothschilds then set up the World Bank, the IMF and the Bank for International Settlements.
The Rothschilds use banks such as the World Bank, the IMF, the
Bank for International Settlements to institutionalize the robbery of
the third world
Banks such as Citibank and Standard Chartered bank etc. were also
set up with the secret support of the Rothschilds to continue the
robbery of third world and Indian people.
When Indians revolted in the year 1857, they were told that the
East India Company was abolished and India will be administered directly
by the CROWN.
What most People do not know to this day is the fact that CROWN does not mean the King or Queen of Britain, but a privately owned Corporation headed again by the Rothschilds, who also owned the East India Company!
The Crown is the private corporate City State of London. It has Council of 12 members (Board of Directors) headed by a Mayor, whose election is regulated by the Rothschild.
Indians were tricked and cheated with a simple name change game!
The exploitation and robbery of India, its resources and people
continued till 1947 under this CROWN.
In 1947, India and its people were again tricked into believing that we
were granted "Independence" through the complicity of Pandit Nehru.
(will be addressed in detail in next post)
Under secret orders from the Rothschilds given to him through his
Jewish girl friend Edwina Mountbatten who is a close relative of the
British Queen, Nehru turned India and its people into rag tag clad
beggars.
The richest people in the country are undoubtedly the politicians
who continue their thievery and robbery of India, for the Rothschilds
banking family as their BENAMI frontmen.
The robbery of India and its people continues to this day. And
proof for this is evident in the fact that nearly 800 million Indians
live at less than 50 rupees per day, while Indian Parliament is full of
politicians who are millionaires!
The Rothschilds are now married into the British Royal Family and
many aristocratic families of Europe. The Kohinoor Diamond which was
robbed by Robert Clive was presented to the British Queen.
http://conspiracy.wikia.com/wiki/Colonization_of_India
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India’s de facto carbon tax is excessive
Feb 2017
--------------------------------
UN ushers in ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
Jan, 2016
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development calls on countries to begin efforts to achieve the 17 SDGs over the next 15 years.
With the start of the new year, the UN on Friday ushered in the
ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals that aim to end poverty,
hunger and assure gender equally while building a life of dignity for
all over the next 15 years.
The 15-year cycle of the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) came to an end with 2015 paving the way for the SDGs, an even
more ambitious set of goals to banish a host of social ills by 2030.
“The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are our shared vision of
humanity and a social contract between the world’s leaders and the
people,” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had said of the 2030 Agenda
for Sustainable Development adopted unanimously by 193 Heads of State
and other top leaders at a summit here in September.
“They are a to-do list for people and planet, and a blueprint for
success,” he had said of the 17 goals and 169 targets to wipe out
poverty, fight inequality and tackle climate change over the next 15
years.
>
Read the Agenda for 2030 SDGs
http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/UN-ushers-in-ambitious-2030-Sustainable-Development-Goals/article13975088.ece
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Agenda 21
Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily implemented action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action agenda for the UN, other multilateral organizations, and individual governments around the world that can be executed at local, national, and global levels.
Opposition
Anti-Agenda 21 conspiracy theories have circulated in the U.S.; some Tea Party movement
activists and others promoted the notion that Agenda 21 was part of a
UN plot to deny property rights, undermine U.S. sovereignty, or force
citizens to move to cities.
Activists believed that the non-binding UN resolution was "the linchpin
in a plot to subjugate humanity under an eco-totalitarian regime." The conspiracy theory had its roots in anti-environmentalist ideology and opposition to land-use regulation.
Agenda 21 fears have played a role in opposition to local government's efforts to promote resource and land conservation, build bike lanes, and construct hubs for public transportation. The non-profit group ICLEI — Local Governments for Sustainability USA was targeted by anti-Agenda 21 activists. In 2012 Glenn Beck co-wrote a dystopian novel titled Agenda 21 based in part on concepts discussed in the UN plan. In the same year, fears of Agenda 21 "went mainstream" when the Republican National Committee adopted a platform resolution stated that "We strongly reject the U.N. Agenda 21 as erosive of American sovereignty."
Several state and local governments have considered or passed motions and legislation opposing Agenda 21. Most such bills failed, "either dying in committee, getting defeated on the statehouse floor or – in the case of Missouri's 2013 bill – getting vetoed by the governor." In Texas,
for example, broadly worded legislation that would prohibit any
governmental entity from accepting from or granting money to any
"nongovernmental or intergovernmental organization accredited by the
United Nations to implement a policy that originated in the Agenda 21
plan" was defeated because it could have cut off funding for groups such
as 4-H, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Texas Wildlife Association. In Arizona, a similarly sweeping bill was introduced in the Arizona State Legislature
seeking to mandate that the state could not "adopt or implement the
creed, doctrine, or principles or any tenet" of Agenda 21 and to
prohibit the state "implementing programs of, expending any sum of money
for, being a member of, receiving funding from, contracting services
from, or giving financial or other forms of aid to" an array of
sustainability organizations. The bill, which was opposed by the state chamber of commerce and the mayor of Phoenix, was defeated in 2012. Alabama
was one state that did adopt an anti-Agenda 21 resolution, unanimously
passing in 2012 a measure to block "any future effort to 'deliberately
or inadvertently infringe or restrict private property rights without
due process, as may be required by policy recommendations originating
in, or traceable to 'Agenda 21.'"
Baltic nations formed the Baltic 21 coalition as a regional expression of Agenda 21.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda_21
-----------------------------------
Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030 India
2017
Goal 1:
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2:
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable
agriculture
Goal 3:
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages
Goal 4:
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning
opportunities for all
Goal 5:
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Goal 6:
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Goal 10:
Reduce inequality within and among countries
Goal 11:
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Goal 13:
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Goal 16:
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide
access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at
all levels
http://www.socialwatch.org/sites/default/files/swindia/2017-Civil-Society-Report-on-SDGs-Agenda-2030-INDIA.pdf
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Chapter 4: India vs Pakistan
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Tensions Between India And Pakistan May Rise Over Nuclear Deal
At the recent visit of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the U.S. in May 2016, the closer relationship between the U.S. and India was clear. A logical step forward was further seen when U.S. President Obama stated his approval for India to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). While this would be a great move for overall worldwide security and nuclear non-proliferation, there is a danger of greater tensions between India and Pakistan.
oilprice.com/Alternative-Energy/Nuclear-Power/Tensions-Between-India-And-Pakistan-May-Rise-Over-Nuclear-Deal.html
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When Indo-Pak Armies Met At Rann of Kutch, Leading To Operation Gibraltar And 1965 War
October 19, 2016
In most of the Indo-Pakistan wars, conflicts didn't start all of a
sudden. In fact, history has witnessed that small skirmishes and battles
between two armies have led to full fledged war.
www.indiatimes.com/news/india/when-indo-pak-armies-met-at-rann-of-kutch-leading-to-operation-gibraltar-and-1965-war-263845.html
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Many times politicians are bribed with money in order to pass laws
that would benefit more Islamic influence in government. This is a good example of why so many
politicians submit to forming Islamic law, and take bribes in order to
do it.
Pakistan
is under full Islamic Sharia law, and bullies the government of India
into forming an Islamic government, just like the government of Pakistan.
India has forms
of various hybrid Sharia Law, and various other forms of hybrid government. We are concerned that the government of India might become overthrown by Islamic extremist militants. The
free world needs to put an end to this conflict, both of these countries
have nuclear weapons, and both these governments practice different
forms of Sharia Law. We are surprised that the people of the world have
allowed countries such as Sharia controlled Pakistan, to continue to
have nuclear weapons. What is to stop these governments under Sharia
Law with nuclear weapons, to one day threaten all free countries with these
nuclear devices.
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Muslims to play key role in Indian elections
With elections now underway in India, the Muslim vote is of vital importance to the outcome. The country's single largest religious minority makes up 14 percent of India's population of more than 1.2 billion people.
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India: Muslims riot after Friday prayers, attack police and Hindu temple, many policemen injured
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Pakistan: Muslim group issues fatwa targeting journalists as “enemies of the mujahideen”
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Pakistan: Reporter accused of apostasy, gets death threat for reporting about plight of Ahmadis and Christians
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Pakistan to continue ban on “blasphemous” YouTube indefinitely
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/02/pakistan-to-continue-ban-on-blasphemous-youtube-indefinitely
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Google, Yahoo, YouTube offend Muslims, blocked in Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/06/google-yahoo-youtube-offend-muslims-blocked-in-pakistan
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Pakistan restoring access to YouTube, but will block videos offensive to Muslims — beheadings? Nope — cartoons
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Pakistan, in fury over Draw Muhammad day, shuts down Facebook, YouTube
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Pakistani government: Facebook heeded its demand and has removed 85% of “blasphemous” material
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Pakistan: Facebook helping Pakistani officials remove “blasphemous” content
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/03/pakistan-facebook-helping-pakistani-officials-remove-blasphemous-content
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Pakistan asks Facebook and Twitter to identify Pakistanis outside country who post anti-Islam material
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Pakistan: High Court orders government to prevent “blasphemers” from leaving country
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/03/pakistan-high-court-orders-government-to-prevent-blasphemers-from-leaving-country
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Pakistan: Sharia court rules blasphemers can only be punished with death penalty
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Pakistani man sentenced to death over “blasphemous” text message
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/06/pakistani-man-sentenced-to-death-over-blasphemous-text-message
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Pakistan: More Christians arrested for sending “blasphemous” text messages
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Pakistani government sends text to millions warning against posting “blasphemous content”
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Pakistan: Christian pastor gets life imprisonment for “blasphemous” text message
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Pakistan: Muslims threaten to kill Christian lawyer for defending people against blasphemy charges
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/05/pakistan-muslims-threaten-to-kill-christian-lawyer-for-defending-people-against-blasphemy-charges
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Pakistan: Jihadists open fire at home of lawyer defending accused blasphemer
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/12/pakistan-jihadists-open-fire-at-home-of-lawyer-defending-accused-blasphemer
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Pakistan: Muslims murder Christian leader imprisoned for blasphemy
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Pakistan: Three burqa-clad sisters shoot and kill man after accusing him of blasphemy
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/04/pakistan-three-burqa-clad-sisters-shoot-and-kill-man-after-accusing-him-of-blasphemy
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Pakistan: Muslims threaten riots if Christian woman accused of “blasphemy” is released
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Pakistan: Religious minorities 4% of population, 50% of blasphemy cases
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Pakistan: 300 rally in support of man who killed foe of blasphemy laws
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Pakistan: 100,000 attend funeral of killer of blasphemy laws foe
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/03/pakistan-100000-attend-funeral-of-killer-of-blasphemy-laws-foe
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Pakistan: Muslim blasphemers pardoned; Christian blasphemers put to death
May 17, 2014
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/05/pakistan-muslim-blasphemers-pardoned-christian-blasphemers-put-to-death
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Pakistan: 1,000 Muslim clerics ask Zardari to “ensure his place in heaven” by pardoning killer of foe of blasphemy law
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/08/pakistan-1000-muslim-clerics-as-zardari-to-ensure-his-place-in-heaven-by-pardoning-killer-of-foe-of
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Pakistan’s new Islamic supremacist prime minister “soft on Islamic extremism and won’t crack down on militants”
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Pakistan: Main suspect in murder of Christian cabinet member released as death threats stall prosecution
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Pakistan’s government won’t abolish blasphemy law because it “fears the reaction of extremists”
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Pakistan: 68 lawyers accused of blasphemy for protesting against namesake of caliph Umar
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India: Islamic jihadists bomb New Delhi courthouse, murdering 10 people
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/09/india-islamic-jihadists-bomb-new-delhi-courthouse-murdering-10-people
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Pakistan: Islamic jihadists murder 11, injure 24 in jihad-martyrdom suicide bombing at court
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Pakistan: Acquitted of blasphemy, gunned down anyway
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/03/pakistan-acquitted-of-blasphemy-gunned-down-anyway
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Pakistan’s blasphemy law used to “kill innocent Christians without giving them a chance to prove their innocence”
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Islamic cleric in Pakistan offers $5,800 reward to anyone who kills Christian woman accused of blasphemy
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Pakistan’s Minister for Minorities condemns Islamic cleric’s offer of reward to anyone who kills Christian woman accused of blasphemy
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/12/pakistans-minister-for-minorities-condemns-islamic-clerics-offer-of-reward-to-anyone-who-kills-chris
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Pakistan: Muslim mob attacks Hindu temples and Sikh gurdwaras over alleged blasphemy
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Election jihad: 16 killed in Pakistan election day jihad bombings
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/05/election-jihad-16-killed-in-pakistan-election-day-jihad-bomings
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Pakistan: Muslims kidnap Christian and Hindu underage girls, force them to convert to Islam and marry Muslims
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistan: Higher Court orders kidnapped Christian woman to stay with her Muslim kidnapper husband
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims gang-rape seven-year-old Christian girl, kidnap her father to stop him reporting them
---------------------------------------------------
India: Muslim accused of sexually assaulting 4-year-old girl blames her for enticing him
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistani publication worries Islam’s image tarnished by CAIR rep’s pedophilia arrest
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Woman sold in public auction in Pakistan — for $3,200
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Pakistan: Official panel that advises the government on Islamic law opposes laws against child marriage
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Nearly Two-Thirds of Human Trafficking Victims Are from Asia
The 2014 Global Slavery Index (GSI) found that there are nearly 36 million
victims of human trafficking worldwide. Of that, 36 million, nearly
two-thirds, are from Asia. Without serious attention from the U.S. and
Asian governments, millions of adults and children will continue to be
forced into bonded labor, sex trafficking, slave-like conditions, and
child soldiering in Asia.
According to the GSI, India, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, Bangladesh,
and Thailand are in the top 10 countries with the highest number of
trafficking victims in the world. India tops the list with 14 million
victims of trafficking, China comes in second at 3.2 million, and
Pakistan is third with 2.1 million trafficking victims. India and
Pakistan are also in the top 10 countries in the world with the highest
prevalence of human trafficking.
http://dailysignal.com/2014/11/20/nearly-two-thirds-human-trafficking-victims-asia/
---------------------------------------------------
Punished For Being Raped and For Accusing Rapists: Women's Burden Under Sharia
28 Oct 2014
ISIS has just be-headed a woman in Baquba because she dared to resist being raped. In the process of struggling to defend herself, she actually killed her would-be rapist, an ISIS warrior. The woman was at home recovering from a medical illness.
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Pakistan: 12-year-old bride “was too afraid to talk to me as I often beat her to teach her manners”
May 11, 2014
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/05/pakistan-12-year-old-bride-was-too-afraid-to-talk-to-me-as-i-often-beat-her-to-teach-her-manners
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistan: Tribal council marries off 8-year-old girl to 26-year-old man
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/04/pakistan-tribal-council-marries-off-8-year-old-girl-to-26-year-old-man
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93% of women in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan experience sexual violence
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistan: 34% of women say men are justified in hitting wives if they argue back
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistan: Teen girl forced into sex slavery, then murdered by Muslim brother for “illicit relationships with some men”
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistan: Major Muslim orgs say law protecting women from abuse is un-Islamic
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Pakistan: 675 “honor killings” in the first nine months of 2011
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/12/pakistan-675-honor-killings-in-the-first-nine-months-of-2011
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Pakistan: “800 women were victims of ‘honor killings’ — and 2,900 women reported raped — almost eight a day”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/08/pakistan-800-women-were-victims-of-honor-killings-murders-aimed-at-preserving-the-honor-of-male-r
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Pakistan: 500 women and girls murdered in Islamic honor killings each year, many more go unreported
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistan Taliban say they have 500 female jihad/martyrdom suicide bombers ready to die
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Pakistan: Jihadists kidnap nine-year-old girl, try to use her as suicide bomber
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India: Muslim men lure Hindu girls with promises of marriage, then they disappear: 84 Hindu girls missing this year
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/12/india-muslim-men-lure-hindu-girls-with-promises-of-marriage-then-they-disappear-84-hindu-girls-missi
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Pakistan: Forced conversions of Hindu girls to Islam “extremely common”
---------------------------------------------------
“Every Hindu in Pakistan is bearing atrocities, girls are kidnapped and forcibly converted but now, Hindu boys are being made to embrace Islam”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/08/every-hindu-in-pakistan-is-bearing-atrocities-girls-are-kidnapped-and-forcibly-converted-but-now-hin
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Pakistani Hindu: “Sexual assault, forced conversion, abduction and humiliation is all this country has given us”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/11/pakistani-hindu-sexual-assault-forced-conversion-abduction-and-humiliation-is-all-this-country-has-g
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Pakistan: 14-year-old girl kidnapped, forcibly converted to Islam
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/08/pakistan-14-year-old-girl-kidnapped-forcibly-converted-to-islam
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Pakistan: Catholic woman kidnapped, drugged, and forced to convert to Islam and marry a Muslim may now be sold abroad
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/06/pakistan-catholic-woman-kidnapped-drugged-and-forced-to-convert-to-islam-and-marry-a-muslim-may-now
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India: Rich Muslims buying girls for temporary marriage
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/12/india-rich-muslims-buying-girls-for-temporary-marriage
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India: Female Muslim leader says women in tight clothes “pollute the environment,” provoke rape
----------------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims rape and murder Christian boy, police register death as natural and not suspicious
--------------------------------------
Pakistan: Council of Islamic Ideology rules DNA tests not acceptable as primary evidence in rape cases
------------------------------------
Pakistan: Rape victim jailed for “concealing” crime
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/12/pakistan-rape-victim-jailed-for-concealing-crime
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Pakistan: Rape victim could be charged with adultery
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistan: Rape victim cannot travel abroad
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistan: Christian maid burned alive to keep her from reporting rape
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Two-year-old raped and left to die because her father refused to convert to Islam
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India: Muslim politician says women who are raped should be hanged
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/04/india-muslim-politician-says-women-who-are-raped-should-be-hanged
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Pakistan: Muslim lawyers group threatens to “burn alive” anyone who defends murdered 12-year-old Christian
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Business as usual: Pakistani Muslim lawyer accused of rape and murder of 12-year-old Christian girl released on bail
----------------------
Arabian nightmares: Hyderabad still a thriving bride bazaar for rich Sheikhs
Oct 02, 2017
The recent arrests of eight Sheikhs and a Qazi for their involvement in trafficking and child marriages show how a network of brokers and racketeers lure poor parents into selling their daughters to rich Arabs in the name of marriage in Hyderabad.
Arab Sheiks arrested by the Hyderabad Police on September 20, when they came to the city in search of child brides.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/arabian-nightmares-hyderabad-still-a-thriving-bride-bazar-for-rich-sheikhs/story-dcLypwP6lk5l4Lh8dT5fYI.html?li_source=LI&li_medium=recommended-for-you
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Pakistan court orders 12 men freed in gang rape
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Pakistan: Christian women and girls report sexual abuse; Muslim village chief expels 250 Christian families
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We attended an Islamic religious convention, and the speaker said if you marry a non-Muslim or rape a non-Muslim girl, you will get 70 virgins in heaven”
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Pakistan: Case Lowers Marriageable Age for Girls
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2005/05/pakistan-case-lowers-marriageable-age-for-girls
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Kashmiri child abuse
Motivated by jihad to pick up guns. From the India Times, with thanks to Nicolei:
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2004/08/kashmiri-child-abuse
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Pakistan: Islamic supremacists warn that it’s “un-Islamic” for women to vote
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Taliban savages shoot 14-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl campaigning for peace
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Pakistani Taliban say they are holding 30 abducted boys said to have crossed into Afghanistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/09/pakistani-taliban-say-they-are-holding-30-abducted-boys-said-to-have-crossed-into-afghanistan
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Pakistan: Christian teen lynched for flirting with Muslim girl
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/04/pakistan-christian-teen-lynched-for-flirting-with-muslim-girl
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Pakistan: Police kill three Christian boys for having love affairs with Muslim girls
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Pakistan: Muslims torture two Christian women accused of blasphemy, beat them and paint their faces black
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/07/pakistan-muslims-torture-two-christian-women-accused-of-blasphemy-beat-them-and-paint-their-faces-black
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Pakistan: Christian woman miscarries after brutal beating by Muslims
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/12/pakistan-christian-woman-miscarries-after-brutal-beating-by-muslims
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Pakistan: Muslims abduct Christian woman, forcibly convert her to Islam, threaten life of her Christian fiancé
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/10/pakistan-muslims-abduct-christian-woman-forcibly-convert-her-to-islam-threaten-life-of-her-christian-fiance
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India’s VP: Western countries wrong to link Islam with terrorism
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/11/indias-vp-western-countries-wrong-to-link-islam-with-terrorism
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Syrian ambassador to India says that over 20% of refugees to Europe may have links to the Islamic State
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/11/syrian-ambassador-to-india-says-that-over-20-of-refugees-to-europe-may-have-links-to-the-islamic-state
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Captured jihadi in India: “I’m doing Allah’s work by attacking Indians”
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New Islamic State document reveals “grand plan” to wage jihad in India
----------------------------------------
India: 80 Hindu families accept Islam to save their homes from demolition
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/04/india-80-hindu-families-accept-islam-to-save-their-homes-from-demolition
----------------------------------------
Pakistan Muslim leader exhorted Muslims to kill Hindus
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/08/pakistan-muslim-leader-exhorted-muslims-to-kill-hindus
------------------------------
India court: Sharia trumps ban on child marriage
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/12/india-court-sharia-trumps-ban-on-child-marriage
-------------------------------
Christian slave freed from Muslim master in Pakistan
--------------------------
Pakistan: Military foils “major terrorist attack” Muslims had planned against Christians for Easter Sunday
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/04/pakistan-military-foils-major-terrorist-attack-muslims-had-planned-against-christians-for-easter-sunday
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Pakistan: Muslim murders 53 at park as Christians were celebrating Easter
----------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims imprison, torture 9-year-old Christian boy on false claim that he burned Qur’an
--------------------------------
Pakistani government officials deny that blasphemy laws target Christians
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/02/pakistani-government-officials-deny-that-blasphemy-laws-target-christians
-------------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims murder Christian in the street because he refused to work on Sunday
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/03/pakistan-muslims-murder-christian-in-the-street-because-he-refused-to-work-on-sunday
---------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslim mob chases Christians from homes, demanding they convert to Islam
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Police fabricate false blasphemy accusation against Christian
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Christian arrested after Muslim mob sets his house on fire
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/09/pakistan-christian-arrested-after-muslim-mob-sets-his-house-on-fire
------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims shoot Christian for stopping their harassment of Christian girls
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/08/pakistan-muslims-shoot-christian-for-stopping-their-harassment-of-christian-girls
------------------------------
Pakistan: Christian flood victims forced to convert to Islam, become slaves to Muslims or die
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Pakistan: Muslims expel all Christians from village
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/11/pakistan-muslim-expel-all-christians-from-village
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Pakistan: Islamic State-linked jihadis murder 60 with bomb in Shi’ite mosque
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Pakistan: Sunni Muslim jihadists murder 23 Shia Muslim pilgrims in Baluchistan
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Pakistan: Rival Islamic jihadists set off bomb in crowded Islamic seminary, killing eight and wounding 67
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Pakistan: Islamic jihad group planned kidnap of Shias and Ahmadis for ransom
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Pakistan: Shi’ites celebrating Ashoura beat three Sunnis to death for insulting them as they passed
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Pakistan: Islamophobes Sunni jihadists murder eleven Shi’ites in a minibus
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Pakistan: Jihad bomb during Shia procession murders seven, wounds 17
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Pakistan: Sunni jihadists murder two, injure 17 with car bomb targeting Shia pilgrims
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Pakistan: Sunni Muslims attack Shi’ite mosque, murder at least 20 people #Muslimlivesmatter
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Shia–Sunni relations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shia%E2%80%93Sunni_relations
Sunni Islam and Shia Islam are the two major denominations of Islam. Their division traces back to a Sunni–Shia schism following the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the year 632AD. A dispute over succession to Muhammad as a caliph of the Islamic community spread across various parts of the world, which led to the Battle of Jamal and Battle of Siffin. The dispute intensified greatly after the Battle of Karbala, in which Hussein ibn Ali and his household were killed by the ruling Umayyad Caliph Yazid I, and the outcry for revenge divided the early Islamic community.
The present demographic breakdown between the two denominations is difficult to assess and varies by source, but a good approximation is that 85–90% of the world's Muslims are Sunni and 10–15% are Shia, with most Shias belonging to the Twelver tradition and the rest divided between many other groups. Sunnis are a majority in most Muslim communities: in Southeast Asia, China, South Asia, Africa, and most of the Arab world. Shia make up the majority of the citizen population in Iraq, Bahrain, Lebanon, Iran and Azerbaijan, as well as being a politically significant minority in Pakistan, Syria and Yemen. Azerbaijan is predominantly Shia; however, practicing adherents are far fewer. Indonesia has the largest number of Sunni Muslims, while Iran has the largest number of Shia Muslims (Twelver) in the world. Pakistan has the second-largest Sunni population in the world, while India has the second-largest Shia Muslim (Twelver) population.
Today, there are differences in religious practice, traditions, and customs, often related to jurisprudence. Although all Muslim groups consider the Quran to be divine, Sunni and Shia have different opinions on hadith.
In recent years, Sunni–Shia relations have been increasingly marked by conflict, particularly the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict. Sectarian violence persists to this day from Pakistan to Yemen and is a major element of friction throughout the Middle East and South Asia. Tensions between communities have intensified during power struggles, such as the Bahraini uprising, the Iraq War, and most recently the Syrian Civil War and in the formation of the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that has launched a genocide against Shias.
Contents
- 1 Numbers
- 2 Historical beliefs and leadership
- 3 History
- 4 Modern Sunni–Shia relations
- 5 Efforts to foster Sunni–Shia unity
- 6 See also
- 7 References
- 8 Further reading
- 9 External links
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Afghanistan: Islamic jihadists kidnap Indian Jesuit priest
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/06/afghanistan-islamic-jihadists-kidnap-indian-jesuit-priest
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Pakistani pol says entire nation is united to eradicate terrorism
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/08/pakistani-pol-says-entire-nation-is-united-to-eradicate-terrorism
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India: Jihad group targeted Bollywood stars for corrupting the youth
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/04/india-jihad-group-targeted-bollywood-stars-for-corrupting-the-youth
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Muslim rock-and-roller gets death threats, charges of being “un-Islamic”
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“Pakistan’s Kim Kardashian” murdered by brother in Islamic honor killing
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Pakistani pop singer begs forgiveness after being accused of blasphemy
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/12/pakistani-pop-singer-begs-forgiveness-after-being-accused-of-blasphemy
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Four Indian Mujahideen terrorists arrested, had plans to murder Hindu politician
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Bangladesh: Muslims vandalize Hindu temple, threaten to bomb it unless Hindus convert to Islam or move to India
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Pakistan: Muslims vandalize Hindu temple
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India: Enraged Muslims demand ban of movie about “how Qur’an has been misinterpreted to give birth to terrorism”
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India: Muslim cleric issues fatwa and files police complaint calling for arrest of writer who “hurt the feelings of the Muslim community”
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Pakistani army giving weapons, training to Islamic State in Afghanistan
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Pakistan’s nuclear jihad
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“All Western countries are enemies of Islam”
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Saudi police pack two transgender Pakistanis into a sack and beat them to death with sticks
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‘Tsunami of money’ from Saudi Arabia funding 24,000 madrassas in Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/01/tsunami-of-money-from-saudi-arabia-funding-24000-madrassas-in-pakistan
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Saudi Arabia deports 40,000 Pakistanis over jihad terror fears
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/02/saudi-arabia-deports-40000-pakistanis-over-jihad-terror-fears
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“Islamophobia”: Kuwait imposes visa ban on five Muslim-majority nations, including Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/02/islamophobia-kuwait-imposes-visa-ban-on-five-muslim-majority-nations-including-pakistan
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US judge says convicted jihad murder plotter can’t be deported to Pakistan
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“I’m disappointed because Hillary Clinton is good for Pakistan and Muslims all over the world”
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Pakistan won’t free jailed doctor who helped U.S. find bin Laden
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/01/pakistan-wont-free-jailed-doctor-who-helped-u-s-find-bin-laden
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Pakistan: Doctor who helped U.S. find bin Laden tortured in prison
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/12/pakistan-doctor-who-helped-us-find-bin-laden-tortured-in-prison
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Pakistan: Islamic jihadists murder lawyer for doctor who helped CIA find Osama
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9/11 Panel: SA, Pakistan Aided Bin Laden
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Tiny minority of extremists update: 65% Pakistanis support Osama
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Jihadis murder 18 in massive suicide attack on Karachi’s main anti-terrorist agency
---------------------------------
Indian report says Pakistani intelligence agency tied to Mumbai jihad murders
-----------------------------
Islamic suicide bomber who killed six CIA officers was trusted CIA informant
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/01/islamic-suicide-bomber-who-killed-six-cia-officers-was-trusted-cia-informant
---------------------------------------
Pakistani government: U.S. raid that killed Osama was “act of war”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/07/pakistani-government-raid-that-killed-osama-was-act-of-war
---------------------------------
Pakistan: Hundreds of Muslims rally to pay tribute to Osama bin Laden
--------------------------------
Pakistan PM accused of taking money from bin Laden to fund jihad in Kashmir
----------------------------
U.S. quietly gives Pakistan $1.6 billion in aid that was suspended after conflict over bin Laden raid and drone strikes
--------------------------
U.S. has given Pakistan $26 billion over last 12 years, steps up surveillance of Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/09/us-has-given-pakistan-26-billion-over-last-12-years-steps-up-surveillance-of-pakistan
------------------------
U.S. pays $688 million in jizya to Pakistan for “war on terror expenses”
------------------------
Official report released in 2007 Pakistani killing of American officer, long kept quiet
------------------------
Genius former CIA analyst says next big jihad terror attack in U.S. will come from Pakistan
-------------------------
Jihadists murder three in attack on U.S. consulate in northwest Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/04/jihadists-murder-three-in-attack-on-us-consulate-in-northwest-pakistan
--------------------------
Indian Mujahideen plotted jihad attack in industrial city of Surat: “We wanted to ensure that no Muslim was killed…we knew that the casualty rate would be high”
----------------------------------------
Obama offered to pressure India over Kashmir if Pakistan stopped supporting jihadis — Pakistan refused
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India: Murderous blasts at Hindu politician’s rally “the work of the Indian Mujahideen”
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India: Islamic jihadists murder five, injure 83 with serial blasts at Hindu politician’s rally
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India: 99% of Muslim girls oppose Muslim religious body’s attempt to lower legal marriage age for Muslim girls
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India: Muslim mob attacks Hindu children with sticks and sharp weapons for singing Indian national song
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India: Muslims strike site holiest to Buddhism with nine serial explosions
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India’s Grand Mufti under fire for enjoying concert after issuing fatwa declaring music un-Islamic
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Afghanistan: Jihad-martyrdom suicide bombers murder nine in botched attack on Indian consulate
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India: Muslims vandalize Hindu temples in West Bengal, government arrests only Hindus
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#MyJihad in India: Muslim mob torches and loots 200 Hindu homes
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/02/myjihad-in-india-muslim-mob-torches-and-loots-200-hindu-homes
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#MyJihad in India: Muslims murder 13, injure 84 with bombs in crowded area of Hyderabad
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Pakistan: Muslims waving pistols storm Hindu temple, desecrate idol of Hindu deity
--------------------------------
Mumbai jihadists threaten “water jihad” against India
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/04/mumbai-jihadists-threaten-water-jihad-against-india
-------------------------------
#MyJihad in Australia: Muslim leader misunderstands Islam, says, “Army of Muslims…went to China, India, and the Maghreb. That is jihad.”
----------------------------------------
India: Muslim politician arrested after saying Muslims would “finish off one billion Hindus”
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India: Muslims hack Hindu man to death for eloping with Muslim woman
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Indian Muslim leader says, “Remove police for 15 minutes, we will finish off one billion Hindus”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/12/indian-muslim-leader-says-remove-police-for-15-minutes-we-will-finish-off-one-billion-hindus
----------------------------------------
5,000 Hindus flee Pakistan every year due to Muslim persecution
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/05/5000-hindus-flee-pakistan-every-year-due-to-muslim-persecution
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Pakistan: 1,000 Christian, Hindu girls forced to convert to Islam every year
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/04/pakistan-1000-christian-hindu-girls-forced-to-convert-to-islam-every-year
---------------------------------
India Set To ‘Detect-Delete-Deport’ 20 Million Illegal Muslims
11/27/2016
Indian officials are registering Bangladeshi residents in the state of Assam in an apparent bid to reduce the Muslim population.
“The Hindu rate of population growth is declining. But the Muslim
rate is rising. Most of the Muslims here are from Bangladesh. If this
continues, the Assamese Hindus will become a minority soon — we will
lose our language, our culture, our identity,” Assam’s finance minister told The Washington Post.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/11/27/india-sets-up-muslim-registry-to-deport-20-million-illegals/
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India: Muslim mob attacks Hindus with bricks and stones for passing through “their area,” 24 injured
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Pakistan: Ad for sewer workers “only for non-Muslims”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/07/pakistan-ad-for-sewer-workers-only-for-non-muslims
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Pakistan: Christian arrested for blasphemy for criticizing Muhammad
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Pakistani sentenced to death for blasphemy on social media
June 10, 2017
MULTAN: A minority Shiite Muslim was sentenced to death in Pakistan for sharing blasphemous content about Islam on social media, a government prosecutor said.
http://nation.com.pk/national/10-Jun-2017/pakistani-sentenced-to-death-for-blasphemy-on-social-media
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Christian Father of 2-Year-Old in Pakistan Jailed on Flimsy Blasphemy Charge, Brother Says
Arrested amid government crack-down on online ‘blasphemy.’
June 18, 2017
LAHORE, Pakistan (Morning Star News) –
Amid a government campaign in Pakistan against “blasphemous” content
online, a Christian was arrested on Friday (June 16) when a Muslim
accused him of blasphemy after a dispute over a repair bill, sources
said.
http://morningstarnews.org/2017/06/christian-father-2-year-old-pakistan-jailed-flimsy-blasphemy-charge-brother-says/
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Pakistan: 25,000 supporters of blasphemy law clash with police, set fire to cars
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/03/pakistan-25000-supporters-of-blasphemy-law-clash-with-police-set-fire-to-cars
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UK: Muslim cleric praises killer of foe of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/04/uk-muslim-cleric-praises-killer-of-foe-of-pakistans-blasphemy-laws
----------------------------------------------------
Pakistan shopkeeper gets life term for blasphemy: tore up banner bearing Muhammad’s name and Qur’an verses
-----------------------------------------------
India: Hindu converts to Islam, begins plotting jihad mass murder
----------------------------------------------------
India: Muslims riot, stab 65-year-old Hindu man to death in rage over someone else’s Facebook post
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India: Muslims threaten to cut off writer’s arm and leg if he doesn’t convert to Islam within 6 months
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/07/india-muslims-threaten-to-cut-off-writers-arm-and-leg-if-he-doesnt-convert-to-islam-within-6-months
----------------------------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims chop off Christian’s arms after he refuses to convert to Islam
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/07/pakistan-muslims-chop-off-christians-arms-after-he-refuses-to-convert-to-islam
------------------------------------------------
Jammu and Kashmir: Muslims attack Hindus on pilgrimage, murdering seven
---------------------------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslim mob demands death for Christian teen accused of “insulting Islam”
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Pakistan: Christian woman sentenced to death for “blasphemy”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/11/pakistan-christian-woman-sentenced-to-death-for-blasphemy
---------------------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims murder 25, injure 39 in jihad suicide blast targeting police
--------------------------------------------
Pakistan’s ISI funded deadly attack on CIA camp in Afghanistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/04/pakistans-isi-funded-deadly-attack-on-cia-camp-in-afghanistan
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Jamunamukh (Assam) rape and murder case on school teacher in Ramadan : 2 Jihadis arrested.
2017
--------------------------------------------
Pakistan: mullah blocks feeding of earthquake survivors during Ramadan
--------------------------------------------
India: Muslim boys kidnap and murder their 14-year-old Hindu friend
They killed him when their ransom demands were not met. This is all
according to Islamic law. Here is a salient passage on this issue from a
Shafi’i manual of Islamic law:
When an adult male is taken captive, the caliph considers the interests … (of Islam and the Muslims) and decides between the prisoner’s death, slavery, release without paying anything, or ransoming himself in exchange for money or for a Muslim captive held by the enemy. (Reliance of the Traveller o9.14)
-----------------------------------------------
Gruesome Islamic State video from Afghanistan shows kids executing prisoners
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/06/gruesome-islamic-state-video-from-afghanistan-shows-kids-executing-prisoners
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Al-Qaeda getting more active on the Indian subcontintent
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/07/al-qaeda-getting-more-active-on-the-indian-subcontintent
----------------------------------------------
“Almost no country needs to be more worried about jihadist Islam spreading than India”
----------------------------------------------
Indian PM “snubs” Palestinian leaders; pledges to fight jihad together with Israel
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, has now become the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel, and he won’t be meeting with Palestinian leaders, causing upset among them.
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/07/indian-pm-snubs-palestinian-leaders-pledges-to-fight-jihad-together-with-israel
-------------------------------
Pakistan jihad terrorists training Rohingya jihadis in Bangladesh
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/10/pakistan-jihad-terrorists-training-rohingya-jihadis-in-bangladesh
-----------------------------
India: Hindu leader says Rohingyas are “threat to national security…have links with jihad”
--------------------------
India using chilli sprays, stun grenades to dissuade Rohingya Muslim refugee influx
--------------------------
India: Global child bride racket uncovered, eight Muslim sheikhs arrested
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/06/indiana-muslims-enraged-by-billboard-telling-truth-about-muhammad
----------------------------------------
Pakistan’s Mujahid Battalion kills two Indian soldiers and mutilates their bodies
----------------------------------------
India: Muslims hack man to death for atheist post on Facebook
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/03/india-muslims-hack-man-to-death-for-atheist-post-on-facebook
-----------------------------------------
Chechnya: 800,000 Muslims protest Muhammad cartoons; protests also in Iran, Pakistan, Ingushetia, elsewhere
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/01/chechnya-800000-muslims-protest-muhammad-cartoons-protests-also-in-iran-pakistan-ingushetia-elsewhere
--------------------------------
Pakistan opposition leader: UN should declare defamation of Muhammad an international crime
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Petition to end YouTube censorship put in place because of Muhammad video
-------------------------------
Pakistan: New bounty offer for Muhammad filmmaker — $200,000
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/10/pakistan-new-bounty-offer-for-muhammad-filmmaker-200000
----------------------------
Muslims with clubs and axes attack showing of “Jesus” film in Pakistan
--------------------------------
India: Muslim cleric arrested for smuggling firearms
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/04/india-muslim-cleric-arrested-for-smuggling-firearms
--------------------------------
Pakistani army supporting anti-India jihadist groups
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/02/pakistani-army-supporting-anti-india-jihadist-groups
--------------------------------
India: Muslim group offers $15,000 reward to anyone who beheads Muslim “moderate” Tarek Fatah
--------------------------------
The History of India: Every Year
May 16, 2016
A note on Kashmir: To maintain neutrality, I've simply shown the lines of actual control. Neither the Indian nor Pakistani claims are recognised outside the area they administer.
Numbered Kingdoms:
1: Western Coastal Plains States
2: Pundravardhana
3: Vangala
4: Khandesh Sultanate
5: Bidar
6: Gingee
7: Tanjore
8: Gingee (Maratha last-stand)
9: Madurai
10: Nawab of Bahawalpur
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Islamists angry at new law against forced conversions
Jan 3, 2017
Every year in Pakistan, hundreds of people - mostly Hindus - are forced
to convert to Islam. To address this problem, the Sindh province
recently passed a bill that criminalises forced religious conversions.
But it's been labelled "anti-Islam" by hardline Islamists, who want
lawmakers to amend it. Our correspondents in Pakistan report.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzWccBKk5eI
--------------------------------
Pakistan threatens to DESTROY India with atomic bomb as nuclear enemies edge towards brink
Sep 29, 2016
INDIA and Pakistan have edged even closer to full-blown conflict after Pakistan's defence minister threatened to "eliminate" India if it declared war.
--------------------------------
2001–02 India–Pakistan standoff
The 2001–2002 India–Pakistan standoff was a military standoff between India and Pakistan that resulted in the massing of troops on either side of the border and along the Line of Control in the region of Kashmir. This was the second major military standoff between India and Pakistan following the successful detonation of nuclear devices by both countries in 1998 and the most recent standoff between the nuclear rivals. The other had been the Kargil War in 1999.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001%E2%80%9302_India%E2%80%93Pakistan_standoff
--------------------------------
Islamicide: How the Mullah Mafia Is Destroying Pakistan
2016
A
boy cuts off his own right hand because it offended God. Pedophilia is
holy. To question is to risk execution. Welcome to a nation in thrall to
suicidal fanaticism.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/02/01/islamicide-how-the-mullah-mafia-is-destroying-pakistan.html
--------------------------------
India-Pakistan partition 1947
Dec 18, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcKS9JPSfCg
--------------------------------
Pakistan's War With The Taliban
Sep 23, 2013
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm1YZWY5R6E
--------------------------------
Islamic conquest of India. Bloodiest in the history of World
Mar 30, 2012
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMY2YV9WucY
--------------------------------
Five sentenced to death in Pakistan for lynching and burning Christian couple in a kiln
23 November 2016
Illiterate couple were falsely accused of throwing away pages of the Quran.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/pakistan-death-sentence-christian-couple-shahzad-masih-shama-bibi-kiln-lynch-a7435156.html
--------------------------------
Russia Today Report Pakistan The Next American Enemy
Nov 25, 2016
--------------------------------
Blasphemy law in Pakistan
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blasphemy_law_in_Pakistan
The Pakistan Penal Code prohibits blasphemy against any recognized religion, providing penalties ranging from a fine to death. From 1987 to 2014 over 1300 people have been accused of blasphemy, Muslims constitute the majority of those booked under these laws.
Over 60 people accused of blasphemy have been murdered before their respective trials were over, and prominent figures who opposed the blasphemy law have been assassinated. Since 1990, 62 people have been murdered as a result of blasphemy allegations.
According to one religious minority source, an accusation of blasphemy commonly subjects the accused, police, lawyers, and judges to harassment, threats, attacks and rioting. Critics complain that Pakistan's blasphemy law "is overwhelmingly being used to persecute religious minorities and settle personal vendettas," but calls for change in the blasphemy laws have been strongly resisted by Islamic parties - most prominently the Barelvi school of Islam.
Pakistan's laws became particularly severe between 1980 and 1986, when a number of clauses were added to the laws by the military government of General Zia-ul Haq, to "Islamicise" the laws and deny the Muslim character of the Ahmadi minority. Prior to 1986, only 14 cases pertaining to blasphemy were reported.
Cases under blasphemy law have also been registered against Muslims who have harassed Non Muslims.
Religious Offences and Punishments
| PPC | Description | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| § 298 | Uttering of any word or making any sound or making any gesture or placing of any object in the sight with the deliberate intention of wounding the religious feelings of any person. | 1 years imprisonment, or fine, or both |
| § 298A | Use of derogatory remarks etc., in respect of holy personages. 1980 | 3 years imprisonment, or fine, or both |
| § 298B | (Ahmadi blasphemy law) Misuse of epithets, descriptions and titles etc., reserved for certain holy personages or places, by Ahmadis. 26 April 1984 | 3 years imprisonment and fine |
| § 298C | (Ahmadi blasphemy law) Aka Ordinance XX: f a Muslim, or preaching or propagating his faith, or "in any manner whatsoever" outraging the religious feelings of Muslims, or posing himself as a Muslim. 26 April 1984 | 3 years imprisonment and fine |
| § 295 | Injuring or defiling places of worship, with intent to insult the religion of any class | Up to 2 years imprisonment or fine, or both |
| § 295A | Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs. 1927 | Up to 10 years imprisonment, or fine, or both |
| § 295B | Defiling, etc., of Quran. 1982 | Imprisonment for life |
| § 295C | Use of derogatory remarks, spoken, written, directly or indirectly, etc. defiles the name of Muhammad (S.A.W). 1986 | Mandatory Death and fine (Feb. 1990) Trial must take place in a Court of Session with a Muslim judge presiding. |
--------------------------------
35 Invaluable Hindu and Buddhist Statues Destroyed in Maldives by Extremist Islamic Group
February 23, 2012
http://www.chakranews.com/invaluable-hindu-amd-buddhist-statues-destroyed-in-maldives-by-extremist-islamic-group/2224
--------------------------------
List of massacres in India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_massacres_in_India
--------------------------------
Persecution of Hindus
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Hindus
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Hospital that let Christian die pressuring relatives to drop charges against them by ordering their arrest
These Christians are poor and disadvantaged, and are unlikely to get any help from Pakistani authorities, who share the ideology of the people who let Irfan Masih die.
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/06/pakistan-hospital-that-let-christian-die-pressuring-relatives-to-drop-charges-against-them-by-ordering-their-arrest
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Christian sewer worker dies after Muslim doctors refuse to treat his “unclean” body
--------------------------------
Pakistan hospital jihad attack kills over 70; should raise questions
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/08/pakistan-hospital-jihad-attack-kills-over-70-should-raise-questions
--------------------------------
Pakistani Taliban launches women’s magazine, urges them to take up jihad
--------------------------------
Indian shooter Heena Sidhu refuses to wear hijab, withdraws from Airgun competition in Iran
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Jihad against female athletes and literate girls
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/12/pakistan-jihad-against-female-athletes-and-literate-girls
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslim jihad gunmen attack polio team, murder policemen
--------------------------------
India: Muslim tried to join the Islamic State because he wanted sex slaves
--------------------------------
India: Officials deny permission for Hindu festival for fear of offending Muslims
--------------------------------
India: Blogger arrested for criticizing Islam on social media
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/09/india-blogger-arrested-for-criticizing-islam-on-social-media
--------------------------------
India: Muslim groups say the Islamic State is un-Islamic, tool of “enemies of Islam”
--------------------------------
India: Islamic State Muslims planned jihad massacre at police station
--------------------------------
Islamic State threatens attack on India, vows to wipe out Hindus
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/04/islamic-state-threatens-attack-on-india-vows-to-wipe-out-hindus
--------------------------------
India: Gandhi statue defaced with Islamic State slogan and threats
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2016/01/india-gandhi-statue-defaced-with-islamic-state-slogan-and-threats
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslim murders his 18-year-old sister with axe in honor killing
--------------------------------
Al-Qaeda leaflet calls for intensifying jihad and establishing caliphate in Bangladesh and eastern India
--------------------------------
Caliphate chic in India: Young Muslims with ISIS t-shirts cause a flutter
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims threaten to kill Christian family for protesting against jihad-martyrdom suicide attacks that murdered 171 at historic church
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims tell Christian, “stop building churches or we will kill you”
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslim group says jihad attack on historic church that murdered 83 was “according to the Sharia”
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims on motorcycles open fire on Christian school
--------------------------------
Pakistan: death sentences for jihadis in church school attack
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2004/04/pakistan-death-sentences-for-jihadis-in-church-school-attack
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Jihadis murder 22 at school, market
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/04/pakistan-jihadis-murder-22-at-school-market
------------------------------
Pakistan: Jihadists threaten English schools; learning English “prohibited in Islam”
--------------------------------
Taliban blow up two more girls’ schools in Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/09/taliban-blow-up-two-more-girls-schools-in-pakistan
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Islamic jihadists murder over 100 people in attack on school
--------------------------------
Pakistan: 5 Christians shot to death coming out of church following threats from “banned” jihadist groups
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims seize Christian chapel
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/10/pakistan-muslims-seize-christian-chapel
--------------------------------
Muslims building mosque on Christian graveyard in Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/09/muslims-building-mosque-on-christian-graveyard-in-pakistan
--------------------------------
Pakistani Muslim seizes Christian graveyard, forbids Christian burial there
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/04/pakistani-muslim-seizes-christian-graveyard-forbids-christian-burial-there
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Bombing of girls’ school kills policeman, wounds eight
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Over sixty masked men wielding iron rods invade girls’ school and beat students and teachers for not dressing “modestly”
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims murder 15 Christians, injure 70 with blasts at churches
--------------------------------
Pakistan: After bombing Christian church, Muslims harvested their organs
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Taliban throwing acid in girls’ faces to keep them from going to school
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/11/pakistan-taliban-throwing-acid-in-girls-faces-to-keep-them-from-going-to-school
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Woman dies from acid burns
--------------------------------
Pakistan: 600-strong Muslim mob attacks church
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2012/10/pakistan-600-strong-muslim-mob-attacks-church
--------------------------------
Pakistan: 11 Christians, including a pastor, accused of blasphemy
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/12/pakistan-11-christians-including-a-pastor-accused-of-blasphemy
--------------------------------
Pakistan: 15 Christians held under blasphemy law
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/09/pakistan-15-christians-held-under-blasphemy-law
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Lahore High Court upholds death sentence for “blasphemy”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/10/pakistan-lahore-high-court-upholds-death-sentence-for-blasphemy
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Christian accused of blasphemy turns himself in to police to avoid being murdered by Muslim mobs
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/11/pakistan-christian-accused-of-blasphemy-turns-himself-in-to-police-to-avoid-being-murdered-by-muslim
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslim mob attacks Christians, authorities arrest…Christians
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Santa Claus arrested for blasphemy!
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/12/pakistan-santa-claus-arrested-for-blasphemy
--------------------------------
Muslim relief organizations discriminating against Christian refugees in Pakistan
--------------------------------------
The allegedly compassionate, the purportedly merciful: Pakistani Taliban threaten attacks on flood aid workers
-----------------------------------
No soup for you, infidel: Pakistani soup kitchen won’t serve Christians
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/07/no-soup-for-you-infidel-punjab-soup-kitchen-wont-serve-christians
-----------------------------------
Blasphemy laws not enough, Pakistan also using alcohol laws to persecute Christians
-------------------------------
Pakistan: Devout Muslim students stone other students for celebrating Valentine’s Day, fire on police, set hostel ablaze
-----------------------------------
India: Muslims bomb food plaza to stop Hindus from eating during Ramadan
--------------------------------
--------------------------------
Mapped: The world's most polluted countries
January 2017
Pakistan's urban areas are, on average, the world's most polluted, followed by Qatar and Afghanistan. Europe's most polluted cities are found in Turkey, Bulgaria and Serbia.
- Pakistan - average PM 2.5 concentration: 115.7 [Over a 95% Muslim population.]
- Qatar - 92.4 [Over a 65% Muslim population.]
- Afghanistan - 86 [Over a 90% Muslim population.]
- Bangladesh - 83.3 [Over an 85% Muslim population.]
- Egypt - 73 [Over an 80% Muslim population.]
- UAE - 64 [Over a 75% Muslim population.]
- Mongolia - 61.8
- India - 60.6 [Practices forms of hybrid Sharia Law.]
- Bahrain - 56.1 [Over a 65% Muslim population.]
- Nepal - 50
- Ghana - 49
- Jordan - 48 [Over a 90% Muslim population.]
- China - 41.4
- Senegal - 40 [Over a 90% Muslim population.]
- Turkey - 39.1 [Over an 80% Muslim population.]
- Bulgaria - 38.6
- Mauritius - 38.1
- Peru - 38
- Serbia - 35.8
- Iran - 34.2 [Over a 95% Muslim population.]
The 20 countries with the least polluted urban areas
- Australia - average PM 2.5 concentration: 5.7
- Brunei - 6.6
- New Zealand - 6.8
- Estonia - 7.2
- Finland - 7.3
- Canada - 7.5
- Iceland - 8.2
- Sweden - 8.7
- Ireland - 8.8
- Liberia - 9.3
- Japan - 10
- Bhutan - 10
- Norway - 10.9
- Malta - 12
- Portugal - 12.3
- Spain - 12.4
- United States - 12.9
- Monaco - 13
- Malaysia - 13.2
- Luxembourg - 14
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/maps-and-graphics/most-polluted-countries/
--------------------------------
{You
will notice that the majority of many Islamic countries on this map
are ranked some of the most polluted countries on the planet. This is a
good example of what happens when you let these types of corrupt
governments that are used to taking many bribes, to continue to remain in
power}.
--------------------------------
#MyJihad in Germany: Muslims demand Indian student convert to Islam, beat him and slash his tongue when he refuses
--------------------------------
India: Muslim mob assaults Muslim woman for traveling with Hindu man
--------------------------------
Pakistani writers: “There is a mini Boko Haram thriving in every Muslim society”
--------------------------------
Pakistan Taliban: “India is our domain, and we will attack to take possession of it…whether they are Hindus or Jews, they all are the same”
--------------------------------
India: Muslims strip and beat convert to Christianity, disrupt prayer meeting and threaten to burn down her home
--------------------------------
Pakistan: School textbooks teach that it’s okay for Muslims to kill Christians
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Islamic school outraged over being designated “terrorist training center” by U.S.
--------------------------------
Mumbai: 20 dead, 81 wounded in bombings in India’s financial center
--------------------------------
Jihad/martyrdom bomber kills 14 in Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/01/jihadmartyrdom-bomber-kills-14-in-pakistan
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Islamic jihadists murder seven in three separate blasts
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/05/pakistan-islamic-jihadists-murder-seven-in-three-separate-blasts
--------------------------------
India: Terror attack wounds 20 at Hindu temple, AP scratches head and wonders who could be responsible
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Jihadists murder 19 with bomb on bus carrying government officials
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Sikh murdered for refusing to pay the jizya
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/01/pakistan-sikh-murdered-for-refusing-to-pay-the-jizya
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Call to remove Senator from Parliament for incorrectly reciting Qur’an verse
--------------------------------
Sunni/Shiite Jihad: Two Blasts Kill at Least 39 in Pakistan
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims murder 15 with jihad attack at polio vaccination center
--------------------------------
Pakistan: 11 teachers administering polio vaccine are abducted
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/11/pakistan-11-teachers-administering-polio-vaccine-are-abducted
--------------------------------
Polio virus strain in Syria confirmed as being from Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/11/polio-virus-strain-in-syria-confirmed-as-being-from-pakistan
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Islamic jihadists murder 21 with bomb in Islamabad market
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/04/pakistan-islamic-jihadists-murder-21-with-bomb-in-islamabad-market
--------------------------------
India: Muslims attack Hindu procession, injuring 50
September 23, 2010
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/09/india-muslims-attack-hindu-procession-injuring-50
--------------------------------
India: Muslim mobs loot and ransack Hindu shops and Hindu temples, beat up Hindus, torch public buses
--------------------------------
“No Compulsion In Religion”: 57 Pakistani Hindus convert to Islam under pressure
--------------------------------
Taliban attempt to erase Pakistan’s Buddhist heritage
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/taliban-attempt-to-erase-pakistans-buddhist-heritage
--------------------------------
Taliban trying to destroy Buddhist art
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/11/taliban-trying-to-destroy-buddhist-art
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Taliban behead 3 Sikhs for refusing to convert to Islam
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/02/pakistan-taliban-behead-3-sikhs-for-refusing-to-convert-to-islam
--------------------------------
India: Eight killed, 40 wounded in bombing near synagogue
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/02/india-eight-killed-40-wounded-in-bombing-near-synagogue
--------------------------------
Pakistan: In police station, Muslim teen murders Ahmadi accused of blasphemy
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Police torture to death innocent Christian; Christians “usually treated worse by police”
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslims involved in murder of 10 Christians, burning of churches acquitted
--------------------------------
Pakistani imam who framed Christian girl on blasphemy charges acquitted
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Muslim mob brutally beats three Christian women and parades them naked through village; investigation ordered over a month later
--------------------------------
Five Christians murdered in a week under Pakistan’s blasphemy law
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/12/five-christians-murdered-in-a-week-under-pakistans-blasphemy-law
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Islamic jihadists bomb police bus, murdering 13 and wounding 47
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/02/pakistan-islamic-jihadists-bomb-police-bus-murdering-13-and-wounding-47
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Jihadists dressed in burqas murder 41 in double jihad/martyrdom bombing
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Jihadist bombings kill 45 in Lahore
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/03/pakistan-jihadist-bombings-kill-45-in-lahore
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Two jihad/martyrdom bombers murder fifteen, wound 25 — one was hiding in mosque before attack
--------------------------------
Jihadists kill 63, wound 190 with bombs in Pakistan
--------------------------------
Taliban welcomes Hillary Clinton to Pakistan with car bomb that kills 90
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Islamic jihadists murder four with bomb in residential area
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Jihad-martyrdom suicide bomber murders 29 at funeral of policeman
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Islamic jihadists throw grenades into crowded movie theatre, murdering eleven people
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/02/pakistan-islamic-jihadists-throw-grenades-into-crowded-movie-theatre-murdering-eleven-people
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Sunni Muslims toss grenades into Ismaili Shia mosques, killing two people and wounding 30
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Jihad-martyrdom suicide attacker murders 12
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/05/pakistan-jihad-martyrdom-suicide-attacker-murders-12
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Islamic jihadists murder 33 people with car bomb in market
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/09/pakistan-islamic-jihadists-murder-33-people-with-car-bomb-in-market
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Misunderstanders of Islam murder 50 in twin jihad/martyrdom attacks
--------------------------------
Mosque shootout: 18 injured over who should lead prayers
--------------------------------
San Bernardino jihad murderer linked to jihadi mosque in Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2015/12/san-bernardino-jihad-murderer-linked-to-jihadi-mosque-in-pakistan
--------------------------------
Pakistan-based jihadist group claims responsibility for attacks in China that killed over 3 dozen
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Islamic jihadists murder soldier with bomb hidden in Qur’an
--------------------------------
Indian politician: Hindus, Christians must unite to fight jihad
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2005/09/indian-politician-hindus-christians-must-unite-to-fight-jihad
--------------------------------
Pakistan continues to aid terrorist camps: India
--------------------------------
It's time to confront this taboo: First cousin marriages in Muslim communities are putting hundreds of children at risk
--------------------------------
First cousin marriages in Pakistani communities leading to 'appalling' disabilities among children
July 2015
Baroness Flather, a cross-bench peer, says it is 'absolutely appalling' that first cousin marriages in Pakistani communities are leading to 'so much disability among children'
--------------------------------
Cousin Marriage in Islam
This article discusses cousin marriage in Islam, and the health-risks involved in such practices.
Scripture
Due to the actions of Prophet Muhammad and the Rightly-Guided Caliphs, marriage between cousins is explicitly allowed and even encouraged in Islam. The Qur'an itself does not discourage or forbid this practice in any way. In fact it implicitly allows it, as seen in chapter 4 verse 23:History
Muhammad
Prophet Muhammad himself married cousins, as he did with Zaynab bint Jahsh, who was not only the daughter of Umaimah bint Abd al-Muttalib, one of his father's sisters,
but was also divorced from a marriage with Muhammad's adopted son, Zayd
ibn Haritha. It was this last issue that caused the most controversy,
with traditional Arab norms at the time being opposed, though not the
Qur'an (Sura Al-Ahzab 33:37).
According to Ibn Sa'd, after Zaynab's marriage to his adopted son
Zayd, Muhammad went to visit him, but instead found a hastily clad
Zaynab. Though he did not enter the house, the sight of her pleased him.
Tabari
states that Zaynab was only wearing a single slip, and the wind pushed
away a curtain when Muhammad entered, revealing her "uncovered."
Thereafter Zayd no longer found her attractive and thought of proposing
divorce, but Muhammad told him to keep her. Eventually, however, Zayd
did divorce her.
Ali
Muhammad also allowed the marriage of his daughter, Fatimah, to his cousin, Ali ibn Abi Talib, who would later go on to become the fourth Rightly-guided Caliph of Islam.
Umar
The second Caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, also married his cousin, Atikah bint Zayd ibn Amr ibn Nufayl.
https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Cousin_Marriage_in_Islam
--------------------------------
Pakistan: what is the average IQ?
Avg. IQ: 84
https://iq-research.info/en/page/average-iq-by-country/pk-pakistan
--------------------------------
Iran: what is the average IQ?
Avg. IQ: 84
https://iq-research.info/en/page/average-iq-by-country/ir-iran
--------------------------------
"Low IQ" is the New Muslim Terrorist Defense
How do you convict a Pakistani terrorist of anything?
http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/250925/low-iq-new-muslim-terrorist-defense-daniel-greenfield
--------------------------------
So the immigrants that have been flooding into the UK really are low IQ
https://www.econjobrumors.com/topic/so-the-immigrants-that-have-been-flooding-into-the-uk-really-are-low-iq
--------------------------------
Pakistan low IQ
https://www.google.com/search?q=pakistan+low+iq&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwig2r_Ts9zWAhVF2IMKHfQmBrQQ7xYIJSgA&biw=1252&bih=604
--------------------------------
Why should we even let countries such as Pakistan, to even be allowed to have nuclear weapons. This is not right, we are going to have
to pull the plug on the Pakistani and Iranian nuclear weapons programs.
We need to stop any type of Iranian nuclear deal, and shutdown the Islamic government of Iran.
--------------------------------
We
want humanity to live in peace, and to create life in other parts of
space and the Universe. We can see that many religious radicals do not
want humanity to live in peace, and constantly threaten war. We do not
want to get in a nuclear war, because of the pollution that it will
cause to the planet.
How did the free world ever allow
Islamic Sharia governments to have nuclear weapons? It seems that
different intelligence agencies are trying to assist with helping these
Islamic terrorist governments and militias. Most of the governments of
the EU have been behind with helping in attempting to destabilize
countries in Europe, by bringing in Islamic terrorists into Europe, when
Europe is already overpopulated. This goes to show a lack of respect
for resources, the environment and for the native people of Europe. We need to stop the genocide going on in Europe and India, by many of these Islamic militias.
To
be honest, the world would be better off if we didn't have these
governments under Sharia Law, manufacturing more nuclear weapons as we
speak. It would have been much easier and worth it, to have stopped
Pakistan and Iran from manufacturing nuclear weapons over 10 years ago.
I am a big environmentalist, and to call for an all out world war in
order to possibly stop an even worse world war in the future, would seem
to be a risky idea to many. Should we stand around and let Pakistan and
Iran manufacture more nuclear weapons. Many people have talked about a worldwide shutdown of nuclear arsenals for all countries. We can see that most likely some countries would still want to manufacture nuclear or thermobaric weapons, even if we had a worldwide ban. We can see that countries who were told to give up their nuclear weapons programs, also were overthrown by countries that have nuclear weapons.
We are giving
the green light for the removal of the Islamic
government in Pakistan and Iran, including all Islamic militants supporting
these corrupt
governments. We must stop Pakistan from obtaining more nuclear bombs to
give to other radicalized Islamic governments. Pakistan
is currently as equal or greater of a threat as North Korea.
Strategically, we would be better off removing the Islamic Sharia
government of Pakistan, before invading North Korea, or stopping the
nuclear weapons programs of Pakistan, Iran and North Korea simultaneously.
For more information on why we
need to abolish Islamic Sharia law and governments around the globe, view our article
titled Islamic Sharia Law & Genocide - The Middle East Conflict
Investigation - ( IslamicShariaGenocide.Blogspot.com .)
Many
other Islamic governments will soon all be able to obtain nuclear
weapons, and we are better off dismantling these radicalized religious
governments that continue to obtain more nuclear weapons. These radical
Islamic governments now threaten to nuke non Islamic governments and
other nations. We need to shutdown their nuclear weapons manufacturing
immediately, before they manufacture and trade more nuclear weapons to
terrorist that want to use nuclear weapons to harm people. If we
continue to allow Pakistan and Iran to manufacture nuclear weapons many
years down the road, religious radicals would use these destructive
nuclear weapons against free nations.
I can see why sometimes why Islam and Sharia have certain laws in place, but that these religious groups copied and stole many ideas from Christianity. Islam and Sharia fall short of ancient Christian law. I personally think they should reform Islam to be more like the LDS.
What if we were to allow a Crusader nation to have control of the Middle East instead of Islam.
--------------------------------
Italian nuclear weapons program
The Italian nuclear weapons program was an effort by Italy to develop nuclear weapons in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Italian scientists such as Enrico Fermi and Edoardo Amaldi had been at the forefront of the development of the technology behind nuclear weapons, but the country was banned from developing the technology at the end of the Second World War.
After abortive proposals to establish a multilateral program with NATO allies in the 1950s and 1960s, Italy launched a national nuclear weapons program. The country converted the light cruiser Giuseppe Garibaldi and developed and tested a ballistic missile called Alfa. The program ended in 1975, upon Italy's accession to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Currently, Italy does not produce or possess nuclear weapons, but takes part in the NATO nuclear sharing program, hosting B61 nuclear bombs at the Aviano and Ghedi Air Bases.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_nuclear_weapons_program
--------------------------------
Islam by country
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_by_country
--------------------------------
We
do not like the Islamic government of Pakistan, and think that these
Islamic governments continue to set a bad example to the world, of how humankind should act. We could have one nation where Muslims
can have their own government. However, no Islamic country should be
given nuclear weapons. We can dismantle these nuclear weapons programs
and we would block any nuclear missiles from harming other parts of the
world.
--------------------------------
We
can see how India and China both have several times more people than
any other country in the world, and they both happen to have the worst
rates of pollution.
Can the environment of India really sustain over 1.3 billion people?
We
can see the rate many endangered animals are dying and being poached,
just so some starving person can make some quick money. The people have
asked and protested thousands of times against deforestation and many
endangered animals around the globe being illegally poached. We do not
see an improvement for many of these natural habitats, and only see this
problem getting worse.
--------------------------------
Year-by-Year World Population Estimates: 10,000 B.C. to 2007 A.D
http://www.scottmanning.com/content/year-by-year-world-population-estimates/
--------------------------------
It seems that for most of the history of humans on the planet, the global human population has been under 1 billion people, until around 300 years ago. The human population has expanded by around 6 billion people, in around 300 years. We are not for trying to genocide or murder humanity, and believe that we need to expand the human race and colonize space. It seems selfish how the people of many Islamic countries, including Pakistan and Iran, continue to threaten other nations with terrorism and nuclear war. This is happening while many people say the powers that be want to start a world war, in order to eliminate most of the planets population, in order to control humanity.
--------------------------------
Carved in Stone: “Maintain Humanity Under 500,000,000”–yep, they want us dead
2011
--------------------------------
List of countries by population
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population_(United_Nations)
--------------------------------
Lists of mammals by population
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_mammals_by_population
--------------------------------
Lists of organisms by population
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_organisms_by_population
--------------------------------
Along With Humans, Who Else Is In The 7 Billion Club?
November 3, 2011
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2011/11/03/141946751/along-with-humans-who-else-is-in-the-7-billion-club
--------------------------------
We
can see a sharp increase in the human population over a course of a short
amount of time on this planet. We can see how some
people in the world have over a dozen children. Many recent religions in
the past couple thousand years, have also told people to reproduce as
much as they want, which has contributed in a giant spike in the
population.
Some people demonize a one child policy, and say that it goes against expanding life.
I
believe we should expand the human race in space, where we could have
billions if not trillions of more people living in space and on other
planets.
Do you think that India and China should be
able to keep expanding their population on Earth, while being continued
to be allowed to pollute at the rate they are?
Look at
the amount of pesticides, petrochemicals and plastics the average person
now consumes in this world. We cannot keep going at the rate of
pollution, such as the rate of pollution in India and China currently.
Would there be a way to live environmentally friendly, with over 7 billion people on this planet?
If
you have billions of people living in areas where the majority of the country is urbanized and many animals are becoming endangered, this can cause an ecosystem imbalance. Many
oceans are being over-fished, and many forests and natural lands are
being graded for non-organic farms.
We have not seen an
improvement of many of the waterways in India. We predict that this situation
will become much worse in the future, if we do not take steps to stop
this environmental harm.
If I were in charge about the pollution situation in India, what would I do.
I would ban all pesticides for starters, and make people use natural farming methods to stop pests and superbugs.
We would have to make environmentally friendly fibers that can replace toxic chemicals found in plastic.
We
would have to have people who would want to all help out, but it seems that
people are still going to trash the environment and illegally dump chemicals, this includes wanting to poach animals to earn an extra dollar
on the side. What if there were a way to regulate and introduce the
amount of animals that are in the wild, to where people could still
hunt, and animals would not be endangered. We believe that we should ban many of these chemicals and pesticides being manufactured and dumped in India, in order to save the environment at the current rate of hazardous chemicals and pesticides being introduced into India.
We would
recommend using a system of aquaponics for farming as often as possible. We are for using
organic and sustainable methods of farming, without harmful GMOs or
pesticides.
Click the links for information on the difference between these different types of farming methods.
Hydroponics - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroponics
Aquaponics - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aquaponics
Aeroponics - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeroponics
Organic farming - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organic_farming
--------------------------------
We like people to have freedom and to live off the land on their farms, we are not for trying to imprison or harm humanity.
We
also do not want to get rid of any cultures or bloodlines of any
people, and think now is the time we must explore space together in
peace. We should make sure that Western people can survive. We need population control in many areas of the Third World.
--------------------------------
Ten years
ago I would have mentioned how I think if we all lived more
environmentally friendly and organically, that the Earth might be able
to sustain the current population. However, I mentioned there were too
many variables to say how many people can live in the world, without
harming the planet too much.
When we see many places such as India, China and many giant megacities, I do not see how I can call for having more people on planet Earth, with the current rate of pesticides, chemicals, and plastic the average person generates in their life. This would also include the amount of land and forests that are now being used for non-organic farms.
I believe now that the
planet would be better off with around 1.5 billion to 3 billion people (I think maybe 5 billion should be the max, and that 7 billion people might be too much), until we figure out a more environmentally friendly way of living for the planet. You can see my reasoning out in the open, and why I do not think we should have 8 billion people. Many of these people are also living in third world conditions as well, many do not even get the proper food and medical care, then people ask me if we should add more people to these areas.
South America currently has around 430 millon people
Europe currently has around 742 Million and is overpopulated with immigrants, while they are even losing a lot of natural water resources from now being overpopulated.
Asia now has over 4 billion people.
--------------------------------
List of Asian countries by population
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Asian_countries_by_population
--------------------------------
I think that China and India are overpopulated.
I think that Africa is also overpopulated as well.
South America only has a little under half the population as China and India, and they still
seem to be overpopulated in many areas, and that they need to stop cutting down many of the
rain forests. This is why I think we should put a cap on the population right now in South America and Central America for starters. I even think that North America is now getting full as well.
--------------------------------
Latin America struggles to cope with record urban growth
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/sep/11/latin-america-urbanisation-city-growth
--------------------------------
The world should have 8 billion people on the planet very soon.
The
population of humanity on the planet has been under 1 billion people,
until 300-400 years ago. We had under 600 million people during Biblical times, and now we have over 7 billion people living in the world. Some say that the world can repair itself, and balance the atmosphere if more organisms are introduced on the planet. We must be cautious of "generation Monsanto," and how many governments, corporations and individuals exploit resources to gain power, while harming the environment.
Some people think that it is
evil to call for a reduction in the population, and that we should
expand and create more life on Earth.
I think humans
were meant to expand and create life off of the planet Earth as well. I
think that the world can only hold so many people and animals, to where
you will eventually have an imbalance in your water and oxygen cycles
with the current rate of harmful pesticides, plastic particles,
chemicals and pollution being introduced on this planet. We can even see
why certain species of animals are endangered, we can see how other species of
animals are overpopulated, including overpopulated invasive species of
animals and plants as well.
I believe that the people are not living a natural way of life as they should. I believe countries such as India and China are overpopulated.
Some question what we should do about overpopulation in certain areas of the planet, while other areas of the planet almost have almost no people living, such as in the Arctic regions.
Some people have mentioned a 1 child policy, while other claim a 1 child policy limits certain freedoms and rights. I honestly would love to have many children myself, and would feel some restrictions if I were to only have 1 child. It is nice to have multiple children to ensure that your bloodline lives on, and that if an accident were to happen to one child, you could have a few more to pass on your bloodline.
Others have mentioned how certain governments want to stage a world war, in order to depopulate the planet.
Some people may think that I am wrong, and that the planet can easily hold a few billion more people than there currently are on the planet, but still question the amount of chemicals and pollution in our waters and air. Some people claim that if we have so many people living on the planet, that we should regulate the amount of oxygen and carbon in the atmosphere, this is known as terraforming the planet. Many people are against terraforming the planet, while others claim that eventually our atmosphere could change, and that we must decide if we should regulate our atmosphere on Earth to save the planet.
Let
us step back and imagine if the whole world was as populated as the
areas of China and India around the planet. We can see the problems with many years
of introducing so many pesticides, including chemicals, while slowly
changing the chemical composition and PH level of the water, and
creating harmful toxic air. Imagine if we had over 20 billion people on
this planet, at the current rate of pesticides, plastics and chemicals
being used. There is no way we would approve of having such a
concentrated population in such a small area, releasing so many harmful
chemicals. We can even see how countries such as Japan have become highly urbanized, and that many native species of animals and plants are
now extinct. We see a pattern of how the more urbanized certain areas of
the world become, is when they also start to lose many natural habitats
and species of animals.
We could be living more environmentally friendly and help the planet, instead of endangering the planet.
If
we had people living organically, and were not illegally dumping plastics
and chemicals into the wild, while having proper disposal of waste, this
would be a good step for starters.
--------------------------------
New Pakistan Taliban top dog made radio broadcasts demanding the imposition of Islamic law
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/11/new-pakistan-taliban-top-dog-made-radio-broadcasts-demanding-the-imposition-of-islamic-law
--------------------------------
“They are enemies of the religion of God. They are apostates”: Pakistani Taliban line up and execute security forces
--------------------------------
Indian report says Pakistani intelligence agency tied to Mumbai jihad murders
--------------------------------
Hundreds of Afghan jihadists, some in military uniform, stage cross-border raid into Pakistan
--------------------------------
Karzai heads to Pakistan to seek release of key Taliban prisoners
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/08/karzai-heads-to-pakistan-to-seek-release-of-key-taliban-prisoners
--------------------------------
Pakistan frees Taliban jihadis, expects U.S. to release more Taliban members from Gitmo
--------------------------------
Spencer: Obama Befriends Pakistani Jihadists
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/04/spencer-obama-befriends-pakistani-jihadists
--------------------------------
Yet another former Gitmo inmate returns to the jihad
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/07/yet-another-former-gitmo-inmate-returns-to-the-jihad
--------------------------------
Pentagon: Attacks on eastern Afghan border up due to safe havens in Pakistan
--------------------------------
Report: Pakistanis caught tipping off jihadists on planned raids a second time
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/06/report-pakistanis-caught-tipping-off-jihadists-on-planned-raids-a-second-time
--------------------------------
Pakistan Taliban sets up base in Syria to monitor “the needs of the jihad”
--------------------------------
“Moderate” “Palestinian” official: “I swear that if we had a nuke, we’d have used it this very morning”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/05/palestinian-official-i-swear-that-if-we-had-a-nuke-wed-have-used-it-this-very-morning
--------------------------------
Pakistan detains four army majors for membership in Hizb ut-Tahrir
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Violent attacks on religious minorities increased in 2009, government did nothing
March 26, 2010
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2010/03/pakistan-violent-attacks-on-religious-minorities-increased-in-2009-government-did-nothing
--------------------------------
“The world needs to take cognizance of the genocide that is slowly taking place in Pakistan”
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2013/10/the-world-needs-to-take-cognizance-of-the-genocide-that-is-slowly-taking-place-in-pakistan
--------------------------------
No kidding: Report says Pakistan’s government failing to protect religious minorities
--------------------------------
NATO forces kill 35 Pakistani Taliban inside Afghanistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2011/07/nato-forces-kill-35-pakistani-taliban-inside-afghanistan
--------------------------------
Agents nab Pakistani Muslims with jihad terror connections crossing U.S. border
--------------------------------
Travel Ban Now Enforceable, Not A Muslim Ban
Supreme Court rules in favor of Trump
June 27, 2017
--------------------------------
Pres. Trump, Pardon Sheriff Joe: “Guilty” Of Defying Sanctuary Judge
AG Sessions should have stopped the prosecution
https://www.infowars.com/pres-trump-pardon-sheriff-joe-guilty-of-defying-sanctuary-judge/
--------------------------------
Trump Vs Deep State – Afghan Pull Out Rumored After Trump Stops Arming ISIS
Trump could end the longest U.S. war of all time
Aug 2, 2017
Trump shut down the CIA’s arming of ISIS and now there are reports he’s pushing back against the Military Industrial Complex that wants to stay in Afghanistan forever, already the longest war in US history.
https://www.infowars.com/trump-vs-deep-state-afghan-pull-out-rumored-after-trump-stops-arming-isis/--------------------------------
Trump Admin Withholds $50 Million From Pakistan Over Failure to Combat Terror
“[Mattis] could not certify that Pakistan has taken sufficient action against the Haqqani Network,” Pentagon spokesman says
July 21, 2017
https://www.infowars.com/trump-admin-withholds-50-million-from-pakistan-over-failure-to-combat-terror/
--------------------------------
Muslim Village In India Loves Donald Trump
Contrary to the MSM’s narrative, not all Muslims hate Trump
July 24, 2017
--------------------------------
Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal Tries to Take Over Trump White House for McMaster, Globalists
The paper of choice for Republican globalists hopes that there is more “clean-up duty to be done” for new White House Chief of Staff John Kelly
August 10, 2017
--------------------------------
Ex-British PM says international donors will give Pakistan $1 billion in education aid
--------------------------------
Pakistan: Jihad car bomb murders 15 during British PM Cameron’s visit
--------------------------------
UK: Islamic school spent £1m of public money on school in Pakistan
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2014/12/uk-islamic-school-spent-1m-of-public-money-on-school-in-pakistan
--------------------------------
Law of India
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_India#Muslim_law
Law of India refers to the system of law in modern India. India maintains a hybrid legal system with a mixture of civil, common law and customary or religious law
within the legal framework inherited from the colonial era and various
legislation first introduced by the British are still in effect in
modified forms today. Since the drafting of the Indian Constitution, Indian laws also adhere to the United Nations guidelines on human rights law and the environmental law. Certain international trade laws, such as those on intellectual property, are also enforced in India.
Indian personal law
is fairly complex, with each religion adhering to its own specific
laws. In most states, registering of marriages and divorces is not
compulsory. Separate laws govern Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and followers of other religions. The exception to this rule is in the state of Goa, where a uniform civil code is in place, in which all religions have a common law regarding marriages, divorces, and adoption.
As of January 2017, there were about 1,248 laws.
However, since there are Central laws as well as State laws, it is
difficult to ascertain their exact numbers as on a given date and the
best way to find the Central Laws in India is from the official website.
Muslim law
Indian Muslims' personal laws are based upon the Sharia, which is thus partially applied in India, and laws and legal judgements adapting and adjusting Sharia for Indian society. The portion of the fiqh
applicable to Indian Muslims as personal law is termed Mohammedan law.
Despite being largely uncodified, Mohammedan law has the same legal
status as other codified statutes.
The development of the law is largely on the basis of judicial
precedent, which in recent times has been subject to review by the
courts. The concept of the judicial precedent and of 'review by the courts' is a key component of the British common law upon which Indian law is based. The contribution of Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer in the matter of interpretation of the statutory as well as personal law is significant.
The source of Muslim law is divided into two categories: (1) Primary Source, (2) Secondary Source
1. "Primary Source"
As per Sunni Law:
- Quran
- Sunna or Ahdis (Tradition of the Prophet)
- Ijma (Unanimous Decision of the Jurists)
- Qiyas ( Analogical deduction)
As per Shia Law:
Usooli Shia
- Quran
- Tradition (only those that have come from the family of the Prophet)
- Ijma (only those confirmed by Imams)
- Reasons
Akhbari Shia
- Quran
- Tradition (only those that have come from the family of the Prophet)
2. "Secondary Source"
- Custom
- Judicial Decisions
- Legislation
Polygamy and triple talaq
is a subject of debate from long time. It has been abolished in many
Islamic countries, but still holds its legal validity in the secular
country of India. Supreme court asked the central government for its
views, to which it replied that polygamy should be done away with.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_India#Muslim_law
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Chapter 5: History
-----------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------
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Why do North Indians Look Different from South Indians? The Genetics of South Asia
May 21, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fc2Qcca8xkE
---------------------------
Indo-Aryan peoples
Indo-Aryan peoples are a diverse Indo-European-speaking ethnolinguistic group of speakers of Indo-Aryan languages. There are over one billion native speakers of Indo-Aryan languages, most of them native to South Asia, where they form the majority
List of Indo-Aryan peoples
Historical
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-Aryan_peoples
---------------------------
Red dots correspond to locations where researchers took samples from people for gene analysis.
Cover Girl,
Maybelline, are you listening? A new study of skin color in South Asians
finds they have enormous diversity, with a color range that's three
times larger than that for East Asians or Europeans. Pretty cool.
Another cool bit of trivia: The gene that makes some South Asians fairer
is the same gene that makes Europeans fairer than most of the world.
Fair East Asians, on the other hand, owe their color to a different
gene.
https://www.popsci.com/article/science/how-gene-fair-skin-spread-across-india
---------------------------
Is
Gandhi style protesting how you defeat the elite? Some people accuse
Gandhi of working for the British intelligence agencies, in order to
make people passive, and to accept the takeover of their culture. Many people even joke about how Gandhi was the person who
let his people be overthrown by a corrupt imperial government. The
people of India could have easily overthrown this corrupt government,
just as the Americans had the war of 1776. India never had a 1776
against the British Crown. Past history shows how India has been
reconquered many times, India was an area where multiracial people and
tribes lived. India was even separated from the main landmass of Eurasia
at one point in time.
What would Gandhi do today against the Islamic
Sharia governments trying to attack India?
---------------------------
Gandhi was a British agent who did great harm to India, claims top judge
MAR 2015
Mahatma Gandhi was a British agent, a retired top Indian judge has claimed.
Justice
Markandey Katju, 68, accused the man revered for winning India
independence of dividing Muslims and Hindus and paving the way to
Pakistan’s creation.
“By injecting religion into politics Gandhi furthered British divide and rule.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/gandhi-british-agent-who-great-5316551
---------------------------
List of Indian monarchs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Indian_monarchs
- 1 Magadha dynasties
- 1.1 Pradyota dynasty (c. 779 BCE–544 BCE)
- 1.2 Haryanka dynasty (c. 544 BCE–413 BCE)
- 1.3 Shishunaga dynasty (c. 413 BCE–345 BCE)
- 1.4 Nanda dynasty (c. 345 BCE–321 BCE)
- 1.5 Maurya dynasty (c. 321 BCE–185 BCE)
- 1.6 Shunga dynasty (c. 185 BCE–73 BCE)
- 1.7 Kanva dynasty (c. 73 BCE–26 BCE)
- 1.8 Gupta dynasty (c. 240–550 CE)
- 2 Ancient southern dynasties
- 3 Foreign emperors in north-western India
- 4 Satavahana dynasty (c. 271 BCE–220 CE)
- 5 Vakataka dynasty (c. 250 – c. 500 CE)
- 6 Indo-Scythian rulers (c. 90 BCE – 45 CE)
- 7 Indo-Parthian rulers (c. 21–100 CE)
- 8 Western Kshatrapas (c. 35–405 CE)
- 9 Kushana dynasty (80–225)
- 10 Pallava dynasty (275–882)
- 11 Kadambas of chndravalli at chitradurga (345–525 CE)
- 12 Western Ganga dynasty of Talakad (350–1024 CE)
- 13 Maitrakas of Vallabhi (470–776 CE)
- 14 Chalukya dynasty (543–1156)
- 15 Shashanka dynasty (600–626)
- 16 Harsha dynasty (606–647)
- 17 Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty (650–1036 CE)
- 18 Rashtrakutas of Manyaketha (735–982)
- 19 Pala dynasty (c. 750–1174)
- 20 Paramara dynasty of Malwa (9th century to c. 1305)
- 21 Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri (850–1334 CE)
- 22 Hoysala dynasty (1000–1346)
- 23 Sena dynasty rule over Bengal (1070–1230 CE)
- 24 Eastern Ganga dynasty (1078–1434)
- 25 Kakatiya dynasty (1083–1323 CE)
- 26 Kalachuris of Kalyani (Southern) dynasty (1130–1184)
- 27 Sutiya dynasty ruled over eastern Assam (1187–1524)
- 28 Bana dynasty rule over Magadaimandalam (c. 1190–1260 CE)
- 29 Turkic Muslim tribes (1206–1526)
- 30 Ahom dynasty ruled over Assam (1228–1826)
- 31 Musunuri Nayaks (1323 - 1368)
- 32 Reddy dynasty (1325–1448 CE)
- 33 Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646)
- 34 Pemmasani Kamma dynasty (1350- 1652)
- 35 Wodeyar dynasty (first rule, 1371–1761)
- 36 Gajapati Kingdom (1434–1541 CE)
- 37 Maharajas of Cochin (Perumpadapu Swaroopam, 1503–1964)
- 38 Qutb Shahi dynasty (1518–1687)
- 39 Mughal Empire (1526–1857)
- 40 Mewar Dynasty
- 41 Suri dynasty (1540–1555)
- 42 Chogyal, monarchs of Sikkim and Ladakh (1642–1975)
- 43 Deccan Sultanates
- 44 Maratha Empire (1674–1881)
- 44.1 Shivaji era
- 44.2 Bhosale Chhatrapatis at Kolhapur (1700–1947)
- 44.3 Bhosale Chhatrapatis at Satara (1707–1839)
- 44.4 The Peshwas (1713–1858)
- 44.5 Bhosale Maharajas of Thanjavur (?–1799)
- 44.6 Bhosale Maharajas of Nagpur (1799–1881)
- 44.7 Holkar rulers of Indore (1731–1948)
- 44.8 Scindia rulers of Gwalior (?–1947)
- 44.9 Gaekwad rulers of Baroda (Vadodara) (1721–1947)
- 45 The major Muslim vassals of the Mughal/British Paramountcy (1707–1856)
- 46 Kingdom of Travancore (1729–1947)
- 47 Sikh Empire (1801–1849)
- 48 Emperors of India (1857–1947)
- 49 Dominion of India (1947–1950)
- 50 Dominion of Pakistan (1947–1956)
Contents
Emperors of India (1857–1947)
- Queen-Empress Victoria (1876–1901)
- King-Emperor Edward VII (1901–1910)
- King-Emperor George V (1910–1936)
- King-Emperor Edward VIII (1936)
- King-Emperor George VI (1936–1947)
Dominion of India (1947–1950)
- George VI, King of India (1947–1950) retained the title "Emperor of India" until 22 June 1948.
Dominion of Pakistan (1947–1956)
- George VI, King of Pakistan (1947–1952)
- Elizabeth II, Queen of Pakistan (1952–1956)
---------------------------
Commonwealth of Nations
Member states of the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations (formerly the British Commonwealth), also known as simply the Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of 52 member states that are mostly former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth operates by intergovernmental consensus of the member states, organised through the Commonwealth Secretariat and non-governmental organisations, organised through the Commonwealth Foundation.
The Commonwealth dates back to the mid-20th century with the decolonisation of the British Empire through increased self-governance of its territories. It was formally constituted by the London Declaration in 1949, which established the member states as "free and equal". The symbol of this free association is Queen Elizabeth II who is the Head of the Commonwealth, but this role does not carry any power with it. While there are over 31 republics and five monarchies who have a different monarch, the Queen is the ceremonial head of state and reigning constitutional monarch of 16 members of the Commonwealth, known as Commonwealth realms but retains a crown legally distinct from the other realms with the position as monarch being separate from that of Head of the Commonwealth.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations
---------------------------
Monarchy of Canada
The Monarchy of Canada is at the very core of both Canada's federal structure and Westminster-style of parliamentary and constitutional democracy. The monarchy is the foundation of the executive (Queen-in-Council), legislature (Queen-in-Parliament), and judiciary (Queen-on-the-Bench) in the federal and each provincial jurisdiction. The Canadian sovereign is the personification of the Canadian state and, as a matter of constitutional law, is Canada. The current Canadian monarch, since 6 February 1952, is Queen Elizabeth II. Royal succession is determined according to common and statute law, which stipulates the throne is inherited by the sovereign's eldest living, non-Catholic child or, in the case of a childless sovereign, the nearest collateral line. As such, Elizabeth's son, Prince Charles, is heir apparent.
Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Canada
-------------------------
Governor General of Canada
Constitutional role
Though the monarch retains all executive, legislative, and judicial power in and over Canada, the governor general is permitted to exercise most of this, including the Royal Prerogative, in the sovereign's name; some as outlined in the Constitution Act, 1867, and some through various letters patent issued over the decades, particularly those from 1947 that constitute the Office of Governor General of Canada; they state: "And We do hereby authorize and empower Our Governor General, with the advice of Our Privy Council for Canada or of any members thereof or individually, as the case requires, to exercise all powers and authorities lawfully belonging to Us in respect of Canada."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Governor_General_of_Canada
---------------------------
Monarchy of Australia
The monarchy of Australia is a form of government in which a hereditary king or queen serves as the nation's sovereign. Australia is governed under a form of constitutional monarchy, largely modelled on the Westminster system of parliamentary government, while incorporating features unique to the Constitution of Australia.
The present monarch is Elizabeth II, styled Queen of Australia, who has reigned since 6 February 1952. She is represented in Australia by the Governor-General, in accordance with the Australian Constitution and letters patent from the Queen. In each of the states, the monarch is represented by a governor, appointed directly by the Queen on the advice of each of her respective state governments.
The Australian monarch, besides reigning in Australia, separately serves as monarch for each of 15 other Commonwealth realms.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_Australia
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Nicholas II of Russia
Nicholas II or Nikolai II May 1868 – 17 July 1918) was the last Emperor of Russia, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his forced abdication on 15 March 1917.
Emperor Nicholas II of Russia with his physically similar cousin, King George V of the United Kingdom (right), in German military uniforms in Berlin before the war; 1913
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_II_of_Russia
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Prince Charles praises jihadi pirates for scaring off fishermen: “fantastic explosion for bigger and better fish”
PRINCE CHARLES has praised ocean pirates for scaring off fishermen
that has led to a “fantastic explosion for bigger and better fish”.
Speaking at an ocean conservation conference in Malta, the Prince of
Wales stirred up controversy by praising Somalian pirates for scaring
off trawler crews to create a greater wealth of marine life.
https://www.jihadwatch.org/2017/10/prince-charles-praises-jihadi-pirates-for-scaring-off-fishermen-fantastic-explosion-for-bigger-and-better-fish
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Even when Europeans face genocide by Islamic terrorism, Prince Charles tries to appease the Islamic community, by dressing up in Islamic clothing.
There is nothing new about the British government using outside militaries to try and weaken the power of the British people. This was done several times in the past, and is one of the reasons why England and their French cousins were at war with each other so many different times. It is simple, it is a form of divide and conquer against the people of Europe. We need to start holding many governments liable for the assisted genocide against the European people, such as the very corrupt UK and French governments. Both of these governments are guilty of assisting with the genocide of the European people, while being allied with Islamic terrorist groups.
As
we know, many people in the Russian Monarchy and British Monarchy were related, and were
members of the Freemasons and the Knights of Malta. We can see how these
secret societies have spread throughout the world, to even places such as
India. We can see how these different secret societies try to influence world policy and gain control over different areas of the planet. Many different elite families that have had control in India for
over 100 years, still remain to have influence and power. Many of these
different families still have influence and power in India, including
other countries as well. Many other groups and people have also tried to gain power along the way as well. We can see how India is one of the most corrupt
governments in the world, while allowing the amount of environmental
damage that has taken place around India.
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Famous Indian Masons
http://www.dglbombay.org/famous-indian-masons/
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Some Very Well Known Indian Freemasons
http://www.masonindia.in/index.php/some-very-well-known-indian-freemasons/
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Grand Lodge of India
The Grand Lodge of India (GLI) is the main governing body of Freemasonry within India, it was officially constituted on Friday 24 November 1961.
There were three delegations from the Grand Lodge of Scotland, Grand Lodge of Ireland and Grand Lodge of England in that order.
Out of a total of 277 individual Lodges in India, 145 opted for the new Grand Lodge of India. This represented a little over 52 per cent of the Warranted Lodges in India.
Advent of Freemasonry in India
Freemasonry traces its roots in India in the early years of the 18th century. In 1730 officers of the East India Company held their meetings in Fort William in Calcutta. The number given to the Lodge was 72.
The Goshamal Baradari, Hyderabad, built in 1682 by Sultan Abul Hassan Tanasha, is the oldest building used as a Masonic Temple in India. Built in 1682, it was donated to the fraternity in 1872 by the Nizam of Hyderabad.
Philanthropy
The
Grand Lodge of India supplies PV Solar module, charger/controller,
storage batteries, LED lamps and electrical wiring from solar panels to
houses in rural Uttara Kannada district specially karwar in Karnataka state.
The Indian Grand Lodge organizes classrooms for children in prisons,
help for disaster victims and solar lights to village students. The
lodge has 425 branches in India with 25,000 members. The freemasons of
India are hosting in New Delhi on Nov. 20
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Lodge_of_India
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From leaders to cities, how India owes a lot to the secret order of Freemasons
July 4, 2023
Swami Vivekananda, Pandit Motilal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad and Fakhrudin Ali Ahmed are some among many of the prominent Indian leaders who are believed to have joined freemasonry.
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Called to Order
India’s new society of women Freemasons
http://www.caravanmagazine.in/lede/india-women-freemasons
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Nehru, Vivekananda, Tata were also Freemasons
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The Compass & The Crescent: Secret Societies of the Muslim Freemasons
2015
Freemasonry burst onto the world stage early in the 18th
century, spreading across the globe with remarkable speed. With Lodges
established everywhere from London to India, and from America to the
West Indies, Freemasons established the first truly global network by
the end of the century.
Although English-speaking Freemasons considered themselves loyal
subjects of their respective nations, they also saw themselves as part
of a great brotherhood that transcended national borders, class, race,
ethnicity, and even religion. This contradiction guaranteed that
conflict eventually arose within Freemasonry’s ranks over its role in
the world, and who could, and who could not, be made a member.
The first recorded initiation of a Jew into a Masonic Lodge is that
of Edward Rose in 1732. Members of non-monotheistic faiths (such as
Hinduism) faced more resistance, and the issue was not resolved until
the 19th century.
Masonic Lodges were sometimes used, unofficially, by colonial powers
(especially Britain and France) as part of diplomatic efforts.
Initiating foreign dignitaries and even members of monarchies into
Freemasonry helped cement relations between the two negotiating
countries.
The Shah of Persia’s ambassador, Askeri-Khan, was initiated into
Freemasonry in Paris in November 1808. He was impressed enough to have
discussed the possibility of founding a Lodge in Isphahan, Persia
(Iran). Two years later, in London, Mirza Abul Hassan Khan, Minister to
the Court of Persia, was made a Freemason.
Things could be more difficult abroad, however, and the issue finally
came to a head in 1865. Prosonno Coomar Dutt, a Hindu, had petitioned
Lodge Courage with Humanity for initiation into the fraternity. In turn,
the Master of the Lodge sought permission from the Provincial Grand
Master, Hugh David Sandeman, who refused, citing “social
considerations.” Around the same time, Said-ud-Dowlah, a Muslim prince,
had been initiated into a Lodge of British Freemasons in Kanpur, India.
Sandeman had officially refused permission for the initiation to take
place, and, on learning about it, suspended two leaders of the Lodge for
insubordination.
The exclusion of the two men, on the basis of race and religion,
became a heated issue inside Freemasonry in India. Before the end of
1864 the news reached the United Grand Lodge of England, which
subsequently decreed that Hindus and Muslims could be admitted into the
fraternity to foster “brotherhood between man and man.” And they would
also be exposed to “true religion and enlightenment.”
Despite the snobbery, and even revulsion, expressed by some
Freemasons, Masonic intellectuals had long been interested in ancient
and non-Western religion and its symbolism. During the 18th
century, Freemasons developed a vast number of rituals, many of them
esoteric or alchemical in nature. A century later, many of these ceased
to be performed, or “worked,” and they faded into history. Others were
compiled into Rites, some of which competed for prestige, or to be
regarded as the most authentic. Notably, one 19th century
Masonic Degree interpreted the Christian acronym I.N.R.I. as “India,
Nature, Regeneration, Ignorance.” The Freemason had to overcome
ignorance, and the “source of knowledge,” according to the Degree, was
India.
Late in the same century a new force emerged in the East:
anti-colonialism and national independence. There is a certain irony in
the fact that two of the early figures in the push for Indian
independence from Britain and for the revival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka
had also been involved with Freemasonry, at least to some extent. The
enigmatic Madame Helena Blavatsky, head of the Theosophical Society, had
been granted a charter for a co-Masonic Order by British esoteric
Freemason John Yarker. Colonel Henry Steel Olcott, the Theosophical
Society’s number two, had also entered Freemasonry as a young man.
We will return to Yarker later, but here it is worth mentioning that
Blavatsky and Olcott felt profound respect for the cultures they
encountered in Asia, and were at the forefront of the independence
movements in India and Sri Lanka. Although largely forgotten today,
Olcott helped establish a Buddhist school system in Sri Lanka, and
petitioned for greater rights for the country’s Buddhists (who were
being culturally ‘cleansed’ so that Christian missionaries could
proselytise more effectively). He also wrote a Buddhist catechism and
helped design the international Buddhist flag, both of which are still
in use.
Abd al-Qadir & Anti-Colonial Politics
Even before Blavatsky reached India, Freemasonry had already been intertwined with anti-colonial politics in the Middle East. Abd al-Qadir al-Jazairi (1808-1883), Sufi, resistance fighter, and Emir of Mascara in northwest Algeria, joined a Masonic Lodge in Egypt in 1864 after striking up a correspondence with a French Lodge. Other important figures to join the Masonic fraternity included the founding father of pan-Islamic anti-colonial politics, Sayyid Jamal ad-Din al-Afghani, the Grand Mufti of Egypt Muhammad ‘Abduh, and Shaykh Abdullah Quilliam, a convert to Islam and advocate for the rights of Muslims under the British Empire. Why would Muslim activists join Freemasonry during this period?
Abd al-Qadir, a descendent (sharif) of the Prophet of Islam, was born into a family of prominence in the Qadiriyya Order of Sufism. His father, the head of the Order, seems to have been keen that his son be well travelled and educated in the faith. During 1826-27, the two men journeyed to Mecca for the hajj, visiting Cairo, Damascus and Baghdad along the way. This afforded Abd al-Qadir the opportunity to meet and discuss with scholars of different Sufi traditions, and to gain a deeper understanding of the esoteric and philosophical traditions within Islam.
Islamising Freemasonry
Interest in pre-Christian and non-Western cultures, religions, Gnosticism, and symbolism proliferated early on in Freemasonry. During the 18th century, as it spread across Europe, Freemasonry incorporated Hermeticism, Rosicrucianism, Egyptology and chivalry, into various rituals. Before the end of the 19th century, the premier British Masonic journal Ars Quatuor Coronatorum had published articles on Hindu “Brahminical Initiation,” the swastika (a Hindu, Buddhist, and pre-Christian European symbol), the Qabala, and “West African Secret Tribal Societies,” among many other articles on similar themes.
Already by this time Islam had left its impression on several societies tied to Freemasonry. The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles Mystic of the Shrine (better known as the Shriners or the Shrine) had been founded in New York, as had a rival group called the Mystic Order of the Veiled Prophets of the Enchanted Realm (better known as the Grotto). Both required members to be Freemasons. Both adopted the fez as part of its official dress – in the former case, a red one with an Islamic-inspired crescent and the name of the Shriner temple on it, and in the latter case a black one bearing the image of a turbaned figure.
The Grotto’s nomenclature, ritual, and symbolism was based on the poem “The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan” by Thomas Moore (1779-1852). It focuses on al-Mokanna, the Veiled Prophet Hakem ben Haschem, who lived between the 7th and 8th centuries, and blended Islam with the pre-Islamic Persian religion of Zoroastrianism.
The Shrine was created by Dr. Walter M. Fleming, with the assistance of Charles T. McClenachan and some other Freemasons, in or around 1870, and its first temple – Mecca Temple – was established in New York. Although long known for its intentionally clownish parades through small suburban towns, some early histories of the Shrine claim a more esoteric origin: the Bektashi Order of Sufi Islam.
There were more serious attempts to introduce Islamic mysticism to Freemasons and spiritual adventurers in the West. After his failed attempt to scale Kanchenjunga, the world’s third largest mountain, in 1905, Freemason and magus Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) left the Himalayas and headed to Calcutta where he prepared to return to his native England via Persia. Part of Crowley’s preparation was to immerse himself in Sufi literature and to begin writing his “Ghazals of Ishtar,” imitating the style of the Sufis though instead focused on the ancient Babylonian and Assyrian goddess.
The project turned into The Scented Garden of Abdullah The Satirist of Shiraz. Though his least known work, Crowley, never a shrinking violet, claimed it transcended the Bhagavad Gita and the Tao Te Ching. The work had to be published pseudonymously since it included homoerotic and Gnostic content. The English magus chose the name ‘Abdullah al Haji’ who he claimed was active during the 17th century. Despite the ruse, most copies of The Scented Garden were seized and destroyed by customs during import to Britain from Crowley’s printer in Paris.
Notably, Crowley says in the text that he cannot discuss the inner working of Sufism, “if only because I am a Freemason.” The implication is, of course, that the two are in some way connected or at least kindred.
Crowley wasn’t the first English Freemason to see similarity between the Craft and Islam. In 1872, Kenneth MacKenzie founded the Order of Ishmael, on the authority of an Arab in Paris. In theory, at least, Christians (excluding Catholics), Hindus, Zoroastrians, Muslims, and others could be initiated, though the highest of its 36 Degrees was titled “Submission,” the literal translation of Islam (submission to the Will of Allah). John Yarker, a very active and influential figure in the underground esoteric Masonic scene, appears to have been involved in the project – which may have existed more on paper than in practice. Yarker played a role in the ‘fringe’ Masonic life of William Henry Quilliam (1856-1932), better known as Shaykh Abdullah Quilliam.
Shaykh Abdullah Quilliam & Freemasonry
Quilliam converted to Islam as a young man, and went on to become an
influential figure in Muslim political life in Britain. Believing in the
creation of an international Muslim brotherhood, Quilliam agitated for
the rights of Muslims under the British Empire, and attempted to expel
prejudice against Islam – which had a bad image in Britain during his
lifetime. Besides this, the shaykh founded the first mosque in Britain,
as well as an Islamic education centre and publishing house to
disseminate literature on Islam.
His activities won him the attention of the Ottoman Empire, which
appointed him Shaykh ul-Islam for the British Isles, and funded some of
his work. At the same time, Quilliam was active in both regular
Freemasonry and the ‘fringe’ Masonic societies of the Sat Bhai (which
was influenced by Hindu mysticism) and the Swedenborgian Rite. More
significantly, Quilliam was undoubtedly the founder of the Ancient Order
of Zuzimites, which adopted the structure of the Masonic Craft Ritual
and the symbolism of pharaonic Egypt.
Quilliam seems to have understood that Freemasonry was more
sympathetic to Islam than mainstream society in the English-speaking
world. Indeed, some important Masonic journals, which he wrote for,
noted his Islamic credentials. It is highly likely that, like Abd
al-Qadir and many other Muslims who joined Masonic Lodges, he saw the
fraternity as offering the possibility of a transcending of religious
and ethnic boundaries – and as a Muslim in a Christian country he would
have been all too aware. Perhaps, like Crowley, he saw some
manifestations of Islam and Freemasonry as compatible.
Whatever the case, it is extremely significant that some of the more
important and radical Muslim activists sought initiation into
Freemasonry during the 19th century, and that some Freemasons
and societies linked to Freemasonry were, in turn, influenced by Islam.
These historical episodes may have been almost entirely forgotten, but
whether we like it or not, these influential individuals and groups
helped shape the world we live in today.
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Masons offer hand, not handshake, in friendship
05th July 2017
BENGALURU: On July 17, another royal scion Yaduveer Krishnadatta
Chamaraja Wadiyar will be initiated as a Mason or a Freemason. Before
him, his uncle Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar Bahadur and his
grandfather Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar were also Masons.This is shared by
Anurag Sahae, the Assistant Regional Grand Master of India, over a chat
at his fellow Mason’s advertising agency. If you go by movies and
popular myths, such a revelation would have been followed by the murders
of the Mason and the listener; instead we are served tea.
Freemasons or Masons, a guild of masons that formed in the early 11 C in
England and Scotland, are believed to be fanatically secretive. But,
over the years, the powers-that-be have decided to make a more conscious
effort to be more transparent with the general public. Sahae, who has
been given charge of the Masonry in Bengaluru region which includes
Mysuru, Mandya, Tumakuru and KGF, says, “I can tell you where the lodges
are, who are the Masons in the city, who the Grand Master is... it is
Haracharan Singh Ranaut and the Regional Grand Master for the south is
Abraham Markos, but I cannot tell you the rituals.”
The rituals followed by the Masons have spawned memes and conspiracy theories...
http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2017/jul/04/masons-offer-hand-not-handshake-in-friendship-1624250--1.html
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The Freemasons of Armenian Origin
Armenians have been one of those people who maintained their culture
and traditions almost intact from antiquity to the present day. Through
centuries they’ve adapted to dozens of different currents of thought and
suffered persecutions of all kinds because of religion and geographic
position. From an ancient Indo-European origin, they have forged their
own language and coined a vast pagan history until they became the first
nation that accepted Christianity as the Official State Religion.
(c.301).
From ancient times, in the Armenian Plateau, in the Caucasus and
in the whole of Anatolia, many brotherhoods and initiation orders have
developed. These “brotherhoods”, whether of a religious, political or
social character, created dominant cultures and emerging subcultures for
hundreds of year in Asia Minor. the Tondrakian and the Paulician
movements that followed Christian teachings very close to Manichaeism;
the Knights Templars; Hospitallers and Teutonic Knights, important
actors during the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia; the Children of the
Sun (Arevortik), an Armenian neo-pagan heresy of the 13th century; as
well as the polemic Hashashin. All of them have developed in the
territory of Historical Armenia. Also in historic Armenia, the
“operative freemasonry,” that is to say, the pure architectural masonry,
has created master craftsmen, superb stonecutters and cathedral
builders who reached their peak during the Middle Ages. Important
historic characters such as Trdat, Momik, Sarkis and Manvel, among
others, left their trace through signatures, signs and secret symbols
spread in the hundreds of monuments, churches and stone crosses
(Khachkars) still decorating the Armenian Republic and its neighboring
countries. Some of these builders were traveling masons who have left
their mark in numerous churches throughout Europe and Asia.
The History of the Armenian Freemasons begins under the auspices
of the United Grand Lodge of England. The English “East India Company”
introduced freemasonry of English origin in Madras (now Chennai) in
1730. Many Armenian merchants who were already established tradesmen in
India and Southeast Asia also played an important role in the East India
Company. They followed the English rules of conduct and often
traveled throughout Europe and, at the same time, had ascended in the
Indian social strata.
As the first instance of an active member of Armenian origin in
one of the Informative Bulletins of the Cannon-gate Lodge in Edinburgh,
(1762) it is stated that “… four Worshipful Masters would represent the
United Grand Lodge of England in the territories of the Middle East,
Aleppo and Iran…” Among those four persons, it was the name of the
Armenian Dr. Manasse who was appointed as Provincial Grand Master for
“Armenia” by order of the Grand Master of the Premier Grand Lodge of
England, Earl Ferrers, from 1762 to 1764. Until 1805, when the name of
Manasse officially disappeared, the group of four lodges headed by these
Worshipful Masters was called “All Armenia in the East Indies”—
remarkable for this period, the foundation of the First Lodge composed
of members of Armenian origin.
On October 6th 1837, in the city of Madras, Colonial India, the
Lodge “Armenian” No. 685 was consecrated under the auspices of the
United Grand Lodge of England. This lodge had a brief life (1865) as a
result of ups and downs in its activities. It was linked to prestigious
families of established Armenian merchants in that city. The Lodge
“Armenia” No. 685 worked in the Armenia Street in that city.
The last Masonic link of Armenian origin, and of relevant
importance in Victorian India, was Sir Paul Chater (Khachik Pogos
Astvatsatoor). Born in Calcutta in 1846, he was a prestigious and
successful man who developed all his potential in imperial Hong Kong. He
has been Worshipful Master of the Lodge “Perseverance” No. 1165, Grand
Master of the Hong Kong District and the South of China for the United
Grand Lodge of England (1881-1909), one of the first Armenian masons in
having the Masonic High Degree 33° and, even today, the District of the
United Grand Lodge of England for Hong Kong and the Far East auspices a
lodge called “Paul Chater Lodge of Installed Masters” No. 5391.
Undoubtedly, he was one of the masons of Armenian origin who had reached
one of the highest points on the scale of Regular Freemasonry.
Closer to Historic Armenia, during the Ottoman Empire, the upper
classes of Armenians had begun to interact defending the ideas
proclaimed by the West, “Liberty, Equality and Fraternity”. At the same
time, the Grand Masonic Powers (whether Grand Lodges or Grand Orients)
planned the mission of westernizing the region and founding as many
Masonic lodges as they could. The Grand Orient of Italy, the Grand Lodge
of Scotland, the United Grand Lodge of England and the Grand Orient of
France worked actively to spread the formation of Masonic lodges in the
heart of the Empire.
http://freimaurer-wiki.de/index.php/En:_The_Freemasons_of_Armenian_Origin
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Freemasons in Karachi: A lodge called hope clings to history as saviour
April 28, 2012
https://tribune.com.pk/story/371082/freemasons-in-karachi-a-lodge-called-hope-clings-to-history-as-saviour/
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The Historiography of the Jesuit Missions in India (1500–1800)
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JESUIT
INSTITUTIONS IN INDIA
https://www.manresa-sj.org/stamps/2_India.htm
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Delhi Jesuits
http://www.delhijesuits.org/
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Jesuits in the History of India
1.03
Also because the Societys influence has been present in one form or
other in almost every region of India - not only in what is today the
Republic of India, but what went by the name of India during the
peak-years of the British Raj, and also areas around it, including many
parts of the present day Pakistan, Bangladesh, Tibet, Ceylon, Nepal,
Sikkim and other geographical and political regions and territories.
2.01
The Society of Jesus ( as mentioned above ) has been perhaps the only
institution / organisation of any size and impact in India that has
been in existence practically continuously for the past well-nigh four
centuries and a half. At this stage, without entering into any detailed
discussion, the mere dates of the various ruling dynasties or
organisations which wielded significant power in the second half of the
second millennium may be profitably scrutinised. It would be easily seen
that none of the powers dominated for more than a part of, and in most
cases a very small part of, the 450 years for which the Society has been
working in India.
http://kunjethy.tripod.com/indiajesuits/
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Madurai Jesuits
http://www.maduraijesuits.org/whoweare.htm
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Category: Indian Jesuits
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Indian_Jesuits
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Jesuit Conference of South Asia
http://www.jcsaweb.org/
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The Mysterious Sealed Temple Door No One Can Open
Naga Bandham:
The Naga Bandham is also called a snake-binding spell. A successful spell will have various serpentine deities guard the treasure of a particular place. This is also the reason why there are various snake idols worshipped in temples around the country. In fact, the deity Vishnu is also often depicted riding a snake. There are also special parts of the temple dedicated for these snake deities.
However, the prevalence of snake deities and figures is not exclusive to Indian culture. Ancient cultures such as the Greeks and the Egyptians also feature serpentine and reptilian creatures. In Greek culture, a "dragon" is some form of superior snake. Even Egyptians have deities such as the protector goddess Wadjet who has the head of a snake, and the chaos god Apep who appears as a snake.
The Naga Bandham is Chamber B is said to be unlocked by special sound waves. Some say the lock inside the door can be accessed through sound. Given the right frequency, the sound waves will be amplified and "connect" through the links inside the door. Continuous exposure to the sound will have the links interact and eventually open Chamber B.
If another person tries to open the door with a different spell, or the same spell with the wrong intonation, the sound waves are directed somewhere else. Perhaps this can cause a trap to be opened or, in the case of Chamber B, the aforementioned calamity.
No one knows what lies inside The Padmanabhaswamy Temple and its secret Chamber B. No one has chanted the Garuda Mantra correctly up to this day, and the order of the Supreme Court against opening Chamber B still stands.
Are the legends surrounding Chamber B true? Will there be an unspeakable calamity once its doors are opened by force? Or will there be someone who can chant the spell correctly and give access to its rumored treasure?
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A One Trillion Dollar Hidden Treasure Chamber is Discovered at India's Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple
I
was recently traveling extensively throughout India and was excited to
visit Thiruvananthapuram along the southwest coast, filled with British
colonial architecture and lined by popular beaches.
What intrigued me about the area was the excitement in the Indian press
and throughout the region of the mass treasures that were unearthed at
the famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple. Visiting the temple I was
awestruck at its decadence and gold plated glory. This was after all the
richest temple in the world. After my visit, it was announced that a
new hidden treasure vault had been discovered beyond the already well
documented Vault B inside. Adding to recent treasure findings in several
other vaults, the researchers are estimating could total over $1
trillion. But that is where the problem starts, nobody wants to dare
open the hidden inner sanctum.
Like all hidden treasure stories, Kerala’s Shree Padmanabhaswamy
Temple has been a fascination in India for many years, and one shrouded
in mystery and fear. Two enormous Cobras are rumored to be protecting
the inner most hidden chamber. To make matters worse, legend has it that
anyone who opens the vault will be met with disastrous results.
The mysterious Vault B has kept everyone at bay for many years,
although five other vaults were opened in 2011 by a team approved by the
Supreme Court. The inventory unveiled a major priceless treasure.
Massive piles of jewels, idols and coins were uncovered. The myth of
Vault B and its dangers were recently discounted when the Auditor
General Vinod Rai informed the Supreme Court that Vault B had been
opened at least seven times to his knowledge since 1990 and nothing
horrific happened.
(UPDATED 8/22/16) According to the India Times, an
audit conducted into the assets of the famed Sree Padmanabhaswamy
temple in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram has shown that a massive amount of
gold from its repositories has mysteriously disappeared. Up to 769 Gold
Pots and Silver bars have been reported missing. Some skeptics are also
suggesting that there is a hidden tunnel beneath the chamber that
allowed the architects to lock the chamber doors from within, making it
impossible to breach. This secret tunnel could invariably have led to
many years of plundering the treasure trove without anyone noticing.
(UPDATED 5/24/16) An expert panel inventorying assets at the Temple
has approached the apex court for permission to open the vault, as per a
report in Hindustan Times. The report also added that the
Travancore royal family along with a section of devotees and the
shrine’s administration opposed the opening of the B-vault but may lose
their fight to an expected Supreme Court ruling.
What has not been acknowledged by the Indian Court is the existence
of a hidden inner chamber beyond Vault B. This chamber is historical
told to have thick walls made of solid gold and it is where the mystery
really exists, and could contain the largest undiscovered treasure find
in the history of the world.
Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord
Vishnu. The shrine is currently run by a trust headed by the royal
family of Travancore. The temple and its assets belong to Lord
Padmanabhaswamy, and were for a long time controlled by a trust headed
by the Travancore Royal family. However, now the Supreme Court of India
has removed the Travancore Royal Family from leading the management of
the temple.
The temple is one of 108 centers of worship in Vaishnavism. The
temple is renown from the early medieval Tamil literature (6th–9th
centuries), with structural additions to it made throughout the 16th
century, when its ornate Gopuram was constructed.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2015/11/13/a-one-trillion-dollar-hidden-treasure-chamber-is-discovered-at-indias-sree-padmanabhaswam-temple/#1cc0033f1ba6
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Indian royals in row over missing temple treasures
Sep 2016
Its riches are worth billions of rupees, and for the past eight years, Padmanabhan has been fighting to protect them. He believes that more than a billion rupees’ worth of gold has been taken from the temple and blames the Travancore royal family, the temple’s original guardians, who still believe that they should have custody of the fortunes of Padmanabhaswamy.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/24/former-maharajahs-accused-over-temple-treasures
---------------------------
Nagas of Padmavati
Naga Dynasty (or Nagas of Padmavati) (Hindi: नाग) (210 – 340 CE) was an ancient royal family of Central India that ruled Vidisha, Padmavati, Kantipur and Mathura.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nagas_of_Padmavati
---------------------------
'Ancient Aliens (History Channel)
Episode Description
The Reptilians
The Reptilian alien is a fixture of science-fiction, from H.P.
Lovecraft’s tales of Valusians to the Cardassians in Star Trek, to the
Visitors of the television series V. But could ancient myths about
reptilian creatures provide evidence that they are more than just a
pop-culture creation? Legends of serpent beings can be found on every
continent. The Bible, the Quran and the ancient texts known as the Nag
Hammadi codices all describe reptilian entities interacting with humans.
In Central and South America people worship the feathered serpent god
called Kulkukan or Quetzalcoatl. In India, the Nagas are half-human
half-reptile gods who live underground in a place called Patala. And in
China and Japan, many emperors claim to be the descendants of dragons.
Could these stories represent real Reptilian beings that people all over
the world actually encountered in the ancient past?
http://www.history.ca/ancient-aliens/episode-guide/the-reptilians/
---------------------------
Scientists Create DMT Machine To Talk With ´´Fallen Aliens´´ (2017)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9VRElK6X9o
---------------------------
The Hidden History of Humanity
Aug 18, 2017
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbWMw249xY8
{An interesting theory, but many will disagree with different parts of this video.
The video talks about an ancient race of people that were giants and that lived in Lemuria and Atlantis.
The documentary claims that humans first produced asexually.
Claims there is a Hindu version of Noah.
All seeing eye of the Lemurians?
---------------------------
The NAGA: Reptilian Type Beings Featured In Many Cultures Around The World
February 13, 2017
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2017/02/13/the-naga-reptilian-type-beings-featured-in-many-cultures-around-the-world/
---------------------------
For more information on this
religious topic and debate, view our article titled
--------------------------
Pollution Science 101 - Russia
PollutionScience101Russia.Blogspot.com
---------------------------
King Solomon's Temple Investigation Marathon - Legend
7/21/2019
https://solomonstempleinvestigation.blogspot.com
---------------------------
"Nagas half human half reptilian aliens"
https://www.google.com/search?source=hp&q=nagas+half+human+half+reptilian+aliens&oq=nagas+half+human+half+reptilian+aliens&gs_l=psy-ab.12...2974.2974.0.4210.3.2.0.0.0.0.185.185.0j1.2.0.dummy_maps_web_fallback...0...1.2.64.psy-ab..1.1.161.6..35i39k1.162.H6UIZAdyWZ0
---------------------------
Serving the dragon -
the past
The ancient world abounds with stories of the serpent or dragon race
and royal kings, queens, and emperors who claim their right to rule
through their descent from the serpent gods.
The Sumerian accounts tell of flying serpents and dragons breathing
fire (symbolic of their aerial craft?) and how the kings of Sumer,
going back long before the deluge to some 240,000BC, were
"changelings" seeded by the union of the gods and humans. Sargon the
Great, that famous ruler of the Sumer Empire, claimed this genetic
origin and the very existence of "kingship" is reported very clearly
to have been a gift of these gods.
The dragon kings
The kings of the succession in the reptilian bloodlines were known
as "Dragons". When many kingdoms joined together in battle, or as a
group of kingdoms, they appointed a king of kings. These were known
as the Great Dragon or... Draco. The Celtic title of Pendragon, as in
Uther Pendragon, the father of "King Arthur" in the Grail stories,
was a version of this. In the legends, the symbolic Arthur was a
descendant of the dragons and his helmet (or El-met, named after a
reptilian goddess called El) carried a dragon motif.
"...One of [the] five builders of Thebes [in Egypt] was named after the serpent-god of the Phoenicians, Ofhion ...The first altar erected to Cyclops at Athens was to 'Ops', the serpent deity... The symbolic worship of the serpent was so common in Greece that Justin Martyr accuses the Greeks of introducing it into the mysteries of all their gods."6
I have mentioned that in Hebrew myth, the Biblical "Nefilim", the "sons of the gods", are called awwim, which means devastators or serpents. Hebrew legends also describe the Eden serpent as a being who walked and talked like a human. The Hebrew book of ancient oral tradition, the Haggadah, speaks of this serpent as a creature with two legs that stood upright to the "height of a camel".7
The serpent that "tempted" Eve in the Biblical Garden of Eden is the best-known serpent symbolism of all. This was an edited rewrite of the far more ancient Sumerian story of Edin, the "Land of the Gods or the Righteous Ones". There is again a common theme of the serpent gods in a garden, and James Churchward suggests in The Children Of Mu that these "gardens" all refer to Lemuria-Mu, the "Motherland". I think he could well be correct.
Asian serpents
The Indus Valley culture of the Sumer Empire and the Lemurians, and the Hindu religion and Indian mythology that emerged there, are full of references to the serpent gods and flying dragons who brought knowledge and fought with each other in the sky. They called them the Nagas, as we have seen, and they said they could take either reptilian or human form whenever they chose.10
The entire culture of China is based on the dragon and serpent race. Once again, here was a highly developed civilization thousands of years ago that was inspired by Lemurians and later influenced by the Sumer Empire. Even today their languages and writing are remarkably similar, as are their myths and stories. The great age of Chinese culture is reckoned to have begun around 2800BC -when the Sumer Empire was in full swing.
The story is the same in the Americas with the serpent gods at the heart of the ancient myths and legends of North, South and Central America. The books of the Mayans called Chilam Balaam say the first settlers of the Yucatan in Mexico were the Chanes or "People of the Serpent".24
Credo Mutwa, the official historian of the Zulu nation, has painted pictures from ancient and modern descriptions of these reptilian entities (see picture section) and describes the various levels of the fiercely imposed genetic hierarchy. The lower levels are the "warriors", the "poor bloody infantry" as we say in Britain.
Credo Mutwa talks for hours on the video The Reptilian Agenda, part one, about the background and history of the Chitauri, and he confirms the theme of shape-shifting and how the Chitauri bloodlines can take either human or reptilian form. He describes how the Earth was once encircled by a canopy of water vapor (the "firmament") that was destroyed in a cataclysm.
Nāga
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%81ga#Hinduism
---------------------------
The Secret of the Temple
April 2012
The discovery of treasure worth billions of dollars shakes southern India.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/04/30/the-secret-of-the-temple
---------------------------
Researchers Discover A UFO Alien Temple In India
(Ancient Aliens, History Channel video)
In the nineteenth century an ancient temple in western India which is presumed to have been constructed thousands of years ago was discovered by the British colonialists. The magnificent and intricately designed temple is a source of fascination for many, not just because of its extraordinary design but because it may offer insight into the origins of India’s mysterious mystical tradition. This documentary examines the claims that the myths of ancient India were based on real life contact with otherworldly spiritual beings, who may well have been alien creatures.
http://www.disclose.tv/action/viewvideo/89558/ufo_alien_temple_found_in_india/
---------------------------
Vimana
Vimāna is a flying palace or chariot described in Hindu texts and Sanskrit epics which was controlled by the mind. The Pushpaka Vimana of the demon king Ravana (which was taken from Lord Kubera, and returned to him by Rama) is the most quoted example of a vimana. Vimanas are also mentioned in Jain texts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vimana
---------------------------
Vimanas and Flying Machines in Vedic Literature
July 4, 2014
http://ancientufo.org/2014/07/vimanas-flying-machines-in-vedic-literature/
---------------------------
The truth is out there: Tales from India’s UFO investigators
May 11, 2017
Lights in the sky, levitating beings, hard science vs conjecture: Meet the guys trying to sift the crazies from the true witnesses in their search for unidentified flying objects.
---------------------------
10,000-year-old rock paintings depicting aliens and UFOs found in Chhattisgarh
Rashmi Drolia | TNN | Jul 15, 2014
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/10000-year-old-rock-paintings-depicting-aliens-and-UFOs-found-in-Chhattisgarh/articleshow/38435091.cms
---------------------------
Royal lie? Kerala treasure temple vault was opened in 2007 [Photos]
May, 08 2012
http://www.firstpost.com/photos/politics-gallery/royal-lie-kerala-treasure-temple-vault-was-opened-in-2007-77031.html
---------------------------
20 Places In India More Mysterious Than The Bermuda Triangle
5. The ‘Holy’ Rat Infested Karni Mata Temple at Deshnok, Rajasthan
The Karni Mata Temple is one of the most holy sanctums, but little do people know that it is also one of the most mysterious places in India. The temple is home to over 20,000 rats. Revolting as it may sound, one is not allowed to kill, hurt, or even scare them away!
The Myth: The rats are believed to be the reincarnated relatives and family members of Karni Mata. In fact, the rare, white mice at the place are considered to be her sons.
11. The Red Rain at Idukki, Kerala
The Theory: The scientists, after much analysis and debate, have zeroed in on one explanation for this occurrence. They say that the red particles are airborne spores of the locally growing alga in the region.
http://traveltriangle.com/blog/mysterious-places-in-india/
---------------------------
Have You Heard of These 10 Mysterious Places in India Yet?
9. Lonar Crater Lake, Maharashtra – World’s Only Hyper-velocity Impact Crater
https://www.makemytrip.com/blog/mysterious-places-in-india
---------------------------
Konark
Konark is a medium town in the Puri district in the state of Odisha, India. It lies on the coast by the Bay of Bengal, 65 kilometers from the capital of the state, Bhubaneswar
The Sun Temple
The Sun Temple was built in the 13th century and designed as a gigantic chariot of the Sun God,
Surya, with twelve pairs of ornamented wheels pulled by seven horses.
Some of the wheels are 3 meters wide. Only six of the seven horse still
stand today.[8] The temple fell into disuse after an envoy of Jahangir desecrated the temple in the early 17th century.[9]
In the days of its grandeur, the main idol of Sun God used to remain
suspended in the air with the help of the huge magnet at the peak and
another magnet fixed at the basement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konark
---------------------------
25 Mysterious Places In India That Will Give You The Creeps
Aug 2014
http://www.thrillophilia.com/blog/mysterious-places-in-india/
---------------------------
Could newly discovered ancient stairs lead to more treasures under Vishnu Temple?
27 April, 2014
Archaeologists have unearthed a set of three ancient granite steps
and building foundations near the northern entrance to the Sree
Padmanabhaswamy Temple, located in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city
of the State of Kerala in India, according to reports in the New Indian Express .
The temple, which is dedicated to Lord Vishnu, is famous for its
underground tunnels and the billion-dollar treasure uncovered in its
secret vaults several years ago.
“The basement made of brick and laterite stone could be part of the
temple complex in the past,” said Archaeology Department director G
Premkumar.
http://www.ancient-origins.net/news-history-archaeology/could-newly-discovered-ancient-stairs-lead-more-treasures-098878
---------------------------
17 Creepiest Unsolved Mysteries From India That Will Leave You Baffled
http://inyminy.com/17-creepiest-unsolved-mysteries-india-will-leave-baffled/
---------------------------
10 mind-boggling images of the Kailasa Temple that prove ancient man had advanced technology
It seems that it has become a custom for mainstream scholars to discredit ancient cultures around the globe. Numerous ancient sites point to the fact that ancient civilizations that lived on Earth thousands of years ago were extremely advanced and sophisticated. Proof of that is yet another ancient site that cannot be replicated with ease, even today, in the 21st century.
---------------------------
Nuclear fusion record smashed as German scientists take 'a significant step forward' to near-limitless clean energy
June 5, 2025
Germany's Wendelstein 7-X stellarator has set a new benchmark for fusion reactors, bringing commercial, near-limitless clean energy one step closer to reality.
https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/nuclear-energy/nuclear-fusion-record-smashed-as-german-scientists-take-a-significant-step-forward-to-near-limitless-clean-energy
---------------------------
'Rabbits sometimes make mistakes or grow lazy. That's when the tortoise seizes its chance': Chinese scientists make nuclear power breakthrough using abandoned US research
April 29, 2025
https://www.livescience.com/technology/engineering/chinese-scientists-make-nuclear-power-breakthrough-using-abandoned-us-research
---------------------------
Russia and China announce plan to build shared nuclear reactor on the moon by 2035, 'without humans'
March 8, 2024
https://www.livescience.com/space/space-exploration/russia-and-china-announce-plan-to-build-shared-nuclear-reactor-on-the-moon-by-2035-without-humans
---------------------------
The Earth relies on the Moon for many things. We should be cautious of changing the natural patterns and rhythms of the moon.
---------------------------
China is sharing priceless moon samples with international partners, but NASA can't be a part of it
May 18, 2025
The Wolf Amendment, a law that prevents bilateral cooperation in space research between the U.S. and China, is preventing U.S. government-funded analysis of the Chang'e 5 moon samples.
https://www.livescience.com/space/the-moon/china-is-sharing-priceless-moon-samples-with-international-partners-but-nasa-cant-be-a-part-of-it
---------------------------
Moon Mining Takes Giant Leap Forward With Plans to Harvest Lunar Soil
Jul 31, 2025
https://www.newsweek.com/interlune-lunar-mining-helium-3-moon-2103195
---------------------------
Nuclear power on the moon: NASA wraps up 1st phase of ambitious reactor project
February 2, 2024
The project aims to get a reactor up and running on the moon in the early 2030s.
https://www.space.com/nasa-moon-nuclear-reactor-project-first-phase-complete
---------------------------
The nuclear reactors that could power bases on the Moon
18 April 2024
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240417-the-nuclear-reactors-that-could-power-moon-bases
---------------------------
Mining helium-3 on the Moon has been talked about forever—now a company will try
Mar 13, 2024
https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/03/mining-helium-3-on-the-moon-has-been-talked-about-forever-now-a-company-will-try/
---------------------------
For more information on many of the solutions to the problems in India, view our article Pollution Science 101 - Solutions ( PollutionScience101Solutions.Blogspot.com ).
---------------------------
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - The Arctic
June 17th, 2023
PollutionScience101Arctic.blogspot.com
___________________________
June 17th, 2023
PollutionScience101Antarctic.blogspot.com
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - Egypt
6/1/2020
https://pollutionscience101egypt.blogspot.com
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - Russia
December 2nd, 2015
Pollutionscience101Russia.blogspot.com
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - China
October 6th, 2015
Pollutionscience101China.blogspot.com
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - Israel (Fate of the Middle East)
8/9/2019
https://pollutionscience101israel.blogspot.com
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - Cancer Investigated (California)
Jan/7/15
Pollutionscience101cancerinvestigated.blogspot.com
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - Mexico - Faults of Mexico
5/1/2019
https://pollutionscience101mexico.blogspot.com/
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - Texas Industry Pollution Investigated ( Texas vs BP Oil)
Feb/2/15
Pollutionscience101texasvsbpoil.blogspot.com/
___________________________
Energy Science 101 - ( Pollution Science 101 )
August 23rd, 2016
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - Solutions
August 23rd, 2016
Pollutionscience101solutions.blogspot.com/
___________________________
Laguna
Beach Government corruption: Investigative report 1/16/2017. (Asbestos
contamination & our waterways in Orange County).
January 16th, 2017
Lagunabeachcorruption.blogspot.com
https://pollutionscience101.wordpress.com/2025/04/27/laguna-beach-ca-government-corruption-investigative-report/
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - India - Ecological Collapse
10/9/2017
PollutionScience101india.Blogspot.com
___________________________
Uranium Trade 101 - India & Pakistan ( Pollution Science 101- India )
10/9/2017
UraniumTrade101india.Blogspot.com
___________________________
___________________________
6/1/2020 - Pollution Science 101 - Egypt
https://pollutionscience101egypt.blogspot.com
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - Cuba
May 7th, 2021
https://Pollutionscience101Cuba.blogspot.com
___________________________
___________________________
April 4th, 2024
PollutionScience101Florida.blogspot.com
___________________________
___________________________
___________________________
Pollution Science 101 - Brazil - Emergency Report
1/7/2020
https://pollutionscience101brazil.blogspot.com
___________________________
https://pollutionscience101.wordpress.com/2023/02/16/coronavirus-investigation-news-race-virus-201/ (New Link)
https://archive.org/details/covid-news_202302 (Archive Link)
https://coronavirusinvestigation.blogspot.com (My banned Covid research link).
___________________________
The Cephalic Investigation - Race Eugenics & Dysgenics (Skull Evolution & The History of the Lineage of Man)
4/10/2020
https://skullevolution.blogspot.com
___________________________
Genetically Modified Vaccines Investigated - The Eugenics Investigation (MonsantoInvestigation.com)
8/15/2017
GMOvaccinesinvestigated.blogspot.com
___________________________
Genetically Modified Humans & Viruses - The Eugenics Investigation
July 7th, 2017
GMOhumansandviruses.blogspot.com
___________________________
The DuPont investigation
Feb/18/14
http://dupontinvestigation.blogspot.com
___________________________
King Solomon's Temple Investigation Marathon - Legend
7/21/2019
https://solomonstempleinvestigation.blogspot.com
___________________________
To read an additional article about the pollution going on in India,
click on the following link. This link is considered an additional
section to this article.
To
continue with Pollution Science 101 - India, view the following
article: Pollution Science 101 - India - Ecological Collapse (
PollutionsScience101India.Blogspot.com ).
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