Missile incident rattles Canada - 'Nuclear fallout knows no border,' lawmaker says

Seattle P-I ^ | Mike Barber

[NormsRevenge]

It might not have been a "broken arrow" nuclear missile accident, but a mishap that damaged a Bangor Trident submarine ballistic missile and was kept under wraps by the Navy until this week threatens broken trust on an international scale.

Libby Davies, a member of Canada's national parliament from Vancouver East, yesterday said she intends to seek the same kind of answers for Canadians that her U.S. congressional counterparts are seeking for Americans.

"If something happens in Bangor, we're the ones upwind. Nuclear fallout knows no border," Davies said.

"The whole issue of transparency in government is fundamental to our democratic system. I think when something is covered up it is pretty outrageous."

U.S. Reps. Norm Dicks and Jay Inslee have demanded answers, and Thursday are slated to receive a special briefing from Rear Adm. Charles Young, head of the "nuclear Navy's" Strategic Systems Program. The SSP oversees Bangor's Strategic Weapons Facility, Pacific, where the accident allegedly occurred.

The Nov. 7 incident was first brought to public light last weekend on a Web site, Jaghunter.com, by former Navy Lt. Cmdr. Walt Fitzpatrick. He has had a long-running feud with the Navy to clear his name following a questionable court martial.

Military and civilian sources confirmed many of Fitzpatrick's allegations.

The incident occurred when a missile being extracted from the USS Georgia's No. 16 tube smacked into an access ladder left in the tube, punching a 9-inch hole in the missile's nose cone.

Dicks is the No. 2 ranking Democrat on the powerful House Appropriations subcommittee on defense. Submarine Base Bangor lies in Inslee's district.

Dicks and Inslee said they are "troubled" by the lack of information about the accident, serious enough to result in firings a month later of the entire leadership of the strategic weapons facility, announced in December.

"Assuming these reports are accurate, the Navy must provide better notification to the Kitsap County community, including local emergency personnel," Inslee said.

"The safety of residents and employees is of the utmost importance when moving nuclear weapons. Congressman Dicks and I intend to discuss these allegations with the Navy in the upcoming days, and work to ensure that a comprehensive safety system exists to prevent any incident, such as those alleged in media reports, ... from occurring."

Navy officials cite a Defense Department "neither confirm nor deny" directive that handcuffs its spokesmen from discussing nuclear weapons accidents. The Navy denies an accident occurred there last November, but splits hairs over what is an "accident" and what is an "incident."

The congressmen want to cut through doublespeak.

"We want to know everything," George Behan, Dicks' spokesman, said yesterday. "The Navy has been very much cooperative so far and labors under some constraints because of a Defense Department rather than a Navy policy."

Behan said a letter from Davies would be included in Thursday's meeting to punctuate the importance of disclosure.

The Navy points to its zero-tolerance policy resulting in the career-ending firings as evidence of how seriously it takes its responsibilities. But while nuclear experts say the possibility of nuclear detonation is highly unlikely, questions left hanging by the Defense Department's silence create concern on both sides of the border about even the smallest potential for plutonium releases or rocket fuel explosions.

Davies said questions raised by the Navy's silence can galvanize peace activists on both sides of the border. In 1998, she visited Bangor, leading a "citizens weapons inspection team" to inspect U.S. weapons of mass destruction.

"I was the only elected person. We really just wanted to make a point and the point was that all weapons of mass destruction have to be dealt with, not just the ones that were supposed to have been in Iraq," she said.

"There is a strong connection between U.S. and Canadian peace activists."

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

There sure is a strong connection - it's their suidical naivete.

I used to believe that. Now I think that they aren't suicidal, they want us dead and are too scared of us to do it directly so they want to tie our hands while others do it for them.

They are counting on being the ones left standing but they also know that they have to handicap us or else enough of us might survive to prevent that.

[squidly]

Based on my admittedly limited knowledge, I believe you are correct. Nuclear detonations don't happen by accident. I suppose there may be the possibility of leakage of radioactive material, but from only one warhead that would be a very localized problem, probably only a hazard within a few hundred yards.

Anyone feel free to correct me if I've got some misconceptions here.

[snowballinhell]

Actually Canada how somehow managed to survive for 130 years with a rather robust economy, you may even see a divided Canada survive. Canada is the second largest country on the planet and the #1 supplier of energy to the US. With our natural resources a country of Western Canada (BC, Alberta, Sask, and the territories) would be a very viable country and likley a country very close in mind and policy to the US.
I would not feel too bad to see a "North America" country, but what would we do with all the Liberals up here?
As far as Comrade Libby Davies, pay no mind to that twit of a woman.
Yes Libby we are upwind of Bangor Base, and that would be a good thing in the case of a nuke accident.

[Siegfried]

The congressmen want to cut through doublespeak.

Now there's the funniest line I've read in a long time!
HAHAHAHAHA!

[teletech]

Hey Kanada, put some ice on it!

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

I am no expert at this, having only been assigned to nuclear missile battalions for a little over two years, but I believe the chance of an explosion being caused by a puncture of the nose cone is EXACTLY 0% though my guess might be somewhat high!

[NormsRevenge]

RE: Yours and earlier comments by others about could it have actually detonated as a result of the damage sustained.

Probably not.. in this case. The handling and laxity in enforcing standardized procedures is what bit here.

The potential for leakage of "dirty bomb"-like material may be exaggerated as well. But, one never knows these days,, and after the fact, were it to occur, it would be too late for those who are affected should a real catastrophe occur.

Thanks for your service, btw. ;-)

[NormsRevenge]

As background, I posted this a couple of days ago...

Nuclear missile allegedly damaged (Broken Arrow?)

excerpted from article

According to Fitzpatrick, the Nov. 7 incident happened when the missile from tube No. 16 was hauled up and smacked into an access ladder that had been left in the tube, slicing a 9-inch hole in the missile's nose cone.

The ladder is placed inside the silo after the tube hatch is opened so a sailor can climb inside to attach a hoist to lift the intercontinental ballistic missile out of the tube. After attaching the hoist, the sailor climbs out and the ladder is to be removed before the missile is lifted out.

The crew members reportedly took a break, and when they returned, they began to hoist out the missile without removing the ladder, damaging the nose cone. Although there would not have been a nuclear explosion, a radiation release or non-nuclear explosion was possible, Fitzpatrick claims.

That didn't happen, though the base's civilian emergency services allies yesterday wanted to know more.

[dennisw]

In 1982 Libby was elected to Vancouver City Council and served 5 consecutive terms. She became involved in every community issue, from protecting community services to developing affordable housing, fighting for parks and working for the elimination of poverty.

From 1994 to 1997 Libby worked with the Hospital Employees' Union (HEU) serving in the role of Ombudsperson for Human Rights, as well as Complaints Investigator, and Coordinator of Human Resources

Since being elected Member of Parliament, Libby has provided a strong voice for East Vancouver. In the House of Commons she has consistently raised issues of concern to her constituents including community safety, affordable housing, adequate childcare, and post-secondary education. Libby's community office has helped hundreds of residents with federal government matters such as immigration, student loans, employment insurance, taxation, pensions, and Aboriginal affairs.

Libby has been an outspoken advocate for drug policy reforms to stop the criminalization of drug users and the harm caused by Canada's prohibitionist policies. Libby has received awards from organizations such as the Vancouver and District Labour Council and the YMCA who have acknowledged her lifelong fight for social justice and equality.

Born in 1953 in England, Libby came to Canada in 1968. She moved to Vancouver in 1969 and has one son, Lief Eriksen. She lives with her partner, Kimberly Elliott.

[dennisw]

Libby Davies is a notorious commie......

And lesbo bed wetter.

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Probably not.. in this case. The handling and laxity in enforcing standardized procedures is what bit here.

Listen if this worries you I guess I better not tell you about C Battery, 1 Battalion, 81st Field Artillery, throwing a two stage Pershing into a practice, upright launch position without strapping it down, back in 72 or 73? Launch arm went up, missile kept going, laid it out over a near new POV VW. Platoon leader transfered to Alaska IIRC.

[Happy2BMe]

The commie part is obvious - the lesbo bed wetting is series.

[dennisw]

The commie part is obvious - the lesbo bed wetting is series.....

She's the Canuck Rosie O'Donut.

[dennisw]

She could use a makeover from the "Queer Eye for the Lesbo Gal" crew.

[patriot_wes]

"The incident occurred when a missile being extracted from the USS Georgia's No. 16 tube smacked into an access ladder left in the tube, punching a 9-inch hole in the missile's nose cone."

they left a ladder in the tube?? is this an Abbott & Costello moment or what? The maintenance crew needs a time out.

[FierceDraka]

This is coming from politicians and "activists" who know absolutely nothing about how nuclear weapons or nuclear power actually work.

I'll bet that if you were to mention the words "neutron flux", "tritium", "mass-to-energy conversion rate", and "yield" in a coherant sentence, their eyes would glaze over for a second or two before they spout off, "It's all Bush's fault!"

You could knock an unprimed nuclear warhead around all you want, and you wouldn't get any kind of nuclear explosion, much less any of the above-mentioned "fallout".

Unless, of course, some jerk was to tear the device down and set the plutonium core elements on fire or something like that. Highly unlikely.

(Sigh) But when have the facts ever had any bearing on what these fear-mongering demagogues spew from their pie-holes, eh?

[King Prout]

IIRC, the warhead has to be powered up for any kind of detonation, chemical or nuclear, to occur.
bumping it under most circumstances would do no more than render the warhead inoperable.
I may be wrong - not being a nuclear physicist - but that is my understanding of it.

[TheDon]

LOL! I don't know why the Canuks are whining. They would have received the same notification as everyone else, a nuclear mushroom cloud. Other than that, there is nothing else that would bother them.

[toddst]

With our natural resources a country of Western Canada (BC, Alberta, Sask, and the territories) would be a very viable country and likley a country very close in mind and policy to the US.

10-4. I thought someone would respond with just such an observation.

Having very thin blood (been in the southern U.S. most of my life) I don't understand how you-all tolerate the cold weather BTW.