CND's Press Round-Up - 23rd April 2021
Posted: 24th April 2021
Dear all,
Please find today’s press round up below. Thank you to all for their continued help and support.
Nuclear Weapons
A new study has discovered continuing chemical after-affects in the food supply caused by atmospheric nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960s whilst nuclear weapons, by their presence and their absence, become an issue in the Scottish elections.
Radioactivity in Food Supply
VICE magazine features a report on scientific research which found elevated levels of cesium in honey from areas affected by the fallout from atmospheric nuclear testing. Whilst the researchers have said most of the honey is fit for human consumption, they registered surprise that the effects of the testing persisted in this way. The radiation is believed to have affected environmentally-crucial bee populations, however.
Scottish Devolved Elections
Alex Salmond’s Alba Party has said all of its candidates will sign Scottish CND’s pledge to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and sign the ICAN parliamentarians’ pledge. Alex Salmond is quoted as saying ‘I give this undertaking today, on behalf of Alba, that every candidate elected to the Scots Parliament will work to make nuclear disarmament a priority’. The National has more details.
In related news, Scottish Labour’s manifesto, published yesterday, does not feature any mention of the presence of Trident on the Clyde or nuclear weapons more broadly. Scottish Labour’s agreed policy is one of support for the abolition of Trident. The full document can be found through the BBC’s website.
Anti-war
The crisis in Ukraine appears now to be ebbing, with large-scale Russian troop demobilisations whilst a Syrian missile which caused panic at Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant is believed to be accidental.
Russia-Ukraine Tensions Slacken
Russia has announced that it will withdraw its troops from the country’s western border with Ukraine and from the Crimean peninsula, according to the Guardian. Whilst Russia claimed that the troop build up had been done for the purposes of conducting training exercises, many in western governments believed Russia was preparing to invade potentially Ukraine. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the objectives of the surprise exercise had now been completed. Presidents Biden and Putin spoke directly on the phone last week in an attempt to de-escalate tensions, leading to the cancellation of a U.S. warship deployment in the Black Sea and proposals for a bilateral summit to be held in the coming months.
Israel-Syria Relations
Israel has said that a Syrian missile which landed in Israel, setting off air raid sirens at the country’s secretive Dimona nuclear facility, was an accidental misfire rather than a deliberate attack. The landing of the missile in southern Israel produced retaliatory air strikes in Syria. ABC News reports that the Israeli missile defence system tried but failed to intercept the missile. Fragments of the Syrian missile were recovered twenty missile away from the nuclear facility.
Nuclear Power
Chernobyl After-Effects
The BBC carries a report today on a study conducted into the children of those workers involved in the clean up in the immediate aftermath of the nuclear power plant catastrophe at Chernobyl. Children conceived between 1987 and 2002 had their genomes screened. The study concluded that there was ‘no additional DNA damage’ to these children. The thirty-fifth anniversary of the disaster falls on Monday.
With best wishes,
Michael Muir
Press and Communications Officer
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament