Nuclear weapons

Press, 18 March 1982, Page 20

Nuclear weapons

Sir,—Declaration of a city as a “nuclear weapons free zone” is more than a declaration to exclude nuclear weapons from the region. The declaration is now understood to include the rejection of the use of nuclear weapons in “defence” of that city, under any circumstances. This aspect far outweighs in its implicattions all other aspects. Should all the cities of New Zealand make such declarations the Government’s mandate for continued participation in A.N.Z.U.S. would no longer exist. For the A.N.Z.U.S. alliance clearly admits the possibility of United States-initiated nuclear warfare in the Pacific. Citizens of declared “nuclear weapons free zones” should recognise the far-reaching significance of their stand against nuclear warfare in any of its conceivable forms. — Yours, etc., K. FEA. March 17, 1982. Sir,—ln the article by Dr N. E. Whitehead of the Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Wellington (“The Press," March 17) the opinion was stated that nuclear scientists were not very confident the public will bother to seek the facts. This opinion is interesting because in one paragraph of his article I detected no less than three errors of fact. The offending paragraph states: “New Zealand’s nearest approach to a nuclear reactor is at Ham University — a neutron multiplier, but so old-fashioned and weak that no-one really wants it.” The facts are that the university, located at Ilam, is properly called the University of Canterbury and that, because of a reassessment of research and educational priorities last year, its nuclear reactor was dismantled and shipped to one of the organisations wishing to make use of its potential — the Institute of Nuclear Sciences in Wellington. Old this reactor may be, but because reactor styles do not change rapidly, it cannot be termed oldfashioned. — Yours, etc., D. J. BYERS, Senior Lecturer in

Electrical Engineering, University of Canterbury. March 17, 1982.

Sir,—l congratulate the Christchurch City Council and the Lyttelton Borough Council on the creation of nuclear weapons" free zones in these areas. It is a step forward. I would like to clear up a few misconceptions of Helen Garrett and people who think like her. Nuclear power has not been around for a long time; it is in fact very young. Nuclear medicine is at least 50 years older than power and weapons fall in between. Nuclear medicine came to the fore with the discovery of X-rays (1895 by Rontgen) and developed considerably during World War I when used in battle injury diagnoses. Nuclear weapons were researched before and during World War II and finally used in August, 1945, on Japan. Only after this do we get the euphemistic phrase of “atoms for peace” and the first power station in 1956. Some of the waste products of nuclear power stations are of military value. Yes, I do support the City Council in its efforts to stop the nuclear lunacy. — Yours, etc., MIA TAY. March 16, 1982.