4 - Sunday, November 26 , 1989 ~ North Shore News BoB HUNTER THE FIRST time I ever saw whales in the wild was ina channel just south of Ketchican, Alaska. They were fin whales, moving along like what 1 took at first to be sub- marines. Should I ever get back up there again, and should I see something large moving in the water, the chances are it won't be whales. It’! be Tridents and Seawolf-class at- tack subs. These boats are like bad science-fiction nightmare versions of mechanical whales — Jules narne’s Nautilus come to deadly e. Trident submarines each carry 24 ballistic missiles, with a range of 7,000 kilometres. In other words, each one of those craft can wipe out an entire city, They are the most destructive — and at a cost of $1.3 billion each, among the most expensive — machines ever built. **,,.the U.S. and Soviet navies carry Jrom 15,000 to 16,000 nuclear weapons. As a result of various accidents, there are now roughly 48 nuclear warheads and seven nuclear- powered reactors on the bottom of the world’s oceans.’’ The rank of costliest, however, goes to the new Seawolf-class subs, priced at $1.7 billion, now being built. When construction finishes, they will be the first ‘‘stealth’’ vessels, meaning they will be the most sijent-running submarines in the world. They are, of course, attack subs, intended to bottle the Soviet navy up in its northern ports. There’s one snag so far as the Seawolf is concerned. As yet, the U.S. Navy doesn’t have any facility for testing the ef- fectivencss of its stealth systems, since there is too much ambient noise from civilization around at any existing bases. Thus the plan to build a $35- million facility near Ketchikan, the main function of which will be acoustic measurement. This means underwater cables, mooring and blinking beacons. In addition to the base, the navy plans to establish restricted and off-limits areas to prevent Alaskan and Canadian (and for that matter Japanese, Taiwanese, etc.) fish- ermen, with their engines and nets, from intruding on submarine tests. I don’t suppose the whales will be welcome either. Skeena MP Jim Fulton points out that there has been no en- vironmental impact analysis of the effects of the base on fishing, or, for that matter, on the 35,000 mostly-Canadian inhabitants of the nearby area. He also observes that the straits around eastern and northern Prince of Wales Island are un- suitable for transit by gigantic nu- clear submarines because they are relatively narrow and heavily-used by small vessels. The inevitable result, he says, is that the American subs will be us- ing Dixon Entrance, just off the coast from Prince Rupert, on their way in and out of the new base on Behm Canal, 40 kilometres nor- theast of Ketchikan. This will result in the entrance becoming a ‘‘nuclear submarine highway.”’ The presence of the Tridents and Seawolves will naturally attract Soviet submarines on surveillance missions, which will double the traffic and substantially increase the chances of an accident. Lest anyone think for a minute that there aren’t going to be acci- dents, or that nuclear submarines are somehow ‘“‘safe,”’ I refer you to recent newspaper reports citing a dramatic increase in the number of naval mishaps, enough to prompt emergency safety hearings at the congressional level. For a deeper understanding of the risks, however, I suggest you get hold of a joint report issued last summer by Gre -npeace and the Institute for Pc iicy Studies, which documented 1,276 nuclear accidents by the navies of the world since the end of the Second World War. Of these, 359 involved nuclear submarines. And they are only the ones about which documentation could be obtained, despite obsessively tight secrecy rules. The actual mumber is presumably much higher. The report notes that, between them, the U.S. and Soviet navies carry from 15,000 to 16,000 nu- clear weapons. As a result of various accidents, there are now roughly 48 nuclear warheads and seven nuclear-powered reactors on the bottom of the world’s oceans. The U.S. Navy, in fact, has a picturesque phrase to describe a nuclear weapons accident. It’s called a ‘‘Broken Arrow.’’ How poetic! So far as submarines are specifically concerned, at least five and possibly six Soviet and Ameri- can nuclear subs have been lost at sea, and there have been 40 other incidents involving damaged or destroyed nuclear reactors. It is estimated that there are al- ready 389 nuclear-powered vessels worldwide, driven by 586 marine reactors. Nuclear vessels, just like any other vessels, are vulnerable to fires, floods, mechanical breakdowns. They can sink, col- lide, run aground, or even run into whales. At least one case of a reactor meltdown at sea has been re- corded. It occurred in 1967 on the Soviet icebreaker Lenin. A second such meltdown is rumored to have happened in the late seventies aboard an Alfa-class submarine in the Barents Sea. Even if these were Soviet vessels, the fact that the American presence will attract them to the Dixon Entrance area has the potential to expose everyone living up there to the risk of a seagoing Chernobyl. Congratulations to Jim Fulton for raising the issue. But J have absolutely no hope that the spineless Mulroney government will do anything other than roll over tike a puppy and acquiesce in whatever the Americans demand by way of transit privileges for their megadeath machinese W. VAN SANTA CLAUS FUND, N. VAN CHRISTMAS BUREAU Food depot volunteers needed THE NORTH Shore is the last place you’d find the needy. Right? Wrong. By ELIZABETH COLLINGS News Reporter Last Christmas more than 450 food hampers were distributed to families in North and West Van- couver. This year the season of giving is already under way. The News is again sponsoring food depot locations in North and West Vancouver in support of the North Vancouver Christmas Bureau and the West Vancouver Santa Claus Fund. ‘People are traditionally very late in deciding to donate food. But it’s important that people give between Dec. 1 and Dec. 15 for their gift to count,”’ said Dorinda Emery, promotions manager of the North Shore News. The West Van Otters Swim Club has volunteered to pick up food from the depots, but more hands are needed. “Right now I don’t have any volunteers to do the depots in North Vancouver, I’d really like an organization or service club to lend a hand,’’ Emery said. The News is also sponsoring Trees of Christmas Giving in Lonsdale Quay and Park Royal south. These trees provide a place where people can drop off che- ques. The Evergreen Progress Club has already volunteered to man the booth at the Quay, but people are still needed for the Park Royal location. All food, toys and money gifts donated this Christmas through the News locations will be sent to the West Vancouver Santa Claus Fund and the North Vancouver Christmas Bureau to te distributed to needy families. For a list of the food depot loca- tions, see the ad in the Friday, Dec. | edition of the News. Volunteers can call Emery at 985-2131. For more information on dona- tions, residents can call the Christmas Bureau at 984-XMAS. And non-perishable food and toy" donations for the West Vancouver Santa Claus Fund can be dropped off at the No. i Firehall at 16th and Fulton after Dec. 1. For more information, call 922-6522. , ANNOUNCEMENT The last weekend of the month we will clear our shop of ali existing stock at the lowest possible prices. This sale is only 3 Days — November 26, 27th & 28th. WHILE STOCK LASTS! 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