European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 8, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday january 8. 1991 the stars and stripes Page 3 crisis in the Gull nuclear arms aboard ships desert Sosnos risk in Cost of fire. By Dave Diehl . Bureau sup hot fires could damage nuclear weapons that  ships might be carrying in the Middle East and trigger a chernobyl like disaster a British physicist says. However the scientist and a London based military expert said the Chance that a nuclear warhead would be exploded unintentionally during a War in the persian Gulf is very Small. _ since the . Buildup in saudi Arabia began it was assumed that . Forces would use nuclear weapons in retaliation for iraqi use of chemical weapons. Senior . Officials said Over the weekend however a that military leaders have decided against using nuclear or chemical arms in any kuwaiti War. In addition they said nuclear weapons Are stored aboard . Naval vessels in the Gulf Region but no Effort has been made to deploy them in saudi Arabia . Ships carrying the weapons could face a major threat from Saddam Hussein a exocet missiles which caused major damage on the frigate Stark in 1987 after they were fired accidentally at the warship. These French made sea skimming weapons could Start extremely hot fires on Board a ship. Such fires could melt Down a nuclear warhead casing or damage a shipboard nuclear reactor said Ian Bella by an atomic physicist and lecturer in politics at the University of Lancaster England. The fires could create an environmental disaster perhaps on the scale of the chernobyl reactor catastrophe in the soviet Union Bel Lany said. That Accident occurred in april 1986 when a reactor went out of control during an unauthorized Power Experiment. An explosion and. Fire in the reactors Core spewed Clouds of radiation Over the soviet Union and Europe. Up to 308 people have reportedly died in the aftermath of the Accident. On a ship a fire a might physically melt Down the casing of the devices and create burning pools of plutonium a Bellany said. A spill from a single warhead a which would typically be loaded with about 12 to 15 pounds of plutonium a would Likely affect a radius of about 100 Miles. He said such a fire would release smoke and radioactive oxides that would be carried by the prevailing winds. Bellany said that steel or titanium warhead casings would need to be exposed to temperatures of Between 1,000 and 2,000 degrees in order to be breached or dam 7 aged. Fires at such temperatures could be fuelled by such materials As Metal alloys weapon payloads and missile propellants. A such contingencies could not be ruled out especially at sea a Bellany said. A fires on Board some of the More modern ships can produce higher temperatures As a result of new material used on  damaged reactor aboard a ship could be much More troublesome a. Potentially affecting a 1,000-mile radius Bellany said. A reactor fire would release the More plentiful byproducts of a nuclear reactor such As the isotopes strontium and cerium. London based naval forces Magazine editor Anthony Preston thinks that such catastrophes Are unlikely thanks to the structural design of newer ships and the skills of their Crews. T Preston an expert on ship design said the giant . Nuclear powered aircraft carriers would probably have to be hit by a multitude of missiles before any kind of major damage could be done. A these ships Are so robust a he said. A the reactor compartment Isnit very big and its buried Down in the bowels of a ship a Preston noted that . Ships defensive systems such As the rapid fire Phalanx gun Are almost 100 percent effective at stopping threats like the exocet. He said he  Rule out what he thinks is a slim possibility of a nuclear disaster. A nothing is impossible but look at the Stark. The damage control parties kept the ship afloat a Preston said. A the . Navy a record of containing fires is very  Duncan Lennox a military expert in London said its unlikely that even something such As an iraqi launched exocet missile making a direct hit on a shipboard nuclear weapons Bay would create a catastrophic explosion. A i would say the Chance of a nuclear explosion is virtually Zero. In my View the likelihood of being shot by a Rifle Bullet is 50 times greater a said Lennox author of the Jane a yearbooks strategic weapons sys terns and air launched weapons. Bellany agreed a i would probably be prepared to take any kind of bet that an Accident of any kind would not happen a even in the event of War. The fail Safe procedures now Are very  by design nuclear warheads must be set off by a specific Chain of events that Arentt Likely to be triggered by Accident Bellany said. That explosive process is unlikely to be duplicated in any sort of Accident fire or Battle inflicted disaster aboard a ship or a weapons storage area on land. Gulf War could be catastrophe for environment scientists warn London apr if Iraq carries out its threat to blow up Kuwait soil Fields it would Start an inferno creating a suffocating 1,000-mile pall of smoke scientists told an International conference. Other scientists also made dire predictions about fires gases and millions of Gallons of  into the persian Gulf. Their comments came at the one Day conference fast week on the environmental consequences of a Gulf  conference was organized by Jordan and Brit ainu a Green party which believe a Gulf War would create the worlds worst environmental disaster. The meeting was attended by scientists environmental pressure groups British politicians and Middle East diplomats including the iraqi ambassador. Abdullah Toukan a nuclear physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of technology said blowing up the kuwaiti Oil Fields would ignite an inferno raise temperatures sharply and Advance global walking by 30 years. A this particular combat area is literally sitting on about 10 percent of the worlds Oil reserves a said Toukan who is also a scientific adviser to Jordan a King Hussein. A the amount of Carbon monoxide Carbon dioxide Fulfur dioxide and nitrous oxide will be tremendous in the atmosphere a he said. A a you la have global warming human and animal health deterioration. It will be a catastrophic  iraqi ambassador Azmi Al Salihi said his country was Quot aware of the consequences. But you have to address the aggressors those who want War a he said. A we want to avoid War and avoid  Iraq is believed to have mined the Oil Fields and has threatened to blow them up if the International Alliance ranged against it uses Force to end its 5-month-old occupation of Kuwait. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein first made the threat in Geneva two months ago during a conference on climate. A v 7 a a a a a a a since the invasion Toukan has been researching the possible effects of a fire in Kuwait a 1,000 Oil Wells. Toukan and several other scientists announced they will publish an emergency assessment of the environmental threat. Professor Richard scorer a meteorologist at London a Imperial College said the destruction of the Oil Wells would spread smoke across the Globe. A it could cover Baghdad it could cover Bombay. It would  round the world in a month a scorer told British broadcasting corp. Radio. A it is certain that any country adjacent to the North end of the Gulf would be at  scorer also said that a fire storms a similar to the w whirlwinds that followed the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945 a would hamper firefighting others warned that the smoke Cloud could Lead to the failure of the Monsoon Rains in Large parts of Asia. However Basil Butler former chief Petroleum Engineer with the Kuwait Oil co., argued  Well fires although a a very major  could be contained. Deedee Arrington Doke Iqbal a pakistani taxi Driver is anxious. So is rutty an Indian Butler. Then there s the hotel cleaning Man who begged a Western journalist for a Gas mask. And they re not alone. Hundreds of thousands of foreign Wakers who came to saudi Arabia to build Bank accounts for houses and to support families Back Home Are trapped much like those caught in Kuwait after Iraq invaded. But instead of foreign invaders economic and logistical factors Are keeping them from escaping. S the workers often from third world countries generally come to saudi Arabia with two year contracts to do the jobs saudis wont. Upon arrival they hand their passports Over to sponsors usually their employers who paid their air fare. 7 its not uncommon for the workers to discover once they get Here that their contracts provide them with less Money than they originally were promised by headhunting employment agencies Back Home. Payments to sponsors to repay air fares and other built in charges further shrink their paychecks. For Many workers travel is also restricted to their immediate area of employment. To travel to Riyadh say from Dhahran they must have their sponsors permission. 7 most put up with it Doc. They done to have Many alternatives. Its a recognized form of indentured employment in Many countries worldwide. But it now poses problems for workers who want to go Home before the Jan. 15 . Deadline Lor Iraq to leave Kuwait. For employers letting the workers go Means substantial financial losses and jobs that go unfilled. And even if the workers could wrest their passports and Back pay from their sponsors if May be too late to find space on a flight out. Most outbound lights Are fully booked until after Jan. 15. A no scats to Europe available until after the 20th,�?� said a clerk at a Riyadh travel Agency a none to the United states until the 26th.�?� some believing that the los Angl is he Metropolis of Dhahran. On saudi arabians East coast is a sure scud missile target plan to escape to the West coast by car caravan if War erupts. After a 16-hour drive they then will try to catch flights but from there. Among those planning such a move is a group of pakistanis who operate handicrafts stores. I heir sponsor has agreed to let them go a clerk said. A i Shallah god willing ,.we will be Safe a he said with a sad smile and a look toward heaven. Other scenes of saudi Arabia it there a a contest on at a ritzy hotel in Riyadh. Each guest has been asked to cast a vote for the a most cheery smiling  or something like that. It was a Tough Choice. Clerks the gift shop cashier the room service waiter the restaurant  the maitre do Alj smiled like nobody a business. I  decide. Not one smile Donnie a kilowatt when they asked me the same question id heard 100 times since arriving in saudi Arabia a do you think there a going to be a War a a a Day is approaching. Its Short for Kuwait Day or Jan. 15, the . Deadline. Quot the term was coined by the Arab news a saudi based English language newspaper that claims a Day will Mark the Day a not necessarily. Of invasion but of  a a Iraq had its night aug.,2. So too will Kuwait have its Day again a the newspaper stated. Proud words that reflect the a free Kuwait a Campaign which is illustrated by bumper stickers hats buttons and posters passed out by the local Kuwait information Bureau. A a pharmacy near the local Safeway stocked 41 Gas masks last month displaying the masks and their Gray carrying cases in the store window along with children a toys and designer cosmetics. They Cost 450 saudi rivals or about $125, each. All have been sold. A it does no to matter a a clerk shrugged wearily. A they done to do any  the stars and stripes