Atelier 9, article 2

© Shell Oil Company and nuclear waste dumping : an accusation
by John A. Dyer(*)
johndyer@nuclearcrimes.com
(November 29, 2000)

For the past thirteen years, I, John Alfred Dyer, have been researching the decommissioning, in 1968, of Shell's -Thornton Research Centre’s -research (top-secret/military) nuclear reactor/testing cell. My research primarily concerns the fact that Shell’s decommissioning turned from a pre-planned criminal act, into a criminal disaster (this is an understatement, of some proportions). The decommissioning turned into the said disaster, as Shell unable to separate, and retrieve ‘its’ mandatory high-level, and other, materials/waste, from the reactors 'vast' biological shield, ordered and sanctioned the wholesale (mass) disposal/dumping, of its top-secret nuclear reactor/testing cell’s materials/waste. The fact that the said nuclear materials/waste, was disposed/dumped onto some of the most densely populated sectors of the United Kingdom has resulted in Shell deliberately fabricating, at the highest level, a fraudulent, sham 2900 word Narrative (defence), as part of the Group’s attempt(s)/campaign to cover-up the truth of its nuclear dumping, and other, crimes. A Narrative that resulted in the 'killing' of a television programme that would have exposed Shell's nuclear dumping crimes.

· In 1988, I came to comprehend the significance of the nuclear dumping allegation(s), first made to me in/from 1971. The personnel making the allegation(s) had allegedly been employed to decommission ‘nuclear facilities’ in 1968, at Shell Research Limited’s-Thornton Research Centre, Cheshire, England.

· The individuals made the most shocking, series of allegation(s), concerning wholesale nuclear dumping, which (allegedly) included the nuclear isotope Strontium-90.

· In 1993, following five years of research, my findings resulted in the commissioning of a television program for 'Carlton Television'. Shell quickly responded. Investigators kept me under surveillance, my telephone was tapped, my mail intercepted. At the same time, Shell filed a seemingly endless line of complaints, concerning my 'alleged' conduct.

· Having instigated the above strategy, Shell, within a few days of the proposed transmission date (10 February 1994), produced an extensive, detailed, 2900 word ‘Narrative’ to set-out its official defence/position. Briefly, the Narrative was to the effect that: -

‘Yes, a nuclear facility had been demolished at Shell Thornton, in 1968. However, it was, Shell claimed, a low-level (radiation) Cobalt-60 nuclear labyrinth/building- not the nuclear reactor/testing cell that I had alleged.' In short, I had got it wrong!

· I have now established that Shell (perfectly aware of the truth of the proposed programme, i. e. the witness/evidence (and I) had not got it 'wrong'), knowingly fabricated a fraudulent, sham Narrative (7 February 1994), to cover-up the Group's wholesale nuclear dumping(s) crimes.

· Shell's fraudulent sham, Narrative (along with its media contacts, and campaign of personal vilification) resulted in the ‘cancellation’ of the said television programme. A programme that would have exposed Shell's wholesale nuclear dumping(s) crimes.
v · In consequence, the illegal mass disposal/dumping of Shell's nuclear materials/waste onto some of the most densely populated sectors of the United Kingdom, was 'successfully' covered up.
v · In continuance of the Shell Group's policy of suppressing the truth of its nuclear dumping and other crimes, a mere matter of days after this WEB Site's inauguration, Shell, instructed D J Freeman, the Group’s lawyers in this matter, to contact my (former) WEB host 'easyspace'. Having refused to issue proceedings, in an outrageous act of censorship, Shell, connived with my former WEB host to ‘silence’ this site, by taking it off the Internet (1/11/00). I am pleased to inform you that I now have a more ethical/robust host. However, Shell not content with its unethical record/behaviour, in censoring this site, instructed the Group’s lawyers, D J Freeman, who have now (22/11/00) sent/written a ‘warning’ letter to my present (ethical) WEB host. Following Freeman’s (unsuccessful) letter signed by Sajjad Nadi, Shell unable to frighten off my present WEB host, is now desperately, attempting to have the entire WEB domain closed down, involving hundreds of sites, in order to stop the contents of this site becoming public knowledge! To threaten perfectly innocent people/parties, while refusing to sue me, is truly outrageous, unethical, and cowardly. I now give Shell clear notice that if they do not desist from harassing perfectly innocent, decent people, solely in order to stop the Group's nuclear dumping crimes being exposed, I shall have no other option but to distribute leaflets to those sectors of the UK, most affected by Shell’s illegal mass nuclear dumping(s). This will entail the leafleting of hundreds of thousands of households. I am determined that Shell’s (continuation of its) policies of concealing/censoring its nuclear crimes is not going to succeed.

· Rather than carry out these reprehensible acts Shell, if it disputes that;
v 1. It hired known criminal(s), with a history of illegal disposal of nuclear materials/waste, to decommission its 'Thornton' nuclear reactor/testing cell.

2. It paid the said ‘criminals’ a six-figure CASH sum (at to-days prices), to secretly, and illegally, decommission its secret 'Thornton' nuclear reactor/testing cell.

3. It ordered and sanctioned the wholesale illegal mass dumping(s) of ‘Thornton’s’ nuclear materials/waste.

4. That the said nuclear materials/waste, was disposed (dumped) onto some the most densely populated sectors of the United Kingdom.

5. It fabricated a knowingly fraudulent, sham Narrative, to cover up its crimes.

6. Furthermore, if Shell disputes the other enclosed allegations, as set out.

(Shell) will now issue legal proceedings -as per its issued threats:

‘They (Shell) would however, have no hesitation in protecting their reputation from defamatory attacks.’

'If you believe Shell to have been guilty of a cover up of the events in 1968, you are free to make the allegation public subject to the warning that Shell will take whatever action it sees fit in order to protect its reputation from false attacks.'

Shell's threats, panic and desperation, arise precisely because the Group is aware that the allegations are true, hence it will not risk its 'files' (the truth) being exposed. Consequently, no legal proceedings have been issued by Shell and 'associates', nor will they. Despite clear prior notice of this WEB site, and its contents, Shell's specific threats- that it 'would not hesitate' to issue 'writs', should I publish the allegations, proved worthless. For the issuing of 'writs' involves the revealing, or the risk of revealing, Shell's own documents via discovery (legal process). Accordingly, Shell will not sue, and thereby risk exposing/defeating the Group's 'brazen it out- admit nothing' strategy.

Background

From the early 1950's, Shell was engaged in an extensive programme of nuclear research in the United Kingdom (and elsewhere). The said research was primarily military-based. The UK research programs involved the construction of a nuclear research reactor/testing cell at Shell's Thornton Research Centre, Cheshire, (part of the Group's Stanlow oil refinery complex). The programs and the reactor/testing cell's construction, location and operation, were all carried out under the highest level of security. In 1968 (for reasons not appropriate for disclosure at this juncture), the reactor was decommissioned, i.e. demolished.

A relatively small amount (in tonnage terms), of the most dangerous elements of the waste, was planned to have been retrieved and safely reprocessed. Scientists' from the United Kingdom's 'Atomic Energy Authority' (UKAEA) Harwell, were on Shell's Thornton site to ‘collect’ and remove the most highly toxic elements (high-level waste), as per plan. The residue of the waste was planned, and was, to have been illegally dumped. To achieve this, a contractor with a history of illegal disposal of nuclear material, was specifically sought and engaged to decommission Shell's nuclear reactor/testing cell, and, dump the remainder of the nuclear materials/waste. The chosen contractor(s), who had/have known criminal records, were paid a six figure sum (at today’s prices), and in cash!

In fact, the reactor's decommissioning did not go to plan, as it actually proved impossible to separate, and, consequently retrieve the most highly toxic/dangerous (high-level) waste, from its 'vast' biological shield. In short, it was a disaster. As Shell and Harwell’s ‘scientists’ became increasingly desperate to obtain the (mandatory) nuclear ‘materials’, without success, the position grew increasingly frantic. As a result, of the (total) failure to separate and retrieve the said nuclear waste, Harwell's staff left, empty handed. Shortly after Harwell's 'departure', and only after Harwell's complete departure with its remote retrieval equipment, and protective gear, Shell ordered the wholesale mass dumping, involving many thousands of tonnes, of its nuclear material/’waste’, which included, amongst others, the nuclear isotope Strontium-90. Almost unbelievably, parts of this waste was subsequently utilised in the construction of a housing estate, medical facilities, shops, schools and leisure facilities, which were built on either the waste or its surroundings. Furthermore, part of the said nuclear materials/waste was 'stored' and later sold on, by the haulage contractor engaged to transport/remove the waste- off Shell's Thornton site. Tragically, Shell's nuclear materials/waste is/are dumped/located in some of the most densely populated sectors of the United Kingdom. The implications for countless tens of thousands of people who reside, or have resided, in those areas were the materials/waste is ‘dumped’, are devastating.

The demolished reactors’ 'waste' included the nuclear isotope Strontium-90. Radioisotopes such as Sr.-90 and Caesium 137 occur in irradiated fuel elements-nuclear reactors. The nuclear isotope Sr-90 (half-life 28 years) is one of the most dangerous of all nuclear products. Strontium 90, due to its long-life, remains hazardous for centuries!

I further established that the wives of both, the sub-contractor and his foreman, employed to decommission Shell's nuclear facilities gave birth to a number of ‘deformed’ children, following the said decommissioning. In addition, there were a further number of other such births and miscarriages experienced (post Thornton) by the wives of the 'decommissioners'. The condition of the said newborn was such that both sets of parents were independently advised that not only would their newborn not survive; furthermore, they were informed that viewing would only prove distressing. Following a number of such births the sub-contractor demanded to see his newborn child. He was distraught beyond words to discover that the newborn child’s head had not 'properly' formed. The child, as per the others, was allowed to die within hours of its birth. The decommissioning 'workers', and others, were offered neither advice nor protection, by Shell at its secret nuclear decommissioning.

In view of the seriousness of the allegations, I undertook, following Shell's success in having 'my' television programme 'dropped', in 1994, to continue establish the truth, hence I continued my research.

In light of my experience with Shell- its shameless and effortless ability to lie, combined with its media contacts, influence, its power and ability to threaten and pursue legal means to silence ‘critics’- demanded a level of evidence far beyond that which could be considered reasonable. Consequently, the volume of evidence (hence research), required would need to be overwhelming. I had to establish whether, or not, Shell's Cobalt-60 labyrinth was the ‘building’ that had been decommissioned in 1968- as Shell claimed. If not, I needed to uncover what had been decommissioned at Thornton in 1968. Its history, purpose and the reasons for selecting and employing known 'criminals', and paying them enormous cash sums to carry out the nuclear decommissioning and (pre-planned) wholesale dumping of the nuclear materials/waste’.

I had established, by 1988, that Shell's (Cobalt-60) Narrative of the 7 February 1994, was 'a tissue of lies from start to finish'.

In late 1998, I (re) contacted Shell, with the hope they would now react to my research findings/disclosures with, at least, a degree of responsibility. Initially, Shell's policy was to ignored me. When I started to reveal, parts of, my evidence, the strategy quickly changed. In the face of my revelations (findings), Shell's 1994 Narrative became untenable. As a consequence, Shell's legal head/director (Richard Max Wiseman) conceded/informed that Shell's 1994 narrative was ‘a mistake’. After two years of endeavouring to 'persuade' Shell to face up to the consequences of its '1968' criminal acts, i.e. act responsibly to the victim's of its nuclear dumping, I am forced to conclude that I have no other alternative than to publish and sue, (as I informed the multinationals heads):
v 'Shell ordered and sanctioned the ‘dumping’ of thousands of tons, let me repeat it once again so there can be no possible misunderstanding -thousands of tons of nuclear, nuclear contaminated, radioactive and other ‘waste’, as a deliberate act of policy. Furthermore, you (Shell) employed known criminals, with a record of illegally ‘disposing’ of nuclear ‘materials’, to carry out the demolition-or to use the more widely accepted term decommission-and subsequently, as per your design and instructions, illegally dispose/dump the resulting ‘waste’.’ Letter to Shell' s legal head 'Countless tens of thousands of our fellow citizens are about to receive just about the most devastating news possible, and in the most improper manner without any warning or counselling. Mindful of this, I have endeavoured to behave in the most responsible manner and consequently treated all parties equally and fairly, only to find I am confronted with a deeply cynical and corrupt multinational corporation. Despite this, you will recall in my very first letter to you, I once again offered to hand over my evidence; this was contemptuously rejected without concern expressed or otherwise, for Shell’s victims.’ Letter to Shell's 'newly' appointed lawyers.

(*)John Alfred Dyer is solely responsible for the research findings and consequent allegations against the Shell Group, contained in the WEB site : http://www.nuclearcrimes.com .

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