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GREENPEACE PRESS CONFERENCES

Filename:96412194
PATHFINDER RECORD NUMBER: 12194
GENDATE:         950629
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TEXT:            
ENVELOPE CDSN = LGX191 MCN = 91288/19039 TOR = 912881639
PTTCZYUW RUEKJCS5077 2881639---RUEALGX.
ZNY 
HEADER P 151639Z OCT 91
FM JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEAHQA/CSAF WASHINGTON DC
RUFGAID/USEUCOM AIDES VAIHINGEN GE
RHEPAAB/TAC IDHS LANGLEY AFB VA//IDHS//
RHCGSRB/COMUSARCENT FT MCPHERSON GA//AFRD-DSO//
RUEOACC/CDRPSYOP GP FT BRAGG NC//ASOF-POG-SB//
RUWSMXI/MAC INTEL CEN SCOTT AFB IL//IN//
RUCJACC/USCINCCENT MACDILL AFB FL//CARA//
RUCQVAB/USCINCSOC INTEL OPS CEN MACDILL AFB FL
RUQYSDG/FOSIF ROTA SP
RUEOFAA/COMJSOC FT BRAGG NC//J2//
RUEALGX/SAFE
P 151610Z OCT 91
FM AMEMBASSY KUWAIT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3933
INFO RUCPDC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0247
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0005
RUEHZM/GCC COLLECTIVE
BT
CONTROLS 

LIMITED OFFICIAL USE SECTION 01 OF 03 KUWAIT 05077

DEPARTMENT PASS EPA FOR TIM TITUS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP, EB/OGE, CA/OCS, M/MED AND OES/ENV

USDOC FOR NOAA FOR JOHN ROBINSON

NAIROBI FOR WATCHLEY

E.O. 12356:N/A

/*********** THIS IS A COMBINED MESSAGE ************/
BODY TAGS: SENV, AMED, AMGT, CASC, KU
SUBJ: GREENPEACE PRESS CONFERENCES

REF: KUWAIT 4723

1. SUMMARY: CONDEMNING "THE VEIL OF SECRECY" THAT HAS
SHROUDED ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE GULF,
GREENPEACE TEAM LEADER PETER HORSMAN DEMANDED AT PRESS
CONFERENCES IN KUWAIT SEPTEMBER 20 AND BAHRAIN OCTOBER 7
AN INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO SAVE THE PEOPLE OF THE GULF
FROM THE HAZARDS OF KUWAIT'S OIL FIRES. IN KUWAIT'S
CASE, IN PARTICULAR, HE DEMANDED AN EXPANDED AIR QUALITY
MONITORING SYSTEM, FULL PUBLICATION OF THE MONITORING
RESULTS, DEVELOPMENT OF AN ADEQUATE AIR POLLUTION
WARNING AND RESPONSE SYSTEM AND LONG TERM STUDIES ON THE
HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS OF THE FIRES -- ALL OF WHICH, IN
FACT, HAD LONG SINCE BEEN PLANNED AND IS NOW FIRMLY IN
PLACE IN KUWAIT. END SUMMARY

2. CONCLUDING A SURVEY MISSION IN KUWAIT, WHICH WAS
CONDUCTED IN PART WITH THE AID OF A MOBILE AIR QUALITY
MONITORING LABORATORY, GREENPEACE TEAM LEADER PETER
HORSMAN HELD TWO PRESS CONFERENCES ON SEPTEMBER 20 (IN
KUWAIT) AND ON OCTOBER 7 (IN BAHRAIN) AT WHICH HE CALLED
FOR A COORDINATED INTERNATIONAL EFFORT TO SAVE THE
PEOPLE OF KUWAIT AND SURROUNDING NATIONS FROM WHAT HE
TERMED "THE SERIOUS HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS
ARISING FROM THE KUWAIT OIL FIRES." CONDEMNING "THE
VEIL OF SECRECY" WHICH HE MAINTAINED HAD SURROUNDED
ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENTS IN THE GULF, HORSMAN CALLED
FOR AN EXPANDED AIR MONITORING SYSTEM IN KUWAIT, FULL
PUBLICATION OF THE MONITORING RESULTS, DEVELOPMENT OF AN
ADEQUATE PUBLIC WARNING AND RESPONSE SYSTEM FOR AIR
POLLUTION EVENTS IN KUWAIT AND LONG TERM STUDIES ON THE
HUMAN HEALTH EFFECTS OF THE FIRES.

3. MAKING HIS CASE FOR THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, HORSMAN
CHARGED THAT KUWAIT WAS FACING AN ENVIRONMENTAL
CATASTROPHE OF "MONUMENTAL PROPORTIONS." IN HIS WORDS,
"OIL FIRES ARE STILL BURNING, OIL IS STILL LEAKING INTO
THE SEA, AND TOXIC CHEMICALS ARE RAINING DOWN ON
EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING." HORSMAN ALSO STATED THAT
INFORMATION "LEAKED" TO GREENPEACE TEAM MEMBERS BY
KUWAITI SCIENTISTS INDICATED THAT AIR QUALITY MONITORS
IN KUWAIT HAD FOUND CONCENTRATIONS OF CANCER-CAUSING
HYDRO-CARBONS THAT WERE 80 TIMES HIGHER THAN PERMISSIBLE
LEVELS IN THE UNITED STATES. HE ALSO STATED THAT
"HEALTH EXPERTS" HAD TOLD THE TEAM THAT THEY ANTICIPATED
"A LONG TERM INCREASE IN PULMONARY DISEASE, LUNG AND
SKIN CANCERS AND EYE DAMAGE" IN KUWAIT AS A RESULT OF
THE OIL FIRES.

4. IN REGARD TO THE GREENPEACE TEAM'S SPECIFIC WORK IN
KUWAIT, HOWEVER, HORSMAN'S COMMENTS SOMEWHAT
CONTRADICTED HIS GENERAL THESIS OF A SLOWLY UNFOLDING
CATACLYSM IN THE GULF. HORSMAN STATED THAT GREENPEACE
HAD CONDUCTED A TEN DAY SURVEY OF AIR QUALITY USING A
MOBILE MONITORING LAB, BUT NOTED THAT THE SAMPLES
GREENPEACE HAD TAKEN WERE "STILL AWAITING FINAL
ANALYSIS". HE ALSO CONCEDED THAT "IT WAS CLEAR THAT
KUWAIT CITY READINGS FOR GASEOUS POLLUTANTS WERE WELL
BELOW WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION STANDARDS." IN
ADDITION, HE INDICATED THAT A MARINE SURVEY CONDUCTED BY
GREENPEACE HAD FOUND THAT THE OFFSHORE REEFS AT KUBAR
ISLAND AND UMM AL MARADEN "DID NOT SHOW ANY VISIBLE SIGN
OF DAMAGE". THOSE RESULTS, HOWEVER, WERE ALSO "AWAITING
FINAL STUDY".

-------
COMMENT
-------

5. THE GREENPEACE PRESENTATIONS IN KUWAIT AND BAHRAIN
WERE A CURIOUS COMBINATION OF EXCELLENT RECOMMENDATIONS
-- MOST OF WHICH ARE ALREADY BEING IMPLEMENTED -- AND A
TRULY ATROCIOUS FACTUAL REPORT THAT POORLY REFLECTS THE
SITUATION ON THE GROUND IN KUWAIT. THE COMMENT, FOR
INSTANCE, REGARDING REPORTS OF HYDROCARBON

/****** BEGINNING OF SECTION 002 ******/
CONCENTRATIONS IN KUWAIT CITY AT 80 TIMES THE
PERMISSIBLE LEVELS IN THE UNITED STATES, WHICH
GREENPEACE ATTRIBUTED TO INFORMATION LEAKED TO THEM BY
KUWAITI SCIENTISTS, HAS -- ACCORDING TO GERMAN
SCIENTISTS FAMILIAR WITH THE DATA -- APPARENTLY BASED ON
ONE MALFUNCTIONING MONITOR, WHOSE READINGS WERE NEVER
DUPLICATED BY ANY OTHER IN KUWAIT. SIMILARLY, THE
REPORT FROM KUWAITI HEALTH EXPERTS THAT THEY ANTICIPATED
AN INCREASE IN CANCERS AND HEART AND LUNG DISEASE WAS
PROBABLY TRUE, BUT APPARENTLY BASED ON NOTHING MORE THAN
IDLE SPECULATION.

6. ON THE OTHER HAND, WHEREEVER GREENPEACE ACTUALLY
CONDUCTED VERIFIABLE SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, THEIR FINDINGS
TRACKED CLOSELY WITH WHAT WE HAVE HEARD ELSEWHERE. AS
PETER HORSMAN NOTED, CHEMICAL POLLUTANTS HAVE TO DATE
GENERALLY REMAINED AT VERY LOW LEVELS WITHIN KUWAIT CITY
THANKS TO PREVAILING SUMMER WINDS. SIMILARLY, THERE IS
YET LITTLE EVIDENCE OF ANY SEVERE AND LASTING DAMAGE TO
THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT AS A RESULT OF THE REPEATED
SPILLS THAT TOOK PLACE IN KUWAITI WATERS DURING THE
FINAL DAYS OF THE GULF WAR.

7. FINALLY, AND PERHAPS MOST SERIOUSLY, GREENPEACE, IN
ITS PRESS CONFERENCES, GAVE LITTLE CREDIT TO THE
GOVERNMENTS OF THIS REGION FOR THE STEPS THEY HAVE TAKEN
TO COME TO TERMS WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHES
THAT RESULTED FROM THE GULF WAR. KUWAIT, FOR INSTANCE,
HAS ALREADY ESTABLISHED AN EXTENSIVE AIR QUALITY
MONITORING SYSTEM, BASED ON THREE FIXED AND TWO MOBILE
STATIONS. ORIGINALLY EQUIPPED TO MONITOR GASEOUS
POLLUTANTS SUCH AS SULFUR DIOXIDE, OXIDES OF NITROGEN,
OZONE, AND CARBON MONOXIDE ON A REAL-TIME BASIS, THIS
SYSTEM HAS BEEN AUGMENTED OVER THE PAST WEEK WITH
REAL-TIME PM-10 MONITORS THAT WILL ALLOW THE GOK TO
MONITOR CONTINUOUSLY CONCENTRATIONS OF THESE SMALL
PARTICLES (LESS THAN 10 MICRONS IN DIAMETER) WHICH
HEALTH EXPERTS NOW BELIEVE ARE LIKELIEST TO POSE A LONG
TERM THREAT TO HUMAN HEALTH IN KUWAIT.

7. KUWAIT HAS ALSO PUBLISHED -- AS GREENPEACE
RECOMMENDED -- THE VAST MAJORITY OF DATA IT HAS
COLLECTED FROM THESE MONITORING STATIONS IN REGULAR
MONTHLY REPORTS WHICH NOW RUN FROM MARCH THROUGH
AUGUST. THE COVERAGE OF THESE REPORTS HAS ALSO EXPANDED
AS NEW EQUIPMENT HAS BEEN BROUGHT ON LINE. AS A RESULT,
THEY NOW COVER THE FULL RANGE OF CHEMICAL POLLUTANTS AND
PARTICULATES IN KUWAIT, WITH ALL READINGS BROKEN DOWN BY
SITE AND DATE.

8. THIRDLY, KUWAIT HAS INSTITUTED A GENERAL PUBLIC
HEALTH ALERT AND RESPONSE SYSTEM, TO COPE WITH ANY HINT
OF A SEVERE AIR POLLUTION EPISODE. UNDER THIS SYSTEM,
AN ALERT WILL BE SOUNDED, IF AIR POLLUTANT LEVELS EXCEED
U.S. HEALTH ALERT STANDARDS AT ANY OF THE FIVE OPERATING
STATIONS IN KUWAIT. THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THIS GENERAL
RULE IS IN THE CASE OF PM-10 (PARTICLES OF LESS THAN 10
MICRONS DIAMETER), WHERE THE KUWAITI HEALTH ALERT
STANDARD HAS BEEN SET AT 500 MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER
OVER A PERIOD OF FOUR HOURS (VERSUS THE U.S. STANDARD OF
350 MICROGRAMS PER CUBIC METER FOR 24 HOURS) IN ORDER TO
TAKE ACCOUNT OF BOTH THE NORMALLY HIGHER BACKGROUND
LEVEL OF PM-10 IN KUWAIT AND THE POTENTIAL DANGER TO
HEALTH POSED BY SUCH HIGH PARTICULATE CONCENTRATIONS
OVER EVEN RELATIVELY SHORT PERIODS OF TIME.

9. FOURTH, THE GOK HAS COOPERATED WITH THE WHO AND
OTHER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN DEVELOPING THE
LONGTERM HEALTH STUDIES THAT GREENPEACE HAS
RECOMMENDED. THREE IN PARTICULAR ARE CURRENTLY UNDER
DEVELOPMENT. THE FIRST INVOLVES THE MONITORING OF
ASTHMATIC'S RESPIRATORY PROBLEMS, WITH A VIEW TO
CORRELATING THOSE PROBLEMS WITH AIR POLLUTION DATA. THE
SECOND IS A LONG TERM STUDY, WHICH WILL TRACK THE HEALTH

/****** BEGINNING OF SECTION 003 ******/
OF 400 KUWAITIS THOROUGH REGULAR PULMONARY LUNG FUNCTION
TESTS. THE LAST IS THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION' HEAL
STUDY, WHICH IS INTENDED TO MEASURE EXPOSURE TO AIR
POLLUTION BY EQUIPPING A SAMPLE POPULATION WITH PERSONAL
EXPOSURE MONITORS.

10. FINALLY, AND PERHAPS MOST SIGNIFICANTLY, THE GOK
HAS CONTINUED TO ATTACK THIS POLLUTION AT ITS VERY
SOURCE. THROUGH OCTOBER 14, FIREFIGHTERS IN KUWAIT HAD
EXTINGUISHED AND CAPPED OVER 598 OF THE 749 ORIGINALLY
DAMAGED WELLS IN KUWAIT, LEAVING ONLY 98 STILL BURNING
AND ANOTHER 66 DAMAGED, BUT NEITHER BURNING OR GUSHING
OIL INTO THE ENVIRONMENT. THE GOVERNMENT IS ALSO NOW ON
THE VERGE OF LETTING CONTRACTS FOR THE CLEAN UP OF THE
VAST OIL LAKES DEPOSITED IN THE DESERT BY BLOWN WELLS
THAT HAD NOT CAUGHT FIRE.

11. IN SHORT, THE GOK HAS BEEN ANYTHING BUT INACTIVE IN
COMING TO GRIPS WITH THE ENVIRONMENTAL CATASTROPHE
WROUGHT BY SADDAM HUSSEIN DURING HIS RETREAT FROM
KUWAIT. FROM THE BEGINNING, IT HAS RECOGNIZED THE
THREAT AND HAS TAKEN STEPS, SLOWLY BUT SURELY, TO PUT IN
PLACE MONITORING, WARNING AND RESPONSE SYSTEMS TO
PROTECT ITS POPULATION FROM THE DEADLIEST ELEMENTS IN
THE SMOKE. AT THE SAME TIME, IT HAS KEPT ITS FOCUS ON
THE SOURCE OF THE PROBLEM AND KILLED FIRES ON A SCALE
AND AT A RATE THAT THE WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE AND
PROBABLY NEVER WILL SEE AGAIN.

12. IN CONTRAST, THE GREENPEACE TEAM ARRIVED IN KUWAIT
IN LATE JULY, NEGOTIATED A PROTOCOL ON AIR SAMPLING
PROCEDURES WITH THE KUWAIT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
DEPARTMENT (WHICH THEY PROMPTLY VIOLATED IN AN EFFORT TO
CHASE THE PLUME ABOUT THE COUNTRYSIDE SEEKING MAXIMUM
READINGS), FOUND NOTHING DIFFERENT FROM WHAT HAD BEEN
REPORTED BY THE KUWAIT ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
DEPARTMENT, AND THEN TURNED TO GROSS EXAGGERATIONS AND
HALF-TRUTHS TO INDICT THE GOK AND OTHER GOVERNMENTS OF
THE GULF FOR WHAT THEY REPRESENTED AS AN IRRESPONSIBLE
NEGLECT OF THEIR CITIZENS' HEALTH. THEY GAVE NO CREDIT
TO THE GOVERNMENT FOR THE STEPS IT HAD TAKEN IN COMING
TO TERMS WITH THIS CATASTROPHE, AND -- WORSE -- LEFT
KUWAIT WITHOUT EITHER SHARING ANY OF THEIR DATA WITH THE
GOVERNMENT OR BOTHERING TO DISCUSS ANY OF THE ISSUES
THEY HAD RAISED.

13. THIS HAS, OF COURSE, IRRITATED THE GOK. IT HAS
ALSO, ALMOST CERTAINLY, BADLY UNDERCUT WHATEVER
CREDIBILTY GREENPEACE MIGHT EVER ONCE HAVE HAD WITH THE
GOK. END COMMENT. GNEHM

ADMIN BT

#5077


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