Toxic Tank a Nice Souvenir For Samoa, says PM

Written by Cherelle Jackson
Saturday, 23 February 2008
Prime Minister of Samoa, Hon. Tuilaepa Sailele Lupesoliai Malielegaoi has said if a toxic-fuel tank drops in the Pacific Ocean, it will make a “nice souvenir” for Samoa. The comment came after Admiral Timothy J. Keating, USN, Commander of the United States confirmed that there was a “infinitesimal” chance that remnants of the toxic-fuel tank aboard a disabled U.S Spy-Satelite may land in the Pacific Ocean. The Pentagon said last week that it wanted to destroy the satellite to prevent its hydrazine tank from crashing to Earth and spreading a deadly cloud of toxic gas. The disabled Spy-Satelite was destroyed by a missile launch from the USS Lake Erie in the northern Pacific Ocean. The USS Lake Erie fired the weapon about 10:26 p.m. Eastern time, according to the Department of Defense in the US. CNN reports that while the Pentagon confirmed the satellite had been “intercepted,” it was unclear whether the main target — a toxic-fuel tank onboard the spy probe — had been destroyed. “Nearly all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24 to 48 hours, and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days,” the Defense Department stated in a news release. “Nearly all of the debris will burn up on re-entry within 24 to 48 hours, and the remaining debris should re-enter within 40 days,” the Defense Department stated in a news release. The remaining debris will most likely land in the Pacific Ocean according to published reports. In a Press Conference yesterday, Admiral Keating did not deny that part of the stop over in Samoa by the US Command is to shed light on the possibility of a threat. But even if the tank had landed intact, it had about a 3 percent chance of killing or injuring anyone, largely because it likely would have landed in the ocean, Geoffrey Forden, a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology told CNN yesterday. Admiral Keating yesterday said that the US had made extensive efforts to ensure that countries around the world were aware of potential hazards as a result of the satellite collapse. Keating said: “The chances of any material from that now-destroyed satellite are infinitesimal, 75% of the world surface is water, of the remaining 25% only 25% of that land is developed, but we felt it incumbent upon us to let our friends know what we were doing in advance, that there was risk involved.” He assured that the US had four teams on standby all throughout the Asia/Pacific Region to respond in the event of a failed shot. “Should toxic material land lets say in Samoa, we wouldn’t think it was Samoa, it wasn’t going to, but we had teams on alert to come provide if it should have happened.” *More on this story in the Sunday issue of Newsline. To read more, check out www.samoalivenews.com. Comments (0) Subscribe to this comment's feed Write comment Name Email Title Comment
Last Updated ( Saturday, 23 February 2008 )

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