U.S. scientist says U.S. facility is for nuclear development

Japan Policy & Politics, June 11, 2001

TOKYO, June 4 Kyodo

A U.S. scientist and former employee of a U.S. Energy Department institute to which Japanese glass maker Hoya Corp. ships glass slabs says the institute is conducting nuclear weapons research, denying Hoya's claim that shipping its product will not lead to new nuclear development.

Issac Trotts, 25, is a member of an antinuclear organization in California and former employee of the institute. At a news conference, he said that the facility is conducting research to improve the precision of nuclear weapons.

Trotts is visiting Japan at the invitation of the Japan Congress Against A- and H-Bombs (Gensuikin).

Before joining the antinuclear group, Trotts worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California, where the National Ignition Facility (NIF) funded by the U.S. Energy Department is currently under construction.

Trotts was in charge of research on the visualization of data at the LLNL. He said he resigned after learning that his research could lead to improved performance of nuclear weapons.

Trotts told the news conference that he wanted to speak about his experience in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, which were devastated by U.S. A-bombs in 1945 at the end of World War II. He also said that erroneous information concerning the glass slab shipments has been circulating.

Hoya said in March it plans to resume suspended shipments of glass slabs to the facility, believing the product will not lead to new nuclear development.

In February, the company temporarily suspended deliveries of the slabs by its U.S. subsidiary Hoya Corp. USA. The move followed domestic opposition that claimed the deal will help the United States maintain its nuclear weapons.

''It was confirmed that this glass itself will not lead to new nuclear development and the research programs are to contribute to the elimination of nuclear weapons,'' the company said in a letter to antinuclear groups.

Trotts visited the headquarters of Hoya in Tokyo with members of Gensuikin and submitted a written request for the immediate halt of the shipments. He will return home next Sunday after visiting Osaka, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The slabs will be used to amplify laser beams in the nuclear fusion process at the new LLNL facility. It is due to start partial operations in 2004 and be completed by 2007.

U.S. antinuclear groups claim the facility will be in breach of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty due to its vital role in the development of nuclear weapons.