AN INTERNATIONAL team of scientists was flown to Mururoa atoll in the
Pacific by the French military last week on a preliminary fact-finding
mission. The visit was part of the International Atomic Energy Agency鈥檚 probe
into the impact on people and the environment of France鈥檚 atmospheric and
underground nuclear tests.
A spokesman says France has promised to pay the estimated $1.8
million cost of the 18-month study and give investigators 鈥渦nhampered access鈥�
to the military site.
France鈥檚 latest series of nuclear tests created an international outcry and
accusations that the South Pacific atoll was at risk of leaking radiation.
Among topics to be examined in the study will be the geological stability of
the site.
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The IAEA says the team of four specialists was sent to discover the type of
equipment that would be needed for the study and the areas where samples would
be collected.