http://www.ekathimerini.com/news/contents.asp?aid=93119 Kathimerini ATHENS, SATURDAY-SUNDAY, JULY 28-29, 2001 NATO radar said to harm operators A German study has found that a large but still unknown number of radar technicians working at NATO bases in Europe, including Greece, were exposed to harmful radiation during the Cold War, the Deutsche Welle radio's Greek service reported. According to German experts, hundreds of radar operators are today suffering from various kinds of cancer because of the ionizing technology of some systems. But even though NATO knew about the danger of the equipment, it did not do anything about it because it could not afford to shut down the radar stations for 15 days during the Cold War. Such radar equipment operated in Greece from 1964 to 1997 at various NATO bases, including Katsimidi, Kifissia, the Niki base on Mt. Hymettus, Keratea and Elefsina. The German "Association for the Support of Radar Victims" claims that 300 radar technicians who served at German military bases from 1958 to 1983 are suffering from cancer and that 55 have already died. The victims' lawyer, Remo Klinger, provided the information to Deutsche Welle's Greek service on Thursday. He claimed that NATO and the manufacturers knew about the dangerous level of ionizing radiation and had performed studies but had kept the matter secret. The German experts noted that the danger from radar equipment on the NIKE, Hawk and Patriot systems as well as on the Starfighter planes was known since at least 1996 but had been kept quiet by the general staffs of the NATO countries involved (Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain and Greece). Serbian News Network - SNN [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.antic.org/
