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Nishi Gupta reportingConstance Clemens: "We feel that rather than having enough bombs, we have too many"
Dozens of people rally in St. George to protest an experimental bomb test. The experiment, known as Divine Strake, is getting a lot of heat. People in St. George are turning it up.
They fear this explosion could create another downwinder situation. Activism against the bomb has already pushed back the test date. Now, some are hoping to get rid of the test altogether.
One person�
Constance Clemens: "it can't do us any good, and I think it can do an awful lot of harm"
after another�
Michelle Thomas, Downwinder, "I don't think any of us are expendable"
�blasted the blast the 700-ton bomb would create.
The non-nuclear bomb would produce a massive mushroom cloud- possibly 10,000 feet high- over the Nevada desert.
The government says the explosion would help create a weapon that could defeat hardened and deeply buried targets
It also says the blast wouldn't significantly impact human health...but some people don't buy it.
Michelle Thomas, Downwinder, "I don't care what they say about how safe and secure this is...
This self-described downwinder says past explosions left her with a muscle disease, and she's here to make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else.
Michelle Thomas, Downwinder, "this is a test, the key word is test, and they have no way of measuring ten, twenty years from now"
The explosion was supposed to happen June 2, it was pushed back to June 23 because of a lawsuit.
It claims the bomb could kick up radioactive waste from previous explosions and harm nearby land claimed by the Western Shoshone tribe.
But one federal agency says that won't happen because there is no residue from past explosions. Nuclear or not, some say they believe other effects are imminent.
Constance Clemens: "we would all suffer from pollution of quite a magnitude"
Utah congressman Jim Matheson says he's concerned, too. A recent press release says he feels some officials are ignoring the congressional intent of "no new nuclear weapons."
