The Apollo Affair
Encyclopedia
The Apollo Affair was a 1965 the incident in which a US company, Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC), in Apollo, Pennsylvania
was investigated for losing 200-600 pounds of highly enriched uranium. In 1965, the FBI investigated Zalman Shapiro
, the company's president, over the loss 200 pounds of highly enriched uranium. After investigations by the Atomic Energy Commission
, the Central Intelligence Agency
, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
, other government agencies, and inquiring reporters, no charges were ever filed. A General Accounting Office study of the investigations declassified in May 2010 stated "We believe a timely, concerted effort on the part of these three agencies would have greatly aided and possibly solved the NUMEC diversion questions, if they desired to do so."
Many remain convinced that Israel
received 200 pounds of enriched uranium from NUMEC, particularly given the visit of Rafael Eitan
, later revealed as an Israeli spy and who was later involved in the Jonathan Pollard
incident. In June 1986, analyst Anthony Cordesman told United Press International:
In his 1991 book, The Samson Option
, Seymour Hersh
concluded that Shapiro did not divert any uranium; rather "it ended up in the air and water of the city of Apollo as well as in the ducts, tubes, and floors of the NUMEC plant." He also wrote that Shapiro's meetings with senior Israeli officials in his home were related to protecting the water supply in Israel rather than any diversion of nuclear material or information. A later investigation was conducted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
(successor to the AEC) regarding an additional 198 pounds of uranium that was found to be missing between 1974 and 1976, after the plant had been purchased by Babcock & Wilcox and Shapiro was no longer associated with the company. That investigation found that more than 110 pounds of it could be accounted for by what was called "previously unidentified and undocumented loss mechanisms", including "contamination of workers' clothes, losses from scrubber systems, material embedded in the flooring, and residual deposits in the processing equipment." Hersh further quoted one of the main investigators, Carl Duckett, as saying "I know of nothing at all to indicate that Shapiro was guilty."
In 1993, Glenn T. Seaborg
, former head of the Atomic Energy Commission wrote a book, The Atomic Energy Commission under Nixon, Adjusting to Troubled Times which devoted a chapter to Shapiro and NUMEC, the last sentence of which states:
Later U.S. Department of Energy records show that NUMEC had the largest highly enriched uranium inventory loss of all U.S. commercial sites, with a 269 kilograms (593 lb) inventory loss before 1968, and 76 kilograms (167.6 lb) thereafter.
At the prompting of Zalman Shapiro's lawyer, senator Arlen Specter
asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
to clear him of any suspicion of diversion in August 2009. The NRC refused, stating it did "not have information that would allow it to unequivocally conclude that nuclear material was not diverted from the site..."
In August of 2011, the FBI released wiretaps of conversations between NUMEC venture capitalist David Lowenthal and President Zalman Shapiro. The tap indicates out-of-compliance waste storage led to a nuclear accident in 1968 while the pair were trying to complete NUMEC's sale.
The US Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing a $170 million taxpayer-funded cleanup of contaminated land at the site of NUMEC's waste disposal, currently scheduled to be completed in 2015.
Apollo, Pennsylvania
Apollo is a borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States, 35 miles northeast of Pittsburgh in a former coal-mining region. Apollo was settled in 1790, laid out in 1816, and incorporated as a borough in 1848. The town was originally known as 'Warren', but was later renamed to avoid...
was investigated for losing 200-600 pounds of highly enriched uranium. In 1965, the FBI investigated Zalman Shapiro
Zalman Shapiro
Zalman Mordecai Shapiro is an American chemist and inventor. He has received 15 patents, including a 2009 patent on a process to make commercial production of diamonds cheaper, and played a key role in the development of the reactor that powered the world's first nuclear powered submarine, the...
, the company's president, over the loss 200 pounds of highly enriched uranium. After investigations by the Atomic Energy Commission
United States Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by Congress to foster and control the peace time development of atomic science and technology. President Harry S...
, the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, other government agencies, and inquiring reporters, no charges were ever filed. A General Accounting Office study of the investigations declassified in May 2010 stated "We believe a timely, concerted effort on the part of these three agencies would have greatly aided and possibly solved the NUMEC diversion questions, if they desired to do so."
Many remain convinced that Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
received 200 pounds of enriched uranium from NUMEC, particularly given the visit of Rafael Eitan
Rafi Eitan
Rafael "Rafi" Eitan is an Israeli politician and former intelligence officer. Today he leads Gil and is a former Minister of Pensioner Affairs. In the past, he was in charge of the Mossad operation that led to the capture of Adolf Eichmann...
, later revealed as an Israeli spy and who was later involved in the Jonathan Pollard
Jonathan Pollard
Jonathan Jay Pollard worked as a civilian intelligence analyst before being convicted of spying for Israel. He received a life sentence in 1987....
incident. In June 1986, analyst Anthony Cordesman told United Press International:
There is no conceivable reason for Eitan to have gone [to the Apollo plant] but for the nuclear material.”
In his 1991 book, The Samson Option
The Samson Option (book)
The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy is a 1991 book by Seymour Hersh. It details the history of Israel's nuclear weapons program and its effects on Israel-American relations...
, Seymour Hersh
Seymour Hersh
Seymour Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters...
concluded that Shapiro did not divert any uranium; rather "it ended up in the air and water of the city of Apollo as well as in the ducts, tubes, and floors of the NUMEC plant." He also wrote that Shapiro's meetings with senior Israeli officials in his home were related to protecting the water supply in Israel rather than any diversion of nuclear material or information. A later investigation was conducted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
(successor to the AEC) regarding an additional 198 pounds of uranium that was found to be missing between 1974 and 1976, after the plant had been purchased by Babcock & Wilcox and Shapiro was no longer associated with the company. That investigation found that more than 110 pounds of it could be accounted for by what was called "previously unidentified and undocumented loss mechanisms", including "contamination of workers' clothes, losses from scrubber systems, material embedded in the flooring, and residual deposits in the processing equipment." Hersh further quoted one of the main investigators, Carl Duckett, as saying "I know of nothing at all to indicate that Shapiro was guilty."
In 1993, Glenn T. Seaborg
Glenn T. Seaborg
Glenn Theodore Seaborg was an American scientist who won the 1951 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for "discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements", contributed to the discovery and isolation of ten elements, and developed the actinide concept, which led to the current arrangement of the...
, former head of the Atomic Energy Commission wrote a book, The Atomic Energy Commission under Nixon, Adjusting to Troubled Times which devoted a chapter to Shapiro and NUMEC, the last sentence of which states:
Distinguished as Shapiro's career has been, one cannot but wonder whether it might not have been even more illustrious had these unjust charges not been leveled against him.
Later U.S. Department of Energy records show that NUMEC had the largest highly enriched uranium inventory loss of all U.S. commercial sites, with a 269 kilograms (593 lb) inventory loss before 1968, and 76 kilograms (167.6 lb) thereafter.
At the prompting of Zalman Shapiro's lawyer, senator Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...
asked the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
to clear him of any suspicion of diversion in August 2009. The NRC refused, stating it did "not have information that would allow it to unequivocally conclude that nuclear material was not diverted from the site..."
In August of 2011, the FBI released wiretaps of conversations between NUMEC venture capitalist David Lowenthal and President Zalman Shapiro. The tap indicates out-of-compliance waste storage led to a nuclear accident in 1968 while the pair were trying to complete NUMEC's sale.
The US Army Corps of Engineers is overseeing a $170 million taxpayer-funded cleanup of contaminated land at the site of NUMEC's waste disposal, currently scheduled to be completed in 2015.
External links
- NUMEC made significant advancements, Thomas, Mary Ann and Santanam, Ramesh. 2002-08-28. Valley News Dispatch
- Government agencies investigated missing uranium, NUMEC, Thomas, Mary Ann and Santanam, Ramesh. 2002-08-25. Valley News Dispatch
- The Third Temple's Holy Of Holies: Israel's Nuclear Weapons, Warner D. Farr, USAF Counterproliferation Center, Maxwell Air Force BaseMaxwell Air Force BaseMaxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force installation under the Air Education and Training Command . The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, US. It was named in honor of Second Lieutenant William C...
, September 1999