ENIGMA 2000 Newsletter - Issue 15

March 2003
Articles, newsreports and Items of interest :enigma2000-owner@yahoogroups.com

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ENIGMA 2000 article - RIMNET revisited

Before moving on to this issue's article we heard from Plondon.

"On Monday 6^th January I went to the Boat Show at Earl's Court. Whilst there I visited the Customs and Excise stand and spoke to one of the persons manning their offering. 'Can I help?' "Just an inquiry really; does the Coastwatch system still operate?" With a look of horror on his face, "Yes, I think it does. But, I couldn't tell you whereabouts'.

P stated that he couldn't have got a better look of horror if he'd pulled out a kilo of powdery white stuff! P wants to know why the secretive approach . Anyone who knows please inform us via the usual method please.

Whilst walking through the boatshow a bloke clad like a French sailor[!] jumped out and asked, with accent that said 'southern hemisphere' "What books do you read Sir?" Truthfully P replied 'Anything on intelligence matters'. With that Pierre with the Australasian accent said menacingly 'Do you work in intelligence then?' P replied 'No' and carried on walking. P's mate who had heard the entire proceedings [come on Mac you know who you are] said 'Crumbs, he must have had a very bad experience somewhere along the line'!

We received this interesting comment recently:

"I am writing to you with reference to the article on 'Coastwatchers' that was published in a recent edition of the Enigma Newsletter. Whilst I cannot comment on the Coastwatchers system in terms of shipping, I can confirm that a very similar scheme is outlined in Her Majesty's Customs and Excise notices currently to be found at airfields up and down the country.

Although I am not aware of anyone being specifically asked or designated for such duties, the notices do ask for persons working on airfields or operating aircraft to watch out for, and report to HMC&E, activities which raise suspicion.

This includes the reporting of suspicious aviation related activities, suspicious passengers, aircraft flying low near the coast, unusual modifications to aircraft, evidence of unauthorised use of airfield or landing strips, aircraft flying at night without navigation lights etc. etc."
[Thanks 'NBranch'].

RIMNET revisited

In Issue 17 of the ENIGMA newsletter, published in July 1999, an interesting account of RIMNET and Operation Best Endeavour were given. [Page 41].

The article read, in part, 'We received an interesting letter about RIMNET recently. Our reader tells us "I sat opposite a young lady on the train and she took out a sheaf of papers. As she held them up I saw the official coat of arms and the words 'Questions for the Prime Minister'. She quickly placed that on the bottom of the pile and started to read another: 'Operation Best Endeavour' Briefing Pack. Because I was sitting opposite her I was unable to see the text, however as soon as we stopped I gave up my seat to a lady so I could look down on the document. it was generated by a division of the Department of Environment, Transport and the Regions (DETR). and related to what would happen if there was a nuclear accident. RIMNET had a good mention about its capabilities and also the effects of the liberated radioactive material on the public at large. However readers will be reassured to know that Iodate would not be given to the population because there would be no time to distribute it. (Potassium Iodate 150mg tabs are given to prevent absorption into the thyroid, by exposed persons, of Iodine 131 - radioiodine - as seen to have disastrous effects at Chernobyl and Belarus area)."

The article continued to give description of Operation Best Endeavour as being one of a series of periodic communications exercises, run at eight week intervals that simulate the sort of e-mail traffic that might be expected as a result of an incident involving the release of radioactive material from an establishment.

The exercise was conducted nation-wide, not regional exercises. The incident being in a Northern European county so there was plenty of time for a wide fronted plume to cover the whole of the UK!

Since the ENIGMA article was published some pages, dedicated to RIMNET, suddenly appeared on the DETR's website on 25th October 1999.

RIMNET, it states, is the national radiation monitoring and nuclear emergency response system, set up as part of the National Response Plan following the Chernobyl incident. (Early 26th April 1986 the 1000 tonne containment lid was blown off one of the four reactors as the power level soared from 200 megawatts to 400,000 megawatts. Some 9 tonnes of radioactive material reached an altitude of 1.2km.

The radioactive accident was detected by the systems in use in Finland and Sweden.

RIMNET Phase 1 came into being in 1988 and was installed at Meteorological Office info supply sites, be they RAF, HMCG or 'allied' agencies. The logic for that is that in the early days of RIMNET the heads were read manually, so there was a known track record of reliable staff available. It is thought that manual reading of the heads ceased at the same time the system was automated.

On 26th April 1994 RIMNET Phase 2 started independently monitoring the environment for radioactivity from exercises. There are 92 sites throughout the country for monitoring and use modern radiation monitoring and data collection methods further complimented by modern computing technology and communications techniques. Perusal of the map of the UK, shown on the DETR site, suggests that the actual monitoring sites are within military or meteorological office establishments. Lydd, Gatwick, Heathrow and Stanstead are all airports with a meteorological requirement, whilst Wittering, Wattisham, Brize Norton, Aviemore, to name a few would be familiar to those who monitor RAF VOLMET. There are other services sites as well.

A diagram shows the 'Key Elements' and RIMNET Phase2 arrangements. It appears that the heart of the system is the Central Database Facility, CDF, which accepts data input from the RIMNET monitoring network , consisting of Fixed site automated monitors. Supplementary Monitoring Data from Government bodies and other accredited suppliers. [These 'supplementary' monitoring programmes would cover air, food, water supplies, livestock, crops, the UK environment and people and goods entering the country from overseas affected areas]. The data would be entered into the CDF directly using a variety of methods.

Information bulletins and advice are also entered to the CDF from the Information Centre and Ministerial Briefing Unit, which receives data and coordinated assessments from the Technical Coordination Centre, [has representatives from DETR, MAFF, DH, DTI, MOD, Met Office, NRPB to name a few] which alone is addressed by the CDF. From the CDF Information to the public and the media is disseminated.

The National Response Plan is outlined on the website, giving note of the bilateral early notification agreements that we hold with the Danish, Dutch, French, Norwegian and Russian Governments.

The subsequent information that would be generated, in the event of an incident, that would be deemed to be released for the public, would be made available through teletext and viewdata systems, giving a simple but fast method of informing the public with a number and frequency of bulletins being consistent with the nature of the accident. [One does wonder if this would include the information that KI tablets would not be made available!].

More detailed and technical information would be supplied to the Local Authorities and water suppliers to 'assist' them with enquiries from the public.

RIMNET Phase 2 is expected to run until 2003 when it will be superseded by the Phase 3 system that will boast the latest, most efficient software, hardware and communication systems.

Incidentally, Operation Best Endeavour was one of a series of periodic communications exercises run by the Radioactive Substances Division [RAS] of the DETR. The exercise was nation-wide with a theoretical incident in a North European country. It commenced on 18/01/99 and finished on 21/01/99 having been one of the longest running exercises.

Fuller details of the arrangements are given in the HMSO booklet, "The National Response Plan and Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET). Phase 2" (ISBN 0-11-752788-2).

Lately ENIGMA 2000 was handed a rather shoddy looking 'print out' from a pager monitoring unit and amongst all the messages the word 'RIMNET' appeared.

Does this system rely on the BT pager system or is it just an alarm system indicating an open door?

Is the use of paging part of Phase 3 upgrade?

[ENIGMA 2000 cannot vouch for the accuracy of the above message, nor can it supply any frequency or decode details].

©Harry Palmer 2000

After this article was written pieces appeared in certain newspapers after the events in America on 11th September, 2001. In the Guardian 3rd August 2002 Jamie Wilson wrote 'Anti-radiation drugs have been stockpiled around the country as a precaution against a possible nuclear attack by terrorists, it emerged yesterday.

Potassium Iodate tablets, which are normally only kept near nuclear power stations, have been moved to secret locations across Britain since September 11.

The government has also established detailed plans for responding to major incidents involving radiation, including regular exercises to test responses to a nuclear incident.' In response to the final sentence above Jamie Wilson included ' The preparations emerged in a parliamentary written answer by the health minister, John Hutton. "The government has established detailed plans for responding to major incidents involving radiation," he said. "Cross-departmental contingency plans are in place and regular exercises test responses to a nuclear incident. Careful consideration has been given to the practicalities of distributing potassium iodate tablets and arrangements for distributing these tablets have been tested in recent exercises." '

Prior to that in the Scottish Sunday Herald of 14th July 2002 Rob Edwards, Enviroment Editor wrote an interesting piece entitled 'Scotland ill-prepared for a nuclear leak.' The sub-heading, however, was more chilling if you consider that the article concerned only Scotland: 'Planned countermeasures against a radioactive disaster are a laughable, logistical nightmare.'

It is to be noted that Ireland [Eire] has already distributed KI tablets amongst its population, a Citizen's information site 'Comhairle' even answers questions posed. Again there is a little extra information on that site from a question. This reads:

Are any other countries giving out iodine tablets?

Sweden has distributed iodine tablets to householders living within 15 km of one of its nuclear power stations. Only those living within this "inner circle" received the tablets. Switzerland can house 90 per cent of its population in shelters in the event of a nuclear accident but it has not distributed iodine tablets ahead of time as we have.

Those of us in Britain, one of the highest taxed countries worldwide, seem to get such a raw deal where Civil Defence is concerned. For proper radiological protection [or any other threat posed] you need to be either Royalty or serve in the Government of the day. Such is the Goverment's interest in the taxpayer that they have to fend for themselves whilst those chosen suffer little hardship.

Viable bunkers still exist in GB for those designated to use them whilst the rest of us will be made to stay in our homes and draw the curtains to protect ourselves.

©Harry Palmer 2002

On BBC2 'Horizon' [2100z 30/01] covered the rather chilling story of the possibility a dirty bomb being detonated in London. Interestingly they traced supplies of a radioactive source [they claim litters Russia] and showed how a dirty bomb might be made and the effects, immediate and eventual, of such a device being detonated in London. Chilling stuff; sensationalism at its best, government propaganda or just a prophecy? Whatever the driving force it was perhaps a little short sighted to advertise the apparent easy availability of the source.

The Sunday Times [09/02] outlined on its first page how the British Government intends to utilise mobile sampling units [about size of a domestic fridge and called NB Cerberus] to monitor air purity and isolate deliberately disseminated biological warfare agents in a process that would take about 60 mins. This would allow the security forces to place effective cordons around such affected areas and stop, using force if necessary, infected persons leaving that area. The report states that these mobile units would be present at marches and other static monitoring units would be fitted near national monuments. A report was made later [10/02] that the 183 cameras to do with congestion charging, and others, will also be used for terrorist control. The cameras zooming on the faces of drivers for comparison against a database. Guess what? Public rights group 'Liberty' have started whinging on about public rights and their solicitor issuing a statement about Brits being the most observed nation in the western world. This is Britain at its best'; let the terror merchants do their business as long as we are not under too much surveillance. Where do these idiots come from?

[Incidentally, Cerberus was the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades].

©Harry Palmer 2003

Worthy of being inserted here, ENIGMA 2000 received this [claimed pager message] anonymously on 05/03 as we were about to release the NL -- what's it about? Note the word 'geiger'.

[******** denotes censored information]

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