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April 24, 2001: Lake Vostok - Richard C. Hoagland
Published 1 year, 4 months ago
Description
Art Bell welcomes Richard C. Hoagland to discuss alarming developments at Antarctica's Lake Vostok. An email from a former Navy radio operator who wintered at McMurdo in 1972-73 confirms that illness during this season is virtually unheard of, raising serious questions about why personnel are now critically sick.
Hoagland reports that sources in New Zealand have confirmed two U.S. workers are hospitalized in Christchurch in critical but stable condition, yet the hospital cannot account for their exact location. The mysterious request to "fill your pockets with salt" draws a connection to nuclear industry protocols, where iodized salt substitutes for iodine tablets during radiation emergencies.
The discussion turns to a 1972 U.S. patent for a nuclear tunneling machine capable of melting through rock and ice, raising the possibility that a clandestine drilling operation at Vostok may have exposed workers to radiation. Hoagland notes that bacteria discovered thriving in the frozen lake in 1998 included never-before-seen microbes, adding another layer of mystery to what is unfolding at the bottom of the world.
Hoagland reports that sources in New Zealand have confirmed two U.S. workers are hospitalized in Christchurch in critical but stable condition, yet the hospital cannot account for their exact location. The mysterious request to "fill your pockets with salt" draws a connection to nuclear industry protocols, where iodized salt substitutes for iodine tablets during radiation emergencies.
The discussion turns to a 1972 U.S. patent for a nuclear tunneling machine capable of melting through rock and ice, raising the possibility that a clandestine drilling operation at Vostok may have exposed workers to radiation. Hoagland notes that bacteria discovered thriving in the frozen lake in 1998 included never-before-seen microbes, adding another layer of mystery to what is unfolding at the bottom of the world.