Idealisten

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After World War II, tensions rise between

the Soviet Union and the West.

Denmark is included in the 1951 EU-US agreement on a US military base

at Thule in northwestern Greenland, just below the North Pole.

Greenland at the time is a Danish colony.

Denmark and Greenland in 1957

are declared Nuclear Free Zones.

Based on real events.

It was about 90 miles south of the base...

here, south of Thule airbase.

We discovered smoke and fumes in the cockpit.

Fumes initially.

And we immediately responded to the

appropriate emergency procedures...

to eliminate the smoke and

fumes from the cockpit.

But the fire wouldn't stay out and

the airplane was filling with smoke.

And...I called Thule Airways.

John Haug, Captain B-52 Stratofortress.

Broken arrow with four Hydrogen bombs.

Told them of our difficulties and told them that we would

hit directly for Thule to make an emergency landing.

My first consideration was to

save the crew and the aircraft.

But it came out of control,

to such an extent,

that I had no other choice than to bail

my crew out over the AirForce Base.

Captain, where were you

when the fire broke out?

Were you out there over International

territory or over Danish territory?

I was over International waters,

90 miles to the south of Thule.

This the first time you have been

flying over Greenland in a B-52?

I can't answer that question, sir.

What about the bombs?

The bombs are always...

are always in the back of my mind.

400 in flashlight protest against

Nuclear aircraft in Thule.

B-52 giant aircraft loses

Hydrogen bombs from missile bays.

THE IDEALIS Aarhus, Denmark 1988

We try and I'm thinking of trying to

treat Carl Dinesen with mustard gas.

But as soon as we stop the treatment,

he develops lesions again.

And he gets new lesions elsewhere.

It does not look so nice out.

Could it be radiation?

I was skeptical, but I have to admit...

the six cases of psoriasis and a lymphoma

indicate serious contamination.

So do you believe their illness

is due to radiation?

Ris was responsible for

the security in 1968.

There were health and nuclear physicists.

They were all there.

Ris?

Yes.

Six out of thirty Thule workers.

Usually hit just one in 10,000.

But here are six out of thirty

Thule workers and it is too much.

They stood there for safety

during the remediation work...

and for nasal samples.

Ask them about the urine samples.

And just as important...nasal samples.

You also need to think about...

The base command post announced that seven...

repeat seven people are known to have parachuted,

ub the Thule base are.

Three of the men have been picked up.

However four are still unaccounted for.

This is Lieutenant Cole,

I would like to urge everyone

to stay away from the area,

of the B-52 airplane crash, there is danger of

explosion and I urge to stay away from the area.

Now a special announcement to the local

population in Danish and Greenlandic...

The people are forbidden to approach the site.

The plane could explode.

It's strictly forbidden to approach it.

We think that the accident which

occurred over Danish territory...

due to a plane crash with Hydrogen bombs...

brings out very serious perspectives.

Research Center, Ris

Shouldn't we start?

It was at a press conference that

Thule firmly confirmed...

that there was no contamination

by the B-52 bomb crash.

However, it is established that the snow,

that is above the bombs...

and the snow that was below the site,

where they found bomb fragments...

is highly radioactive.

Could the Danish workers have

been affected by the clean-up?

No...

That would surprise me!

There were extensive precautions.

All were through controls first.

And how did such a check take place?

If one's clothes showed traces of pollution,

they were washed...

thoroughly and they got new clothes.

That was it? They were washed?

Yes.

And when we tested people afterwards,

they were always healthy.

But Plutonium is one of the world's

most dangerous poisons, right?

Only if you breathe or in the bloodstream,

it is very dangerous.

But otherwise you can actually eat

Plutonium without being affected by it.

Was the collected snow tested?

Yes of course.

We found Plutonium in the snow but

they were in microscopic quantities.

So there are some snow samples?

Yes.

Do you have them here?

No, they are in the United States.

Shouldn't we try to get them home,

so you can study them?

We cannot, it's a military matter.

What do your records say about Carl Dinesen?

We can tell you, what is in the record...

but we can not show it to you,

as it is confidential.

Just a moment.

Dinesen...

He passed the control station 15 times.

He had to change clothes,

and everything looks fine.

What did you do with the urine tests?

The urine samples?

There is a signature here on,

that all urine samples shows 0 reading.

When was the last time

urine sample taken?

There was no urine sample

taken on the last check.

It was not?

What about the day before?

The day before...March 13.

No, nothing.

So it has been two days without a urine sample?

Urine tests are not the most important.

Of course not!

And the snow?

The nose and heel test?

What about the nasal samples?

I thought you said it was

dangerous inhaling Plutonium?

I have a lead story.

Do you have the script?

I cut it myself.

Then come with it.

I cut myself, I'm telling you. Out!

They listen to stjyllands Radio.

I take it first touches.

The time is 18 and here is the radio.

Mayor Thorkild Simonsen is back from Shanghai.

Swedish Prime Minister proposes

a nuclear-free zone in Europe.

But first, the story of how employees at

the Thule Base were affected by radiation.

January 21, 1968 crash...

That's not how we do it here.

You go too far.

Relax now.

Danish Thule workers...

Wait! 20 years later you have eczema...

as per Strandgrd Jensen.

You led the cleanup at the Thule Base?

What precautions did you take?

We took urine and nasal samples.

According to your records,

Carl Dinesen's nasal samples weren't taken.

It's an isolated incident,

and not a general picture.

Why did more men fall sick?

We did not find anything wrong.

It's only now that they are sick.

Life at the Thule Base was hard.

You had ample opportunity

to quench your thirst.

So Ris rejects any context?

Yes.

Is it the Health Board responsibility then?

You may ask them.

Says health physicist

Strandgrd Jensen from Ris.

If any former Thule workers think

they are sick of Plutonium...

then stjyllands Radio phones

lines would be open from now on.

Swedish Prime Minister suggests...

stjyllands Radio, this is Lisa.

Yes, what is it about?

Just a moment,

so I ask you about.

It's Poul Brink.

Knud Nielsen concerning the Thule Base.

I was up there in 68...

stjyllands Radio.

It's Helle.

Bo Madsen. I meet Poul Brink?

It's Jan.

Jorgen Holst. I worked on...

Hello, Poul Brink from East Jutland Radio.

I need to talk to Mads Oerbaek.

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