Oakland Tribune from Oakland, California • 18

4-LOCAL THE OAKLAND TRIBUNE SUNDAY, March 8, 1998 1051 ti. Baptist Church, Oakland, Cel. First Baptist Church Two Oakland churches share facilities in their time of need Reports see Coste for experiments also could increase over time By Nancy Mayer STAFF WWTW LIVERMORE Nuclear weapons experiments at the world's largest laser complex at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory may become more dangerous and more expensive over time, according to activists citing newly declassified documents. Reports authored by top Livermore scientists suggest that long-term plans for the $1.2 billion National Ignition Facility may include experiments with plutonium and uranium not Just with tritium, as Energy Department officials said while trying to sell the project to Congress and the public. Experiments with lithium hydride which explodes cm contact with air, flames or heat aim) have been proposed, although top Energy Department officials said they would prefer experiments with safer substitutes.

The reports! dating from 1991 to 1996, were declassified as a result of a lawsuit by 39 anti-nuclear and environmental 'watchdog' groups ted by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) In Washington, D.C. The Department of Energy has said there were no such proposals, said Marylla Kelley of Livermore-based Tri-Valley Citizens Against a Radioactive Environment, one of the plaintiffs. But that's not what the record shows. Some of the Information reveals a quantum leap In health and safety risks, and contra-. diets statements made by top Energy Department officials as late as last summer, said Christopher Paine, an NRDC policy analyst.

He prepared an affidavit on the reports to update the groups' lawsuit, which claims the Energy Department's environmental Impact statement on a 10-year, $40 billion upgrade in nuclear weapons research tools Is incomplete. U.S. District Stanley Sporkln will hear arguments In the lawsuit on June 19. In past hearings related to the case, Sporkln said national security Interests outweigh environmental worries; and dented the activists' request to halt laser construction pending further environmental study. 1 Dave Crandall, the Energy Department's di-.

rector of NIF research, said the newly declassified documents represent proposals not plans! and for that reason were not included In an existing environmental Impact statement. His department's position Is that the feasibility of such experiments remains highly speculative, and experiments of this type are not reasonably foreseeable. However, he said he could not rule them out as future options. This Is a state-of-the-art facility for things that have' never been done before. What it could evolve to, ho one can say.

Crandall said. Plutonium and uranium are the radioactive Lab dangers metals used as explosives in nuclear bombs, which were designed at Livermore Lab during the Cold War arms race. The metals remain radioactive frn- many thousands of years, while tritium commonly used in cancer research loses Its potency much more quickly. Since a U.S. moratorium on nuclear bomb tests under the Nevada desert was declared In 1993, Livermore Lab has been developing ways to use lasers and supercomputers to model the physics of nuclear bomb detonations.

When the National Ignition Facility 'is com- pleted in 2003, scientists there will aim 192 laser beams each the length of two football fields at pea-sized capsules of radioactive fuel to create miniature stars. The stars will last less than a billionth of a second, and generate temperatures and pressures like those In warhead detonations. The Energy Department says the difficult ex-. pertinents are designed to attract top scientists -to nuclear weapons work despite the end of the Cold War, while providing a tod for assessing whether aging bombs in the U.S. arsenal are still In working order.

Crandall said his department Is reviewing its decision not to Include futuristic proposals In its environmental Impact statement. But he emphasized that quantities of plutonium and uranium that would be used in laser, experiments if they are used at all are microscopic. What people are arguing over here Is sort of silly because the amounts are so. small." he said. The function of NIF Is to raise materials to very high energy densities higher than what has beat done before.

That can't be done with large amounts of material, and the point," Crandall said. While the environmental activists have focused their, arguments on the nuclear reaction -that would occur In the laser's target chamber. -the greatest risks come from the possibility of fires elsewhere In the system no worse than risks in other high-tech or Industrial facilities, Crandall said. The environmental activists contend that the newly declassified Information, however, casts grave doubt" on the accuracy of the Energy Department's previous statements. The documents also suggest that costs could To accommodate some'of the proposed pertanents new facilities would have to be added on to the stadium-sized laser Costs could climb as much as $30Q million, for instance, for Just one of the proposed additions, according to one of the documents, dated Aug.

8. 1995. In the case of- proposals Involving lithium hydride, the laser complexs hazard rating would have to be Increased from low" to moderate. "This would be done after. NIF was built," said the same document Landmarks First Unitarian Church wo historic downtown I A churches, each lacing the challenge of seismic upgrade and rehabilitation, have worked out a unique While work on the First Unitarian Church at Castro and 14th Street Is underway, members of the congregation are worshiping in the auditorium of the First Baptist Church on Telegraph and 22nd.

'Our people conduct services from 9:30 a.m. until a.m. each says Rob Eller-, Isaacs, co-pastor of the Unitar- -Ians. The Baptist group congre-" gate at .11 am. Its been a convenient arrangement; The Baptist Church has some of the most breathtaking stained glass windows to be seen anywhere In the Bay Area.

The Interior Is also notable for the unusual suspended octagonal collar beam overhead. Redwood trusses springing from curved converge at diagonal angles to the points of the collar beam. This dynamically engineered celling system was de- signed by none other than Julia Morgan. It was one of her first major commissions alter she completed her studies at the -Ecotede Beaux Arts in Paris. The exterior of First Baptist is Romanesque In style and takes full advantage of its corner.

lot 16-. cation. Three towers of varying i slzes anchor the building A massive quality predominates due to the use of sandstone blocks and arched entries. Church records foil to reveal who was responsible for the exterior but research indicates the design may have been based on an 8th century cathedral built for Charlemagne In Aachen. Ger- many.

Still under construction at the time of the 1906 earthquake, the church suffered major damage to the comer towers. -This was not the first major set-. back experienced by the Baptists one of the earliest religious groups to form (1854) In the East Bay. A previous building belonging to the group, located at Brush and 14th Street burned to the ground in 1902. At that time the Baptist Church stood across the street from our building said Eller-Isaacs.

"According to the ar-; chives, a fund-raising concert was" held In our church to help them 'with Iheir relocation efforts tWlth help from their friends the Unitarians and proceeds from insurance, the Baptists moved to the new location eight blocks north. Julia Morgan's girlhood home stood across the street from the Urytarlan Church and our old church, says Philip Meads, a third generation member of the congregation and group hlsto-rian. "Although her family was Episcopalian, she attended Sunday school with us and was very Interested In helping us with the new auditorium. Faced with another major outlay for building costs to repair the damage caused by the earthquake, the group appealed to the American Baptik Home Mission Soclety headquartered In the east The society responded with $42,000. In gratitude to the fellow Baptists all over the country who responded to their appeal, church leaders authorized the first iff the Pride Cleaners Under New Management Any 5 or More Items Shirts 990 dows.

Eller-Isaacs says his group expects to be able to rcoc-' -cupy the east wing of their com- plex by July 1. The first phase of their project will be completed In June. The Baptists have been studying their options because they too must undergo a major retrofit Wc consulted with many experts, Including professors at U.C.s school of architecture and engineering says Meads. We definitely want to strengthen the -building without compromising the Julia Morgan interior or altering die unique acoustics. It's estimated that at least $550,000 will be needed to carry out the upgrade.

Meads has begun the daunting task of contacting foundations and trusts to raise the funds. A Web site for the project Is helping get the word out For Information or tours of the building call 832-4325. The Internet address is www.best.com Next week: the history and legacy of the First Unitarian (murai. Open Mon. Thru Friday 7 a.m.

to 7 p.m Sat. 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. MISSING dows to be installed, The church organ, lost In the 1902 fire, was replaced with funds donated by Andrew Carnegie. Still In use to this day, the pipe organ forms the focal point of the btlstry.

The acoustics are said to be outstanding Last June the Unitarians andthdr hosts the Baptists co-sponsored a massed choir concert in honor of composer Franz Schubert's 200th birthday. A few weeks later, a motion picture crew descended on the church, filming scenes of a yet-to-be-released movie starring Robin Williams and Cuba Gooding Jr. "The location scouts looked at 100 churches around the Bay Area," says Meads and selected us because iff the beautiful win Anyone wftriotmalion please cal Officer Jeny White 5KK93-7272 ST PATRICKS DAY DINNEB Fund-raiser to benefit the Please read and Granville Redmond Armin Hansen Xavier Martinez Charlton Fortune Seldon Gile Maynard Dixon Adult Care Center TUESDAY MARCH 17 294 Broadmoor San Leandro $15 per person 6:30 Hors d'oeuvres 7:00 Dinner For more info call 562-4037 Money Market Advantage 6 APY paid on balances of $25,000 or more 5.75 APY paid on balances of Rates in effect until April 30, 1998 18-month IRA Certificate 6 APY in effect for full term of the certificate Can be opened as a Traditional or Roth IRA Unlimited deposits wssmssm 1-408-993-1066 1-8004192-1066 Thii kJ wrublf account Run nuy ctungp jfkr 4J09. Feet may reduce ejmins. A priuky will be imposed far eiri? mMrawk.

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