The Nation - News from Oct. 25, 1988

An environmental group, joined by the Abemarle Commission, a planning and development panel representing 24 local governments in northern North Carolina, filed suit against the Pentagon to halt operation of a electromagnetic pulse facility used to simulate conditions of nuclear war. The suit, initiated by the Foundation on Economic Trends, charges the Navy began operating the electromagnetic pulse, or EMP, emitter this summer off the North Carolina coast without conducting adequate studies on possible harm to human health and the environment. Navy officials defended their environmental impact studies and said the electromagnetic pulses do not pose a threat to humans or animals. The facility, known as Empress II, is a large antenna mounted on a barge that emits EMPs, and is used to assess the vulnerability of computers and other electrical systems.