nuclear-news

Radiation or education – dilemma for Fukushima City parents

Fukushima City kids should not have to choose between radiation and education Greenpeace (includes video)  by Justin McKeating – August 29, 2011 The children of Fukushima City are due to return to their schools this week despite the continued contamination of school buildings by radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Just over a week ago, our radiation experts found dose rates exceeding international safety standards at several schools, as well as many public areas in Fukushima City; this is why we are calling on Japan’s incoming Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, to keep the area’s schools closed until they are properly decontaminated. No parent should have to choose between radiation exposure and education for their child – yet this is the decision facing thousands of parents.

The Greenpeace radiation monitoring team surveyed a high school, preschool, and childcare centre, along with several public areas in Fukushima City, and discovered high radiation rates at one school where they authorities had already carried out decontamination work….

This is the challenge for incoming Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. He must move quickly to secure people’s health, homes and livelihoods. Then he must secure his country’s future by abandoning nuclear technology, and moving towards a future powered by renewable energy. Japan’s parliament made the first move on this on Friday, but voting in a crucial and landmark renewable energy bill. This bill gives Mr Noda the chance to move Japan away from the risky and expensive nuclear path, to protect Japan’s economy and the future for its people, and show the world what a true energy revolution looks like.

August 30, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | - Fukushima 2011