nuclear-news

Call to attend Washington Senate briefing 22 September

The U.S. Senate: Attend the briefing on nuclear power
http://www.change.org/petitions/the-u-s-senate-attend-the-briefing-on-nuclear-power 11 Aug 12,  As your constituent, I urge you to attend a critical briefing on nuclear safety organized by Rep. Dennis Kucinich. The meeting is scheduled for Thurs, Sept. 20th, 2012 from 2 – 4 pm on Capitol Hill in the Cannon Building, Room 121.

Why attend this briefing? There is an ongoing nuclear disaster in Japan. Prior to this disaster, the regulators in Japan said they had all the safety measures possible in place. Our Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has said the same thing about our 104 aging nuclear power plants.

Despite the assurances from Japan, a major nuclear disaster happened. A large part of Japan is now uninhabitable.

Nuclear disasters are NOT unique to Japan. Chernobyl and Three Mile
Island killed and sickened many. Furthermore, the earthquake and
tsunami that triggered the disaster exposed design flaws in the
nuclear power plant that were not considered before. The design flaws
caused the nuclear disaster and these design flaws were human error.
What’s most troubling is that these same flaws exist in many American
reactors, yet the NRC has not sufficiently updated regulations based
on lessons learned from Fukushima.

IMAGINE IF THIS HAPPENED IN OUR STATE INSTEAD. As long as nuclear
power plants exist in our country, it is a possibility. The Japanese
nuclear industry said all along a disaster like Fukushima could never
happen. Our nuclear industry tells our citizens the same thing. In
Japan, the disaster includes three core meltdowns, hydrogen gas
explosions, and the venting of radiation-contaminated steam. Japanese
people, including children, are sick.Many families have moved out of
the area or even left the country, because they know the contamination
in the water, air, soil, and food supply is harmful to them. The
nuclear disaster devastated the local economy. Farmers were forced to
slaughter their prized cattle because they were contaminated and
worthless. Several organic farmers even took their own lives. As of
April 2012, just over a year after the original nuclear disaster,
300,000 people were still living temporarily in some 50,000
prefabricated houses and 70,000 leased private houses, both provided
with funds from local municipalities.

http://recoveringtohoku.wordpress.com/category/housing/temporary-housing/

IN SHORT, nuclear power has the power to destroy lives and devastate
economies. Would we want the same thing for our children and our
economy? It could happen if we don’t start paying close attention to
this aging and potentially dangerous industry.

Like-minded representatives who care about protecting our economy and
the health of children will be at this briefing to learn more. Will
you?

Please attend the briefing Thurs, Sept. 20th, from 2 – 4 pm in the
Cannon Building, Room 121 to learn more.

Presenters will include experts from Physicians for Social
Responsibility, Beyond Nuclear, the Nuclear Information and Resource
Services and others who will provide you with the most up-to-date
information on nuclear safety and will be available to answer any
questions you may have.

On behalf of my family, thank you in advance for taking the time out
of your busy schedule to attend this critical briefing. There is
nothing more important than protecting our economy and the health of
our children.

August 11, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general