nuclear-news

The spreading distrust of the nuclear industry’s science “experts”

CBS San Francisco: “Widespread distrust” of scientists over Fukushima — Official: “People are worried, people want to know what’s going on” — UC Berkeley professor admits much of his funding is from gov’t: If you don’t trust us, who is it you want to trust? Says man-made cesium-137 is “natural background radiation” (VIDEO)http://enenews.com/cbs-san-francisco-widespread-distrust-of-scientists-over-fukushima-official-people-are-worried-people-want-to-know-whats-going-on-uc-berkeley-professor-adm

CBS San Francisco,, Jan. 31, 2014: Concerns about radioactive water now stretch from the activism hotbed of Berkeley to the peaceful sands of Monterey Bay. The town of Fairfax has even appealed to the United Nations for guidance on the matter. […] For an expert opinion, KPIX 5 visited Kai Vetter, a nuclear physics professor at UC Berkeley. […] there are fears about contaminated seafood […] not everyone is convinced by Vetter’s assurance that, for now, Fukushima presents no health threats on the West Coast. There is widespread distrust of scientists that some see as too closely related to the nuclear power industry. Vetter admits he receives much of his funding from the Department of Energy, but he insists he has no reason to misrepresent his findings.

Kai Vetter, nuclear physics professor at UC Berkeley

Professor Kai Vetter, UC Berkeley: “That’s a very good question. Trust is something very precious. I certainly live in California. I’m also concerned about my family, my neighbors and my friends. If you don’t want to trust us, who is it you want to trust?”

More from Vetter: “I mean we are living in a world which is radioactive […] We still see Cesium-137 back from the atmospheric tests in the 40s & 50s. We still see that. It’s, in a way, part of our natural background now.”

John Reed, Fairfax Town Council member: “People are worried, people want to know what’s going on […] I’m not eating mahi-mahi sushi, it’s good to be careful.”

CBS San Francisco, anchor: “Chances are you have heard the dire warnings about Fukushima radiation, they seem to be everywhere these days, 3 years after the disaster.”

CBS San Francisco, reporter: “For now, testing from Hawaii to California shows radiation levels to threaten human health or marine life.” Watch the CBS broadcast here

February 3, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Uncategorized