Fukushima and Indian Point: What’s In Our Future?

 

March 11 of this year marks seven years since the Great Eastern Earthquake in Japan triggered the ongoing disaster of Fukushima:  the meltdown of three nuclear reactors, the initial release of radiation that traveled around the globe, the continuing release of radiation into the Pacific Ocean and the proliferation of giant tanks containing highly radioactive water.

 As efforts to contain the release of high levels of radiation have failed, the flow of information about what is actually happening has become increasingly restricted by the Japanese government. We know that radiation levels previously deemed unsafe are now being considered “acceptable” and subsidies to families forced to leave ancestral farm lands are being cut off. Beyond that the picture is very murky, and release of highly radioactive water into the Pacific is again being contemplated.

There is a parallel between the melted down reactors at Fukushima and the decommissioning of the reactors at Indian Point:  high level radioactive waste is stored at both sites.  In fact, the 2,700 plus tons of irradiated fuel rods at Indian Point is more than the high level radioactive waste in all the fuel pools at Fukushima at the time of the disaster. 

What is happening in the Fukushima community now as the result of radioactive contamination? How has it affected the people who lived there and those who want to move back?  What are they facing and what would we face in our community if decommissioning of Indian Point is not done safely?

On March 11, Hiroko Aihara, a native resident of Fukushima, investigative reporter, and freelance medical journalist will speak on what is happening in her community.  She will be bringing short taped interviews evacuees sharing firsthand what they would like us to know about their current situation.  Hiroko was a visiting research fellow at the Miller School of Medicine at Miami University, the University of the Philippines and the Atendo de Manila University in the Philippines. She has written for major news outlets in Japan and now publishes through her own company, Japan Perspective News.

Dr. Courtney Williams, PhD, brings her scientific expertise to issues involving the health impacts of energy infrastructure. Courtney holds a B.S. in Molecular Biochemistry and Biophysics from Yale University and a PhD in Molecular Biology from Princeton University. She completed her post-doctoral training in biological engineering at MIT before transitioning into industry. She is currently a cancer researcher at a biopharmaceutical company. Courtney will update us on the current state of affairs at Indian Point.  Those of you who are familiar with Courtney through her work to stop the expansion of the Algonquin Pipeline know her as a dynamic speaker whose presentation of difficult topics is inspiring and easy to understand.  

In order to ensure public safety the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition is calling for the establishment of a Citizens Oversight Board. This is a critical step in keeping the public informed. Just as there is no place to put high level radioactive waste at Fukushima, there is no place to put it in the United States without contaminating another community.  It must remain on site and be monitored. The program on March 11 will clarify what we have learned and point the way forward to a safe and clean nuclear free Hudson Valley. This is a program you cannot afford to miss.