Nuclear Hotseat

INTERVIEW: Dr. Ian Fairlie on his study on the impact of nuclear radiation on children living within 5 km/3 miles of a nuclear reactor. An encore interview from Nuclear Hotseat #162. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Milan Expo 2015 will be another site of Japan's attempt to convince the world that Fukushima food is really safe to eat so that by 2020, Tokyo Olympics tourists will have no qualms about chowing down and exposing themselves to internal radiation. Mmm mmm bad! PLUS: more TEPCO admissions that they haven't a clue about how to clean up the hot mess at Fukushima, but that doesn't stop PM Abe-baby's political party from pushing to restart Japan's 43 remaining nuclear reactors; Evacuees now allowed to stay overnight in Naraha Town in Fukushima Prefecture, but residents of Minami-Soma are suing the government for lifting evacuation advisories in their town, citing high radiation levels; Woods Hole announces Fukushima radiation in ocean off British Columbia; NRC calls Alert (second of four levels of warning) at Limerick Nuclear Generating Station near Philadelphia after fire impacts emergency cooling system; UK changes law so nuke waste sites can be forced on local communities; anomalies leading to "lower than expected mechanical toughness values" found in French reactor in Flamanville.

INTERVIEW: Dr. Ian Fairlie on his study on the impact of nuclear radiation on children living within 5 km/3 miles of a nuclear reactor. An encore interview from Nuclear Hotseat #162. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Milan Expo 2015 will be another site of Japan's attempt to convince the world that Fukushima food is really safe to eat so that by 2020, Tokyo Olympics tourists will have no qualms about chowing down and exposing themselves to internal radiation. Mmm mmm bad! PLUS: more TEPCO admissions that they haven't a clue about how to clean up the hot mess at Fukushima, but that doesn't stop PM Abe-baby's political party from pushing to restart Japan's 43 remaining nuclear reactors; Evacuees now allowed to stay overnight in Naraha Town in Fukushima Prefecture, but residents of Minami-Soma are suing the government for lifting evacuation advisories in their town, citing high radiation levels; Woods Hole announces Fukushima radiation in ocean off British Columbia; NRC calls Alert (second of four levels of warning) at Limerick Nuclear Generating Station near Philadelphia after fire impacts emergency cooling system; UK changes law so nuke waste sites can be forced on local communities; anomalies leading to "lower than expected mechanical toughness values" found in French reactor in Flamanville.

INTERVIEWS:

Dr. Janette Sherman of Radiation and Public Health Project  on her recent study (with epidemiologist Joseph Mangano) showing an increase in congenital birth defects in west coast infants in the eight months after Fukushima. Full report available at: JanetteSherman.com or Radiation.org

Kimberly Roberson of Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network on Bequerel Awareness Day and why anti-nuclear activists need to help stop the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).

SPECIAL APRIL FOOLS BLOOPER REEL:

Outtakes edited from Libbe HaLevy, guests, Munchkin the anti-nuclear dog, and other guest canines.  Microphone pointing in the wrong direction, mispronunciations, and more uhs, uhms and stutters than you can possibly imagine.  Enjoy!

NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK:

Japanese PM Shinzo Abe-baby has his own "Define what 'is' is" moment: his admission that he decided to lie to the International Olympic Committee about the situation at Fukushima so he could land the 2020 Olympics for Tokyo.  He saw it as his job.  I'm sure Hitler did, too.

Japanese PM Shinzo "Pinnochio" Abe-Baby waxes poetic on how the leaks at Fukushima are "under control."

PLUS:

• China Syndrome - Melted fuel at Fukushima Unit 1 may be completely out of containment, two stories deep and up to 50 feet across.  No robot's going to "scoop" this stuff out any time soon.  Estimated wait time for Fukushima clean-up: 200 years or more.
• US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) model shows Fukushima radioactive gas near Tokyo skyrocketed to 10-billion times normal levels in the immediate aftermath of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
• Plutonium at 1-million Bequerels per cubic meter detected in Pacific ocean off Fukushima, labeled "the largest influx of artifiial radioactivity into the sea ever occurring over a short period of time."
• Pope Francis warns Japanese bishops against the dangers of arrogance, comparing Fukushima to the biblical Tower of Babel. 
• New Joban Expressway opens, runs within 3-3/4 miles (6 km) or Fukushima nuclear disaster site.  No word if they used "eco cement," which is made with the ash left over from incineration of decontamination debris.
• US President Barack Obama issues executive order calling for government to use "clean energy sources" - and includes small modular nuclear reactors in the mix.  Oy.
• Kitty Litter takes the blame for the radiation leak at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP site) near Carlsbad, NM.  (But really, the cat litter was responsible for the 55 gallon drum rupturing and releasing radiation, but WIPP's contractor, Waste Control Specialists, is responsible for the HEPA filters in the ventilation stacks not turning on for over 30 minutes, allowing the release of Plutonium and Americium into the atmosphere, exposing 22 workers who have tested positive for internal contamination.
• Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station forced reactor shutdown during the January 27 blizzard makes the Union of Concerned Scientists' annual "near miss" list.
• Banned Japanese food products from Fukushima discovered re-labeled, sold in Taiwan.

INTERVIEW: Dr. Janette Sherman of Radiation and Public Health Project on the recent study showing an increase in congenital birth defects in west coast infants in the eight months after Fukushima. PLUS: Kimberly Roberson of Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network on Bequerel Awareness Day and why anti-nuclear activists need to help stop the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). And a special APRIL FOOLS BLOOPER REEL. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Japanese PM Shinzo Abe-baby has his own "Define what 'is' is" moment regarding his decision to lie to the International Olympic Committee about the situation at Fukushima so he could land the 2020 Olympics for Tokyo. PLUS: Update on Fukushima, Japan, and nuclear numnutzery all over the world...

 SPECIAL REPORT:  THREE MILE ISLAND AT 36

The 36th Anniversary of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, PA, is remembered in this reconstruction of the first three days in human terms – how people first learned of it, the early lies and attempts at a cover-up, how the media dug into the story instead of whitewashing it, and what even hearing the word "evacuation" did to that part of the world.

Featuring:

• Nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education (www.Fairewinds.com);
• Middletown, PA resident Mary Stamos, who lived within six miles of the reactors.  She reports on the earliest impact from the accident and the difficulty getting information through official channels;
• Three Mile Island Alert technical expert Scott Portzline, on suspicions  held by the NRC of possible sabotage (www.TMIA.com);
• Former Nuclear Regulatory  Commissioner Peter Bradford;
• With media clips of Walter Cronkite's special CBS Three Mile Island report on the third day of the accident;
• Interviews with Metropolitan Edison officials and nuclear workers done by reporters at the time of the accident;
• Audio of decisions being made in the control room at the time, recorded by accident on a dictaphone.

All interwoven with Libbe HaLevy's story of what it was like to be one mile from a nuclear meltdown as it was happening.

Read Libbe's full story of what happened when she was caught one mile from the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island... and its impact on the rest of her life in:

Libbe HaLevy's nuclear memoir: Yes, I Glow in the Dark: One Mile from Three Mile Island to Fukushima and Beyond - available as an ebook on Amazon Kindle (click image)

 
Truth and Lies about Three Mile Island (and Fukushima): A Short Video by Myla Reson NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK:

It's not about the Beirut airport catching radioactive feminine hygiene products shipped to them from Dubai; it's that US airports aren't set up to examine shipments and catch this kind of problem.

The 36th Anniversary of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, PA, is remembered in this reconstruction of the first three days in human terms – how people first learned of it, the early lies and attempts at a cover-up, how the media dug into the story instead of whitewashing it, and what even hearing the word "evacuation" did to that part of the world. Featured: nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education; Middletown resident Mary Stamos; TMI Alert technical expert Scott Portzline; former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Peter Bradford; with media clips of Walter Cronkite and interviews done by reporters at the time of the accident, all interwoven with Libbe HaLevy's story of being somewhere she didn't want to be - one mile from a nuclear meltdown. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Radioactive feminine hygiene products found in shipment from Dubai to Beirut, Lebanon… but the U.S. isn't equipped to make a similar catch because we don't test imported products for radiation!

The 36th Anniversary of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, PA, is remembered in this reconstruction of the first three days in human terms – how people first learned of it, the early lies and attempts at a cover-up, how the media dug into the story instead of whitewashing it, and what even hearing the word "evacuation" did to that part of the world. Featured: nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education; Middletown resident Mary Stamos; TMI Alert technical expert Scott Portzline; former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Peter Bradford; with media clips of Walter Cronkite and interviews done by reporters at the time of the accident, all interwoven with Libbe HaLevy's story of being somewhere she didn't want to be - one mile from a nuclear meltdown. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Radioactive feminine hygiene products found in shipment from Dubai to Beirut, Lebanon… but the U.S. isn't equipped to make a similar catch because we don't test imported products for radiation!

The 36th Anniversary of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, PA, is remembered in this reconstruction of the first three days in human terms – how people first learned of it, the early lies and attempts at a cover-up, how the media dug into the story instead of whitewashing it, and what even hearing the word "evacuation" did to that part of the world. Featured: nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education; Middletown resident Mary Stamos; TMI Alert technical expert Scott Portzline; former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Peter Bradford; with media clips of Walter Cronkite and interviews done by reporters at the time of the accident, all interwoven with Libbe HaLevy's story of being somewhere she didn't want to be - one mile from a nuclear meltdown. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Radioactive feminine hygiene products found in shipment from Dubai to Beirut, Lebanon… but the U.S. isn't equipped to make a similar catch because we don't test imported products for radiation!

The 36th Anniversary of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, PA, is remembered in this reconstruction of the first three days in human terms – how people first learned of it, the early lies and attempts at a cover-up, how the media dug into the story instead of whitewashing it, and what even hearing the word "evacuation" did to that part of the world. Featured: nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education; Middletown resident Mary Stamos; TMI Alert technical expert Scott Portzline; former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Peter Bradford; with media clips of Walter Cronkite and interviews done by reporters at the time of the accident, all interwoven with Libbe HaLevy's story of being somewhere she didn't want to be - one mile from a nuclear meltdown. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Radioactive feminine hygiene products found in shipment from Dubai to Beirut, Lebanon… but the U.S. isn't equipped to make a similar catch because we don't test imported products for radiation!

The 36th Anniversary of the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island near Harrisburg, PA, is remembered in this reconstruction of the first three days in human terms – how people first learned of it, the early lies and attempts at a cover-up, how the media dug into the story instead of whitewashing it, and what even hearing the word "evacuation" did to that part of the world. Featured: nuclear engineer Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds Energy Education; Middletown resident Mary Stamos; TMI Alert technical expert Scott Portzline; former Nuclear Regulatory Commissioner Peter Bradford; with media clips of Walter Cronkite and interviews done by reporters at the time of the accident, all interwoven with Libbe HaLevy's story of being somewhere she didn't want to be - one mile from a nuclear meltdown. NUMNUTZ OF THE WEEK: Radioactive feminine hygiene products found in shipment from Dubai to Beirut, Lebanon… but the U.S. isn't equipped to make a similar catch because we don't test imported products for radiation!