Alone in the Zone

Review by Caroline Phillips, Fairewinds Energy Education Administrator

“Loneliness doesn’t quite capture it,” says Matsumura Naoto, the Fukushima farmer who will not leave his animals or his home and is the sole resident of his once bustling town. The post-apocalyptic, evacuated ghost towns of Tomioka and Iitate that are located within a 25mi radius of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear reactor are featured in a 20-minute video 'Alone in the Zone' produced by VICE Intl. 

As a US citizen, watching this video brings to mind the havoc of Hurricane Katrina and its forced dislocation of so many people living in and around New Orleans. Destruction caused by Fukushima’s nuclear meltdown appears as visceral as the hurricane, but the greatest difference between the two is what no one can see. The highly toxic radiation released by Fukushima Daiichi lingers indefinitely and radioactivity will continue to contaminate once beautiful farmland for hundreds of years. Now, four years after the nuclear triple meltdown, slow decommissioning of everything in the reactor’s shadow continues without an end date in sight.

Naoto is a Tomioka farmer who has returned to his cattle farm where ostriches run free since the meltdown. With his arms hanging comfortably around one of these wild, long necked birds, Naoto recounts evacuating his family, living as a refugee, and being refused lodging from his sister-in-law who feared that they were contaminated and would bring radiation into the house. Two years after Fukushima Daiichi’s meltdown, Naoto returned to his farm despite the high cesium levels. Naoto says he opposes the killing of animals in radiation-controlled zones. While he believes that slaughter for consumption is reasonable, he says that slaughter because of contamination is senseless- “Would they kill people just as indiscreetly?” he asks.

You might think that Naoto is a simple farmer obsessed with his livestock however, in the words of Hasegawa Kenji another farmer from the area, “Everyone views cattle as all the same. But that’s not true. At all.” Kenji and his family of eight once lived in a stately home on land that supported his life’s work of farming. Now he resides with other refugees from the Fukushima Prefecture in temporary housing that looks like a chain of doublewide trailers. Kenji recalls scientists telling the mayor of Iitate, Kenji’s village, that they were in danger of radiation but the government continued to reassure residents that they were safe. Once it was clear that the scientists had been right about the significant radiation exposure and not the town officials, Kenji and his wife did all they could to care for their exposed and contaminated cows by milking them everyday and pouring out the toxic milk. Sadly, they were eventually forced to systematically slaughter all of their beloved animals.

Radiation Testing Clinic Director, Nihei Masahiko explains that the amount of exposure is irrelevant because if cesium enters the body, there will be damage. Radioactive substances leaked by the Fukushima Daiichi owner, Tokyo Electric Power Company, have contaminated the soil of the Fukushima prefecture rendering the land unusable. Yet, according to Nuclear Physics Professor Koide Hiroaki, TEPCO still refuses to accept responsibility for its radioactive fallout because the land is ‘bona vacant’, an ownerless object.

Not being able to eat or drink without exposing oneself to contamination in a radiation-controlled zone makes Matsumura Naoto’s return to his farm unimaginable for most of us, but I would venture taking that risk is not so unfathomable for Hasegawa Kenji or anyone else who has been indefinitely displaced from their home. Remembering a time before the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Kenji recalls his grandchildren visiting him every day after school to say hi to their grandpa and the cows. That life is over now. All that remains are memories of happier times that Kenji says, “I almost wish I could forget.”

Los Alamos

Written by Sue Prent

There's been a lot of talk lately about the “1%” in America, and that has played havoc with the old notion of "how the other half lives."

Despite having reframed the time-honored ratio of rich people, we have lost none of our curiosity as to how and where they live.

As they are the ones who ought to know best about the comings and goings of America’s 1%, I bow to the superior sources of the Wall Street Journal who just gave us a tantalizing glimpse.

In answer to the rhetorical question, "Where Are America's Millionaires," WSJ reveals an unexpected fact:

“The region with the highest concentration of millionaires is better known for the Manhattan Project than Saks Fifth Avenue. Los Alamos, N.M., had the highest share of millionaire households in 2014 in a ranking of more than 900 U.S. metro areas, according to a report from research firm Phoenix Marketing International released Wednesday.

More than one in nine households in Los Alamos have more than $1 million in investable assets, giving the region a higher concentration of wealth than tonier locales such as Napa, Calif., or Martha’s Vineyard, Mass”.

Who'd've thunk it?

Perhaps fearing it might put readers off of their uranium stock and cornflakes, WSJ doesn't dwell on the Manhattan Project connection. We at Fairewinds need not observe the same delicacy.

Nestled in the bosom of Los Alamos is a warren of lucrative nuclear industry and government research and development operations.

Employees of the Los Alamos Lab, Sandia, and similar research facilities can jostle through the supermarket, elbow-to-elbow with their neighbors, secure in the knowledge that no one they are likely to touch is pulling down less than six figures, even if they are just shredding documents.

This bounty in the midst of a generally depressed New Mexican economy is thanks to the continued generosity of more than seventy years of federal funding for nuclear research.

Los Alamos’ ‘golden ticket’ has bought a legacy steeped in famous names like Robert Oppenheimer and infamous ones, like "Fat Man" and "Little Boy”. It is the place where it could be argued that modern day terror had its inception.

In case you were sleeping in seventh-grade History class, Los Alamos was the birthplace of the atom bomb: the original weapon of mass destruction.

Babcock and Wilcox (B&W) is the company that was transformed in that birthing from a humble boilermaker to the mighty conglomerate of uranium and nuclear technology it is today. Now holding the contract to manage the Los Alamos Lab for the U.S. government, B&W also designed and built the Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant that melted down in 1979.

Judging from the WSJ story, the big boom business is still booming; and why not?

With a whole lot of help from federal funding, insurance waivers and an incredible postwar PR makeover, research to develop the first nuclear weapons was successfully repackaged for civilian consumption as America’s nuclear energy initiative through the Eisenhower administration’s ‘Atoms For Peace Program.’

One might even say that nuclear power enjoys a charmed "half-life" as, through all of its incarnations, the industry has maintained close ties to federal purse strings (our tax dollars), the military, and an extremely forgiving regulatory system.

Self-righteous nuclear industry voices remind us, whenever possible, that they have been beating swords into plowshares (or 'Megatons to Megawatts,' as they would have it) when they converted U.S. and soviet nuclear weapons into reactor fuel; but that ‘supply” has been exhausted and the industry must look elsewhere for its reprocessing opportunities.

Unless a nuclear arms race figures into your long-term business plan, the “Megatons to Megawatts” model was a pretty dubious platform on which to build future technology, even if you could come up with a way to safely sequester all of that stubborn nuclear waste.

…But nevermind.

There is still plenty of spent fuel piling up with no place to go but into risky new modes of energy release. Never mind the contamination, terrorism and proliferation hazards involved in storing, moving and reprocessing nuclear fuel.

Life couldn't be better in Los Alamos, the community that fission and federal funding built.

Fairewinds on the March

­­Now is the Time

No matter what one’s political persuasion, it is evident that the world’s weather patterns have intensified and are impacting people around the globe. To focus world attention on this issue, at least 400,000 people stepped out in New York City in the People’s Climate March on Sunday September 21st. This unified effort was the first gathering of this magnitude and meant to focus world attention on the dramatic consequences climate change is having on the world’s economy, environmental health, and the personal health of people throughout the world.

Fairewinds Board Member Chiho Kaneko and I were part of more than 1,000 marchers in the Nuclear Free, Carbon Free contingent.

“This is a movement embraced by young people, which is good – so different from whom we see in the anti-war & anti-nuclear movements,” Chiho reflected. “They are urged to DO something, so this had a different flavor and brought in a new generation of people.

Riding on separate buses from Vermont, we realized the importance of the Nuclear Free contingent well before we arrived. On the long trip from Vermont, we both spoke to staunch climate change activists, yet when the discussion changed to nuclear power, some were on the fence. They would say, “I read a new study saying new nuclear reactors and recycling spent fuel is so much better, and, isn’t nuclear power emissions free? Shouldn’t nuclear be part of the mix?”

Chiho and I believe it is vital to have an honest discussion about nuclear power and the future of energy policies, especially with the people spearheading the climate change movement. We want to hear an honest discussion between people like Arnie Gundersen and Bill McKibben.

When our buses were delayed in traffic, Chiho missed her engagement to sing at the rally. Even before we found the Nuclear Free contingent, two-dozen blocks from the bus drop off, we saw “Nuclear? No Thanks” smiling sun flags everywhere in the streets. NIRS (Nuclear Information Research Services) gave 650 flags away before the march even began. We wandered among the 1,000 plus nuclear crowd, greeting colleagues from around the country, and meeting nuclear campaigners from Indian Point, Pilgrim, Fitzpatrick, Tennessee, South Carolina, New Jersey, and more. Many people recognized Chiho from her Fairewinds media work, her translation work, and through New York City events in which she has participated. They expressed their gratitude to us for the work done by Fairewinds.

“'In the New York area, the Japanese community concerned with nuclear issues is relatively small,” Chiho said. “One young woman told me that it is very difficult for her to talk about Fukushima Daiichi with her peers especially mothers, because they don’t want to think about it, it is too disturbing” Chiho added, “She feels pretty isolated, and when she comes to a big march or rally, it is a consolation. That one is not alone is a huge value of public demonstrations. That recognition can encourage them to continue their work back home.”

I was on the logistics team for many of the Vermont Yankee events and on the team that organized the Nuclear Free Contingent for this march. Most people have a misconception about protesters. The people who I met mirrored what research has shown. They came out to protest because they have already educated themselves on issues, vote, contact politicians, attend hearings, and write letters to the editor.

Sunday’s march marked the beginning of a broad coalition of issues under one umbrella – climate justice. It also motivated tens of thousands of people who are new to public protest. The new marchers were activated by the outrage they feel and a well-organized broad event, one safe enough for these new activists to move from letter writing to marching in the street.

At times while we walked, I saw Chiho sketching what she witnessed. “It is the role of artists to really see the problems we face and articulate them, to find ways to think about things on a very basic level, not just issue by issue,” Chiho said when I asked her about it.

“If people say “lives matter,” that is a starting point. Without that, you don’t have a foundation to nurture sound judgments. It felt like this march was an occasion to be completely open and available to our fellow humans,” she said.

Chiho also noted that at one point, she was sketching while marching, there was a stop, and a policeman was looking over Chiho’s shoulder. He shook his head, as if saying, “I don’t know how you do that,” and they bumped fists. “It was a connection. That was the sweetest moment.”

To me, the most touching post-March moment was Tuesday when President Obama, in his speech to the United Nations, said, “Our citizens keep marching. We cannot pretend we do not hear them. We have to answer the call.”

By Leslie Sullivan Sachs

Should I Take Radiation Protection Pills?

Every day Fairewinds Energy Education receives many questions. The big question in the New Year is: “Should I take a ‘radiation pill’ to combat the radiation being given off by the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi?” First, lets start by defining a radiation protection pill is and what it does. A radiation protection pill is usually called potassium iodide because it consists of potassium iodide KI which is the scientific notation for this molecule consisting of the elements potassium (K) and iodine (I). Unfortunately, potassium iodide only protects against one type of radiation, radioactive iodine. It does not protect against the hundreds of other radioactive isotopes released in nuclear meltdowns.

How does a potassium iodide (KI) pill work?

Your thyroid routinely absorbs iodine (I), non-radioactive iodine that is! Natural [non-radioactive] iodine is added to ordinary table salt to help give your thyroid gland the iodine it needs to function correctly.

During a nuclear accident or meltdown like those at Fukushima Daiichi an enormous amount of radioactive iodine is emitted for 90-days and then it is gone from the environment, unless there is a new meltdown. When radioactive Iodine (I) is being released during a nuclear accident or meltdown, and at that time only, it is important to prevent your thyroid from absorbing the radioactive iodine, so it is a good idea to take potassium iodide (KI) pills. These pills will saturate your thyroid with good non-radioactive iodine and prevent the radioactive iodine from being absorbed.

To be effective, the KI pills must be taken shortly after the beginning of an accident. That way the good, non-radioactive iodine gets to your thyroid before the radioactive variety arrives.

How long should I take KI? Shouldn’t I continue forever since radiation lasts for 250,000 years? Two words of caution:

• Radioactive iodine has a half-life of 8 days, so it completely decays away [dissipates] in 90 days or less. Taking KI pills for more than 90 days is a waste of money and is also potentially very dangerous to your health.
• KI pills can have negative health side effects in some people and should not be taken unless a severe nuclear accident is in progress near where you live. We considered using KI in Vermont after the Fukushima accident, but chose not to because the risks outweighed the potential benefits. See side effects.

Many countries stockpile potassium iodide pills near nuclear facilities or nuclear weapon target areas in order to protect public health and safety. In case there is a nuclear accident or nuclear war, the pills can quickly be distributed to protect peoples’ thyroid glands. Unfortunately, after the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi, even though KI was readily available nearby, Japanese government officials did not release most of it in time to help or at all due to conflicting orders by different branches of government.

Stockpiling KI pills in the US has been an issue with the NRC for decades. Former NRC attorney Peter Crane was a hero when he petitioned the NRC to take action. It is only suggested that nuclear facilities, states, or communities near by, stockpile KI in case of an accident or meltdown. More...

Finally, there is no protection against the hundreds of other radioactive isotopes released following an accident or meltdown. White protective suits worn by the workers at Fukushima prevent hot particles from touching the workers’ skin. The gamma rays from the radiation on the site pass right through the suits and irradiate the workers. Moreover, the radiation plume moving offsite knows no boundaries and will meander wherever the weather pushes the radioactive plume, thus impacting many people considered outside the radiation path, until they have been exposed. Unlike oil or chemical fires that smoke and may been seen for miles, radiation cannot be seen, so people do not know they are being exposed.

Lastly, some medical doctors are working on ways of helping people recover from some radiation exposures. For example, Dr. John Apsley in Seattle, Washington, has been working with cancer patients to help them recover from medical radiation. He has applied that methodology to the possibility of radiation exposure from the Fukushima Daiichi triple meltdown. Fairewinds Energy Education has listed his book on its website booklist: Fukushima Meltdown & Modern Radiation: Protecting Ourselves and Our Future Generations Dr. John Apsley, 2011. Dr. Apsley explains the health risks of nuclear power with emphasis on the implications of the Fukushima incident. He presents ways to protect and detoxify our bodies from the harmful effects of radiation.

Tokyo 2020: Q&A with Arnie Gundersen

FW facebook

By Fairewinds Administrator Samantha Donalds

After Saturday’s announcement that Tokyo had won the 2020 Summer Olympics bid, we thought it would be timely to post an old video on our Facebook page about radiation levels in Tokyo: The video, Tokyo Soil Samples Would Be Considered Nuclear Waste In The US, was first posted after Fairewinds’ February 2012 trip to Japan.  Since reposting this video on Facebook Monday morning in the wake of the Olympics announcement, the video has been seen by more than 10,000 people, shared by 200, and has sparked significant discussion on our Facebook page (including a few good “20-20 vision” jokes), along with some excellent questions. I sat down with Fairewinds Chief Engineer Arnie Gundersen to discuss some of the issues and questions raised during the past few days by our viewers and followers. Ultimately, it is clear to us that Saturday’s Olympic Committee announcement has officially changed the conversation about Fukushima Daiichi.

Q: The Fukushima Daiichi triple meltdown was in 2011, and your Tokyo soil samples were from 2012.  Do you think the Tokyo area is unsafe now, and do you think it will still be unsafe in 2020?

A: It’s crystal clear to me and to other scientists that the people in Tokyo and throughout Japan received high radiation doses during the months following the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011. The data from a full year later, as seen in our 2012 video, clearly shows that much of that radiation had fallen and remained in unanticipated locations throughout Tokyo. Over time the radiation has been carried off with rainfall directly into Tokyo Bay; and indeed radiation levels in Tokyo Bay continue to increase. Data from air filters in Japan indicates that additional radiation, well above background levels still remains in the air, and it is unclear what the situation will be in 7 years.

Q: Is this decision to host the 2020 Olympics in Japan a good thing for the Fukushima Daiichi cleanup and for Japan? So far the Japanese government has been downplaying the risks of Fukushima radiation and not taking cleanup very seriously. Do you think that the Japanese politicians will start taking the cleanup seriously now that Japan has an international event to host on the horizon?

A: I think hosting the Olympics in 2020 is an attempt by the Japanese to change the topic. I don’t think people around the world are going to care until 2020 approaches. There is a seven-year window for the Japanese government to work to make Tokyo a showcase for the entire world to view. I think the Japanese government wanted to host the Olympics to improve the morale of the people of Japan after the Fukushima Daiichi accident. Unfortunately, it’s taking people’s attention off of the true cost of the accident, in terms of both money and public health. The radiation fallout in Tokyo and throughout Japan has been politicized by the Abe administration.Good Japanese scientists are simply afraid to measure what is in the environment as a result. Look at Fairewinds Demystifying Nuclear Power blog post by Art Keller. Keller details mismanagement of the cleanup, uncalibrated equipment that garners exceptionally low radiation readings, and a severe lack of training in radiation cleanup and monitoring for the Japanese personnel involved in the cleanup and radiation monitoring efforts.  What’s important is that we get good science to measure throughout Japan not just Tokyo, and good scientific inquiry should move forward without political influence.

Fairewinds Viewer Question: Although its impossible to tell where things will be seven years from now, what would Arnie’s advice be for anyone (athletes, press, builders, merchants, etc.) who has to make a commitment soon to participate in Tokyo 2020?

A: No one can say, because this is seven years in the future, that is simply too hard to predict. The environment will still be polluted in seven years, but it is impossible to currently determine by how much or whether the contamination would be enough to harm visitors who are only in Japan for two weeks. I will say that when I was in Tokyo in 2012, I was careful only to eat food from the southern islands and Australia. However, that was one year after the accident, not nine years. Good science during the next seven years is the key to making this determination.

Also, there is a huge difference between being in Tokyo for two weeks versus living there continuously.  Many people in Japan are being exposed to detrimental levels of radiation day in and day out for many years, so we should be much more concerned about the public health of the people living in Japan for extensive periods rather than the possible exposures for short-term visitors.

Q: Some people on our Facebook page said they didn’t think the 2020 Tokyo Olympics wouldn’t ultimately take place. As one commenter said, “Tokyo will be a ghost town by then.”  What do you think?

A: Fukushima Daiichi poses many problems and we have not heard the end of them. It’s not clear how future events will affect the rest of Japan.  The triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi is the largest industrial catastrophe in the history of the world, and the radiation releases are ongoing. Currently, no valid methodology is being applied to lessen these releases, nor is the proposed ‘ice wall’, which is more than two years out, a valid technology.

Fairewinds Viewer Question: Given the rate of radionuclide decay, what is risk of hot particles, rad-dust inhalation, etc. in 7 years? And how does the exertion of athletes in peak performance affect the likelihood of internal contamination from radionuclides?  

A: Cesium has a half-life of 30 years, which means it stays in the environment for 300 years. What’s more important is how much cesium the rain washes into Tokyo Bay, and we need good science to measure that.

Fairewinds Viewer Question: Is the air at Tokyo more dangerous than the air in London? Especially when one knows radioactive things can get re-airborne, such as radioactive pollen, black radioactive dust, etc?

A: Believe it or not, this is a question we are asked often; not necessarily the comparison between London and Tokyo, but the question of where it is safe to live. We answered that question on the FAQ page of our website, and we are reposting our answer to that here:

We cannot legally give specific advice on where it is safe to live or travel.  Every region has its own unique health and safety problems, nuclear and otherwise, and it is not within our area of expertise to evaluate specific geographic risks.  For more information on this topic, you can watch our 2011 interview with Dr. Steve Wing for a discussion on geographical risks and the problem of relocating. On our Fairewinds book list, we recommend “The Enemy Within: The High Cost of Living Near Nuclear Reactors” by Jay Gould, and “Living Downstream: A Scientist’s Personal Investigation of Cancer and the Environment” by Sandra Steingraber.

Related Material

Fairewinds Video: Tokyo Soil Samples would be Nuclear Waste in the US 

Libbe HaLevy interview with Arnie Gundersen: Olympic Insanity + If Gundersen were in Charge at Fukushima

Fairewinds FAQS: We answer questions about health concerns, radiation exposure, radiation testing, and more.

Fairewinds Video: TEPCO Believes Mission Accomplished & Regulators Allow Radioactive Dumping in Tokyo Bay

Demystifying Nuclear Power Blog Post by Art Keller: Cleanup From Fukushima Daiichi: Technological Disaster Or Crisis In Governance?

Japanese Street Art exhibit at the Japanese Foreign Correspondents Club addresses Fukushima Daiichi, government cover-up, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics

Fairewinds releases leaked Southern California Edison Email

Fairewinds Associates was sent a leaked Southern California Edison email informing San Onofre employees it is against company policy to leak documents to Fairewinds.

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Subject: Fw: CLARIFICATION REGARDING RECENT NEWS COVERAGE OF OUR PLANT STATUS Subject: CLARIFICATION REGARDING RECENT NEWS COVERAGE OF OUR PLANT STATUS To: All SONGS Employees and Contractors

Yesterday, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) posted additional data on its website regarding our steam generator tubes for Units 2 and 3. This has generated an additional news cycle regarding our plant's status. Specifically, the data reflects the type and amount of tube wear we have found on the steam generator tubes. The request for more information about the tube wear came from the public at our June 18 Augmented Inspection Team exit meeting with the NRC. The data includes various types of wear, and shows that most of the wear was less than 20 percent, which is far below the required plugging limit of 35 percent, and the majority of the wear is related to support structures.

While this is the first time this data has been released to the general public, it is the exact same data we have been providing to the NRC and our industry experts all along as we have conducted our inspections, analyses and our root cause evaluations. It provides the basis for our conservative decision-making and our approach moving forward for the repair plans.

Also yesterday, Friends of the Earth (FOE) released another study by Fairewinds Associates regarding issues with our steam generator tubes as compared to the industry. It is disheartening to see they are using "a leaked Southern California Edison document" as part of their source data, which is our first root cause evaluation for the Unit 3 steam generators. It is unfortunate, as this document is a critical piece of our return-to-service plans that are still being evaluated and challenged. As a reminder, it is against our company policy to release company documents to the media or other third-party stakeholders.

The station is in the middle of performing some additional inspections in the Unit 2 and 3 steam generators, and we will be conducting some equipment tests in Unit 2 soon. Each of us has an important role to play every day as nuclear professionals and must maintain our focus on our work. My congratulations to the station for a successful auxiliary boiler test and for the excellent work in maneuvering Unit 2 down through mid-loop. Safety always will be the first guiding principle behind all the work we do. With this in mind, we will always be successful. I'm proud to be a part of this team.

Pete

Japanese Legislative Task Force Calls Fukushima Daiichi Triple Meltdown A Man-made Disaster

Head investigator Kiyoshi Kurokawa speaks to politicians

The Fukushima Nuclear Accident Independent Investigation Commission, the first independent investigation commission in the 66 years of Japan’s constitutional government, released a 630-page report July 5, 2012. This special report, that was delivered to the Japanese Diet (Legislative body), analyzes the triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi and is highly critical of Japan’s governmental organizations and Tokyo Electric in the events that led up to the catastrophe. The report said,

“[the] accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant cannot be regarded as a natural disaster. It was a profoundly manmade disaster – that could and should have been foreseen and prevented. And its effects could have been mitigated by a more effective human response.”

If you are a viewer of the Fairewinds’ website, this admission by Japan’s Diet should come as no surprise to you. In October 2011, Fairewinds released a video entitled Nuclear Oversight Lacking Worldwide (See Video Below). Later in February 2012, under contract with Greenpeace, Fairewinds wrote The Echo Chamber: Regulatory Capture and the Fukushima Daiichi Disaster.

Nuclear Oversight Lacking Worldwide from Fairewinds Energy Education on Vimeo.

Fairewinds applauds the Independent Investigation Commission for their honesty is assessing the real root cause of the Fukushima Daiichi catastrophe. This catastrophic triple meltdown can no longer be called an accident because it was manmade and completely preventable. Fairewinds notes that these same manmade nuclear safety issues and engineering flaws are worldwide in the nuclear power industry, and are not limited to nuclear power generation in Japan.