During the making of this documentary, a significant library of public information was collated to insure the accuracy of the work. We have prepared a small library of white papers to serve the needs of communities and community activists who can use this information to better serve our nation's management of this vital and important issue.
We invite you to reprint these articles to communicate the facts about this national tragedy, with the proviso that our film and this web site are attributed.
Don't get me wrong...the numbers that are involved in this issue can give you a headache. They've given me more than one. I'm working on this section, and hope to give you a variety of links to news articles and scientific papers which will explain (hopefully) in some detail the numbers - radiation contamination, drinking water limits, and other numbers that will help you understand the issue and the challenges that we all face.
This link is great. It explains in regular human terms (as opposed to scientific big brain terms) what radiation is, how it's measured and what it does. Science Decoded
Follow this link from the Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) website which will show you all of the nuclear plants in the US and how many people would have to be evacuated if an incident occurred. Sobering to say the least. You can look up your home by city or zip code. This is a tremendous piece of work. Thanks to PSR for everything they're doing here.
This link will take you to the Greenpeace site and to a map that will show you U.S. nuclear plants and seismic zones. Ever heard of the New Madrid fault? Check out this map and find the area where you live. Got any idea of when an earthquake will hit your area and how big it will be? Everyone in Japan knows they're on one of the most active seismic zones on the planet, yet they built over a dozen reactors. Call it what you will, stupid is as stupid does.I don't necessarily agree that the levels in the Pacific Ocean are 'neglible' since the amounts of radiation mentioned below are leaking into the ocean every day. However, I want to stay open minded and think it's worth a read. The numbers that he talks about are HUGE.
Radioactive substances from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant will dilute to negligible levels in the ocean, but the area close to the site remains a problem, the chief researcher at the Meteorological Research Institute said.
Michio Aoyama reported his findings on the circulation of radioactive substances released into the sea at the Scientific Forum of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna in September.
In a recent interview with The Asahi Shimbun, Aoyama said the crippled plant continues to spew radioactive water into the ocean, which is likely circulating eastward to North America.
Excerpts from the interview follow:
The following is a reprint of an article by the Rapid City Journal which speaks to the ongoing problem of Uranium mining incidents which threaten the environment and the public health.
Powertech, a Canadian company that is proposing to begin mining uranium near Edgemont, has worked for years to reassure South Dakotans that its mine will not only be environmentally friendly, but that there are plenty of other mines across the country to prove that safety record.
But a closer look shows that hasn't always been true.
This article by Robert Alvarez, published by the Federation of American Scientists is a great read. It will give you some great information on uranium mining and its horrific history. Here's just one section...
The miners were never warned of the hazards of radioactivity in the mines in which they inhaled, ingested and brought home along with their contaminated clothing. Withholding information about the hazards of the workplace was deeply embedded in the bureaucratic culture of the nuclear weapons program. In 1994, a previously secret document (written in the late 1940s) was made public by the Department of Energy which crystallized the long-held rationale for keeping nuclear workers in the dark.
“We can see the possibility of a shattering effect on the morale of the employees if they become aware that there was substantial reason to question the standards of safety under which they are working. In the hands of labor unions the results of this study would add substance to demands for extra-hazardous pay . . . knowledge of the results of this study might increase the number of claims of occupational injury due to radiation.”
Although HOT WATER doesn't address the issue of nuclear weapons, the use of uranium in those weapons, and now in what is called 'depleted uranium' weapons is a serious issue. Reusing these radioactive materials for any purpose is gruesome and unacceptable in our opinion, but here you'll get some information that we hope will help you form your own.
This article by Max Fisher of the Washington Post explains in easy to understand language, the science surrounding the Iran nuclear talks.
Hundreds of U.S. industrial sites that generate nuclear electricity and manufacture nuclear weapons regularly release radiation to our air, water and soil via the burial of wastes. These same industries are now lobbying for permission from government to release radioactive materials for re-use in consumer products. There is no safe radiation dose. Whether the release is accidental or allowed is irrelevant. This dramatic surge in the release and distribution of radiation, makes it ever more clear that we do not need a nuclear accident to cause disease.
