[ RadSafe ] Anyone in Berkeley, CA on Fukushima Response Group Formation

[Brennan, Mike (DOH)]

It is a shame that the SVCF isn't working at Fukushima.  It is quite
reasonable to speculate that if these skilled, knowledgeable,
independent people were onsite the cleanup would go better, and workers
would be safer.  It is also reasonable to speculate that the SVCF
members would live longer, by virtue of having important work to give
them greater focus and interest in life than the average retiree has.  

As for the exposure they would receive; a seventy-year-old should live
so long that it becomes the biggest risk to their health.

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu
[mailto:radsafe-bounces at health.phys.iit.edu] On Behalf Of Karen Street
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2012 7:54 PM
To: The International Radiation Protection (Health Physics) Mailing List
Subject: Re: [ RadSafe ] Anyone in Berkeley,CA on Fukushima Response
Group Formation

Wait for the NY Times to cover it. That's what we had to do with the
people who were worried about all the radioactivity kids were exposed to
going past Lawrence Berkeley Labs on their way to Lawrence Hall of
Sciences (tritium from the labs). In vain did people say that the extra
exposure was comparable to going to school at 1/8" higher elevation.
(Fortunately in Berkeley, only the wealthy live in the hills.) Then some
school decided not to send any kids to the lab, and the Times covered
it. When another school made the same decision a year or two later, the
Times covered it. (Normally, it only takes one article in the Times.)

I am sympathetic with the group's complaints about the workers. In the
US, Nuclear Energy Institute had a blog post saying we hire contract
labor as well, but we train them-we don't pick laborers up on street
corners and pay wages far below what everyone else gets. 

> Here is an interesting posting by activist Carol Wolman from the 
> FukushimaFalloutForum Yahoo group - there is meeting of a group in 
> Berkeley at 2PM today - note the rhetoric about Fukushima - also note 
> the last line that they are forming groups like this all over the 
> country
> 
> 2 pm on Weds August 15th, at 2550 Dana #5B (at Parker).
> Home of Cecile Pineda, author of Devil's Tango, How I Learned to
Fukushima.
> Our purpose is to raise public awareness of the dangers from the 
> nuclear reactors at Fukushima Daiichi (F-D) which were damaged in the 
> earthquake/tsunami of March 11, 2011. Radiation that was released at 
> that time, that is still being released, and that would be released if

> another massive earthquake, typhoon, tornado or manmade error 
> precipitates another explosion there- all present huge hazards to the 
> Bay Area and to the planet.
> A few of us met with Yastel Yamada last week. He is a founder of 
> Skilled Veterans Corps of Fukushima (SVCF). We learned that the owner 
> of F-D, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) has subcontracted to 400 
> different companies, with no overall project manager. TEPCO says it 
> can't allow the 700 elderly volunteers of SVCF to work on the 
> containment/cleanup because it has no hiring authority, and all the 
> subcontracted companies have their own employees. We learn from the 
> news that TEPCO is partly owned by the Mafia, the workers are 
> underpaid and overexposed to radiation, the work is sloppy and 
> inadequate, there are lots of leaks, TEPCO is less than candid with 
> information. Cleanup and containment are way too slow, not centrally 
> controlled, not done by people who are experts in this area.
> Therefore, SVCF and we are advocating internationalization of F-D, 
> which can only happen if there is enough worldwide pressure, from 
> governments and from the people.
> There is an active Fukushima Responders group in Sebastapol, which 
> meets frequently to plan public events, run a website, 
> http://fukushimaresponse.com/, hold workshops, lobby, etc. They are 
> vigiling every Friday, in support of the Japanese people, who turn out

> every week by the 100,000's to protest the restarting of nuclear 
> plants in Japan. We will network with them, and with other FR groups 
> now forming around the country.
> __

--
Best wishes,
Karen Street
Friends Energy Project
blog http://pathsoflight.us/musing/index.php

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