Re: Radioactive Minerals Scare

[RuthWeiner@aol.com]

yes there is hope!

When I talked to my granddaughter's fourth grade class, I took a Geiger 
counter and some mineral specimens and some vaseline glass and we counted 
them.  Not only were the children fascinated and interested, and asked good 
questions, but the teacher was very pleased.  She had a friend at Hanford who 
had been detailed to answer questions about the "downwinders" and both she 
and the friend thought all the hysteria was nonsense.  She was very pleased 
by my matter-of-fact presentation.

More recently I talked to six groups of highschool students (about 600 
students altogether) about the Manhattan Project.  Not only did I get good 
questions and no hysteria, but the chemistry and physics teachers are 
well-informed and well prepared, and do a good job.  A couple had taken the 
ANS teacher workshop.

I think what the press does (and they do it in my community too) is akin to 
the endless explicit sex and violence that appears to be on TV in 
fictionalized episodes, as well as in movies.  The people who put it on don't 
realize (or think) of the effect on various segments of the public.  They 
just want to sell newspapers or movies or whatever.  Out local press still 
religiously seeks out the anti-nuke groups for comment on every story that in 
any way involves the WIPP, although most of these"groups" aren't groups but a 
few individuals and, frankly, they lost their fight.

Ruth Weiner
ruthweiner@aol.com
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