Re: December 5th Safety at Nuclear Plants

[Chris Davey <chris.davey@cancerboard.ab.ca>]

Hi all,



Just sent this in to the NY Times....



Subject:            December 5th Safety at Nuclear Plants

Date:               Wed, 05 Dec 2001 10:03:13 -0700

From:              Chris Davey <chris.davey@cancerboard.ab.ca>

To:                  letters@nytimes.com





Your article today finally brought me to the point of having to

respond.  There has been an almost endless stream of hyped up paranoia

about Nuclear Power Plants since September 11th.  The truth is almost

the opposite, and is borne out by the targets chosen by the

terrorists, a group of people who obviously understand the difference

between reality and perceptions.



The terrorists targetted the WTC, because they knew the effects would

be immediate and catastrophic.  They did not target any Nuclear Power

Plants, because they knew that, apart from causing some panic in the

first few minutes and hours after an attack, the effects would be

minimal.  Even if some radiation were released due to cracking of

containment structures (a very unlikely scenario), the result would be

a very small theoretical increase in the probability of cancers in

several years time.  There are so many other targets which would

generate spectacular, deadly results, and these results would be

immediate.  Obviously, for reasons of national security, these targets

should not be spelled out in newspaper articles, etc., at this

sensitive time.  (Look in any industrial areas; they are easy to

spot.)



The citizens, and governing officials of the USA should get the list

of hazards sorted from most likely to least, and should concentrate on

the top of the list, not waste precious resources and nervous energy

on the bottom end.  It would also be nice (though highly unlikely) if

the anti-nuclear activists and the media stopped taking the easy route

to success of exaggerating existing fears, without basis in reality.

This does great harm.



Sincerely,



Chris Davey



--

Provincial RSO / LSO / U-VSO

Alberta Cancer Board, Room 4027, 11560 University Ave,

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 1Z2. (780) 432-8665 fax 432-8986

email: cdavey@med.phys.ualberta.ca    chris.davey@cancerboard.ab.ca

pager number (780) 917-2043





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