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I really don't think the media is to blame for the TMI reporting.
The information provided by the utility, the regulators, and the emergency
response agencies was confusing and contradictory.
By coincidence, the national HPS meeting in 1979 was held shortly after TMI, in Philadelphia, PA. A speaker from the State of PA related a telling anecdote. During the event, the Governor of PA called a NRC Commissioner to ask whether he should order an evacuation. The Commissioner stated that there was no reason to order an evacuation. However, he also stated, "If my family were in the area, I'd tell them to leave." The rest is history. I'm convinced that the evacuation was the key event which tipped the scales, and made TMI a major disaster for the industry. If there had not been an evacuation, the public would probably have considered it merely an expensive utility screwup. "And now you know the rest of the story." The opinions expressed are strictly mine.
Bill Lipton
"Michael G. Stabin" wrote: >I mean, I think that there is a legitimate question as to how much stress and anxiety is induced in the public due solely to irresponsible reporting, and not just on matters of radioactivity, but also the West Nile Virus, and the proportions of the Anthrax threat. Arguably it may not have been irresponsible, but media induced panic was the cause of the ONLY deaths related the the TMI incident - several people died in traffic mishaps trying to flee the area. These were real people, not theoretical people. In general, I think this could some day be the basis for a huge class action lawsuit. We have done in the tobacco industry, the fast food industry is currently undergoing "processing", and some day I'm sure that we could conceivably attribute millions of cases of heart disease, high blood pressure, mental illness and cancer to "hysteria reporting" about radiation and other issues (the word "conceivably" being used in exactly the same sense that exposures of uSv of radiation are "conceivably" linked to cancer induction). I want my sack of money now, please. Mike Michael G. Stabin, PhD, CHP |