Re: Is it true? Austrian paper on Indian Point "entertainment show"

["Gerald Nicholls" <Gerald.Nicholls@dep.state.nj.us>]

What is true is that the show did air on HBO.  However, it was not a

"documentary" as it was billed by HBO.  The estimates were beyond "worst

case".  It certainly wasn't entertaining for anyone who is involved in

preparing for nuclear power plant accidents.



Gerald Nicholls



>>> Franz Schönhofer <franz.schoenhofer@CHELLO.AT> 09/15/04 13:05 PM >>>





Franz Schoenhofer

PhD, MR iR

Habicherg. 31/7

A-1160 Vienna

AUSTRIA

phone -43-0699-1168-1319





I read recently in the well reputated Austrian daily paper "Standard"

about the HBO show:



"At the cable-channel HBO there was on Wednesday a documentation, which

described detailed, what will (!!!!!) happen, if an assault would hit

the nuclear power plant "Indian Point", 35 Miles north of (New York):

this would result in 44 000 deaths within the first days and 500.000

deaths during the following ten years."



I wonder, whether this report is true. 



If this really has been distributed on HBO I wonder, which people have

provided the background for these numbers. There was in 1986 the worst

ever and the worst imaginable nuclear accident in Chernobyl - the

reactor exploded, the core was exposed, the graphite burned for more

than 10 days, emitting all the time radionuclides. The outcome was -

unless you follow some "low-level" media with their claimed hundreds of

thousands of victims,  about 30 to 40 people who died of acute radiation

sickness, a lot of people, especially children were affected by I-131

intake and developed thyroid cancer. No leukaemia (unless you follow the

mentioned "low-level" media) was observed - how could it, concerning the

long time it might need. To my knowledge the thyroid cancers were

curable, which is no excuse, regarding the health detriment. As a

European I still refuse to downplay the Chernobyl accident, especially

regarding the social and psychological consequences. I just wonder, what

could be more disastrous than this really disastrous event. So regarding

the claimed content of the "show": "Cui bono" is the Latin expression -

"For whom are these messages of advantage?" Why are they distributed?

Isn't it (mis)used for political purposes, to frighten people and

influence them in their political decisions? 



Finally: A programme which distributes such information cannot even be

regarded as entertainment. 



Best regards,



Franz









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