Mar 09 2012
Lessons from Fukushima Not Being Heeded in the US
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This Sunday March 11th marks the 1-year Anniversary of the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear catastrophe, the most significant since Chernobyl’s nuclear disaster of 1986. Soon after the Fukushima meltdown, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) established a task force to examine possible infrastructural weaknesses that led to the disaster, resulting in a series of recommendations that were meant to strengthen power plant emergency procedures and equipment. As a consequence of the NRC report, all remaining power plants in Japan, save two, were shutdown in order to better restructure them for future emergencies. On the eve of the Fukushima Daiichi anniversary, a report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) outlines worries that safety guidelines initiated by the NRC’s taskforce are not being adhered to by power plants here in the United States. Furthermore, the report points out that the NRC’s laxness in enforcing priority safety recommendations set forth by its own task force on U.S. power plants could seriously threaten many Americans. A growing movement in Southern California to shut down the San Onofre power plants, has planned two events this weekend to mark the Fukushima anniversary featuring survivors of the accident from Japan.
GUEST: Ellen Vancko, Nuclear Energy and Climate Change Project Manager at the Union of Concerned Scientists
Activists are holding an Occupy San Onofre Protest and Rally:
Protest Continued Risky and Costly Operation of San Onofre Nuclear Waste Plant
On March 11 — Fukushima Daiichi Disaster Anniversary
WHEN: There will be a rally from 1:00 t0 3:00 p.m. Gather at Noon. March at 12:30pm
WHERE: Near south gate on Basilone Rd.
Directions: Take I-5 to Basilone Rd, Drive 2 miles south on Old Pacific Hwy for drop off.
Parking: At San Onofre State Beach, ½ mile south of plant — $15/day for day use.
For more information, email marciapatt@cox.net or call 619-501-1031
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