When Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant released radioactive plumes to the air, US sailors were there to help. Now, as some grow seriously ill from illnesses consistent with radiation exposure, who is helping them?
Every ten years or so, the nuclear establishment trots out a proposal to offload some of its so-called low-level waste—radioactive metals, concrete, soil, plastics, and other materials—onto the public. In the past, this idea was met with outrage and was stopped. But as the nation’s nuclear garbage pile continues to grow, the pressure to release some of it into commerce—and thus our daily lives—mounts.
What do you do when you don’t trust the state or federal government to protect your community from a powerful industry that you believe threatens your health, your quality of life, and your financial future? One option: Make what the industry does a crime. Here, we look at one small community that is taking a stand—and hoping a symbolic step becomes a catalyst for bigger things.
For the first time in 30 years, the United States has just okayed new nuclear reactors. Though this comes with the still unfolding Fukushima disaster as a backdrop, we’re being told everything is under control. It is—damage control.
If you thought you didn’t need to pay attention any more to the Fukushima nuclear disaster, well, you’d be wrong. The Japanese government isn’t necessarily taking the right steps. Karen Charman explains.