Crisis Without End: The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe

Dr. Helen Caldicott, Beyond Nuclear's Founding PresidentTeaching for Change Bookstore at Busboys and Poets welcomes Helen Caldicott, editor of the new book,

Crisis Without End: The Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Catastrophe

 introduced by Kevin Kamps of Beyond Nuclear.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014 

6:30 to 8:00 PM

Busboys and Poets - 14th & V, N.W., Washington, D.C.

Sponsors: 

Physicians for Social Responsibility 

Beyond Nuclear 

Teaching for Change 

Busboys and Poets

Beyond Nuclear's Cindy Folkers and Kevin Kamps presented at the 2013 symposium which led to this new book. Summaries of their presentations are included.

Update on October 9, 2014 by admin

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Helen's book talk event went very well last night. We had a good turn out. Here is a link to Kevin's introduction of Helen. Helen gave a great talk, followed by a dynamic Q&A/discussion afterwards. Thanks to everyone who came, and all those who helped spread the word!

Japan PM says no nuclear restart without "100% safety."

Reports Reuters: "Japan will not restart closed-down nuclear plants "unless safety is restored 100 percent," Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday." But what will this really mean and how will 100% safety be guaranteed, a virtually impossible standard for most heavy industries?

"Japan is currently 'completely dependent on fossil fuels,'" Abe lamented, learning rather too late the obvious lesson that if you bank on nuclear you are stranded when it fails. Abe says "his government is looking to introduce renewable energy sources at a fast pace," a good possibility in France where wind and solar is already running on a limited but growing basis.

Families sue government for Fukushima radiation exposure

"A group of parents and children who were residing in Fukushima Prefecture when the nuclear disaster unfolded in March 2011 is suing the central and prefectural governments for failing to take sufficient steps to protect children from radiation exposure during the crisis.

"In a written complaint, they said the central and prefectural governments failed to promptly release accurate data on airborne radiation levels after the nuclear crisis, neglecting their duty to prevent residential radiation exposure as much as possible, and exposing children to radiation."

"As a result, the parents and children are seriously worried about their health down the road and are suffering from mental distress, they said in the complaint." One woman's child became ill after the initial radiation releases.

"Of the 88 plaintiffs, 24 children who live in Fukushima and are still attending school there are demanding that local municipal offices affirm their right to receive education in a safe environment." The Japan Times

Radiation is known to cause various diseases. The information sharing and evacuations following Fukushima were clearly botched and some people were exposed to radiation because of this incompetent handling of the crisis.

Children are particularly vulnerable to radiation exposure, so these families are not waiting until someone has taken ill to sue for compensation. Their suit implies that exposure to radiation against their will and due to government incompetence is enough to allow them compensation as their risk of certain diseases has been increased by this exposure.

First time: Japan court orders TEPCO to pay damages for suicide

TEPCO has been ordered to pay Mikio Watanabe (pictured) nearly 500,000 US dollars in compensation for the suicide of his wife, Hamako (58 years), after they were forced to leave their home and livelihoods in Kawamata town (40 km from the reactors) due to contamination from the ongoing Fukushima catastrophe. They evacuated three months after the accident began when it was realized the contamination levels in their area were too high for living and working.

Her family claimed "the evacuation was responsible for a deterioration of Mrs Watanabe's mental state because she did not know when she could return home, according to Kyodo news agency. The chicken farm where she and her husband were working also closed."

TEPCO has been settling such damage claims out of court, but this case marks the first time a court has rendered a verdict. More cases like this are expected.

"Dozens of Fukushima residents are reported to have killed themselves since the disaster...

Tens of thousand fled their homes and businesses because of radioactive contamination, with the majority still unable to return home." BBC

" '"It is well assumed that the stress caused by sudden loss of the base of her life against her will and unknown future in evacuation was unbearable for her,' according to the court ruling." CNN

Indeed, the ongoing nuclear power catastrophe has set up a dichotomy of lose-lose situations: suffering radiation health damage if one is allowed to stay in a contaminated area, and suffering the stress of having to evacuate and being forced into an uncertain future.

No word on whether TEPCO is planning to appeal.

Fukushima still releasing 8 billion Becquerels per day into Pacific

"TEPCO made the startling admission... at a press conference that the plant is leaking 8 billion bequerels per day. (8 gigabequerels)

5 billion bq of strontium 90
2 billion bq of cesium 137
1 billion bq of tritium..." from SimplyInfo

Worth noting is that the majority of the relases are strontium 90, a radioisotope known to collect in bone and increase the risk of leukemia. Strontium 90, along with tritium, is particularly hard to detect through widely used detection methods.

According to SimplyInfo, 8 billion Bq per day would mean that the total release to the ocean from Fukushima would be well over the assumed release of 11 Terabecquerels over four years' time.