News and Opinion

http://www.traprockpeace.org/audio/fniplenary29oct05aimedia.mp3
(51:22 minutes: 23.6 mb; 64 kbps mono)

At the New England Coalition Nuclear Institute, held at the School for
International Training on Oct. 29, Ed Russell taped an important commentary
on initiatives neighbors are taking near the Pilgrim reactor in Plymouth, to
address emergency evacuation issues. (Pilgrim is also owned by Entergy
Nuclear.)

After an introduction by Ray Shadis, a conference organizer,
Mary Eliazbeth Lampert of Duxsbury ( http://www.pilgrimwatch.org )
explained that with help from public grants, highways have been marked to
indicate best evacuation routes. Schools and other public buildings were
assessed for their potential as radiation shelters. Wooden buildings provide
only 20% dose reduction. Masonry buildings can provide 80% shielding.
Basements and interior spaces provide the best protection. In a radiological
emergency windows provide little protection. Lampert questions the ability
of school administrators and evacuation planners to assess in advance
whether putting kids on buses and having them sit in a traffic jam will be
better than locking down a building to reduce inhalation and exposures.

Many schools are welcome centers. In the event of an emergency during school
hours, administrators must choose between protecting their students by
locking down the building to prevent radiation contamination, or opening the
doors to admit evacuees and contamination. Therefore to be prepared, new,
fully-equipped radiological evacuation centers at a great distance from each
of the nation’s reactors must be designated, staff must be designated, and
centers must be stocked with some provisions in advance.

Pilgrim area neighbors are pressing for distribution of potassium iodine
(PI) tablets to the entire, local population. We believe that since
radiation health effects are carried on the wind with no consideration for
lines on any map, distribution of PI should be nationwide, to protect
against just one of the quickest acting contaminants.

Thanks to Ed Russell of http://activeingredients.org this commentary airs at
6 pm Monday on WXOJ, 103.3 FM Northampton, and thanks to Charlie Jenks the
commentary will be posted at http://www.traprockpeace.org
Thank you NEC staff and volunteers! http://www.necnp.org
More issues at http://www.nukebusters.org

This program is also airing on WXOJ 103.3 FM Northampton on Monday, Nov 6 at 6 PM