VOICES - As the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County Departments of Public Works announce their campaign “Littering Is Wrong Too!” to get “Los Angeles area residents talking about litter” you may not think it would open a festering wound of outrage … but it does!
You would think that leaders from one of the largest cities, from the most influential country, would have something more to say about the state of our world. But our mamsy pamsy leadership avoids real issues.
Why would anyone want to point out that we are living in a toxic cesspool created by greedy corporate puppeteers and condoned by our puppets, a.k.a. leaders? Perhaps because the real impacts of B.P.’s oil spill or the chemtrails in our skies, or the Fukushima fallout is not covered by mainstream media, other big corporate puppeteers.
At least the City of Los Angeles mustered up a collective viewpoint that stated …“Earth Day is an opportunity for communities around the world to increase environmental awareness and show appreciation for our Mother Earth.” But this pussy footing around the enormous issues facing the world should not be tolerated.
Surely you remember one year ago, the largest disaster made by man, decimated Northern Japan. On March 11, 2011, a tsunami battered the shore, destroying the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant, when hydrogen explosions and the subsequent meltdowns of three reactors released radiation across the region.
New revelations continue to come after the disaster. But the real cost and truth will take centuries to unfold.
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Think about this: We are relying on the expertise and planning of our own government and nuclear companies. But should we?
• The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant had an emergency off-site center five kilometers away from the plant. The site had to be evacuated because the building was not designed to withstand elevated radiation. Epic failure in planning and design.
• The on-site diesel generators eventually failed because they were not designed to withstand flooding. . Epic failure in planning and design.
• Power companies spend more time trying to convince the public that nuclear energy was safe than they spent for real safety measures. Epic failure in planning.
• With out power, there was no procedure to operate the vent valves, so operators had to figure out how to do so manually, a potentially fatal risk. Epic failure in planning and design.
• Having failed to open the necessary valves to reduce pressure for reactor 1 until almost 24 hours after the earthquake. Epic failure in planning and design.
• The government did not have evacuation routes established for local residents in the event of a disaster. Epic failure in planning and design.
• The Japanese military, police and fire department units, used several water cannons and fire trucks, to get to the reactor site doused with seawater and prevent further escalation of the disaster. Epic failure in planning and design.
• The defense forces didn't even have a site map for Fukushima Daiichi plant when its personnel first arrived. Epic failure in planning.
• Four months after the tsunami, TEPCO said it “believed” it had stabilized the temperature inside the reactors, one more step toward the goal of a "cold shutdown”. Epic failure in planning and design.
• The Japanese government did not reveal the true nature of the disaster, nor did the public learn that TEPCO wanted to withdraw from the site completely leaving an uncontained nuclear meltdown. Epic failure in communication.
• Japanese government never gave its citizens a realistic sense of just how long it would take to get control of the disabled plant, nor what the ongoing risks was as radiation continued to be emitted. Epic failure in communication.
• When a reactor is decommissioned and the spent fuel is removed, the pressure vessel and other things remain a radioactive mass. Your only options are to bury the site or to take the plant apart, and much of the waste becomes general waste. Epic failure in planning and design.
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Today TEPCO believes it is in a “state of cold shutdown” but has yet to achieve the real deal. Let’s not forget about Chernobyl. The Chernobyl Nuclear Reactor was sealed with a cement sarcophagus without taking out the fuel. That coffin is crumbling, so they have to make a second, a third and so on.
What will be the fate of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant? No…What will be the fate of humanity if we don’t act now and resolve the many design defects of our nuclear plants or begin planning for the process of closing down the plants and utilizing safe alternatives?
I must ask … Why does the systematic suppression and cover up of such life threatening information no longer surprise us? Why have we continued on our path with nuclear energy despite the apocalyptic results?
Ironic that we live in a time where politicians can create a false urgency of global warming to implement new taxation while ignoring real life threatening eco-disasters.
But … let’s talk about litter!
(Lisa Cerda is an occasional contributor to CityWatch, a community activist, Chair of Tarzana Residents Against Poorly Planned Development, and former Tarzana Neighborhood Council board member.) –cw
Tags: Fukushima Nuclear, Japan, Earth Day, Chernobyl, San Onofre
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 34
Pub: Apr 27, 2012