The risks of "normalizing" radiation

Lessons from Fukushima and Chernobyl

http://www.beyondnuclear.org/chernobyl30-fukushima5/

The Risks of "Normalizing" Radiation: A Special Event 

Leading international experts and compelling short films will headline a May 3rd Beyond Nuclear event in Washington, DC to mark the anniversaries of the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear disasters. Full program.

Beyond Nuclear and the Goethe-Institut, DC will co-host an afternoon and evening program that will mark the 5th anniversary of Fukushima and the 30th anniversary of Chernobyl. The legacy of both nuclear power plant disasters has included a marked increase in radiation-induced diseases and mutations, as found by some of the world’s leading researchers, several of whom will be speaking at the event.  

The event takes place at the Goethe-Institut, DC, 1990 K St. NW (event entrance on 20th St.) The afternoon panel presentations run from 2pm to 5pm. The evening program is 7:30pm to 9pm.  All events are free and open to the public.  No registration required.

Dr. Timothy Mousseau, has conducted landmark research on wildlife and plant matter around both the Chernobyl and Fukushima sites.  He has found significant alterations in plant decay and radiation-induced changes in wildlife including shortened life spans, smaller brain sizes, male infertility and cataracts. 

Dr. Wladimir Wertelecki, has pioneered work on the the deleterious effects of disaster-related radiation on long-term child development, particularly in relation to the radiological contamination spread by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Dr Wertelecki has focused on teratogenesis – changes caused by environmental interference to a developing fetus, a fetus with with normal genes, as distinguished from gene mutations, inherited from parents.

Dr.Yuri Hiranuma, a Japanese doctor based in the U.S. has studied thyroid issues among post-Fukushima children.  She has a particular focus on how affected people are coping (or not coping) with the disaster; how inefficient and dysfunctional the government agencies are at managing the problem; and the apparent systematic underestimation and dismissal of health effects. In June 2014 she co-authored a critique of the UNSCEAR 2013 report on the Fukushima disaster.  

Additional speakers include: Lucas Hixson, who has taken radiation measurements at Chernobyl; and Beyond Nuclear experts Cindy Folkers, Kevin Kamps and Paul Gunter.  Two short documentaries -- Alone in the Zone, on Fukushima, and Champion in Chernobyl, featuring tennis legend Maria Sharapova -- will be screened to open the evening program.  Both the afternoon and evening programs will include discussion with the audience. 

The event includes a special exhibition of Chernobyl and Fukushima photos by Gabriela Bulisova and Robert Knoth. For more information, email info@beyondnuclear.org