WORSE THAN IMAGINABLE

Now that the two year anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe in Japan has come and passed, I was shocked at the immensity of this disaster – and that's after writing a book 30 years ago predicting it was going to happen. When Fukushima occurred, I googled the name of my novel (The Nuclear Catastrophe, a fictional tale of survival), knowing it was out of print. But the original hardcover version was still being sold as a used book on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and even survival sites on the web.

So, why am I so shocked? Because I always want to believe in the best. I talked to many scientists who assured me that the radiation release was “minimal”. I asked these scientists what they would do if they lived near a nuclear plant that had this kind of disaster and most said “nothing”. But now we are seeing printed statements & photographs in the news that there are cities in Japan that may not be inhabitable for five years, or 15 years, or a generation, or never. And the evacuated occupants sit waiting for help or compensation.

These people even abandoned possessions and their vehicles when they left – why? Because the metal objects became radioactive from the release of radioactive materials when the nuclear plants were destroyed. They probably had to leave their metal jewelry and coins behind also. And, there would not have been enough time to pack up and efficiently move out. It was grab and run. (When I was faced with a fire at my home I took the stupidest things). Funny what panic does to you. And there is no general insurance policy that covers loss from nuclear accidents or attacks. Nuclear is excluded.

Perhaps I shouldn't be shocked since Hanford, Washington is 240 square miles in the USA that is the most polluted site in the nation from radioactive materials. It will probably never the inhabitable in our lifetimes, or even the next. But I was in denial that it could have been this bad – everyone was assuring that the radioactive materials had blown out to sea and there was no cause to worry.

So the question is.....why would anyone in any nation want to expose themselves to this type of risk? Nuclear Power certainly is not the most cost effective way to generate electricity. Or perhaps it is because you don't live very close to a plant? N. Korea is getting ready (so they say) to attack the United States with nuclear warheads carried by their missiles. A nuclear strike would have the same effect as a nuclear plant catastrophe, or an atom bomb. So when you hear the slogan “No More Nuclear” it's like trying to institute gun control. Only this needed control is of something that can kill many more thousands of people and cause permanent destruction of our land.

I blog, I tweet, I have signed the Greenpeace Petition to raise the liability for the nuclear problems that are caused by the corporations that build the equipment. I have pledged to donate 50% of the proceeds on my Ebook, “The Nuclear Catastrophe”, a fiction novel of survival, to charity for 2013, for the benefit of the survivors of Fukushima. I hope you will help by purchasing this novel for 99 cents at Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004WDRWXY