Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

PSR Report: U.S. First Responders, Medical Infrastructure not Prepared for Fukushima-Level Reactor Crisis in the United States

















http://media.prnewswire.com/en/jsp/latest.jsp?resourceid=5039463&access=EH
Mar 6, 2012 13:30 ET
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PSR Report: U.S. First Responders, Medical Infrastructure not Prepared for Fukushima-Level Reactor Crisis in the United States




One Year After Japanese Disaster, Little or No Movement Seen in U.S. to Improve Response Capability; Complicating Factors:  Growing Population Near Nuclear Sites, Aging Reactors & Lack of Gov't Coordination.

WASHINGTON, March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- One year after the Fukushima reactor crisis in Japan, no meaningful progress has been achieved in improving the ability of first responders and medical professionals to react to a disaster on a similar scale in the United States, according to a major new report from Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR). 
To underscore their point, PSR representatives participated in a news conference with a Japanese first responder from Fukushima and a second Japanese expert on the nuclear power industry in that nation.
Titled "Nuclear Power And Public Health:  Lessons From Fukushima, Still Dangerously Unprepared," the PSR report notes: "Existing U.S. emergency preparedness drills do not consider prolonged station black out, severe regional natural disasters, or multi reactor events … The U.S. has not developed the capability to inform and direct emergency personnel and the public in real time during an unfolding severe event, regarding actual radiation levels, plume directions, food and water safety, timely distribution of stable potassium iodide, or the rationale of sheltering-in-place advisories to the public."

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