Click on the image to see animation of the spread of the Fukushima radiation plume. Image from SciTechDaily.com.

By Marilyn Elie, Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition

According to The Mayo Clinic,  two main features of amnesia are:

• Trouble learning new information.
• Trouble remembering past events and previously familiar information.

That seems to be the case with Fukushima.

On March 11, 2011, the most powerful earthquake ever recorded in Japan struck off the country's eastern coast followed by an unprecedented tsunami. Reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant site sustained major damage. Two days later the disaster caused three of the plant's six reactors to suffer a hydrogen build up which led to three subsequent explosions and released vast amounts of radioactivity. This caused radiation levels to rise in the ocean, land and atmosphere and to eventually reach the western coast of the United States.  

At the time a U.S. Navy Task Force was stationed two miles off the coast of Fukushima to help with the aftermath of the earthquake. Ships and crew were contaminated. Americans living within 50 miles of the reactor were advised to evacuate by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. It was a tense time around the world. Power was out and there was little or no communication with staff at the stricken reactors. Radiation levels were so high that they were at first discounted by United States officials.  

The disaster exploded a myth that had been an integral part of the safety regulations adopted by the NRC. The myth was the certainty that there could never be an accident at more than one reactor at a site at the same time, and, staff and equipment nearby would always be available to quickly mitigate any problem. 

A thorough study of lessons learned from what had happened during this harrowing time produced a list of things to be integrated into the American nuclear safety program.  Subsequently, the Commissioner who proposed the changes was forced out and the NRC closed its book on this chapter of nuclear history. 

On March 11 we remember the lives of Japanese people who were lost to the tsunami and to radiation. We remember the crew members of the USS Ronald Reagan and other task force members.  As Japan struggles with the decades-long clean up still ahead of them, we remember that there is no solution to the problem of high level radioactive waste and that nuclear energy is the wrong choice for people and the planet. We remember the many failed attempts at comebacks by the nuclear industry and their dependence on taxpayer subsidies. 

As we work toward reductions in greenhouse gases we remember the unlimited power of the sun, the wind and water.  We remember with deep gratitude the staunch position of the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations standing strong against nuclear power because it is not safe, it is not clean and it is the most expensive way ever designed to produce steam to turn a turbine to create electricity. 

In this time of chaos, may we use this commemoration to recommit to a safe, clean nuclear free future for our children and all the children of the Earth.