Former Navy Navigators Talk about Radiation Contamination on the USS Ronald Reagan during the Crisis at Fukushima, Japan and its Effect on their Lives “Fukushima Fallout”, with special guests former Navy navigators, Jaime Plym and Maurice Enis, who will talk about their personal experiences with radiation contamination while they served on the USS Ronald Reagan during the crisis at Fukushima, Japan in March of 2011 and the effect on their lives. The conference takes place on Sunday, March 10, at 2:00 PM at Stony Point Conference Center, 17 Crickettown Road, Stony Point, New York. The public is invited and encouraged to attend this free and informative event and to hear this remarkable story about serving in Japan during the Fukushima Daiichi disaster and the subsequent health effects of radiation exposure.
"Fukushima Fallout" Conference at Stony Point -- March 10 | Hudson River Sloop ClearwaterHudson River Sloop Clearwater
Remembering Fukushima: Year 2 - Stony Point Center
Press Release for Fukushima Fallout: Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition
Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition
Fukushima Fallout
Former Navy Navigators Talk about Radiation Contamination on the USS Ronald Reagan during the Crisis at Fukushima, Japan and its Effect on their Lives
For Immediate Release
Interviews and Photos Available on Request
Contact: Marilyn Elie, c914-954-6739 or IPSEC, 888-474-8848
The Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition, the Indian Point Convergence, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater and other grassroots and environmental groups are bringing former US Navy navigators Jaime Plym and Maurice Enis to Westchester to talk about their personal story in regard to the effects of radiation exposure from Fukushima when they served on the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. Exposure to radiation from an unexpected release of radiation has long been of great concern to people living within the 50 mile radius of Indian Point.
Listing of Events:
Saturday, March 9, noon, Press Conference, Croton Harmon Train Station, Upper Parking Lot, 1 Croton Point Avenue, Croton on Hudson, NY. Former Navy navigators on the USS Ronald Reagan Jaime Plym and Maurice Enis will tell their story. They will be joined by Peace Walkers on the 12th Annual Walk for a New Spring. The Walkers will continue from Croton to Indian Point, the intersection of Bleakley and Broadway in Buchanan, NY, for a vigil at the gates of Indian Point at approximately 3:30 pm. All are welcome
Saturday, March 9, 3:15 pm, Vigil at the gates of Indian Point, Bleakley and Broadway, Buchanan, NY. Arrive early and be ready to greet the Peace Walkers as they arrive from Croton at approximately 3:30 pm. This event is different from what has happened in the past. While no are speakers are planned there will an opportunity for public participation. There is power in standing witness and all of us there are working for the closure of Indian Point. The Walkers typically beat their prayer drums, chant and then make an offering of peace cranes. Buddhist nun Jun San will orchestrate the program and all are invited to participate. Those who gather at Indian Point are asked to offer rides back to the Croton train station to those who walked. Peace cranes are a Japanese symbol for peace and a long life. Everyone is invited to make and bring their own peace cranes for the ceremony. Directions can be found at http://www.origami-fun.com/origami-crane.html.
Sunday, March 10, 2 pm, Fukushima Fallout at Stony Point Conference Center, 17 Crickettown Road, Stony Point, New York with Jaime Plym and Maurice Enis, former County Executive Andy Spano, Kevin Kamp, Radioactive Waste Specialist of Beyond Nuclear and Roberto Muller of the Indian Point Convergence. Come and hear the story of “Operation Tomodachi” the US Navy’s effort to aid the Japanese people after the earthquake and tsunami. These events led to the meltdown of nuclear reactors at Fukushima. Because of prevailing winds much of the radiation blew out to sea. This spared Tokyo, but put the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and her crew in harm’s way. Jamie and Maurice are now experiencing health problems as a result of this exposure. Neither are anti nuclear and both are strong supporters of the Navy. They, along with many other sailors, are part of a lawsuit against TEPCO, the utility that owns and operates Fukushima for the false information they provided to the Navy that they feel resulted in their contamination. After their presentation there will be time for questions and dialog.
Andrew Spano, former County Executive of Westchester County for 12 years, will speak about his experience in emergency planning and the county’s efforts to keep residents safe from harm. After many years of trying former Executive Spano has come to the conclusion that this is not possible. His best advice: err on the side of safety and close down a nuclear power plant that is in the neighborhood of 21 million people.
Kevin Kamps, Radioactive Waste Specialist, from Beyond Nuclear www.beyondnuclear.org, will talk about radiation and Indian Point. Kevin is known throughout the Hudson Valley for his expert knowledge and great presentations. He specializes in what happens to high-level radioactive waste stored on site in pools around the country. Kevin has kept a watchful eye on Indian Point for years. He has the answers as to what could happen to us all in the event of exposure to radiation due to an unexpected release of radiation at Indian Point and will answer any questions you might bring.
Roberto Muller, organizer for the Indian Point Convergence, will do a brief presentation on the Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition’s Health and Safety Resolution. Organizations and communities are asked to pass this resolution which calls for measures to prevent the release of radiation from the spent fuel pools at Indian Point in the event of an accident. Whether or not the plant is relicensed, this would make us all safer.
The program will be followed by a potluck dinner for the Peace Walkers when they arrive from Indian Point. Everyone is asked to bring a covered dish to share. After dinner there will be a showing of Cold Shutdown, a 32 minute documentary by Professor Martin Lucus, Hunter College which he shot in Fukushima last year revealing how people go about their daily lives in the presence of radiation in their immediate environment. While the program is free, registration is requested at http://www.stonypointcenter.org/FukushimaFallout. For more details and pictures of Jaime and Maurice go to http://www.stonypointcenter.org and click on Latest News.
Sunday, March 10th, 5 pm Potluck and Peace Walkers at Stony Point Conference Center, 17 Crickettown Road, Stony Point New York. The Peace Walkers will arrive from Indian Point on their journey to the Oyster Creek reactor. All are welcome. You are asked to bring a covered dish to share for diner. The Peace Walkers will briefly relate the story of why they walk and what they are accomplishing. Come and meet people in this dedicated group and support them in their efforts to move us all toward a nuclear free world. The program is free and registration is requested at http://www.stonypointcenter.org/FukushimaFallout. To find out where the Peace Walkers are in their journey click on www.newenglandpeacepagoda.org.. The walk began on February 15, at Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor in Burlington and will continue from Indian Point to New York City, Jersey City, Staten Island and Oyster Creek the nuclear power plant in Tom’s River, New Jersey. The complete schedule is available at www.newenglandpeacepagoda.org. There will be an ending ceremony in Washington, DC on April 3. Communities all along the way are feeding and housing the Walkers and some are walking with them for a time. Look for them in a community near you.
Sunday, March 10th, 6:15 PM a screening of Cold Shut Down: One Year After, Stony Point Conference Center 17 Crickettown Road, Stony Point, NY. This 32 minute film takes you to Fukushima where the Dai-Ichi Power plant disaster, the biggest nuclear catastrophe since Chernobyl, which has contaminated thousands of square miles of Japan with fallout. Faced with a government urging them to stay put and keep quiet, ordinarily calm Japanese citizens must take matters into their own hands. As Fukushima women occupy the grounds of the Ministry of Trade in Tokyo, citizens of Fukushima Prefecture struggle to protect the lives of their children and themselves, by setting up radiation testing sites for people and food, as well as organic food distribution and education centers. Filmmaker Martin Lucas will lead a discussion and answer questions after the film. Martin is an artist, educator and media activist living in Brooklyn, whose work looks at the militarization of culture and the intersection of technology and democracy. He teaches in the Hunter College Department of Film and Media Studies. All are welcome. This event is free. Help us ensure adequate seating by registering at http://www.stonypointcenter.org/FukushimaFallout.
Monday, March 11th, 1 pm, March 11, New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue, 103rd St. this Symposium is "a project of the Helen Caldicott Foundation, co-sponsored by Physicians for Social Responsibility." Former US Navy Navigators Maurice Enis and Jaime Plym will share their story of serving as navigators on the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the disaster response to Fukushima, and the health consequences they have experienced as a result of their exposure to radiation. They will be at the Symposium on the Medical and Ecological Consequences of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident with some of the most distinguished scientists and researchers in the field. Press interviews will follow a brief presentation with questions and answers. For more information: http://nuclearfreeplanet.org/symposium.html or register at https://hcf.ticketbud.com/the-medical-and-ecological-consequences-of-the-fukushima-nuclear-accident . The Symposium will also be live streamed at http://www.totalwebcasting.com/view/?id=hcf. Members of the media can RSVP, obtain more information or request interviews by contacting Stephen Kent, skent@kentcom.com, 914-589-5988 (working media only please).
There will also be a demonstration gathering in Times Square at 11am. People will then walk to the United Nations where there will be speakers and a program at 2pm for the children of Fukushima, for info: savefukushimachildren777@gmail.com.
Background
Plym and Enis were both navigators on the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan on March 11, 2011 when the northeast coast of Japan was destroyed by earthquake and tsunami. The USS Ronald Reagan led a group of ships that were deployed by the United States Navy in “Operation Tomodachi,” (the Japanese word for friendship) to help our ally in the aftermath of a natural catastrophe which became a nuclear disaster. The USS Ronald Reagan was later sent to dry dock for radiological decontamination.
Both Jaime and Maurice live in Florida now but will be in our area for a limited time. They met aboard ship, fell in love and plan to make their lives together. As navigators, they plotted the course of the aircraft carrier. Aircraft carriers are a quarter of a mile long and have limited mobility in changing course. At times the USS Ronald Reagan was two miles off the coast of Japan near Fukushima prefecture during the worst of the uncontrolled radiological releases. For more details see http://bit.ly/12dzbLe.
Jaime describes playing a “cat and mouse game” with radiological releases so that the ship could avoid contamination. The decks were scrubbed with ocean water which was later found to contain radioactive isotopes from the stricken reactors. The ship’s water comes from a desalination plant on board which was also contaminated. Maurice was sent to collect the ship’s flag and later set off shipboard radiation monitors because his hands were so contaminated.
Americans living within a 50 mile radius of the Fukushima reactors were advised by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to evacuate but the Navy stayed for 80 days to continue rescue operations. Both Enis and Plyme now suffer from symptoms related to exposure to radiation. Along with many other sailors, they are now part of a suit against Tepco the utility that owns and operates the reactors at Fukushima because of the false information on radiation that Tepco provided to the US Navy. For more information on the court case see Tepco Court Case: http://bit.ly/XpfJW5. Recently released transcripts of meetings held at the time show high levels of concern by officials for contamination of the Yokosuka Naval Base, 188 miles away. US dependents from the base were in fact evacuated. Those transcripts are available at http://pbadupws.nrc.gov/docs/ML1205/ML12052A105.pdf.
High Level Radioactive Waste Storage Pool Dangers
The spent fuel pools at Indian Point contain 2,000 tons of highly radioactive waste – more than was in all of the spent fuel pools and reactors at Fukushima. While a few of the rod assemblies have been moved to dry cask storage on the property, the remaining irradiated rods are racked to four times the intended density thus increasing the probability of a spent pool fire. Buildings housing the pools are ordinary commercial construction and are not hardened like the reactor.
A spent fuel pool fire at Indian Point would be an unparalleled tragedy for our entire region and could expose millions to radiation like that experienced by former naval navigators Jaime Plym and Maurice Enis and the people of Japan.
Links for More Information
Transcripts of Briefings on Fukushima
A Lasting Legacy of the Fukushima Rescue Mission: Part 1 Radioactive Contamination of American Sailors Part 1: http://bit.ly/12dzbLe
A Lasting Legacy of the Fukushima Rescue Mission: Part 2, The Navy Life -- Into the Abyss http://bit.ly/Y5jXCJ
Press Release for Fukushima Fallout: Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition
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