Compiled by leaders of groups from communities located in the shadows of U.S. nuclear weapons sites. The report card grades looks to the future and lays out an agenda for the next administration.
2008 Radioactive Report Card Grade Book
Press Release
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| | | published Thursday, May 14, 2009 | 4973 Views | |  |
Press Advisory
Environmental Coalition Launches International Project to Explore the Impacts of the Nuclear Age
for further information contact:
Tom Carpenter
206.419.5829
tomc@hanfordchallenge.org
Susan Gordon
505.577.8438
sgordon@ananuclear.org
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Global Nuclear Legacy Project shines a light on the human and environmental
legacy of six decades of nuclear weapons and energy.
An international coalition of nuclear oversight groups is convening in Budapest, Hungary to launch the Global Nuclear Legacy Project on May 28. Their goal is explore the worldwide health and environmental impacts of nuclear weapons and energy production and explore safe paths forward.
Scientists, politicians, and activists from 10 countries will convene in Budapest this month to lay the groundwork for a series of high-profile international hearings across the US, Europe, and Russia in 2010. In addition to testimony from scientific, political, and advocacy communities,
the hearings will also give voice to individuals who have been directly affected by and involved with the nuclear industry.
This first stage of the Global Nuclear Legacy Project is being organized by Hanford Challenge, a Seattle-based group that monitors the cleanup of Hanford Nuclear Site and advocates for worker and environmental protection. “After more than six decades of nuclear weapons and
power, it’s time to examine what has really been created and how we can move forward in a manner that protects current and future generations,” says Tom Carpenter, Executive Director. “This is a natural project for us,” Carpenter adds, “The Hanford Site in Washington State is
where the nuclear age made the jump from being a theoretical concept to the industrial and environmental reality that we know today.”
The Alliance for Nuclear Accountability, a national grassroots network addressing issues of nuclear weapons production and cleanup is a co-sponsor of the project. Director Susan Gordon says, “Countries engaged in - or considering - nuclear programs should examine all the
outcomes they face. Communities across the United States, Russia, and elsewhere continue to suffer environmental and health effects from the production of nuclear weapons and unsafe waste disposal practices.”
“The nuclear industry worldwide has relied on secrecy to cover unsafe environmental practices. Workers from nuclear sites and people from nearby communities can break the cycle of secrecy, expose the truth, and ensure that future decisions on nuclear technology are made with all the necessary information,” says Tom Carpenter.
Russian nuclear contamination is an overlooked environmental crisis, with large areas of land permanently off-limits for habitation due to radiological contamination. Russia’s government
continues to pursue nuclear development and has made little to no meaningful progress in cleanup of their highly contaminated facilities. The Movement for Nuclear Safety and the Bellona Environmental Rights Center in Russia are also sponsoring the project.
Other US partners in the Global Nuclear Legacy Project include the Government Accountability Project. For nearly a decade, these US and Russian organizations have cooperated on an
international grassroots effort to bring safety and accountability to the nuclear industry.
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For more information:
Understanding the Impacts of the Nuclear Age, an overview of the Global Nuclear Legacy
Project
Visit the International Perspectives page on Hanford Challenge’s website.
Facts at a glance:
Countries involved: US, Russia, Austria, France, Finland, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Great Britain, Hungary
US participants from: Washington State, Idaho, New Mexico, Massachusetts, South Carolina, Maryland, and Washington, DC.
Russian Participants from: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Chelyabinsk, Tomsk, and other parts of Siberia.
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