Based on the write-up below, I will be watching this documentary.
Our network has been heavily involved in nuclear issues for years. (small font category “nuclear” at the top left of this posting.)
I have been following, but not posting updates. Instead, just worrying about the propaganda and intentions – – SMR’s (Small Modular Reactors)!!
The last update was fairly comprehensive: 2020-09-23 re Nuclear Issue & the Throne Speech (Small Modular Reactors – SMR’s)
Many Canadians and people from other countries continut their relentless efforts. God bless them!
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Greetings Friends (from Stephanie):
Netflix has just released a four part documentary called “Meltdown: Three Mile Island” examining the accident at the reactor in Middletown, Pennsylvania, on March 28, 1979. Here is an overview: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/articles/meltdown-three-mile-island-release-date-cast-news
Here is the link on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/ca/title/81198239
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAOIH8HRdDo&t=1s
Review from The Guardian, May 5, 2022: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/may/05/meltdown-three-mile-island-netflix-us-nuclear-accident
It’s a compelling piece of filmmaking and essential viewing given the current push for nuclear power (again) in Saskatchewan and across Canada. One of the central characters in the film is Rick Parks, a navy-trained nuclear power plant operator who went to Middletown in June 1980 to assist with the cleanup. He realized the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and the companies involved were more interested in public relations and saving the nuclear industry than in ensuring the cleanup was done properly. He ultimately became a whistle blower, sacrificing his career in the industry, to save the East Coast of the United States from a dangerous procedure which could have resulted in widespread radioactive contamination and the evacuation of millions of Americans.
Residents were exposed to radiation during the accident at Three Mile Island however there was no serious monitoring of potential health impacts at the time, and the main industry talking point was/is that ‘no one died’. The 4th installment of the documentary touches on the health impacts referring to studies showing rates of cancer two or three times higher than average among people who lived downwind from the accident site.
There have only been two commercial nuclear reactors licensed in the U.S. since this disaster, so the industry was right to worry. The accident at Three Mile Island spawned the anti-nuclear movement in America and around the world. The current push for Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in Canada, and elsewhere, is the last gasp of an industry rife with corruption, conflict of interest and hubris.
Canadian photographer and founder of the Atomic Photographers Guild, Robert Del Tredici, travelled to Pennsylvania after the accident to photograph and interview the people there. In 1980 he published The People of Three Mile Island followed by At Work in The Fields of the Bomb in 1987. Bob’s work as a photographer and critic of the industry spans decades and his photos have shone a bright light on an industry which relies on secrecy to survive.
https://atomicphotographers.com/photographers/robert-del-tredici/
Please watch this important film and share it with others. As we are pummeled with industry propaganda and assurances from a nuclear regulator which actively promotes nuclear power (like the NRC) rather than public safety, we must remember the history of this industry. It matters and informs us. The risks are extremely high.
Thanks.
Stephanie