The Alliance to Halt Fermi 3…

The Alliance to Halt Fermi 3 (ATHF3) applauds the recent action on the part of Ontario municipalities who have advocated for a direct distribution of KI to Canadian residents living within the EPZ adjacent to the US-based Fermi 2 , a nuclear reactor located on the shores of Lake Erie near Monroe MI, in recognition of the risk in case of an accidental radiological release from Fermi 2. KI (potassium iodide) is the recommended remedy useful in preventing radioactive iodine from being absorbed by the thyroid if taken as soon as possible upon knowledge of an accidental release, and therefore stops the development of thyroid cancer which is so highly problematic for young children and pregnant women.

ATHF3 embarked on our KI campaign in 2015-2016, a door to door educational canvasss that reached 1600 households living within the 10 mile EPZ of Fermi 2. In addition to the canvass, we conducted a community forum in Monroe MI which reached front page news in the local Monroe News newspaper. In addition, key organizers within ATHF3 met with Monroe County's Director of Emergency Planning Mark Hammond in November 2016, and engaged in a fruitful discussion with the Director about the need for direct distribution of KI. In April 2017, ATHF3 participated in the Monroe County's Annual Earth Day Expo, and we discovered to our surprise and delight that the Monroe County Health Dept had a table at the event distributing free KI. We considered this a victory attributed to our recent KI campaign.

Real world experience (Chernobyl 1986 and Fukushima 2011) should inform nuclear emergency planning instead of industry claims. ATHF3 believes the PNERP (Provincial Nuclear Emergency Response Plan) should include actions in the event of US nuclear reactor accidents, particularly in regard to Fermi 2, the similarly design-flawed design as Fukushima. International best practices standards for nuclear safety should be the benchmark rather than the US nuclear industry's idea of emergency preparedness (KI is available to residents living within the 10 mile EPZ through a strictly voluntary voucher basis).

ATHF3 recognizes the important precedent-setting by Ontario's provincial government upon nuclear non-emergency preparedness planning & policy in the United States. If direct distribution of KI is possible in Canada, why not the United States? No study exists which outlines the effects of a large scale nuclear accident on the Great Lakes but suffice it to say that risking the safe drinking water for 40 million people living within the basin is certainly cause for the application of the precautionary principle. Having direct distribution of KI in every household's medicine cabinet is a minimum standard that needs to be put into immediate practice.

[Original Comment ID: 210623]