Nuclear Hotseat Hosted By Libbe Halevy

MUST LISTEN! Slammer interview w/environmental attorney Susan Hito Shapiro on the battle to shut down Indian Point near NYC, plus some legal strategies applicable for anti-nuke activists throughout the country. Plus: 45,000 Japanese protest at PM Noda's front door against Oi nuke restart, which has already been plagued by 27 ALARMS GOING OFF!; bulge in Fukushima Unit 4 now 40% larger than in May; the swallows did NOT come back to Fukushima, in a big way (Silent Spring, Summer, Fall...); LA Times editorial to keep San Onofre shut down marks the most important major media anti-nuke stance in decades; and both TEPCO and Japanese government tell skeptical consumers that fish caught near Fukushima is safe to eat... even though they won't let independent experts test within 12 miles of the still-leaking facility. Sushi, anyone? (Hell, no!) SAKAIDO HANSAI!

Dr. Bill Cardozo and Darin McClure on radiation monitors, what they'll do and won't do, crowd-source radiation monitoring and how to hook up some monitors directly to the Internet for real-time result posting. Plus: Japan's PM Noda approves restart of Oi reactors over thousands of protestors; 10 Fukushima mothers confront elected officials with their painful truths before staging a die-in (video link on NuclearHotseat.com/blog); Friends of the Earth file lawsuit to force NRC relicensing hearings of faulty San Onofre reactors; tsunami debris docks in Oregon; and northeast Japan bracing for monster typhoon that's taking aim at Fukushima. Plus some cautions about taking zeolite, pro-nuke as mental illness, and a chance to join a die-in demonstration of your own!

Special extended interview with Irvine City Councilmember Larry Agran on the politics of nuclear power, San Onofre, and what we can do to keep the pressure up against nukes in all our communities. Grass roots encouragement at its best!

Nuclear Hotseat Exclusive: Special panel discussion on The Roy Process for Neutralization and Elimination of Nuclear Waste. Is this the missing technology for ultimately getting rid of the radioactive byproducts of the nuclear industry? Can it work? What will it take to find out? Learn about the process, the doubts, the tantalizing possibilities, and what stands in the way of this potentially game-changing nuclear technology from Dennis Nester, agent for The Roy Process; engineer and physicist Ernest Goitein; veteran anti-nuclear activist Ace Hoffman; and a surprise "deus ex machina" appearance by environmental attorney Susan Shapiro. Be sure to listen through to the end, then visit www.NuclearHotseat.com/blog for June 5, 2012, to access the information referenced in the call. HOT STUFF!

Michael Mariotte of NIRS.org on NRC evacuation zone radius and emergency exercises; Bluefin tuna caught off CA all found contaminated with Fukushima Cesium 134 & 137; Jaczko stands for safety as NRC rubberstamps Massachusetts' Pilgrim reactor for 20 more years; Canada reports 3 radioactive nuke leaks in just one month!; former Prime Minister Naoto Kan comes out strongly against nukes; Japan radiation still circling the globe, prevents TEPCO from even starting decommissioning work, mutating cedar seeds... but that doesn't stop the International Olympic Committee from implying that if Japan would only restart its nuke plants to guarantee electricity, it still might be chosen to host the 2020 Olympics. NUMNUTZ!

Interpreter/anti-nuke activist Umi Hagitani talks about the real concerns of the Japanese people and her experiences translating for Fukushima survivors who addressed U.S. anti-nuke demos and the media. Plus: NRC's Jaczko resigns his Chairmanship; Sen. Barbara Boxer goes after Southern California Electric over sidestepped licensing amendment for steam generator design changes; Alaska Senator Mark Begich says tsunami debris will be worse than Exxon Valdez - but Washington still can't tell him a plan for dealing with it; Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds says Unit 3 may be just as bad as Unit 4; meanwhile Unit 1 has only 15" of water and no one's sure where the corium is; Koodankulam protestors get UK MP support, while Indian government numnutz will be sending shrinks to Koodankulam to create "don't worry, be happy" mental exercises to calm down those wascally nuclear protesters!

Long time activist Elise Longhi shared how to get radiation out of the soil using mushrooms and hemp, out of water using nano technology that already exists, along with information on long-suppressed research by physicist Dr. Roy that actually neutralized radioactive cesium and strontium! Why is no one grabbing onto these technologies to solve the radiation threat? Plus Koodankulam protests in India being taken to National Human Rights Commission, French election may sink British nukes, Iowa legislature too smart to fall for nuclear Ponzi scheme, radioactive black dust all over Tokyo, cesium spike in Tokyo Bay "no IMMEDIATE health risk" (note that adjective!), and radioactive mice found just outside Fukushima evacuation zone.

Interview with Daniel Hirsch on the 1959 Santa Susana Field Laboratory nuclear meltdown - more radiation released than Three Mile Island! - and the current status of clean-up attempts. PLUS: The battle over San Onofre heats up with four times the number of damaged pipes in the steam generators as SCE assumes restart in June and NRC Chairman Jaczko smacks 'em down; Japan celebrates the shut-down of its last nuclear reactor; Physicians for Social Responsibility press conference in NYC presents Japanese physicians and nuclear experts telling the truth about Fukushima's current impact (scary health risks and Unit 4 dangers); 70 Japanese civil organizations petition UN to organize a Nuclear Security Summit re: Unit 4; Washington State finally testing seafood, clams for radioactivity; and Greenpeace activist bombs French nuclear reactor! (Smoke bomb, but still, it makes the point.)

Interview w/Shaun Burnie, nuclear consultant to Friends of the Earth, U.S. and Greenpeace, Germany; new Chernobyl structure started to replace sarcophagus, but radiation released by digging at 100 to 1000 times normal; in India, Koodankulam activists resume hunger strike against nuclear power; California nuke-free after jellyfish-like salps jam water intake pipes and shut down Diablo Canyon; 90% of Japanese urine samples contaminated w/cesium within 200 kilometers of Fukushima; Vermont Yankee protesters breach security before arrest... and release; NIRS protests NRC's Svnicki's attempt to re-up for another 5 years as Commissioner while Beyond Nuclear spearheads protest of Washington Post pro-nuke editorial that labels Fukushima "non-catastrophic;' and Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds.com tells us exactly how to shut down the entire U.S. nuclear industry (hint: it's a "capital" idea)!

Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds.com on San Onofre, how and when the problems happened, and the dangers of even thinking about a restart this summer (as SCE has announced they are planning to do). Battle heats up over NRC's Svnicki going for second term as Commissioner; EPA's Radnet "potentially impaired" for Fukushima and not in great shape if anything happens in the US; TEPCO to dump groundwater into the ocean at a rate of 1,000 gallons a day; Fukushima Women organize to share reliable information about radiation; Rumors spread of dead fetuses in utero; big demos coming at GE shareholders meeting and at San Onofre this Sunday, April 29; Poetry helps Japanese people heal via iPhone/iPad app; and when 92-year old Frances Crowe, arrested for protesting Vermont Yankee, was asked what her plea was to the charge, she answered, "I plead for the future of life and all living things in New England." Amen, Sister!

Interview w/Cecile Pineda, author of "Devil's Tango: How I Learned the Fukushima Step By Step," an eminently readable mosaic of information on the nuclear situation -- terrific for the person in your life who hasn't a clue but is willing to risk getting one! PLUS: • Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) publicly acknowledges the risks of Fukushima Unit 4 and pushes for international support in eliminating the risk; • TEPCO starts covering Unit 4; • Exelon's Limerick nuke plant leaks several thousand gallons of radioactive water into Philadelphia's drinking water source; • Florida Power & Light's Turkey Point nuke plant fined for "forgetting" to report a 7-month power outage in its emergency preparedness center; • Japan to be nuke-free on May 5, but nursery school children fed radioactive mushrooms; • European pro-nukers try to get subsidies from the EU budget paid for by anti-nuke countries; • California Nuclear Initiative on hold until 2012; Activist Alert! -- NRC Commissioner Kristine L. Svinicki's term ends June 3

Interview with Gene Stone of ROSE on visit by NRC Chairman Jaczko and Sen. Feinstein to San Onofre last week in the wake of burst pipes and pipe degradation in the new steam generators. Includes requests for letters to the NRC and live bodies to show up for San Onofre demo on April 28. Plus Fukushima shown to be 85 times worse than Chernobyl; newly leaked Japanese faxes show TEPCO knew it was the quake, not the tsunami, that caused the reactor damage; UK nukes at risk over possible downgrade of credit rating of two energy behemoths; NRC finds last years Ft. Calhoun fire of "high safety significance" [it took them a year to figure that out?]; UC Berkeley tests SF area milk and discovers almost double EPA's maxiumum contaminant level for Cesium 137; and Japan paying Chinese tourists to come to Fukushima, see the sights, take pictures and post them online. A continuation of the hostilities between these two countries?

Terrific food safety interview w/Kimberly Roberson of Fukushima Fallout Awareness Network and Mary Beth Brangan of Ecological Awareness Network. Learn what you can do to boost your health and resist the effects of our increasingly radioactive food chain. Plus radiation in Fukushima #2 too hot for even the robots; Japanese politicians furious that Sapporo mayor refuses radioactive waste from Miyagi and Iwate; Former Prime Minister Kan now an anti-nuke activist!; San Onofre slammed into shutdown by NRC; NRC licenses 2 new nukes in South Carolina; radioactive kelp in southern California; Japan to provide canned radioactive fish to Cambodia for school lunches w/United Nations approval. INSANE!; and Friends of Earth produce a TV ad to keep San Onofre shut -- Jon Stewart, when will it be on The Daily Show?

Special report on Three Mile Island on the eve of the 33rd anniversary, including host Libbe HaLevy's personal story of having been one mile away when it happened; Exclusive interview w/Dr. Helen Caldicott; 15 Koodankulam activists now 9 days into a fast to the death to stop two nuclear reactors from going online; ongoing radiation woes in Japan; North Anna hits NRC's "Unusual Occurrence" list yet again (it's not so unusual...); and according to Japanese psychiatric workers, if you're afraid of radiation, you're nuts! With thanks to sources for the Three Mile Island Special: Voices from TMI on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmmdh8Xlbvg, compiled and uploaded by Mark Catlin; and "A is for Atom" – a film by Adam Curtis – Dictaphone audio from inside TMI. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/adamcurtis/2011/03/a_is_for_atom.html#

Donna Gilmore and Ace Hoffman interviewed for a CA update on San Onofre testing, the state's TRUE energy needs, and the CA Ballot Initiative. Plus: Jon Stewart/Daily Show to carry nuke industry ads - NIRS.org starts the protest, Nuclear Hotseat joins in; since March 15, TEPCO no longer provides stats on the reactors; Japanese radiation hits new high in Iitate and farmers face a deadly harvest; Arnie predicts 20% cancer rate in Fukushima girls; US finally admits post-war nuke workers got cancer from exposure; in India, Koodankoolam anti-nuke protesters arrested; and a 68-year old Japanese man urges other seniors to buy and eat Fukushima rice so it doesn't otherwise get eaten by children. One of the most vulnerable populations urging suicidal action on behalf of another vulnerable population, commit slow hiri-kiri, death by TEPCO. Where is government? Where is protection? Where are the cranes...?

Special audio report from the March 11 San Onofre anti-nuke demo; interviews with two survivors of Tohoku quake, tsunami and ongoing Fukushima Daiichi disaster from Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture in Japan, who were speaking at the demo in So Cal; SHOCKING! radiation levels found in parking lot adjacent to San Onofre; spent fuel pool at Fukushima #4 continues to be a serious risk; some of the "Fukushima 50" speak out on TEPCO lies and manipulation, safety and risk at the devastated nuclear reactors; radioactive debris to be shipped to one of the cleanest areas of Japan for disposal (aka, contamination); Arnie Gundersen of Fairewinds.com on Fukushima vs. Chernobyl, future cancer epidemics, and Tokyo soil samples equal to radioactive waste in the US; the ongoing cancer epidemic in Chernobyl; plus how anti-nuclear activists need to protect themselves before and after demonstrating near an aging, leaking nuclear reactor like San Onofre.

Report on anti-nuke activists meeting w/CA Gov. Jerry Brown's senior aide; this weekend's demonstrations at San Onofre features two Japanese survivors of the Tohoku earthquake, tsunami, and resulting nuclear disaster at Fukushima; transcript of NRC audio quashing US National Labs monitoring of radiation the day after the earthquake; LA area cesium levels found to be 1,000 times higher than standard 53 years after SSFL meltdown; Sen. Barbara Boxer asks NRC to review San Onofre safety (they're "thinking about it!"); First Energy tries to blame 1979 blizzard for 2012 cracks in David Besse; legal loophole means Vermont Yankee may still be forced to shut down on March 21; iodine 131 found in Japanese drinking water, while radiation has been detected in Sri Lanka fish and 100,000 square miles in the Pacific. And with all this, DOE head announces, "We are committed to restarting the nation's nuclear industry." WHY?

Japanese government shown to have been in chaos after Fukushima, w/possible Tokyo evacuation; only 2 nuke reactors left online in Japan... and no rolling blackouts; stillborn calves at Fukushima-area farm; NRC cites Palisades Power Plant for safety violations, plus Perry near Cleveland and Susquhanna near Harrisburg, PA; North Anna tritium double federal standard, but plant operators claim no knowledge of where it's coming from or how it happened. Homer Simpson territory!; Iowa taxpayers to shell out for nuke construction costs whether the plant gets built or not; Indian Prime Minister blames US for local Kudankulam anti-nuke protests; Germany NOT restarting nukes, but using alternatives to send electricity to France; and both Czech Republic and Kuwait decide to go nuclear-free.

Kick-ass interview w/Hattie Nestle, 73-year-old anti-nuke activist arrested on Feb. 13 at Vermont Yankee nuclear facility; Fukushima 2 in recriticality; NRC licenses two new nuclear reactors for Georgia; two quakes - 6.2 and 5.5 - at Fukushima within the past 24 hours; 1/3 of kids from Fukushima who were tested have "lumps" on their thyroids only 10 months after the accident; thousands march in Tokyo against nuclear energy; US Dept. of Energy laying the groundwork for "Life After 60" - the licensing extensions of antique nuclear reactors beyond the current 40 + 20 years; the healing power of green foods; and a special anti-nuclear valentine from Vermont.

Interview w/Mary Olson, Director of the SE office of NIRS, on increased radiation risks to women and children as well as national perspectives on the anti-nuclear movement; San Onofre problems continue (SEE: Nuclear Hotseat Special Report); Fukushima 2 reactor increasing heat while TEPCO injects borax; radiation cloud over New Zealand; fire at a nuclear research center in Moscow; nuke accidents in France, North Anna, radioactive fish in Vermont and dying birds at Fukushima.