The Gaia Reports

By Theodora Filis The general expectation, by most people, is that organizations within the UN dealing with the dangers caused by nuclear disasters will focus on human health and safety. However, due to the whitewashing of nuclear disasters by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the past one must ask if the WHO and the IAEA are advocates of the nuclear industry rather than nuclear safety. The WHO, part of the United Nations, is not allowed to independently investigate the results of nuclear accidents, or anything nuclear for that matter, not even future effects without the permission of the IAEA. This legally binding agreement with the IAEA has been around since 1959. The WHO reports to the Development Group while the IAEA reports directly to the UN Security Council and holds absolute power over the entire nuclear industry. The Chernobyl explosion, on 26 April 1986, led to the substantial airborne release and subsequent groun...

By Theodora Filis The March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, left thousands dead and caused extensive damage to buildings and infrastructure in northeastern Japan. "Many individuals and companies from around the world sent donations after the [March 11, 2011 tsunami] disaster. The people who know Japan are worried about the situation as though it is happening to their own country. While the media continues to focus their attention on the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, we hope to report on what is happening to the other areas devastated by the tsunami." Shinko Tana, the International Rescue Committee's (IRC) Japan adviser, in the Dec 21, 2011 edition of Japan's Fukkou Kamaishi Shimbun newspaper. The Japanese government and people have made tremendous strides working to pull down the old, and build new houses and roads, cleaning vast territories of rubble, smashed cars, and even planes and boats – an estimated 23 million tonnes of debris. Japan approved...

By Theodora Filis Many people were alarmed when the Japanese government reported that the nuclear fallout at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in Japan was comparable to that of the 1986 disaster in Chornobyl. Japanese authorities had been trying to keep the public calm, but were forced to publicly announce that the emergency had been raised from a level-five to a level-seven “severity rating”. In an attempt to preserve some credibility for the nuclear power industry, Japanese authorities tried to use reassuring language in their statements and were hesitant to compare what was going on at Fukushima to Chornobyl. Not only have the Japanese gone through the worst earthquake in their nation’s history, and a massive and deadly tsunami, but they are now in the midst of the worst nuclear crisis since the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. Of course, Fukushima is not like Chornobyl. "Chornobyl was a massive explosion- ten times the size of the Hiroshima bomb. Almost 50 Tons of nucl...

By Theodora Filis The world watched anxiously as a nuclear emergency unraveled at the Fukushima Daiichi complex, along with the ravaged northeastern coast of Japan, as operators dumped seawater into 2 reactors in a final cooling effort to prevent a nuclear meltdown after a massive 8.9 magnitude earthquake and 23-foot tsunami devastated Japan on Friday, March 11, 2011. With the Fukushima complex making headlines, White House officials hope to assure the American public that there is nothing for them to worry about. "The U.S. power plants are designed to very high standards for earthquake effects," said Gregory Jaczko, chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. "All our plants are designed to withstand significant natural phenomena, like earthquakes, tornadoes, and tsunamis." Five of the six reactors at the Japanese plant, which suffered a second explosion Monday, use the same General Electric reactor that are 23 nuclear plants in North Caroli...