Wild & Scenic Film Festival

November 7, 2014 

BEST/MATRR Again Helps Sponsor the Wild & Scenic Film Festival

We have sponsored the first two

Annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Huntsville,

and plan to continue supporting this excellent venue.

The  festival is really exhilarating,

with exquisite cinematography

of wilderness sports and beautiful places

and excellent storytelling

about southern environmental issues and our natural wonders.

The folks who put this national festival together

do a really impressive job of compiling the short films

into a beautifully paced and fascinating evening of films.

The local hosts choose films from

Alabama and other southern locations

to make each event special

and locally meaningful.

The Festival was shown in the Lowe Mill Arts / Flying Monkey Theatre

to a full theatre and an appreciative audience,

and was hosted by Alabama Rivers Alliance, Alabama Environmental Council, Coalition for a Greener Huntsville and Madison County, and Flint River Conservation Association.

Questioned TVA Directors' Motives

for Continued Pursuit of Nuclear Power

November 6, 2014

We spoke and presented TVA Board of Directors

a short but pointed questioning of their motives

in continuing to pursue nuclear power,

despite the economic and environmental risks 

to their corporation

and the people of the Tennessee Valley. 

Our letter can be read 

at http://best-matrr.org/14-1106_Ltr2TVA.Directors.pdf.

Radioactive Emissions and Health Hazards

PowerPoint Presentation

at Annual APIEL Conference

for Environmental Lawyers and Activists

at University of Tennessee Law School in Knoxville

October 17-19, 2014

BEST/MATRR was invited to give a 45 minute PowerPoint presentation

on Radioactive Emissions & Health Hazards Near Nuclear Plants

during the Annual APIEL Conference for Environmental Lawyers. 

The 3 day Appalachian Conference

was hosted by the University of Tennessee

College of Law in Knoxville, TN,

an exceptional facility.

Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant 

License Extension Protest

Sept 29, 2014

We again submitted formal Comments (12 pages)

protesting the Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant (SQN)

License Extension and our 3rd response to 

Environmental Impact Statements (EIS). 

We once again pointed out flaws in the process

and specific reasons the SQN Reactors Operating License

should not be extended the proposed 50%

beyond its design-basis life span. 

Our formal comments can be read

at http://best-matrr.org/14-0929_SQN_SEIS-Comments.pdf.

EPA Again Cancels Public Meeting

on Superfund Clean-Up Site

in Madison County, AL

Sept. 26, 2014

BEST/MATRR President, Stewart Horn,

and Director of Monitoring, Garry Morgan,

both submitted interview forms

after the EPA again cancelled a public meeting

 regarding the Superfund Site contaminating

the African American community of Triana

with DDT and other highly toxic chemicals. 

Triana is on the Tennessee River

adjacent to the Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL.

One of our members is heading the Triana

community effort to fight the pollution.

DDT and other pollutant contamination levels

were measured by biologists at

the Department of Fish and Wildlife,

but their findings were misrepresented

in an EPA summary report. 

We are protesting this travesty and the suffering

of the largely black community it impacts.

Morgan's submission can be read

at  http://best-matrr.org/14-1208_TRIANA Summary-GM.pdf. 

DOE Plan to Increase TVA

Commercial Power Plant Production

of Radioactive Tritium for Nuclear Weapons

Sept. 21, 2014

Comments spoken and submitted (5 pages)

at Public Meeting with

the Department of Energy / National Nuclear Security Administration

(DOE/ NNSA) regarding

the Draft Environmental Impact Statement

(DSEIS) for Tritium Production in Tennessee

(at commercial TVA nuclear power plants

to produce radioactive Tritium for nuclear weapons).

We protest the proposed increase in un-filterable tritiated water

(heavy water that remains radioactive for 120 years)

that will be added to the Tennessee River,

and consequently, to Chattanooga drinking water.

Although the radiation danger from Tritium

is underplayed because it is a relatively low energy emitter,

Tritium is a form of hydrogen

that can transform H₂0 water

into radioactive H₃0 water, 

which can permeate every cell in the body

including our DNA.

According to Dr. John W. Gofman, M.D., Ph.D. 

(co-discoverer of uranium, physician, and nuclear physical chemist),

this low-energy emitter, Tritium, does more

damage to our cells and DNA

than higher energy forms of radiation.  

(See Dr. Gofman's "No Safe Dose" video at MATRR.org)

Our formal comments can be viewed

at http://best-matrr.org/14-0921_TritiumProductionComments.pdf.

Protest Sequoyah Nuclear Power Plant

(SQN) License Extension

Sept. 17, 2014

BEST/MATRR spoke at Public Meeting

regarding the Sequoyah Nuclear Power

Plant (SQN) License Extension

and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS).

We once again point out flaws in the process and

specific reasons the SQN Reactors Operating License

should not be extended 50% beyond its design-basis life span.

Formal comments submitted Sept. 29, 2014

can be viewed at http://best-matrr.org/14-0929_SQN_SEIS-Comments.pdf

TVA Votes to Defund Energy Efficiency by 25%

August 21, 2014

BEST/MATRR spoke and sent letter to TVA Board of Directors

regarding their choices as Directors,

including their vote to reduce spending

on Energy Efficiency programs by 25%.

They were reminded that Energy Efficiency

is seven times more cost-effective than nuclear power;

therefore, they were voting to abandon their mission

to benefit the people of the valley

and instead voted to continue

to raise customers' electric bills

to pay for nuclear,

rather than saving valley residents money,

improving their homes,

buildings and factories,

and creating more jobs

with Energy Efficiency and CHP Co-Generation. 

Letter can be viewed at http://best-matrr.org/14-0821_Ltr2TVA.pdf.

EPA Proposed Weakening Radiation Protection

July 19, 2014

Comments submitted (11 pages) in protest

against EPA's Proposed Rulemaking

which would weaken Radiation Protective Action Guides,

hugely increasing doses of public exposure

to radionuclide contaminated water.

We called on the EPA to reexamine its dosage models

and to use verifiable data via real-time monitoring,

rather than theoretical models,

to determine dose limits for nuclear workers

and the U.S. public and environment.

Comments can be viewed

at http://best-matrr.org/14-0731_EPA.ANPR.Comments.pdf.

BEST/MATRR Annual Members Meeting

June 14, 2014

Garry Morgan gave a presentation on radiation monitoring

and Gretel Johnston presented the campaign to

MAKE RADIATION VISIBLE. 

Guest Speaker, David Lochbaum

of the Union of Concerned Scientists,

presented a paper on

Tritium Emissions from Sequoyah and Browns Ferry

 that he had completed

as a gift to our group.

There were lively discussions

about nuclear issues and

on our goals for the coming year,

and members voted on officers: 

Stewart Horn was voted President for a second term, 

Gretel Johnston was voted Vice-President and Secretary,

and Garry Morgan was voted BEST/MATRR Treasurer.

Members came from Chattanooga in the east

and from southwest Tennessee in the west,

as well as from north Alabama.

Browns Ferry Annual Safety Meeting

May 21, 2014

Garry spoke and presented to the NRC and TVA

important issues at the

public Browns Ferry Annual Safety Meeting.

Issues included antiquated parts 

and resultant, repeated power supply failures.

Mr. Morgan outlined 25 serious problems identified

in a 2010 Institute for Nuclear Power Operations

(INPO) report on Browns Ferry,

and asked if any of the problems had been fixed.

He pointed out that a later peer-review report on Browns Ferry

by the World Association of Nuclear Operators (WANO) in 2013

would verify progress on the issues

reported in the 2010 INPO report, and asked

for access to read the non-profit organization's WANO report.

Public access to these reports, commissioned by TVA

and issued by these two non-profit organizations,

has be denied by TVA on grounds

of potential proprietary information.

We strongly contest this denial of access

and have requested permission

to review the reports

without removing them from the TVA library.

Permission denied.

BFN safety issues can be viewed

at http://best-matrr.org/14-0521-BrownsFerrySafetyMtg.pdf.

TVA Board Meeting

May 8, 2014

We Call for Energy Independence 

We spoke at the TVA Board Meeting and presented the Directors

with a (14 page) letter calling on the TVA to

"Lead the Nation Towards Energy Independence"

and presenting documentation on the environmental and economic

advantages of Energy Efficiency and Renewables.

Gretel was also interviewed by a Huntsville WHNT TV News reporter,

who took a copy of the letter

and included part of the interview

and information from the letter in the news segment.

Letter can be viewed at http://best-matrr.org/14-0508_Efficiency2TVA.pdf.

Watts Bar 2 Pre-license Inspection - NRC Meeting
April 9, 2014

We Question Safety of "New" Watts Bar 2 Reactor License Process 

and TVA Perspective on Stakeholders

BEST-MATRR and SACE raise questions about non-nuclear parts usage 

and NRC's inspection role. 

NRC's answer: "We are a sampling organization...

we have not inspected all the parts...

TVA's responsibility".  http://youtu.be/Xbb9KMBo990

Watts Bar NRC Inspection for Unit 2 video http://youtu.be/-yhPd18Gi4I

TVA's slide on Watts Bar Stakeholders 

lists the NRC Commissioners as #1

followed by CASE - an NEI (Nuclear Energy Institute) group

followed by the NEI, the nuclear industry lobbyist.

TVA Customers are listed as #4.

Citizens ask question about TVA's listing.

We think that NRC, as the regulator, is not a Stakeholder

and that NEI, as the nuclear industry lobbyist,

should not be considered more of a Stakeholder than TVA customers,

who pay for the plants and live with the waste.

. This provides a rare insight 

into TVA's management philosophy

- nuclear industry first, customers last. 

TVA "spins" answer to question about their slide.

http://youtu.be/QHyf8POq-Is

NRDC Safecast Monitoring Workshop in DC

April 21 - 22, 2014

Garry Morgan, Director of BEST/MATRR's Radiation Monitoring Project,

was invited to participate and to make a presentation
during a 2 day NRDC Safecast Monitoring Workshop in Washington, DC.

Safecast began its radiation mapping project in Japan
just weeks after Fukushima, with three young professionals
hoping to provide the Japanese people with equipment
to secure solid radiation data in real-time throughout the country.
In 3 short years the project has spread to 46 countries.

The DC workshop was the first Safecast workshop in the U.S.
Garry made a 30 minute presentation, which was well received,

on our Monitoring Project and our Make Radiation Visible campaign.

NRDC generously sponsored Garry's trip to DC
and he was invited to assemble

his own Safecast bGeigy Nano-Geiger Counter

and to deploy it in the Tennessee River Valley area.

3 Earth Day Celebrations 

in North Alabama

We had a table display at 3 Earth Day Events

in North Alabama this year.

On April 5th, an all-day celebration

with music, food, and

much environmental information sharing

took place in Muscle Shoals.

The event was organized by

BEST/MATRR member Nancy Muse,

and members Jackie & Grant Posey

helped Gretel Johnston

provide informational handouts

on TVA reactors, radiation poisoning, etc.

On April 23, Gretel and Garry Morgan tabled

at the University of Alabama Huntsville,
and had much fun sharing information,
demonstrating our monitoring equipment,
and listening to the knowledge and viewpoints
of young university students.

On April 27, we unpacked our displays
at Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville
just in time for some serious
sustained rain storms.
Although there were not many
regular folks from the public there,
fellow environmental activists
and outdoor sports promoters
had a chance to learn about radiation issues
while about 40 of us huddled by the fire
in the beautiful open air pavilion.

We secured 79 signatures on

our Make Radiation Visible Petition
from folks visiting our display

and many more people took home
various informational handouts
and learned about our website.

Make Radiation Visible Petition

Launched Online

We launched our online petition

with both MoveOn and Credo

in March, 2014.

The graphics were refined during March

and the poster was created in April,

in time for Earth Day Festivals.

See our Make Radiation Visible page

which can also be found at
www.MakeRadiationVisible.org

Alabama Water Rally 2014

Montgomery, Alabama

 The Alabama Rivers Alliance

hosted this highly informative,

youthful and energetic 3-day conference

March 7, 8 and 9th, 2014,
with over 120 participants from 63 organizations.

BEST/MATRR representatives

Garry Morgan and Gretel Johnston 

were invited to present information on 

the science of radioactive pollution

and the threat to our drinking water,

as members of a four person panel.

This conference took place just as we were

getting ready to post our petition online

and while we were working on the

Make Radiation Visible campaign graphics.

Our session was quite successful,

with much interest shown toward the

Make Radiation Visible campaign

and dozens of sign-ups for our email list

by folks who wanted to participate

in signing and sharing the petition with others.

Rendevous for Action Workshop

Radiation Monitoring Workshop

at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga

BEST/MATRR Monitoring Director, Garry Morgan,

and BREDL Executive Director, Lou Zeller,

conducted an all day workshop to teach

scientifically sound methods for monitoring

and recording radiation in ones community.

Garry Morgan, U.S. Army Medical Department retired.

with experience and training in Radiation Protection,

Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Decontamination

and emergency response,

demonstrated multiple monitoring methods

and accurate data recording for the scientific community.

Lou Zeller conducted training in data analysis methods

of the Technical Education Research Centers (TERC)

Statistics in Action program, which had 

awarded BEST/MATRR a grant

for the training workshop.

We were pleased to see Dave Lochbaum,

Union of Concerned Scientists Nuclear Safety Director,

and Jim Green, Energy Policy Manager

at the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy

were among those attending.

Make Radiation Visible - National Campaign

MAKE RADIATION VISIBLE

National Campaign Launch

in Washington, DC

BEST/MATRR representatives

Garry Morgan and Gretel Johnston

were selected to join a committee

of seven nuclear guardian groups

in December, 2013.

Priscilla Star of Coalition Against Nukes

co-chaired the committee

with Gene Stone 

of Residents Organized for a Safe Environment.

Active committee members were

Dr. Marvin Resnikoff

of Radioactive Waste Management Associates,

Susan Shapiro

of Indian Point Safe Energy Coalition,

Donna Gilmore

of SanOnofreSafety.org,

Tim Judson and Diane D'Arrigo

of Nuclear Information and Resource Service,

as well as our two members.

The committee chose two main topics to present

to policymakers in DC in late January:

High Burnup Fuel Dangers

were presented by Dr. Marvin Resnikoff,

and Make Radiation Visible proposals

were presented by Gretel Johnston.

Group consensus presented a strong showing

of support for both presentations,

which appeared to be well received

in separate meetings with NRC Commission

Chairwoman Allison Macfarlane,

Commissioner William Magwood,

and Commissioner George Apostolakis.

A large conference meeting

with three Radiological Directors

and staff experts at the EPA also went well,

with many probing questions asked

and answered from both sides of the table.

The committee also met with key staffers 

for the U.S. Senate Committee

on Environment and Public Works,

and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. 

This proved very helpful for understanding the steps

necessary to enact major policy changes,

and for offering research to support our policy suggestions.

Wild & Scenic Film Festival

The Wild & Scenic Film Festival

Huntsville, AL

BEST/MATRR co-sponsored

this exciting and uplifting

environmental film festival

at The Flying Monkey Arts Theatre

in the Lower Mill Arts & Entertainment Center

Huntsville, AL on October 3, 2013.

Poignant, informative and inspiring

mini-short films were shown

about communities around the country

facing important pollution issues

and were interspersed with

energetic and beautiful

wilderness sports and action films!

Just the right balance of

serious activism and all out fun!

The Atomic States of America Film Showings in Huntsville, AL

BEST/MATRR launched a new

educational program

by hosting and sponsoring

two showings of the highly rated film

"The Atomic States of America"

at The Flying Monkey Arts Theatre

in the Lower Mill Arts & Entertainment Center

on July 20, 2013.

David Lochbaum,

Union of Concerned Scientists
Director of Nuclear Safety,

who was one of the experts featured in the film,

spoke after each showing

and answered audience questions

about the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant

and nuclear power safety issues.

Future showings will be announced

for area universities
this coming fall.

Radioactive Emissions and Health Hazards Surrounding Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant

Our small grassroots group established

50 radiation monitoring sites

near and downwind of Browns Ferry,

and recorded levels ranging

from background radiation

at about 36 counts per minute (CPM)

to over 1600 CPM

or 40 times background radiation.

We commissioned a preliminary analysis

of our local monitoring data

and a report on radiation

and health issues 

in the Browns Ferry area

by epidemiologist 

Joseph Mangano, MPH, Director

Radiation and Public Health Project.

The findings are disturbing.

Before Browns Ferry came online

the local mortality rate was 1.7%

above the U.S. rate.

By 2010, the rate had risen

to 20.5% above U.S. rate,

with young people suffering

a 27.4% higher rate.

Infant mortality rate has risen

steadily since the early 1990s

to 21.6% above the U.S. rate,

even higher from Hispanics at 40.3%

and whites at 32.6%.

Download our report at right.

Flash Mobs – FUKUSHIMA FALLOUTS

www.FALLOUTS.org

On Monday, March 11, 2013,

the 2nd Anniversary of Fukushima,

the Fallout Flash Mob efforts

we spearheaded in 2012

spread to New York City
and Alsace, France.

On the 1st Anniversary, last year,

of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster,
we spearheaded Nuclear Fallout

Flash Mob 'die-in' events in:

Atlanta, Georgia

Nashville, Tennessee

Huntsville, Alabama

St. Petersburg, Florida

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Tucson, Arizona

Please visit the Nuclear Fallout

website

and learn how to create

a Flash Mob Fallout

in your own community.

RADIATION DETECTIVES WORKSHOP

KNOW NUKES WORKSHOP  –  RADIATION DETECTIVES

OCTOBER 6, 2012

There is a nuclear plant near you!

How much nuclear radiation is in your soil, air and water?

Where does it go?

How does it impact your health?

How can we find out?

BEST/MATRR invites you to join a citizen project aimed at

collecting radionuclide data our agencies are not collecting.

Lou Zeller, Executive Director for Blue Ridge Environmental

Defense League, will lead you through training for radiation testing. 

Try your hand at using a Geiger counter and computer aides

designed to conduct the radionuclide search.

Join a worldwide network of citizens

monitoring radioactive releases.

Where?

JACKSON COUNTY PARK

(old marina restaurant)

SCOTTSBORO, ALABAMA

When?

BEST MEMBER MEETING – 11:00 a.m. CST

(Light lunch served for those attending this meeting.)

RADIATION WORKSHOP – 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. CST

(Beverages & snacks served. Please bring your own cup)

Both sessions are free. Please RSVP

Join BEST/MATRR - Because It Matters

KNOW NUKES Y'ALL SUMMIT hosted by BEST/MATRR

We hosted an amazing array

of speakers and workshop leaders

for this weekend event

at the University of Tennessee

at Chattanooga

June 28-30, 2012.

25 environmental groups

co-sponsored this event,

a memorable time

of learning and bonding

with 100 fellow activists

and citizens concerned about

the increasing accumulation

of nuclear wastes

in the South.

To read reviews and

see photos and presentations

visit:

KnowNukesYallSummit.org

'KNOW NUKES Y'ALL' poster & logo created for BEST/MATRR, May, 2012