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

Benefit Concert - BONNIE RAITT

Thanks to our amazing fellow activist,

TVA whistleblower, and longtime friend of Bonnie's

– ANN HARRIS of We the People –

40% of the Benefit Ticket sales from this concert

were donated to MATRR.org

This was a brilliant performance

to a sold-out crowd

in the historic Tennessee Theatre.

Bonnie keeps reaching higher peaks

in her music and her performance

was uplifting and deeply moving,

as well as providing

a riveting, rocking good time!

Y'all go get her new album

– Slipstream –

it is wonderful!!

'NUCLEAR FALLOUT' - In Honor of Future Cancer Victims of Fukushima

'Nuclear Fallout' poster created for BEST/MATRR by Graphic Artist Roy Simmons

'Nuclear Fallout' Events

March 12, 2012

In Honor of Future

Cancer Victims of Fukushima

BEST/MATRR

spearheaded this

1st annual event

honoring

Fukushima victims

of radiation poisoning.

Multiple studies show significant

rises in cancer mortality rates

near nuclear power plants,

especially in women and children.

In addition to the natural disasters

of the earthquake and tsunami,

the radiation exposures

will have tragic

long-range effects

on Japan and

the families of Fukushima.

Flash mob 'die-ins' showed solidarity

with Fukushima victims

exposed to nuclear power radiation

and brought attention to

the delayed symptoms

(but very real dangers)

of nuclear power

radiation releases.

'Nuclear Fallout' photos on MATRR.org Facebook:

Atlanta, Georgia

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Huntsville, Alabama

Nashville, Tennessee

St. Petersburg, Florida

Tucson, Arizona

Honoring Fukushima Victims

FUTURE RIVER FEST, Connecting People and the River, Sept. 24, 2011

Future River Fest poster created for BEST/MATRR by Tina Terrell, September 2011

RIVER FEST

We organized and sponsored an all day festival

by the Tennessee river in Chattanooga

with numerous speakers and bands,

including Microwave Dave & the Nukes,

and booths demonstrating clean energy,

water conservation,

and river habitats, etc.

NUCLEAR TORNADOES

Nuclear Tornadoes map created for BEST/MATRR, April 2011

We created this map

of the 50 mile zones surrounding

TVA nuclear power plants

superimposed on a NOAA track of

Category EF-4 and EF-5 Tornadoes

that ripped past 6 nuclear reactors

and over six million pounds

of highly radioactive

spent fuel in cooling pools

in the Tennessee Valley

on April 27, 2011.

BEST/MATRR members regularly call for higher standards

and greater vigilance regarding nuclear power safety

at TVA board meetings and NRC hearings.

OVERDRAWN $8 BILLION and No Sense TVA Check

'Check Voucher' created for BEST/MATRR, March 2010

Printed on card stock with information

about nuclear energy on the back.

Distributed to TVA ratepayers

who send the check in with their bill payments.

(Read about Bellefonte below.)

STOP BELLEFONTE

A classic photo by BEST member Tom Moss. 

Photograph of rear gate, Bellefonte Nuclear zombie plant.

Construction began in 1974

and stopped at about 60% completion in 1986.

The construction license was withdrawn

by TVA in 2006, 

and NRC inspections and oversight halted.

From 2006 until 2009

critical components, piping, and turbines

were cannibalized (torn-out and sold)

with no NRC oversight.

In 2010, the NRC granted re-instatement

of the original 1973

TVA nuclear construction license

which circumvented modern environmental and
nuclear construction requirements.

Many environmental hazards have been identified

for the Bellefonte site since 1973,

including proximity to earthquake faults,

sink holes, and river current reversals

at both the outflow and cooling intake locations.

The Tennessee Valley has seen an increase

in severe thunderstorms and

highest intensity tornadoes,

Categories EF-4 and EF-5,

with the onslaught of global warming.

There has also been a substantial

population increase

within the six mile radius

of the Bellefont Nuclear Power Plant.

The lack of quality control

and the process of natural aging

have resulted in the deterioration

and breakage of several reactor containment

support tendons,

an ongoing problem

even before the NRC reinstated

the antiquated 1973 construction license.

(see nuclear engineer, Arnie Gunderson's report on Bellefonte)

THE OLD BELLEFONTE TOWN SITE, GHOSTS OF BELLEFONTE

The Old Martin Inn chimney at Bellefonte, Alabama with the nuclear plant cooling towers and reactor containment vessels in background. Photo and graphic June 2008, by Garry Morgan

"Everything put together

sooner or later

falls apart."

– Paul Simon