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All Rights Reserved AT THE MERCY OF THE WIND In the event of a disaster at a nuclear facility in the Pacific Northwest, the citizens of the United States and Canada will be in a bad predicament. For their health and safety, they will be at the mercy of the wind. With this thought in mind, let us consider some serious questions. LOGICAL QUESTIONS Portland, Oregon, and nearby Washington, how do you like the thought of a major, highly radioactive garbage dump in your back yard, or even as near as Hanford, on the banks of the Columbia River? What type of toxic mess may we ultimately be dealing with here? Could that have an effect on your life and possibly even your property values? What would a serious nuclear accident at either the Trojan property or Hanford facility do to the Columbia River and the surrounding region? Could it poison the Columbia River and make the surrounding territory uninhabitable? Could it ruin our food and water supplies throughout this region? Could it create virtually a "no man's" land in this area? WHERE THE WIND BLOWS Where would the winds take the cloud of radiation, in the event of a nuclear accident at either the Trojan property or Hanford facility? Yes, that would depend on which way the winds were blowing and how strong they were, during the time of the accident and radiation release. For an example of where the winds can carry dust, ash and things of that nature, let us consider where the major portion of the ash cloud went from the May 18, 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens, in Washington state. This mountain is not too far from either the Trojan or Hanford sites. The USGS-derived map, accessed via the button below, shows where the major portion of the ash from the May 18 eruption of Mount Saint Helens was dumped. Please note that this map is clipped and does not show anything about where the ash was dumped in Canada. This ash was actually dumped over a large area of choice farmland. A cloud of nuclear radiation from an accident at either the Trojan or Hanford sites could potentially ruin food production in these same areas, and possibly far beyond, for a long time to come. A CHANGE IN DIRECTION On another day during the Mt. Saint Helens eruption, the winds blew from the east. This caused ash to fall all the way to the Oregon coast. A nuclear accident at either the Trojan or Hanford facilities could readily spread harmful or deadly radiation all the way to the Oregon and Washington coasts, depending on wind direction. On rare occasions, there can be south or southeast winds. Then the radiation would go in a northerly or northwesterly direction. And, our popular winds with a northerly component would bring the radiation southward. INTO THE DRINKING WATER Check out the article linked below. During some of the eruptions of Mount Saint Helens in 1980, ash was falling in the Bull Run watershed. This watershed is where Portland, Oregon, gets its water. Just think, Portland, with a highly radioactive garbage dump in your backyard, in the event of a serious accident, you could have your water supply poisoned severely. Then what would you do? Crying about "spilled milk" is not going to fix a serious problem, after the fact. A BIG MESS Because of changes in wind direction, a nuclear accident in the Pacific Northwest could have very widespread ramifications. It is also known that this region could potentially experience a very devastating, M9.0 or larger earthquake at any time. This is all the more reason to eliminate all nuclear facilities in this region. |
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