Wednesday 14 November 2018

On Los Angeles'secret nuclear meltdown in 1959

Check back tomorrow for the Nuclear Hotseat report on this.
 

L.A.'s Secret Meltdown; Simi Valley, CA(1959)Largest Nuclear Incident in U.S. history.




Documentary film covering the top secret 1959 Sodium Reactor meltdown in Los Angeles, California. The incident, kept secret for decades, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 300 to 1,800 people and is the suspected source of elevated cancer rates in adjacent suburban communities. The amount of contaminants released have been estimated at over 400 times that of the highly publicized Three Mile Island incident. This film features accounts from former Atomics International employees detailing the incident that sent highly radioactive gases over parts of Los Angeles for two weeks. Employees also recall illegal acts of mass pollution such as open burn pits that sent radioactive waste into the open air for decades. These experiments took place at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory, in the hills between Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley and Simi Valley.

The film gathers comprehensive incident footage and testimonial interviews with local survivors, physicians, scientists, researchers and reporters regarding the 1959 meltdown and the grassroots movements to clean the site in order to save generations from exposure to it's migrating contaminants.



Peter Ptak, via Facebook


"Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles is refuting the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s claim that the path of the Woolsey Fire isn’t likely to have resulted in particularly toxic smoke or ash.


Dr. Robert Dodge, the organizations president wrote, “We know what substances are on the site and how hazardous they are. We’re talking about incredibly dangerous radionuclides and toxic chemicals such a trichloroethylene, perchlorate, dioxins and heavy metals. These toxic materials are in SSFL’s soil and vegetation, and when it burns and becomes airborne in smoke and ash, there is real possibility of heightened exposure for area residents.”

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