Thomas Cochran on the undisclosed radiation risks from the Fukushima accident and nuclear power plants in general
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Thomas Cochran
Dr Caldicott talks with Thomas Cochran, the Wade Greene Chair for Nuclear Policy and a nuclear physicist and senior scientist in the Natural Resources Defense Council’s nuclear program. He is the author or co-author of several books and numerous articles on nuclear weapons, proliferation and nuclear energy. Cochran is currently a member of the Department of Energy’s nuclear energy research advisory committee and has served on a number of government and non-government advisory committees. Among other topics discussed are the present status of the reactors at Fukushima, radiation releases from the reactor and how they may increase over time, and the tremendous health hazards of nuclear power and nuclear weapons. After this interview was recorded May 2, the Japanese government has confirmed that a meltdown occurred at Fukushima. Read the May 12 article Nuclear Meltdown at Fukushima Plant: One of the reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi power plant did suffer a nuclear meltdown, Japanese officials admitted for the first time today, describing a pool of molten fuel at the bottom of the reactor’s containment vessel. Also relevant to this week’s interview is the May 13 article Problems Cited With Nuclear Backup Power: Tests Show 32 U.S. Nuclear Reactors Pose Threat.