I lived in Germany from 1990-1992. When I arrived in Hamburg with my physicist husband, we were met with white coat inspectors with geiger counters at all of our local grocery stores. Shocked and surprised, we learned that Chernobyl fallout had passed quite heavily over parts of Europe and all produce– especially mushrooms, was being tested regularly. Wines and grapes were also in the spotlight for contamination potential.
we were met with white coat inspectors with geiger counters
Very disconcerting. But to top that off, one day I was in the local diplomatic education facility that was a giant international relations library from America– called Amerika Haus (America House in English). I happened upon a life-changing document that was the official report of the President’s Commission of the Accident at Three Mile Island; I remember it being a large document– perhaps over 170 pages as I recall.
Everyone should read this report in full
The stunning review of sheer human madness and misinterpretation and inability to ask for help from the outside was SHOCKING. I never felt the same after that read. It changed my life to question who is in control and what will they NOT do in the event of an emergency.
But finally, I have never stopped asking two questions… Which way was the wind was blowing during the meltdown? Did it rain during that time? The TMI fallout is emotional, permanent, and no one should ever stop questioning the safety of food and the welfare of our land, due to the intricacies of the environment carrying this toxic cloud over our region.
Amerika Haus brought that to my attention in this international building, (now gone!), meant to foster relations between Germany and America. No wonder we changed our name to the US… this incident maimed us. Everyone should read this report in full. It should be required reading in schools. And, someone should compare human behaviors in all three disasters– Chernobyl, TMI and Fukushima. Food for thought!
Flora