Air Date: July 24, 1992

SEGMENTS

Documenting Emissions at Hanford... / Morgan Holm

Morgan Holm of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports on a new study of radioactive releases from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State into the Columbia river. The study confirms that Native Americans and others who ate large amounts of fish from the river in the two decades following World War II may have ingested high doses of radioactive material. The radiation was released as part of the weapons plant's normal operations. (04:17)

...And Savannah River

Steve talks with John Winters of the Augusta, Georgia Chronicle, about releases of radioactive materials into the atmosphere around South Carolina's Savannah River Site in the early years of the weapons plant's operation. Winters' search through archival documents revealed that relatively large releases were routine part of the manufacture of components for thermonuclear weapons. Studies are now underway to determine whether the releases may have had any impact on human health. (03:00)

Gambling on Nuclear Waste / Tom Meersman

Tom Meersman of Minnesota Public Radio reports on the maneuvering over the storage of nuclear waste on a Mississippi river island shared by a Native American reservation and a nuclear power plant. The Indian tribe is threatening to offer its reservation to the Federal government for use as a national nuclear waste storage site unless the state stops the power plant from storing more radioactive waste on the island. (05:50)

Russia's Bullish On Nuclear Power

Steve talks with Associated Press reporter Edith Lederer about the debate within Boris Yeltsin's government over Russia's nuclear power plants, particularly the old Chernobyl-style reactors. Lederer has just completed a series of reports on the history of the former Soviet Union's nuclear power and weapons programs. (04:09)

Hot Frogs / Fred Small

Folk singer Fred Small's ode to radioactive frogs recently discovered living near the Federal government's Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. (03:01)

Show Credits and Funders

Show Transcript

Back to top

 

Documenting Emissions at Hanford...

Back to top

 

...And Savannah River

Back to top

 

Gambling on Nuclear Waste

Back to top

 

Russia's Bullish On Nuclear Power

Back to top

 

Hot Frogs

Back to top