Protesters walk to Oyster CreekMar 18 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Bob Vosseller Asbury Park Press, N.J.
Buddhist nuns, anti-nuclear activists and concerned citizens walked from Toms River to Lacey Sunday to promote their view that nuclear power plants such as the Oyster Creek Generating Station in Lacey are not safe and need to be closed. Their journey began at 10 a.m. at Ocean County Library Headquarters on Washington Street in Toms River and continued with their arrival at Oyster Creek around 4 p.m. where they conducted a short prayer service. This marked the second year for the group to march on Oyster Creek as part of an effort to bring awareness of the potential dangers of nuclear power and to mark the anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster which occurred on March 11, 2011. The disaster involved a series of equipment failures, nuclear meltdowns and releases of radioactive materials at the Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, following an earthquake and tsunami. It is the largest nuclear disaster since the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, and only the second disaster (along with Chernobyl) to measure Level 7 on the International Nuclear Event Scale. Among the area environmental groups that took part in the event were members of Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch which promoted the "Walk for a Nuclear-Free Future" in Ocean County. The group's leader Edith Gbur, of Berkeley said her group would like to see the immediate closure of Oyster Creek which is set to cease operations in 2019. Gbur said despite the plant's future closure, it needs to be shut down immediately. She said the plant "poses a threat to health and the environment as demonstrated by the disasterous Fukushima meltdown. Oyster Creek is the oldest nuclear power plant in the U.S and was not designed to withstand severe weather impacts forecasted by Hurrrican Sandy." Exelon Generation, the owner of the plant disagrees, maintaining that the plant is operating safely and will continue to do so until it closes. "At Oyster Creek, we demonstrate our unyielding commitment to public safety and environmental stewardship every day of the year. We share this group's passion for healthy, sustainable communities and wish them a safe and pleasant journey," Oyster Creek spokeswoman Suzanne D'Ambrosio said. Sunday's walk was led by Jun Yasuda, a Buddhist nun from the Grafton Peace Pagoda in Grafton, N.Y. She was joined by Sister Clare Carter of the New England Peace Pagoda based in Leverett Ma. "We have already visited and prayed at a number of communities with nuclear power plants. This is a deep concern for us. We heard that the backup generator (at Oyster Creek) had come within inches of being overtaken by the water during Hurricane Sandy, in which case a scenario could have happened very similar to Fukushima," Carter said. Yasuda said the global community needed to safeguard the health of the planet. "It is our responsibility to take care of the earth." Among the 20 walkers was Naoto Hamada, of Osaka, Japan. He said he spent some time in Fukushima and visited it after the disaster. He said many families of Fukushima are still separated and the fate of some of their children from radiation exposure was still unknown. Brick resident Janet Tauro of the environmental group Grandmothers, Mothers, and More for Energy Safety, or GRAMMES, (and the chair of the board of directors of N.J. Environmental Federation) said this year's walk, like last year's, "was a very moving experience for us, and we actually felt as if our homes were blessed." "They did not yell for it's closure. They didn't raise their fists in anger. No. They bowed and they prayed. They prayed that the plant would be protected from harm, and that the workers would always remain safe,'' Tauro said. "We honor and respect their way of action." Bob Vosseller: 732-557- 5623; rvosseller@ njpressmedia.com http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=27955031 |