Toxic Scandals and Timing

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/04/russias-toxic-water-techa-rivers-history-contamination-180401113605955.html

It is certainly valid to call attention to these scandals. They are not merely issues of concern for 'environmentalists'. This touches on the health of the population and should concern us all.

To this day the bulk of the population has no idea about what happened during the first thirty years after Hiroshima. The rise of the nuclear industry and the proliferation of weapons unleashed radioactive pollution across the globe. Nothing would or will ever be the same. The chemistry of the Earth has been forever changed. The only places exempt from radioactive contact are sealed containers. The Cesium 137 test is now used to determine if antique wines have been faked. Forgers can do an excellent job replicating old wines but they can't fake the Cesium. The forged wine will have it, meaning it was bottled after 1945. If you think through the implications of this, it's a little startling.

The government knew about this back in the 1950's. The effects of radiation were turning up in milk and children's bones. Kennedy pushed for the atmospheric test ban which provided some relief but by no means solved the problems surrounding production and energy. And of course this doesn't even begin to address the decades of experimentation on the part of the US government... using its own population as guinea pigs. If a trip down this road doesn't annihilate one's patriotism I don't know what will.

Of course in addition to the wine the contamination is more or less ubiquitous, basically in everything, the water we drink and the food we eat. Other modern creations like Teflon also all but permeate the planet. Sorry folks, the pure organic path or life without toxins is pretty much a pipe dream. We're all polluted.

It's one of the great scandals of the ages and it has been reported, the books are probably available at your local library. The truth is, most people don't care. It's too upsetting to reckon with let alone respond to. To seriously take on this scandal would bring down the whole system, topple the US economy and bring down the empire. It won't happen.

And yet the story needs to be told. If you invest some time into reading about the history of nuclear weapons and nuclear power, not only will you be astonished you will look at the news in a different way. When people start talking about building new arsenals and expanding the nuclear footprint on the earth... you will see it through different eyes.

Russia is not the only culprit here. It must be admitted the Soviet Union has a terrible record when it comes to pollution. And worse, it was hidden even more stringently than the many classified sites in the West. Russia is still dealing with the legacy and in the process of re-establishing itself hasn't always been compliant in terms of industry standards or very forthcoming.

Of course I don't believe 'industry standards' are acceptable or safe either but I suppose it is a start.

Tell the Russian stories but also make sure the Western scandals are also exposed. Three Mile Island is still shrouded in deception. Rocky Flats is another scandal that should be revisited. This along with Hanford, West Lake and Santa Susana need coverage. They are being forgotten and shouldn't be.

To be fair Al Jazeera English is more than willing to tell those stories but in this case one has to wonder about the timing. Is this just another expression of the Anti-Russia campaign?

One cannot help but wonder this due to the revelations of whistleblower and activist intimidation by the Russian state. I don't doubt it for a moment and yet the same it is equally true in the United States and the West. From Karen Silkwood to Hilda Murrell and Arnold Gunderson there have been many whistleblowers who have been harassed, threatened and in some cases end up dead under mysterious and suspicious circumstances. The stakes are that high and taking on such deeply entrenched powers is dangerous.