BRATTLEBORO — The day I decided to become a permanent resident of Brattleboro was the day I chose to prepare myself for all it meant to live in a nuclear town. The nation's longest-running nuclear power plant, Vermont Yankee, stood a few miles down the road - something that could not be ignored.
I'm proud that my electricity does not come from carbon dioxide–producing fossil fuels, but that low carbon footprint comes at a high cost.
We're advised to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. Since the worst could be a nuclear accident where radiation falls out on my house, I researched other communities where that happened: Chernobyl in Russia, Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, and the suburbs surrounding Three Mile Island in the United States.
I checked with the State of Vermont Department of Health and consulted the Brattleboro Town Plan. Then I purchased Individual Preparedness and Response to Chemical, Radiological, Nuclear and Biological Terrorist Attacks (RAND Corporation, 2003). Finally, I contacted a company that specializes in radiation detection.
This is what I found out.
I learned from my Chernobyl and Three Mile Island research that it does not take a terrorist attack to release radiation - both nuclear disasters were caused by very simple mechanical and human error.
Both nuclear plants had functioning safety features that were misread and overridden by humans. A disastrous series of common errors, understandable misinterpretations of data, and unfortunate events led to the release of deadly radiation. Chernobyl's radiation was released into the air; Three Mile Island's radiation was released into a river.
In a story in Ode magazine, Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho described a video he recently viewed, one taped April 26, 1986.
“It shows normal life in a normal city,” Coelho writes. “A man sitting drinking coffee. A mother strolling down the street with her baby. People busily going to work.”
This video was filmed by the KGB a few hours after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor exploded, exposing the people to 90 times more radiation than the bomb at Hiroshima. Scratchy horizontal lines streaked across the tape like poor tracking. This, explained Coelho, was caused by the radiation.
No one on the video appeared to know he or she was being dosed with radiation at the moment. No one died that day, other than the 30 workers directly impacted by the nuclear explosion at the plant site. But years later, the University of Berkeley asserts that almost a million people had either died or were sick with cancer from the Chernobyl event.
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So how can we know when there is a radiation leak in our town? We can wait for the sirens. Or we can measure it ourselves with a dosimeter, a simple-to-use tool that measures the total radiation it has been exposed to.
These handy instruments are used regularly in war and other environments. What a great thing for every resident living near a nuclear power plant to have. That way we can always know when we are safe or not.
For visitors, we can erect a larger dosimeter, an area monitor, in Pliny Park on the corner of Main Street and High Street. What a great conversation piece for guests and townsfolk alike.
A plaque could explain the proximity and history of Vermont Yankee, the benefits of zero-carbon-dioxide energy production, and instructions on how to read the dosimeter.
This initiative could serve not only as a great public relations tool for Vermont Yankee, but also as a way to make us all feel more comfortable and in control of our own safety if we could measure radiation ourselves at any time.
Arrow-Tech, Inc., a Native American–owned, U.S. military–approved, company in North Dakota, makes dosimeters the size of a pen that can clip onto a shirt pocket. I called the company, and they loved my suggestions.
Arrow-Tech's dosimeters normally cost $102.50 and need a $115 charger, which can be used to charge many dosimeters. If we purchase more than 200 dosimeters, we can get a bulk-order discount and pay just $65 per unit. The area monitor would cost only $1,400 and needs only a simple 120-volt outlet. It comes with its own alarm levels, too.
Vermont Yankee easily has the means to foot the bill for this very practical and meaningful endeavor - a dosimeter in every home and an independent area monitor.
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What do we do when radiation does leak and is detected? The RAND book urges us to make our first priority to survive.
“Do not attempt to contact family and friends until you have ensured your own safety,” the book advises.
The extent of contamination depends on the wind, weather, and quantity of radiation dust and fallout. RAND suggests the following for all homes and businesses:
1. An action plan.
2. An emergency kit with N95-rated dust masks (available at Brown and Roberts from $1.69 to $2.99 each), duct tape, plastic sheeting, and a battery-powered radio.
3. That homes and buildings be well weatherized with a high-quality particle filter on the heaters and ventilation systems.
4. A long-term shelter.
The state of Vermont provides people living close to Vermont Yankee free potassium iodine (KI) pills to take in case of radiation fallout. This is good, because the thyroid gland will quickly absorb the KI and not the radiation.
The RAND book does not mention these pills, but I would toss a few into my emergency kit, too, after making sure I'm not allergic to iodine or shellfish first.
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Now the sirens are wailing. The dosimeters are showing radiation. Radioactive fallout is here.
Rand explains four specific actions to take:
1. If one is less than 10 minutes from the disaster site, leave and find immediate medical care. One may leave quickly on foot, walking perpendicular to the wind and the radiation cloud.
2. If one can't leave, take shelter in a basement or far underground. Stay here for at least 24-48 hours to give the radiation time to settle. Then get “decontaminated.” (Presumably medical or military staff will be here to help with this task.)
3. Cover one's skin, nose, and mouth.
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The accident has passed. Now Brattleboro is closed; the town and all affected areas are cordoned off, and police and military patrol its borders. One cannot see the streets from the faraway edges of town, but they are empty.
Porches sag. Homes decay. Gardens grow wild. Trash cans sit curbside. Bikes lie on porches. The town is a Pompeii, frozen in time, enveloped in radiation instead of ash.
One might want to return a few years later to collect some personal items - for example, a photo album - from one's former home. First, a permit must be applied for and granted (according to the Brattleboro evacuation plan). Then a dosimeter is attached to you.
One must return to the border when the radiation it reads reaches a certain point. It is like the gauge on a diving tank, except now instead of water, one is swimming through radiation, broken dreams, and memories. And of course that album, once found, will be radioactive.
There is a positive side to this. Most people will survive the Brattleboro area radiation.
Half will eventually die of cancer. But half will live too. We may be a bit ill from time to time and suffer from anemia, hair loss, gum disease, headaches, and shortness of breath.
But don't be discouraged. The Japanese have found that miso soup helps to cleanse the body of radiation. Seaweed is also good at eliminating toxins.
And, of course, think of the wonderful Zen lesson we get from living in a nuclear town: that opportunity to let go, not form attachments, be free of material things, and live mindfully for the day.
It's simple - and if disaster hits, we will have to do this anyway.