Sleeping Mountains

I wish I could write a more optimistic post, but I just finished watching this documentary on the Chernobyl nuclear disaster by director Thomas Johnson and distributed by Icarus Films. I find it strange that I could find so little information about the director (note the lack on IMDB) and no information about its funding, so I have no idea with what agenda this film was made. It does, however, paint a very grim picture of nuclear energy and the damage to (psychological and physical) health withholding information from politicians and from the general population can do.

How is Fukushima different from Chernobyl? The ways I can think of are that 1) according to reports, there was no explosion at the core of the plant in Fukushima (considering radiation levels, it is unlikely to have happened), and 2) there are many independent sources measuring radiation levels in various locations in Japan (although there are holes) and not a single military effort as seems to have been the case in Chernobyl. With so many sources, it would be impossible to cover up any major accidents.

However, like in Chernobyl there are many young men sacrificing their health to work at the Fukushima reactor. What’s more, a “culture of complicity” does exist in Japan between politics, bureaucracy, and industry as reported by the NYT.

Given, science with its hypotheses, theories, and postulations is also an imprecise evaluation of the world and some things cannot be answered. However, what will we learn about the situation in Fukushima in the years to come or maybe not at all, because the danger cannot be verified even by specialists?

The film is 1 hour 33 minutes long, so watch it when you have the time (and the mental and emotional strength).