Women’s group hosts meeting about nuclear disaster preparedness

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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:32AM

With March 11 being the first anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster in Japan, the American Association of University Women is hosting a meeting about nuclear disaster preparedness from 1-3 p.m. Feb. 18 at Hinsdale United Methodist Church, 945 S. Garfield Ave., Hinsdale.

“Our group meets monthly, and we try to make the meetings an educational opportunity for members and interested community members,” said Gail Hahn, the group’s publicity chairman. “Once a year, we have a meeting on public policy; we take a look to see what’s out there and try to find someone to come and talk about it. Our legislators are involved now in making energy policies, and we want to make sure people are as educated as possible.”

Hahn said the topic of the Fukushima disaster also was of interest to the group because very little news on additional fallout has been made available after initial reports following the accident.

More than 120 million Americans live within 50 miles of an aging nuclear power reactor, she said, adding Illinois has more nuclear reactors than any other state.

The U.S. has 23 reactors of the same design as the one in Fukushima — the GE Mark I boiling water reactor. Four of those 23 are in Illinois: two in the Quad Cities and two at Dresden in Morris.

The guest speaker at the Feb. 18 meeting is Jeffrey Patterson, past president of Physicians for Social Responsibility, who will talk about potential impacts on public health and safety of a nuclear disaster in Illinois, in the wake of Fukushima.

Patterson is a professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He is regarded as an expert on the medical effects of radiation.

The Feb. 18 meeting is free and open to the public; however reservations are recommended and can be made online at H.OB.aauw.reservations@gmail.com.