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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0212.274 1996-1998 ' ' National Headquarters ~ menca~ ~ RO. Box 30630 Natural Hygiene 3363° ~au~ Hss-veo~ Executive Director Society, Inc. ' ~ ~a mes Mlc haul Lennon Living in Harmony with Nature ~ ~7 29 f~~ ~ 03 C~UN' Y~ ril 24 1997 COUNTY OF HAV~AII County Council of Hawaii 25 Aupuni St. Hilo, HI 96720 Dear Councillors, I am writing to you today on behalf of the more than 10,000 members and friends of the American Natural Hygiene Society, the oldest health education association in the United States. Our members--physicians and laypersons alike--are united in opposition to food irradiation for reasons of health and safety. We respectfully urge you to discontinue support for an irradiation facility in your community. We believe the arguments against food irradiation are compelling for moral, scientific, and economic reasons. Some are listed below. 1. The Society works actively to oppose the sale of irradiated foods in the United States. If the irradiation of food takes place in Hawaii, we will be among the national and international groups considering a boycott of all Hawaiian produce. 2. Radiation is very dangerous. Radiation accidents are frequent, and the history of the nuclear industry is a history of coverups. Japan is currently facing the disgrace of its nuclear industry having covered up a serious accident. It took the United States government 40 years to admit it had injured American soldiers and civilians during atomic tests. Citizens in Honolulu were subjected to an unreported radiation leak for 12 years before cleanup began. 3. Radiation facilities put your constituents at unjustifiable and uncompensatable risk. Most homeowners' insurance policies carry an exemption for nuclear accidents. Can the County of Hawaii assume the liability for damages related to an irradiation facility, including the transportation of nuclear materials to or from the site, that no insurance company is willing to assume? 4. Americans have already rejected irradiated foods. The only food irradiation facility in the nation is located just miles from our national headquarters here in Florida. It has lost millions of dollars since 1992 Comm. DIo. iJ2.Z7_N~-- P1Ie IYo.~~1~~ MCi/ Ref. Tot Presented Y o.,^,°° A°ry°~,~ MAY U 7 >~l Ref. Date since no suppliers or retailers want to be associated with food irradiation. Most Americans know that food irradiation is not an outgrowth of the farming or food industries. It is an outgrowth of the problem of nuclear waste. It is a technology in search of a use. Food irradiation is a poor solution to the problem of nuclear waste. We consider the introduction of nuclear waste materials at any new sites a reckless contamination of our neighborhoods and communities. 5. It has been widely reported that radiation damages the makeup and structure of food. Good health dictates fresh foods, not preserved foods, and certainly not foods exposed to deadly radiation. 6. Food irradiation is unnecessary. All of the supposed benefits attributed to food irradiation are already obtainable from other less expensive, less dangerous processes. Mayor Yamashiro, we respectfully urge you to withdraw your support for an irradiation facility in your community for health and environmental safety reasons. Sincerely, James Michael Lennon Executive Director