Seeking a Day in Court

                                              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
 
                                          TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2016
 
 
CONTACTS:
 
Keith Gunter, Co-Chair, ATHF3 / (734) 838-8084 or keith.gunter9@gmail.com
 
Carol Izant, Co-Chair, ATHF3 / (248) 930-3173 or cogknot@yahoo.com
 
 
ALLIANCE TO HALT FERMI-3’S “GOT KI?” CAMPAIGN SEEKS A DAY IN COURT THROUGH INTERVENTION AGAINST DTE ENERGY’S FERMI-2 LICENSE RENEWAL
 
Detroit, MI —  The Alliance To Halt Fermi-3 (ATHF3) applauds its ally, Citizens’ Resistance At Fermi-Two (CRAFT), for filing a Motion to Re-open the federal legal proceedings against DTE Electric Company’s Fermi-2 License Renewal Application (LRA).  On Monday, November 21, 2016 CRAFT submitted a new contention to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) pertaining to the concerns of the Alliance’s “Got KI?” campaign.

 
     ATHF3 Co-Chair Keith Gunter stated:  “The lessons learned from the Fukushima catastrophe illustrate that the millions of Michigan residents who live and work within 50 miles of DTE’s Fermi-2 plant need to be better prepared and protected in advance of a potential nuclear accident.  We hope that the NRC will see fit to allow this issue to receive a fair hearing.”
 
     Alliance To Halt Fermi-3, in cooperation with DC-area Beyond Nuclear, have launched the “Got KI?” campaign in an effort to inform the public about the need for state policy changes which would require the free direct delivery and pre-distribution of thyroid protecting potassium iodide (KI) tablets to every resident within the 50-mile Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) of Michigan’s nuclear power plants.  “Got KI?” has included door-to-door canvasses  in the Fermi-2 EPZ in Frenchtown township that began in 2015 and continued this year;  a KI public information forum in Monroe this past August; and a two-hour meeting with the director of Monroe County’s office of emergency planning in October.  Preparation is underway for expanded “Got KI?” activities in 2017.
 
     KI is recognized by public health authorities as an effective thyroid gland protector if ingested in advance of exposure to radioactive iodine, which is likely to be released during a severe nuclear accident.  Infants and children are most vulnerable to radiation exposure.”
 
     Carol Izant, the Alliance’s other Co-Chair, pointed out that  “The existing voucher-based KI distribution system in Michigan fails to provide protection for the vast majority of those at risk.  The public’s right to health protection given the known risks should not be ignored.”
 
     Alliance To Halt Fermi-3 opposes DTE Energy’s application for the Fermi-2 license extension, which, if granted, would allow the company to continue operating the dangerous, expensive, and age-degraded nuclear reactor until 2045.
 
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