A-bomb survivors question world's reliance on nuclear energy

[kristopher]

A-bomb survivors question world's reliance on nuclear energy

NEW YORK (Kyodo) -- Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the 1945 U.S. atomic bomb of Japan, questioned the world's reliance on nuclear energy Wednesday, given the struggles Japan still faces with its nuclear crisis in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami disaster.

"It was a painful reminder to the world that within our lifetimes we were witnessing once again people being exposed to radiation," Thurlow said.

She recalled the moment when as a 13-year-old student, she witnessed a "brilliant, bluish flash" after an atomic bomb detonated while she was working in the army headquarters in Hiroshima just 1.8 kilometers away.

As a hibakusha, she has become an advocate of nuclear nonproliferation and was speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly's First Committee, which covers disarmament and international security, about her past experiences.

She ...

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/features/news/20111027p2g00m0fe096000c.html