Walk to Promote 'Nuclear-Free Future' Set for Sunday

A Walk for a Nuclear-Free Future will take place on Sunday, March 17, starting in Toms River.

The walk begins at 10 a.m. at the Ocean County Library at 101 Washington St. in Toms River. Participants will then walk to Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station on Route 9 in Forked River, arriving at 4 p.m. Walkers will be shuttled back to Toms River.

A potluck will be held at 6 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Ocean County Congregation at 734 Route 37 West in Toms River.

Speakers will include Michelle Donato, Esq. and Joseph Mangano, MPH, MBA.

Michele R. Donato, graduate of Rutgers Law School and Adjunct Professor, specializes in land use, historic preservation and environmental law and is special counsel to several municipalities. Donato has been active with citizen groups monitoring the Oyster Creek Nuclear Power Plant for more than 10 years. The League of Women Voters honored Donato with an award for her environmental work.

Joseph Mangano, Executive Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project, studied the connection between low-dose radiation exposure and risk of diseases such as cancer and damage to children and newborns. Mangano has published numerous medical articles and authored books, including Low Level Radiation and Immune System Disorders examining the link between radiation and current widespread health problems.

A similar walk was held in 2012 as part of the  which included a stop at Oyster Creek Generating Station.

The anti-nuclear advocates claim that at Oyster Creek, tritium leaks into drinking water, there is a corroding drywell liner, it’s the same “flawed” design as Fukushima, the intake canal structure is not sufficient for sustained water surge from Hurricane Sandy and more.

The event is sponsored by Democratic Club of Whiting, Green Party of New Jersey, League of Women Voters, Sierra Club of NJ, Dr. Sachiko Komagata, Georgian Court University, Jersey Shore Catholic Worker, UnPlug Salem, Jersey Shore Nuclear Watch, Beyond Nuclear, Nuclear Information and Resource Service.

For more information contact Edith Gbur at 732-240-5107 or Bonney Parker at 732-505-3026.