Nuclear Industry Launches Propaganda Blitz

Across the nation, the nuclear industry and privately owned utility companies are launching an ambitious media and lobbying campaign to convince the public that nuclear power is safe. This campaign, the most ambitious pro-nuclear effort since the "Atoms for Peace" campaigns of the 1960's, is designed to bolster the sagging image of the nuclear industry since the accident at Three Mile Island.

According to Mark Harnoff, Vice President of the firm designing the ads, most of the campaign will be devoted to magazines, with special targeting to women. He defended this approach on the grounds that "radiation is of special interest to them." Public opinion polls also show that women have more reservations about nuclear energy than do men. In a Harris poll of April, 1979, a dramatic difference in response between women and men was noted. To the question: "Do you favor building more nuclear power plants?", 37 percent of the women and 67 percent of the men answered "Yes".

"In two years or so we could make up the ground lost at Three Mile Island," boasts Frederick Webber, Executive Vice President in charge of lobbying of the Edison Electric Institute.

The Edison Electric Institute (EEI), a coalition of the nation's utilities, the Atomic Industrial Forum (AIF), a nuclear trade association, and a new industry group, the Committee on Energy Awareness, have committed millions of dollars and professional staff members to this all-out public relations campaign, which plans to utilize paid advertising, carefully staged media events, and sophisticated mass publicity to woo the hearts and minds of American

consumers.

There are several basic elements to the coordinated industry attack aimed primarily at the anti-nuclear movement. The goal is to restore public confidence in the industry's ability sagely to operate its reactors.

Media Blitz Planned

One aspect of the campaign you may already have noticed is the media blitz. Shaped by the Washington-based advertising firm of Smith & Harnoff, the campaign will take the offensive through news magazines and newspaper ads across the country.

As revealed by San Francisco Chronicle reporter Michael Taylor on June 7, 1979, the campaign will stress four "key messages":

-The nuclear industry is making an all-out effort to increase nuclear safety as a result of lessons learned at Three Mile Island;

-The nation cannot meet the growing demand for electricity without utilizing nuclear energy;

-The country will suffer economically, socially, and environmentally if it abandons nuclear energy; -The industry is trying to minimize potential exposure to radiation and to develop acceptable ways to transport and store nuclear waste.

In essence, the industry argues that they are trying to make nuclear energy safer, but even if it's not completely safe, we have no choice. We have to have nuclear power regardless.

Pro-Nuke" "Citizen Groups"

Still another component of the industry's counteroffensive--and indirectly linked to the media blitz— are newly formed "pro-energy citizen groups". These new groups will attempt to take their messages directly to the streets of America.

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The citizen group effort is being spearheaded by the Committee on Energy Awareness (CEA); an organization formed by more than 200 utilities and reactor vendors. CEA has prepared a detailed manual for utility executives on how to establish and direct these "citizen groups".

According to internal industry documents, part of ir

the new citizen approach will include: -A "women's program" handled by Nuclear Energy Women (NEW), an organization primarily

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made up of employees or wives of employees of utilities and reactor companies;

-A "senior citizens' program" handled by Westinghouse Electric, the largest manufacturer of nuclear reactors;

-A "college campus program". handled by

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-A "scientists' program" handled by Atomic Industrial Forum, }

Over the last, several years, nuclear power has become a major political issue. The nuclear industry has learned this very well and is moving to undercut public opposition to nuclear power and to build a political base in support of continued reliance on it. In part, their tactic is traditional: the attempt to swamp public opposition with an expensive barrage of propaganda and misleading information, confusing the opposition and winning over those who are still uncertain. But the current pro-nuclear campaign also involves some new elements-in chief, the creation of industry-dominated "citizens" groups to make it seem that their position has popular support.

It is impotant that the industry's effort not go un-⚫ challenged. Much of it is false or misleading; all of it is designed to distort public awareness and discussion of the real alternatives to nuclear power that are available to us. The future of nuclear power is a political question, and the industry's present campaign is a clear attempt to set the terms of the political debate in the years to come.

Reprinted and excerpted with permission from an article written by The Safe Energy Communications Council. The group encourages people to contact them on what the nuclear industry is doing in their area and for assistance in combatting it. SECC can be contacted at: 1536 16th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036.

TMI Documentary Powerful

(LNS)-On the first anniversary of the Three Mile Island catastrophy, a 90-minute documentary on the subject made by Parallel Films was screened in New York City. The title, We Are the Guinea Pigs, refers to the people of the Three Mile Island area. A very receptive crowd attended the screening of the film which was directed by Joan Harvey. It features a series of interviews with residents of the Middletown area, as well as with doctors, government officials and scientists who explore the connection between private industry, government and the international

arms race.

Among those interviewed in the film are Dr. Helen Caldicott, author of Nuclear Madness; John W. Goffman, M.D., co-discoverer of Uranium 233; Dr. Michio Kaku, Professor of Physics at City University of New York; and Dr. Judith Johnsrud, Co-Director of the Environmental Coalition on Nuclear Power. Performer John Amato is also featured in the film..A songwriter and guitarist with The 4th Wall Repertory of New York City, Amato in his music likens the

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nuclear reactors of Three Mile Island to "gravestones for a dying nation," a theme which is carried out in the promotional material.

Some of the most powerful moments in the film are during the interviews with residents of the area whose lives are the most directly affected by the leakage, and the real longterm dangers of the situation as revealed by the scientists who are interviewed. Previously unpublicized nuclear accidents and information are discussed in the interviews.

Dr. Daniel Pisello, Professor of Physics at Fordham University, was chosen to be interviewed for the film because he wrote the first article to appear about the production of the hydrogen bubble in the reactor at TMI, explaining what had taken place. Regarding We Are the Guinea Pigs he commented, "I want everyone in the world to see it. Education about this problem is what we need the most." He went on to say that the biggest problem resulting from nuclear (continued on page 11)

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WSW salutes the men who put women in high places... Billboard appearing on Carnegie and several other Cleveland locations..

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