By Ann Suellentrop
I have always had a strong interest in peace and justice issues. It might be because I was the oldest of 7 children and often had to babysit and solve disputes among my siblings. Or it might have been the result of growing up during the Civil Rights era of the ‘50s and ‘60s, as well as during the Cuban Missile Crisis and the American War in Vietnam.
At any rate, I was thrilled to go on three trips over the last few weeks, and will talk about them Nov. 12. The first trip was to nuclear international conferences in Nagasaki and Hiroshima, Japan; the second was a Civil Rights Tour of the South; and the last was a conference of the American Public Health Association in Washington DC.
In addition to these travels, I am now taking an 11-week online class on the health effects of ionizing radiation. The course is produced by Physicians for Social Responsibility. I was eager to take the class because currently there is a movement in the US to re-establish the entire nuclear fuel chain of uranium mining, milling, enrichment, fuel fabrication, and plutonium pit production. These activities are known to cause environmental contamination and disproportionately impact indigenous peoples. Next spring there will be government hearings held in Kansas City and four other cities, where the public will have a chance to object to this increased plutonium pit production. If the nuclear weapons makers, such as the KC nuclear bomb parts plant, are allowed to proceed through this gateway to mass production of new nuclear weapons, it will be, in effect, a new nuclear arms race.
So, in my view, it is important to become informed and change our thinking to ensure the survival of the human race and our planet. For example, it is important to understand the (recently discovered) much greater health effects of radiation on women and children, especially girls, when setting radiation standards. We must also consider the profound medical consequences of nuclear energy in its waste production, environmental effects, genetic damage, and in its relationship with nuclear weapons. In order to save ourselves, we must understand both the lethal effects of radiation and the damage caused by hatred, violence and war. We must stop seeing fellow human beings as “Other” and help each other to flourish and prosper.
If my presentation on my recent travels can accomplish even a little of this transformation in thinking, it will have been worth all my time, effort and expense!
–Ann Suellentrop is a Master’s-prepared registered nurse in Maternal Child Nursing and worked 45 years in Kansas City caring for children. She is also part of the Catholic Worker movement which works to serve the poor and opposes violence and war. She is vice chair of PeaceWorks KC and served on the national board of Physicians for Social Responsibility. © 2025, Ann Suellentrop, Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 International License.