Gender and Radiation Impact Project (GRIP) is a nonprofit organization that opposes nuclear energy. Formed in 2017, it was conceived in response to an independent analysis of a 2011 National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report that concluded women suffer disparate negative effects from radiation exposure. That same year the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report on the nuclear accident Fukushima, Japan nuclear facility that came to the same conclusion. 1
GRIP was initially founded to advance alternatives that would prevent low-level ionizing radiation and reduce harm to young girls. In 2021, the organization announced a formalized direction that would promote a better understanding of the harm of radiation, encourage further research of the impacts, advocate safety standards, and advocate for all energy policy to be aimed at non-nuclear sources. 2
Activities
Gender and Radiation Impact Project advocates via a website link to Beyond Nuclear for the creation of a “Reference Woman” and “Reference Fetus” on the premise that the existing “Reference Man” used in the study of radiation impacts is more resistant to radiation than either a woman, a child, or an unborn baby. 3
GRIP along with 100 other groups signed a letter in 2021 opposing the nuclear power production tax credits offered in the House of Representatives proposal for the Build Back Better Act. 4
GRIP published an analysis on the website of Children of Atomic Veterans titled, “The Disproportionate Negative Impact of Radiation and Radiation Regulation on Women and Girls.” It reviewed a study of Japanese people exposed to radiation by the detonation of nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan at the end of World War II that detailed the disproportionate impact of radiation on women and girls versus men. 5
The organization co-signed a letter along with 714 groups sent to Congressional leadership that called nuclear energy “dirty” energy and a source of pollution while advocating for unreliable wind and solar energy production and opposing reliable natural gas. 6
Gender and Radiation Impact Project partners with Beyond Nuclear to provide short courses on the health consequences of ionizing radiation, the need for better understanding of risks, and potential policies. 7 Beyond Nuclear opposes carbon-free reliable power generation from nuclear sources, arguing that there is no permanent solution to nuclear waste disposal and current waste must be contained in hardened on-site storage and that nuclear weapons are developed by those who use it for power. 8 9
BNR has formed a fiscally sponsored project called Beyond Nuclear International (BNI). BNI opposes the “Advance Act,” the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy, that President Joe Biden signed in to law on July 10, 2024 that provides taxpayer funds to develop nuclear energy and opposes the transfer and storage of nuclear weapons amongst North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) countries even in time of war. 10
Funding
GRIP has not received major funding from any source and is dependent on individual contributions via the Mightycause platform, with $28,233 raised from 84 individuals in 2023. 11
People
Mary Olson is the founder of GRIP and a former staff biologist and policy analyst at anti-nuclear Nuclear Information Resource Service. Olson spoke at the United Nations during review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and during negotiation of a global treaty to ban nuclear weapons. 12
References
- “Mission.” Gender + Radiation Impact Project. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.genderandradiation.org/mission.
- “Mission.” Gender + Radiation Impact Project. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.genderandradiation.org/mission.
- “Reference Girl” Accessed July 20, 2024. http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/356082/28432948/1620307796553/FINAL+Ref+Girl+Necessary+not+the+end.pdf?token=Ms393ylV8irY6RQ3Fbm69cO46aM%3D
- Unitedfrontlinetable. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://unitedfrontlinetable.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/No-False-Solutions-in-BBBA-Letter-to-Senate-20211214-FINAL.pdf.
- “Get A Grip: The Disproportionate Negative Impact of Radiation and Radiation Regulation on Women and Girls.” Children of Atomic Veterans, February 9, 2021, Accessed July 20, 2024. https://childrenofatomicveterans.org/projects/gender-radiation-impact-project/get-a-grip-the-disproportionate-negative-impact-of-radiation-and-radiation-regulation-on-women-and-girls/.
- Biologicaldiversity. Accessed July 31, 2024. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/energy-justice/pdfs/2021-5-12_600-Group-Letter-for-RES.pdf?_gl=1*1c9h3t8*_gcl_au*MTc3NjM3MTM1Mi4xNjg5OTU1MzAz.
- “Nuclear Power.” Beyond Nuclear, January 15, 2022. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://beyondnuclear.org/nuclear-power/.
- “Why ‘no’ to NATO?” Beyond Nuclear International, June 23, 2024. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2024/06/23/why-no-to-nato/.
- Beyond Nuclear International. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/.
- “Nuclear Weapons.” Beyond Nuclear, November 24, 2021. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://beyondnuclear.org/nuclear-weapons/.
- “Support Gender + Radiation Impact Project on Mightycause.” Mightycause. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.mightycause.com/story/Gender-Radiation-Project.
- “Team.” Gender + Radiation Impact Project. Accessed July 20, 2024. https://www.genderandradiation.org/team.