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Media Cover-Up of radiation health effects started in 1945

Laurence’s account of this visit … disclosed quite frankly why he and thirty other journalists had been invited: to “give lie to” Japanese propaganda “that radiations were responsible for deaths even after” the Hiroshima attack, as he wrote

How a famous NYT Reporter Led the Media Cover-Up of Radiation Dangers,  http://www.thenation.com/blog/163193/how-famous-nyt-reporter-led-media-cover-radiation-dangers, The Nation  Greg Mitchell, September 7, 2011   William L. Laurence earned the nickname “Atomic Bill” several times over. As I’ve explored here in the past, he was Pulitizer-winning New York Times science reporter who became embedded with the Manhattan Project and followed its creation of the first atomic bombs at several sites around the United States. As the first use of the new weapon against Japan neared, he wrote several lengthy articles glorifying the Bomb and the men who made it, which were published, with overwheming impact, by his paper (and others) starting on August 7, 1945. Continue reading →

September 8, 2011 Posted by | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Buying support for uranium mining

“In Virginia, there are grave concerns about the industry’s ability to manage all of that radioactive and toxic waste,” said Cale Jaffe, a senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center…

Va. company picking up tab for uranium-mining tour, Boston.com, RICHMOND, Va.—A company that wants to mine uranium in Virginia is flying state legislators, local officials and residents to Canada to visit uranium mining and milling operations. By Steve Szkotak, Associated Press / September 7, 2011  

The trip is one of several sponsored by Virginia Uranium Inc. as it lobbies to end a 1982 moratorium on uranium mining so it can tap a 119-million-pound deposit in Southside Virginia. The uranium deposit is believed to be the largest in the U.S. and one of the largest in the world. Continue reading →

September 8, 2011 Posted by | business and costs, USA | Leave a comment

Christian Bishop Explains His Anti Nuclear Campaign

Why go to anti-nuclear demos? It’s part of my faith, Echo (UK)  7th September 2011 BLOCKING the gates to an atomic weapons research centre and taking communion outside a weapons store aren’t typical activities for a bishop.

But for the Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, voicing his opposition to nuclear weapons is an important part of his Christian faith. Bishop Continue reading →

September 8, 2011 Posted by | Religion and ethics, UK | Leave a comment

Grim outlook for Australia’s uranium mining industry

Investor support has evaporated and the share prices of most ASX-listed uranium plays have fallen more heavily than the wider market. The share price falls have eroded any chance of capital raisings to fund drilling programs or project development while continued production problems experienced by market leader Paladin Energy have added to the negative sentiment hanging over the sector.

The Merrill Lynch uranium equity index, which tracks global listed stocks, is down 19 per cent over the past month and 23 per cent in the past year. 

More pain for uranium sector as price dips, PETER KLINGER, The West AustralianSeptember 7, 2011 Already battered by headwinds, including strong opposition from environmentalists, WA’s fledgling uranium sector is set for more grief amid expectation the nuclear fuel’s low price will fall another 6 per cent within the next few months. Continue reading →

September 8, 2011 Posted by | AUSTRALIA, business and costs | Leave a comment

Bravery honors for Fukushima’s nuclear emergency workers

Spain honors Japanese nuclear responders  VOA  Sept 11 Crews in Japan that worked to bring a damaged nuclear plant under control after a deadly earthquake and tsunami earlier this year have won Spain’s prestigious Prince of Asturias humanitarian award.

The Prince of Asturias Foundation said Wednesday it is honoring the workers who braved dangerous levels of radiation at the Fukushima nuclear facility, about 220 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.

In a statement, the foundation said members of the crew represent the “highest values of the human condition,” and that their actions reflect the most deeply rooted values in Japanese society, such as a sense of duty, personal and family sacrifice for the common good, and dignity in the face of adversity.

The foundation said it award goes to three groups of Japanese: employees of the company that operated the nuclear plant, firefighters who worked to cool dangerously overheated reactors, and military personnel who flew helicopters over the nuclear plant, cordoned off an exclusion zone and evacuated residents…. http://blogs.voanews.com/breaking-news/2011/09/07/spain-honors-japanese-nuclear-responders/

September 8, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, Religion and ethics | Leave a comment

TVA’s Browns Ferry nuclear reactors has safety issues

TVA’s Browns Ferry reactor needs ‘highest level of attention,’ NRC says, September 07, 2011,  ByBudd McLaughlin, The Huntsville Times,  HUNTSVILLE, Alabama –– The Unit 1 reactor at Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant is among two reactors in the country that require the “highest level of attention” from regulators, according to a U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission assessment.

The agency said Tuesday it’s giving Browns Ferry supplemental inspection because of a problem that was discovered with a valve on a cooling system last fall. The increased oversight will include reviews of a number of issues at the Tennessee Valley Authority-operated plant, including its safety culture.

Omaha (Neb.) Public Power’s Fort Calhoun reactor is the other among 104 U.S. reactors, that needs additional inspections to ensure that safety concerns are met, the NRC said in a statement…..

September 8, 2011 Posted by | safety, USA | Leave a comment

Sea level rise threatens nuclear reactors

Although two new reactors at Turkey Point are being built at a higher elevation, Florida Power & Light has requested to keep the two current nukes running until 2035. Given that Hurricane Andrew almost inundated them in 1992, what will happen as oceans continue to rise?

“The standards will be 85 years old by then, and that’s a problem,” says Arnie Gundersen, a Vermont-based nuclear engineer and consultant. “If tidal waves knock out the water pumps” — as they did at the Fukushima reactor in Japan earlier this year — “you can have a meltdown.”…..

Global warming could put Turkey Point nuclear reactors under water, Miami New Times By Michael E. Miller , Sep 8 2011 Warning: Global warming is a fact, and the results are already visible. Hurricanes are getting stronger; droughts and floods are more frequent. In South Florida, waters rose roughly six inches between 1930 and 1981. That might not sound like much, but it’s just the tip of a rapidly melting iceberg. “We are the most vulnerable metropolitan area in the world when it comes to sea-level rise,” University of Miami professor Harold Wanless says. Continue reading →

September 8, 2011 Posted by | climate change, USA | Leave a comment