nuclear-news

USA Navy veterans were exposed to ionising radiation

Federal hearings confirm Navy veterans exposed to leaking radiation first revealed by  News Channel 5 By: Ron Regan, newsnet5.com  5 April 12,  SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Federal hearings confirm how Navy veterans were unwittingly exposed to leaking radiation that was first revealed in a series of exclusive 5 On Your Side investigations.

U.S. Navy veterans serving at McMurdo Station, Antarctica have long suspected that cancer deaths among those who served at the base in the 1960s and 70s may have been connected to a nuclear plant constructed at the base.
Our investigation was triggered by the widow of an Ohio veteran who
died of cancer and who asked that his case, and others, be
investigated.
The plant was finally shut down after experts ruled it could not be
repaired and tons of dirt surrounding it was ultimately removed in the
late 70s.
Our exclusive investigation revealed the plant sustained 438
malfunctions and 123 incidents of radiation exposure, prompting Sen.
Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, to call for an official investigation by the
Veterans Administration and the Department of Defense.
As a result, the Veterans Board on Dose Reconstruction recently
concluded public hearings in San Antonio and confirmed that veterans,
in fact, had been exposed to repeated doses of radiation for years.
A preliminary report by the U.S. Navy describes the exposure as “low
level”, but also found that only veterans working inside the plant
were actually monitored for exposure.
As a result, the Navy is attempting to reconstruct, using scientific
methodology, exactly how much radiation other veterans were exposed to
as a result of the leaking reactor known officially as PM-3A.
“For veterans who did not work with the PM-3A,” said Navy Lt.
Commander Greg Fairchild, “Who received no monitoring, the Navy
responses to those questions was to return a null result because we
don’t have reported exposures for them.”……. http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/investigations/Federal-hearings-confirm-Navy-veterans-exposed-to-leaking-radiation-first-revealed-by-NewsChannel5#ixzz1rETB8xmU

April 5, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA