nuclear-news

Can we trust Nuclear Regulatory Commission to study radiation risks?

Nuclear Regulatory Commission may study power plant health risks Agency considers conducting a large-scale epidemiological study of whether living near a nuclear power plant, such as San Onofre,  raises health risks. Doing so would pose major challenges.By Louis Sahagun, Los Angeles Times August 18, 2012,  
The last time federal officials assessed cancer rates in the communities surrounding nuclear power plants, they concluded that radiation releases were insignificant and health risks, if any, were too small to measure.

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commissionhas been relying on the results of that 1990 National Cancer Institute study ever since to inform the public about cancer risks posed by the 104 licensed reactors it governs nationwide.

Now, in response to growing concerns that using uranium in the production of electrical energy may be dangerous even without accidents, the NRC is trying to decide if it should launch one of the largest epidemiological studies ever conducted to determine if it is a
health risk to live near a nuclear facility — such as the San Onofre plant in north San Diego County….. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0818-sanonofre-cancer-20120819,0,3382517.story

August 20, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, health