Nuclear Reactor Unprepared For Global Warming
Published on Aug 15, 2012 by SamSeder
From the Majority Report, live M-F 12 noon EST and via daily podcast at http://Majority.FM:
What happens when the water used to cool off a nuclear plant becomes too hot because of well, let’s see…I don’t know…global warming?
this video describes manipulation of averaging the temperature..
and more
Radiation – 1 cancer per 2,500 person-rem, sez UC-Berkeley physics professor, relying on linear, no-threshold extrapolation model
Link to headline
http://news.nuclear.com/index.php/radiation-1-cancer-per-2
Annual background radiation in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province
Background: Measurement of background radiation is very important from different points of view especially for human health. The aim of this survey was focused on determining the current background radiation in one of the highest altitude regions ( Zagros Mountains ), Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, in the south west of Iran .
Materials and Methods: The outdoors-environmental monitoring exposure rate of radiation was measured in 200 randomly chosen regions using portable Geiger-Muller and Scintillation detectors. Eight measurements were made for each region and an average value was used to calculate the exposure rate from natural background radiation.
Results: The exposure dose rate was found to be 28.4 m Rh-1 and the annual average effective equivalent dose was found to be 0.49 mSv. An overall population weighted average outdoor dose rate was calculated to be 49 nGyh-1, which is higher than the world-wide mean value of
44 nGyh-1 and is comparable to the annual effective equivalent dose of 0.38 mSv.
Conclusion: A good correlation between the altitude and the exposure rate was observed, as the higher altitude regions have higher natural background radiation levels. Iran . J. Radiat. Res.; 2003; 1(2): 87 – 91….”
And while they looked for the causes of cancer in the below study they found two main contributing (alleged) factors, consanguineous marriage and altitude/radiation exposure.
http://www.ijrr.com/browse.php?a_code=A-10-1-12&slc_lang=en&sid=1&sw=radiation
Pancreatic Cancer: State of the Art and
Current Situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran
Govaresh\ Vol. 14, No.3, Autumn 2009; 189-197
“…Most of these provinces
including Khorasan, Hormozgan, Chaharmahal
and Bakhtiari, Ilam, and Kohkiloueh and
Boyerahmad are among the provinces with high
rate of consanguineous marriage in Iran (12,13).
Other environmental factors may also be
associated with the higher rate of pancreatic
cancer in these provinces as Chaharmahal and
Bakhtiari and Kohkiloueh and Boyerahmad are
two provinces close to each other in the
surrounds of Zagros mountain range. People
living in these two provinces have many cultural
characteristics and behavioral habits in common…”
an interesting study as the west is generally looking at alcohol as the main cause now because the “virus” theory has no proof after 20 years..
example of western approach to research
A quantitative assay for assessing the effects of DNA lesions on transcription
“..Affiliations
-
Department of Chemistry, University of California–Riverside, Riverside, California, USA.
- Changjun You,
- Xiaoxia Dai,
- Bifeng Yuan,
- Jin Wang,
- Jianshuang Wang &
- Yinsheng Wang
-
Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Rockville, Maryland, USA.
- Philip J Brooks…….”
NOTE : there is no research into radiation causing cancers this year as Prof C Busby nor any independent researcher is getting any funding.. and the budget has tripled this year for R and D in cancer.. Arclight
Forest near Fukushima nuclear plant turning into high-radiation jungle via The Mainichi
August 17, 2012(Mainichi Japan)
“…Contaminated materials from the mountains reach inhabited areas, rivers and the sea, so decontamination of the mountains is necessary. But we know better than anyone that it’s hard to get far into the mountains where there are no paths, and there’s no way you can wash down every tree and dig up the soil,” he says.
“What are we going to do about the mountains that are becoming overgrown? As residents start to return, that worries me,” he says…”
“…Radiation readings near the saplings struggling to get sunlight were a little over 40 microsieverts per hour. After just one day in the area, a person would be exposed to more than the government’s designated yearly limit of 1 millisievert.
Facing the mountain, Akimoto lowered his head as he spoke to the saplings.
“I’m sorry that the readings are so high. I’m sorry that I can’t do anything.”…”
“…If trees wither, then the ground becomes unstable, making landslides and flash floods more likely. Akimoto, who has spent time in forests for over 40 years as a worker for the Fukushima Prefecture village of Kawauchi, has many times witnessed disastrous scenes when people have abandoned forests. Now, radiation is also a problem.
“Contaminated materials from the mountains reach inhabited areas, rivers and the sea, so decontamination of the mountains is necessary. But we know better than anyone that it’s hard to get far into the mountains where there are no paths, and there’s no way you can wash down every tree and dig up the soil,” he says…..”
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/features/news/20120817p2a00m0na015000c.html
Movie that examined nuclear risks draws new audience via the Asahi Shimbun
(This article was written by Akira Nakamura and Tatsuro Sakata.)
“…SENDAI–Can one predict disasters? A documentary film that some consider did so is showing again in cinemas across Japan.
“Ashita ga Kieru: Doshite Genpatsu?” (Tomorrow is disappearing: Why the nuclear plant?) examines the risks from nuclear-plant radiation. It was made 22 years before the triple meltdowns at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The movie follows a housewife who seeks answers after the death of her father, a nuclear power plant engineer. She visits people related to the nuclear industry and questions them.
Moviegoers feel it strikes a chord, but the cast and crew report mixed emotions….”
“…
Makiko Kasai lost her father to bone cancer in 1984. He was a thermal insulation engineer. He worked on the piping around nuclear reactors, and had been involved in construction and inspections at most of Japan’s nuclear plants. He was 52 when he died.
The 26-year-old Kasai found a book in her father’s study which described the effects of radiation exposure.
She discussed it with her mother and found that they shared suspicions over the cancer.
Troubled by the possible connection, Kasai wrote a letter to The Asahi Shimbun for publication.
“Whenever my father saw newspaper and television reports about anti-nuclear power protests he would insist: ‘Nuclear plants are safe,’ ” she wrote.
She recalled the broken look on his face as he was admitted to hospital. “I guess I may never be able to return to this house,” he said….”
“…After the 1986 Chernobyl disaster Hirakata became determined to use the big screen to spread awareness of the risks of nuclear power.
He approached the then 26-year-old Kasai. She agreed to take part, on condition that the movie respected her father’s work. She was anxious not to dishonor his contribution to Japan’s power plants.
Shooting began, and the production team followed her across Japan. She visited nuclear plants, interviewed workers, and probed their feelings about radiation exposure.
In Fukushima Prefecture a doctor examining nuclear-plant workers confirmed Kasai’s suspicions: radiation exposure was, he said, the likely cause of her father’s cancer…”
“…Since the March 2011 disaster, the documentary has been screened at 20 or more locations.
Official inquiries have accused Tokyo Electric Power Co. and state nuclear regulators of complacency and mismanagement.
In light of this, one movie scene resonates particularly strongly.
An ex-engineer describes his work helping to design the plant’s No. 4 reactor. He alleges there were defects in its construction, which were then covered up.
Looking back, the movie director says he feels helpless.
“I have a sense of resignation that the film didn’t do any good,” Hirakata said….”
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/cool_japan/movies/AJ201208210035
Health Risks of Nuclear Power: Report
June 17 2012
“…Assessment of nuclear health risks proves to be a complicated and multilayered issue. The first layer concerns the technical aspects and empirical observations. The second layer comprises the views and perspective of the nuclear industry and the information flow on nuclear matters to the public and to decision makers. The third layer concerns the relationship between health risks and common economic views….”
“…
Starting point of this study is formed the following observations:
- The generation of nuclear energy irrevocably goes together with the generation of immense amounts of human-made radioactivity.
- Radioactivity cannot be destroyed.
- Radioactivity cannot be made harmless to humans.
Nuclear power involves the mobilization of naturally occurring radioactivity and the generation of human-made radioactivity, a billionfold of the mobilized natural radioactivity. Each reactor of 1 GWe power generates each year as much radioactivity as 1000 exploded nuclear weapons (Hiroshima bombs).
Nuclear health risks are posed by the spread of radioactive substances into the environment. Non-radioactive substances posing health risks are not included in this study to limit its scope….”
“…Furthermore there is strong empirical evidence that damage also occurs in cells not directy hit by radiation: the so-called non-targeted and delayed effects (e.g. the bystander effect), via unknown mechanisms. Adverse health effects from low radiation doses might be far more serious than previously assumed on the basis of the classic dose-effect models….”
“…
The pathways of tritium and carbon-14 into the human body via drinking water and the food chain are briefly discussed. The biomedical effects of these two biochemically very active radionuclides in the human body are not well understood. Both tritium and carbon-14 are released on daily routine basis in large quantities by nuclear power plants, spent fuel storage facilities and reprocessing plants, under nominal operating conditions.
Health risks of nuclear power are exacerbated by the fact that a number of hazardous radionuclides are difficult to detect, such as tritium, carbon-14 and iodine-129. These radionuclides are routinely discharged into the environment.
But also numerous other hazardous radionuclides in scrap and debris, including some actinides, are hard to detect by commonly used radiation detectors and so these radionuclides can easily enter the public domain….”
“…
Information on nuclear matters to the public and politicians originates almost exclusively from institutions with vested interests in nuclear power, for example IAEA, WNA, NEA, NEI, and from the nuclear industry itself, e.g. Areva and EdF.
There are strong connections between the IAEA and UNSCEAR and ICRP and consequently these institutions do not operate independently of each other.
Even the World Health Organization (WHO) cannot operate independently of the IAEA on nuclear matters.
The nuclear industry has a habit of Après nous le déluge by postponing indefinitively the actions required to deal adequately with the human-made radioactivity. The assertion of the World Nuclear Association, representing the Western nuclear industy, that all safety matters are fully under control is in flagrant contradiction to the practice…”
“…
A nuclear reactor discharges significant amounts of radioactivity into the environment, even when operating nominally. Empirical evidence points to seriously adverse health effects of these ‘routine releases’, as mentioned above.
Reprocessing plants are extremely polluting. All gaseous radionuclides from spent fuel are released into the air. A great deal of the chemically mobile radionuclides are released into the sea, along with a significant fraction of the uranium, plutonium and other actinides from the spent fuel. Separation processes never go to completion (a consequence of the Second Law), so unavoidably a fraction of the radionuclides from the spent fuel end up in the waste streams of the reprocessing plant….”
“…
Furthermore the nuclear system hides the potential of severe accidents of extremely large spatial extent and long timescales. Such accidents, which may pale the Chernobyl disaster, are possible even with ‘inherently safe’ reactors (which do not exist). Several scenarios are conceivable, involving nuclear reactors, spent fuel cooling ponds and reprocessing plants. A number of risk enhancing factors are discussed, some technical, other non-technical.
The chances of severe accidents and the magnitude of the imposed health risks increase with time for three reasons:
- rapidly increasing amounts of human-made radioactive materials in mobile state
- unavoidable deterioration of materials and constructions
- increasing economic pressure.
Nuclear facilities are vulnerable to terroristic attacks. Severe accidents could also be initiated by hostile actions in an armed conflict anywhere in the world. The consequences of a Chernobyl- type accident do not stop at our borders.
The use of MOX fuel in civil nuclear reactors poses a great risk for terroristic use of plutonium in primitive but effective bombs….”
http://www.dianuke.org/health-risks-of-nuclear-power/
Soybeans Susceptible to Man-Made Materials in Soil
August 21, 2012
“…Researchers contend that manufactured nanomaterials–now popular in consumer products such as shampoos, gels, hair dyes and sunscreens–may be detrimental to the quality and yield of food crops, as reported in a paper in the online edition ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences….”
“…
Manufactured nanomaterials are man-made materials produced by manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Their effects on human health and the environment are the subject of much scientific study.
“As MNMs are used more and more in consumer products, there is a higher likelihood that they will end up in wastewater treatment facilities,” said lead researcher John Priester, an environmental scientist at the Bren School of Environmental Science and Management at University of California, Santa Barbara.
Conventionally-treated wastewater is a primary source of normally nutrient-rich organic materials applied to agricultural soil, and farmers beneficially use this treated water and the biosolids from it as fertilizer. As MNMs become more prevalent, there is concern about MNM buildup in soils and possible MNM entry into the food supply….”
“…
“These results indicate broader risks to the food supply,” the researchers write in the paper. They go on to say the environment could be affected even more since increased synthetic fertilizer would be required to offset lost nitrogen fixation, a process that soybeans and other legumes use to convert atmospheric nitrogen into natural fertilizer.
“These are very significant findings; they highlight the importance of full life-cycle tracking of manufactured nanomaterials in consideration of environmental impacts,” said Alan Tessier, a program director in the National Science Foundation’s Biology Directorate. “If the nanomaterials tested in this paper were to move into the biosolids or irrigation system used in agriculture, they could seriously harm agricultural production.”
“Completely preventing nanomaterials from entering agricultural soils may be difficult,” said Priester. …”
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?org=NSF&cntn_id=125233&preview=false
New laboratory test assesses how DNA damage affects protein synthesis
The chemists report that the method, called “competitive transcription and adduct bypass” or CTAB, can help explain how DNA damage arising from anticancer drugs and environmental chemicals leads to cancer development.
“Aberrant transcription induced by DNA modifications has been proposed as one of the principal inducers of cancer and many other human diseases,” said Yinsheng Wang, a professor of chemistry, whose lab led the research. “CTAB can help us quantitatively determine how a DNA modification diminishes the rate and fidelity of transcription in cells. These are useful to know because they affect how accurately protein is synthesized. In other words, CTAB allows us to assess how DNA damage ultimately impedes protein synthesis, how it induces mutant proteins. ”
Study results appeared online in Nature Chemical Biology on Aug. 19.
Wang explained that the CTAB method can be used also to examine various proteins involved in the repair of DNA. One of his research group’s goals is to understand how DNA damage is repaired — knowledge that could result in the development of new and more effective drugs for cancer treatment.
“This, however, will take more years of research,” Wang cautioned.
Wang was joined in the research by
UC Riverside’s Changjun You (a postdoctoral scholar and the research paper’s first author), Xiaoxia Dai, Bifeng Yuan, Jin Wang and Jianshuang Wang;
Philip J. Brooks of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Md.;
and Laura J. Niedernhofer of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Penn.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-08/uoc–nlt082112.php
Study shows long term effects of radiation in pediatric cancer patients
AUGUST 21, 2012 BY GARTH SUNDEM
“…For many pediatric cancer patients, total body irradiation (TBI) is a necessary part of treatment during bone marrow transplant– it’s a key component of long term survival. But lengthened survival creates the ability to notice long term effects of radiation as these youngest cancer patients age. A University of Colorado Cancer Center study recently published in the journal Pediatric Blood & Cancer details these late effects of radiation….”
“…
“These kids basically lie on a table and truly do get radiation from head to toe. There is a little blocking of the lungs, but nothing of, for example, the brain or the kidneys,” says Jean Mulcahy-Levy, MD, research fellow at the CU Cancer Center and the paper’s first author.
Of 15 patients who received TBI before age 3, many developed endocrine and metabolic problems including testicular malfunction (78 percent), restrictive pulmonary disease due to high levels of blood triglycerides (74 percent), and cataracts (78 percent). Likewise, 90 percent of patients showed abnormally low levels of growth hormone, and 71 percent were considerably under height. Additional late effects of TBI included kidney, liver, skeletal and cardiac malfunction – and three of four patients whose IQ had been tested before TBI showed cognitive decline.
“Fifteen doesn’t seem like a large number, but because we have such a good pediatric bone marrow transplant program here at Children’s Hospital Colorado and radiation therapy program at the CU Cancer Center, we were able to get a large enough cohort of patients to see these overall effects,” Mulcahy-Levy says….”
Finland electricity rates five times more than Sweden
http://www.icenews.is/index.php/2012/08/20/finland-electricity-rates-five-times-more-than-sweden/
Posted on20 August 2012
“…
Current electricity rates in Sweden cost a fraction of those in Finland, according to a recent YLE report.
Officials say that Sweden is seeing some of its lowest electricity rates in more than 20 years thanks to high rainfall levels seen over the summer alongside the massive capacity of regional hydroelectric plants.
As a result, around a third of Finland’s electricity is currently being imported from the Swedish border. Friday’s official average rates were 1.6 euro cents in Sweden and four cents in Finland.
Experts say that Finland has been unable to benefit from the wet summer because it lacks the dramatic topography found in Sweden and Norway that enables the neighbouring nations to take advantage of hydroelectric production methods….”
And then there is this
“…As of 2008, Finland‘s nuclear power program has four nuclear reactors in two power plants, all located on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The first of these came into operation in 1977. In 2007 they provided 28.4% of Finland’s electricity. They are among the world’s most productive, with average capacity factors of 94% in the 1990s.[2] A fifth reactor is under construction, scheduled to go online in 2015 or later….”
Chiba Produce Fair in Thailand – “All-Out Offensive to Sell Chiba Pears”, Says Sankei Shinbun Article
http://ex-skf.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/chiba-produce-fair-in-thailand-all-out.html
“…”Chiba Fair” is being held for 5 days at a subsidiary of AEON (headquartered in Chiba City) in part of Bangkok where the wealthy people live. In the special corner in the supermarket, various products from Chiba are displayed, including fruits, vegetables, and fresh fish….”
“…Zero information on the volume (or weight) of the samples, how densely they were packed to be tested, and how long they were tested. (I guess the officials think citizens are dumber than them.)
AEON Group is headed by the older brother of the vice prime minister Katsuya Okada….”
and concerning AEON, this odd article based on forged radiation data and a broken deal with greenpeace on the comments here..
there is some comments by me on the top of the thread
Emergency Official on Giant Sinkhole: Still a lot of unknowns… Will it progress any further?
http://enenews.com/emergency-official-lot-unknowns-about-giant-sinkhole-will-progress-further
Published: August 20th, 2012 at 9:58 pm ET
By ENENews
Title: Drilling begins in Bayou Corne
Source: WBRZ News 2 Baton Rouge
Author: Adrian Pittman
Date: : Aug 20, 2012 6:48p E
John Boudreaux, the emergency preparedness manager for Assumption Parish, said a mandatory evacuation for residents living in the Bayou Corne community could be in place for at least 2 months while the drilling takes place.
“Still a lot of unknowns, it’s going to take some time for them to get in and see if this cavern is the cause of what has happened, and if it will progress any further,” Boudreaux said.
Japan Professor: “An emergency within an emergency” at Fukushima plant — Tepco may be criminally liable for endangering workers
Published: August 20th, 2012 at 2:18 pm ET
By ENENews
itle: Tepco liable for contract workers’ safety in Fukushima
Source: Japan Times
Author: Hifumi Okunuki (Constitutional and labor law at Daito Bunka University and Jissen Women’s University)
Date: August 21, 2012
[…]
Less than 10 percent of the work at this nuclear power plant is conducted by those directly employed by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (Tepco). Over 90 percent is done by employees of subcontractors, sub-subcontractors and contractors several times removed. These workers come from a wide range of backgrounds, including some who gave up jobs in local agriculture or fishing, farmers and fishermen who work at the plants during the off-season, day laborers and former coal miners. Some have complicated stories to tell, or not to tell.
Few other workplaces require no experience or skill, and fewer still guarantee anonymity to those hoping to hide their background. Nuclear power firms also benefit from the weak position of such individuals since they are largely spared the obligations of most employers to protect the health and safety of each worker on-site.
[…]
Gundersen: Essentially U.S. Congress is totally co-opted by nuclear industry — Host: Influence is hair-raising (VIDEO)
http://enenews.com/gundersen-essentially-congress-totally-opted-nuclear-industry-courage-fight-video
Published: August 20th, 2012 at 3:35 pm ET
By ENENews
Title: Live at Five with Margaret Harrington and Arnie Gundersen
Source: CCTV
Date Aired: Aug 14, 2012
Date Published: Aug 19, 2012
Gundersen: Essentially congress has been totally co-opted, with the exception of Bernie Sanders, and Ed Markey of Massachussets, and a few others, Dennis Kucinich.
Just a few congressman and senators have the courage to fight this lobby.
Almost all of them have been co-opted by the money and are pro-nuclear.
1 This Month.
Nuclear Power? -Never again
(Switzerland –https://www.greenpeace.ch/de/handeln/atomkraft-nie-wieder/+)
PETITION – Close Down the Monticello Nuclear Reactor on the Mississippi River!
Now until to February 10, 2026 Radioactive waste storage in France: the debate is finally open! How to participate?
of the week. STAND – Severnside Together Against Nuclear Development . THE TRUE FACTS ABOUT NUCLEAR POWER
Why it is: Unaffordable – Dangerous – Unnecessary – Bad For The Environment
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