nuclear-news

IRAQ: Birth defects rise since arrival of US troops -But NO studies on depleted uranium?

“While there is no estimate of the amount or type of bombs and bullets used in the Iraqi occupation, a US Government Accountability Office (GAO) report had put the figure of bullets used at a mind boggling 6 billion between 2002 to 2005. That worked out to about 250,000 bullets for every enemy soldier shot by the US and its allies in Iraq.”

“In Fallujah, lead levels were five times higher and mercury levels six times higher among children with birth defects compared to normal children. Uranium levels were also found to be higher among such children. Lead, mercury and depleted uranium are used in manufacture of ammunition that was deployed in the Iraq occupation although US has denied it used depleted uranium or white phosphorus based ammunitions.”

times of india

And this charity article from Child Rights International Network

What is less clear, however, is the connection between the coalition forces’ activities and the increase in birth defects. The University of Michigan study notes that lead and mercury are “toxic metals readily used in the manufacture of present-day bullets and other ammunition” – but does not prove a direct link between their use in Basra and Falluja and the rise in birth defects there. Instead, it concludes that the bombardment of those cities “may have exacerbated public exposure to metals, possibly culminating in the current epidemic.”

The studies are clear, however, that a health crisis is costing Iraqi infants their lives, and more research is needed to determine the cause and the cure. Until that is done, some uncomfortable questions about the lingering effects of the US-led war will remain.

Summary:

The study examines how the number of birth defects soared since the arrival of US troops.

[29 October 2012] – The US military departed Iraq 10 months ago, but a recent study suggests that its old war may be causing new casualties among Iraqi children.

The Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology published a study in September titled “Metal Contamination and the Epidemic of Congenital Birth Defects in Iraqi Cities.” The study, which was funded by the University of Michigan’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, examines the prevalence of birth defects in the Iraqi cities of Basra and Fallujah, both of which experienced heavy fighting during the worst days of the Iraq war. As originally noted by US analyst David Isenberg, the study found an “astonishing” increase in the number of birth defects in a Basra maternal hospital when compared to before the war.

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November 1, 2012 Posted by arclight2011 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Sweden -Nuclear fuel and radioactive waste ship sets sail!

Sigrid takes to the water

29 October 2012

The hull of SKB’s new ship for transporting used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste has been launched. Once outfitted, the M/S Sigrid is set to enter service in 2013, serving as a linchpin in Sweden’s nuclear infrastructure.

The board of management of Svensk Kärnbränslehantering AB (SKB) – the company responsible for storing Swedish nuclear waste – decided in December 2010 to build a new purpose-built ship as a replacement of theM/S Sigyn. That ship has been in service since 1982, transporting used nuclear fuel and radioactive waste from Swedish nuclear power plants to storage facilities near Oskarshamn and Forsmark.

The Sigrid is launched into the River Danube (Image: SKB)

Designed by Damen Shipyards of the Netherlands, the new ship – named the M/S Sigrid – was built at the company’s shipyard in Galati, Romania and its hull was launched four days ago.

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November 1, 2012 Posted by arclight2011 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Public Outcry! -Japan nuclear and tsunami victim aid spent on whalers, officials and fighter pilots -RT

 

“Yoshimitsu Shiozaki, an academic specializing in urban planning at Kobe University, who has conducted his own survey of the spending, believes that little will be done to reverse the spending priorities.

“Legally speaking, there are no problems with these projects,” Shiozaki told the Japan Times, noting that before signing off on huge subsidies, bureaucrats only had to prove that a company was in some way connected to the disaster area, even if it is through a single supplier.

He also pointed out that previous relief efforts in the country, such as the Kobe earthquake recovery in 1995, have also been marred by similar scandals.

“But this time the funds are being used in a more deceptive way,” said Shiozaki.”

Published: 01 November, 2012, 00:20

A quarter of Japan’s tsunami relief fund has been spent on unrelated projects, including renovating a government office and subsiding whaling. The revelations have ignited outcry as more than 320,000 tsunami victims remain displaced.

The expenditure was identified after the publication of an independent government-backed audit into the allocation of the $150 billion relief fund, created after the earthquake and tsunami of March last year.

The fund intended not only to restore damaged cities, but to “reinvigorate Japan”, stimulating local economies into recover. Nevertheless, the relevance of some of the funded projects have been raising eyebrows.

Iwate prefecture, a regions that says it isn’t being given the money it needs by the central government. (Reuters / Carlos Barria )

Among the expenses listed are $30 million dollars to protect Japan’s yearly whale hunt from environmental activists, $380,000 to promote Tokyo Sky Tree, the world’s tallest free-standing broadcast tower, free training for fighter pilots and a subsidy for a contact-lens factory located nowhere near the site of the disaster-hit coast.

“Taxpayers accepted tax hikes because they thought the money would go to disaster victims and the disaster victims were grateful,” said Kuniko Tanioka, who is a member of a group that studied the expenses in the Upper House of the Diet, Japan’s parliament.

“But the funds have been used for projects they never imagined. It is a direct blow to the willpower of those who are trying to rebuild their lives.”

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November 1, 2012 Posted by arclight2011 | Uncategorized | Leave a comment