nuclear-news

The week that was, in nuclear news

Christina Macpherson’s websites & blogs

Well there are a lot of big stories out there –  Warren Buffett and MidAmerican scrapping nuclear plans and going for wind energy instead,  –  San Onofre nuclear plant (California) looking ever less likely to restart,   –  Japan’s PM Abe marketing and pushing for nuclear power, Fukushima radioactive groundwater leaking into the stricken reactors –  China boosting renewable energy world-wide.

But the most interesting story is the press release coming out from The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR).  UNSCEAR is to produce  a full report on Fukushima radiation, in October this year.  UNSCEAR is subservient to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)  , whch vets all its publications. UNSCEAR  made up largely of scientists from the nuclear industry.  The Its chairman,  Wolfgang Weiss is a boss on Euratom, a marketing body for nuclear power.

UNSCEAR’s  press release is being publicised worldwide. It states a rather vague, but remarkably reassuring view that Fukushima radiation will not harm anybody.  This view contrasts with the February 2013 World Health Organisation report, which found that for the Fukushima radaiatio affected community, a rise in breast cancer in girls, and in leukaemia in clean-up workers is to be expected – in later years.

Space travel.  Apparently the same sort of ionising radiation is bad news in space, and NASA etc are a bit downcast as they predict this will   give Mars astronauts a big cancer risk.

Julian Assange. Well, if you want any help from the Australian government – make sure that you do a drug crime, or manslaughter or something like that. Don’t expect any help if you just showed a video about US army atrocities in Afghanistan, or revealed cables in the public interest. Australia’s Foreign Minister, Bob Carr has made it pretty clear that the government is not interested in helping Julian Assange, (under investigation by USA for ‘treasonable’ offences)

June 7, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Christina's notes