Medical radiation tests can cause harm
Radiation tests are questioned
Radiation tests are questioned — baltimoresun.comAugust 27, 2009
Skyrocketing numbers of expensive medical imaging procedures – from CT scans to nuclear stress tests – are not just straining the nation’s health care system, but are exposing patients to significant amounts of potentially cancer-causing radiation even though little research has been done into whether those tests actually make people healthier, a new study suggests.
The tests, say the study’s authors, may be doing more harm than good.
“One reason why these tests are being used more is they’re getting better and better and they’re an extremely helpful part of diagnosis and treatment,” said Dr. Reza Fazel, a cardiologist at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta and the lead author of a study in today’s New England Journal of Medicine. “But just because we have them doesn’t mean we should use them. … There’s a cost with these tests, and it’s not just dollars but radiation risk.”…………………
…..only a few imaging tests – mammograms for discovering breast tumors, ultrasound of the abdomen for diagnosing aortic aneurysms – have been scientifically proved to save lives. Many have never been studied in large-scale clinical trials. In addition to leading to high doses of radiation, some tests can find cancers so small they might never have caused problems, leading to unnecessary surgeries and psychological distress.
Over-exposure to ionising radiation
Americans overexposed to radiation
The News August 28, 2009
CHICAGO: Younger Americans are being exposed to worrisome amounts of radiation from medical scans that increase their risk of cancer, US researchers said late on Wednesday. They said the cumulative risk of repeated exposure to radiation from medical scans is a public health threat that needs to be addressed. “Even though the individual risk for any patient exposed to these kinds of doses may be small, when you add that up over millions of people, that can be a concerning population risk,” Dr. Reza Fazel of Emory University in Atlanta and colleagues wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Nuclear plants are water-guzzlers
Nuclear Plant Water use vs. Other Electricity Generation, 20 – 83% higher
Green Data Center Blog 24 August 09 Found this Australia study on “water requirements of nuclear power stations”
Here is the conclusion.
Per megawatt existing nuclear power stations use and consume more water than power stations using other fuel sources. Depending on the cooling technology utilised, the water requirements for a nuclear power station can vary between 20 to 83 per cent more than for other power stations.
If you are curious on how much water gets used in power generation you can look at the chart on this site:
Radioactive wreckage, landmines blight Iraq
Radioactive wreckage, landmines blight Iraq
Herald Sun By Aubrey Belford in BaghdadAugust 24, 2009
RADIOACTIVE wreckage and tens of millions of landmines still blight Iraq after decades of war and the deadly violence that engulfed the nation after the 2003 invasion, the environment minister says.Narmin Othman Hasan said a lack of funding and Iraq’s fragile security situation was hampering efforts to clean up contaminated sites across the country.She said that only a fraction of tanks and other wartime vehicles contaminated with depleted uranium have been successfully treated and disposed of by the Iraqi authorities.”We have only found 80 per cent (of the contaminated sites)… because of the (lack of) security there are still some areas we can’t reach,” she estimated.The twin menaces are the legacy of decades of conflict: the 1980-1988 war with neighbouring Iran, the 1991 Gulf war that followed Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait and the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and its bloody aftermath.
……………Depleted uranium, a radioactive metal present in armour piercing bullets used by US-led forces during the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 invasion, and which is twice as dense as lead, has been blamed for health problems from cancer to birth defects, but much research remains inconclusive.
“All radiation is dangerous – but how much depleted uranium radiation is affecting health, that is still under study,” Ms Hasan said, a
uranium mine could adversely affect groundwater
Nunn uranium mine could adversely affect groundwater
The Colorado Independent By David O. Williams 8/19/09
Colorado has uranium on the brain these days.
An environmental engineer and lecturer brought in by conservationists told an audience in Fort Collins Tuesday they should be concerned about the deterioration of their water quality if a proposed uranium mine near Nunn goes forward, according to the Greeley Tribune.
“If I was living in this area, I would certainly have concerns about groundwater,” said Dr. Gavin Mudd, an assistant lecturer at Monash University in Clayton, Australia. “Knowing the extent of problems they’ve had at mines in Wyoming and Texas, for example, I would certainly be concerned about protecting my groundwater quality.”
………Mountain communities in Southwest Colorado, meanwhile, are heatedly debating the benefits and risks of a mill that would process uranium in Montrose County………..
http://coloradoindependent.com/35963/nunn-uranium-mine-could-adversely-impact-groundwater-expert-says
Non-nuclear production of medical isotopes
National nuclear medicine shortage could have a Wisconsin solution
WTN News Tom StillAugust 17, 2009
“…………Scientists working with the Madison-based company believe they can generate the neutrons necessary to create Mo-99, an essential nuclear medicine tool, without using a nuclear reactor to do so.It’s a safer and more sustainable method than the status quo, which relies on production of Mo-99 from five retirement-age nuclear medicine reactors – two of which are now shut down, one perhaps permanently…………………………”
National nuclear medicine shortage could have a Wisconsin solution (WTN News)
Ionising radiation causing rise in thyroid cancer
Your Health: Rise in thyroid cancer may be tied to radiation
By Kim Painter, USA TODAY 16 August 09A medical mystery: As overall cancer rates fall, why are thyroid cancer rates rising? Diagnoses of cancer in this gland in the neck are increasing about 6% a year, faster than cancers found anywhere else, according to one National Cancer Institute analysis.Researchers know one big reason: The many medical scans Americans have, for everything from neck pain to artery plaque, are turning up thousands of tiny thyroid tumors that otherwise might go undetected and often would do no harm.
“We call them ‘incidentalomas,’ ” says Amy Chen, a head and neck surgeon at Emory University in Atlanta and American Cancer Society researcher.
But that’s not the whole story. Two recent studies, including one co-written by Chen, show larger thyroid tumors are being found at an increasing rate, too. And those can’t be explained by more aggressive diagnosis alone, researchers say.
“There is something else going on” to contribute to the 37,000 cases of thyroid cancer expected this year, Chen says. That’s up from 18,000 in 2000.
Your Health: Rise in thyroid cancer may be tied to radiation – USATODAY.com
Increased cancer deaths near nuclear power plants
Uranium and the secret society
Arch1 5 August 09
“……………………Ernest J. Sternglass of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, (”The Health Effects of Nuclear Fallout and Releases from Nuclear Power Plants.”) has concerns that nuclear power plants have similar effect.
He pointed out that studies in the north central Texas area indicate large increases in cancer rates since the start-up of the Comanche Peak nuclear power plant in Somervell County southwest of Fort Worth. (14)
Dr. Sternglass states data indicates that cancer mortality in the counties surrounding the power plant – Somervell, Hood, Johnson and Erath – increased dramatically, 27 percent, during the second five-year period while the rate for the state increased 15 percent for the same period.(15)
In Hood County, breast cancer increased 190 percent over the previous five-year period, and total breast cancer deaths for all four counties increased by 51 percent while the statewide increase was 12 percent for the same period.
More recently, using mortality statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mangano and Sherman found that in 1985-2004, the change in local child leukemia mortality (vs. the U.S.) compared to the earliest years of reactor operations were:
An increase of 13.9% near nuclear plants started 1957-1970 (oldest plants)
* An increase of 9.4% near nuclear plants started 1971-1981 (newer plants)
* A decrease of 5.5% near nuclear plants started 1957-1981 and later shut down
The 13.9% rise near the older plants suggests a potential effect of greater radioactive contamination near aging reactors, while the 5.5% decline near closed reactors suggests a link between less contamination and lower leukemia rates. Because of the large number of child leukemia deaths in the study (1292) it makes many of the results statistically significant.
The Mangano/Sherman report follows a 2007 meta-analysis also published in the European Journal of Cancer Care by researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina. That report reviewed 17 medical journal articles on child leukemia rates near reactors, and found that all 17 detected elevated rates.(17)
A January 2008 European Journal of Cancer article that found high rates of child leukemia near German reactors from 1980-2003 is believed to be the largest study on the topic (1592 leukemia cases)
http://arch1design.com/blog/?p=1859
Cancer, child deformities and deaths in uranium mining communities
(India) Uranium and the secret society
Arch1 5 August 09
“………….In a shocking report, the Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD) has revealed facts regarding health hazards faced by miners working in the Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) in the form of a detailed survey report.
The survey was undertaken by the organisation affiliated to Germany-based International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in association with Jharkhandi Organisation Against Radiation (JOAR).
The study was took place between May and August 2007. It was conducted in two different phases. While one survey concentrates on villages within the radius of 2.5 km from the mines, a similar one was undertaken in villages about 30 km from the mining areas.
A total of 2,118 households were studied in the first category, while another 1,956 households in the second category.
According to the survey, DPD found significant increases in congenital deformities and childhood deaths due to congenital deformities; increased sterility; and elevated numbers of deaths due to cancer.
http://arch1design.com/blog/?p=1859
Protecting Fort Collins and Northern Colorado from uranium mining
The Alliance 5 August 09
Mining’s benefits will not last forever: Now to sum up the problems of uranium mining in the world, from water to health, from economic problems to uranium accidents, nothing but pure greed if the State of Virginia allows uranium mining in the whole state! Only the state of Virginia and the Canadian uranium mining company will benefit from open pit uranium mining and milling!
A Canadian company, Powertech, is planning to mine uranium just six miles northeast of Fort Collins on 6,880 acres of private land…………………Both types of mining – in-situ leach (ISL) and open pit (OP) – pose serious health risks for local residents, and create drastic environmental and economic risks for Fort Collins and northern Colorado. The Larimer County Medical Society, the Colorado Medical Society, and even the City of Fort Collins passed resolutions against the mine. Elected officials from both political parties, farmers and ranchers, medical professionals, real estate agents, and environmentalists have taken a stand against the mine………………..
Colorado needs to enact stringent regulations to protect citizens and property owners from the dangers of uranium mining. In a few months the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board will be changing the rules on uranium mining to make them comply with laws passed by the legislature in 2008.
http://thealliance123.blogspot.com/2009/08/protecting-fort-collins-and-northern.html
Radiation exposure to workers in China
Aging facilities, human error add radiation risk
By Chen Jia (China Daily)Updated: 2009-08-04
China is facing a growing problem with more and more accidents in the workplace involving radiation exposure, experts have said.
……………………….. most of them are due to human error,” said Wang Zuoyuan, former chief of the radiation protection and safety department under the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. He was speaking to China Economic Weekly in an article published yesterday.
Transportation errors, equipment failure and radiation sources that were stolen or abandoned were among the main causes of the accidents, Wang said.
The number of radiation sources in the country reached 106,000 at the end of 2008, according to the Ministry of Environmental Protection………………
People can get cancer when exposed to certain types of radiation, said Liu Ying, who works for the Chinese Center for Medical Response to Radiation Emergency under the National Institute for Radiological Protection.
nuclear reactors not needed for Medical Isotopes
Race on in the Prairies to solve isotope shortage
Acsion Industries, University of Winnipeg say their cheap solution could be running in three years
The Globe and Mail 1 August 09
“…………………the smaller operation could be up and running inside three years, with little regulatory hassle, and for the bargain-basement price of $35-million……………………………I don’t think you’ll find another expression of interest that combines so clearly a health-care focus and a low cost. We’ll have to be taken seriously.”…………………..
the University of Winnipeg submission offers something completely different.
Under the proposal, researchers would shore up the country’s isotope stocks using a Manitoba-based particle accelerator rather than a nuclear reactor.
Unlike a reactor, a particle accelerator does not produce nuclear waste and would not be subject to the same stringent rules that make reactor construction a decade-long process.
“It’s a completely different technology,” said Jeff Martin, a University of Winnipeg physicist. “The regulatory process is much simpler, and for good reason. For instance, you can shut an accelerator off. With a reactor, that’s tricky.”
To carry out the proposal, the university has launched the Prairie Isotope Production Enterprise (PIPE), a not-for-profit partnership that includes Acsion, the province, the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority and other nuclear and radioisotope companies……………………..
While the Manitoba solution isn’t intended to solve international supply issues, the technology could be exported.
“Once you get it working here,” said Randy Kobes, associate dean of science at the university, “you can franchise it.”
Race on in the Prairies to solve isotope shortage – The Globe and Mail
The Health Costs of U.S. Nuclear Weapons
The Costs of U.S. Nuclear Weapons
mil.news.sohu.com 29 July 09……………….Environmental and Health Costs
“…………..one great irony of the Cold War is that although the United States produced nuclear weapons en masse to destroy the Soviet Union, and vice-versa, the principal victims of each country’s nuclear weapons were its own citizens.From the very beginning, nuclear officials dealt with the problem of nuclear waste by devising interim rather than long-term solutions…………………..
………millions of gallons of wastes leaked into the ground. Hanford officials insisted for years that it would take centuries for the waste to reach the groundwater underneath the site. In fact, it was only a matter of decades before their optimistic assumptions were proven wrong.
“…………………..A major reason why the United States today faces a “cleanup” bill of at least $300 billion is that problems such as the Hanford waste tanks were ignored in favor of maintaining or increasing production of nuclear weapons. Production was the first priority of the government. Making sure it was done in a manner that did not unnecessarily hurt people or destroy the environment was a distant second. Had the government thought through more carefully the consequences of unrestrained production of plutonium and highly-enriched uranium, many of the problems—and bills—we face today could have been avoided or substantially mitigated. It now appears that in a number of cases, no effective “cleanup” will be possible and highly-contaminated sites will simply have to be fenced off and monitored for generations………….…A number of the 600,000 people who worked in a nuclear weapons facility were exposed to unnecessarily high levels of radiation. Exposure to toxic chemicals was also high. At several facilities, no consistent records were kept of employee radiation exposures. At at least one, plant officials entered false readings into dosimetry logs. When workers fell ill and applied for worker’s compensation, the DOE spent millions of dollars on lawyer’s fees to avoid paying out even a single claim, out of fear that paying one claim would open the floodgates to lawsuits and increase calls for stricter health and safety measures, which would necessarily drive up costs and impede production of more weapons………………
……..Uranium miners, many of whom were Navajo, developed lung cancer after working in unvented mines without respirators or any sort of protective gear. Government officials were well aware of the dangers to the workers, but chose to ignore them to keep production high and the price of uranium low.
Radiation danger to Denver Federal Center workers
Denver Federal Center workers may be putting health at risk
FOX 31 Heidi Hemmat KDVR Investigative ReporterJuly 30, 2009
“……………..Dean says many of his co-workers died of the same type of cancer.Dean believes the cancer was caused the contamination at his work site.
The Denver Federal Center used to be a burial ground for radioactive waste. Uranium, arsenic and other toxins are still present in the soil. The ground water is also radioactive and filled with the cancer causing chemical TCE.
But many of the workers there didn’t know about the hazardous waste until they saw our report on FOX 31 News……………..
FOX 31 medical analyst Doctor John Torres says the health risks of working in a contaminated environment are very real. He says long term exposure to TCE can cause, ” lung cancer, liver cancer, testicular and lymphoma.”
He also says arsenic and uranium can lead to heart problems, central nervous system issues, even death.
Denver Federal Center workers may be putting health at risk – KDVR
America’s Secret Chernobyl – Uranium Mining & Pollution in the Upper Midwest
RUDSSELL MEANS FREEDOM July 27, 2009
“………………In northwestern South Dakota, the Cave Hills area is managed by the US Forest Service. The area currently contains 89 abandoned open-pit uranium mines. Studies by the USFS show that one mine alone has 1,400 millirems per hour (mR/hr) of exposed radiation, a level of radiation that is 120,000 times higher than normal background of 100 millirems per year (mR/yr)! In the southwestern Black Hills, the US Forest Service reported on 29 abandoned open-pit uranium mines, one of which is about 1 square mile in size.
It is estimated that more than 1,000 open-pit uranium mines and prospects can be found in the four state region from a map developed by the US Forest Service. The water runoff from the creeks and rivers near these abandoned uranium mines eventually empties into the Missouri River which empties into the Mississippi River…………………
This Fact Sheet regarding past and planned uranium and coal mining in the Upper Midwest region should give cause for alarm to all thinking people in the United States. This is the area that has been called “the Bread Basket of the World.” For more than forty years, the people of South Dakota and beyond have been subjected to radioactive polluted dust and water runoff from the hundreds of abandoned open pit uranium mines, processing sites, underground nuclear power stations, and waste dumps.
There needs to be a concerted effort to determine the extent of the radioactive pollution in the environment, and the health damage that has been and is currently being inflicted upon the people of the United States.
America’s Secret Chernobyl – Uranium Mining & Pollution in the Upper Midwest : Russell Means Freedom
1 This Month
26 September – International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
PLEASE OPPOSE HR 8255 AND S.3639 – bills would accelerate satellite deployment, with no environmental review or safeguards – https://ncstd5li.quorum.us/campaign/169331/
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