Unnecessary scans pose health risk, UVic study shows
Unnecessary scans pose health risk, UVic study shows
By Pamela Fayerman, Vancouver SunApril 22, 2009
VANCOUVER — Health consumers are largely naive about radiation and other risks that come with full-body and other screening tests marketed by private clinics, a University of Victoria health policy researcher says.
Alan Cassels, co-author of a recent report published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, said people seem to think early detection of any disease is safe and always a good thing if it is under the guise of so-called preventive medicine.
“But offering for sale [for up to $2,500] heart, lung or full-body scans to healthy people with no symptoms is questionable, controversial, unregulated and not even recommended by professional associations of radiologists,” he said…………………………………
A recent article in The Medical Post, a publication primarily for doctors, stated that one CT of the heart was equivalent to about 600 chest X-rays.
Radiation dose from imaging equipment is measured in millisieverts (mSv). A CT of the heart exposes an individual to an estimated radiation dose of 12 mSv. It’s been estimated that a person living in Vancouver has a background radiation of about 2.5 mSv in a year.
In the journal Radiology this month, Boston researchers reported that patients who have many CT scans in their lifetime may be at increased risk for cancer from the accumulated exposure to radiation…………..
……………..The American Heart Association recently stated that radiation exposure has increased by more than 700 per cent in the past 20 years, much of it due to CT scans.
Deadlier thyroid cancers more common after radiation exposure, study suggests
Deadlier thyroid cancers more common after radiation exposure, study suggestsLast Updated: Monday, April 20, 2009 | 6:15 PM ET Comments5Recommend9CBC NewsThyroid cancer seems to be more aggressive in patients who were exposed to radiation at work or for treatment of another condition, a Canadian study says.Survivors of atomic bombs and children living near areas contaminated by the 1986 nuclear reactor accident in Chernobyl, Ukraine suggest radiation is linked to both benign and malignant thyroid tumours, according to the study in the April issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery…………………..
Over an average of 10.6 years of followup, the radiation-exposed group was more likely to:
- Have their thyroid removed (83 per cent versus 38 per cent in the group that wasn’t exposed to radiation).
- Need more surgery (23 per cent versus two per cent).
- Have advanced stage IV disease (16 per cent versus five per cent).
- Have distant metastases, or spread far from the original site (nine per cent versus two per cent).
- Have thyroid cancer at followup (eight per cent versus three per cent).
- Have died of the disease (four per cent versus 1.5 per cent)……………………………..Last week, the Canadian Cancer Society noted that more cases of thyroid cancer are being diagnosed, particularly among young people. The uptick in cases, which was estimated to be 4,300 in 2008 across the country, is attributed to improvements in diagnostic technology.
Deadlier thyroid cancers more common after radiation exposure, study suggests
WMICentral – Payments available to those exposed to radiation
Payments available to those exposed to radiation wmicentral.com 14 April 09 Congress passed the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act providing for compassionate payments to individuals who contracted certain cancers and other serious diseases as a result of their exposure to radiation released during above-ground nuclear weapons tests or as a result of their exposure to radiation during employment in underground uranium mines…………………………. Northern Arizona RESEP (Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program) through North Country HealthCare is set up to provide education to the public concerning the effects of nuclear radiation due to nuclear fallout or nuclear materials such as uranium…………………………..For those who lived in the following counties: Coconino, Yavapai, Apache, Navajo, Gila and Mohave (north of the Grand Canyon) between 1951-1958 and July 1962, employed as a uranium worker beginning Jan. 1, 1942, ending Dec. 31, 1971 or worked as an on-site participant may qualify for federal compensation from $50,000 to $100,000. If you fit any areas listed above, you may have been exposed to radiation and should be screened for cancer and other serious problems that can develop years after exposure.
The RESEP program provides a no cost medical screenings and/or guidance in applying for federal compensation; one may also file on behalf deceased relative who may have been affected.
Learn more by visiting the following Web sites:
* North County HealthCare RESEP Program – http://www.northcountrychc.org/services/outreach/resep.asp
* Department of Justice RESEP Program – http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/torts/const/reca/index.htm
* HRSA (Health Resources and Services Administration) RESEP –http://www.ruralhealth.hrsa.gov/radiationexposure/
For additional information, contact Tobi Flanagan at (928) 522-2466 and Cornelia Todecozy at (928) 774-6299.
WMICentral – Payments available to those exposed to radiation
Pirates, Bankers, Libertarians
Getting a Grip Pirates, Bankers, Libertarians ARTVOICE by Michael I. Niman 16 April 09 – “………………..Somalia, a country that hasn’t had an operating central government since 1991, is a libertarian Republican’s wet dream, where entrepreneurs can grow their businesses unfettered by laws and regulations. Out of this brave new old world of unbridled capitalism, 21st-century Blackbeards have emerged, shoeless gangstas doing it Somali style on the high seas,…………………….There’s a reason why the Maersk Alabama was the first American ship seized by pirates in two centuries. Ninety percent of internationally traded goods are transported on approximately 50,000 freighters and tankers, but putting aside domestic and Great Lakes shipping, only about 200 of these ships are registered to the United States and staffed by Americans. Today’s ships are registered under “flags of convenience,” exempting their multinational corporate owners from taxes and environmental and labor regulation……………
………………..When Somalia’s government fell in 1991, making Somalia a free-market free-for-all, it opened the door for all sorts of exploitation on the lawless coast……………………..a new type of European pirate followed in their wake—this time using the Somali coast as a toxic and radioactive waste dump. The Independent quotes the United Nations envoy to Somalia as reporting not only that “Somebody is dumping nuclear waste here,” but “there is also lead, and heavy metals such as cadmium and mercury” showing up in Somalia’s coastal waters. In 2005, more than 300 coastal residents died from radiation sickness after leaking barrels of radioactive waste started washing ashore. Much of the toxic waste found on the Somali coast is traceable to European hospitals and industrial facilities.
Landfills raise radiaoactive concerns
Landfills raise concernsPollution prompts calls for operators to help provide clean water The State 11 April 09 By SAMMY FRETWELL – sfretwell@thestate.com
“…………………….All told, landfills across South Carolina — from nuclear waste dumps to disposal sites on military bases — have polluted the groundwater in 125 places, according to DHEC’s 2008 groundwater contamination inventory.
Puntland: The Shame on Somali Identity
Puntland: The Shame on Somali Identity Somaliland Press Hargeisa, 9 April 2009 ( – The history of the illegitimate semi-autonomous administration of “Puntland” is shame on Somalia, because of its connection to many illegal operations like agreements with Mafia to dump toxic nuclear wastes in the Somali water, and today’s piracy.Recently the Office of UN General Secretary Ban Ki-Moon issued report accusing “Puntland” administration for sponsoring piracy.
In Dec 2008, the “Puntland” pirates hijacked ship loaded with toxic chemicals – the wastes of nuclear – from European firms. The powder-like chemicals were sealed off in containers, but the ignorant pirates forced the crew to open. The crew requested the codes and opened the containers. Today, all members of the pirates are either dead or suffering serious skin problems in “Puntland” hospitals.
…………………………….. Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN envoy for Somalia confirmed to Al Jazeera English that European and Asian companies are dumping toxic waste, including nuclear waste, off the Somali coastline. These firms signed contracts with Puntland administration, and warlords in Southern Somalia…………….“What is most alarming here is that nuclear waste is being dumped. Radioactive uranium waste that is potentially killing Somalis and completely destroying the ocean.”
Tajikistan’s Former Soviet Nuclear Sites Pose Threat To Nearby Villages –
Tajikistan’s Former Soviet Nuclear Sites Pose Threat To Nearby Villages
A mound of radioactive waste 300 meters high rises above the town of Taboshar.
Radio Free Europe April 09, 2009ByThe first Soviet atomic bomb, tested in 1949, was made from Tajik uranium.
Now Tajikistan is dealing with the dangerous legacy of its role in the Soviet nuclear program: 55 million tons of radioactive waste that, in some sites, is leaking into the soil and local water supplies.
Tajik and international specialists say the leaks pose a major risk to residents’ health and the environment. Most of the radioactive waste in Tajikistan comes from the country’s Vostokredmet plant, in the northern city of Chkalovsk. The plant was built in 1945 to mine and process uranium from deposits in Tajikistan and other Central Asian republics.
Utah nuclear power proposal has a powerful thirst
Water application » Billions of gallons would be diverted The Salt Lake Tribune, by Patty Henetz 6 April 09
A state representative pushing to bring nuclear energy to Utah has applied to the state to take billions of gallons of water from the Green River to supply reactors that could produce electricity for 3 million households.
Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, executive director of the Kane County Water Conservancy District, has filed an application with the Utah Division of Water Rights to transfer 29,600 acre-feet of water to Emery County.
The water would be used for two proposed nuclear reactors for the Transition Power LLC Blue Castle Project on private land west of the city of Green River, said company CEO Aaron Tilton, a former lawmaker from Springville…………………….. Critics say even though the water right originally was for a coal-fired plant, it may not be easy to transfer it to a nuclear plant whose customers would include more Californians than Utah residents.
As CT Radiation Accumulates, Cancer Risk May Rise
As CT Radiation Accumulates, Cancer Risk May RiseThose who have the most scans over a lifetime face greatest risk, experts sayP osted March 31, 2009
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay ReporterTUESDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) — Cumulative exposure to radiation from CT scans can increase the risk for cancer by as much as 12 percent, Harvard University researchers report……………………………people who are having a lot of CTs need to think more carefully and talk with their doctor to determine whether additional scans add value to their care because the risks can add up over time, he said. “We found cancer risks up to 12 percent” higher for people who had 38 scans, he said.
The report is published in the April issue of Radiology.
As CT Radiation Accumulates, Cancer Risk May Rise – US News and World Report
Nuclear power – a cause of global warming
……….. the nuclear industry is a large contributor to the greenhouse gas aggregate and global warming.
The mining of uranium is especially intensive in emitting CO2, alongside a stringent reliance on diesel fuel to operate the machinery. Considering as well the mining of uranium, fuel enrichment, and plant construction combined to culminate an operating facility, the equivalent of 34-60 grams of CO2 are emitted per kilowatt of energy (from each operational facility). In 2007 the U.S.’s total generation of energy from nuclear fission was 806.5 billion kWh (kilowatt hours).
That equals anywhere from 27,421 billion to 48,390 billion grams of CO2 released into the atmosphere in that year alone. The global emissions are much starker, ranging anywhere from 90,429.8 billion to 159,582 billion grams of CO2 released into the atmosphere.
Once again, these numbers will only climb drastically with demand. In order to replace the entire world’s fossil fuels, more than 2,000 new nuclear facilities would have to be built–an endeavor that would assail the ecology of the planet and its people. ………
http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1552/1/
Daniel Kessler: Remembering the Three Mile Island Meltdown
Remembering the Three Mile Island Meltdown THE HUFFINGTON POST Daniel Kessler 27 March 09 Thirty years ago, the word “meltdown” was seared into the American consciousness ……………. in the early morning hours of March 28, 1979…………
………. Contrary to the claims of the nuclear lobby, the Three Mile Island accident spewed radiation into the environment for days and crippled the U.S. nuclear industry. The question that has persisted since the accident isn’t whether radiation was released but how much radiation was released. Even the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC) fact sheet on the Three Mile Island accident acknowledges that the meltdown resulted in a significant release of radiation. According to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, 10 million curies of radiation escaped the damaged reactor core (a “curie” is a unit of radioactivity that denotes how many radioactive atoms in a particular collection of atoms are giving off radiation; 1 curie = 37 billion atoms giving off radiation). However, independent and unbiased nuclear engineers who reexamined the accident estimate that as much as 150 million curies of radiation may have escaped to the environment.
According to government reports on the accident, the radiation monitors went off scale before 8:00 a.m. on March 28, eliminating the only direct means of assessing the quantities and rate of release of radiation from the reactor. This information was vital to an accurate evaluation of the consequences of the meltdown……………..Even the nuclear cheerleaders at the NRC acknowledge that “exposure to any level of radiation is assumed to carry with it a certain amount of risk.” The scientific community generally assumes that any exposure to ionizing radiation may cause undesirable biological effects and that the likelihood of these effects increases as the dose increases. The NRC’s fact sheet on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation states that, “any amount of radiation may pose some risk for causing cancer and hereditary effect, and that the risk is higher for higher radiation exposures.” There is no such thing as a “safe” dose of radiation…………..
………As nuclear corporations attempt to resell reactors as clean and safe, we must remember that Three Mile Island revealed the truth about the nuclear industry. Not only is nuclear power expensive; it’s also dangerous and deadly.
Milk teeth and radiation | Out of the mouths of babes
Out of the mouths of babes
Mar 26th 2009 ST LOUIS The Economist What thousands of milk teeth reveal about radiationTHEY were locked away in an old ammunition bunker near St Louis, in dozens of cardboard boxes. Each was in its own manilla envelope, with an index card identifying the donor. These 85,000 baby teeth were collected in the late 1950s and early 1960s from children in the St Louis area to study the effects of radioactive fallout in the environment.The fallout came from hundreds of above-ground nuclear tests in America and other parts of the world. The radioactive isotope Strontium-90, one of the by-products of the bombs, spread into the atmosphere, fell onto the land, was ingested by dairy cows and passed into the milk supply. Strontium-90, like calcium, was concentrated in children’s teeth in detectable amounts…………..……….The undisputed link between the tests and a radioactive element in baby teeth provided much of the impetus for the 1963 Test Ban Treaty, which outlawed above-ground nuclear weapons-testing. The rediscovery of the 85,000 samples, about a quarter of the total collected, has spurred a new effort to study the link between early childhood exposure and health problems in later life.
There is already some evidence that 1950s children in St Louis grew into adults with a higher-than-average rate of cancer. Now researchers at the Radiation and Public Health Project, based in Brooklyn, are attempting to find more than 6,000 of the teeth donors to track their health problems or, in some cases, their premature deaths.
Milk teeth and radiation | Out of the mouths of babes | The Economist
People Died at Three Mile Island
People Died at Three Mile Island counter punch 25 March 09 By HARVEY WASSERMANPeople died–and are still dying–at Three Mile Island.As the thirtieth anniversary of America’s most infamous industrial accident approaches, we mourn the deaths that accompanied the biggest string of lies ever told in US industrial history.As news of the accident poured into the global media, the public was assured there were no radiation releases.That quickly proved to be false.The public was then told the releases were controlled and done purposely to alleviate pressure on the core. Both those assertions were false. The public was told the releases were “insignificant.”But stack monitors were saturated and unusable, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission later told Congress it did not know—and STILL does not know—how much radiation was released at Three Mile Island, or where it went…………………………………..The state of Pennsylvania hid the health impacts, including deletion of cancers from the public record, abolition of the state’s tumor registry, misrepresentation of the impacts it could not hide (including an apparent tripling of the infant death rate in nearby Harrisburg) and much more.
The federal government did nothing to track the health histories of the region’s residents.
In fact, the most reliable studies were conducted by local residents like Jane Lee and Mary Osborne, who went door-to-door in neighborhoods where the fallout was thought to be worst. Their surveys showed very substantial plagues of cancer, leukemia, birth defects, respiratory problems, hair loss, rashes, lesions and much more. ……………………….Data unearthed by radiologist Dr. Ernest Sternglass of the University of Pittsburgh, and statisticians Jay Gould (now deceased) and Joe Mangano of New York have led to strong assertions of major public health impacts. On-going work by Sternglass and Mangano clearly indicates that “normal” reactor radiation releases of far less magnitude that those at TMI continue to have catastrophic impacts on local populations. ………………….while the nuclear power industry continues to assert that “no one died at Three Mile Island,” it refuses to allow an open judicial hearing on the hundreds of cases still pending.
As the pushers of the “nuclear renaissance” demand massive tax- and rate-payer subsidies to build yet another generation of reactors, they cynically stonewall the obvious death toll that continues to mount at the site of an accident that happened thirty years ago. The “see no evil” mantra continues to define all official approaches to the victims of this horrific disaster.
Cancer screening: Doing more harm than good?
Cancer screening: Doing more harm than good?What you need to know before your next mammogram or colonoscopy
msnbc By Shannon BrownleeTODAYupdated 10:12 a.m. ET March 12, 2009 – “…………….It’s hard to believe, but some researchers wouldn’t call Bull lucky at all. They say that yearly mammograms are not nearly as effective at reducing the risk of dying of breast cancer as most women think, and that mammography leads many women to get unnecessary treatment — especially those diagnosed with DCIS. The problem is bigger than just mammography:……………………………..screening tests pick up many small cancers that would never have caused any symptoms. “Screening for cancer means that tens of thousands of patients who never would have become sick are diagnosed with this disease,” says H. Gilbert Welch, MD, codirector of the Outcomes Group at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in White River Junction, Vermont, and a leading expert in cancer screening. “Once they’re diagnosed, almost everybody gets treated — and we know that treatment can cause harm.”……………………The flip side of this problem is that many screening tests do a great job at catching cancers that would never have caused problems and could simply have been left alone.
Cancer screening: Doing more harm than good? – TODAY Health- msnbc.com
New manager and new fights for Cancer Society
New manager and new fights for Cancer Society Meridian Booster By Allison Wall q12 March 09
The Lloydminster Canadian Cancer Society is taking an unprecedented stand against a possible nuclear power facility near Paradise Hill.
Although the Saskatchewan government recently issued a release encouraging Bruce Power to continue laying groundwork for a possible facility in northwest Saskatchewan, the Canadian Cancer Society Lloydminster unit has developed a policy to educate the public about the health risks associated with nuclear facilities.
“The start is to educate people about it before they can make a decision on it … and people can voice their opinions,” said Wendy Clague, new manager of the Society’s Lloydminster unit.
The policy is the first of its kind for the Cancer Society in Canada……………………ncreased cancer risk has been associated with nuclear power facilities in some studies – a fact that made some at the meeting uneasy.
“We know there are many benefits to nuclear power, but we also know that nuclear facilities create many situations that affect the human health, plant life and the earth itself,” said Don Retzlaff, a guest at the Canadian Cancer Society Lloydminster unit annual general meeting. “There has been a considerable amount of research in the United States and Europe that indicated that nuclear power plants can create serious health problems.”
Retzlaff said statistics in United States and Europe have indicated a sharp increase in breast cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer and pancreatic cancer, particularly in women and children.
“In Germany and Ireland, women and children living within 50 kilometres of a nuclear facility have a one in six chance of developing leukemia,” said Retzlaff.
New manager and new fights for Cancer Society – Lloydminster Meridian Booster – Alberta, CA
1 This Month
26 April – Chernobyl: Inside the Meltdown airs on National Geographic on Sunday 26th April from 4pm
29 April – Nuclear Expert Webinar #1 – Radiation Impacts on Families with Mary Olson and Cindy Folkers
- 12:15 PM MT – 1:45 PM MT
- Location: Virtual – REGISTER TODAY
4 May -West Suburban Peace Coalition to discuss Iran war at May Educational Forum
Monday, May 4, 7:00 – 8:00 PM Central Standard Time
Title: : How Trump’s Narrative Tries to Shape the Reality of the War on Iran.
Contact Walt Zlotow, zlotow@hotmail.com 630 442 3045 for further information
14 May – online event From Bombs to Data Centres: the Face of Nuclear Colonialism
Pine Ridge Uranium is the real threat, not Tehran- Tell Burgum: Stop the Extraction.
Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes – A good documentary on Chernobyl on SBS available On Demand for the next 3 weeks– https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-program/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes/2352741955560
To see nuclear-related stories in greater depth and intensity – go to https://nuclearinformation.wordpress.com
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