nuclear-news

The News That Matters about the Nuclear Industry Fukushima Chernobyl Mayak Three Mile Island Atomic Testing Radiation Isotope

Mothers’ movement against nuclear power spreads beyond Japan

How a Group of Japanese Mothers Are Saying No to Nuclear Power  AlterNet April 25, 2012  |    “…….The movement isn’t confined to Japan’s borders. In September, 2011, a group of Japanese mothers, including Sachiko Sato, an organic farmer who traveled with her youngest two children) Kaori Izumi, and Aileen Mioko Smith came to New York City to protest Prime Minister Noda’s participation in the UN summit on nuclear safety. “How can you talk about safety?” Sachiko shouted to Noda outside the UN. “You don’t even take care of the children of Fukushima.”

Sachiko, Izumi, and Smith spoke at various anti-nuclear events throughout the New York City area during their visit, urging American citizens to learn a lesson from the disaster in Japan.  At one event, Smith stated, “Many Americans live far too close tonuclear power plants that sit on earthquake fault lines—Indian Point in Buchanan, New York, only thirty or so miles from New York City, as well as those on the coast in California. Americans must learn from the Fukushima disaster. You must shut down your own plants, 23 of which are the same design as the Fukushima reactors, GE Mark I. Yes, it can happen here.”

In October 2011, hundreds of mothers in Japan began a protest in Tokyo at the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry. The protest will last 10 months and 10 days (the length of time a pregnancy lasts under Japan’s traditional lunar calendar).

Smith, who is executive director of Green Action, an anti-nuclear NGO based in Kyoto, says the Fukushima accident offers a chance to put an end to nuclear power. Most of Japan’s nuclear reactors were taken offline after the disaster; as of this writing, only one nuclear power plant remains online.

Smith says, “For the first time in 30 years, we have a real opportunity” to shut down nuclear reactors in Japan for good. http://www.alternet.org/world/155154/how_a_group_of_japanese_mothers_are_saying_no_to_nuclear_power

April 27, 2012 Posted by | USA, women | Leave a comment

Radiation danger to Japan’s reconstruction workers

Recovery workers to get radiation limits http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120422002572.htm Jiji Press 23 April 12, The health ministry will introduce radiation exposure control standards for reconstruction workers in areas damaged by last year’s earthquake and tsunami, officials said.

The ministry found it necessary to implement the new standards, as reconstruction work is beginning in earnest in Fukushima Prefecture, home to a nuclear power station crippled by the disasters.

Currently, there are radiation exposure control standards for workers at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and those engaged in decontamination around the plant but not for construction and other workers. In areas where annual radiation exposure is estimated at greater than 5 millisieverts, employers will be obliged to have each worker carry a dosimeter and receive health checks at least once a year, officials said Friday. In other areas, such individual radiation exposure control will not be required.

April 23, 2012 Posted by | health, Japan | Leave a comment

Cesium 137 and the follies of Chernobyl and Fukushima

The Fukushima Nuclear Disaster Is Far From Over   HUFFINGTON POST, Robert Alvarez, Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies, 22 April 12, “….It’s been 26 years, since the Chernobyl reactor exploded and caught fire releasing enormous amounts of radioactive debris — seriously contaminating areas over a thousand miles away. Chernobyl revealed the folly of not having an extra barrier of thick concrete and steel surrounding the reactor core that is required for modern plants, in the U.S., Japan and elsewhere. The Fukushima Dai-Ichi accident revealed the folly of operating several nuclear power plants in a high consequence earthquake zone while storing huge amounts of highly radioactive spent fuel in vulnerable pools, high above the ground.

What both accidents have in common is widespread environmental contamination from cesium-137. With a half-life of 30, years, Cs-137 gives off penetrating radiation, as it decays and can remain dangerous for hundreds of years. Once in the environment, it mimics potassium as it accumulates in the food chain. When it enters the human body, about 75 percent lodges in muscle tissue, with, perhaps, the most important muscle being the heart.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-alvarez/the-fukushima-nuclear-dis_b_1444146.html

April 23, 2012 Posted by | environment, health, Japan, Reference | Leave a comment

Uranium mining damages health of workers and environment

the World Health Organisation (WHO) acknowledges that Radon, which is a heavy gaseous radioactive chemical, is the second cause of lung cancer after smoking.

Uranium, even when purified, Chareyron said is radioactive and miners cannot really be protected from it.

Concerns over uranium mining New Era, 12 Apr 2012 –  by Irene Hoaës WINDHOEK – Renewed concern has been expressed regarding uranium mining activities along the coastal areas and its impact on the environment following tests undertaken by the Commission for Independent Research and Information about Radiation (CRIIRAD) and EARTHLIFE Namibia.

These mining activities have a direct bearing on people’s health as they reportedly cause cancer, especially to people that get exposed to them.

According to CRIIRAD, people that spend 30 minutes to 35 hours at a distance below 25 meters from the waste rock dump, would receive an external radiation dose above the trivial dose of 10 microsieverts per year.

One of the main concerns is uranium concentrates found in underground water sources and on sediments in areas where Rössing and the Langer Heinrich mines are found, especially along the Khan and Gawib rivers.

According to Bruno Chareyron, a Nuclear Physics Engineer and Director of the CRIIRAD Laboratory, the radioactive tailings (waste) of the mines are not covered and dust particles from the tailings are accumulating on bushes and slopes.

“When it rains, this dust is even washed off the waste rock dumps that are situated next to the river banks and therefore deposited into the river system,” the nuclear engineer said. Continue reading →

April 16, 2012 Posted by | environment, health, Namibia | Leave a comment

Rapid increase in brachytherapy for breast cancer, but is this wise?

“The most plausible explanation for our data is that women treated with brachytherapy were at increased risk of having a recurrence of cancer in their breast”

 A large federally funded study is trying to clarify the risks and benefits of brachytherapy for breast cancer. But the results won’t be out for years. 

includes audio.  Wider Use Of Breast Cancer Radiation Technique Raises Concern   http://www.npr.org/blogs health/2012/04/09/150088892/wider-use-of-breast-cancer-radiation-technique-raises-concern?ps=sh_stcathdl “…..there’s an intense debate under way about whether the approach is being used too widely before there’s clear evidence it’s as effective as the traditional approach. Continue reading →

April 16, 2012 Posted by | health, Reference, Resources -audiovicual, technology, USA | Leave a comment

Trinidad’s scandal of over-radiated cancer patients

The radiation incident at BLCTC has been shrouded in secrecy from the outset

Over-radiated cancer patients at Lara Centre… Trinidad Express, By Camini Marajh Head Investigative Desk Story  Apr 14, 2012  Ninety-one or 40.8 per cent of the 223 cancer patients over-radiated by the Brian Lara Cancer Treatment Centre (BLCTC) are dead.
Continuing Sunday Express investigations into the radiation over-exposure incident at the private facility which is owned by powerful business interests reveal that the board and management of BLCTC failed internationally accepted guidelines on several critical
fronts, specifically: Continue reading →

April 16, 2012 Posted by | health, OCEANIA, secrets,lies and civil liberties | Leave a comment

Fukushima radiation leaks bringing sickness to children

Japanese professor says Fukushima radiation leaks are harming children’s health http://www.straight.com/article-660131/vancouver/japanese-professor-says-fukushima-radiation-leaks-are-harming-childrens-health
VIDEO  Radio host Steve Zeltzer conducted the interview Akira  Murakami’s comments about children’s health are at 13:37 of the video.

By Charlie Smith, April 13, 2012 A media professor at Akia University in Japan has claimed that
children in his country are suffering serious medical problems as a result of last year’s Fukushima nuclear disaster.

In an interview on WorkWeek Radio (which works with Project Censored), Prof. Akira “Lazy Cat” Murakami linked the leak of radiation to kids have suffering nosebleeds, skin diseases, short tempers, and cardiovascular diseases.

Murakami said that the Japanese mainstream media is not covering the impacts, but this information is being disseminated to Japanese people through cyberspace.

“Our food regulations are quite loose,” Murakami said. “We have only spot inspections.” He called on Americans to do whatever they can to shut down remaining nuclear reactors.

“This planet could not afford another Chernobyl or another Fukushima,” he said.

April 14, 2012 Posted by | health, Japan, Resources -audiovicual | Leave a comment

Navajo’s continuing cancer danger from uranium mines

Navajos will continue to be exposed to uranium and its decay products, radon and radium. This means that they are at great risk for bone, liver, breast, and lung cancer, among other health problems….

Uranium Mines Still Pose Serious Health Threat on Navajo Land, Web Wire 12 April 12,  In 2010, a Navajo cattle rancher named Larry Gordy discovered an abandoned uranium mine in the middle of his grazing land in Cameron, AZ, according to the New York Times. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) visited the site and found dangerously high levels of uranium, but the agency has yet to begin the clean-up.

The EPA found that the radioactivity there measured one million counts per minute, meaning that two days there would expose a person to more external radiation than the Nuclear Regulatory Commission considers safe for an entire year. A dose would lead directly to malignant tumors and other health problems. Continue reading →

April 13, 2012 Posted by | health, indigenous issues, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

Warning on radiation -cancer risk from too many dental X rays

Dental x-rays linked to brain tumours, ABC News, 10 April 12,  People who get regular dental x-rays are more likely to suffer a type of brain tumour, according to new research, suggesting that yearly exams may not be best for most patients. The study in the US journal Cancer showed people diagnosed with meningioma who reported having a yearly bitewing exam were 1.4 times to 1.9 times as likely as a healthy control group to have developed such tumours.

A bitewing exam involves an x-ray film being held in place by a tab between the teeth. Also, people who reported getting a yearly panorex exam – in which an x-ray is taken outside the mouth and shows all the teeth on one film – were 2.7 to three times more likely to develop cancer, said the study.

A meningioma is a tumour that forms in the membrane around the brain or spinal cord. Most of the time these tumours are benign and slow growing, but they can lead to disability or life-threatening conditions. The research, led by Elizabeth Claus of the Yale University School of Medicine, was based on data from 1433 US patients who were diagnosed with the tumours between the ages of ages 20 and 79 years. For comparison, researchers consulted data from a control group of 1350 individuals who had similar characteristics but had not been diagnosed with a meningioma.

Dental patients today are exposed to lower radiation levels than they were in the past, but the research should prompt dentists and patients to re-examine when and why dental x-rays are given, says Claus. ”The study presents an ideal opportunity in public health to increase awareness regarding the optimal use of dental x-rays, which unlike many risk factors is modifiable,” she says……  http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/04/10/3474085.htm

 

April 11, 2012 Posted by | health, USA | Leave a comment

Nuclear radiation is more harmful to women than to men

Mary Olson on how women are more vulnerable to atomic radiation, http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/?p=5755   7 April 12 This week’s guest is biologist Mary Olson, Southeast Regional Coordinator with the Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) in the U.S., an organization that provides information to citizens concerned about nuclear power, radioactive waste, radiation and sustainable energy issues. In her 21st year of this work, Olson has come to focus on the disproportionate impact that exposure to ionizing radiation has on women and children. Her recent paper entitled “Atomic Radiation is More Harmful to Women”reveals information the National Academy of Sciences BEIR (Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation) VII report includes, but does not discuss.

April 7, 2012 Posted by | 2 WORLD, health, Resources -audiovicual, women | Leave a comment

60 years later, radiation from Mayak nuclear plant still taking its toll

 Many people we spoke to say they are being used as human guinea pigs. They talk of a secret government experiment looking at the effects of radiation exposure on humans.

They say they have to go to a hospital in Chelyabinsk, the regional capital around 50km away, for treatment of the various radiation related illnesses they suffer.

Living in a nuclear hell, Aljazeera, By Charles Stratford in Europe , 2012-04-04 The town of Muslymovo has to be one of the saddest places on earth. The thousands of people who have little choice but to live here, on the banks of the Techa river not far from Russia’s
southern border with Kazakhstan, are the victims of a nuclear disaster that began more than six decades ago.

They are still suffering with the consequences of life next door to the Mayak nuclear plant – still dying from the radiation-related illnesses that have claimed the lives of so many before them. Continue reading →

April 5, 2012 Posted by | health, Reference, Russia | Leave a comment

Health risks of cattle grazing on radioactively contaminated land

Uranium, Cattle Grazing and Risks Unknown NYT. By LESLIE MACMILLAN 4 April 12,  As I reported last weekend in The Times, a cattle rancher stumbled upon an abandoned uranium mine in the summer of 2010 on his grazing land, about 60 miles east of the Grand Canyon on the Navajo reservation, and notified federal officials. They came in with Geiger counters and found levels of radioactivity that were alarmingly high.

A year and a half later, the former mine in Cameron, Ariz., is not fenced off to either humans or animals, and cattle continue to roam through the site and eat grass that might be tainted with uranium and other toxic substances.

“Those cattle go to auction in Sun Valley and are sold on the open market,” said Ronald Tohannie, a project manager with the Navajo advocacy groupForgotten People. “Then people eat the meat.” Continue reading →

April 5, 2012 Posted by | health, Uranium, USA | Leave a comment

USA Navy veterans were exposed to ionising radiation

Federal hearings confirm Navy veterans exposed to leaking radiation first revealed by  News Channel 5 By: Ron Regan, newsnet5.com  5 April 12,  SAN ANTONIO, Texas – Federal hearings confirm how Navy veterans were unwittingly exposed to leaking radiation that was first revealed in a series of exclusive 5 On Your Side investigations.

U.S. Navy veterans serving at McMurdo Station, Antarctica have long suspected that cancer deaths among those who served at the base in the 1960s and 70s may have been connected to a nuclear plant constructed at the base. Continue reading →

April 5, 2012 Posted by | health, USA | Leave a comment

Ontario city of Peterborough concerned over nuclear radiation and health

“The main health related concern is the potential direct and indirect effects on DNA and the damage that could result in cancer, teratogenic, reproductive and hereditary effects,”

Peterborough raises radiation concerns Toronto Sun, SARAH DEETH, QMI AGENCY, APRIL 03, 2012   PETERBOROUGH, ONT. – The city of Peterborough, Ont., has raised concerns about human and environmental exposure to radiation levels at a local nuclear processing plant. Continue reading →

April 4, 2012 Posted by | Canada, health | Leave a comment

CT scans a radiation concern, especially for young patients with gastrointestinal illnesses

Patients with digestive disorders may receive high levels of X-ray radiation Medical Express, March 29, 2012  Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other gastrointestinal (GI) disorders may be exposed to significant doses of diagnostic radiation, according to a new study in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association.

“Our results show that significant increases in radiation exposure in the last decade have paralleled the increased use of computed tomography imaging,” said Alan N. Desmond, MB, BMedSc, MRCPI, of the Cork University Hospital, Ireland, and lead author of this study. “While cumulative exposure is highest in patients with Crohn’s disease, high exposure may also occur in patients with other gastrointestinal disorders.”….

because CT uses higher levels of radiation than other imaging options, more widespread use has led to increases in the amount of radiation to which patients are exposed. This is a cause for concern, because radiation exposure might be associated with increased lifetime risk of
cancer. These risks may be particularly relevant to younger patients.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2012-03-patients-digestive-disorders-high-x-ray.html

March 30, 2012 Posted by | health, USA | Leave a comment

« Previous Entries     Next Entries »