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MRI scans better and safer than radiation methods for heart checks

MRI scans ‘are better for heart checks’, experts say, BBC News, 23 Dec 11 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans should be used to assess patients with suspected heart disease, rather than standard checks, experts say.

A University of Leeds study of 750 people found MRI was better at detecting the condition, and of ruling it out in unaffected patients.

MRI was also non-invasive and did not use radiation, unlike the usual tests. A spokesman for the British Heart Foundation, which backed the study, said MRI should be used more widely…… Patients with suspected angina are currently most likely to have either an angiogram – an invasive test where dye is injected directly into the heart’s arteries
– or a non-invasive imaging test called SPECT.

Angiograms and SPECT tests both involve ionising radiation…… http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16305278

December 23, 2011 Posted by | health, UK | 1 Comment

Mothers are turning out to be a threat to the nuclear industry’s future

The leadership of women in civic movements is also unprecedented. Mothers have been leading the demonstrations, with many of them coming out for the first time to gain sympathy and support for their campaign to prevent exposing children to the dangers of radiation…..
Parliamentarian Mizuho Fukushima, one of Japan’s leading female politicians and an active participant in the anti-nuclear demonstrations, told IPS that the protests against nuclear power are not going to die down.

Mothers Rise Against Nuclear Power , IPS News, By Suvendrini Kakuchi TOKYO, Dec 22, 2011  – Japan’s nuclear power industry, which once ignored opposition, now finds its existence threatened by women angered by official opaqueness on radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after it was struck by an earthquake- driven tsunami on Mar. 11.

“Mothers are at the forefront of various grassroots movements that are working together to stop the operation of all nuclear plants in Japan from 2012,” Aileen Miyoko Smith, head of Green Action, a non- governmental organisation (NGO) that promotes renewable energy told IPS. Continue reading →

December 22, 2011 Posted by | Japan, women | Leave a comment

Cancer among nuclear workers at Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant

Radiation leaks caused illnesses, Dimona reactor employees say, December 15, 2011 JERUSALEM (JTA) –– Employees at the Dimona nuclear reactor told an Israeli court that they were sickened with cancer and other illnesses due to radioactive leaks.

During a hearing Wednesday in Petach Tikvah District Court, the attorney for 44 employees and their families presented internal memos claiming that the leak of radioactive substances was caused by safety problems.

A former deputy head of Dimona’s Negev Nuclear Research Center safety division also testified that there had been radiation leaks, Haaretz reported. The employees of the Dimona reactor and the Soreq Nuclear Research Center in the mid-1990s who filed suit want to be recognized as victims of work-related accidents. Some of the plaintiffs have died since the suit was filed. The Dimona plant is said to be the source of fuel for Israeli nuclear weapons, though Israel has remained ambiguous about whether it has such weapons.  http://www.jta.org/news/article/2011/12/15/3090762/radiation-leaks-caused-illnesses-dimona-reactor-employees-say

December 16, 2011 Posted by | health, Israel | Leave a comment

High radiation exposure of Fukushima residents. Internal radiation not measured

Exposure levels were higher for residents who worked at nuclear facilities.

The survey didn’t look at so-called internal exposure, or radiation taken into human body from contaminated air, water or food.

Local Japan Survey Shows High Radiation Exposure WSJ, By YUKA HAYASHI, 14 Dec 11 TOKYO—Hundreds of Fukushima residents were exposed to radiation well above the level permitted for the general public following the March nuclear disaster, according to an official survey released Tuesday, confirming the accident’s broad impact on local communities. Continue reading →

December 14, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | Leave a comment

Iranian people are frightened of military strike, nuclear disaster

Fear, speculation in Iran over military strike, By Parisa Hafezi and Hashem Kalantari TEHRAN   Dec 8, 2011 (Reuters) – The threat of military strikes on Iran has upturned the quiet and comfortable lives once enjoyed by many Iranians, ushering in a new era of struggle and fear.

Like many Iranians, Maryam Sofi says the West and Iran are locked in a dangerous game. “I don’t think we can know just yet if war will break out, but I am concerned for my family and my country,” says university teacher Sofi, 42, a mother of two.

“I cannot sleep at night, thinking about destruction and bloodshed if Israel and America attack Iran.”

The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities Continue reading →

December 9, 2011 Posted by | Iran, psychology - mental health | Leave a comment

Essential to evacuate children and pregnant women from Japan’s radioactive areas

“At very least pregnant women and children must be evacuated from risky areas until sufficient decontamination is completed…….

“The situation is rapidly spinning out of control, and the Japanese government seems to have abandoned its responsibility to protect its population as it has left local authorities, who lack the necessary knowledge and equipment, to clean up this mess.”

Greenpeace: Relocation of Pregnant Women and Children Exposed to Radiation Vital, December 8, 2011 Tokyo- (PanOrient News) Greenpeace renewed its demand to the Japanese government to urgently relocate pregnant women and children living in contaminated areas of Fukushima City due to the discovery of radioactive hot spots and accused the official decontamination program as being “both uncoordinated and thoroughly inadequate.” Continue reading →

December 9, 2011 Posted by | environment, Japan, women | Leave a comment

Some women may get increased radiation during mammography

Breast-Mammogram Detector Mismatch Results in Excess Radiation By: PATRICE WENDLING, Family Practice News Digital Network 8 Dec 11, CHICAGO – A mismatch between breast size and detector size during mammography resulted in significantly higher doses of radiation for women with large breasts in a study of 886 patients.

On average, women with large breasts screened on a small detector received almost 5 milligray (mGy) of radiation, which exceeds the American College of Radiology guidelines of 3-4 mGy or less for a standard two-view mammogram. When a mismatch occurs, women with large breasts receive significantly higher doses of radiation than women with small breasts or their counterparts with large breasts correctly matched to a large detector, Dr. Cathy Wells said when presenting the award-winning study at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America.

“Women with large breasts should be imaged with a large detector to avoid an unnecessary increase in radiation dose,” she urged….. http://www.familypracticenews.com/news/more-top-news/single-view/breast-mammogram-detector-mismatch-results-in-excess-radiation/1080647c40.html

December 9, 2011 Posted by | USA, women | Leave a comment

Medical radiation listed as a top cause of breast cancer

Medical radiation, alcohol, obesity top IOM’s breast cancer risk report. December 08, 2011 by Brendon Nafziger , DOTmed News Associate Editor   Medical radiation from CT scans, being overweight, using combination estrogen and progestin hormone therapy and drinking alcohol were among the usual suspects deemed to have the most convincing evidence showing a link with breast cancer risk, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine examining environmental factors that contribute to the disease.

In a supplement, the group noted that avoiding “inappropriate medical radiation exposure” was a workable risk reduction goal, even though it also said that it should be balanced against the offsetting risk: missing crucial medical information by skipping a scan. …

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in American women, and 230,000 new diagnoses are expected to be made this year, IOM said. … http://www.dotmed.com/news/story/17642/

December 9, 2011 Posted by | USA, women | Leave a comment

Cancers in workers at Israeli nuclear facility

Nuke plant workers exposed to high radiation levels Expert tells court former employees of Dimona nuclear facility who were diagnosed with cancer were exposed to year’s-worth of radiation on a daily basis YNet News, Naama Cohen Friedman  12.07.11, Workers at the Negev Nuclear Research Center were exposed to extremely high radiation levels – some as high as the annual limit – an expert on radiation safety told the court Wednesday.

Dr. Thelma Byrne’s statement was made during a court hearing in a case meant to determine whether former employees of the institute should be recognized as the victims of work-related accidents after they were diagnosed with cancer. The damages suit was submitted by 44 employees of the Dimona-based reactor and the Soreq Nuclear Research Center in
the mid 1990s. Some members of the plaintiff have since died. Continue reading →

December 8, 2011 Posted by | health, Israel | Leave a comment

Disastrous effects of uranium mining on health of Jharkhand’s people

the financial benefits are meaningless when weighed against what his group says is an alarming rise in stillbirths, birth defects, and adults and children diagnosed with cancer, kidney disease, and tuberculosis.

report showed a far greater incidence of congenital abnormality, sterility, and cancer among people living within 2.5 kilometres (1.5 miles) of the mines than those living 35 kilometres away. Mothers in villages close to the mine sites were also twice as likely to have a child with congenital deformities, 

India’s uranium mines cast a health shadow,Google News,  By Ammu Kannampilly (AFP), 5 Dec 11,  ”… Environmental groups say the mining company is polluting the groundwater by dumping radioactive waste inside three so-called tailings ponds that hold the sludge produced by the mining process …..  Continue reading →

December 5, 2011 Posted by | health, India, Uranium | Leave a comment

Japan sets radiation level limit for childrens’ school meals

First radiation limit set for school mealsThreshold set at 40 becquerels for food, drinks in 17 prefectures, Japan Times, Dec. 2, 2011 Kyodo The government has instructed the boards of education of 17 eastern and northeastern prefectures to set the upper limit on radioactive substance exposure for food and drink served in school meals at 40 becquerels per kilogram, officials said Thursday.

The threshold is one-fifth of the current provisional limit on radioactive cesium for items of general consumption — 200 becquerels per kilogram for drinking water, milk and dairy products. The maximum allowable amount for rice, vegetables, meat and fish is set at 500 becquerels per kilogram.

The officials of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology said they newly set the criteria for school meals as the government plans to lower the upper limit of annual internal exposure to radioactive cesium through food and drink consumption to 1 millisievert from the current provisional threshold of 5 millisieverts. The 17 prefectures include Fukushima, Iwate, Miyagi, Ibaraki, Tokyo, Niigata, Yamanashi, Nagano and Shizuoka.

The ministry has earmarked about ¥100 million in the third extra budget for the current fiscal year to cover part of the cost to purchase dosimeters to detect radiation amounts in meals at schools in the 17 prefectures, according to the officials.

Under the directive, municipal governments are requested to buy equipment that can detect radiation levels in food and drink below 40 becquerels and to stop serving items with radioactive substances that exceed the upper limit, the officials said. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20111202a1.htm

December 3, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | Leave a comment

Illness of Fukushima nuclear plant director – could be radiation caused?

Fukushima nuclear power plant director steps down suddenly due to ‘illness’ The director of Japan’s damaged Fukushima nuclear power plant is stepping down due to illness, with officials refusing to confirm whether his condition is radiation related. The Telegraph By Danielle Demetriou in Tokyo 28 Nov 2011 Masao Yoshida, 56, has been hospitalised for “treatment of illness” and will relinquish his director post at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in northeast Japan from Thursday.

His sudden departure without a specific medical explanation is likely to prompt speculation surrounding the possible connection between his medical condition and exposure to high radiation levels at the plant……

Mr Yoshida has been on site at Fukushima Daiichi plant for more than eight months, ever since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami knocked out crucial cooling systems and sparked the ongoing crisis…. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/japan/8919991/Fukushima-nuclear-power-plant-director-steps-down-suddenly-due-to-illness.html

November 29, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | Leave a comment

The lingering nuclear disaster of Chernobyl

 the global death toll by 2004 was closer to 1 million and said health effects included birth defects, pregnancy losses, accelerated aging, brain damage, heart, endocrine, kidney, gastrointestinal and lung diseases.
“It is clear that tens of millions of people, not only in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia, but worldwide, will live under measurable chronic radioactive contamination for many decades,” 
Special Report: In Chernobyl, A Disaster Persists, Planet Ark, : 28-Nov-11, UKRAINE, Olzhas Auyezov and Richard Balmforth   Any Ukrainian over 35 can tell you where they were when they heard about the accident at the Chernobyl plant As Japan battles to prevent a meltdown at its earthquake-hit Fukushima Daini nuclear plant, the people of Ukraine are preparing to mark the 25th anniversary of the world’s worst nuclear accident.

The physical and financial legacies of that disaster are obvious: a 30-km uninhabited ring around the Chernobyl plant, billions of dollars spent cleaning the region and a major new effort to drum up 600 million euros ($840 million) in fresh funds that Kiev says is needed to build a more durable casement over the stricken reactor. Continue reading →

November 29, 2011 Posted by | health, psychology - mental health, Reference, Ukraine | Leave a comment

Japan’s new nuclear watchdog – an unknown quantity

 “Concrete steps will be taken only after actual health problems have come to light, and if such damage could be recognized as a pollution-caused disease like Minamata disease, the sources said.”

This item is a bit of  a worry.  Nothing in here to say that those made ill from radiation will get any help.  And the suggestion is that it will be hard for them to prove it – so don’t expect any help? – Christina Macpherson 

N-watchdog gets health role / New agency to handle residents’ well-being, not just reactors, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 25 Nov 11 A new nuclear safety agency to be established in April will deal with health problems caused by radioactive materials released from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, it has been learned. Continue reading →

November 28, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | Leave a comment

Special radiation limit for infants food in Japan

Japan plans to set special radiation limit for infant food Mainichi Daily News, TOKYO (Kyodo) 26 Nov 11 — Japan’s health ministry on Thursday proposed categorizing food and drink products in four groups, including one for infant foods, in setting tougher radiation standard levels.

While the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has been working to lower the upper limit on radioactive cesium exposure to 1 millisievert per year from the current provisional level of 5 millisieverts, it has decided to give special consideration to infants who are more vulnerable to radiation than older people.

The other three categories are ordinary food, milk and drinking water. Most foods will be categorized as ordinary food and be put under unified supervision, while milk, drinking water and infant foods, including powdered milk and baby foods, will be examined separately…. http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20111125p2g00m0dm020000c.html

November 27, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | Leave a comment

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