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Opt out of the cancer risk X ray scanners at USA airports

How Homeland Security Increases Your Cancer Risk,The Nation, Jon Wiener on November 2, 2011  In the airport security screening line in Kauai a few months ago, I
asked an American Airlines pilot what he thought about the new X-ray scanners in front of us—the ones that are replacing metal detectors at airports around the country. He offered a startling one-word answer: “reprehensible.”

I said “Usually I opt out, because I didn’t like being X-rayed by people who are not X-ray technicians.” He replied, “If enough people opted out, they’d have to get rid of the scanners.”

Now ProPublica’s Michael Grabell reports that the cancer danger from the new scanners—which look under a traveler’s clothing—is greater than we had feared. “Research suggests that anywhere from six to 100 Americans could get cancer each year from the machines,” Grabell says.
“Still, the TSA has repeatedly defined the scanners as ‘safe,’ glossing over the accepted scientific view that even low doses of ionizing radiation—the kind beamed directly at the body by the X-ray scanners—increase the risk of cancer.”

Nevertheless, millions of Americans are now being sent thru the scanners. Continue reading →

November 3, 2011 Posted by | health, USA | Leave a comment

Airport radiation scanners are not stringently regulated

The US government skirted over the radiation safety concerns of airport X-ray machines 109 2 Nov 11One of the most important principles of radiation safety is that X-ray machines should only be used when there’s a clear medical benefit. But now backscatter X-ray machines are found throughout America’s airports. How did we get here?

 According to a new report by ProPublica and the PBS NewHour, the US government has gone ahead with the controversial scanners despite serious concerns from radiation safety experts. The scanners are expected to be in place in every American airport security lane by as early as 2014. This is a big reversal from as recently as 1998, when the device’s own inventor, Steven W. Smith, told a panel of radiation safety experts, said he didn’t think such devices would be used at lower-security facilities – such as airports. Continue reading →

November 3, 2011 Posted by | health, USA | Leave a comment

Electromagnetic radiation from cell phones linked to brain cancer

Christina Macpherson's websites & blogs

This website is concerned with the nuclear industry, and the proven danger of cancer-causing ionising radiation.

The story is not the same for other types of radiation. Therefore we don’t generaly cover these.  However, that doesn’t prove them safe.  therefore, we should not ignore information on electromagnetic radiation, which might also have its risks. – Christina Macpherson

Researchers Report Alarming Rise in Brain Cancer in Scandinavian Countries,The Investor Relations Group, 11/2/2011 Environmental Health Trust Reports Continued and Unexplained Increases in Brain Cancer Incidence in Nations With Longer-Term Cell Phone Use

 New cases of brain tumors have continued to rise throughout the past three decades in some Scandinavian countries with longer-term and heavier cell phone use, according to analyses conducted by Environmental Health Trust scientists.  The analyses are based on data provided by the national cancer registries of Finland and Norway to the International Agency for Research on Cancer. Continue reading →

November 3, 2011 Posted by | health, Sweden | Leave a comment

Radiation caused illness in Britain’s nuclear veterans and their children

MoD survey shows three in four nuclear test veterans fear radiation has affected their health, Mirror,  by Susie Boniface,   30/10/2011 A devastating new report shows that eight in 10 of Britain’s nuclear test ­veterans went on to develop multiple medical conditions.

And three in four of the men who survived atomic blasts in the 1950s fear their health was ­damaged due to being used as ­human guinea pigs for Cold War scientists.  A survey by the Ministry of Defence shows 83 per cent have since developed ­between two and nine ­serious long-term ­illnesses. Some have more than 10.

Asked if they believe their health had been affected by being at a nuclear test site, 28 per cent said they were certain it had, 23 per cent thought it had and 24 per cent said it may have done – a total of 75 per cent. Only eight per cent said it definitely had not.

The study, the first MoD funded-research since 1993, vindicates 10 years of campaigning by the Sunday Mirror which has highlighted the ­crippling legacy of ill health veterans have suffered. Many have developed cancers and rare medical complaints.

Studies have shown they have six times the national rate of ­leukaemia and 10 times the rate of birth defects among their children. It was only after massive pressure from the veterans and this newspaper that the last government finally agreed to fund a £412,000 study into their health.

SPENDING SLASHED  The Coalition slashed the spend to £75,000 but 633 veterans still came forward to answer questions developed by two doctors with the British Nuclear Test Veterans’ ­Association.

The survey shows only 18 per cent of those polled are in “good health” and of those with a serious condition, only 16 per cent thought it was because of other than radiation. Veterans made a series of demands in the study, including a medical centre, better access to service medical records and a detailed ­genetic study of their descendants.

But experts did not look at ­the illnesses of ­vets’ children and grandchildren, saying the evidence was “of too ­variable a quality”.  Read more: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/10/30/mod-survey-shows-three-in-four-nuclear-test-veterans-fear-radiation-has-affected-their-health-115875-23524038/#ixzz1cOe5PLWA

October 31, 2011 Posted by | health, UK, weapons and war | Leave a comment

Japan to decide on level for lifetime exposure to ionising radiation

The report pointed out effects of radiation exposure on children are more serious than those on adults, 

Govt to cap radiation limit / Report recommends lifetime exposure of no more than 100mSv, The Yomiuri Shimbun, 29 Oct 11, A report by the Cabinet Office’s Food Safety Commission has recommended a person’s cumulative lifetime radiation exposure from food should be limited to about 100 millisieverts.

The report compiled Thursday covers possible effects on health from internal exposure from food containing radioactive substances. Based on the report, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will begin considering individual regulatory figures for foods.

It is likely the new limits will be stricter than interim limits, hurriedly implemented shortly after the crisis began at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Continue reading →

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

Nuclear radiation more harmful to women

ATOMIC RADIATION IS MORE HARMFUL TO WOMEN , Nuclear Information and Referral Service, 27 Oct 11,  Women as a group suffer significantly more from the impact of ionizing radiation than do men. Today Nuclear Information and Resource Service published a Briefing Paper that focuses on a dramatic fifty-percent greater incidence of cancer and fifty-percent greater rate of death from cancer among women, compared to the same radiation dose
level to men. To be clear: males suffer cancer and cancer death from exposure to ionizing radiation; but gender difference in the level of harm has been to date underreported.
The data leading to this conclusion originally was reported in the National Academy of Sciences 2006 report, “BEIR VII” which is the seventh report in a series on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation. Continue reading →

October 27, 2011 Posted by | 2 WORLD, health, women | Leave a comment

Study on cancer rates near nuclear power plants

As the nation explores whether to invest more in nuclear energy, the National Academy of Sciences is working on a study of cancer rates among people living near nuclear facilities.

“If you show living near a nuclear facility increases your chances of getting cancer, there will have to be radical changes,” 

Study aims to bring facts to nuclear power debate, including facilty north of Asheville Parts of WNC Citizen Times, ASHEVILLE, 26 Oct 11,  — From a small town in east Tennessee to the nation’s capital, scientists studying cancer rates heard a similar call from those who live near nuclear power plants.

“I really would like to see some real science out there that really analyzes and understands the root causes behind this,” Westmont, Ill., resident and mother Shari Katz, said during a Chicago hearing on the study earlier this year. Continue reading →

October 27, 2011 Posted by | health, USA | Leave a comment

Canada underestimated radiation doses of health care workers

Radiation doses of 1,769 health care workers under-reported for four years The Star. com, 26 oct 11, A system used by 1,769 health care and research workers to measure their workplace radiation exposure may have under-reported radiation levels since 2008, says the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The commission says a “calculation error” in the management system used by the devices is responsible for the low readings. Continue reading →

October 27, 2011 Posted by | Canada, health | Leave a comment

Concern for workers exposed to radioactive uranium

Answers sought on uranium at Bethlehem site, Buffalo Business First, October 19, 2011 Three federal lawmakers are calling on health officials to continue investigating working conditions that existed for nearly a quarter century at the former Bethlehem Steel site in Lackawanna. The concern of Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo and New York Sens. Senator Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand is that workers risked their health because of the presence of radioactive uranium at the plant

The lawmakers have written to National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Director John Howard to further investigate and report on the clean-up at Bethlehem Steel. The highly radioactive uranium was processed at the Lackawanna site during the Cold War. Former Bethlehem Steel workers attest that the facility where uranium was rolled was not adequately decontaminated until 1976, despite earlier company reports claiming that the plant was cleaned up in 1952, meaning hundreds of additional workers may have been exposed to dangerous residual radiation…. http://www.bizjournals.com/buffalo/blog/morning_roundup/2011/10/answers-sought-on-uranium-at-bethlehem.html

October 25, 2011 Posted by | health, USA | Leave a comment

South Africa’s shame of radiation caused illness in uranium workers

Nuclear illness scourge, The new Age, Mel Frykberg, 20 Oct 11,  Exposure to uranium at South African nuclear facilities over the years has left dozens of people dead and hundreds of others terminally ill, an investigation by The New Age has revealed.  “These nuclear workers have been used and abused like cannon fodder and then abandoned without any care or compensation when they were no longer of any use to the nuclear industry,” said Mashile Phalane, the former coordinator of Earthlife Africa (ELA).

ELA and the Pelindaba Working Group – comprising ­ex-employees and antinuclear activists – are leading the battle to get compensation for victims. Former nuclear workers claim that they were not provided with protective clothing nor given the necessary medical attention when they were exposed to radiation.

Most claim they were given ­little or, in many cases, no financial compensation and in many cases were summarily dismissed once their symptoms became known.  The country’s nuclear watchdog, the Nuclear Energy Corporation of South Africa (Necsa), stands accused by activists involved in the long-running campaign to ensure justice for victims and their families, of destroying the lives of hundreds of ex-employees.

Waldemar Botha, 54, a former maintenance fitter at the Valindaba Uranium Enrichment Corporation at the Pelindaba nuclear complex, told The New Age: “I was ordered to take four months’ sick leave after twice being contaminated with high amounts of uranium.”  Botha worked directly with the components that were used to enrich uranium. ELA also alleges that former Atteridgeville workers pursuing compensation claims received ­visits from Necsa officials at night, pressuring them to sign forms in exchange for being re-employed at higher wages – a claim denied by the nuclear watchdog.  “Previous media reports have been dismissed by Necsa and accusations of pressure on ­investigative journalists have circulated,” said Dominique Gilbert, who has worked with the Pelindaba Working Group.  http://thenewage.co.za/32599-22-53-Nuclear_illness_scourge

October 23, 2011 Posted by | health, South Africa, Uranium | Leave a comment

Japan: the psychological impact of Fukushima nuclear catastrophe

For Japanese, Fukushima spells fear, MARK MACKINNON,TOKYO—Globe and Mail, Oct. 12, 2011 The Fukushima fallout has now spread well beyond what can be measured with a Geiger counter. In the minds of many consumers, Fukushima prefecture – which, at almost 14,000 square kilometres is bigger than Lebanon or Jamaica – and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are one and the same. Though the Japanese government has evacuated only a 20-kilometre radius around the plant, many inside and outside Japan treat the entire region as though it’s contaminated, unsure of what to make of shifting official assessments of the situation. Continue reading →

October 13, 2011 Posted by | Japan, psychology - mental health | Leave a comment

Experts find USA radiological labs not prepared for nuclear disasters

U.S. Labs Not Equipped to Handle Radiation Disasters, By Shalmali Pal, MedPage Today October 12, 2011 Reviewed by Zalman S. Agus, MD; Emeritus Professor University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The U.S. state-based public health community is not ready to address a large-scale radiological event such as the one at Japan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, according to recent survey results.

The “serious gaps in U.S. radiological preparedness,” include a shortage of appropriate personnel and a lack of federal certification to conduct sample testing, wrote Megan Weil Latshaw, PhD, and colleagues, from the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) in Silver Spring, Md., in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.

APHL is the national professional organization representing state and local government labs. The authors analyzed data from two inhouse surveys, the 2009 All-Hazards Laboratory Preparedness Survey and the 2011 Radiation Capabilities Survey, which were sent to public health labs in 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico…..

The authors called for several initiatives to better prepare public health labs for a radiological event.These plans include funding for the national Laboratory Response Network to continue identifying potential agents of biological and chemical terrorism and funding to develop more advanced lab methods to test radiological specimens…..http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/EnvironmentalHealth/29005

October 13, 2011 Posted by | health, USA | Leave a comment

Japan’s plan for 20 year study of 360,000 children’s radiation effects

In Japan, a Long-Term Study On Radiation Leaks’ Effects, NYT, By HIROKO TABUCHI,  October 10, 2011 TOKYO — In an effort to track the long-term health effects of the nuclear disaster at Fukushima, Japan has begun a survey of local children for thyroid abnormalities, a problem associated with exposure to radiation.

The study comes in response to concerns over the health consequencesof the serious radiation leaks caused by multiple meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station in March. Japanese officials hope to study about 360,000 children who were under 18 at the time of the accident and track their health through their lifetimes, according to Fukushima Prefecture officials.

Children and pregnant women are particularly sensitive to radioactive iodine, which can harm the thyroid, studies after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 have shown. According to research presented at a 2006 global conference, at least 4,000 cases of thyroid cancer among children have been linked to Chernobyl’s fallout.

On Sunday, the first day of the Fukushima study, more than 100 children were tested. Specific test results will not be made public, according to Fukushima Prefecture. But the children, who will be tested every two years until they turn 20 and every five years after that, will receive further care if doctors discover abnormalities….. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/11/world/asia/japan-studies-radiation-effects-on-children.html

October 11, 2011 Posted by | health, Japan | 1 Comment

Chernobyl radiation, and breast cancer years later

Doctors told us our radiation levels were 100 times higher than normal.

Catriona Munro on Chernobyl and her breast cancer, BBC News, 7 Oct 11, Catriona Munro believes her incurable breast cancer is linked to the fall out from the Chernobyl disaster. For a BBC Scotland documentary she has recalled how she may have been exposed to radiation and told of her fears for others whose health may also have been affected. Continue reading →

October 8, 2011 Posted by | health | 1 Comment

Japan will no longer measure plutonium

Japan ceases measuring the plutonium, Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog, 4 Oct 11,  At the press conference of TEPCO and related ministries of Japanese government, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology stated they will not measure plutonium anymore.

The measurement of plutonium was abandoned in Japan.It was announced on 10/3/2011   by staff from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Now Japanese people are allowed to take 1~10 Bq/kg of plutonium. However, 1 in a million gram of plutonium causes cancer.

They announced that plutonium and strontium were detected in 45km / 79km area on 9/30.They seem afraid of having the contamination situation known by more people. http://fukushima-diary.com/2011/10/breaking-news-the-measurement-of-plutonium-was-abandoned-in-japan/#.Tomr6dmxwk4.facebook

JGov and TEPCO are disgusting.

http://nuclearhistory.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/japan-ceases-measuring-the-plutonium/

October 4, 2011 Posted by | - plutonium, health, Japan | Leave a comment

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