radiation « nuclear-news

Internal radiation emitters – cesium and iodine – far more dangerous than external exposure

Risk from internal exposure is 200-600 times greater than risk from external exposure. See this, this, this and this.

cesium-137 and radioactive iodine – the two main radioactive substances being spewed by the leaking Japanese nuclear plants – are not naturally-occurring substances, and can become powerful internal emitters which can cause tremendous damage to the health of people who are unfortunate enough to breathe in even a particle of the substances, or ingest them in food or water.

Fake Science Alert: Fukushima Radiation Can’t Be Compared to Bananas or X-Rays http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-04-01/fake-science-alert-fukushima-radiation-can%E2%80%99t-be-compared-bananas-or-x-rays George Washington 04/01/2013

“….Mixing Apples (External) and Oranges (Internal) Moreover, radioactive particles which end up inside of our lungs or gastrointestinal track, as opposed to radiation which comes to us from outside of our skin are much more dangerous than general exposures to radiation.

The National Research Council’s Committee to Assess the Scientific Information for the Radiation Exposure Screening and Education Program explains:

Radioactivity generates radiation by emitting particles. Radioactive materials outside the the body are called external emitters, and radioactive materials located within the body are called internal emitters.

Internal emitters are much more dangerous than external emitters. Specifically, one is only exposed to radiation as long as he or she is near the external emitter.

For example, when you get an x-ray, an external emitter is turned on for an instant, and then switched back off.

But internal emitters steadily and continuously emit radiation for as long as the particle remains radioactive, or until the person dies – whichever occurs first. As such, they are much more dangerous. Continue reading →

April 5, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, radiation, Reference | 9 Comments

Tobacco industry hid radiation cancer causer in cigarettes

Nuclear insiders and Big Tobacco No.1 Paul Langley’s Nuclear History Blog http://www.uclahealth.org/body.cfm?id=561&action=detail&ref=1751 5 April 13 University of California Health System, Health and Medicine, Big Tobacco knew radioactive particles in cigarettes posed cancer risk but kept quiet Kim Irwin

Tobacco companies knew that cigarette smoke contained radioactive alpha particles for more than four decades and developed “deep and intimate” knowledge of these particles’ cancer-causing potential, but they deliberately kept their findings from the public, according to a new study by UCLA researchers.

The analysis of dozens of previously unexamined internal tobacco industry documents, made available in 1998 as the result of a legal settlement, reveals that the industry was aware of cigarette radioactivity some five years earlier than previously thought and that tobacco companies, concerned about the potential lung cancer risk, began in-depth investigations into the possible effects of radioactivity on smokers as early as the 1960s.

“The documents show that the industry was well aware of the presence of a radioactive substance in tobacco as early as 1959,” the authors write. “Furthermore, the industry was not only cognizant of the potential ‘cancerous growth’ in the lungs of regular smokers, but also did quantitative radiobiological calculations to estimate the long-term lung radiation absorption dose of ionizing alpha particles emitted from cigarette smoke.” Continue reading →

April 5, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health, radiation | 1 Comment

Medicine struggles to deal with nuclear radiation -caused illness

Top Docs’ (Partial) Cure for Nuclear Radiation: Bone-Marrow Drugs http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2013/04/health-department-nuclear/ BY ROBERT BECKHUSEN 04.04.13

Even if a nuclear bomb exploded far enough away for you to survive the blast, the radiation could still kill you. Now the U.S. government wants to find a cure for one the most vexing causes of radioactive death — starting with your bones.

According to a research solicitation released this week by the Department of Health and Human Services, the department is preparing to spend up to $8 million beginning in 2014 to research ways to treat severe thrombocytopenia — or the loss of cell platelets — caused by excessive radiation poisoning of vital blood-producing organs and tissues like bone marrow and the spleen. Once your organs get blasted with radiation from a catastrophic nuclear detonation, you will likely begin to suffer from internal bleeding and get really sick. Then you’ll die. Continue reading →

April 5, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, radiation, Reference, USA | Leave a comment

Radiation releases from fracking for natural gas

among the substances to be tested for are Radium-226, Radium-228, Uranium-238, Uranium-235, Uranium-234, Thorium-232, Radon-220 and Radon-222.

a December 2011 U.S. Geological Survey report that found that millions of barrels of wastewater from unconventional wells in Pennsylvania and conventional wells in New York were 3,609 times more radioactive than the federal limit for drinking water and 300 times more radioactive than a Nuclear Regulatory Commission limit for nuclear plant discharges.

$diagram-fracking$

DEP begins fracking radiation tests Times Online, By Rachel Morgan Shalereporter.com 4 April 13 HARRISBURG — The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection this month will begin testing for radioactivity in waste products from natural gas well drilling.

In addition to analyzing wastewater from hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, the study also will analyze radioactivity in drill cuttings, drilling mud, drilling equipment, treatment solids and sediments at well pads, wastewater treatment and disposal facilities and landfill leachate, among others. The study also will test radiation levels for the equipment involved in the transportation, storage and disposal of drilling wastes. Continue reading →

April 5, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | radiation, USA | Leave a comment

“Background Radiation” – a favourite lie of the nuclear lobby

Fake Science Alert: Fukushima Radiation Can’t Be Compared to Bananas or X-Rays,Zero Hedge, April 2013

“…….Most “Background Radiation” Didn’t Exist Before Nuclear Weapons Testing and Nuclear Reactors

Nuclear apologists also pretend that we get a higher exposure from background radiation (when we fly, for example) and or x-rays then we get from nuclear accidents.

In fact, there was exactly zero background radioactive cesium or iodine before above-ground nuclear testing and nuclear accidents started.

Wikipedia provides some details on the distribution of cesium-137 due to human activities:

Small amounts of caesium-134 and caesium-137 were released into the environment during nearly all nuclear weapon tests and some nuclear accidents, most notably the Chernobyl disaster.

Caesium-137 is unique in that it is totally anthropogenic. Unlike most other radioisotopes, caesium-137 is not produced from its non-radioactive isotope, but from uranium. It did not occur in nature before nuclear weapons testing began. By observing the characteristic gamma rays emitted by this isotope, it is possible to determine whether the contents of a given sealed container were made before or after the advent of atomic bomb explosions. This procedure has been used by researchers to check the authenticity of certain rare wines, most notably the purported “Jefferson bottles”.

As the EPA notes:

Cesium-133 is the only naturally occurring isotope and is non-radioactive; all other isotopes, including cesium-137, are produced by human activity.

Similarly, iodine-131 is not a naturally occurring isotope. As the Encyclopedia Britannica notes: (Fukushima has spewed much more radioactive cesium and iodine than Chernobyl. The amount of radioactive cesium released by Fukushima was some 20-30 times higher than initially admitted. Japanese experts say that Fukushima is currently releasing up to 93 billion becquerels of radioactive cesium into the ocean each day. And the cesium levels hitting the west coast of North America will keep increasing for several years. Fukushima is still spewing radiation into the environment, and the amount of radioactive fuel at Fukushima dwarfs Chernobyl.)

As such, the concept of “background radiation” is largely a misnomer. Most of the radiation we encounter today – especially the most dangerous types – did not even exist in nature before we started tinkering with nuclear weapons and reactors. In a sense, we are all guinea pigs ……. http://www.zerohedge.com/contributed/2013-04-01/fake-science-alert-fukushima-radiation-can%E2%80%99t-be-compared-bananas-or-x-rays

April 3, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | radiation, Reference, secrets,lies and civil liberties | 4 Comments

Texas new rules for medical radiation starting May 1st

New Texas radiation rule takes effect May 1 By Eric Barnes, AuntMinnie.com staff writer March 28, 2013 — Hoping to avoid the rash of radiation overexposures that shook California radiology like an earthquake a few years back, the state of Texas has decided to implement its own radiation exposure rule beginning May 1.

Unlike the California law, however, Texas will administer its new regime as an administrative directive by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

Texas Administrative Code rule §289.227 includes guidelines for radiation reporting, training personnel, and establishing acceptable dose thresholds, Continue reading →

April 3, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, radiation, Reference | Leave a comment

“Acceptable” levels of radiation lifted by governments

Governments Worldwide Raise Acceptable Radiation Levels Based Upon Politics … Not Sciencehttp://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/01/governments-worldwide-raise-acceptable-radiation-levels-based-upon-politics-not-science.html

Instead of Protecting People, Governments Cover Up by Raising “Safe” Radiation Levels

American and Canadian authorities have virtually stopped monitoring airborne radiation.

Neither American nor Canadian authorities are testing fish for radioactivity.

Does that mean that we don’t have to worry about radiation from Fukushima?

It is a little hard to know, given that what is deemed a “safe level” of radiation is determined by politics … rather than science. For example, current safety standards are based on the ridiculous assumption that everyone exposed is a healthy man in his 20s – and that radioactive particles ingested into the body cause no more damage than radiation hitting the outside of the body.

And one of the main advisors to the Japanese government on Fukushima announced: If you smile, the radiation will not affect you.

(Here’s the video.)

In the real world, however, even low doses of radiation can cause cancer. Moreover, small particles of radiation – called “internal emitters” – which get inside the body are much more dangerous than general exposures to radiation. See this and this. And radiation affects small children much more than full-grown adults. Continue reading →

March 30, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, radiation | Leave a comment

A reminder that Computerised Tomography still has its place in medecine

Immediate health risks outweigh long-term radiation concerns for testicular cancer http://www.oncologynurseadvisor.com/immediate-health-risks-outweigh-long-term-radiation-concerns-for-testicular-cancer/article/284572/# 20 March 13 Primary Health Risks Outweigh Long-Term Radiation Concerns (HealthDay News) — Immediate health risks supersede lifetime radiation-induced cancer risk in patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) surveillance for testicular cancer, according to a study published in the March issue of Radiology. Continue reading →

March 21, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, radiation | Leave a comment

Nuclear lobby’s disinformation campaign neglects “internal” radiation emitters

Their first piece of disinformation is to confuse the effects of external and internal radiation.

Entering the body, these elements – called internal emitters – migrate to specific organs such as the thyroid, liver, bone, and brain, continuously irradiating small volumes of cells with high doses of alpha, beta and/or gamma radiation, and over many years often induce cancer.

Fukushima: Nuclear Apologists Play Shoot the Messenger on Radiation Dr Helen Caldicott global research.ca March 15th, 2013 “………Their first piece of disinformation is to confuse the effects of external and internal radiation. The former is what populations were exposed to when atomic bombs were detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

Internal radiation, by contrast, emanates from radioactive elements that enter the body by inhalation, ingestion, or by skin absorption. The grave effects of internal emitters are of the most profound concern at Fukushima – as indeed they continue to be at Chernobyl.

It is erroneous and misleading to use the term ”acceptable levels of external radiation” in assessing internal radiation doses. To do so is to propagate inaccuracies and to mislead the public worldwide and journalists who are seeking the truth about radiation’s hazards. Continue reading →

March 16, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, radiation, Reference | 1 Comment

Poop protection against ionising radiation!

Mars Mission to use astronaut feces as radiation shield
http://www.financialexpress.com/news/mars-mission-to-use-astronaut-feces-as-radiation-shield/1082496/2#sthash.4CxWh740.dpuf-
LONDON, MAR 03 2013, Astronauts onboard a privately-funded expedition
to Mars in 2018 will use their own feces to protect themselves against
cosmic radiation. Continue reading →

March 4, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, radiation, Reference | Leave a comment

NASA scientists find third radiation belt around Earth

Third radiation belt discovered around Earth, Telegraph UK,
A previously unknown belt of radiation surrounded Earth for several
weeks last year, Nasa scientists have discovered. By Nick Collins,
Science Correspondent
01 Mar 2013 “……Nicky Fox, Van Allen Probes deputy project
scientist at the Johns Hopkins University, said: “We thought we knew
the radiation belts, but we don’t. The advances in technology and
detection made by NASA in this mission already have had an almost
immediate impact on basic science.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/9902765/Third-radiation-belt-discovered-around-Earth.html

March 2, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, radiation | Leave a comment

Radiation in space mucking up Curiosity Mars rover’s technology

Space radiation possible cause of Mars rover glitch By WILLIAM
HARWOOD / CBS NEWS/ March 1, 2013, Space radiation may be to blame
for corrupted memory used by the Curiosity Mars rover’s flight
computer, resulting in software glitches that interrupted the flow of
science data Wednesday and prompted ground controllers to switch over
to a redundant computer Thursday, NASA officials
said…..http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57572074/space-radiation-possible-cause-of-mars-rover-glitch/

March 2, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, radiation | Leave a comment

Ocean fish to be studied for Fukushima radiation

L.A. Times: NOAA to start testing wildlife for Fukushima contamination http://enenews.com/l-a-times-noaa-to-start-testing-wildlife-for-fukushima-radiation
February 26th, 2013
Title: Radioactive tuna from Fukushima? Scientists eat it up
Source: Los Angeles Times
Author: Eryn Brown
Date: February 25, 2013
Title: Radioactive tuna from Fukushima? Scientists eat it up

[…] In coming months, the three researchers and colleagues at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other institutions plan to analyze hundreds more bluefin tuna, as well as albacore tuna; mahi mahi; ocean sunfish; opa; mako, blue and salmon sharks; loggerhead turtles; and sooty shearwaters, a type of migratory seabird.

They’ll examine samples collected in New Zealand, Hawaii and Alaska as well as in California. They might look through archived specimens for salmon and whales to test. Other research groups may track the contamination to study marine animals too, [Dan Madigan of Stanford University] said.

If scientists find Fukushima radiation in swordfish, for example, it will be the first evidence that the species migrates across the entire Pacific. […]

“Amazing”

They concluded that their tracking method worked, and that Fukushima provided “an unprecedented opportunity” for scientists to use radioactive tracers to follow animal movement. “This was just nature being amazing,” [Nicholas Fisher of Stony Brook University] said.
He imagines pulling together a map of the Pacific crisscrossed by the paths of radiation-toting animals — “an amazing image of transport … all from a little dot” in Japan, Madigan said.

Girls most affected by Fukushima radiation – World Health Organisation

Japan to Begin Restarting Idled Nuclear Plants, Leader Says NYT By MARTIN FACKLER and HIROKO TABUCHI Matthew L. Wald contributed reporting from Washington. February 28, 2013 ”……..According to the study, girls exposed as infants to radioactivity in the most contaminated regions of Fukushima Prefecture faced a 70 percent higher risk of developing thyroid cancer than would be expected normally. The report pointed out, however, that the normal risk of thyroid cancer was just 0.75 percent, and that the additional lifetime risk would raise that to 1.25 percent.

Girls exposed to radioactivity as infants in the most heavily contaminated areas also had a 6 percent higher risk of developing breast cancer, and a 4 percent higher risk of developing cancers that cause tumors. Meanwhile, boys exposed as infants had a 7 percent higher chance of developing leukemia.

The study also said that about a third of the emergency workers who remained to try to stabilize the Fukushima Daiichi plant were estimated to have a slightly increased risk of developing leukemia, thyroid cancer and other types of cancer.

The analysis was based on data available as of September 2011, and takes into account airborne contamination as well as contaminated food, water and other sources of contamination, the WH.O. said. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/01/world/asia/japan-to-begin-restarting-idled-nuclear-plants.html?_r=0

March 1, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Fukushima 2013, Japan, radiation | Leave a comment

Validity of Japan’s official radiation figures is in doubt

Rising doubts about Japan’s official radiation figures, DW 27 Feb 13, As the two-year anniversary of the world’s second-worst nuclear accident nears, citizen groups are questioning the accuracy of the government’s contamination data for the area around the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant…… ome volunteer groups are conducting out their own monitoring efforts and sharing the data on websites.

“We believe it is dangerous for people still living in highly contaminated areas,” said Hajime Matsukubo, a spokesman for the Tokyo-based Citizens’ Nuclear Information Center (CNIC). He points to independent studies indicating that people in Fukushima and Koriyama – cities well beyond the exclusion zone imposed by the government – are still exposed to high levels of radioactivity. Continue reading →

March 1, 2013 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Japan, radiation | 1 Comment

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