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Radiation illnesses need special hospital treatment

Hospitals not equipped to tackle radiation, The Times of India, Risha Chitlangia, TNN, Apr 10, 2010, NEW DELHI: The incident of radiation exposure in the capital has brought to light the city’s lack of preparedness in dealing with any such incident. Not many hospitals in the city are equipped or their staff trained to deal with patients of radiation exposure, nor do they have a special decontamination room as per the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) guidelines. Experts also point out that there is no central command that can guide hospitals and the police in dealing with this kind of emergency….

… A person exposed to radiation has to be decontaminated and ideally should be kept in isolation,” said Dr Sanjeev Kumar Bhoi, assistant professor, Medicine, AIIMS Trauma Centre, Hospitals not equipped to tackle radiation – The Times of India

April 12, 2010 Posted by | health, India | , , , , | Leave a comment

To be banned – whole body CT scans for healthy people

Government to ban whole-body CT scans for ‘health MOTs’ |Guardian UK  7 April 2010 BMJ Group The Department of Health is introducing new rules limiting the use of CT scans – detailed 3D X-rays – in private health checks offered to healthy people. Continue reading

April 12, 2010 Posted by | health, UK | , , , | Leave a comment

Exelon nuclear power plant’s radiation monitor not working

Radiation monitor at Oyster Creek nuclear plant is inoperable, officials say  NJ.com, By The Associated Press, April 10, 2010, A monitor that measures radiation emissions at the nation’s oldest operating nuclear plant has been found to be inoperable…….Exelon Corp., which owns the plant, recently notified the state Department of Environmental Protection about the problem. But it’s not clear how long the equipment — known as a stack monitor — has been out of service. Radiation monitor at Oyster Creek nuclear plant is inoperable, officials say | – NJ.com

April 12, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Laser technology increases nuclear power danger

Laser Nuclear Technology Might Pose Security Risk by Richard Harris  NPR  12 April 2010, “…..a new technology that’s been developed to enrich uranium. It’s intended to make fuel for nuclear power plants — but it could be used for weapons, too. Continue reading

April 12, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, technology | , , , , , , | Leave a comment

African countries seeking enriched uranium and nuclear power

others are fearful about security at nuclear power plants in Africa, worried that loose enriched uranium will fall into the wrong hands and be used to build a weapon

Beyond Iran: African Countries Seek Nuclear Power INDYPOSTED, 11 April 2010 by |  Ted Webb We hear about Iran’s development of nuclear energy in the news all the time, but many other countries are also working to enrich uranium, including Senegal and other African countries.

Right now South Africa has the continent’s only two nuclear power reactors, ABC News reports. But Senegal, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Algeria, Tunisia, Moroccco, Egypt, Ghana and Niger are all working to achieve nuclear energy.

Some hope nuclear power will help Africa economically, bring electricity to more people and prevent outages. But others are fearful about security at nuclear power plants in Africa, worried that loose enriched uranium will fall into the wrong hands and be used to build a weapon. Beyond Iran: African Countries Seek Nuclear Power

April 12, 2010 Posted by | AFRICA, politics international | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Iran not technically up to nuclear capability

Iran not yet “nuclear capable,” Gates say POLITICO Liveby Glenn Thrush April 11, 2010 Defense Secretary Robert Gates says Iran is not yet “nuclear capable” – and denied that U.S. officials have given up on being able to prevent Tehran from being able to produce and refine fissionable material.Speaking in a joint appearance with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on NBC’s “Meet the Press” in interviews aired Sunday, Gates said “it’s our judgment here, they are not nuclear capable,” citing Iran’s trouble with processing nuclear fuel in centrifuges.

Iran not yet “nuclear capable,” Gates says – POLITICO Live – POLITICO.com

April 12, 2010 Posted by | general | , , | Leave a comment

As nuclear industry materials proliferate, the threat of nuclear terrorism is real

More than 1600 tonnes of highly enriched uranium and 500 tonnes of plutonium are estimated to have been produced worldwide for civilian and military use – enough material to build 120,000 nuclear bombs. Estimates vary as to how much of it remains unsecured and at risk of falling into terrorist hands……

Obama wrestles with nuclear nightmare that won’t go away Sydney Morning Herald ,SIMON MANN IN WASHINGTON, April 10, 2010 So, what if terrorists did get their hands on a nuclear weapon? It doesn’t bear thinking about. Except, thousands of people are thinking about it now. Continue reading

April 10, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Iran scorns U.S. nuclear strategy, hosts alternative disarmament conference

Iran dismisses new U.S. nuclear strategy as propaganda. China News TEHRAN, April 7 (Xinhua) — Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki on Wednesday dismissed the new U.S. nuclear strategy as ” propaganda” and urged Washington to fulfill its promise on nuclear disarmament.

“We consider the latest position and comment of the United States as propaganda … We urge the United States to fulfill its promise on nuclear disarmament in the whole world,” Mottaki said at a press conference in Tehran…..He also said that the upcoming international conference of nuclear disarmament, dubbed “nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for none,” scheduled to held in Tehran on April 17 and 18, will push for a global nuclear disarmament. Iran dismisses new U.S. nuclear strategy as propaganda

April 10, 2010 Posted by | Iran, politics international | , , | Leave a comment

U.S. Nuclear Posture Review strengthens North Korea’s defiance

[the US “Nuclear Posture Review”] left open all options, including a nuclear attack, on countries such as North Korea or Iran

N. Korea blasts new US nuclear policy Yemen news Agency ]TOKYO, April 9 (Saba) — North Korea criticized the new US nuclear policy, saying it showed Washington’s continued hostility toward Pyongyang, and vowed to strengthen its own atomic arsenal, Continue reading

April 10, 2010 Posted by | North Korea, politics international | , , , | Leave a comment

Australian doctor, Tilman Ruff – another international anti nuclear campaigner

The idealist in Ruff is frustrated that it is not going further, happening faster. ”But I am enormously encouraged because we are seeing movement on multiple fronts.

Nuclear nemesis, The Age, JO CHANDLER, April 10, 2010A WHAT makes an activist “……Associate Professor Tilman Ruff, part-time physician, full-time campaigner against nuclear arms, and cancer survivor – a doctor who considers protecting the world from nuclear arms as fundamental to public health as the vaccines he dispenses……. Continue reading

April 10, 2010 Posted by | AUSTRALIA | , , , , | Leave a comment

al-Qaida seeking to have atomic bomb

US: al-Qaida exemplifies new-age nuclear threat, Google hosted news, By ROBERT BURNS (AP) – 10 April 2010, WASHINGTON The Associated Press: US: al-Qaida exemplifies new-age nuclear threat— The White House on Friday warned that al-Qaida is quietly hunting for an atomic bomb, Continue reading

April 10, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, safety | , , , | Leave a comment

New arms control treaty gives nuclear armed bombers free rein

It is a ballistic missile focused treaty that essentially removes strategic bombers from arms control.

The dodgy accounting of nuclear diplomacy, guardian.co.uk, Julian Borger, 9 April 2010, The new arms control treaty signed in Prague contains new counting methods that call into question its real scope Take down the flags, put away the champagne, etc. The text of the new Start treaty is out on the US state department website, and the small print confirms the warnings of its sternest critics. Dodgy new counting rules mean that the real reductions in deployed nuclear weapons could turn out to be far less than the 30% advertised. Indeed, they could add up to nothing at all. Continue reading

April 9, 2010 Posted by | politics international, Russia, USA | , , , , , | Leave a comment

Israeli nuclear scientists refused USA visas

Obama Administration Denies Visas to Israeli Nuclear Scientists  PAJAMAS MEDIA, Roger L. Simon 9 April 2010, The Obama administration is now denying U.S. visas to Israeli scientists who work at that nation’s Dimona nuclear reactor. This startling reversal of traditional policy was reported April 7, 2010, in the Israeli website/newspaper NRG/Maariv (link to the original Hebrew here and to an exclusive Pajamas Media translation here). This could be yet another flashpoint in the increasingly sensitive relations between the administration, the American Jewish community, and Israel……

Roger L. Simon » BREAKING: Obama Administration Denies Visas to Israeli Nuclear Scientists

April 9, 2010 Posted by | Israel, politics international | , | Leave a comment

‘Third Generation’ Nuclear Reactors have same old problems – wastes, weapons proliferation

Why James Hansen is wrong on nuclear power | Links International Journal of Socialist Renewal, By Renfrey Clarke April 8, 2010 “….. Third-generation reactors are in essence evolved versions of the pressurised-water installations that provide almost all of today’s nuclear energy. Now being built for the first time, “third-generation” plants are arguably still at the pre-commercial stage…. Continue reading

April 9, 2010 Posted by | 2 WORLD, technology | , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

USA’s poor security of its own enriched uranium and dead nuke weapons

Will U.S. Inaction on its own Nuclear Security Issues Compromise Summit Success?Across the Aisle: The PSA Blog, by Peter Stockton and Ingrid Drake | April 7th, 2010 “…..Frankly, if we want other nations to follow, we have to lead by example. Highly enriched uranium (HEU) is a prime target for nuclear terrorists: with about 100 pounds it is possible to make an improvised nuclear device that could create a blast on par with the one that devastated Hiroshima. Yet, the U.S. has the world’s second largest stock of HEU and plutonium. Continue reading

April 9, 2010 Posted by | safety, USA | , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment