radioactive « nuclear-news

“Blending” of radioactive wastes will avoid safety requirements

“blending” would allow utilities, processors, and waste disposal sites to avoid existing environmental and safety requirements for how they dispose of the hotter waste……….the new “blended” waste has significantly higher concentrations of radioactivity than the typical lowest level radioactive waste…..

In the past year, state governments have also had to deal with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s reclassification of Depleted Uranium (which becomes more radioactive over time) as Class A waste.

Obama Administration Should Say “No” to Blending Radioactive Waste, THE HUFFINGTON POST, Joseph DiCamillo, 12 June 2010, The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will consider whether to allow for the first time nuclear waste processors to “blend” higher level radioactive waste with the lowest level radioactive waste at a hearing on June 17. Continue reading →

June 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | USA, wastes | antinuclear, depleted, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, reactors, uranium | Leave a comment

Delhi University compensating victims of ionising radiation

DU hands out compensation to victims of radiation exposure- Hindustan Times, 12 June 2010, Delhi University on Friday handed out compensation of Rs 2 lakh each to victims of radiation exposure who suffered serious health hazards from radioactive waste disposed off by the institution.Several people at Mayapuri’s scrap market were exposed to radiation and were taken ill in April this year.One of them, Rajender (35), a worker at a shop in the scrap market, had died due to multiple organ failure at AIIMS after being exposed to radiation.Relief amount of Rs two lakh was handed over to Ram Jiyavan, Gaurav, Ram Kalap Yadav and Himanshu Jain, the victims who suffered injuries, a statement from the varsity said on Friday……The trail of the radioactive substance led to Delhi University’s Chemistry Department and it was found that the institution had disposed off the radioactive waste that reached the Mayapuri scrap market.

DU hands out compensation to victims of radiation exposure- Hindustan Times

June 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, Legal | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Need for more safety in use of medical ionising radiation

A number of errors discovered by FDA have involved massive doses of radiation being directed at the wrong parts of the body, and machines being set incorrectly, resulting in overly large radiation doses.

Radiation Exposure Concerns Lead To New Industry Standards – AboutLawsuits.com, 11 June 2010, Radiation therapy equipment manufacturers have launched an initiative to implement new industry-wide safety standards in the face of FDA scrutiny and growing concern over the radiation risks of CT scans and radiation-emitting medical devices… Continue reading →

June 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Inaccuracies in measuring medical ionising radiation

Indirect estimated radiation during thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair found inaccurate, CVardiology Today, 11 June 2010, Assessing indirect estimated radiation doses given to patients during endovascular thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair may not be an accurate method of assessing peak skin dose, according to study findings……“Given that JACHO standards are all based on the estimated dose, and the estimated dose for aortic procedures is very inaccurate, peripheral vascular/aortic procedures are not being assessed properly,” Roy Greenberg, MD, a vascular surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic, said in a press release. “We believe these are critical issues with regard to radiation exposure and this will result in problems with hospital documentation and reporting sentinel events.”

Indirect estimated radiation during thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair found inaccurate

June 12, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Bhopal injustice – a prelude to future nuclear injustice for India?

Under the civil liabilities for nuclear damage bill, central to a deal with the controversial nuclear pact with the US, costs for cleaning up a catastrophic failure would end up being paid by the Indian taxpayer…….so that shareholders of large US corporations would not be forced to pay out for sloppy, deadly mistakes…………..

Obama hasn’t learned lessons of Bhopal, Randeep Ramesh guardian.co.uk 10 June 2010 Foreign companies such as BP are shown the big stick, but Washington offers a big shield for its multinationals abroad

While Barack Obama is lambasting BP for spreading muck in the Gulf of Mexico, he should perhaps pencil in a date with the people of Bhopal when he visits India later this year. While 11 men lost their lives on BP’s watch and the shrimps get coated with black stuff, the chemicals that killed thousands of people in Bhopal in 1984 are still leaching into the ground water a quarter of a century after a poisonous, milky-white cloud settled over the city. Continue reading →

June 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, Legal | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

NASA’s cruel monkey experiments to be shamed

monkeys would be blasted with a harmful dose of radiation. As a result, the animals would likely suffer from brain damage, cancerous tumors, or a loss of motor control. Following the radiation exposure, these highly intelligent and social animals would spend the rest of their lives in a laboratory where they would be isolated in cages and subjected to years of behavioral experiments.

PETA ‘TREKKIES’ TO CRASH NASA’S ‘STAR TREK LIVE’ OPENING TO PROTEST AGENCY’S RADIATION EXPERIMENTS ON MONKEYSAs Stage Show Debuts, Group Will Call On NASA to Allow Animals to ‘Live Long and Prosper’ Dressed as “Trekkies,” PETA members will greet visitors to the Kennedy Space Center on Friday and call on NASA to pull its funding for cruel and crude radiation experiments on monkeys. Continue reading →

June 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | Religion and ethics, USA | antinuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Health Dept orders closure of leaking uranium mine

(USA) Closed uranium mine ordered to stop discharge, Google hosted news, (AP) 11 June 2010, DENVER — The owners of a closed uranium mine near Golden have been ordered by the state health department to stop discharging polluted water into a creek that flows into a Denver-area reservoir.The state health department is taking action because Cotter Corp. has been discharging pollution without a permit and uranium levels in the water are significantly exceeding the safety standard, Steve Gunderson, director of the state water quality control division, said Thursday.The agency sent the notice earlier this month. The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety has sent a separate notice to Cotter saying it believes the company is violation of several state laws.State officials are concerned about rising uranium levels in Ralston Creek, which flows into a reservoir that supplies drinking water in the Denver area.

The Associated Press: Closed uranium mine ordered to stop discharge

June 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radiation, radioactive, uranium, water | Leave a comment

BHP Billiton’s deceptive recording of uranium radiation exposures

The whistleblower produced documents that show BHP uses manipulated averages and distorted sampling to ensure the figures are below the maximum exposure levels set by government,…to manipulate the sampling by transferring workers, whose exposures were escalating, to a different area

Radiation unsafe at BHP’s Olympic Dam: whistleblower, Sydney Morning Herald, June 4, 2010 Workers at BHP Billiton’s Olympic Dam are being exposed to unsafe levels of radiation, according to a company whistleblower. Continue reading →

June 11, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear secrecy, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

Australia’s nuclear agency calls radiation leak whistleblower a “security risk”

Mr Reid made the safety allegations about the ARI facility on the ABC on May 4…The industry watchdog the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) found five safety and procedural concerns in its report released in January……………

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology whistleblower now ”security risk” St George & Sutherland Shire Leader, BY ROSITA GALLASCH, 09 Jun, 2010 DAVID Reid, the whistleblower who raised safety concerns about ANSTO’s radiopharmaceuticals and industrials (ARI) facility last month, is now regarded as a security risk.ANSTO’s chief executive officer Adi Paterson said Mr Reid, who was a safety officer for six years and an employee for 28, now posed a security threat. Continue reading →

June 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

Confidence in nuclear power safety falling, after oil safety failure

this story is especially pertinent now, as the nation reexamines its energy policy in the wake of the calamitous BP Gulf spill.

Nuclear Reactor Eaten by Leaky Acid, Again : TreeHugger, 9 June 2010, Back in 2002, an Ohio nuclear power plant developed a leak that allowed highly pressurized cooling water containing boric acid to seep out. That acid ate away a football-sized hole into the 6-inch steel lid to the nuclear reactor, leaving the reactor’s integrity at grave risk. The cause of the narrowly averted disaster was thought to have been fixed, but the New York Times reports that signs of even more leakage have been showing up again — Continue reading →

June 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | safety, USA | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear technology, radiation, radioactive, reactor | Leave a comment

Australian uranium mine to come under Russian control

Moscow moves on global uranium mines The Australian June 10, RUSSIA has moved to boost its holdings in global uranium mines, with state-owned Rosatom agreeing to take a controlling stake in Canada’s Uranium One……If the deal goes ahead, it will put the Honeymoon uranium project in South Australia, scheduled to come into production at the end of the year, under the control of the Russian government…… Uranium One has sold its recently acquired 3 per cent stake in Australia’s Paladin Resources,…….Uranium One owns 51 per cent of Honeymoon Well mine, which means it will come under Rosatom’s control.Honeymoon Well, 75km northwest of Broken Hill, is expected to cost $138m to develop.The other 49 per cent is owned by Japan’s Mitsui…. Moscow moves on global uranium mines | The Australian

June 10, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics international, Russia | antinuclear, AUSTRALIA, nuclear, nuclear costs, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radioactive, uranium | Leave a comment

The full story on the health effects of nuclear energy

I recommend that you download, print off, and study at your leisure, the complete article – from
Evatt Foundation: Publication: Nuclear power & public health – 31 May 2010

Nuclear power & public health, Evatt Foundation:, By Peter Karamoskos, 31 May 2010“… there is a linear dose-response relationship between exposure to ionizing radiation and the development of solid cancers in humans. It is unlikely that there is a threshold below which cancers are not induced.” – National Academy of Science, BEIR VII report, 2006

“We need to develop a very firm commitment to the elimination of nuclear power as a source of energy on the earth.” – Russell Train, former US Environmental Protection Agency administrator, 1977″

[t]he [economic] failure of the U.S. nuclear power program ranks as the largest managerial disaster in business history, a disaster on a monumental scale.” – Forbes, 1985

Introduction
The public health implications for a resurgence of nuclear power appear to have taken a subordinate position to the economic and global warming arguments that the industry has advanced to justify its expansion. The purpose of this essay therefore is several-fold: to review the scientific evidence for public health impacts of nuclear power, to assess occupational hazards faced by nuclear industry workers involved in the nuclear fuel cycle, to assess the evidence for nuclear reactor safety and critically challenge the underlying assumptions which may be less than adequate. It will also examine the public health risks of spent fuel from nuclear power reactors. The common thread linking these safety issues is the risk posed to public health by ionising radiation and in particular the cancer risk. The nuclear industry and our understanding of radioactive health hazards, developed in tandem during the twentieth century, however, the relationship to this day has always been uneasy and often in conflict. A brief historical narrative of this joint evolution is reviewed as it is essential to understanding the context and scope of the public health issues at the heart of the nuclear power debate.

If we are to believe the nuclear industry, nuclear power is both safe and vital to our future, yet over half a century of nuclear power has proven both contentions as false……

Evatt Foundation: Publication: Nuclear power & public health – 31 May 2010

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

A nuclear disaster next? -Bhopal gas disaster company escapes justice

..in case of a nuclear accident, while providing complete immunity to a foreign nuclear reactor builder from any victim-initiated civil suit or a criminal proceedings both in an Indian court or in a court in its home country.

Bhopal judgment symbolises decayed justice in a deficient democracy(June 08, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) Statement issued by the Asian Human Rights Commission The recent judgment delivered by a court in the Bhopal Gas disaster case convicting all the seven accused could have been a welcome one and could have gone a long way in ensuring people’s faith in the country’s judiciary and the rule of law, but for the features of a failing justice regime the investigation and trial exhibits…….. Continue reading →

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | India, secrets,lies and civil liberties | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, nuclear spin, nuclear wastes, radioactive, reactors | Leave a comment

radiation cancer risk with repeated dental X-rays

Repeated Dental X-Rays Increase Thyroid Cancer Risk TopNews United Kingdom, by Rasik Sharma on Mon, 06/07/2010 – It has been stated by the researchers from Brighton, Cambridge (England) and Kuwait that thyroid cancer risk elevates with an increase in the number of dental x-rays. This finding was cited in the medical journal Acta Oncologica.According to the reports, rates of thyroid cancer have doubled from 1.4 per 100,000 in 1975 to 2.9 per 100,000 in 2006 in the UK, as the patients take up more and more number of dental x-rays……

The research was headed by Dr. Anjum Memon, Senior Lecturer and Consultant in Public Health Medicine at Brighton and Sussex Medical School.

This was a combined research conducted by Brighton and Sussex universities and NHS (National Health Service) Brighton and Hove.

It is known that the thyroid gland gets exposed to radiation from many dental x-rays. Thyroid gland is sensitive to ionizing radiation in children especially. The research points out to the potential risks that dental radiography often causes to thyroid gland.

Repeated Dental X-Rays Increase Thyroid Cancer Risk | TopNews United Kingdom

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, health | antinuclear, cancer, nuclear, radiation, radioactive | Leave a comment

Radioactive leaks continue to plague nuclear industry

An Old Nuclear Problem Creeps Back, NYTimes.com, By MATTHEW L. WALD June 7, 2010 The American nuclear industry, primed to begin new construction projects for the first time in 30 years, is about as eager for an operating problem at an old reactor as the oil industry was for a well blowout on the eve of opening the Atlantic coast to oil drilling.Nonetheless, a nuclear reactor where a hidden leak caused near-catastrophic corrosion in 2002 has experienced a second bout of the same problem……recently the new vessel head showed the same leakage pattern…..

The reactor has 69 nozzles, and the utility has modified 24 of them in preparation for starting up again in a few weeks. The long-term fix is yet another vessel head, with nozzles of a sturdier alloy, to be installed in 2014.

In the interim, the company said, it will opt for a shorter production run

An Old Nuclear Problem Creeps Back – Green Blog – NYTimes.com

June 9, 2010 Posted by Christina Macpherson | general | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear wastes, radioactive | Leave a comment