1/1/2013 Dr. Chris Busby: Health Effects of US Nuclear Tests in the Marshall Islands

Source: drdrwoland (Dr. Chris Busby's) YouTube Channel
Date: 1/1/2012
by: Dr. Christopher Busby

Video Description

This is Dr Busby's contribution to a meeting organised by the American Association of Anthropologists at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on 12th September 2012. The Chair was Prof Barbara Rose Johnston. The earlier part of the meeting will also be uploaded to youtube. The US nuclear tests created enormous contamination and serious health problems in the Marshall Islands but these have been systematically covered up. Most recently the US Health Physics Society published a dishonest series of reports maintaining that there were no serious health effects due to the radioactive fallout. Dr Busby's paper on the issue "The health effects of exposures to radioactivity from the us pacific nuclear tests in the Marshall is. Criticisms of the analysis of Simon et al 2010: Radiation doses and cancer risks in the Marshall islands associated with exposure to radioactive fallout from Bikini and Enewetak nuclear weapons tests and supporting documentation. Occasional paper 2012/6" is at the Green Audit website:

http://www.greenaudit.org/?page_id=104
and at:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/111935078/22

His representation to the UNHCR on behalf of the AAA is at:

http://nuclearjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/UAJWritten-statements-Bu...

Dr Busby's main recommendations were adopted by the Special Rapporteur to the UNHCR in his report to the General Assembly. These were that there should be a fully independent study both of the remaining fallout in the Marshall Islands and also an independent Epidemiological study of the health of the inhabitants.

12/27/2012 Tokyo Almost As Irradiated As Fukushima

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 12/27/2012

Tepco – and West Coast of America – Slammed with Radiation

We’ve documented the spread of radiation from Fukushima to Tokyo for a year and a half.  See this, this, this, this, this and this. Unfortunately, as the following recent headlines from Ene News show, things are only getting worse:

• Tokyo area turned out to be as contaminated as Fukushima -Kyoto Professor

• Tokyo Bay cesium even higher than levels reported off Fukushima — Nearly entire sea floor contaminated by 2014

• Tokyo getting 5 times more radioactive fallout than prefectures closer to Fukushima

• Japan Times: Time bomb in Tokyo metropolitan area — Experts warn of accumulating Fukushima contamination — Potential disaster at Japan’s 2nd largest lake

• Tokyo soil so hot it should be sent to nuclear waste dump — Really severe releases hit city

• Japanese Legal Expert: “Even residents of Tokyo are evacuating” — More and more people fleeing Fukushima

• People from Tokyo area report thyroid cysts and nodules — Japanese doctors laughing at patients

• Japan Scientists: Radiation dose has been “significantly increased” around Tokyo metropolitan area after Fukushima

And we’ve previously noted that the radiation will spread worldwide (by water and air). For example:

• California Slammed With Fukushima Radiation

• “Absolutely Every One” – 15 Out of 15 – Bluefin Tuna Tested In California Waters Contaminated with Fukushima Radiation

• Fukushima Radiation: Japan Irradiates the West Coast of North America

A new study says that the West Coast will get slammed with radioactive cesium starting in 2015 

12/17/2012 More Lessons From the Fukushima Daiichi Accident

Source: Fairewinds Energy Education
Date: 12/17/2012
by: Arnie Gundersen

Description
In this Monday's video, Fairewinds investigates a recently released report from Tokyo Electric. Arnie Gundersen discusses TEPCO's latest analysis that, almost two years after the accident, fully substantiates Fairewinds long held position that the explosion at Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 was the result of a detonation shock wave. Arnie also discusses troubling reports that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been avoiding the analysis of damage to many nuclear plants' emergency cooling systems (Ultimate Heat Sink) from storm surges, tsunamis or dam failures. The ramifications of both of these issues on old designs and also the AP1000 are also analyzed in depth.

12/11/2012 Over 40 Percent of Fukushima Children Have Thyroid Disorders, Officials Not Helping

Date: 12/11/2012
Source: Infowars
by: Lisa Garber

Not much news on Fukushima crosses the ocean to our side of the globe anymore, but for thousands of Japanese children and evacuees, the suffering is hardly winding down. About 41 percent of 57,000 children have tested positive for early signs of possible thyroid cancer, and four out of five evacuees are experiencing thyroid abnormalities. Even doctors in Tokyo are noticing a sharply increased rate of strange symptoms among residents. Government officials, however, are doing their best to keep it quiet.

In fact, they’re blaming it on excessive seafood intake.
...
Read the rest here

11/10/2012 Major Study: Exposure to Low-Level Radiation Can Cause Leukemia

Source: Washington's Blog
Date: 11/10/2012

Numerous Studies Show that Low-Level Exposure Causes Cancer

Japan Times reports:

Protracted exposure to low-level radiation is associated with a significant increase in the risk of leukemia, according to a long-term study published Thursday in a U.S. research journal.
The study released in the monthly Environmental Health Perspectives was based on a 20-year survey of around 110,000 workers who engaged in cleanup work related to the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster in 1986.
Scientists from the University of California, San Francisco, the U.S. National Cancer Institute and the National Research Center for Radiation Medicine in Ukraine were among those who participated in the research.
***
Keigo Endo, a radiologist and president of Kyoto College of Medical Science, pointed to previous data showing an increased risk of leukemia with cumulative radiation exposure of as low as 120 millisieverts.
“The latest finding underlines the importance of long-term followup surveys. Further details of the survey should be examined to confirm specific dose levels that could cause leukemia,” Endo said.

Many nuclear scientists agree.
Indeed, the overwhelming consensus among radiation scientists is that repeated exposure to low doses of radiation can cause cancer, genetic mutations and other severe health problems … especially in small children.
Yet many governments pretend that low doses of radiation are harmless. In fact, many governments have been covering up the danger from radiation for 67 years, because they want to push nuclear power as a way to make nuclear weapons.  And see this.

11/9/2012 Coolant, record-keeping troubles at San Onofre

Source: The Orange County Register
Date: 11/9/2012
by: PAT BRENNAN

New problems came to light late this week at the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant, including coolant found in the oil system of a backup generator and a record-keeping error stretching back to 1985.


New problems came to light late this week at the shuttered San Onofre nuclear plant, including coolant found in the oil system of a backup generator and a record-keeping error stretching back to 1985.
None of the problems posed a danger to plant workers or the public, plant operator Southern California Edison and a Nuclear Regulatory spokesman said Friday....
Read the rest here

11/8/2012 Fermi 2 nuke plant shut down

Source: northwestohio.com
Date: Posted: 11.08.2012 at 2:20 PM
by: Kevin Kistner

MONROE CO. -- The Fermi 2 nuclear power plant in Monroe County has been shut down.
DTE Energy says it took the plant offline after finding an excess of hydrogen gas in a cooling center for the main electrical generator.
An increase in hydrogen gas in the water-cooled system decreases its efficiency.
The generator is on the non-nuclear side of the plant and has two separate cooling systems for its different sections.   One uses water and the other hydrogen.

11/5/2012 S. Korea shuts down two nuclear reactors due to fake parts

Source: CCTV
Date: 1-06-2012 00:12 BJT

Video Description

South Korea has shut down two nuclear reactors after components were found to have false quality certificates.

The country’s Ministry of Knowledge Economy said the two reactors at the Yeonggwang nuclear power plant in the country’s southwest, will be closed until the end of the year, to have their parts replaced. Despite a wide use of such parts in at least two nuclear reactors, officials said there is no direct link to the safety of the nuclear reactors.

The ministry added that the parts are mostly legitimate products, that have had no problems when used in other industrial sectors. However, the parts need to be proven to be safe for use in nuclear power plants and thus require quality and safety warranties from one of 12 international organizations that have been designated by Seoul.

The shut down of the 2 reactors is expected to cause major disruptions to the country’s electricity supply. South Korea operates 23 nuclear reactors, generating about 30 percent of its total electricity.

11/1/2012 Fukushima Crime Syndicate

Source: Breaking the Set
Date: 11/1/2012
by: Abby Martin

Description
Abby Martin takes a look at the intertwined relationship between the Japanese Yakuza crime syndicate and the nuclear energy industry in Japan.
LIKE Breaking the Set @ http://fb.me/BreakingTheSet 
FOLLOW Abby Martin @ http://twitter.com/AbbyMartin

10/31/2012 Alert lifted at Oyster Creek

Source(s): Associated Press, NRC
Date: 10/31/2012

As per the AP:

[...]
The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said an alert at the Oyster Creek plant in Forked River, N.J., ended early Wednesday. An alert is the second-lowest designation in a four-tiered warning system.

The alert was triggered as water rose outside the plant, threatening cooling equipment. NRC officials said water levels had since fallen and were still dropping. The plant, which was offline before the storm, also regained offsite power after losing it.
[...]

The full history of the alert can be garnered the the NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) event notification report 48452 here.

10/30/2012 BREAKING: U.S. nuclear plant declares "alert" after Sandy storm surge: NRC

Source: Reuters
Date: Tue Oct 30, 2012 12:57am EDT

Editor's Note: There is a more recent update, the NRC says don't freak out about this alert.

(Reuters) - Exelon Corp declared an "alert" at its New Jersey Oyster Creek nuclear power plant due to a record storm surge, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Monday, warning that a further rise in water levels could force operators to use emergency water supplies from a fire hose to cool spent uranium fuel rods.

The alert -- the second lowest of four NRC action levels -- came after water levels at the plant rose by more than 6.5 feet, potentially affecting the pumps that circulate water through the plant, an NRC spokesman said.
Those pumps are not essential since the plant is shut for planned refueling at the moment. However a further rise to 7 feet could submerge the service water pump motor that is used to cool the water in the spent fuel pool.

The spokesman said the company could use water from a fire hose to cool the pool if necessary. The used uranium rods in the pool could cause the water to boil within 25 hours without additional coolant; in an extreme scenario the rods could overheat, risking the eventual release of radiation.

The NRC said in a statement that it expected water levels would begin to abate within the next several hours.
Sandy made landfall earlier in the evening as the most powerful Atlantic storm to hit the United States, bringing an over 13-foot storm surge.

There have been about a dozen instances of alert-level nuclear incidents in the past four years, according to NRC press releases. An alert-level incident means there is a "potential substantial degradation in the level of safety" at a reactor.

The concerns over the status of the spent fuel pool at Oyster Creek were reminiscent of the fears that followed the Fukushima disaster in Japan last year, when helicopters and fire hoses were enlisted to ensure the pools remained filled with fresh, cool water.
The nuclear industry has said that the spent fuel rods at Fukushima were never exposed to the air.
(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Ed Davies)

10/30/2012 Nuclear plant shuts down unit, another put on alert as Sandy pounds East Coast

Source: The Washington Post
Date: Tuesday, October 30, 12:01 AM

WASHINGTON — Part of a nuclear power plant was shut down late Monday while another plant — the nation’s oldest — was put on alert after waters from superstorm Sandy rose 6 feet above sea level.

One of the units at Indian Point, a plant about 45 miles north of New York City, was shut down around 10:45 p.m. because of external electrical grid issues said Entergy Corp., which operates the plant. The company said there was no risk to employees or the public, and the plant was not at risk due to water levels from the Hudson River, which reached 9 feet 8 inches and was subsiding. Another unit at the plant was still operating at full power.
...
Read the rest here