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Children and Health

Children are among the most vulnerable to - and least protected from - radiation exposure. Current "acceptable" exposure standards in the U.S. are based on "Standard Man" - i.e., a robust young male. This does not take into account the more serious effects of radiation exposure to pregnant women and children in particular, including to the unborn. Beyond Nuclear supports efforts to change these standards.

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Entries by admin (55)

Tuesday
Feb072012

Health hazards tritium and hydrazine released 600 yards from tribal day care center at Prairie Island

NRC file photo of Prairie Island nuclear power plantXcel Energy's Prairie Island nuclear power plant has made what appears to be two admissions of separate toxic chemical and radiological spills in less than a week. Residents, and the tribal day care center, of the Prairie Island Indian Community are located within hundreds of yards of the nuclear power plant. Read more...

Monday
Feb062012

Infant mortality and low birth weights noted in vicinity of Fermi nuclear power plant

NRC file photo of Fermi 2, located in Monroe County, MIchigan on the Lake Erie shorelineThe Detroit News has reported, in an article entitled "Fermi 3 foes urge health analysis," that indications of health damage from the operations of Fermi 2 be further studied before any plans for a new reactor at Fermi 3 move forward. The article reports on the questions raised in a recent report by Joe Mangano, Executive Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project, such as why Monroe County suffers from inexplicably high rates of infant motality, low birth weights, cancer mortality, and non-fatal cancer incidence.

Mangano serves as an expert witness for the international environmental coalition officially intervening against the Fermi 3 proposal. The coalition's member groups are Beyond Nuclear, Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination, Citizen Environment Alliance of Southwestern Ontario, and the Sierra Club Michigan Chapter.

The article quoted from Mangano's submission: "Of 19 indicators, the Monroe County rate change (before and after Fermi 2 began operating) exceeded the state or nation for all 19...".

The article also quoted from Don't Waste Michigan's Michael Keegan: "It's important to establish what the situation is...If you're talking about putting another reactor into play, you need to know where you are with baseline cancer statistics."

Wednesday
Feb012012

A possible mechanism explaining leukemia clusters close to German and French nuclear power plants?

Image courtesy of German IPPNWThe German affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War has published analysis showing large releases of radioactivity during "routine" re-fuelling of atomic reactors in Bavaria. The releases are hundreds of times higher than what is considered a "normal" release. The German IPPNW warns that fetuses would be especially vulnerable to these radioactive hazards. This physical, chemical, and biological delivery mechanism of radioactivity into fetal tissue is one possible explanation for statistically significant increases in childhood leukemia rates detected near nuclear power plants by German and French government health studies, which officially have "no explanation."

Tuesday
Jan312012

"Atomic States of America" debuts at Sundance Film Festival

Don Argott and Sheena Joyce of 9.14 Pictures, based in Philadelphia, have debuted their anxiously awaited film, "The Atomic States of America," at the Sundance Film Festival. Featuring interviews with Beyond Nuclear's founding president Helen Caldicott and Beyond Nuclear board member Karl Grossman, "The Atomic States of America" was inspired by and based on the book Welcome to Shirley: A Memoir from an Atomic Town by Kelly McMasters. McMasters was born and raised in Shirley, Long Island, immediately downwind and downstream from leaking experimental atomic reactors and high-level radioactive waste storage pools, which have had a devastating impact on the health of her friends and neighbors. John Anderson has written a good review in Variety, and Democracy Now! radio show host Amy Goodman interviewed Joyce and McMasters at Sundance.

Wednesday
Dec212011

Erin Brockovich warns about radioactive "Hot Water" releases from U.S. atomic reactors

Erin Brockovich, shown here, was played by Julia Roberts in a major film about the fight to stop PG&E's power plant releases of toxic chemicals into groundwaterCNN interviewed famous environmentalist Erin Brockovich (pictured, left) about her new novel, Hot Water, on the health risks of radioactivity leaks into the environment from nuclear power plants across the U.S. Brockovich warns that radioactivity ingestion by children, as evidenced through such projects as the "Tooth Fairy," could begin to explain cancer epidemics in certain locales nationwide. Beyond Nuclear has long warned its not just accidental ("unmonitored, uncontrolled") leaks of hazardous radioactivity, but also "routine releases" (supposedly "controlled and monitored") allowed and permitted by government regulators as a daily part of atomic reactors' operations, that need to stopped. Children are significantly more vulnerable to radiation's hazards, as revealed by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research's "Healthy from the Start" campaign.

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