Cancer panel to issue final report. Please give comments!

The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission requested that the National Academy of Sciences investigate the cancer risks around NRC licensed facilities. NAS started work in September, 2010, determining that this charge would be best handled by two phases of investigation with a report to follow each phase. Phase one, examining what methods would best be used for such a health assessment, will issue a report with recommendations in February 2012. Subsequent to this final report, there will be a two month public comment period. However, before the February report is released, NAS is encouraging continued public comments at crs@nas.edu. If comments are made before the February report issue, there is a better chance that they may be considered in writing the report. Beyond Nuclear has provided the panel with formal written comments, highlighting vulnerability of children and our gene pool to radiation damage. We encourage you to read our comments and submit your own. For more information on the study background, timeline, or to view past public meetings, click here.

Hot radioactive particles from Fukushima found in the US, new study shows; children's shoes in Japan contaminated with cesium

Scientist Marco Kaltofen of Worchester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) confirmed at a presentation on Monday that hot radioactive particles from the Fukushima-Daiichi reactor accidents in Japan have been found in the US. In a presentation of his analysis at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association (APHA), Kaltofen said that his research also found airborne and ground contamination in northern Japan.

Kaltofen analyzed dust on the US West Coast, found to contain radioactive cesium, and examined car air filters in Seattle and in Japan which revealed high levels of radioactivity, in the case of the filters in Japan high enough to be classified as “radioactive waste.” He also tested children’s shoes which were contaminated with cesium.

 Kaltofen’s research also found elevated levels of alpha and beta radiation in the Boston area approximately one month after the Fukushima explosions. Levels in both Seattle and Boston have since declined. Soil samples in the United States showed higher than normal levels of cesium. See Beyond Nuclear's full press release.

U.S. Government Glossed Over Cancer Concerns As It Rolled Out Airport X-Ray Scanners

"...the United States has begun marching millions of airline passengers through the X-ray body scanners, parting ways with countries in Europe and elsewhere that have concluded that such widespread use of even low-level radiation poses an unacceptable health risk. The government is rolling out the X-ray scanners despite having a safer alternative that the Transportation Security Administration says is also highly effective.

A ProPublica/PBS NewsHour investigation of how this decision was made shows that in post-9/11 America, security issues can trump even long-established medical conventions. The final call to deploy the X-ray machines was made not by the FDA, which regulates drugs and medical devices, but by the TSA, an agency whose primary mission is to prevent terrorist attacks.

Research suggests that anywhere from six to 100 U.S. airline passengers each year could get cancer from the machines. Still, the TSA has repeatedly defined the scanners as “safe,” glossing over the accepted scientific view that even low doses of ionizing radiation — the kind beamed directly at the body by the X-ray scanners — increase the risk of cancer..." Propublica/PBS NewsHour