When warfare activities collide with a nuclear disaster zone things can get complicated and dangerous. Yahoo News reposted a Popular Mechanics article today, alleging evidence that Russian troops were harmed in the occupation of that site.
See other Popular Mechanics coverage on Chernobyl here.… Continue Reading →
An industrial radioactive source was melted in a Thailand foundry, creating local concerns. See the story.
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Dealing with deep space radiation is going to be one of the many challenges related to future space missions. This article, published in Nature, looks at health data from the Apollo Mission Astronauts. Not a lot of data to work with, but itʻs interesting. Itʻs also covered by Observer.… Continue Reading →
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists has released a special issue on nuclear energy in the Middle East. Challenges cited include availability of water to cool reactors, politics, security, and the danger posed if materials are diverted to weapons programs.… Continue Reading →
Health Effects of ionizing radiation remains a topic that needs serious attention. Do health effects occur in a linear relationship to dose? That is the position of the BEIR Committee of the National Academy of Sciences. Some researchers argue that there could be a beneficial effect to low dose exposure, and others argue against it. Whether the curve is linear or supralinear or superlinear has also been a matter of discussion for years. Others argue that, as with sunlight exposure, … Continue Reading →
Fortunately 2015 was a year with no major nuclear events. Let’s hope the same for 2016 and continue to watch these stories:
I get questions periodically from pilots and flight attendants about occupational radiation exposure. It has been known for some time that the exposures received by some flight personnel would require monitoring with dosimeters if they were working in the medical or nuclear industries.
The challenges to determining dose to a person in flight is complex in different ways than dosimetry on the surface of the planet. High altitude radiation includes particles and rays from distant star systems, from the sun, … Continue Reading →
BBC News reports on robots, drones and other technologies that will probably be useful at Fukushima Daiichi as well. This report says cleanup is just beginning at Sellafield and may take 100 years to complete.… Continue Reading →
He Zhouxiu, a leading Chinese nuclear scientist, is concerned about safety issues, according this this report by The Guardian.… Continue Reading →