Acknowledging the Hiroshima Anniversary

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Seventy two years ago today the first nuclear weapon was dropped on human beings.  The debate about whether its use was justified continues.  The Washington Post asks “Was it Justified or Needless” here.

The Globe and Mail interviewed one of the survivors, a Hibakusha, Setsuko Nakamura here..

A few things about nuclear weapons are not really debatable:

  1. They are not precision weapons.  They destroy everything and everyone within a large radius including women and children.
  2. The effects of radiation
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Three Mile Island Link to Thyroid Cancer?

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Health effects from exposure to low dose radiation are always difficult to assess.  It has long been assumed that there is no “smoking gun” to link a particular health issue to causation when dealing with the random effects of radiation exposure (especially when there are many other environmental and genetic factors to consider).  Looking at a single type of health effect that can occur from radiation exposure, Thyroid Cancer (TC), researchers at Penn State University have postulated that Radiation-induced Thyroid … Continue Reading →

Nuclear Proliferation Fears

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We have a basic intention here to provide links to news and information that is informative and hopefully empowering.  It’s not very helpful to get stressful news about dangers that you have no control over.   William J. Perry, former Secretary of Defense has produced a video titled  “My Nuclear Nightmare DC.”  His position is that we need to think about the dangers we are facing so that we can do something about them.  We share this video with trepidation, because … Continue Reading →

Diablo Canyon Transition, Fukushima Apology

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A deal has been struck to decommission the PG&E reactors at Diablo Canyon. The reactors have been controversial for many years due to the close proximity of seismic fault lines. There has also been increased concern about the coastal location along the “Ring of Fire” since the tsunami generated nuclear emergencies at Fukushima Daiichi.

The deal will replace the power generated by Diablo Canyon with other renewable energy sources.  Scientific American covers the story here.   NRDC provides perspective here.

On … Continue Reading →

Radiation Health Risks Revisited

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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 →

Notable Nuclear “Events” 2015

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Fortunately 2015 was a year with no major nuclear events. Let’s hope the same for 2016 and continue to watch these stories:

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