Comment: Please circulate, nuclear power is beyond dangerous plus we do not need nuke plants therefore, there will be no uranium mining! Tell the State of Virginia we can be energy independent without nuke plants and we want solar, wind, tidal, wave power, also tell the State of VA, kick out the nuke pushing French! No to Nukes, No to uranium mining and milling!
Beyond Nuclear press release - radiation risks should not be downplayed - please circulate
FUKUSHIMA UPDATE FROM BEYOND NUCLEAR: March 16, 2011, 1PM EST
CONTACT: Cindy Folkers, 301.270.2209 x 0 (o) or 240.354.4314 (cell) Linda Gunter (301) 455-5655 (cell)
Radiation levels from Fukushima plants of great concern
Beyond Nuclear recommends credentialed experts for commentary on contamination risks
TAKOMA PARK, MD – In light of the nuclear disaster in Japan which follows on the heels of the earthquake and tsunami, there is much concern about the health dangers from radiation releases around the failing nuclear power facilities at Fukushima Daiichi both for the populations in Japan and on the US West Coast. The issue of radiation exposure is complex, can be misrepresented and should not be downplayed according to Beyond Nuclear spokespeople and a number of leading experts in the field. Beyond Nuclear’s recommended list of scientists is found at the end of this press release.
Radiation harms human beings by disrupting proper cell repair and reproduction. Radiation hits DNA making repair of damaged cells difficult. Incorrect repair of DNA can result in diseases such as cancer which can come from either larger or brief radiation exposures or from smaller radiation exposures over time.
Although humans are exposed to what is known as “background radiation,†additional doses, particularly from unnecessary sources such as nuclear reactors, are best avoided, given the health risks.
Furthermore, in 2006, the National Academy of Sciences Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIRVII), recognized that there is no safe dose of radiation, a reality also recognized by several other scientists.
“We are most immediately concerned for the health of the Japanese people around the reactors but we have heard of elevated radiation rates reaching Tokyo,†said Cindy Folkers, Radiation and Health Specialist at Beyond Nuclear. “But our most urgent concern is for children. Children are particularly susceptible to radiation because they are smaller than adults and their cells are dividing more rapidly, leaving more chance for improper repair.
“Should these rates continue or increase we would be worried about the long-term health consequences, especially from breathing in or eating these radioactive elements, and especially for children,†Folkers added.
“The nuclear industry unfortunately has a history of under-reporting dangers during nuclear disasters,†said Arnie Gundersen, Chief Energineer at Fairewinds and a former nuclear power plant engineer on the same boiling water reactor design as Fukushima. “Therefore, we find it difficult to believe that there is currently no health risk to the public. Sheltering women and children in place closer than at least 30 miles from the failing reactors is a mistake.â€
Longer-term consequences can result from deposition of radioactive materials in wind, on land and water where radiation can permeate the soil and travel great distances as it did following the Chernobyl accident. Once radioactive materials become part of the environment, people can inhale and ingest these elements which can, over time, result in diseases such as cancer or even some forms of heart problems.
Information on releases from the reactors in Japan has been incomplete and we do not yet know if radiation has been released that will reach the US West Coast. A number of studies can be found on the Beyond Nuclear website on the Radiation and Health page under Additional Resources.
Beyond Nuclear provides the brief list of following experts we recommend for additional questions:
Steve Wing, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, co-author of: A reevaluation of cancer incidence near the Three Mile Island nuclear plant: the collision of evidence and assumptions 1997 and other health studies on radiation. Tel: 919-966-7416, steve_wing@unc.edu
Alexey Yablokov, Former chair of the Russian National Security Council’s Interagency Commission for Ecology under President Boris Yeltsin and co-author of Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, Dec. 2009. Contact the English Editor: Janette D. Sherman-Nevinger Environmental Institute, Western Michigan. Email: toxdoc.js@verizon.net
Tim Mousseau, PhD, Professor and Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Education, University of South Carolina, Biological Sciences, co-author of Chernobyl birds have smaller brains, 2011, and other Chernobyl wildlife studies. Tel: 803-777-5458, mousseau@sc.edu
Richard Clapp, Dsc, MPH, Boston University, Professor Emeritus, Environmental Health, 617-638-4640.
Arnie Gundersen, Chief Engineer, Fairewinds Associates, Inc. tel: 802-865-9955; arnie@fairewinds.com
Alfred Koerblein, PhD, physics, author of Perinatal mortality in West Germany following atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. phone: +49-911-2358134, alfred.koerblein@gmx.de
Wolfgang Hoffmann. MD, MPH. Wolfgang Hoffmann is Professor for Epidemiology of Health Care and Community Health at the Medical School of the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald and Head of the Institute for Community Medicine, Medical School of Ernst-Moritz Arndt-University Greifswald. Author of: Has fallout from the Chernobyl accident caused childhood leukaemia in Europe? A commentary on the epidemiologic evidence. 2002.Tel. (+49) 3834 867751, wolfgang.hoffmann@uni-greifswald.de
Rudi Nussbaum, PhD, Physics and Environmental Sciences, Portland State University, author of Childhood leukemia and cancers near German nuclear reactors: significance, context, and ramifications of recent studies.
Beyond Nuclear staff members are monitoring reports on the Japanese reactors around the clock are and are available at the above numbers.
The Beyond Nuclear website - http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beyond-Nuclear/7014589542?v=info&viewas=1034910883#%21/pages/Beyond-Nuclear/7014589542?sk=wall&filter=2 -
are providing regular updates of news reports as they come in.
Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic. The Beyond Nuclear team works with diverse partners and allies to provide the public, government officials, and the media with the critical information necessary to move humanity toward a world beyond nuclear.
Contact information: Beyond Nuclear, 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 400, Takoma Park, MD 20912 Tel: 301.270.2209 Fax: 301.270.4000, Email: info@beyondnuclear.org, , website: http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
Linda Gunter is a founder of Beyond Nuclear and serves as its media and development director and international specialist. She can be reached at 301.270.2209 ext. 2 or 301.455.5655. Beyond Nuclear is a 501(c)(3) non profit at 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 400, Takoma Park, MD 20912. http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
Beyond Nuclear press release - radiation risks should not be downplayed - please circulate
FUKUSHIMA UPDATE FROM BEYOND NUCLEAR: March 16, 2011, 1PM EST
CONTACT: Cindy Folkers, 301.270.2209 x 0 (o) or 240.354.4314 (cell) Linda Gunter (301) 455-5655 (cell)
Radiation levels from Fukushima plants of great concern
Beyond Nuclear recommends credentialed experts for commentary on contamination risks
TAKOMA PARK, MD – In light of the nuclear disaster in Japan which follows on the heels of the earthquake and tsunami, there is much concern about the health dangers from radiation releases around the failing nuclear power facilities at Fukushima Daiichi both for the populations in Japan and on the US West Coast. The issue of radiation exposure is complex, can be misrepresented and should not be downplayed according to Beyond Nuclear spokespeople and a number of leading experts in the field. Beyond Nuclear’s recommended list of scientists is found at the end of this press release.
Radiation harms human beings by disrupting proper cell repair and reproduction. Radiation hits DNA making repair of damaged cells difficult. Incorrect repair of DNA can result in diseases such as cancer which can come from either larger or brief radiation exposures or from smaller radiation exposures over time.
Although humans are exposed to what is known as “background radiation,†additional doses, particularly from unnecessary sources such as nuclear reactors, are best avoided, given the health risks.
Furthermore, in 2006, the National Academy of Sciences Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation (BEIRVII), recognized that there is no safe dose of radiation, a reality also recognized by several other scientists.
“We are most immediately concerned for the health of the Japanese people around the reactors but we have heard of elevated radiation rates reaching Tokyo,†said Cindy Folkers, Radiation and Health Specialist at Beyond Nuclear. “But our most urgent concern is for children. Children are particularly susceptible to radiation because they are smaller than adults and their cells are dividing more rapidly, leaving more chance for improper repair.
“Should these rates continue or increase we would be worried about the long-term health consequences, especially from breathing in or eating these radioactive elements, and especially for children,†Folkers added.
“The nuclear industry unfortunately has a history of under-reporting dangers during nuclear disasters,†said Arnie Gundersen, Chief Energineer at Fairewinds and a former nuclear power plant engineer on the same boiling water reactor design as Fukushima. “Therefore, we find it difficult to believe that there is currently no health risk to the public. Sheltering women and children in place closer than at least 30 miles from the failing reactors is a mistake.â€
Longer-term consequences can result from deposition of radioactive materials in wind, on land and water where radiation can permeate the soil and travel great distances as it did following the Chernobyl accident. Once radioactive materials become part of the environment, people can inhale and ingest these elements which can, over time, result in diseases such as cancer or even some forms of heart problems.
Information on releases from the reactors in Japan has been incomplete and we do not yet know if radiation has been released that will reach the US West Coast. A number of studies can be found on the Beyond Nuclear website on the Radiation and Health page under Additional Resources.
Beyond Nuclear provides the brief list of following experts we recommend for additional questions:
Steve Wing, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, co-author of: A reevaluation of cancer incidence near the Three Mile Island nuclear plant: the collision of evidence and assumptions 1997 and other health studies on radiation. Tel: 919-966-7416, steve_wing@unc.edu
Alexey Yablokov, Former chair of the Russian National Security Council’s Interagency Commission for Ecology under President Boris Yeltsin and co-author of Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, Dec. 2009. Contact the English Editor: Janette D. Sherman-Nevinger Environmental Institute, Western Michigan. Email: toxdoc.js@verizon.net
Tim Mousseau, PhD, Professor and Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Education, University of South Carolina, Biological Sciences, co-author of Chernobyl birds have smaller brains, 2011, and other Chernobyl wildlife studies. Tel: 803-777-5458, mousseau@sc.edu
Richard Clapp, Dsc, MPH, Boston University, Professor Emeritus, Environmental Health, 617-638-4640.
Arnie Gundersen, Chief Engineer, Fairewinds Associates, Inc. tel: 802-865-9955; arnie@fairewinds.com
Alfred Koerblein, PhD, physics, author of Perinatal mortality in West Germany following atmospheric nuclear weapons tests. phone: +49-911-2358134, alfred.koerblein@gmx.de
Wolfgang Hoffmann. MD, MPH. Wolfgang Hoffmann is Professor for Epidemiology of Health Care and Community Health at the Medical School of the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald and Head of the Institute for Community Medicine, Medical School of Ernst-Moritz Arndt-University Greifswald. Author of: Has fallout from the Chernobyl accident caused childhood leukaemia in Europe? A commentary on the epidemiologic evidence. 2002.Tel. (+49) 3834 867751, wolfgang.hoffmann@uni-greifswald.de
Rudi Nussbaum, PhD, Physics and Environmental Sciences, Portland State University, author of Childhood leukemia and cancers near German nuclear reactors: significance, context, and ramifications of recent studies.
Beyond Nuclear staff members are monitoring reports on the Japanese reactors around the clock are and are available at the above numbers.
The Beyond Nuclear website - http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Beyond-Nuclear/7014589542?v=info&viewas=1034910883#%21/pages/Beyond-Nuclear/7014589542?sk=wall&filter=2 -
are providing regular updates of news reports as they come in.
Beyond Nuclear aims to educate and activate the public about the connections between nuclear power and nuclear weapons and the need to abandon both to safeguard our future. Beyond Nuclear advocates for an energy future that is sustainable, benign and democratic. The Beyond Nuclear team works with diverse partners and allies to provide the public, government officials, and the media with the critical information necessary to move humanity toward a world beyond nuclear.
Contact information: Beyond Nuclear, 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 400, Takoma Park, MD 20912 Tel: 301.270.2209 Fax: 301.270.4000, Email: info@beyondnuclear.org, , website: http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
Linda Gunter is a founder of Beyond Nuclear and serves as its media and development director and international specialist. She can be reached at 301.270.2209 ext. 2 or 301.455.5655. Beyond Nuclear is a 501(c)(3) non profit at 6930 Carroll Avenue, Suite 400, Takoma Park, MD 20912. http://www.beyondnuclear.org/
