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"The Labor Department has released more information on toxic substances at many of the government's historic nuclear weapons facilities, and that info is expected to make it easier for sick nuclear workers and their families and advocates to research claims for compensation under EEOICPA (Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act). What's being termed an "enhanced" Site Exposure Matrices website is available by clicking here. The Alliance for Nuclear Worker Advocacy Groups issued a press release saying it was "encouraged" by the release of the exposure data, which has been used to rule on some of the claims under Part E of the program. The group is pushing for an independent oversight board to evaluate the accuracy of aspects of the proram, including the Site Exposure Matrices."

"New delhi Soumya is just 13, but she knows all about bone marrow transplants, radioactive sources and what exposure to radiation can do to the human body. She has first-hand experience, for her father Ajay Jain had been kept in isolation at the Army Research and Referral Hospital, undergoing treatment for exposure to a radiation source. Jain finally returned home on Thursday, more than a month after he was admitted to Max Hospital in Pitampura, on April 10, with a burn injury on the right side of his posterior. It took him another five days to realise that the piece of metal he had kept in his wallet for months had caused the injury. It turned out to be a piece of radioactive Cobalt-60. "

The fate of Japan's Fukushima prefecture, where hundreds of thousands of people have been evacuated, appears to lie somewhere between the outcomes at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl. There were no evacuations during the Three Mile Island accident, which released about 50,000 curies of radioactive gas. Today you can picnic outside the gates of the plant without fear of lingering radiation. Chernobyl, by comparison, was a nuclear volcano, churning millions of curies of radiation into the sky. Twenty-five years later, only official workers are allowed within 30 kilometers of the entombed reactor at Chernobyl, and radiation levels inside the zone exceed normal background radiation by factors of 100.

A former Fukushima Daiichi reactor designer turned whistle blower today said the crippled plant's reactor No 4 had been relying on flawed steel to hold radiation in its core, and that he himself helped hide the defect when the reactor - which he called a "time bomb" - was built four decades ago. Charles Digges, 24/03-2011 Three technicians meanwhile were rushed to hospital after receiving severe radiation burns, triggering a second evacuation of workers in as many days, as anxiety over the safety of Tokyo's tap water persisted. Official readings indicated that radiation levels in the metropolis's water had returned to "normal," but that readings were coming back high for tap water in two neighboring prefectures, Chiba and Saitama.

Radiation at the crippled Fukushima No.2 nuclear reactor was recorded at the highest level since the start of the crisis, Japan's nuclear safety agency said on Wednesday. An agency spokesman said 500 millisieverts per hour of radiation was measured at the No.2 unit on Wednesday. Engineers have been trying to fix the plant's cooling system after restoring lighting on Tuesday.

Radiation exposure is measured by the amount of energy deposited in people's bodies. High dose (10 rad or more in a short time (minutes) could affect some workers in accident situations. Early symptoms of radiation sickness hours to one week (more that 1 gray or 100 rads): nausea and vomiting, diarrhea. Later symptoms of radiation sickness: dizziness and disorientation, hair loss, bloody vomit and stools, infections, poor wound healing, low blood pressure.

There are 14 potentially active fault lines in areas near the crisis-hit Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and other nuclear-related facilities, the Japanese government has announced. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency announced the results of research undertaken by power utilities following the Great East Japan Earthquake. The 14 faults discovered to be potentially active were previously considered unlikely to cause earthquakes. According to the research, a magnitude-7.6 earthquake could occur on the potentially active Hatakawa fault line in Fukushima Prefecture, the largest magnitude earthquake estimated. The agency said the intensity of any quakes from the fault lines would not exceed the level the facilities were designed to withstand. It also said there were no problems with the facilities' quake resistance. Five of the 14 fault lines are near Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 and No. 2 nuclear power plants. The other nine are near Japan Atomic Power Co.'s Tokai No. 2 power plant and the Japan Atomic Energy Agency's Tokai reprocessing plant in Ibaraki Prefecture.

A REPORT into a possible radiation link to the deaths of Manchester University staff will be published today. Ernest Rutherford, known as the father of nuclear physics, won the Nobel prize for research carried out at the university in the early 20th century. Campaigners believe his former laboratories, which are now used as offices, may have been contaminated by harmful materials in his pioneering experiments. The deaths of six university workers have been linked to the radiation scare

A REPORT into a possible radiation link to the deaths of Manchester University staff will be published today. Ernest Rutherford, known as the father of nuclear physics, won the Nobel prize for research carried out at the university in the early 20th century. Campaigners believe his former laboratories, which are now used as offices, may have been contaminated by harmful materials in his pioneering experiments. The deaths of six university workers have been linked to the radiation scare

Joan Ketterer still recalls the button her son Edward got for donating his baby teeth to what was then a ground-breaking study looking at the effect of nuclear fallout on children born in the St. Louis-area in the 1960s. "I Gave My Tooth To Science" proclaimed the button, which Edward or "E.J." as his parents called him, proudly wore for days. But the button was eventually put away. Edward grew up, got married and opened a successful orthodontics practice in Houston. And Joan Ketterer forgot all about the study. But Tuesday, a New York-based research group released new findings that suggest male tooth donors who ended up with cancer as adults had double the amount of a radioactive isotope created by nuclear fallout than healthy donors who participated in the original St. Louis study.

Joan Ketterer still recalls the button her son Edward got for donating his baby teeth to what was then a ground-breaking study looking at the effect of nuclear fallout on children born in the St. Louis-area in the 1960s. "I Gave My Tooth To Science" proclaimed the button, which Edward or "E.J." as his parents called him, proudly wore for days. But the button was eventually put away. Edward grew up, got married and opened a successful orthodontics practice in Houston. And Joan Ketterer forgot all about the study. But Tuesday, a New York-based research group released new findings that suggest male tooth donors who ended up with cancer as adults had double the amount of a radioactive isotope created by nuclear fallout than healthy donors who participated in the original St. Louis study.

On the Navajo Nation, almost everyone you talk to either worked in uranium mines themselves or had fathers or husbands who did. Almost everyone also has multiple stories of loved ones dying young from cancer, kidney disease and other ailments attributed to uranium poisoning. The effects aren't limited to uranium miners and millers; whole families are usually affected as women washed their husbands' contaminated clothes, kids played amidst mine waste and families even built homes out of radioactive uranium tailings.

On the Navajo Nation, almost everyone you talk to either worked in uranium mines themselves or had fathers or husbands who did. Almost everyone also has multiple stories of loved ones dying young from cancer, kidney disease and other ailments attributed to uranium poisoning. The effects aren't limited to uranium miners and millers; whole families are usually affected as women washed their husbands' contaminated clothes, kids played amidst mine waste and families even built homes out of radioactive uranium tailings.

The lawyer acting for Bikini Islanders says there is little hope their case will go to the US Supreme Court as they seek compensation for the 23 US nuclear weapons tests carried on their atoll. The Bikinians filed suit in the US Federal Court of Claims in 2006 after a Nuclear Claims Tribunal issued a 563 million US dollar damage award in their favour but did not have the money to pay it. The Bikinians contend that the US Congress cannot take away their US Constitution Fifth Amendment protections for just compensation payments for damage the nuclear tests did to their islands. But the US Justice Department said in earlier court hearings that the US Congress provided a full and final settlement through a 150 million US dollar compensation fund in a Compact of Free Association approved by the US and Marshall Islands governments in 1986. The Tribunal proved incapable of paying even one percent of the compensation. The atoll is still uninhabited because of radiation contamination.--RNZI

The lawyer acting for Bikini Islanders says there is little hope their case will go to the US Supreme Court as they seek compensation for the 23 US nuclear weapons tests carried on their atoll. The Bikinians filed suit in the US Federal Court of Claims in 2006 after a Nuclear Claims Tribunal issued a 563 million US dollar damage award in their favour but did not have the money to pay it. The Bikinians contend that the US Congress cannot take away their US Constitution Fifth Amendment protections for just compensation payments for damage the nuclear tests did to their islands. But the US Justice Department said in earlier court hearings that the US Congress provided a full and final settlement through a 150 million US dollar compensation fund in a Compact of Free Association approved by the US and Marshall Islands governments in 1986. The Tribunal proved incapable of paying even one percent of the compensation. The atoll is still uninhabited because of radiation contamination.--RNZI

Evidence was growing this weekend that babies born in the Iraqi city of Fallujah - scene in 2004 of one of the few set-piece battles of the invasion - are exhibiting high rates of mortality and birth defects. In September this year, say campaigners, 170 children were born at Fallujah General Hospital, 24 per cent of whom died within seven days. Three-quarters of these exhibited deformities, including "children born with two heads, no heads, a single eye in their foreheads, or missing limbs". The comparable data for August 2002 - before the invasion - records 530 births, of whom six died and only one of whom was deformed.

Evidence was growing this weekend that babies born in the Iraqi city of Fallujah - scene in 2004 of one of the few set-piece battles of the invasion - are exhibiting high rates of mortality and birth defects. In September this year, say campaigners, 170 children were born at Fallujah General Hospital, 24 per cent of whom died within seven days. Three-quarters of these exhibited deformities, including "children born with two heads, no heads, a single eye in their foreheads, or missing limbs". The comparable data for August 2002 - before the invasion - records 530 births, of whom six died and only one of whom was deformed.

Nobody has to convince Edna Brackey how important the mobile Early Cancer Detection Program discontinued at the end of 2006 really was. "I really owe eight years of a very enjoyable life to this program," said Brackey, who will turn 90 next summer, during a ceremony Thursday announcing the resumption of the testing program for current and former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant workers Brackey, like many who develop lung cancer, had no visible early symptoms of the disease, although she did have a prior problem with a cancer in her mouth. Due to the testing program that was in place in Piketon in 2001, however, a very small cancerous mass in her lung was detected with the free CT scan.

Nobody has to convince Edna Brackey how important the mobile Early Cancer Detection Program discontinued at the end of 2006 really was. "I really owe eight years of a very enjoyable life to this program," said Brackey, who will turn 90 next summer, during a ceremony Thursday announcing the resumption of the testing program for current and former Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant workers Brackey, like many who develop lung cancer, had no visible early symptoms of the disease, although she did have a prior problem with a cancer in her mouth. Due to the testing program that was in place in Piketon in 2001, however, a very small cancerous mass in her lung was detected with the free CT scan.

The fifth anniversary of the second attack on Fallujah by US forces has seen an upsurge in interest in the lingering humanitarian problems resulting from the conflict. Both the US and UNEP have roles to play in clarifying exactly what happened and ICBUW calls on them to accept this responsibility. 19 November 2009 - ICBUW ICBUW is deeply concerned by press reports of a steep rise in birth defects in Fallujah, Iraq, following the two attacks by US forces in 2004. Such stories are sadly familiar to anyone who has followed the history of Iraq after the wars in 1991 and 2003, and it has long been thought that the use of uranium weapons - so-called 'depleted uranium' - in both conflicts has played a role in the rise in deformities among newborns.

The fifth anniversary of the second attack on Fallujah by US forces has seen an upsurge in interest in the lingering humanitarian problems resulting from the conflict. Both the US and UNEP have roles to play in clarifying exactly what happened and ICBUW calls on them to accept this responsibility. 19 November 2009 - ICBUW ICBUW is deeply concerned by press reports of a steep rise in birth defects in Fallujah, Iraq, following the two attacks by US forces in 2004. Such stories are sadly familiar to anyone who has followed the history of Iraq after the wars in 1991 and 2003, and it has long been thought that the use of uranium weapons - so-called 'depleted uranium' - in both conflicts has played a role in the rise in deformities among newborns.

According to info distributed by the Alliance of Nuclear Worker Advocacy Groups, ANWAG and the action groups at Linde Ceramics are petitioning NIOSH and the Dept. of Labor to make rules changes in the administration of the sick nuclear worker compensation program. "Congress never intended this program to develop into the ongoing and overwhelming burden it has become for sickened nuclear weapons workers or their survivors," Terrie Barrie of ANWAG said in a statement. "Congress was well aware when they passed EEOICPA that the Department of Energy did not keep adequate exposure records, particularly for chemicals and heavy metals. Yet, DOL requires claimants to provide proof of exposure where none exists. It is long past due to return this program to the original intent of the law."

According to info distributed by the Alliance of Nuclear Worker Advocacy Groups, ANWAG and the action groups at Linde Ceramics are petitioning NIOSH and the Dept. of Labor to make rules changes in the administration of the sick nuclear worker compensation program. "Congress never intended this program to develop into the ongoing and overwhelming burden it has become for sickened nuclear weapons workers or their survivors," Terrie Barrie of ANWAG said in a statement. "Congress was well aware when they passed EEOICPA that the Department of Energy did not keep adequate exposure records, particularly for chemicals and heavy metals. Yet, DOL requires claimants to provide proof of exposure where none exists. It is long past due to return this program to the original intent of the law."

A deeply-indented coastline glittered in the autumn sun as 63-year-old Yoko Nakano, an A-bomb survivor exposed in utero, walked the streets of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, home to the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant. The rice had been harvested from the paddies, and a crisp breeze blew. The vicinity of the municipal government building was empty despite it being noontime on a weekday, and one couldn't help but notice the number of shuttered shops in town. The only young man we passed on the street was a postal worker.

A deeply-indented coastline glittered in the autumn sun as 63-year-old Yoko Nakano, an A-bomb survivor exposed in utero, walked the streets of Genkai, Saga Prefecture, home to the Genkai Nuclear Power Plant. The rice had been harvested from the paddies, and a crisp breeze blew. The vicinity of the municipal government building was empty despite it being noontime on a weekday, and one couldn't help but notice the number of shuttered shops in town. The only young man we passed on the street was a postal worker.

DOCTORS at the only Aboriginal medical service in Alice Springs have threatened to leave if the Federal Government allows a Canadian company to mine uranium near the town. Protesters will press Northern Territory MPs to stop their support when Parliament sits in Central Australia tomorrow. They say it threatens the town's future and could set a precedent for other urban centres.

DOCTORS at the only Aboriginal medical service in Alice Springs have threatened to leave if the Federal Government allows a Canadian company to mine uranium near the town. Protesters will press Northern Territory MPs to stop their support when Parliament sits in Central Australia tomorrow. They say it threatens the town's future and could set a precedent for other urban centres.

LAND in outback South Australia used for nuclear weapons testing in the aftermath of World War II will be handed back to the traditional Aboriginal owners. Environment and Conservation and Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Minister Jay Weatherill today told Parliament the final section of the Maralinga test site would be returned to the Maralinga Tjarutja people. "The Maralinga nuclear test occurred during a period in our history when little regard was given to Aboriginal people and their connection with the land," he said.

LAND in outback South Australia used for nuclear weapons testing in the aftermath of World War II will be handed back to the traditional Aboriginal owners. Environment and Conservation and Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation Minister Jay Weatherill today told Parliament the final section of the Maralinga test site would be returned to the Maralinga Tjarutja people. "The Maralinga nuclear test occurred during a period in our history when little regard was given to Aboriginal people and their connection with the land," he said.

Controlled Ottawa River leak OK, AECL says Nuclear facilities and power plants are contaminating Canadian food and water with radioactive waste that increases risks of cancer and birth defects, says a new report to be released today. The report, Tritium on Tap, produced by the Sierra Club of Canada, warned that radioactive emissions from various nuclear plants across the country have more than doubled over the past decade. The figures were based on statistics compiled by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which measured pollution coming from the plants.

Controlled Ottawa River leak OK, AECL says Nuclear facilities and power plants are contaminating Canadian food and water with radioactive waste that increases risks of cancer and birth defects, says a new report to be released today. The report, Tritium on Tap, produced by the Sierra Club of Canada, warned that radioactive emissions from various nuclear plants across the country have more than doubled over the past decade. The figures were based on statistics compiled by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, which measured pollution coming from the plants.

The risks associated with iodine-131 contamination in Europe are no longer "negligible," according to CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity. The NGO is advising pregnant women and infants against "risky behaviour," such as consuming fresh milk or vegetables with large leaves. BACKGROUND After the radioactive cloud emanating from Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear power plant reached Europe in late March, CRIIRAD, a French research body on radioactivity, an NGO, said it had detected radioactive iodine-131 in rainwater in south-eastern France. In parallel testing, the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN), the national public institution monitoring nuclear and radiological risks, found iodine 131 in milk.  In normal times, no trace of iodine-131 should be detectable in rainwater or milk. The Euratom Directive of 13 May 1996 establishes the general principles and safety standards on radiation protection in Europe.