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The World Health Organization has slashed the safety limits of radon to a tenth of its current level, noting that the naturally occurring radioactive gas causes up to 14 percent of lung cancer cases. "In view of the latest scientific data, WHO proposes a reference level of 100 becquerels per metric cube to minimize health hazards due to indoor radon exposure," said the UN health agency in a report published this week. "However, if this level cannot be reached under the prevailing country-specific conditions, the chosen reference level should not exceed 300 becquerels per metric cube," it added. Becquerel is a measuring unit for radioactivity and reference levels represents the maximum accepted radon concentration in a residential dwelling. A previous WHO report published in 1996 had fixed the reference level at 1,000 becquerels per cubic metre. After smoking, radon is the second biggest cause of lung cancer, killing tens of thousands of people a year, said the WHO.

I am very concerned about the possible nuclear reactor in Saskatchewan, and scared to death that it could be in the Prince Albert area. It is bad enough that we are mining the uranium out of the ground, but to build a reactor would be insane. There is no safe storage option for uranium products and wastes. Radium, radon gas and polonium are highly radioactive byproducts. Storage methods are at best controversial and at worst responsible for death and a toxic legacy for generations. Mining poses serious health risks. Radon gas is a known cancer-causing agent. Uranium mining can poison water sources. Reactors need a lot of water. They, too, can leak radioactive substances into both watersheds and ground water.

Former workers may be at increased risk for cancer, study says Researchers have found a new, potentially more dangerous source of radon exposure for workers at the now-demolished Fernald uranium foundry. Advertisement The findings have many ramifications for former Fernald workers and their families, said Susan Pinney, an environmental health researcher at the University of Cincinnati and co-author of the study. "Now we know workers in the plant's production area prior to 1959 may be at increased risk for developing lung cancer and other exposure-related health problems," Pinney said.

Uranium has never been mined safely anywhere in the world, in the past nor in the present, and it won't be minded safely here in Virginia. People have suffered from uranium mining in thousands of ways. Air, water, soil, plants, animals, homes, things you touch and eat, your hair and everything else around each person and for hundreds of miles around a mine, gets polluted by radioactive uranium, radon or other poisonous by-products of mining. Once uranium and radon have been released and extracted from the ground, you can be sure it will find its way into your food, clothing, water, homes and, of course, your cells and DNA.

A grassroots effort to help uranium mine workers' children affected by diseases and birth defects is picking up steam on the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation Dependents of Uranium Workers Committee will meet for the second time in a month to update community members and hear feedback from residents who suffer from cancer, kidney disease, birth defects and other illnesses resulting from prolonged radon exposure from uranium mines. The health problems date back to work in the 1950s and '60s, said Phil Harrison, Council Delegate for Red Valley/Cove Chapter of the Navajo Nation. During that time, uranium mine workers were exposed to high levels of radon, which has caused inter-generational bouts of illnesses in communities across the Navajo Nation. "A lot of people don't want to talk about this in the public," Harrison said. By holding public meetings, organizers hope to garner enough support to lobby government officials in Washington, D.C., to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act.

"There's a potential problem when drilling for gas, other than the possibility of well-water contamination by methane, brine or "fracking" chemicals (Plain Dealer, Sunday). In 1995, a national organization called the State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations (STRONGER) reviewed state regulations on gas and oil wells. One recommendation it made was that the state should test for naturally occurring radioactive material at oil and gas exploration and production sites. In the 2000 and 2005 reviews, the same recommendation was made. Now, 15 years later, legislation requiring the testing has not even been proposed. Is there a reason to be concerned? Yes. An Environmental Protection Agency map of the radioactive gas radon shows statewide distribution. The gas slowly percolates through soil as a decay product of radium, so the potential for bringing both radon and radium to the surface during drilling exists. Additionally, gas-well borehole "cuttings" are normally buried on-site at completion of the drilling. Do those "cuttings" contain radioactive material, which would continue to expose local residents to radiation after completion of the drilling? When is legislation addressing this potential problem going to be proposed and adopted? "

An inquest is to be opened into the deaths of two Manchester University academics who died of pancreatic cancer after working for years in the building where Ernest Rutherford, the father of nuclear physics, conducted his experiments. The Manchester coroner, Nigel Meadows, has acted after hearing from the families of the two academics that their deaths may be linked to deposits of nuclear materials still contaminating the building in which the pioneering scientist worked, now known as the Rutherford Building. These materials include polonium, which killed Alexander Litvinenko, as well as radon and mercury.

An inquest is to be opened into the deaths of two Manchester University academics who died of pancreatic cancer after working for years in the building where Ernest Rutherford, the father of nuclear physics, conducted his experiments. The Manchester coroner, Nigel Meadows, has acted after hearing from the families of the two academics that their deaths may be linked to deposits of nuclear materials still contaminating the building in which the pioneering scientist worked, now known as the Rutherford Building. These materials include polonium, which killed Alexander Litvinenko, as well as radon and mercury.

"The US Department of Energy is looking for a temporary home for two thirds of a shipment of low level nuclear waste that was headed to Utah. Waste containing depleted uranium from the Savannah River site in South Carolina has had its storage here delayed after the Department of Energy and Governor Gary Herbert agreed more information was needed to ensure the safety of nearby residents. The highly populated Salt Lake Valley is just 75 miles east of Energy Solution's Clive Storage Facility in the Tooele Valley. Depleted uranium is low level radioactive waste at this time. The problem is, as it breaks down, its radiation levels increase, with radon emissions peaking after one million years. Energy Solutions is currently working on a report confirming the Clive site can successfully store large quantities of depleted uranium, but it is not expected to be complete before the end of the year. "

The average American receives 620 millirems of background radiation every year, as opposed to the 360 millirems as is often stated in the press. The number has crept up in the last two decades, from 180 millirems to 300 millirems, then to 360 millirems and most recently, in 2006, to 620 millirems. Two of the major reasons why the average dose has been adjusted is the recognition that radon poses a substantial threat to health, especially in areas where granite is in abundance, and an increase in the number of medical procedures involving radiation. Many people never reach the average, which includes exposure rates to people who undergo medical treatments with high levels of radiation. Ionizing radiation, the formation of ions by separating atoms or molecules or radicals or by adding or subtracting electrons from atoms by strong electric fields in a gas, can cause cancer. "

Researchers have found a new, potentially more dangerous source of radon exposure for workers at the now-demolished Fernald uranium foundry. The findings have many ramifications for former Fernald workers and their families, said Susan Pinney, an environmental health researcher at the University of Cincinnati and co-author of the study. "Now we know workers in the plant's production area prior to 1959 may be at increased risk for developing lung cancer and other exposure-related health problems," Pinney said.

The effect of radiation is not a subject I blog on a great deal, although it is a subject I have studied a great deal. Indeed, my uncle, a former nuclear physics professor at MIT, started our family Radon testing business, which was sold off years ago.

Environment » Public input is sought on the air-quality effects. A public input period is under way to comment on an air-quality permit for the Pandora uranium mine in La Sal, San Juan County. "It's really just dotting I's and crossing T's," said Ron Hochstein, president and chief executive officer of Canada-based Denison Mines Corp. Maung Maung, an engineer with the Utah Division of Air Quality, said the biggest concern for the state is the amount of dust that could be created with trucks hauling ore from the mine. The company, which is bringing the historic mine back on line, is required to keep the dust down with water. Under the proposed permit, emissions are limited to 9.8 tons per year of PM10, .5 tons of nitrogen oxides, .043 tons of sulphur dioxide, .11 tons of carbon monoxide and .04 tons of volatile organic compounds. Radon emissions are governed by federal law. "They're just mining it and shipping it off to where they are going to process it," Maung said. Moab-based Uranium Watch has requested a hearing.

Members of the Navajo Nation plan to take to Washington, D.C., their grassroots campaign to compensate uranium mine workers' children affected by diseases and birth defects. The Navajo Nation Dependents of Uranium Workers Committee met Friday at the Shiprock Chapter House to update community members on the upcoming trip and hear feedback from residents who suffer from cancer, kidney disease, birth defects and other illnesses resulting from prolonged radon exposure from uranium mines. Organizers plan to take their fight to the nation's capital July 7 to 9 and again July 28 to 31. "The government is pretty aware of the damage to the family members," said Phil Harrison, Council Delegate for Red Valley/Cove Chapter of the Navajo Nation. The intent of the trips is to further educate congressional leaders in the issues at hand, request a congressional field hearing in Window Rock or Shiprock, and discuss amending current legislation to extend compensation to family members.

A sixth person who worked in a Manchester University building used by Lord Rutherford, and contaminated by radiation and mercury, has died. Professor Tom Whiston, 70, a psychology lecturer, died from cancer at his home in Sussex. He occupied the building where the Nobel Prize winning scientist carried out his experiments on atomic structure using radioactive radon. An independent inquiry into any health risks at the building is under way.

They're uniting in an effort to influence the federal government to act. Former workers of the region's uranium mines and their families will tell their stories today at a town-hall style meeting dubbed "Families of Uranium workers United," in Teec Nos Pos, Ariz. Their saga includes countless incidents of birth defects, lung cancer and kidney disease, which were a result of radon exposure from the uranium mines. It's a push to encourage federal legislators to amend the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. "We're expecting 1,000 people," said Phil Harrison, Council Delegate for Red Valley/Cove Chapter of the Navajo Nation. "We'll be satisfied if we can get that many people there." The fight for fair compensation has gone on for decades.

"The city of Grand Junction and private property owners are not held to the same regulations regarding the removal of uranium mill tailings uncovered during construction projects. FCI Constructors Inc. is dealing with radioactive waste as they dig up Main Street for the Downtown Uplift restoration project. The sand-like mill tailings were widely used in the Grand Valley during the 1950s and 1960s as fill dirt until federal officials halted the practice, citing health risks from exposure to gamma radiation and radon gas. FCI employees have hauled nearly 500 cubic yards of tailings to the temporary storage facility at the city yard along West Avenue, where the material awaits permanent disposal at the Cheney disposal cell, south of Grand Junction. "

"Joliet is pushing the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to more than double the concentration of cancer-causing radium it's allowed to dump onto farmland in the south suburbs, expanding the potential for deadly radon gas in these increasingly urban communities. Radium is a naturally occurring radioactive element abundant in deep-water wells in northern Illinois and throughout the Midwest. Cities such as Joliet that rely on these deep wells spend millions of dollars each year to remove radium from their drinking water. Some communities pay to dump radium in a landfill, but Joliet and others use a cheaper alternative, mixing it with waste material that is sold to farmers as fertilizer. About 21,000 tons of Joliet's radium-enriched fertilizer has been dumped on area farms since 2005 The city is petitioning the state EPA to allow it to dispose of more than twice the level of radium that's currently allowed. If granted, it would be 10 times higher than what was considered safe just five years ago - rekindling concerns about the long-term exposure of concentrated radium on the soil."