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Residents of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques celebrated at the weekend after a US agency dropped claims that no health hazards had been caused by decades of US military exercises on and around the island. Some 7,000 past and current Vieques residents have filed a lawsuit seeking billions of dollars in compensation for illnesses that they say are linked to the use of the island as a bombing range. The US Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has now admitted that it must "modify" its earlier research on Vieques, which had purported to show that there had been no health risks generated.

Residents of the Puerto Rican island of Vieques celebrated at the weekend after a US agency dropped claims that no health hazards had been caused by decades of US military exercises on and around the island. Some 7,000 past and current Vieques residents have filed a lawsuit seeking billions of dollars in compensation for illnesses that they say are linked to the use of the island as a bombing range. The US Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has now admitted that it must "modify" its earlier research on Vieques, which had purported to show that there had been no health risks generated.

A public health assessment by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry concluded there were "no public health hazards" from airborne releases at the Oak Ridge Gaseous Diffusion Plant (also known as the K-25 Site) and the early-era S-50 facility at the Oak Ridge site. The full report is available online and at local libraries. The agency is receiving public comment through Feb. 20. In a release distributed to the news media, the ATSDR said: "The study looked at the atmospheric releases of radioactive and nonradioactive hazardous substances from the K-25/ S-50 facilities between 1944 and 1995 when the facility closed. After evaluating potential chronic and acute exposure to ionizing radiation and uranium releases, ATSDR found those doses were not expected to cause adverse health effects for people living near the ORGDP. The ORGDP is currently known as the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP).

A Sept. 17 House Workforce Protections Subcommittee hearing considered the impact of the Department of Labor's (DOL) worker health risk assessment proposal, a rule critics say was developed in secret and that could weaken and delay the enactment of future workplace health standards. "I have called this hearing today on the Department of Labor's proposed risk assessment regulation, because, quite frankly, I'm troubled by the agency's attempt to rush through this rule without a full consideration of its effect on the health and safety of the American worker," said Rep. Lynn Woolsey, D-Calif., in her opening statement.

In the latest issue of the journal Public Health Reports, there is debate about the role that beryllium giant Brush Wellman played in stalling OSHA action on beryllium, and whether Brush waged a public relations campaign to minimize the hazards of the toxic metal. In an article in the January-February 2008 issue of Public Health Reports, David Michaels and Celeste Monforton of the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy (SKAPP) explored how the beryllium industry fought efforts to lower workplace beryllium exposure limits, first by the Department of Energy (DOE) and then by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In "Beryllium's Public Relations Problem: Protecting Workers When There is No Safe Exposure Level," Michaels and Monforton criticized Brush Wellman for its efforts to prevent these agencies from lowering exposure limits for beryllium.

Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is releasing 30 percent more radiation into the environment since it boosted power production by 20 percent two years ago, according to a study from the Department of Health released Friday.\n\nThe increase in radiation is larger than what was expected, according to William Irwin, radiological health safety chief for the health department, but is still within state limits.

Radiation levels measured at the fence line of Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant were 30 percent higher in 2007 than in 2006. Despite the 30 percent increase, the report stated the highest fence line measurement recorded by the Vermont Department of Health was less than 18 millirem. "At no time has Vermont Yankee posed a measurable risk to public health," said Health Commissioner Wendy Davis.

Ralph Andersen states that I am "determined to scare people with discredited claims" about heath risks of the nuclear reactors at Indian Point (Letters from Readers, May 30). I am a health researcher, and direct a group of health professionals and scientists who are experts in radiation health risk. Mr. Andersen is a physicist who never conducted a single study of cancer risk from radiation. He cites critics of our work who also have never done radiation-cancer studies - and thus, are unqualified to "debunk" our research.

CLAIMS of increased risk of leukaemia near nuclear facilities will be on the agenda at a Cumbrian conference next month. International health researchers will present the latest evidence of health effects at the 20th Low-Level Radiation and Health Conference, at the University of Cumbria's Ambleside campus on June 7-8.

The state of Vermont's radiological health chief says recent changes at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant are likely to increase the radiation measured at an elementary school nearby. Still, says William Irwin of the state Health Department, levels of radiation measured at Vernon Elementary School remain below state safety limits and well below federal limits. His remarks came today in Montpelier during a hearing before the Legislature's Administrative Rules Committee, which is reviewing changes to the way the state regulates radiation emissions at Vermont Yankee. The plant has moved its site boundaries by buying up neighboring properties, so the dosimeters used to measure radiation have been moved further from the plant and therefore have an easier time coming in with measurements that meet the state safety standards.

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.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; Decision To Evaluate a Petition To Designate a Class of Employees for the Norton Company in Worcester, MA, To Be Included in the Special Exposure Cohort AGENCY: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: HHS gives notice as required by 42 CFR 83.12(e) of a decision to evaluate a petition to designate a class of employees for the Norton Company in Worcester, Massachusetts, to be included in the Special Exposure Cohort under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000. The initial proposed definition for the class being evaluated, subject to revision as warranted by the evaluation, is as follows: Facility: Norton Company. Location: Worcester, Massachusetts.

Former Pantex employees who developed cancer can state their case to a Federal Health Board. The Advisory Board on Radiation and Worker Health is in Amarillo Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss topics related to energy employees occupational illness. Although not officlally discussing Pantex, the Board will hear from the public from 7pm to 8pm Tuesday and 4pm to 5pm Wednesday at the Holiday Inn, 1911 E. I-40. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has previously recommended that there is sufficient evidence at Pantex for a "dose reconstruction". It's a method to estimate how much radiation an energy employee was exposed to while working there.

New research on the ill health of veterans of Britain's nuclear weapons tests has been promised by the MoD. Under secretary of state for defence Kevan Jones is expected to tell the Commons this week that a study on the health affects resulting from exposure to the nuclear test blasts will commence. Only around 3,000 of the 20,000 or so veterans who took part in the tests during the 1950s are still alive today. Many of the survivors suffer from rare cancers, skin problems and blood disorders as do their children.

After nearly three years of work, the Board of Health has finalized its rules for detecting radioactive material at the Covanta waste transfer in town. Health Director Ann McCobb said the agreement will likely be signed at the board's April 2 meeting. The last issue to be settled was the placement of radiation detectors where trucks enter and exit the station on Washington Street. Board members decided to keep them where they are now. The board's consultant, who was analyzing the detectors' placement, wrote in a report that one pair of detectors on the outbound scale for trucks could be moved for the best possible monitoring. However, health officials said the consultant also assured them the pair of detectors in question will do a very good job discerning radiation in its current location.

"The zone of groundwater now contaminated at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant is about the size of a football field. And the state Health Department has increased the testing of private wells in the area around the plant. VPR's John Dillon has more. (Dillon) The Department of Health stepped up its monitoring work in early January after Yankee discovered radioactive tritium in a well about 30 feet from the Connecticut River. The department now says a half-dozen wells are showing tritium. Some have registered high levels - close to what's found in water that's used in the nuclear reactor. The Health Department says that a corridor of contaminated water is flowing from the turbine building toward the Connecticut River. "

Quebec's Liberal government must stop uranium exploration near Sept Îles and declare a moratorium on uranium mining activities across the province to avoid the mass resignation of 20 doctors in the Lower North Shore town, a Sept Îles doctor said yesterday. "I want to work in a place where the government listens to citizens and where medical opinions are respected," said Bruno Imbeault, one of 20 doctors at the the Centre hospitalier et des services sociaux de Sept Îles who signed an open letter to Health Minister Yves Bolduc pledging to resign unless uranium exploration activities in the area are stopped. The hospital employs 60 physicians. The doctors oppose a proposed uranium mine at Kachiwiss Lake, about 13 kilometres from Sept Îles, because they believe it will harm the environment and the health of area residents.

Quebec's Liberal government must stop uranium exploration near Sept Îles and declare a moratorium on uranium mining activities across the province to avoid the mass resignation of 20 doctors in the Lower North Shore town, a Sept Îles doctor said yesterday. "I want to work in a place where the government listens to citizens and where medical opinions are respected," said Bruno Imbeault, one of 20 doctors at the the Centre hospitalier et des services sociaux de Sept Îles who signed an open letter to Health Minister Yves Bolduc pledging to resign unless uranium exploration activities in the area are stopped. The hospital employs 60 physicians. The doctors oppose a proposed uranium mine at Kachiwiss Lake, about 13 kilometres from Sept Îles, because they believe it will harm the environment and the health of area residents.

The pro-nuclear Department of Energy is set to offer this month the first of nearly $20 billion in loan guarantees to a nuclear industry that hasn't built a plant since the 1970s or raised any money to do so in years. But although the industry is seeking to cash in on global warming concerns with $100 billion in proposed loan guarantees, environmentalists, scientists and federal investigators are warning that lax oversight by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the nation's aging 104 nuclear plants has led to near-meltdowns along with other health and safety failings since Three Mile Island - including what some critics say is a flawed federal health study apparently designed to conceal cancer risks near nuclear plants.

The pro-nuclear Department of Energy is set to offer this month the first of nearly $20 billion in loan guarantees to a nuclear industry that hasn't built a plant since the 1970s or raised any money to do so in years. But although the industry is seeking to cash in on global warming concerns with $100 billion in proposed loan guarantees, environmentalists, scientists and federal investigators are warning that lax oversight by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) of the nation's aging 104 nuclear plants has led to near-meltdowns along with other health and safety failings since Three Mile Island - including what some critics say is a flawed federal health study apparently designed to conceal cancer risks near nuclear plants.

Activists are protesting a decision by the California Department of Public Health that would allow the Boeing Co. and NASA to send contaminated dirt from a nuclear accident site to a waste facility in the San Joaquin Valley that is not licensed to accept radioactive waste. The Department of Toxic Substances Control, which has the final say, has sent a letter to the agency requesting more information on its decision that the dirt "does not represent a public health threat" and could be sent to the hazardous waste facility in Kettleman City. The dirt was dug up as part of a cleanup effort at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Los Angeles, where a partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor took place in 1959. The field lab was also used for rocket engine tests.

Activists are protesting a decision by the California Department of Public Health that would allow the Boeing Co. and NASA to send contaminated dirt from a nuclear accident site to a waste facility in the San Joaquin Valley that is not licensed to accept radioactive waste. The Department of Toxic Substances Control, which has the final say, has sent a letter to the agency requesting more information on its decision that the dirt "does not represent a public health threat" and could be sent to the hazardous waste facility in Kettleman City. The dirt was dug up as part of a cleanup effort at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory near Los Angeles, where a partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor took place in 1959. The field lab was also used for rocket engine tests.

Clearly, Sen. Bob Bennett has been in office for a very long time. Consider these contributions to his 2010 re-election campaign from corporate and individual special interests (selected from www.opensecrets.org): oil and gas, $116,650; waste management (nuclear), $51,900; securities and investments, $233,850; commercial banks, $130,725; finance/credit companies, $61,900; insurance, $182,700; food processing and sales, $28,900; defense aerospace, $39,000; defense electronics, $16,000; health services/HMOs, $17,750; pharmaceuticals/health products, $104,044; telecommunication services and equipment, $815,250; lawyers/law firms, $110,900; lobbyists, $157,186; automotive, $16,997; chemical and related manufacturing, $11,200. Given all this special-interest support, it seems Bennett does not serve his constituents.

Clearly, Sen. Bob Bennett has been in office for a very long time. Consider these contributions to his 2010 re-election campaign from corporate and individual special interests (selected from www.opensecrets.org): oil and gas, $116,650; waste management (nuclear), $51,900; securities and investments, $233,850; commercial banks, $130,725; finance/credit companies, $61,900; insurance, $182,700; food processing and sales, $28,900; defense aerospace, $39,000; defense electronics, $16,000; health services/HMOs, $17,750; pharmaceuticals/health products, $104,044; telecommunication services and equipment, $815,250; lawyers/law firms, $110,900; lobbyists, $157,186; automotive, $16,997; chemical and related manufacturing, $11,200. Given all this special-interest support, it seems Bennett does not serve his constituents.

During the Cold War, Huntington contained a DOE plant involved in the production of radioactive and/or potentially nuclear materials. After its decommissioning, the remains --- except for the compressor building --- were hauled away and buried in Piketon, Ohio. During a 2006 meeting with union members representatives of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Office of Compensation Analysis and support discussed compensation for health conditions acquired due to working near contaminated materials. After an exhaustive search of the internet, HNN at this time emphasizes the official analysis that current potential radiation exposure --- even at the remaining Compressor Building ---- was/is considered negligible as it results in an annual dose of less than 1 m/rem to the maximally exposure organ. (Based on CDC/OSAS documents) However, worker reports taken from the 2006 meeting create unanswered questions. In fact, the internet search did NOT turn up further documents related to the local USWA and NIOSH. Thus, we have a series of unanswered (or unfound) questions raised by those in attendance.

During the Cold War, Huntington contained a DOE plant involved in the production of radioactive and/or potentially nuclear materials. After its decommissioning, the remains --- except for the compressor building --- were hauled away and buried in Piketon, Ohio. During a 2006 meeting with union members representatives of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Office of Compensation Analysis and support discussed compensation for health conditions acquired due to working near contaminated materials. After an exhaustive search of the internet, HNN at this time emphasizes the official analysis that current potential radiation exposure --- even at the remaining Compressor Building ---- was/is considered negligible as it results in an annual dose of less than 1 m/rem to the maximally exposure organ. (Based on CDC/OSAS documents) However, worker reports taken from the 2006 meeting create unanswered questions. In fact, the internet search did NOT turn up further documents related to the local USWA and NIOSH. Thus, we have a series of unanswered (or unfound) questions raised by those in attendance.