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Paris - An appeals court in Paris Friday rejected a demand for compensation by 12 former soldiers who said they had contracted fatal cancers when they took part in French atomic weapons testing between 1960 and 1996, French media reported. The court ruled the cases of 11 of the soldiers were invalid because their alleged radiation contamination took place before January 1, 1976, the threshold year fixed by law. Regarding the case of the twelfth soldier, which dated from 1983, the judge ruled that the appeals court was not the correct venue. The case should have been heard by court competent to rule on workplace accidents, the judge said. Only five of the 12 soldiers were on hand to hear the verdict. The other seven had died of their ailments, which included cancer of the skin, thyroid and kidney and leukemia. An estimated 150,000 civilians and ex-soldiers who took part in the 210 above-ground nuclear weapons tests France carried out in Algeria and Polynesia were potentially affected by Friday's ruling. Defence Minister Herve Morin admitted in March that several hundred people may have developed cancers as a result of radiation from the tests. He proposed a compensation plan offering 10 million euros to the victims in 2009.

The Nuclear Industry Embraces Junk Science [Henry Payne] Global warming makes strange bedfellows. Thirty years ago, the U.S. nuclear industry was a victim of junk science. Media and green fear-mongering in the wake of Three Mile Island led Americans to believe nuclear energy was unsafe, could cause a "China syndrome," and even a nuclear holocaust (a cartoon by Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Herblock of the Washington Post in 1979 showed a mushroom cloud emerging from a TMI cooling tower). As a result, nuclear energy was shunned and not a single power plant has been built in the U.S. since. But now, as the same media and green fear-mongers attempt to destroy the coal industry for causing global warming, killer hurricanes, and coastal flooding, the nuclear industry has jumped aboard the junk-science bandwagon.

The Marshall Islands is pressing the United States for more compensation for the damage caused by nuclear tests, officials said Thursday, after France announced it would pay its own victims. The United States conducted 67 atomic weapons tests on the atolls of Bikini and Enewetak in the Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958. Residents of the atolls and nearby areas were evacuated during the testing, and Washington has paid out more than 500 million dollars in compensation for health and other problems. But the western Pacific nation is seeking another two billion dollars after the Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal ran out of money.

The federal government paid a total of $1.4 million to compensate or care for victims of beryllium disease associated with a Tucson manufacturing site. The U.S. Department of Labor announced this week that it has paid more than $100 million in benefits to 1,583 Arizona residents under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act.

On Tuesday morning I received a call from my colleagues in Paris inviting me to pop over and see them as they had had some worrying news that they needed to share. So the next day, long before the sun was stirring and the local rooster was warming his vocals, I was on my way to St Pancras heading for a lunchtime appointment in 20th Arrondissement. It turns out that the French state owned energy company Electricité de France (EDF), who have allegedly been spying on Greenpeace since 2004, are more involved in the scandal than it initially appeared. On March 31, Greenpeace France discovered that its former campaign director's computer was hacked in 2006, and that the organisation had been targeted by the private investigation company Kargus Consultants under instruction from EDF. This was followed by quick denials and ambiguous statements claiming that EDF were in fact victims of circumstance, rather than maestros of a carefully orchestrated and deliberate effort to infiltrate and monitor the work of my French colleagues.

"A French senator representing French Polynesia has labelled the French law to compensate victims of the nuclear weapons tests as an alibi for the government to give it a good conscience. Richard Tuheiava made the comment in Algeria where a meeting is being held to discuss the aftermath of the French weapons tests which began in the Algerian desert before being continued in the South Pacific."

"While John D'Agata's About a Mountain is, in large part, about a mountain (Yucca, specifically), it attempts to gather in much, much more. The story of a young suicide victim named Levi; the politics of nuclear waste; the nature of Las Vegas; and, at a deeper level, language, uncertainty, time and the unknowability of things. Also, his mother."

"Post '71 uranium workers employed as miners, millers and ore transporters between 1971 and 1982 have been trying for years to be recognized by the U.S. government as having illnesses that should be compensated under the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. During those years New Mexico's uranium workers made up about one third to one half of all uranium workers in the United States. While a large number of them are ill, to date, they have no medical benefits as provided to pre-1971 victims, no compensation, and no one to go to bat for them in Washington. But that could be about to change."

"At the children's cancer hospital in Minsk, Belarus, and at the Vilne hospital for radiological protection in the east of Ukraine, specialist doctors are in no doubt they are seeing highly unusual rates of cancers, mutations and blood diseases linked to the Chernobyl nuclear accident 24 years ago. But proving that infant mortality hundreds of miles from the stricken nuclear plant has increased 20-30% in 20 years, or that the many young people suffering from genetic disorders, internal organ deformities and thyroid cancers are the victims of the world's greatest release of radioactivity, is impossible."

"Seven people have been admitted to a New Delhi hospital after being exposed to radioactive waste, police said Wednesday, raising fears over the lax disposal of hazardous material in India. Radioactive waste was detected in a congested scrap metal market last week when five people were rushed to a hospital after they showed symptoms of radiation exposure. Two more victims have since been admitted. "Seven people have been hospitalised and we are yet to find the exact source of the radioactive leakage," senior police officer Sharad Agarwal told AFP on Wednesday. "No one has been detained or arrested as of now.""

"It's the story of some Arizona residents who believe they have been victimized by the U.S. government not once, but twice. In February, Rep. Trent Franks introduced H.R. 4712, a measure meant to remunerate Mohave residents who were adversely affected by above ground nuclear testing that took place in the 1950s and '60s. The bill would allow those in Mohave County to make claims under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which was designed to proved payment to those who developed serious illnesses, including cancer, as a result of radiation exposure in the wake of those tests. Mohave County was not included as an eligible compensation area when RECA was passed in 1990. It was overlooked again when RECA was amended in 2000 to include more areas."

Where are all the Indian workers suffering from radioactive radiation? How is occupational exposure recorded, how are victims diagnosed, provided legal remedy and compensated. A metal scrap dealer and four workers are being treated in Delhi for exposure to radioactive material, identified as Cobalt-60. They are in a serious condition. The radiation exposure happened in the Mayapuri locality of West Delhi in the last fortnight. A 1-kilometre radius around the shop was cordoned off as a precautionary measure. Experts from the Atomic Centre as well as National Security Guards have told police that the radiation is only in a limited area. This needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. A team was requisitioned from Mumbai-based Atomic Energy Regulatory Board which found during screening that radio-active emissions were coming from the scrap. The workers were exposed to a radioactive isotope under mysterious circumstances at a scrap market in West Delhi. The police suspect that the scrap consignment containing the metal piece was brought from neighboring Faridabad and that it originated from abroad. "

"Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo says the The RECA Amendments Act of 2010 extends eligibility for compensation to residents of Guam who may have been exposed to radiation. The act makes claimants eligible for $150,000 in damages regardless of their occupation, provided that they were living. The Amendments to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico. Congresswoman Bordallo was one of eight original co-sponsors of the House bill. Senator Tom Udall of New Mexico introduced identical companion legislation in the Senate yesterday as well. "The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) Amendments Act of 2010 will amend the RECA compensation program to expand the program to include geographic areas that were not part of the original legislation," Congresswoman Bordallo said. "Many people in the designated areas have been affected by nuclear testing, including downwinders on Guam. This bill is a coordinated and concerted effort by Members of Congress representing possible nuclear testing victims. I would like to thank Congressman Luján and Senator Udall for their leadership in introducing this legislation. I would also like to commend Mr. Robert Celestial for his many years of advocacy on behalf of the Pacific Association of Radiation Survivors.""

"Sixty-five years ago, the victims of the atomic bomb experienced the end of the world. For the survivors, the bombing was dehumanizing to the point of absolute evil, and they emerged with an iron will not to allow such a calamity to befall another human being ever again. From the nuclear fire emerged a philosophy of peace, breaking the chain of hatred and violence and backing a movement calling on the world to abolish nuclear arms and strive for world peace. In the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama's declared goal of eliminating nuclear weapons, this movement is once again at work, expanding in an attempt to change the world we live in. As part of that effort, the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the NPT is moving to make elimination of nuclear arms a reality, making it a most important conference indeed."

"Getting the requisite numbers to pass the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010 in the Lok Sabha may be the least of the United Progressive Alliance's problems. Lawyers and legal experts, including those who support the legislation, say there are many instances of poor drafting and anomalies that have the potential to generate more controversy if the Bill is passed in its current form. "There is no denying that we need this Bill but it urgently needs drafting changes," said former Minister for Law and Justice Ram Jethmalani at a recent seminar. "The text of the statute has left a number of loopholes that can be exploited skillfully to dodge paying compensation to the victims and may end up in a legal minefield," added Nilendra Kumar, director, Amity Law School and former Judge Advocate General of the army (September 2001 to November 2008). "

"Tragic Veronica is the latest victim of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster that has robbed her of her sight and friends and without urgent help eventually her life. Her face has distorted so badly as a result of the radiation that hit her home village of Korosten in the Ukraine that doctors in the country now say there is no hope of saving her life if she stays there. The only chance to help her is a procedure that can be carried out in Israel - but even though doctors have offered much of their services for free the impoverished family, who earn less than 100 pounds a month, still need to find 34,500 pounds to have the chance to save their daughter's life and end her agony."

"U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch is asking a national panel to take a fresh look at the science behind the government's program for compensating people who were injured by exposure to atomic-testing fallout and the uranium industry. Sponsor of the original Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), Hatch put the request in a letter Monday to the Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board of the National Academy of Sciences. His letter comes two weeks after the Utah Republican panned bipartisan legislation in Congress to expand RECA as overbroad and too expensive. "When I worked to enact the original RECA law to help Utahns exposed to radiation, the policy was based on scientific evidence -- an absolute must when you're talking about Hatch RECA letter (pdf) these types of programs," he said Tuesday. "The goal of the letter to the National Academy of Sciences [NAS] is to see whether or not new scientific data exists to justify expanding the RECA program; in the past it did not," he added. "I want NAS to examine the data and talk with Utah radiation victims to see if that is justified before anyone puts more taxpayer dollars on the line." Companion bills in the House and the Senate would expand RECA eligibility to those who suffered from exposure in seven states: New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana and Nevada. Only those in certain counties in three states are now eligible to apply for payments from the fund of $50,000, $100,000 or $150,000, depending Advertisement on whether they were exposed as millers, miners, ore transporters, atomic program employees or downwinders. The Utah counties now covered include: Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Millard, Piute, San Juan, Sevier, Washington and Wayne. The federal government's current program has paid nearly $1.5 billion to more than 22,000 people. Some 4,776 of them are Utahns who have received nearly $275 million from the federal program. "

"In October 1962, the Cold War reached its crescendo, with the Cuban missile crisis. But in that same year, and in that tense political climate, the federal government saw fit to disband above-ground nuclear weapons tests on the Nevada desert. The risks - to unsuspecting Americans who lived, farmed and raised dairy cattle beneath the shadow of the inevitable radioactive fallout - was considered too extreme. With a 1990 law, the feds began to attempt to right past wrongs in the only manner possible: with money. Downwinders in 21 Nevada, Utah and Arizona counties began receiving compensation - $704 million to 14,000 cancer victims and their survivors."

"In its peace declaration of Aug. 9, the city of Nagasaki included some measures I hope will bring the global community at least one step closer to the goal of a non-nuclear world, including enshrining Japan's three non-nuclear principles in law and declaring northeast Asia a nuclear-free zone. As the next concrete step, we would like to call on global society to join us in moving toward a treaty banning nuclear arms, and strongly call on the United Nations to work toward the same. Furthermore, the cities that have been victims of nuclear attacks have an important mission to fulfill. Namely, when people speak of nuclear arms from the perspectives of national benefit, military strength or technological prowess, we must remind them of the human perspective."

"Few people see nuclear power as a cheap option. The capital cost is high, and the ultimate cost, if something goes seriously wrong, could be very large. The UK's nuclear liability law is based on the Paris and Brussels Convention on Nuclear Third Party Liability, which has been in operation since the 1960s. The operator is required to take out the necessary financial security to cover its liabilities and in the UK this is currently set at £140m. Recent amendments, which are not yet in force, are aimed at ensuring that greater compensation is available to a larger number of victims in respect of a broader range of nuclear damage. In particular, it will be possible to claim compensation for certain kinds of loss other than personal injury and property damage, including loss relating to impairment of the environment. The period of operators' liability for personal injury has been increased from 10 to 30 years and, more generally, the limit on operators' liability has been increased to €700 m. That's the situation as summarised recently by Lord Hunt, then energy Minister. However if the worst comes, then even €700m is unlikely to be enough. The cost of just upgrading the emergency containment shelter at Chernobyl in 1997 was $758 m. Quite apart from the loss of life, with estimates of early deaths ranging up to several thousand and beyond, and also lifelong illnesses (e.g. related to immune system damage) for some of those exposed, the total economic costs of the Chernobyl disaster were much larger: e.g. Belarus has estimated its losses over 30 years at US $235 bn, with government spending on Chernobyl amounting to 22.3% of the national budget in 1991, declining gradually to 6.1% in 2002. And 5-7% of government spending in the Ukraine still goes to Chernobyl-related benefits and programmes. www.greenfacts.org/en/chernobyl"