Carbon Footprint of Nuclear Power | Carbon Neutral Australia Newsfeed The University of Sydney Australia has published a life-cycle assessment of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with nuclear energy generation, available here.
Carbon Footprint of Nuclear Power | Carbon Neutral Australia Newsfeed
French Govt: EDF, Areva In Strategic Nuclear Partnership – WSJ.com-By A.H. Mooradian and Geraldine Amiel, Dow Jones Newswires;PARIS (Dow Jones), 27 July 2010, –The French government Tuesday announced a far-reaching alliance between State-controlled utility giant Electricite de France (EDF.FR) and State nuclear engineering group Areva SA (CEI.FR), which will touch on all areas of common interest, opening the door for EDF to build a stake in Areva and perhaps putting it firmly at the center of France’s nuclear sector. (more…)
Areva models are much larger reactors telegraphjournal.com –Tamsin McMahon, July 27th, 2010“….All three are light-water reactors, which is significant since all of Canada’s nuclear plants, including Point Lepreau, use heavy water. (more…)
EDF engineers had concluded by 2007 that the entire core of the reactor should be reconfigured.
Safety Fears Raised at French Reactor, NYTimes.com, By PATRICIA BRETT July 26, 2010 “……….among the leaked documents, one dated February 2007 — just before the construction of the Flamanville plant was approved — reported that technical studies by EDF had shown that the EPR’s original core design had failed to meet safety criteria for a control rod ejection accident at high power (more…)
Inside the body alpha radiation is incredibly disruptive. The heavy, highly charged particles leave a trail of ionised free radicals in their wake, disrupting finely tuned cellular processes. IHazards of uranium weapons Latest documents advocating the ban of depleted uranium. By Jerry Mazza Online Journal, 23 July 2010,: Radioactivity The chief radiological hazard from uranium 238 is alpha radiation. When inhaled or ingested, alpha radiation is the most damaging form of ionising radiation. However, as U238 decays into its daughter products thorium and protactinium, both beta and gamma radiation are released, increasing the radiation burden further. Therefore DU particles must be considered as a dynamic mixture of radioactive isotopes. (more…)
Latest documents advocating the ban of depleted uranium. By Jerry Mazza, Online Journal, 23 July 2010, “….According to the Overview from the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons,Depleted Uranium (DU) is nuclear waste. Uranium naturally occurs as three different isotopes U234, U235 and U238. Isotopes are atoms of the same element that have different numbers of neutrons but the same number of protons. This means that they behave in the same way chemically, but different isotopes release different amounts and kinds of radiation. (more…)
ETU STATE COUNCIL BANS MEMBERS FROM WORKING IN NUCLEAR INDUSTRY | Coober Pedy Regional Times, 17 July 2010,Culture of denial in the corporate world
Corporate denial of the dangers of various substances and products has a long history. Doctors Cathy Vakil and Linda Harvey again point out: (more…)
Health Effects of Depleted Uranium (DU): A review of the Recent Research, 91outcomes.com: by Anthony Hardie, 20 July 2010, The studies examine DU that has been embedded/implanted (such as shrapnel) in the body, ingested/swallowed and absorbed into the body, and inhaled into the upper and/or lower respiratory tracts/lungs. One study examines DU exposure through wounds. None of the studies examines the effect on the skin from contact with DU, DU particulate matter, or DU crystalline residue.Taken together, the studies suggest that there are different health outcomes depending on how the DU comes into contact with the body, with a wide range of effects………
DU Genotoxity. Some substances have genotoxic properties – properties that make them harmful to the genetic information (DNA, RNA, chromosomes, etc.) in living creatures. There are three types of genotoxins: 1) Carcinogens (cancer-causing); 2) Mutagens (cause mutations); and, 3) Teratogens (birth-defect causing).
A Chinese government study using rats fed levels of DU, ranging from none to high, found increased concentrations of uranium in the kidneys and ovaries and significant abnormalities in the sperm in those that had consumed the DU. Because these genotoxic changes to the DNA affected ovaries and sperm, the DNA changes were passed on to offspring, even for rats that had consumed only low doses of DU, with the most severe changes in the sperm found in the offspring of the rats exposed to DU, even at low levels. (Y. Hao, 2009)………..
Effects of Inhaled DU. A new study from the Wise Laboratory of Environmental and Genetic Toxicology in Maine found that DU caused cellular death in the cells lining the bronchial airways of human lungs, and caused damage to the chromosomes after just 48 hours…..
A second study published by the same group found even stronger evidence of the damage caused by DU to human lungs, showing that the cells lining the airways are “transformed by DU and exhibit significant chromosome instability consistent with” the growth of neoplasms — abnormal growth of cells that, if large enough, are known as “tumors.” Neoplasms are of three types: non-malignant, pre-malignant, and malignant. (H. Xie et al, 2010)……….
Particles in the PM2.5 size range are able to travel deeply into the respiratory tract, reaching the lungs. Exposure to fine particles can cause short-term health effects such as eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, coughing, sneezing, runny nose and shortness of breath. Exposure to fine particles can also affect lung function and worsen medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease. Scientific studies have linked increases in daily PM2.5 exposure with increased respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions, emergency department visits and deaths. Studies also suggest that long term exposure to fine particulate matter may be associated with increased rates of chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function and increased mortality from lung cancer and heart disease. People with breathing and heart problems, children and the elderly may be particularly sensitive to PM2.5. (Source: NY Dept. of Health)
Effects of Implanted/Embedded DU. Urine testing of approximately 1,7000 U.S. veterans found three with evidence of DU in their urine; all three had embedded DU fragments. (CD Dorsey et al, 2009)………….
A Fudan University (China) study concluded that kidneys and bone are the primary reservoirs for uranium redistributed from DU fragments embedded in muscle, and “the accumulations in kidney, bone and many other tissues suggest the potential for unanticipated physiological consequences of chronic exposure to DU.” (G. Zhu et al, 2009)………….
Leukemia and DU. A U.S. Department of Defense, Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute (AFFRI) study of mice with leukemia induced by chronic internal exposure to DU found that non-genetic factors causing genes to behave (or “express themselves”) differently are implicated in DU-induced leukemia. The study found evidence that a form of abnormal activity, called hypomethylation, in the DNA in the spleen was associated with both the chronic internal DU exposure and the onset of leukemia, a new link between DU and leukemia. (Miller et al, 2009)……….
A U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine (USA CHPPM) Capstone study discussed its development of a test that determines the approximate severity of effect on the kidneys following DU exposure with 85 percent accuracy. The study asserted that, “The primary target for uranium toxicity is the kidney.” (Roszell et al, 2009)
91outcomes.com: Health Effects of Depleted Uranium (DU): A review of the Recent Research
It takes hundreds, perhaps thousands of years, to transform aquifer water back into a drinkable condition.
Scientists Back Navajos’ Uranium Mining Fight: Tribe fears contamination of drinking water BRENDA NORRELL Indian Country 19 July 2010, “…….Abitz said in-situ leaching uses a hydrogen peroxide mixture to strip the uranium from the rock, which kills tissue and destroys cells in human and animal life. The addition of oxygen and sodium bicarbonate called oxygenates causes uranium and other radioactive substances and trace metals to be liberated from the rock into the groundwater. (more…)
Silex Systems opts for solar exposure Tim Boreham : The Australian * July 17, 2010
WITH the climate-change debate winding its way back on the political agenda, the Lucas Heights-based Silex Systems is hedging its bets. (more…)
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