The Ecology Party's position is that stringent conservation measures and sustainable, clean energy resources should obviate the construction of new Nuclear power plants.
Radiation and Public Health Project, November 11, 2008
LEUKEMIA DEATH RATES RISING NEAR U.S. NUCLEAR PLANTS
[From ¨Rachel's Democracy and Health News # 990." Environment, Health, Jobs and Justice--Who gets to decide?" Thursday, December 18, 2008
Rachel's introduction: A new study finds that the death rate from leukemia has risen during the past two decades among children living near nuclear power plants in the U.S. Similar findings have been reported previously from Europe.]
Leukemia death rates in U.S. children near nuclear reactors rose sharply (compared to the national trend) in the past two decades, according to a new study. The greatest mortality increases occurred near the oldest nuclear plants, while declines were observed near plants that closed permanently in the 1980s and 1990s.
The study was published in the most recent issue of the European Journal of Cancer Care. The study updates an analysis conducted in the late 1980s by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). That analysis, mandated by Senator Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), is the only attempt federal officials have made to examine cancer rates near U.S. nuclear plants.
U.S. Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said, "Nothing is more important to American families than the health of their children. It is critical that we continue to improve our understanding of the causes of child leukemia and learn how this heartbreaking disease be prevented, therefore this study deserves critical consideration."
Actor and advocate Alec Baldwin said "exposure to ambient levels of radiation near nuclear reactors used by public utilities has long been suspected as a significant contributor to various cancers and other diseases." Baldwin, who has a long-standing interest in radiation health issues, adds "nuclear power is not the clean, efficient energy panacea to which we are presently being reintroduced. It is dirty, poses serious security threats to our country, and is ridiculously expensive. Nukes are still a military technology forced on the American public with a dressed up civilian application."
Study authors were epidemiologist Joseph Mangano MPH MBA, Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project, and toxicologist Janette Sherman MD of the Environmental Institute at Western Michigan University. They analyzed leukemia deaths in children age 0-19 in the 67 counties near 51 nuclear power plants that started operations during the period 1957-1981 (the same counties in the NCI study). About 25 million people live in these 67 counties, and the 51 plants represent nearly half of all U.S. nuclear reactors).
Using mortality statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mangano and Sherman found that in 1985-2004, the change in local child leukemia mortality (vs. the U.S.) compared to the earliest years of reactor operations were:
The large number of child leukemia deaths in the study (1292) makes many of the results statistically significant. The Mangano/Sherman report follows a 2007 meta-analysis also published in the European Journal of Cancer Care by researchers from the Medical University of South Carolina. That report reviewed 17 medical journal articles on child leukemia rates near reactors, and found that all 17 detected elevated rates.
A January 2008 European Journal of Cancer article that found high rates of child leukemia near German reactors from 1980-2003 is believed to be the largest study on the topic (1592 leukemia cases). The carcinogenic effects of radiation exposure are most severe among infants and children. Leukemia is the type of childhood cancer most closely associated with exposures to toxic agents such as radiation, and has been most frequently studied by scientists.
In the U.S., during the period 1975-2005, leukemia incidence among children younger than 15 rose 54.6% (from 3.3 per 100,000 to 5.1 per 100,000), according to the National Cancer Institute,[1] suggesting that more detailed studies of causes are warranted.
The Radiation and Public Health Project is a non profit group of health professionals and scientists based in New York that studies health risks from radioactive exposures to nuclear reactors and weapons tests. RPHP members have published 23 medical journal articles on the topic.
The Radiation and Public Health Project is a non profit group of health professionals and scientists based in New York that studies health risks from radioactive exposures to nuclear reactors and weapons tests. RPHP members have published 23 medical journal articles on the topic.
Link
December 2, 2008
Nuclear Power Plants;
are they safe or not?
Here is a link about the two meetings that were
held in Crystal River , Florida on December 4,
2008 concerning the construction of four new
Nuclear Power Plants in Levy County, Florida .
Article
One of the things that this article
mentions is the fact that a draft of
the environmental impact statement will
be issued to the NRC in 2009.
After time for more public comment,
the final environmental impact statement
will be issued in 2010.
Following that, and a hearing about the
safety review, the NRC will then consider
the application to build.
Further information on the Levy County project
can be found at this link:
NRC - Levy County Project
To start , I would like to present three parts of a dialogue
on Nuclear Power Plants ; from ' Political Perspectives ' ;
hosted by Cynthia Dickstein .
Part One :
Part Two :
Part Three :
( Note :: this is a seven part discussion
the other parts can be found by visiting this link :
Link
Why do we , here at the Ecology Party believe that
there are better alternatives to the construction
of these proposed Nuclear Plants ?
1 ) Nuclear Plants are NOT the answer to global warming ,
and , in fact , make the problem worse .
2 ) There are routine releases of radiation into
the air , water , and soil , and in no case can these
Nuclear Plants be described as being ' emissions free ' .
3 ) These Nuclear Plants are a potential terrorist target .
not only with a plane , or jet flying into a plant ,
but also with the increased threat of theft of enriched
Uranium with the expansion and new construction of
Nuclear Plants .
4 ) Disposal of Nuclear Waste material -
Each Nuclear Plant produces 20 - 30 tons of
high level radioactive waste per year .
( plus low level radioactive waste streams ) .
At present , there is no acceptable plan for
disposal of this waste ; - the latest plan calls for
dumping nuclear rods , encased in concrete , into the ocean .
5 ) The exorbitant cost :
Each plant , at present , costs approximately
$ 6 billion dollars to build .
Congress is poised to award the Nuclear Industry
a total of $ 50 billion dollars in new loans .
When these plants default , ( which they invariably do -
as these plants are not cost efficient operations )
the taxpayers will foot the bill .
6 ) We are just beginning to see new advances in
technologies such as Solar , Wind , Geothermal ,
Biofuel ( although there is some debate on the
biofuel efficiency ) ; Water power , and energy
generated from waste products , through the re-direction , and use
of methane gas - which is a garbage waste product .
For more information ; Visit these links :
The dangers of Nuclear Power
Nuclear Free Facts
Nuke Info
If you would like to know more about the Ecology Party, or join us, please contact the State Executive Committee at the address and phone number below.
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