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Al Jazeera America Presents: Into Eternity, A New Documentary

Every day, the world over, large amounts of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants is placed in interim storage facilities, which are vulnerable to natural disasters, man-made disasters, and to societal changes. In Finland, the world’s first permanent repository is being hewn out of solid rock that must last 100,000 years, as this is how long the waste remains hazardous.

This new documentary premieres Sunday, August 25, 2013, 9:00 EST / 6:00 PST. See america.aljazeera.com for details.

Al Jazeera America Presents brings viewers feature documentaries and original series from acclaimed filmmakers around the globe. Introducing compelling, seldom-heard voices and provocative viewpoints, this strand showcases important stories that entertain, enlighten and inspire.

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Nuclear Meltdown—The Need For Timely & Honest Information

Of particular interest in the United States is the operation of the Indian Point Nuclear Reactor located on the Hudson River 25 miles north of New York City (NYC), the most heavily populated metropolitan area in the United States. A comprehensive study conducted – at the request of the State of New York – in 2003 by James Lee Witt Associates outlined the many risks posed to NYC residents by the Indian Point plant.

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Dr. Sherman Quoted in National Geographic Article About Fukushima

Patrick J. Kiger
National Geographic News
Published August 7, 2013

“Tensions are rising in Japan over radioactive water leaking into the Pacific Ocean from Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, a breach that has defied the plant operator’s effort to gain control.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday called the matter “an urgent issue” and ordered the government to step in and help in the clean-up, following an admission by Tokyo Electric Power Company that water is seeping past an underground barrier it attempted to create in the soil. The head of a Nuclear Regulatory Authority task force told Reuters the situation was an ’emergency.’. . .

“But most experts seem to think that ordinary movement of groundwater probably is the real culprit. An estimated 400 tons (95,860 gallons/ 362,870 liters) of water streams into the basements of the damaged reactors each day. Keeping that water from continuing to flow into the ocean is crucial. As the IAEA noted in its report, ‘the accumulation of enormous amounts of liquids due to the continuous intrusion of underground water into the reactor and turbine buildings is influencing the stability of the situation.’

‘Big surprise—water does flow downhill,’ said Dr. Janette Sherman, a medical expert on radiation and toxic exposure who once worked as a chemist for the Atomic Energy Commission, the forerunner of today’s U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. ‘If you’ve ever had a leak in your house during a storm, you know how hard it is to contain water. There’s a lot of water going into the plant, and it’s got to go someplace. It’s very hard to stop this.’”

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Radioactive Fish, Pacific Ocean, Fukushima Leaking MORE Radiation Video Update

Kevin Kamps, of the nuclear watchdog organization Beyond Nuclear, is interviewed by Thom Hartmann regarding the continued flow of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean around the Fukushima reactors. Additional news reports about radioactive fish and cancer.

Watch now.

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Nuclear Hotseat’s Chernobyl Anniversary Special

On April 23, 2013, Libby HaLevy conducted three special interviews with Alexei Yablokov, Dr. Janette Sherman, and Chernobyl survivor Bonnie Kouneva for her Nuclear Hotseat Podcast. They discussed the Legacy of Chernobyl and the implications to Fukushima and the future of the people of Japan.

  • Chernobyl survivor Bonnie Kouneva, who as a 16-year-old lived in Bulgaria, 800 miles away from the nuclear disaster… but it wasn’t far enough.
  • Dr. Alexei Yablokov, who compiled over 5,000 research papers in multiple languages for the book, Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, as well as co-founding Greenpeace, Russia.
  • Dr. Janette Sherman, known for her work with Joseph Mangano on statistical studies indicating infant deaths and hypothyroidism in the US after Fukushima as well as editing the English translation of Alexei Yablokov’s  book.
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Devastation and Hope: Chernobyl at 27

Joseph J. Mangano and Dr. Janette D. Sherman, MD write for Counterpunch

The 27th anniversary of the catastrophic nuclear meltdown at Chernobyl reminds us of both a sad legacy and a positive impact on the future.

The bad news came first. Chernobyl stunned many with the first total core meltdown of a nuclear reactor. A massive amount of deadly radiation encircled the northern hemisphere, affecting three billion people, and entered human bodies through breathing and the food chain. Some of the 100-plus radioactive chemicals from Chernobyl last for hundreds and thousands of years.

How many did Chernobyl harm? Before scientific studies could be done, skeptics commonly used the number 31 – the number of rescue workers extinguishing toxic fires who absorbed a very high radiation dose and died in a matter of days.

Beginning just six years after the 1986 meltdown, medical journal articles began to show rising numbers of people with certain diseases near Chernobyl. The first of these was children with thyroid cancer. Officials at a 2005 meeting in Vienna estimated 9,000 persons worldwide had developed cancer from the meltdown. But many anecdotes and studies had piled up, suggesting the real number was much greater.

In 2009, the New York Academy of Sciences published a book by a trio of Russian researchers, headed by Alexei Yablokov; one of us (JDS) edited the book. Yablokov’s team gathered an incredible 5,000 reports and studies. Many were written in Slavic languages and had never been seen by the public. The book documented high levels of disease in many organs of the body, even beyond the former Soviet Union. The Yablokov team estimated 985,000 persons died worldwide, a number that has risen since.

Government and industry leaders in the nuclear field assured the world that the lesson of Chernobyl had been learned, and that another full core meltdown would never occur. But on March 11, 2011 came the tragedy at Fukushima, releasing enormous amounts of radioactivity from not just one, but three reactor cores, and a pool storing nuclear waste. Again, the radioactivity circled the globe. Estimates of eventual casualties are in the many thousands.

In an odd way, Fukushima triggered the positive impact of Chernobyl. The two disasters are a major reason why few new nuclear reactors are being built, and why existing units are now closing. All but two (2) of 50 Japanese reactors remain shut. Germany closed six (6) of its units permanently and its government pledged to close the others by 2022. Swiss officials made a similar vow.

In the U.S., most plans to build dozens of new reactors have been scrapped or postponed.  The nation’s first two reactor closings since 1998 occurred this year. More shut downs will follow, say nuclear executives who assert that nuclear power costs more to produce than power from natural gas or wind. Reactors cost more largely due to greater dangers that require more time for construction, more staff to operate, more security measures, more regulations to comply with, and huge amounts to secure after shut down.

If Chernobyl harmed many people, it may also eventually save many lives by speeding the shut down of reactors. Fewer meltdowns would mean fewer casualties. But ending routine releases of radioactivity into the environment would also reduce the count. Studies have found that in local areas after a reactor closing, fewer infants die, fewer children develop cancer, and eventually fewer adults develop cancer. Chernobyl left a tragic impact, but eventual outcomes will be positive ones.

Joseph J. Mangano MPH MBA is Executive Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project.

Janette D. Sherman MD is an internist and toxicologist, and editor of Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment.

Weekend Edition April 26-28, 2013

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Joe Mangano Speaks at Symposium

FUKUSHIMA TWO YEARS LATER:
Global symposium to address mounting medical and ecological consequences
March 11-12 – New York Academy of Medicine

The Helen Caldicott Foundation and Physicians for Social Responsibility hosted a 2 day symposium at the New York Academy of Medicine to discuss the health and environmental consequences of the Fukushima Japan disaster, 2 years later. Joseph Mangano, executive director of Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP), spoke about current research on newborn hypothyroidism, and the recent article published by Mangano and Dr. Janette Sherman in the Open Journal of Pediatrics. With data gathered from 41 of the 50 states (87% of U.S. births), the article shows that the increased incidence of newborn hypothyroidisim in the U.S., especially on the west coast where the Fukushima radioactive plume first hit, was significant. The peer reviewed article, “Elevated airborne beta levels in Pacific/West Coast US States and trends in hypothyroidism among newborns after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown” was published in March , 2013.

Listen to the moving talk on Fukushima, newborn hypothyroidism, and the corruption that can occur after nuclear meltdowns.

Video of the entire symposium can be found at: http://www.totalwebcasting.com/view/?id=hcf

For a full list of speakers and the press release visit: www.nuclearfreeplanet.org/news

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Progressive Radio Network Interview

Green Power and Wellness interview 3/25/13. Dr. Sherman and Joseph Mangano interviewed on PRN.fm

 

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Long-term Local Cancer Reductions Following Nuclear Plant Shutdown

Dr. Sherman and Joseph Mangano have written a new article about the health effects of closing nuclear reactors on the surrounding communities. They examine data that suggests incidence of cancer is reduced after plants close. It has been reported on by Healthline.com and Yahoo! News. You can find an abstract and downloadable PDF of the full article at: www.bmijournal.org

 

 

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Fukushima’s Nuclear Casualties by Joseph Mangano on Counterpunch.org

Two Years Later, the Battle for Truth Continues

Exactly two years after the Fukushima nuclear disaster, perhaps the most crucial issue to be addressed is how many people were harmed by radioactive emissions.

The full tally won’t be known for years, after many scientific studies. But some have rushed to judgment, proclaiming exposures were so small that there will be virtually no harm from Fukushima fallout. . . .

It is crucial that researchers don’t wait years before analyzing and presenting data, even though the amount of available information is still modest. To remain silent while allowing the “no harm” mantra to spread would repeat the experiences after Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, and allow perpetration of the myth that meltdowns are harmless. Researchers must be vigilant in pursuing an understanding of what Fukushima did to people – so that all-too-common meltdown will be a thing of the past.

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Joseph J. Mangano MPH MBA is Executive Director of the Radiation and Public Health Project.


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