Category Archives: Radiation
The tsunami that engulfed mainland Japan last March sucked as much as 100 million tons of debris out into the Pacific Ocean. Experts fear that the “monstrous debris field” (in the words of one American oceanographer) contains radioactivity from multiple meltdowns at the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant located 150 miles north of Tokyo. According to nuclear energy specialist Arnie Gunderson, the “radioactive debris island” – roughly the size of [...]
Read More »Eight months after the crippled Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear plant belched enormous plumes of radiation over the Japanese countryside, a new study reveals severely stunted growth in children living in the fallout zone. Those findings coupled with another alarming piece of news from the Tokyo Times – “Radiation affects 8 percent of Japan’s territory” – indicate that tens of thousands of children could experience serious “physical problems” across a significant portion of [...]
Read More »Julius Caesar is rolling over in his grave. Some 2,000 years ago, the Romans built a magnificent temple and bathing compound around Great Britain’s only hot spring. To this day, the complex in the ancient city of Bath flows with natural, steamy waters known around the world for their health benefits and powerful healing qualities. During the heady days of the Roman Empire, it was said Caesar himself made the [...]
Read More »French officials have reported an explosion at the Marcoule nuclear plant near the city of Nimes in southern France. Officials confirm there is a risk of a radiation leak. One person was killed and three injured in the blast that occurred in an oven used to recycle plutonium from nuclear weapons. The plant – which houses three decommissioned nuclear reactors – is owned by Socodei, a subsidiary of energy giant [...]
Read More »We are happy to report that the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County, Virginia, is no longer relying on backup generators to cool its two nuclear reactors in the wake of the 5.8-magnitude earthquake that rumbled up the East Coast Tuesday (8/24). The strongest quake to hit the area in nearly 70 years – centered just 11 miles from the nuclear plant – knocked out offsite power to the [...]
Read More »In the wake of a powerful 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered approximately 40 miles northwest of Richmond, Virginia, two nuclear reactors at the North Anna Power Station in Louisa County have been automatically taken offline. As aftershocks roll through the area, the reactors are being cooled by three emergency diesel generators at the Dominion-operated plant. Reports indicate that a fourth generator failed. Escalating public concern – no doubt exacerbated by the [...]
Read More »In a brazen pro-industry legal maneuver, the U.S. government has obtained permission from a federal judge to move to dismiss a lawsuit in New York that represents the last line of defense in protecting the drinking water of 15 million Americans. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman filed a lawsuit against federal regulators on May 31 seeking a thorough examination of the negative impacts of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” on [...]
Read More »Japanese officials are ignoring some hard lessons of history – particularly those from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster – so now, as the old saying goes, they appear doomed to repeat them. The Japanese government and TEPCO, the owner-operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, have behaved in a manner similar to the Soviet handling of the catastrophic Chernobyl accident. The common tactics include: withholding information, delaying action (or [...]
Read More »As if radioactive wastewater, exploding wells and flammable tap water weren’t bad enough, fracking has now been tied to another environmental threat – earthquakes, thousands of them. Geologists have tied fracking wastewater disposal wells in central Arkansas to an outbreak of more than 1,200 so-called “minor earthquakes” (an oxymoron if ever there was one). At least one startled resident is suing the responsible gas companies for the significant damage one [...]
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