Fukushima to provide lifetime thyroid tests in wake of nuclear crisis

"The Fukushima Prefectural Government decided on July 24 to provide lifetime thyroid gland tests for some 360,000 prefectural residents aged 18 and under to help detect thyroid cancer triggered by radiation from the crisis-hit Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.

'The free tests will be launched in October. Eligible residents will be tested once every two years until the age of 20, and once every five years thereafter. The prefectural government's move is said to be unprecedented." The Mainichi Daily News

Japanese Scientists Push for More Radiation Tests to Assess Seafood Risks

"Japan’s government has to release more data from ocean radiation tests to accurately assess the contamination threat to seafood, according to a statement by the Oceanographic Society of Japan.

'The government should release radiation readings in sea water that are below its minimum measurement level, because even at those low quantities the radioactive elements may pose a danger when concentrated in seafood, the group, which counts 1,860 marine scientists as its members, said yesterday.

' 'Depending on the species, fish have been known to accumulate as much as 100 times the amount of pollutants in the environment...” Bloomberg

Vermont Yankee challenges state shutdown decision with nuclear fuel order

Entergy Nuclear, the New Orleans-based owner and operator of the Vermont Yankee nuclear power station, announced that it is ordering more nuclear fuel for its Vermont Yankee nuclear power station. Entergy plans to refuel the GE Mark I Boiling Water Reactor in October 2011.  The announcement is in defiance of the State of Vermont February 24, 2010 decision not to allow the Fukushima-style reactor to operate beyond March 21, 2012 at the end of its original 40-year license. 

After a 5 year licensing challenge before a federal relicensing board, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission voted to extend the reactor's operating license by another 20 years just days after the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident in Japan on March 11, 2012.  

The Entergy announcement was not a surprise to many engaged in the legal challenge that goes to trial on September 12, 2011 as well as a citizen mobilization gearing up for mass nonviolent direct action to oppose the continued operations.

Energy efficiency or nuclear? A no brainer with 90 times more jobs from ee

Chart your own evacuation from the nuclear accident near you

Physicians for Social Responsibility provides these interactive evacuation maps. Type in your zip code and see how far the evacuation radius spreads from a nuclear power plant in your region. The maps also show how many people would need to be evacuated, driving home the unfeasibilty of these plans. And while the USA still only considers a 10-mile radius evacuation zone, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission advised the Japanese to evacuate out to 50 miles from the Fukushima accident. Why the double-standard?