TAKE ACTION: Tell EPA scientific panel to protect the vulnerable from radioactivity

DEADLINE for written comments, and registration to participate on the call, is November 3, 2015. Call is November 10, 2015 noon to 5pm ET. Contact Edward Hanlon (email or call 202 564-2134) to register and/or submit written comments.

The EPA has scheduled a public teleconference with its Scientific Advisory Board Radiation Advisory Committee (RAC). This is the next step following an earlier comment period, as EPA considers possible revision of its 1977 radiation regulations. EPA will brief the RAC on this proposed rule making's scientific aspects, and members of the public will be able to speak and submit written comments. Beyond Nuclear has commented earlier and has updated talking points available.

The first public teleconference will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET on November 10, 2015. If all registered public has not been able to comment, a second call will be held November 13, 2015. Speaking time is limited to three minutes.

Unprecedented liquid high-level radioactive waste shipments delayed by congressional demand for security assessment

The Peace Bridge at Buffalo, NY, the route by which unprecented shipments of liquid high-level radioactive waste are most likely expected to rollAs reported by WKBW/ABC-Buffalo, NY, unprecedented shipments, by truck, of liquid high-level radioactive waste, from Chalk River, Ontario, Canada to Savannah River Site (SRS), South Carolina, U.S.A., could be postponed.

The delay is due to a bill, sponsored by U.S. Rep. Higgins (D-NY), demanding a Dept. of Homeland Security terrorism risk assessment on the shipments before they proceed. A companion bill is expected to clear the Senate, and President Obama's signature.

The article quotes Rep. Higgins: "Terrorists and militant groups have expressed an interest in using highly dangerous weapons, especially those utilizing chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear, known as CBRN agents or materials,” said Higgins. “This bill gives federal agencies the information they need to make decisions and develop policies that are informed by the terrorism threat picture.” More.

New Canadian government could derail plans for nuclear waste dump near Lake Huron

The targeted location where the DGR would be built at OPG's Bruce NGS on the Lake Huron shore in Kincardine, ONAs reported by Michigan Radio and the AP, the Liberal Party's decisive election victory on Oct. 19th gives hope to opponents of Ontario Power Generation's proposed Deep Geologic Repository for burying radioactive waste on the Great Lakes shore at Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in Kincardine, Ontario (see photo, left). They hope Prime Minister Trudeau will nip the DUD in the bud (DUD, short for Deep Underground Dump, is the abbreviation coined by David Martin of Greenpeace Canada for the insane scheme). More.

First time worker's cancer is linked to Fukushima radioactivity

"Acknowledging a link between leukemia and exposure to radiation from the nuclear accident, the health ministry has awarded workers' compensation to a former worker at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant for the first time.

According to government insurance standards for nuclear industry workers introduced in 1976, the government pays workers' compensation to those who are exposed to 5 millisieverts or higher levels of radiation annually and develop leukemia more than a year after they first engaged in work that could expose them to radiation."

A total of eight workers have applied for compensation. Three have been denied, one withdrew, and three cases are still pending. The Ashahi Shimbun

The now-41-year old worker had been exposed to just about 20 mSv of radiation total over about a-year-and-a-half, the amount of radioactivity allowed for members of the public, including children and pregnant women, in just one year for resettlement of contaminated areas in Japan.

While some contend that this leukemia case is on the early side of the latency period for leukemias, the CDC says the latency for leukemia can be as short as 0.4 years.

Every nuclear reactor routinely releases radioactivity

The latest update to our pamphlet -- Routine Radioactive Releases from U.S. Nuclear Power Plants -- shows you exactly how many nuclear reactors are operating in the U.S.  Every reactor releases radioactivity and our map shows you precisely where and which bodies of water are threatened by radioactive contamination.  Follow the link to our Reactors Are Closing page for an up-to-date listing of nuclear power plants as they close.

Please feel free to download our pamphlet and distribute it widely.