Search This Blog

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

How Many Died From Chernobyl?

No one can say with certainty, but contrary to the article, UNSCEAR has not abandoned LNT.   The uncertainties are high using LNT at low doses, but it's still the most reasonable approach.

UV Radiation & Eyesight

Wear protection.

Tank Leak Denialism

At Hanford.  When the evidence shows the tank is leaking, it's best to consider that the tank is leaking.

Good job Mike Geffre!

P.S. Marco Kaltofen is a civil engineer, not a "top radiation expert".

Nuclear Waste Administration

A potential agency is described here.

PA - You Have A Problem

Teaching biology.

Staying Ahead Of The Water

Isn't easy at Fukushima.

How Does Radiation Kill Cancer?

An oncologist answers.

Chromoplexy

And its relationship to cancer is described here.

Monday, April 29, 2013

Friday, April 26, 2013

And Let's Remember Fukushima

Why not?

Ukrainians Remember Chernobyl

Because it's the anniversary of the its accident.

U.S. Senator Bob Casey Learned Something From Fukushima

Pro-nuclear power folks blame the Fukushima evacuation on misguided fear.

They are wrong.

Japan is a democracy, they decided to have nuclear power and they decided to have particular evacuation limits.

So an accident happened and they evacuated.

The problem is that the people didn't understand what was happening.  That's a failing of emergency preparedness and planning.  Who is responsible for that?  Everyone really...the public, the government and the power plant owners.

Casey trying to improve that in the U.S., though a 50 mile radius is a bit much.

Polling American Scientific Literacy

Not too shabby.

Wind Power Storage Concept

Is described here.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

The U.S. NRC Poses Radiation Questions To Kids

Pssst...hey, NRC, you could have done the same with adults and gotten very similar answers.

I'm Doubting Darwin's Doubt

Intelligent Design propagandist (IDiot) Stephen Myer is making the rounds.  He is going to be on a radio show spreading his nonsense and at Northwest University, well a chapel there.

These are two events you'll want to miss.

Rod Adam's Wants Civil Disobedience Instead Of Evidence

First there was a petition, now he wants civil disobedience.

For those of us attached to reality, we do our science with evidence, not by petition, not by civil disobedience, not by polling, etc.

I won't even try to comment on his blog, since he censors moderates them.

ITER Blanket Technology Improved

We need just 20 more years and we'll get this thing going...HA!

(Fusion is always 20 years away)

People With Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers At Greater Risk For Subsequent Cancer

Breast & lung cancer in women and melanoma in men and women.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Why Is A University Doing This?

Letting Helen Caldicott fear monger about radiation:


She mentions Jim Hansen and global warming, but he recently did a "study" which was pro-nuclear.

Once she becomes aware of it, I'd love to watch her cognitive dissonance.

Prof. Jim Al-Khalili Doesn't Understand Health Physics

This was uploaded to YouTube a couple of months ago by BBC Worldwide:


That Settles That!

Earlier today I mentioned the high radiation levels at a TX building.  It looks like the cause was a "false positive reading from a marble wall."

Was the wall actually radioactive?  If so, it's not a false positive reading.

If not, then what about the marble wall caused the radiation meter to respond as if the wall is radioactive?

Fracking Waste Causes Landfill Alarm

So the waste is returned to it's point of origin.

Speaking Of Chernobyl...

Roof to get resin.

Chernobyl Follow-Up Study On Thyroid Cancer Patients

Shows a high degree of treatment success.

Oak Ridge Groundwater Contamination

Is intermittent.

Possible Radiation Detected In Old TX Bank Building

Either it was detected or it wasn't.....

Computer Program Helps Unlock Cancer

Allows us to see DNA variations usually lost in the noise of sequencing.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

WCS Is Smiling

That would be Waste Control Specialists of Texas.

Faith Healing Kills

In this case, a second time.

We Don't Do Science By Petition

Rod Adam's Atomic Ideologies Insights blog points out a petition to stop using LNT.  Why not petition that CO2 doesn't cause global warming?  It won't make it true, but it might make some people feel better.  I commented on his blog, but my comment is in "moderation".  HA!

ANS Nuclear Cafe Spreads LNT Doubt

By Jim Hopf.  He also wants special priviledge since the EPA uses the same risk values for radioactive material as they do for other toxics.  I commented but my comment is in "moderation".

TEPCO Refusing To Pay For Decontamination

It claims government should pay.

Hot Mud In Fukushima School Pools

Why is there mud in the pools?

Hanford Tank Leaks Known For More Than A Year

Not looking good for Washington River Protection Solutions.

Why did the article source Marco Kaltofen, a civil engineer who is "currently collecting radioactively contaminated items from around the world to study their affects on human health."?

We understand how radiation affects human health, and that understanding comes from studying exposed humans, not contaminated items.

Gun Fire At Watts Bar Nuke Plant

But why?

Radioactive Bacteria Attack Cancer

In mice with pancreatic cancer.

NASA To Pay For Pu-238

Solely to the tune of around $80,000,000 over 5 years.

p53 Important In DNA Repair Following Radiation

Not really news, this has been known for some time.

Friday, April 19, 2013

New Solar Cell Technology

Improves efficiency by converting a photon (in very narrow band of visible light) into 2 electrons.

n-of-1 Studies

This is analogous to reasoning that low dose radiation causes cancer even though an epidemiological study doesn't discern a difference between a control group and the exposed group.

When drugs are developed they are tested in clinical trials for efficacy as well as unexpected side effects.  If there is no efficacy demonstrated (usually at a 90+% statistical certainty level), between those who get the drug and those who don't, the drug flops.

But just because the drug flops, doesn't mean it didn't help anyone who was given the drug.

n-of-1 studies are about understanding why a drug may have helped someone, or why it appears that it did though the cause may not be the drug.

Corium Physics

Corium refers to the molten core of a reactor following a meltdown.

Robert Alvarez Testifies To VT Lawmakers

He's anti-nuclear power, so of course so was his testimony.

The bar must be low to be a senior scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies.

Former INL Workers Claim Retaliation

They claim they raised health and safety concerns following some Pu contamination.

These kinds of claims are very tricky, so one should let the process follow its course.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

The Politics Of Radiation Treatment Centers

Is as ugly as any.

Atomic Ideologies Can't Handle Reality

The blog Atomic Ideologies Insights has a post on the Fukushima evacuation.

In it Adams wrote, "I think it is a travesty that people are still being forcibly separated from their homes."

I commented that there are people who wanted to get evacuated (at someone else's expense), but couldn't:


I also mentioned that some of the people are returning to their homes.

Those facts were too much for the ideological, and my comment was not posted.

UPDATE:  My comment was finally posted, and Adams blames the fear of the evacuees on the radiation protection community.  HA!  Who is responsible for emergency planning and response at a privately owned  (by a public company) power plant?  Whacko say what???

Parents (Everyone!) Need(s) To Know Homeopathy Doesn't Protect

Against anything, not just measles.

IAEA Checking Out Fukushima

The decommissioning has been very challenging.

UPDATE:


Biology Major Promotes Teaching Of Creationism

And he just happens to be the Governor of LA.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Well, That Clears Things Up

Here's some terrible reporting from the NYT on the EPA's proposed guidelines for responding to a radiological incident.  They quote someone from the EPA who says things don't change much, someone from an anti-nuclear group who says it's horrible, and a blogger who says the standards could be relaxed by a factor of 50.

How about an article on whether the Earth is flat?  Get all sides to the story.

Sunday, April 14, 2013

More Anti-HP Propaganda From Atomic Ideologies

The blog Atomic Ideologies Insights continues the religious proselytizing against science.

Adams cherry-picks certain "experts" and highlights their erroneous opinions.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

Cuttler is the one du jour and Rockwell has been one until he died (notice how Cuttler pays homage to Rockwell in the link).  And notice how Adams bromances Cuttler.  Very religious.

Cuttler makes the same tired old arguments, so I won't address them in detail here, unless a question is asked in the comments....YAWN.


It Probably Won't Matter, But At Least It Can Be Read

My comment was included on Wade Allison's SPURM-1 page.  My comment was a question asking whether or not the scientists (remember it's Scientists for the Public Understanding of Radiation (Mythology, my add)) were logically consistent or not:

"Are these "scientists" also Creationists? Creationists deny that DNA mutations under the forces of natural selection, genetic drift, and gene flow lead to the evolution of species. They deny evolution, which is the central theory of modern biology. These "scientists" deny the theory of LNT (calling it a "hypothesis" like Creationists refer to evolution). But LNT is analogous to evolutionary biology. In LNT, DNA mutations under the force of natural selection in the body's microenvironment cause certain cells to evolve into new "species" we call tumors. The secret of DNA's success is that it is mutable. If DNA repair were perfect, you would not be reading this."


It probably won't matter, because even if they're not Creationists (lack logical consistency), they display the same behaviors:






Doubting "Darwin's Doubt"

Here's a book soon to be published by biology-denier Stephen Meyer.  Fortunately, if you look at the comments, some people are calling a turd, a turd.

Friday, April 12, 2013

China Feeling The Heat

From its greenhouse gas emissions.

Not Much Internal Cs Found Around Fukushima

The study was conducted about a year or so after the accident.  Depending on the chemical form of the cesium and whether it was ingested and/or inhaled can influence the biological half life.  There may have been larger amounts of internal cesium which have since been eliminated, but they couldn't have been real high amounts or we'd still see some.

PA - You've Got A Problem

Dover all over again?

Large CME Expected Tonight

If you live to the north, you might be able to see its effects.

Sorry Vatican, Science Has No Room For Dogma

No matter what public relations efforts you  make.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Dark Lightning Produces Terrestial Gamma-Ray Flashes

And the potential doses to those in airplanes seems to be low.

Worker Health Protection Program

For former Oak Ridge nuclear workers:


Biblical Great Flood Example Of Climate Change

It would be hilarious, but it comes from a U.S. Congressman:


TEPCO vs. H2O

In Round 1, a tsunami (H2O) devastated TEPCO.

In Round 2, TEPCO made a comeback.

In Round 3, H2O is making its comeback

Draft Revision Of EPA's PAG's

Or Protective Action Guides is discussed here.

The 1 in 23 cancer risk is wrong.  Assuming we're talking about mortality, then as I commented within the link:

"The “long term public exposure of 2,000 mrem…” is misleading. The recommendation is 2,000 mrem for first year and 500 mrem each year thereafter. The risk will depend on how long one remains in the area. The risk of death (per PAG which is from EPA(1999) and old) is 6E-4 per rem. So if one stayed in the area under maximum recommended guidelines for 10 years (cleaned up by then or one moves) one’s cancer mortality risk increase is only about 0.4%. Not 1 in 23, which equates to 4%."

Using Solar Power To Boost Natural Gas

This may help to slow global warming, but not by much.

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Shadow Evacuations

After a nuclear power accident.  It's a certainty that there will be some degree of shadow evacuations and some degree of people who should evacuate but don't.

No one knows who it will play out until it does.

Settling The LNT Debunking Study

I don't know how many times this study has been proffered as debunking LNT.

(This might be a good time to review my webpage "LNT Model & Radiation Studies", right hand side of this page)

Speaking Of Climate Change Education....

Paul Valdes, University of Bristol.....


One shouldn't get one's climate change education from a 13 year old.

Next Generation Science Standards

Because kids deserve to know.  Nice emphasis on climate change and evolutionary biology.

Moving HEU Through NY

From Canada to SRS is sure to generate headlines to worry people.

Space Radiation Inhibits Oncoprotein Destruction

In particular Fe-56 in mice, but presumably it holds for humans too.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Like Counterfeiting Money

Bogus science journals.  They devalue the real thing.

Fukushima Tank Leak Problems May Be Worse

I had posts previously describing the two tank leaks that were found.  There are 5 similar tanks and because they are all of common construction, TEPCO thinks they are all susceptible to leakage.

Normal Fetal Growth & Cancer

Are related through growth promoting genes.

Nuclear Retirement Anxiety

Could mean big business for some.

Ghana Considering Nuclear Power

More power to ya'!

SRS To Hold Emergency Response Drills

In May and June regarding Bldg. 235-F, which houses some powdery Pu.

Sunday, April 7, 2013

The Genesis Of Another Anti-HP Cult

They've been around for a long time.   We have the International Hormesis Dose Response Society.  There was the Radiation, Science, & Health "international" group.

And now we have SPURM-1 SPUR-1.  A "worldwide" group which as far as I can tell consists of four (see Figure 1 within the Acrobat download).

And in a complete lack of scientific integrity they're asking for anyone's opinion on the matter.

Why?

Because someone has to stand up to the experts!


P.S. And you can buy Allison's book.

That Explains Democracy Now

Democracy Now is generally a good quality news broadcast.  But they are obviously anti-nuclear power.  Here's an example of them giving Arnie Gundersen plenty of air time last year:



Well, Amy Goodman (the host) is on C-Span Book TV today and she said that she's the daughter of the late Dr. George Goodman.  And she said he was very involved with the anti-nuclear group Physicians For Social Responsibility.

Radiation Induced Cancer: A Modern View

This is from last December, and it very well reflects my understanding.

Saturday, April 6, 2013

If Two Things Conflict, Let's Delude Ourselves They Don't

Here's Dr. Gerald Schroeder (formerly of the U.S. AEC) telling us that science and the Bible don't conflict. It's from 1999.  It's always scary when someone with such intellect can also be so delusional:


"It's More Of A Wish"

No, it's actually more stupidity as KS lawmakers legislative declare that life begins at fertilization.

The sperm and egg aren't dead..they're alive.  And assuming all goes well, the zygote is alive.

Yes, the zygote has novel DNA so it is a new organism.

But it is not self-sustaining, it depends on its mother to survive in what is similar to a parasitic relationship.

What is it that these morons are wishing for?


Pat Robertson Ain't No Doctor

But that won't stop him from pretending to be.

Zack Kopplin On Bill Maher

I've mentioned him before and he's on Real TimeWith Bill Maher on HBO this week.  Zack is the teen who fights anti-science legislation in LA.

After the show, Maher does a few minutes on the Internet called Overtime in which Zack contributes some.

Speaking Of Leaks....

Here's some insight on Hanford tank leaks as well as information leaks.

Fukushima Water Tank Leak

Perhaps one of the tanks is leaking, compounding radioactive water storage management.

Friday, April 5, 2013

Fukushima Spent Fuel Cooling Lost

And restored.

New Anti-Vaxxer Twist

Anti-vaxxers (those who want you to believe vaccines cause various problems particularly autism) have a new card to play.

"The Species Is Unlikely To Survive"

Here's Noam Chomsky from a few years ago (though recently uploaded), but considering what's happening in the world it's still current:


DOE Revisits Scrap Metal Recycling

Which metal dealers don't want.

Congrats America!

You're getting smarter on global warming.

Need more evidence?

Fugitive Nat Gas Leaks Need To Be Reduced

There is some disagreement on what the actual leak rate is, but whatever it is, it needs to be reduced.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

James Hansen Disappoints

I mentioned this study he did, but I never read it because the conclusions are obviously true.

I did actually read it, and it uses a risk of death per unit of power generation to reach its conclusions.

In the case of the nuclear risk factor (the only one I explored), the factor is based on a particular reactor type, particular enrichment processes, etc. and particular populations surrounding particular facilities.

It isn't appropriate to generalize that nuclear risk factor.

He also thinks that LNT may have a threshold, which is an oxymoron.

Squabbles About Homeopathy

With Ben Goldacre (and some bad audio).

Remember that homeopathy was justification for radiation hormesis when T.D. Luckey proposed it.

Rad Cancer Therapy

This radical, radiation based technique uses boron capture of neutrons.

However, neutron radiation itself is more carcinogenic than gamma radiation, so it will have the side effect of risk of cancer later in life for the healthy tissue which is exposed to the neutron flux.

Rod Adams Mythicizes Ted Rockwell P2

He did so yesterday on the ANS blog, and today he's doing so on his own.

My comments were erased from the ANS blog, let's see what happens today on his.

Update:  One of two comments has been deleted.  I wrote something like:

"You can ignore me and my facts if you want, that's what denialism is.

Duane Gish died last month and he likely had close friends and family.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duane_Gish

But if one of them claimed he "tiredlessly argued for the facts", that would not be true.

Emotions shouldn't fog honesty."

Terrible!  Horrible!

Dr. Roach Understands Radiation Health Effects

And educates an inquirer.

Dark Matter Detected?

Even though that's the hype, the answer is not likely.

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

7 Misused Science Terms

There are more, but these probably top the list.

Mangano/Sherman Strike Again

With bad science.  They follow their typical pattern...not determining what dose the kids actually received and not looking for other causes other than something nuclear.

Nuclear Power Safer Than Coal Power

That should be obvious by now.

Quantum Mechanics Does NOT Support Free Will

Here's a bad article by a graduate physics student.  The brain and the rest of the body work at the level of chemistry (molecules).  Molecules behave deterministically.  In other words, every time you drink your favorite drink, it tastes the same.  Chemical reactions always behave the same.  Quantum mechanics is appropriate when dealing with atoms or smaller phenomena.


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Hanford Tank Explosion Risk

Thanks to hydrogen.

A Glimmer Of Hope

From the bastion of the ignorant.

Rod Adams Mythicizes Ted Rockwell

On the ANS Cafe blog.  Ted Rockwell was an officer of the Radiation, Science and Health, Inc., a fringe group of pro-nuclear energy hormesis advocates.  He was also a "Professional" member of the Parapsychological Association.

He was not a promoter of science, but a promoter of pseudo-science.

I'm reminded of Duane Guish who died about a month ago.

The hormesis-cult is very much like the creationist cult...my comments on the blog have been removed for pointing out certain facts!

Treating Radiation Injuries

From cancer treatment in GA.

Congrats NJ!

For banning kids' tanning ban usage.

James Hansen Retires From NASA

So he can be more politically active.

I salute you.

EnergySolutions Burns German Rad Waste

And wants more, and this makes the news.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Nuclear Power Folks Are Scaring Me....

First we have the Nuclear Energy Institute's blog:

"Our prayers go out to our colleagues at Arkansas Nuclear One where..."

Prayers????  At least there's no animal sacrifice being called for!


 And then the U.S. NRC's blog, where the ANO NRC inspector was getting ready for Easter services!



Science Stops Miracles

Americans are just too educated!

And, no, it's not an April Fool's joke, just an April (and every other month) fool.

What Is A Gene?

Explained with an axe analogy.

Happy B-Day SORCE!

SOlar Radiation and Climate Experiment.

Happy Agnosis Day!

April Fool's Day!

Conca Spanks Mangano

It's funny to read a health physics denier (pro-nuclear power) attack another health physics denier (anti-nuclear power).  I commented within his blog as "Anon", though more than one Anon may appear.

FCC & Cell Phone Health Effects

They are thinking about it...they should convene a National Academy of Sciences study on it.