Radiation Information Blog Joint: August 2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

What Will Some HP Deniers Do With This? P2

I was originally going to title this post "NASA Selects 12 Radiobiology Research Proposals" and announce the news, which I received today.

Thanks for the funding ($12M) NASA!

But then I recalled this video from last year with some of the background information associated with space radiation biology. Upon revisiting it today, it matched so well with my previous blog post (as well as with the NASA announcement), that I just decided to title this post as Part 2.

If you're a health physics denier of the radiation hormesis strain, you can just pretend the video and the facts described within it don't exist.

What Will Some HP Deniers Do With This?

I'm referring to those health physics (hp) deniers of the radiation hormesis strain.

"This" is called SIRT6 and it plays a major role in DNA repair, especially Non-Homologous End Joining. (NHEJ). The graphic below depicts a double strand break (DSB) in DNA (top) undergoing repair by the NHEJ process. The next images, below the top one, depict how different proteins are recruited to effect the DSB repair. It doesn't include SIRT6 because the graphic is old.

Will The Presidential Candidates Discuss Science?

Maybe. We should demand they do, because people act upon what they believe. If you think there's a burglar in your house, you will behave a certain way. If you don't, you'll behave differently.

The Anti-Nukes Are Probably Giddy

License denial of Calvert Cliffs-3.

Let's see......yup.

Bored? Play With This

It's a scale-of-the-Universe slider. Click the Start button and you will be on a scale of 10^0, which equals 1 (unless you're a math denier, in which case you can make up whatever you want).

Then move the slider button below the graphic to check out the expanse of the Universe. The power of 10 graphic gives you a sense of magnitude.

WOW!

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Peter Gleick Addresses Science Denial

The video is from last year, but I've just come across it. The first part addresses fallacies that apply to all the science deniers, ~~weather~~ whether deniers of climatology, health physics, medicine, etc. The first cartoon he displays fits right in with my previous post!:

She Shows Leg, Brains Not So Much

She got a bruise on her leg from riding a bicycle. Her "cure"? She wraps a rock around her leg!

It's a radiation hormesis rock!

Radiation Belt Storm Probes Lifts Off

Earlier today. They will study the Van Allen radiation belts that surround Earth. These pose a hazard to satellites and humans in space. This video is very good:

Never Seen A Cloud Chamber? Check This Out!

Cloud chambers show subatomic particle contrails which is short-hand for "condensation trails", usually associated with the condensation of water behind airplanes. This video starts off with just background radiation and then an Am-241 source is introduced. But the best is saved for last, Rn-220 (the video uploader says radium, but she meant radon).

Contrasting Medical Events

If you click on my link (upper right) to today's NRC event report, you'll see two contrasting medical radiation events.

Here I Go Again...

Criticizing bad science.

No, Dr. Cannara, nature is not stupid, but what you're claiming...well.

Let's dig in.

Professor, That's Not LNT

Here's a short video from last year with Radiological Physics (think medical physics) Professor Cynthia McCollough. I hadn't seen it until today:

In an alleged campaign by the tanning bed industry called "Sun Scare":

Arctic Sea Ice Reaches New Minimum, Unless You're In Denial

Based on over 30 years of records, and there's still more melting to go.

Meanwhile, those associated with the George C. Marshall Institute, like William Happer, continue to obfuscate the science to the general public:

Why Are They Monkeying Around?

Zoos and aquariums find themselves in a sensitive situation on climate change. You see the planet is warming. But some of these facilities are concerned about discussing the issue (though others are not).

Why compromise because some people can't accept reality? Do what's right and discuss the science.

You Go Science Guy!

This video of Bill Nye ("The Science Guy"), has received a little media attention because Bill addresses biology deniers:

The graph below (from 2006 in the journal Science) shows the relative U.S. ranking in the global acceptance of evolution. If you squint, we're just up from the bottom. (Good thing we have Turkey!)

If you're a health physics denier (of the hormesis stripe), you aren't much different than someone who is in denial over evolution. In the case of biology, sex cell DNA mutations lead to the evolution of new species. In health physics, somatic cell DNA mutations lead to the evolution of new cell-types (cancer). The cartoon below could have included a health physics frame:

Radiation Hormesis - It's A Kind Of Magic

Yesterday I mentioned Jane Goldberg. When I was first learning about her I came across this video of her interviewing Philip Lipetz, PhD for her book. This video was completely different than the typical propaganda from health physics deniers (in this case related to the hormesis cult). Lipetz comes off as very intelligent, kind, and honest. He honestly states that his hypothesis is just that....a hypothesis (to be revisited below). Heck, I'd even say he's convincing:

Hints Of Rad Waste Migration From ORNL

Trace amounts of Sr-90 and Tc-99 found in monitoring wells on the far side of the Clinch River. Rad waste was injected after shale was hydrofractured.

Toshiba's CT Imaging Dose Reduction Software

Called AIDR3D, it has been tested at a facility in Florida, with good results.

Medical radiation exposures have soared in recent decades, and the medical community continues to take measures targeted at reducing them.

Here's a short, good video which explains how CT imaging software (generally similar to AIDR3D) is used for radiation therapy in a lung cancer case:

The anatomical planes she refers to are (she refers to the "axial" as the "transverse"):

The tattoos she mentions are very small permanent tattoos (can be removed by laser) and help to serve as "landmarks" (or "bodymarks"), to ensure repeated proper body positioning. Radiation doses are typically fractionated (total dose is delivered in fractions over days or weeks).

Sunday, August 26, 2012

The Search For Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays

Here's an informative video on the Pierre Auger Project in Argentina where folks are seeking to understand the source of ultra high energy cosmic rays. The energies associated with typical cosmic rays are under 10 GeV, but these rare, ultra high energy ones have been detected up to 10^14 GeV!

Radiation Hormesis - Back To School SALE!

Only $175.50

Denialism On Overtime With Bill Maher

What's the face of science denial? Well, here's one belonging to an advisor to Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney. His name is Avek Roy, and he's on the HBO show called Real Time With Bill Maher.

After the time allotted for the show ends, they continue with a short "Overtime" segment which is only available on the internet. (It's Episode 256, which should be available on YouTube next week or so)

Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes

With Tropical Storm Isaac moving in on the southeastern shore of the U.S., how about a TGF video?:

Friday, August 24, 2012

Radioprotectant Protein - TCTP

This is a good study showing how a particular protein (TCTP) is up-regulated following radiation exposure. A significant role of the protein is to prevent cell death, so it's no surprise that it's summoned after the exposure. Once up-regulated, it helps to prevent further DNA damage, a general phenomenon known as adaptive response.

One of the problems of all cellular-response-to-radiation studies, is that we don't know how to interpret the interplay among the many, various responses. Any particular study examines one unique aspect, but there are many studies and many aspects. And we don't know how many cellular response pathways are yet to be identified.

See my page "LNT Model & Radiation Studies" in the upper right, for a broader perspective.

Most Mutations Come From Dad

3.3:1 paternal to maternal rate ratio, and the rate increases with the father's age, not the mother's.

The link also provides timing estimates as to when humans and chimps diverged, up to 6.6 million years ago.

Fukushima Workers Reaching Dose Limits

Statistics here.

The Christopher Busby Foundation For The Children Of Fukushima

Is a complete joke. I've blogged about him before (search his name), most recently asking "is he sane?".

Well, with this latest video, I won't need to ask that question again.

And that European Committee on Radiation Risk? Sounds impressive, but's it's just him and a few other whackos, including Yuri Bandazhevsky, who was jailed for taking bribes. Because he had also written papers exaggerating the health effects of radiation, his jail sentence has morphed him into a martyr in this cult.

If you haven't had your fill of conspiracy fantasies and fact-free health physics today, this should do the trick:

India's "NRC" Slacking

India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board needs to mature.

DoE & B-J Settle 10 Year Rad Waste Claim

I'm betting the legal fees exceeded the $230,000 settlement amount.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Dr. Jeff, Have You Ever Heard Of Triage?

This is a long video, and I haven't and won't watch it all. Apparently it represents a portion of a recent anti-nuclear forum. A little birdie told me to watch Dr. Jeff Patterson who comes on at abut 1:14:00:

The Yeasty Boys

"Enthusiasm is the yeast that rises the dough"

Paul J. Meyer

Carl Zimmer describes how our distant cousin, yeast, has been used to discover a tumor shrinking drug.

In health physics we used yeast as an aid in understanding that the genes employed to resist ionizing radiation are different than those used to resist the more common damage of metabolism called metabolic oxidative damage (MOD). This is illustrated here (where "IR" stands for ionizing radiation, and H2O2 stands for hydrogen peroxide, one of the oxidizers).

Of course this is not surprising because the type and location of IR damage is different than MOD as are the cellular repair mechanisms. This was discussed here - "DNA Damage & Repair".

Can You Do Health Physics Deniers Next?

"The results showed that those who subscribed to one or more conspiracy theories or who strongly supported a free market economy were more likely to reject the findings from climate science as well as other sciences."

Mangling Radiation Health Effects To Confuse People

I'm referring to this article. There's no clarity provided by the writer by addressing genetic risks in one paragraph, cancer risks in another, and thyroid problems in yet another.

How is the average reader (an accountant, a truck driver, a store clerk, etc.) going to interpret that cacophony of info?

This Changes The Meaning Of To "Suffer"

Some folks in Japan have a body burden of Cs-137 that is estimated to result in a dose of up to 0.85 mSv.

Oh, the suffering! HA!

Now, this guy, he suffered. (Not that radiation was causative).

(How do you get a dose "outside the body"? I think the writer means the total dose from internal and external radiation sources.)

Swedes - You Have An Education Problem!

Nearly half of young Swedes think cancer is contagious.

Now we Americans are in no position to poke fun when we have elected officials who don't understand virus contagion.

NM Activists Worried About Pu Pits

Well, they need something to worry about. Pu pits are the plutonium internals of nuclear warheads, and some are destined for Los Alamos in New Mexico. There the pits will be processed for use as Mixed Oxide fuel for commercial nuclear power plants.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Hormies Should Be TREMling

I'm using short-hand...I'm referring to radiation hormesis proponents (health physics deniers) as Hormies, much like others refer to Intelligent Design proponents (biology deniers) as IDiots.

One of the tired old claims of Hormies is that radiation stimulates the immune system. Hey, guess what? If I cut you or introduce a pathogen it will stimulate your immune system! That doesn't make cutting people or infecting them a good thing!

On top of that, chronic stimulation of the immune system (chronic inflammation) is associated with increased cancer risk. Silly Hormies.

A recent study shows how the gene TREM-1 can promote a chronic, low level state of inflammation and increase the cancer risk in mice. The link between chronic inflammation and cancer risk isn't new, this study just adds to the existing knowledge base.

(For more info on radiation effects on the immune system see my page "Radiation Stimulates The Immune System So LNT Is False", upper right).

Climatology Deniers Have Something To Deal With

Otherwise known as the preponderance of the evidence. Welcome to the rest of our lives (I've embedded this video previously, but revisiting):

Meanwhile, the Arctic Ice Cap is on course for a record melt.

NASA has a good website on the subject.

The Radiation Hormesis Fantasy

Atomic ~~Ideologies~~ Insights blog has a post on the subject. I have a separate page devoted to it, where I compare it to creationism (Biologists are hiding the truth! Evolution is a lie! It's a conspiracy! HA! HA!).

This article on world-views is timely. It's no coincidence that strongly religious people tend to deny biology, strongly pro-fossil fuel people tend to deny climatology, and strongly pro-nuclear (as well as strongly anti-nuclear) people tend to deny health physics.

It's human psychology....motivated reasoning, anchoring, confirmation bias, etc.

U.K. Cancer Prevalence Expected To Triple

By 2040. As we get older, we accumulate more DNA damage which leads to more cancers. As I pointed out on my page devoted to this topic, in the U.S. in the 1900's, cancer was the 7th leading cause of death, but advanced to the 2nd leading cause by the 1940's.

Cancer.....it's in our genes!

Belgium's Doel 3 Rx Could Have "Thousands Of Cracks"

According to their safety agency's inspector.

Extracting Uranium From Seawater

Hi Cap. Thanks ORNL.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

DNA Damage & Repair

Here's a great video explaining DNA damage and repair mechanisms. It's from Prof. Jim Boyne of the University of Bradford. Unfortunately, what that means is that in addition to technical jargon, you've got heavily accented technical jargon. If you're not up on basic molecular biology, you might want to pass. If you're wishy-washy you might want to read this first.

He does a good job (though not intentionally) of addressing a common health physics denialism claim that goes something like:

1. We have lots of DNA damage happening all the time.

2. Some event happens causing low dose radiation exposure.

3. There is no increased risk from the radiation because of 1.

Mathematically, it's like claiming 100,000 + 1 = 0, whereas the correct answer is 100,001.

Radiation's Long Term Effects On Pediatric Cancer Patients

Bone marrow transplant is often prescribed for kids who have leukemia or other blood cancers. Typically, just before the transplant the child is given total body irradiation in order to help kill any cancer cells and to suppress the immune system so that it doesn't attack the transplanted cells.

Here's a recent study which show some of the later effects of the irradiation (doses typically 1000-2000 rad range)

Record Rad Levels In Fish Off Fukushima

25,800 Bq/kg of Cs-137 which is 258x their limit, which is based on an annual consumption of the food of 2 kg/day for a year.

Where Rad Detection & Reducing Global Warming Meet

Yesterday I posted a video which showed how metal-organic frameworks could be employed in radiation detection. They are also good candidates for CO2 sequestration.

NYT Covers Increased Medical Radiation

Yesterday, I had a post on how some cardiologists have reduced radiation exposures. The New York Times has a good background article on the broader issue, and the author explains some of the underlying psychology which has led to the increase in the exposures.

Patients getting a radiation-based diagnosis or treatment enjoy modern medicine and can't feel any DNA damage. The costs are usually covered by a third-party (insurer), so the patient is not very cost-of-test conscious. A doctor is focused on whatever brought the patient to him/her in the first place and also wants to utilize all tools at his/her disposal to avoid a malpractice suit. The doctor may also profit from more testing.

But as my earlier post discusses, the situation is improving.

The U.S. FDA is actively involved.

Fukushima Slowed Nuclear Growth

By about 8% compared to what was otherwise expected, according to the IAEA.

San Onofre To Layoff 730

In October. Sad situation.

Monday, August 20, 2012

Sometimes Discrimination Is Good!

Not in regards to people, of course...but in regards to discriminating between neutrons and gammas:

Cardiologists Dramatically Reduce Radiation Exposures

In the last half of the 20th century, when someone wanted to know how much annual radiation dose a typical person receives, it was easy to recall....360 mrem (close to the number of days in the year).

But things change and by the early part of the 21st century the average is 620 mrem! (I have no mnemomic for that).

The culprit for the increase was medical radiation exposures. People were living longer, enjoying more advanced medical technologies, doctors wanted to avoid misdiagnosis for tort reasons so they wanted more imaging, etc.

Now some cardiologists at the Mayo Clinic have revised how they do their cardiology, with an average dose reduction of around 40%. They are tracking patient radiation doses and opting for lower quality, but sufficient imaging.

By publishing their achievements others can mimic.

Kentucky Wild Turkeys

Some state Senate Republicans "questioning" evolution.

""I would hope that creationism is presented as a theory in the classroom, in a science classroom, alongside evolution," Sen. David Givens, R-Greensburg, said Tuesday in an interview."

Science requires evidence, turkey.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/08/14/2298914/gop-lawmakers-question-standards.html#storylink=cpy

More Gundersen Propaganda

This time fear-mongering about Fukushima's #4 spent fuel pool (which is too cool to ignite). It was recently posted to YouTube, but may have been made much earlier:

Using Evolution To Understand Pollution

I'm not really sure how. We know some species can adapt, but with pollution prevention we're trying to minimize any species that might perish as well as the suffering of individuals, particularly humans.

Gundersen Anti-Nuking Again

On a local public T.V. show:

Int'l Experts Learn From U.S. Rad Waste Sites

Thanks to the IAEA.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Global Warming Convert Doesn't Understand Health Physics

I had a post several months ago on a global warming denier who once he actually looked at the evidence, changed his mind.

The Atomic Ideologies blog has made me aware of a recent op-ed regarding Fukushima health effects from the same person.

Concerns Of French Nuclear Testing Site Collapse

The Murorua Atoll.

NNSA To Discuss Pu Disposition In NM Next Week

MOX appears to be the solution.

Hanford Tank Leak?

Not much information here, but it looks like one of Hanford's double-walled tanks may have an inner-wall leak.

Good Article On NAS Study Of Radiation Around Nuke Plants

The National Academy of Science (NAS) was asked by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to take a look at the feasibility of studying cancer risks around nuclear plants. They did so and published their findings.

This article summarizes those findings and highlights the difficulties with pursuing such a study. The NRC Commissioners will vote on whether or not to pursue the pilot study or any other approach later this year.

Contaminated Pickles Kill 6 In Japan

E.Coli, not radioactivity.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Thyroid Cancer Risk Persists

Decades after radiation exposure. The article says leukemia behaves differently, but I don't think so. Both cancers peak, but for those who have cells which have been damaged, and no cancer, future additional damage can lead to cancer.

Deer Trail Landfill

Can accept NORM, and of course, some people are concerned.

New Target For Melanoma Treatment

Drug suppresses oxidative phosphorylation.

Friday, August 17, 2012

Protein Inhibits Melanoma Metastases

WNT1.

Pandemonium & Treasure Island

In CA. The USS Pandemonium was a 1940's training ship were sailors learned decontamination techniques.
It looks like contamination remains on the island.

William McGuire Has Died

Of Duke Energy, with nuclear plant named after him.

Elderly Fukushima Volunteers

Nice that they've volunteered, but really...what can they do?

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Another Health Physicist Wannabe

Give someone a geiger counter and they imagine they are health physicists.

Pan Fried Meat Increases Prostate Cancer Risk

Eat more veggies!

That's What A Douche Bag Looks Like

Alex Jones, fear-mongerer:

U.S. CO2 Emissions Drop To 20 Year Lows

Thanks mostly to natural gas.

Atomic Ideologies Don't Like Dem Butterflies

I started this blog because I read about some health physics denialism from the blog Atomic ~~Ideologies~~ Insights. Now Rod Adams, the blogger, doesn't like the recent Japanese butterfly study.

Fukushima Data "MIxed"?

That's the headline of this AP article. The butterflies (as larvae) eat lots of contaminated vegetation from the Fukushima area and we see mutations. Humans in a neighboring city don't eat lots of contaminated vegetation, so they have low levels of contamination. Why is this "mixed"?

CERN Breaks Record For Hottest Manmade Material

5.5 trillion degrees C.

Cancer Gene Deletions & Collateral Damage

When a gene deletion involves a tumor suppressor and another vital gene, attacking a redundant gene of the vital gene can impair the cancer. Such is the with the vital gene ENO1 and its buddy ENO2.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

CT Scans More Likely For White Kids

May mean more unnecessary radiation to them.

Zirconium Corrosion Mechanism

Nuclear power plant fuel is clad with zirconium. Nitrogen (which air is mostly composed of) accelerates the corrosion of it by forming NO within it.

Gene Deletion Drives 28% Of Breast Cancers

It's NF-1.

H-3!

Some found at 9 Mile Point 1 (leaked into the plant from groundwater???).

Can be used in nanobattery.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Two Fukushima Studies

One is a self-reporting study on psychological distress.

The second is an estimate of internal doses from the residents of Minamisoma, located 14 miles north of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. The vast majority was <1 mSv. This is in agreement with the preliminary WHO report which didn't measure people directly (see my separate page in upper right), but used modeling.

U.S. NRC Chairperson On C-Span

At 4:50 p.m. E.T.

Nuclear Power On C-Span 2 Now

From the Commonwealth Club of CA.

Some Christians Don't Like Math!

I knew some didn't like geology (because the age of the Earth differs from a Biblical interpretation) and biology (human evolution versus creationism).

But math?

Apparently the particular problem has to do with set theory and the fact that there are different infinities. Some think there can only be one infinity (ie, god) and that set theory is modernist, and some don't like modernism.

Explained further here. I recommend you watch the embedded video.

WEE1!

WEE1 is a regulatory protein that plays a role in keeping chromatin regulated (compact). Certain cancer cells show increased expression of the protein, leading to the conclusion that they've hijacked the regulatory process. Cancer is very complex.

ITER Update

Our best hope for nuclear fusion.

New NRC Head Concerned With Geology

It's a good thing she's a geologist.

Nuclear Plant License Extensions

Are discussed here.

Toshiba Eyes Nuclear Alliance

By offering a part of Westinghouse Electric. It's amazing how the old nuclear giants of GE & W-house, have become Japanized. It's now Hitachi-Ge and Toshiba-W-house.

Mysterious, Radioactive LA Sinkhole

Any radioactivity is thought to be NORM from fossil fuel exploration.

Update: Initial sampling shows no significant NORM.

Monday, August 13, 2012

More On Japan's Butterflies

From the BBC.

Chromosomal Translocations & Personalized Cancer Care

There's some promise in identifying the specific translocations and targeting for personalized care. The article points to one problem...how to know which translocation is causative and which is correlative. Another problem, is if cancer has developed, those cells mutate pretty uncontrollably, so that by the time you identify a personalized therapy, some cells have evolved and may not be a suitable target.

DNA --> Cancer Presentation

This presentation is several years old, but really good. The presenters are addressing kids, so they keep it very straightforward. They discuss DNA, its damage, its repair mechanisms and tumorigenesis. They have the kids participate in several exercises which demonstrates how natural selection works.

Cell Signaling Cascade Of CLL

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia - abnormal, neighboring cell receptors on same cell activate each other, leading to uncontrolled cell division.

Japan's CO2 Emissions Rising

Related to earlier post of today on their increasing fuel oil consumption.

Higher Water Temperatures Affect Nuke Plants

One of the rarely discussed pollutants of nuclear power is waste heat (other fuels have waste heat as well).

Does "Filament" Really Describe This?

A 500,000 mile solar filament.

Cold Fusion "Co-Founder" Dies

Martin Fleischmann.

Early Stage Breast Cancer Stats

Radiation after lumpectomy will probably prevent need for mastectomy in older women.

Japan's Utilities Fuel Oil Use Skyrocketed

In July by 64%, due to nuclear shutdown.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Allison - Radiation & Lack Of Reason

On his website he has posted two criticisms, one aimed at Japan and the other at Germany (look to the right, under "Downloads and links"). His basic rationale is that since DNA can repair itself, radiation shouldn't be feared. But DNA doesn't always repair itself with 100% fidelity, that's why there is a risk of cancer from a single photon (though the risk is very, very, very low). Low doses of radiation pose a low risk of cancer, they aren't harmless.

Japan's Butterfly Abnormalities

Due to Fukushima radioactivity.

The Criminal Nun

Who broke into a secure Oak Ridge facility.

Fukushima #4 Rx Head Removal

Video:

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Olympians Who Aren't Intellectuals

Are wearing kinesio tape.

Dr. Chris Busby - Is He Sane?

I don't think so.

What About The Grace Of Modern Medicine?

Here's someone with a very strange disease, but it's the grace of God, rather than modern medicine that is ultimately responsible.

Colorectal Cancer Rates Rise In Younger Folks

Though falling overall.

Smoking - It Doesn't Just Promote Lung Cancer

Other cancers, heart attacks and strokes.

LNT - Common Misunderstandings

I was discussing LNT with a couple of folks on a website, and they presented two common misunderstandings.

Crack In Rx Vessel In Belgium Plant

Not sure which one.

Nuclear Power Addressed At Nagasaki

Tough decisions for the Japanese.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

I'm Feeling Pretty Tiny

Here is an animation from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey:

Rad Levels Within Fukushima Exclusion Zone

The caption under this video reads:

"This is the truth about the radiation count in Fukushima in the exclusion zone. It is sad that there is a cover up on information that should be made public that is not being made public.That Japanese government along with Mr. Noda as the center of all of this are and or seem like a bunch of terrorists that are getting away with all of their illegal activities without anyone trying to stop them in any way. All what they are doing and how they are running the government in Japan will slowly cause a lot of people to get and or die. Their actions are purely evil in every way!!!"

Nuclear Priesthood?

This is ironic (I can't get it to embed in this blog). Gundersen states that there is a nuclear priesthood.

Yet, he is part of a non-profit (Fairewinds) calls himself the Chief Engineer (though he doesn't engineer anything), and sermonizes for donations (see here).

NASA To Discuss Radiation Belt Probes

Later today.

Religion

Looks like overall we're doing better at dropping superstitions, at least the organized ones in the U.S.

Outside the U.S., we still have whackos like these folks:

Underground Russian cult.

Israeli cult.

July - Hottest U.S. Record

EVER!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Dr. Shuntaro Hida - Not Very Accurate

He thinks no one died from radiation before Hiroshima, but they did, Marie Curie being one of them. We are still studying the atomic bomb survivors, Hida doesn't have any unique knowledge. Radiation effects can be treated, especially many cancers. But he seems like a nice guy:

Airport X-Ray Scanners Again

Some people remain frightened.

Oldie But Goodie

Here's some old footage from the National Cancer Institute showing normal and cancerous cells (don't know what kind of cells they are). The first segment displays normal cells, the second segment (1:20) displays cancer cells and the third segment (2:38) showing both normal and cancer cells. Differences in ruffling (changes in the cell membrane) and movement are emphasized. The video has no audio.

LANL Is Shipping Waste

And breaking records!

Waste Storage Issue For Indian Pt. Relicensing

The NRC has to consider the impact of no Yucca Mt.

GAO Criticizes FCC Over Cellphone Radiation

FCC seems willing update its standards.

U.K. Likes Nuclear Power

Hinkley Point power station planned.

Utah Radiation Safety Board Overhauled

Drawing some heat from an EnergySolutions appointment, Dan Shrum. I have met Dan on a couple of occasions, and have found him to be very fair and professional.

Damned Dam Drawdowns!

Another global warming contributor!

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Damned Diseased Trees!

They emit methane, contributing to global warming!

Curiosity To Measure Rads

With RAD.

Free Radiation Screening In Reno

For those living or working near the Nevada Test Site, 1951-1963.

TEPCO Considered FirearmsTo Avoid H2 Explosion

Creative! CNN covered some of the video release:

Solar Cycle Peaking

Expected to peak in 2013.

Esophogeal Cancer Risk Factors

Are listed here, avoid them.

Monday, August 6, 2012

Superficial X-Rays Ok For Non-Melanoma Skin Cancers

But stay out of the sun.

Does Japan's Nuke Power Industry Employ Health Physicists?

If so, they aren't very good.

Nuclearphobia

The Economist has a blog post with that title. It gets the big picture correct, that there are a lot of unwarranted fears about things nuclear. But some of the justifications aren't very good...like mentioning how low the doses are to evacuees, which would be higher had they not evacuated. The author quotes a doctor who seems to be an LNT denialist. He doesn't seem to understand that there is an epidemiological threshold which we can't see below, but because we understand that ionizing radiation IONIZES DNA, it is rational to conclude there is no effect threshold.