tagged w/ Depleted Uranium
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The United States has left its mark on Iraq in myriad ways in its two wars in the Persian Gulf, but one of the least-discussed is the effects of the US military's use of depleted uranium (DU) munitions. DU is a munitions designer's dream: projectiles using DU alloys are armor-piercing and incendiary, which means it's ideal for obliterating and burning tanks and other armored vehicles. But its use has left the Gulf's battlefields blanketed with radioactive material.
DU is byproduct of the production of the enriched uranium used in nuclear reactors, and as such has relatively low levels of radiation. But Gulf War soldiers were regularly exposed to it, not least when DU used in munitions converted into an aerosol form after explosions. That means that Gulf War soldiers may have been exposed without realizing it, and has long been blamed for contributing to Gulf War Syndrome, although more recently chemical weapons have also been blamed.
According to one report to the Hague Peace Conference in 1999, a few hundred tons of DU was used in the war, which still lingers in Iraq and surrounding nations. DU was also used in the Iraq War, especially during the siege of Fallujah. Gulf War Syndrome is also appearing in our most recent veterans, although its link to DU isn't clear. What is clear is that many Iraqis have had long-term exposure to environmental DU. In 2004, Iraq had the world's highest mortality rate from leukemia (PDF), and Basra and Fallujah have had high rates of birth defects and cancer, which some researchers believe is linked to the use of DU
Our colleagues at VICE recently discussed the legacy of both Iraq wars on Iraq's environment, and spoke with Congressman Jim McDermott of the Seventh District of Washington State. McDermott is one of the few voices in Congress who's consistently asked about and discussed the military's use of DU.
Again, DU alloys do have attractive qualities for designing munitions, which is why it found its way into everything from tank rounds to the rounds used by the A-10 tank-hunting jet. But as McDermott, a former physician, notes, the health problems that sprouted up after the military began using DU are immense.
And while our many soldiers' DU-related health problems is terrible enough on its own, we've also left Iraq covered in radioactive munitions fragments that, by the very virtue of having exploded, are essentially impossible to clean up. That is a huge, if overlooked, legacy of the United States' wars in Iraq: Not only does Iraq have to deal with the physical toll of a decade-plus of war, it's also been left with a huge, and ongoing, health crisis.
By Derek MeadThe United States has left its mark on Iraq in myriad ways in its two wars in the... more
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Story Highlights
Findings may eventually help those suffering from chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia
Veterans studied say the illness has wrecked their lives
More than 250,000 veterans of the 1991 war have reported some symptoms
WASHINGTON — Researchers say they have found physical proof that Gulf War illness is caused by damage to the brain — and that proof may ultimately help civilians who suffer from chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
Using fMRI machines, the Georgetown University researchers were able to see anomalies in the bundle of nerve fibers that interpret pain signals in the brain in 31 Gulf War veterans. The research will be published Wednesday in PLOS ONE journal.
The findings are "huge," because an fMRI allows doctors to diagnose a person with Gulf War illness quickly, said James Baraniuk, senior author and professor of medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center. The research, he said, also shows that Gulf War illness is not psychological.
An fMRI, or "functional" MRI, is a scan that measures activity by detecting how blood flows through the brain.
Many veterans have had difficulties getting benefits and treatment for a service-connected condition because doctors assumed they were either faking it or suffering from post-traumatic stress. "That's a problem with all physicians — VA, military or civilian," Baraniuk said. "If it doesn't fall within their small world of known diseases, then the patient is nuts."
Gulf War illness is a series of symptoms that has affected more than 250,000 veterans of the 1991 war against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
Baraniuk said the correlation of anomalies in the brain's white matter with Gulf War illness has not been studied before. Researchers, he said, also found that fatigue and pain worsen congruently in the veterans.
To test the veterans, they watched the way liquid moved through brain nerve cells at rest and while the veterans were exercising. They could locate the nerves' axons and determine how healthy they were, said Rakib Rayhan, lead author of the study.
"We're able to say, 'There is something here,' " Rayhan said. " 'Take these veterans seriously when they come in.' "
In particular, John VanMeter, director of Georgetown's Center for functional and molecular imaging, said they looked at the fibers that process pain.
"The fibers in the Gulf War veterans have deteriorated compared to the control," he said. Those fibers interpret environmental pain, but in the case of the veterans, a tiny pulse of pressure is interpreted as a painful pinch, or normal muscle fatigue from walking a flight of stairs could be interpreted as climbing to the fourteenth floor. "They get, 'I'm in pain! I'm in pain! I'm in pain!' all the time."
He said that most hospitals already have the MRI equipment they need to do the exam, but they may need to purchase or install fMRI software, as well as to be trained to use it.
The researchers do not know whether the veterans' symptoms will continue to worsen, though it appears they have from their onset 22 years ago until now.
"The guys who were robust and leading the charge on this 10 years ago are now using canes," Baraniuk said.
This research appears to correlate with previous research on Gulf War Illness, including a major study this year that showed problems in involuntary function, and a second that showed that as many as 100,000 troops may have been doused with Sarin gas when the U.S. Air Force bombed a munitions factory during the war.
The researchers suspect the damage came from environmental factors. Other researchers have found that as many as 100,000 troops were exposed to Sarin gas when the U.S. Air Force bombed an Iraqi munitions plant, and other researchers have found a connection between the symptoms and the ACHL-inhibitors found in nerve agents, the anti-nerve-agent pills servicemembers took, and the industrial-strength bug spray troops used on their clothing and skin.
Baraniuk believes that the three areas of symptoms seen in Gulf War veterans are all different stages of the same disease — and he will be able to show that in a future paper.
Veterans who participated in the study said the illness has hurt them but they were optimistic about the survey's findings.
Army veteran Robert Ward's symptoms began while he was still in the Middle East. He felt tired and his gums started to swell and bleed. He figured it was a fluke, until he read a newspaper article in 1993 and discovered he was one of many. Soon, he suffered irritable bowel syndrome, constant headaches, muscle twitches, rashes and muscle fatigue. For 18 months, he found himself bedridden. He moved in with his parents so they could help care for him.
"This is a big deal," he said. "This has ruined my life. I'm thankful that Gulf War illness patients will be able to get the help that they deserve."
snip
The researchers themselves said they've been surprised by how little attention this group of veterans has received.
"If 30% of Congress got sick, or 30% of Manhattan got sick, there would have been an outcry," Baraniuk said.
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At long last those living this horror inflicted upon them by a government that doesn't even care for those it sends to fight their wars of aggression may get the attention they deserve. And can you imagine, these warmongering gung ho I love the military and I support the troops Republicans (and let's face it, Congress as a whole) who vote for war everytime because they don't have to fight it DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THESE PEOPLE.
I would hope that those afflicted not only seek benefits but justice for the crime committed against them.
We just marked 10 years since the subsequent invasion of Iraq by Bush 41's unelected puppet and his cabal and as reported, PTSD and suicides are at an all time high. This then begs the question: IS war worth the price? How many more lies? How many more deaths? How many more lives ruined by this government for their own agenda?
WHERE IS THE VICTORY IN THIS ?!Story Highlights
Findings may eventually help those suffering from chronic fatigue... more
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Once more tragedy befalls America. But this time the tragedy is even more bitter due to the fact that such a large number of young children were involved. A gunman, identified as Adam Lanza, shot and killed 26 people, 20 of them children – all between the ages of 5 and 10 – at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, on the 14th of December. ------ A study in The Lancet, the journal of the British Medical Association, reported that up to 576,000 Iraqi children may have died since the end of the first Gulf War as a result of the sanctions imposed by the Security Council. UNICEF, in 1999, estimated that at least 500,000 children died who would have otherwise normally lived had it not been for the sanctions in place. The Security Council, led by the United States, rejected numerous appeals by Iraq to lift the sanctions.
http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/recent-news/43083-do-arabs-cry-for-their-children-too
video ---- Fallujah: A Lost Generation? by Iraqi filmmaker Furat Alani investigates the dramatic increase in cancers, birth defects, and infant mortality since the second siege of Fallujah, Iraq,in 2004 and its human rights implications. Mr. Alani interviews Fallujah residents, doctors, veterans, and weapons experts to shed light on the cause of this health crisis. More specifically, he explores the possibility that weapons used by the U.S. in 2004 are the cause, including white phosphorous, depleted uranium, and anti-personel theromobaric weapons.Once more tragedy befalls America. But this time the tragedy is even more bitter due... more
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Mariam Yasir, aged 6 (in 2009), with her mother in Fallujah, Iraq; Mariam suffers from a birth defect. Photograph: Muhannad Fala'ah/Getty Images
Four new studies on the health crisis in Fallujah have been published in the last three months. Yet, one of the most severe public health crises in history, for which the US military may be to blame, receives no attention in the United States.
Ever since two major US-led assaults destroyed the Iraqi city of Fallujah in 2004, Fallujans have witnessed dramatic increases in rates of cancers, birth defects and infant mortality in their city. Dr Chris Busby, the author and co-author of two studies on the Fallujah heath crisis, has called this "the highest rate of genetic damage in any population ever studied".
(click on the link for the full article and for the in-text links)Mariam Yasir, aged 6 (in 2009), with her mother in Fallujah, Iraq; Mariam suffers from... more
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New study links increase with military action by Western forces
October 13, 2012
http://refreshingnews99.blogspot.in/2012/10/iraq-records-huge-rise-in-birth-defects.html
It played unwilling host to one of the bloodiest battles of the Iraq war. Fallujah's homes and businesses were left shattered; hundreds of Iraqi civilians were killed. Its residents changed the name of their "City of Mosques" to "the polluted city" after the United States launched two massive military campaigns eight years ago. Now, one month before the World Health Organisation reveals its view on the legacy of the two battles for the town, a new study reports a "staggering rise" in birth defects among Iraqi children conceived in the aftermath of the war.
High rates of miscarriage, toxic levels of lead and mercury contamination and spiralling numbers of birth defects ranging from congenital heart defects to brain dysfunctions and malformed limbs have been recorded. Even more disturbingly, they appear to be occurring at an increasing rate in children born in Fallujah, about 40 miles west of Baghdad.
There is "compelling evidence" to link the increased numbers of defects and miscarriages to military assaults, says Mozhgan Savabieasfahani, one of the lead authors of the report and an environmental toxicologist at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health. Similar defects have been found among children born in Basra after British troops invaded, according to the new research.
US marines first bombarded Fallujah in April 2004 after four employees from the American security company Blackwater were killed, their bodies burned and dragged through the street, with two of the corpses left hanging from a bridge. Seven months later, the marines stormed the city for a second time, using some of the heaviest US air strikes deployed in Iraq. American forces later admitted that they had used white phosphorus shells, although they never admitted to using depleted uranium, which has been linked to high rates of cancer and birth defects.
The new findings, published in the Environmental Contamination and Toxicology bulletin, will bolster claims that US and Nato munitions used in the conflict led to a widespread health crisis in Iraq. They are the latest in a series of studies that have suggested a link between bombardment and a rise in birth defects. Their preliminary findings, in 2010, prompted a World Health Organisation inquiry into the prevalence of birth defects in the area. The WHO's report, out next month, is widely expected to show an increase in birth defects after the conflict. It has looked at nine "high-risk" areas in Iraq, including Fallujah and Basra. Where high prevalence is found, the WHO is expected to call for additional studies to pinpoint precise causes.
The latest study found that in Fallujah, more than half of all babies surveyed were born with a birth defect between 2007 and 2010. Before the siege, this figure was more like one in 10. Prior to the turn of the millennium, fewer than 2 per cent of babies were born with a defect. More than 45 per cent of all pregnancies surveyed ended in miscarriage in the two years after 2004, up from only 10 per cent before the bombing. Between 2007 and 2010, one in six of all pregnancies ended in miscarriage.
The new research, which looked at the health histories of 56 families in Fallujah, also examined births in Basra, in southern Iraq, attacked by British forces in 2003.
Researchers found more than 20 babies out of 1,000 were born with defects in Al Basrah Maternity Hospital in 2003, a number that is 17 times higher than recorded a decade previously. In the past seven years, the number of malformed babies born increased by more than 60 per cent; 37 out of every 1,000 are now born with defects.
The report's authors link the rising number of babies born with birth defects in the two cities to increased exposure to metals released by bombs and bullets used over the past two decades. Scientists who studied hair samples of the population in Fallujah found that levels of lead were five times higher in the hair of children with birth defects than in other children; mercury levels were six times higher. Children with defects in Basra had three times more lead in their teeth than children living in non-impacted areas.
Dr Savabieasfahani said that for the first time, there is a "footprint of metal in the population" and that there is "compelling evidence linking the staggering increases in Iraqi birth defects to neuro-toxic metal contamination following the repeated bombardments of Iraqi cities". She called the "epidemic" a "public health crisis".
"In utero exposure to pollutants can drastically change the outcome of an otherwise normal pregnancy. The metal levels we see in the Fallujah children with birth defects clearly indicates that metals were involved in manifestation of birth defects in these children," she said. "The massive and repeated bombardment of these cities is clearly implicated here. I have no knowledge of any alternative source of metal contamination in these areas." She added that the data was likely to be an "underestimate", as many parents who give birth to children with defects hide them from public view.
Professor Alastair Hay, a professor of environmental toxicology at Leeds University, said the figures presented in the study were "absolutely extraordinary". He added: "People here would be worried if there was a five or 10 per cent increase [in birth defects]. If there's a fivefold increase in Fallujah, no one could possibly ignore that; it's crying out for an explanation as to what's the cause. A rapid increase in exposure to lead and mercury seems reasonable if lots of ammunition is going off. I would have also thought a major factor would be the extreme stress people are under in that period; we know this can cause major physiological changes."
A US Defense Department spokesperson said: "We are not aware of any official reports indicating an increase in birth defects in Al Basrah or Fallujah that may be related to exposure to the metals contained in munitions used by the US or coalition partners. We always take very seriously public health concerns about any population now living in a combat theatre. Unexploded ordnance, including improvised explosive devises, are a recognised hazard."
A UK government spokesperson said there was no "reliable scientific or medical evidence to confirm a link between conventional ammunition and birth defects in Basra", adding: "All ammunition used by UK armed forces falls within international humanitarian law and is consistent with the Geneva Convention."
Dr Savabieasfahani said she plans to analyse the children's samples for the presence of depleted uranium once funds have been raised. She added: "We need extensive environmental sampling, of food, water and air to find out where this is coming from.
Then we can clean it up. Now we are seeing 50 per cent of children being born with malformations; in a few years it could be everyone."New study links increase with military action by Western forces
October 13, 2012... more
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TOKYO — What passes for normal at the Fukushima Daiichi plant today would have caused shudders among even the most sanguine of experts before an earthquake and tsunami set off the world’s second most serious nuclear crisis after Chernobyl.
Fourteen months after the accident, a pool brimming with used fuel rods and filled with vast quantities of radioactive cesium still sits on the top floor of a heavily damaged reactor building, covered only with plastic.
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2012/05/26/world/27japan/27japan-articleLarge.jpgTOKYO — What passes for normal at the Fukushima Daiichi plant today would have... more
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n this article the long term consequences of radiation contamination from unilateral aggression of the US and NATO countries on South and West Asia are discussed. Afpak region is being bombed daily and the cold blooded murder of nine kids out of the seventeen killed is just a small blip when billions are done in.
The world needs a public trial of political leaders for war crimes and genocide.n this article the long term consequences of radiation contamination from unilateral... more
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Nobody seems to care about the consequences of a US or Israeli strike on Iran, which could include the release of radioactive materials into the Middle East.
A grim joke made the rounds in late 2002 and early 2003, in the lead-up to the US invasion of Iraq. The version I recall went something like this:
President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney go into a Texas bar. Over a couple of beers they plan the invasion of Iraq, taking out Saddam Hussein and taking control of Iraq’s vast oil reserves. The big question, though, is how Americans might react to their starting another war, with victory still elusive in Afghanistan. They decide to do an impromptu sampling of public opinion, and invite an average, all-American looking guy standing at the bar to join them for a friendly drink.
“What would you think of us invading Iraq and taking over their oil fields, if you knew that 30,000 Iraqis and one American bicycle mechanic would be killed if we do it?” Bush asks.
The fellow slowly sips his beer, his brow furrowed. He mulls the question and looks troubled. Finally he asks, “Why should an American bicycle mechanic have to die?”
Cheney slaps the table and grins triumphantly at Bush. “I told you no one would give a damn about the 30,000 Iraqis!”
A decade later, no one seems to give a damn about Iranian lives either.
(click on the link for much more and for in-text links)Nobody seems to care about the consequences of a US or Israeli strike on Iran, which... more
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Michelle Bachmann demands war reimbursement from the countries the US bombs.
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This week: Depleted Uranium Munitions in Libya, Militarization of the Arctic, PE Nolan is back with a call to activism our ass$%$ of the week and more…This week: Depleted Uranium Munitions in Libya, Militarization of the Arctic, PE Nolan... more
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The nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daichii power plant will have consequences for the future of nuclear power in Japan and elsewhere. To get a better idea of the world's current tally of nuclear reactors, I've created a map of the world's nuclear power plants and reactors using Google Earth – the maps are based on a database kindly supplied to me by staff at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Power Reactor Information System (PRIS) database, so it's reliable, and up-to-date.The nuclear accident at the Fukushima Daichii power plant will have consequences for... more
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“Depleted uranium tipped missiles fit the description of a dirty bomb in every way… I would say that it is the perfect weapon for killing lots of people.” ~ Marion Falk, chemical physicist (retd), Lawrence Livermore Lab, California, USA
In the first 24 hours of the Libyan attack, US B-2s dropped forty-five 2,000-pound bombs. These massive bombs, along with the Cruise missiles launched from British and French planes and ships, all contained depleted uranium (DU) warheads.
DU is the waste product from the process of enriching uranium ore. It is used in nuclear weapons and reactors. Because it is a very heavy substance, 1.7 times denser than lead, it is highly valued by the military for its ability to punch through armored vehicles and buildings. When a weapon made with a DU tip strikes a solid object like the side of a tank, it goes straight through it, then erupts in a burning cloud of vapor. The vapor settles as dust, which is not only poisonous, but also radioactive.
http://www.houseofpaine.org/bonziebean/blog/?p=420“Depleted uranium tipped missiles fit the description of a dirty bomb in every... more
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A weekly radio program with Dr. Helen Caldicott.
Helen Mary Caldicott (born 7 August 1938) is an Australian physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate who has founded several associations dedicated to opposing the use of depleted uranium munitions, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons proliferation, war and military action in general. She hosts a weekly radio program, If You Love This Planet
http://ifyoulovethisplanet.org/
http://www.csaolympia.org/images/vision_globe.jpgA weekly radio program with Dr. Helen Caldicott.
Helen Mary Caldicott (born 7... more
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Hundreds of tons of Depleted Uranium (DU) were used during the invasion of Iraq. The US forces have forbid any kind of (DU) related exploration programs or research. They have also covered up and denied DU’s damaging health effects, and refused to release information on the amounts, types and locations of these weapons within Iraq.Hundreds of tons of Depleted Uranium (DU) were used during the invasion of Iraq. The... more
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Allegations that Britain was complicit in the use of chemical weapons linked to an upsurge in child deformity cases in Iraq, are being investigated by the British Ministry of Defense.
The British Independent reports that the case raises serious questions about the UK's role in the American-led offensive against the city of Fallujah in the autumn of 2004.Allegations that Britain was complicit in the use of chemical weapons linked to an... more
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We're well into Tuesday, and the Current community has set their sights on a few choice stories. These recently submitted stories have quickly risen in popularity, so give them a read and feel free to join in on the discussion.
Depleted Uranium: Dead and Deformed Babies in Iraq and Afghanistan are no joke -- [via The Public Record]
WARNING: THE PHOTO ACCOMPANYING THE LINK TO THE PUBLIC RECORD IS GRAPHIC. CLICK WITH CAUTION.
It's no surprise that this story is picking up steam, considering the photo evidence accompanying it. Growing up in the wake of the Vietnam War, the real world use of Agent Orange seemed like the stuff of horror movies. The aftereffect of depleted uranium simultaneously reminds me of those days spent fearing Agent Orange, and trumps them in one fell swoop.
Shocking pictures of bird corpses filled with plastic -- [via Planet Green]
If this trend continues, I'm going to title this post the "shocking and revealing photos" edition of the top 5. Planet Green showcases the work of photographer Chris Jordan, who travelled to the Midway Islands to photograph decomposed bird bodies full of consumed plastic litter.
There are 5 million children who could be potentially orphaned by ICE deportations
-- [via Univision.com]
Jubal pulled this story from Univision.com, a group of orphaned children from the US were featured on the Cristina show. Cristina reports that based on ICE estimates roughly 5 million children born from illegal alien parents living in the US. Here is a link to the translated Univision story.
Gallup poll finds record support for legalizing marijuana -- [via The Raw Story]
Our community always keeps us abreast of the latest in marijuana legislation (and more!). Gallup has released new data taken from a recent poll, which shows an unprecedented record number of supporters of the legalization and taxation of marijuana for recreational use in the US.
The poll clearly illustrates a generational and political divide on the issue, with 78 percent of self-described liberals saying they would like to see the drug legalized and 72 percent of self-described conservatives being opposed. Gallup also found that 50 percent of Americans under 50-years-old are in favor of legalization, but just 28 percent of seniors agree.
Perhaps the most important demographic to advocates of legalization are the moderate voters, among whom 51 percent now support ending prohibition.
Nobel winner slams Bible as ‘handbook of bad morals’ -- [via The Raw Story]
Jose Saramago, who won the 1998 Nobel Prize for Literature, made the following statement yesterday:
"The Bible is a manual of bad morals (which) has a powerful influence on our culture and even our way of life. Without the Bible, we would be different, and probably better people"
Saramago made these remarks at a launch event for his new book, "Cain" -- an ironic retelling of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. The Roman Catholic Church has accused Saramago of pulling off a publicity stunt by criticizing a "cruel, jealous and unbearable God (who) exists only in our heads." What do you think?
We're well into Tuesday, and the Current community has set their sights on a few... more
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MONTPELIER, Vt. — In an unusual state foray into nuclear regulation, the Vermont Senate voted 26 to 4 Wednesday to block operation of the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant after 2012, citing radioactive leaks, misstatements in testimony by plant officials and other problems.
The last time a reactor in the United States was closed by a vote of the public or its representatives was in June 1989, when the voters of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District decided to shut the Rancho Seco reactor. The issues in that case were mostly economic; the plant kept breaking down, forcing the district to buy electricity from neighbors, and it had been shut from late 1985 to early 1988 for repairs.
Commissioned in August 1966 and given its operating license in March 1972, Vermont Yankee is one of the older plants in the American inventory of 104 power reactors. The oldest still running is Oyster Creek, near Toms River, N.J., which is of a similar design and opened in December 1969.
Oyster Creek recently won a 20-year extension of its initial 40-year license, although, to the anger of its opponents, plant owners announced a few days later that it, too, was leaking tritium.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/us/25nuke.html?scp=2&sq=vermont&st=cse
http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/02/25/us/25nuke01/25nuke01-popup.jpgMONTPELIER, Vt. — In an unusual state foray into nuclear regulation, the Vermont... more
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Please watch this video, it may be the most important thing you do today!
Obama is completely in the pocket of the NUCLEAR POWER industry.
Write, email, and call Obama and tell him he's wrong and "we the people" do not want any more nuclear power plants.
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/16/obama.jobs/Please watch this video, it may be the most important thing you do today!
Obama is... more
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"The world's energy portfolio should not include coal or natural gas, he said, and must include carbon capture and storage technology as well as nuclear, wind and both solar photovoltaics and solar thermal power."
"According to CNN, Gates spent a large portion of his speech endorsing technology that could turn spent uranium fuel rods into clean energy. Gates told the audience that the technology could power the world indefinitely, and that the U.S. could be powered for 100 years using the spent fuel rods already in its possession."
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WTF????? For everyone to live like Bill Gates, we might need to do what he says. Unplugging Bill Gates' house from the grid would be a good start, but more nukes? NO!
Reprocessing is the worst development in nuclear technology since the atomic bomb. You've heard the term nuclear nightmare? Well this is it.
100 years? Really Bill? really? Does that seem like a long time to you? When you consider the nuclear reprocessing boondoggle and nuclear waste in general, its infinitesimal. I'm beginning to think Dr. Helen Caldicott was right, some of these pro-nuclear people may be clinically insane.
I've been a fan of Gates and I've used windows beginning with version 2.0, but my next computer may very well be a solar powered MAC.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/02/12/bill-gates-ted-speech-201_n_461034.html
http://www.redesign-day.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/aerial-view-of-bill-gates-house.jpg"The world's energy portfolio should not include coal or natural gas, he... more
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