KURTENBACH: Nuclear Radiation
Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 6:16 pmSent for publishing on September 9, 2008
To the Editor,
Nuclear radiation cannot be seen or felt, but that most certainly does not mean that it is clean and green when we process it in nuclear power plants The proponents and investors in uranium mining would like us to believe that nuclear is a safe alternative to rapidly depleting fossil fuels.
About 25 year ago, I had the privilege of attending a social justice workshop in Edmonton. As we queued for lunch, the little lady in front of me introduced herself as Sr. Rosalie Bertell. She was our guest teacher that day, giving us a basic understanding of nuclear radiation. Sr. Rosalie was already then known -- and still is -- as the anti nuclear nun. She is internationally recognized as an expert in low-level radiation and cancer. She has studied nuclear radiation extensively, written books on the subject, and was asked to share her knowledge with concerned people in many parts of the world. Her resume is just too long to enumerate in this letter; just look her up on the Internet.
But now we have hard evidence that Sr. Rosalie's fear of increased cancers due to the presence of nuclear reactors, is indeed a reality.
The Federal Office for Radiation Protection in Germany has released the results of a study of cancer rates in young children. This study was conducted between the years 1980 to 2003. It revealed that there was a 60% increase in solid cancers, and a 117% in leukemia in children up to 5 years of age, living within 5 km of 16 German nuclear reactors. It also found a 20 to 40 % increase in cancers in children living within a 50 km radius of the nuclear plants. All plants were deemed to be operating normally during the test period, with radiation releases that were well within the allowable limits for civilian populations.
Dr. Ernst Iskenius, a German pediatrician, will be in Saskatoon on the 29th of September speaking on the effects of low-level radiation on children.
Leo Kurtenbach,
Cudworth, Sask.,
To the Editor,
Nuclear radiation cannot be seen or felt, but that most certainly does not mean that it is clean and green when we process it in nuclear power plants The proponents and investors in uranium mining would like us to believe that nuclear is a safe alternative to rapidly depleting fossil fuels.
About 25 year ago, I had the privilege of attending a social justice workshop in Edmonton. As we queued for lunch, the little lady in front of me introduced herself as Sr. Rosalie Bertell. She was our guest teacher that day, giving us a basic understanding of nuclear radiation. Sr. Rosalie was already then known -- and still is -- as the anti nuclear nun. She is internationally recognized as an expert in low-level radiation and cancer. She has studied nuclear radiation extensively, written books on the subject, and was asked to share her knowledge with concerned people in many parts of the world. Her resume is just too long to enumerate in this letter; just look her up on the Internet.
But now we have hard evidence that Sr. Rosalie's fear of increased cancers due to the presence of nuclear reactors, is indeed a reality.
The Federal Office for Radiation Protection in Germany has released the results of a study of cancer rates in young children. This study was conducted between the years 1980 to 2003. It revealed that there was a 60% increase in solid cancers, and a 117% in leukemia in children up to 5 years of age, living within 5 km of 16 German nuclear reactors. It also found a 20 to 40 % increase in cancers in children living within a 50 km radius of the nuclear plants. All plants were deemed to be operating normally during the test period, with radiation releases that were well within the allowable limits for civilian populations.
Dr. Ernst Iskenius, a German pediatrician, will be in Saskatoon on the 29th of September speaking on the effects of low-level radiation on children.
Leo Kurtenbach,
Cudworth, Sask.,