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Health Impacts |
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THE
FACTS |
Radiation and Health Radiation
is released from Pilgrim NPS as part of its daily operations.
There is no safe dose of radiation. Radiation, in both high and low
doses, causes cancer, autoimmune disease, reproductive disorders and birth
defects. Its effects are
cumulative. Radiation works
synergistically with other toxins to enhance each others “mischief.”
Radiation causes harm through inhalation and ingestion.
Many radionuclides are long lived and can remain in the food chain
for countless years. National
Academy of Sciences, BEIR VII Report, June 2005
Women and Children Most at Risk:
The National Academy reported that overall cancer
mortality risks for females are 37.5 percent higher than for men,
and the risks for all solid tumors (lung,
breast, and prostate) are
almost 50 percent higher.
The differential risk for children is even greater. The
same radiation in the first year of life for children produces three
to four times the cancer risk as
exposure between the ages of 20 and 50. Female infants have almost double
the risk as male infants.
Heart Disease and Stroke: The National Academy stated that No amount of
radiation exposure is safe; and noted that relatively high levels of
radiation exposure increase risk not only of cancer but also of heart
disease and stroke. These risks are much higher than permitted for other carcinogens - the allowable release for one chemical from a factory is a lifetime cancer incidence risk of (1) in a million. Apparently it is permissible for Pilgrim to cause cancer in TEN THOUSAND times as many people as an ordinary chemical factory. The National Academy’s report fully supports the Town of Duxbury’s vote at Annual Town Meeting 2005. It set preconditions for re-licensing Pilgrim that included reducing allowable radioactive emissions into our air and water so that the biological impact is no greater than that allowed from the releases from a chemical plant licensed today; and verification of releases by monitors – computer linked to state and local authorities – at all points where radiation is released from Pilgrim and at appropriate off-site locations. The National Academy’s report is available on the Web at http://books.nap.edu/ Communities in
Southeastern Massachusetts are at risk.
The Massachusetts Department of Health’s own study, The Southeastern Massachusetts Health Study [published in the Archives
of Environmental Health, Vol. 51, p.266, July-August 1996] found a
four-fold increase in adult leukemia the closer one lived or worked to the
Pilgrim NPS. LEARN MORE
Links Radiation and Public Health Project http://www.radiation.org/ National Academy of
Sciences report,
Health Risks from Exposure to Low Levels of Ionizing Radiation (BEIR VII -
Phase 2) reviews scientific data and
concludes that even low does of
ionizing radiation are likely to pose some risk of adverse health effects,
June 2005
Chernobyl 19th Anniversary Resources:
Graph of Chernobyl Fallout:
http://www.nea.fr/html/rp/chernobyl/c02.html
Chernobyl Children's Project: http://www.adiccp.org/ Chernobyl: Ten Years On Radiological and Health Impact: http://www.nea.fr/html/rp/chernobyl/welcome.html Chernobyl radiation disaster information: http://www.chernobyl.com/
More about radiation health effects
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