A United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert team visited China to evaluate its nuclear safety in September this year. The team commended the country’s nuclear and radiation safety frameworks as effective. But with rapid nuclear energy growth, China should continue to further develop them. In the meantime, China should adopt the draft Nuclear Safety Act. China currently has 32 nuclear power reactors in operation and there are 24 nuclear power reactors under construction. Full Article
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Energy Department ends inquiry into Idaho radiation exposure
Two years ago, a radiation leak happened at an eastern Idaho nuclear facility, leading to the contamination of nine workers. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the consequences of this event were low and they will not conduct a formal investigation. The agency will continue to monitoring the company’s efforts to improve nuclear safety at the Idaho National Laboratory. Full Article
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Diagnostic reference levels for radiation lowered in Germany
Germany’s Federal Office for Radiation Protection released a statement that nation’s diagnostic reference levels for all X-ray and CT examinations have been significantly reduced. Due to the increase in the efficacy of machines, less radiation is required to produce the same results as before. Depending on the test, radiation levels may drop by 20% to 50%. Full Article
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Food imports from Japan tested for radiation in Hong Kong
Ever since the Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011, Hong Kong has been testing Japanese food imports for radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi reactors’ meltdown. The Center for Food Safety (CFS) continues to test samples from Japanese imports five days a week around the clock. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on the other hand, treats Fukushima with a periodically updated import alert, allowing certain imported Japanese food without inspection. Full Article
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Antioxidant complex protects proteins from radiation
Researchers at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences have discovered a potent manganese(II)-based antioxidant complex of the bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans that can be used to protect animals from radiation injury. During the experiment, the researchers administered the manganese peptide antioxidants (MDP) to a group of mice prior to exposing them to lethal gamma radiation. All mice that received MDP surivived, while the control group experienced 63% mortality and weight loss. Dr. Michael Daly, professor of pathology at USU, explained that protecting proteins is the way to survive from radiation, which Deinococcus radiodurans has the ability to do.
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Cell phones and cancer in rats linked in new study
A new study has recently been released by the National Toxicology Program has shown that rats who have been exposed to radiation from cell phones over the course of two years are 5% more likely to develop cancer, when compared to a control group. While these numbers might seem unsettling, scientists across the country say these numbers cannot be trusted, since the radiation given off by cell phones is far smaller than other sources of radiation we come into contact with from day to day, including radiation from the sun. They also point to data indicating that cancer rates have remained
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Healthcare providers in cath labs may be harmed by radiation
A new study done by Maria Grazia Andreassi of the CNR Institute of Clinical Physiology in Pisa, Italy, shows that healthcare workers in cardiology may be harmed by radiation at work. Hospital staff who work in so-called “cath labs”, where procedures for many heart conditions including heart arrhythmias and heart defects are conducted, are exposed to high doses of X-ray radiation from some of the imaging machines used in surgery. Data from 466 exposed cardiologists, nurses, and technicians over 10 years has pointed to a 2.5% increase in the risk of cancer, 8% increase in skin legions, and 30% increase
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Scientists are grappling with this critical risk to a human mission to Mars
With movies like The Martian gaining in popularity recently, scientists still have a few problems to tackle before a manned mission to Mars is possible. One of these problems is the huge amounts of radiation that astronauts would be exposed to on the surface of Mars. Since Mars lacks a strong atmosphere or magnetic field, its surface isn’t protected from harmful radiation like Earth’s is. The Curiosity rover is currently measuring radiation levels using a toaster-sized monitor on board. NASA has set a limit of no more than 3% chance of dying from radiation-induced cancer at a 95% confidence level
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VA proposal puts veterans at risk for medical radiation errors
As part of a new proposal presented in the US Office of Veteran’s Affairs, nurses without adequate training on radiation imaging machines (such as PET scans) would still be allowed to perform these procedures. Before, nurses had to go through hours of training to become registered radiological technologists to get the proper certification in order to operate these machines since they risked exposing patients to high doses of radiation. Even though this idea was proposed to speed up waiting times for veterans, many are saying that this VA proposal is putting veterans at risk of dangerous radiation because these nurses
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Radiation and Reason
Professor Wade Allison, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford where he has researched and taught for 40 years, has recently released a new publicly accessible book entitled “Nuclear is Life: A Cultural Revolution”. In his book, he urges governments to change their stances on radiation safety and illustrates how public opinions has created radiation safety policies that are overregulating the industry. Ever since the Cold War, the public has been terrified of radiation threats, and government legislation has responded to this by adopting an extremely precautious safety policy. Allison, however, shows that data collected from radiation leaks
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