Chernobyl 30 years Out..........

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kbot
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Chernobyl 30 years Out..........

Post by kbot » 03-09-2016 06:41 AM

Something to ponder as the we rush to replace fossil fuels with alternate sources. Fukushima has been foremost in our mind recently, but the world's top nuclear disaster still haunts eastern Europe with no end in sight........

Locals eating radioactive food 30 years after Chernobyl: Greenpeace tests


Economic crises convulsing Russia, Ukraine and Belarus mean testing in areas contaminated by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster has been cut or restricted, Greenpeace said, and people continue to eat and drink foods with dangerously high radiation levels.

According to scientific tests conducted on behalf of the environmental campaigning group, overall contamination from key isotopes such as caesium-137 and strontium-90 has fallen somewhat, but lingers, especially in places such as forests.

People in affected areas are still coming into daily contact with dangerously high levels of radiation from the April, 1986 explosion at the nuclear plant that sent a plume of radioactive fallout across large swathes of Europe.

"It is in what they eat and what they drink. It is in the wood they use for construction and burn to keep warm," the Greenpeace report, entitled "Nuclear Scars: The Lasting legacies of Chernobyl and Fukushima" says.

The research report seen by Reuters ahead of publication on Wednesday said Ukraine "no longer has sufficient funds to finance the programmes needed to properly protect the public... this means the radiation exposure of people still living in the contaminated areas is likely increasing."

Ukraine is suffering economic hardship, worsened by a pro-Russian insurgency in its eastern territories, while Russia and Belarus are also experiencing financial pressures.

The report found that in some cases, such as in grain, radiation levels in the contaminated areas - where an estimated 5 million people live - had actually increased.

"And just as this contamination will be with them for decades to come, so will the related impacts on their health. Thousands of children, even those born 30 years after Chernobyl, still have to drink radioactively contaminated milk."
http://www.reuters.com/article/chernoby ... SKCN0WB0B7
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Re: Chernobyl 30 years Out..........

Post by voguy » 03-09-2016 05:26 PM

....wait.... what? What could POSSIBLY go wrong?
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Re: Chernobyl 30 years Out..........

Post by fos » 03-09-2016 07:38 PM

I studied nuclear physics as an undergrad back in the early 70s, planning to work in the nuclear field with the US Navy or at a commercial plant. Fortunately, I didn't. I quickly learned that nuclear power is a mistake. If you are lucky enough not to have a catastrophic failure you still have to plan how to deal with the nuclear waste products for many generations. So far society hasn't figured out how deal with much of anything for even moderate periods of time.

All nuclear power plants should be closed. Period.

Until we can get a handle of fusion power, it just isn't worth the problems!

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Re: Chernobyl 30 years Out..........

Post by kbot » 03-10-2016 06:30 AM

This is something that I see hospitals struggle with on a daily basis. Nuclear medicine and radiation oncology use radioisotopes as a normal part of their work. Both departments have their respective hot labs and waste management areas. Here's the thing - a radioisotope decays - into another radioisotope and then another and then another and it all takes time. Depending no what the original isotope was, hospitals can keep this stuff in storage for a while. Then, as fos referenced, this stuff has to be transported and placed into long-term storage somewhere. Whether for utilities or medical, this waste is an accident waiting to happen......
There you go man, keep as cool as you can. Face piles and piles of trials with smiles. It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave. And keep on thinking free. (Moody Blues)

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