AW: [ RadSafe ] Nuke meltdown may have caused cancers

[Franz Schönhofer]

Could anybody shed some light on this "nuke meltdown"? Though being
extremely interested in the history of nuclear energy I have never heard
about this. Or is it another hoax?

Franz Schoenhofer
PhD, MR iR
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Vienna
AUSTRIA
phone -43-0699-1168-1319


> -----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
> Von: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl] Im
> Auftrag von Sandy Perle
> Gesendet: Samstag, 07. Oktober 2006 15:05
> An: radsafe at radlab.nl
> Betreff: [ RadSafe ] Nuke meltdown may have caused cancers
> 
> Nuke meltdown may have caused cancers
> 
> LOS ANGELES (AP) Oct 5 - A 1959 nuclear reactor meltdown at the Santa
> Susana Field Laboratory may have caused hundreds of cases of cancer
> in the community, and chemicals threaten to contaminate ground and
> water, according to a report released Thursday.
> 
> The report by an independent advisory panel estimated it was likely
> that radiation released during the meltdown caused about 260 cases of
> cancer within a 60-square-mile area around the reactor.
> 
> The lab's former owner, Rocketdyne, has said for years that no
> significant radiation was released. But the independent advisory
> panel said the incident released nearly 459 times more radiation than
> a similar one at Pennsylvania's Three Mile Island in 1979.
> 
> "People have been asking for 20 years what was the impact of the
> meltdown, and now they will at least have an approximation of how
> many people may have been hurt," said Dan Hirsch, co-chairman of the
> Santa Susana Field Laboratory Advisory Panel.
> 
> The panel of experts from around the country was formed by
> legislators in the early 1990s who responded to residents' calls for
> independent health studies of the site.
> 
> The 4.5-square-mile site about 30 miles northwest of downtown Los
> Angeles was used for nuclear research for four decades beginning in
> the 1940s. Rocket engines also were tested there.
> 
> A Rocketdyne spokesman said the company, now known as Pratt & Whitney
> Rocketdyne, no longer owns the lab site and referred questions to the
> current owner, Boeing Co.
> 
> Blythe Jameson, spokeswoman for Boeing, disputed that there was a
> threat, calling the site safe.
> 
> The Energy Department, Boeing and the state have been involved in
> efforts to decontaminate the site. The state has estimated that more
> than 1.73 million gallons of toxic trichloroethylene was dumped on
> the grounds and that 500,000 gallons have saturated the bedrock
> beneath the lab.
> 
> The panel concluded local soil and groundwater also may have been
> contaminated. The rocket fuel additive perchlorate has been found in
> a well, but Boeing has disputed assertions it came from the lab. Long-
> term exposure to high levels of perchlorate can cause thyroid
> problems.
> 
> In 1999, the federal Agencies for Toxic Substances and Disease
> Registry concluded people in the area were not being exposed to
> levels of chemicals or radiation that impact their health, and three
> other studies failed to find any evidence of increased cancer rates,
> Jameson said.
> 
> Boeing, however, agreed last year to pay $30 million to settle a
> lawsuit alleging that pollutants from the site caused nearby
> residents to get cancer.
> 
> The panel's conclusion contradicts several previous studies that
> found there wasn't a radiological issue, said Mike Lopez, project
> manager for the Energy Department's cleanup efforts at the site. The
> U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reviewed the site in 2003 and
> concluded there was no risk, Lopez said.
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> Sandy Perle
> Senior Vice President, Technical Operations
> Global Dosimetry Solutions, Inc.
> 2652 McGaw Avenue
> Irvine, CA 92614
> 
> Tel: (949) 296-2306 / (888) 437-1714 Extension 2306
> Fax:(949) 296-1144
> 
> Global Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com/
> Personal Website: http://sandy-travels.com/
> 
> _______________________________________________
> You are currently subscribed to the RadSafe mailing list
> 
> Before posting a message to RadSafe be sure to have read and understood
> the RadSafe rules. These can be found at:
> http://radlab.nl/radsafe/radsaferules.html
> 
> For information on how to subscribe or unsubscribe and other settings
> visit: http://radlab.nl/radsafe/