Dr Caldicott has believed “ this is for real “ since at least the 1970’s when she published “ Nuclear Madness “. Most members - and the general public – have more important things to think about.
• If the risks of radiation do concern you, don’t just listen to her opinion.
• Countries with most of the world’s nuclear weapons understand the effects of them and don’t want to use them. The odds of nuclear war between say the United States and any other nation are low - greatest threats possibly being from North Korea and Iran.
• Nuclear power contributes over a tenth of the world’s energy supply – oil about 2/5, natural gas and coal each about a fifth, the rest being “ renewables “. It has – so far - a fairly safe record. By comparison, China’s coal mines kill 2 – 3 thousand miners a year and air pollution from coal affects many more people in the world.
• Japan – the only country to have suffered mass radiation from atomic attack – had the largest ever earthquake in the country’s history in March last year, killing 20,000 people. Three reactors at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant went into meltdown. Now all but two of their 54 reactors stand shut. Germany has announced it is to give up nuclear energy. We’re waiting for a full government-commissioned report into the disaster this summer, and a UN study to be published next May. There were no recorded deaths related to radiation or the explosion of reactors. The few hundred deaths which did occur were related to evacuation from local hospitals, with worsening of existing conditions like pneumonia and heart disease. Lessons do need to be learned. There was no accident-management plan for earthquakes / tsunamis. Health of 2 million people in the Fukushima area will be monitored for at least 30 years. “ Banking “ of blood stem cells has been proposed for the workers involved in the clean up – because of a future risk of leukaemia. Early signs of thyroid cancer will be looked for in young people.
• In April 1986 the nuclear reactor in Chernobyl exploded, with a few thousand deaths. Radio-active substances were released into the atmosphere. Radio-active iodine was inhaled and ingested in food including milk. An increase in thyroid cancer was noted in children – around 2000 case documented.
• The Three Mile Island accident was a partial nuclear meltdown in the USA in March 1979. Small amounts of radioactive gases and iodine were released into the environment, with only very low level health effects reported ( local radiation exposure being equivalent to that from a chest X Ray ).
• In Japan, there is much more concern about the long-term consequences – including health – of the hundreds of thousands of people forced from their homes by last year’s tsunami.
• The world should be more concerned with coal, gas, and oil supplies running out before there are sufficient alternative sources. Nuclear energy should not be dismissed . Lessons learned from only three accidents in over 30 years should make it safer.
• These are only my opinions - based on the evidence published so far .