Global Warming...New Report...and it ain't happy news

Statistically the hazard to human health generated by a 1000MW nuclear power plant is a bit less than that presented by a major traffic intersection - and far less than that presented by a coal fired plant. The problem is that hazards unseen spook us far out of proportion to the real danger they present.

The now-independent countries of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus have been burdened with the continuing and substantial decontamination and health care costs of the Chernobyl accident. It is difficult to tally accurately the number of deaths caused by the events at Chernobyl, as the Soviet-era cover-up made it difficult to track down victims. Lists were incomplete, and Soviet authorities later forbade doctors to cite "radiation" on death certificates. Most of the expected long-term fatalities, especially those from cancer, have not yet actually occurred, and will be difficult or even impossible to attribute specifically to the accident.

Estimates and figures vary widely. The 2005 report prepared by the Chernobyl Forum, led by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and World Health Organization (WHO), attributed 56 direct deaths (47 accident workers, and nine children with thyroid cancer), and estimated that as many as 9,000 people among the approximately 6.6 million most highly exposed, may die from some form of cancer (one of the induced diseases).

The Forsmark Power Plant is internationally recognised for its very high availability and low running costs. The conditions for this are skilled staff, a reliable power plant and advanced maintenance work.

....
The results of the Chernobyl accident (bad as it was) place it as far less significant than any of dozens of mining accidents that occur throughout the world each and every year....

The Global Warming
Industrial Complex
There are a lot of jobs riding on global warming.
by Joseph Loconte
03/28/2007 12:00:00 AM

London
TO DEVOTED OPPONENTS of global warming, it must have seemed like the makings of a perfect storm: Al Gore pocketed an Oscar for his doomsday climate documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) issued a report with dire warnings about man-made carbon dioxide emissions. British Secretary of State for the Environment, David Milibrand, introduced the first-ever climate change bill in the House of Commons. Even President George W. Bush offered conciliatory talk about the importance of reducing carbon pollutants.

But then an unwelcome squall appeared on the horizon: The documentary film The Great Global Warming Swindle aired earlier this month...

Joseph Loconte was the William E. Simon Fellow in Religion and a Free Society at the Heritage Foundation, where he examined the role of religious belief in strengthening democracy and reforming civil society.

Mr. Loconte previously served as deputy editor of Policy Review, where he wrote widely about religion and politics. He is especially interested in new models for church-state partnerships, efforts to protect religious liberty at home and abroad, international human rights, just war theory, and the relationship of Islam to democratic freedoms.

There are various estimates for the Chernobyl death toll but none less than a few thousand. This is what Greenpeace says

Quote:

could top a quarter of a million cancer cases and nearly 100,000 fatal cancers.

Just in France, we have more than 5 thousands road accident deaths each year and tens of thousands of serious injuries.

The total number of deaths already attributable to Chernobyl or expected in the future over the lifetime of emergency workers and local residents in the most contaminated areas is estimated to be about 4000. This includes some 50 emergency workers who died of acute radiation syndrome and nine children who died of thyroid cancer, and an estimated total of 3940 deaths from radiation-induced cancer and leukemia among the 200 000 emergency workers from 1986-1987, 116 000 evacuees and 270 000 residents of the most contaminated areas (total about 600 000). These three major cohorts were subjected to higher doses of radiation amongst all the people exposed to Chernobyl radiation.

The mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) (MPB) is a small insect endemic to forests in Western North America and historically has been the most destructive western bark beetle species (Coulson and Witter, 1984). The MPB and its primary host, the lodgepole pine tree (Pinus contorta), have always co-existed as a natural part of the forest ecosystem. Young, robust pine trees have typically been able to ward off the attacks of the pine beetle, utilizing natural defense mechanisms. Traditionally the MPB only successfully attacked large, over mature and stressed lodgepole pine trees contributing to the natural process of succession in forested landscapes. Winter temperatures below negative 35 - 40° Celsius act as one of the primary natural population controls for the MPB. The process of global warming has reduced the regularity of these extreme cold climatic events, resulting in an explosion in the population of the MPB within the interior of British Columbia.

Minitax made the excellent point that automobile accidents kill far more people than Chernobyl in each and every major country in the Western world (and Russia) -- every year -- year after year --- and that there are many other like situations, all of which get far less attention than the hysteria over nuclear power.

...the question was how to store nuclear waste securely over long-time .
one of his concerns is groundwater contamination from waste .
he stated that very few sites are predicted to be free from groundwater for the next 10,000 years - which their research shows as being an accepable period to contain leaching .
one such site are the potash mine cavities in saskatchaewan/canada , but the people of that province have shown little interest in accepting that waste - they are dead set AGAINST it (they are telling ontario to keep it in their own backyard - and i can't blame them , even though i live in ontario) .
hbg

Steve 41oo wrote:

There are various estimates for the Chernobyl death toll but none less than a few thousand. This is what Greenpeace says

Quote:

could top a quarter of a million cancer cases and nearly 100,000 fatal cancers.

There are many sources but incidentally (sort of), you feel obliged to cite Greenpeace which uses its traditional scare tactics with "could", "would", "may" sentences. You must be someone who asks a butcher if fish is good for cuisine, aren't you :wink:

And you said no estimates of death toll fewer than thousands exists, which is clearly misleading. The WHO has released a comprehensive report lasting more than 5 years late last year, made by a panel of medicine and radioprotection specialists which states a death number attributed to Tchernobyl much lower than 1 thousand.
To put this in perspective, coal causes more than 20 thousands direct deaths just in China EVERY YEAR, not counting pollution, respiratory and cancer problems. Just in France, we have more than 5 thousands road accident deaths each year and tens of thousands of serious injuries.
If we consider nuclear energy as a progress, it is certainly the surest progress we ever made.

Perhaps you and others in Ontario could object to the airborne chemical and particulate contamination that the prevailing Westerly winds bring you from gas and coal fired powerplants in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC.

minitax wrote :

Quote:

Just in France, we have more than 5 thousands road accident deaths each year and tens of thousands of serious injuries.

does that have any relation from dangers from malfunctioning nuclear plants ?