| Citizens of
Sacramento had the city close down its nuclear power plant for fear
of what the radiation might do. Instead, the district put up windmills,
on which a windy day are capable of producing 1 percent of what the
power plant did. In addition to the windmill, a photovoltaic solar
plant was built, which has generated one-third of 1 percent of that
power.
Since 1990, eight nuclear power plants have been shut down in the
United States, none ordered after 1974 were finished and orders
to build another power plant hasn’t happened since 1978. However,
the 103 remaining nuclear reactors in the United States produce
7.6 percent of the nation’s energy, as electricity.
Presently there are 442 nuclear power plants in existence worldwide,
with 35 under construction and 24 of them in Asia.
Beliefs that resulted in fears of radiation:
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The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that
any amount of exposure to ionizing radiation was harmful. The
EPA set very strict regulatory limits for public exposure to
radiation at 15 and 100 mrem (millirem) a year, which is the
level radioactive sites must achieve before they can be released
to the public.
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People have developed "radiophobia," the fear of
any level of ionizing radiation, due to the news media and deeply-manifested
devastation over the loss of lives caused by the atomic bombs
that were dropped during World War II.
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Another belief, which seems to be the most correctable, is
the belief that radiation dose and its biological effects are
believed to conform to the "Linear model," which predicts
the number of cancer deaths assumed to be caused by low doses
of radiation.
On the contrary, other experts stated that low doses of ionizing
radiation do not cause cancer and could have a beneficial effect
on a person’s health. Studies have shown that low to moderate
doses of radiation have decreased the risks of cancer, however government
agencies and the media chose to ignore this data.
Each year Americans are exposed to an average 200 mrem of natural
and medical radiation. Natural radiation comes from uranium found
in the bricks and plaster from buildings. Radioactive potassium,
a naturally occurring radioactive isotope of potassium, produces
about 25 mrem of radiation per year, which exceeds the EPA safety
limit.
Significant findings that challenge earlier
beliefs on the dangers caused by radiation:
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A study of people living in Ramsar, Iran, who are exposed to
natural radiation levels of 79,000 mrem per year, have not shown
increased cases of cancer. Since the radiation levels exceed
the EPA’s radiation safety standard allotment by 5,266
mrem, this study contradicts the "linear hypothesis."
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Experts found that radiation in small doses has had protective
effects on cellular function by stimulating the immune system
defenses, which prevents oxidative DNA damage and suppresses
cancer.
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Another study revealed that the survivors in Nagasaki, who received 1,000 to
19,000 mrem of radiation, had lower cases of cancer and are
living longer than the non-irradiated population.
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The radiation hormesis model explained why residents living in high-radon-level
areas such as Japan, Germany and central Europe have shown decreased
cases of cancer.
It is important that the people of Sacramento understand that low
to moderate doses of radiation are not harmful and evidence has
proven that radiation at these levels can actually be beneficial
to one’s health. Also, experts stated that people who are afraid
of nuclear power plants could set their fears aside, because nuclear
power has been reported to be the cleanest and safest form of energy
on the planet for generating electricity.
Lew
Rockwell April 2, 2004
Journal
of American Physicians and Surgeons Spring, 2004;9(1) (PDF File)
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