Radiological threats

Nuclear accident reawakens California’s anti-nuke movement
Following the discovery of a small leak at a nuclear power plant near San Diego, California in January, the state’s anti-nuclear movement has hit a fever pitch
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Fukushima accident caused only low levels of fallout in U.S.
Fallout from the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power facility in Japan was measured in minimal amounts in precipitation in the United States in about 20 percent of 167 sites
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Growing ubiquity of X-ray scanners could pose public health risk
Body scanners are now routinely deployed in airports, border check points, and even the streets of some American cities; with the use of X-ray scanners by law enforcement agencies becoming increasingly commonplace, health advocates worry that the additional radiation exposure could pose a health risk; repeated exposures to low-doses of radiation can lead to cancer; currently federal health standards are primarily limited to medical X-rays and since the body scanners do not fall under this category, the decision on where and how to use the devices is entirely up to security officials
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Illinois first responder receive wearable radiation detectors
First responder across Illinois will soon be outfitted with portable personal radiation detectors to detect dirty bombs and increase safety
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New material removes radioactive gas from spent nuclear fuel
Worldwide efforts to produce clean, safe nuclear energy and reduce radioactive waste are aided by researchers who showed that metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) can be used to capture and remove volatile radioactive gas from spent nuclear fuel
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Schafer in $40 million DNDO contract
The Schafer Corporation has started work on a $40 million contract for the DHS Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO) to provide Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) support services
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Scientists study how nature cleans uranium from aquifer
A small town in Colorado was the site of uranium ore processing in the 1940s and 1950s, producing yellowcake; when the mills shut down, the mill tailings — a crushed rock byproduct of ore processing — were left behind on the north bank of the river; the tailings were hauled away in the 1990s, but a large amount of uranium that seeped out of the tailings remains as a contaminant in the aquifer and is slowly being released into the Colorado River
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RMD awarded $3.65 million in government funding for nuclear detection research
Last week RMD Research was awarded two contracts worth $3.65 million total by DHS’ Domestic Nuclear Detection Office to develop gamma and neutron radiation detectors
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Decontaminating radiation-laced water at Fukushima Daiichi
Thanks to special radiation devices, made by UOP LLC, a Honeywell company, cleanup crews in Japan have been able to treat five million gallons of water contaminated by radiation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant
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Study promises possible therapy for radiation sickness
Studies of potential radiation therapies suggest they would be effective in humans only if administered within a few minutes or hours of radiation exposure, thus making them impractical for use in response to events involving mass casualties; the larger time window for administering a new 2-drug regimen ofeers the prospect that it could become a mainstay of the response to public health threats such as a nuclear power plant accident or nuclear terror attack
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Source of mysterious European radiation found
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) believes a Hungarian factory producing medical isotopes is the source of the mysterious radiation that has been detected across Europe; beginning four weeks ago, trace amounts of iodine-131 were detected by several countries including Austria and the Czech Republic
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National Guard and first responders hold dirty bomb drill in upstate NY
In a unique training exercise, hundreds of New York National Guardsmen and local emergency personnel responded to a simulated dirty bomb explosion in downtown Kingston in upstate New York over the weekend
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Hybrid detector monitors alpha, beta, and gamma radiation simultaneously
By combining three layers of detection into one new device, a team of researchers from Japan has proposed a new way to monitor radiation levels at power plant accident sites; the device could limit the exposure times of clean-up workers by taking three measurements simultaneously
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New York police officers equipped and ready to detect dirty bombs
Law enforcement officials operating in the New York City region are trained and equipped to intercept dirty bomb threats
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New technology for safe storage of radioactive waste
Researchers have developed new technology capable of removing radioactive material from contaminated water and aiding clean-up efforts following nuclear disasters
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