INTRODUCTION
The Nuclear Reader was written with the intention of bringing into focus information known and unknown which surrounds the use of nuclear energy.........

Chapter 1. Hazards of Low Level Radioactivity
This chapter discusses some of the Many hazards of low level radioactivity.

Chapter 2. Nuclear Power is Bad Business
This chapter dispells the myth that nuclear power is economically viable.

Chapter 3. The Petkau Effect
This chapter explains the health damaging effect of low-dose radioactivity.

Chapter 4. Health Damage from Radioactivity
This chapter clarifies that there is no safe dose of radiation.

Chapter 5. References
Medical literature on radiation health damage.

Chapter 6. Depleted Uranium
This chapter looks at depleted uranium as a part of the nuclear energy cycle with attention to military uses.

Chapter 7. Photos of Radiation Damage
This chapter contains photos of plant deformities and infant deformaties.

Chapter 8. Radioactive Waste
This chapter discusses the fact that there is no plan for long term storage of radioactive waste.

Chapter 9. Toward Clean Energy
Thsi chapter explores clean renewable energy sources.

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Introduction to the Nuclear Reader

The following pages are written with the intention of bringing into focus information known and unknown which surrounds the use of nuclear energy.

The entire nuclear fuel chain from uranium mines, nuclear power and weapons plants, to radioactive storage facilities and depleted uranium in military use, is hazardous to human health and to the health of the environment.

The extent and severity of this damage is not widely known, although some of those in the inner circles did originally comprehend the vast ramifications of the problem.

The late professor John Gofman PhD, MD was a senior figure in the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) in the 1960's. He resigned, with his integrity intact, after the AEC disputed the results he found studying the health effects of radiation. 

He concluded:

“The nuclear industry is waging a war against humanity.  Licensing a nuclear power plant is in my view, licensing random, premeditated murder.”

Dr. Christopher Busby, an English scientist who has conducted extensive research on the health effects of radiation (see his various videos on Youtube), carries forward Dr. Gofman's statement in an article called “Deconstructing Nuclear Experts” (CommonDreams.org 3/28/11):

“This war has now entered an endgame which will decide the survival of the human race. Not from sudden nuclear war. But from the on-going and incremental nuclear war which began with the releases to the biosphere in the 60s of all the atmospheric test fallout, and which has continued inexorably since then through Windscale, Kyshtym, 3-Mile Island, Chernobyl, Hanford, Sellafield, La Hague, Iraq and now Fukushima, accompanied by parallel increases in cancer rates and fertility loss to the human race.”

In fact, by the 1960's the Atomic Energy Commission knew how destructive radiation is.   A 1966 report by the AEC on the genetic effects of radiation acknowledged that:

 “There is no threshold on the genetic effect of radiation.”

The report continued:

“If the number of those affected is increased, there would come a crucial point, or threshold, where the slack could no longer be taken up (by those not affected).  The genetic load might increase to the point where the species as a whole would degenerate and fade toward extinction – a sort of 'racial radiation sickness.'”

Today, decades later, some corporations, motivated by greed, have exploited nature, impoverished the people, who are in a state of biological degeneration, ruined the land, and allowed the perpetuation of radioactive contamination all over the earth.  With all this in mind, what can we do?

We can stop producing more radioactive poison by phasing out nuclear power plants.  Go for efficiency and for clean renewable energy!  We can clean up and store radioactive waste with responsibility.  If this is our true intention, it could be done.  If not, we are destined for a radioactive earth and all that entails. 

In response to the March 2011 Japanese nuclear catastrophe, President Angela Merkel of Germany took seven nuclear power plants off-line and proposed the following six point plan (Spiegel Online International 4/15/2011) from which other countries might take inspiration:

Expanding renewable energy.  Investing in more wind, solar, and biomass energies will try to raise the renewable-energy share of Germany's total energy use -- from a baseline of 17 percent in 2010.

Expanding grids and storage.  Building a much larger storage and delivery network for electricity -- particularly wind energy, which can be generated in the north but must be carried to the south -- will be a main focus.

Efficiency.  The government hopes to improve the heating efficiency of German buildings -- and reduce consumption -- by 20 percent over the next decade.

Flexible power. The government wants to build more "flexible" power plants that can pick up slack from wind or solar energy when the weather fails to generate enough electricity during peak demand. The obvious source of "flexible power" for now, besides nuclear energy, is natural gas.

Research and development.  The government will increase government support for research into better energy storage and more efficient grids to a total of €500 million between now and 2020.

Citizen involvement.  The government wants to involve its sometimes-recalcitrant citizenry who are resistant to wind generators and the installation of an efficient new power line grid in some regions.

We, the Voices for Safe Energy, have prepared this paper with the intention of providing vital information with the vision of security and health for us all.  We invite you to share widely.  There is no copyright:  Use as best you can for the benefit of everyone.

 ...Voices for Safe Energy