Mitsubishi Quietly Cleans Up Its Former Refinery

Rahman Roslan for The New York Times

Lai Kwan prepares to bathe her son, Cheah Kok Leong, who was born with severe mental disabilities. She believes that his condition is related to the radioactive exposure she received while working at the Mitsubishi Chemical’s refinery in Bukit Merah.

Lai Kwan, aged 69, still recalls how she cheerfully moved in the 1980s from a sawmill job to a better-paying position in the refinery that involved proximity to radioactive materials. She remembers that while pregnant, she was told to take an unpaid day off only on days when the factory bosses said that a particularly dangerous consignment of ore had arrived.......(Full article Here)
Mitsubishi Quietly Cleans Up Its Former Refinery-NYT

Radioactivity in Food: “There is No Safe Level of Radionuclide Exposure, Whether From Food, Water or Other Sources. Period.”

“There is no safe level of radionuclide exposure, whether from food, water or other sources. Period,” said Jeff Patterson, DO, immediate past president of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “Exposure to radionuclides, such as iodine-131 and cesium-137, increases the incidence of cancer. For this reason, every effort must be taken to minimize the radionuclide content in food and water.

“Children are much more susceptible to the effects of radiation, and stand a much greater chance of developing cancer than adults,” said Dr. Andrew Kanter, president-elect of PSR’s Board. “So it is particularly dangerous when they consume radioactive food or water.”

“Reports indicate that the total radioactive releases from the Fukushima reactor have been relatively small so far. If this is the case, then the health effects to the overall population will be correspondingly small,” said Ira Helfand, MD, a member of the Board of Physicians for Social Responsibility. “But it is not true to say that it is “safe” to release this much radiation; some people will get cancer and die as a result.”

Japan's troubled plant to discharge contaminated water into Pacific

TOKYO, April 4 (Xinhua) -- The operator of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant said Monday it planned to discharge contaminated water into the Pacific, in an attempt to speed up work to tackle the crisis at the troubled complex.
Japan's troubled plant to discharge contaminated water into Pacific

i wonder how much of damage this ongoing problem will do to the environment and the environmental cycle and the food chain?.

Fukushima marks a 'nuclear ice age

Takashi Hirose, a well-noted Japanese writer on nuclear problems, has pointed out there are about 3,000 tons of highly radioactive used nuclear fuel stored in Rokkasho that could overheat and catch fire if the cooling systems fail. This amount could spread nuclear fallout or "ashes of death" to the whole world, he said.

read the whole stuff here!     
Fukushima marks a 'nuclear ice age