What is it?

Most of us aren't experts on this kind of thing, but there was a rather big controversy about this stuff in the past. Doesn't take long for people to forget and move onto other things. This isn't an issue that plays well these days. Lots of other things on people's minds. But just in case you know somebody that has had a bout with cancer or heard Radon might be seeping into their basement, there might be a few resources here that will help you sort things out, or even spook you into making a few changes.

This series of web pages is meant to organize some kind of coherent breakdown of resources on this rather complicated subject. Clicking on the above tabs will help you drill down on the various aspects of this issue.

 

Find out more about Radiation

Radiation History

Radiation has been around since the beginning of time. Awareness of it by humans however, is rather new in terms of understanding it. At this point in time you should know that this site is not happy about how radiation issues has been presented as something the authorities have a handle on. There has never been a real precautionary principle by those who are in charge of protecting the public. From the death of some of its earliest scientists, like Madam Curie to formation of "safe standards" the history of our use of radiation has been full of scandals. Over time, it has become clear that there is a major tension between economic interests that are driving its expansion vs. real public safety. The details of how and why we have become a world flooded with growing health problems can be found here by looking at the real struggles over the exploitation of radiation.

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Radiation Sources

Radiation is everywhere, and integral to our universe and how it evolved. However, there are limits to what levels of radiation biological life can survive. For at least 2 billion years, the radiation levels on Earth were too extreme for any animal life. Life as we know it today is hear because background levels of radiation have dropped to a biological comfort zone. With the growing exploitation of radiation, the primary health concern about radiation comes from manmade uses. However, that is not to say that naturally occuring radiation is benign. Exposure to radiation has been increasing dramatically primarily via medical treatment in the form of x-rays, cat-scans and cancer therapies. However, there is a whole array of other sources as well. Both ionizing and non-ionizing forms of radiation need to be understood along with their impacts.

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Radiation Impacts

Okay, this is the 64 dollar question, now isn't it! In 2005 the U.S. National Academy of Science stated that there was no safe level of radiation! About time. This statement completely contradicts the entire history of radiation safety protocols, and clearly legitimizes the safety concerns of activists for the last 50 years. But just what really are the impacts and is there some kind of a level playing field when it comes to who is the most at risk and from what?

In this section we are gonna walks around the block and show you some of the impacts and who have been hurt, or are the most likely to be hurt. Not everyone is impacted the same way from radiation. Is radiation from nuclear power is as dangerous as it is from Radon or medical procedures? Wrong question. This stuff isn't just about cancer either. We are barely starting to get to know the real impacts from minor to major health problems that can be transfered to the next generation.

There is a whole range of health problems that are still with people. Have we got it right yet?

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Radiation Pro's and Con's

The general public has the right to know and expect that it is being protected from the commericial use of radioactive materials. Yet, as presented in the historical section, that has not been the case in the past. Opponents of nuclear expansion have documented the historic misuse of radiation and its impacts to human health. America's use of nuclear power to generate electricity was essentially stopped because of both economic and health concerns. Attempts to restart the nuclear industry since 2005 have all but refused to fully educated or present the kind of health concerns after the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl that played a major role in the formation of a global campaign to block further expansion of commercial nuclear energy. However, the general public needs to know that when it comes to even the slightest chance there might be some kind of unbiased perspective on either side of this highly charged issue, there is much at stake, especially for those who claim that they have everything under control, just as the industry did prior to the disasterous accidents mentioned above.

The anti-nuclear movement is scorned and attacked as uninformed and unscientific about its safety concerns.

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Resources

There's an immense number of resources online where you can go find out more about radiation. This section is broken down by a whole variety of resources. This will you find the best stuff out there. If you spot any additional materials you think we should have here, please let us know.

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