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In an article below (thanks to K!) we read about the Greens in Scotland trying to find out about the high cancer rates around a nuclear power plant and the Dundrennan military firing range, where Depleted Uranium has been used outdoors for years. As you will read, even in the UK, the feds are trying to fight such information from being disclosed to the public.
Doesn't the public have a right to know if nuclear power plants are leaking radionuclides, if our nuclear processing plants run by the Dept. of [Nuclear] Energy and military test firing ranges and proving grounds where Uranium munitions are used are causing high rates of cancers, blood disorders, or any other of the radiation-induced diseases in those areas?
In the US there are high rates of cancer and other diseases and disorders around national nuclear
laboratories, the military bases, and proving grounds that have used Uranium and other radioactive materials. This is, of course, not something we typically read about in the mainstream media.
We keep hearing about how the US is nuking its own, meaning the soldiers in combat over in Afghanistan and Iraq. But in actuality? Nuking its own is being done right here at home in the 50 states, as well.
In some of the independent Hawaii local papers, we'll hear some things, as is reported on one website:
Health Problems in Hawai'i and Official Stonewalling
One in seventeen births in Hawai'i Oahu.
Heart disease and cancer are the first and third leading cause of death in Hawaii
The Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Education (DOE) spending for special education needs has risen from approximately 75 million dollars a year in 1994 to over 350 million dollars annually in 2004. The State of Hawai'i government has never seriously examined military toxins as a cause of the high incidence of life altering and life threatening illness among Hawai'i's residents. Stonewalling is common with government officials
And likewise, near the Fallon Naval Air Force Station in NV, from 1997 to 2002 there were 17 children who came down with leukemia http://www.counterpunch.org/stclair0807.html
and a hearing was held that still
can be read at the NV state website. Here is just some of the testimony:
Mr. Sonderfan commenced his testimony with a review of Project Shoal and Project Faultless. He described the hurdles and red tape he faced in researching these topics. Project Faultless was a 13-megaton detonation of a classified military warhead near Fallon. In his judgment, the military had not been forthcoming in revealing harmful practices, such as burying trash for more than 40 years. Nellis Air Force Base was described as having 30 tons of depleted uranium, with a half-life of more than four billion years.
Ms. Cox elaborated on the subject of depleted uranium and stated that the Pentagon knew in 1995 about the environmental threats posed by nuclear weapon waste. The question needed to be asked of the Fallon NAS about their use of plutonium, one of the most toxic substances known to man.
Leukaemia and nuclear power: what’s the secret?
A request to publish childhood leukaemia figures has mushroomed into a landmark court
case
by Paul Hutcheon
Scottish Political Editor
by Paul Hutcheon
Scottish Political Editor
)
THE UK government has made an 11th-hour intervention in the long-running dispute between the Scottish NHS and anti-nuclear campaigners over the release of childhood leukaemia figures.
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Whitehall said the case raised "important" issues and is challenging parts of the original decision to publish the statistics.
The saga can be traced to a freedom of information request lodged in January 2005 by the Scottish Greens for a breakdown of leukaemia statistics for under-15s in Dumfries and Galloway.
Michael Collie, the applicant, wanted to know whether there were cancer clusters next to the Chapelcross power station and the Dundrennan military firing range.
However, the Common Services Agency (CSA), a Scottish NHS body, blocked release on the grounds of patient confidentiality.
Kevin Dunion, the Scottish information
commissioner, then ruled in favour of the applicant by backing publication of the data. He said the CSA could prevent identification of patients by using a method of statistical makeover called "Barnardisation".
A subsequent appeal by the CSA in the court of session centred around the public body's view that Barnardisation fell outwith the scope of Collie's request.
However, the judges rejected the appeal, with Lord Marnoch saying the FoI legislation "should be construed in as liberal a manner as possible I do not see why the commissioner should not be accorded the widest discretion in deciding the form and type of information which should be released."
This decision prompted the NHS body to exercise its final roll of the dice - a legal challenge to the House of Lords.
The CSA's appeal, which was heard in the Lords last month, was marked by the presence of the UK justice department.
Whitehall officials are unhappy
about the Scottish information commissioner's decision and were granted permission to intervene. It means the weight of the Scottish government, to whom the CSA is ultimately accountable, and the UK government is behind the appeal.
The CSA's numerous appeals had, by August last year, cost the taxpayer £45,000 in legal fees. The NHS also estimates the House of Lords appeal will cost the public £206,000.
The Lords' ruling is expected within weeks.
A Ministry of Justice (MoJ) spokesman said: "The MoJ sought and was granted permission to intervene in the CSA's appeal, which was heard before the House of Lords on April 1 and 2, 2008.
"The case raises important questions about freedom of information and data protection. The MoJ therefore felt it was important that the UK government's views on these matters were represented.
"It would not be appropriate to comment further on the case prior to the House of
Lords handing down its judgment."
A spokesman for the Scottish information commissioner said: "MoJ was given leave by the House of Lords to intervene. In its submissions the MoJ disagreed with certain aspects of the Commissioner's decision, such as whether the information was actually held by the CSA and whether individuals could be identified from the data."
Chris Ballance, the former Green MSP who has taken an interest in the case, said: "The Scottish government has powers over the statistics agency and has the power to make it hand over the figures. Both governments are now united in making sure local communities can't access local health statistics. The figures should be handed over."
Help the US become Radiation Free by 2033!
Cathy Garger
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