IAEA Admits: There Is No Such Thing As ‘Safe’ Levels Of Radiation

The IAEA standards are not based on what is safe but how great the benefit, said CAP after a meeting with the panel.

June 2 — PUTRAJAYA: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today admitted there is no such thing as “safe” levels of radiation.

However , it told the Consumer Association of Penang that some radiation levels could be justified.

The nine-member IAEA panel is here to gauge the safety of the Lynas rare earth refinery in Kuantan.

CAP vice-president Mohideen Abdul Kader told reporters after meeting the IAEA panel that they had agreed to carry out a cost-benefit analysis before allowing the plant to start operations.

Mohideen also said that the IAEA’s radiation standards were merely an “international consensus” as studies had not found a safe level of radiation.

He also cited a study from the National Academy of Science which said that one out of five workers would suffer from cancer if exposed to what the IAEA deemed an allowable radiation level.

“The panel said there should be sufficient justification for the project,” said Mohideen, “as their standards are not based on what is safe but how great the benefit.”

Earlier in the day, the panel met with the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca).

The panel gave no assurance that the radioactive waste produced by the refinery would be removed from the site, said Fomca research and policy executive Foon Weng Lian.

Fomca met with the panel to insist that no thorium – the radioactive element found in virtually all rare earth deposits – be stored at the plant being constructed in the Gebeng industrial zone in Kuantan.

“They said they will look into the best option for storage of the thorium. Even if it is being stored here, they will recycle as much as possible,” said Foon.

Main bone of contention

The storage of radioactive waste in Gebeng – which is surrounded by a population of 700,000 living within a 30km radius – has been the main bone of contention for local residents and environmentalists who oppose the plant being built.

The RM700-million refinery is being constructed by Australia’s Lynas Corp, which plans to ship rare earth ore mined from Western Australia’s Mount Weld to the Gebeng plant by September

Regulators Atomic Energy Licensing Board (AELB) has also insisted that the Australian miner will not be allowed to store thorium onsite.

Lynas had earlier said that it had “perfectly good permission (from the government) to store it onsite, safely, forever” if plans to recycle its thorium waste for further industrial use did not find a commercial application.

The review panel that was in Kuantan earlier this week will present its recommendations to the government by the end of the month.

International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed has promised to make public the panel’s findings and recommendations in the interest of transparency.

However, Lynas does not expect its plans to be derailed regardless of the government review, and maintains that the plant is safe.

The plant anticipates revenue of RM8 billion per year from 2013 onwards.

Tashny Sukumaran | June 2, 2011

Source: Free Malaysia Today

And I told you so many times. Here are some flashbacks:

Prof. Chris Busby: ‘There’s No Doubt Fukushima Dwarfs Chernobyl’ – ‘There Has Been A Massive Cover-Up And That Cover-Up Is Still Going On (The Negative Health Effects Of Low-Dose Radiation From Fukushima!!!)

Fairewinds’ Founder Maggie Gundersen Interviews Environmental Scientist Marco Kaltofen: Radiation In Food Is Going To Be A Nationwide Problem In The US!

‘Fukushima: Gross Miscarriage Of Radiation Science’ – Childrens Cancer Risk From Radiation Is 10 To 100 Times Higher For The Same Exposure To Adults

Physicians For Social Responsibility Press Conference (04/26/2011): Chernobyl, Fukushima And Nuclear Power – Disturbing Facts!

Dr. Helen Caldicott On The Japan Nuclear Disaster – The Truth MSM Won’t Tell You! (Video)

Dr. Steven Wing And Chief Nuclear Engineer Arnie Gundersen Discuss Global Radiation Exposure and Consequences: There Is No Safe Dose of Radiation

UC Santa Cruz Nuclear Expert Daniel Hirsch: ‘Every Amount of Radiation Exposure Increases Your Risk of Cancer.’ ‘There Is No Safe Level of Radiation.’

Dr. Helen Caldicott: How Nuclear Apologists Mislead The World Over Radiation

Dr. Brian Moench: There Is No ‘Safe’ Exposure To Radiation

Dr. Peter Karamoskos: Don’t Be Fooled By A Never-Ending Cabal Of Paid Industry Scientific ”Consultants’ – Radiation Is Bad And Causes Cancer

Are There Safe Levels of Radiation? How Much Radiation Is Safe? (Must-read!!!!!)

Dr. Helen Caldicott (Co-founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility):

The Propaganda From The Government And The Nuclear Industry About Low-Level Radiation Is Absolute Rubbish:

You’ve bought the propaganda from the nuclear industry. They say it’s low-level radiation. That’s absolute rubbish. If you inhale a millionth of a gram of plutonium, the surrounding cells receive a very, very high dose. Most die within that area, because it’s an alpha emitter. The cells on the periphery remain viable. They mutate, and the regulatory genes are damaged. Years later, that person develops cancer. Now, that’s true for radioactive iodine, that goes to the thyroid; cesium-137, that goes to the brain and muscles; strontium-90 goes to bone, causing bone cancer and leukemia. It’s imperative that you understand internal emitters and radiation, and it’s not low level to the cells that are exposed. Radiobiology is imperative to understand these days.”

 

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