Saturday, Dec 27th
Last update09:19:08 AM GMT
The ozone layer has seen unprecedented damage in the Arctic this winter due to cold weather in the upper atmosphere. By the end of March, 40% of the ozone in the stratosphere had been destroyed, against a previous record of 30%.
The ozone layer protects against skin cancer, but the gas is destroyed by reactions with industrial chemicals. These chemicals are restricted by the UN's Montreal Protocol, but they last so long in the atmosphere that damage is expected to continue for decades.
As the Fukushima crisis passes the three-week mark, the thousands of tons of water – used to keep crippled reactors and spent-fuel pools cool – are becoming an increasing concern.
Much of the water evaporates, or else collects inside spent-fuel pools or other secure areas. But in the wake of the March 11 earthquake, water has also escaped from the damaged reactor buildings, flowing into the maintenance tunnels and basements, and then to unknown parts.
Thus, radiation from a meltdown in the reactor core of reactor No. 2 is leaking out into the water and soil, with other reactors continuing to experience problems.
Yet scientists and activists question these government and nuclear industry “safe” limits of radiation exposure.
The estimates were made on March 16th following explosions at the plant by an institute commissioned by the government using a computer system called SPEEDI. The system made its projections on the assumption that radioactive substances had been released for 24 hours from midnight on March 14th, based on the available data.
High occurrence of cancer has been detected in Israel's elite naval commando unit, apparently due to the waste disposal by Israeli firms in Kishon River.
The river, which flows into the Mediterranean Sea in the northern city of Haifa, has been used for training the unit, known as Shayetet 13.
Carmel Olefins Ltd., Israel's sole manufacturer of petrochemical products used in the plastics industry, as well as other firms have been accused of directing their waste into the river, which is notorious for being the most polluted stream in Israel.
Small, sub-surface cracks have been found in three more Southwest Airlines planes like those thought to have caused another to develop a hole in its cabin roof mid-flight, officials say.
Tests on the 57 remaining jets are expected to be completed by Tuesday evening. Further flight cancellations are likely until all are back in the air.
As radiation drifts westward from the recently battered Land of the Rising Plume, the U.S. is taking all necessary precautions to prevent a nuclear disaster on their own soil. Quickest to do their part appears to be the Environmental Protection Agency, which intends to counter harmful radiation exposure by proclaiming radioactive contamination now safer than ever!
Xe Services, the security firm formerly known as Blackwater, owes a North Carolina county millions in back taxes, officials say.
Camden County Manager Randell Woodruff says the company, already the county's biggest taxpayer, owes almost $2.9 million, including penalties and interest, for aircraft based there but used around the world.
A city official for the first time is revealing a rise in cancer among firefighters who served at Ground Zero, The Post has learned.
Dr. David Prezant, the Fire Department's chief medical officer, has found that firefighters who dug for victims at the World Trade Center are getting cancer at a higher rate than firefighters before 9/11 -- and some types of cancer are "bizarrely off the charts," say sources briefed on the seven-year, federally funded study.
Prezant discussed the findings with members of a WTC medical-monitoring committee last month, several attendees said.
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