Facts Needed to End Radiation
Fear: Expert
Fukushima Nuclear Crisis
EMF Computer Protection
Magnetic Field Detector
Apr 18 2012
Nick Perry
Australians would fear radiation less if they
better understood the science behind it, a uranium advocacy
group says.
A misinformed fear of radiation, from disasters
like
Chernobyl and Fukushima, drives public perception about
uranium, the Australian Uranium Association (AUA) says.
In an attempt to set the record straight, the
AUA released a public statement on Wednesday to allay the
anxiety around uranium often stirred up to oppose public
policy initiatives.
AUA CEO Michael Angwin says radiation is a safe
natural phenomena that need not be feared.
"We don't profess... to have alleviated all the
fears that people ever feel about radiation," Mr Angwin told
AAP on Wednesday.
"But we think you've got to start somewhere with
this."
His message came as workers on the Pacific
Highway reportedly fell ill after being exposed to suspected
radioactive material buried at Port Macquarie.
Five workers suffered from sore throats, dry
mouths and vomiting after discovering a clay-like material
that turned orange when exposed to air.
Frank Harris, an Australian expert of nearly 25
years in radiation protection, said accidents can occur but
this case was more likely one of hysteria.
"This description of people vomiting... can't
happen from any of the radiation sources in Australia," the
chair of the AUA working group told AAP.
"You do see people who will become physically
ill due to just the fear of the unknown."
He said he saw people sick with worry in Japan
last year following the major earthquake and feared
radioactive disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant.
He said in reality people should be more
concerned about tankers transporting LPG or plumbing vans
carrying potentially explosive chemicals inside.
In a bid to shore up confidence around
radiation, the AUA is calling for the national database that
monitors exposure to be expanded.
It wants the National Radiation Dose Register
extended so that it includes everybody exposed to radiation,
rather than just uranium workers.
"Radiation is probably one of the world's best
known, most heavily studied hazards in existence," Mr Angwin
said.
"We know more about radiation than we do about
nearly any other hazard that exists."
Australia is home to the largest natural supply of uranium
in the world, and experts expect its production and export
to double in the next 20 years.
Mr Angwin said while Fukushima had been a
set-back for the image of uranium it remained a clean-energy
option for the future.
"Emissions from nuclear energy are very low,
about the same as wind and in many cases less than a number
of the solar technologies,"
"For the same amount of electricity produced,
the emissions from the nuclear industry are very low."
In December last year at its national conference, federal
Labor controversially voted to overturn the ban on the sale
of uranium to India.
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