Groups to study Vermont Yankee radiation emissions
: "Brattleboro Reformer
Groups to study Vermont Yankee radiation emissions
By CAROLYN LORI�
Reformer Staff
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - BRATTLEBORO -- At the behest of local organizations, the Radiation and Public Health Project will be examining the levels of Strontium-90 in baby teeth belonging to children living within a 50-mile radius of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear reactor in Vernon.
Strontium-90 is one of the many radioactive byproducts of nuclear fission believed to cause cancer. Its release from power plants is monitored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The project is being organized by the Citizens Awareness Network and Traprock Peace Center of Deerfield, Mass., with financial support from the New England Coalition. All three groups oppose nuclear power and have been active in efforts to shut down Vermont Yankee.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Agnes Reynolds, a registered nurse and a research associate with the Radiation and Public Health Project, announced preliminary results of the study.
Since December 2004, 26 baby teeth have been collected from counties all over Vermont and New Hampshire.
Nine of those teeth belonged to children living in Windham County or Cheshire County in New Hampshire, while 17 where from elsewhere.
According to Reynolds, the teeth from Windham and Cheshire counties showed levels of Strontium-90 that were 61 percent higher than the others.
Because the sample was so small, Reynolds said the early findings are not statistically significant. The project hopes to collect at least 100 teeth from Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Baby teeth would have the highest concentration of the radioactive isotope, as not enough time has passed for it to decay.
Strontium-90 has a half-life of about 28 years. It can be carried in wind and rain and enters the body through contaminated food and cow's milk. Once in the body, it mimics calcium and gets deposited in bones and teeth.
The Radiation and Public Healt"
Groups to study Vermont Yankee radiation emissions
By CAROLYN LORI�
Reformer Staff
Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - BRATTLEBORO -- At the behest of local organizations, the Radiation and Public Health Project will be examining the levels of Strontium-90 in baby teeth belonging to children living within a 50-mile radius of the Vermont Yankee Nuclear reactor in Vernon.
Strontium-90 is one of the many radioactive byproducts of nuclear fission believed to cause cancer. Its release from power plants is monitored by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The project is being organized by the Citizens Awareness Network and Traprock Peace Center of Deerfield, Mass., with financial support from the New England Coalition. All three groups oppose nuclear power and have been active in efforts to shut down Vermont Yankee.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Agnes Reynolds, a registered nurse and a research associate with the Radiation and Public Health Project, announced preliminary results of the study.
Since December 2004, 26 baby teeth have been collected from counties all over Vermont and New Hampshire.
Nine of those teeth belonged to children living in Windham County or Cheshire County in New Hampshire, while 17 where from elsewhere.
According to Reynolds, the teeth from Windham and Cheshire counties showed levels of Strontium-90 that were 61 percent higher than the others.
Because the sample was so small, Reynolds said the early findings are not statistically significant. The project hopes to collect at least 100 teeth from Vermont, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Baby teeth would have the highest concentration of the radioactive isotope, as not enough time has passed for it to decay.
Strontium-90 has a half-life of about 28 years. It can be carried in wind and rain and enters the body through contaminated food and cow's milk. Once in the body, it mimics calcium and gets deposited in bones and teeth.
The Radiation and Public Healt"
posted by Greta Jane at Wednesday, July 27, 2005
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