Unveiling the deadly danger of low-level radiation
Last month, the French nuclear safety authority published a report in which it recognised that the existence of a leukaemia cluster around the nuclear waste reprocessing plant of La Hague, in Normandy, is "possible". While radioprotection experts in France and abroad have long regarded the dangers of low-level radiation as negligible, the study by the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN) was highly significant especially because it rings an alarm bell for populations close to every type of nuclear plant. Patricia Brett reports.
TheThe disastrous meltdown at the tsunami-hit Japanese nuclear power plant of Fukushima in March threw the future of the nuclear industry worldwide into doubt amid public concern over the vulnerability of plants to natural disasters. But a lesser-publicized danger inherent to nuclear plants, and dismissed by industry experts for decades, is that of the low-level radiation they constantly emit. A recent and largely-overlooked report published by the French nuclear safety authority, the ASN, has confirmed the potential hazard of low-level radiation to local populations, and the implications are alarming. Patricia Brettreports.
