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Ploughshares Blog: Health and Environmental Effects

Fukushima “Aftershocks” Continue
Japan’s victory in the women’s World Cup championship owned the headlines earlier this week.  The news provided some much needed morale-building four months after the catastrophic earthquake and tsunami devastated much of the nation. Read more »
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Posted by Ploughshares Fund on July 22, 2011
Japan, fukushima, Health and Environmental Effects, Nuclear Power, TEPCO, Other
The Rachel Maddow Show
Joe provides MSNBC's Rachel Maddow with analysis of the breaking news on the Missouri River flood and what it means for the Fort Calhoun nuclear power plant in Nebraska. Read more »
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Posted on June 30, 2011
Health and Environmental Effects, Missouri River, Nebraska, Nuclear Power, The Rachel Maddow Show, United States
Fighting City Hall's Nuclear Weapons
Kansas City wants to build nuclear weapons. Some of its citizens don't think that's such a good idea. Read more »
Posted by Joe Cirincione on June 15, 2011
Health and Environmental Effects, Nuclear Weapons, Partners, U.S. Foreign Policy, U.S. Nuclear Policy, United States
Eight Weeks Later: Where is Fukushima now?
It has been nearly two months since the massive earthquake and tsunami that devastated areas of Japan and killed thousands.  For several weeks the world was riveted by the humanitarian disaster and especially by the cliffhanger story of the damaged and dangerous nuclear power plant we now know as Fukushima Dai-Ichi.  The media frenzy has now shifted to other stories, but unfortunately that does not mean the risks are gone or that the challenges have been overcome. Read more »
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Posted by Paul Carroll on May 4, 2011
Japan, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, fukushima, Health and Environmental Effects, Natural Disaster, Union of Concerned Scientists, Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Other
Media and Expert Resources on Japanese Nuclear Crisis
A deadly earthquake and tsunami in Japan have left thousands dead and even more imperiled.  Critical situations at two nuclear power plants in Fukushima, Japan have left workers scrambling to restore stability inside the five reactor cores.  For reporters and researchers, Ploughshares Fund recommends the following nuclear experts for the best analysis on the evolving situation: Read more »
Posted by Reid Pauly on March 14, 2011
Japan, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Center for American Progress, energy, fukushima, Health and Environmental Effects, Institute of International Studies, Nuclear Power, Nuclear Materials, Other
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Hagel named to nuclear waste panel
Ploughshares Fund board member Chuck Hagel, who represented the state of Nebraska in the U.S. Read more »
Posted by Deborah Bain on February 1, 2010
Health and Environmental Effects, Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Nuclear Materials, United States
los alamos national laboratory
Defense Board Catches Los Alamos Trying to Dodge Plutonium Safety Vulnerability
The Project on Government Oversight (POGO) was the first to report that the Department of Energy (DOE) had delayed a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) report about a potential major threat to public safety posed by plutonium at the Los Alamos National Laboratory (Los Alamos).   Read more »
Posted on November 3, 2009
Health and Environmental Effects, Nuclear Materials, United States
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U.S. government ignites controversy over NIF laser fusion
The U.S. Department of Energy celebrated the completion of the world's largest laser at the National Ignition Facility (NIF), housed at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The celebration drew Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Some experts hope the laser could lead to fusion plants capable of generating more energy than they use. Read more »
Posted by Sarah Brown on May 31, 2009
Health and Environmental Effects, Nuclear Materials, United States
Nuclear cleanup contractors at Hanford site
Nuclear cleanup awards questioned
The Energy Department is releasing more than $6 billion in stimulus money for contractors, including many that have been cited for serious safety violations and costly mistakes, to clean up nuclear sites.  The cleanup program, long plagued by cost overruns and delays, is designated by the Government Accountability Office as "at high risk for fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement."  Former Ploughshares grantee Read more »
Posted by Sarah Brown on May 18, 2009
Health and Environmental Effects, Nuclear Materials, United States
Caution sign, Babcock and Wilcox nuclear plant
Payout in nuclear plant case
Babcock & Wilcox recently paid $52.5 million to several hundred claimants in one of few nuclear contamination cases to even be tried, let alone reach settlement for personal injury and wrongful death. The case was filed in federal court in 1994 alleging that radioactive emissions from two nuclear fuel processing plants caused illness, death and property damage. Read more »
Posted by Sarah Brown on April 25, 2009
Health and Environmental Effects, Nuclear Materials, United States