Indian doctors consider alternatives to nuclear energy

December 12, 2011

by IPPNW

Indian Doctors for Peace and Development (IDPD), IPPNW’s Indian affiliate, held an interactive session on nuclear energy on October 20 at the India International Centre in New Delhi. Professor Andreas Nidecker, President IPPNW Switzerland, and General Vinod Saighal were the featured speakers. The session was moderated by Dr. L.S. Chawla, President of IDPD.

Dr. Nidecker presented medical arguments against the civil use of nuclear power, explained in detail the reasons why nuclear energy is not a viable source for meeting the world’s energy needs, and reported that after the Fukushima nuclear reactor crisis the Swiss government decided to phase out nuclear energy. He described the harmful effects of radiation throughout the nuclear chain — from uranium mining to nuclear waste disposal. Fukushima, he said, has put a full stop to the false claims about the safety of nuclear energy.

Dr. Nidecker noted several specific drawbacks to nuclear energy, including rising costs, security issues, the absence of a solution to the waste problem, intense water usage, environmental contamination, the health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the increasing risks for nuclear proliferation, and the diversion of investments away from better, safer, and more sustainable alternatives, such as wind and solar power technologies.

General Saighal urged the development of a strong antinuclear movement. Dr. Chawla pointed out that nuclear energy is fraught with dangers to the health of the people, particularly those living around nuclear facilities. He said these problems had been confirmed by the IDPD study on the health effects of people living around Jadugoda uranium mines.

Dr. Arun Mitra, General Secretary of IDPD, said that the Indian people have to build a strong resistance against the nuclear policy of the government “against all the odds posed by the government and the pro-nuclear lobby in our country.”

A detailed report from the meeting is available here.

2 Comments

Karthik Balajee L permalink

March 4, 2012 1:11 am

Iam dr.Karthik Balajee,now iam doing my MD in Community medicine from All India Institute of medical Sciences.(AIIMS),New Delhi.
Iam aware of the health effects of nuclear power plant,radiation..Iam concerned about health of my people.

I have started a fb page on kudankulam nuclear power plant in tamil nadu,India. http://www.facebook.com/kudankulam
kindly like it n post ur views.
I have also started an online petition to stop the nuclear plant. http://www.change.org/petitions/prime-minister-stop-kudankulam-nuclear-powerplant-in-tamilnadu-india
kindly sign the petition n support the cause.

I have given medical evidence regarding health effects of a nuclear power plant.
1) Risk of childhood acute leukemia around French nuclear power plants (NPPs). case–control study, included 2,753 cases and 30,000 controls.odds ratio (OR) of 1.9 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ijc.27425/full#.T0-UJqjsvmY.facebook
2)”thyroid cancers detected in children after the Chernobyl accident were likely to have been caused by direct external or internal exposure to short-lived radioactive fallout, such as 131I (half-life 8·04 days) and 133I (20·8 hours).”
Children exposed to the Chernobyl accident at a young age—up to 10 years—are at high risk for thyroid cancer.
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(01)06971-9/fulltext
3)Release of Isotopes during the Chernobyl Accident.
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1103676.
4)2.2-fold increase in leukemia and a 1.6-fold increase in solid tumor, among children under five years of age living in the 5 km circle around nuclear power plants when compared to residence outside this area. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2944154/?tool=pubmed#B11
5)Short-Term and Long-Term Health Risks of Nuclear-Power-Plant Accidents
http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMra1103676
6)Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant accident-“number of people dead or missing after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan approaches 28 ,000”
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(11)70100-0/fulltext
7)List of civilian nuclear accidents http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_civilian_nuclear_accidents.

with regards
Balajee
Ignatius fernando permalink

December 20, 2011 3:00 pm

Dear Doctors, Thanks for this contribution. Please read and support. Save The Marine Wealth Of The Indian Ocean!
Help Keep The Indian Ocean Free Of Nuclear Discharges.Please sign this
petition and help to preserve the marine life and the people who depend on
it. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-the-marine-wealth-of-the-indian-ocean.html