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Books > Earth & environment > The environment > Nuclear issues
This book is based on the invited and contributed papers presented at the 2nd International Conference on Anticarcinogenesis and Radiation Protection held at the National Bureau of Standards, Gaithersburg, Maryland, USA, on March 8-12, 1987. The conference documented developments that have taken place in areas that were addressed during the first conference in 1982. A number of new topics, such as biological response modifiers, were included because of their emerging relevance to anticarcinogenesis and radiation protection. The organization of the material in this book does not follow the conference program; rather, we have attempted to provide a different sequence for didactic reasons. The aim of the conference, which is reflected in this book, was to promote further development of mechanistic approaches to cancer prevention and treatment based on recent progress in molecular biology and free radical chemistry. At the basis of carcinogenesis lie changes in the dynamics of growth and differentiation of specific cell subpopulations in the target tissue. 'These changes are brought about by selective toxicity and modulation of gene expression that are induced by xenobiotic carcinogens and affected by physiological and genetic factors. The book deals with oxidative stress and molecular damage caused by radiation and chemical pro-oxidants and their role in carcinogenesis, and it discusses mechanisms of deregulation of the expression of oncogenes and other genes involved in carcinogenic initiation and promotion.
Biophysics is the science of physical principles underlying all processes of life, including the dynamics and kinetics of biological systems. This fully revised 2nd English edition is an introductory text that spans all steps of biological organization, from the molecular, to the organism level, as well as influences of environmental factors. In response to the enormous progress recently made, especially in theoretical and molecular biophysics, the author has updated the text, integrating new results and developments concerning protein folding and dynamics, molecular aspects of membrane assembly and transport, noise-enhanced processes, and photo-biophysics. The advances made in theoretical biology in the last decade call for a fully new conception of the corresponding sections. Thus, the book provides the background needed for fundamental training in biophysics and, in addition, offers a great deal of advanced biophysical knowledge.
where Jeremy Richardson, Albert Weale and Hugh Ward were excellent hosts at the Department of Government and Thomas Christiansen a very good roommate. Having included the UK as a country where decision processes were far less participatory (and thus 'worse' in my own view) than those in the Netherlands, I started doing my first interviews there, which were mainly intended to identify suitable case studies for research. But then I read a highly critical review of a book that had a similar topic as my study. The critique was that cases of hazardous waste siting cannot adequately be studied without understanding their national context. This made me decide to devote some attention to the legal context of hazardous waste siting in the three countries of interest (which is of course only a part of the national context) and its development through the years. The study of the UK system of environmental regulation and land use planning was not a simple issue, and I was warned various times (for instance by Andrew Blowers at the Open University) that the legislation was highly complex and easily misinterpreted. I felt personally touched by such warnings and decided that I should perhaps approach the UK system a bit less as an evil empire and maybe be a bit more 'objective' in my appraisals.
Weapons of mass destruction (WMD), especially in the hands of radical states and terrorists, represent a major threat to U.S. national security interests. Multilateral regimes were established to restrict trade in nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and missile technologies, and to monitor their civil applications. Congress may consider the efficacy of these regimes in considering the potential renewal of the Export Administration Act, as well as other proliferation-specific legislation in the 111th Congress. This book provides background and current status information on nuclear non-proliferation regimes which encompass several treaties, extensive multilateral and bilateral diplomatic agreements, multilateral organisations and domestic agencies, and the domestic laws of participating countries.
The book deals with various consequences of major nuclear accidents, such as in 1986 in Chernobyl and in 2011 in Fukushima. The public is extremely interested in learning more about the movements and risks posed by radiation in the environment related to food supply and food safety. Radionuclides are found in air, water, soil and even in us not only after nuclear accidents because they occur also in nature. Every day, we ingest and inhale radionuclides in our air and food and the water. This book provides a solid underpinning of the basic physical-chemistry and biogeochemistry of naturally occurring and anthrop radioactivity. The mechanisms of radioactive element transfer in the atmosphere, tropospheric and stratospheric diffusion of radioactivity, environmental contamination from accidents and the impact of atmospheric pollution on the food chain, soil and plants, are analyzed and the analytical methods are illustrated. The question of natural radioactivity concentration in building materials is addressed too. While the book contains many case studies and data for Greece, it is of general value. It contributes to the development of international environmentally safe standards and economically reasonable standard regulations based on justified radiological, social and economical legislation concepts.
The Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future was chartered to recommend a new strategy for managing the back end of the nuclear fuel cycle. The Nation's failure to come to grips with the nuclear waste issue has already proved damaging and costly and it will be more damaging and more costly the longer it continues: damaging to prospects for maintaining a potentially important energy supply option for the future, damaging to state-federal relations and public confidence in the federal government's competence, and damaging to America's standing in the world -- not only as a source of nuclear technology and policy expertise but as a leader on global issues of nuclear safety, non-proliferation, and security. This book examines the use of nuclear energy as a low-carbon energy resource with a focus on the management of the nuclear fuel cycle, based on emerging technologies and developments.
Cosmogenic radionuclides are radioactive isotopes which are produced by natural processes and distributed within the Earth system. With a holistic view of the environment the authors show in this book how cosmogenic radionuclides can be used to trace and to reconstruct the history of a large variety of processes. They discuss the way in which cosmogenic radionuclides can assist in the quantification of complex processes in the present-day environment. The book aims to demonstrate to the reader the strength of analytic tools based on cosmogenic radionuclides, their contribution to almost any field of modern science, and how these tools may assist in the solution of many present and future problems that we face here on Earth. The book provides a comprehensive discussion of the basic principles behind the applications of cosmogenic (and other) radionuclides as environmental tracers and dating tools. The second section of the book discusses in some detail the production of radionuclides by cosmic radiation, their transport and distribution in the atmosphere and the hydrosphere, their storage in natural archives, and how they are measured. The third section of the book presents a number of examples selected to illustrate typical tracer and dating applications in a number of different spheres (atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, biosphere, solar physics and astronomy). At the same time the authors have outlined the limitations of the use of cosmogenic radionuclides. Written on a level understandable by graduate students without specialist skills in physics or mathematics, the book addresses a wide audience, ranging from archaeology, biophysics, and geophysics, to atmospheric physics, hydrology, astrophysics and space science.
Since the discovery of X-rays and radioactivity, ionizing
radiations have been widely applied in medicine both for diagnostic
and therapeutic purposes. The risks associated with radiation
exposure and handling led to the parallel development of the field
of radiation protection. An extensive Part I deals with recent experimental and theoretical findings on radiation induced damage at the molecular level. It includes many contributions on electron and positroncollisions with biologically relevant molecules. X-ray and ion interactions are also covered. Part II addresses different approaches to radiation damage modelling. In Part III biomedical aspects of radiation effects are treated on different scales. After the physics-oriented focus of the previous parts, there is a gradual transition to biology and medicine with the increasing size of the object studied. Finally, Part IV is dedicated to current trends and novel techniques in radiation reserach and the applications hence arising. It includes new developments in radiotherapy and related cancer therapies, as well as technical optimizations of accelerators and totally new equipment designs, giving a glimpse of the near future of radiation-based medical treatments."
A. AULICIEMS Living organisms respond to atmospheric variability and variation, and over time morphological and process differentiations occur both within individuals and the species, as well as in the environment itself. In systems language, the concern is with the atmospheric process-response system of energy and matter flows within the biosphere. The study of such interactions between living organ isms and the atmospheric environment falls within the field of bioclimatology, alternatively referred to as biometeorology. Amongst the more readily recognizable study areas under the bioclimatolog that investigate the effects of atmospheric variation and ical umbrella are those variability upon 1. Terrestrial and aquatic ecology (zoological, botanical and ethological), natural resource production and management (including silviculture, agri culture, horticulture, and grassland, wetland, and marine systems). 2. Stress, morbidity and mortality in animals and humans (including physiolog ical and psychological adaptations). 3. The built environment (all aspects of planning, urban design, and architec ture). 4. Economic systems and social activities (including organizational, individual, and group behavior and management). In addition, bioclimatology is very much concerned with the feedback loop, that is both 5. The inadvertent modification of the atmosphere by living systems, especially human, i.e., studies of pollution, changes to atmospheric amenity, and the processes of deterioration of landscape (deforestation and desertification), and 6. The advertent modifications of natural energy and matter flows within urban areas and indoor climate constructions."
This volume - like the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on which it is based - addresses the fundamental science that contributes to our understanding of the potential risks from ecological terrorism, i.e. dirty bombs, atomic explosions, intentional release of radionuclides into water or air. Both effects on human health (DNA and systemic effects) and on ecosystems are detailed, with particular focus on environmentally relevant low-dose ranges. The state-of-the-art contributions to the book are authored by leading experts; they tackle the relevant questions from the perspectives of radiation genetics, radiobiology, radioecology, radiation epidemiology and risk assessment.
The message of sunspots from the interior of the Sun to the Earth's climate When Galileo was summoned before the Inquisition on April 12, 1633, the main accusations laid against him concerned the doubts he expressed about Aristotle's theory of the universe. Aristotle's idea was that the Earth was the centre of the cosmos and that all of the stars, including the Sun, turned around it. Moreover, for Aristotle and the world of the Inquisitors, the Sun was a perfect celestial body. Now, Galileo had discovered spots on the Sun. These spots were seen as imperfections, and not just surface markings, but coming from within the Sun. Worse yet, they revolved around the Sun. All this supported the newfangled theory of Copernicus, and undermined a system of thought that had reigned supreme for centuries. Man of science that he was, and a prudent Catholic too, Galileo strived all his life to prove that Copernicus' astronomical concept was compatible with the word of the Bible. He proposed that there were not two truths but a single divine truth. It was just expressed in two different languages : there was the language of the common people, with its imprecision and inconsistencies, but intuitively understandable by everyone; and then there was the precise language of science with its strict regard for observation, which only a chosen few can grasp [L. Geymonat. 1992].
As much personal journal as investigative journalism, this account traces the worsening developments at Fukushima Daiichi during the first year following the nuclear disaster. Often poetic in tone and philosophic in scope, this day-to-day reportage is peppered with the author's reflections and dramatic monologues as she investigates the public's willing blindness toward the nuclear power industry's disregard for public safety in the pursuit of profit. The book offers a unique perspective and attempts to come to terms with Fukushima's catastrophic consequences on the planet.
Almost 30 years ago, Congress addressed increasing concerns regarding the management of the nation's growing stockpile of nuclear waste by calling for the federal collection of spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level nuclear waste (HLW) for safe, permanent disposal. Passed in 1982, the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA) was an effort to establish an explicit statutory basis for the Department of Energy (DOE) to dispose of the nation's most highly radioactive nuclear waste. The NWPA requires DOE to remove spent nuclear fuel from commercial nuclear power plants, in exchange for a fee, and transport it to a permanent geologic repository or an interim storage facility before permanent disposal. This book explores the effects of a termination of the Yucca Mountain Repository Program with a focus on the need for a comprehensive DOE strategy that supports environmental cleanup decisions.
Investigation of the disaster will pose questions regarding why Daiichi was constructed in an earthquake-prone zone and was still operating despite problems that had been plaguing the reactors since 1989 such as cracks in infrastructure and leaks in radioactivity. This book analyses and explores the impact of Japans 2011 nuclear crisis.
This volume - like the NATO Advanced Research Workshop on which it is based - addresses the fundamental science that contributes to our understanding of the potential risks from ecological terrorism, i.e. dirty bombs, atomic explosions, intentional release of radionuclides into water or air. Both effects on human health (DNA and systemic effects) and on ecosystems are detailed, with particular focus on environmentally relevant low-dose ranges. The state-of-the-art contributions to the book are authored by leading experts; they tackle the relevant questions from the perspectives of radiation genetics, radiobiology, radioecology, radiation epidemiology and risk assessment.
An increasing allllo~/allce because of the anthropogenically induced ozone depletion and relevant illcrca5e of the surface ultraviolet (UV) radiation (including erythemal part of the UV spectrum) has resulted in the growth of interest to total ozone (TOZ) surface and satellite observations, surface UV measurements (with an emphasis on UV -B) and. the interpretation of observation results to assess potential impacts of the UV radiation enhancement on man and biosphere. The significance of this phenomenon is diJIcrent in various cowltries. Special attention has been paid, for instance, to ozone depletion and UV radiation increase at high latitudes (this problem has also been discussed during the Workshop). It is equally clear, however, that low and mid-latitude environmental dynamics requires carefuU monitoring and assessment of environm(:ntal trends as well. Such a conclusion is especially true for the Mediterranean Region where numerous resort places are located and subject to excessive levels of Solar Ultraviolet Radiation. This is why the NATO Advanced Rcsearch Workshop "Ground-Level and Satellite Ozone Observations: Changes in the Mediterranean Region" was organized and took place in Athens (Grcccc) during the Lime period 31 October -4 November 1995. It should be pointed out, however, that presentations discussed during the Workshop went far beyond the regional scale of consideration. This has been very important, because it opened an opportwlity to analyse the Mediterrane:an environmental situation in the broader contcx1 of the European global changes.
An exploration of how and why Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and India have initiated and developed nuclear energy programs and what challenges they face today. Were the nuclear programmes driven by the low energy endowment, a desire to pursue international prestige, national security concerns, environmental pollution or economic development?
This book examines the Near-Term Task Force, which was established in response to Commission direction to conduct a systematic and methodical review of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission processes and regulations to determine whether the agency should make additional improvements to its regulatory system and to make recommendations to the Commission for its policy direction, in light of the accident at the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant. The Task Force recognises that there likely will be more than 100 nuclear power plants operating throughout the United States for decades to come. In examining the Fukushima Dai-Ichi accident for insights for reactors in the United States, the Task Force addressed protecting against accidents resulting from natural phenomena, mitigating the consequences of such accidents, and ensuring emergency preparedness.
Current climate models diverge in their assessment of global warming that will result from the anthropogenic increase in trace gases. This is because they differ in their representation of the hydrological cycle (water vapour, clouds, snow and sea ice, soil moisture) and because a direct validation in terms of sensitivity is not possible. Indirect methods and approaches are therefore necessary to verify the models efficiently. The book provides an overview on different validation approaches. The use of satellite data is particularly stressed.
Biophysics is the science of physical principles underlying the "phenomenon of life" on all levels of organization. This book begins by explaining molecular and ionic interactions, movements, excitation and energy transfer, and the self-organization of supramolecular structures. Then the biological organism is introduced as a non-equilibrium system. Finally, system analyses are discussed as well as environmental biophysics, ecological interactions, growth, differentiation, and evolution. A growing number of applications in biotechnology are based on these biophysical concepts.
After a tsunami destroyed the cooling system at Japan's Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, triggering a meltdown, protesters around the world challenged the use of nuclear power. Germany announced it would close its plants by 2022. Although the ills of fossil fuels are better understood than ever, the threat of climate change has never aroused the same visceral dread or swift action. Spencer Weart dissects this paradox, demonstrating that a powerful web of images surrounding nuclear energy holds us captive, allowing fear, rather than facts, to drive our thinking and public policy. Building on his classic, "Nuclear Fear, " Weart follows nuclear imagery from its origins in the symbolism of medieval alchemy to its appearance in film and fiction. Long before nuclear fission was discovered, fantasies of the destroyed planet, the transforming ray, and the white city of the future took root in the popular imagination. At the turn of the twentieth century when limited facts about radioactivity became known, they produced a blurred picture upon which scientists and the public projected their hopes and fears. These fears were magnified during the Cold War, when mushroom clouds no longer needed to be imagined; they appeared on the evening news. Weart examines nuclear anxiety in sources as diverse as Alain Resnais's film "Hiroshima Mon Amour, " Cormac McCarthy's novel "The Road, " and the television show "The Simpsons." " " Recognizing how much we remain in thrall to these setpieces of the imagination, Weart hopes, will help us resist manipulation from both sides of the nuclear debate.
This is the first book to cover actinide nano research. It is of interest both for fundamental research into the chemistry and physics of f-block elements as well as for applied researchers such as those studying the long-term safety of nuclear waste disposal and developing remediation strategies. The authors cover important issues of the formation of actinide nano-particles, their properties and structure, environmental behavior of colloids and nanoparticles related to the safe disposal of nuclear wastes, modeling and advanced methods of characterization at the nano-scale.
Fossil fuels will remain the backbone of the global energy economy for the foreseeable future. The contribution of nuclear energy to the global energy supply is also expected to increase. With the pressing need to mitigate climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the fossil energy industry is exploring the possibility of carbon dioxide disposal in geological media. Geological disposal has been studied for decades by the nuclear industry with a view to ensuring the safe containment of its wastes. Geological disposal of carbon dioxide and that of radioactive waste gives rise to many common concerns in domains ranging from geology to public acceptance. In this respect, comparative assessments reveal many similarities, ranging from the transformation of the geological environment and safety and monitoring concerns to regulatory, liability and public acceptance issues. However, there are profound differences on a broad range of issues as well, such as the quantities and hazardous features of the materials to be disposed of, the characteristics of the targeted geological media, the site engineering technologies involved and the timescales required for safe containment at the disposal location. There are ample opportunities to learn from comparisons and to derive insights that will assist policymakers responsible for national energy strategies and international climate policies.
This book shows the state-of-the-art in Europe on a very new discipline, Space Weather. This discipline lies at the edge between science and industry. This book reflects such a position with theoretic papers and applicative papers as well. Each chapter starts with a short introduction, which shows the coherence of a given domain. Then, four to five contributions written by the best specialists in Europe give detailed hints of a hot topic in space weather.
An exploration of how and why Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China and India have initiated and developed nuclear energy programs and what challenges they face today. Were the nuclear programs driven by the low energy endowment, a desire to pursue international prestige, national security concerns, environmental pollution or economic development? |
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