Newsletter Fall 2012 - PBME … · Newsletter Fall 2012 Fall 2012 concernforhealth.org ∙...

Newsletter Fall 2012

Fall 2012 concernforhealth.org ∙ [email protected] ∙ 9059066128 of 12

Nun, scientist, biometrician,protector of future generations.Born April 4, 1929, in Buffalo,N.Y., died June 14, 2012, inLanghorne, Pa., of chronicobstructive pulmonary disease,aged 83.

In 1973, Rosalie sharedher expert understanding ofthe risks of radiationassociated with nuclearfacilities at a meeting inNiagara County, U.S., on aproposed nuclear powerplant near farms growingproduce for Gerber’s babyfoods. Shortly afterward,Niagara County legislated amoratorium on nuclearpower.

Thus began her life’s workof bringing to publicattention the effects ofionizing radiation on presentand future generations. Itwas also the beginning ofefforts to silence her.

Rosalie had dualcitizenship, so when censorship and denigration in theUnited States turned to violence against her, she came toCanada to continue her work. In Toronto, she became theenergy and public health specialist at the Jesuit Centrefor Social Faith and Justice. In 1984, she co‐founded theInternational Institute of Concern for Public Health.

She was particularly concerned about the vulnerabilityof children to environmental toxins. Armed with a Geigercounter and a health survey of children, she put pressureon authorities to take corrective action in a Scarboroughsuburb with radioactive contamination.

Appalled by the suffering of the Marshall Islands’people, whose babies were being born boneless afterextensive nuclear testing there, Rosalie took their case tothe U.S. Congress.

She worked on behalf of marginalized people in many

countries who werestruggling with industrialpollution, radioactivecontamination anddestructive militarism. Sheconducted research,convened tribunals andserved as an expert witness.

As a newborn, Rosaliesuffered from pneumonia,and illnesses kept her frailthroughout her life.However, her mentalstrengths and optimisticspirit more than made up forlimitations in physicalrobustness. A stiff breezecould push her off balance,but the raging winds ofopposition could not fell her.

People and giraffes madeher laugh; nature was asource of joy; and she heldto her belief in the essentialgoodness of humanity.

She achieved a BA magnacum laude, a masters degreein mathematics and

philosophy, and a doctorate in biometrics.Rosalie began her 54 years with the Grey Nuns of the

Sacred Heart in 1958. She became known as the “anti‐nuclear nun,” and the “angel on our shoulder,” earninghonorary degrees and numerous environmental and peaceawards.

A voice of truth in a wilderness of propaganda, Rosaliechallenged decisions that cause harm to the health of theplanet. Her hard‐hitting and hope‐filled writingsintegrated careful research with discernment andcourageous public witness.

She was never afraid to confront the establishment,whether medical, political or military. Her messagecontinues to be heard and respected.— Shirley Farlinger.First published in the Globe and Mail under "Lives Lived".

ROSALIE BERTELL1 929-201 2

of 12 concernforhealth.org ∙ [email protected] ∙ 9059066128 Fall 2012

REFLECTION ON THE LIFE OF SISTERROSALIE BERTELL, GNSHSISTER JULIA C. LANIGAN, GNSHGood evening! I was asked to speak for a few minutes

about Sister Rosalie in terms of her personal lifeamong her religious Sisters, the Grey Nuns of the SacredHeart, during her years of “retirement” at ourMotherhouse in Yardley, PA, a suburb of Philadelphia and

how she conducted her ministry from that setting. To us,she was “our Sister” and our friend. Like each Grey Nun,she was to us simply one among many who lived amongus through her many years of religious life while alsocarrying out in various ways our corporate mission ofcompassionate concern for all, especially the poor andmarginalized among us. From the mid‐1970s to the mid‐1990s, most of our Sisters knew Rosalie mainly throughbrief encounters when she was among us in variouslocations for community meetings or celebrations inbetween her world travels and intensive occupation withconcern for the health effects of low‐dose radiation andpollution. All knew her reputation as a brilliant scientist,an environmental epidemiologist, a biometrician, acancer researcher, and advocate for the poor, especiallyindigenous peoples. To many, the very complexity ofthese words was intimidating! Over time, she won manyconverts within our community who, through her efforts

and those of others came to understand the detrimentalimpact of modern life, weapons of war, and politicalmanoeuvring on our planet and all its inhabitants.Whenhealth needs finally dictated her move to our retirementcentre at the Motherhouse, her tenure began with mostSisters being a little in awe of her and unsure how toconverse with someone like her on an “ordinary” plane.All soon learned that they need not fear—Rosalie cameand lived quite an “ordinary” life among us as one of ourGrey Nun Sisters. She was as interested in conversingwith each Sister on the topics of daily living and theconcerns of their lives and ministry as she was incontinuing her world‐wide work, mainly via email andtelephone. Only her occasional trips “to speak at theUnited Nations” or “to receive the Right LivelihoodAward associated with the Nobel Peace prize,” or “to bepart of the ceremonies in Japan that surrounded theanniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki”reminded everyone of how very actively she remainedinvolved in concern for environmental health. In theselater years she had many health issues, including COPD,nodules in her throat, and failing eyesight. She didn’tcomplain about these. She simply set about doingeverything possible to obtain whatever treatment shethought might be helpful with a goal to being able tocontinue her work. At the same time, Rosalie was carefulto be sure that every day included prayer, exercise,participation in all community meetings and activities,and recreation in some form. Maintaining balance was,for her as for us all, a crucial necessity if one is tobecome and remain a whole and holy person capable ofbringing renewed life and positive energy to a needyworld.

Many who lived with her in our retirement house weresurprised after her death by the revelation of the far‐reaching dimensions of her work and mission. Those ofyou who knew her through her work will not be at allsurprised to hear of the outpouring of love and concernthat came to us from people around the world. Thelegacy she leaves, I think, is mainly in the astoundingnumber of others whom she has inspired to join in andexpand this worldwide movement for justice and peacefor the entire global village we call planet earth.

Sr. JuliaLaniganGNSH,President ofthe Grey Nunsof the SacredHeart, speaksat theRememberingRosalie Bertellevent, Toronto,29 September2012.


REMEMBERING ROSALIE BERTELLCLAUDIA VON WERLHOFPLANETARY MOVEMENT FOR MOTHER EARTHRosalie was an angel on this Earth—her mind was

equipped with the sharpness of a sword and thepassionate flame of love for our mother earth and thetruth about her burned in her heart! Without Rosalie, the“Planetary Movement for Mother Earth”—www.pbme‐online.org—founded in Germany in 2010, would not exist!We are called upon to live up to her inheritance! Wethank her for all she has done: fearlessly, decisively,tirelessly, and in all clarity!

We are very happy that we could assist in making herdesire to see the book, Planet Earth: The Latest Weaponof War published in the German language—KreigswafffePlanet Erde (Geinhausen 2011)—come true and above all,that she was still able to experience this!The firstamplified edition of 5,000 copies is nearly sold out and asecond is envisaged for the end of 2012. We have nowbegun with a Spanish translation to be published inMexico in 2013.

Rosalie was also preparing a second English edition aswell, and we have asked the two eventual publishers tocontact us as we, together with the GNSH, could not findout yet who they are! After Fukushima, Rosalie's researchon the dangers of radioactivity—No Immediate Danger:Prognosis for a Radioactive Earth (1985), for which shegot the Right Livelihood Award in 1986, is moreimportant than ever before. Her following research onthe development of post‐nuclear experiments andweapons of mass destruction based on new technologieswith pulsed electromagnetic waves—leading to weatherwars, plasma weapons and geo‐engineering—shows uswhat is already occurring worldwide—for decades! Andshe did not hesitate to blame the military in East andWest of being responsible for transforming Mother Earthinto a perverse weapon of war against us and herselfincluding global warming! Most of the scientistspoliticians, social movements and individuals of theworld, nevertheless are are still maintaining their beliefin the “1%,” and/or are hiding the truth about the newrealities under which the peoples of the world are now

living, and dying. Rosalie's book is the proof that theseare not conspiracy theories at all, if we like it or not.Together with interested individuals and organizationswe will try to figure out how we can best documentRosalie Bertell's complete works. All those who may beinterested are requested to contact claudia.von‐[email protected] or [email protected] Claudia von Werlhof is with the Institute of PoliticalSciences at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. Read herspeech at the Remembering Rosalie Bertell event athttp://concernforhealth.orgROSALIE BERTELL AWARDSI n early July. when we had fairly well overcome our

original shock and grief at the death of our belovedSr./Dr. Rosalie Bertell, the members of IICPH decidedthat they wanted to do something to celebrate her lifeand work. It was then we started planning the eventultimately called “Remembering Rosalie Bertell.” As partof that program, we felt it would be very fitting to givethree Rosalie Bertell Awards to three people she hadknown and admired for many years. After muchdiscussion by the board members, the decision was madeto give the awards to Ursula Franklin, Janette Sherman‐Nevinger and Lorraine Rekmans. Citations were preparedto acquaint the audience about each of the recipientswhile our Immediate Past President, Jean Rajotte wouldpresent the Award Certificates. The following are briefnotes and quotes from the Citations for each one of therecipients. Previous Awards have been given to the lateDavid Martin, Gordon Edwards, Shirley Farlinger, DorothyGoldin Rosenberg and Jean Rajotte.

Professor Emerita Ursula M. FranklinNot long after Rosalie Bertell moved to Toronto, Canada,she met Ursula Franklin, Professor of Metallurgy andMaterials Science at the University of Toronto. Amutually beneficial friendship developed between thetwo scientists. In 1984, together with Dr. Diarmuid


McLoughlin, they founded the IICPH. Long known for herfeminist and pacifist views, Ursula Franklin has spokenand written extensively about the futility of war and theconnection between peace and social justice. She hasreceived many prestigious awards for her work onequality, justice and human rights issues. Perhaps Dr.Franklin is best known for her opinions on the politicaland social effects of technology. She distinguishesbetween holistic technologies used by craft workers orartisans and prescriptive ones that organize the work as asequence of steps requiring supervision by bosses ormanagers. She believes that the dominance ofprescriptive technologies in modern society discouragescritical thinking and promotes a culture of compliancethat tends to suppress freedom and endangerscivilization. In the early 1990s, Prof. Franklin along withothers, investigated the levels of strontium in children'steeth. This research contributed to the cessation ofatmospheric nuclear weapons testing.

Dr. Janette D. Sherman‐Nevinger M.D.Dr. Sherman is a specialist ininternal medicine andtoxicology. Rosalie Bertell andJanette Sherman have knowneach other since childhood,growing up in Buffalo, NY andhave been both friends andcolleagues. She has published

more than 70 articles in scientific literature and alsowrites for the popular press to provide information to theconcerned public. Her resume is astounding! Amongstnumerous other research and academic positions, she hasworked in radiation and biologic research at theUniversity of California nuclear facility, and at the USNaval Research Laboratory at Hunter's Point in SanFrancisco. She is a tremendous resource person, andadviser for universities and health advocacy groupsconcerning cancer, birth defects, pesticides, toxic dumpsites and nuclear radiation and has served as a medical‐legal expert witness for thousands of individuals harmedby exposure to toxic agents throughout her career.As Dr. Sherman was not able to travel to Toronto, her friendRheba Adolph received the Award on her behalf (see article,next page).

Lorraine RekmansLorraine Rekmans, former Executive Director of theNational Aboriginal Forestry Association, studiedjournalism at Canador College and has practiced thatprofession for many years. Her roots are with the peopleof the Serpent River Nation. She is well known for thepart she played in bringing attention to the terribledisaster that befell this Ojibwe community following thediscovery of uranium in the vicinity of Elliot Lake in theearly 1950s.Lorraine Rekmans helped to edit the stories of theSerpent River People into a book called This Is MyHomeland. This book tells the recollections of theSerpent River People affected by the devastation to theirhealth and environment from the mining of uranium andthe tailings ponds left behind. The book tells of thedreadful consequences to the Serpent River Nation andto their health, lands, water and air and way of life as aresult. It is a testament to the heartless indifferenceexperienced by many aboriginal communities around theworld. Lorraine is well known internationally for herknowledge and experience in uranium mining andforestry issues.

In the Citation written by Director Willi Nolan she saysabout her friend, “Lorraine is a community, national andinternational advocate for environmental health andjustice, the impacts of air and water pollution and landdegradation on the lives of all people and the naturalenvironment. Lorraine successfully directs her time andattention to educating and empowering women and theircommunities to assert their rights to intervene incommunity and federal environmental decision‐making


processes... Lorraine is an important contributor toenvironmental policy for government, industry, thepublic and Aboriginal communities.”To read the full citations, go to concernforhealth.org. You willalso find links to the video of the event, from which thepictures in this section of the newsletter were taken.

ACCEPTANCESPEECH:JANETTE SHERMANRheba Adolph, a good friendof Janette Sherman,accepted the Rosalie BertellAward on Janette’s behalfas Janette was unable toattend the event. Here are afew of the words composedby Janette upon learningabout receiving the award:

How we miss SisterRosalie! How will we fillher dainty shoes, withwhich she left such a big footprint?How will we amplify her messages—spoken with herdelicate, but persistent, strong voice?I was stunned when I received the call from AnnaTilman making sure I could be in Toronto onSeptember 29 to accept a Rosalie Bertell Award. It istruly my honour and privilege to be in the company offellow Rosalie Bertell Award recipients Ursula Franklinand Lorraine Rekmans.I thank the International Institute for Concern forPublic Health and Marion Odell and Anna Tilman whohave done so much to keep the organization active.

Here are the words spoken by Rheba about Janette andher relationship with Rosalie:Who is Dr. Janette Sherman (also known as Sally)? Why isit fitting that she be granted the Rosalie Bertell Award?Other than the same gender and Buffalo birthplace, whatdo these two seemingly disparate scientists, the onededicated to her husband, the other to her God, bring tothis award?

I would like to offer you a sketch of Janette by holdingup mirror images of her and Rosalie. Looking into themirror, we see these two glittering intellects andpersonalities sharing:• Razor‐sharp intellects• Steely determination to pursue what they know to be

moral and just• Passionate dedication to their ideals• Fearless in the face of possible harm to themselves

rendered by those who are threatened by the evidenceand conclusions of their research

• The saving grace of words not chosen out of malice butfor puncturing resistance, evidence and ensuingconclusions

• Scientific education put to the service of helping, notinjuring

• The mental endurance to discuss an issue for hours,indeed maybe forever

• The shared mantra: Peace, Peace! Peace!• And especially, the courage to prevail!

Janette has asked: How can we best honour Rosalie.What can we do? And this is the answer: We must act andspeak out and have the courage, as Rosalie has had, toprevail.

Visit our new website concernforhealth.org forcurrent news, or explore our archives (including pastnewsletters) at iicph.org


IICPH AGAINSTDARLINGTON REFURBISHMENTThe Ontario government through the Ontario PowerGeneration (OPG), a Crown corporation, plans a

“mid‐life” refurbishment of the four reactors atDarlington Nuclear Generating Station (DNGS) extendingtheir lives by approximately forty years to about 2055. Asubmission prepared and presented by our VicePresident, Anna Tilman, outlines our concerns. This is amassive piece of work and required Anna to review ahuge number of documents obtained through requests tothe Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC). Thesubmission provides comments on the proposed projectas a whole and on specific topics in the proposed OPG'sEnvironmental Assessment Screening Report (EA Report).In her introductory remarks to the submission, Annastated that it provides comments on the proposedProject as a whole, and on specific topics, and that ourprimary focus is on the potential effects of the activitiesof the Project on human health, and especially thehealth of the nuclear energy workers and contractworkers. A major component of the submission includes areview of the experience with refurbishment activitiesthat have occurred at other CANDU facilities in Canada.

This submission also comments on numerous issuesrelated to the refurbishment and continued operation ofthe Darlington station, including accident andmalfunction scenarios, probabilistic risk assessmentmethodology, cumulative impacts, costs, and theenvironmental assessment process itself. Anna statedthat, “The project as proposed by Ontario PowerGeneration is massive, both in the level of activity andthe timespan. It will impact many people at various

levels from local and regional and well beyond,especially in the event of a nuclear accident. The meritsof a project of this dimension are highly questionable,especially considering its proposed timelines (whichapproach the next century), and the very high costs,which will certainly exceed whatever estimates arefinally given.” The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission(CNSC) Screening Report came to the conclusion that thework and activities of the Project are not likely to causesignificant adverse effects on the environment, Thissubmission states clearly that the Project is seriouslyflawed, and the conclusion of CNSC staff cannot besupported.

Anna Tilman concluded that, “Among many otherthings, a precautionary or protective approach has notbeen taken with regard to the effects of this Project onhuman health, especially for frontline workers, who riskharmful exposure to radiological and non‐radiologicalsubstances during all stages of the Project. Theconsideration of potential accidents or malfunctions iscompletely inadequate and unscientific. This is especiallydisturbing in light of the Fukushima disaster, and thelessons that should have been learned from it. The fullrange of cumulative impacts on the environment andhuman health has not been addressed. the position thatany and all problems can be adequately mitigated iscompletely unsound, which is clearly demonstrated bypast experiences, logic, and fundamental scientificprinciples. It is our view that allowing this Project to becarried out will do great and totally unnecessary harm tothe environment, health and economic well‐being nowand in the future.”To access the full submission, go tohttp://concernforhealth.org.


JAMES BAY CREE NATION DECLARESPERMANENT URANIUM MORATORIUMThe James Bay Cree Nation has declared a permanentmoratorium on uranium, exploration, mining and

waste emplacement in Eeyou Istchee, the James BayCree Territory. The moratorium was enacted andadopted unanimously by the Annual Cree Nation'sGeneral Assembly in August at Wakaganish.

“The risks inherent in uranium mining, refining andtransport, and in radioactive uranium mining waste areincompatible with our stewardship responsibilities inEeyou Istchee,” the resolution declares.“The Cree Nationis determined to protect our way of life and our economyagainst the grave threat posed by uranium mining andwaste,” said Grand Chief Dr. Matthew Coon Come.“Weare not opposed to sustainable and equitable mining andother industrial resource development, but will notaccept the toxic and radiation risks of uranium mining.”(CCPA Monitor October 2012)‐‐ Shirley Farlinger

REVIEW OF NUCLEARWASTE LAW REQUIREDIICPH is a member of the Nuclear Waste Watch coalition, whichcalls for major changes to the decades‐old Ontario NuclearFuel Waste Act.PRESS RELEASE: November 14, 2012, Toronto OntarioOn the 10th anniversary of a controversial law coming

into force that could permit the burial of highlyradioactive nuclear waste, a broad alliance of health,environmental, community and faith groups has issued anopen letter to communities being studied as possibleburial sites and is calling on the federal Minister ofNatural Resources to review the Nuclear Fuel Waste Actand to order the nuclear industry to conduct its businessin a more open and accountable fashion. Nuclear WasteWatch, a network of 31 organizations from across theprovince, released a letter to Minister of NaturalResources Joe Oliver today outlining their concerns aboutthe way the Nuclear waste Management Organization isconducting itself as it carries out a search for acommunity willing to become the burial site for morethan 50,000 tonnes of highly radioactive waste generatedby nuclear power plants in Ontario, Quebec and NewBrunswick, Over 90% of the waste comes from reactors inOntario. In an open letter to communities being studiedas possible burial sites, the signatories to Nuclear WasteWatch's eleven point position statement said they “shareconcerns about the long term safety of placing thenuclear waste in caverns deep underground” as well asconcerns about the risks and hazards that would comewith transporting radioactive waste long distances and

through communities along the way.“Communities being studied as burial sites should now

that they are not alone,” said Brennain Lloyd, ProjectCoordinator with Northwatch, a regional coalition innorthern Ontario, where 12 communities are beingstudied as possible burial sites.

“There are organizations and experts across Canadawho have been tracking this issue for decades and canprovide support in evaluating what the nuclear industry istelling them.”

“The Nuclear Waste Management Organization isengaged in a massive public relations program to conveythe impression that the nuclear waste problem is solvedwhen it is not,” commented Dr. Gordon Edwards,president of the Canadian Coalition for NuclearResponsibility.

Canada is one of several countries who have beenstudying the concept of burying nuclear waste for severaldecades. No country has yet constructed and begunoperating an underground repository for the high levelwaste generated through the use of nuclear power.Nuclear Waste Watch has launched a new website atwww.NuclearWasteWatch.net where they have postedthe the list of endorsing organizations and their letter tothe Minister of Natural Resources. and an open letter tocommunities being studied as possible burial sites.

RESIDENTS CONCERNED ABOUTGE‐HITACHI URANIUM PELLET PLANCommunity information meetings were held inToronto, Ontario on November 14 and 15, 2012 about

the General Electric‐Hitachi uranium pellet plant in thecity. IICPH was represented at the meeting by DirectorGordon Albright who presented the following report. Thismeeting was held on Wednesday, November 14th. ThePanel consisted of Zach Ruiter, raising concerns aboutthe plant; AndrewCash, the local MP;Jonah Schein, thelocal MPP; MikeMakagiorgisrepresenting CesarPalacio, the local citycouncillor; KimWarburton,communicationsrepresentative for GE;and the SafetyManager for the plant.The Panel was chaired by Donna Cowan, the chair of thelocal community organization Digin which sponsored themeeting. About a hundred people attended.


Zach Ruiter expressed concern about the process bywhich the Canadian Nuclear safety Commission hadrelicensed the plant for ten more years in 2010, becausethe community had too little say in it. Not only weremost people unaware of this process, they didn’t evenknow what the plant was doing.

When asked, only five people attending said that theyknew the plant was processing uranium before a recentarticle in NOW Magazine. All the elected representativesexpressed shock and dismay that the local communityhad not been better informed. Andrew Cash pointed outthat a public information program was a condition oftheir relicensing. Kim Warburton said that GE hadfollowed all the guidelines, but would be happy to gobeyond them. She suggested that the lack of publicawareness of the plant’s operations might be due to thefact that it had operated safely for fifty years. She saidthat a 1‐800 number had been established to answerquestions, and asked that GE be invited to localcommunity meetings to give all the facts. The SafetyManager for the plant said that it was a very safeoperation that posed no danger to the local community.It was highly regulated, and monitored by independentthird parties.

There was a strong consensus among the electedrepresentatives, and members of the local community,that much better public information was needed aboutthe operations of the plant, and that much greatertransparency and public involvement were needed inmonitoring and regulating those operations.

In a November 17 NOW Magazine article, it was statedthat well over a hundred people attended at each ofthese neighbourhood meetings. “It was standing‐room‐only as residents concerned about everything from theirpersonal health and safety to to the area's community‘vibe’ peppered politicians.” NOW said that theWednesday event was “decidedly balanced, with two GE‐Hitachi reps, all three levels of government, and ZachRuiter, who opposed GE‐Hitachi's sister operation inPeterborough, has since moved to Toronto.” According toNOW, “Thursday was clearly geared to organizingopposition to the plant and to nuclear issues in general.Simon Paul Dene of northern Saskatchewan described thedozen or so uranium mines there and told how he lost asister and brother to cancer, and how his Denecommunity is facing a nuclear waste dump, despite risksto underground springs.”

People who attended the meeting expressed theirconcerns about things they had noticed over the yearssuch as a brief evacuation after fire was seen on top of a

stack in 1999. Another resident mentioned the bucklingof a storage wall a few years ago. “Palpable anger in theair soon became evident...It was if a bubble had burst.As the meeting wound down, the organizers and a few ofthe hardiest souls walked to the plant a few blocks away.As a dozen or so of police officers watched, backed up bya mobile command vehicle, the small group held a briefvigil and posed with signs and a large yellow bannerbearing their message: ‘Nuclear Power? No Thanks’.”

You might want to watch these videos.• Dr. James Deutsch, M.D., Ph.D. discusses correct

information on uranium<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZotGdcV1Kik>

• Cheri Di Novo MPP High Park/Parkdale: and GE‐Hitachi'sUranium Secret<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y2cHBitt6M?

• Toronto Environment Alliance<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypt‐iYZDbn4

NUCLEAR FREE JAPAN?I n a major shift from Japan's decades‐long support for

nuclear power, Prime Minister Yoshishiko Noda said ina recent speech that the government will soon announcea gradual abandonment of this controversial form ofenergy in favour of a nuclear free country.

He said that most people in Japan are in favour of anuclear‐free country.

The new policy will include putting a 40‐year cap onreactor lifespans, stopping construction of new nuclearreactors and imposing strict safety checks beforesidelined reactors are restarted. The target is to makeJapan completely nuclear‐free by 2030 largely byexpanding its use of renewable forms of energy andundertaking greater conservation efforts, such as usingsmart grids.

The decision stems from intense discussion and debateabout the country's energy policy in the wake of lastyear's disaster at the Fukushima Dai‐ichi nuclear powerplant set off by the massive earthquake and tsunami.(CCPA Monitor October 2012). Never have we had somany allies!

Nuclear radiation is still spewing out of the damagedJapanese reactors. The detritus from the catastrophe hasreached and also continues on its way to the westernshores of North America.)

Even in Canada, one reactor is closing. The only one inQuebec, the aged Gentilly‐2, is scheduled for shut‐down.Now just two provinces to go!by Shirley Farlinger


LETTER FROM ROSALIE BERTELL AFTER FUKUSHIMA


HYDROFRACKING ‘NATURAL’ GASHEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT RISKFracking of natural gases from shale deposits not only

uses toxic chemicals and sand in copious amounts ofwater, contaminating drinking and groundwater, it alsoreleases substantial amounts of radioactive poison fromthe ground ,according to a report released recently byGrassroots Environmental Education, an organization inNew York State where extensive fracking is beingproposed. The fracking process involves injecting toxicchemical laced water and sand under high pressure tofracture shale formations and release the gas from shalebeds. According to this report, it also releasesradioactive substances from the shale, a major one beingRadium‐226 that has a half‐life of 1,600 years. Thismeans that the Radium‐226 will be around for 16,000 to32,000 years!

According to E. Ivan White who was a staff scientistfor the US National Council on Radiation Protection for30 years, is quoted as saying, “Horizontal hydrofrackingfor natural gas ... has the potential to result in theproduction of large amounts of waste materialscontaining Radium‐226 and radium‐228 in both solid andliquid mediums.” Through air, water and soil, it wouldget into food crops and animals. White also said that“radioactive materials and chemical wastes do not justgo away, into the environment. They remain active andpotentially lethal, and can show up years later inunexpected places.” Hydrofracking produces anincredible amount of very toxic waste!

In 1999, the New York State Department ofEnvironmental Conservation produced an environmentalimpact statement that said that the 16 oil and gascompanies that participated in their survey showed a“cavalier attitude to toward human exposure toradioactive material.” Radium causes cancer because thebody uses it as if it were calcium and deposits it in thebones. It also causes aplastic anemia, a disease wherethe bone marrow becomes unable to produce enoughnew blood cells to to replenish the destroyed blood cells.Marie Curie, after discovering radium in 1893, unawareof the dangers posed, handled it without any protectionand died of aplastic anemia. Left in the ground withinthe shale the radioactive elements, whichever ones theymay be, will cause no harm, but unleashed into ourbiosphere they will endanger the health and well‐beingof living creatures for essentially all generations tocome.

ONTARIOGOVERNMENTPROMOTINGFRACKINGI n spite of the factthat hydrofracking of

shale gas has earned awell‐deservedreputation in Canadaand in other countriesas a serious polluter of water, soil and food crops, and ahealth and environment hazard and toxic wasteproducer, the Ontario government is quietly but activelypromoting this industry. Through the Ontario GeologicalSurvey (OGS), a branch of the Ministry of NorthernDevelopment and Mines, the Ontario government ismoving toward the promotion of hydrofracking fornatural gas in Ordovician Shale formations in SouthernOntario. The 486‐page OGS report, Summary of FieldWork and Other Activities for 2012 released on November6, 2012, has Section 29 devoted to the shale gaspotential in this area.

In 2010, the Ministry of Natural Resources of Ontarioreleased an aerial survey of shale formations in Ontarioto assist gas companies in their explorations.

That same year, OGS began its first drilling program inthe Kettle Point formation in Sarnia―Lambton andChatham―Kent where some potential was seen.however, further drilling found more viable sources inthe Rouge River―Blue Mountain Formation and theCollingwood area of the of the Coburg Formation whichthe report rated as having “the best potential for shalegas productive units.” Ordovician shale formations arefound in different areas including the following:Queenston, Georgian Bay, Blue Mountain and Coburg.They are located on Manitoulin Island and all of SouthernOntario including South Bruce Peninsula, Sarnia, Windsorand Toronto.

The second drilling program by OGS drilled in 11locations including St. Joseph, Little Current, Wiarton,Bruce, Chatham, Port Stanley, Halton, Mount Forest,Imperial Lincoln, Pickering and Russell.

It probably has not escaped your notice that a lot ofthe places are near or on the Great Lakes. Developingthese formations would undoubtedly have seriousconsequences to the waters of the Southern Great Lakesand many of their watersheds.


FLUORIDATION POLICYLOSING ITS APPEALS ince 1993, IICPH has been aiding communities that

seek to end fluoridation by providing them withcredible scientific evidence and ethics‐based argumentsagainst the deliberate addition of industrial wastefluoride in public drinking water. Through socialnetworking pages and websites, thousands of citizens inhundreds of towns across Canada have accessed thisinformation, organized themselves into local groups, andadded their voices to advocacy groups such as Council ofCanadians and Canadian Association of Physicians for theEnvironment. In the past two years fluoridation wasended in Waterloo ON, Quebec City QC, Moncton NB,Calgary AB and Churchill MB. Recently, an attempt tofluoridate Orillia ON was blocked, and towns nearWindsor ON voted to stop.

Unfortunately fluoridation, like nuclear power, isaggressively promoted and supported by governmentagencies. It requires strong democratic action to changethis.

Now, an important new study validates our efforts andsubstantiates our warning that fluoridation, likeradiation, is most harmful to the vulnerable fetus andyoung child. Increased levels of radiation and their risksare unavoidable due to environmental contaminationwith radioactivity from production of weapons, fuel andnuclear power. For the fetus, the risks are irreversible.Likewise, increased daily fluoride intake and risks areunavoidable and irreversible when municipal water isartificially fluoridated.Study published online in Environmental HealthPerspectives on July 20, 2012: Impact of Fluoride onNeurological Development in Children

In a meta‐analysis, researchers from Harvard School ofPublic Health (HSPH) and China Medical University inShenyang combined 27 studies, most from China, andfound strong indications that fluoride in drinking watereven below the level advocated by Health Canada asbeneficial for dental health (0.7 milligram per litre) mayadversely affect cognitive development in children byreducing IQ. Based on the findings for high fluorideintake, the authors say that this risk from lower intakeshould not be ignored, and that more research onfluoride’s impact on the developing brain is needed.

Lead author Anna Choi, research scientist in theDepartment of Environmental Health at HSPH, said, “Wewant to make sure that cognitive development isconsidered as a possible target for fluoride toxicity.”Choi and senior author Philippe Grandjean, adjunctprofessor of environmental health at HSPH, and theircolleagues collated the epidemiological studies of 8,000

children, who suffered an average drop of 7 IQ points.“Fluoride seems to fit in with lead, mercury, and otherbrain poisons,” Grandjean says. “The effect of eachtoxicant may seem small, but the combined damage on apopulation scale can be serious, especially because thebrain power of the next generation is crucial to all of us.”‐‐Aliss Terpstra, IICPH Director, Fluoride Campaigner

BHOPALSTUDYPROMISEDOn December 3,1984, an accident

at Union Carbide’spesticide plant inBhopal, India, killed15,000 to 30,000 peopleliving near the plant.Today, the sitecontinues to leak toxicchemicals into thewater supply. An expertstudy is promised soon.Dow Chemical, whichbought the plant in2001, claims no responsibility for the clean‐up. It wassold to the state in 1998. Meanwhile people continue tosuffer from damaged lungs. They were not told of thechemical involved nor told that they could have beensaved by staying close to the ground as the toxicchemical soared above. It is thought that 4,000 to 12,000metric tonnes of toxins are present still in the soil. DowChemical has refused to respond.‐‐Worldwatch


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FULFILLING OUR MANDATEI ncorporated as a federal non‐profit corporation inCanada on October 9, 1984, the International

Institute of Concern for Public Health is committedto the fundamental human right to health for all. Itis a Canadian‐based charitable organizationdedicated to helping communities and individualsassess and improve their environmental health.

We speak truth to Power! One example is IICPHAgainst Darlington Refurbishment. See article in thisnewsletter and the full submission onconcernforhealth.org by Vice‐Pres. Anna Tilman.

We work for victims or potential victims ofindustrial, technological, and military pollution witha particular emphasis on assisting the struggles ofthird world and indigenous people to preserve theirhuman right to life and health.

See Mohawk Traditional Council and allies(mohawktraditionalcouncil.org) and anti shale gasmovement, Maliseet Grand Council (ocean‐resources.com/articles.asp?articleid=686) among anumber of First Nations advised on health matters byDirector Willi Nolan.

We aim to educate through our publications,presentations and website. We raise awareness ofpresent and potential environmental health hazardsarising from commercial, industrial and militaryprocesses or products.

We present the facts based on scientific studiesand provide information to community groups, non‐government organizations and in a non‐partisanmanner to legislators at all levels of government.

IICPH works in cooperation with Aboriginalpeoples, professionals, grassroots and other socialorganizations and citizen groups in many countries.Through the work of founder Dr. Rosalie Bertell andother professionals we have been active in over 60countries.

We need your help! We are desperately in needof funds in order to continue and (hopefully) expandour reach to work to accelerate the numbers ofpeople needed to reach that critical mass ofopposition to nuclear power, to expand our ability tocarry out our mandate and overcome the falsestatements propagated to the general public. Wewish only to provide people with the truth about thedangers to Planet Earth from the depredations ofthose who plunder for the sake of profit and inspirethem to spread the word and to take action to stopthe damage to our biosphere.“IICPH brings the voice of science and common

sense to bear for the public's interest.”

--Rosalie Bertell

Please make cheques payable to IICPH and we will send you acharitable receipt (Canadian taxpayers only) with our thanks.We also welcome donations by credit card via our PayPalaccount. See the “Donate” button on the right‐hand menu ofour website, concernforhealth.org.

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