Study: Radiation affects birth sex ratio (atomic weapons tests and nuclear power plants)

The paper is free in pdf or html format at http://www.springerlink.com/content/w822527526045772/

Among the conclusions in the paper:

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thin enough skin there? hahaha

1. CONTEXT:

http://www.counterpunch.org/nader04272011.html

April 27, 2011

Concealing the Consequences

Chernobyl 25 Years Later

By RALPH NADER


*****
*****


2. MUST READ/REVIEW:

(This 349-page comprehensive survey of the scientific literature utilizes extensive citations of peer reviewed journal articles, including examination of changes in male/female sex ratios. My recollection is that fewer boys are born.)

http://www.strahlentelex.de/Yablokov%20Chernobyl%20book.pdf

Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment

Yablokov, A.V., Nesterenko, V.B., and Nesterenko, A.V., Sherman-Nevinger, J.D., Consulting Editor, Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment, New York Academy of Sciences, 1181:1-327, 2009.

EXCERPT:

"This book had been nearly completed when Prof. Vassily Nesterenko passed away on August 23, 2008. He was a great person who, like Andrey Sakharov, stopped his own bright professional nuclear career as the general design engineer of the Soviet Union’s mobile nuclear power plant “Pamir” and director of Belarussian Nuclear Center to devote his life’s efforts to the protection of humankind from Chernobyl’s radioactive dangers."

- ALEXEY V. YABLOKOV


*****
*****


3. RECENT SHORT ARTICLE OVERVIEW OF #2:

http://www.ratical.org/radiation/Chernobyl/CCofC25YL.html
Chernobyl: Consequences of the catastrophe 25 years later
by Janette D. Sherman, M.D., and Alexey V. Yablokov, Ph.D
San Francisco Bay View
April 27, 2011

EXCERPTS: This article was solicited by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists in 2010, but after Dr. Sherman had responded to 42 queries and spent 30 hours writing it, it was rejected shortly before the deadline, apparently as too alarming. This paragraph is an ominous warning of the Fukushima catastrophe that occurred just a few months after it was written and a reminder of the urgent need for more public information such as is provided here. See also: Is the Fukushima nuclear plant breakdown worse than Chernobyl? by Janette D. Sherman, M.D.

<...>

Reproductive system:

A wide spectrum of reproductive function disorders and urogenital morbidity exists in those living in contaminated territories. These include abnormal development of the genitalia, sperm pathologies, including dead sperm, low sperm mobility, disorders of secondary sexual characteristics, degenerate changes of the placenta, delay in sexual maturation, primary infertility, complications during pregnancy and birth, and perinatal and neonatal deaths.

Significantly high levels of alpha radionuclides were found in bone tissue of aborted fetuses from mothers living in the contaminated territories in Ukraine. Changes in sex ratios at birth were documented in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Poland and Sweden. (citations provided in 324 page PDF)

Genetic changes:

Chromosome aberrations in peripheral blood cells were among the first ominous signs of the Chernobyl catastrophe and revealed a correlation between the level of aberrations and a number of pathological conditions. Somatic chromosomal mutations were linked to congenital malformations and protein polymorphism. Mutations in mini-satellite DNA are only some of the genetic changes resulting from radionuclide exposure, but the overwhelming majority of Chernobyl-induced genetic changes will not become apparent for several generations.

<...>

Janette D. Sherman, M.D., is a physician and toxicologist, specializing in chemicals and nuclear radiation that cause cancer and birth defects. The author of Chemical Exposure and Disease and Life's Delicate Balance: Causes and Prevention of Breast Cancer and Consulting Editor of Chernobyl: Consequences of the Catastrophe for People and the Environment; she has worked in radiation and biologic research at the University of California nuclear facility and at the U.S. Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory at the Hunters Point Shipyard in San Francisco. From 1976-1982, she served on the advisory board for the EPA Toxic Substances Control Act. Throughout her career, she has served as a medical-legal expert witness for thousands of individuals harmed by exposure to toxic agents. Dr. Sherman's primary interest is the prevention of illness through public education and patient awareness. She can be reached at toxdoc.js@verizon.net and www.janettesherman.com. Co-author Alexey V. Yablokov, Ph.D., can be reached at yablokov@voxnet.ru.


SAMPLE FOOTNOTE:

http://download.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140673610606058.pdf

www.thelancet.com Vol 375 April 24, 2010

Debate over health effects of Chernobyl re-ignited

Controversy surrounding the true toll and disease burden caused by fallout from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 has resurfaced following the release of a new study. Ed Holt reports

...Ukrainian authorities have designated 2·4 million Ukrainians, including more than 400 000 children, as having health problems related to the disaster. Wertelecki says that the most important thing now was to begin wide-scale studies to try to identify the cause of birth defects in the region and prevent them...

For the birth defects study see Pediatrics 2010; 125: 836–43

posted in GD:
"How Nuclear Radiation Affects Future Generations"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1249112

... if they were using either China or India as their data source,
they would have obviously concluded that both nations had suffered
from devastating nuclear accidents years ago ...

:shrug: