Dr. Robert Peter Gale and Eric Lax Help Demystify Radiation

In the wake of the accident at Fukushima, the world once again got a chance to know Dr. Robert Peter Gale. One of the world's leading authorities on the biological effects of radaition, Dr. Gale first came to prominence in the late 1980s when he coordinated medical and relief efforts for victims of the accident at Chernobyl.

And in the wake of Fukushima, the world turned once again to Dr. Gale when it came to rationally gauging the immediate and long-term health effects of the accident in Japan. Perhaps we should be grateful then that Dr. Gale, along with co-author Eric Lax, has just written a new book aimed at demystifying radiation and its potential health effects. Radiation: What It Is. What You Need to Know, was just published by KnopfDoubleday and is available at Amazon.com and bookstores nationwide. Here's a thumbnail review that appeared earlier today in the New York Times:

Dr. Gale, a leukemia expert who advised governments in the wake of the nuclear disasters at Chernobyl in Ukraine and Fukushima in Japan takes a measured look at the health risks of radiation. He and Mr. Lax, a medical writer explain how mild doses of background radiation may be harmless, while extreme levels can cause cancer. In a twist, Dr. Gale reveals that most of the increase in our exposure in the last half century is not because of nuclear weapons or power but because of medical diagnostic tools like X-rays and CT scans.

Looks like I've got something new to download onto my Kindle.

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Fluor Invests in NuScale

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Wednesday Update

From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin

NEI Nuclear Notes

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