The Future?

Three Mile Island Meltdown Led to Rise in Miscarriages, Still Births, Down Syndrome Children

During the nuclear crisis at Japana's Fukushima plant, there have been endless comparisons to both Chernobyl and Three Mile Island. But there have been fewer good, in-depth pieces that examine the fallout of through the lens of the communities that suffered through them. Yet this is surely the best way to gain insight into the potentially incipient health crises that may affect the communities surrounding Fukushima -- and insight into the risks nuclear power poses to human health in general. On the Issues Magazine has a must read in-depth look at how thousands of people in Harrisburg, PA, suffered a variety of illnesses and health woes in the wake of the meltdown -- especially women, who in addition to seeing higher rates of cancer, suffered an increase in still births, birth defects, miscarriages, and pregnancy complications.


I know that there's a popular radiation chart going around that seems to show that small amounts of radiation aren't very harmful, and that the general consensus seems to be that the health impacts of Three Mile island weren't that grave. But the work done by scientists and researchers in the aftermath of Three Mile Island -- which shows, among other things, that authorities have drastically lowballed the amount of radiation released in the event -- indicates that we should remain exceptionally cautious both regarding the accuracy of our radiation measurements, and the potential effects that even lower amounts of radiation may have.

So waht to expect in Japan? In the US...Canada...Iceland (the clouds have passed overhead you know)?