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You can now visit Chernobyl’s control room

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Tourists are now able to visit the radioactive control room at Chernobyl which has been within the exclusion zone of access since the disaster more than 30 years ago.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The control room is in decay and is located at Unit Four, where the reactor exploded.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is also the location of the deadly “elephant’s foot” radioactive mass which was discovered in the basement under the remains of the reactor.</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByiXTkBIbSz/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/ByiXTkBIbSz/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">ChNPP from the inside: the “golden corridor” connects all the blocks of the station, including the destroyed fourth one. The name comes from the appearance of wall cladding, which creates a golden glow in the hallway. The length of the corridor is more than a kilometer! ⠀ ЧАЕС зсередини: "золотий коридор" з'єднує всі блоки станції, в тому числі, і зруйнований четвертий. Назва походить від зовнішнього вигляду обшивки стін, яка створює в коридорі золотисте світіння. Протяжність коридору - більше кілометра! ⠀ ЧАЭС изнутри: "золотой коридор" соединяет все блоки станции, в том числе, и разрушенный четвертый. Название произошло от внешнего вида обшивки стен, которая создает в коридоре золотистое свечение. Протяженность коридора - более километра!</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/chernobyltour/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> CHERNOBYL TOUR</a> (@chernobyltour) on Jun 10, 2019 at 10:03am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">As the control room is still a hotbed of radioactive activity and measures at around 40,000 times the safe level, visitors are only able to visit the control room for five minutes.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The decision to open the site up to tourists came after the success of the HBO mini series </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Chernobyl</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, which outlined the disaster and what mistakes led to it happening. </span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B06dUzTALb8/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B06dUzTALb8/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Nowadays you can go inside the Chernobyl nuclear power station, see the main circulation pumps and one of the control rooms. Book a private tour to visit the ChNPP ☢️ ⠀ На сьогоднішній день ви можете побувати всередині Чорнобильської АЕС, побачити головні циркуляційні насоси та відвідати один з блочних щитів управління. Замовляйте приватний тур для відвідування ЧАЕС ☢️ ⠀ На сегодняшний день вы можете побывать внутри Чернобыльской АЭС, увидеть главные циркуляционные насосы и посетить один из блочных щитов управления. Заказывайте частный тур для посещения ЧАЭС ☢️</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/chernobyltour/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> CHERNOBYL TOUR</a> (@chernobyltour) on Aug 8, 2019 at 11:40am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Vitalii Viktorovych Petruk, the head of Ukraine's state agency for the Exclusion Zone, mentioned the popular TV series by name when talking on the decision to open up the site.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">"The HBO series boosted the interest to Chernobyl. Everybody now wants to see more, and we are going to satisfy the demand."</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">This year alone has seen more than 85,000 visitors flock to the Ukraine to visit the infamous abandoned city.</span></p>

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Are you a frequent flyer? Solar storm radiation can be harmful

<p>Space weather <a href="https://theconversation.com/solar-eruption-could-help-earth-prepare-for-technology-melt-down-18747">impacts</a> many modern-day technologies. But one of the most concerning – and least reported – space weather effects is the increased radiation exposure to passengers on commercial long-distance flights during so-called “<a href="http://www.spaceweather.com/glossary/srs.html">solar radiation storms</a>”.</p> <p>The NASA-funded Nowcast of Atmospheric Ionizing Radiation System (<a href="http://sol.spacenvironment.net/~nairas/">NAIRAS</a>) is the computer system tasked with providing a real-time data-driven climatology of the aviation radiation environment.</p> <p>Recently, a series of papers published in the journal [Space Weather] estimate that when NAIRAS was turned off during the US government shutdown last year – which went into effect just as a solar radiation storm began – <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2013SW001015/abstract">500,000 people</a> received increased radiation doses.</p> <p>It has also been estimated that this event is likely to eventually result in four cancer-related deaths.</p> <p><strong>What is a solar radiation storm?</strong></p> <p>Disturbances on the surface of the sun are commonly the cause of geomagnetic disturbances here on Earth; such as power grid faults/failures and increased errors in GPS navigation and positioning.</p> <p>Associated with some of these solar disturbances is the ejection of extremely fast plasma into the solar wind that, when aimed directly towards the Earth, causes the onset of increased geomagnetic and ionospheric activity.</p> <p>The Earth-bound solar energetic particles ejected into the solar wind eventually penetrate into the Earth’s magnetosphere.</p> <p>When inside the magnetosphere, they orbit the planet across the Earth’s magnetic field lines until they are scattered by various complicated magnetospheric processes and interactions.</p> <p>Once scattered, these solar particles then travel down the magnetic field lines until they impact the Earth’s upper atmosphere, where they are effectively absorbed.</p> <p>The penetration depth of these particles primarily depends on their kinetic energy, which is governed by their mass and velocity.</p> <p>The less energetic particles are stopped by the Earth’s atmosphere typically between 100 and 400km altitude, causing the well-known <a href="http://spaceweathergallery.com/aurora_gallery.html">aurora</a> in the northern and southern high-latitude regions.</p> <p>The atmosphere increases in density exponentially as the particle falls. This normally prevents particles penetrating to lower altitudes where they are harmful to living organisms.</p> <p>The more energetic particles, called “solar energetic particles”, caused by these solar disturbances can <a href="http://www.dartmouth.edu/~barrel/index.html">penetrate</a> to below 10km, near of commercial flights.</p> <p>During such events, the danger posed by the increased radiation levels is easily averted by decreasing the cruising altitudes of the aircraft. Pilots can also divert their flight paths to areas less affected by the increased radiation levels (more equatorward latitudes).</p> <p><strong>Several chest X-rays worth of radiation</strong></p> <p>The aviation radiation monitoring performed in real-time by computer systems such as NAIRAS can effectively be used to issue such warnings to aircraft.</p> <p>This will help remove the threat posed to hundreds of thousands of people across the globe during such space weather events.</p> <p>The geomagnetic activity levels associated with the solar radiation storm that occurred during the US government shutdown were only minor (a minimum <a href="https://theconversation.com/solar-eruption-could-help-earth-prepare-for-technology-melt-down-18747">Dst</a> of -54nT).</p> <p>This means the technologies normally classified as being <a href="https://theconversation.com/divert-power-to-shields-the-solar-maximum-is-coming-11228">vulnerable</a> to extreme space weather events are not likely to have been significantly affected.</p> <p>The solar energetic particle levels observed by <a href="http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/satellite/goes/index.html">geostationary satellites</a> classifies this as an <a href="http://www.spaceweather.com/glossary/srs.html">S2</a>solar radiation storm. It lasted more than 24 hours, and took about four days to fully subside (see video below).</p> <p>Some controversy exists around the exact method used by the scientists of the first <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2013SW001015/abstract">study</a>into this event. There has been doubt around the estimation of the number of eventual cancer fatalities related to this solar radiation storm.</p> <p>Even though the radiation levels air travellers were exposed to during this event are much higher than they might have been had an appropriate warning been issued, they were still comparatively low – on par with the dose that one would receive from a number of chest X-rays.</p> <p>Arguments put forward by some <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014SW001074/abstract">researchers</a> err on the side of caution. They indicate that some people who would be considered more vulnerable to increased radiation exposure (such as frequent flyers and unborn children) should have access to this radiation monitoring information.</p> <p>This would enable them to make educated decisions about appropriate air travel times in much the same way that non-urgent X-rays may be postponed during pregnancy.</p> <p><a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014SW001061/abstract">Other researchers</a> have erred on the opposite side, with the view that the radiation doses during this event were too small to be considered a serious threat.</p> <p>Independent of whether or not this particular space weather event exposed air travellers to dangerous levels of radiation, these studies are in clear agreement that increasing radiation monitoring is a must in the future.</p> <p>This is especially important for the aviation industry, and the provision of such information must not be hindered by short-term political partisan interests.</p> <p><em>Written by Brett Carter. Republished with permission of </em><a href="https://theconversation.com/are-you-a-frequent-flyer-solar-storm-radiation-can-be-harmful-28775"><em>The Conversation</em></a><em>. </em></p>

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Workers exposed to unsafe radiation at Sydney nuclear facility

<p>Production has been halted at a newly opened nuclear facility in Sydney’s Lucas Heights after two workers were exposed to an unsafe amount of radiation.</p> <p>The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) has confirmed production was stopped at its $168 million nuclear medicine facility after three of its staff were “attended to by radiation protection personnel” following a contamination on a container carrying Molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) on Friday morning.</p> <p>Initial assessments found that two of those workers were exposed to “a radiation dose above the statutory limit”.</p> <p>“Early calculations indicate that the radiation dose received by two of the workers involved in medicine processing was equivalent to that of a conventional radiation therapy treatment,” an <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-24/lucas-heights-nuclear-facility-workers-exposed-to-radiation/11242278" target="_blank">ANSTO spokesperson said</a>.</p> <p>“An occupational physician will continue to provide ongoing observation. All three workers involved are receiving ongoing support from ANSTO.”</p> <p>The spokesperson said an investigation is underway, and the manufacturing of their Mo-99 would take place at other facilities in the meantime.</p> <p>The incident came less than two weeks after ANSTO was granted a licence to enter into full production of Mo-99, which is the parent isotope of Technetium-99m used in hospitals and nuclear medicine centres to diagnose a range of heart, lung, organ and muscular-skeletal conditions.</p> <p>It is the <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/jun/24/two-workers-exposed-to-unsafe-radiation-dose-at-lucas-heights-nuclear-facility" target="_blank">second contamination scare</a> at the Lucas Heights facility in recent months. In March, three employees were taken to the hospital after being exposed to a sodium hydroxide spill.  </p>

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105-year-old radiates joy holding newborn great-grandchild

<p>Video of a 105-year-old man meeting his newborn great-grandson has gone viral, depicting the most joyful moment we’ve seen in a long time. Lost for words, the centenarian absolutely lights up when he sees the newest member of the family for the first time.</p> <p><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fjason.zwolak%2Fvideos%2F10158677908175389%2F&amp;show_text=0&amp;width=400" width="400" height="710" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="true"></iframe></p> <p>“Easton, at 5 days old, meets his 105-year-old great-grandfather,” new dad Jason Zwolak wrote on Facebook. “This is one of the sweetest videos you will see. Pop is so happy.”</p> <p>Since it was uploaded a week ago, the adorable footage has been seen almost nine million times, receiving hundreds of thousands of likes and shares, plus 55,000 comments and counting.</p> <p>In a recent Facebook post, Zwolak thanked those who made the video a hit. “At the time, I recorded it on Facebook Live thinking it would be a great keepsake,” he wrote. “Little did we know the reach it would have. We have received messages from all over the world. It is absolutely amazing how this video has touched so many.”</p>

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Prostate cancer patients not given choice between surgery and radiation?

<p>Both doctors and patients are worried that people with prostate cancer are not being well informed of their treatment options. Many are deciding to undergo surgeries costing over $20,000 in private hospitals, while radiation therapy is offered free of charge in public hospitals.</p> <p>There is concern by patients and radiologists that urologists, who perform the surgery, are not giving patients all of the information that they need in order to make the best choice for their treatment.</p> <p>In 2014, 69-year-old David Tuddenham was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer.</p> <p>"It was found that the whole prostate was covered in cancer and the rating on the cancer was between eight and nine, with 10 being the top end of the scale," he said.</p> <p>The urologist that he was referred to recommended surgery right away. The $22,000 cost of the surgery was a huge shock to the pensioner.</p> <p>"Truthfully I nearly fell out of the chair," he said. "I just could not believe $22,000 for an operation, and being a pensioner, I don't have a lot of money. If I were to take that from my superannuation it would leave me with virtually nothing."</p> <p>Mr Tuddenham is a new retiree who doesn’t own his own home. He and his wife have $70,000 in their superannuation and they live on the age pension.</p> <p>It wasn’t until he told the surgeon that he could not afford the surgery that he was advised that he could get free radiotherapy in a public hospital, Mr Tuddenham said.</p> <p>"I wasn't given the choice to start with. It was only after I couldn't afford the operation that ... it was 'go to Westmead [Hospital]'," he said.</p> <p>Westmead Hospital’s radiation oncologist Sandra Turner said that this is quite common for many of her patient.</p> <p>"As somebody who has been treating prostate cancer for 20 years, that's what we see every day," Associate Professor Turner said.</p> <p>"A lot of men are not fully informed about their options for treatment. I would say men are not in a position to choose their treatment until they have actually heard their treatment options from the experts involved, and that is not happening across the board in Australia."</p> <p>Research conducted on over 2,000 Australian prostate cancer patients found that there were no differences in the success rates for either treatment. Yet despite the statistics, most patients still choose the surgery.</p> <p>Speaking to Lateline, Associate Professor Turner said that there was a systemic problem. She said surgeons were acting as gatekeepers in the prostate cancer treatment process, and it had been too long since someone had spoken out.</p> <p>"Men can be very influenced by the way that surgeons present information," she said.</p> <p>Due to the state and territory based health care systems in Australia there is only a limited amount of national data on prostate cancer treatment.</p> <p>In Victoria the Prostate Cancer Registry has the most accurate data regarding which treatment option patients are choosing.</p> <p>Data from 2014 showed that 48 per cent of Victorian men with prostate cancer chose surgery, with only 18 per cent choosing radiation therapy.</p> <p>"Something's going wrong," Associate Professor Turner said. "We've got two very good treatments. We've got at least three to four-fold more patients opting for surgery and there's absolutely no reason for that."</p> <p>There are risks and potential side effects for both forms of treatment. Surgery can lead to incontinence and impotence, while the radiotherapy can lead to problems with the patient’s bowel.</p> <p>Mr Tuddenham is about to begin radiation therapy treatment at Westmead Hospital.</p> <p>"The choice is the most important thing," he said. "If you've got a choice, you can sit down and actually look at it and run through it and think, 'Which way do I go? What's the best for me and my family?'"</p> <p><strong>Facts about prostate cancer in Australia:</strong></p> <ul> <li>More than 20,000 men diagnosed a year</li> <li>More than 3,000 deaths a year</li> <li>Nine out of 10 men survive five years on from diagnosis</li> </ul> <p><strong>Related links: </strong></p> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/07/ikea-recall-toddler-deaths/">Ikea furniture warning following the death of two toddlers</a></strong></span></em></p> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/07/photo-saves-dogs-from-euthanasia/">This picture of shelter dogs hugging saved them from death </a></strong></span></em></p> <p><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong><a href="/news/news/2015/07/man-has-formal-dinner-with-cats/">This man has formal dinners with his cats when his wife is away</a></strong></span></em></p>

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