#Carbon14: Another underestimated danger from #nuclear reactors

"There are a number of radionuclides released from nuclear energy facilities. This paper highlights carbon-14 for a number of reasons:

- Carbon-14 is radioactive and is released into air as #methane and #CO2

- Before 2010, carbon-14 releases from nuclear reactors were virtually ignored in the United States. Today only estimates are required and only under certain restrictive circumstances.

- There is no good accounting of releases to date, so its impact on our health, our children’s health, and that of our
#environment remains unknown, yet environmental measurement is possible, but can be challenging under certain
conditions.

- Carbon-14 has a half-life of over 5700 years and the element carbon is a basic building block for life on earth. Therefore, “it constitutes a potential health hazard, whose additional production by #anthropogenic sources of today will result in an increased #radiation exposure to many future generations.”

- Like #tritium, it can collect in the tissues of the fetus at twice the concentration of the tissues in the mother, pointing to its
disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable human lifecycle: the developing child.

The element carbon is found in all organic substances. Carbon is also a primary constituent of #GreenhouseGases that are responsible for #ClimateChange, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (#CH4). Carbon-14 (c-14) is a radioactive form of
carbon that occurs in nature and is also newly formed in nuclear power processes.

"Carbon-14 is a health concern because it is released from #NuclearPower facilities as radioactive carbon dioxide and methane, traveling readily in the local and global environment.

"Over time, carbon-14 becomes part of organic material including food, and has a half-life of approximately 5,730 years, decaying by a type of radioactive particle called a beta. Its hazardous life is 10-20 times its half-life, meaning that harmful exposure to man-made carbon-14 can last for hundreds of generations. The radioactive carbon forms as a byproduct of fissioning of uranium fuel, through a process called activation. The final step is a chemical reaction between carbon-14 and oxygen or hydrogen, which forms methane or carbon dioxide. The radioactive carbon-14 formed by this process is brand new and would not exist without nuclear fission.

"During its long hazardous life, carbon-14 could be responsible for gross physical or
mental defects, stillbirths and childhood deaths, embryonic and neonatal deaths into the many millions over the life of the isotope.

"These millions could be underestimated five times or more. Carbon-14 could also be responsible for #leukemia, bone and other #cancers."

https://beyondnuclear.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/carbon14FINAL.pdf

#NoNukes #RethinkNotRestart #NoNukesForAI #RenewablesNow! #BeyondNuclear #NuclearIsNotCarbonFree

#Japan's #Fukushima #nuclear wastewater 'pose major #environmental, #HumanRights risks' - UN experts

20 May 2025

"The United Nations (UN) human rights experts have written to the Japanese government to express their concerns about the release of more than one million metric tonnes of treated nuclear wastewater into the #PacificOcean.

"In August 2023, Japan began discharging wastewaster from about 1000 storage tanks of contaminated water collected after the earthquake and tsunami in 2011 that caused the meltdown of its Fukushima nuclear plant.

"In the formal communication, available publicly, UN Human Rights Council special rappoteurs addressed the the management of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)-treated wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station (NPS) by the Japan government and TEPCO (Tokio Electric Power), and the ongoing discharge of such waters into the Pacific Ocean.

"They said 'we are alarmed that the implementation of contaminated water release operations of into the ocean may pose major environmental and human rights risks, exposing people, especially children, to threats of further contamination in Japan and beyond.'

" 'We wish to raise our concern about the allegations of the failure to assess the consequences on health of the release of wastewater against the best available scientific evidence,' the special rappoteurs write.

" 'Against this backdrop, we would like to highlight that the threats to the enjoyment of the right to adequate food do not concern only local people within the borders of Japan.

" 'Given the migratory nature of fish, their contamination represents a risk also for people living beyond the Japanese borders, including Indigenous Peoples across the Pacific Ocean which, according to their culture and traditions, mainly rely on seafood as their primary livelihood.'

"The letter follows a complaint submitted by Ocean Vision Legal in August 2023 on behalf of the Pacific Network on Globalisation (#PANG) and endorsed by over 50 civil society groups in the Pacific and beyond.

"In a statement on Tuesday, PANG hailed it as "a landmark move for #OceanJustice and #HumanRights'.

"The organisation said that the destructive legacy of nuclear #contamination through #NuclearTesting is still strongly felt across the region.

"It said this legacy is marked by severe health impacts across generations and the ongoing failure to properly clean up test sites, which continue to contaminate the islands and waterways that Pacific peoples depend on.

" 'As Pacific groups, we remain disappointed in the Japanese Government and TEPCO's shameless disregard of the calls by numerous Pacific leaders and civil society groups to hold off on any further release,' PANG's coordinator Joey Tau said.

" 'Their ignorance constitutes a brazen threat to Pacific peoples' livelihoods, safety, health and well-being, and the sovereignty of Pacific nations,' he added.

"Japan has consistently maintained that the release is safe.

"The UN human rights experts have asked for further information from Japan, including on the allegations raised, and on how the Radiological Environmental Impact Assessment has been conducted according to the best available scientific evidence.

"This communication sends a clear message: Ocean issues must be understood as human rights issues, requiring precautionary and informed action aligned with international environmental law to safeguard both people and the marine environment.

"#OceanVisionLegal founder and CEO Anna von Rebay said while the communication is not legally binding, it is a crucial milestone.

" 'It informs the interpretation of human rights and environmental law in response to contemporary threats, contributing to the development of customary international law and strengthens accountability for any actor harming the Ocean,' she said.

" 'Ultimately, it paves the way towards a future where the Ocean's health is fully recognised as fundamental to human dignity, justice, and intergenerational equity.' "

https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/561566/japan-s-fukushima-nuclear-wastewater-pose-major-environmental-human-rights-risks-un-experts