What Is The Nuclear Question? We invite you to Think Two Steps Ahead by Raising Your Awareness around the Nuclear question. Consider drinking Nuclear Waste Antidote™ an invitation to thought provoking discussions.

We encourage you to study the issues for yourselves, and allow your intelligence to guide you with more information, more thoughts, better choices and more awareness. We don't take a stance nor ask you to accept our dogma. We believe that dogma closes debate, creates defensiveness, shuts off our curiosity and intelligence.

The field of Nuclear Medicine spans over a 50 year history. Nuclear Medicine as defined by “The Society of Nuclear Medicine” is a safe and painless medical procedure used to image the body and treat disease. Today it is being used to diagnose and treat disease far earlier and more precisely than many of the tools currently available to the medical profession.

In 2006, Nuclear Medicine health care professionals are challenged not only by new regulations implemented by Medicare which they believe deny their patients to access to treatment, but by the NRC the Nuclear Regulatory Commission which oversees nuclear safety, including medical isotopes.

Additional information about Nuclear Medicine can be found on the society’s website. Other information for professionals can be found at The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Those who oppose or question the safety use of Nuclear Medicine raise many questions of concern. These subjects range from the safety of the machinery to the safe production of radiopharmaceuticals, radio-isotopes or the continued operation of Nuclear Reactors which are used in the manufacture of many of these materials. Many of these questions are discussed by The Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility.

Both politically and environmentally the issues regarding the safe use, security and disposal of nuclear energy waste byproducts are viewed as some of the most important topics of discussion for this and future generations. These concerns not only affect us here in the United States but affect all citizenry globally.

Many concerns regarding the use of Nuclear Energy stem from waste and disposal logistics. Additional concerns such as the amount of CO2 omitted into the environment during the mining process for uranium are equally alarming as sited by “The Project of The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation”. Organizations such as the Sierra Club have devoted entire pages of resource links regarding the concerns of Nuclear Waste. Some view Yucca Mountain as a logical location and pragmatic solution for the proper disposal of nuclear waste. Various critical issues, testimony, policies and overviews regarding Yucca Mountain are found here

Nuclear Waste transportations issues have fueled great debate. Concerns are focused on the method of transport and the potential hazards posed to the public from exposure in the event of container breakage. The U.S. Government however maintains that the casks used in the transportation of nuclear waste are designed to withstand the damage they might encounter during the transportation of hazard nuclear material and in 2004 the it proposed an extensive guideline for the safety study protocol of nuclear storage casks. These studies however have lead to different conclusions by opponents. Concerns raised by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and that of the State of Nevada demonstrate the level of opposing opinions within the U.S. Government pertaining to this issue. As recent as March 2006 the State of WM ‘06 Conference brought these issues to the table.

As an International community with continued expansion of technological advancements, greater standards of living, and increase population, our sources for energy have become more increasingly important. Since Edison first light the streets of New York in September of 1882, we as a culture have pursue the quest for efficient power. Nuclear Energy is by far one of the most powerful sources of energy known by man. It affects us economically and environmentally. With our resources of fossil fuels diminishing, higher costs of fuel and increased destabilization of the oil countries, the urgency to move towards alternate forms of power is unparalleled. The use of Nuclear Energy as a power source is viewed as a resource to which will give us “Power Independence.” The U.S. Government as well as countries all over the world are looking for responsible ways to tap into this resource. But is it the cure all? Are we being lead to take a course of action that will actually costs lives? And is there enough incentive for the Nuclear Industry to take on these challenges. The U.S. Government today plays a vital role in answering these questions but not everyone is satisfied with the discourse.

Many debate whether Nuclear Energy is truly an unlimited resource and claim that uranium supplies are rapidly being depleted.* Nuclearfiles.org However others believe that the plutonium a by product of the fission process in the nuclear reactor presents a valuable resource for additional energy. See: Plutonium: A fission energy source. Breeder Reactors which utilize plutonium are viewed as a means of expanding the efficiency of nuclear produced energy. These Breeders produce more fuel than they consume allowing for a maximum efficiency. Thus over a period of 10 years the breeder reactor will have produced energy to carry forward the same process to fuel another reactor for 10 years theoretically producing a never ending supply of valuable energy. See: Fast Breeder Reactors A new technology in nuclear reactor design (first developed in Germany called PBRlooks promising as a more efficient and safe means of producing nuclear energy. It currently is being explored in countries such as Canada, South Africa and China. One of the benefits of using this kind of technology is that the by-product produced from it is hydrogen which could be use fuel cell cars which may alleviate some concernsregarding the power source for fuel cell cars.

Another fuel called MOX fuel is designed to re-use the plutonium in spent reactor fuel and to use weapons grade plutonium as part of the Surplus Plutonium Disposition Program . Information sources such as Wise Paris raise critical questions about the MOX Fuel Industry –particularly over the transportation of weapons-grade plutonium taking a path from not only west to east coast territories but be transported overseas to France and back again.

For more information from the NRC regarding the use of MOX fuel visit the NRC website.

One of the most powerful known weapons to man is the Nuclear Weapon. Sadly we have seen the devastating results of human suffering and destruction cause by nuclear bombs use at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Sixty one years later we are still dealing with the moral, ethical and strategic concerns of using nuclear deterrents and weapons.

There are two primary types of nuclear bombs: fission bombs, and fusion bombs. The effects of these bombs are experience on multiple forms. As written in the Nuclearfiles.org the results of a nuclear explosion are seen from the blast, the thermal radiation, electromagnetic pulse, direct nuclear radiation and fallout. Please see: Key Issues: Nuclear Weapons: The Basics: Weapon Basic: “Immediate Aftermath of a Nuclear Explosion.

The presence of nuclear weapons is known as strategy of nuclear deterrence. There are many tactical strategies pertaining to the use of nuclear warfare. Today the primarily line of defense appears to be the “possibility” of use, should a country be attack. This strategic reasoning doesn’t make sense to the opponents of nuclear weapons, fearing the obliteration of humanity should two opposing nuclear powers enter into war. Yet for others the fundamental principles behind the deterrence theory is what allows for peace time.

None of our understanding of how the nuclear bomb, nuclear waste or nuclear energy would be possible without the foundation of science known as Nuclear Physics. It is the study of the “nature of nuclear.” According to a report of the DOE/NSF Nuclear Science Advisory Committee Subcommittee on Education the focus of nuclear physic education is, “ …exploring the nature of nuclear and nucleonic structure, probing mater at extreme energy densities, understanding the process of nucleosynthesis and stellar evolution, elucidating the nature of matter in the universe, and exploring the fundamental symmetries of nature.”

These studies have given way to medical advancements with imaging (nuclear medicine) and medical devices, nuclear energy, nuclear weaponry, nuclear engineering ,nuclear technology and nuclear magnetic resonance.

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