In This Article
Hiroshima Marks 70 Years Since Atomic Bomb
Residents in the Japanese city of Hiroshima are commemorating the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bomb being dropped by a US aircraft. A ceremony, attended by PM Shinzo Abe, was held at Hiroshima’s memorial park before thousands of lanterns are released on the city’s Motoyasu river. BBC News >>
Sale of Uranium by Ukrainian Gang Reportedly Thwarted by Security Service
Ukraine’s security service has said it seized a small quantity of what appeared to be ore-grade uranium from a criminal gang in a peaceful western region. The State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said the group had been trying to sell the uranium-238 isotope to an unknown client at the time of their arrest. The Guardian >>
Emergent BioSolutions Launches Biodefense Auto-Injector Device
Emergent BioSolutions Inc. this week announced that it is launching a ruggedized, military-grade auto-injector device, known as Emergard, which is designed for intramuscular self-injection of chemical threat agent antidotes and other emergency response medical treatments. Global Biodefense >>
Hiroshima 70th Anniversary: Nuclear Bomb ‘Should Never Be Used Again’
The city of Hiroshima on early Thursday (7 p.m. ET Wednesday) commemorated the 1945 moment when “Little Boy” instantly killed at least 60,000 people. Three days later, “Fat Man” killed around 40,000 others in Nagasaki. The bombings are credited with ending World War II but they left two cities in ruins and generations suffering the effects of radiation poisoning. Tens of thousands more died later from cancer and other illnesses. NBC News >>
Calculation Error Prompts Concern of Radiation Release at Nuclear Waste Repository
The federal government’s nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico says a calculation error prompted short-lived concerns of a radiation release. Officials at the troubled Waste Isolation Pilot Plant activated their emergency center Sunday night in response to elevated radiological readings. Fox News >>
Opinion: Barrel Bombs, Not ISIS, Are the Greatest Threat to Syrians
As the self-proclaimed Islamic State, or ISIS, commits horrendous videotaped executions, it might seem to pose the greatest threat to Syrian civilians. In fact, that ignoble distinction belongs to the barrel bombs being dropped by the military of Syria’s president, Bashar al-Assad. The Islamic State has distracted us from this deadly reality. NY Times >>
70 Years After Hiroshima, Los Alamos Remains Essential to Our National Security
Like their predecessors in the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos has continued as an essential national-security science laboratory. Computer and mathematical modeling techniques perfected at Los Alamos help keep tabs on pandemics, make off-shore oil rigs safer, and helped create a possible vaccine against HIV. Laser technology originally developed to detect nuclear materials here on Earth is now aboard the Curiosity rover to help NASA characterize the surface of Mars. Fox News >>
Investigating Metal-Organic Frameworks as Clean-Up Agents for Nuclear Waste
One of the most versatile and widely applicable classes of materials being studied today are the metal-organic frameworks. These materials, known as MOFs, are characterized by metal ions or metal-ion clusters that are linked together with organic molecules, forming ordered crystal structures that contain tiny cage-like pores with diameters of two nanometers or less. Phys.org >>
Ebola Scare Tests University of Alabama, Public Health Response
The man transported to UAB Hospital last night with symptoms that could indicate Ebola had recently returned from a trip to West Africa, and was already under the surveillance of public health officials. When the patient began running a fever, he was immediately transported to UAB Hospital, where he was isolated and treated by healthcare workers in protective gear. AL.com >>
OSHA to Propose Beryllium Limit in the Works Since 1975
After decades of delay, federal workplace regulators on Thursday proposed a sharply lower limit for exposure to beryllium, a widely used industrial mineral, which is linked to a deadly lung disease. A small percentage of workers exposed to beryllium, a naturally occurring metal, develop a potentially fatal respiratory ailment known as chronic beryllium disease. NY Times >>
Israeli Port Evacuated After Container Emitting Suspicious Radioactive Radiation Detected
Israeli authorities on Monday evacuated the Ashdod port in southern Israel after an Israeli shipping container which arrived on a Chinese ship was detected to emit irregular radioactive radiation. By mid-afternoon, the port went back to normal operation. HSNW >>
IAEA Says it Can’t Give Congress its Nuke Document with Iran
The head of the U.N’s International Atomic Energy Agency said Wednesday that he cannot give Congress a copy of the organization’s nuclear inspection document with Iran despite harsh criticism from Republican senators. Yahoo! News >>
How a Scientist’s Slick Discovery Helped Save Preemies’ Lives
The story begins in 1950, when the U.S. Army sent Clements, a newly graduated physician, to the medical division of what was then called the Army Chemical Center in Edgewood, Md. Clements was interested in doing research in biochemistry. His commanding officer was of a different mind. They wanted Clements to study how nerve agents work on the lungs. NPR >>