I am writing today to announce the closure of the Michigan Messenger. After four years of operation in Michigan, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news into a single site, The American Independent at Americanindependent.com. This is part of a shift in strategy, towards new forms [...]
An abstinence-only presentation provided to numerous school districts in Calhoun and Eaton Counties in October of this year provided false and misleading information to students about HIV, experts allege.
Two county registers of deeds filed a class action lawsuit Monday on behalf of Michigan’s 83 counties alleging that the Mortgage Electronic Registration Services owes millions of dollars in property title transfer taxes.
Despite evidence of the impact of mercury on children and public health, Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette last month joined with 24 other state attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to scuttle new EPA regulations that would reduce mercury emissions from power plants.
Childhood leukemia rates are higher for kids who live near old nuclear power plants.
Janette Sherman MD of the Environmental Institute at Western Michigan University and Joseph Mangano of the Radiation and Public Health Project are authors of “Childhood Leukaemia Near Nuclear Installations” published in the current edition of the European Journal of Cancer Care.
Using mortality statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Sherman and Mangano examined data from 1985-2004 and determined that when measured against background levels in the rest of the U.S. leukemia rates have grown for kids that live near nuclear reactors.
They found:
- An increase of 13.9% near nuclear plants started 1957-1970 (oldest plants)
- An increase of 9.4% near nuclear plants started 1971-1981 (newer plants)
- A decrease of 5.5% near nuclear plants started 1957-1981 and later shut down
Michigan has four nuclear power reactors. DC Cook I and Palisades near South Haven, built in 1971.
“While it is feasible that higher emissions of radioisotopes into the environment from older plants may account for the observed trends, caution should be used when interpreting the data,” the researchers wrote. “There may be demographic differences between the two groups that can include factors affecting mortality risk such as poverty, proximity to medical facilities and presence of other environmental pollutants.”
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