nuked food? at an airport?

[donsu]

http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/apr2006/2006-04-26-09.asp#anchor7


Environmental Review Ordered for Honolulu Food Irradiator Proposal


The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board today ordered an environmental review of a proposal by Pa‘ina Hawaii, LLC to locate a nuclear food irradiator at Honolulu International Airport.

The order accepts an agreement reached last month between community group Concerned Citizens of Honolulu, represented by Earthjustice, and the NRC staff to prepare an environmental assessment to evaluate threats to the facility from airplane crashes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, and other accidents.

-snip-

The environmental review will analyze a proposal by Pa‘ina Hawaii, LLC, to build and operate an irradiator next to the Reef Runway to treat fruit and vegetables for fruit flies. The facility would contain up to one million curies of cobalt-60.
-snip-
----------------------------------------


a little radiation here, a little radiation there and whoops! your dead of cancer.

Hawaiians are eating nuked food? us too?

[mike_c]

1. irradiated food is NOT radioactive....

It's just sterilized, without the usual degradation associated with heat sterilization like canning.

[SmokingJacket]

3. But this IS a nuclear facility, and it IS at an airport.

AND on an island prone to volcanic events. Is that really the best place for a nuclear facility??

[AngryAmish]

6. Everytime you go to an NFL game it is at a nuclear site

There are many kinds of radiation of differing levels of dangerousness. Believe it or not you are radioactive. Your body. Emitting radiation. Every day.

[mike_c]

9. you mean like the one at the local hospital...?

They're going to store Co⁶⁰ for use as a gamma source, not run a reactor.

[Odin2005]

8. BUT IT HAS THE WORD "RADIATION" IN IT!

That makes it bad by definition! :sarcasm:

People's scientific ignorance and technophobia is pathetic. Irradiated food is perfectly safe, it has nothing to do with radioactivity, the sterilization is done with high-energy light (gamma rays). "Irradiation" means "influenced by light," it's unfortunate that the term "radiation" is used both for light and radioactive decay, most people arn't educated enough to know the difference.

[SmokingJacket]

12. I know the difference between radiation and irradiation, punk.

Read the article.

[Odin2005]

15. Oh, sorry, I was in a preachy mood because...

...of all the nucleophobes comming out of the woodwork for the Chernobyl anneversary on NPR. :dunce:

[LynneSin]

2. Three Mile Island is within walking distance of Harrisburg International

this is barely a blip

[Xithras]

4. Hawaii has a huge invasive pest issue.

Hawaii's unique ecosystem (which includes many plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth) is slowly being destroyed by invasive plants and pests, most of which enter the islands in food and supply shipments. The irradiator is supposed to kill any pests before they enter the islands to protect its environment.

The whole "nuked food" argument is bunk, but I do agree that an irradiator of this size shouldn't be sitting alongside the seashore unless it's incredibly well protected. It needs to be in a bunker that is bomb-proof, crash proof, and that can be made watertight very quickly.

[DS1]

5. Hawaii does NOT screw around with food goods arriving via passengers

or any other method for that matter, but you can't bring anything in.

[KamaAina]

7. Federal regs perversely make it tougher to "import" fruit from Hawai'i

than from foreign countries, many of which have the same exotic pests we do. Hence, the proliferation of nukers out here (another is on Hawai'i island, the Big Island, where much fruit is grown). Even tourists' luggage has to be inspected by the USDA before they come back (if only they paid as much attention to meatpacking plants :eyes: )

This works in both directions, by the way: when I first came out here, I was astonished to be greeted with an entry form, just as though I were traveling overseas! You must declare if you have any mainland sand or soil, or if you have even visited a citrus orchard! What other state could get away with that?

Here's some more from our local paper:

http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/27/news/story13.html

Kohn's company had asked to be excluded from conducting an environmental assessment of its project. The company proposes using radioactive cobalt-60 in underwater pools to rid fruits and vegetables of bacteria and insects before out-of-state shipment. Kohn maintains that the process poses no risk to people or the environment.

The citizens group petitioned the NRC to do an environmental assessment after the Hawaii-based company objected to doing one, Henkin said.

"We applaud the board's decision, which recognizes the compelling public interest in thorough environmental review of this controversial proposal," Concerned Citizens member David Paulson said in a statement. "We are particularly pleased the people who would be threatened if this irradiator were built are going to have the chance to have their voices heard and to ensure the NRC takes a careful look at the many threats to public health and safety and the environment."

"Objected to doing one." Oh goody. Sounds like ideal corporate citizens and neighbors to me. :sarcasm:

Usage note: In the islands, "Hawaiians" refers to native Hawaiians of Polynesian ancestry; all people here collectively are called "Hawai'i residents" or sometimes "kama'aina", which may answer a question that's been bugging you for a while. :-)

[donsu]

10. I didn't know - thanks for the info - I'll do right next time

nt

[mike_c]

11. california also has ag inspection stations on all roads...

...entering the state, where drivers are required to declare any fruits or veggies, permit pet inspections, and so on.

[LeftyMom]

14. Here in CA there are ag inspection stations when one drives in

and they check to make sure people aren't bringing in fruit or anything.

We're pretty fanatic about keeping pests and invasive species out too, although not quite as much so simply because geography doesn't permit it.

[elehhhhna]

13. you can buy nuked milk in Europe & Carribbean that lasts, unrefigerated,

until you take it off the shelf & open it. Very handy. Probably a good stock-up item for the big bird flu panic.