Dabuleni November 2014 Many people have heard of the Dabuleni town thanks to the massive trade on a wide scale with green melons ( the famous „lubenita” of Dabuleni) and thanks to the existence of the only sand museum in Europe. However, what many people do not acknowledge is that the town of Dabuleni is located in the southernmost part of Romania, at a small distance from the nuclear power plant from Kozlodui, Bulgaria. On Tuesday, November 17th, 2014, a public consultation took place in Dabuleni regarding the putting in function of a new nuclear reactor, more exactly number 7, at Kozlodui. The Bulgarian experts offered technical information about the history of the power plant and the plans for the future. Currently, the Kozlodui power plant has six reactors in order to produce electric energy, from which 1-4 were shut down (2002, 2006) and are going to be disposed, while the 5-6 reactors are functional until 2017, 2019 respectively, but at the present moment they wish to extend their existence with at least twenty years through approval of necessary licenses. The major reason of concern that the Romanian inhabitants from the immediate vicinity of the Bulgarian border have is related to the construction of a new nuclear reactor and to the imminent risks that are implied by our simple presence in this area, as it results from the information presented by the Bulgarian part „ the area for Actions of Protection at Emergencies of 30 kilometres is defined to serve the planning in case of an emergency. The same area is called „Monitoring Zone” in order to control the radiation level. On the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria, this area comprises the following cities: Kozlodui, Valchedram, Hayredin, Mizia and partly the cities: : Lom, Byala Slatina, Oryahovo, Krivodol şi Borovan. There are no Bulgarian military or industrial placements of large dimensions in this area. On the territory of the Republic of Romania, this area includes a total of nineteen settlements from the counties of Dolj and Olt: Ostroveni, Gighera, Valea Stanciului, Călăraşi, Bechet city, Dabuleni city, Piscu Vechi, Sadova, Gângiova, Măceşu de Jos, Măceşu de Sus, Bistreţ, Goicea, Bârca, Vela, Nedeira, Sarata, Listeava, Horezu and Poenari.” Thus, considering both the number of cities and inhabitants, the risks of putting into function a new reactor are much bigger for the Romanian population, while the advantages do not exist at all. The radiations are all around us. Naturally, they are present everywhere and it has been like this from the very beginning. Nevertheless, what happens is that these radiations are incresed by putting into function these nuclear reactors. Through the given presentations and the answers offered to the addressed questions, the Bulgarian experts assured us that everything was going well and there were not any reasons to worry, that the level of radiations was monitored daily. It is a fact that the risks of cancer associated with the accidents of th nuclear plants depend on a few factors, such as the type of the radioactive materials, or the isotopes, the quantity of the leaked radiations, the nature of the contact of one person with the radioactive materials ( for example contaminated food, contaminated water, air or skin), the age of the person ( the younger a person is, the more that person is exposed), the duration of the exposure. livescience/13250-radiation-health-effects-japan-nuclear-reactor-cancer.html But the effects of the radiations upon people are according to the source of radiations, intensity, dose, the ability of the radiation to hurt the human tissues, the affected organ, can lead to a fast hair fall, the brain cells do not reproduce anymore once the exposure has happened, modifications upon the thyroid, they affect the blood vessels which can lead to heart problems or death directly, they are also strongly connected to the gastrointestinal tract and they can cause sterility. atomicarchive/Effects/effects15.shtml It should be known that the cancer research extended with the investigations made to people exposed to radiations after the nuclear accident from Cernobil in 1986. The radiation exposure is a risk factor for the thyroid cancer, this fact being proved by the great number of people who suffered from this disease after having been exposed to radiations. Even after 20 years from the terrifiying day of April 26th 1986, the risks of thyroid cancer reach alarming figures. Actually, the thyroid cancer is one of the most encountered types of cancer within the population exposed to high doses of radiations from accidents or war. There is usually a delay of at least a few decades between the radiation exposure and the cancer growth. The years that followed the nuclear disasters, the children and the teenagers exposed registered an increased risk in developing thyroid cancer. cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/nuclear-power-accidents pacientcancer.ro/tipuri-de-cancer/233.html livescience/13250-radiation-health-effects-japan-nuclear-reactor-cancer.html , According to the research, the long-term effects of radiation exposure are linked to the emotional and physical stress, but also the high risk of cancer that appears at an old age, according to the level of exposure.bt.cdc.gov/radiation/emergencyfaq.asp#23 epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-25112014-BP/EN/3-25112014-BP-EN.PDF The Bulgarian experts tried to convince us about the safety measures that exist at the highest level, the security of the chosen reactors that belong to the latest generation and even about the much bigger negative effects of the sources of energy renewable upon the environment. But the history proved to us that such incidents happen and the risks assumed by the population are enormous. What happened at Fukushima was not an accident? Don’t you think that they also took all safety measures? What about the Cernobil accident? Do we really wish this kind of world for our children, a world in which they live each day fearing that it might be their last day? In a world in which the risks are always present, we want to create new other risks and endanger their life? What is the experts’ opinion about the alarming rhythm of cancer diseases in the area? What is the opinion about the doctors’ accusations which blame the radiations leaked from Kozlodui? gds.ro/Actualitate/2002-06-21/La+Calarasi+-+radiatiile+ucid+localnicii/ What about the malformations, the mutations that affect both people and environment, not to forget about the animals, also. You will say that they do not exist. But the reality contradicts you. The history contradcits you. The biological effects of the radiations upon the living cells can have three results: 1- the affected cells repair by themselves; 2 – the cells die and they are replaced by others as a natural biological process; 3- the cells repair by themselves, but incorrectly as a result of the biological changes. The associations between the radiation exposure and the cancer development are based on the exposure to levels relatively raised by ionized radiations. The cancer associated with high doses of exposure includes leukemia, breast cancer, colon cancer, liver cancer, lungs, esophagus, ovarian, multiple melanoma and stomach. The Health and Human Services Department of the USA suggested possible associations between the exposure to ionized radiations with the appearance of the prostate cancer, the nasal cavity, the larynx and pharynx cancer and the pancreatic one. The low doses of radiations (less than 100 mSv) extend on long periods of time (years) and do not cause immediate problems to the organs. The effects of low doses of radiations appear at the cell level and these changes will be noticed only after many years from the exposure (between five and twenty years). nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/bio-effects-radiation.html At the level of the European Union in 2011, according to the statistics, one out of four deaths was caused by cancer, representing a total number of 1.281 million persons. In the last ten years, while the number of deaths has decreased at a community level, the number of those who died because of cancer rose woth 6.3% (37.1% of the total of deaths). epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/3-25112014-BP/EN/3-25112014-BP-EN.PDF The Romanian Constitution guarantees „the human dignity, the rights and freedoms of the citizens ( art. 1, alin. 3) and the fact that „national sovereignty belongs to the Romanian people, which practises it through representative institutions, and, according to the articles 58-60, we have the body called the Lawyer of the People that „defends the rights and freedoms of the non-juridical persons”. We make an appeal to respect the right to life and to a decent living without always living in fear and the terror of an imminent disaster, we make an appeal to the representation that the Constitution guarantees and we ask for being represented in the national and European forums, and fighting to prevent the putting into function of a new nuclear reactor at a distance smaller than 30 kilometres from the our houses and our families. Bulgaria had a referendum regarding the new reactor which is to be placed at Kozlodui. Depending on the profile of the person who is writing , the elections in Bulgaria can be interpreted in two ways: 1- they succeeded, 2- they did not succeed. The truth is somewhere in the middle because more than 60% of the ballots agreed with the putting into function of a new reactor. What is mentioned more rarely is that less 20% of the population came to vote. We greet the Bulgarian initiative of an economical development together with an energetic independence, but the costs are too high, both for us and the future generations. According to Art. 1, Art. 2, alin.2, Art. 13, Art. 14, from the law no. 3/2000 regarding the organisation and the ongoing of the referendum, published in the Official Monitor no. 84/24.O2.2000, at a local level, a referendum can be organised due to some particular problems for the administrative-territorial units. And the construction of a new reactor in our vicinity represents a reason important enough to consult the population. We wish a normality in which the Dabuleni brand can be further kept by the future generations and the green melon of Dabuleni can become a bio-commercialized product on the European markets after the year 2019.
Posted on: Tue, 09 Dec 2014 06:49:56 +0000
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