Professor John Robertson OBA
Many thanks to Frances McKie for alerting me to this.
In 1975, not much reported at the time, as far as I can remember, the residents of the Orkney Islands faced and fought off a dark threat. From Beyond Nuclear International in April 2021:
The Orkneys were being surveyed for a potentially valuable deposit of uranium ore. The South Scottish Electricity Board had already persuaded local farmers, unaware of the health risks, to allow bore hole drilling on their land. By 1977, the entire local population on Orkney opposed uranium exploitation there. Among those opponents was Max [The composer Maxwell Davies]. A Public Examiner was appointed to examine both sides of the case for and against uranium mining in Orkney.
The Public Examiner recommended the plan be abandoned. As Bevan, [Islander Archie Bevan] who died in 2015, recounts it, the Orkney population universally opposed the uranium plan “not only from the fear of pollution itself, with the gravest consequences for the second principal town of the islands, but also from the point of view of the psychological damage and disastrous social and economic implications of uranium extraction on Orcadian fishing, dairy farming and tourism.” 1
What was the risk to locals who might have worked in uranium mines?
There are now many high quality research reports on the risks to uranium miners but Lifetime excess absolute risk for lung cancer due to exposure to radon: results of the pooled uranium miners cohort study PUMA published in January 2024, based on seven cohorts from Canada, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, and USA, is ‘gold standard.’2
The report is highly technical and with unclear, to me, measures of the cancer death rate of uranium miners. However, it does list simply the number of miners in each cohort and the number of cancer deaths
As background, in 2021, 3 959 Scots dies from lung cancer, the most common cause of death from cancer in Scotland. That’s around 1 in every 1 370 people.3
The average, across all the cohorts, from the research data: 1 in every 15.4 miners died from lung cancer, nearly 100 times the risk to the general public.
Sources:
- https://beyondnuclearinternational.org/2021/04/18/orkneys-uranium-reprieve/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10920468/
- https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-mortality/cancer-mortality-in-scotland-annual-update-to-2020/#:~:text=Lung%20cancer%20continues%20to%20be%20the%20most%20common,next%20most%20common%20cause%20of%20death%20from%20cancer.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Sir Peter Maxwell Davis wrote the piece of music : ‘Farewell to Stromness’ as a protest against the plans to mine Uranium on Orkney.
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Hi John, I tried to post this yesterday evening but it didn’t seem to go through, so I will try again.
FUN FUN FUN
A fun trivia game to keep Anas and Jackie amused when they are hiding from THEIR media. Not just a HIT in The British Labour Party offices in Scotland but it is fantastic at keeping the kids quite in the back of the car while waiting for those ferries that always seem to turn up on time. You can also be the LIFE of the party when you invite friends around….you’re party will go off with a BANG!!!
From Union of Concerned Scientists a spin the wheel game called “I Wish I Didn’t Know That”……. https://www.ucs.org/resources/i-wish-i-didnt-know
Spinning “The Wheel of Misfortune” gives you such FUN facts as……..
“Shortly after midnight on September 26, 1983, a Soviet early warning satellite indicated first one, then two, then eventually five US nuclear missiles had been launched at the Soviet Union. Tensions were high between the two countries—it was the height of the Cold War and the Soviet Union had downed a South Korean passenger plane just weeks before. Checks showed the satellites were working correctly. The officer on duty, Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov, had a matter of minutes to respond to the apparent attack.Going partly on gut instinct and believing “when people start a war, they don’t start it with only five missiles,” Petrov told his commanders it was a false alarm before he knew that to be true.Later investigations revealed that satellites mistook sunlight reflecting off the tops of clouds for missile launches. The orbit used by Soviet satellites was designed to minimize the chances of false alerts, but that night, shortly after the autumn equinox, satellites, sun, and US missile fields aligned in a way that maximized the sun’s reflection.Petrov’s actions earned him the nickname “the man who saved the world.” But if the satellite data had indicated the launch of a hundred missiles—or if a different officer had been on duty—this false alarm could easily have turned into catastrophe.”
“The USA 450 land-based nuclear missiles are kept in underground silos on hair-trigger alert, meaning they can be launched within minutes of an order to do so. Staffing the launch centers for these missiles are “missileers”—US Air Force officers charged with monitoring and, if necessary, launching the weapons when the orders come.Missileers are required to take monthly proficiency exams that test their knowledge of weapons systems, codes, and emergency war orders.In January 2014, the Air Force announced that 92 missile launch officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana—nearly half the missileers at the base—were suspended and had their security clearances revoked for cheating on the monthly exams, primarily by texting answers between smartphones.Current and former launch officers claim that cheating is typical and has been a fact of life for decades.Related investigations revealed a toxic culture of low morale and drug abuse. The Air Force acknowledged that the problem was “systemic.”
Try it for yourself!!! Invite your family and friends to your new nuclear bunker built by Subterranean Spaces UK…… https://www.subterraneanspaces.co.uk/nuclear-bunker-fallout-shelter and have FUN FUN FUN…..well at least until your oxygen runs out after a day!!! Remember though if you are in receipt of Welfare Benefits you will not qualify for any government assistance in the cost of the build.
Reviews..
Jackie Clydebank…this is a fantastic game, my good friends the Waspi women and I, who I am not friendly with anymore, have had such fun playing this. I can only give it 4 stars as it doesn’t blame The SNP Scottish Government anywhere!!!
Anas Pollokshields..a brilliant fun packed game for all the family. I agree with Jackie’s review about those SNP wreckers who actually want Trident removed from Scotland, but although I enjoyed playing it I can only give it 3 stars as, now read my lips, “ I would not hesitate to press the button”.
Not part of the game but another fun fact….
In the United States, the president is singlehandedly responsible for the decision to launch a nuclear weapon. They are not required to consult with anyone, and no one carries the authority to stop a legal launch order once given. This is called Sole Authority!!! Or with Trump, a hole in one!!!
Another bit of very useless information for all “Collaterals” which is basically the entire UK population, this is a list of all of the Fallout Shelters in the UK, most either being in a state of unusable disrepair or are derelict, not that anyone would reach them on time!!!…… Fallout Shelters Near Me (UK Edition) — Ash Tales
Now remember “Don’t have nightmares, do sleep well”
JB
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Hi Liz
Approved
Wordpress is wary of lots of urls
John
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it was me JB that posted it….thanks John!!!
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The Orkney islands considered one of the best places in the world to live.
Unemployment in Scotland 3.3%+ Very low.
Nuclear weapons dumped in Scotland without permission or authority. A total waste of time and money. Rotting hulks destroying Scotland. UK Gov spending £13Billion, a year, increasing all the time on decommissions nuclear. Enough to eradicate poverty.
US/Ukraine trying to plant nuclear missiles o the Russian borders that could that could target Moscow. US/Ukraine breaking all the agreements and treaties and assurance given since the 1990’s. To keep NATO and nuclear missiles threatening Russian territory. Reneging and breaking every promise given.
Just like nuclear weapons dumped in Scotland without permission or authority by US/UK governments. Trump could come along and change it. Get nuclear out of Scotland and nuclear missiles away from Russian borders. No other countries would put up with it. Including US/UK.
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