Radioactive fuel, contaminated water: the Fukushima clean-up

by Sara Hussein

Thousands of workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are involved in

 the complex and decades-long process of decommissioning the Fukushima 

nuclear site.

Eleven years after a devastating tsunami hit Japan's northeast, thousands of workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are involved in the complex and decades-long process of decommissioning the site.

Here are some facts about the situation at the plant, which AFP visited this month:

The damage

Three of Fukushima's six reactors were operating when the tsunami hit on March 11, 2011. They went into meltdown after their cooling systems failed when waves flooded backup generators.

There was no fuel in the three other reactors, but hydrogen blasts at units 4, 1 and 3 caused extensive damage.

Evidence of the blasts' power is still visible at the top of unit 1, where the warped metal framework remains exposed to the air, and on unit 3 damaged walls stripped of paint sit under a new roof cover.

Cranes tower over several units, while workers in coveralls and wearing dosimeters, full-face respirators, and helmets operate machinery nearby.

Elsewhere, abandoned administrative buildings stand empty, while green lanes along roads show where workers can walk without protective gear.

Fuel rods

Fuel rods have been removed from two units and the process is ongoing at 5 and 6, which were undamaged in the accident.

But at unit 1, large amounts of radioactive rubble must be cleared to access the rods. To avoid spreading radioactive dust, workers are installing a new roof and hope to begin removing rubble in 2027.

Evidence of the blasts' power is still visible at the top of unit 1, where the warped metal

 framework remains exposed to the air, and on unit 3 damaged walls stripped of paint sit 

under a new roof cover.

At unit 2, radiation levels are so high that plant operator TEPCO plans to access the rods by sending in robots from two platforms, one of which has been built so far.

Fuel rod removal is expected to start there from around spring 2024.

Fuel debris

In units 1-3, fuel and other material melted and then solidified into highly radioactive "fuel debris".

TEPCO has spent years assessing the location and scale of the problem, Keisuke Matsuo, a risk communicator at the plant, told AFP.

"We started investigating the inside of reactor 1 in February, hoping to understand the condition of debris and sediment," he said.

"We plan that reactor 2 will be the first from which we remove fuel debris, and we plan to start this year."

A robotic arm for the process was delivered in July after a pandemic delay, and is being tested.

This picture taken on March 5, 2022 shows unit 3 (L) and unit 4 (C) reactor buildings and 

storage tanks for contaminated water at the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO)

 Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.

Contaminated water

The site produces 140 cubic metres of contaminated water a day—a combination of groundwater, seawater and rainwater that seeps into the area, and water used for cooling.

TEPCO has paved over areas, installed pumps and built an ice wall to keep out water, but the problem keeps growing.

The water is filtered to remove various radionuclides and moved to storage tanks, with 1.29 million tons on site already and space expected to run out in around a year.

The white, grey and blue tanks dominate much of the site, between a few pine and cherry trees that survived the accident and decontamination.

TEPCO says the water treated by its ALPS system meets national standards for radionuclide levels, except for tritium.

It plans to dilute the water to reduce tritium levels and release it offshore over several decades via a kilometre-long underwater pipe.

Despite backing from the UN's watchdog, the plan is controversial, and TEPCO faces opposition from local communities and some neighbouring countries.

Boxes containing irradiated waste at the Fukushima plant.

"We believe the ALPS-treated water is safe," said Matsuo.

"It will be essential that we have public understanding of the water as safe."

Cost

Around 4,000 people work at the plant each day, generating enormous amounts of waste in protective gear alone, including multiple socks, gloves and masks that must be worn on most parts of the site.

The decommissioning is currently expected to take 30-40 years and cost eight trillion yen ($69 billion), which TEPCO says it will cover.

But that figure does not include the cost of treating and disposing of contaminated water.

11 years later, fate of Fukushima reactor cleanup uncertain

© 2022 AFP

Russian activists defy Putin to protest war in Ukraine

Russia has seen anti-war demonstrators take to the streets from the day the invasion of Ukraine began. So far, more than 13,000 protesters have been arrested. They won't be silenced.

Russian police are known for handling protesters roughly


Countless Russians have taken to the streets to protest the invasion of Ukraine — and they have done so at considerable risk to their lives and livelihoods. Svetlana, a St. Petersburg-based illustrator who asked that her real name not be used, told DW that she remains undeterred by the thousands of arrests of protesters in the past two weeks. In more peaceful times, she used to share pastel-colored pictures and examples of her work on social media. Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine, she has shared deeply political messages on a black background.

Svetlana is not a political activist per se. She did once attend a rally in support of the jailed Russian dissident Alexei Navalny. She said she witnessed National Guard officers using brute force against detained protesters. She did not let the experience deter her from attending a recent anti-war rally.

"In Russia, we have no conventional notion of marches or mass protests," Svetlana said. Demonstrations are more like massive chases, she said, with protesters as the prey. "You head out onto the street and then spend all your time running through the city, escaping the police," Svetlana said. She follows a few rules to avoid arrest. One is that she tries to remain at the center of large crowds as protesters leading marches, as well as those at the rear, are more likely to get detained. She also tries hiding from police in narrow allies and cafes.

Fines and incarceration

About 13,000 protesters have been arrested in more than 140 cities since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, according to OVD-Info, an independent human rights media project aimed at combating political persecution. There have been reports of authorities' using excessive force against protesters — including the use of truncheons and stun guns. Anti-war activists have been heavily fined and charged with serious offenses for taking to the streets. This includes individuals who have stood on public squares, all by themselves, holding anti-war placards.

Russian police have never shied away from using brute force to quell protests

On March 4, the Duma adopted a law making it illegal to knowingly spread "false information about the activities of the armed forces of the Russian Federation." Authorities now have the final word in determining what constitutes fake news. People found guilty of spreading misinformation face fines of up to €10,000 ($11,070) and jail terms ranging from three to 15 years. Recent marches where activists have chanted "no war" could therefore be classified as actions designed to discredit Russian troops.

The sociologist Grigoriy Judin fears that Russia is transforming from an authoritarian state into a totalitarian state — with further repressive measures in the works. He said the new misinformation law could be instrumentalized to force anti-war protesters into exile.

Hospitalized himself with a concussion after police officers beat him at an anti-war protest on February 24, Judin said Russian society was divided over the invasion of Ukraine. The thousands of anti-war protesters who have been arrested prove that many Russians really do reject the assault. Nevertheless, he said, the marches are not generating sufficient momentum to bring about change. Russians, he said, have lost faith in their own political power after years of demonstrations have led to naught. Moreover, he said, the latest wave of protests lacks proper organization and leaders.

'Russians are scared'

A Moscow-based civil rights activist who asked that she be called Anastasia told DW that she has participated in numerous anti-war marches, but was disappointed with the latest gathering on Moscow's Pushkin Square. "It was a catastrophe," Anastasia said. "I have never seen such a feeble protest in Moscow." The frightened protesters had been quickly dispersed, chased away or arrested by police officers, she said.

Anastasia does not blame ordinary Russians for fearing the police. "Moscow controls a powerful security apparatus, and Russians are scared to lose their jobs now that sanctions have been imposed," she said. Many people have families and other responsibilities that keep them from protesting publicly, she added. All Russians are deprived of basic civil rights, she said: All Russians are vulnerable. Anastasia, however, said she had nothing to lose, which is why she continues protesting. "There are few like me," she said.

What depresses Anastasia most is the feeling that the entire world now opposes Russia. She is convinced that "sanctions, which punish ordinary people, will have no effect." Anastasia also notes that from the outside it is hard to comprehend why ordinary Russians feel so powerless in what she calls a "totalitarian" system. "Now, we are not even allowed to voice opposition to the war," she said. Still, she added, the current conflict is unwinnable for Russia's leadership: "This is the demise of Putin's reign no matter the price the people of the country have to pay."

Anastasia said she could have secured a residency permit for another country and moved away, but she wants to stay in Moscow.

Svetlana, from St. Petersburg, however, is saving up money to leave Russia for good. It has been a difficult decision, but one she finds unavoidable. "In Russia you are faced with the choice of either risking your own future," Svetlana said, "or being called a coward by all those who keep taking to the streets."

This article was originally written in German.

STANDING UP FOR UKRAINE: ANTI-WAR PROTESTS AROUND THE WORLD

Protests in Mosco

A few brave souls staged an anti-war protest in Moscow, outside the Ukrainian Embassy. Police forces were quick to arrest and whisk them away.

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ABOUT TIME!STUPID FASCIST LAW

Germany moves to change abortion law passed in 1933

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz appears at a press conference in February. The country introduced legislation Wednesday that would repeal a 1933 law that bans doctors from distributing any information about abortions. File Photo by Leigh Vogel/UPI | License Photo

March 9 (UPI) -- Germany introduced a bill that would remove a section of its criminal code prohibiting doctors from providing information about abortions, the country's justice minister said Wednesday.

"The federal cabinet today passed the draft law to repeal the provision of paragraph #219a of the Criminal Code. We want women to be able to find out as much as possible about methods and possible risks of an abortion," Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said in a statement.

The legislation, introduced by Buschmann, would repeal part of the country's existing law first enacted in 1933 under the Nazi government.

RELATED On This Day: International Women's Day marked on March 8 for 1st time

"Factual information from doctors about abortions should no longer be punishable. The Federal Cabinet today passed the draft law presented by the Federal Minister of Justice to repeal Section #219a of the Criminal Code," Germany's Federal Ministry of Justice said on Twitter.

Repealing the law is meant to "enable affected women to obtain better information.

Currently, German doctors can legally provide abortions but are not allowed to disseminate any information about the procedures to potential patients. Under existing laws, doing so could result in a prison term of up to two years.

"It is an intolerable situation that according to the current legal situation, doctors of all people have to fear criminal prosecution if they make information available," Buschmann wrote.

"Factual information from doctors about an abortion should therefore no longer be punishable. But it is also clear that other legal norms remain in force against praising and offensive advertising for abortions. And the current protection of unborn life will not change either."

The legislation must still be debated in parliament.

US Lawmakers push for 'equitable action' to fund fight against climate change

By Andrew Marquardt, Medill News Service

Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., says the U.S. strategy on climate change was be "smart and targeted." File Pool Photo by Greg Nash/UPI | License Photo


WASHINGTON, March 9 (UPI) -- Lawmakers from both parties Wednesday vowed to develop a federal plan to "deliver actionable tools and resources" to fight climate change in the wake of a series of recent climate reports that outline the urgent need to reduce carbon emissions.

"We don't have unlimited resources to do this. We've got to be smart and targeted," said Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., chair of the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. "Right now, climate adaptation planning across the country is done on an ad hoc basis. It's very inefficient."

The hearing came just over a week after the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its most recent report, which offered a dire and detailed outlook at pressing global threats posed by the warming climate.

"Any further delay in concerted anticipatory global action," the report said, "will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all."

The IPCC report was one of several published since the start of 2022 that present detailed pictures of widespread and severe global challenges due to climate change.

At Wednesday's hearing, two of the IPCC report's authors testified on the urgent need for action to lower carbon emissions and prevent further global warming -- the impacts of which are harming Americans displaced by increasingly frequent environmental disasters and rising sea levels.

"North American cities and settlements have been impacted increasingly by severe and frequent climate hazards and extreme events, which have contributed to infrastructure damage, livelihood losses, damage to Heritage Resources and safety concerns," said William Solecki, co-author of the report and an environmental science professor at Hunter College in New York.

Recent hurricane seasons, for example, have been some of the busiest and most costly on record, and last year alone, 1 in every 10 homes in the United States was affected by weather disasters, causing more than $56 billion in property damages, according to a February report by CoreLogic, a property information and analytics company.

For that reason, experts said, the United States needs to establish a two-pronged approach to fighting climate change: one that addresses the pressing needs of Americans dealing with climate-related home displacements, as well as one that ensures the country can significantly lower its carbon emissions in the coming decades.

"There are problems today that need solving, and we can't divert all of our attention away from them because people are [suffering] right now," said Lauren Augustine, executive director of the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine's Gulf Research Program. "At the same time, we do have to look down the road...there's a lot of work to be done."

The war in Ukraine -- and the recent American decision to cease imports of Russian oil -- weighed heavily on the hearing, especially when debate centered on potential plans to divest from fossil fuels and move toward renewable energy.

Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., supported taking action to slow climate change, but said this was the wrong time to move away from fossil fuels, citing current record-high gas prices. Graves suggested that instead of turning to other oil producers like Iran or Venezuela to replace the Russian oil, the United States tap into its vast supply of oil reserves.

But doing so would further damage the country's long-term ability to lower carbon emissions and fight a climate crisis that experts and recent reports say is only getting worse.

"I agree with [Graves] that simply pivoting to petro fascists in Venezuela or Iran makes no sense," said Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., "but neither does locking in decades of new fossil fuel dependency on the United States and other oil producers at a time when we have a climate crisis."

Regardless, there was agreement among lawmakers and experts that despite the grim warnings presented by the reports, there is still a "window of opportunity" to fight climate change.

"Future generations are going to know what we knew and when we knew it and how we chose to act," Augustine said. "In 100 years, we want the people of that time to look back on us today and say that we did the right thing."

Smithsonian to return dozens of Benin Bronzes to Nigeria


This bronze commemorative head of a king was one of dozens of artifacts stolen during a British raid on the Kingdom of Benin in the late 19th century. File Photo courtesy of the National Museum of African Art


March 9 (UPI) -- The Smithsonian Institute is returning more than three dozen of its Benin Bronzes to Nigeria after negotiations over ownership of the artifacts, which were stolen from West Africa in the 19th century.

Linda St. Thomas, a spokeswoman for the Smithsonian, told The New York Times most of the 39 objects will be repatriated to Nigeria, the present-day location of the former Kingdom of Benin. Once there, they will be put on display at the National Museum of Benin in Benin City, according to The Washington Post, which first reported on the agreement.

The Smithsonian came to the arrangement with Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments. Abba Isa Tijani, director-general of the commission, said it hopes other museums around the world will also work to return looted items to Nigeria.

"I commend the Smithsonian," Tijani said. "We have not encountered another museum that has done as much.

The artifacts had been part of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art, donated into the collection over the years. The museum's director, Ngaire Blankenberg, removed the artworks from view several months ago amid questions of their ownership and the ethics of displaying stolen art.

Many of the items, which includes bronze, ivory and wooden sculptures, were stolen from the Kingdom of Benin during an 1897 raid by the British.

St. Thomas said it's not clear exactly how many items from the Smithsonian's collection were stolen in the raid.

The Times reported the Smithsonian Board of Regents must first approve the agreement before the items can be returned to Nigeria.

Some may remain in or be returned to Washington, D.C., on a long-term loan for an exhibition curated by Nigerians.

"This exhibition will be from the perspective of Nigeria and how we want them to be displayed," Tijani said. "What is more important than being in control of how your heritage, your artifacts, are displayed?"

CHEAPER TOO
Special mouthguard an effective alternative to CPAP for sleep apnea

By HealthDay News

New research shows that custom designed mouthguards can be as effective for some apnea patients as CPAP at helping them get a good night's rest

. Photo courtesy of HealthDay News

Folks with apnea are typically prescribed a CPAP machine to help them get a good night's sleep, but there's an alternative to the clunky, noisy devices that is growing in popularity.

Oral appliances similar to mouthguards -- called mandibular advancement devices, or MADs -- have been shown to work as well as CPAP in treating apnea for many patients, experts say.

MADs have "become a growing part of our practice. We routinely recommend and offer the oral appliance as one of the options for treatment of apnea," said Dr. Jing Wang, an assistant professor of medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

"The oral appliances have been around for less time than CPAP, but they've grown a lot in popularity over the last couple of years and they can be as effective as CPAP for the right patient," Wang said.

Obstructive apnea occurs when your throat muscles relax to the point of collapse and block your airway during. When this happens, your body becomes starved for oxygen and you periodically wake up for a few seconds to gasp for air.

People with severe apnea can wake more than 30 times an hour while trying to get their rest, according to the National Foundation. Daytimeiness is the most prominent side effect, but apnea also has been linked to serious health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.

Sleep apnea patients given a CPAP -- or continuous pressure airway pressure -- machine wear a mask through the night that keeps the airway propped open.

But CPAP devices can be annoying to use, said Dr. Mitchell Levine, president-elect of the American Academy of Dental Medicine.

The masks can make people feel claustrophobic, the noise of the machine can disturb bed partners, and people using CPAP can suffer from dry eyes, bloody noses and sores on their face, Levine said.

As a result, some patients are turning to oral devices to help with their apnea.

Mouthguards keep airways open

These devices consist of two pieces that cover your upper and lower teeth, connected by a mechanism that uses your upper jaw as leverage to push the lower jaw forward, explained Dr. Colleen Lance, a physician in the Cleveland Clinic's Disorders Center.

"By bringing the lower jaw forward and by getting the tongue base out of the way of the airway, you're manually splinting the airway open," Lance said.

MADs are similar to over-the-counter devices sold to help treat snoring, but they are custom-made by dentists working with doctors, Lance and Levine said.

The upper and lower pieces are molded to your teeth, and the dentist performs a physical examination of your airway, including X-rays, to determine the exact adjustment you'll need.

"They calculate how many millimeters forward -- we're talking about millimeters here, itty-bitty movements of the lower jaw -- they would need to move the lower jaw to keep that airway open," Lance said.

These adjustments are usually made very slowly over a matter of weeks to prevent your jaw from aching or your bite from changing dramatically, Lance said.

"Once you're used toing with the device, they very slowly start inching that lower jaw forward, millimeter by millimeter," Lance said. "Your jaw really doesn't like changes, and it really hates rapid changes."

These custom devices aren't cheap, ranging from $1,500 to $2,000, but Medicare and most insurance will cover them, experts said.

Off-the-shelf aids cost much less, between $75 and $150, according to the American Association. But "one of the biggest challenges is getting the device to stay well in the mouth. If it's not custom fit, it's like putting a size 10 shoe on a size 8 foot," Levine said.

CPAP remains the gold standard for treating apnea, because "we know we can get your apnea out of the equation right away. It's a sure thing. I know I can have it for you quickly. It doesn't matter if it's mild, moderate or severe apnea," Lance said.

Oral devices not for everyone

Patients these days will typically be started on a CPAP to get their apnea under control, and an oral device will later be offered as a potential long-term solution, Lance said.

"Some people will have both," Lance said. "When they're at home doing their normal thing, they'll have a CPAP machine, but if they travel a lot for work they'll travel with a dental appliance."

Currently, doctors recommend these oral devices mainly for people with mild to moderate apnea, Lance and Levine said. Weight also plays a factor in who will benefit from the device.

"The higher your body mass index is, the less likely the dental appliance is going to work," Lance said. "Any extra weight is going to close that airway even more."

But recent studies have shown that MADs might be just as effective as CPAP for some with severe apnea.

MADs provided just as much benefit as CPAP in patients with severe apnea when it came toiness and quality of life, according to a recent evidence review.

However, CPAP was better at reducing the number of waking events that patients experienced and improving their blood oxygen levels, the review concluded.

But a French study of nearly 350 patients found that oral appliances reduced waking events by more than 50% in two-thirds of cases of moderate to severe apnea.

"Eventually I think the literature will expand to include patients with higher BMIs and patients with more severe apnea," Wang said.

More information

The American Association has more about mandibular advancement devices.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.




Sponso

Human Rights Campaign refuses money from Disney over anti-LGBTQ laws

Mickey Mouse pictured during the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort on Sept. 30, 2021, in Orlando, Fla. The Human Rights Campaign has refused donations from Disney until the company commits to opposing laws targeting LGBTQ rights. 

Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

March 10 (UPI) -- The Human Rights Campaign said Wednesday it won't accept donations from Disney until the LGBTQ+ rights organization sees Disney really working to stop laws like Florida's so-called "Don't Say Gay" bill, House Bill 1557.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek told a stockholder meeting Wednesdat the company opposes the Florida bill that legislators there call the Parental Rights in Education bill.

Chapek said Disney is donating $5 million to HRC and other LGBTQ rights groups.

Disney had remained silent on the bill.

"The Human Rights Campaign will not accept this money from Disney until we see them build on their public commitment and work with LGBTQ+ advocates to ensure that dangerous proposals, like Florida's Don't Say Gay or Trans bill, don't become dangerous laws, and if they do, to work to get them off the books," the Human Rights Campaign said in a press statement.

This legislation, HRC said, would censor teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ issues or people, preventing all students from experiencing inclusive classrooms.

The HRC said Disney took "a regrettable stance by choosing to stay silent amid political attacks against LGBTQ+ families in Florida -- including hardworking families employed by Disney."

The rights group said Chapek's stockholder meeting statement indicating Disney would join more than 150 other companies opposing anti-LGBTQ legislation was a step in the right direction.

Chevron Phillips to make $118M in upgrades to settle Clean Air Act violations

Chevron Phillips agreed Wednesday to make $118 million worth of upgrades and perform additional compliance measures at three of its facilities in Texas, to settle claims the petrochemical company violated the Clean Air Act. File Photo by Gary I Rothstein/UPI | License Photo

March 9 (UPI) -- Chevron Phillips agreed to make around $118 million worth of upgrades and perform compliance measures at three of the company's petrochemical manufacturing facilities, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.

The Texas-based petrochemical company will also pay a $3.4 million civil penalty to resolve the allegations that it violated the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control laws.

The facilities are located in Cedar Bayou, Port Arthur, and Sweeney, Texas.

The Justice Department said the company failed to properly operate and monitor its industrial flares, leading to excess emissions of harmful air pollution at the facilities. The department also accused the company of failing to comply other operating restraints, ensuring volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants contained in gases routed to the flares, were efficiently combusted.

Once the agreed-upon work is completed, it will eliminate thousands of tons of air pollution from flares, according to the Justice Department.

Flares are devices used to combust waste gases that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere during certain industrial operations.

If operated properly, flares should have high "combustion efficiency," meaning they combust nearly all harmful waste gas constituents, turning them into water and carbon dioxide, according to the Justice Department.

The company will be limited to how much gas it can send for flaring. It will also install a gas recovery system at the Cedar Bayou facility, capturing rather than burning waste, to be recycled as fuel or sold.

The settlement also comes with more stringent monitoring, and also expected to reduce emissions of ozone-forming volatile organic compounds by 1,528 tons per year and of toxic air pollutants, including benzene, by 158 tons per year.

"This settlement will require Chevron Phillips to install pollution control and emissions monitoring equipment at three facilities in Texas, reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and other harmful gases by thousands of tons per year," Acting EPA Assistant Administrator Larry Starfield said in a statement.

"Those controls, plus a requirement for fence line monitoring of benzene emissions and corrective actions when benzene readings are high, will result in significant benefits for the local communities in Texas."

MORE CATHOLIC ATROCITIES

N.Ireland ministers to apologise for institutional abuse


By AFP
Published March 10, 2022


Ministers from Northern Ireland’s five main political parties are on Friday to issue a public apology for historical, institutional abuses in children’s homes after years of delays.

The apology will be offered at the seat of Northern Ireland’s devolved government at Stormont, and mirrored by religious institutions that ran the homes and were found to have committed systemic failings.

A four-year inquiry into abuses in care homes in Northern Ireland found widespread mistreatment in its final report, which was rendered in 2017.

Among the report’s recommendations was a call for a public apology to survivors.

The apology was due to be delivered by the executive’s first and deputy first ministers but was thrown into jeopardy when the power-sharing government collapsed last month.

Margaret McGuckin, chairwoman of SAVIA (Survivors and Victims of Institutional Abuse), told AFP the apology had become a “political football” over the years but remained deeply important.

“There are many people who needed it and to hear: ‘I’m sorry, it’s not your fault’,” she said.

She compared the significance of Friday’s apology to that issued by the UK government after nearly 40 years for “Bloody Sunday,” when troops shot dead 13 civil rights protestors in Londonderry in 1972.

McGuckin survived abuse at one of four homes run by the Catholic Sisters of Nazareth order which attracted the highest number of complaints during the Historical Institutional Abuse (HIA) inquiry.

Her brother, Kevin, has said he was sexually abused at a children’s home run by a Catholic order from the age of 11 after the four children were taken into care.

A total of 493 people came forward to report abuses, with testimonies gathered in Northern Ireland, the rest of Britain, Ireland and Australia.

The report was particularly scathing over serial failures by police to investigate allegations and the role of the Catholic Church in protecting perpetrators.

It found “evidence of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, neglect and unacceptable practices” from 1922 to 1995 in most of the institutions it investigated.

These included 22 care homes run by state, church and charitable bodies.

On Wednesday, the UK government’s Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said it was “only right” that victims of historical institutional abuse would receive the formal apology.

“For too many years the voices of victims and their appeals for help went unheard. On March 11 they will receive a full and unconditional apology that is so deserved for them,” Lewis said during a session of questions on Northern Ireland in the UK parliament.

WHO frustration two years on since pandemic declaration




Robin MILLARD
Thu, March 10, 2022

Friday marks two years to the day since the World Health Organization first described Covid-19 as a pandemic, shaking countries into action as the disease ripped around the planet.

The once-in-a-century pandemic has turned the world upside down, claiming more than six million lives and infecting at least 450 million people.

But the WHO voiced its frustration at people marking the second anniversary of March 11, 2020, insisting that the real alarm came six weeks earlier -- but few people bothered to sit up and take notice.

The WHO declared a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) -- the highest level of alarm in the global health regulations -- on January 30, 2020, when, outside of China, fewer than 100 cases and no deaths had been reported.

But it was only when WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the worsening situation as a pandemic on March 11 that many countries seemed to wake up to the danger.

The WHO is not marking the anniversary -- and two years on is still irked that governments did not heed the original alert.

"The world was possessed with the word pandemic," said WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan.

"The warning in January was way more important than the announcement in March.

"Do you want the warning to say you've just drowned, or would you like the warning to say the flood is coming?"

- World 'well warned' -

Ryan said the PHEIC declaration fell on deaf ears.

"People weren't listening. We were ringing the bell and people weren't acting," he told a live interaction on the WHO's social media channels on Thursday.

"What I was most stunned by was the lack of response, the lack of urgency in relation to WHO's highest level of alert in international law, as agreed by all our member states. They agreed to this!"

He said the declaration of a pandemic was simply stating the obvious once it had already happened -- and insisted countries had plenty of advance notice.

"There's a lot of people in the media and everywhere have this big argument, WHO declared a pandemic late. No!" said Ryan.

"The world was well warned about the impending pandemic.

"By March, I think there was such frustration that it was, 'OK, you want a pandemic, here's your pandemic'."

By March 11, 2020, the number of cases outside China had increased 13-fold, with more than 118,000 people having caught the disease in 114 countries, and 4,291 people having lost their lives, following a jump in deaths in Italy and Iran.

- 'Wrong anniversary' -

Tedros's use of the word came at around 5:30 pm during a press conference on Covid-19, which by this stage was already being held largely online via Zoom.

He said it six times in quick succession -- and 10 times in all.

"We're deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity and by the alarming levels of inaction," Tedros said.

"We have therefore made the assessment that Covid-19 can be characterised as a pandemic. Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly."

Ryan was alongside him that day, as was Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO's technical lead on Covid-19.

Two years on, she said that this Friday, people would be marking the "wrong anniversary".

"It is fundamentally incorrect," she insisted.

"You hear the frustration in our voices because we still haven't corrected the narrative.

"It will happen again! So when are we actually going to learn?

"More than six million people have died, that we know of. I don't think we've even begun to grieve this, at a global level."

rjm/nl/apo/rl/jfx

Poll: Some in U.S. gained better habits during the COVID-19 pandemic

By HealthDay News

About one-quarter of people in the United States say they developed better habits during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, a new poll found. 

File Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

About one-quarter of Americans say they made positive changes to their daily habits during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new poll shows.

As U.S. states ended masking mandates and infection numbers dropped this year, most (64%) respondents said their mood had been stable since January and that the pandemic either hadn't affected their daily habits (49%) or had changed them for the better (26%).

But 28% said their mental health was fair or poor, 17% said they were smoking more, and 18% said they were drinking more, according to the latest American Psychiatric Association monthly survey of 2,500 adults, conducted Feb. 18-19, 2022.

"While many Americans seem to have emerged from the pandemic feeling good about their new habits, there are some points of concern here, such as those who've started using substances more than before," said Dr. Vivian Pender, president of the APA.

She also cited the need to keep an eye on financial concerns.

Respondents making less than $50,000 a year (35%) were 7% more likely than all adults to rate their mental health as fair or poor. They were more than three times as likely to do so as respondents making $100,000 or more (11%).

"People's finances can matter to mental health, which is important to monitor while the nation's economy is in flux," Pender said Monday in an APA news release.

Fathers (37%) were nearly two times more likely than mothers (19%) and all adults (18%) to say their mood had changed for the better in the past month.

Dads were also much more likely (45%) than moms (29%) and all adults (26%) to say time at home had changed their daily habits for the better.

The survey also found differences between racial/ethnic groups, with 20% of Hispanic adults saying their mood was worse in February than in January, compared to 15% of all adults.

But 32% of Hispanic adults and 36% of Black adults said their daily habits improved during the pandemic, compared with 24% of adults of other ethnicities.

Respondents who said they felt better than in January attributed the improvement to generally feeling good (45%) and the weather (27%).

Those who felt worse cited finances (20%), inflation (10%), financial stress (10%), money (10%) and COVID-19 (20%).

Men were more likely than women to say they had increased the amount they exercise, shower, drink alcohol, and smoke or use drugs.

Hispanic adults (36%) and Black adults (33%) were more likely than those of other ethnicities (27%) to report an increase in how much they talk about their mental health.

About a third of adults (35%) said they often wonder if their habits might be related to a more significant mental health issue, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety or substance use disorder.

That concern was higher among Hispanic respondents (46%) than among White adults (34%), Black adults (40%), or people of another ethnicity (36%).

More information

For more on COVID-19 and mental health, see the nonprofit Mental Health America.

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