Some of your subscribers may have read in Newsday that the Republican candidate for Nassau County executive is considering increasing nuclear power generation as an acceptable way of meeting our local energy needs. We need to know how badly current nuclear reactors are damaging our health.

It should be noted that during the years of atmospheric nuclear testing, public pressure forced the government to conduct relevant health studies relating to the nuclear explosions. One of these measurements was the amount of Strontium 90 found in teeth. Strontium 90 is a radioactive nuclear byproduct not normally found in nature, which mimics calcium and is permanently absorbed in our bones and our teeth.

The results of these tests ended the atmospheric testing, but the widespread tests also ended with the test ban. A nonprofit educational and scientific organization, The Radiation and Public Health Project (RPHP), which was established by scientists and physicians dedicated to understanding the relationships between low-level, nuclear radiation and public health, has taken up the study and are reporting, http://www.radiation.org/index.html, finding a significant presence of Strontium 90 in today's youngsters.

I and some of my Green Party running mates believe it's time that our local government became more active in collecting and correlating environmental/health data. We propose creating an environmental health diagnostic center possibly utilizing Nassau Community College, Nassau Medical Center, and SUNY Westbury, its students and staff, and other interns.

Russell Todd

Candidate for Town of North Hempstead Council